KNIGHT'S CYCLOPEDIA 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ALL NATIONS, 
 
 . ) , 
 
 \'it 
 
 LONDON: 
 CHAELES KNIGHT, FLEET STREET. 
 
ttK.KD AND PARDON, 
 
 PRINTERS, 
 PATFRXOSTKU ROW, I.ONDOX. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THIS CYCLOPEDIA has been prepared with the express desire to carry out the most 
 important object connected with the Great Exhibition that of regarding it as an 
 instrument of education. Here, at a rate of unequalled cheapness, will be found a 
 full explanation of every subject that can suggest itself to the enquiring visitor. 
 
 The information thus given is brought up to the very latest accession of knowledge. 
 THE SCIENTIFIC DETAILS, avoiding as much as possible all embarrassing technicalities, 
 aim at precision and accuracy. The GEOGRAPHICAL ARTICLES exhibit the charac- 
 teristics of the Industry of All Nations, not only as to large States, but as regards 
 Cities and Ports ; and these particulars are founded upon the best and most recent 
 statistical information. The PROCESSES of MANUFACTURES are described in most 
 cases from actual observation, and are ILLUSTRATED BY A SERIES OF ENGRAVINGS 
 which embrace the entire range of Factory production. 
 
 It may be affirmed without presumption that the Visitor to the Exhibition, by 
 reference to the " Cyclopaedia of the Industry of all Nations," will be able to regard 
 that wondrous collection, not with a vague curiosity, but an intelligent appreciation. 
 With the Shilling Catalogue to accompany his visits, and the Cyclopaedia to direct 
 him, he may accomplish much that is proposed to be attained by Courses of Lec- 
 tures. Take an example : 
 
 A Visitor purposes to devote a morning to the department of French Industry. 
 He refers to the Cyclopaedia perhaps as follows 
 
 France. This article contains a brief general view of all the staple industries of 
 that country. 
 
 But the catalogue is headed France and Algiers. He turns to Algiers in the 
 Cyclopaedia, and finds a similar view of its industry. 
 
 The first article in the French Catalogue is as follows : 
 
 " 1. Adolphe, C. Manufactory, Mulhouse (Haut Ehin) and at M. Grebin's, 8, Rue de 
 la Bourse, Paris. Pieces of silk and ivoollen damask, wrought by Jacquard looms." 
 
 The words above marked in Italic indicate the nature of the information which 
 will be found in the Cyclopaedia of Industry under those heads. He will there 
 learn what is the peculiar industry of Mulhouse (Mulhauseri) what the cha- 
 racter of the trade of Paris the processes of silk and woollen manufacture 
 generally, as well as of damask weaving, and the peculiarities of the Jacquard 
 loom. In addition, by turning to the ENGRAVINGS, he will see the processes 
 of Silk Manufacture, No. 29 ; and of Woollen, Nos. 36 and 37. 
 
 It may perhaps be necessary to add that the " Cyclopaedia of the Industry of all 
 Nations" is NOT A TEMPORARY WORK, or one of limited utility. It will be found as 
 useful in the Merchant's Counting-house as in the Mechanics' Institute as inter- 
 esting in the School-room as in the Crystal Palace. 
 
 This Cyclopaedia has been founded upon materials which are the copyright of the 
 Publisher ; but these materials have been condensed or added to, with reference to 
 the immediate purpose of the work, and a great number of original articles have 
 been introduced, by the Editor, Mr. GEORGE DODD, author of " Days at the Facto- 
 ries," " British Manufactures," &c. 
 
No. 1. 
 
TY 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 AT HOME AND ABROAD. 
 
 THE great Industrial Exhibition of 1851 great in every sense of the word, if 
 worthily carried out, will be a kind of summing up of the labours of half a century. 
 It will be a practical test, whereby we may know how much, and of what kind, the 
 first half of the nineteenth century has been able to achieve in the application of 
 skilled labour. Before the present century, efforts were too scattered to be suscep- 
 tible of easy comparison ; and the great moving forces of industry, (so to speak) 
 were yet in their infancy. In applying this designation to the steam engine and the 
 factory system, we do that for which there is much warranty : each of these is a 
 mighty agent both for combination and for subdivision; for applying to all work to 
 be done, just so much force as will meet the requirements of the case ; for economis- 
 ing space and time, capital and labour, materials and tools ; for rendering invention 
 and supervision doubly effective; and for developing an amount of precision and 
 accuracy which never before marked industrial processes. 
 
 In the contributions, too, which science has made to manufactures, the present 
 century stands out in bold contrast to those which preceded it. It was early in 
 the century that Davy made those brilliant discoveries concerning metallic oxides, 
 which have had so much influence in chemical manufactures. The labours of 
 Dalton in respect to atomic laws of combination ; Wollaston's researches into the 
 nature of platinum ; Davy's safety lamp, and the curious law on which its action 
 depends ; Liebig's remarkable labours ; the wonders of electricity ; the researches 
 into the phenomena of waves and tides these, and countless other instances, have 
 had a more immediate practical bearing on manufactures, than was generally the 
 case in respect to the scientific labours of former centuries. 
 
 It is not the object of the present paper to place the two years 1800 and 1850 
 before us, and to make them bear witness each for itself, and each for the other 
 to the industrial progress which has been made in half a century ; but we propose 
 to trace the attempts which industry has made from time to time, to display its 
 results by means of exhibitions. It was not until near the commencement of the 
 present century, that men ventured to draw attention to manufactures as the 
 materials for a public show. The glittering of tournaments, the panoply of war, 
 the pomps of royalty, the ceremonies of the cathedral, the fictions of the drama, 
 the fairs of the market-place all were objects of public assemblages ; but the time 
 had not yet come when the artisan was to be the main exhibitor. 
 
 Such a time, however, did come at last ; and it is creditable to cur neighbours 
 across the Channel, that they were the first to strike the key-note of this species of 
 industrial concert a concert which, national at first, may become inter-national 
 ere long. 
 
 Mr. Digby Wyatt has afforded us the means for tracing the proceedings of the 
 French, in respect to Industrial Exhibitions, The Society of Arts, which has within 
 
iv INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 a recent period thrown into its proceedings a vigour analogous to that of its early 
 days, deeming the Paris Exposition of 1849 a favourable occasion for collecting in- 
 formation, deputed Mr. Wyatt to visit that capital, with a view of enquiring into 
 the origin, constitution, merits, and effects, of such enterprises. The result of his 
 visit appeared in the form of a valuable Report, addressed to the President and 
 Council of the Society ; and this Report, in its convenient printed form, may safely 
 be taken as an authority on the subject. 
 
 It was during the stormy period of the first French Revolution, when the bonds 
 of society seemed to be snapped asunder, and when peril surrounded all the institu- 
 tions of that country it was at such a time that industry was first made the basis 
 of a popular exhibition. At that period, and for many years previously, three manu- 
 factories in France had been under the especial rule and guidance of the govern- 
 ment, viz., the porcelain works of Sevres, the tapestry works of the Gobelins, and 
 the carpet works of the Savonnerie. In 1797 the French Directory appointed the 
 Marquis d'Aveze, as commissioner for these national establishments. He found, 
 on his appointment, that they were in a wretched condition: the operatives 
 were reduced to great penury; and proofs were abundant that neither govern- 
 ment care nor government funds had flowed in this direction, during the fearful 
 tumults which had marked the infancy of the Republic. The Marquis conceived 
 that he might give a new impetus to these three manufactures, by forming a public 
 exhibition of the choicest specimens of their production. He memorialized the 
 Minister of the Interior, and obtained his sanction ; he applied for the use of the 
 Chateau of St. Cloud, (which was then desolate and unfurnished), and obtained it. 
 The floors were covered with superb carpets from the Savonnerie, the walls were 
 hung with Gobelin tapestries, and the saloons and halls were adorned with the 
 finest examples of Sevres porcelain. A system was planned, whereby a fund might 
 be raised by sales and by a kind of lottery, for the benefit of the workmen. But 
 political vicissitudes cut short the project, and frustrated the object which the 
 Marquis so praiseworthily had in view. A decree of the Directory was published, 
 banishing all the nobility of France from Paris and its vicinity, and allowing only 
 four-and-twenty hours in preparation for departure. The Marquis, as one of the 
 nobles, was included in the proscription ; and he had barely time, before the scant 
 number of hours had passed, to place the treasures of St. Cloud under the care of 
 other government authorities. Thus was the first French Industrial Exhibition 
 strangled in its birth, after a few privileged persons had seen it, but before it had 
 been thrown open to the Parisian public generally. 
 
 But the idea thus made public, was not lost. The spirit of nationality soon 
 found inducements to further exertions. The Marquis returned from his proscrip- 
 tion in the early part of 1798, and immediately made preparations for a second 
 industrial collection. On this occasion he located it not at St. Cloud but in the 
 Maison d'Orsay, in the Rue de Varennes. The Parisians here found collected, not 
 only products from the three national establishments, but beautiful specimens of 
 furniture, marqueterie, clocks, watches, bookbinding, silks, &c., contributed by the 
 chief manufacturers. 
 
 These two preliminary Expositions may be considered the creation of one indivi- 
 dual ; but they were speedily followed by others which were more formally under 
 government patronage. When Napoleon returned flushed with victory from his 
 first Italian campaign, with visions of Roman triumphs in his mind, he bethought 
 of a Temple of Industry as a worthy pendant to the Temple of Glory ; and such a 
 temple was erected in the Champ de Mars in 1798 with much frippery and tinsel 
 but with many solid advantages to manufacturers and their productions. The 
 exhibition was open only three days, but the Parisians were nearly crazy with 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. V 
 
 delight and self-laudation at the result. The Jury system (which we shall presently 
 explain) was established ; and among the nine jurymen we find the well-known 
 names of Molard, Chaptal, Duquesnoy, and Berthard. We find, too, among the 
 exhibitors and prize holders, the names of Breguet, Lenoir, Clouet, and Payen, 
 men of great celebrity in many departments of manufactures. 
 
 Such was the third French Industrial Exhibition, or the first strictly National, in 
 which the charges were borne by the state. It is usually spoken of as the First 
 Exposition. It was speedily succeeded by a second. The government determined 
 to make them annual, and to admit provincial towns to an equality with Paris, in 
 respect to specimens admitted; but this determination was not fully carried out, 
 for the second exposition did not take place till 1801. The First Consul had by 
 that time become the patron of science and of art, as of armies and navies ; he 
 visited accompanied by Berthollet, Monge, and Chaptal the manufactories of 
 Paris, Eouen, Milan, Lyons, Brussels, Liege, and Aix la Chapelle, and Encouraged 
 the workmen by prizes and medals. It was under such auspices that the second 
 National Exposition took place. It was held in the great quadrangle of the Louvre, 
 which was fitted up with galleries for the purpose. As compared with its pre- 
 decessor, this exposition was marked by the excellence of its woollens, cottons, carpets, 
 fancy leathers, and printing; and it was made memorable by the first appearance, 
 as an inventor, of the ingenious Jacquard. It is pleasant to bear in mind, at a 
 time when English and French industrial products are about to be placed side by 
 side in friendly competition, that Jacquard in part owed his eminence to the exertions 
 of the English Society of Arts. This society, about the period now under consi- 
 deration, offered a prize for the invention of a loom for weaving fishing-nets ; and 
 Jacquard produced a machine, consequent on this advertisement, which was the 
 means of bringing him into favourable notice by Napoleon. The second exposition 
 was open six days; it counted 229 exhibitors, against 110 in its predecessor ; it 
 was marked by the distribution of sixty medals ; and its Jury contained the dis- 
 tinguished names of Berthollet, Berthoud, Guyton de Morveau, Prony, and Costaz. 
 
 The year 1802 witnessed the third National Exposition, held in the same place as 
 the second. The days of exhibition were seven, the number of exhibitors was 
 540, to whom 254 medals, decorations, rewards, and "recognitions," were given. 
 The period was marked by much extension of productive art especially by the 
 increased application of mechanical and chemical science to facilitate production, 
 and the consequent reduction in price of all articles of popular demand. This 
 exposition was the immediate cause of the establishment of the Societe d* Encourage- 
 ment, a kind of Society of Arts, which has rendered important service to French 
 manufactures. 
 
 The fourth Exposition took place in 1806, under the blaze of the Empire, when 
 the First Consul had become a King-maker. It was held in a fine building con- 
 structed on the Esplanade des Invalides. and lasted twenty-four days ; there were 
 1422 exhibitors, among whom 610 honours were distributed. The great and distin- 
 guishing feature of this display were the variety and beauty of the textile goods. 
 Printed cottons, silk and thread lace, blonde, cloth, imitations of Cachemere shawls 
 all these were conspicuous for their beauty in this exposition. Steel and iron 
 manufactures, also, presented great marked improvements. It is remarked by Mr. 
 Digby "Wyatt, that " the isolation, which for so many years separated in so great a 
 degree manufacturing France from the other producing powers of Europe, while it 
 placed her in rriany points of view in an unfavourable position, yet by forcing her 
 energies to supply alone what other kingdoms derived from mutual co-operation and 
 dependance on each other, laid the foundation for that facility and universality of 
 manufacture which so eminently distinguish her at the present dav." 
 
 6 2 
 
Vi INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 A long interval took place before France presented another exposition of industry. 
 Napoleon was incessantly engaged in wars, and the drain on the national Exchequer 
 for the support of his myriads of soldiers was continuous; and these circum- 
 stances probably tended to withdraw public attention from the more peaceful arts of 
 production. And even after the restoration of the Bourbons those who " forgot 
 nothing and forgave nothing," four years elapsed before the industrial displays 
 were resumed. At length, in 1819, the fifth Exposition was held in galleries con- 
 structed in the Court of the Louvre. It was open thirty-five days, and contained 
 articles contributed by 1662 exhibitors, among whom were distributed no fewer 
 than 809 medals and rewards of various kinds. Jacquard was again a prize-holder 
 on this occasion ; and the metal-workers, in steel, iron, bronze, plated goods, gold, 
 and silver, exhibited a great advance in skill. The dyers and the calico-printers, 
 too, came out in great force. 
 
 In 1S23, after an interval of four years, the sixth Exposition occurred. Like its 
 predecessor of 1819, it was held in the Louvre; but it had a longer existence, being 
 kept open fifty days ; there were 1642 exhibitors, and 1091 rewards given. Civil 
 engineering displayed, at this exposition, more notable features than any pre- 
 ceding one. 
 
 The seventh Exposition was held in the Louvre in 1827, and exceeded all its 
 predecessors in magnitude and duration; it lasted sixty-two days, had 1795 exhibi- 
 tors, and 1254 prizes and honorary recognitions. The steam-engine and its wonders 
 told more significantly in this exposition than in any former one, in the greater 
 regularity of finish given to various manufactured articles, and in the greater cheap- 
 ness and distribution of the products. Merinos had become an article of extensive 
 manufacture ; shawls, tulles, and blonds, were manufactured on a large scale ; silks 
 were, by the steam-engine, made to include products of the spun as well as the 
 thrown material : mixed fabrics of silk and wool had come into use ; cotton print- 
 ing had become available for the gown of the peasant as well as for the dress of the 
 peeress ; and the making of paper in sheets of endless length had become one oi 
 the conquests made by steam-power. 
 
 Charles X. was expelled, and Louis Philippe elected to the monarchy, in the 
 interval between the seventh and eighth Expositions ; but these exciting events did 
 not affect the general character of the Exposition of 1834. The site selected on 
 this occasion was the Place de la Concorde, on the four sides of which were erected 
 four pavilions. The exposition was open to public view during a period of sixty 
 days ; there were 2,447 exhibitors ; and there were 1,785 rewards and recogni- 
 tions distributed. M. Charles Dupin presided over the jury of this exposition, and 
 it had the benefit of his long and intimate acquaintance with the resources and 
 manufactures of France. Cylinder-printing of paper-hangings, the revival of the 
 arts of enamel and niello, India-rubber goods, artificial ultramarine these were 
 among the novelties of the display. 
 
 The ninth Exposition, in 1839, far excelled all that preceded it, in magnitude, 
 importance, and general excellence. The building constructed for it was in the 
 great square (Carr6 de Marigny) of the Champs Ely sees ; and comprised a grand 
 hall for the textile products of Mulhausen, a Gallery, and eight long apartments; it 
 occupied an area of 120,000 square English feet, and cost 14,5601. The exposition 
 lasted 60 days ; the number of exhibitors was 3,281, and the prizes and honorary 
 distinctions awarded were 2,305. Almost every department of French manufac- 
 tures was represented on this occasion. 
 
 "We shall presently speak of the Great French Expositions of 1844 and 1849 ; 
 but there are a few illustrative details concerning the mode in which our neighbours 
 manage these matters, which it will be interesting to notice here. 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. vii 
 
 In the management of these Expositions, as brought into a regular system within 
 the last few years, the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, once in five years, 
 commences the arrangements about twelve months be%re ihe stated period of exhi- 
 bition. He communicates with the various chambers of commerce throughout 
 France, to collect opinions and information that may be valuable. He presents a 
 report and estimates to the legislature, by whom a grant is made sufficient to cover 
 the whole expense of the undertaking. He appoints a central jury at Paris ; and 
 he empowers the prefects of departments to choose special juries. He controls 
 every proceeding up to the time of the opening of the exposition : and he is 
 responsible for the judicious expenditure of all the funds placed at his disposal. 
 A considerable portion of the grants made for these French expositions is derived 
 from fees paid on the granting of patents. 
 
 The offi.ce of the local special juries is a remarkable one, indicative of a thorough 
 centralised mode of proceeding. The special jury for each district has to deter- 
 mine how far the goods forwarded to the chief town of the district may be worthy 
 of admission to the exposition, and of transmission to Paris at the cost of the 
 state ; and it has to settle any minor local questions submitted to it by the central 
 jury. In this we see one among many examples of the different spirit in which 
 Englishmen and Frenchmen conduct their proceedings : in England our manufac- 
 turers would be very much inclined to rebel against a jury chosen not by them- 
 selves but by a magistrate, to pass judgment on their manufactured goods ; while 
 in France, these things are regarded as a mere matter of course. We must bear in 
 mind, however, that in France the state voluntarily lends a fostering hand to art, 
 science, manufactures, and literature ; whereas in England all these are left to 
 struggle into excellence as best they may. It seems to be agreed, moreover, that 
 the persons selected to form the special juries are really fixed upon according to 
 their fitness to judge on the matters submitted to them. The juries collect the 
 manufactured goods in the chief town of the district, and make the necessary 
 arrangements for forwarding them to Paris. 
 
 The central jury is a very important body, and always comprises names which 
 France delights (and properly so) to honour. The number of jurymen has increased 
 as the scope of the exhibition has become enlarged. In the first exposition the 
 number was 9 ; and this number increased gradually to 27, 44, 53, and 64 the 
 last being the number of the jury in 1849. Any one who is acquainted with the 
 names of distinguished living Frenchmen, will recognise many such among the 
 central jury of 1849 Arago, Blanqui, Chevallier, Chevreul, Didot, Dumas, Duperrier, 
 Dupin, Durand, Ebelman, Laborde, Mathieti, Moll, Payen, Peligot, Pouillet, Seguier, &c. 
 In the meetings of the jury, many important questions have to be decided. The 
 hearing of appeals from the special juries, the decision whether or not dealers 
 shall be admitted to exhibit as if they were manufacturers ; the consideration of 
 the claim of dyers to a share of the honours accruing in respect to fine specimens 
 of woven goods; the arrangements for setting models and machinery in motion ; the 
 exercise of a power of rejection, in respect to proposed exhibitors whose commer- 
 cial reputation is not satisfactory, such are among the matters which come before 
 their notice in the preliminary arrangement. 
 
 It is a curious circumstance, and one that shows how little has yet been done 
 towards a good classification of productive industry, that the juries have wavered 
 considerably in their opinions as to the best arrangement of the specimens in the 
 exposition and its catalogue. It is the same, in this respect, in France as in Eng- 
 land : all is yet in a tentative state ; systems are tried, to see whether they will 
 work well, and then abandoned if not satisfactory, and others substituted. Costaz, 
 Payen, Conite, Dupin, in France ; Ure, Babbage, Barlow, Fergusson in England all 
 
Vlll INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 have proposed modes of classification of manufactures. In the exposition of 1806, 
 M. Costaz adopted a topographical arrangement, according to the departments of 
 France whence the specynerifc were sent. In 1819 he attempted to classify all 
 arts into a sort of natural system ; but the separate headings amounted to thirty- 
 nine, and were found to be confused and inconvenient. In 1827 M. Payen adopted 
 a classification into five great divisions, arranging the arts according as they arc 
 chemical, mechanical, physical, economical, or (that sad interloper in most classifi- 
 cations) miscellaneous, in their nature. In practice this was found defective, for 
 two or even three of these characteristics often belong to the same manufacture. 
 In 1834 M. Dupin proposed and adopted a classification which was found to work 
 better than any which preceded it. He considered which among the many wants 
 of man are supplied by any one particular branch of manufacture : he viewed man 
 as a locomotive animal, a clothed animal, a domiciled animal &c., &c., and he traced 
 this multiform animal through his various daily wants and employments. He thus 
 arrived at a classification, in which all arts are placed under nine headings, according 
 as they contribute to the alimentary, sanitary, vestiary, domiciliary, locomotive, 
 sensitive, intellectual, preparative, or social tendencies of man. In 1839 the same 
 system was adopted. In 1844 and 1849 attempts were made towards an eclectic 
 combination of two or three of the above systems ; but it does not appear so 
 far as the materials are offered for forming a judgment that these systems pre- 
 sented any marked advantages. 
 
 In France the awarding of medals, decorations, and similar encouragements, is 
 carried to a much greater extent than in England, and is looked up to as matter of 
 great importance. We have the art of awarding medals twenty or thirty years 
 after they have been earned, and when the veteran recipients are fast dropping 
 into the grave. The medals of the French expositions have in some years exceeded 
 three hundred in number gold, silver, and bronze. These have indicated three 
 gradations of merit ; and two other gradations are indicated by " honourable men- 
 tion," and " favourable notice." In some cases the jury awards prizes to persons 
 who have rendered service to the industrial arts of a kind not susceptible of being 
 represented by productions exhibited in their name. 
 
 Our own country must now claim a little attention. 
 
 It is difficult to say when and where our first exhibitions of industry took 
 place ; for they have hitherto been, for the most part, combined with exhibitions 
 of fine arts and of curiosities, knick-knacks and trinkets, marvels and oddities. 
 Perhaps the Museum of the Society of Arts is best worthy of being placed at the head 
 of the list that dusty and old-fashioned looking museum, which so many persons 
 have visited for so many years. "We speak not so much of its present, as of its 
 past condition ; for what with " mediaeval exhibitions " at one time, and " modern 
 exhibitions " at another, this old museum has been somewhat thrown into the 
 shade lately. Those, however, who remember it in its old form, know that it con- 
 tained much which instructively illustrated the progress of manufactures. There 
 were specimens of Leghorn plait, in juxta-position with those improved British 
 specimens which the Society has done so much to encourage. There were speci- 
 mens of hemp and flax, designed to show how far England could grow these 
 important materials of manufacture. There were samples of Assam tea, and Assam 
 silk, of English silk, of English wool, of goats' hair ; all designed to test the 
 capability of Britain and her colonies in such productions. There were bits of 
 machine-lace placed by the side of other specimens of pillow-lace. There were 
 examples of the contributions which art may be said sometimes to make to the 
 cause of humanity such as fire-escapes, chimney-sweeping apparatus, teaching 
 
AT HOME AND ABEOAD. ix 
 
 apparatus for the deaf and the blind, magnetic mouth-pieces for needle-grinders, &c. 
 There were models of the safety-lamp, and of various other useful contrivances ; 
 there was, too, a somewhat extensive collection of pigments, oils, varnishes, cements, 
 and other substances used in the arts ; for this useful society does not confine its 
 operations to the encouragement of any art or manufacture in particular, but to the 
 advancement of productive industry generally whether in the raw material to 
 which manufacturing art is afterwards to be applied, or to the implements or pro- 
 cesses by which this manufacture is conducted. 
 
 We hardly know how to bring in the East India Company's Museum into our 
 list ; yet there are a few curiosities of manufacture in that most miscellaneous 
 assemblage. On one side are exhibited models of Asiatic ship-building, such as 
 the Chinese junk and the Sumatran proa ; on another are Burmese musical instru- 
 ments ; here we have models of Hindoo looms, ploughs, mills, bellows, coaches, 
 windlasses, pestles and mortars ; there we see a collection of sabres, daggers, 
 hunting-knives, pipes, and bowls. Specimens of dress from the Eastern Archipelago ; 
 painted tiles ; beads and glass trinkets ; models of Chinese villas, in ivory and 
 mother-of-pearl ; Chinese lanterns, of horn and other materials ; Chinese writing, 
 drawing, engraving, printing, and counting-machines ; palanquins and howdahs all 
 such are instructive, in respect to the insight they give concerning the arts in the East. 
 The Asiatic Society's Museum is very similar to the one just noticed, in so far 
 as regards the oriental nature of the contents. Here weapons of offence and defence 
 are very numerous spears, lances, javelins, darts, bows, arrows, swords, daggers, 
 knives, axes, rifles, muskets, pistols, firelocks, shields, and fighting-dresses. Among 
 other varied objects (which we only notice so far as they illustrate manufacturing 
 art) are vases and vessels of oriental workmanship ; Hindoo astronomical and 
 musical instruments ; a highly curious collection of japanned wicker baskets, with 
 specimens of the japan and varnish employed in their manufacture ; models of 
 Hindoo agricultural machines ; models of pagodas and temples, and of the car of 
 Juggernaut ; and a miscellaneous collection of articles of Chinese furniture and 
 personal decoration. 
 
 The United Service Museum has its few specimens of manufacturing skill, mostly 
 in connection with the arts of war, and mostly brought by military and naval 
 officers from foreign countries. Models of shipping and naval apparatus ; speci- 
 mens of life-buoys and safety garments ; models of gun-carriages ; a model of a 
 bridge of boats : a portable Russian camp-kitchen ; military dresses and accou- 
 trements ; grenades and shells these illustrate more or less the ingenuities of 
 manufacture. 
 
 Of a different nature is the Museum of Economic Geology, in so far as it exhibits 
 the materials rather than the results of manufacture. Everything that can illustrate 
 the mineral riches of our country is here instructively displayed. There are 
 models of mines, and of the machinery employed in working them ; there are 
 specimens of ore, and the various stages of its preparation ; there are sections of 
 strata, and of wells sunk through them ; there are specimens of coal, of clay, of sand, 
 and of the various materials on which skilled labour is afterwards to be employed 
 in short there are to be found within these walls the beginnings of the industrial 
 alphabet : the first link of the manufacturing chain. 
 
 If we view it aright, the British Museum is an exhibition of manufactures, as well 
 as of art, science, and literature. Let us take our stand for a time in the " Ethno- 
 graphical Room," and look around. This is one of the most instructive rooms 
 in the museum : it contains specimens illustrative of the manners, customs, arts, 
 and implements of various nations. The Chinese, the Hindoos, the Japanese, the 
 Africans, the North American Indians, the Peruvians, the Mexicans, the Guianians, 
 
INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 the Chilians, the Yacatans, the Esquimaux, the Australasians, the Polynesians, all 
 are represented ; and these representations do not relate merely to those nations, 
 but were made by them, so as to be indices of their manufacturing skill. Dresses, 
 ornaments, furniture, weapons, vehicles, buildings, instruments, vessels, toys, books 
 all are here to be met with, and all are full of instruction to one who brings an 
 observant mind in aid of an observant eye. 
 
 All the above six examples (and there are many others in London and the 
 country) are museums belonging to the nation or to public bodies, and are open 
 gratuitously. There is another class of exhibitions, in which the primary object ia 
 a pecuniary one the shilling, which every visitor pays for admission. Of course 
 the fostering of national manufactures cannot be looked for under such circum- 
 stances ; yet there have been many interesting collections displayed under such 
 auspices. We will briefly advert to a few of them. 
 
 Many into whose hands this sheet may fall will perhaps remember an exhibition 
 which was opened some twenty years ago, at or near the spot on which the 
 National Gallery now stands. It was a collection of manufactures, ornaments, 
 machines, and curiosities, of a somewhat attractive nature ; and was, we believe, 
 set on foot by the same society which afterwards instituted the Adelaide Gallery of 
 Practical Science. This gallery has changed its flag : it has given up science and 
 manufactures, and has succumbed to casinos and sherry-cobler. Yet we remember 
 when it was a really instructive exhibition. Besides the marvels of the steam- 
 gun, and of the combustion of steel, and the broiling of a beef-steak by a convex 
 lens, there were many arrangements of specimens which tended to illustrate the 
 processes of manufacture. Specimens of geological strata were grouped in one 
 place ; specimens of woods used in the arts, in another ; while there were many 
 groups, each of which contained a series illustrative of the successive stages through 
 which a manufactured article passes such as a knife, a fork, a file, a flask, a 
 button, a candlestick, a tea-pot, a needle, a pin, hooks and eyes, combs, hats, 
 glass, earthenware, silk goods, cotton goods, woollen goods, caoutchouc goods, &c. 
 In all these cases we had the rough, the partly -finished, and the highly finished 
 articles displayed for us, in such a way that we could trace its manufacturing 
 history in an intelligible series. These epochs in the history of a knife 
 were eight or ten, in that of a fork stih 1 more, in that of a needle no fewer than 
 nineteen. 
 
 Although the institution just named has slipped out of existence, its younger 
 sister, the Polytechnic Institution, still survives, and seems to gain strength as it 
 grows older. Its music, its lectures, its dissolving views, its semi-science, we have 
 not here to do with ; but its illustrations of manufactures have the same kind of 
 interest as those which have just passed under our notice. In the " Hall of Manu- 
 factures," just within the entrance ; on the floor and in the galleries of the great 
 saloon ; and in some of the rooms at the two ends of the building are various 
 specimens, which illustrate either the materials of manufactures, the finished articles 
 themselves, machines for aiding in manufactures, or moving powers for setting the 
 machines in motion. 
 
 Why should we not class Mr. Catlin's most unique Indian Collection among the 
 exhibitions of industry 1 Did it not illustrate the ingenuity and manufactures of a 
 remarkable people, as well as their features and their habits of life ? Though 
 the pictures were the main object of the collection, they were not the only 
 memorials of the Red Man. There were some of the real products of Indian manu- 
 facture. Among them was a wigwam or lodge of the Crow Indians, twenty-five 
 feet in height, and capable of sheltering eighty persons : it was brought all the way 
 from the Rocky Mountains. Then there were Indian cradles, lances, calumets, or 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. xi 
 
 " pipes of peace," tomahawks, scalping knives, bows, quivers, spears, shields, mens' 
 and womens' dresses, necklaces, mocassins, belts, pouches, war clubs, robes, mantles, 
 wampums, whistles, rattles, drums, &c. all of which displayed the mechanical art, 
 such as it is, of these children of the prairies. 
 
 The Chinese Collection was not this, too, an exposition of manufactures ? Bid 
 we not here find an admirable series of illustrations of the art, the invention, the 
 ingenuity, the mechanical contrivances of that remarkable people 1 When this 
 singular ship's cargo was brought to England in 1842, and when a capacious and 
 well-planned building was constructed for its reception, the Londoners and the 
 visitors to London flocked in thousands to witness the display ; and we believe 
 the general tendency of the spectacle was to raise the character of the Chinese in 
 the estimation of those who had before known so little of them. How wonderfully 
 exact were the models of all the manufacturing processes ! How life-like were 
 many of the scenes, representing mechanics in their accustomed dresses, pursuing 
 their accustomed avocations, with their accustomed tools, on the accustomed mate- 
 rial ! The ivory carvings, the inlayings, the turned work, the japan-work, the 
 basket-work, the jewellery, the cutlery, the silks, the cottons, the nankeens, the shoes, 
 the hats, the tools, the implements and instruments, the weapons all were there, 
 and all gave a most interesting insight into the industrial genius of that remarkable 
 people. 
 
 There have been many other exhibitions in this country (and we may suppose in 
 other countries likewise), in which manufacturing skill has been one of the points of 
 attraction, for which visitors are expected to be willing to pay. But we must 
 hasten to the remarkable Expositions of the last ten years : these we shall notice 
 in chronological order, including many both at home and abroad. 
 
 One of the first attempts to establish a temporary exhibition in the provinces, in 
 which specimens of manufactures were to fill a place in the programme offered to 
 visitors, took place at Manchester in 1839. It was held in the Mechanics' Institu- 
 tion, for whose benefit, as a commercial transaction, it was set on foot. The gentry 
 and the manufacturers lent, for the occasion, whatever they thought might be of 
 striking interest whether in pictures or other works of art, in machinery and manu- 
 factures, or in miscellaneous curiosities. The visitors were numerous, the funds 
 raised considerable, the satisfaction general ; and a hint furnished which future 
 years and other towns have not failed to use profitably. It is true that manufac- 
 tures bore anything than a lion's share in the assemblage ; still there was enough 
 to serve as a beginning : Mechanical Industry took its place by the side of Fine 
 Art ; and the- two have year by year been drawn into closer and closer communion 
 new ties bind them, as each becomes more and more developed. 
 
 Leeds, the metropolis of woollens, did not lose sight of the example furnished by 
 the metropolis of cotton. She, too, had a Mechanics' Institution ; and this insti- 
 tution was located in a building so poor and so comfortless, that the thought of 
 imitating Manchester arose the thought of raising funds towards the payment for 
 a new structure, by an exhibition of mingled art and manufactures. Let us not 
 think lightly of such an attempt because money was one of its motives : the money 
 was to be the return for money's worth, intellectually and otherwise, and was to be 
 worthily applied towards an educational and intellectual object. "Would that all 
 exhibitions could claim such a character ! The committee invited loans of such 
 objects as might be fitting for such an exhibition ; and the invitation was liberally 
 responded to. The pictures were very numerous, but the machinery was also varied 
 and interesting, and the result was that a considerable sum was realised for the 
 object primarily held in view. 
 
Xii INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 Liverpool, and other towns in the north, followed the example of Manchester and 
 Leeds ; indeed, wherever a Mechanics' Institution has existed, there has been an 
 incentive to such exhibitions, not met with where no such nucleus of association 
 exists. 
 
 The order of events now again takes us across the channel The tenth great 
 French Exposition, in 1844, was, like its predecessors, exclusively French, it was 
 a display of the industry of that nation ; and no one could glance around at the 
 tasteful and varied products exhibited at the countless forms which metal and 
 wood, glass and porcelain, fibre and sap, colours and chemicals, were made to 
 assume without feeling that such a nation must perforce occupy a lofty position 
 among the industrial workers of Europe. 
 
 The arrangements for this display were on a grand scale a scale which the 
 French know how to adopt in most of their public " demonstrations," whether 
 warlike or peaceful. A plot of ground was appropriated to this purpose in the 
 Champs Elysees, the Hyde Park of Paris. This ground comprised an area of more 
 than twenty thousand square yards, almost every inch of which was crowded with 
 the fruits of French industry and taste. Each front of the quadrangular building 
 presented a low, long, architectural composition, simple enough in its way pierced 
 by pedimented windows, and having a hexastyle portico in the centre. Two or 
 three of the competition drawings for the Hyde Park structure, sent in before the 
 Commissioners had determined on the adoption of Mr. Paxton's plan, and exhibited 
 at the rooms of the Institute of Civil Engineers, bore considerable resemblance to 
 the Paris structure of 1844. The grand entrance was on the north, with a "Royal 
 saloon " on the right, and a " Jury's saloon" on the left, of the portico ; at the centre 
 of the south side was a private entrance, with rooms for the Directors of the Ex- 
 position ; while at the centre of the east and west sides were gates for departure. 
 A palisade girded the whole building, at a distance of several yards from the walls ; 
 and within this palisade were a guard house, a depot for the fire-brigade, and clusters 
 of the coarser varieties of agricultural implements. 
 
 Such were the external arrangements of the building, which, in May 1844, was 
 thrown open to the gaze of the admiring Parisians. The hours for the general 
 public were between twelve and four o'clock each day ; but private admission was 
 obtainable at an earlier hour by means of tickets; and it indicated considerable 
 liberality of feeling, that any stranger who presented his passport at the gate was 
 admitted to the private view without further introduction. The contents of the 
 building were displayed in forty galleries or ranges of stalls, the avenues between 
 which had an aggregate length of more than five miles. In the centre of the whole 
 was a colossal statue of St. Louis, which served as a sort of guide in traversing the 
 numerous avenues. With a few exceptions here and there, a pretty general system 
 of classification was followed out the larger machinery and metal work being in 
 the centre, the textile fabrics mostly on the south side, the household furniture for 
 the most part on the north side, and the almost endless variety of ornamental 
 manufactures on the east and west. By far the greater number of the galleries ran 
 in ranges from east to west, but those at the ends extended north and south. A 
 visitor looking round him from the central statue, saw lengthened avenues of metal 
 goods of all grades and uses, steam-engines, fire-engines, spinning machinery, 
 throwing machinery, cutting and punching engines, mechanical inventions, stoves 
 and smiths' work, locks and keys, iron bedsteads, printing presses, jacquard machi- 
 nery, zinc work, &c. In other places the more fanciful and artistic applications of 
 metal met his view philosophical and mathematical instruments, balances, guns 
 and pistols, swords and bayonets, bronzes, clocks and watches, lamps, cutlery, 
 jewellery, daguerrotype plateai The products in which earths, minerals, or glass 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. xiii 
 
 bore a chief part, were represented by mirrors, cut glass, porcelain, earthenware, 
 marble and alabaster work, stuccoes, statuary, &c. The textile or woven collection 
 was most diversified as any one might expect, who knows how much attention is 
 paid in France to fancy articles in this department : here were woollen cloths, 
 carpets, draperies for hangings, mixed fabrics of cotton and wool, calicoes ; there 
 were silks, merinos, muslins, velvets ; and at other places damasks, shawls, em- 
 broidered goods, prints, handkerchiefs, mousseline-de-laines, tapestry, cachmeres, 
 &c. It was a remarkable feature in this section of the exhibition that cotton goods 
 the plain, every day, serviceable cotton goods bore but a very humble share in 
 the display: silk and wool greatly predominated over cotton. There is a deeper 
 reason than mere choice in this circumstance: it is typical of the relative importance 
 in France, of different departments of textile manufacture in England the strength, 
 commercial if not artistic, lies in another direction. There was not wanting, too, 
 for those whose curiosity led them to seek further specimens of dress, food to 
 satisfy the search : there were felted goods and hair-plaited goods, straw bonnets, 
 feathers, artificial flowers, &c. Chemical ingenuity presented its perfumery, its 
 soaps and candles, and its comestibles. The workers in wood supplied their pianos, 
 organs, billiard tables, cabinets, household furniture generally, and specimens of 
 inlaying; while the printers, the bookbinders, the paper-makers, the umbrella- 
 makers, the saddlers, the coachrnakers all put forth their claims to a meed of 
 approbation. The exposition was open sixty days; there were 3281 exhibitors, of 
 whom 2305 received honorary notices of one form or other. 
 
 The late King Louis Philippe, whose eventful life has so recently terminated, 
 took a most active part in the planning of this exposition. It will be a graceful 
 feature in the history of "the past, when the chequered events of his career become 
 recorded, that while often engaged in the turmoils of political strife he yet urged 
 his countrymen to achieve the peaceful victories of industry. And when the expo- 
 sition was opened, the King spent several hours a day, on many of the days (Mon- 
 days) when it was not open to the public, in a minute examination of the con- 
 tents, with a view of ascertaining, by the evidence of his own eyes, what his subjects 
 could or could not effect by the force of their own manipulative talent. It is re- 
 corded, too, that the chief manufacturers were recognized by the monarch aa 
 benefactors, as the nobles of industry, and were tioated by him accordingly: 
 
 " The King can mak' a belted knight, 
 A marquis, duke, and a' that, 
 But : " 
 
 We need not follow out Burns's thought: a king cannot make a manufacturing 
 people ; but he can give them kindly countenance in their efforts to make them- 
 selves such. And what is graceful in a King, can hardly be otherwise in a Prince 
 Consort. 
 
 It was in May of the next following year, 1845, that the great "Free Trade 
 Bazaar" was held in Covent Garden Theatre ; a bazaar which had a bustling and 
 exciting existence of about twelve days. Pity it was, perhaps, that such a credit- 
 able and honourable display should be indissolubly connected with a great political 
 movement, which drove men into two antagonistic parties, and gave a party-colouring 
 to an industrial developement. But whatever may be said of national exhibitions, 
 it can hardly be doubted that those of an inter-national character such as that 
 which is looked forward to by all the world in 1851 are essentially dependent on 
 liberal commercial principles for their due carrying out, nay, for their very origin ; 
 and even if this position were disputed, the industrial results of the bazaar may be 
 studied without reference to any disputed commercial doctrines. 
 
 What, then, were the aspects which the bazaar of J 84 5 presented? Manufacturers 
 
Xiv INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 in various parts of the country, favourable to those commercial views which were enter- 
 tained by the managers, sent up to this Bazaar the choicest productions of their skill. 
 The theatre was skilfully arranged for this occasion. The stage, orchestra, and pit 
 were all floored over to make one large hall, while the boxes and walls presented a 
 vertical surface for a gorgeous display of the products of industry. The centre of 
 the vast area was so fitted up with ranges of stalls, as to -leave convenient avenues 
 between the stalls and the sides of the building ; and the stream of visitors was so 
 judiciously directed, that by following a certain route every stall and stand came 
 successively under the notice of the eye. The visitors were admitted by the room 
 which was then known as the Shakspere gallery, but which Mr. Albano has probably 
 since demolished in his transformation of a temple of Shakspere into a temple of 
 Apollo. From thence the body of the house was entered at the back of the pit ; 
 and the moving multitude passed round the north, west, and south sides in succes- 
 sion emerging at the back of the pit, but by a different door from that which 
 furnished admittance. The extreme western end was occupied as a refreshment 
 room ; but all the rest of the area was appropriated to specimens of manufacture. 
 The arrangement of these specimens was striking and interesting ; for each manu- 
 facturing town had its own stall or group of stalls. Every stall had inscribed over 
 or within it, in characters which were made to bear part in the general decorations, 
 the name of the town to whose industrial products it was set apart. Thus each 
 town told its own tale : each made its appeal to the spectators in a mode more 
 forcible than mere words could do. The social history of each body of artisans was 
 written in the display of goods exhibited in the stalls of the towns to which they 
 belonged. A sort of industrial map of Britain was presented by the whole assem- 
 blage, in which the skill and labour and capital of each town's population were 
 indicated, much as a geological map exhibits the relative distribution of mineral 
 wealth beneath the soil. 
 
 Nor were the great manufacturing towns of the north the only foci of industry, 
 whoso names were inscribed on these walls. If Lancashire had representatives 
 from Manchester, Boltou, Rochdale, Bury, Blackburn, Ashton, Staleybridge, Liver- 
 pool, Lancaster and Preston; if Yorkshire were represented by Leeds, Halifax, 
 Bradford, Huddersfield, York, Hull, Barnsley, Wakefield, and Sheffield ; if Cheshire 
 sent its delegates from Warrington and Stockport ; so did other parts of the north 
 send their industrial products from Carlisle, Newcastle, Stockton, &c. ; Scotland, 
 from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Paisley, and the far distant Shetlands ; the Mid- 
 land Counties, from the Potteries, Northampton, Dunstable, Luton, Dudley, Bir- 
 mingham, Wolverhampton, Kidderminster, Leicester, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham, 
 Norwich ; the west from Swansea, Exeter, Bristol, Coalbrookdale ; while a sprinkling 
 of towns in the east and south found a few hives for their working bees. The 
 display of beautiful forms and colours was almost as unquestionable as the excel- 
 lence of the handy work: we say "almost" for it is well to leave a loophole for 
 any improvements, in the aesthetic relations of manufacturing art, which our con- 
 tinental neighbours may suggest to us next year. The much disputed point of the 
 inferiority of English taste to French taste, and the amount of difference if difference 
 there be, will never be decided except by a more extended and a more direct com- 
 parison than has yet been presented in any one collection. Our manufacturers 
 know the length and breadth of the field in which they have to contend : they know 
 in which departments of industry they have the reputation of taking the lead before 
 all the world, and in which they are supposed to lag somewhat behind ; and the 
 time has arrived for them to prepare for the battle, armed with the best of all 
 weapons perseverance, supported by science, adorned by art, and quickened by 
 invention. 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. XV 
 
 Every one who has a moderate acquaintance with the localization of manufactures 
 in this country, will form a judgment of the kind of products exhibited in each 
 department of the bazaar. How every combination of cotton fibres which ingenuity 
 can devise, were exhibited in the Lanacashire sections ; how the West Riding gloried 
 in its broad cloths from Leeds and Halifax, its merinoes from Bradford, its many- 
 coloured fancy cloths from Huddersfield, its linens and damasks from Barnsley, its 
 cutlery from Sheffield ; how Nottingham produced its bobbin-net and its cotton 
 hosiery, Leicester its worsted hosiery and its warm lambs' wool garments for 
 winter, Derby its silk hosiery, Coventry its ribbons, and Norwich its shawls and 
 bombazeens ; how North Staffordshire was represented by its exquisite porcelain, 
 and South Staffordshire by its countless varieties of useful articles in iron and steel, 
 Birmingham by its products in almost every metal that has yet been brought within 
 the range of manufacturing art all this needs scarcely be told. Besides the ordinary 
 products of the workshop and the factory, there were specimens highly interesting for 
 the novelty which they presented. There was a roll of tissue paper a mile in length, 
 made from the fibres of worn-out coal-pit ropes ; a tapestry copy of one of Land- 
 seer's pictures, containing three quarters of a million of stitches ; bobbin-net for ladies' 
 dresses, with a printed pattern impressed on it ; horsehair covers for chairs, damasked 
 both in pattern and in colour ; copies of the " Queen's Apron," made from the wool 
 of an Alpaca belonging to her Majesty ; muslin printed in gold by the electro-me- 
 tallurgic process, &c. 
 
 The same year, 1845, calls our attention to another part of Europe one of the 
 German states. Bavaria has been the first country to provide & permanent building 
 for the holding of Industrial Exhibitions. It was fitting that a monarch who had 
 adorned Munich with such choice works of art, who had built such structures as 
 the Glyptothek and Pinakothek as depositories for sculptures and pictures, who 
 had fostered the genius of Von Klenze in architecture, Schwanthaler in sculpture, 
 Kaulbach in encaustics, Cornelius and Schnorr in frescoes it was fitting that such 
 a sovereign should hold out a hand of encouragement to industrial art, which pre- 
 sents so much to, and receives so much from, art in its higher acceptation. 
 Ludwig of Bavaria will be remembered for all this, when his foibles are forgotten. 
 It was in 1845 that the building above alluded to was finished ; and the site 
 chosen for it was near the Glyptothek a neighbourhood of good augury. The 
 sides of the building are relieved from absolute plainness by ranges of pilasters, 
 supported by a rusticated basement, and supporting a cornice ; but the spaces 
 between the pilasters are plain wall, without windows. In the centre of the prin- 
 cipal front, towards the Konigsplatz or King's Square, is a portico of fine propor- 
 tions octastyle, Corinthian, and elevated on a lofty flight of steps. The pediment 
 contains sculptures from models by Schwanthaler. In the centre is an emblematic 
 figure of Bavaria enthroned, and surrounded by figures representing sculpture, 
 architecture, painting, encaustic printing, glass painting, metal casting, coining and 
 inedalling. - The extremities and summit of the pediment exhibit two sculptured 
 lions and a phoenix. The interior of the building contains a vestibule and seven 
 large apartments, lighted from the top ; besides which there are two rooms and 
 two corridors lighted by windows. Below the main suite of rooms are warerooms 
 for unpacking the articles sent for exhibition, and apartments for the officers of 
 the establishment. The area of flooring in the exhibition rooms is somewhat 
 under 2,000 square yards consequently less than one-tenth of that presented by 
 the Paris structure of 1844 ; the flooring is of oak, diversified into pattern by 
 parquetry. The walls are tastefully painted, in subdued colours ; the ceiling is 
 coffered, and so provided with skylights as to diffuse an equable light over the 
 rooms ; and the roof is covered with metal The building is fitted for the recep- 
 
XVi INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 tion either of works of art or of manufactures. The first exhibition was of the 
 former kind : comprising pictures, drawings, lithographs, statues, busts, medals, 
 stained glass, &c. 
 
 Manchester presented its "Exposition of Industrial Art " in 1846, under the 
 auspices of the Directors of the School of Design in that town, and within tho 
 walls of the Manchester Athenaeum. The Free Trade Bazaar, at Covent Garden 
 Theatre, had had one unfavourable feature attached to it : in so far as it was a 
 bazaar, anything and everything was saleable, if purchasers presented themselves. 
 Consequently many of the stalls were emptied of their contents within a day or 
 two after the opening of the assemblage. The manufacturers were not by any 
 means dissatisfied with such a result ; while the lady stall-keepers were anxious to 
 present as favourable a cash-balance as possible, in respect to the object for which 
 they had become amateur tradeswomen. It did not follow that this circumstance 
 should necessarily and directly vitiate the advantages likely to result from a 
 grouping together of the industry of all England ; because there was a general 
 desire to produce the best in each class ; but still it had a tendency to induce the 
 depositors to send a large per centage of trinkets and mere ornaments, instead of 
 productions of a more permanent and solid character. The French have always 
 been averse, in their expositions of industry, to anything which may approach the 
 bazaar system ; and it is evident that the real influence of example, of honourable 
 rivalry, in the production of excellence, ought at such places to be kept free from 
 any immediate alloy of bartering and commercial transactions. It is to give pro- 
 ducers an opportunity of learning from and profiting by each other, and to the 
 rest of the world an opportunity of seeing what industrial art has in store for 
 them, that the exhibitions are valuable the buying and selling are to be the fruits 
 of after growth. 
 
 At Manchester the specimens exhibited bore immediate relation to the manu- 
 factures of Lancashire, rather than to the manufacturing counties generally ; but 
 still there was a very varied and beautiful collection ; and the exhibitors strove 
 earnestly to show that a high order of decorative art is now exhibited by the 
 manufacturers, aided in part by the instructions which pattern-draughtsmen receive 
 from the several Schools of Design. Being under the management of the directors 
 of the Manchester School of Design, this exhibition was made a means of showing 
 the progress of the pupils : many specimens produced by the pupils being placed 
 around the walls of the exhibition rooms. Prizes were given, not only for the 
 best designs, but also for the best fabrics to which new designs had been trans- 
 ferred. Amongst the productions for which prizes were awarded were a six- 
 coloured mousseline-de-laine, calico-prints in a single colour each, furniture prints 
 or chintzes, models of flowers and natural objects, designs for a single-colour 
 printed muslin, &c. The miscellaneous articles comprised carpets of singular 
 beauty ; porcelain and pottery of every class from the costliest table-services to 
 the humble but neatly formed vessel of earthenware ; papier-mache furniture and 
 ornaments ; wood-carvings, produced both by hand and by machine ; furniture 
 and cabinet work ; Spitalfields and other silk goods ; bronze and iron castings ; 
 glass manufactures ; Paisley shawls ; wool-mosaics; cabinets and other articles in 
 embossed leather ; paper-hangings ; caoutchouc manufactures, &c. One of the 
 specimens exhibited had that kind of interest which attaches to all attempts to 
 introduce a new manufacture, a new material, or a domestication m England of a 
 culture usually belonging to other countries. The specimen in question was a rich 
 brocade, made from silk reared in England. That silk-worms can be fostered and 
 reared in England, is well known to thousands who have derived an innocent and 
 instructive amusement from the pursuit ; and that attempts have been made time 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. Xvii 
 
 after time, to introduce the culture as a commercial enterprise, is equally known 
 to that smaller number of persons who have attended to the history of manufac- 
 tures. The piece of brocade exhibited was a counterpart to another piece pre- 
 sented to and accepted by the Queen : it was presented by Mrs. Whitby, a lady 
 who, had reared the delicate creatures which produced the silk. This lady, with a 
 motive and a perseverance which deserve all praise, devoted eight or ten years to 
 a continuous study of the subject ; she imported into England above a thousand 
 mulberry trees from North Italy ; she planted them in the grounds of her estate 
 near Lymington ; she fed and tended the silk-worms upon the Italian plan ; she 
 purchased winding-reels, heating apparatus, and other appliances necessary for 
 the work ; and she finally produced silk which was pronounced by competent 
 authorities worthy of being woven into costly tissues. This is not the place to 
 discuss the reasons why such enterprises have never yet been commercially suc- 
 . cessful in England, owing to rate of wages, uncertainty of climate, and other cir- 
 cumstances ; but it is the place in which to join in an expression of thanks to a 
 lady who so laudably makes experiments on the actual capabilities of the system. 
 
 It was understood, at the time of the Manchester Exposition, that many of the 
 manufacturers were deterred from sending specimens of their choicest patterns, by 
 dishonesty on one side and defective law on the other. A sad blot this ! The 
 small calico-printers (small in morals as in capital) have been wont, too many of 
 them, to avail themselves of patterns which have been provided and paid for by 
 the owners of larger establishments. And this not when the pattern has had its 
 day, and remunerated its inventor but immediately on its publication ; and being 
 free from artistic charges, they have been able to undersell the real owners of the 
 pattern. The wholesale dealers, who are the immediate purchasers from the manu- 
 facturer, notified in some cases their determination not to purchase goods, the 
 new patterns of which had been publicly exhibited : on the ground that the patterns 
 might be copied by other printers, and sold to other dealers at lower prices. It 
 would not be difficult to show that even in respect to these minor manufacturers 
 " Honesty is the best policy." The bearings of legal protection on artistic and 
 mechanical inventions are more fruitful in results than many readers suppose. 
 
 Belgium came forward in 1847, with her "Exposition de I * Industrie Beige" 
 Brussels became in July of that year, a centre of attraction to those who wished to 
 witness the progress of manufacturing art in that country ; it was the third exhibi- 
 tion of the kind since Belgium became politically severed from Holland ; and it 
 received all the eclat which the presence of royalty and of official dignitaries could 
 give. None of the ordinary buildings of Brussels being large enough for the occa- 
 sion, the specimens were exhibited in the Nouvel Entrepdt on the quay, a large 
 square edifice connected with commercial matters. The building is placed in close 
 vicinage to the navigation system and the railway system of Belgium, and has thus 
 admirable facilities for the transport and admission of manufactured products. The 
 Entrepdt in its ordinary commercial arrangement, has an open court in the centre ; 
 but on that occasion the court was covered in, to form a large middle hall, while 
 the surrounding building was laid out in galleries. Every available yard of space 
 was occupied. Upwards of one thousand persons or manufacturing firms sent 
 specimens for exhibition. 
 
 Some of the towns of Belgium have been so long celebrated for the exquisite 
 specimens of workmanship which the lace-makers are able to produce, that a dis- 
 play of such articles was naturally to be expected at the Brussels exhibition. It 
 was stated that on that occasion Brussels lace was exhibited, made of thread so 
 exquisitely fine, that one pound weight of it was worth 3,500 francs 140 sterling. 
 Linen thread worth three times its weight in pure gold ! This is indeed a striking 
 
XViii INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 exemplification of the manner in which labour imparts value to raw material. The 
 lace, the damasked linens, the diapers, the table-cloths, these were among the 
 choicest productions exhibited. As to the Brussels point-lace veils and robes, they 
 are so enormously costly, that none but the wealthy can purchase them. On the 
 occasion in question, an exquisite handkerchief, covered with the richest design, 
 was exhibited, made of the costly thread just alluded to : a thread so gossamer- 
 like, that a single filament was scarcely visible, even when backed by a blue ground. 
 One specimen was a handkerchief worked for the Queen of Spain, and valued at 
 5000 francs or 2001.1 Here pure gold sinks fairly beneath notice, as a standard 
 of comparison ; we might almost venture to say that such an application of linen 
 thread is worth its weight in diamonds. Belgium is rich in various kinds of pottery 
 and porcelain ; but in artistic taste she scarcely comes up to her neighbour, France, 
 whose designs are rather servilely copied. Liege is skilled in metallic manufac- 
 tures, many of which adorned the exhibition. Among articles in glass were tables, 
 an inch in thickness, exquisitely veined or streaked in colours ; they pointed out 
 one of the many novel applications for which this beautiful material is adapted. 
 
 As, in England, the glass duties of past years tended to repress invention and 
 enterprise in that most attractive branch of manufacture ; as our window duties 
 interfere both with our freedom of ventilation and with the architecture of our 
 private houses ; as our soap duties offer a kind of premium for unwashed faces and 
 unwashed garments ; as our Insurance duties are a direct discouragement to pru- 
 dence and forethought so in Belgium certain fiscal arrangements play sad havoc 
 with the free encouragement of manufactures. An annual tax is laid on all house- 
 hold furniture, in the form of a per centage on the assessed value. The consequence 
 is, that the Belgian nobleman spends his fortune rather on pictures and other un- 
 taxed luxuries, than on furniture. This is ah 1 well for the pictures, and for those 
 who paint them : it is all well for those who are employed in the productions which 
 escape the impost ; but it presses hard on those whose time, talent, and capital are 
 expended on the production of the ordinary kinds of household furniture. Most 
 of the Belgian houses are thus under-furnished : their domestic accommodations do 
 not correspond with the wealth of the owner : there is baldness, bareness, cheap- 
 ness, where else there might be a fair exercise for the display of the ever-varied 
 products of industry in these departments of manufacture. Inventors, mecha- 
 nicians, artists, philosophers all may combine to aid the progress of manufac- 
 turers ; but unless governments float with the stream, there will ever be a hindrance 
 of one kind or other. 
 
 In the management of the Brussels exhibition, encouragement was sought to be 
 given to ingenuity and talent, by awarding prizes to the most deserving exhibitors. 
 The delicate task of awarding these prizes was entrusted to a jury, formed of a 
 number of scientific persons deputed by the government ; they were to examine 
 all the articles displayed, and report on their merits ; the government gave the 
 prizes in accordance with the report ; and a copy of the report was ordered to be 
 presented to the minister and consul of every foreign power. The exhibition days 
 were thus arranged on Sundays, "Wednesdays and Fridays, free admission was 
 granted between the hours of ten and three ; on Mondays, Thursdays and Satur- 
 days, between the same hours, the admission was by tickets, for which half a franc 
 each was charged ; on Tuesdays the exhibition was open only for the Commissioners 
 and privileged persons. All the half-francs thus taken were distributed to the 
 hospitals of the Ursulines and St. Gertrude. In those cases where manufacturers 
 had been put to greater expense than usual in preparing specimens for exhibition, 
 the commission contrived a sort of Art Union lottery for their benefit ; tickets were 
 sold at ten francs each, to any who chose to embark in the lottery ; and with the 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. XIX 
 
 produce of those tickets, specimens were purchased by a managing committee 
 such works being selected as were costly, rather for the labour bestowed upon them 
 than for the value of the material. 
 
 We turn from Belgium to France. That France should have been able to 
 produce such an Exposition as that of 1849, after such a year of tumult as 1848, 
 speaks much for her elasticity. Whether for fighting or dancing, for barricading or 
 manufacturing, her children throw a wonderful amount of energy into their pro- 
 ceedings, and untiring ingenuity in finding out means for setting their plans in 
 operation. 
 
 The building for the Exposition of 1849 occupied the same site as that for 1844, 
 between the great avenue of the Champs Elysees and the river Seine ; but it was 
 very much larger. It was about 675 feet long, by 328 wide, exclusive of the space 
 for the agricultural department, and covered an area of 240,000 square feet about 
 one-third the area of the building in Hyde Park. Around the four sides of the 
 building extended a gallery about 90 feet wide, divided into two avenues by a 
 double range of pilasters ; the whole width of gallery was so arranged, that there 
 were four passages for visitors, two rows of manufactured goods on stalls, two rows 
 placed against walls, and one row between and around the pilasters. The interior 
 area of the great quadrangle was crossed by two transverse galleries, which thus left 
 three courts ; one court contained a beautiful fountain and a horticultural collec- 
 tion ; another had an immense reservoir ; and the third contained specimens of 
 large metal-work. In addition to the main building was a shed of large dimensions, 
 about 300 feet long by 100 in width, appropriated to the reception of agricultural 
 implements and live stock for it was one feature of this Exposition, as compared 
 with its predecessors, that the skill of the grazier was represented as well as that 
 of the manufacturer. The entire range of buildings was constructed of wood, and 
 roofed with zinc; the cost was about 16,000?. the materials becoming the pro- 
 perty of the contractors after the termination of the Exposition. The number of 
 Exhibitors was 4,494. The display was open to the Parisians for a period of fifty- 
 six days ; and the admission was gratuitous on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 
 and Saturdays, between the hours of eleven and five ; on Thursdays the admission 
 was charged one franc, towards a fund for the aid of the poor ; and Mondays were 
 appropriated to the Jury who were, at their leisure, to award the prizes for the 
 various articles exhibited. At hours before and after the public exhibition, on all 
 the days, admission was given by tickets, to learned foreigners, distinguished 
 personages, representatives of the public press, &c. 
 
 In glancing over the plan of the building, and the arrangement of the manufac- 
 tures, as given in Mr. Wyatt's Report, the eye fails to catch any very marked 
 system of classification, although two systems have evidently been attempted the 
 topographical and the material. Thus, on the west side we see " Parisian" goods; 
 while on various parts of the north and south sides are named the departments and 
 towns of Gard, Rh6ne, Lyons, Roubaix, Elboeuf, Haut-Rhin, Rouen, Sedan, Troyes, 
 Orne, Nord, Turcoing, and Rheims. But the classification according to the mate- 
 rials of manufacture is somewhat more distinctly marked, though an arrangement 
 according to uses is also observable. We have, for instance, in pretty near approxi- 
 mation one to another, the whole range of textile goods from coarse flannels and 
 thick woollens to gorgeous ribbons and delicate laces ; in another department are 
 miscellaneous articles of dress, such as artificial flowers, feathers, stays, wigs, shoes, 
 boots, furriery, hats, hosiery, gloves, &c. ; musical instruments have a department 
 to themselves ; costly articles of various kinds are collected at the " Parisian" or 
 western end, including clocks, watches, jewellery, bronzes, porcelain, weapons, 
 lamps, painted glass, &c. ; along the south side are household furniture and chemi- 
 
XX INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 cals, in two great divisions ; while the east end is chiefly occupied by metal work 
 and machinery. The difficulties which the arranger of this collection had to over- 
 come, and the wavering balance of his opinions, may be read by a glance at the 
 engraved plan. Our Hyde Park Committee or Managers will find the classification 
 of their treasures not among the least of their weighty difficulties. 
 
 The Birmingham Exposition of Industry, opened in September, 1849, was one of 
 a peculiarly interesting character ; for the town of Birmingham naturally contri- 
 buted towards it more largely than any other town, and Birmingham carries on a 
 greater variety of manufactures than any other town (perhaps) in the kingdom. 
 This industrial display was planned to take place at the same time as the meet- 
 ing of the British Association at Birmingham ; and there could hardly be a happier 
 mode of establishing the union and mutuality of science and art. It was held at 
 Bingley House, in Broad-street, which was fitted up with a long array of exhibition- 
 rooms. Members of the British Association were admitted free : other visitors 
 paid a charge of one shilling each ; but arrangements were made for admitting 
 schools and bodies of workmen at much lower prices. 
 
 The electro-plate which now constitutes such an important department of Bir- 
 mingham manufactures formed one of the most attractive portions of the exposition. 
 If regarded as a substitute for solid silver goods, this beautiful new product would 
 have the bad character of being a sham a mere coating of costly metal on a sub- 
 stratum of cheaper metal ; but if we regard it as an improvement on the silver- 
 plating of past times, its true character comes out at once : both are examples of 
 coating copper or some other metal with silver; but the electro process has shown 
 itself to be far the better of the two. The old massive but clumsy tea-service, 
 with its heavy style of ornament, is superseded by a lighter and more graceful pro- 
 duction, in which the utmost delicacy of decoration is quite compatible with sound- 
 ness of workmanship. In an another article, too, viz., papier mache, Birmingham 
 has made similar advances within the last few years. 
 
 All the most distinguished manufacturers contributed towards the Birmingham 
 collection. The metal- work for church decoration, exhibited by Messrs. Hardman, 
 were strikingly illustrative of a branch of art at present in high favour. The 
 castings in bronze and iron were beautifully executed, showing that Birmingham 
 has risen nearly, if not quite, to a level with the celebrated Berlin iron-founders. 
 Among the specimens exhibited in this department were a pair of richly cast 
 gates for the Fitzwilliam Museum, a chandelier for her Majesty, and a tripod (in 
 imitation of one of those submerged at Pompeii) for the Duke of Sutherland. An 
 elegant combination of brass-work with porcelain and with turquoise-glass formed 
 the material of many specimens exhibited a material which many of our readers 
 may have seen as applied to fanciful ornamental productions. Stamped brass-work 
 is "now becoming extensively employed in house-fittings and furniture ; and Bir- 
 i, with great propriety, exhibited the skill which she has attained in this 
 ictive feature in the exhibition was afforded by a series of specimens 
 id pottery, designed to illustrate the progress of the plastic arts in 
 this country. First came a group of beer-mugs and drinking-jugs, made in the 
 time of Queen Elizabeth, of coarse clay covered with brown glaze ; then came a 
 candlestick and drinking cups, of a somewhat later date ; then several specimens 
 of the date of William and Mary, glazed with salt instead of with lead ; then a 
 collection of cups, plates, tureens, and other articles, made in the time of George II., 
 with light-coloured ornaments in relief on a dark ground ; then the improved ware 
 of the latter half of the last century, when Dorsetshire clay came into extensive 
 use, and when improved modes of glazing were adopted : and lastly, the exquisite 
 productions which resulted from the liberality, the ingenuity, and the enterprise of 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. Xxi 
 
 Wedgwood. Such a serial collection as the one here alluded to forms the best 
 history of the department of mechanical art to which it relates. The modern pro- 
 ductions of the Staffordshire Potteries were of course amply represented at the 
 Birmingham Exposition. Of the miscellaneous iron manufactures, any one who 
 knows Birmingham and its industry may easily conceive how richly they were 
 illustrated on this occasion stoves and grates, fenders and fire-furniture, cast-iron 
 glass-frames and tables, hat-holders and umbrella-stands, letter-boxes and letter- 
 plates, tea-urns and coal-vases, gas-fittings, files, cutlery, screws, weighing-machines, 
 locks, keys, hinges, tools, springs, latches, wire, steel pens, gun-barrels all that 
 iron can be supposed fitted to produce (and a great deal that we could hardly 
 dream to be made of such a material) were here displayed. Engineering did not 
 fail to put forth its claims to admiration, in steam-engines, paper-making machines, 
 ticket-marking machines for railways, Baranowski's ready-reckoning machines, 
 tube-rolling machines, and a multitude of others. We cannot pass over the men- 
 tion of tubes and pipes, which are made in such incalculable quantities, and of such 
 various materials, in Birmingham, without quoting a pleasant scrap from the 
 Times relating to the sanitary merits of pipes : " Pipes appear to be the order of 
 the day. Pipes to let pure water in pipes to carry foul water out pipes for 
 warming, drainage, ventilation pipes to bring in gas for burning pipes to carry 
 off the products of combustion pipes to the rich man's marble bath-room pipes 
 to the poor man's brick-paved kitchen pipes for the fountains of St. James's 
 and pipes for the stinking cesspools of St. Giles's. For ornament and pleasure 
 for economy and cleanliness for health and comfort for arresting conflagration 
 and extinguishing pestilence pipes ! The whole sanitary question, indeed, may 
 be regarded as little more than a question of pipes." 
 
 The Birmingham Exposition was entirely successful. Nearly 100,000 persons 
 visited it. Free tickets were granted to the pupils of the School of Design, to 
 many school children, and to a large number of work-people. It is an instructive 
 proof that most of the visitors were busily-employed persons, who could only 
 snatch an hour or two to make this pleasant visit, that by far the greater number 
 of persons assembled at one time was between six and eight o'clock in the evening. 
 
 The Society of Arts has, within the last two or three years, done much to foster 
 a spirit of generous emulation in productive industry, by forming collections of 
 manufactures for exhibition. In 1849 there was one such display, notable for the 
 great beauty and variety of the specimens sent by our leading manufacturers. But 
 the year 1850 has been marked by the unique Mediaeval Exhibition, which we 
 must not pass over without a brief notice. 
 
 The Council solicited in all quarters, for the loan of specimens of middle-age art 
 and manufactures, for a limited period ; and this request was responded to most 
 liberally. Never before was there such a collection displayed to the British public 
 generally ; for it contained the gems of numerous private collections. There were 
 the most exquisite specimens of metal work, in casting, chiselling, engraving, chasing, 
 damascening, embossing, and pouncing ; the metals being gold, silver, copper, brass, 
 pewter, zinc, bronze, iron, and steel. There were beautiful carvings in box-wood, 
 ivory, alabaster, marble, sardonyx, jasper, and agate. There were enamels and 
 incrustations of the most elaborate description. There were clocks and watches 
 of middle-age workmanship ; and there were various specimens of armour and 
 weapons, notable for their high finish. The porcelain and pottery arts were repre- 
 sented by Delia Robbia ware, Majolica ware, old Flemish stone ware, Palissy ware, 
 Bottcher ware, and other kinds which exhibit artistic or manipulative skill. The 
 specimens of glass ware Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Venetian, and early German 
 were highly curious. Tapestry, embroidery, lace, embossed leathers, mosaic all 
 
Xxii INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS, 
 
 tended to swell the list of Mediaeval specimens in this highly interesting exhibition. 
 The Exhibition of Modern Industry, displayed at the Society of Arts at the same 
 time, does not call for much remark. It consisted of a small number of specimens 
 in silks, damasks, lace, velvet, poplin, shawls, carpets, papier macho", marqueterie, 
 glass, castings, carvings, modellings, &c. 
 
 Dublin has claimed its right to consideration as the centre of an Industrial Ex- 
 position. During the month of July in the present year, (1850) a very interesting 
 collection of manufactured products was exhibited, under the auspices of the Royal 
 Dublin Society, and in the rooms belonging to that body. The house of the Society 
 is a handsome structure, with a range of eleven Italian windows in width, and having 
 a garden and lawn in the rear. All the principal rooms were appropriated to the 
 reception of the specimens : such as the gallery, the Agricultural Museum, the Board 
 Room, the Corridor, the Hall, the Library, the Grand Staircase, the Schools, the six 
 rooms occupied as a Museum, &c. ; besides which there were an iron house and a 
 wooden-shed constructed on the lawn. Every apartment was divided into sections ; 
 every section was marked off into stalls or tables ; and every specimen was num- 
 bered and catalogued. 
 
 The catalogue prepared by the Society is an unusually complete and full one : so 
 good , indeed, that we may almost regret that it had only a temporary utility, ter- 
 minating when the exhibition was brought to a conclusion. It may be hoped that 
 a few copies of this catalogue will be preserved, for the sake of furnishing hints 
 to future catalogue makers in respect to industrial collections. It is an octavo 
 pamphlet of about 170 pages. At the beginning are thirteen lithographed plans, 
 showing the exact arrangement of the several floors of the building. Next conies 
 the catalogued enumeration of all the specimens exhibited, numbered in order 
 from 1 to 2,850. In most cases, all the specimens sent by one contributor are 
 numbered consecutively, grouped into one section, and entered in the same part of 
 the catalogue: where the name, occupation, and address of the contributor are 
 given. Near the the end of the catalogue is an alphabetical list of contributors' 
 or exhibitors' names ; with the room, the section, and the table appropriated to 
 each person's contributions, and the number of the specimen which begins the 
 group belonging to that person. Lastly, there is a classified list of the trades 
 represented at the exposition, and an alphabetical list of all the persons who sent 
 specimens illustrative of each trade. 
 
 This classified list shows how wide was the range embraced by this industrial 
 display : for it includes the following headings silks, linens, damasks, muslins, and 
 chintzes ; fringe and coach lace ; carpets and rugs ; woollen drapery ; hosiery ; 
 hats ; fancy work ; lace and embroidery ; hair work ; leather ; oil-cloth ; matting ; 
 cabinet-making ; picture frames ; carving and turning; lamps and lustres ; glass ; 
 marble ; porcelain and pottery ; watches and clocks ; precious metals ; electrotypes ; 
 iron work ; machines and engines ; fire-arms ; musical instruments ; philosophical 
 and mathematical instruments ; agricultural and horticultural implements ; car- 
 riages ; paper hangings ; printing ; bookbinding ; soap and candles ; perfumery ; 
 ink and blacking &c. The raw materials of manufactures did not form part of the 
 collection. 
 
 Many of the specimens exhibited could only be ranked as trinkets or curiosities ; 
 but by far the larger number bore immediately on the present state of the indus- 
 trial arts, especially in Ireland. Irish poplins and Irish linens were fittingly and 
 worthily represented ; and so were the damasks, taberets, and gold-tissued poplins, 
 which are manufactured in small quantity but of high excellence in Dublin. The 
 specimens of Limerick lace were especially interesting ; for the art of lace- 
 making was not known in that locality until about twenty years ago, whereas 
 
AT HOME AND ABROAD. 
 
 it is now an important adjunct to the industry of the place. In 1829 a 
 few young women were taken over to Limerick, to teach this art to various females 
 in the humbler grades of society ; and there are now at least one thousand women 
 and girls who are earning at the trade a living for themselves and their families, 
 Messrs. Lambert and Bury, lace manufacturers at Limerick, employ at the present 
 time about four hundred hands in their own establishment. If Ireland and its people, 
 its rulers and its agitators, would eschew politics once now and then, and try to 
 find a home for manufactures within that beautiful country, we should not hear so 
 much of starvation and of wrangling as we now do. The Limerick lace-manufac- 
 ture is a case in point ; and another is furnished by the muslin-embroidery which 
 is carried on so extensively in the neighbourhood of Belfast and Coleraine, where 
 there are many thousand females employed at this work by Glasgow firms ; im- 
 mense quantities of embroidered Scotch muslins are woven in Scotland, but 
 embroidered in Ireland. 
 
 Many of the articles exhibited were said to be " French materials, made up in 
 Dublin ;" but many were undoubtedly Irish, both in materials and in manufac- 
 ture ; among which were ornamental articles made of Irish bog-oak. There were 
 some copies or imitations of Irish antique ornaments, made from iron ore and gems 
 found on the Marquis of Waterford's estate. There were sets of tea-trays, elaborately 
 carved fire-screens, and small statuettes, in Irish bog-yew. Many of the exhibitors 
 drew attention to the fact, that the specimens exhibited by them, belonged to 
 branches of manufacture, which, though long and familiarly known in England, are 
 yet new to Ireland ; among such is wire-woven cloth for paper-making. Dr. Bagot, 
 of Dublin, sent a few remarkable contributions, interesting in an indirect manner 
 to manufactures and manufacturers. One was a collection of fuel-balls, used by 
 the peasantry of Tipperary ; they are usually made by women, who manufacture 
 them by mixing together culm and yellow day in proper proportions, and, whilst 
 gradually adding a sufficiency of water, work the ingredients into a mass with their 
 bare feet ; the mass is then formed into balls, which, when dry, are ready to use as 
 fuel. Another contribution by Dr. Bagot was a curious one, consisting of seven 
 specimens of " cod-liver oil," procured from different quarters. This oil is now 
 extensively employed on account of its powerful medicinal qualities ; and the speci- 
 mens were exhibited, to shew how great is the difficulty of knowing good from bad 
 qualities, and how much deception has crept into this branch of commerce; they 
 were charged from twenty-four shillings to forty-four shillings per gallon, and some 
 of them, (among which was the most costly specimen), contained no cod-liver oil 
 whatever, while others were adulterated with three-fourths their bulk of other and 
 commoner kinds of oil. 
 
 It would carry us into too wide a field were we to enter further into the arrange- 
 ment and contents of the Dublin Exposition. Suffice it to say that many of the 
 leading English manufacturers exhibited their strength in the excellence of the 
 specimens submitted : Hunt and Roskell their costly works in the precious metals ; 
 Elkingtons their wonderful productions in electro-plate ; the Copelands, the Min- 
 tons, the Ridgways, the Chamberlains, their exquisite works in porcelain ; Houlds- 
 worths, their beautiful Manchester silk goods ; Webbs, their curious hair-cloth 
 damasks ; Swainsons their chintzes from Preston ; Chubbs, their labyrinthine patent 
 locks ; Whitworths, their planing and screw-cutting machines ; the Ransomes and 
 the Croskills their agricultural implements, &c. 
 
 The Devonport Mechanics Institute has honourably followed in the path marked 
 out by its northern compeers. A new Hall and Subscription Rooms have been 
 recently opened in that town ; and it was thought that a graceful and fitting 
 mode of celebrating the event would be by assembling together specimens of art 
 
XXIV INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS. 
 
 and manufactures, sufficient to form an attractive exhibition. There were premiums 
 offered for models, paintings, drawings, photographs, and wood-engravings ; for inge- 
 nious inventions in machinery and manufactures ; for the best specimen of hand- 
 made Honiton lace ; the best specimen of embroidery ; the best specimen of arti- 
 ficial flowers or fruits ; the best map of Devon and Cornwall ; the best essay on 
 any practicable method of rendering productive the waste lands of Dartmoor ; and 
 the best mode of rendering fish an exportable article by a curative process. The 
 exhibition was opened in form, in September 1850 mostof the influential inhabitants 
 of Devonport and Plymouth taking part in it. Of the procession from the Town Hall 
 to the Mechanics' Institute ; of the speeches, and congratulations ; of the award of 
 prizes we need not speak ; nor of the specimens exhibited is it necessary to give 
 any lengthened notice ; for they could but resemble, so far as they went, manufac- 
 tures elsewhere. Models relating to naval architecture ; dresses and weapons from 
 distant countries ; models of steam engines and machinery, in great variety ; 
 mechanical implements of various kinds ; beautiful metal castings from Coalbrook 
 Dale ; specimens of porcelain, and of all the raw materials from which the porcelain 
 was made ; gutta percha manufactures, in their almost countless forms ; machine 
 wood -carvings ; manufactures in Cornish and Devonshire stone and marble ; 
 Limerick lace and Honiton lace ; Nottingham hosiery ; West of England cloths ; 
 damasks in hair-cloth such were among the varied manufactures, and materials 
 of manufactures, which the collection presented. 
 
 As the Devonport Exhibition was connected with an Institution for fostering the 
 cause of public education and the advancement of the Arts and Sciences; so, in 
 like manner was the Cornwall Exhibition, held also in September, 1850. The Royal 
 Cornwall Polytechnic Society is one of the most valuable of our provincial institu- 
 tions of this kind; its meetings and its journal are replete with interest ; and its 
 annual exhibitions serve to mark the progress of mechanical industry. These Exhi- 
 bitions have continued for nearly twenty years, the present being the eighteenth of 
 the kind. It was held in the Polytechnic Hall, at Falmouth, on the 18th of 
 September and three following days. The Judges or adjudicators, appointed by the 
 society, met two days before the opening of the Exhibition, to award premiums and 
 prizes for the best specimens exhibited. A bazaar was held at the same time, in 
 which specimens of Fine Art, Natural History, and Fancy Work were sold, to raise 
 a fund for the purchase of the freehold of the Polytechnic Hall ; but this bazaar 
 was wholly distinct from the Industrial Exhibition. It is scarcely necessary to give 
 any detailed notice of the contents. They could not but be similar, in their 
 general character, to those which have so often come under our notice during the 
 present sketch. There were, we may however mention, working models of the 
 whole of the machinery employed in the cotton manufacture ; there were diagrams 
 and maps illustrative of the cotton cultivation in India; there were improved 
 apparatus for descending and working the Cornish mines : and there were many 
 ingenious improvements in the arts of construction. 
 
 Such is a rapid glance at the principal Industrial Exhibitions, in our own country 
 and on the continent, which deserve attention. Of course .we do not profess to 
 have enumerated all such, nor would such a degree of amplitude be of correspond- 
 ing service. Enough has been Raid to give the reader a foretaste of what may await 
 him in the busy year 1851. and to serve as an Introduction to a CYCLOPEDIA OF 
 THE INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS. 
 
No. 2. 
 
KNIGHT'S CYCLOPAEDIA 
 
 OF THE 
 
 INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS. 
 
 A'B ACUS, in architecture, is the level tablet, 
 formed on the enriched capital of a column, to 
 support the horizontal entablature. 
 
 A'BACUS, an instrument employed to faci- 
 litate arithmetical calculations. One variety 
 consists of a frame, traversed by stiff wires, on 
 which beads or counters are strung so as to 
 move easily ; the beads on the first right hand 
 row are units, those on the next tens, and so 
 on. Such instruments are not now much em- 
 ployed. 
 
 ABANDONMENT. Before a person who 
 has insured a ship or goods can demand from 
 an insurer or underwriter the stipulated com- 
 pensation for a total loss of such ship or goods, 
 he must abandon or relinquish to the insxirer 
 all his interest in any part of the property 
 which may be saved. 
 
 ABATTOIR. An abattoir, in France, is a 
 slaughter-house, in a form which was first 
 adopted at Paris in 1810. There are three on 
 the north side of Paris, and two on the south 
 side, not far from the barriers, and about two 
 miles from the centre of the city. The cattle 
 markets for the supply of Paris are several 
 miles distant, and the cattle are driven from 
 them round the exterior boulevards to the 
 abattoirs, and consequently do not enter the 
 city. At one of the abattoirs each butcher has 
 his slaughter-house, a place for keeping the 
 meat, an iron rack for fat, pans for melting 
 it, and a place with convenience for giving 
 cattle hay and water, and where they may be 
 kept before being slaughtered. A fixed, sum 
 is charged for this accommodation, and in 
 1843 the fee was 6 francs for each ox, 4 francs 
 for a cow, 2 francs for a calf, and 10 cents for 
 a sheep. The income of the establishment, 
 arising from these fees, the sale of manure, &c., 
 was above 48,OOOZ. in 1842. An inspector is 
 appointed at each abattoir, and means are 
 taken to prevent unwholesome meat being 
 sold. There are slaughter-houses under pub- 
 
 TOL. I. 
 
 ic regulations in most of the continental 
 cities ; and those of New York and Philadel- 
 phia, and some other of the cities of 'the 
 American Union, are, it is said, placed on a 
 similar footing. 
 
 The great cattle-market in Smithfield, for 
 the supply of London, has existed above five 
 centuries, but the spot was originally a piece 
 f waste ground beyond the city, instead of 
 being, as at present, surrounded by a dense 
 population. The cattle sold in Smithfield 
 \larket amount annually to about 180,000, 
 and the sheep to about 1,500,000, and at least 
 this number are annually slaughtered within 
 the limits of the metropolis. There are 
 slaughtermen who kill for other butchers fre- 
 quently above a hundred head of cattle, and 
 perhaps five or six hundred sheep, every week ; 
 many butchers kill for themselves to a consi- 
 derable extent, and there are few who have 
 not accommodation for slaughtering and 
 dressing a few sheep, either in the cellar un- 
 derneath their shop, or in the rear of their 
 premises. The slaughter houses, for sheep, 
 in Newgate market, many of which are in 
 cellars, and in Warwick-lane, are close to 
 Newgate-street, and within a hundred and fifty 
 yards of Ludgate-street, two of the great 
 thoroughfares of London. 
 
 During the last few years searching en- 
 quiries have been made respecting the prac- 
 ticability of removing Smithfield market, and 
 establishing abattoirs for the metropolis in a 
 less crowded situation. The city authorities, 
 who levy considerable tolls in the market, 
 have resisted all proposals for removing it to 
 any place beyond their jurisdiction ; and the 
 contest has been (and still is) whether such a 
 removal, to Islington or elsewhere, shall take 
 place; or whether Smithfield market itself 
 shall be enlarged and improved. An opulent 
 projector, some years ago, expended upwards 
 of 100,0001. in the formation of a cattle market 
 
in Lower Islington; twenty -two acres of 
 land were appropriated; and the market was 
 efficiently provided with counting- houses, 
 offices, sheds, lairs, pens, wells, and everything 
 requisite for a market suitable for twice as 
 many cattle as are accommodated at Smithfield ; 
 while plans were arranged for abattoirs ad- 
 joining. The market was opened in 1833 ; 
 but this vast scheme failed, from various causes, 
 and the well-arranged area has ever since re- 
 mained wholly useless. To revive this mar- 
 ket, is one among many recent projects. 
 
 In 1847 a Committee of the House of Com- 
 mons enquired into the subject of Smithfield 
 market. The evidence was published, but 
 without any report on the part of the Com- 
 mittee. Among the items of evidence it was 
 stated that the largest Smithfield market-day 
 (down to the end of 1846) occurred in 1844 : 
 on one day in that year there were 5,C33 
 cattle and 39,920 sheep exposed for sale at 
 Smithfield. In the voluminous evidence, ex- 
 tending to 400 pages, every part of the sub- 
 ject received* much elucidation, and many 
 details were given concerning the abattoirs of 
 Paris ; but it became afterwards known that 
 the Committee were too much puzzled by 
 conflicting evidence to form any decided opi- 
 nion on the main question submitted to them. 
 
 Early in the session of 1849 Mr. Mackinnon 
 moved for the appointment of a committee 
 to enquire into the state of Smithfield market, 
 with a view either to its removal or its im- 
 provement. There was some opposition to 
 the motion ; but the committee was eventu- 
 ally appointed, and evidence was taken, bear- 
 ing on the subject. About the middle of the 
 year the report of the committee was pre- 
 sented ; in which it was stated that Smithfield 
 market, from its deficiency in size, and from 
 the inconvenience which was thereby created, 
 ought to be abolished ; that the area of a new 
 market, its site and locality, should be deter- 
 mined by the authorities of the city of Lon- 
 don, or, if they declined, by the government ; 
 that of the 5$ acres which Smithfield occu- 
 pies, 4 acres should be converted into a 
 pleasant open square, and the remaining 
 1J acres devoted to a range of handsome 
 buildings, the rents of which would proba- 
 bly go far to make up for the loss of tolls 
 sustained by the corporation. In a long 
 debate, Mr. Mackinnon pressed upon the go- 
 vernment the adoption of plans in conformity 
 with the report ; but the session passed away 
 without further results. 
 
 In the early part of 1850 a commission 
 investigated the whole subject, and reported 
 on the propriety of removing the market 
 from Smithfield ; but no legislative steps have 
 
 ABERDEENSHIRE. 4 
 
 yet been taken; and the city authorities are 
 still planning various improvements (to cost 
 500,000/.) in the existing market. Whilst the 
 authorities of the City of London are thus deli- 
 berating how they can best preserve a profit- 
 able nuisance, the sity of Edinburgh is building 
 an abattoir, that may be a model to munici- 
 palities who concern themselves for public 
 good. 
 
 ABERBROTHWICK, or ARBROATH, is 
 a sea-port town in Forfarshire, Scotland, at 
 the mouth of the small river Brothock. The 
 principal manufactures are, yarn spun from 
 flax and hemp, canvas, brown and bleached 
 linen, leather, cast-iron, and bone-dust. In 
 the town and suburbs there are 16 spinning- 
 mills, which are driven by the river. About 
 106 vessels belonged to the port in 1849. 
 There is a harbour-basin, faced with stone ; 
 and there are railways from Arbroath to For- 
 far and Aberdeen, and from Arbroath to 
 Dundee and Perth. 
 
 ABERDEEN is situated on the river Dee, 
 Scotland, where it is discharged into the Ger- 
 man Ocean. Old Aberdeen is on the south 
 bank : New Aberdeen on the north ; and the 
 two together had, in 1849, a population of 
 about 73,000. The harbour is spacious, and 
 is rendered safe by a pier of granite on the 
 north side of the Dee, which extends into the 
 German Ocean. 
 
 Aberdeen is a place of large trade, with 
 many manufactures of cotton, linen, and 
 woollen; extensive iron-works, ship-building 
 yards, (some for large steam -vessels,) and 
 manufactures of most of the articles connected 
 with ships and ship-building. The number 
 of sailing vessels registered at Aberdeen, in 
 January, 1850, was 368, with a tonnage of 
 62,234. There are upwards of 4,000 vessels 
 entered inwards and cleared outwards annu- 
 ally. There are fine fleets of steamers to 
 London, Leith, and Inverness. The foreign 
 commerce is chiefly with North America, the 
 East Indies, West Indies, Mediterranean, and 
 Baltic. Several ships were formerly employed 
 in whale-fishing, but that trade has entirely 
 ceased. The rivers Dee and Don supply a 
 large quantity of salmon, which are exported 
 to London and elsewhere. The value of the 
 Aberdeen granite, shipped to London and 
 other places, has sometimes exceeded 40,000/. 
 a year. A granite-polishing work has been 
 lately established. 
 
 ABERDEENSHIRE, Scotland, is chiefly 
 remarkable, in an industrial point of view, 
 for the exhaustless supply of granite which it 
 yields. This granite is frequently found dis- 
 integrated, at least in so friable a state as to 
 be easily dug into by the pickaxe and spade; 
 
AMES. 
 
 ABIES. 
 
 yet large blocks of fine building stone are fre- 1 White Spruce Fir, is found in the colder re- 
 quently quarried in the midst of a mass of ! gions of North America. The timber is of 
 disintegrated rock. The rivers Dee and Don I inferior quality. From the -fibres of the root, 
 supply large quantities of excellent salmon, macerated in water, the Canadians prepare 
 
 The Aberdeenshire canal runs from Aberdeen 
 to Inverury ; the chief traffic is in lime, coal, 
 dung, bones, and bark, carried up ; and stone, 
 slate, grain, and meal brought down. The 
 Aberdeen railway only touches the county ; the 
 Great North of Scotland Eailway (if con- 
 structed) will traverse it. About 10,000 acres 
 of the county are covered with wood, such as 
 birch, alder, poplar, and mountain ash. The 
 planted woods are chiefly larch and Scotch 
 firs. The fir timber of the forest of Mar is, 
 for size and quality, the first in the British 
 Islands. The quantity of Cultivated land is 
 but small. 
 
 The chief animals reared are cattle, sheep, 
 and horses, considerable numbers of Avhich 
 are despatched to London by steamers, which 
 may often be seen a little way below the 
 Tower. The cultivation of turnips has been 
 greatly extended in consequence of the facili- 
 ties afforded by steam navigation for conveying 
 fat cattle to the London market, and the con- 
 sequent increase of stock. 
 
 ABIES, is the botanical name for the in- 
 valuable genus of Fir trees. There are many 
 well-known species. The Abies Picea, or Sil- 
 ver Fir, is a native of the mountains of the 
 middle and south of Europe, in stony, dry, 
 exposed situations. Planks of indifferent 
 quality, on account of their softness, are sawn 
 from its trunk, which also yields Burgundy 
 pitch and Strasburg turpentine. Abies Bal- 
 samea, the Balm of Gilead Fir, is found in the 
 cold parts of North America ; it yields a clear 
 transparent greenish-yellow turpentine, which 
 is commonly known under the name of Cana- 
 dian Balsam. Abies Webbiana is a lofty tree," 
 whose wood seems to be valuable ; in India it 
 is used by plane-makers. Abies Can ad en sis, or 
 Hemlock Spruce Fir, is a noble species, rising 
 to the height of seventy or eighty feet. The 
 wood is of little value, being neither sound 
 nor durable: it is chiefly employed for the 
 manufacture of laths and for coarse in-door 
 work. The bark is exceedingly valuable for 
 tanning; mixed with oak bark, it is said to 
 be much better than oak bark alone. A great 
 deal of the Essence of Spruce is extracted 
 from the shoots of this species. Abies exceha, 
 the Norway Spruce Fir, is a native of the 
 mountainous parts of the north of Europe, 
 where it sometimes constitutes, as in Norway, 
 the principal timber. The wood is of a white 
 colour, of a fine even grain, and very durable ; 
 in the market it is known under the name of 
 "White or Christiana Deal. Abies alba, the 
 
 the thread with which they sew together the 
 birch bark that forms their canoes. Its resin 
 is also used to render the seams water-tight. 
 The bark is said to be occasionally used for 
 tanning. Abies nigra,the Black or Ked Spruce 
 Fir, is a native of the most inclement regions 
 of North America. From its young branches 
 is extracted the Essence of Spruce, so Avell 
 known as a useful antiscorbutic in long voy- 
 ages. Abies Douglasii, the Douglas Fir, is 
 found in immense forests in North -West 
 America. The young branches have their 
 bark filled with receptacles of resin, as in the 
 Balm of Gilead. The timber is heavy, firm, 
 of as deep a colour as yew, with very few knots, 
 and not in the least liable to warp. Abies 
 Larix, the common Larch Fir, is a native of 
 the mountains of the middle of Europe, of 
 Russia and Siberia. It grows with great ra- 
 pidity, is subject to very lew accidents, trans- 
 plants with little risk, and produces timber of 
 great excellence and value, not only for do- 
 mestic but for naval purposes. In mountainous 
 districts in Scotland the Dukes of Athol have 
 planted it in immense quantities ; and it ap- 
 pears, from a report of one of those noble- 
 men to the Horticultural Society, that in situ- 
 ations 1,500 to 1,000 feet above the level of 
 the sea, he has felled trees, eighty years old, 
 that have each yielded six loads of the finest 
 timber. From the boiled inner bark, mixed 
 with rye -flour, and afterwards buried for a few 
 hours in the snow, the hardy Siberian hunters 
 prepare a sort of leaven. The bark is nearly 
 as valuable to the tanner as oak-bark ; it also 
 produces the substance called Venice Turpen- 
 tine, which flows in abundance when the 
 lower part of the trunk of old trees is 
 wounded. A sort of manna, called Brian^on 
 Manna, exudes from its leaves in the form of 
 a white flocculent substance, Avhich finally be- 
 comes concreted into small lumps. Abies 
 Cedrm, the Cedar of Lebanon Fir, groAvs in 
 Syria and the Taurus. According to Labillar- 
 diere, a French traveller in. Syria, the largest 
 of those now remaining on Lebanon is, at 
 least, 9 feet in diameter ; the trees are held 
 in great veneration. Abies Deodara, the Sacred 
 Indian Fir, is a large tree, with a trunk about 
 4 feet in di&rneter. The wood is extremely 
 durable, and so resinous that laths made of 
 it are used for candles. Spars of it have been 
 taken out of Indian temples, known to Lave 
 been erected from 200 to 400 years, uninjured, 
 except in those parts which originally were 
 sap-wood. Mr. Moorcroft procured specimens 
 
ABINGDON. 
 
 ABRUZZO. 
 
 from the starlings of a bridge in Ladakh, 
 where it had been exposed to the water for 
 nearly 400 years. Mr. Lambert says, that 
 its wood takes an excellent polish, being very 
 close-grained. 
 
 The genus of resinous plants called Abies, 
 which we have thus described, comprehends 
 many forest trees of great importance. Some of 
 them, such as the Larch, the Norway Spruce, 
 the Silver Fir, and the Balm of Gilead, are 
 raised in nurseries in the open ground, in 
 large quantities, for the supply of our planta- 
 tions ; others, such as the Cedar of Lebanon 
 and the Douglas Fir, are procured in much 
 less abundance, and are treated with more 
 care, being usually kept in pots until they are 
 finally committed to the earth in the situation 
 they may be subsequently destined to occupy. 
 ABINGDON, in Berkshire, is situated at the 
 junction of the Ock and the Thames. The 
 trade consists of malting, hemp-dressing, and 
 sack -cloth and sail-cloth making; besides 
 which there are two large clothing factories. 
 The corn-market is large. Capacious wharfs 
 and warehouses have been erected at the en- 
 trance of the Wilts and Berks canal into the 
 Thames. The Oxford branch of the Great 
 Western Railway passes by Abingdon, near 
 which there is a station. 
 
 ABORI'GINES, a term by which we denote 
 the primitive inhabitants of a country. Thus, 
 to take one of the most striking instances, 
 when the continent and islands of America 
 were discovered, they were found to be inha- 
 bited by various races of people, of whose 
 immigration into those regions we have no 
 historical accounts. All the tribes, then, of 
 North America may, for the present, be con- 
 sidered as aborigines. But the word abori- 
 gines has of late cSrne into general use to 
 express the natives of various parts of the 
 world in which Europeans have settled ; but 
 it seems to be limited or to be nearly limited 
 to such natives as are barbarous, and do not 
 cultivate the ground, and have no settled ha- 
 bitations. The aborigines of Australasia and 
 Van Diemen's Land (if there are any left in 
 Van Diemen's Land) are so called as being 
 savages, though the name may be applied 
 with equal propriety to cultivators of the 
 ground. Some benevolent people suppose 
 that aborigines, who are not cultivators of the 
 ground, may become civilized like Europeans. 
 But it has not yet been proved satisfactorily 
 that this change can be effected in any large 
 numbers ; and if it can be effected it is an 
 essential condition that the aborigines must 
 give up their present mode of life and adopt 
 that of the settlers. The New Zealanders, a 
 people of natural industry and acuteness, will 
 
 perhaps furnish the most striking example of 
 the dominant influence of civilization. But 
 such a change is not easy : even in the United 
 States of North America it has been only par- 
 tially effected. The wide expanse of country 
 between the Mississipi and the Atlantic is now 
 nearly cleared of the aborigines, and the white 
 man, who covets the possession of land, will 
 follow up his victory till he has occupied every 
 portion of the continent which he finds suit- 
 able for cultivation. The red man must be- 
 come a cultivator, or he must retire to places 
 where the white man does not think it worth 
 his while to follow him. The 'savage abori- 
 gines do not pass from what we call barbarism 
 to what we call civilization without being sub- 
 jected to the force of external circumstances, 
 that is, the presence among them of settlers 
 or conquerors. There is no more reason for 
 supposing that huntsmen will change their 
 mode of life, such as it is, without being com- 
 pelled, than that agricultural people Avill 
 change theirs. As contributors to the In- 
 dustry of Nations, the aborigines of North 
 America are important auxiliaries to the com 
 mercial skill of the European. The fur trade 
 is supported by the hardihood and sagacity of 
 the Indian hunters and trappers. See FUR 
 TRADE. 
 
 ABOUSAMBUL, or IPSAMBUL, a place 
 remarkable for containing two of the most per- 
 fect specimens of Egyptian rock-cut temples 
 adorned with sculptures. These excavations 
 are in Nubia, on the west side of the Nile. 
 The smaller temple has on each side of the 
 doorway, three standing colossal figures, 
 about 30 feet high, cut out of the rock and 
 deep sunk in niches, to the back part of which 
 they are attached by a portion of the rock that 
 has been allowed to remain. The figures 
 are in a standing position, with one foot ad- 
 vanced, and looking towards the river. On 
 each side of the larger figures stand smaller 
 ones, from four to six feet high. The larger 
 temple has four enormous sitting colossi in 
 front, which are the largest in all Egj^pt or 
 Nubia. Each of these figures is 25 feet 4 inche 
 across the shoulders, the face 7 feet long, the 
 nose 2 feet 8 inches, the beard 5 feet 6 inches ; 
 the whole height as it sits is about 50 feet, 
 besides the cap, which is 14 feet high. Only 
 two of these monsters are in sight ; the others 
 are buried in the sand. Over the door there 
 is a figure in relief of Osiris, 20 feet high,with 
 two colossal figures, one on each side look- 
 ing towards it. 
 
 ABRUZZO. There are in the kingdom of 
 Naples three divisions called respectively 
 Abruzzo Ultra 1, Abruzzo Ultra 2, and Abruzzo 
 Ultra. They contain together about 800,000 in- 
 
9 
 
 ABUSHIEE. 
 
 ABYSSINIA. 
 
 10 
 
 habitants. Aquila, the chief town of Abruzzo 
 Ultra 1, has manufactures of paper, stockings, 
 and leather. The lake of Celano is in this 
 province. The Emperor Claudius undertook 
 a great work for the purpose of draining the 
 lake, or at least preventing it from doing 
 damage by overflowing. Claudius made a 
 canal 3 miles long, partly by perforating and 
 partly by cutting down a mountain : it was 
 finished in eleven years, 30,000 men having 
 been constantly employed thereon. 
 
 The natives of the highlands of Abruzzo 
 are chiefly employed in rearing and tending 
 sheep, numerous flocks of which, after feeding 
 on the mountain pastures during summer, 
 migrate to the plains of Puglia at the approach 
 of winter. The shepherds are generally ac- 
 companied by their wives and children in 
 these yearly migrations to and from the moun- 
 tains, and by their large white dogs, which 
 are very fierce to strangers. The sheep's milk 
 is used to make cheese, the wool is an impor- 
 tant article of trade, and the skins are ex- 
 ported in great quantities to the Levant. The 
 shepherds also are clothed in them, and 
 wear sandals of untanned leather, fastened 
 with small cords, round the leg. The breed 
 of merino sheep has been introduced into the 
 Abruzzi. The lower parts of the Abruzzi 
 have a productive soil, and export a conside 
 rable amount of grain, oil, and almonds : they 
 also produce some cotton. 
 
 ABUSHIRE, or BUSHIRE, a sea-port and 
 commercial town in the province of Farsistan, 
 Persia, is situated on the north-east coast of 
 the Persian Gulf. Ships of about 300 tons bur- 
 then can lie in the inner roads about six miles 
 north from the town, and ships of larger bur- 
 then in 25 feet of water, three or four miles 
 west from the town. Abushire is the empo- 
 rium of a large commerce between the East 
 Indies and Persia, its merchants supplying 
 almost all Pei'sia with Indian commodities as 
 well as with many of those of Europe, and ex- 
 porting in return the productions of Persia and 
 Turkey to the East Indies and to Europe. Of 
 the imports from India the most important 
 are indigo, sugar, and spices ; of the Persian 
 exports, raw silk is the most important. 
 
 ABUTMENT, in building and machinery, 
 is that which receives the end of and gives 
 support to any thing having a tendency to 
 spread. The piers or mounds on or against 
 which an arch that is less than a semicircle, 
 or a series of such arches, rests, are abut- 
 ments ; while the piers at the extremities of 
 a bridge, of whatever form its arch or arches 
 may be, are always termed its abutments. In 
 machinery also the word has a similar mean- 
 ing, as applied to a fixed point from which 
 
 resistance or reaction is obtained. Springs, 
 whether used, as in a watch, to impel machi- 
 nery, or, as in the various kinds of spring- 
 balance, to measure or control force, must 
 have their abutments, as also must all ma- 
 chines in which power is transmitted by means 
 of screws. The name is applied in carpen- 
 try to a joint in which the end of one piece of 
 timber is joined to the side of another, so 
 that their fibres form an angle with each 
 other. 
 
 ABYSSINIA. This African country is an 
 elevated table-land, lying between 8 30' and 
 15 40' N. lat. and between 35 and 42 E. 
 long. The north-eastern edge of the table- 
 land is directed towards the Bed Sea, and is 
 from 30 to 60 miles from its shores ; the 
 other or inland edges slope away to a lower 
 level on every side ; so that if the surrounding 
 part of Africa were covered with water to the 
 depth of a few hundred feet, the whole of 
 Abyssinia would form an island. Though 
 Abyssinia is situated between the tropics, its 
 productions rather resemble those of the tem- 
 perate than of the torrid zone. Few of the 
 grains of India are found here. The other 
 grains are wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, 
 durrha, and tokussa. There are some small 
 plantations of coffee ; and cotton is grown in 
 the lower parts of the country. Excellent 
 grapes grow at the foot of the rocky masses 
 to the east of Lake Zana. The domestic ani- 
 mals consist of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, 
 mules and asses. There is also the black sheep, 
 which seems to be peculiar to this region ; 
 the wool is of a black colour, and about eigh- 
 teen inches in length. The people take great 
 care of these animals, lest they should get too 
 fat, for then the wool falls off; they are 
 placed on frames, cleaned everyday with water, 
 and fed with roasted barley and other food. 
 A skin of good quality is sold for a dollar and 
 upwards, which is a very large sum in that 
 country. These skins are worn by the warri- 
 ors. Wild animals are very numerous. 
 
 Gold has occasionally been found in Abys- 
 sinia. The mountains of Lasta are rich in 
 iron-ore, which is worked, and appears to be 
 of good quality. The great salt-plain which 
 lies between the Red Sea and the table land 
 of Tigre belongs partly to the sovereign of 
 Tigre, and immense quantities of rock-salt are 
 annually taken from it and imported to all 
 parts of the country, as it is not only used 
 for culinary purposes, but also as currency. 
 Large quantities of salt, taken from the salt 
 lake Assal, are annually imported into Shoa, 
 as salt is not found on the table land. Sul- 
 phur is found at several places. 
 
 The Abyssinians have made tolerable pro- 
 
11 
 
 ACA'CIA. 
 
 ACAPU'LCO. 
 
 11! 
 
 gress in manufactures. The best article is 
 tanned skins, which are used for bedding or 
 for tents : an important article, on account of 
 the numerous caravans which traverse the 
 country. Shields made of the hides of ele- 
 phants or rhinoceroses are also good. Axes 
 and ploughshares, as well as spear heads, are 
 made at several places; but knives, sword- 
 blades, scissors, and razors, are only made at 
 Gondar and at Kiratza. At Gondar guns 
 are made, but only by some Greeks, not by 
 the natives. Large quantities of coarse cotton- 
 cloth are made in several parts of the coun- 
 try by women, and a finer kind, Avith a red or 
 blue border, for the more wealthy classes of 
 society. The silk manufactures are limited 
 to some embroidery, made by Mohammedans 
 and worn by their women, and to blue strings, 
 which are worn on the neck by all Christians, 
 as a mark of distinction from Mohammedans 
 or heathens. A coarse stuff is made from the 
 wool and hair of the black sheep and goats, 
 which is also employed in making a kind of 
 counterpanes. Coarse black pottery is made in 
 every part of the country. Printing has not 
 yet been introduced into Abyssinia : so that 
 the copying of manuscripts forms a distinct 
 branch of industry. 
 
 Abyssinia has no immediate intercourse 
 with seafaring nations, but its products are 
 carried either to Massowa on the Eed Sea, or 
 to Tajurrah on the gulf of Aden. Massowa is 
 the harbour of Tigre and Amhara ; and Taj- 
 urrah the harbour of Shoa. Nearly all the 
 articles imported into Massowa go to Abyssinia. 
 They comprise raw cotton, pepper, blue and 
 red cotton-cloth, the threads of which are un- 
 ravelled and woven into the borders of the 
 cloths of native manufacture, raw silk dyed 
 blue, white cambrics, a small quantity of 
 glazed silks, and some common velvet, glass 
 pearls, linen shirts, common red-cloth, some 
 articles of glass, common razors, sword-blades, 
 spica celtica, small parcels of red or green 
 morocco leather, zinc, common Turkish car- 
 pets, bottles of a peculiar shape, of which 
 large numbers are used in Abyssinia, and a 
 large quantity of Persian tobacco. The bulk 
 of the goods imported into Abyssinia is pro- 
 bably consumed there, but some of them find 
 their way into the interior of Africa to sup- 
 ply other countries. They are exchanged 
 for the produce of these countries at Baso, 
 where a market is held weekly during the sea- 
 son, which lasts about eight months in the 
 year. The merchants bring from the southern 
 countries slaves, ivory, coffee, civet, gold, cloth, 
 iron, and cattle. 
 
 ACA'CIA, a very extensive genus of trees 
 or shrubby plants, inhabiting the tropical 
 
 parts of both the Old and New World. Some 
 of the species produce catechu and gum-arabic ; 
 the bark of others yields a large quantity of 
 tannin, which, in the form of .an extract, is 
 annually imported from Van Diemen's Land in 
 considerable quantity. The catechu acacia is 
 a tree with a tolerably high and stout stem, 
 found in mountainous places in the East 
 Indies, especially in Bengal and Coromandel ; 
 its unripe pods and wood yield, by decoction, 
 one of the sorts of catechu, or terra-japonica, of 
 the shops, a powerfully astringent substance, 
 formerly thought to be a kind of earth. The 
 Acacia Arabica or gum-arabic tree, is an inha- 
 bitant of the East Indies, Arabia, and Abys- 
 sinia, where it forms a tree thirteen or 
 fourteen feet high. This is one of the plants 
 that yield the useful substance called gum- 
 arabic, which is procured by wounding the 
 bark ; after which the sap runs out, and har- 
 dens in transparent lumps, of various figures, 
 very similar to the concretions found upon 
 the bark of the cherry-tree in this country. 
 Gum-arabic is also produced abundantly by 
 some of the species nearly related to this. 
 Gum-senegal is the produce of a distinct 
 species called Acacia Senegal, found in Ara- 
 bia and the interior of Africa. From this 
 tree are said, by some, to be procm-ed the 
 pods called bablach in the continental drug- 
 shops. 
 
 ACANTHUS, is the sculptured leaf whiclTis 
 the distinguishing characteristic of the capital 
 of the Corinthian column. The same leaf, 
 however, is used occasionally in other foliated 
 capitals, as well as for the enrichment of mo- 
 dillions, of mouldings, and of vases. This 
 ornament, in the Roman models, is fuller and 
 broader than it is in the Greek. 
 
 ACAPU'LCO, a city and port in the repub- 
 lic of Mexico, about 183 miles S. S.W. from tho 
 capital ; the port is capable of containing 500 
 ships, and is deep enough to allow vessels to lie 
 close to the rocks. The city of Mexico communi - 
 cates with the Pacific by the town of Acapulco, 
 which once had a considerable trade, particu- 
 larly with Manilla. Under the Spanish do- 
 minion a vessel of the largest size used annu- 
 ally to leave Acapulco for Manilla about 
 February or March, loaded with commodities 
 and specie. The vessel returned to Acapulco 
 in August, carrying back muslins, printed cali- 
 coes, coarse cotton shirts, porcelain, Chinese 
 jewellery, &c. Its arrival was the signal for a 
 great concourse of merchants to Acapulco, who 
 swelled the population for the time to about 
 9000. The commerce of the town has however 
 since declined. The exports are cochineal, 
 indigo, silver, and skins. Acapulco is not far 
 from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, one of the 
 
J3 
 
 ACCO'RDION. 
 
 ACER. 
 
 14 
 
 narrow tracts by which Central America is 
 crossed on the route from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific. But the great commercial routes to 
 California are now (1850) being formed further 
 southward, viz., a combined steam-boat and 
 land-route via Nicaragua, and a railway via 
 Panama. 
 
 ACCO'KDION, a musical instrument, which 
 was introduced into England from Germany 
 about the year 1828. It is in the form of a 
 small oblong box. The interior exhibits a row 
 of very small elastic metallic springs, fixed at 
 one end in a plate of metal, so that they may 
 vibrate freely. The upper and lower parts of 
 the box are united by a folding apparatus, or 
 bellows, which supplies the air required to put 
 the springs into vibration ; and to these the air 
 is admitted by means of valves acted on by 
 keys, in the manner of an organ. There is 
 also a very simple contrivance by which a base 
 note, or drone, may be added, at the discretion 
 of the performer. These instruments vary in 
 size and in capabilities : the compass of the 
 most complete is from G, the fourth space in 
 the base staff, to E, the seventh additional 
 space above the treble, including all the semi- 
 tones ; and two or more notes can be played 
 at once. The Chinese are known to possess a 
 musical instrument very similar to this. 
 
 ACCRING-TON, is one of the seats of the 
 cotton manufacture in Lancashire. It has 
 grown up from an insignificant village to a 
 town of great importance, in a very few years. 
 In the middle of 1850 there were ten extensive 
 cotton, bleach, dye, and print works ; and two 
 more were in process of establishment. Two 
 of these works belonging to Messrs. Har- 
 greaves, employed at that time no fewer than 
 1600 workpeople ; and the whole ten estab- 
 lishments gave occupation to nearly 3000. 
 Nothing illustrates more strikingly the vast- 
 ness of the cotton manufacture, than the rapid 
 growth of these Lancashire towns. 
 
 ACCUMULATION OF POWER. In the 
 coining press, a vast accumulation of force is 
 obtained by means of the fly wheel : the reci- 
 procating motion of a piston connected with a 
 steam-engine communicates, by means of a 
 crank, a continuous circular movement to the 
 fly, and at the same time a reciprocating rec- 
 tilinear motion vertically to the cylindrical 
 shaft (the stamper) on which the screw is 
 formed. "With half a revolution of the fly- 
 wheel the stamper is lifted up, and with the 
 other half it is forced down on the metal, 
 which thus receives at once all the motion ac- 
 cumulated in the fly during an entire revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 There are in machinery many such examples 
 of accumulation of power. When a heavy body, 
 
 like the rammer of a pile-driving machine, 
 descends by the action of gravity during a 
 certain time, and impinges on an object, a 
 shock is produced immensely greater than 
 would result from the mere pressure of the 
 body. 
 
 ACER, the botanical name for the different 
 species of Maple trees. 
 
 The Acer oblongum, or oval-leaved maple, 
 is an evergreen tree, of rapid growth, native 
 of the northern parts of India. 
 
 The Acer Icevigatum, or polished maple, is 
 found in the woods of the higher mountains 
 of Nepaul ; its timber is used by the inhabi- 
 tants of Nepaul for rafters, beams, and similar 
 building purposes. 
 
 The Acer Tartaricum, or Tartarian maple, 
 is an ornamental tree, or rather large bush. 
 From its keys, deprived of their wings, the 
 Calmucks form, by the aid of boiling Avater, 
 an astringent beverage, which, mixed with an 
 abundance of milk and butter, forms a favou- 
 rite article of their diet. The wood is hard 
 and white, mixed with brownish veins. 
 
 The Acer striatum, or striped-bark maple, is 
 a native of North America. Its wood is very 
 white, and is use'd by the North Americans for 
 inlaying cabinet-work; its shoots afford food 
 to various animals, especially to the moose- 
 deer, in winter and spring, whence it has ac- 
 quired the name of moose-tvood. 
 
 The Acer obtusatum, the Neapolitan maple, 
 is a fine tree, which grows to a height of about 
 40 feet. 
 
 The Acer campestre, the common maple, is 
 spread over the greater part of Europe. In 
 England this is either a bush or a small tree, 
 of inelegant appearance ; and its wood is of 
 little value, except for the use of the turner, 
 who makes it into cups, bowls, &c. In the 
 southern region of Caucasus, we are told by 
 Pallas that it becomes a tree of handsome 
 aspect, with a trunk as thick as a man's body, 
 and that its wood is so hard as to be in request 
 for the manufacture of musket-stocks. 
 
 The Acer pseudo-platanus, the sycamore- 
 maple, flourishes in middle and southern Eu- 
 rope. Although the wood of this species is not 
 particularly valuable, being chiefly used for 
 coarse work, where lightness and toughness 
 are required, yet there is scarcely any more 
 universally cultivated for the sake of the strik- 
 ing effect it produces, whether as a single tree, 
 or planted in avenues, or in masses. 
 
 The Acer Platandides, the Norway maple, 
 is a fine tree, of North and Central Europe. 
 Its wood is valued for turners' work ; from its 
 ascending sap a kind of coarse sugar has been 
 procured. 
 
 The Acer saccharimim, or sugar mapleygrows 
 
15 
 
 ACETATE. 
 
 ACHARD. 
 
 10 
 
 abundantly in North America. In the autumn 
 the woods of those countries are dyed of a 
 crimson hue by the changing leaves of the 
 sugar maple. The wood is hard, and has a 
 satiny lustre, but it is readily attacked by in- 
 sects, and is not of much value, except when 
 its grain is accidentally waved, and then it is 
 in request for the cabinet-makers. The sac 
 charine matter contained in its ascending sap 
 is the principal cause of this species being in 
 so much request. From this sap, obtained b) 
 tapping the trunk in the spring, during the 
 space of six weeks, a very considerable quan 
 tity of a fine brown sugar is procured; as 
 much, it is said, as 331b. per tree. The sugar 
 maple does not generally succeed very well in 
 England, where it is rarely seen, and where, 
 even when in health, it is not more than 15 
 or 16 feet high. 
 
 ACETATE, a salt resulting from a combi- 
 nation of acetic acid with an alkaline, earthy, 
 metallic, or vegeto-alkaline base four varieties 
 which may be exemplified by the acetates of 
 soda, lime, lead, and morphia. Although the 
 acetates possess some properties in common 
 yet, from the very different nature of their 
 bases, they are variously affected by heat; 
 some being merely evaporated, and others 
 wholly decomposed, at high temperatures. 
 
 The acetates are a very important class of 
 compounds. Some of them are used in the 
 preparation of acetic acid. The acetate of 
 alumina and the acetate of iron are largely 
 employed by calico-printers ; and many of the 
 metallic acetates are used also by them, and 
 by dyers and colour-makers. 
 
 ACETIC ACID, or Acetous Add, is the sour 
 part of vinegar, and that to which its peculiar 
 and valuable properties are owing. It is pro- 
 cured, first, by the fermentation of saccharine 
 or sugary matter, secondly, by the action of 
 heat upon wood; the product of the former 
 constituting vinegar, and of the latter pyro- 
 liy neons acid. 
 
 1. Vinegar. When certain vegetable juices 
 which contain much sugar, sucli as that of the 
 grape, are fermented, the sugar undergoes the 
 vinous fermentation [FERMENTATION], by 
 which alcohol is produced ; and if this process 
 be carried beyond a certain stage, a further 
 fermentation called the acetous fermentation 
 ensues, by which vinegar is produced : so that, 
 in effect, sugar becomes alcohol, and then al- 
 cohol becomes vinegar. How this is managed 
 in practice is explained under VINEGAR, Avhere 
 also the peculiar arrangements of the great 
 vinegar-factories are described. Vinegar is, 
 in practice, made from four sources, wine, 
 malt, sugar, and wood. 
 Vinegar (or rather Acetic Acid) possesses 
 
 the usual property of acids to redden vegeta- 
 ble blue colours ; it combines with the alkalis, 
 earths, and metallic oxides to form the salts 
 which are termed acetates. Vinegar is purified 
 from the sulphuric acid and colouring matter 
 which it contains by distillation ; but its smell 
 and taste are then less agreeable, and it is 
 weaker than acetic acid otherwise procured. 
 When vinegar is exposed to a low tempera- 
 ture, it is principally the watery part which 
 freezes. 
 
 2. Pyroligneous Acid. The second method 
 of obtaining acetic acid is by heating wood, as 
 the dried branches of trees, in hollow iron 
 cylinders, with a proper arrangement of cool- 
 ers, or condensers, and receivers. Birch and 
 beech are the best woods for yielding it. The 
 pyroligneous acid thus procured is of a dark 
 brown colour, has a strong burnt acid smell, 
 is very sour to the taste, and acts strongly on 
 vegetable blue colours. It contains a quantity 
 of tar and oily matter ; from these it is puri- 
 fied, in a considerable degree, by redistilla- 
 tion ; and a further purification with lime con- 
 verts it into a pyrolignite of lime. This pyro 
 lignite, by the chemical action of dilute 
 sulphate of soda, produces acetate of soda, 
 which is a crystalline salt. From these crys- 
 tals pure acetic acid is produced, by exposing 
 them to the action of sulphuric acid, which 
 combines with the soda of the acetate, and 
 leaves the acetic acid free. 
 
 Pyroligneous acid is employed to preserve 
 meat, and to impart to it the smoky flavour 
 usually obtained by drying. Pure acetic acid 
 is used in chemical researches, and especially 
 for preparing various acetates. In a less pure 
 state it is employed in the arts, for preparing 
 acetate or sugar of lead, acetate of copper, or 
 verdigris, and acetate of alumina, which is 
 largely used by calico-printers as a mordant. 
 
 ACETIMETER is the name of a kind of 
 lydrometer, used by the Excise authorities in 
 determining the strength of vinegar. 
 
 ACETONE, or Pyro-acetic Spirit,is a colour- 
 ess limpid liquid ; its odour is peculiar, pene- 
 trating, and somewhat aromatic; it mixes in 
 all proportions with alcohol, tether, and oil of 
 turpentine. It is very inflammable, and is 
 not affected by exposure to the air. 
 
 ACHARD, FRANZ KARL, born at Berlin, 
 n 1754, died in 1821, was the author of van 
 ous works, written in German, on experimen- 
 tal physics, chemistry, and agriculture. Achard 
 s however chiefly known for his proposal to 
 extract sugar from beet-root. Another Prus- 
 sian chemist, Margraff, had discovered the 
 xistence of a certain portion of sugar in this 
 root as early as 1747, but deemed his discovery 
 of little practical importance. Achard, on the 
 
17 
 
 ACHROMATIC. 
 
 contrary, described beet-root as 'one of the 
 most bountiful gifts which the divine munifi- 
 cence had awarded to man upon the earth.' 
 The institute of Paris, in 1800, honoured him 
 with a vote of thanks, but reported unfavour- 
 ably of the practicability of his plan. Napo- 
 leon however, in 1812, formed an imperial 
 manufactory at Rambouillet, when the plan of 
 Achard was put in practice, and partly suc- 
 ceeded. Since then the manufacture of sugar 
 from beet-root has been carried on very exten- 
 sively in France. The manufacture however 
 is a forced one, and therefore of very question- 
 able policy. [BEET: SUGAR.] 
 
 ACHROMATIC. [LENS.] 
 
 ACIDIMETER. By reversing the mode 
 of using the Alkalimeter, an Acidimeter may 
 be produced, which will determine the strength 
 of the acids employed in commerce or manu- 
 factures. [ALKALIMETER.] 
 
 ACIDS. The acids are a numerous and 
 important class of chemical bodies. They are 
 generally sour; usually, but not universally, 
 they have great affinity for water, and are 
 readily soluble in it; they change most vege- 
 table blue colours to red ; and they unite 
 readily with most alkalis, and with earthy and 
 metallic oxides. Some are natural, some ar- 
 tificial, and some both; some are gaseous, 
 some liquid, and some solid, at common tem- 
 peratures ; some are transparent, and others 
 coloured; some inodorous, and others pun- 
 gent ; some volatile, and others fixed ; so that 
 they vary greatly, except in the qualities first 
 named. 
 
 No simple or elementary substance has the 
 properties of an acid, and consequently all 
 acids are compounds of two or more of them. 
 In almost every case one of these elements is 
 either oxygen or hydrogen, producing the 
 oxacids and the hydracids, the former of which 
 are by far the most numerous. In some in- 
 stances oxygen gives rise to different acids by 
 combining with the same element in various 
 proportions. 
 
 Acids occur in all the kingdoms of nature ; 
 the phosphoric acids which exist in bone are of 
 animal origin ; the citric and the oxalic acids 
 are products of vegetation ; the chromic and 
 the arsenic acid enter into the composition of 
 certain minerals ; and many of the acids are 
 derivable from two or more of these sources, 
 and are made by chemical agency. 
 
 All the acids which are of any importance 
 in the manufacturing arts, will be found de- 
 scribed under their proper titles. 
 
 ACONITI'NA, a vegetable alkali which ex- 
 ists in aconite, in combination with aconitic 
 acid. It crystallizes in white grains, and is 
 inodorous, but intensely bitter and acrid. It 
 
 ACOUSTICS. 18 
 
 is obtained and derives its name from the 
 Aconitum, or Wolf's Bane, the poisonous 
 properties of which are due to the Aconitina. 
 All the parts of this plant are extremely acrid, 
 especially the roots, which are scraped and 
 mixed with food to form a bait for wolves and 
 other savage animals. According to the ob- 
 servations of Orfila, the juice of the leaves in- 
 troduced into the stomach occasions death in 
 a short time ; the root is far more energetic. 
 The poison acts upon the nervous system, es- 
 pecially the brain, producing a sort of frenzy. 
 The use of this dangerous plant is now almost 
 entirely restricted to painful affections of the 
 nerves, and to rheumatic complaints. We are 
 not aware that it is employed in manufac- 
 tures. 
 
 ACORNS were in ancient days more exten- 
 sively used for food than they are at present. 
 Acorn bread was much eaten both by the 
 Greeks and Romans; and our Saxon ancestors 
 reckoned mast or acorns as an important part 
 of their food, especially in years of deficient 
 harvest. When we find, in 'Don Quixote,' 
 that acorns are described as being served after 
 the repast of the goatherd; and that Teresa 
 sends a present of the choicest acorns she 
 could collect to the duchess, we may reason- 
 ably conclude that Cervantes had in his 
 thoughts a custom well known among his 
 countrymen. In Greece, Asia Minor, and 
 Barbary, acorns are sold in the streets as food, 
 and are eaten both raw and roasted. The late 
 General Jackson, of th'e United States, once 
 sent his officers an invitation to a breakfast of 
 acorns, at a time when provisions were scanty. 
 Tolerably good bread may be made from 
 acorns, when shelled, and especially if allowed 
 to germinate before being used, so that part 
 of the farina may become converted into 
 sugar ; some persons who have tasted such 
 bread are of opinion that it is very little infe- 
 rior to oat bread. Acorns, however, are chiefly 
 serviceable in this country as food for swine. 
 
 ACOUSTICS, a word derived from the 
 Greek, and signifying the science of sound. 
 The only part of this interesting science which 
 will come within thegM,nge of our present 
 volume, is that which cretermines the particu- 
 lar mode of eliciting sound from the principal 
 musical instruments ; for these details we re- 
 fer to the names of the instruments them- 
 selves. 
 
 Acoustic instruments for the relief of par 
 tially deaf persons, have been invented in con 
 siderable number. Dr. Scott's Soniferon is a 
 sort of bell-shaped instrument attached to a 
 tube. The bell, instead of resting on its large 
 or open end, is placed horizontally on an 
 upright leg, on which it revolves. The mouth 
 
19 
 
 ACRE. 
 
 ADEN. 
 
 of the bell is covered with a perforated metal- 
 lic plate ; and the interior of the bell is 
 grooved with spiral channels. A pipe of 
 caoutchouc or gutta percha is attached to the 
 bell, and is connected at the other end with a 
 small ivory ear-piece. When a person who is 
 hard of hearing wishes to take part in conver- 
 sation around a table, the bell is brought op- 
 posite the mouth of the speaker, and the 
 hearer places the ivory piece to his ear. It 
 does not differ from other acoustic tubes in its 
 principle, but in its applicability to many per- 
 sons seated at the same table, and at any 
 distance from the one who is to be primarily 
 benefitted by the invention. [EAK TRUMPET]. 
 ACRE, a measure of land, of different value 
 in the different parts of the United Kingdom. 
 When mentioned generally, the statute or 
 English acre is to be understood. A square 
 whose side is 22 yards long is the tenth part 
 of an acre, which therefore contains 22 X 22 X 
 10, or 4840 square yards. The chain with 
 which land is measured is 22 yards long ; so 
 that ten square chains are one acre. This 
 measure is divided into 4 roods, each rood 
 into 40 perches, so that each perch contains 
 304 square yards. Thus : 
 
 Sq^re 3?2S 
 
 Acre Rood. Perch. 
 
 
 I = 4 = 160 = 4840 69.5701 
 1 =r 40 = 1210 34.7851 
 1 = 3QJ 5.5 
 
 The Irish acre is larger than the English, 
 121 Irish acres being very nearly equivalent 
 to 190 English acres. The Scottish acre is 
 also larger than the English, 48 Scottish acres 
 being equal to 61 English acres. The English 
 statute acre is used in the United States of 
 North America. 
 
 The Arpent is the French square measure 
 which most nearly corresponds with the En- 
 glish acre, an arpent containing 4028.9 square 
 yards. 
 
 ACTING 'METER is an instrument em- 
 ployed for the purpose of ascertaining the in- 
 tensity of heat in the direct rays of the sun. 
 It consists of a hollow cylinder of glass, con- 
 taining a blue solutio^tof sulphate of copper, 
 with apparatus for measuring the expansion 
 of the liquid under the influence of the sun's 
 heat. In the hands of its inventor, Sir J. 
 Kerschel, this instrument has proved highly 
 useful in determining the quantity of solar 
 heat which is absorbed in passing through 
 different strata of the atmosphere. It may 
 also be employed to determine the diminution 
 of heat which takes place during eclipses of 
 tbe sun. It has not yet been employed in the 
 arts ; but when we consider the remarkable 
 phenomena of Photography, it will appear 
 
 very probable that the Actinometer is destined 
 to take part in many delicate chemical opera- 
 tions. 
 
 A'DAMANT, a word now seldom employed 
 as a scientific term, but used chiefly as a 
 poetical expression synonymous with diamond, 
 or as descriptive of some other extremely hard 
 substance. In 1849 M. Dufresnoy exhibited 
 before the Paris Academy of Sciences, a few 
 pieces of adamant so extremely hard, as to be 
 able to polish the diamond. They were con- 
 sidered to bear the same relation to diamond, 
 which emery does to corundum. They were 
 met with in the same alluvial formation 
 whence Brazilian diamonds are usually pro- 
 cured. The largest piece obtained weighed 
 about 66 grains. Its edges were rounded by 
 long-continued friction ; and it presented a 
 slightly brownish dull black colour. When 
 viewed with a microscope, it appeared riddled 
 with small cavities, which separated very small 
 irregular laminae, slightly translucent and 
 iridescent. It cut glass readily, and scratched 
 quartz and topaz. Its density was rather more 
 than three times that of water, about the same 
 as that of the diamond. The smaller speci- 
 mens retained their aspect, hardness, and 
 weight, after long calcination at a bright red 
 heat in a covered crucible. On analysis, it 
 was found that this adamant contains from 
 96.8 to 99.8 per cent of pure carbon : the 
 small remainder consisting of vegetable ash. 
 
 ADAMANTINE SPAR is one of the many 
 varieties of Corundum or Emery, from which 
 it differs much in quality, but little in compo- 
 sition. [CORUNDUM.] 
 
 ADELAIDE, is becoming a commercial city 
 of much importance. It is the capital of the 
 Colony of South Australia, and is built on the 
 river Torrens. Port Adelaide, at the mouth 
 of the river, seven miles distant from the town, 
 is a fine and capacious harbour, well situated 
 in respect to the prevailing winds. At the 
 present time (1850) a railway is being formed 
 from Adelaide to Port Adelaide. Nearly 
 14,000 emigrants landed at Adelaide in the 
 four years 1844-7, and the number has since 
 still more largely increased. 
 
 The discovery of no fewer than seventy rich 
 copper mines in South Australia is tending to 
 make Adelaide an important place of ship- 
 ment ; while the wool-trade is also advancing 
 with great rapidity. Adelaide was, in 1845, 
 made a free port to the ships of all nations. 
 The imports in the year ending April 1849, 
 were valued at 471, 556/., and the exports at 
 485,0512. ; 112,338 tons of shipping entered 
 inward and outward ; 16,000 tons of copper 
 ore, and 19,000 cwt. of wool, were exported. 
 
 ADEN, a town and harbour on the southern 
 
ADHESION. 
 
 ADIPOCIEE. 
 
 22 
 
 shores of Arabia, in the province of Yemen. 
 Before the British took possession of it, Aden 
 was an ill-supplied miserable place, consisting 
 of a small number of mud huts covered with 
 mats, and containing about 600 inhabitants. 
 At present it is a flourishing place of trade, 
 containing from 20,000 to 25,000 inhabitants, 
 surrounded with gardens and orchards, in 
 which all the necessaries of life may be had at 
 a moderate price. The British took possession 
 of Aden in 18-10, when a steam-boat navigation 
 was established between Bombay and Suez, 
 for which Aden serves as a central depot. 
 There are about a dozen steam -vessels engaged 
 on this mail route ; and if the present discus- 
 sions (1850) concerning the Australian mail 
 should result in the Singapore route being 
 chosen, Aden will become a still more impor- 
 tant place. Since the occupation of Aden by 
 the British, its trade with the surrounding 
 countries has increased, and a number of 
 Banians, Parsees, and other merchants have 
 settled there. It is expected that the whole 
 commerce of the Red Sea, and especially that 
 of Yemen and Hadramaut will soon be trans 
 ferred to Aden. The exports of British manu- 
 factures thither in 1849 amounted to 14,564/. 
 ADHESION, is the property by which two 
 solids, a solid and a fluid, two solids and an 
 interposed fluid, or two fluids, remain attached 
 to each other when then 1 surfaces are brought 
 into contact. It is a property of much im- 
 portance in machinery, since friction depends 
 upon it to a considerable extent. M. Guyton 
 de Morveau found by direct experiments, that 
 when the surfaces of plates of different 
 metals were placed in contact with the surface 
 of mercury, the weights required to separate 
 them from the fluid were as stated in the fol- 
 lowing table (the metals were pure, the plates 
 circular, one inch diameter, and of equal 
 thicknesses) : 
 
 Grains. Grains. 
 
 Gold ... 446 Zinc ... 204 
 Silver ... 429 Copper . . 142 
 Tin . . . 418 Antimony . 126 
 Lead . . . 397 Iron ... 115 
 Bismuth . . 372 Cobalt . . 8 
 Platina . . 282 
 
 Mf.Bevan has given a table of the adhesion, 
 &c. of different kinds of nails when driven into 
 dry Christiana deal ; in this table it appears 
 that a sixpenny nail, 73 to the lb., 2 inches 
 long, forced 1 1 inches into the wood, required 
 327 Ibs. weight to extract it ; the percussive 
 force required to drive the sixpenny nail to 
 the depth of one inch and a-half into the dry 
 deal, with a cast-iron weight of 6-275 Ibs., was 
 four blows or strokes falling freely, the space 
 of 12 inches, and the steady pressure to pro- 
 
 duce the same effect was 400 Ibs. With 
 different kinds of timber the resiilts varied 
 greatly, and Mr. Be'van concludes that a six- 
 penny nail driven two inches into dry oak, 
 would require a force of more than half a ton 
 to extract it by steady pressure. Mr. Bevan 
 has also determined the force required to 
 draw screws out of different kinds of wood ; 
 the screws used were about two inches in 
 length, .22 diameter at the exterior of the 
 threads, .15 diameter at the bottom, the depth 
 of the worm or thread being .035, and the 
 number of threads in one inch 12. These 
 screws were passed through pieces of wood, 
 exactly half an inch in thickness, and drawn 
 out from the following dry woods by the an- 
 nexed weights : beech 460 Ibs., another spe- 
 cimen 790 Ibs., ash 790 Ibs., oak 760 Ibs., ma- 
 hogany 770 Ibs., elm 655 Ibs., sycamore 830 
 Ibs. The force required to draw similar 
 screws out of deal and the softer woods, was 
 about half the above. 
 
 ADIPOCIRE, a substance of a peculiar 
 nature, being intermediate between fat and 
 wax, and bearing a close resemblance to 
 spermaceti. In 1786, Fourcroy had the op- 
 portunity of observing an accumulation of 
 adipocire on a scale of prodigious extent, under 
 circumstances of a peculiar nature, which are 
 highly curious. There was in Paris an im- 
 mense burial-ground, called La Cimetiere des 
 Innocens. This place had been the receptacle 
 of the dead for a considerable part of the 
 population of Paris for several centuries. On 
 account of some improvements in the neigh- 
 bourhood it was determined to remove this 
 cemetery. The number of burials in this 
 place had amounted to some thousands an- 
 nually. The bodies were deposited in pits or 
 trenches about thirty feet deep ; each pit was 
 capable of holding from twelve to fifteen 
 thousand bodies ; and as the pits became full 
 they were covered with a few feet of earth. 
 The extent of the whole area was about seven 
 thousand square yards, and this space became 
 at last occupied by a mass which consisted al- 
 most entirely of animal matter, rising several 
 feet above the general level of the soil. Sci- 
 entific men were especially charged by the 
 government to direct the precautions requisite 
 for securing the health of the workmen in re- 
 moving this immense mass of putrefying 
 animal matter. When the bodies were ex- 
 posed to the light of day, the linen which had 
 covered them was slightly adherent to the 
 bodies ; beneath the linen was found nothing 
 but irregular masses of a soft ductile matter 
 of a gray-white colour, resembling common 
 white cheese, the resemblance being more 
 striking from the prints which the threads 
 
23 ADIPOSE. 
 
 of the linen had made upon its surface. Tb 
 bones, which were surrounded by this matte 
 had no solidity, but were- readily broken b 
 sudden pressure. The head was environe 
 with this peculiar matter ; the face was n 
 longer distinguishable; the mouth was dis 
 organized ; no trace remained of the vis 
 cera of the thorax and abdomen, whic 
 were all confused together, and converted int 
 this fatty matter ; and this was also invariabl 
 the case with the brain. None of this matte 
 was found in bodies isolated from each other 
 but only in those accumulated in the common 
 graves. From various observations it wa 
 found that this fatty matter was capable o 
 enduring in these burying-places for thirty o: 
 forty years, but that ultimately it became cor 
 rupted and was dissipated. 
 
 The substance thus presented for examina 
 tion under such remarkable circumstances, is 
 considered by M. Fourcroy as an ammoniaca 
 soap, formed of a peculiar oil combined with 
 ammonia. It melts at about 130 Fahr. ; by 
 a strong heat it is decomposed with the solu- 
 tion of ammonia. There would of course be 
 something repugnant in using such materials 
 in manufactures ; but French and German 
 chemists have made attempts to convert the 
 dead bodies of cattle into adipocire, for candle 
 and soap-making. It is, however, found that 
 adipocire proceeds solely from the pre-existing 
 fat of the dead body, and not from the flesh 
 and cartileges ; and the attempts to produce 
 adipocire artificially have not been commer- 
 cially successful. 
 
 ADIPOSE SUBSTANCE, or fat, is an 
 animal oil, which resembles, in its essential 
 properties, the vegetable oils. It is wholly 
 inorganic, though contained in an organized 
 tissue. It varies in its consistence, or rather 
 in the temperature at which it becomes solid. 
 In general, it forms a pretty firm solid, con- 
 stituting suet, which, when divested of the 
 membrane in which it is contained, is called 
 tallow ; but there are animals in which, at the 
 ordinary temperature of the atmosphere, it al- 
 ways remains fluid, as in the cetacea. At the 
 temperature of the human body, it is fluid. It 
 consists of two substances which are capable 
 of being separated from each other, and ob- 
 tained in a distinct form. Of these substances, 
 one, at the ordinary temperature of the atmos- 
 phere, is solid ; the other fluid. Stearins^ the 
 solid portion of fat, is a substance colourless, 
 tasteless, nearly inodorous, soluble in alcohol, 
 separable from this solution in the form of 
 small silky needles, and preserving its solidity 
 at a temperature of 1)9 Fahrenheit. Ebiine, 
 the oily principle of fat, is fluid at the tempe- 
 rature of 60 Fahrenheit ; it is of a yellow 
 
 ADULTERATION. 24 
 
 colour, without odour, lighter than water, its 
 specific gravity being 0.918, and easily soluble 
 in alcohol. Fat is the chief ingredient in se- 
 veral important manufactures, especially CAN- 
 DLES and SOAP ; to which articles, and to 
 TALLOW, it may suffice here to refer. 
 
 ADIT, or DRIFT, is the horizontal passage 
 which gives entrance to some mines. [MINING.] 
 
 ADJUTAGE, or AJUTAGE, is a name 
 given to a tube, generally not exceeding a few 
 inches in length, which may be applied to a 
 vessel or reservoir, in order to facilitate the 
 discharge of a fluid from such vessel. 
 
 ADRLANO'PLE, the second city in Euro- 
 pean Turkey, is in the province of Romania 
 or Rumelia, 135 miles N. W. of Constantino- 
 ple. An aqueduct supplies the baths, mosques, 
 and fountains with water. The manufactures 
 of Adrianople are silk, woollen, and cotton 
 stuffs ; it has also establishments for dyeing, 
 and distilling rose-water and other perfumes. 
 
 ADRIATIC SEA, sometimes called the 
 Irulf of Venice, is a large bay of the Mediter- 
 anean, between Italy and Turkey. The na- 
 igation is easy and safe, the numerous islands 
 m the Dalmatian coast affording excellent 
 belter in the most violent gales. It has re- 
 ently become one of the great lines of com- 
 munication between India and Western Eu- 
 ope, by the route through Egypt, steam-ves- 
 els passing from Alexandria to Trieste. It 
 s near the mouth of the Adriatic, that the 
 wo small Greek islands are situated, which 
 ormed a disputed point in the momentous 
 rreek question of 1850. 
 
 ADULTERATION, is the use of ingre- 
 ients in the production of any article which 
 re cheaper and not so good, or which are not 
 onsidered so desirable by the consumer, as 
 ther or genuine ingredients for which they 
 re substituted. The law does not generally 
 onsider adulteration as an offence, but relies 
 pparently on an evil of this nature being 
 orrected by the discrimination and good 
 ense of the public. Any one acquainted with 
 lodern shop -keep ing, however, especially on 
 
 ' cheap ' system, has good cause to know 
 nd to lament the difficulty of detecting such 
 efarious practices. The morals of trade are 
 adly neglected by many who would spurn a 
 large of direct dishonesty. In Paris, mal- 
 ractices connected with the adulteration of 
 >od are investigated by the Conseil de Salu- 
 rite, acting under the authority of the prefect 
 ' police. In this country, also, whenever the 
 tcrests of the revenue are concerned, strict 
 3gulations have been resorted to in order to 
 revent adulteration. Tobacco, beer, drugs, 
 a, coffee, cocoa, pepper, and bread, are all 
 ore or less protected against adulteration, so 
 
35 ADVEETISEMENT. 
 
 far as legislation can do it; but with very 
 little real effect. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. In the English, 
 Scotch, and Irish newspapers, and other 
 periodical works, there are annually published 
 above two millions of announcements known 
 by the name Advertisement. The duty on a 
 single advertisement was formerly 3s 6d, in 
 Great Britain, and 2s. 6d. in Ireland ; but by 
 3 & 4 Wm. IV., c. 23, it was reduced to Is. 6d. 
 in Great Britain, and Is. in Ireland. In the 
 year previous to this reduction the total num- 
 ber of newspaper advertisements published in 
 the United Kingdom was 1021,943 ; namely, 
 787,649 in England, 108,914 in Scotland, and 
 125,380 in Ireland. The duty amounted to 
 172,570/., and had been stationary for several 
 years. In 1841 the number of advertisements 
 had increased to 1,778,957 ; namely 1,386,625 
 for England and Wales, 188,189 in Scotland, 
 and 204,143 in Ireland. The total amount of 
 duty was 128,318/. ; and it has progres- 
 sively increased from the time when the 
 reduction took place. In 1849, the total 
 number of advertisements was 2,109,179, of 
 which 1,668,156 were for England and Wales ; 
 234,166 for Scotland ; and 206,857 for Ireland. 
 In the last session of parliament, a considera- 
 ble effort was made to induce the government 
 to surrender this tax upon the publicity of all 
 those announcements which arise out of a 
 highly complicated state of society. The conti- 
 nual increase of advertisements, even under the 
 tax, is a proof of the absolute necessity which 
 exists, of supplying the public with informa- 
 tion through this medium. No other mode 
 of publishing is so effectual as the Newspaper 
 Advertisements ; and thus the size of news- 
 papers has been doubled in many instances, 
 to allow of the insertion of a greater number. 
 Advertisements generally supply the fund out 
 of which newspapers are supported, as the 
 price at which the newspaper is sold is insuf- 
 ficient to pay the cost of the stamp, the paper, 
 the printing, and the editorial management. 
 The lowest price of an advertisement in a 
 London daily newspaper is now 5s. (except 
 applications for places by servants, which, in 
 the last page of the ' Times,' are 3s. 6rf.), 
 which includes the duty : such advertisement 
 must not exceed five lines. The usual prac- 
 tice is to charge 6d. per line for each line 
 above four ; but when the number of lines ex- 
 ceeds about twenty, the rate of charge is 
 increased, the longest advertisements being 
 charged at the highest rate. The duty on 
 short advertisements constitutes a tax of 66 
 per cent. If the diity were abolished, the 
 minimum price of advertisements would pro- 
 bably be Is. in all but a few napera. The 
 
 early number of advertisements in the United 
 States, where no duty on them exists, is said 
 to exceed 10,000,000. 
 
 ^EGI'NA, a small island in the Gulf of 
 uiEgina, forming a part of the modern kingdom 
 of Greece. It is famed for the temple of 
 Jupiter Panhellenius, or the Panhellenium, 
 one of the most celebrated among specimens 
 of classical architecture. This temple was of 
 the Greek Doric style. It had a portico of 
 six columns at each end, and ranges of twelve 
 columns along each side. Internally it was 
 divided into what may be termed na?e and 
 aisles, by two ranges of columns, the space 
 between which was uncovered. The cell or 
 3ody of the temple was a regular parallelogram 
 inclosed by four walls : access was given to 
 ,he interior by doors in the cross-walls, from 
 inner porticoes formed by the longitudinal 
 extension of the flank walls. The columns of 
 the peristyle on the sides stand nearly as far 
 from the walls as they do from each other ; 
 and a kind of gallery was formed on the floor 
 of the peristyle around the body of the tem- 
 ple, raised by three deep steps from a nearly 
 level platform called a peribolus, in the midst 
 of which the temple stood. The extreme 
 length of the temple in front, measured on 
 the face of the lowest step of the regular sty- 
 lobate, is 49 feet 10.2 inches, and in flank 
 100 feet 7-7 inches ; and on the floor of the 
 peristyle, that is, at the edge of the upper step 
 on which the columns rest, the corresponding 
 dimensions are, 45 feet 2-2 inches, and 96 feet. 
 Both the tympana were highly enriched with 
 sculptures. 
 
 The architecture of the Panhellenium indi- 
 cates an earlier date than that of the Athenian 
 temples of the age of Pericles ; but it would 
 hardly lead us so far back as the early part of 
 the sixth century before Christ ; though it is 
 not at all inconsistent with that period. This 
 beautiful temple is now a complete ruin. All 
 the walls are levelled to the ground, and only 
 some of the columns and entablatures remain. 
 Yet it is noble, even in its ruin. 
 
 The sculptures which occupied the tympana 
 of the pediments of the Panhellenium were 
 discovered in May, 18.11, by a party of English 
 and German travellers, among whom were 
 Messrs. J. Foster, of Liverpool, and C. K. 
 Cockerell, of London, who were pursuing their 
 studies as architects. They were found 
 buried under the ruins of the building and 
 accumulations of rubbish, nearly as they had 
 fallen from their places, especially those of 
 the western front, the whole of which were re- 
 covered ; but unfortunately not more than 
 half of those of the eastern front could be de 
 termined. Thorwaldsen was engaged to re- " 
 
27 
 
 HARP. 
 
 AEEATED WATERS. 
 
 28 
 
 pair and restore all the statues which were not 
 so completely broken as to render reparation 
 impossible. Restorations of the two pediments 
 of the Panhellenium, with casts and imitations 
 of the figures on the tympana, have been ad- 
 ded to the Athenian and Phigaleian marbles 
 in the British Museum ; they occupy the upper 
 part of the north and south sides of the Phi- 
 galeian saloon, adjoining the Elgin saloon. 
 
 ^EO'LIAN HARP, a musical instrument, 
 the sounds of which are drawn from it by a 
 current of air acting on the strings. One may 
 be constructed as follows : Let a box be 
 made of thin deal, of a length exactly answer- 
 ing to the window in which it is intended to 
 be placed, four or five inches in depth, and 
 five or six in width. Glue on it, at the extre- 
 mities of the top, two pieces of oak, about 
 half an inch high and a quarter of an inch 
 thick, to serve as bridges for the strings ; and 
 withinside, at each end, glue two pieces of 
 beech about an inch square, and of length 
 equal to the width of the box which is to hold 
 the pegs. Into one of these bridges fix as many 
 pegs, such as are used in a pianoforte, though 
 not so large, as there are to be strings ; and 
 into the other, fasten as many small brass 
 pins, to which attach one end of the strings. 
 Then string the instrument with small catgut', 
 or first fiddle-strings, fixing one end of them, 
 and twisting the other round the opposite peg. 
 These strings, which should not be drawn 
 tight, must be tuned in unison. To procure 
 a proper passage for the wind, a thin board, 
 supported by four pegs, is placed over the 
 strings, at about three inches distance from 
 the sounding-board. The instrument must 
 be exposed to the wind at a window partly 
 open ; and to increase the force of the current 
 of air, either the door of the room, or an op- 
 posite window, should be opened. When the 
 wind blows, the strings begin to sound in 
 unison : but as the force of the current in- 
 creases, the sound changes into a pleasing 
 admixture of all the notes of the diatonic 
 scale, ascending and descending, and these 
 often unite in the most delightful harmonic 
 combinations. 
 
 ^EOLI'NA, a very small musical instru- 
 ment, consisting of a number of short elastic 
 metallic springs, fixed in a frame, and acted 
 on by the breath of the performer. The best 
 of the kind comprise three octaves of the 
 diatonic sounds, and are also capable of giving 
 the three simple harmonies of the key. 
 
 AERATED WATERS. Dr. Venables, in a 
 recent work on aerated waters, describes the 
 operation of Bakewell's patent apparatus, and 
 the composition necessary for the production 
 of different varieties of these liquids. The 
 
 aeration is not confined to mere cooling drinks 
 such as soda water, but is applicable to all 
 cases where water is to have an effervescing 
 quality given to it, whether for aperient, tonic, 
 diuretic, antacid, lithotriptic, or pectic pur- 
 poses. The principal feature of the process 
 is the forced combination of a gas with pure 
 water; and in the case of soda-water this 
 gas is the result of chemical action between 
 sulphuric acid and carbonate of soda. 
 
 Bakewell's apparatus consists of an upright 
 vessel supported on a stand, and furnished 
 with pipes and valves. In the lower part of 
 the apparatus is a vessel called the generator, 
 divided into two compartments by a horizontal 
 partition. Sulphuric aoid is placed in the 
 uppermost of these compartments, and the 
 carbonate of soda in the lower; and while 
 the vessel is at rest, the two substances are 
 kept wholly separate ; but when a working 
 motion is given to it by making it oscillate on 
 two pivots whereby it is suspended, the acid 
 drops at regular intervals through a hole in 
 the side of the upper compartment, and falls 
 into the lower one, where it mixes with the 
 carbonate. A chemical interchange imme- 
 diately takes place ; the soda leaves the car- 
 bonic acid and combines with the sulphuric ; 
 so that instead of sulphuric acid and carbonate 
 of soda we have carbonic acid and sulphate 
 of soda. The carbonic acid assumes the 
 gaseous form, and ascends to an earthen- 
 ware vessel in the upper part of the appa- 
 ratus. This vessel contains water; and as 
 ihe apparatus is kept oscillating, the water is 
 sufficiently agitated to absorb the gas passed 
 up into it. With a small apparatus capable 
 of holding a gallon at a time, a quarter of an 
 lour's oscillation will suffice to impregnate 
 he water with gas to a pressure of five at- 
 mospheres. The apparatus must of course 
 je strong to resist this pressure ; it is made of 
 iron, and there is a pressure guage at the top, 
 ;o measure the amount of the pressure. There 
 s a tap for draining off the aerated liquids. 
 Dr. Venables states that for a gallon of water 
 ,o be impregnated to the extent of five at- 
 mospheres, would require about six ounces of 
 carbonate (or rather sesqui-carbonate) of soda 
 and four ounces of sulphuric acid. The appa- 
 ratus admits of being used in many ways ; for 
 ihe aerator or upper vessel may be either filled 
 with pure water, and modified only by the 
 gas which ascends from the generator ; or the 
 water may previously be made acid or alka- 
 ine, and receive a further change by the aera- 
 ion. The resulting beverage will thus depend, 
 not only on the aeration, but also on the state 
 of the water before aeration. 
 
 Messrs. Knight patented an air-tight stopper, 
 
29 
 
 AERIAL BEIDGE. 
 
 ^E'SCULUS. 
 
 30 
 
 in 1844, for flasks intended to contain the 
 aerated water, when required to keep it some 
 time for further operations ; or to transfer it 
 to the common glass-bottles. It is an inge- 
 nious piece of apparatus, strong enough to 
 resist the expansive force of the gas, yet easily 
 adjusted for the entrance or exit of liquids. 
 
 AERIAL BRIDGE. [BRIDGE.] 
 
 AERIAL WHEELS. This name has been 
 given to a new form of wheel, in which the 
 tire is made hollow and very light. [WHEEL.] 
 
 AERO -DYNAMICS signifies the science 
 which treats of the motion of the air, or of 
 the mechanical effects of air put in motion. 
 There are not many points in Avhich this sci- 
 ence bears directly on manufacturing opera- 
 tions or the arts generally ; but we may pre- 
 sent a few considerations to shew its influence 
 on moving machinery. 
 
 As soon as we begin to move we feel, more 
 or less, the resistance of the air. And, since 
 any body in moving through a fluid, as air, 
 not only displaces a greater number of parti- 
 cles of the fluid in equal times, in proportion 
 as it moves faster, but causes each particle to 
 react against the body more powerfully in pro- 
 portion as the latter, by moving faster, strikes 
 it with greater force ; it follows that the resist- 
 ance of a fluid at rest against a body moving 
 in it, or the resistance of the fluid in motion 
 against a body at rest, varies with the square 
 of the velocity of the body, or of the air ; 
 that is, if the velocity be suddenly made ten 
 times as great, the resistance is made ten 
 times ten, or a hundred times as great. And 
 this is sufficiently near the truth for practical 
 purposes when the velocities are eight or nine 
 hundred feet in a second. 
 
 The resistance is nearly in the same pro- 
 portion as the surface exposed, but a little 
 greater than this proportion on the larger 
 surface ; that is, if we take two bodies of the 
 same figure and material (two iron spheres 
 for example), the surface of the second being 
 twice that of the first, the resistance to the 
 larger sphere is a little more than twice that 
 to the smaller, the velocities being the same, 
 in both 
 
 The round ends and sharp ends of solids 
 suffer less resistance than the flat ends of the 
 same. Thus, the sharp end or vertex of a 
 cone is less resisted than the flat end or base. 
 
 Two solids, similarly formed on the end to- 
 wards the air, are not equally resisted unless 
 the hinder parts are also similar. 
 
 If we suppose both the wind and the body 
 to be in motion, the resistance is variously 
 modified according to the direction of the 
 motions of the two. If the wind and the body 
 move in the same direction, with the same 
 
 velocity, there is no resistance, for no air is 
 displaced by the body. If the wind move 50 
 feet per second, and the body 100 feet, the 
 pressure on the body is the same as if it were at 
 rest, with a contrary wind of 50 feet per second 
 blowing on it. If the wind and the body 
 move in contrary directions, with velocities of 
 100 feet, the resistance is that of a wind of 
 200 feet per second ; and so on. 
 
 The following table shows in pounds avoir- 
 dupois, the pressure which different winds will 
 exert upon a square foot of surface exposed 
 directly against them. The first column is a 
 rough representation of the second. 
 
 Veloc 
 Miles 
 per 
 hour. 
 
 tyof Wind. 
 
 Feet per 
 second. 
 
 Force on the 
 square foot in 
 pounds avoir- 
 dupois 
 
 Character of the 
 wind. 
 
 1 
 
 1-47 
 
 005 
 
 Hardly percepti- 
 
 
 
 
 ble. 
 
 2 
 
 2-93 
 
 020 ) 
 
 
 3 
 
 4-40 
 
 044 } 
 
 Just perceptible 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 5-8.7 
 7-33 
 
 079 \ 
 123 } 
 
 Gentle pleasant 
 wind. 
 
 10 
 
 14-67 
 
 492 ) 
 
 Pleasant brisk 
 
 15 
 
 22-00 
 
 1-107 J 
 
 Kale. 
 
 20 
 
 29-34 
 
 1-968 ) 
 
 O * At -* 
 
 25 
 
 36-67 
 
 3-075 J 
 
 Very brisk 
 
 30 
 
 44-01 
 
 4-429 ] 
 
 
 35 
 
 51-34 
 
 6-027 [ 
 
 High wind. 
 
 40 
 
 58-68 
 
 7-873 
 
 
 45 
 
 66-01 
 
 9-963 J 
 
 Very high. 
 
 50 
 
 73-35 
 
 12-300 
 
 Storm or tempest. 
 
 CO 
 
 88-02 
 
 17-715 
 
 Great storm. 
 
 80 
 
 117-36 
 
 31-490 
 
 Hurricane. 
 
 100 
 
 146-70 
 
 49-200 1 
 
 Destructive hur- 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 ricane. 
 
 A few illustrations of the resistance and 
 pressure of the air will be met with under 
 AIR-GUN, BELLOWS, BLOWING MACHINE, SAILS, 
 WINDMILL, <fec. 
 
 AEROLITES, or AIR-STONES, are masses 
 of mineral substances which fall to the earth 
 from the higher regions. As they do not bear 
 very closely on the subject of the present 
 work, a few details concerning them, under 
 the heading METEORIC STONES, will suffice. 
 
 AERONAUTICS, AEROSTATICS, AE- 
 ROSTATION. The first of these three words 
 is compounded of two Greek words, which sig- 
 nify literally the science or art of sailing in 
 air; while the other two signify the standing 
 of bodies in air. The BALLOON,, to which 
 article we refer, is the most interesting ma- 
 chine to which these studies relate. 
 
 .E'SCULUS, or the Horse-Chestnut, is a 
 genus of plants which subserves a few useful 
 purposes, The popular name of Aorsc-phestnut 
 
31 
 
 AESTHETICS. 
 
 has arisen from the custom among the Turks 
 of grinding the nuts, and mixing them with 
 the provender given to horses that are broken- 
 winded. Starch is yielded in very considerable 
 quantity by the nuts ; but they are not used 
 in the preparation of the starch of commerce. 
 They contain, moreover, so large a quantity of 
 potash as to be a useful substitute for soap; 
 on the latter account they were formerly em- 
 ployed extensively in the process of bleaching 
 yarn, but are now seldom used. The bark, 
 which contains a great deal of tannin, is not 
 a bad substitute for Peruvian bark in fevers ; 
 and, finally, the starch of the nuts, deprived 
 of its bitterness by maceration in weak ley, 
 has been recommended as excellent and nutri- 
 tious food for horses, goats, oxen, and sheep. 
 The timber is soft and spongy, and of little 
 value. 
 
 ^ESTHE'TICS. JEsthctik is the designa- 
 tion given by German writers to a branch of 
 philosophical inquiry, the object of which is 
 a philosophical theory of the beautiful, or, 
 more definitely expressed, a philosophy of 
 poetry and the fine arts, and which has by 
 them been raised to the rank of a separate 
 science. The word ^stlu-ti/c is derived from 
 the Greek (that which concerns feeling or 
 perception), and was first used as a scientific 
 term by Alexander Baumgarten, a disciple of 
 Christian Wolf, who in his JEstlwtica (Frank- 
 fort, 1750-58), considered beauty as a given 
 property of objects, of which we are becoming 
 sensible. Winckelmann, without embodying 
 his views in a regular system, developed them 
 chiefly in reviewing and appreciating the re- 
 mains of antient sculpture. Kant denied the 
 possibility of a strict science of beauty, inas- 
 much as beauty, according to him, is not a 
 property of objects, but has its origin in the 
 disposition of our mental faculties. Beauty, 
 according to Schelling, is that manifestation 
 of tho principle of art where the infinite 
 appears contained in, or represented by, the 
 finite, or where, in the very object, the dif- 
 ference between the conscious and the un- 
 conscious (mind and nature) is annulled. 
 
 Most German writers who have published 
 systematic treatises on aesthetics, have, with 
 greater or less independence, followed the 
 principles laid down by Baumgarten, Kant, 
 or Schelling. They commonly divide their 
 systems into a general part, or a discussion 
 of the essence of beauty and art, and a spe- 
 cial one, or an inquiry into the peculiar cha- 
 racter and predominant principles of the 
 several branches of poetry on the one hand, 
 and the fine arts (chiefly sculpture, architec- 
 ture, painting, and music) on the other. 
 
 In England it is not customary to write 
 
 .ETHER. 32 
 
 formally on .Esthetics as a science ; but the 
 principle of beauty in art has been discussed 
 by Alison, Payne Knight, Burke, Price, Lau- 
 der, Reynolds, Bell, Dugald Stewart, Jeffrey, 
 Hay, Ruskin, Fergusson, and others who 
 have, however, failed to arrive at anything 
 conclusive and generally accepted ; for there 
 are few subjects on which opinions are more 
 discordant than on this. 
 
 .ETHER (aWrjp), a Greek word, now used 
 to signify a highly volatile, penetrating, and 
 combustible fluid, several kinds of which may 
 be produced by the action of different acids 
 upon spirit of wine, or alcohol. Sulphuric, 
 phosphoric, arsenic, fluoboric, chloric, muri- 
 atic, nitric, silicic, acetic, benzoic, citric, gallic, 
 oxalic, and tartaric acids all yield aether by 
 particular modes of treatment. 
 
 Sulphuric aether, obtained by distillation 
 from a heated mixture of alcohol and sulphuric 
 acid, is the chief land. It is a colourless 
 transparent liquid, of a pleasant smell and a 
 pungent taste, extremely exhilarating, produ- 
 cing a degree of intoxication when its vapour 
 is inhaled by the nostrils. Its specific gravity 
 is from .700 to .750. It evaporates so rapidly 
 that if we put some into a small glass vessel 
 surrounded with cloth and containing water, 
 and after dipping it two or three times into 
 aether, allow the aether after each immersion 
 to evaporate, the water in the glass freezes by 
 the cold produced. In the open air aether 
 boils at 90, and in a vacuum at 20 below 
 zero. In the open air it remains unfrozen at 
 00 below zero. Its vapour is nearly three 
 times as dense as common air. It combines 
 sparingly with water, but with alcohol in all 
 proportions. Both aether, and the vapour 
 which rises from it, are very inflammable. 
 The resins and most of the oils are dissolved 
 by aether ; it dissolves a small portion of sul- 
 phur and of phosphorus, and the latter solu- 
 tion becomes luminous in a dark room, when 
 poured on the hands or on hot water. The 
 alkalies, potash and soda, are insoluble in 
 aether. 
 
 , Most of the other aethers possess properties 
 analogous to those of sulphuric aether. Acetic 
 aether is used for flavouring British brandy. 
 
 .Ethers present the most perfect examples 
 of volatile stimulants, being unequalled for 
 rapidity of action when immediate aid must 
 be imparted to the muscular system, especi- 
 ally the involuntary muscles, by augmenting 
 the nervous power, and by quickening its de- 
 velopment. Sulphuric aether is the most pow- 
 erful of sethereal preparations, and therefore 
 of diffusable stimulants. It ranks as an anti- 
 spasmodic of the highest kind. The vapour 
 of aether has been lately employed for the pur- 
 
33 
 
 J5TNA. 
 
 AFFINITY. 
 
 34 
 
 pose of producing insensibility, during which 
 the most painful operations, in surgery have 
 been performed without being felt by the 
 patient. Teeth have been extracted in this 
 state, both in this country and America ; 
 and several capital operations have been 
 performed without pain to the patient. It 
 would have been extensively employed in 
 this way, had not chloroform been disco- 
 vered to be a still more effective agent. 
 ^Ether is usefully employed in many che- 
 mical and manufacturing processes. 
 
 jETNA, a celebrated volcanic mountain 
 in Sicily is noticeable in a commercial point 
 of view for its supplies of pumice and 
 snow. The pumice - stone, that light 
 porous substance which is so useful in 
 many processes of grinding and polishing, 
 is the lava of -.Etna and Vesuvius and 
 similar volcanos, where it is found in ex- 
 haustless quantities. In many parts of ./Etna, 
 strata of lava have been formed 300 feet 
 thick. 
 
 For more than half the year the upper part 
 of the mountain is covered with snow ; and it 
 forms the great store from which Sicily and 
 Malta are supplied in summer with that ne- 
 cessary of life in a hot climate. After the hot 
 summer of 1828 a search was made for an ad 
 ditional supply of snow; and this elicited the 
 curious fact, that a glacier or field of ice had 
 been prevented, perhaps for ages, from melt- 
 ing, by being covered with a stream of lava. 
 Mr. Lyell supposes that this ice was formed 
 from a mass of drift snow, which was after- 
 wards covered by an enormous thickness of 
 lava, the heat of which was kept from the 
 snow by an intervening layer of volcanic 
 sand. 
 
 AFFINITY is a term used to express the 
 tendency of different substances to unite che- 
 mically. The expressions chemical affinity and 
 chemical attraction are applied indifferently 
 to that power by which bodies combine and 
 form compounds always possessing some pro- 
 perties very different from those of their con- 
 stituents, and frequently diametrically oppo- 
 site to them. It differs from the attraction 
 of gravitation in not acting on masses, and 
 only at sensible distances. In this last pro- 
 perty it resembles- cohesive affinity, but is dis- 
 tinguished from it by occurring only between 
 the particles of dissimilar bodies. Thus, the 
 particles of a mass of sulphur are held toge- 
 ther by cohesive affinity, and so also are those 
 of a mass of copper ; but if a particle of sul- 
 phur be brought into contact with a particle 
 of copper (under a particular application of 
 phcat), the two particles being different, and 
 possessing chemical affinity for each other, 
 
 unite by this power, and form sulphuret of 
 copper. 
 
 In all mere mixtures, such as alcohol and 
 water, or salt and water, the two may act to- 
 gether in almost any proportions ; but in the 
 chemical compounds brought about by affinity, 
 the proportions are always definite. Some 
 liquids, such as mercury, water, and oil, have 
 no tendency to unite in any proportion what- 
 ever, unless by indirect means. 
 
 The simplest cases of chemical affinity are 
 these in which two bodies unite into a binary 
 compound. This is the result of what is 
 termed single affinity, and this power may be 
 exerted between two elementary or two com- 
 pound bodies ; and also, though it occurs 
 more rarely, between an elementary and a 
 compound substance. Sulphur and copper 
 for example, both elementary bodies, readily 
 unife when heated; and sulphuric acid and 
 oxide of copper, both compounds, combine 
 with great readiness. 
 
 The effects of chemical combination, thus 
 induced, are very remarkable. For instance, 
 sulphur is yellow and copper is red, but a 
 compound of the two is black. Acids give a 
 red tint to vegetable blues, and alkalies give 
 them a green tint ; but a salt compounded of 
 an acid and an alkali seldom affects the co- 
 lour. There are numerous other cases in 
 which the form, colour, smell, taste, density, 
 and other physical qualities, and the chemical 
 properties of fusibility, volatility, solubility, 
 and tendency to combination, in the com- 
 pound, bear no resemblance to those of its 
 constituent parts. 
 
 The force with which bodies chemically 
 unite arises from mutual and equal affinity : 
 thus, sulphuric acid and potash combine, not 
 merely on account of the affinity of the acid 
 for the alkali, but of the alkali equally for the 
 acid. Each substance, too, has a power of 
 unity with many others ; and as this power or 
 tendency is stronger in some instances than 
 in others, there exists what is termed elective 
 affinity, or a sort of preference (so to speak) 
 in the combining action. An example will 
 illustrate this ; Nitric acid is capable of com- 
 bining by single affinity with lime or with 
 magnesia ; and if some dilute nitric acid, con- 
 taining 54 parts of real acid, be mixed witn 
 28 parts of lime, the earth will be dissolved in 
 the acid, and a neutral solution of nitrate of 
 lime is obtained. A similar quantity of this 
 acid forms a neutral solution of nitrate of 
 magnesia by combining -with 20 parts of 
 that earth. Now, if we mil together 54 parts 
 of nitric acid, 28 of lime, and 20 of magne- 
 sia, it might be supposed that the acid which 
 is of course incapable of dissolving the whole 
 
35 
 
 AFFINITY 
 
 of both of the earths would dissolve them in 
 the proportions of 14 of lime and 10 of mag- 
 nesia : it is found, however, that this is not 
 the case, for the whole of the lime is dis- 
 solved, and the magnesia entirely left. This 
 arises from the nitric acid having an elective 
 affinity for lime rather than for magnesia. 
 
 To exhibit the degrees of elective affinity, 
 tables are constructed, in which the substance 
 whose affinities are to be expressed is placed 
 at the head of a column, and is separated 
 from the rest by a horizontal line ; beneatli 
 this line are arranged the bodies with which 
 it is capable of uniting, in the order of then- 
 respective forces of affinity; the substance 
 which it attracts most strongly being placed 
 nearest to it, while that for which it has the 
 least affinity is placed at the bottom of the 
 column. Such a table is useful, but not 
 always accurate. 
 
 Another variety is that of double elective 
 affinity, in which two compounds mutually 
 decompose each other. Thus, sulphuric acid, 
 carbonic acid, strontia, and potash, are so 
 characterised with respect to mutual affinities, 
 that if sulphate of strontia and carbonate of 
 potash be made to act on each other, both 
 are decomposed, and the components re-unite 
 to form sulphate of potash and carbonate of 
 strontia. 
 
 Chemical affinity works much more power- 
 fully when the bodies are in the liquid than 
 the solid -state, in most cases ; while others, 
 again, require the gaseous state for its full 
 development. 
 
 Proportion, Jteat, electricity, and light, all 
 influence the strength and nature of affinitive 
 combination. If sulphuric acid and alcohol 
 be combined in the ratio of equality, they 
 produce sulphuric aether; but if the propor- 
 tion of acid be ten times as much as that of 
 alcohol, olefiant gas is produced. With re- 
 spect to heat, the difference is not less striking. 
 If we mix oxygen and hydrogen gases, they 
 will remain in a state of mixture for an inde- 
 finite period without combining ; but if flame 
 be applied to them they combine with explo- 
 sion, and water is formed. Water dissolves 
 certain salts, but to a limited extent only when 
 cold ; boil it, and the solvent power is greatly 
 increased. When mercury is moderately 
 heated in atmospheric air it is converted into 
 peroxide, by combining with the oxygen of 
 the air: heat the compound thus formed 
 more strongly than was required for its pro- 
 duction, and the affinity is destroyed : oxygen 
 gas is given out, and the mercury returns to 
 its metallic state. And so on of other bodies. 
 
 Electricity possesses remarkable power over 
 chemical affinity. Indeed so intimate is the 
 
 AFGHANISTAN. so 
 
 Connection between the two, that it is now 
 known that no chemical action takes place 
 without electric action being also manifested. 
 This part of the subject, developed as it has 
 been by professors Faraday and Daniell, is 
 noticed under ELECTRO-CHEMISTRY. In the 
 mean time the following will serve as an ex- 
 ample of the reversal of chemical affinity by 
 electricity. Immerse a piece of copper in a 
 solution of nitrate of silver, the copper is dis- 
 solved and the silver precipitated ; if we re- 
 verse the experiment, and put a piece of sil- 
 ver into a solution of nitrate of copper, no 
 change is effected ; if, however, the silver 
 while immersed be touched by a piece of 
 iron, the order of affinity is reversed, the 
 copper is precipitated, and the silver is dis- 
 solved. 
 
 Light is capable of controlling chemical 
 affinity, both with respect to decomposition 
 and combination. If a mixture of hydrogen 
 and chlorine gases be exposed to the sun's 
 rays, they combine with explosion, and form 
 muriatic acid : this effect does not appear to 
 be produced by the heat which accompanies 
 the light, for a considerably higher tempera- 
 ture is not capable of producing the combina- 
 tion. Or if pale nitric acid be subjected 
 to the action of light, it suffers decompo- 
 sition to a certain extent, oxygen gas being 
 evolved. 
 
 Chemical affinity has a most important 
 influence on many branches of manufacture. 
 Bleaching, dyeing, and calico-printing depend 
 wholly on it ; as these processes are guided 
 by relative powers of combination' in different 
 substances. All metallurgic processes in which 
 mixed metals are concerned, such as steel, 
 brass, pewter, bronze, &c. ; and nearly all 
 operations in which heat or solution are em- 
 ployed are in like manner dependent on the 
 affinities of different substances one for ano- 
 ther. 
 
 AFGHANISTAN, or the country of the 
 Afghans, comprehends a large district between 
 India and Persia, lying between 28 and 35 
 N. lat., and between 02 and 73 E. long. 
 The valley of Kabool contains many fertile 
 and beautiful spots, studded with villages. 
 The dried fruits of Kabool constitute the prin- 
 cipal article of trade ; they go to Hindustan. 
 Grapes of a dozen different kinds are grown, 
 but only two species bear exportation. Red 
 and white melons are raised in abundance. 
 The wild rhubarb root is used to make pre- 
 serves ; and the vegetables are excellent. On 
 the slope of the Suliman mountains at the 
 eastern part of Afghanistan, is the Salt-range, 
 where extensive beds of rock-salt are found 
 interstratified with limestone, 
 
AFGHANISTAN. 
 
 AFGHANISTAN. 
 
 The central table-land of Afghanistan being 
 very arid, the natives adopt an ingenious 
 mode of forming aqueducts for irrigation, by 
 which the water of a hill or rising ground is 
 brought out at its foot in a rivulet, to be dis- 
 posed of at the pleasure of the farmer. Such 
 aqueducts, called karezees, are made in the 
 following manner. A well is made at the spot 
 where it is intended the water shall issue ; 
 above it in the acclivity is dug another at the 
 distance of five to twenty yards, according to 
 circumstances. The wells are continued at 
 distances generally equal, until the quantity 
 of water collected in them is deemed suffi- 
 cient, or until the depth of the wells becomes 
 so great that the expense exceeds the advan- 
 tage. If the acclivity is not very gentle, the 
 highest wells must be very deep, as their 
 bottom must be only slightly elevated above 
 the level of the water in the lower wells. All 
 these wells are then connected by means 
 aqueducts made under the surface of the 
 ground, through which the water from all of 
 them flows to the foot of the hill. 
 
 Afghanistan has great mineral wealth. 
 Gold, silver, and copper, are found in various 
 parts ; some of the iron found near Peshawur 
 is believed to be nearly equal to that of 
 Sweden, and is largely exported to India. 
 Lead, salt, alum, and saltpetre, are also among 
 the natural products of the country. 
 
 The grains cultivated are wheat, barley, 
 peas, beans, maize, rice, and some other grains 
 of Hindustan, as jowary, chuna, musoor, bajra, 
 moth, moong, oord, and murhwa. The most 
 common vegetables are carrots, turnips, 
 radishes, lettuce, cauliflowers, onions, garlic, 
 melons, and cucumbers, with a few others 
 from Hindustan. Madder is extensively grown 
 on the central table-land ; and turmeric, 
 assafoetida, and many other useful plants, grow 
 extensively. Forests are only found on the 
 Himalaya mountains and the Sufaid-Coh. 
 There are no woods on the table-land, and all 
 the trees found there are planted generally in 
 rows along the water courses and canals, and 
 around the orchards. The mulberry tree is 
 very extensively cultivated; and among the 
 fruits grown are apples, pears, cherries, 
 plums, apricots, peaches, quinces, and pome- 
 granates. 
 
 The most important of the domestic animals 
 are. the sheep. There are two kinds, both with 
 the broad fat tail, which in some parts of the 
 Eimack mountains is so large that a small 
 cart or frame is put under the tail to support 
 it. These sheep yield two fleeces : the spring 
 or coarser fleece is used for carpets, grain- 
 bags, and other coarse stuffs ; the autumn or 
 finer fleeco is manufactured into cloth, cloaks, 
 
 and mummuds or rugs. Goats are nearly aa 
 numerous as sheep ; and some of them yield 
 a fine and remarkably soft down, which grown 
 at the root of the hair: the hair is long and 
 usually jet black, but the down is of a shade 
 more or less intensive. Horses, mules, and 
 asses are plentiful ; camels and cattle less so. 
 The cats of Kabool are distinguished by their 
 long silky hair, and go under the name of 
 Persian cats, though very few of them are 
 found in Persia, and none are exported from 
 that country. These cats are exported in 
 great numbers from Kabool, where the people 
 encourage the growth of the hair by washing- 
 it with soap and combing it. 
 
 The chief articles manufactured for export 
 are silk, woollen stuffs, sword-blades, and fire- 
 arms, from Herat and Candahar. Elphinstone 
 enumerates the following as the chief indus- 
 trial occupations for home produce at Canda- 
 of har: Jewellers, gold and silversmiths, book- 
 sellers, bookbinders, stationers, makers of kul- 
 lumclauns (a sort of inkstand and pen-case, of 
 which every man who can write has one), seal 
 engravers, sellers of armour, sellers of shields 
 (these shields are of buffalo's or rhinoceros's 
 hide), gunsmiths, sword-cutlers, polishers of 
 steel, sellers of bows and arrows, sellers of 
 glass ornaments for women, three descrip- 
 tions of shoemakers, bootmakers, button- 
 makers, silk thread sellers, gold wire and gold 
 thread sellers, saddlers, farriers, painters, 
 fruiterers, cooks, soup-sellers, tobacconists, 
 druggists, perfumers, sellers of sherbet and 
 of fullodeh, confectioners, embroiderers, and 
 people whose business is to sew ornaments 
 on clothes of all descriptions, from jewels to 
 spangles. 
 
 As Afghanistan has no navigable rivers, 
 the transport of merchandise is expensive, 
 and the expense is increased by the want of 
 roads, which are not met with in all Western 
 Asia, from the Indus to the Straits of Con- 
 stantinople. The conveyance of merchandise 
 is therefore effected by beasts of burden. 
 Camels are mostly used in the level countries, 
 and mules or asses in the mountainous dis- 
 tricts. Nearly all the land commerce exist- 
 ing between India on one side, and Persia, 
 Turkistan, and China on the other side, must 
 be carried through Afghanistan. Of these 
 lines of communication, the most northern 
 goes by way of Loo-dianah, Lahore, Attock, 
 Peshawur, to Kabool, on the way to Bokhara. 
 A middle line leads from Lahore to the table- 
 land, where it branches to Ghuznee and Can- 
 dahar. A southern route reaches Candahar 
 from the mouth of the Indus. From Candahar 
 a route passes westward into Persia. 
 
 An active commerce is carried on between 
 
AFIOUM. 
 
 AFRICA. 
 
 Herat and Meshed and other towns in Persia. 
 The exports from Herat consist of shawls and 
 shawl goods, indigo, carpets of Herat, Mool- 
 taneo chintz, Indian brocades, muslin and 
 other cotton-cloth, assafcetida, lead (from the 
 mines of the Eimack), cast-iron, saffron, 
 pistachio-nuts, gums, a yellow dye, carraway 
 seeds, and paper. The imports of Herat are 
 chiefly silk, dates, tobacco, lemon-juice, and 
 ivory heel-taps. 
 
 Several caravans go annually from Kabool 
 to Bokhara. They export chiefly articles 
 which have been imported from India, espe- 
 cially shawls and shawl-cloth, white cloth of 
 all kinds, India turbans, Mooltanee chintx, 
 indigo, and spices; and they import from 
 Bokhara principally horses, and gold and 
 silver in coins and bars. Some articles brought 
 from Russia are also imported by these cara- 
 vans, especially cast-iron pots, cutlery and 
 other hardware, needles, looking-glasses, 
 Russia leather, tin, beads, and spectacles. A 
 fine cloth made of camel's wool, some raw 
 cotton, and some lambskins, are also brought 
 from Bokhara and Balkh. 
 
 AFIOUM KARA H IS SAR, a city and for- 
 tress situated almost in the centre of Asia 
 Minor, about 200 miles from Smyrna, is a 
 great trading thoroughfare ; as it lies 1 on the 
 route leading from Smyrna to Armenia, 
 Persia, and the countries bordering on the 
 Euphrates, and as being the rendezvous of the 
 caravans from Constantinople and Smyrna, 
 which from this place proceed further into 
 the interior. Hence nearly all European 
 manufactures and colonial produce, which are 
 distributed eastward and southward, pass 
 through Afioum. This circumstance renders 
 it a place of considerable importance and 
 activity ; and in no other town in this part of 
 Asia Minor are the houses so well built or the 
 shops so well supplied. Its manufactures of 
 wool, tapestry, fire-arms, sabres, and red lea- 
 ther are of some importance ; but its chief 
 article of commerce is opium (' afioum'), of 
 which a very large quantity is prepared annu- 
 ally. From the cultivation of opium here it 
 derives its name, which signifies " The Black 
 Castle of Opium." In the country between 
 this place and Smyrna most of the Turkey 
 carpets are made. 
 
 AFRICA. The Mediterranean coast of 
 Africa has been known from very early times 
 more remote, indeed, than that of Europe; 
 but down to so late a date as the beginning of 
 the 15th century, the only portion of the west 
 coast of Africa with which European naviga- 
 tors were acquainted was that between the 
 Straits of Gibraltar and Cape Nun, or Narn 
 or Non, in 28 40' N. lat., an extent of not 
 
 much more than six hundred miles. From 
 this latter point commenced that career of 
 discovery, by the Portuguese, by which the 
 ntire coast of Africa has been made known 
 to the modern world. Between the time of 
 Prince Henry of Portugal (1415) and Vasco 
 \e Gama (1497), the Portuguese tracked the 
 whole western coast of Africa from the Straits 
 of Gibraltar to the Cape of Good Hope, and 
 the whole east coast to within 1,000 miles of 
 the mouth of the Red Sea, a distance, in all, 
 of more than 10,000 miles. 
 
 The 16th and 17th centuries were marked 
 by discoveries and settlements on the rivers 
 Senegal, Gambia, and Zaire, on the west 
 coast. 
 
 The Dutch, the Danes, the French, and the 
 English, all made attempts to imitate the 
 Portuguese in their African researches ; but 
 little was effected until about sixty years ago. 
 It is since the formation of the African Asso- 
 ciation, in 1788, that the chief efforts have 
 been made in the prosecution of discovery in 
 the interior ; and it is important for us to notice 
 such enterprises here, for they were induced 
 almost wholly by commercial and manufac- 
 turing considerations the principle of inter- 
 change of commodities. The expeditions sent 
 out by the Association and by government, 
 and those undertaken by individual adven- 
 turers, have sought Timbuctoo and the Niger 
 from various points. But no considerable 
 progress was made till the first journey in 
 1795 and 1796 of Park, who, on that occasion, 
 proceeding from the west coast in the direc- 
 tion of the Gambia, discovered much new 
 country in the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo, 
 and found reason to think that the Niger or 
 Joliba (hitherto confounded with the Senegal 
 by the Portuguese) was a wholly distinct 
 river. On his second expedition, Avhich was 
 undertaken at the public expense, in 1805, 
 this adventurous traveller succeeded in sailing 
 a considerable way down the Niger, passing 
 Timbuctoo and many other cities, near one 
 of which he was murdered. 
 
 After a few partial discoveries, by Horne- 
 mann and Riley, an expedition was sent out 
 by the government in 1810, under the com- 
 mand of Captain Tuckey, to the Congo, with 
 the idea that it would be found to be the same 
 with the Joliba or Niger; he ascended that 
 river for about 280 miles, and also examined 
 part of the adjacent country. At the same 
 time Major Peddie, and after his death Cap- 
 tain Campbell, conducted another party from 
 the mouth of the Senegal, through the Foulah 
 territory, as far as Kakundy. In 1817 Mr. 
 Bowdich explored a part of the extensive ter- 
 ritories of the Ashantees; and soon after- 
 
41 AFRICA. 
 
 wards very considerable additions were made 
 to the knowledge formerly possessed both of 
 the geography and the people of interior 
 Africa, by the publication of Mr. Jackson's 
 account of the territories of Timbuctoo and 
 Houssa, from the communications of El Hage 
 Abd Salam Shabeeny. a Mussulman mer- 
 chant, who had visited these states. 
 
 Various discoveries were made by Mollien, 
 Ritchie, Lyon, and Laing, who respectively 
 started for the interior from Senegal, Tripoli, 
 and Sierra Leone. But a more important 
 and successful attempt than any which had 
 been hitherto made to explore the interior of 
 Africa was that of Major Denham and Lieu- 
 tenant Clapperton, in 1822. These travellers, 
 setting out from Tripoli, along with a caravan 
 of Arab merchants, crossed the desert, and 
 reached the great inland sea or lake called 
 the Tchad. The two travellers, sometimes 
 together, and sometimes separated, visited 
 Bornou, the Fellatah country, and Sackatoo ; 
 but they could not trace the Niger (called at 
 Sackatoo the Quorra) to its mouth. In a 
 second expedition Clapperton reached Sack- 
 atoo from Guinea, and there died. His ser- 
 vant, Richard Lander, afterwards returned a 
 considerable way towards the south, intending 
 to embark on one of the branches of the 
 Niger, and, if possible, to solve the grand 
 problem of its termination by sailing down 
 the stream. But he was stopped by the 
 natives, and compelled to turn back when he 
 had got as far as Dunrora, which he under- 
 stood to be due west of Funda, and at no 
 great distance from it. Meanwhile, Major 
 Laing had succeeded in making his way across 
 the desert from Tripoli to Timbuctoo, in 
 August, 1826, and had transmitted some brief 
 notices of that famous city, where he spent 
 some weeks. But he was murdered on his 
 return, in the desert, and none of his papers 
 have yet been recovered. Timbuctoo was 
 also reached from Sierra Leone by Caille. 
 The journey, however, which solved the pro- 
 blem of the Niger, was that of Richard and 
 John Lander. Leaving Badagry on the 22nd 
 of March, 1830, these two travellers, following 
 nearly the same route which had been taken 
 by Clapperton through the kingdom of Eyeo, 
 reached Boussa on the 17th of June. They 
 afterwards ascended the river as far as Yaouri, 
 from which tb,ey returned to Boussa, where 
 they remained for some time, and then em- 
 barked on the river, which they hoped would 
 conduct them to the sea. In this expectation 
 they were not disappointed. After various ad- 
 ventures, Richard Lander had at last the hap^- 
 piness, on the evening of the 18th of Novem- 
 ber, to find himself at the mouth of the 
 
 AFRICA. 
 
 42 
 
 greater branch of the river, here called the 
 river Nun, in that gulf or depression known 
 as the Bight of Biafra. 
 
 When the news of Lander's success reached 
 England, a commercial company at Liverpool 
 determined to send out an expedition, with a 
 view of opening an intercourse with the* centre 
 of Africa. Mr. Lander, Mr. Macgregor Laird, 
 and Captain Allen, were of the party ; and two 
 small iron steam vessels were provided, which 
 t was hoped might ascend the Niger in safety. 
 The expedition sailed in 1832 ; but it turned 
 out most disastrous, being attended with a 
 fearful loss of life. The merchants of Liver- 
 pool, however, succeeded in establishing a 
 commerce with the natives by degrees ; and 
 in 1840 the government determined to send 
 out an expedition ; under an impression that 
 trade and treaties with the African chiefs 
 might lessen the horrors of the slave trade. 
 This was also attended with much loss. Cap- 
 tain Becroft ascended the Niger about the 
 same time, in a vessel sent out by Mr. Jamie- 
 son, of Liverpool. Mr. Holroyd, Mr. Oldfield, 
 and Messrs. Moffat and Smith, all increased 
 our store of information concerning those re- 
 gions, shortly before the period just named. 
 In 1842 Captain Allen explored new regions 
 in western Africa. In 1841 and 1842 Dr. 
 Beke spent a year in Abyssinia, and many re- 
 searches were made by other travellers in the 
 upper valley of the Nile. In 1843 Major 
 Harris returned from his mission to Shoa, by 
 which much knowledge was gained of that 
 region. In 1844 and 1845 many travellers 
 were exploring the northern half of Africa, in 
 various directions: and the Journal of the 
 Geographical Society noAv yearly contains the 
 results of such expeditions. 
 
 The zeal for discovery in Africa, which has 
 been so strongly felt within the last half cen- 
 tury, has also sent out a succession of travel- 
 lers to explore the southern regions of that 
 vast continent. The principal settlement in 
 this quarter, that of the Cape of Good Hope, 
 was founded by the Dutch about 1650, and 
 remained in their hands till it was finally taken 
 from them by the British in 1806. For more 
 than a hundred years after the establishment 
 of this colony it occupied only the extreme 
 angle of the African continent, or a part of 
 the narrow tract between the sea and the 
 nearest mountains ; nor does much informa- 
 tion seem to have been obtained with regard 
 to any of the native tribes, except the nearest 
 Hottentots lying beyond that boundary. The 
 first traveller who penetrated any considerable 
 way into the interior was Captain Henri Hop, 
 who was sent out on an expedition of disco- 
 very by the Dutch governor in 1761, and tra- 
 
43 AFRICA, 
 
 versed a considerable part of the country of 
 the Namaquas. He was followed by Sparr- 
 man, Vaillant, Barrow, Trutter, Somerville, 
 Cowan, Donovan, Lichtenstein, and Burchell, 
 who, between 1775 and 1812, traversed much 
 of the country north and east of the Cape. 
 In 1820 and 1823 Burchell and Thompson 
 penetrated far to the north. In 1836 and 
 1837 Sir J. E. Alexander explored much of 
 the country inhabited by the Boschmans and 
 other tribes north of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 Since this date, exploring expeditions have 
 been made by the missionary Krapf, Lieute- 
 nant Ruxton, Mr. Ackermann, M. Maizan, and 
 others in various directions. 
 
 In short, it may be stated, that approaches 
 are now being made towards the centre of 
 Africa, from almost every side of that great 
 continent. The recent lion-hunting, elephant- 
 killing excursion of Mr. Gordon Gumming, can 
 hardly be termed a geographical exploration. 
 
 The mineral treasures of this immense con- 
 tinent are of course very imperfectly known. 
 Salt is perhaps one of the most universally 
 diffused, being found from the salt lakes of 
 the Cape colony to the northern coast. It 
 will probably be found on inquiry that the 
 mineral treasures of Africa are nearly as vari- 
 ous as those of other parts of the world, 
 though at present less perfectly known, and 
 in many cases only observed at spots widely 
 removed from one another. The mineral 
 wealth of Egypt alone is considerable ; and 
 that of the interior west of the Mozambique 
 coast is also abundant. Gold dust, however, 
 is that which has the most excited the cupi- 
 dity of Europeans ; and this mineral is found 
 in the sands of the upper streams of nearly 
 all the great African rivers. Besides gold and 
 salt, the chief mineral products are silver, 
 copper, iron, tin, lead, chalk, sulphur, and a 
 few indications of coal. 
 
 The nature of African vegetation depends 
 greatly on the latitude. The principal objects 
 of cultivation in the Barbary States are a kind 
 of wheat (Triticum durum), the stems of which 
 are solid, and the grain horny rather than fa- 
 rinaceous ; barley, which the Moors give their 
 horses instead of oats, maize, durra (Holcits 
 sorylunn), rice, tobacco, olives, oranges, and 
 figs of the most delicious quality ; pomegra- 
 nates, grapes, and jujubes, together with sweot 
 melons and water melons. In the districts 
 watered by the Nile we find all the richness of 
 vegetation of the spring months of Barbary ; 
 abundance of rice,- barley, and wheat ; rich 
 fields of sugar-canes ; olives, figs, vines, and 
 plantains that have been introduced ; while in 
 the hotter or drier, or jnore southern districts, 
 the date is the chirf object of the scenery. In 
 
 AFl'ER-MATlt. 44 
 
 the richer parts of the country we find the 
 acacias which produce gum arable, large tama- 
 risk trees, called atie, great quantities of the 
 senna plant (Cassia obtusifolia and other 
 species), intermixed with various herbs belong- 
 ing to tropical genera, all of which are either 
 unknown or very rare in the more northern 
 parts of Africa. Cotton, coffee, indigo, and 
 tobacco are cultivated with the greatest suc- 
 cess. At Thebes first begins to appear a third 
 race of palms different from the date and the 
 palmetto, namely, the forty-branched doom 
 palm ( Cruel/era Tkcbalca) of Upper Egypt. In 
 the equinoctial parts of Africa all trees of Euro- 
 pean vegetation, and even the date tree itself, 
 disappear. The landscape is characterized by 
 masses of the unwieldy baobab (Adansonia), 
 the fruit of which affords the natives a grate- 
 ful drink, huge cotton trees (Bombax pen tan- 
 drum), thick groups of oil palms (Elnis Gui- 
 necnsis), sago palms (Sagns rapltia), and others 
 of the same majestic tribe. In some places 
 the woods abound in pine-apples ; while the 
 plains are often covered with immense quan- 
 tities of the papyrus plant. Among the plants 
 cultivated for food are the cassava, the yam, 
 the pigeon pea, and the ground nut; the pa- 
 paw, the tamarind, and the nitta or doura 
 tree ; the Senegal custard apple, the gray 
 plum, the Safu, and the musanga, the seeds 
 of which are as agreeable as hazel-nuts, and 
 many others less common. Near the Cape 
 of Good Hope the plants partake more of a 
 milder climate. 
 
 Among domestic quadrupeds, the horse, the 
 ox, the buffalo, the sheep, the goat, and the 
 camel, may be enumerated. It is in the 
 northern and central regions that the camel 
 and buffalo are used. Dogs are numerous, 
 and in Mohammedan towns have no particular 
 owners, but are tolerated for their utility. 
 
 Under the headings ABYSSINIA; BARBARY; 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE ; EGYPT ; GAMBIA ; NI- 
 GER ; SAHARA ; SENEGAL ; TIMBUCTOO, etc., 
 will be found details respecting the produc- 
 tions, manufactures, and commerce of various 
 parts of Africa. 
 
 AFRICAN COMPANY, a regulated tra- 
 ding company, established by act of Parlia- 
 ment in 1754. In the course of time it 
 happened that the whole expense of the Com- 
 pany came to be defrayed by the public, and 
 for this reason the charter of its incorporation 
 was recalled by Parliament in 1821. The 
 possessions of the Company on the west coast 
 of Africa were by this act annexed to and 
 made dependencies upon the colony of Sierra 
 Leone. 
 
 AFTER-MATH is the grass which grows 
 after the hay has been made ; it is also called 
 
KNIGHTS . 
 
 'OF THE 
 
 No. 3. 
 
AGA'RICUS. 
 
 AGATE. 
 
 latter-math, rowen, or rowett, and when left 
 long on the ground it is called fogg in some 
 places. Where the land is rich and hay valua- 
 ble, the after-math is often mown and made 
 into hay. This hay is inferior in value and 
 nourishment to the first crop, which con- 
 tains the flower-stalks of the grass. It is not 
 good for horses, especially those which are 
 driven fast and work hard ; it is thought in- 
 jurious to their wind. Cows and sheep are 
 fond of it, and with them it is not liable to 
 the same objection. 
 
 AGA'RICUS is the botanical name by which 
 all the species of mushrooms, properly so 
 called, are collectively known. This genus 
 consists, according to the latest writers, of 
 not fewer than a thousand species, inhabiting 
 meadows, heaths, rocks, and masses of decay- 
 ing vegetable matter, in all parts of Europe, 
 and in many other parts of the temperate 
 regions of the earth. Among them a large pro- 
 portion are poisonous, a few are wholesome, 
 but by far the greater number are altogether 
 unknown in regard to their action upon the 
 human constitution. 
 
 Agarlcus Campestris, the common mush- 
 room, is the species that is so frequently 
 raised artificially for food. This is readily 
 known in any state by its fragrant odour, by 
 which alone it may be always recognised, and 
 the absence of which is extremely suspicious. 
 When in a very young state, it resembles 
 little snow-white balls, which are called but- 
 tons ; afterwards it acquires a stalk, separates 
 its cap, and becomes shortly conical, with 
 liver-coloured gills, and a white, thick, fleshy 
 cap, marked with a few particles of gray. At 
 a more advanced age, the cap is concave, the 
 colour gray, and the gills black ; in this state 
 it is called o,flap. Mushrooms appear in the 
 fields chiefly after Midsummer, in the months 
 of July, August, and September. They are 
 indigenous, and spring up abundantly in fields 
 where cattle have been pastured. Much care 
 is bestowed, in some districts, in the artificial 
 culture of mushrooms. 
 
 Agaricus pratensis, or oreades, the fairy-ring 
 mushroom, is so well known by its popular 
 designation as to require no description. It 
 may easily have gained that name ; for, in 
 former times, there would doubtless be great 
 difficulty in imagining how such productions 
 could spring up in a few hours in the regular 
 rings they appear in, without the aid of some 
 supernatural agency. The use to which this 
 species is usually applied is that of being 
 powdered and mixed with rich sauces, after 
 having been previously strung upon a line, 
 and dried in the shade. 
 
 AGATE, sometimes called Scotch Pebble, is 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 an ornamental stone used in jewellery. It is 
 one of the many forms under which silica 
 presents itself, almost in a state of purity; 
 constituting in the agate 98 per cent, of the 
 mineral. It presents a semi-translucent mass 
 with a sort of resinous fracture ; and is some- 
 times tinted by a minute quantity of iron. 
 The variations both of translucency and of 
 tint in the same stone are often so great as 
 to give much richness of appearance ; and 
 this combined with the high polish which 
 they are capable of receiving, imparts great 
 value to some specimens of agate. 
 
 These stones generally occur in the form 
 of detached rounded nodules, in a variety of 
 the trap rocks called Amygdaloid. The par- 
 ticles often arrange themselves in layers 
 parallel to the surface ; and the centre has in 
 some specimens a hollow space containing 
 crystals of other minerals. It is supposed 
 that agates have been formed in a kind of lava 
 produced by igneous or volcanic action. 
 
 There are many gems which so closely 
 resemble the agate in chemical constitution 
 as to render it convenient to notice them 
 briefly in this place. Carnelian or cornelian 
 is coloured with shades of red and yellow : the 
 deep clear red being the rarest and most va- 
 luable. It is brought chiefly from the East 
 Indies, and is much used for engraved seals. 
 Calcedony presents generally a milky white or 
 pale yellow colour, with very often a wavy 
 internal structure. It is sometimes met with 
 in the British isles, in such large masses as 
 to be formed into cups and other vessels. 
 Onyx has the particles arranged in parallel 
 layers : white alternating with blue, gray, or 
 brown. The onyx was much used by the 
 ancients for cameos : the figure or device being 
 cut out of the opaque white, and the dark part 
 forming the ground. A Eoman cameo of this 
 kind, in the Royal Library at Paris, measures 
 as much as 11 inches by 9. Sardonyx is a 
 variety of the onyx, in which the opaque white 
 alternates with a rich deep orange brown of 
 considerable translucency. Mocha Stone is a 
 semi-transparent calcedony, in which varied 
 tints are produced by the presence of iron and 
 other bodies. Moss Agate closely resembles 
 Mocha stone. Blood-Stone is a green agate, 
 coloured with bright red spots like drops of 
 blood. Chrysoprase and plasma are two varie- 
 ties of calcedony having a green tint. 
 
 Sir H. T. De la Beche, in his Anniversary 
 Address to the Geological Society in 1848, 
 drew attention to the artificial colouring of 
 agate. The agate workers of Oberstein are 
 in the habit of imparting colour to that sub- 
 stance : an art derived from the Italians. It 
 depends on the difference of porosity in the 
 
4*, AGA'VE. 
 
 different layers of the agate. By immersion 
 for some time in honey and water or olive 
 oil, so that the pores of the agate become 
 more or less filled, a subsequent soaking of 
 the stone in sulphuric acid produces a dif- 
 ference in the tints of the agate according to 
 the porosity of the layers, the most porous 
 becoming black, while the least porous remain 
 white or uncoloured. By immersion in a solu- 
 tion of sulphate of iron, and a subsequent 
 heating of the agate, a cornelian red is in like 
 manner obtained in the most porous layers, 
 while the least porous remain unchanged in 
 colour. It is supposed that some of the agates 
 which have come down to us from antiquity- 
 have been artificially coloured. 
 
 In the Exhibition of works of Mediaeval Art, 
 at the rooms of the Society of Arts in 1850, many 
 exquisite specimens of agate were collected. 
 
 AGA'VE, in Botany, comprehends those 
 plants which gardeners call American aloes. 
 There are many species of this genus, one 
 only of which requires to be mentioned here, 
 viz, the Agave Americana, or American Aloe. 
 This is a plant, which, when full grown, has 
 a short cylindrical woody stem, which is ter- 
 minated by hard, fleshy, spiny, sharp-pointed, 
 bluish-green leaves, about six feet long, and 
 altogether resembling those of the arbores- 
 cent aloes. It is commonly supposed that 
 this plant only reaches maturity at the end of 
 one hundred years ; but this, like many other 
 popular opinions, is an error, the period at 
 which the agave arrives at maturity varying, 
 according to circumstances, from ten to fifty 
 or even to seventy years. In hot or otherwise 
 favourable climates, it grows rapidly, and soon 
 arrives at the term of its existence; but in 
 colder regions, or under the care of the gar- 
 dener, where it is frequently impracticable to 
 attend to all the circumstances that accelerate 
 its development, it requires the longest period 
 that has been assigned to it. Having acquired 
 its full growth, it finally produces its gigantic 
 flower-stem, after which it perishes. This 
 stem is sometimes as much as forty feet high, 
 and is surrounded with a multitude of branches 
 arranged in a pyramidal form, with perfect 
 symmetry, and having on their points clusters 
 of greenish yellow flowers, which continue to 
 be produced for two or three months in suc- 
 cession. The native country of the American 
 aloe is the whole of America within the tropics, 
 from the plains nearly on a level with the sea, 
 to stations upon the mountains at an elevation 
 of between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. The sap 
 mav be made to flow by incisions in the stem, 
 and furnishes a fermented liquor, called by 
 the Mexicans Pulque ; from this an agreeable 
 ardent spirit, called Vino Mercal, is distilled. 
 
 AGE OF TREES. 
 
 48 
 
 The fibres of the leaves form a coarse kind of 
 thread ; the flowering stems dried make an 
 almost imperishable thatch ; an extract of the 
 [eaves is made into balls, which will produce a 
 Lather with water ; the fresh leaves themselves 
 cut into slices are occasionally given to cattle ; 
 and finally the centre of the flowering stem 
 split longitudinally is by no means a bad sub- 
 stitute for a European razor strop, owing to 
 minute particles of silica forming one of its 
 constituents. 
 
 AGE OF TREES. The immense con- 
 umption of timber in the manufactures of 
 this and many other countries, renders it in- 
 teresting to note the circumstances which 
 distinguish different kinds of trees, in respect 
 to duration and growth. 
 
 Besides annual and biennial plants (whose 
 age is indicated by their names), the remain- 
 der of the more perfect part of the vegetable 
 kingdom, whether herbaceous or shrubby 
 or arborescent, consist of plants which may 
 be classed under two principal modes of 
 growth. One of these modes is to increase, 
 when young, in diameter, rather than in length, 
 until a certain magnitude is obtained, and 
 then to shoot up a stem, the diameter of 
 which is never materially altered. The addi- 
 tion of new matter to a trunk of this kind 
 takes place by the insinuation of longitudinal 
 fibres into the inside of the wood near the 
 centre ; on which account such trees are 
 called Endogenous : they also bear the name 
 of Monocotyledons. The other mode is, from 
 the beginning, to increase simultaneously in 
 length and diameter, but principally in length. 
 The addition of new matter to a trunk of this 
 kind, takes place by the insinuation of longi- 
 tudinal fibres into a space beneath the bark, 
 and on the outside of the wood near the cir- 
 cumference ; on which account such trees are 
 called Exogenous ; they also bear the name of 
 Dicotyledons. 
 
 To the first of these classes belong the 
 palrn tribe and some other tropical trees. 
 There is scarcely any well-attested evidence 
 of these plants ever acquiring any considerable 
 age. It has indeed been supposed, that cer- 
 tain Brazilian cocoa-nut palms may be from 
 600 to 700 years old, and that others probably 
 attain to the age of something more than 
 300 years. But the method of computing 
 the age of palms, which is either by the num- 
 ber of rings externally visible upon their rind 
 between the base and the summit of the stem, 
 or by comparing the oldest specimens, the age 
 of which is unknown, with young trees of a 
 known age, is entirely conjectural, and not 
 founded upon sound physiological considera- 
 tions ; besides which, the date-palm, which is 
 
49 AGE OF TREES. 
 
 best known to Europeans, does not at all 
 justify the opinion that palms attain a great 
 age ; the Arabs do not assign it a greater lon- 
 gevity than from two to three centuries. 
 
 But in exogenous trees, it is quite the re- 
 verse : to their existence no limited duration 
 can be assigned. Of the many remarkable 
 cases upon record of a great age attained by 
 exogenous trees, the following are among the 
 more interesting. 
 
 At Ellerslie, the birth-place of Wallace, three 
 miles to the S. W. of Paisley, stands an oak, 
 in the branches of which tradition relates that 
 celebrated chieftain to have concealed himself 
 with three hundred of his followers. However 
 improbable the latter circumstance may be, it 
 is at least certain that the tree may well have 
 been a remarkable object, even at the period 
 assigned to it by tradition, namely, in the be- 
 ginning of the fourteenth century, and if so, 
 this individual must be at least 700 years old. 
 Its branches are said to have once covered a 
 Scotch acre of ground ; but its historical in- 
 terest has rendered it a prey to the curiosity 
 of the stranger, and the limbs have gradually 
 disappeared till little remains except the 
 trunk. Many other cases of oaks of extreme 
 old age are recorded, some of which have been 
 estimated at 1500 or 1COO years. 
 
 Of ancient yews several authentic instances 
 can be named. At Ankerwyke House, near 
 Staines, is a yew older than the meeting o 
 the English barons at Runnymede, when the) 
 compelled King John to grant the Magna 
 Charta. This tree, at 3 feet from the ground 
 measures 9 feet 3 inches in diameter ; and it> 
 branches overshadow a circle of 207 feet in 
 circumference. The yews of Fountain's Ab 
 bey, in Yorkshire, are probably more thai 
 1200 years old ; and to others an age of fron 
 2500 to 3000 years has been assigned. 
 
 Even this degree of antiquity is, however 
 much less than that of the baobab trees o 
 Africa, estimated by Adanson at 5000 years 
 and the deciduous cypress of Chapultepec in 
 Mexico, which the younger De Candolle con 
 siders still older. 
 
 The way in which the age of some of thes 
 spec mens has been computed is twofold 
 firstly, by comparing them with other oL 
 specimens, the rate of growth of which i 
 known ; and secondly, by cutting out a portion 
 of their circumference, and counting the num 
 ber of concentric rings that are visible ; for in 
 exogenous trees the woody cylinder of on 
 year is divided from the succeeding one by 
 denser substance, which marks distinctly th 
 line of separation of the two years. The firs 
 of these methods is siifficiently correct to gh- 
 at least an approximation to the truth, an< 
 
 AGIO. 50 
 
 le latter would be absolutely correct, if one * 
 ould be quite sure that observers provided 
 gainst all possible causes of error. But it 
 as been shown by Dr. Lindley, that in con- 
 equence of the extreme inequality in thick- 
 ess of the annual layers of wocyfr on opposite 
 ides of a stem, a person who judged of the 
 hole age of a tree by the examination of the 
 ayers of the stunted side only, would commit 
 rrors to the amount of sixty per cent, and 
 nore. It is by no means impossible that the 
 great age assigned to the deciduous cypress 
 nd the baobab may be connected with an 
 rror of this nature. 
 
 AGENT. In commercial matters, where 
 me person acts for another, he is called an 
 (gent, and his employer the principal. The 
 elations between the two are of great impoit- 
 nce, and are guided in some respects by 
 statutes, and in others by the custom of the 
 particular department of commerce to which 
 ihey belong. 
 
 AGIO, a term tised sometimes to express 
 the variations from fixed pars or rates of ex- 
 change, but more generally to indicate by per 
 centages the differences in the valuations of 
 moneys. The Italian word aggio is explained 
 to mean ' an exchange of money for some con- 
 sideration.' Thus, if a coin is reduced in 
 weight, and the real value is not equal to the 
 nominal value, the difference is the agio. 
 
 Where it is in the power of the state to 
 prevent the degradation of the coin below the 
 standard, no calculations of agio, strictly so 
 called, are rendered necessary. In some 
 states, the currency is made up of the dete- 
 riorated coins of the neighbouring countries 
 with which the inhabitants have dealings. 
 Under these circumstances, banks were, at 
 different times, established by the governments 
 of Venice, Genoa, Hamburg, Amsterdam, &c., 
 which, under the guarantee of the state, should 
 be at all times bound to receive deposits and 
 to make payments, according to some standard 
 value. The money or obligations of these 
 banks bears, a premium equivalent to the de- 
 terioration, and this premium is called the 
 agio of the bank. 
 
 As the current coins of every country have 
 a kind of medium value at which they are ge- 
 nerally taken, the term agio is also applied to 
 express what must be paid over and above 
 this medium value. The kinds of money on 
 which, in the case of exchange, an agio is paid, 
 are not always the more valuable intrinsically, 
 but those which are most in request. 
 
 The term agio is also used to signify the 
 rate of premium which is given, when a person 
 having a claim which he can legally demand in 
 only one metal, chooses to be paid in another. 
 
51 AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS. 62 
 
 Thus, in France, silver is the only legal stan- 
 dard, and payments can be demanded only in 
 silver coin : a circumstance which is found to 
 be practically so inconvenient, that the receiver 
 will frequently pay a small premium in order 
 to obtain gold coin, which is more easily trans- 
 portable : this premium is called the agio on 
 gold. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. A 
 large and important department of manufac- 
 turing skill is that which is devoted to agri 
 cultural implements and machines to those 
 mechanical aids by which the produce of the 
 soil is developed. Like most other departments 
 of industry, this has made a great advance 
 within the last few years. The researches of 
 Liebig, Boussingault, Thaer, and other foreign 
 experimentalists, and those of our own coun- 
 trymen, have taught us what are the relations 
 which each kind of soil bears to each species 
 cultivated, and how the mechanical prepara- 
 tion of the soil can most efficiently be carried 
 on. Our Smithfield cattle shows, and the 
 annual exhibitions of the Royal Agricultural 
 Society, demonstrate how much attention is 
 now paid to the form and manufacture of 
 agricultural implements. 
 
 The Comte de Gasparin, in his valuable 
 Cours d 'Agriculture, presents a useful analysis 
 and classification of agricultural implements, 
 according to the nature of the operations 
 which they are destined to perform. First 
 come perforating implements, intended sim- 
 ply to make holes in the ground, generally 
 for the reception of roots or seed ; these com- 
 prise the single and double dibble, a frame 
 with pointed spikes, a roller with pointed 
 spikes, and other contrivances of a similar 
 kind. The second class comprises imple- 
 ments which cut the soil in strips, or loosen it 
 in rows ; these comprise ploughs, harrows, 
 rakes, searificators, &c. In the third class 
 are implements used to cut the soil into hori- 
 zontal slices ; these are illustrated by paring 
 machines, by turf-cutting machines, by many 
 forms of plough-share, and by extirpators. 
 The fourth class comprises implements which 
 overturn long strips of soil upon themselves ; 
 among these are to be numbered cultivators, 
 and many minor forms ; indeed the plough it- 
 sell in some of its forms belongs to this class, 
 inasmuch as it exposes new portions of soil 
 to the action of the atmosphere. The fifth 
 class comprises the more complete forms of 
 plough, by which three movements are ef- 
 fected a vertical cut, a horizontal cut, and 
 an overturning of the portion loosened. In 
 the sixtli class are instruments which dis- 
 place the soil in separate pieces, and not in 
 continuous strips; they comprise spades, pick- 
 
 axes, hoes, pitchforks, and other simple hand- 
 worked tools. The seventh class comprises 
 implements used in crushing, equalising, 
 smoothing, and pressing the clods which have 
 been loosened by any of the before -mentioned 
 means; the various kinds of clod-crushers, 
 rammers, and rollers are included in this class, 
 In the eighth class are comprised the nume- 
 rous varieties of sowing machines, from the 
 simplest to the most complicated drills, &c. The 
 ninth class comprises the harvesting or reapiny 
 machines, such as sickles, scythes, &c. 
 
 Gasparin goes on to the formation of other 
 classes ; such as implements for preparing 
 grain for the market (flails, thrashing ma- 
 chines, winnowing machines, &c. ) ; imple- 
 ments of transport (baskets, wheelbarrows, 
 and vehicles of every description used upon a 
 farm) ; and machines of any kind used in 
 irrigation. 
 
 Under their proper headings in this Cyclo- 
 paedia, all the principal agricultural implements 
 are described. There may be many readers 
 who are not aware that the manufacture of 
 such implements has assumed a magnitude 
 and systematic character quite analogous to 
 the great factory system. At the works of 
 Messrs. Ransome and May, for example, at 
 Ipswich, the operations are conducted on \\ 
 gigantic scale, and with all that subdivision 
 of labour which marks an advanced stage hi 
 manufactures. Many hundred persons are 
 here constantly employed in the manufacture 
 of agricultural implements and machines. 
 Mr. Allan Ransome, a partner in this firm, 
 lias within the last few years published a valu- 
 able illustrated treatise on such implements. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS. The 
 Board of Agriculture was established chiefly 
 through the exertions of the late Sir John 
 Sinclair, and was incorporated in 1703. One 
 of its first proceedings was to commence a 
 survey of all the English counties on a uni- 
 form plan. The 'Surveys' were useful at the 
 time in developing more rapidly the agricul- 
 tural resources of the country. During the 
 years of scarcity, at the end of the last and 
 beginning of the present century, the Board 
 of Agriculture took upon itself to suggest, 
 and as far as possible provide, remedies for 
 the dearth, by collecting information and 
 making reports to the government on the 
 state of the crops. The statistics which tho 
 board collected were also at times made use 
 of by the minister, or at least were believed 
 to be so, in connection with his schemes of 
 taxation. The board encouraged experiments 
 and improvements in agriculture by prizes, 
 and it naturally exercised considerable influ- 
 ence over the provincial agricultural societies. 
 
^ 53 AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS. AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS. 54 
 
 The Board ol Agriculture was dissolved in 
 1816. 
 
 The Smithfield Cattle Club, which has been 
 in existence half a century, and some of the 
 provincial agricultural societies, especially the 
 Bath and West of England Society, which 
 commenced the publication of its ' Transac- 
 tions ' nearly seventy years ago, have been 
 very useful in promoting agricultural improve- 
 ment. 
 
 With the establishment of the ' Royal Agri- 
 cultural Society of England,' a new sera com- 
 menced in the history of institutions for the 
 improvement of English agriculture. The 
 objects of this society, as set forth in the char- 
 ter of incorporation, are : 1. To embody such 
 information contained in agricultural publica- 
 tions and other scientific works as has been 
 proved by practical experience to be useful to 
 the cultivators of the soil. 2. To correspond 
 with agricultural, horticultural, and other 
 scientific societies, both at home and abroad, 
 and to select from such correspondence all 
 information which, according to the opinion 
 of the society, may be likely to lead to prac- 
 tical benefit in the cultivation of the soil 
 3. To pay to any occupier of land or other 
 person, who shall undertake, at the request 
 of the society, to ascertain by any experiment 
 how far such information leads to useful re 
 suits in practice, a remuneration for any loss 
 which he may incur by so doing. 4. To en 
 courage men of science in their attention to 
 the improvement of agricultural implements 
 the construction of farm-buildings and cot 
 tages, the application of chemistry to tht 
 general purposes of agriculture, the destruc 
 tion of insects injurious to vegetable life, am 
 the eradication of weeds. 5. To promote the 
 discovery of new varieties of grain and othe: 
 vegetables useful to man, or for the food o 
 domestic animals. 6. To collect information 
 with regard to the management of woods 
 plantations, and fences, and on every othe: 
 subject connected with rural improvement 
 7. To take ^measures for the improvement o 
 the education of those who depend upon th 
 cultivation of the soil for their support. 8. T 
 take measures for improving the veterinary 
 art,' as applied to cattle, sheep, and pigs 
 
 9. At the meetings of the society in th 
 country, by the distribution of prizes and b 
 other means, to encourage the best mode o 
 farm cultivation and the breed of live stock 
 
 10. To promote the comfort and welfare o 
 labourers, and to encourage the improvec 
 management of their cottages and gardens 
 The country meetings take place annually i: 
 July. England and Wales are divided int 
 nine great districts, and a place of meetin 
 
 n each is fixed upon about a year before- 
 and. 
 
 The success of the Royal Agricultural So- 
 iety has revived the spirit of existing associ- 
 tions, or led to the formation of new ones, 
 "here are now about four hundred agricul- 
 ural societies in various parts of England, 
 "here are also a hundred and fifty farmers' 
 lubs, which are eminently practical; and the 
 ocal results which they collect and discuss 
 nay become applicable to other parts of the 
 .ountry placed under similar circumstances of 
 aspect, soil, and situation. 
 
 The agriculture of Scotland has been largely 
 ndebted to the societies which have been 
 established at different periods for its im- 
 )rovement. A ' Society of Improvers in the 
 knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland,' was 
 established in 1723, and some of its transac- 
 tions were published. The society becoming 
 extinct, was succeeded by another in 1755; 
 and the society which now stands in the same 
 relation to Scotland as the Royal Agricultural 
 Society to England was established in 1784. 
 It is entitled the 'Highland and Agricultural 
 Society of Scotland.' The constitution and 
 proceedings of the society are as nearly as 
 possible similar to the English society. 
 
 In 1841 the ' Royal Agricultural Improve- 
 ment Society of Ireland' was established on 
 the plan of the Royal Agricultural Society of 
 England. 
 
 In England there are no institutions of a 
 public nature which combine scientific with 
 practical instruction in agriculture. The ad- 
 vantage of establishing such an institution 
 was suggested by the poet Cowley ; and in 
 1799 Marshall published ' Proposals for a 
 Royal Institute or College of Agriculture and 
 other branches of Rural Economy.' There 
 is the Sibthorpian Professorship of Rural 
 Economy in the University of Oxford; at fehe 
 University of Edinburgh there are professor- 
 ships of agriculture and agricultural che- 
 mistry; and at the university of Aberdeen 
 there are lectures on agriculture. The bota- 
 nical, geological, and chemical professorships 
 and lectures in the different universities are, 
 however, to a certain extent auxiliary to the 
 science of agriculture. The Earl of Ducie 
 has established a model example farm on his 
 estate in Gloucestershire ; and farms of this 
 description are of considerable local advan- 
 tage. There is one on a very complete scale 
 at Harpenden, near St. Alban's, replete with 
 all the apparatus for the chemical analysis of 
 soils, fodder, products, &c. In 1839, the late 
 B. F. Duppa, Esq., publ shed a short pam- 
 phlet entitled 'Agricultural Colleges, or 
 Schools, for the Sons of Farmers,' which con 
 
55 AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 tains many useful suggestions for the esta- 1 applied to the employment of the capital and 
 blishment of such institutions. In the Agri- stock of the farm. 3. The most approved 
 cultural College and Model Farm at Ciren- 
 cester the pupils receive an education at once 
 practical and scientific, under a person 
 
 thoroughly acquainted with the management 
 of a farm, associated with a professor of che- 
 mistry, mechanics, &c. 
 
 In Ireland the government affords direct 
 encouragement to agricultural education 
 through the instrumentality of the Board of 
 National Education. The persons who are 
 trained for the office of teachers in the na- 
 tional schools are required to attend the lec- 
 tures of a professor of agricultural chemistry. 
 The Agricultural Seminary at Temple-Moyle, 
 six miles from Londonderry, is one of the 
 most successful experiments which has yet 
 been made in the United Kingdom to esta- 
 blish an institution for agricultural education. 
 It was founded by the North West of Ireland 
 Society in 1827, and up to 1840 had been at- 
 tended by 418 pupils. 
 
 Such societies as the Scottish Agricultural 
 Chemistry Association, established at the close 
 of 1843, are very well calculated to advance 
 the progress of scientific agriculture ; and they 
 can be established in any district where a suf- 
 ficient number of subscribers can be obtained 
 to command the services of a competent che 
 mist. Associations of this nature show how 
 much can be done in this country without 
 any assistance from the state. Landed pro- 
 prietors who subscribe twenty shillings yearly, 
 are entitled to have performed analyses of 
 soils, manures, &c:, according to a sc^le fixed 
 upon ; and if more than a certain number are 
 required, a charge of one-half above the scale 
 is made. 
 
 In England, soils are analysed at the Mu 
 seum of Economic Geology, London, at i 
 charge of one guinea. The establishment is 
 under the superintendence of her Majesty's 
 office of Woods and Forests. 
 
 In France there are schools assisted by the 
 state, where young persons can obtain instruc- 
 tion in agriculture, both practical and theo- 
 retical. The principal institution of this kind 
 is that at Grignon, where one of the old royal 
 palaces and the domain attached to it, con 
 sisting of 1,185 acres of arable, pasture, wood, 
 and marsh land, have been given up on cer- 
 tain conditions. The professors are paid by 
 the government, and the pupils are of two 
 grades, one paying 48/. a year, and the other 
 36/. For the purpose of imparting theoretical 
 knowledge, courses of lectures are given on 
 the following subjects : 1. The rational prin- 
 ciples of husbandry, and the management 
 of a farm. 2. The principles of rural economy 
 
 methods of keeping farming accounts. 4. The 
 construction of farm-buildings, roads, and im- 
 plements used in husbandly. 5. Vegetable 
 
 ihysiology and botany. 6. Horticulture. 
 7. Forest science. 8. The general principles 
 of the veterinary art. 9. The laws relating 
 :o property. 10. Geometry applied to the 
 measurement and surveying of land. 11. Geo- 
 metrical drawing of farming implements. 
 12. Physics, as applied to agriculture. 13. Che- 
 mistry as applied to the analysis of soils, 
 manures, &c. 14. Certain general notions of 
 mineralogy and geology. 15. Domestic me- 
 dicine, applied to the use of husbandmen. 
 
 Institutions designed for the improvement 
 of agriculture, and supported by the state, 
 have been established in most parts of Ger- 
 many. In Prussia there is a public model 
 farm and agricultural academy in nearly every 
 province. The most important of these in- 
 stitutions is the one at Mogelin, in Branden- 
 burg, about 40 miles from Berlin, which was 
 founded by the late king. The establishment 
 consists of a college and a model farm of 
 1200 acres. At Hohenheim, in the kingdom 
 of Wirtemberg, two leagues from Stuttgiird, 
 an old palace has been appropriated as an 
 agricultural college. The quantity of land 
 attached to the institution is about 1,000 acres. 
 Lectures are delivered by twelve professors on 
 the following subjects: Mathematics and 
 physics, chemistry and botany, technology, til- 
 lage, and other departments of rural eco- 
 nomy, forestry, and the veterinary art. In 
 Bavaria the king has given up the domain at- 
 tached to the royal palace of Schleissheim for 
 the purposes of a model farm. 
 
 There are agricultural institutions supported 
 by the state in several other countries of Eu- 
 rope. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. Without attempting 
 any formal treatise on agriculture, useful de 
 tails will be met with under the names of the 
 chief agricultural instruments and the chief 
 vegetable crops. In several countries of Eu- 
 rope there is a department of government 
 organized either for collecting the statistics of 
 agriculture or superintending institutions 
 which have immediate relation to that branch 
 of industry. In France these duties devolve 
 upon a department of the Minister of Com- 
 
 merce and Agriculture, 
 of agriculture, &c., in 
 
 The councils general 
 each department of 
 
 France collect the agricultural statistics from 
 each commune ; and the quantity of land sown 
 with each description of grain, the produce, 
 and the quantity of live stock for the whole of 
 the kingdom, are accurately known and pub- 
 
57 
 
 AIGLETS. 
 
 AIK. 
 
 lished. In Belgium these facts are ascertained 
 periodically, but not every year. In the 
 United States of North America, at the 
 decennial census, an attempt was made to 
 ascertain the number of each description of 
 live stock, including poultry ; the produce of 
 cereal grains, and of various crops ; the quan- 
 tity of dairy, orchard, and garden produce, &c., 
 in each State. There are twenty nine heads 
 of this branch of inquiry. The only countries 
 in Europe which do not possess statistical 
 accounts of their agriculture founded on offi- 
 cial documents are England and the Nether- 
 lands. On the same principle that a census 
 of the population of a country is useful, it 
 must be useful to have an account of its 
 productive resources. The absence of official 
 information is supplied by estimates of a con- 
 jectural character, founded at best only on 
 local and partial observation. In France it is 
 positively ascertained that the average produce 
 of wheat for the whole kingdom is under four 
 teen bushels per acre. In England it is known 
 that the maximum produce of wheat per acre 
 is about forty bushels, and that the minimum 
 is about twenty bushels. The usual conjecture 
 is that the average produce of the kingdom in 
 years of fair crops is about twenty -eight 
 bushels, but the total superficies sown with 
 wheat or any other grain, and the total quan 
 tity of the produce, are matters simply of con- 
 jecture. It would be most desirable to trace 
 what have been the results of the more scien- 
 tific cultivation of the last few years. The 
 only statement the public or even the govern- 
 ment are in possession of in respect to the 
 quantity of land cultivated and uncultivated, 
 and of land incapable of producing grain 01 
 hay, in Great Britain, rests upon the authority 
 of private inquiry made by one person, Mr 
 Couling, a civil engineer and surveyor, who 
 gave the details to the parliamentary committee 
 on emigration in 1827. Erom his tables it 
 appears that upwards of forty-six millions oi 
 acres were cultivated in the United Kingdom 
 of which about nineteen millions were culti- 
 vated as arable and gardens, and about twenty- 
 seven millions were meadows, pastures, and 
 marshes. 
 
 AIGLETS is the French name for what in 
 England are called tags, viz., the metal sheaths 
 at the end of laces or points. These points 
 are now out of date ; they were ties or bows 
 adorned at the ends with aiglets, and were 
 used instead of buttons for fastening dresses 
 They were, in the 16th and 17th centuries 
 not used merely for service, as the modern 
 tag, but were profusely employed as orna- 
 ments, glittering like spangles. 
 
 In some of the silk-mills of Derby, tags foi 
 
 silk boot-laces are made in a curious manner. 
 A. little boy sits before a kind of cutting-ma- 
 chine, with which he cuts a strip of sheet-brass 
 .nto small pieces, each large enough for one 
 :ag ; the piece is at the same time bent into a 
 kind of semi-cylindrical form. The pieces are 
 then taken up by another boy, and dropped 
 one by one into a recess in another machine ; 
 and the end of a silk-lace being laid in the 
 hollow of a tag, a lever is brought down with 
 the left hand, by which the tag is made to 
 mbrace the lace firmly, enclosing it all round. 
 These processes are conducted with astonish- 
 ing rapidity : the fingers of the two boys moving 
 almost as fast as the eye can follow them. 
 
 AIE, is the material of our atmosphere, 
 though in the last century the name was ap- 
 plied to gases of most lands as fast as they 
 were discovered. The air which envelops the 
 globe is a mixture (not a chemical compound) 
 of oxygen and nitrogen, with a very small 
 proportion of carbonic acid, and water in the 
 state of vapour. The two last are considered 
 as accidental ingredients, and not constituent 
 parts ; as well on account of the smallness of 
 their quantity, as because they occur in dif- 
 ferent proportions at different times. Esti- 
 mated by weight, air is found (nearly, but not 
 with strict accuracy) to consist of one atom or 
 equivalent of oxygen to two of nitrogen ; or, 
 estimated by volume, the oxygen is to the ni- 
 trogen in the ratio of one to four. The car- 
 bonic acid and aqueous vapour, taken together, 
 are not more than one -fiftieth of the whole 
 weight. A thousand cubic inches of dry air, 
 the barometer standing at 30 inches, and 
 Fahrenheit's thermometer at 60, weigh about 
 310 grains. The same bulk of water, at the 
 same pressure and temperature, weighs 
 252,525 grains, or more than 800 times that of 
 air. 
 
 The air, in common with all other bodies, 
 has weight. This is proved by weighing a 
 bottle which contains air in a very delicate ba- 
 lance, and then by repeating the process after 
 the air has been exhausted from the bottle by 
 the air-pump. From this we are immediately 
 led to conclude that, like all other heavy fluids, 
 air exercises pressure upon all substances which 
 are in contact with it, a truth that was very 
 little suspected in ancient times. The density 
 of the air depends upon, and is a consequence 
 of, the pressure of the superincumbent atmos- 
 phere ; or the air is an elastic fluid ; that is, 
 its bulk increases, and its density diminishes, 
 whenever the exterior pressure is wholly or 
 partially removed. Let a loose bladder, tied 
 at the mouth, and not so full of air as to be 
 distended, be placed under the receiver of an 
 air-pump, so that the air which presses the 
 
69 AIR. 
 
 outside- of the bladder can be exhausted ; the 
 interior air will expand so soon as the exhaus- 
 tion begins, will presently distend the bladder 
 to its fullest dimensions, and in some cases 
 will even burst it. On the re admission of the 
 air into the space surrounding the bladder, the 
 latter will gradually resume its former dimen- 
 sions, and its withered or flaccid appearance. 
 As we ascend the atmosphere, the superin- 
 cumbent column of air becomes of less weight, 
 and the density becomes less ; that is, a cubic 
 foot at the height of (say) 1000 feet above the 
 ground is not so heavy, or does not contain so 
 much air, as a cubic foot at the surface of the 
 earth. The pressure and density of the air 
 are regulated by the following law : at the same 
 temperature, the elastic forces of two portions 
 of air (or, which is the same thing, the weights 
 of mercury they will balance) are in direct 
 proportion to the densities, or in inverse pro- 
 portion to the spaces, occupied by these por- 
 tions. The human body would be crushed by 
 the pressure of the air on it, were there not a 
 counter pressure from within. 
 
 The temperature of air influences its elastic 
 force. It is probable that air would become 
 first liquid, and then solid, if it could be made 
 sufficiently cold. Like all other substances, 
 air gives out heat when it is compressed ; a 
 property strikingly illustrated by the fact that 
 tinder can be set on fire when the air in which 
 it is contained is suddenly and violently com- 
 pressed. 
 
 Air, like gases and vapours generally, en- 
 larges its bulk with every increase of tempera- 
 ture, or increases its elastic force if enlarge- 
 ment of bulk be prevented. The quantity of 
 this expansion, when the temperature passes 
 from the freezing to the boiling point of 
 water (that is, from 32 to 212 of Fahren- 
 heit's thermometer, from to 80 of Reau- 
 mur's, and from to 100 of the Centigrade), 
 is 375 parts out of a thousand of the bulk 
 which it had at the freezing point. And this 
 enlargement is uniform ; that is, whatever ex- 
 pansion arises from an increase of 12 of tem- 
 perature, half as much arises from an in- 
 crease of 6, twice as much from one of 
 24, and so on. From the different sys- 
 tems on which the Fahrenheit, Reaumur, 
 and Centigrade thermometers are graduated, 
 it follows that the increase of bulk, corres- 
 ponding to a rise of one degree of temperature 
 in the air (the bulk of 32 F. being taken as 
 a standard) is equal to -$%$, 7 f ff , -g-^ respec- 
 tively. In some few cases this regularity of 
 expansion is not quite certain, but it is known 
 to be very near the truth. 
 
 On the properties of air with regard to other I 
 bodies, we may notice that probably there is j 
 
 AIR ENGINES. 60 
 
 a slight adhesion of air to many, if not to all 
 surfaces. A small needle may be made to 
 swim OD water, and in this state the water 
 evidently retires from around it, leaving it, as 
 it were, suspended over a hollow in the fluid. 
 This is attributed to the adhesion of a coat of 
 air, which, with the iron, makes the whole 
 specifically lighter than the water. Recent 
 experiments on the pendulum have led some 
 to suspect, that, in addition to the resistance 
 of the air, a slight coating of this substance 
 travels with the pendulum, and thereby causes 
 an irregular addition to its weight. 
 
 These few details concerning the general 
 properties of air will meet with various illus- 
 trations under AIE-GUN ; AIR-PUMP; ATMOS- 
 PHERE ; BALLOON; COMBUSTION; PNEUMATICS; 
 STOVE ; VENTILATION, &c. 
 
 AIR-BEDS and CUSHIONS. [WATER- 
 PROOF COMPOSITIONS.] 
 
 AIR-BLADDER. Cod-sounds, which arc 
 brought in great quantities from Newfoundland, 
 are nothing more than the salted air-bladders 
 of these fishes. The Iceland fishermen, as 
 well as those of America, prepare isinglass of 
 a very excellent quality from cod-sounds; 
 though they are not acquainted with the 
 method of clarifying it, which tbe Russians 
 practise in preparing that article from the 
 sound of the sturgeon. [ISINGLASS.] 
 
 AIR ENGINES.. Many attempts have 
 been made within the last few years to pro- 
 duce engines which should have the power of 
 steam-engines without the use of steam. The 
 compression or the rarefaction of air, brought 
 about in some one of many different ways, 
 is the agentrelied upon for producing a moving 
 force. In 1840 Mr. Stirling patented such a 
 machine, and read a description of it before 
 the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1840. In 
 this engine two strong air-tight vessels are 
 connected with the opposite ends of a cylinder, 
 in which a piston works in the usual manner. 
 About four-fifths of the interior space in these 
 vessels is occupied by two similar air-vessels, 
 or plungers, suspended to the opposite extre- 
 mities of a beam, and capable of being alter- 
 nately moved up and down to the extent of the 
 remaining fifth. By the motion of these in- 
 terior vessels the air to be operated upon is 
 moved from one end of the exterior vessel to 
 the other ; and as one end is kept at a high 
 temperature, and the other as cold as possible, 
 when the air is brought to the hot end, it 
 becomes heated, and has its pressure increased, 
 whereas its heat and pressure are diminished 
 when it is forced to the cold end. Now as the 
 interior vessels necessarily move in opposite 
 directions, it follows that the pressure of the 
 enclosed air in the one vessel is increased, 
 
61 AIR-ENGINES.' 
 
 while that of the other is diminished ; a dif- 
 ference of pressure is thus produced upon the 
 opposite sides of the piston, which is thereby 
 made to move from one end of the cylinder to 
 the other ; and by continually reversing the 
 motion of the suspended vessels or plungers, 
 the greater pressure is successively thrown 
 upon a different side, and a reciprocating mo- 
 tion of the piston is kept up. The piston is 
 connected with a fly-wheel, in any of the usual 
 modes, so as to communicate motion to ma- 
 chinery. There is a furnace to heat one end 
 of the air-vessels, and a water-pipe refrigerator 
 to cool the other ; and the air traverses nume- 
 rous small channels in its course from the one 
 end to the other, in such a mode as to econo- 
 mise the heat. An engine on this construc- 
 tion has been used in an iron foundry at 
 Dundee. 
 
 One of the most remarkable projects for an 
 air-engine is the Carbonic Acid Locomotive, for 
 which Mr. Baggs took out a patent in 1842. 
 Carbonic acid gas assumes a liquid form un- 
 der a pressure of about 540 Ibs. to the inch, 
 at a temperature of 32 ; and the project con- 
 sists in an attempt to make the sudden vapo- 
 risation of this b'quid a source of power. Car 
 bonate of ammonia is made by one of the 
 usual chemical processes; and this being 
 separated into its proximate elements of car- 
 bonic acid gas and ammoniacal gas, these 
 two gases are brought to the liquid state 
 eithe v by the chemical method of Mr. Faraday 
 or the mechanical method of Sir M. I. Brunei 
 The locomotive or other engine is chargec 
 with the condensed or liquefied gases, whicl 
 are contained in very strong wrought iron 
 tubes ; and on opening certain valves, th 
 liquids suddenly flash into the vaporic form 
 mix and combine together, and are concbensec 
 into carbonate of ammonia in an adjoining 
 condenser. This carbonate of ammoni 
 can be again used as a source whence to ob 
 tain the two gases. The sudden force gene 
 rated when the liquids expand into vapour 
 becomes a moving power for the machine 
 Apparatus must be provided at suitable sta 
 tions, for making the two gases, and con 
 densing them into the liquid form. Such i 
 the rationale of this singular scheme ; bu 
 we are not aware that it has proceeded beyon 
 the specification of the patent. 
 
 Mr. H. Pratt published a pamphlet, abou 
 1845, with a view of shewing that the ascen 
 sive force of a lofty current of air, when aide 
 by heat, may be applied to the moving of ma 
 chinery. The common smoke-jack, and man 
 other machines long in use, illustrate tl 
 force of an ascending column of heated air 
 but Mr. Pratt's object is to show that there 
 
 AIR-GIT^. 
 
 62 
 
 n ascensive power in a tall current of air 
 ore than equal to the result produced by the 
 eating of the air to a temperature beyond 
 at of the external atmosphere. A large 
 akery has been established on this principle 
 t New York, the machinery being worked by 
 ascensive force of a current of air heated 
 y the baking ovens. At a certain height 
 ithin a lofty vertical shaft is a horizontal 
 heel, with wings or vanes attached at an angle 
 f 10 ; the ascending air causes this wheel to 
 evolve horizontally ; drums are fixed on the 
 kindle of the wheel, and straps or bands 
 rom these drums drive the machinery for 
 rinding the flour and kneading the dough, 
 "he dimensions of the various parts are so 
 alculated as to produce about 200 horse- 
 ower. 
 
 Baron Von Eathen made trial of an air- 
 ocomotive on a common road, in 1848. It 
 ravelled from Putney College (where it wag 
 onstructed) to "Wandsworth, at the rate of 10 
 ir 12 miles an hour. The air-reservoir (sub- 
 titute for a steam boiler) had a capacity of 
 5 cubic feet; it was capable of being charged 
 with air to a pressure of fifty atmospheres, by 
 i 6-horse power engine. 
 
 AIR-GUN, an instrument for projecting 
 ullets, in which the moving power is the rush 
 >f condensed air allowed to escape, instead of 
 he formation of gases arising from the igni- 
 ion of gunpowder. 
 
 In the stock of the air-gun is a condensing 
 yringe, the piston of which condenses air into 
 a cavity having a valve opening inwards, just 
 behind the bullet. The barrel is open, and 
 the bullet (which should just fit the barrel') 
 is inserted in the usual way. The trigger 
 opens the valve behind the bullet, and permits 
 the rush of the condensed air, which propels 
 the bullet forward. The moment the finger 
 s withdrawn from the trigger, the air closes 
 the valve, and remains, somewhat less con- 
 densed than before, for the next discharge. 
 
 The same principle has been variously ap- 
 plied. In the magazine air-gun, there is a 
 reservoir of bullets, in a channel under the 
 barrel, one of which is turned in by a cylindri- 
 cal cock pierced by a tube, which in one posi- 
 tion is a continuation of the reservoir of bul- 
 lets, and in another, of the barrel. Thus by 
 turning the gun upside down, and turning the 
 cook, a bullet falls into it from the reservoir, 
 which, on returning the cock, is of course in 
 the barrel. In some air-guns, the cavity con- 
 taining the condensed air is a hollow copper 
 ball, which can be screwed on to the gun after 
 condensation. The Air-Cane is so called be- 
 cause it is usually in the form of a walking 
 stick. The handle contains the condensed 
 
C3 
 
 AIR-PUMP. 
 
 AIR SADDLE. 
 
 air, and can be unscrewed and filled by a 
 separate condensing syringe. 
 
 No power, but only a convenient adaptation 
 of power, is gained in an air-gun ; since the 
 tnjndensation of the air itself requires an ex- 
 penditure of power. The instrument lias 
 hitherto been little more than a toy. 
 
 In 1849 a singular air-gun was invented, in 
 which the elastic quality of gutta-percha was 
 brought in aid of the elasticity of ah-, so as to 
 charge the gun without the necessity for a 
 Condensing syringe such, at least, was the 
 theory of the apparatus. 
 
 AIR-PUMP, is an instrument for removing 
 the air out of a vessel. It effects the reverse 
 operation to that performed by the condensing 
 syringe, by which additional air is forced into 
 a vessel. Both in the exhausting and the 
 condensing syringe there is a tube closed at 
 one end, excepting an orifice to which a valve 
 or lid is attached. A piston, with a rod and 
 handle, enters at the other end, and can be 
 moved up and down the tube. The piston is 
 not entirely closed, but has a valve opening 
 the same way as the other valve. Both are 
 attached to vessels, the air of Avhich is to be 
 rarefied or condensed. In the exhausting 
 syringe, both valves open upwards or let air 
 only out of the vessel and the piston : in the 
 condensing syringe, both open downwards, or 
 let air only into the vessel and the piston. In 
 the exhausting syringe, every time that the 
 piston is drawn upwards, it leaves a sort of va- 
 cuum in the barrel ; and the air in the receiver 
 forces up the lower valve to fill up this 
 vacuum. At the next movement, the air thus 
 raised is driven ont of the instrument altoge- 
 ther ; for the valves are so placed that no air 
 can go from above downwards. By repeated 
 movements of this kind, nearly all the air may 
 be drawn out of the receiver. In the conden- 
 sing syringe, all the operations are exactly re- 
 versed ; the downward motion of the piston 
 being the efficient agent in forcing into the re- 
 ceiver a quantity of air many times greater 
 than that which it originally contained. 
 
 The exhausting syringe is, in principle, the 
 common air-pump. In most forms of air- 
 pump there is at the top a metal plate ground 
 to a perfectly plane surface, on which is placed 
 an inverted glass jar or receiver, whence the 
 air is to be extracted. A hole in the plate is 
 connected with a tube, which communicates 
 with two pump barrels. These barrels are ex- 
 hausting syringes. One or more guages are 
 attached to the instrument to test the degree 
 of exhaustion of the air. The pistons which 
 work in the two pump-barrels are connected 
 by a rack-and-pinion movement with a handle, 
 in such a way that when the handle is worked 
 
 in semi-circular movements, the pistons are 
 raised alternately. As the lower part of each 
 barrel is connected with the receiver by means 
 of the tube, the movements of the two pistons 
 gradually draw out the air from the receiver, 
 in the manner of the exhausting syringe ; and 
 in this way a nearly perfect vacuum may be 
 produced. 
 
 In most of the objects for which an air-pump 
 is required in scientific experiments, a glass 
 receiver, provided with stop-cocks or other 
 adjustments, is placed on the plate of the air- 
 pump to have the air extracted ; aud experi- 
 ments or observations are made in the vacuum 
 thus produced. 
 
 If the receiver of an air- pump be open at 
 both ends, and the upper orifice be stopped by 
 the hand, on exhaustion, the pressure oi' the 
 exterior air will be painfully great on the 
 hand. If a piece of bladder be tied tightly 
 over the orifice, as the exhaustion proceeds 
 the bladder will be pressed inwards, and will 
 finally burst with a loud noise. The weight 
 of the air is proved by exhausting a copper 
 ball furnished with a stop-cock, which is shut 
 before the ball is removed from the air-pump : 
 it will then be found to weigh less than before 
 the exhaustion was made. The presence of 
 air in various substances may be detected by 
 means of an air-purnp. A glass of liquid 
 placed under the receiver will give out bubbles 
 of air as soon as the exhaustion begins. A 
 shrivelled apple will be restored to apparent 
 freshness by the expansion of the air which it 
 contains ; but will resume its original appear 
 ance when the air is allowed to return. The 
 elasticity of air may be shown by placing a 
 bladder under the receiver, not distended, and 
 the mouth of which is tied up ; on exhausting 
 the receiver, the air contained in the bladder 
 will expand it more and more, as i:iore of the 
 pressure from the exterior is removed, and 
 the bladder will finally burst from the interior 
 pressure. If a hole be made in the smaller 
 end of an egg which is placed under the re- 
 ceiver, the small bubble of air, which is always 
 found in the larger end, will by its expansion 
 force out the contents of the egg. 
 
 In machinery employed in manufactures, 
 the air-pump is applied in various ways, espe- 
 cially with some forms of steam-engines. In 
 such cases no glass-receiver is necessary, and 
 the mechanism of the air-pump is larger and 
 stronger. 
 
 AIR- SADDLE. The principle of the air 
 vessel has been applied within the last few 
 years to the production of saddles : the lea- 
 ther being made into a hollow case, and in- 
 flated with air, as a means of forming an easy 
 seat for the rider. A patent was taken out for 
 
65 
 
 AIR-VESSELS. 
 
 the invention ; but it may be doubted whether 
 the jolting action to which a saddle is subjected 
 would not be too severe for an air-stuffed 
 case. 
 
 AIR- VESSELS, or Air-Chambers, are used 
 in various machines, either to regulate and 
 equalise the propulsion of fluids, as in a FIRE- 
 ENGINE ; or to regulate and check the velocity 
 of apparatus which might otherwise attain a 
 dangerous degree of speed. An example of 
 the last -mentioned use is afforded by the con- 
 trivance employed by Mr. Timothy Bramah, 
 instead of a fly, to regulate the speed of a 
 tread-mill. In this contrivance the turning of 
 the tread-wheel is made to work a series of 
 large bellows, or air-vessels resembling bellows, 
 in which the apertures for the ingress and 
 egress of air are fitted with sliding plates 
 worked by an apparatus resembling the gover- 
 nor of a steam-engine ; so that whenever the 
 speed of the machinery exceeds the desired 
 limit, the apertures are reduced, and a greater 
 resistance is thereby occasioned. Similar con- 
 trivances, in which a cylinder and piston may 
 be used instead of bellows, and water or oil 
 instead of air, maybe advantageously employed 
 in lieu of ordinary breaks for cranes used in 
 lowering heavy goods, and in various other 
 machines. 
 
 AIRDRIE has lately sprung up to be the 
 centre of one of the most important mining 
 districts in Scotland. It is situated about a 
 dozen miles east of Glasgow. The whole dis- 
 trict beneath and around Airdrie abounds in 
 the richest ironstone and coal ; and some of 
 the largest iron- works in Scotland are here lo- 
 cated, around which a numerous population of 
 miners and workpeople is accumulating. Air- 
 drie is connected with Glasgow by the Monk- 
 land Canal and by the Caledonian Railway, by 
 which routes its mineral treasures reach the 
 great emporium of Scottish commerce. 
 
 AIX, a considerable town of France, in the 
 department of the Bouches du Rhone, carries 
 on an important trade in hardwares, fish, and 
 the productions of the neighbouring country. 
 Among the manufactures are silks, velvets, 
 woollen cloth, and printed calicoes. 
 
 ALABA'MA, one of the southern United 
 States of Nortli America, is a flourishing seat 
 of commerce and industry. The forest trees 
 in the middle and north of the state, are post 
 oak, white oak, black oak, hickory, poplar, 
 cedar, pine, chestnut, and mulberry ; in the 
 south, pine, cypress, and loblolly. Iron ore is 
 found in various parts of the state, and coal is 
 abundant on the Black Warrior river and the 
 Cahawba river. Cotton is the staple produc- 
 tion of the state, but Indian corn, rice, wheat, 
 oats, &c., are produced. The Alabama river 
 
 ALABASTER. 66 
 
 is navigable for vessels drawing six feet water, 
 60 miles above its junction Avith the Tombig- 
 bee, to Claiborne, and has four or five feet 
 water for 150 miles farther, to the mouth of 
 the Cahawba. The Tombigbee is navigable for 
 small sailing vessels to St. Stephens, 150 miles, 
 and for steam -boats to Columbus in Missis- 
 sippi State ; its total length is 450 miles, and 
 it is navigable for boats nearly the whole length. 
 Cotton is the great article of export. The city 
 and port of Mobile is, next to New Orleans, 
 the largest cotton-mart of the southern states, 
 320,000 bales having been exported in a year. 
 40,000 bales, of about 5001b. each, are annually 
 shipped from Montgomery in this State. 
 
 Manufactures are spreading considerably in 
 this state. Tanneries, iron-foundries, cut- 
 leries, distilleries, printing-offices, &c., are 
 rapidly increasing. Since the collisions of 
 opinion between the northern and southern 
 states respecting slavery, the latter have begun 
 to erect cotton mills as a means of fostering 
 their own cotton culture ; and Alabama, as 
 one of them, is rising in importance. In the 
 middle of 1850 there were in Alabama 12 
 cotton mills, with 12,580 spindles and 300 
 looms ; and there were then contracts in force 
 for 20,000 more spindles and 550 more looms. 
 The exports from Alabama in 1848 were valued 
 at 11,927,749 dollars. The population of 
 Alabama has risen from 20,845 in 1810, to 
 624,827 in 1845. The railways in Alabama 
 at the beginning of 1849 were 113 miles in 
 length, viz., from Montgomery to West Point, 
 and from Tuscumbia to Decatur. 
 
 ALABASTER, is a delicate white soft kind 
 of marble, used for ornamental purposes. The 
 name is derived from Alabastron, a town of 
 Egypt, where there appears to have been a 
 manufactory of small vessels or pots, made of 
 a stone found in the mountains near the town. 
 
 There are two kinds of alabaster : the one 
 is a carbonate of lime ; the other is gypsum, or 
 sulphate of lime. Many of the ancient perfume 
 vessels are made of the compact crystalline 
 mass deposited from water holding carbonate 
 of lime in solution, which is found in many 
 places in almost every country. It is easy to 
 ascertain of which of the two kinds a vessel is 
 composed; for carbonate of lime is hard, and 
 effervesces if it be touched by a strong acid ; 
 but sulphate of lime does not effervesce, and is 
 so soft that it may be scratched with the nail. 
 The term alabaster is now generally applied 
 to the softer stone. This last, when pure, is 
 a beautiful semi-transparent snow-white sub- 
 stance, easily worked into vases, lamps, and 
 various other ornaments ; but it is seldom found 
 in masses large enough for statuary; and, in- 
 deed, artists would be unwilling to execute any 
 
67 ALARUM. 
 
 great work in a material so very liable to in- 
 jury. It is largely found in Italy and in Der- 
 byshire. 
 
 There are many ingenious modes of pro- 
 ducing slight modifications in alabaster, in 
 respect to colour or some other of its proper- 
 ties. Alabaster may be bronzed, by coating it 
 once or twice with size, and touching it with a 
 bronze powder, of which many different vari- 
 eties are manufactured. By a judicious use 
 of bronzing, very pleasing effects may be pro- 
 duced in an alabaster statuette. Alabaster 
 may be cleaned, by washing with soap and 
 warm water, and rinsing. It may be polished, 
 by rubbing it with dried shave-grass, then with 
 a paste of lime and water, and lastly with 
 powdered talc. It may be hardened, by coating 
 the surface with a mixture of plaster of Paris 
 and gurn arabic ; or by heating, cooling, 
 steeping in water, drying, and polishing. It 
 may be stained by the same materials and in 
 the same way as marble. It may be cemented 
 when broken by a mixture of quicklime and 
 white of egg. And lastly, it may be etched by 
 covering it with an etching-ground composed 
 of white wax, white lead, and oil of turpentine, 
 and proceeding in the customary method of 
 the etching process. 
 
 The alabaster manufacture is one of some 
 importance in Italy. It employs numerous 
 turning-lathes in Florence, Leghorn, Milan, 
 and other towns. At Florence, especially, the 
 beauty and uniformity of the alabaster enable 
 it to be worked into ornaments of considerable 
 size. The larger masses are cut with steel 
 saws into blocks and pieces of various shapes, 
 which are afterwards worked into the desired 
 form by lathes and tools. Rasps, fine files, 
 fine chisels, and graving tools, are the chief 
 aids employed. 
 
 ALARUM. It is curious to mark how 
 much ingenuity has been displayed within 
 the last few years in the invention of alarums, 
 and how many patents have been taken out 
 for the inventions. In all such contrivances 
 there is some little bit of mechanism or other 
 which gives a shrill sound whenever atten- 
 tion is required to be directed to any subject 
 with which the alarum is associated. 
 
 Without describing any of the older forms, 
 we may glance at a few of the modern sug- 
 gestions. A Mr. Allen, in 1844, registered an 
 alarum intended to prevent injury to boilers 
 from the water falling below its proper level. 
 The machine consists of a float within the 
 boiler, a steam-whistle on the exterior, and a 
 tube of connection. When the water is at a 
 proper height in the boiler, the float is buoyed 
 up, and the whistle is silent ; but when the 
 water, and with it the float, descends too low, 
 
 ALARUM. 
 
 68 
 
 a little valve in the tube opens, and a current 
 of steam from the boiler ascends to the 
 whistle, which immediately gives forth a shrill 
 sound, thereby indicating that the water has 
 sunk too low in the boiler. 
 
 The alarums suggested within a recent 
 period for use on railways, are exceedingly 
 numerous. One patented by Mr. Doull, is a 
 railway whistle, so constructed as to yield 
 several notes, capable of being combined into 
 a code of signals. A chemical alarum by 
 Mr. Mowbray consists of a copper cylinder, 
 with a whistle at the top. A piece of car- 
 bonate of lime and a little muriatic acid are 
 put into the cylinder, by which carbonic acid 
 gas is speedily generated ; and this is forced 
 by some kind of mechanism into the whistle, 
 whenever a sound is required to be produced. 
 A contrivance by Mr. Hoare, described before 
 the Society of Arts, consists of a chain of rods 
 extending from end to end of a railway train, 
 and moving freely on joints. At the end of 
 the chain, in the guard's carriage, is a crank 
 which, when the rods rotate on their axes, 
 comes in contact with a hammer, and causes 
 t to strike a bell. The driver, or the pas- 
 sengers in any carriage, can give a slight 
 rotatory motion to the rods, and thus signals 
 >e communicated. 
 
 But the busiest contriver of alarums, per- 
 mps, is Mr. R utter, who has called to his aid 
 he marvels of electricity. In a patent for 
 several such contrivances, taken out by him 
 n 1847, one variety is the Fire Alarum, a 
 complicated apparatus intended for use in 
 arge buildings. A galvanic battery is placed 
 n one room, the alarum in another, thermo- 
 meters in every room, and copper wires to 
 connect all these pieces of apparatus. If the 
 temperature of any room be greatly raised, 
 as by accidental fire, the rising mercury in 
 ,he thermometer comes in contact with a 
 metallic wire, which sets the galvanic battery 
 n actiork, and this again works the alarum- 
 bell in the same way as an electro-telegraphic 
 clock, but with an adjustment intended to 
 show in which room the rise of temperature 
 has occurred. A second variety, the Trespass 
 Alarum, depends for its action on the placing, 
 near every door and window, of a tube con- 
 taining mercury, open at the top; the open- 
 ng or closing of the door or window brings 
 a small wire into contact with the surface of 
 the mercury, and this completes a galvanic 
 connection with a battery in another room : 
 all the parts of the apparatus may be the 
 same as those in the fire alarum, except by 
 liaving open tubes of mercury near doors and 
 windows, instead of thermometers in each 
 room. A third variety, the Railway Alarum, 
 
69 ALBANIA. 
 
 is intended to establish signals of communi- 
 cation between the guard and the engine- 
 driver of a railway train. There is a copper 
 wire carried through or upon or beneath 
 each carriage, and connected with another in 
 the adjoining carriage by a flexible metallic 
 cord: the wire and cord being coated with 
 gutta percha to secure isolation. There is 
 tints a wire-communication from end to end 
 of the train. The guard has in his box 
 or seat a very small galvanic battery ; and 
 the engine-driver has a series of small 
 studs connected with the rail on which his 
 hand is usually resting. When the guard 
 wishes to communicate with the engine- 
 driver, he sends a slight galvanic shock 
 through the wire to the spot on which the 
 hand of the driver rests ; and the duplica- 
 tion or variation of the shock maybe made to 
 indicate various signals. It must be evident 
 that great completeness and exactness would 
 be necessary to render any of the above three 
 kinds of alarum efficient for the purpose in- 
 tended. 
 
 A floating alarum was suggested a few 
 years ago by Mr. Hobbs, of Bristol, to be 
 moored to a sunken rock or other dangerous 
 place at sea. The centre of the machine is 
 an air-vessel or buoy. At each end is a 
 box in which a whistle is fixed, whose mouth 
 is protected from the water. As the water of 
 the sea circulates in certain parts of the in- 
 terior of the machine, it drives the air alter- 
 nately from one end to the other, and impels 
 it through the whistles; and the more vio- 
 lently the sea rocks the floating machine, the 
 louder will the whistles give forth their sound. 
 The proposal of the inventor is to make the 
 buoy and whistles of such dimensions that 
 the sound may be heard some miles distant. 
 
 Many of the above good things remain in 
 the form of mere suggestions, not yet practi- 
 cally carried out ; and it must be owned that 
 some of them are rather cumbrous and com- 
 plicated. 
 
 ALBANIA, a country of European Turkey, 
 stretching along the coast of the Adriatic and 
 Mediterranian seas, is very rugged and moun- 
 tainous, and has but few rivers of any note. 
 Among the natural productions may be men- 
 tioned many species of oak ; as the quercus 
 cerris, which affords timber of good size and 
 quality ; and the Valonia oak (quercus agilops), 
 the acorns of which are used in dyeing, and 
 supply an article of export from many parts of 
 Turkey. Other trees are the chestnut, the 
 plane, the cypress, the ash, the cedar, the 
 pine, and the larch. The wild vine and the 
 elder are also frequent on the mountains, and 
 the woods and wastes nourish the Amphilo- 
 
 ALBANY. 
 
 70 
 
 chian peach, the Arta nut, and the quince. 
 The cultivated fruits are the olive, which might 
 be rendered more productive by better care ; 
 the vine, the pomegranate, the orange, the 
 lemon, the mulberry, and the fig. The agri- 
 cultural produce consists of barley, oats, maize, 
 and other grains, tobacco, and cotton; some 
 portion of it is exported. Horses, asses, 
 cattle, sheep, and goats are reared, and are 
 sold to the Ionian Islanders. The milk of the 
 goats is made into cheese, a small quantity of 
 which is exported; and their skins serve to 
 bold wine (to which, however, they impart a 
 strong flavour). 
 
 Agriculture is in a lowly condition. The 
 plough is of simple construction, and in time 
 of harvest they reap their corn, though with 
 ittle skill, and they never mow it. The busi- 
 ness of sowing and reaping is left to the women 
 and to the aged. The young men fell timber 
 or dress the vines. There are few arts or 
 manufactures. The Albanians export a con- 
 siderable number of capotes annually; and 
 they produce some embroidery on velvet, stuff, 
 and cloth, for which the country enjoys a 
 better reputation than any other part of Euro- 
 pean Turkey; but this is the work of the 
 Greeks of Joannina, who are an industrious 
 people, rather than of the Albanians. 
 
 The trade consists mainly in the exchange 
 of natural productions for the manufactures of 
 nations more refined. Oil, wool, wheat, maize, 
 and tobacco, are sent to the kingdom of 
 Naples, or to the Ionian Isles and Malta ; and 
 sheep, goats, cattle, and horses, to the Ionian 
 Islands. Cotton wool and timber are ex- 
 ported from the Gulf of Arta ; but the cotton 
 is brought chiefly from Thessaly, and the 
 timber from ancient Acarnania, on the south 
 side of the gulf. The manufactured goods 
 which they export are capotes ; gun and 
 pistol stocks, mounted in chased silver, plain 
 and gilt ; and embroidered velvets, stuffs, and 
 cloths. They import coffee and sugar from 
 Trieste; knives, sword-blades, gun-baiTels, 
 glass and paper, from Venice ; gold and silver 
 thread, for embroidery, from Vienna ; French 
 and German cloth, coarse and ill-'lyed, from 
 Leipsic; and caps and a few other articles 
 from various parts. The want of ready means 
 of communication is a great impediment to 
 traffic. Goods are conveyed by pack-horses, 
 four or five of which are attached to each 
 other by cords, and guided by one man. 
 
 ALBANY, a district situated at the eastern 
 extremity of the colony of the Cape of Good 
 Hope in South Africa. The bays and inlets 
 along the coast of this district, are frequen ed 
 by abundance of excellent fish fit for curing. 
 A large natural salt pan is situated near the 
 
71 
 
 ALBATA. 
 
 Zondag River, in which the salt forms in 
 masses four or five inches thick ; this furnishes 
 a supply of salt to the district. The most im- 
 portant part of the trade of Albany consists in 
 the traffic carried on by licensed traders with 
 the native tribes, beyond the boundary line of 
 the colony. This trade is carried on through 
 a wide extent of country, in the Kaffer terri- 
 tory. The principal articles procured in this 
 mariner are hides, horns, and ivory, together 
 with a considerable number of live cattle. The 
 attention of the settlers has, within the last 
 few years been drawn to the improvement of 
 the growth of wool ; and during 1848 and 1849, 
 many manufactories were established in the 
 towns. 
 
 ALBATA, is the name given to one of the 
 numerous varieties of white metal, now so 
 largely used in many branches of manufac- 
 ture at Birmingham. Many different mixtures 
 or alloys will produce a white metal. For 
 example, Mr. Parker obtained in 1844 a patent 
 for five such compounds, all having the pro- 
 perties of whiteness and considerable mallea- 
 bility. One consists of zinc, tin, iron, and 
 copper, in certain specified proportions; an- 
 other of zinc, tin, and antimony ; a third of 
 zinc, nickel, iron, and copper ; a fourth of 
 copper, nickel, and silver ; and a fifth of nickel, 
 iron, and copper. It seems evident from the 
 specification, that many different proportions 
 of the ingredients may be adopted, in each of 
 the above kinds. The mode of making white 
 metal, of zinc 50, tin 48, iron 1, and copper 3, 
 is thus described : the iron and copper are 
 first melted together in a crucible, and Avhile 
 in a fused state, the tin is added in such quan- 
 tities at a time, that the iron and copper shall 
 not become solid; the zinc is then added, and 
 the whole well combined by stirring. The 
 flux is composed of one part of lime, one part 
 of Cumberland ore, and three parts of sal- 
 ammonia. The alloy thus produced may be 
 cast in sand or ingots for rolling. 
 
 See further in respect to these compound 
 metals under ALLOY. 
 
 ALBERT DuRER. [DURER.] 
 
 ALBUM (White), was a tablet on which the 
 Roman praetor's edicts were written; it was 
 put up in a public place. It was probably 
 called album because the tablet was white. 
 The word was also used to signify a list of any 
 body of persons, as of the senators and of the 
 judices. 
 
 A book which is intended to contain the 
 signatures, or short verses, or other contribu- 
 tions of persons of note or supposed note, is 
 now called an album. The name is also given 
 to a book which is merely intended as a reposi- 
 tory for drawings, prints, verses, and such 
 
 ALBU'MEN. 72 
 
 matters. Trifling as it may appear, an album, 
 in the hands of a person possessing good 
 taste, may be made a very graceful article of 
 artistic decoration. Some modern specimens 
 are extremely costly. 
 
 ALBU'MEN forms a constituent principle 
 of plants and animals ; and its essential pro 
 perties are found to be the same from which- 
 ever kingdom of the organised world it is de- 
 rived. It is found in the green feculae of 
 plants in general ; in the fresh shoots of trees ; 
 in the sap of many plants; in the bitter- 
 almond, the sweet-almond, and the emulsive 
 seeds in general ; but it exists in the greatest 
 abundance in such vegetables as ferment 
 without yeast, and afford a vinous liquor. But 
 albumen exists much more abundantly in 
 animals than in plants. It forms a consti- 
 tuent both of the animal fluids and solids. Of 
 the animal fluids, it forms an essential part of 
 the serum of the blood : it abounds in the 
 fluid that moistens the surface of the internal 
 cavities of the body and of the organs they 
 contain ; and it exists in large quantity in the 
 watery fluid poured out into those cavities in 
 the disease tenned dropsy. White of egg is 
 nearly pure albumen: when liquid it soon 
 putrefies ; but if carefully dried it may belong 
 preserved. In the animal solids, albumen 
 forms the principal part of the skin, of fibrin, 
 the basis of muscle or flesh, and of the organs 
 called glands. It is an intricate compound of 
 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, 
 and phosphorus. 
 
 The most remarkable property of albumen 
 is its power of solidifying under circumstances 
 which would rather tend to liquefy than to 
 solidify most substances. White of egg shows 
 white fibres at a temperature of 134 F., soli- 
 difies at 100, and becomes horny at 212. 
 When mixed with water, a higher temperature 
 is required for coagulation. Albumen is pre- 
 cipitated in white fibres, by agitating white of 
 egg with alcohol. Galvanic action will also 
 coagulate albumen. Many of the stronger 
 acids and salts will have the same effect; and 
 so delicate a test of the presence of this sub- 
 stance is the bichloride of mercury, or, as it 
 is commonly called, corrosive sublimate, that 
 if a single drop of a saturated solution of cor- 
 rosive sublimate be let fall into water contain- 
 ing only the two-thousandth part of albumen, 
 it will occasion a milkiness in the water, and 
 produce a curdy precipitate. 
 
 Albumen is not, as a distinct substance, 
 largely used in manufactures; but its pre- 
 sence in many natural substances greatly in 
 fluences the manufacturing processes adopted. 
 It is employed as a glaze, or species of varnish, 
 and as a clarifier for wines and syrups. Al- 
 
73 
 
 ALBURNUM. 
 
 hitmen powder is made by drying white of egg 
 to a horny consistency, and reducing it to 
 powder; it is in this state exported largely 
 to the West India sugar plantations, where it 
 is used to clarify sugar. 
 
 ALBURNUM, in plants, is that part of the 
 stem of trees which timber merchants call 
 sapwood. It is the newly-formed unchanged 
 wood lying immediately below the bark, and 
 is always of a very light colour. It consists 
 of little besides vegetable tissue ; in which 
 respect it differs from heartwood or duramen, 
 which is vegetable tissue combined with solid 
 secretions, the nature of which varies with 
 the species. 
 
 While many plants have the alburnum and 
 heartwood distinctly separated, there are 
 others, technically called white -wood trees, 
 which consist of nothing but alburnum. This 
 arises from their not forming any solid secre- 
 tions which can give durability to the central 
 parts ; hence all such trees are quickly perish- 
 able. 
 
 ALCARRAZAS. [COOLER.] 
 
 ALCHEMY was originally the pretended 
 art of making gold and silver ; but another and 
 subsequent object of alchemy was the pre- 
 paration of a universal medicine. Those 
 alchemists who were supposed to be skilled in 
 the art were termed adepts or the adepts. 
 
 According to the doctrine of the alchemists 
 all the metals are compounds, the baser of 
 th^in containing the same constituents as gold, 
 but mixed with various impurities, which 
 being removed, the common metals would 
 assume the properties of gold. The change 
 was to be effected by lapis philosophorum, or 
 the philosophers' stone, which is commonly 
 mentioned as a red pOAvder possessing a pecu- 
 liar smell. 
 
 As the philosophers' stone was said to take 
 a great part in the pretended transmutations, 
 Dr. Thomson in his ' History of Chemistry,' 
 has endeavoured to discover its probable 
 character. After quoting a description given 
 by one of the alchemists, he states that this 
 mysterious agent could hardly have been any 
 thing else than an amalgam of gold; and ' there 
 is no doubt,' he adds, ' that amalgam of gold, 
 if projected into melted lead or tin, and after- 
 wards cupellated, would leave a portion of 
 gold ; all the gold, of course, that existed pre- 
 viously in the amalgam. It might, therefore, 
 have been employed by impostors to persuade 
 the ignorant that it was really the philoso- 
 phers' stone; but the alchemists, who pre- 
 pared the amalgam, could not be ignorant that 
 it contained gold.' 
 
 It is thought by some that the alchemists 
 did injury to chemistry, by bringing it into 
 
 ALCOHOL. 74 
 
 disrepute; but Dr. Thomson remarks, that a 
 compensation Avas given in another way: 
 ' As the alchemists were assiduous workmen 
 as they mixed all the metals, salts, &c., with 
 Avhich they Avere acquainted, in various ways 
 with each other, and subjected such mixtures 
 to the action of heat in close vessels, their 
 labours were occasionally repaid by the dis- 
 covery of new substances, possessed of much 
 greater activity than any with which they were 
 previously acquainted .... Thus the alche- 
 mists, by their absurd pursuits, gradually 
 formed a collection of facts, Avhich led ulti- 
 mately to the establishment of scientific che- 
 mistry.' 
 
 ALCOHOL, is the chemical name, (pro- 
 bably derived from the Arabic), for ardent 
 spirit. Alcohol is the intoxicating principle of 
 beer, wine, and fermented liquors in general; 
 and when they are subjected to distillation, the 
 alcohol and a considerable quantity of water 
 are vaporized and condensed together. The 
 distilled products have different names and 
 properties according to the substances yielding 
 them. 
 
 It is explained under FERMENTATION, that 
 when that process is going on, a compound of 
 carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, previously 
 existing in the form of sugar, is decomposed, 
 and out of it are formed tAVO other compounds, 
 alcohol and carbonic acid. It is in this way 
 that alcohol is obtained for use. The alcohol 
 )f commerce is, hoAvever, ahvays mixed Avitli 
 water 1 , on account of the great affinity between 
 them ; and it is a difficult chemical process to 
 produce absolute or pure alcohol. 
 
 Alcohol, in its absolute or anhydrous state 
 (free from water), is a limpid, colourless 
 liquid, of an agreeable smell, and a hot pun- 
 gent taste. It is composed of carbon, hydro- 
 gen, and oxygen. Its specific gravity is 0-791 
 at 08 F., or 0-7947 at 59 F. It has never 
 been frozen, although exposed to a tempera- 
 ture 91 beloAv zero, or 123 below the freez- 
 ng point of Avater. It is extremely volatile, 
 producing considerable cold during evapora- 
 tion ; the degree of cold is proportional to its 
 purity. Heat expands alcohol in a greater 
 degree than it does water, for 100,000 volumes 
 become 104,168 by being heated from 32 to 
 100 ; whereas an equal bulk of Avater heated 
 to the same degree is increased only to 
 100,908. Under the average atmospheric 
 pressure alcohol boils at about 173, but in 
 the vacuum of the air-pump, ebullition occurs 
 at 60 and even below it. Alcohol, and the 
 vapour arising from it, are extremely inflam- 
 mable ; it burns with a lambent flame, the 
 colour of which depends upon the strength of 
 the alcohol ; the blue tint prevails when it is 
 
75 
 
 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS. 
 
 ALDERNEY. 
 
 70 
 
 strong, and the yellow when weak. Although | from the lees of rice wine ; Trosta, made in 
 the flame of alcohol yields but little light, its the Rhemish provinces from the husks of 
 heat is intense ; it burns without any smoke, grapes fermented with barley and rye; Tuba, 
 There are several substances which commu- made in the Philippine Islands from palm- 
 nicate colour to the flame of alcohol : boracic wine ; Vino Merescl, made in Mexico by dis- 
 acid and salts of copper impart green, harytic tilling the fermented juice of the Agave ; 
 salts yellow, and the salts of strontia an in- Whiskey, made in Scotland and Ireland from 
 tense and beautiful red colour. These pro- raw and malted grain, and in the south of 
 perties are made available in pyrotechny or France from sloes. 
 
 fire-works. However different the above alcoholic beve- 
 
 Alcohol combines in definite proportions rages may be, they all have a common resem- 
 with chloride of calcium, nitrate of magnesia, bianco in these particulars : they all consist 
 and other salts, with which it forms alcoates. chiefly of dilute spirit or alcohol; they all 
 It dissolves resins, essential oils, camphor, contain portions of essential oils, or colouring 
 sugar, soap, and numerous acids, with readi- matter, or extractive matter ; they all derive 
 ness ; it also readily dissolves ammoniacal their distinctive character from the nature of 
 gas. As alcohol remains fluid at the lowest these added substances ; and they may all be 
 temperatures, it is advantageously employed made to yield pure alcohol by re-distillation 
 in filling thermometer tubes, and in experi- and rectification. 
 
 ments on artificial cold ; its antiseptic proper- Numerous as they are, these drinks are 
 ties are great, and hence its use in preserving wholly distinct from the various rich and lus- 
 ahatomical preparations ; on account of its cious CORDIALS and LIQUEURS, of which the 
 ready inflammability, the purity, and the in- reader will find a brief account in subsequent 
 tense heat of its flame, it is conveniently, but articles. 
 
 not economically employed in chemical lamps, ALCOHOMETER. The rigorous proceed- 
 usually termed spirit lamps. There are many ings of the Excise in collecting the duty on 
 other useful purposes to which this remark- English spirits, render the use of several in- 
 able liqu'd is applied; but its chief employ- struments necessary. One of these is the 
 ment is in the form of beverages. Alcohometer, a sort of hydrometer fitted to 
 
 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS. The number of ascertain the quantity of pure alcohol in any 
 alcoholic drinks is surprisingly large and given mixture of spirit and water, for abso- 
 varied. The following are the principal : lutely pure alcohol never comes before the 
 Agua Ardiente, made in Mexico, from the fer- notice of the public generally ; it is always 
 mented juice of the Agave; Arack or Arrack, combined more or less with water. Various 
 made in India from the juice of the palm and means have been adopted to test the strength 
 from rice ; Araka, made in Tartary, from fer- of alcohol finding the temperature of the 
 mented mare's milk; Araki, made in Egypt vapour produced, determining the temperature 
 from dates ; Arika, made in Tartary and in produced by admixture with water, or ascer- 
 Iceland, from fermented cow's milk ; Brandy, taining the degree of volatility ; but the mode 
 made in nearly all wine countries from wine which has been found best in practice is by 
 and from fruits ; Geneva or Holland, made in determining the specific gravity, which becomes 
 Holland from malted barley or rye, rectified greater and greater as there is more and more 
 on juniper berries ; Gin, made in England water mixed with the spirit: in other words, a 
 from malted barley, rye, or potatoes, and rec- j pint of sph'it and water is heavier than a pint 
 
 of pure spirit. The Excise charge duty, not 
 on the quantity of liquor manufactured by 
 distillation, but on the quantity of pure spirit 
 
 tified with turpentine ; Goldwasser, made at 
 Dantzic from various kinds of corn, and rec- 
 tified with spices ; Kirschwasser, made in 
 
 Switzerland from the Machaleb cherry; Laii, I contained; and this quantity is determined by 
 made at Sin,m from rice ; Maraschino, made in | the alcohometer or hydrometer. 
 Dalmatia from the Macarska cherry ; Mahivah 
 Arrack, made in India from the flowers of the 
 
 ALDER. [ALNUS.] 
 
 ALDERNEY, or AURIGNY, one of the 
 Madlmcatree; Rum, made in the West Indies I islands in the English Channel, lying in the 
 and South America from cane sugar, and bay of Avranches, near the coast of Nor- 
 molasses ; Rakia, made in Dalmatia from the mandy. The soil is sandy, gritty, and gravelly 
 husks of grapes, mixed with aromatics ; Eos- round the coast, but in the valleys it is very 
 solio, made at Dantzic from a compound of fertile, producing excellent corn and potatoes, 
 bi-andy with certain plants ; Sekls-Kai/avodka In the meadows they grow rye -grass and 
 made at Scio from fruit and lees of wine ; clover, which give excellent milk and butter. 
 Shitkaia-trava, made at Kamschatka from The grass lands occupy about one-third of the 
 a sweet grass ; Shotv-choo, made in China | area of the island. The land is generally ele- 
 
frfr ALE. 
 
 vated, but consists both of high and low tracts ; 
 a good supply of excellent water is procured 
 in ever}' part of the island. The Alderney 
 cows maintain their reputation : they are easily 
 distinguished from those of the neighbouring 
 islands by being remarkably small, and straight 
 in the back. 
 
 ALE. The distinction between ale and beer, 
 the processes of manufacture, and the arrange- 
 ments of the great London breweries, are 
 described under BREWERIES AND BREWING. 
 
 ALEMBIC, a chemical apparatus used in 
 distillation. It consists of a body, cucurbit, or 
 matrass, to contain the fluid to be distilled ; a 
 head, or capital, fixed above it to receive and 
 condense the vapour which rises on the appli- 
 cation of heat to the cucurbit ; and a pipe de- 
 scending from the head to a receiver, or vessel 
 prepared to receive the condensed product of 
 distillation, which in its passage from the 
 head to the receiver, is frequently passed 
 through a ivorm or serpentine pipe immersed 
 in cold water as a refrigeratory. Alembics 
 or stills are made of both glass and metal, 
 the several parts being fitted together with 
 ground or luted joints, and of various forms 
 according to the purpose for which they are 
 employed. They are of great use in manu- 
 facturing chemistry. 
 
 ALEPPO. [HALEB.] 
 
 ALEUROMETER. One of the novelties 
 of 1849 was a contrivance called an Aleuro- 
 rneter, invented by M. Boland, a Paris baker, 
 for ascertaining the panifiable or bread-making 
 qualities of wheaten flour. This determina- 
 tion depends upon the expansion of the 
 gluten contained in a given quantity of 
 flour, when freed from its starch. A ball of 
 gluten being placed in a cylinder to which 
 a piston is fitted, the apparatus is ex- 
 posed to a temperature of 150; and as the 
 gluten dilates, its degree of dilatation is 
 marked by the piston rod. The greater the 
 dilatation, the better is the flour fitted for 
 making bread. 
 
 ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, situated in the 
 North Pacific Ocean, between Cape Alaska in 
 North America, and the peninsula of Kamt- 
 chatka in Asia, are one of the centres of the 
 fur trade. In 1785 a commercial establish- 
 ment was formed there, for the prosecution 
 of this trade ; and in 1799 this company re- 
 ceived great aid and protection from the 
 Russian government, which has ever since 
 continued. The fur animals which the islands 
 yield are bears, beavers, ermines, otters, foxes, 
 and seals. Almost the only occupations of 
 the inhabitants are fishing and hunting, and 
 the preparation of implements necessary for 
 the prosecution of those pursuits. In fishing 
 
 ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 78 
 
 they make use of a species of canoe, which 
 they call a baidar, and which consists of a 
 skeleton of wood, over which a covering of 
 seal skins is extended. Thus constructed, 
 these canoes are so extremely light that they 
 may be carried about by one person without 
 difficulty. Domestic occupations, such as 
 making clothes, and even the covering of 
 canoes, are performed by the women, who 
 likewise make mats, baskets, and other useful 
 articles of straw. 
 
 The Aleutian Islands have been recom- 
 mended by Lieut. Maury as a coaling station, 
 on the route of the Pacific Steamers from 
 California to China, planned on his proposed 
 Great Circle system. 
 
 ALEXANDRIA, called Ishanderieh by the 
 Arabs, the only seaport of Egypt, stands on 
 an artificial neck of land which joins the con- 
 tinent to the ancient island of Pharos. It 
 has two ports. The old port on the west side 
 of the town, is at the extremity of an exten- 
 sive roadstead ; there are three passages into 
 this roadstead, the deepest of which will 
 admit frigates, and probably vessels of the 
 line. The new port, which is on the east 
 side of the town, is more exposed and shal- 
 lower than the old port. The fort of Pharos, 
 which is also a light-house, is connected with 
 the island of Pharos by an artificial dyke, 
 made in part of antient granite columns laid 
 transversely. 
 
 Alexandria is the chief commercial town 
 of Egypt. All the products intended for 
 foreign export are conveyed by the Nile and 
 Mahmoudieh Canal to Alexandria for ship- 
 ment. The Mahmoudich Canal, which was 
 restored and completed by Mohammed Ali, 
 in 1819, joins the Nile at Atfeh, 40 miles 
 from Alexandria. Alexandria has become an 
 important station in the line of communica- 
 tion with the East Indies, and its importance 
 in this respect is annually increasing. Steam- 
 boats from England, Marseille, Trieste, and 
 Constantinople, sail to and from Alexandria 
 regularly, and goods and passengers, as wall 
 as mails, pass by the Mahmoudieh Canal and 
 the Nile to Cairo, thence across the desert to 
 Suez, then by the Red Sea and Arabian Sea 
 to Bombay; and so from Bombay by the same 
 route back again. 
 
 It is an instructive example of the changes 
 which mark the history of commerce, that 
 this same city of Alexandria, which is now 
 growing in trading importance every year, 
 was a great centre of commerce more than 
 2,000 years ago ; while in a great part of the 
 intervening period it sank to a position of 
 insignificance. Humboldt, in his Cosmos, 
 says " Under Ptolemams Philadelphia, 
 
79 
 
 ALG.3L 
 
 ALGIERS. 
 
 80 
 
 scarcely half a century after the death 
 Alexander the Great, and even before tin 
 first Punic war had shaken the aristo 
 cratic republic of the Carthagenians, Alexan 
 dria was the greatest commercial port in th< 
 world, forming the nearest and most com 
 modious route from' the basin of the Medi 
 terranean to the south-eastern parts o; 
 Africa, Arabia, and India. The Ptolemies 
 availed themselves with unprecedented sue 
 cess of the advantages held out to them by a 
 route which nature had marked, as it were 
 for a means of universal intercourse with the 
 rest of the world by the direction of the 
 Arabian Gulf, and whose importance canno 
 even now be duly appreciated until the savage 
 violence of eastern nations, and the injurious 
 jealousies of western powers shall simulta- 
 neously diminish." 
 
 ALG JE is the name given by botanists to 
 the tribe of plants which comprehends the 
 sea-weeds, lavers, and fresh-water submersed 
 species of similar habits. Some of them are 
 only visible to the naked eye when they are 
 collected in heaps; others grow together in 
 the beds of the ocean, and when they rise to 
 the surface form floating banks of such ex- 
 tent as to impede the course of ships. Nearly 
 all the useful species, and those of large 
 dimensions, are to be found among the joint- 
 less varieties. All the kinds that are con- 
 sumed in the important manufacture of kelp 
 [KELP] ; the eatable sorts, which, in the state 
 of birds'-nests, are collected in the islands of 
 the Indian Archipelago and sold at a high 
 price to the Chinese; those which we con- 
 sume as lava; the species that afford vege- 
 table glue; all those from which the elemen- 
 tary substance called iodine is obtained ; and 
 finally the principal part of what our farmers 
 use for manure, belong to the great tribe of 
 joint/ess Alga;, of which 55 genera and about 
 160 species are known as natives of the coasts 
 or ditches of Great Britain. The jointed 
 Alycr, or conferva, and the disjointed AlfjcK, are 
 of less importance in medicine and the arts. 
 ALGAROTTI, FRANCESCO, a popular 
 French writer of the last century, who had 
 the merit of rendering science and literature 
 fashionable amongst the upper classes of his 
 age, is mentioned here as the author of a 
 calculation often repeated which is a forcible 
 illustration of the value conferred upon a 
 raw material by industrial skill. A pound of 
 iron, he says, cost five sous. This pound of 
 iron is converted into steel ; and this steel 
 forms the material of the balance-spring of a 
 watch. Each spring weighs the tenth part of 
 a grain. Allowing for waste, the pound of 
 iron may be fabricated into eighty thousand 
 
 o watch springs. Such a spring is worth eigh- 
 teen francs ; and thus, a material originally 
 worth five sous, acquires a value of one mil- 
 lion four hundred and forty thousand francs. 
 The calculation may appear exaggerated ; but 
 the principle is unquestionable. 
 
 ALGAROVILLA is a substance which was 
 first analysed a few years ago by Dr. Ure. It 
 is produced from a tree which grows in Chili 
 and other parts of South America ; and con- 
 sists of pods bruised and agglutinated with 
 the extractive exudation of the seeds and 
 husks. It contains a good deal of tannin, 
 and may be used for tanning leather ; it may 
 be employed as the basis for a very good 
 black ink ; and it gives a brilliant yellow dye 
 to cloth, prepared in a particular way for its 
 application. 
 
 ALGIERS, frequently called, since its oc- 
 cupation by the French, Alt/eria, or Alyerie, is 
 better known to English readers as one of 
 the Barbary states. It is situated on the 
 African coast of the Mediterranean, between 
 Tunis on the east, and Morocco 011 the west. 
 It is gradually losing its Moorish character, 
 and becoming Frenchified ; though the Arabs 
 on the southern border are as little disposed 
 as ever to assume European customs. In the 
 twenty years during which the French have 
 possessed this territory (1830-1850) they 
 have had many a struggle to maintain their 
 position. 
 
 The fertility for which this country was re- 
 nowned in ancient times still continues ; iu 
 the valleys, which are watered by streams, 
 vegetation is extremely luxuriant. The mould 
 .s of a very dark colour; in some places it is 
 reddish, and impregnated with nitre or salt. 
 The hills are covered with fruit trees of every 
 kind, and the fruit is generally exquisite. A 
 species of the lotus is found here, the fruit of 
 which is eaten. The palm is indigenous, but 
 ;he date comes from the southern side of the 
 Atlas. Few timber trees are to be seen ex- 
 cept a species of oak, the quercus ballota, which 
 jears a very nutritive kind of acorn. The 
 mountains near Bujeiah used to supply the 
 dockyard of Algiers with timber. There are 
 many species of the cypress and chestnut 
 rees. There are also very extensive planta- 
 ions of the nessri or white roses; these 
 lowers are much larger than those of Eu- 
 3pe, and yield the essence known by the 
 lame of attar of roses. The sugar-cane 
 grows in this country; and a species of it 
 ailed Soleyman rises to a great height, and 
 ives more sugar than any other species 
 known. The indigo/era glanca thrives also. 
 The grain sown is wheat, barley, Indian corn, 
 nillet, doura, and also rice. 
 
81 
 
 ALGOA BAY. 
 
 ALHAMBEA. 
 
 82 
 
 The Kabyles, who form half the native po- 
 pulation, are an industrious race in regard to 
 agriculture, mining, and manufactures gene- 
 rally. They make guns, ploughs, and many 
 coarse utensils, which they sell to the Arabs 
 and Moors ; they know how to temper steel, 
 and also make sabres and knives of a toler- 
 able quality. They manufacture gunpowder 
 for their own use, but they never sell any of 
 it. Common woollen and linen stuffs, olive 
 oil, and soap made from soda and oil, are 
 among their manufactures. The furniture of 
 their huts is very simple; a few sheepskins 
 or mats spread on the ground, or on a wooden 
 platform in a corner, serve them as beds ; 
 their hykes, which resemble in shape the plaid 
 of the Highlanders, and their boornooses or 
 cloaks with hoods, which constitute their 
 dress by day, serve them as blankets at night; 
 a few baskets, earthen dishes, pots, and jars, 
 for their milk and honey ; they keep their 
 grain and fruit in large vats made of clay 
 baked in the sun, or bury them in holes 
 under ground. The Arabs, Turks, and Moors, 
 are similar in their industrial pursuits to 
 those tribes in other countries. 
 
 In his address to the manufacturers of 
 France, as to the articles desirable to send to 
 the Exhibition of 1851, M. Charles Dupin 
 enumerates several of the products of Algeria : 
 wools ; fruits ; cheap oils, fit for manufacturing 
 purposes ; cork ; woods, so richly coloured, 
 and of such varied shades, for cabinet work ; 
 a material for weaving obtained from the 
 fibres of bark or of reeds, the productions 
 made from which are fitted for summer apart- 
 ments. 
 
 ALGO'A BAY is one of those spots in 
 Cape Colony which, by receiving emigrants 
 from Europe, have laid the foundation for 
 commercial intercourse between England and 
 the semi-civilized nations of the south. 
 
 ALHAMBRA, an ancient castle and palace 
 of the Mohammedan kings of Granada, is 
 one of the storehouses for examples of the 
 Arabesque species of ornament from time to 
 time adopted in modern decorative art. In 
 Mr. Owen Jones's splendid work on the Al- 
 hambra, we see how intricate are the patterns 
 and how brilliant the colours of the decora- 
 tions with which the Avails are adorned. A 
 brief account of the existing state of the 
 building may not be misplaced. 
 
 The Alhambra is situated on a hill, which 
 runs out to the east of the town of Granada 
 It is surrounded by a strong wall, flanked by 
 square towers, and enclosing an area of 2500 
 feet in length, and 650 in breadth. The walls 
 follow all the windings of the mountain, and 
 are constructed of Hapia,' an artificial con- 
 
 crete, consisting of pebbles, rubble, and lime, 
 put moist into a wooden frame. When the 
 mortar was set, the frame was removed, and 
 the portions were used successively in build- 
 ing the walls, which grew harder by time. 
 The colour is reddish, and hence the name 
 ' al-hamra,' ' the red.' 
 
 The exterior appearance of the Alhambra 
 is simple and severe, and gives no indication 
 of the gorgeous beauty which once distin- 
 guished the interior. The Torre de Justicia, 
 so called because justice was dispensed there 
 after the manner of the East, is a square 
 tower, with a double entrance-gate, the horse- 
 shoe arch in front rising to half the height of 
 the tower. Having passed through the double 
 entrance gates, a narrow passage conducts to 
 the Plaza de los Algibes, or Court of the 
 Cisterns,' which are two, the largest 102 feet 
 long and 50 feet wide, arched over, and enclosed 
 by a wall six feet thick. On the east side of 
 this Plaza is the Alcabaza, which is a palace 
 built for Charles V. in the Cinquecento style, 
 by the architect Alonso Berreguete. On the 
 north is a very simple and unostentatious 
 entrance to the Mesuar, or common bathing- 
 court, 150 feet in length and 56 in width. It 
 is paved with white marble, and the walls 
 covered with arabesques of admirable work- 
 manship. In the midst of this court is a 
 basin bordered with flowers. At the lower 
 end of the Mesuar is an archway leading to 
 the Patio de los Leones, or 'Court of the 
 Lions.' It is open to the sky, measures 100 
 feet by 60, and is paved with white marble. 
 In the centre of it is a large basin of alabaster, 
 of twelve sides, resting on the backs of twelve 
 lions, rudely carved. Over this basin a smaller 
 one rises, from which a large body of water 
 spouts into the air, and falling from one basin 
 into the other is sent forth through the 
 mouths of the lions. This court is surrounded 
 by a gallery supported by above 100 slender 
 and elegant columns, 9 feet high, and 8i 
 inches in diameter. These columns are very 
 irregularly placed ; sometimes they are single, 
 and sometimes in groups of two or three. 
 The walls, up to the height of fifteen feet 
 from the ground, are covered with blue and 
 yellow mosaic tilings. The columns and 
 ceiling of the gallery are beautifully orna- 
 mented with arabesques and fret-work in the 
 most exqiiisite taste. Around the upper face 
 of the Fountain of the Lions are some Arabic 
 verses, which describe, in a style of oriental 
 hyperbole, the wonders and the beauty of the 
 fountain. On each end of the court projects 
 a portico, which is also supported by slender 
 marble columns. 
 
 On the left side of the Court of the Lions 
 
ALICANTE. 
 
 ALKALI. 
 
 84 
 
 is the Sala de los Abencerrages, and opposite 
 to the Sala de los Abencerrages, on the othe 
 side of the Court of the lions, is the Sala d 
 las dos Hermanas, or ' Hall of the Two Sis 
 ters,' so called from two huge flags of whit 
 marble, without a flaw or stain, which are in 
 the pavement. On the upper end of th 
 Mesuar stands the magnificent Tower o 
 Comares. This massive tower rises above th 
 rest of the building, and overhangs a dee] 
 ravine. 
 
 The Sala de los Ambajadores, which occu 
 pies the whole of the interior of the Towe: 
 of Comares, still preserves traces of its pas 
 splendour. The walls are richly stuccoed anc 
 ornamented with arabesques of exquisite 
 workmanship. The ceiling is of cedar-wood 
 inlaid with ivory, silver, and mother of pearl 
 The three sides of the hall are full of win- 
 dows, formed in the immense thickness of the 
 wall, which thus allow a free circulation to 
 the air, and admit a faint light which produces 
 a surprising effect. In the same manner al] 
 the halls of the Alhambra are lighted and 
 ventilated. To the east of the Sala de Comares 
 is the Tocador de la Reina, or Queen's Dress- 
 ing-room, and near it is the Garden of Linda- 
 raja, with its alabaster fountain, and groves 
 of roses, myrtles, and orange-trees. 
 
 When we examine the halls of the Alham- 
 bra, we are no less surprised at the elegance 
 of their construction and^ the beauty of their 
 ornaments than at the durability of a work of 
 such a delicate nature ; the blue, the carmine, 
 and the gold still preserve all their brilliancy 
 and freshness ; the slender columns and appa- 
 rently fragile filagree work have stood the 
 vicissitudes of five centuries. 
 
 ALICANTE, a modem province of Spain, 
 formed of the southern portion of the kingdom 
 of Valencia and a small part of Murcia, is 
 noted for its fertility and industry. The in 
 habitants are very industrious, aod cultivate 
 the land with great care : irrigation is much 
 and successfully employed. Wheat is little 
 cultivated, but rice, oranges, citrons, figs, al- 
 monds, and dates, are grown in large quanti- 
 ties ; barilla, the sugar-cane, the cotton tree, 
 and all equinoctial plants flourish. The 
 quantity of wine produced is considerable, and 
 of the best quality, especially that grown in 
 the environs of the city of Alicante. Linen, 
 broadcloth, soap, paper, and worsted-yarn are 
 manufactured : there are several brandy dis- 
 tilleries in the province. Great attention is 
 paid to the rearing of silk-worms and bees, 
 and the tunny, anchovy, and other fisheries 
 on the coast are very productive. Nearly 
 1000 ships, Spanish and foreign, enter the 
 harbour of Alicante town yearly. The greater 
 
 part of its foreign trade consists of imports of 
 linen from France and Genoa, tobacco from 
 the United States of America, and cod-fish 
 from Newfoundland ; its exports are, barilla 
 and almonds to England and Ireland, and 
 wine to Brazil and the coast of Barbary. A 
 considerable quantity of wine is also shipped 
 to the port of Cette, in Languedoc, whence it 
 is sent to Bordeaux, to be mixed with the in- 
 ferior Medoc wines. Alicante likewise exports 
 oil, olives, brandy, and soap : the quality of 
 the last-mentioned article is much esteemed. 
 The communications between the town and 
 the contiguous country are for the most part 
 kept up by means of small coasting vessels of 
 from 20 to 70 tons burthen, the roads being 
 so exceedingly bad, that such goods as are 
 sent by land must be conveyed on the backs 
 of mules and asses. All cotton manufactures 
 being prohibited, a great contraband trade is 
 carried on from Gibraltar, Algiers, and Oran, 
 chiefly by Spanish fisliing-boats 
 
 ALIQUOT PAET. The determination of 
 aliquot parts of weights or of sums of money 
 s of so much use in commerce that it may be 
 mefly explained here. One number or fraction 
 s said to be an aliquot part of a second number 
 r fraction when the first is contained an exact 
 number of times in the second. Thus, 6, 3, 
 4, 2, 14, 4 , &c., are all aliquot parts of 12, 
 >eing contained in it respectively 2, 4, 3, 6, 8, 
 24, 36, &c. times. The word is principally 
 used in the arithmetical rule called practice, 
 and the convenience of using it is as follows, 
 f we want to know how much 30 J yards cost 
 at I/. 15s. 6d. a yard, the direct process of 
 ommon arithmetic would be to turn 30$ yards 
 nto half yards, giving 61, and IL 15s. Gd. 
 nto sixpences, giving 71. Then multiplying 
 1 by 71, and dividing the product by 2, we 
 lave the number of sixpences which 3() yards 
 ost, which must then be reduced into pounds, 
 hillings, and pence. But if we observe that 
 L 15s. 6d. is made up of I/., 10s. the half of 
 ne pound, 5s. the half of 10s., and 6rf. the 
 enth of 5s., we can proceed as follows : 
 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 04 yards at 1 per yard cost 30 1 
 
 10 15 5 
 
 050 7 12 6 
 
 006 J5 3 
 
 1 15 6 54 2 9 
 
 n which each line is derived from the pre- 
 eding by simple division, on the obvious 
 rinciple that at 6rf. a yard we give the tenth 
 art of what we give at 5s. a yard, and so on. 
 
 ALIZARIN. [MADDER.] 
 
 A'LKALI is a word compounded of the 
 .rabic article al and kail, the .name of the 
 
85 
 
 ALKALI. 
 
 ALKERMES. 
 
 80 
 
 plant by burning which a saline mass is ob- 
 tained containing the alkali in question ; and 
 in this term are comprehended various other 
 bodies possessing similar properties. The 
 alkalies are numerous, and they are all com- 
 pound substances; they do not result, how- 
 ever, from the action of any specific or 
 alkalizing principle, being very variously con- 
 stituted. All exist in nature, and some may 
 be artificially formed. The alkalies may be 
 divided into three classes : 
 
 1st. Ammonia, existing in the animal fluids, 
 and composed of two gaseous bodies, viz., 
 hydrogen and azote. As it readily evaporates 
 it was formerly called the volatile alkali. 
 
 2nd. Compounds of certain metals and oxygen, 
 among which are potash and soda, which, 
 though long known as the fixed alkalies, and 
 usually obtained from the ashes of plants, 
 were discovered by Davy to be metallic oxides. 
 This class also comprehends the alkaline 
 oxides or earths, lime, magnesia, &c. No 
 metal yields two alkalies by different degrees 
 of oxidizement; nor does any one become an 
 alkali and an acid. 
 
 3rd. The vegeto-alkalies, produced in plants 
 during vegetation. They are, as far as has 
 been ascertained, quaternary compounds of 
 oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and azote. This 
 class includes quina, an active medicinal prin- 
 ciple of chinchona or bark, and morphia, one 
 of the narcotic principles of opium, &c., 
 
 [Al.KAI.OIDS.] 
 
 The chemical and distinguishing proper- 
 ties of the alkalies are, that their aqueous 
 solutions turn vegetable blues green, and 
 vegetable yellows reddish-brown ; and hence 
 infusion of red cabbage and infusion of tur- 
 meric, or paper stained with them, are used 
 as tests of the presence of an alkali. The 
 alkalies restore the colour of vegetable blues 
 which have been reddened by acids, and, on 
 the other hand, the acids restore vegetable 
 colours which have been altered by the alka- 
 lies. The alkalies have great affinity for and 
 readily combine with acids, forming salts and 
 the power of both in altering vegetable co- 
 lours is generally destroyed. The alkalies 
 are separated at the negative pole of the vol- 
 taic trough. In odour, taste, molecular form, 
 and uses in the arts, the alkalies differ con- 
 siderably. The salts formed with alkalies are 
 apt to effloresce, and resolve the crystals into 
 the state of powder, or to absorb water from 
 the air, and deliquesce, or become liquid. The 
 alkalies possess a power of rendering albu- 
 men soluble : unboiled white of egg is an 
 albuminate of soda. The albumen of the 
 blood is rendered more fluid by alkalies ; 
 hence in excess they impair the plastic power 
 
 of that fluid. The chief practical uses of the 
 alkalies are noticed under the names of the 
 principal varieties, AMMONIA, POTASH, SODA, 
 &c. 
 
 ALKALIMETER. Like as acids and alco- 
 hols call for the use of acidimeters and alcoho- 
 meters to measure their strength, so do 
 alkalies require the aid of analagous instru- 
 ments, which may fittingly be called alkali- 
 meters. Chemists are aware of many methods 
 of effecting this ; and neat instruments have 
 been devised for the purpose. The German 
 soap boilers adopt a somewhat clumsy mode 
 of determining the strength of the alkali 
 which they employ; they pour a quart of 
 water on a pound of alkali, then put in a piece 
 of Dutch soap, and add water until the soap 
 sinks : the more water required to bring 
 about this result, the stronger is the alkali 
 supposed to be. But in the land of Liebig 
 such a rough method is not likely to continue : 
 it is being superseded by more scientific pro- 
 cesses. 
 
 ALKALOIDS; substances which modern 
 chemistry has discovered, are termed some- 
 times vegetable alkalies as hitherto found only 
 in vegetables, and sometimes organic alkalies, 
 fiom requiring a vital power to effect their 
 formation ; but the name given to them above 
 is the most appropriate. They possess alka- 
 line properties in the lowest degree, and are 
 either tasteless or have a bitter acrid taste, 
 existing generally in a solid, mostly crystal- 
 line form ; some, however, are amorphous 
 (Aconitinse), occasionally in a liquid state 
 (Conia and Nicotina), the latter very volatile, 
 and readily undergoing decomposition, with 
 an evolution of ammonia, at a moderate tem- 
 perature. The point in which they differ 
 most from the common alkalies (except Am- 
 monia) is in having nitrogen in their compo- 
 sition, one of them (Caffeina) being perhaps 
 the most highly nitrogenized compound 
 known. Sometimes one only exists in a plant, 
 sometimes several in the same plant, as in 
 opium. Generally they are combined with an 
 acid; most frequently it is a peculiar acid. 
 Many of them are with difficulty soluble in 
 water, more so in alcohol; they_seldom com- 
 pletely neutralize acids, but the salts which 
 they form are more soluble than the bases ; 
 hence various of their salts are used in medi- 
 cine in preference to the primitive article. 
 The alkaloids are less extensively used in the 
 manufacturing arts than in medicine. 
 
 ALKERMES is the name of a favourite 
 cordial, made in some of the northern coun- 
 tries of Europe. It is made from bay leaves, 
 mace, nutmegs, cinnamon, cloves, brandy, 
 syrup of kermes, and orange-flower water. 
 
87 ALLANTOIN. 
 
 The first six ingredients are distilled, and the 
 last two are employed to give flavour. 
 
 ALLANTOIN, ALLANTOIC ACID, exists 
 in the allantoic liquid of cows, and has the 
 form of brilliant colourless crystals derived 
 from the rhoimboid, with a vitreous appear- 
 ance. It has, we believe, not yet acquired 
 value in the arts. 
 
 ALLIUM is the botanical name of the 
 genus of plants which includes the onion, 
 chive, garlic, shallot, and leek. The allium 
 cepa, or common onion, has many varieties ; 
 the most remarkable are the blood red, which 
 is the most pungent ; the Strasburg, which is 
 the hardiest; the silver-skinned, which is the 
 smallest, and the most fitted for pickling ; and 
 the Portugal and Tripoli, which are the largest 
 and the most delicate. The allium fistulosum, 
 the Welsh onion, is a native of Siberia, and is 
 cultivated chiefly for the purpose of being sold 
 in the markets when very young, at which 
 time its flavour is delicate. The allium asca- 
 lonicum, the shallot, a native of Asia Minor, is 
 in many respects similar to the chive. Garlic 
 and leek are other well-known species of the 
 genus. 
 
 MM. Fourcroy and Vauquelin have found 
 that the common onion is composed, 1, of a 
 white, acrid, volatile oil, holding in solution 
 sulphur which renders it fetid ; 2, of a vegeto 
 animal matter analogous to gluten; 3, of a 
 good deal of uncrystallizable sugar ; of a great 
 quantity of mucilage, resembling gum arabic ; 
 5, of phosphoric acid, either free or combined 
 with lime, acetic acid, and a little citrate of 
 lime ; and 6, of vegetable fibre. It is to the 
 volatile oil that the irritating properties of the 
 onion are supposed to be owing, and they are 
 consequently dissipated by heat. 
 
 ALLOA, a Scottish sea-port town, in the 
 county of Clackmannan, is a place of consider- 
 able manufacturing and commercial import- 
 ance. It contains large distilleries, several 
 breweries, where ale is made which has long 
 been in high repute, woollen manufactories 
 (chiefly for the blanket and shawl trade), 
 glass- works, corn and flour mills, gas works, 
 and a great iron-foundry, chiefly for the making 
 of steam-engines. The Devon iron-works, near 
 the town, contribute largely to the trade of the 
 port. Bricks, tiles, and other earthenware, 
 copper goods, (especially distillers' apparatus), 
 leather, tobacco, and snuff, are also extensively 
 manufactured. The salmon fishery is carried 
 on with considerable spirit. Alloa possesses 
 a commodious harbour, with a depth of water 
 of 16 feet at neap-tides, and from 22 feet to 
 24 feet at spring tides. Its vessels sail to 
 every quarter of the globe ; and their number 
 and burthen was registered in 1848 at 108 
 
 ALLOY. 
 
 - 
 
 vessels of 1 7,100 tons, including three steam- 
 ers. The coasting trade is also very exten- 
 sive : the export of coals alone amounting to 
 60,000 tons annually. The imports consist 
 of corn, wool, wine, tea, timber, hemp, oak 
 bark, &c. ; the exports are coals, and the 
 many industrial products of the town and 
 neighbourhood. There is a large dry dock 
 in the harbour ; and capacious steamers work 
 at the ferry over the Forth. 
 
 ALLOWANCE, in commerce, a deduction, 
 from the gross weight of goods, agreed on 
 between merchants, according to the customs 
 of particular countries and ports, the chief 
 of which is known by the name of TAKE. 
 
 ALLOXAN, ALLOXANIC ACID, and AL- 
 LOXANTIN, are three substances which or- 
 ganic analysis has recently placed within the 
 domain of chemistry. The first and third are 
 crystalline, the second is a liquid. None of 
 them are yet, we believe, employed in the arts. 
 
 ALLOY, either a natural or artificial com- 
 pound of two or more metals, except when 
 mercury is one of them, in which case the 
 mixture is called an amalgam. Native or natural 
 alloys, considered as such, are not useful 
 bodies, the only exception, if indeed it may 
 be so reckoned, is the alloy of iron and nickel, 
 constituting meteoric iron, of which the knives 
 of the Esquimaux appear to be made; but 
 artificial alloys are of the highest importance, 
 since by uniting different metals compounds 
 are formed which possess a combination of 
 qualities not occurring in any one metal. 
 Gold, silver, tin, antimony, and bismuth are 
 generally alloyed; the first three on account 
 of then: softness, and the two latter because 
 they are extremely brittle. Gold and silver 
 are hardened by alloying with copper ; copper 
 is hardened by zinc, &c. 
 
 The formation of alloys appears to depend 
 upon the chemical affinity of the metals for 
 ach other; and in some instances it seems 
 to be wanting, for no combination occurs. 
 Various facts may be assigned for supposing 
 the combination to be the result of chemical 
 affinity. M. Boussingault analysed six dif- 
 ferent native alloys of gold and silver, and 
 bund in all cases that the metals were com- 
 bined in definite proportions. The change of 
 properties which metals undergo by com- 
 bining, furnishes strong evidence of its 
 arising from chemical affinity and action; 
 thus, with respect to colour, copper, a reddish 
 metal, by union with zinc, which is a white 
 one, gives the well-known yellow alloy, brass. 
 The fusing point of a mixed metal is never the 
 mean of the temperature at which its consti- 
 tuents melt ; and it is generally lower than 
 that of the most fusible metal of the alloy. 
 
BUTTON .MAKING. STAMPING, PRESSING AND PUNCHING. 
 
 THE BULL RINC BIRMINGHAM, 
 
 KNIGHTS-CYCLOPEDIA 
 
 No. 4. 
 
80 
 
 ALLOY. 
 
 ALMADEN. 
 
 90 
 
 All alloys formed of brittle metals are 
 brittle ; those made with ductile metals are in 
 some cases ductile, in others brittle ; when 
 the proportions are nearly equal, there are as 
 many alloys which are brittle as ductile ; but 
 when one of the metals is in excess, they are 
 most commonly ductile. In combining ductile 
 and brittle metals, the compounds are brittle, 
 if the brittle metal exceed, or nearly equal, 
 the proportion of the ductile one ; but when 
 the ductile metal greatly exceeds the brittle 
 one, the alloys are usually ductile. The den- 
 sity of alloys sometimes exceeds, and in other 
 cases is less than, that which would result 
 from calculation. 
 
 Not only are the properties of metals altered 
 by combination, but different proportions of 
 the same metals produce very different alloys. 
 Thus, by combining ninety parts of copper 
 with ten parts of tin, an alloy is obtained of 
 greater density than the mean of the metals, 
 and it is also harder and more fusible than 
 the copper ; it is slightly malleable when slowly 
 cooled, but on the contrary, when heated to 
 redness, and plunged into cold water, it is 
 very malleable : this compound is known by 
 the name of bronze. If eighty parts of copper 
 be combined with twenty parts of tin, the 
 compound is the extremely sonorous one 
 called bell-metal ; an alloy consisting of two- 
 thirds copper and one third tin, is susceptible of 
 a very fine polish, and is used as speculum metal. 
 
 It is curious to observe in these alloys, that 
 in bronze the density and hardness of the 
 denser and harder metal are increased by 
 combining with a lighter and softer one ; 
 while, as might be expected, the fusibility of 
 the more refractory metal is- increased by 
 uniting with a more fusible one. In bell- 
 metal the copper becomes more sonorous by 
 combination with a metal which is less so : 
 these changes are clear indications of chemi- 
 cal action. 
 
 The principal alloys employed in manufac- 
 tures are the following : Arsenic and copper 
 make packfong ; tin and lead make solder and 
 common pewter; tin, antimony, copper, and 
 bismuth make best pewter and Britannia metal; 
 tin, lead, and bismuth make fusible metal; tin 
 and copper, in various proportions, make 
 bronze, speculum metal, bell metal, and gun- 
 mctal; copper and zinc, in different propor- 
 tions, make brass and Dutch gold; copper, 
 zinc, nickel, and iron make German silver ; sil- 
 ver and copper make standard silver; gold, 
 silver, and copper make standard gold. In 
 many of these alloys, such as the last two, 
 the quantity of one of the metals is extremely 
 small, but still it is sufficient to give a distinct 
 property to the alloy. 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 Dr. Weiger, of Vienna, proposed in 1845 
 many modes of making fine alloys, chiefly 
 for the use of dentists. Gold, silver, platina, 
 and palladium are the metals employed : and 
 these are taken two or three together in 
 such proportions as to form eight different 
 alloys : platinum being in every case one of 
 the metals. In making alloys for such deli- 
 cate uses as those of the dentist, the purity of 
 the single metals is as important as the com- 
 bining of the whole ; and Dr. Weiger details 
 processes in respect to both these qualities. 
 
 ALLU'VIUM, or ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS, 
 a name given to those accumulations of sand, 
 earth, and loose stones or gravel brought 
 down by rivers, which, when spread out to 
 any extent, form what is called alluvial laud. 
 There are three successive stages in the for- 
 mation of the alluvium: viz. the crumbling 
 of the mineral crust of the earth, by the 
 action of the tides, currents, streams, and 
 atmospheric agency; the transportation of 
 the loosened fragments ; and their deposition 
 in the form of alluvium at the bottom of 
 rivers, lakes, aestuaries, and the ocean. Allu- 
 vium is important to the arts of life in this 
 way ; that when such a deposit is made, it is 
 fitted to become the basis of a rich vegetable 
 soil, by converting into dry land tracts which 
 were before covered with water,, but which 
 now form deltas, such as those of the Nile, 
 the Ganges, the Ehine, the Mississippi, &c., 
 Alluvial action also breaks down the rigidity 
 of mineral deposits, and renders their wealth 
 more easily attainable ; as is exemplified in 
 the gold sands of California, the diamond- 
 washings of Brazil, the stream-tin of Corn - 
 wall, &c. 
 
 ALMADEN, a town in the Spanish pro- 
 vince of La Mancha, about 130 miles from 
 Madrid, is famed for its mines of quicksilver, 
 which have been known for more than 2,000 
 years. The hill in which the mines are found 
 is 120 feet high; and the cinnabar (ore of 
 mercury) is met with in different parts of the 
 mass. It does not appear that this district is 
 so unhealthy as the quicksilver mines of 
 Idria; for a miner sleeps with safety upon a 
 vein of cinnabar. The galley-slaves, who 
 work in these mines, are not exposed to the 
 hardships that are commonly believed. They 
 only work three hours a clay, and do nothing 
 but take out the earth in wheelbarrows. Some 
 feign convulsions, and others fits, to excite 
 the compassion of those who visit the mines. 
 The inhabitants of Almaden work willingly 
 double the time, and receive only half of what 
 every slave costs the government. 
 
 The cinnabar occurs in veins which traverse 
 the hill; and pure mercury is also found in 
 
 D 
 
91 
 
 ALMOND. 
 
 crevices of sandstone and slate. For roasting 
 the ore, ovens and other apparatus are pro- 
 vided; the ovens are twelve in number, and 
 are called by the names of the twelve apostles. 
 Each is capable of containing ten tons' weight 
 of stone. The oven is kept burning for three 
 days, and the same time is required to cool. 
 
 The celebrated German merchants, Mark 
 and Christopher Fugger, leased the mines in 
 the seventeenth century ; but they were after- 
 wards worked by the Spanish government 
 
 ALMOND. The favourite fruit Amijg- 
 dalus commums, or common almond, is a na- 
 tive of Barbary. In this country it is only 
 grown for the sake of its beautiful vernal 
 flowers ; but in the countries that have a long 
 and hot summer, it is the fruit for which it is 
 esteemed. This, which is produced in im- 
 mense quantities, is partly exported into 
 northern countries, and partly pressed for oil, 
 or consumed for various domestic purposes. 
 There are two varieties of it, sweet and bitter. 
 Of the sweet almonds the parts which are 
 officinal are the seeds or kernels. The com- 
 mercial varieties are numerous, but the most 
 esteemed are the Jordan almonds. Triturated 
 with water, sweet almonds form a grateful 
 sweetish emulsion, which possesses conside 
 rable nutritous as well as demulcent proper- 
 ties. Almonds, as an article for the dessert, 
 are nutritive but rather indigestible. Oil of 
 Almonds may be obtained from either variety, 
 but is yielded in great abundance by the bitter 
 almond. Almonds which have become rancid 
 yet yield by expression good oil, if a little cal- 
 cined magnesia be added to the bruised 
 almonds before being subjected to pressure. 
 Almond oil is often adulterated with poppy 
 oil. Bitter almonds are smaller and natter 
 than the sweet. Those most esteemed come 
 from Provence, those least esteemed from 
 Barbary. They have a very bitter taste, and 
 scarcely any odour, but if rubbed between the 
 fingers with a little water, they emit a pecu- 
 liarly agreeable odour. 
 
 About 21,000 cwts. of almonds, and 6,000 
 cwts. of bitter almonds were imported in 1848. 
 
 ALNUS is the botanical name for the genus 
 of alder trees, which comprises many useful 
 species. The common alder, called the almts 
 ghilinosa, is an inhabitant of swamps and 
 meadows in all parts of Europe, the north of 
 Africa and Asia, and North America. Next to 
 the charcoal from black dogwood (Bkumnus 
 frangula), that supplied by the common alder 
 is of the best quality. The bark is valuable for 
 tanning, and tlie young shoots for dyeing va- 
 rious colours ; the veiny knots of its wood are 
 cut into veneer by cabinet-makers, and its 
 stems, hollowed out, are among the best ma- 
 
 ALPA'CA. 93 
 
 terials, next to metal, for water-pipes and un 
 derground purposes. 
 
 ALOE, a genus of succulent plants, the 
 best species of which is the Aloe Soccotrina, 
 a native of the Cape of Good Hope and the 
 Island of Soccotra. Attention to the mode of 
 extracting the juice might render aloes, 
 whencesoever procured, of excellent quality. 
 But from the different plans of collecting and 
 inspissating the juice, results an article Avhich 
 differs considerably in appearance and greatly 
 in value. Aloes is one of the few drugs in 
 which adulteration is not extensively practised 
 further than by substituting the inferior and 
 low-priced kinds for the superior. When 
 carelessly prepared, sand and fragments of 
 leaves and skins are frequently found in the 
 samples. Caballine, or horse aloes, has nearly 
 disappeared from commerce, refinement or 
 fashion in veterinary medicine deeming it not 
 fit for horses. Barbadoes aloes comes to this 
 country in the gourds and calabashes into 
 which it is poured when prepared. Each of 
 these weighs from sixty to even eighty pounds. 
 
 Few more valuable drugs exist, as is proved 
 by the numerous preparations made either of 
 aloes alone, or with some other articles com- 
 bined with it. These combinations have va- 
 rious objects in view, some to heighten its 
 powers, others to modify, and some to get rid 
 of certain well-founded objections to its effects. 
 The use of aloes is almost entirely confined to 
 medicine. 
 
 ALOPECU'EUS. [GRASS.] 
 
 ALPA'CA, or PACO, is the wool of the 
 llama, or goat of Peru, and Chili. The intro- 
 duction of alpaca wool in manufactures has 
 attracted considerable attention, and the ques- 
 tion of naturalizing the alpaca in this country, 
 in Germany, and in Australia, is also an object 
 of much interest. The wool of the alpaca is 
 superior to English wool in length, soft- 
 ness, and pliability. The fleece averages from 
 10 to 12 pounds, while that of our sheep is 
 seldom more than 8 pounds ; and while the 
 staple of English wool does not often exceed 
 six inches in length, that of the alpaca varies 
 from eight to twelve inches. The lustrous 
 appearance of the alpaca wool renders it 
 applicable to many of the purposes for which 
 silk is usually employed in textile fabrics ; 
 and it is found a useful substitute for Angora 
 wool. The manufacture of plain and figured 
 stuffs from the fleece of the alpaca was com- 
 menced at Bradford, in Yorkshire, a number 
 of year? ago, and there is a large and increas- 
 ing use of alpaca wool. In 1844 five different 
 articles were manufactured at Bradford for 
 her Majesty, from the wool of an alpaca which 
 had been kept at Windsor, copies of which 
 
03 
 
 ALPS. 
 
 ALPS. 
 
 articles were exhibited at the Free Trade 
 Bazaar in 1845. 
 
 Besides the use of the wool in textile 
 fabrics, the fle.^h of the alpaca is also whole- 
 some and palatable. The carcase weighs on 
 an average about 180 Ibs. 
 
 The question of naturalising the alpaca has 
 been taken up with great enthusiasm by a 
 few persons ; but very little progress has yet 
 been made in demonstrating its practicability. 
 The alpaca inhabits the mountainous and in- 
 hospitable regions of Peru, and is remarkable 
 for its abstemiousness. It thrives on coarse 
 food. Those which have been brought to 
 this country have been confined in parks and 
 richly cultivated lands, and have been treated 
 with too much care and tenderness. Mr. Wal- 
 ton asserts that they will live where our 
 hardiest sheep would starve, and that the 
 wildest parts of Great Britain are best suited 
 to their habits. If the alpaca may be pas- 
 tured on lands which are now waste and un- 
 profitable, and where the hardiest sheep would 
 starve, the naturalization of the animal would 
 undoubtedly prove a great national benefit; 
 but if this is not the case, it is a question 
 whether a constant demand for the wool as an 
 article of import would not be quite as beneficial. 
 
 Alpaca is now used to a very large extent in 
 manufactures umbrellas, paletots, and vari- 
 ous articles and garments are made of it, as 
 it presents a sort of compound of the qualities 
 of silk and woollen. 
 
 ALPS. In a commercial point of view, the 
 Alps are interesting to the extent that they afford 
 practicable passes for carriage roads, across or 
 between their summits. These passes and roads 
 are as follow : In the Maritime Alps, which 
 extend from the Gulf of Genoa to Monte Viso, 
 a distance of about 1 00 miles, the only carriage- 
 road across is by the Col de Tende, at an ele- 
 vation of 5887 feet, formed by Napoleon ; there 
 are three or four smaller roads practicable for 
 mules. In the Coltian Alps, which extend 
 from Monte Viso to Mont Cenis, a distance of 
 about 60 miles, the carriage-road of Mont 
 Gen&vre, formed by Napoleon, is the chief pass, 
 leading from the valley of the Durance in 
 France to Susa in Piedmont. In the Graian 
 A, fyw, extending from Mont Cenis to the Col 
 de la Seigne, about 60 miles, is Mont Cenis, 
 one of the best known of the Alpine passes. 
 This pass was only a mule -road till 1803, when 
 Napoleon commenced a magnificent carriage- 
 road, which crosses the chain at a height of 
 6773 feet. The pass of the Little St. Bernard, 
 which is supposed to be that by which Hanni- 
 bal entered Italy, crosses the Graian Alps to 
 the Val d'Aosta. In the Pennine Alps, extend- 
 ing about 60 miles from Mont Blanc to the 
 
 Simplon, are Mont Blanc, Monte Kosa, and 
 Mont Cervin, the three loftiest peaks in Europe. 
 On each side of Mont Blanc are cols or passes 
 of the mountains, usually traversed by pedes- 
 trians in their tours about Mont Blanc. There 
 are three larger passes, however, viz. the Great 
 St. Bernard, with a Hospice at the height of 
 7963 feet above the level of the sea ; the Cervin, 
 at a height of 11,096 feet ; and the Simplon, 
 the pass of which, at an altitude of 6578 feet, 
 is one of Napoleon's most magnificent works. 
 In the Helvetic or Lepontian Alps, extending 
 from the Simplon to Mont St. Gothard, a dis- 
 tance of about 60 miles, is the pass of St. 
 Gothard, a valuable carriage-road from Swit- 
 zerland to Italy, which has a summit level 
 6890 feet high. In the Khcetian Alps, which 
 extend about 80 miles east from St. Gothard, 
 are many good passes for travellers. One is 
 the Mont St. Bernardin, at an elevation of 
 6700 feet ; another the Splugen ; another the 
 Maloya, 8130 feet; another the Stelvio, 9174 
 feet ; and another the Brenner, 4660 feet all 
 of which connect Tyrol and the Grisons on the 
 north with Lombardy on the south. In the 
 Noric, Julian, and Carnic Alps, which bend 
 round from the Tyrol towards the head of the 
 Gulf of Venice, are the high roads from Salz- 
 burg to Venice, and from Vienna to Trieste, 
 In these, as in most other parts of the Alpine 
 chains, the neighbouring governments are 
 vying with or rather aiding each other to add 
 to the number of carriage-passes. 
 
 The central ranges of the Alps are, in a 
 great measure though not altogether, composed 
 of gneiss, mica slate, talcose slate, and others 
 of the like character. Gneiss may be consi- 
 dered as very abundant: it constitutes the 
 mass of Mont Blanc, and of several other 
 lofty mountains. The mica slates occasion- 
 ally contain many minerals, among which may 
 be enumerated garnet, staurotide, cyanite, 
 hornblende, tourmaline, and titanite. Other 
 portions of the Alps present newer geological 
 formations, many of which will form a store- 
 house of materials for manufactures, as soon as 
 man shall have located his industrial establish- 
 ments in those parts. 
 
 The number of mines worked in the Alps is 
 not very considerable, when compared with the 
 great extent of the mountains. A few gold 
 and silver mines are worked, as at the Rath- 
 ausberg ; and others of copper, lead, iron, and 
 anthracite. The iron -mines of Styria, Carin- 
 thia, and Carniola, are very productive. The 
 Bleiberg in Carinthia yields some of the best 
 lead in Europe. The quicksilver mines of 
 Idria have been long celebrated. Salt is pro- 
 cured in many parts of the Tyrol and the 
 neighbouring districts. 
 
f5 
 
 ALSACE. 
 
 ALSACE. 
 
 96 
 
 The vegetation of the Alps differs in many 
 respects from that of the plains heneath. At 
 the foot of the Alps, for instance, are rich vine- 
 yards, and wine is one of the staple products 
 of the country ; the forests consist of most of 
 the common European trees. But at the low 
 elevation of 1950 feet the vine is no longer 
 capahle of existing ; at 1000 feet higher sweet 
 chestnuts disappear; 1000 feet farther, and 
 the oak is unable to maintain itself; at the 
 elevation of 4.680 feet, less than one-third of 
 the height of Mont Blanc, the hirch, as well 
 as almost every other deciduous tree, ceases ; 
 the spruce fir alone attains the height of 5900 
 feet, after which the growth of all trees is 
 arrested, not by perpetual snow, which does 
 not occur for more than 3000 feet higher, hut 
 by the peculiar state of the soil and air. 
 
 ALSACE, is one of the most important manu- 
 facturing provinces in France. It used to con- 
 sist of two districts, Upper and Lower Alsace, 
 one of which is now included in the Department 
 of Haut Ehin, and the other in that of Bas 
 Ehin. Both districts are watered by the Ehine. 
 
 Lower Alsace produces corn of all kinds in 
 quanti tymore than enough for the consumption. 
 Wheat is the chief grain crop ; spelt wheat is ex- 
 tensively grown in the north ; rye also is an 
 important crop; oats is but little grown except 
 on the highlands. Madder and tobacco are 
 objects of careful cultivation in the valley of 
 the Ehine; about 25,000 acres of the best soils 
 are under tobacco culture. Excellent hemp 
 is grown. From cabbages, which are exten- 
 sively cultivated and grow to an enormous 
 size, a great quantity of choucroute or sauer- 
 kraut is made for export to Strasbourg and 
 Germany. Among other productions must be 
 named oleaginous seeds, onions, beans, hops, 
 and gentian. Great quantities of large plums 
 for preserving are grown ; and also cherries, 
 from which excellent kirschwasser is made. 
 About 11,000,000 gallons of wine are pro- 
 duced annually, one half of which goes to 
 the home consumption : the rest is exported to 
 the right bank of the Ehine. There is a great 
 breadth of meadow land in the department. 
 Horses and cows are very numerous, and of 
 good breed : both oxen and horses are em- 
 ployed in agriculture. The number of sheep 
 is comparatively small. Swine are reared in 
 great numbers ; and also geese, the livers of 
 which are used in making the famous Stras- 
 bourg pies. The woodlands are very exten- 
 sive ; considerable part of the timber is formed 
 into small rafts, and floated down the Ehine 
 to Mainz, where they are united, so as to con- 
 stitute enormous rafts from 250 to 300 yards 
 long, and 25 to 30 yards broad, conducted 
 each by 300 or 400 men. 
 
 Iron ore is very abundant: 28 mines are 
 worked. Lead, antimony, manganese, and 
 some traces of silver are found. Coal mines 
 are worked. Building stone, plaster of Paris, 
 potters' clay, slates, and asphalte are quarried. 
 Pebbles, admitting of a fine polish, are found 
 in the Ehine. The department contains seve- 
 ral mineral springs. 
 
 The industrial products are very important 
 and numerous; they comprise fine woollen 
 cloths, linen, calico, sailcloth, cordage, straw 
 hats, playing cards, room paper, hair brushes, 
 horn combs, mineral acids, oils, soap, ivory 
 black, ironmongery, hardware, saw-blades 
 and tools of all kinds, fire-arms, swords, 
 surgical instruments, gloves, buff leather, 
 dressed skins, paper, &c. There are nume- 
 rous madder mills, paper mills, potteries, 
 bleach works, breAveries, tan-yards, cannon 
 foundries, and 27 iron forges and furnaces. 
 These branches of industry are chiefly earned 
 on in the towns of Strasbourg, Bischwiller, 
 Hagenau, Wasselonne, Saverne, Bouxwiller, 
 Schelestadt, Weissembourg, Lauterbourg, &c. 
 
 Upper Alsace is situated somewhat farther 
 to the south, or higher up the Ehine. Like 
 the Lower district, it has numerous canals 
 which are employed for floating timber and 
 transporting merchandize. The products are 
 similar to those of Lower Alsace, and more 
 than suffice for the consumption, though for- 
 merly this was not the case. The annual 
 vintage yields about 12,760,000 gallons, of 
 which a considerable surplus above the home 
 supply is exported to Switzerland and Ger- 
 many. A large quantity of kirschwasser is 
 also made. The domestic animals are similar 
 in land and in number to those of Bas-Ehin; 
 but goats are much more numerous. Even 
 amid the mountains there are some very pro- 
 ductive valleys. Cultivation is carried on with 
 great care. The abundant supply of wood in 
 the Vosges Mountains furnishes fuel for the 
 various manufactures of the department. It 
 is floated down the streams which flow into 
 the 111 or the Doubs. 
 
 Silver, copper, and lead are found ; a great 
 number of iron mines are worked ; also mines 
 of antimony, coal, and asphalte ; rock-crystal, 
 marble, porphyry, granite, building stone, 
 gypsum, potter's clay, marl, ochre, &c., arc 
 quarried. There are mineral springs in seve- 
 ral localities. 
 
 The industrial products are of the most 
 varied description : this being one of the most 
 active seats of the cotton manufacture in 
 France. The manufactures generally com- 
 prise calicoes and printed cottons of all de- 
 scriptions, shawls, handkerchiefs, hosiery, fine 
 woollen cloths, flaxen and hempen fabrics, 
 
ALSTON. 
 
 A'LTONA. 
 
 ornamental paper, straw hats, chemical pro- 
 ducts, soap, leather of all kinds, ironmongery, 
 iron wire, clock and watch movements, pot- 
 tery, &c. There are also numerous cotton, 
 thread, and woollen yarn factories; dye- 
 houses ; sugar-refineries ; establishments for 
 distilling spirits from pressed grapes, corn, 
 cherries, gentian, potatoes, and carrots ; iron 
 furnaces and forges, paper-mills, breweries, 
 tanyards, potteries, and glass works. Colmar, 
 Guebwiller, Mariakirche, Rouffach, Wintxen- 
 heim, MIJHLHAUSEN, Belfort, Cernay, Thaun, 
 and Massevaux are the chief towns in which 
 these varied manufactures are canied on. 
 
 The chief articles of commerce are the 
 leading industrial products, together with 
 wine, corn, spirits, kirschwasser, steel, bar- 
 iron, iron castings, watch and clock move- 
 ments, fruit trees, cattle, &c. We may reason- 
 ably expect that Alsace will well maintain the 
 reputation of French manufactures in the 
 approaching display of the world's industry. 
 
 ALSTON, or ALDSTONE, in Cumberland, 
 is the centre of a district which, though moun- 
 tainous and sterile, is rich in mineral wealth. 
 It is one of the principal lead districts in 
 England, the produce at present being about 
 9000 tons per annum. Many of the lead-mines 
 belong to Greenwich Hospital, to which they 
 were given on the forfeiture of the estates of 
 the unfortunate Earl of Derwentwater, who 
 was engaged in the Rebellion of 1745. A little 
 copper is raised in the neighbourhood, and a 
 small per centage of silver is extracted from 
 the lead ore. A branch of the Newcastle and 
 Carlisle Railway is now (1850) being construc- 
 ted from Haltwhistle to Alston. 
 
 ALTAI MOUNTAINS, forming a line of 
 division between Siberia and Tartary, are rich 
 in gold, silver, copper, and lead. The mines 
 containing these metals were worked at. some 
 remote period, but by whom or when is not 
 known. They were re-opened by the Russians 
 in the last century, and have been since then 
 extensively worked. The region contains pop- 
 iars, willows, medlars, privets, whitethorns, 
 and wild roses, on the low banks of the 
 Irtish ; and large forests of larch, birch, and 
 other trees, on the slopes of the mountain. 
 The inhabitants use as a substitute for tea 
 the dried leaves of the Sax\frag& crassifolla. 
 Agriculture is carried on, but not to a great 
 extent, in the valleys. With the exception of 
 mining, the chief occupation of the inha- 
 bitants is that of pasturing cattle. The mode 
 in which commercial intercourse is kept up 
 between this remote region and the various 
 countries of Europe and Asia, is noticed 
 under RUSSIA and SIBERIA. 
 
 ALTAR-PIECE. We are accustomed in 
 
 this country to give the name of Altar-piece 
 only to paintings on sacred subjects placed 
 over the altar at churches ; but in earlier 
 times the same name was given to small 
 elaborately worked productions in gold and 
 silver, and other metals, connected with the 
 offices of religion. The^ recent exhibition of 
 Mediaeval Art at the rooms of the Society of 
 Arts (1850) contained many such specimens 
 in which much skill was often shewn both by 
 the artist and the artificer. One was an altar- 
 piece of silver, partly gilt, enriched with scrolls 
 and garlands, and enclosing enamels and 
 gems. 
 
 ALTIMETER, is the name which the Rev. 
 E. L. Berthon gives to a measuring instrument 
 patented by him in 1850. It is a somewhat 
 complicated contrivance, intended to measure 
 the altitude of the sun, moon, or a star. There 
 are two glass bulbs, one containing mercury 
 and the other spirit, and placed in connexion 
 with each other by vertical and horizontal 
 tubes. A telescope is attached through which 
 the object is viewed. The vertical tubes are 
 graduated ; and the heights at which the 
 two fluids adjust themselves in these tubes, 
 when the telescope is directed obliquely up- 
 wards, is made to indicate the altitude or 
 angle of elevation of the object viewed, by 
 a particular arrangement of the several 
 parts. 
 
 ALTON, in Hampshire, has become quite 
 celebrated for the ale produced there; the 
 breweries are conducted on an extensive scale. 
 There are also paper manufactures ; and in 
 the vicinity are fine and prolific hop-grounds. 
 The Farnham branch of the South Western 
 Railway is to be extended to Alton. 
 
 ALTO-RILIE TO ( high relief) , a term which 
 designates that kind of sculpture which is ex- 
 ecuted on a flat surface, but projects conside- 
 rably above the ground or plane. The most 
 legitimate use of alto-rilievo is where it is in- 
 troduced in alternate or occasional compart- 
 ments to give relief by the boldness of its 
 projections to the uniformity of a large surface. 
 Such are the Metopes among the Elgin Mar- 
 bles, which, alternately with the triglyphs, or- 
 namented the frieze of the entablature which 
 surmounted the exterior colonnade of the Par- 
 thenon. Fifteen of these original Metopes, 
 with one cast, are in the British Museum ; 
 they are of unequal execution, but several of 
 them may be referred to as the finest examples 
 extant of alto-rilievo. 
 
 A'LTONA, the largest and most populous 
 town in the duchy of Holstein, has exten- 
 sive trade with France, England, the Medi- 
 terranean, and the West Indies. Ship-build- 
 ing is carried on to a considerable extent, 
 
ALUM. 
 
 ALUM. 
 
 100 
 
 and several vessels belonging to Altona are 
 annually employed in the herring and whale 
 fisheries. It enjoys in respect of trade several 
 privileges, which constitute it a free port, and 
 all sects, Jews included, have civil and religious 
 liberty. A railroad connects the town with 
 Kiel, a port on the Baltic. The principal 
 manufactures consist of silk, woollen and cot- 
 ton goods, tobacco, soap, and vinegar ; there 
 are also glass-houses, distilleries, breweries, 
 and sugar-refineries in the town. 
 
 ALUM, is an earthy salt, which occurs in 
 a native state only in small quantities ; but it 
 has been long artificially made and extensively 
 employed in various chemical manufactures. 
 Its basis is sulphate of alumina, combined 
 usually with sulphate of potash, but sometimes 
 with sulphate of soda or sulphate of ammonia : 
 when the first alkaline salt enters into its com- 
 position, the product is common or potash alum, 
 the second forms soda alum, and the third am- 
 monia alum. 
 
 At La Tolfa, in Italy, alum is prepared from 
 an alum-stone, which contains all the ingre- 
 dients mixed with silica. At the alum -works 
 near Whitby, in Yorkshire, alum is produced 
 from alum-slate, the stratum of which is 
 nearly thirty miles in length. Near Glasgow 
 alum is manufactured from clay slate ; which 
 is obtained from coal mines, and contains a 
 double sulphate of iron and alumina. Alum 
 is also produced in chemical works, by the 
 direct union of the component ingredients. 
 
 The alum mine at Hurlet is well worthy of 
 a visit; it possesses many of the striking cha- 
 racteristics of most mines, without being so 
 deep or so dirty as the majority of those un- 
 derground workings. The land belongs to 
 the Earl of Glasgow, and contains beneath the 
 surface beds of alum, iron, coal, and lime ; and 
 what is very curious is, that the owner leases 
 these different kinds of mineral riches to dif- 
 ferent parties, even though they may occur in 
 immediate juxta-position ; thus, the Hurlet 
 Alum Company leases the alum deposits, but 
 must not touch the other treasures, even 
 though they occur in the same excavations ; 
 and it thus happens that alum miners and 
 other miners may be met with in the same 
 galleries or passages. We descend a square 
 shaft, the mouth of which is visible in the 
 middle of a field ; and after a few lengths of 
 narrow ladder have been descended, the mouth 
 of a dark horizontal passage is reached 
 rendered by degrees dimly visible by the 
 candles carried by the miners. At one place 
 we encounter a party of coal-miners, with 
 bits of lighted candle stuck in their caps, 
 and occupied in the various operations inci- 
 dent to coal-mining. At another a party 
 
 of lime-workers come into vieAV, quarrying 
 the hard white stone which forms the object 
 of their labours, and baring the upper parts 
 of then* bodies to render the heat more en- 
 durable. At a third spot we fall in with the 
 alum -miners, who do not meddle with the iron, 
 the coal, or the lime, which are around them. 
 The philosophy of this multiform mining is 
 thus explained. There is a stratum of Ume 
 over a stratum of coal ; and between the two 
 is a stratum (varying from two to twelve inches 
 in thickness) of ore containing most of the 
 chemical elements of alum. When the coal 
 has been for some years excavated, the alum 
 ore, by being exposed to atmospheric influence, 
 undergoes a slight mechanical and chemical 
 change, which fits it for being used in the 
 manufacture of alum. Sometimes specimens of 
 ore are met with in which a hard slaty sub 
 stance is int erstratified with layers of a greenish 
 white crystalline body; sometimes the ore 
 presents itself as a brownish -black kind of 
 coaly slate ; but for the most part the ore 
 clings to the roof of the excavated passages as 
 a crumbling powdery substance. To collect, 
 then, these various forms and stages of alum 
 ore, is the work of the miners ; and the pick 
 and the shovel, the basket and the wheelbarrow, 
 are dimly seen by the flickering light of the 
 candles, acting their part in the operations. 
 
 Arrived again in open daylight we find a 
 large area of ground occupied by steeping-pits 
 and other arrangements for the manufacture 
 of alum. If the ore is in the efflorescent state, 
 it is steeped in water containing sulphate of 
 iron and alumina, and the water is boiled, 
 evaporated, and crystallized into alum ; but if 
 the ore is in the hard stony state, it requires 
 to be roasted or burned in a large heap built 
 up in the open air, before the elements which 
 compose it can be acted on by the liquid 
 solution. 
 
 Alum is colourless, inodorous, has an as- 
 tringent taste, and crystallizes generally in 
 regular octahedrons ; but by the addition of 
 alumina, and particular management, it may 
 be made to crystallize in cubes. It is brittle, 
 and easily reduced to powder ; its specific 
 gravity is about 1.731 ; water, at 60 Fahren- 
 heit, dissolves about one- eighteenth of its 
 weight of <Hum, and boiling water about three- 
 fourths of its weight. The solution reddens 
 vegetable blue colours strongly; when exposed 
 to dry air, alum effloresces slightly on the sur- 
 face, but it remains long without undergoing 
 any change internally. When moderately 
 heated, alum dissolves in its water of crystal- 
 lization ; if more strongly heated, the water is 
 evaporated, and when exposed to a very high 
 temperature, sulphuric acid is expelled, and 
 
101 
 
 ALU'MINA, 
 
 AMALGAM. 
 
 102 
 
 there remains a mixture of alumina and sul- 
 phate of potash. 
 
 The above-named properties relate to com- 
 mon or potash ahem. Soda alum is produced 
 by the action of sulphate of soda on sulphate 
 of alumina. Their properties are very closely 
 allied to those of potash alum. 
 
 Alum is decomposed, not only by heat, but 
 by many of the acids, alkalies, and earths. It 
 is employed for a vast number of purposes. 
 It is used in lake colours, dyeing, calico print- 
 ing, leather dressing ; and by candle-makers 
 to harden the tallow and render it white. It 
 is an ingredient in making pyrophorus ; and 
 in medicine it is employed as an astringent. 
 
 Mr. Cliff obtained a patent in 1845 relating 
 to the alum manufacture, in which a double 
 useful result is sought to be obtained. Many 
 kinds of fire-clay used for making retorts, cru- 
 cibles, and similar articles, contain an excess 
 of alumina, which injures the quality of the 
 articles made from them when at a high heat. 
 Mr. Cliff proposes to take a very aluminous 
 clay, such as is found at Wortley near Leeds ; 
 to grind it, calcine it, mix it with sulphuric or 
 some other acid, dissolve the alumina out of 
 it, evaporate the solution, and obtain alum 
 from the residue by the usual chemical means. 
 The earthy sediment, which results when all 
 or nearly all the alumina has been removed, 
 is then to be mixed up with ground native 
 clay, to make a fire-clay fitted for retorts, &c. 
 Many other patents have been recently taken 
 out, for various improvements in the alum 
 manufacture. 
 
 The proprietors of some of the chemical 
 works near Newcastle intend to exhibit, at the 
 great display of 1851, specimens of alum, in 
 large masses, procured by the direct chemical 
 union of the component ingredients. 
 
 ALU'MINA, the earthy oxide of aluminum, 
 sometimes called argil, or argillaceous earth, 
 constitutes the larger portion of all clays, and 
 their plastic property is owing to it. In a 
 pure state it is procured from alum, from which 
 it derives its name. Alumina is widely diffused 
 throughout the earth ; the adamantine spar or 
 corundum, the ruby, and sapphire, are alumina 
 nearly pure and crystallized ; these substances 
 have not, however, any of the more obvious 
 properties of common clay, for instead of being 
 amorphous, soft, and diffusible through water, 
 they are crystallized, are among the hardest 
 substances in nature, and will not mix with 
 water. The diaspore is a crystallized mineral, 
 which consists almost entirely of alumina and 
 water ; and in North America another hydrate 
 of alumina has been found, and called gibbsite. 
 
 Alumina is white, powdery, and light; it 
 has neither taste nor smell, and it adheres to 
 
 the tongue. It is insoluble in water. It 
 shrinks considerably by heat, and may be fused 
 at a high temperature. Alumina is not in it- 
 self either acid or alkaline ; but it combines 
 with numerous acids to form salts, among 
 which the acetate of alumina is much employed 
 in calico printing. It also combines with 
 potash, soda, lime, and magnesia, so as to 
 form salts called aluminates. 
 
 ALUMINUM, the metallic base of alumina, 
 is prepared with too great difficulty to be use- 
 ful in the arts in its separate state. 
 
 AMADO'U, touch-match, or German tinder^ 
 is a brown leathery substance prepared from 
 the Boletus igniariits, a fungus which grows on 
 the trunks of cherry, ash, and other trees. 
 The fungus is perennial, and increases yearly 
 in size. The soft spongy substance of the 
 fungus, after removing the outer covering, is 
 cut into thin slices, and beaten with a mallet 
 to soften it. In this state it is used for stop- 
 ping haemorrhages, and for other surgical pur- 
 poses ; and by subsequent boiling in a strong 
 solution of saltpetre it is prepared for use as 
 tinder, constituting the German tinder of the 
 tobacconists. To render it very inflammable 
 it is sometimes imbued with gunpowder, which 
 gives it a darker colour. 
 
 On the Continent, before the use of congreve 
 lights, tobacco-smokers were accustomed to 
 carry about with them a box containing a little 
 amadou and a small flint and steel. 
 
 AMALGAM, a compound of two or more 
 metals, of which one is always mercury ; and 
 this circumstance distinguishes an amalgam 
 from a mere alloy. Nature presents us with 
 only one amalgam, which is of silver, and is 
 termed by mineralogists native amalgam : it is 
 met with either semifluid, massive, or crystal- 
 lized. Klaproth found it to exist of 64 parts 
 of mercury and 36 of silver, out of 100 parts. 
 Most metals may be amalgamated with mer- 
 cury, and the combination appears to depend 
 on chemical affinity. When the cohesion of 
 a metal is slight, as in the cases of potassium 
 and sodium, or when its affinity for mercury- 
 is considerable, as in the instances of gold 
 and silver, amalgamation takes place readily 
 by mere contact. When, on the other hand, 
 the cohesion of a metal is strong, or its affi- 
 nity for mercury is weak, heat, or intermediate 
 action, or both, are requisite to effect amalga- 
 mation. The density of an amalgam exceeds 
 that of the mean of the metals ; this and the 
 tendency exhibited by one or both metals to 
 oxidize, are indications of chemical combina- 
 tion. Antimony offers an example of metals 
 which will not amalgamate without heat ; in 
 order to effect combination, it must be melted, 
 and while liquid mixed with hot mercury. It 
 
103 
 
 AMALGAM. 
 
 AMBER. 
 
 104 
 
 has been stated, that they may be amalga- 
 mated by mixing the filings of the metal with 
 powdered alum, and rubbing them together 
 in a mortar with a little water ; after tritura 
 tion the alum may be washed out. By the 
 intervention of tin or zinc, iron may be com- 
 bined with mercury, and a double amalgam is 
 formed. Platina also unites with mercury by 
 the intervention of the amalgam of potassium, 
 but not by direct action. 
 
 Amalgams are either liquid, soft, or hard; 
 their form being dependent, in some cases, 
 upon the quantity of mercury employed, and, 
 in others, upon the nature of the metal amal- 
 gamated: thus, an amalgam consisting of 
 eighty parts of mercury and one part of so- 
 dium, is solid, whilst a compound of fifteen 
 parts of mercury and one part of tin is liquid. 
 The liquid amalgams resemble mercury in 
 appearance, except that the greater part of 
 them flow less readily : solid amalgams are 
 brittle. In general, amalgams are white; 
 they are all crystallizable, and they form 
 compounds of definite proportions. The 
 amalgams of the more oxidable metals, as of 
 potassium and sodium, are decomposed by 
 exposure to the air and absorbing oxygen, 
 and they decompose water with the evolution 
 of hydrogen gas; the double amalgam of 
 iron and zinc does not rapidly undergo any 
 change, and is not attracted by the magnet. 
 All amalgams are decomposed by a red heat, 
 the mercury being volatilized, and the more 
 fixed metals remaining. The process of 
 amalgamation and decomposition is employed 
 to separate gold and silver from their ores ; 
 the mercury obtained by decomposing the 
 amalgams is distilled, and repeatedly used 
 for the same purpose, with comparatively 
 little loss. The amalgams of gold and silver 
 are employed in the processes of gilding and 
 plating. (For the mode of silvering the in- 
 teriors of hollow glass globes, see MIRROR.) 
 The amalgam of tin is largely used in what 
 is termed silvering mirrors, and various amal- 
 gams of tin and zinc are employed for ex- 
 citing electricity in the machine. Some curious 
 effects result from the action of amalgams 
 upon each other : if mercury be added to the 
 liquid amalgam of potassium and sodium, an 
 instant solidification ensues, and heat enough 
 to inflams the latter metals is evolved. When, 
 on the other hand, a solid amalgam of bis- 
 muth is put in contact wtth one of lead, they 
 become fluid, and the thermometer sinks 
 during their action. 
 
 Some of the French dentists use an amal- 
 gam of copper to fill the cavities of hollow 
 teeth. It is gray, very hard, and adheres 
 firmly in its place. There are many useful 
 
 applications for it as a stopper to machines 
 and chemical apparatus wherever other mate- 
 rials cannot conveniently be used. It is said 
 to consist of 70 parts of mercury to 30 of 
 copper. 
 
 AMALGAMATION is a term often used to 
 indicate the process of separating gold and 
 silver from their ores. It will suffice to refer 
 to CALIFORNIA; GOLD; MERCURY; SILVER. 
 
 A'MAZON, or MARANON, or OREL- 
 LA'NA. This magnificent South American 
 river (the largest on the globe; produces on its 
 banks cacao, sarsaparilla, copaiba, caoutchouc, 
 fine forest trees, and many other plants ; and 
 the river itself yields abundance of fish. But 
 the slow progress of European enterprize in 
 that region has yet done little to make its re- 
 sources available, although steam navigation 
 has begun to develope itself on the Amazon. 
 
 AMBER, a carbonaceous mineral which 
 occurs ha beds of lignite, in Greenland, Prus- 
 sia, France, Switzerland, and some other 
 countries. The greater portion of it comes 
 from the southern coasts of the Baltic Sea, 
 where it is thrown up between Konigsberg 
 and Memel. It is also obtained by mining at 
 a distance of 200 feet from the sea, and at a 
 depth of about 100 feet, and is found in small 
 cavities. It is occasionally met with in the 
 gravel beds near London, in which case it is 
 merely an alluvial product. Amber occurs 
 generally in small pieces, which are sometimes 
 colourless, frequently light yellow, or deep- 
 brown, and very commonly translucent. 
 
 The amber-gathering on the shores of the 
 Baltic in 1844 was more abundant than was 
 ever before known at the same spot. In the 
 village of Kahlberg alone, where the amber- 
 gathering is farmed, 20,000 thalers' worth of 
 amber was picked up in the course of a 
 few weeks. It is supposed, according to a 
 paragraph in the Elblng Zeitung, copied into 
 the English journals, that this increased 
 quantity may have resulted from the violent 
 storms which prevailed on the shores of the 
 Baltic in the preceding winter, by which the 
 treasure was driven up from the bottom of 
 the sea. 
 
 Amber is rather harder than common re- 
 sins, which it resembles in several properties : 
 it is susceptible of a good polish, and when 
 rubbed becomes electrical ; indeed, the word 
 electricity is derived from ffXtKTpov, the Greek 
 name for amber. Its density varies from 1.065 
 to 1.070: when bruised it exhales a slight 
 aromatic odour ; and when heated to 448 of 
 Fahrenheit it melts, then inflames and burns 
 with a bright flame, and emits a srnell which 
 is not disagreeable. 
 
 The subject of the origin of amber is on* 
 
105 
 
 AMBER. 
 
 AMBOYNA. 
 
 106 
 
 which has been much discussed. According 
 to Berzelius it was originally a resin dissolved 
 in a volatile oil or natural balsam ; the proofs 
 of this opinion are, he conceives, numerous ; 
 it has often the impression of the branches and 
 bark upon which it has flowed and solidified; 
 it often contains insects, some of which are 
 so delicately formed that they could not have 
 occurred except in a very fluid mass. Sir 
 David Brewster concludes, from an examina- 
 tion of the optical properties of amber, that 
 it is an indurated vegetable juice. Humboldt 
 says, in his Cosmos, " The petrified wood 
 which frequently surrounds amber had early 
 attracted the attention of the ancients. This 
 resin, which was at that time regarded as so 
 precious a product, was ascribed either to the 
 black poplar, or to a tree of the cedar or pine 
 genus. The recent admirable investigations 
 of Professor Goppert, at Breslau, have shewn 
 that the latter conjecture is the more cor- 
 rect." Amber consists of a mixture of several 
 substances, which are, a volatile oil, two resins 
 soluble in alcohol and in ether, succinic acid, 
 and a bituminous body that resists the action 
 of all solvents, and which is the principal 
 part of amber. Water does not act upon this 
 substance ; it does not even dissolve any of 
 the succinic acid. Alcohol takes up a soft, 
 yellow, limpid resin. Sulphuric and nitric 
 acid both dissolve it. 
 
 Amber is employed for ornamental pur- 
 poses in the manufacture of necklaces, &c. 
 It is used also for preparing amber varnish, 
 for obtaining a peculiar oil used in medicine, 
 and it yields succinic acid employed in chemi- 
 cal investigations. 
 
 Mr. Stelling has recently introduced an 
 improved method of making varnish from 
 amber. The difficulty hitherto has been in 
 melting the varnish : the subsequent incor- 
 poration with oil and the other ingredients is 
 comparatively easy. The melting is effected 
 in a copper vessel of peculiar construction, 
 whereby the amber becomes liquid without 
 any residuum, and without evaporation of its 
 constituent elements; there is less danger 
 from fire than in the older methods, and the 
 vessel is not liable to burst, which the earthen 
 vessels formerly used were apt to be. 
 
 The largest piece of amber at present 
 known is in the Royal Cabinet at Berlin ; it 
 weighs 18 Ibs. The sum of 5000 dollars is 
 said to have been lately offered by some 
 Armenian merchants, for a piece of amber 
 weighing 13 Ibs. This substance is joined 
 and mended by moistening the surfaces with 
 linseed oil, and strongly pressing them toge- 
 ther, gently heating them at the same time. 
 In the working of amber the material is 
 
 wrought in a lathe, polished with whiting and 
 oil, and rubbed with flannel. It becomes so 
 electrical during the working that the work- 
 men are said to suffer considerable inconve- 
 nience. By a careful application of heat the 
 workmen are enabled to harden amber. The 
 beautiful black varnish used by coach-makers 
 is a very carefully prepared compound of 
 amber, asphaltum, linseed oil, and oil of tur- 
 pentine. Factitious or imitation amber is 
 often prepared from shell-lac or gum copal. 
 
 Amber is admitted duty free, but manu- 
 factured articles in amber pay an import duty 
 of 15 per cent. 
 
 AMBERGRIS, a substance of animal ori- 
 gin, found principally in warm climates, 
 floating on the sea, or thrown on the coasts. 
 The best comes from Madagascar, Surinam, 
 and Java. It has been found in^ the intestinal 
 canal of the physeter macrocephahts, mixed 
 with the remains of several marine animals 
 which have served it for food ; on this account 
 it has been supposed to be a morbid product, 
 analogous to biliary calculi. 
 
 Ambergris of good quality is solid, opaque, 
 of a bright gray colour, which is darkest ex- 
 ternally, and intermixed with yellow or reddish 
 striae. When it is heated or rubbed it exhales 
 an odour which is agreeable to most persons. 
 It is sufficiently soft to be flattened between 
 the fingers. Its specific gravity varies from 
 0.908 to 0.920. When ambergris is heated 
 with boiling alcohol of specific gravity 0.833, 
 until it is saturated, a peculiar substance, 
 called ambrein, is obtained as the solution 
 cools, grouped in mammillatecl, small, colour- 
 less crystals. Ambrein, thus obtained, is 
 brilliant, white, and insipid ; it has an agree- 
 able odour. When heated upon platina foil 
 it fuses, smokes, and is volatilized, leaving 
 scarcely any residue; by dry distillation it 
 becomes brown. It is very soluble in strong 
 alcohol, either hot or cold, in ether, and in 
 oils both fixed and volatile. Nitric acid con- 
 verts it into a pecular acid, called ambreic 
 add. 
 
 Ambergris is used as a perfume ; and as the 
 alcoholic solution is the most odorous prepa- 
 ration of it, it is generally employed in that 
 form. 
 
 Ambergris is admitted duty free. 
 
 AMBOYNA, one of the Molucca or Spice 
 Islands, in the eastern seas, is a mountainous 
 place, abundantly furnished with tress and 
 underwood. Sulphur is produced among the 
 hills, some of which are encrusted with a 
 copious efflorescence of that mineral. The 
 earliest visit made to Amboyna by any Euro- 
 peans was in 1511, when the Portuguese 
 traded to, and afterwards took possession of it. 
 
107 
 
 AMBULATORY. 
 
 AMERICA. 
 
 108 
 
 They held it till driven out by the Dutch iu 
 the sixteenth century ; about vhieh time the 
 English East India Company also wished to 
 have a share in the valuable spice trade oi 
 this and the other Molucca Islands. From 
 that time to the present, except for a short 
 period during the last war, the island has 
 belonged to the Dutch. The main object of 
 the different European powers, who endea- 
 voured to possess themselves of Amboyna, 
 was to monopolize the trade in cloves, th 
 cultivation of which spice forms the principal 
 object of industry with the natives. With the 
 desire of keeping the cultivation of the clove- 
 tree completely within their power, the Dutch 
 caused it to be extirpated from every island 
 belonging to them except Amboyna, where 
 they provided for a sufficient production of 
 the spice, by obliging every native family to 
 rear a certain number of clove-trees. In the 
 prosecution of their plans the island was 
 divided into 4,000 allotments, each one of 
 which was expected to support 125 trees, and 
 a law was passed in 1720 rendering it com- 
 pulsory upon the natives to make up the full 
 complement. The number of trees upon the 
 island accordingly amounted to 500,000, the 
 average produce of which exceeded one mil- 
 lion of pounds of cloves annually. 
 
 AMBULATORY, in architecture, the space 
 enclosed by a colonnade or an arcade. In the 
 peripteral temple of the Greeks, the lateral 
 or flanking porticoes are properly termed am- 
 bulatories; the cloister of a monastery is 
 surrounded by an ambulatory or ambulatories. 
 The aisles of the ancient Basilica, and those 
 of the cathedral, or other large church, are 
 sometimes called ambulatories. 
 
 AMERICA. This great continent has been 
 made known to Europeans partly by the 
 eagerness which commercial nations shew to 
 extend the sphere of their operations, partly 
 by mere national glory, partly by a love for 
 geographical science, and partly by missionary 
 zeal. So far as the commercial incentive has 
 been concerned, we may take a rapid glance 
 at the progress of its discovery. 
 
 The whole career of Columbus was in effect 
 a carrying out of the commercial spirit which 
 in his days marked the courts of Spain and 
 Portugal. The riches of India having become 
 known, a wish was entertained to find a 
 western route thither; and in searching for 
 this western route, Columbus discovered 
 America. In his first expedition, made in 
 1492, he discovered San Salvador, Cuba, 
 Hayti, and other islands of the West Indies, 
 which he so named in ignorance that the vast 
 Pacific intervened between them and India 
 proper. In the next expedition Columbus 
 
 discovered Jamaica. In a third, his disco- 
 veries included Trinidad, and the coast of 
 South America near the Orinoco. The suc- 
 cess of Columbus soon gave encouragement 
 to private adventurers to the new world, one 
 of the first of whom was Alonzo de Ojeda, 
 who, in 1499, followed the course of Colum- 
 bus to the coast of Paria, and, standing to 
 the west, ranged along a considerable extent 
 of coast beyond that on which Columbus had 
 touched, and thus ascertained that this country 
 was part of the continent. 
 
 In 1497, while Columbus was engaged in 
 his researches, the coast of North America 
 had been reached by an English vessel, com- 
 manded by Giovanni Gaboto, or Cabot, a 
 Venetian settled in Bristol, who undertook an 
 expedition in company with his son Sebastian, 
 and explored a long line of the North Ame- 
 rican coast. In 1498, Sebastian Cabot, in 
 another expedition, visited Newfoundland. In 
 
 1500, Gaspar Cortereal, a Portuguese, touched 
 at Labrador; and Brazil was accidentally dis- 
 covered by a Portuguese fleet under Cabral. 
 The coast of the province of Tierra Firma, 
 from Cape de Vela to the Gulf of Darien, 
 was first visited by Bastidas, a Spaniard, in 
 
 1501. Yucatan was discovered by Diaz de 
 Solis and Pinzon in 1508, and Florida by 
 Ponce de Leon, in 1512* In the same y^ar, 
 Sebastian Cabot reached the bay since called 
 Hudson's Bay. The Pacific, or Southern 
 Ocean, was first seen from the mountain 
 tops near Panama, by Balboa, in 1513, and, 
 two years after, a landing was effected on the 
 south-east coast of South America, about the 
 mouth of the Rio de la Plata, by De Solis. 
 
 The French now began to participate in 
 the zeal for adventure, and in 1524 an expe- 
 dition was dispatched by Francis I., under 
 Giovanni Verazzano, a Florentine, who sur- 
 veyed a line of coast of seven hundred leagues, 
 comprising the United States, and part of 
 British America. But in 1508, Aubert, a 
 Frenchman, had already discovered the St. 
 Lawrence River. Jacques Cartier, also a 
 Frenchman, in 1534 nearly circumnavigated 
 Newfoundland, and entered the Gulf of St. 
 Lawrence. The coast of California, on the 
 west side of the northern division of the con 
 tinent, was discovered by Ximenes, a pilot, 
 who had murdered Mendoza, a captain, dis- 
 patched by Cortez on a voyage of discovery ; 
 ,he Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortez, was 
 irst entered by Francisco de Ulloa, another 
 captain sent out by Cortez in 1539. The 
 Spaniards subsequently undertook several 
 unsuccessful voyages, but they did not aban- 
 don their hopes, and at the close of the 16th 
 century Sebastian Viscaino advanced along 
 
109 
 
 AMERICA. 
 
 AMPJKICA. 
 
 110 
 
 the coast of New Albion as far as the Oregon 
 or Columbia River. 
 
 Colonization in North America by England 
 commenced in the time of Queen Elizabeth. 
 Sir Humphry Gilbert was the first to attempt 
 it, though he merely took formal possession 
 of Newfoundland, in 1583; his half-brother, 
 the celebrated Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1584, 
 dispatched an expedition which discovered the 
 country then called Virginia, and he made 
 several attempts to colonize it without effect. 
 The colonies of Virginia and New England 
 were respectively planted in 1607 and 1620, 
 under James I., and it is not a little remark- 
 able that one hundred and six years elapsed 
 after North America was first visited by Cabot, 
 before a single Englishman had effectually 
 settled in the country. 
 
 Within the last half century many explo- 
 ring parties have traversed the interior regions 
 of America. The recent discoveries of trea- 
 sure in California have led to a new series of 
 overland researches, some of them in con- 
 nection with a proposed railway. 
 
 British researches in North America have 
 been chiefly directed to the examination of 
 the western coast, under Cook, Clarke, Meares, 
 Vancouver, &c; and to arctic or north-west 
 expeditions. In 1818 the British government 
 commenced that series of expeditions which, 
 aided by the Hudson's Bay Company, and by 
 private enterprise, and conducted by Parry, 
 John and James Ross, Lyon, Franklin, Rich- 
 ardson, Beechey, Scoresby, Pease, Simpson, 
 Ray, King, Back, and others, have resulted in 
 those discoveries which have become such a 
 source of public interest in this country. 
 Would that we could close the mention of 
 them with any announcement of the safety of 
 Sir John Franklin and his enterprizing com- 
 panions ! 
 
 The exploratory researches in South Ame- 
 rica have not been so numerous as in the 
 north ; but some of them have been of great 
 value, both geographically and commercially : 
 especially those of De la Condamine, Godin, 
 Humboldt, Bonpland, Spix, and Martius. 
 
 When America was first discovered, a large 
 part of it consisted of one vast forest, extend- 
 ing nearly from the Atlantic to the Missis- 
 sippi, and from the Canadian lakes to the 
 Gulf of Mexico 2,000 miles in length, Avith 
 an average breadth of 1,000. Most of this 
 vast forest yet remains ; but the tract west of 
 the Mississippi contains extensive plains. 
 These plains are devoid of trees ; but the 
 lower parts of the Mississippi valley, with a por- 
 tion towards the north, are still covered with a 
 dense forest, spread interminably like an 
 ocean. The prairies of this valley are found 
 
 both on the east and west side of the channel 
 of the river ; they are extensive, elevated, and 
 generally irregular tracts, without trees, though 
 sometimes capable of producing them, covered 
 in the spring with countless flowers and long 
 grass, and often possessing a deep rich soil. 
 
 South America is rich in mineral produce. 
 Gold is found in New Granada, Peru, Chili, 
 La Plata, and Brazil; and diamonds have 
 been for some time a part of the Brazilian 
 exports. The silver mines in Peru are very 
 rich, and in Chili there are mines of silver, 
 lead, and sulphur; those of copper are still 
 more abundant. There are mines of iron, 
 sulphur, antimony, tin, lead, copper, and quick- 
 silver, in Brazil; but the pursuit of the pre- 
 cious metals appears to have diverted attention 
 from other mining speculations. America also 
 sends to Europe pearls and other precious 
 stones. 
 
 In North America we find the bison, the 
 musk ox, the reindeer, the wapiti, the Virgi- 
 nian deer, the elk, the long-tailed deer, and 
 the black -tailed deer of the Rocky Mountains ; 
 the Californian sheep, and the Rocky Moun- 
 tain Goat. The most remarkable forms of 
 American deer are the llamas, alpacas, and 
 vicunas, which tenant the craggy Andes. Long 
 previously to the arrival of Columbus, the 
 llama was domesticated and used as a beast of 
 burden by the natives ; its wool was manu- 
 factured into cloth, and its flesh supplied a 
 wholesome food. Among the Rodents many 
 are valuable as fur- bearing animals; of these 
 we may notice the beaver, the musquash, the 
 coypu, various species of squirrel, and the 
 chinchilla of Peru and Chili. Many thousand 
 skins of the beaver, of the musquash, and of 
 squirrels, are annually imported into England 
 from the northern regions of America ; and an 
 extensive trade in the skins of the coypu, im- 
 properly called nutria or otter, and also in 
 those of the chinchilla, is carried on at Buenos 
 Ayres. Bears are hunted by the fur traders 
 for the sake of their skins, as are also various 
 foxes, ermines, martins, polecats, wolverines 
 or gluttons, lynxes and others. America now 
 contains horses, horned cattle, sheep and 
 goats ; but these have been introduced since 
 the time of Columbus. Horses and cattle 
 exist in many parts of South America in great 
 numbers, and wild herds roam the plains. They 
 abound also in Mexico, and the great prairies 
 of the western portions of North America. 
 
 In the United States the forests consist of 
 pines and larches unknown in Europe, many 
 kinds of oaks, locust-trees, black walnuts of 
 enormous size, hickories and ashes. Tobacco, 
 maize, and wheat, are the staple objects of 
 cultivation. 
 
Ill 
 
 AMETHYST. 
 
 AMMO'NIA. 
 
 112 
 
 At about the latitude of Virginia the region 
 of cotton and rice begins. In the countries 
 m and around the gulf of Mexico, besides 
 indigo, coffee, sugar-cane and mai/e, (which 
 here finds its native home,) the cocoa-tree, 
 from whose seeds chocolate is prepared, is a 
 most important species; the exportation of 
 the seeds of this plant, which is found wild in 
 the most burning districts, is valued at near 
 80,000/. sterling annually. Pineapples grow 
 wild in the woods; the American aloe yields, 
 when wounded, an abundance of sweet fluid, 
 which is fermented into an intoxicating drink 
 called pulque, and distilled into an ardent spirit 
 known by the name of Vino Mercal. In the 
 low woods of Honduras are found enormous 
 forests of mahogany and logwood trees. It is 
 here also that the tamarind and the lignum 
 vitte are found, the vanilla, and the jalap con- 
 volvulus. As we proceed farther and farther 
 southward, the vegetable growth gradually 
 changes, and all the rich and varied produce 
 of South America meets the view. 
 
 Under the names of the chief countries, 
 rivers, and towns of America, will be found 
 sundry details illustrative of the produce, 
 manufactures, and commerce of this great 
 continent. 
 
 AMETHYST. The Occidental or Common 
 Ami'thyst is a variety of quartz or rock crystal, 
 which is met with in many parts of the world, 
 as India, Siberia, Sweden, Germany, Spain,&c. 
 It occurs in various forms, massive, in rounded 
 pieces, and crystallized. The primary form 
 of the crystal is a slightly obtuse rhomboid ; 
 but it is usually found in the secondary form 
 of a six-sided prism, terminated at one or 
 both ends by a six-sided pyramid. The 
 crystals of the amethyst vary from diaphanous 
 to translucent, and they exhibit various degrees 
 of splendour, both externally and internally. 
 The fracture is commonly conchoidal, and the 
 fragments are of indeterminate form. The 
 colour is violet or purple violet. The ame- 
 thyst is sufficiently hard to give fire with steel, 
 and to scratch glass. 
 
 The composition, by means of which the 
 best imitation of the amethyst can be pro- 
 duced in glass, is said to be the following : 
 1000 parts of trass or colourless transparent 
 glass ; 8 parts of oxide of manganese, 5 parts 
 cf oxide of cobalt, and 0-2 parts of purple of 
 cassius. 
 
 AMIANTHUS. [ASBESTUS.] 
 
 AMIENS, in the department of Somme, in 
 France, has considerable trade and manufac- 
 tures. Velvet, plush, camlet, quilting, serge, 
 drugget, fine kerseymere, hosiery, and other 
 goods, linen, cotton, and woollen, are either 
 entirely manufactured^ or, being brought to 
 
 Amiens from other places in an unfinished 
 state, are prepared for sale in other parts of 
 the country or for exportation. There are 
 also paper-mills and bleaching-grounds. The 
 town serves as a mart for the numerous ma- 
 nufactures of the neighbourhood as far as the 
 confines of the department. The total value 
 of the commercial industry of the district, of 
 which Amiens is the centre, was estimated in 
 1843 at 40,000,000 francs. The value of raw 
 silk, wool, and cotton used in manufactures 
 is set down at between 5 and 6 millions of 
 francs, while the value of the products is 
 stated to be between 15 and 16 millions of 
 francs. The railroad between Amiens and 
 Abbeville was opened in 1847. 
 
 AMLWCH, a town in the island of Angle- 
 sey in Wales, was an insignificant village till 
 1768, about which time the celebrated and 
 highly productive Parys copper mines, in the 
 neighbouring mountains, were discovered by 
 the united exertions of Sir Nicholas Bayley 
 and Messrs. Eoe. Soon afterwards the Mono, 
 mine was discovered, in the same mountains ; 
 and both have since proved highly profitable 
 to the Marquis of Anglesea and other pro- 
 prietors, and also to the town of Amlwch. At 
 one time, in the history of these mines, the 
 copper ore was found in large conglomerate 
 masses, which admitted of being quarried in 
 open day ; at another, it occurred in regular 
 veins or lodes ; and as the excavations ad- 
 vanced, the metal was found more and more 
 mixed with earthy matters , so that, at the 
 present time, the ore (chiefly sulphuret of 
 opper) does not contain more than 4 per cent 
 of metal, and the produce is far less remune- 
 rative than formerly. At one time the mines 
 gave employment to 1 500 men ; the stock of 
 ore on hand often exceeded 40,000 tons, and 
 the works for smelting the ore were of great 
 magnitude. At the present time (1850) about 
 1000 persons are employed at the mines, of 
 whom 100 are engaged at the smelting works. 
 The 2nd of March, the day on which the vein 
 of ore at Parys mine was discovered, is kept 
 as an anniversary holiday at Amlwch. A ca- 
 pacious harbour has been excavated out of the 
 olid slate rock, for the reception of the vessels 
 connected with the copper trade. 
 
 AMMO'NIA, the modern name of the vola- 
 tile alkali, formerly so called to distinguish it 
 irom the more fixed alkalies ; it is a gaseous 
 body, and was first procured in that state by 
 Priestley, who termed it Alkaline air. He 
 obtained it from sal ammoniac, and hence the 
 present name of the alkali. 
 
 Ammonia, like all the other alkalies, is a 
 compound substance ; it consists of nitrogen 
 and hydrogen, in the proportion of one atom 
 
113 
 
 AMMO'NIA. 
 
 AMOY. 
 
 of the former to three of the latter; but these 
 two cannot be made to combine by direct 
 action. Ammonia is colourless, transparent, 
 and of course invisible ; possessing the elas- 
 ticity and mechanical properties of atmosphe- 
 ric ah*. The smell is peculiar and extremely 
 pungent, and its taste is highly acrid. An 
 animal put into it is immediately killed, and 
 a taper when immersed in it is extinguished. 
 The density of ammoniacal gas is to that of 
 atmospheric air, nearly as O5902 to 1 ; 100 
 cubic inches weigh rather more than 18 grains. 
 It acts strongly as an alkali, turning vegetable 
 blues green, and yellows reddish brown, and 
 saturates acids, forming various salts. The 
 aqueous solution is colourless, transparent, 
 and has the pungency and alkaline property 
 of the gas : by exposure to the air the ammo- 
 nia escapes, and by the application of heat it 
 is expelled from the water. 
 
 Ammonia is produced in many different 
 ways, both natural and artificial. Almost 
 every animal substance contains the elements 
 of ammonia; and when such a substance is 
 exposed to decomposition, oxygen and carbon 
 combine to form carbonic acid, while hydrogen 
 and nitrogen form ammonia ; and the two to- 
 gether form carbonate of ammonia. If such 
 substances as bones, hoofs, or horns, are 
 heated in iron cylinders, ammonia is separa- 
 ted in combination with many other matters, 
 and, after purifying, a liquid called spirit of 
 hartshorn results. Vegetable matter containing 
 gluten, coal-soot, and coal itself, may also be 
 made to yield ammonia. Ammonia is produced 
 in small quantities by many different chemical 
 processes, but those mentioned above are the 
 chief sources. By the heat of a spirit lamp, 
 ammonia forms with sodium or potassium a 
 yellowish crust of those metals, though the 
 surfaces remain brilliant and smooth. When 
 passed over melted iron or copper, ammonia 
 is absorbed ; and by voltaic action ammonia 
 may be made to combine with mercury, pro- 
 ducing an amalgam which is soft at 70 or 
 80 Fahrenheit, but a firm crystalline body at 
 32. Ammonia combines with many of the 
 metals to form ammoniurets. In many of its 
 practical applications ammonia is used in 
 solution in water, called liquid ammonia, as 
 being more convenient than in the gaseous 
 form. 
 
 Ammonia produces many valuable salts, 
 when combined with acids; and those salts, 
 as well as liquid ammonia itself, play an im- 
 portant part in many chemical manufactures, 
 but still more in medicine. The carbonate of 
 ammonia is much used by the bakers of fancy 
 bread and light pastry. With a few drops of 
 any aromatic essential oil it forms smelling 
 
 salts. Crude sulphate of ammonia forms ex- 
 cellent manure. Nitrate of ammonia forms a 
 freezing mixture with water. Muriate of am- 
 monia is employed in dyeing ; it is also used 
 to impart pungency to snuff. 
 
 AMMONIAC, GUM, a concrete juice pro- 
 cured in Persia and other parts of the East, 
 from the dorema ammornacum. The juice ex- 
 udes from the stalk, and is also obtained from 
 the root. It consists of grains of various sizes, 
 usually called tears ; their colour is whitish, 
 but they become yellow by the action of the 
 air; they are shining, opaque, irregular in 
 shape, and more or less globular ; when cold, 
 ammoniac is rather hard and brittle ; it softens 
 by the heat of the hand, but does not entirely 
 liquify at a stronger heat. The smell is 
 peculiar and disagreeable, and the taste is 
 nauseous, at first mucilaginous and bitter, and 
 afterwards acrid. Its specific gravity is 1-207. 
 When distilled with water it loses its vola- 
 tile oil, and becomes inodorous ; the distilled 
 water has the odour of the gum, and small 
 drops of limpid colourless oil float on its 
 surface. According to Bucholz, ammoniac 
 consists (in 100 parts) of 72 parts of resin, 
 22*4 parts of gum, and slight traces of basso- 
 rine, water, &c. It is used both in medicine 
 and in some manufacturing processes. 
 
 AM 'MUM. [CAHDAMOMS.] 
 
 AMOY, a city and port of China, in an is- 
 land of the same name, near the coast, is the 
 emporium of the commerce of the province of 
 Fokien. The merchants of Amoy are among 
 the most wealthy and enterprising in the Chi- 
 nese empire ; they have formed connections 
 all along the coast, and have established com- 
 mercial houses in many parts of the* eastern 
 Archipelago. During the south-west monsoon, 
 they freight great numbers of their smaller 
 junks at Formosa with sugar and rice, which 
 they sell at various ports to the northward, 
 returning home with cargoes of drugs. Above 
 300 junks of the largest class some of them 
 800 tons burden belong to Amoy, and trade 
 with Borneo, Manilla, Macassar, Java, the 
 Soo -loo Islands, Singapore ; and with Bankok, 
 the capital of Siam. 
 
 Europeans were allowed to trade to Amoy 
 from 1675 to 1681 ; but after the latter date, 
 such trade was almost entirely prohibited, 
 until the recent arrangements with the Eng- 
 lish government. On the 26th of August, 
 1841, Amoy was captured by the British ; by 
 the treaty of Nanking, dated August 29, 1842, 
 this port, among others, was opened to our 
 trade, and British subjects and a British con- 
 sul allowed to reside at Amoy. By a supple- 
 mentary treaty, dated October 8, 1843, a tariff 
 of imports and exports was established, and 
 
115 
 
 AMPHIDESMA. 
 
 AMPHITYPE. 
 
 116 
 
 other foreigners admitted to the same privi- 
 leges as British subjects. 
 
 AMPHIDESMA, is the name of a genus 
 of bivalve shells, the cartilages of some of the 
 larger species of which, as the mother-of-pearl 
 shells, are sold by the jewellers under the 
 name of peacock-stone or black opals. They 
 are not so much used now as formerly, but 
 they are still much sought after on the conti- 
 nent, especially in Portugal. 
 
 AMPHIPROSTYLE, is used to designate 
 structures having the form of an ancient 
 Greek or Roman parallelogramic temple, with 
 a prostyle or portico on each of its ends or 
 fronts, but with no columns on its sides or 
 flanks. 
 
 AMPHITHE'ATRE, was a building used 
 by the Romans for the exhibition of gladiato- 
 rial combatants, and of fights with wild beasts. 
 The word literally means a double theatre, or 
 one composed of two theatres. In the theatre 
 the spectators sat in a semicircle placed oppo- 
 site to the straight line of the stage ; in the 
 amphitheatre, which was of an elliptic form, 
 the seats were placed all round. 
 
 The form of an amphitheatre, then, is ge- 
 nerally an ellipse, with a series of arcaded 
 concentric walls, separating corridors which 
 have constructions with staircases and radia- 
 ting passages between them. It enclosed an 
 open space called the arena. The innermost 
 concentric wall bounded the arena, and was 
 from 10 to 15 feet above its level : from this 
 wall an inclined plane ran upwards and out- 
 wards over the intermediate wall, staircases, 
 and corridors, to a gallery or galleries over 
 the outermost corridors. The inner and upper 
 part of the inclined plane was covered with a 
 graduated series of benches following the 
 general form of the plan ; these benches were 
 intercepted at intervals by radial passages 
 leading by a more easy graduation to and from 
 the staircases which passed through the sub- 
 structions of the benches to the corridors. 
 These corridors, in the principal stories, con- 
 tinued uninterruptedly all round the edifice, 
 and afforded easy access to every part. In 
 cases where the radiating passages through 
 the bank of benches were few, concentric plat- 
 forms went round to make the communica- 
 tions complete. The external elevation of an 
 amphitheatre was determined by its internal 
 arrangement and construction, and it gene- 
 rally had two or more stories of open arches, 
 which were necessary to give light and air to 
 the corridors and staircases. 
 
 Roman amphitheatres were first constructed 
 of timber. Afterwards they were constructed 
 of brick or stone. 
 
 The amphitheatre of the Romans was raised, 
 
 for the most part, within the towu or city, on 
 the level ground, of costly magnificence, and 
 generally of enormous extent. Almost every 
 important Roman colony or city bears indica- 
 tions of a constructed or excavated amphi- 
 theatre. The Colosseum at Rome would con- 
 tain above 80,000 persons ; and even the little 
 city of Pompeii contains the remains of an 
 amphitheatre. The Roman garrisons appear 
 to have contented themselves with camp-built 
 amphitheatres alone. Of this sort, -the cas- 
 trensian amphitheatre, we have indications 
 still existing in England ; the principal are 
 at Cirencester and Dorchester ; but these were 
 originally little more than mere excavations 
 or turf-built cinctures, made up with what 
 walling was absolutely necessary to form the 
 grand concentric bank of benches. 
 
 The largest amphitheatre ever built was 
 the Flavian Amphitheatre at Rome, commonly 
 called the Colosseum, which was begun by 
 Vespasian and finished by his son Titus, A. D. 
 80. The plan and elevation can be made out 
 almost completely from the existing remains. 
 It covers more than five acres. The dimen- 
 sions as given by different authorities, vary a 
 little, but the largest external diameter is 
 about 613 feet, and the shorter diameter about 
 510 feet. The external elevation is composed 
 of three series or stories of attached or en- 
 gaged columns with their usual accessories, 
 and a pilastraded ordinance, forming a species 
 of attic, which is pierced with windows, one 
 in every other interspace. The crowning en- 
 tablature is made bold and effective by deep 
 modillion blocks or consoles occupying tho 
 whole depth of the frieze. Next in size to the 
 Colosseum, of existing structures of the kind, 
 is the Amphitheatre of Verona. The outer 
 dimensions of this structure were 500 feet by 
 404 feet. The amphitheatre of El Jemm 
 (Tisdrus) in Tunis is 429 feet in extreme 
 length. 
 
 History will record that in the year 1851 
 there was raised a building in London, nearly 
 'capable of containing three of the greatest 
 amphitheatres, a building not devoted to the 
 bloody contests of the arena and the gratifica- 
 tion of national pride and individual bravery, 
 but for the promotion of goodwill, and the 
 cultivation of the most valuable arts, amongst 
 all the nations of the earth. 
 
 AMPHITYPE. At the York meeting of 
 the British Association, in 1844, Sir John 
 Herschel described a variety of the ' photo- 
 graphic ' process to which he gave the name 
 of Amphitype. The paper is saturated with 
 one among several chemical solutions named 
 by him ; and the paper so prepared and dried 
 takes a negative picture, in a tune varying 
 
117 
 
 A'MPHOKA. 
 
 AMSTERDAM. 
 
 118 
 
 from half an hour to five or six hours. The | sextaries, equal to about nine gallons English 
 
 impression produced varies in apparent force, 
 from a faint and hardly perceptible picture, to 
 one of the highest conceivable fulness and 
 richness both of tint and of detail : the colour 
 being a rich soft brown. The pictures in this 
 state are not permanent : they fade in the 
 dark, though with different degrees of rapidity ; 
 but the picture is only dormant ; it may be 
 restored, with a change of character from ne- 
 gative to positive, and of colour, from brown 
 to black. This is effected by the employment 
 of a solution of per-nitrate of mercury, into 
 which the paper is steeped ; a long and care- 
 ful process of rinsing, drying, heating, and 
 smoothing follows, by which a changed picture 
 is produced, very much resembling the effect 
 of a copper-plate engraving on a slightly yel- 
 low paper. It is from the production, by one 
 and the same action of light, of either a posi- 
 tive or negative picture, according to the sub- 
 sequent manipulation, that the name of amphi- 
 tijpc has been applied to the process. The 
 a which the paper is originally 
 steeped are any of the following, ferro-citrate 
 or ferro- nitrate of mercury: the metal being 
 either the protoxide or the peroxide, or being 
 superceded by the protoxide of lead ; and the 
 nitric acid being substituted for those above 
 named. Steepings in these solutions are to 
 alternate several times with steepings in solu- 
 tions of the ammonia-tartrate or ammonia- 
 citrate of iron. 
 
 Another curious process, which is an Amphi- 
 type on a different principle, also described by 
 Sir John Herschel, depends on the steeping 
 of a piece of paper, before the photographic 
 process, in a solution of ferro-tartrate of silver. 
 If the paper, immediately on being removed 
 from the photographic camera, be placed for 
 a few seconds with its back exposed to the 
 sunshine, a positive picture, the exact com- 
 plement of the negative one on the other 
 side, slowly and gradually makes its appear- 
 ance, and in half an hour or an hour acquires 
 a considerable intensity, though unequal to 
 the original picture on the other side in 
 sharpness of detail. This is one of the most 
 striking results in the whole range of photo- 
 graphy. [DAGUERROTYPE ; PHOTOGRAPHY, 
 &c.] 
 
 A'MPHORA was an earthen vessel, used 
 by the Greeks and Romans to hold liquids. 
 It received its name from its two ears or 
 handles. Itis generally two feet or two feet and 
 a half in height; and the body, which is usu- 
 ally about six inches in diameter ending up- 
 wards with a snort neck, tapers towards the 
 lower part almost to a point. The attic am- 
 phora contained three Roman urnse, or 72 
 
 imperial- measure. The Roman, sometimes 
 called the Italic amphora, contained two urnse 
 or 48 sextaries, about six gallons. There are 
 specimens of earthen amphorae in the British 
 Museum, which are supposed to have been 
 used as funeral urns. 
 
 There was another amphora among the 
 Romans, which was a dry-measure, and con- 
 tained about three bushels. 
 
 AMRITSIR, or UMRITSIR, the holy capi- 
 tal of the Sikhs, is a large city in the state of 
 Lahore. It has a considerable trade in the 
 shawls and saffron of Cashmere, and is a place 
 of great opulence, owing to the resort of mer- 
 chants and to its being the residence of some 
 bankers of extensive dealings. Its native 
 manufactures are confined to coarse cloths and 
 inferior silk goods. It is one of the most 
 nourishing commercial towns in Northern 
 India. It fell into the hands of the British 
 in 1848. 
 
 AMSTERDAM, the chief city of Holland, 
 is one of the most commercial places in Eu- 
 rope. The dock accommodation is fitted for 
 a large number of merchant ships. The docks 
 front the mouth of the river Y (an arm of the 
 Zuider Zee), and are entered and secured by 
 sluices. In the north-eastern quarter is the 
 Nieuw Oostelijk Dok, the National Dockyard, 
 and the island of Kattenburg, in which are 
 the quays and warehouses of the East and 
 West India Companies, the Arsenal, and the 
 Admiralty buildings. West of the Dam Rack 
 lies the Haring Packerye, or Herring Packery 
 Tower, in the neighbourhood of which all the 
 business connected with the export of herrings 
 used to be transacted. Further west is the 
 Nieuw Westelijk Dok. 
 
 The harbour is spacious and the water deep ; 
 it has recently been much improved by the 
 construction of the Oostelijk and Westelijk 
 Docks, which are capable of containing 1000 
 large vessels, and are closed by large sluice 
 gates. Owing to a bank (the Pampus) at the 
 point where the Y joins the Zuider Zee, large 
 vessels going and coming by that sea are 
 obliged to load and unload a part of their car- 
 goes in the roads. The navigation of the 
 Zuider Zee also is very difficult and intricate 
 by reason of its numerous shallows. To im- 
 prove the access to the port, the Helder Canal, 
 capable of admitting the largest class of mer 
 chantmen, was cut from the north side of tin 
 port of Amsterdam to Newdiep, opposite to 
 the Texel, a distance of 50 miles. By this 
 canal the Pampus is avoided, as well as the 
 difficult navigation of the Zuider Zee, whera 
 ships were frequently detained for three weeks; 
 and vessels can get to and from Newdiep with- 
 
119 
 
 AMULET. 
 
 ANA'LYSIS. 
 
 120 
 
 oat any risk in 18 hours Steam -boats ply 
 from Amsterdam to Carnpen on the Yssel 
 from whence other steam-boats ply to the 
 t >wns on the Yssel and the Rhine. 
 
 Amsterdam has some manufactures of wool 
 cotton, linen, and silk; its diamond-cutting 
 and jewellery retain a good repute ; but its 
 sugar refineries, soaperies, distilleries, tanne- 
 ries, oil works, tobacco manufactories, and 
 ship building, are the most valuable branches 
 of industry. The various handicrafts and 
 ordinary fabrics common to all large towns 
 are also carried on in Amsterdam. It has also 
 some glass works and iron works. The im- 
 ports principally consist of sugar, coffee, spices, 
 tobacco, cotton, tea, dye-stuffs, wine and spi- 
 rits, wool, grain, hemp, flax, pitch, metals, 
 cotton and woollen stuffs, hardware, rocksalt, 
 coal, <fcc. The exports are cheese, butter, 
 seeds, rape and linseed oils, linen, spices, 
 coffee and sugar from Java, tea, tobacco, in- 
 digo, cochineal, cotton, and other eastern and 
 colonial products. About 260 large ships be- 
 long to Amsterdam, which are employed in 
 the East and West India trade : 15 small ves- 
 sels are engaged in the hening and whale 
 fisheries. Upwards of 4000 vessels enter the 
 port annually ; and about the same number 
 leave it. The imports in some years have 
 exceeded 8,000,000 sterling. 
 
 By the adoption of the system of free navi- 
 gation by the Dutch government, following 
 the recent example of England, the commerce 
 of Amsterdam will doubtless be greatly in- 
 creased. The new Dutch Navigation Acts, 
 which came into operation on the 15th Sep- 
 tember, 1850, and will apply to her colonial 
 possessions at the beginning of 1851, will 
 afford absolute freedom of navigation at the 
 Dutch ports, at home and abroad. 
 
 AMULET, in barbarous La-tin, Amuletum, 
 or Amoletum. An amulet hung round the 
 neck, or carried in any other way about the 
 person, is absurdly believed to have the effect 
 of warding off morbid infections and other 
 dangers, and even of curing diseases by which 
 the body has been already attacked. The be- 
 lief in the efficacy of amulets has subsisted at 
 some time among almost every people. The 
 anodyne necklace, which consists of beads 
 formed from the roots of white briony, and is 
 sometimes hung around the necks of infants 
 with the view of assisting their teething, is an 
 instance of the still surviving confidence in 
 the medical virtue of amulets. Such also is 
 the belief entertained by seafaring people, 
 that a child's caul on board their ship Will 
 preserve them from being lost. In exhibi- 
 tions of art, ancient and mediaeval, amulets arc 
 often to be met with of curious construction. 
 
 AMYGDALIN, a substance obtained from 
 bitter almonds after the fixed oil has been ex- 
 pressed. Its properties are that it has the 
 form of small, white, pearly, crystalline plates, 
 which are inodorous and nearly tasteless. It 
 is very soluble in water, both hot and cold ; a 
 hot solution deposits brilliant prismatic crys- 
 tal* in cooling, which contain water. 
 
 AMYGDALUS, is the botanical name for 
 several plants, of which the almond is the 
 principal. [ALMOND.] 
 
 AMYBI'DE^E, the botanical name for a 
 natural order of plants consisting of tropical 
 trees, the leaves, bark, and fruit of which 
 abound in fragrant resin. The odoriferous 
 substances called gum elcmi, bdellium, and resin 
 ofCoumia, are all produced by different species 
 of amyrideae. 
 
 ANACARDIA'CEuE, or the Cashew tribe, 
 is a natural order of plants, consisting exclu- 
 sively of woody plants, abounding in an acrid 
 resin. Their juice is often used as a kind of 
 varnish, for which it is well adapted, in con- 
 sequence of its turning hard and black when 
 (by. It is, however, often dangerous to use, 
 because of the extreme acridity of the fumes, 
 which are apt to produce severe inflammation 
 in many constitutions. One species, Anacar- 
 dium Occidentale, if wounded in the stem, 
 yields abundantly a milk, which, when inspis- 
 sated, becomes intensely black and hard, be- 
 sides which it secretes a gum not inferior to 
 gum arabic. The nut is a kidney-shaped body, 
 containing in abundance, beneath the outer 
 shell, the black caustic oil of the order, which, 
 when volatilized by heat, as happens in the 
 process of roasting, is apt to produce erysipe- 
 las, and other disagreeable affections in the 
 ace of persons standing over the fumes ; the 
 iernel is a well known wholesome article of 
 food. In the West Indies it is used as an in- 
 gredient in puddings, is eaten raw, and is 
 roasted for the purpose of mixing with Ma 
 deira wine, to which it is thought to commu 
 nicate a peculiarly agreeable flavour. 
 
 ANACARDIUM INK. [INK.] 
 
 ANA'LYSIS. Chemical analysis is the 
 separation of compound bodies, either into 
 their simpler or their elementary constituents. 
 iVlien merely the number and nature of these 
 are ascertained, it is termed qualitative analy- 
 sis ; but when their proportions also are 
 determined, the analysis is quantitative. If 
 :he analysis consist only in determining the 
 quantities of the simple* constituents of a 
 compound, it is proximate, as when carbonate 
 >f potash is separated into carbonic acid and 
 jotash : but when the operation is extended, 
 rid the carbonic acid is resolved into carbon 
 and oxygen, and the potash into potassium 
 
121 
 
 ANAMORPHO'SIS. 
 
 and oxygen, the analysis is ultimate ; for 
 neither carbon, oxygen, nor potassium (in the 
 present state of our knowledge) is divisible 
 into two or more kinds of matter. 
 
 ANAMORPHO'SIS is such a representa- 
 tion of an object that, except when viewed 
 from a particular point directly, or in a cylin- 
 drical mirror, or through a polyhedral lens, 
 it will appear to be distorted, or disconnected, 
 or to be a view of something very different 
 from the original object. Such representa- 
 tions are only made for the amusement of 
 young persons, and are of no artistic impor- 
 tance. 
 
 ANASTATIC PRINTING. Early in the 
 month of November, 1841, the proprietors of 
 the Athenaeum received from a correspondent 
 at Berlin, a reprint of four pages of the num 
 her of that journal which had been published 
 in London only on September 25th. The 
 copy was so perfect a facsimile, that had it not 
 come to hand under peculiar circumstances, it 
 would have been taken for two leaves out of a 
 sheet actually printed in London ; the obser- 
 vable difference was, that the impression was 
 somewhat lighter, and the body of ink less 
 than usual. In reply to further inquiries, the 
 correspondent at Berlin could only discover 
 that the secret was said to be in the hands of 
 a person at Erfurt. He had seen a fac-simile 
 of an Arabic MS. of the 13th century ; and 
 another fac-simile of a leaf of a book printed 
 in 1483 botfo such close copies as hardly to 
 be detected from the originals, and both taken 
 without injury to the originals. It was also 
 stated that a prospectus was issued at Berlin, 
 of a pirated edition of the Athenaum, to be 
 produced in a similar way, and sold at a low 
 price. 
 
 In January 1845, the Athenteum was enabled 
 to announce that the inventor or discoverer of 
 the method was a M. Baldermus, who had 
 communicated the discovery to a person in 
 London ; and to convince the proprietors of 
 that journal of the reality of the method, a 
 page of L 1 Illustration, French journal, was 
 faithfully copied in a quarter of an hour. The 
 method became known by the name of Anas- 
 tatic printing ; and many of the London jour- 
 nals directed attention to the subject. In the 
 Art Union for February, 1845, pages 40 and 41 
 of the number are printed from zinc plates ob- 
 tained by the Anastatic process. The compo- 
 sitors " set up " in the usual way, sufficient 
 matter to fill up two quarto pages of the work, 
 leaving spaces for three wood-cuts, three draw- 
 ings, and a few lines of writing in pen and ink, 
 which were properly adjusted to the blanks left 
 for them. All were alike copied or transferred 
 to the zinc plates, and then printed from to 
 
 ANASTATIC PRINTING. 12S 
 
 the number of several thousands. The impres- 
 sions are fainter and less distinct than those 
 from the original types, but they are unques- 
 tionably remarkable. 
 
 Professor Faraday explained the rationale of 
 the Anastatic process in 1845, at the Roya 
 Institution. The process depends on a fe\v 
 known properties of the articles employed 
 1 st. Water attracts water ; oil attracts oil ; but 
 each mutually repels the other. 2nd. Metals- 
 are much more easily wetted with oil than 
 with water ; but they will readily be moistened 
 by a weak solution of gum. 3rd. The power 
 of wetting metals with water is greatly increased 
 by the addition of phosphatic acid. 4th. ;'* 
 part of the ink of any newly printed book can 
 be readily transferred by pressure to any smooth 
 surface beneath ; if, for example, a corner of" 
 a newspaper be fixed on a white sheet of paper, 
 and then pressed or rubbed with a paper knife, 
 the letters will be distinctly seen in reverse on 
 the paper ; and indeed eveiy one knows that 
 if a book be bound too soon after the printing, 
 the pages become disfigured by the setting off 
 or transfer of the ink upon the opposite pages. 
 From these data the rules for the process are 
 derived. The printed paper, whether letter-press 
 or engraving, is first moistened with dilute 
 acid, and then pressed with considerable force 
 by a roller on a perfectly clean surface of zinc ; 
 by which means every part of the sheet of 
 paper is brought into contact with the plate ot 
 zinc. The acid, with which the imprinted part 
 of the paper is saturated, etches the metal, 
 while the printed portion sets o/Ton it, so that 
 the zinc surface presents a reverse copy of the 
 work. The zinc plate, thus prepared, is washed 
 with a weak solution of gum in weak phos- 
 phatic acid ; this liquid is attracted by the 
 etched surface, which it freely wets, while it is 
 repelled by the oil of the ink in which the 
 writing or drawing on the plate is traced. A 
 leathern roller, covered with ink, is then passed 
 over the plate, when a converse effect ensues ; 
 the repulsion between the oil, ink, and watery 
 surface over which the roller passes, prevents 
 any soiling of the unfigured parts of the zinc' 
 plate ; while the attraction between oil and oil 
 causes the ink to'be distributed over the printed 
 portions. In this condition the anastatic plate 
 s complete, and impressions are pulled from 
 t by the common lithographic process. When 
 t is required to apply the anastatic process to 
 very old originals, which do not set off their 
 nk on pressure, the page or print is first 
 soaked in a solution of potash, and then in a 
 solution of tartaric acid : by which is produced 
 a perfect diffusion of minute crystals of bi-tar- 
 trate of potash through the texture of the un- 
 printed part of the paper. As this salt resists 
 
123 ANATOMICAL MECHANISM. 
 
 oil, the ink roller may now be passed over th 
 surface without transferring any of its content.' 
 except to the printed parts. The tartrate 
 then washed out of the paper, and the opera 
 tion is proceeded with as before, commencin 
 with the moistening by nitric acid. 
 
 In No. 1135 of the Mechanic's Magazine, i 
 is stated that Mr. Jobbins, the lithographi 
 printer, took copies of printed pages by a pro 
 cess analogous to that of anastatic printing, a 
 far back as the year 1840 ; and in the sam 
 number Mr. Cocks of Falmouth states " In 
 the year 1836 I introduced a process for the 
 transferring of copper plate engravings (by th 
 old masters), as well as letter-press printing 
 &c., to stone, zinc, tin, pewter, type metal 
 fusible metal, lead, copper, glass, &c., and hac 
 impressions taken from each ; but the origina 
 subjects were destroyed by the chemical agents 
 used. Since that time I have succeeded in 
 transferring prints and letter press withou 
 even soiling the originals, fixing the same 
 on metal, wood, or paper, and printing from 
 the form any number of copies. The process 
 is so faithful in its operation, that the fines 
 line of the etching needle is preserved." It is 
 evident, indeed, that anastatic printing is bu 
 an extension of processes known long before 
 in England. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Strickland and Mr. Delaraotte 
 instituted experiments with a view to ascertain 
 how far the anastatic process would be avail- 
 able as a substitute for lithography. They 
 succeeded in transferring or printing from 
 drawings made on paper with lithographic 
 chalk ; within an hour after the drawing was 
 made, a perfect anastatic fac -simile was pro- 
 duced, hardly to be distinguished from it. 
 The chief difficulty here seems to be the pro- 
 duction of a kind of paper which shall possess 
 a surface similar to lithographic stone. A 
 mode has been devised of imparting to India 
 paper a clear sharp granular surface, well fitted 
 for the purpose as far as regards surface ; but 
 it is almost too tender in substance. Mr. 
 Strickland found that metallic paper, used for 
 metallic pencils, had the required surface. For 
 fine subjects copied in this way, it is essential 
 that the lithographic chalk be of a hard quality; 
 and cut to a fine point. 
 
 ANATOMICAL MECHANISM. Consi- 
 derable ingenuity is exercised in providing 
 mechanical aid for those who, by amputation 
 or other causes, have been deprived of limbs. 
 A few descriptive details on this subject will 
 be found under ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. 
 ANATTO. [ARNOTTO.] 
 ANCHOR. Under some form or other 
 anchors must have been as ancient as ships ; 
 and they are accordingly mentioned by Greek 
 
 ANCHOR. 
 
 134 
 
 and Latin authors, by whom also the invention, 
 like many others which from clumsy begin- 
 nings have passed through different stages of 
 improvement, is ascribed to various persons. 
 The first anchors were probably only large 
 stones or crooked pieces of wood loaded with 
 heavy weights, but among the Greeks, latterly, 
 they were made of iron ; of these the earliest 
 had but one fluke, afterwards the other was 
 added, and finally they were furnished with 
 stocks. Each ship had several, of which the 
 principal one was called Lepa or sacred, and 
 was reserved for the last extremity. This cor- 
 responds to that which has since been deno- 
 minated the ' sheet anchor.' 
 
 The number of anchors carried by a ship 
 have been finally reduced to four principal 
 ones, all of which are disposed at the bows. 
 These are the best and small bowers (bow- 
 yers), the sheet, and the spare anchor, and to 
 them are added the stream and the kedge 
 anchors, which are used for particular pur- 
 poses, and are generally carried ' in-board.' 
 
 Every complete anchor has a ring by which 
 t is suspended, a stock or cross-piece im- 
 mediately below the ring, a shank or perpen- 
 dicular bar, two arms proceeding in opposite 
 directions from the lower end of the shank, a 
 mlm or fluke at the end of each arm, and a 
 nil or peak at the end of each fluke. 
 
 When the anchor is let go in any manner 
 rom the vessel's side the heaviest end, or 
 srown, will tend to become the lowest part, 
 md the whole mass having reached the bot- 
 om will most commonly fall upon the crown 
 and on one end of the stock ; from this posi- 
 ion therefore the anchor is to be canted or 
 urned over before it can hold. Now, it is 
 vident that if the stock were very short, the 
 mil of the cable would tend rather to drag the 
 nd of the stock along the bottom than to lift 
 up one of the flukes, as must be done in cant- 
 ng the anchor ; whereas, if the stock were 
 onger, the cable would act with increased 
 everage, whatever might be the length of the 
 hank ; hence the longer the stock, within the 
 ractical limits of stowage, the more certainly 
 all the anchor turn properly ; and, when 
 ooked in the ground, the more powerfully 
 ill it resist any effort to overset it. 
 When the anchor has been turned, the 
 tock then lying horizontally on the ground, 
 nd the point of a fluke touching the ground, 
 is evident that the force exerted by the ship 
 ) draw the anchor towards itself, compounded 
 ith the weight of the anchor (exclusive of 
 le stock, and diminished by about one- 
 eventh on account of the loss of weight in 
 ater), will produce a resultant force by which 
 ic fluke is made to enter the ground. An 
 
125 
 
 ANCHOE. 
 
 ANCHOE. 
 
 126 
 
 anchor, when ' dragged,' always tends to rise ' 
 out of the ground, and does not again sink till 
 it rests. 
 
 In lifting or weighing the anchor, the cable 
 acting perpendicularly to the end of the shank, 
 tends to break it, and hence the thickness of 
 the shank should increase with its distance 
 from the ring ; also the breadth of the shank 
 should be downwards, and the like holds good 
 of the arms, the chief dimension of which 
 should be in the plane of the cable and shank, 
 thus opposing the greatest strength to the 
 greatest strain. 
 
 Besides the strains to which an anchor is 
 exposed by its office, it is liable to accidents ; 
 for instance, an anchor let go on a rocky bot- 
 tom has been found, on heaving it up, to have 
 lost an arm, which was probably caused by its 
 striking against a rock obliquely in its descent; 
 again, the shank has been found broken in the 
 middle, though this does not seem to have been 
 accounted for satisfactorily ; and it may here 
 be observed generally, that the anchor de- 
 scends much more swiftly with a chain -cable 
 than a hemp one, for the stiffness of the hemp 
 opposes a retarding force, while the greater 
 density of the chain adds a continually accele 
 rating force. 
 
 The principal dimensions of the anchors in 
 the navy may be stated shortly thus : calling 
 the shank 10, the arm is about 3, the breadth 
 and depth of the palm about half this, the 
 thickness or depth of the shank varies from 
 4 to -0, and the breadth about four-fifths o 
 these, the edges being rounded. The weigh 
 of an anchor of 10 feet in length is about 11-4 
 cwt., and since, if the forms of all anchor? 
 were alike, the weights would be as the cube 
 of the lengths, the weight of any anchor migh 
 be found by multiplying the cube of its lengtl 
 by -0114. Thus the weight of an anchor o 
 14 feet in length would be 14 3 X '0114 = 313 
 cwt.; the weight of this anchor is, in practice 
 30 cwt., hence as far as 30 or 35 cwt., the rul 
 is near enough, but for larger anchors it give 
 the result too small, because their thicknes 
 is made greater in proportion. The weight o 
 the anchor includes that of the ring, i 
 general rule in the navy is to allow 1 cwt. t< 
 a gun ; thus, an 80 gun ship would have ai 
 anchor weighing 80 cwt. A merchant-ship c 
 200 tons having an anchor weighing 10 cwt 
 5 cwt. are added for every additional 100 tons 
 thus, a ship of 300 tons would have an ancho 
 of 15 cwt., and so on. Small vessels requir 
 heavier anchors in proportion than large ves 
 sels ; the sea, sudden gusts of wind, and th 
 pull of the cable, affect the larger vessels less 
 and they thus preserve a steadier strain. 
 As to the cost of an anchor, the labour pe 
 
 wt. is about 24,s. for an anchor of 10 cwt. and 
 nder, and for the largest anchors about Sl ; 
 :ie value of an anchor of 95 cwt., including 
 ae iron at about 9s. 9rf. per cwt., is about 
 OO/. 
 
 The stock consists of two beams of oak, 
 olted and hooped together ; the length is 
 bat of the shank and half the diameter of 
 be ring ; it is square ; the side at the middle 
 s an inch to a foot of the shank, and tapers 
 o half of this at the end. Such a stock is 
 early one-fourth of the weight of the anchor, 
 lieutenant Eodgers has proposed a solid stock 
 f African oak, for the greater convenience of 
 tocking or unstocking. Of late years iron 
 stocks, whose weight is from one-fourth to 
 me -fifth of the anchor, have been much used. 
 
 Numerous improvements have been brought 
 brward within the last few years in the form 
 and manufacture of anchors. Lieutenant 
 Rodgers has patented a hollow - shanked 
 anchor, intended to combine strength with 
 ightness. Mr. Pering has introduced a me- 
 thod of forming the arms of anchors by split- 
 ing or bisecting the bars which form the 
 shank, and turning the ends back in contrary 
 directions. Mr. Meggitt has patented an 
 anchor in which the flukes are very little 
 broader than the arms. It would be needless 
 to enumerate all the improvements introduced 
 or suggested ; but among the changes pro- 
 posed in the construction of anchors, the 
 most remarkable is, perhaps, that which was 
 brought forward by Mr. Porter, for the pur- 
 pose of avoiding the consequences of ' fouling,' 
 by the cable passing over the exposed fluke 
 of the anchor when the vessel is swinging in 
 a tide-way, and injury to the vessel herself in 
 the event of settling upon her anchor. The 
 peculiarity consists in giving to the arms a 
 freedom of motion round a pivot or bolt at 
 the end of the shank. The arms and flukes 
 are forged independently of the shank, and 
 have a hole drilled transversely through the 
 centre for the reception of the iron bolt which 
 connects them with the shank. The effect of 
 this construction is, that when the anchor, 
 after being dropped, rests upon the ground, 
 it assumes a position in which the lower peak 
 is in contact with the inferior surface of the 
 shank, and the upper peak is as far as possible 
 from it. The slightest movement of the cable 
 then suffices to bring the anchor to a position 
 in which the lower peak is favourably situated 
 for penetrating into the ground : the penetra- 
 tion then takes place, and at length the shank 
 and stock lie flat on the ground, the upper 
 fliike being close upon the top of the shank. 
 
 Whether we view the forging of an anchor 
 under the old state of things, or now that Na- 
 
127 
 
 ANCHOR 
 
 ANCHO'VY. 
 
 128 
 
 smyth's hammer works such wonders, it is a 
 striking exhibition of industrial art. The 
 shaft of a first class anchor, nearly twenty feet 
 long hy ten or twelve inches thick, is too pon- 
 derous to he worked out of one piece of metal ; 
 and it has consequently to be built up of many 
 pieces. Forty or fifty bars are sometimes laid 
 together in a group, to be welded into one 
 mass by powerful blows while at a white heat ; 
 but in modern times a smaller number of 
 wider bars are more frequently used. The 
 bundle of bars is brought to a highly heated 
 state, in a kind of oven formed wholly of coals, 
 which completely surround the iron ; but as 
 the length of the shank is so great, only so 
 much of it is heated at once as can be forged 
 before it cools down too low. The fire is 
 urged by ten or a dozen men (the same who 
 afterwards apply their lusty arms to the ham- 
 mers) ; and when the mass is brought to a 
 white heat, it is drawn out of the fiery furnace, 
 swung round by means of the crane by which 
 it has been suspended, and brought to bear 
 on a large anvil. The men arrange them- 
 selves in a circle around the heated mass ; 
 and, guided by a foreman, they wield their 
 ponderous hammers of sixteen or twenty 
 pounds weight, and produce a rough music 
 by their equal-timed blows : they are ' harmo- 
 nious blacksmiths,' though perhaps not be- 
 longing to Handel's corps. Mr. Samuel Fer- 
 guson, in his noble poem, ' The Forging of 
 the Anchor,' has some lines which vividly 
 present this picture : 
 
 ' The roof-ribs swarth, the candent hearth, 
 the ruddy lurid row 
 
 Of smiths, that stand, an ardent band, like 
 men before the foe ; 
 
 As, quivering through his fleece of flame, the 
 sailing monster, slow 
 
 Sinks on the anvil all about the fiery faces 
 glow 
 
 " Hurrah ! " they shout, " leap out leap out; " 
 bang, bang, the sledges go : 
 
 Hurrah ! the jetted lightnings are hissing 
 high and low, 
 
 A hailing fount of fire is struck at every crush- 
 ing blow ; 
 
 The leathern mail rebounds the hail ; the 
 rattling cinders strow 
 
 The ground around ; at every hound the swel- 
 tering fountains flow ; 
 
 And thick and loud the swinking crowd at 
 every stroke pant " ho ! " ' 
 
 But this was in the old times. If we now 
 visit the Government Anchor Smitheries, such 
 as that in Devonport Dock Yard, we find that 
 steam has driven away something of the old 
 picturesqueness replacing it by a grandeur 
 
 of its own. The anchor-shaft is no longer 
 buried in a mere heap of blazing fuel, but is 
 heated in a properly constructed furnace ; the 
 bellows are no longer worked by hand, but by 
 the powerful blast of a steam-engine ; the 
 forgers need no longer to confine their opera- 
 tions to one small length at a time, for a 
 much greater length can now be managed be- 
 fore it cools down too low ; and the circle of 
 anchor-smiths no longer wield their hammers, 
 and expend their strength in blows which 
 were once called powerful but which are now 
 deemed puny. A steam-giant has come 
 amongst them. Mr. Nasmyth's steam-ham- 
 mer is a contrivance in which a powerful 
 hammer or weight is allowed to fall by its own 
 gravity, but is drawn up by the operation of 
 steam-power ; and this alternation of rising 
 and falling occurs several times in a minute 
 much faster indeed than a man could wield a 
 sledge-hammer. The white-hot anchor-shaft 
 is placed upon an anvil immediately beneath 
 this steam-hammer ; and the blows which 
 follow are so powerful and so quickly repeated, 
 that the heated mass becomes forged in a 
 wonderfully short space of time. Let the 
 anchor-smiths group themselves as thickly as 
 they may, and wield hammers the heaviest that 
 human muscles can command they cannot 
 approach the amount of work which the steam- 
 hammer effects. Even the Hercules which 
 formed an intermediate stage between the 
 sledge-hammer and the steam-hammer, and 
 which consists of a heavy mass of iron worked 
 by ropes, must yield in efficiency to Mr. Na- 
 smyth's remarkable machine. 
 
 ANCHO'VY is a genus of fish, abundant in 
 the Mediterranean and along the coasts of 
 Spain, Portugal, and France. It occurs also 
 on various parts of our coast, as Hampshire, 
 Cornwall, Wales, &c. They vary from four 
 to seven inches in length. The anchovy has 
 been celebrated from the earliest times, and a 
 sauce or condiment called garum prepared 
 from it was held in high estimation among 
 the Greeks and Romans. In preparing this 
 fish for use, the head and viscera are removed, 
 otherwise the pickle would be intensely bitter ; 
 the anchovy was in fact once supposed to have 
 the gall in its head. A fish called the sardine, 
 common in the Mediterranean, and belonging 
 to the same genus, is frequently mixed with 
 real anchovies, or even sold salted and bar- 
 relled as the genuine fish. The sardine may 
 bo known by its long taper form, its dark 
 brown colour, and pale flabby flesh. 
 
 A large trade is carried on in the preparing 
 of what are termed British Anchovies, especi- 
 ally for making anchovy paste or sauce. The 
 humble sprat is made to do duty for the an- 
 
129 
 
 ANCHU'SA. 
 
 ANDERSON, JOHN. 
 
 130 
 
 chovy. According to the receipt given by Mr. 
 Cooley, two pounds of salt, three ounces of 
 bay-salt, one pound of saltpetre, two ounces of 
 prunella, and a few grains of cochineal, are 
 pounded in a mortar, and then laid in a stone 
 pan or anchovy barrel, layers of sprats alter- 
 nating -with layers of the composition. The 
 whole are then pressed down hard, and kept 
 covered close for six months ; after which they 
 are ready for use, and ' really produce a most 
 excellent flavoured sauce.' 
 
 ANCHU'SA, the botanical name for a genus 
 of plants, which besides other species, con- 
 tains the following two, valuable in the arts 
 and in medicine. The Anchusa officinalis, 
 common alkanet or bugloss, is sometimes 
 boiled and eaten. The roots contain a consi- 
 derable quantity of gum, and when boiled 
 yield a demulcent drink, which was once in 
 repute as a medicine. In China this plant 
 is used as a provocative of the eruption of 
 small-pox. The Anchusa tinctoria, Dyers' 
 Bugloss or Alkanet, is cultivated in the south 
 of France for the sake of the root, which yields 
 a fine red colour to oils, wax, and all unctuous 
 substances, as well as to spirits of wine. Its 
 chief use is in colouring lip-salves, ointments, 
 &c. It is however sometimes employed for 
 staining wood and dyeing cotton. It is also 
 used for colouring many of the beverages sold 
 under the name of port wine, likewise the 
 corks used for the bottles in which this fluid 
 is sold. 
 
 ANCIENT ART. 
 fine arts of the ancients is more considerable 
 than that of their useful or manufacturing 
 arts, chiefly in relation to architecture and 
 sculpture. There will be found, however, 
 scattered under various headings in this Cy- 
 clopedia, brief notices of such works of ancient 
 skill as have come down to our knowledge 
 with sufficient notoriety to make them inter- 
 esting. 
 
 ANCO'NA, a seaport town on the Adriatic 
 Sea, is the most commercial place in the 
 Papal States, carries on a considerable trade 
 by sea, and is a free port. Its harbour, which 
 is good, is protected by two moles, the ancient 
 one raised by Trajan, and the modern one 
 with the light-house constructed by Clement 
 XII. Ancona exports wax, silk, wool, and 
 corn. It is the only good harbour on the 
 Italian coast of the Adriatic between Venice 
 and Manfredonia, and is the common point of 
 departure for the Ionian Islands and Greece. 
 
 ANDALUCI'A or ANDALUSI'A, the most 
 southern of the provinces of Spain, comprises 
 the former Moorish kingdoms of Seville, Cor- 
 
 Our knowledge of the 
 
 dicate a climate like that of the south of 
 France ; but southward of that range are found 
 the mastic tree, the kermes oak, myrtles, 
 American aloes, palm-trees, the olive, the 
 banana, the caper, orange and lemon trees, 
 the pomegranate, and other productions of 
 warm climates ; and in some spots the sugar 
 cane and cotton grow. The orange and lemon 
 trees, particularly around convents and mo- 
 nasteries, form groves of considerable extent, 
 which in the time of blossoming fill the air 
 with a delicious perfume. Besides all the spe- 
 cies of corn and fruit, wine and oil make the 
 bulk of the productions of the soil. Among 
 the wines, the Xerez (or sherry), the Pajarete, 
 Malaga, Montilla, Espera, Bornos, and Tin- 
 tilla, are the most celebrated. 
 
 The rich pastures of the mountains and 
 valleys feed innumerable herds of cattle, 
 among which the bulls have been renowned 
 from the fabulous times of King Geryon. The 
 woods of oak of the Serrania de Ronda, of 
 Cordoba, and Granada, afford nourishment to 
 a multitude of hogs ; and the Loma de Ubecla, 
 the Dehesa of Cordoba, and the Cartuja of 
 Xerez, produce the finest breed of horses in 
 the peninsula. The seas and rivers abound 
 in fish, and the mountains in every species of 
 game. The riches of the mineral kingdom 
 are abundant. Sixty-six mines are known, 
 which produce gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, 
 loadstone, coals, vitriol, and sulphur. 
 
 ANDERNACH, a small town on the west 
 bank of the Rhine, in Rhenish Prussia, has a 
 considerable trade, chiefly in millstones, which 
 are cut in the neighbouring villages of Ober- 
 Mendig and Nieder-Mendig, in bricks, clay 
 for tobacco-pipes ; and in trass, which is sent 
 to Holland. This trass is an indurated vol- 
 canic mud, of which a vast quantity is accu- 
 mulated in the valley of Brohl, five miles north 
 of Andernach. It is extensively quarried, and 
 when pulverized and mixed with lime makes 
 a mortar suitable for constructions under 
 water. Trass is a corruption of the Dutch 
 word tints, which signifies cement. In Ander- 
 nach numerous pieces of columnar basalt are 
 employed as posts at the corners of streets, 
 &c. The door-posts and side-pieces of almost 
 all the windows are made of the porous lava 
 of which the famous millstones are formed. 
 This material is also used for paving courts 
 and kitchen floors, and has been employed in 
 the construction of some of the oldest build- 
 ings in this town as well as in Coblentz. 
 
 ANDERSON, JOHN, gratefully remem- 
 bered in Scotland as the founder of the Ander- 
 sonian Institution of Glasgow, and one of the 
 
 doba, Jaen, and Granada. On the northern earliest promoters of that popular instruction 
 side of the Sierra Morena the productions in- in science which has so greatly elevated the ch a- 
 
131 
 
 ANDES. 
 
 ANDES. 
 
 13-2 
 
 racter of British artisans, was born in the 
 parish of Roseneath, Dumbartonshire, in 1726 
 He was appointed professor of Natural Philo- 
 sophy at Glasgow in 1700 ; and not content 
 with the ordinary duty of lecturing, he em- 
 ployed himself ir defatigably in studying and 
 exemplifying the applications of science to 
 the useful arts, visiting for this purpose the 
 workshops of intelligent artisans, and exchang- 
 ing his scientific information for their experi- 
 mental knowledge. The better to carry out 
 his views of popular education, Anderson 
 commenced, in addition to his ordinary class, 
 one which he styled his anti-toga class, for the 
 instruction of artisans and others unable to 
 enter upon a regular academical course, to 
 whom he delivered familiar extempore lectures 
 illustrated by experiments. Mechanics were 
 allowed to attend these lectures in their work- 
 ing-dress. He closed his useful career in 
 1796. Shortly before his death he devised 
 his whole property to eighty-one trustees, for 
 the establishment in Glasgow of an institution 
 to be denominated Anderson's University, for 
 the continued provision of those facilities for 
 the un-academical classes of his townsmen 
 which he had so long supplied by his own 
 personal exertions. His comprehensive de- 
 sign was for an institution consisting of four 
 colleges, with nine professors each, for arts, 
 medicine, law, and theology ; but as the funds 
 proved insufficient for so extensive a scheme, 
 operations were commenced in 1797, on a 
 limited scale, by the appointment of Dr. 
 Thomas Garnett as professor of natural phi- 
 losophy. His first course of lectures was at- 
 tended by nearly a thousand persons, of both 
 sexes. In the following year a professor of 
 mathematics and geography was appointed ; 
 and, though the institution has never attained 
 the magnitude contemplated by the founder, 
 it has been progressively increased and ex- 
 tended in usefulness, and has been produc- 
 tive of much public benefit. Dr. Garnett was 
 succeeded in 1799 by Dr. Birkbeck, on occa- 
 sion of his removal to the Royal Institution 
 in London, which was formed on a similar 
 model to that established by Anderson ; and 
 Dr. Birkbeck, who introduced a new course 
 of instruction for five hundred operative me- 
 chanics, free of all expense, was succeeded in 
 1804 by Dr. Ure. 
 
 ANDES. This immense American mountain 
 chain is one of the richest mineral storehouses 
 on the globe. Pumice-stone is found to a 
 great extent in many of the volcanoes of the 
 Andes ; and volcanic-tuff, which is a stone 
 more or less compact, made up of fragments 
 of hard lava, cinders, and ashes, agglutinated 
 together, covers immense tracts on the flanks 
 
 of the Andes and on the table-lands. Stone 
 of every description is met with a storehouse 
 of material ready for the time when manu 
 factures and the arts of civilized life shall 
 find a home in these regions. But it is in 
 metals that the Andes are so especially rich. 
 These mountains have been celebrated for 
 their mines of metal since our earliest know- 
 ledge of America. Gold, silver, mercury, pla- 
 tina, copper, and tin, are met with. Gold is 
 found in the form of grains and small rounded 
 lumps, scattered through alluvial soils, which 
 have been derived from the disintegration of 
 rocks containing the metal, and most proba- 
 bly in the form of slender veins. The places 
 chosen for digging into that auriferous soil 
 are called lavadcros, because the gravel, sand, 
 and earth, undergo repeated icashinys to sepa- 
 rate the heavy particles of gold. The most 
 considerable gold mines are at Petorea, Co- 
 quimbo, Copiapo, Pataz, Huailas, Gurirnayo, 
 Zorata, Antioquia, Choco, and Barbacoas. 
 
 Silver is more abundant in the Peruvian 
 than in the Chilian Andes. The richest mines 
 are those of Pasco, in 11 S. lat., which have 
 been worked since the year 1630. Here, as well 
 as in other situations in Peru, the greatest part 
 of the silver is obtained from an ore called in 
 the country pacos, which is an intimate mixture 
 of minute particles of native silver with brown 
 oxide of iron. The mines of Chota are also 
 very productive. They are situated in the 
 mountain of Gualgayoc, at an elevation of 
 13,300 feet, where the thermometer in sum- 
 mer descends every night to the freezing point. 
 The ore lies immediately beneath the surface. 
 But the most celebrated are the silver mines 
 ofPotosi, in a lofty mountain. This mountain 
 is perforated in all directions, and it is said 
 that there are not less than 5000 excavations 
 in it, some of them within 120 feet of the top, 
 which is 16,000 feet above the sea level. 
 
 Mercury, in the form of cinnabar or sul- 
 phuret of the metal, is met with at Azogue 
 and other parts of the Andes ; but the most 
 celebrated, those of Guancavelica, were over- 
 whelmed by incautious mining in 1789. Pla- 
 tina is met with in small quantities in Colom- 
 bia. Copper and tin are found in the Chilian 
 Andes. 
 
 In respect to the commerce of the Andes, 
 Little has yet been effected. The passes be 
 tween the lofty peaks arc few in number ; and 
 the routes by which the gold and other mining 
 produce reach the ports of shipment nre most 
 inefficient. The distance to the Atlantic is in 
 most cases too great to admit of the transfer 
 n this direction : the Pacific ports fire for the 
 most part selected. 
 
 In a recent number of the Journal of the 
 
m 
 
 nun. " v 
 
 n 
 
 KNIGHT'S CYClOBlj5!A 
 
 No. 5. 
 
133 
 
 ANDRE ASBERG. 
 
 ANEMO'METEE. 
 
 134 
 
 Franklin Institute, a description is given of a 
 small steam-boat just built at New York for 
 the Andes region. It is 55 feet keel, 12 feet 
 beam, and 5 feet depth of hold. It is to be 
 propelled by two high-pressure engines, of 
 10-horse power each ; with iron paddle-wheels 
 10 feet in diameter. It is built in separate 
 pieces, all carefully marked and fitted ; and 
 for the convenience of carriage, no piece ex- 
 ceeds 350 Ibs. weight. It is to be taken by 
 ship to Lima, and the pieces transported on 
 the backs of mules to Lake Titicata, one of 
 the highest lakes on the surface of the globe, 
 in the midst of the Andes. The lake is 140 
 miles long, and the shores are well timbered ; 
 and it is expected that much traffic and com- 
 merce will ensue from the establishment of 
 steam navigation there. The pieces of the 
 vessel will be fitted together on the shores of 
 the lake ; and if the enterprise succeeds, a 
 larger steamer will be sent out in a similar 
 manner. The surface of Lake Titicata is no 
 less than 12,795 feet above the level of the 
 Pacific ; and some parts are nearly 1000 feet 
 deep. 
 
 ANDRE ASBERG, a town of 4000 inha- 
 bitants, in the mining district of the Upper 
 Hartz, in the kingdom of Hanover, stands at 
 the southern foot of the Brocken, on a hill 
 1936 feet above the level of the sea. The 
 neighbourhood is rich in mines, yielding sil- 
 ver, copper, iron, cobalt, and arsenic ; and 
 these, as well as the spinning of yarn, lace- 
 making, and the rearing of cattle, afford pro 
 fitable employment to its inhabitants. The 
 shaft of the Sampson silver mine is 2,333 feet 
 deep. 
 
 ANEMO'METER, or wind-measurer, is an 
 instrument for ascertaining the force of the 
 wind, generally by finding the mechanical 
 effect which it produces on the apparatus. 
 Wolfs anemometer consists of four small 
 sails, like those of a windmill, which tuni oh 
 a horizontal axis : this axis is connected by 
 wheel-work with another in which is inserted 
 one end of a bar carrying a weight. The wind 
 acting upon the sails causes this bar to turn 
 in a vertical plane ; and, when it is in such a 
 position that the weight on it counterbalances 
 the pressure of the wind, the angle which it 
 makes with a vertical line passing through 
 the axis affords a measure of the wind's force 
 
 Lind's anemometer consists of two tubes ol 
 glass, each 9 inches long and T 4 ^ inch diameter 
 which are open at their upper extremities 
 and are connected at bottom by a bent tube 
 only -jL-inch diameter. These are partly fillec 
 with water, and the wind acting at the open 
 end of one tube depresses the water in tha 
 tube and elevates it in the other, until th< 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Lifference of height becomes a counterpoise 
 o the pressure of the wind. This difference 
 an be ascertained by a graduated scale, and 
 lence may be obtained the dimensions of a 
 olumn of water whose weight is equivalent 
 o the force of the wind. The velocity may 
 hence be found, observing that the velocities 
 are nearly as the square roots of the resis- 
 .ances, and that on a square foot, the pressure 
 of wind moving with a velocity of 20 feet per 
 second, is 12 ounces. 
 
 In Regnier's anemometer, a bar, carrying a 
 wooden plate at right angles to it, protrudes 
 rom a box, through a hole, in the front of 
 which it slides. This bar is met by a spring, 
 .vhich resists its further entry, until force is 
 applied against the plate. In the interior of 
 the box, the under side of the bar carries 
 rackwork, which plays on a cog-wheel, the 
 axis of which, passing through a side of the 
 box, carries a hand round a dial-plate. The 
 anterior surface of the wooden plate is pre- 
 sented to the wind, which presses upon it and 
 forces back the bar, carrying the cog-wheel 
 and hand through an angle, greater or less, 
 according to the greater or less impulse of the 
 wind. 
 
 Mr. Elliott, an overman at Pensher Colliery, 
 invented an anemometer in 1835, to measure 
 tho rate of the currents of air in coal mines, 
 with a view to regulate ventilation. It con- 
 sists of a case 12 inches high, 12 broad, and 
 
 deep. On a dial are two concentric circles ; 
 the inner circle being divided into 48 parts, 
 and the outer into 60. The vanes are con- 
 nected with two indices or pointers, whose 
 axes of motion are in the centres of the cir- 
 cles, like the hands of a watch ; the one point- 
 ing to the outer circle and the other to the 
 inner. The movement of one index has a 
 certain ratio of velocity to that of the other ; 
 and by the aid of a calculated table, the num- 
 ber of rotations of the slower index within a 
 given time is made to determine the velocity 
 with which the air is moving in or past the 
 machine. 
 
 Mr. Biram, in 1843, invented an anemo- 
 meter for a similar purpose. It consists of a 
 wheel one foot in diameter, having ten oblique 
 vanes of thin sheet copper, perforated for 
 lightness, and covered with tissue paper or 
 varnished silk. The vanes are set at such an 
 angle, that the wheel makes one revolution in 
 the time a current of air two feet in length is 
 passing through it. The axle of the wheel 
 carries an endless screw, into which works a 
 wheel having thirty teeth ; and an index is 
 fixed on the axle. As each revolution of the 
 wheel is effected by the action of a current or 
 column of air, two feet in length, one revolu- 
 
135 
 
 ANEMO'METEB.' 
 
 ANEROID BAROMETER. 
 
 130 
 
 tion of the index will register the passage of 
 60 feet of air. 
 
 Dr. WhewelTs anemometer differs some- 
 what from others in being calculated to mea- 
 sure the rate of the wind rather than its force. 
 It gives no absolute measure of velocity in 
 miles per hour ; and the rate is relative only 
 to that of any one instrument at different 
 times, not to that of any common or general 
 standard. At the meeting of the British As- 
 sociation in 1846, Dr. Robinson described an 
 alteration which he had effected in this instru- 
 ment. On a vertical axis are mounted three 
 or four arms, carrying hemispherical cups at 
 their extremities. These cups oppose much 
 less resistance to air acting on the concave 
 sides than on their convexities, and in such 
 ratio that uniform revolution is produced at 
 the rate of one-third of the velocity of the 
 wind. From this measure, which might be 
 made the same for all sizes of the instrument 
 and in all places, the mean velocity of the 
 wind during a given period could always be 
 obtained in miles per hour. It is believed 
 that this principle of uniform adjustment 
 might be usefully applied to many practical 
 purposes, such as the regulation of wind and 
 water-wheels. 
 
 Captain Cockbum devised in ]847 a form 
 of anemometer founded on that of Dr. Robin- 
 son, but calculated for use on ship-board. It 
 is seven inches high ; the diameter of the 
 wings is sixteen inches ; there are four cups 
 placed at right angles, attached by arms to a 
 spindle on which is an endless screw, working 
 in the teeth of two multiplying wheels, marked 
 up to 1.0,000 revolutions. The concave side 
 of each cup is made so as to receive or con- 
 tain one-third more wind than the convex 
 side. 
 
 Osier's anemometer bears some such rela- 
 tion to the older forms, as the aneroid baro- 
 meter bears to the common barometer : that 
 is, it acts chiefly by the pressure of the air on 
 a spring, rather than by the rise and fall of a 
 liquid in a tube. The spring is not so delicate 
 in its indications, but it is more manageable 
 in yielding self-registered observations. In 
 Osier's anemometer, machinery connected with 
 a spring is made to move a pencil over a piece 
 of paper ; so as to keep a continuous register 
 of the variations of wind, both in intensity and 
 direction. A fine instrument of this kind is 
 placed on the roof of the Royal Exchange, so 
 arranged as to register its indications in a 
 room below. It also acts as a pluviometer or 
 rain-guage. 
 
 Mr. Goddard's anemometer, somewhat re- 
 sembling in principle Mr. Osier's, registers 
 no less than twelve classes of phenomena in 
 
 respect to the wind; viz. : miles of wind blown 
 during a day; miles of wind blown in each 
 direction ; miles of wind blown between any 
 two given periods ; hour and minute of the 
 strongest wind ; hours in which most wind 
 has blown ; times and lengths of calms ; velo- 
 city of wind at any hour ; time occupied by 
 the wind going any certain distance at any 
 period of the day; direction of wind at any 
 minute ; mean direction ; direction of longest 
 continuance ; and direction of the greatest 
 passage of wind. 
 
 Professor Phillips described to the British 
 Association in 1846 a simple form of anemo- 
 meter which depends on a well-known prin- 
 ciple. When the bulb of a thermometer, 
 covered with cottonwool, is immersed in water 
 and then exposed to the air, a diminution of 
 temperature ensues, consequent on evapora- 
 tion from the surface ; and when the thermo- 
 meter is moved through the air, or air be 
 blown upon it, the rapidity of evaporation is 
 increased. Professor Phillips took advantage 
 of this principle, to measure the rapidity of 
 cooling by the rapidity of motion in or through 
 the air, or, conversely, to measure the motion 
 by the cooling. He ascertained the amount 
 of diminution of temperature by simple expo- 
 sure, and then raised the temperature by the 
 heat of the hand to that of the air, and marked 
 by a seconds-watch the rapidity of cooling when 
 the hand was withdrawn. He next repeated 
 the process when the thermometer was in 
 motion, and he was thus enabled to determine 
 the velocity of a railway carriage in swift 
 movement. 
 
 ANE'MOSCOPE, is an instrument for de- 
 termining the direction of the wind ; usually 
 constructed by connecting with the spindle of 
 a weathercock the hand of a dial on which the 
 points of the compass are marked. 
 
 ANEROID BAROMETER, At the Swan- 
 sea meeting of the British Association in 1848, 
 Professor Lloyd introduced a notice of the 
 Aneroid Barometer, which had been patented 
 by M. Fontainmoreau in 1844. Instead of 
 acting by the pressure of the atmosphere on 
 liquids, as most forms of barometer do, this 
 instrument depends on the pressure of the 
 air on thin laminae or diaphragms of some 
 elastic solid substance. The body of the in- 
 strument consists of a holloAv brass box, with 
 a dial face on the upper surface. Below the 
 dial face is the diaphragm, stretched all across 
 the box. This may consist of a thin sheet of 
 metal, or of glass, or of caoutchouc, or of some 
 other elastic material ; but the patentee men- 
 tions especially a thin piece of copper sheet, 
 corrugated circularly, so as to yield sensibly 
 to any pressure. The box beneath the dia- 
 
137 
 
 ANGEL, 
 
 ANGELO BUONARROTI. 
 
 138 
 
 phrngm is so made that the air can be ex- 
 tracted from it ; and the diaphragm is then 
 only protected from the crushing pressure of 
 the air by a number of delicate spiral springs, 
 which are fixed to the interior of the bottom 
 of the box, and support the diaphragm. When 
 the weight of the atmosphere increases (equi- 
 valent to the rising of the ordinary barometer) 
 the diaphragm suifers an increased pressure, 
 to which the springs allow it to yield to a cer- 
 tain extent ; but a lessened pressure allows it 
 to rise again to its normal state. A delicate 
 piece of mechanism, connected with the centre 
 of the diaphragm, becomes moved when the 
 diaphragm either rises or sinks ; and this move 
 ment is transferred to index hands, which 
 mark on a graduated dial the amount of rise or 
 fall. The graduations are so made as to cor- 
 respond with the inches and fractions of an 
 inch in the common barometer. 
 
 From a communication made to the Alhen- 
 (Bum (No. 1117), it appears that an Aneroid 
 barometer was carefully compared for several 
 days with the standard barometer at the Liver- 
 pool Observatory. The greatest difference was 
 about four-tenths of an inch ; the aneroid 
 showing 31'22 inches on an occasion when the 
 standard barometer showed 30-80. The least 
 difference was one-fiftieth of an inch, the 
 quantities being 2Q-22 (aneroid) and 29'24 
 (standard). At a high temperature or a high 
 pressure, the aneroid was generally in excess 
 of the standard barometer ; at a low tempera- 
 ture or a low pressure they were nearly on an 
 equality. 
 
 It is still a question of doubt among scientific 
 men, to what extent the aneroid barometer may 
 be relied on in various seasons and climates. 
 With respect to the originality of the invention, 
 it is known that something nearly analogous 
 was suggested long ago. The more ordinary 
 instruments for this purpose are described 
 under BAROMETER. 
 
 ANGEL, a piece of money anciently coined 
 and impressed with an angel. The angel was 
 originally a gold coin of France, where it was 
 first coined in 1340. It appears to have been 
 introduced, with its minor divisions, the half 
 angel and the quarter angel, into England by 
 Edward IV., in 1465. Charles I. was the last 
 English sovereign who coined the angel. The 
 device on the obverse was the figure of St. 
 Michael standing upon a dragon, and piercing 
 him through the mouth with a spear. The 
 reverse had a ship, with a large cross for a 
 mast, with the royal arms in front. The ob- 
 verse had the king's titles surrounding the 
 device. 
 
 ANGELICA, yields a candy, an extract, a 
 tincture, and an infusion, all useful in medi- 
 
 cine. The candy is prepared by boiling the 
 fresh stalks in water, then steeping them for 
 a time in boiling hot syrup, and lastly taken 
 out and dried. The extract, the tincture, and 
 the infusion are obtained in the modes usually 
 adopted for those preparations. 
 
 ANGELO BUONARROTI, MICHEL. 
 This great painter, sculptor, and architect, 
 was born in 1474, died 1563. It is not within 
 the objects of this work to enter into minute 
 details of his life, or any critical account of 
 his works. We confine our notice to the men- 
 tion of the two greatest monuments of his 
 talents, in departments more immediately con- 
 nected with what we are accustomed to term 
 the industrial arts. Pope Julius gave orders 
 to Michel Angelo to paint the vault of the Sis- 
 tine Chapel. He most earnestly endeavoured 
 to decline the task, and even alleged that he 
 thought Raffaelle better qualified to perform 
 it ; but Pope Julius allowed no impediment to 
 stand in the way of his will, and Michel An- 
 gelo, finding himself without an alternative, 
 and impressed with a sense of the vastness 
 and grandeur of the task, commenced his car- 
 toons. He invited from Florence several 
 artists distinguished as painters in fresco, a 
 mode of practice in which he was then inex- 
 perienced, and the roof of the chapel was com- 
 menced by these assistants, under his direc- 
 tion ; their execution, however, fell short of 
 his expectations, and entering the chapel one 
 morning he dismissed them all, threw their 
 work from the walls, and determined on exe- 
 cuting the whole himself. Having advanced 
 to the third compartment, he had the mortifi- 
 cation to find his labour frustrated by the bad 
 quality of his materials, in which fermentation 
 had taken place, and in utter disappointment 
 he renounced the undertaking. The pope, 
 being made acquainted with this misfortune, 
 sent to him his architect, San Gallo, who in - 
 vestigated the cause of the failure, and taught 
 him how to correct it. Thus reassured he 
 proceeded, and the pontiff healing at length 
 that the ceiling was half completed, could 
 control his impatience no longer, and ordered 
 the chapel to be opened for his inspection. 
 Many other persons found admission, and 
 among the rest Raffaelle d'Urbino, who then 
 first became acquainted with Michel Angelo's 
 powers as a painter. Struck with admiration 
 he immediately changed his own style, and 
 thanked God that he had been born in the 
 same age with so great an artist. The work 
 was now carried forward without interruption, 
 and the whole was completed within one year 
 and eight months from the time of its com- 
 mencement ; an achievement which, whether 
 we consider the magnitude and sublimity of 
 
139 
 
 ANGEKS. 
 
 ANGLE. 
 
 140 
 
 the performance, or the almost incredibly 
 short time in which it was executed, is unpa- 
 ralleled in the history of art. The effect of 
 the whole work is adapted with admirable ac 
 curacy to the vast height at which it is seen, 
 and it is impossible to contemplate it without 
 reverence and astonishment. 
 
 To a design which Michel Angelo made at 
 the beginning of his career for the monument 
 of Julius II., we are indebted for the magni- 
 ficent church of St. Peter. The monument 
 was too vast for the old church, and the pope 
 determined it should be rebuilt. The monu- 
 ment was finished upon a smaller scale, and 
 placed in another church. But St. Peter's was 
 created. The career of Michel Angelo is an 
 example of the splendid results produced by 
 great powers in conjunction with great oppor- 
 tunities. On St. Peter's he was occupied for 
 the last twenty years of his life. As he had 
 occasion, among the number of persons em- 
 ployed in the undertaking, to promote some 
 and dismiss others, he was beset by cabals, 
 and harassed by opposition ; and machinations 
 were even employed to deprive him of his 
 office : but he was uniformly supported by the 
 pontiffs, especially by Julius III., who re- 
 garded him with profound respect and venera- 
 tion. For this great work he constantly 
 refused any remuneration, declaring that he 
 dedicated that service to the glory of God. 
 Old age came upon him, not unaccompanied 
 with the physical infirmities which belong to 
 it, but he retained the vigour and alacrity of 
 his mental faculties to the close of his long 
 life. 
 
 ANGERS, a town in the French depart- 
 ment of Main e-et- Loire, has considerable 
 manufactures of sail - cloth, camlet, serge, 
 handkerchiefs, hosiery, &c ; and there are 
 establishments for bleaching wax and refining 
 sugar. Besides the articles from their own 
 factories, the inhabitants carry on a trade in 
 the agricultural produce of the surrounding 
 district, corn, wine and brandy, flax, hemp, 
 wax, honey, and dried fruits. The neighbour- 
 hood is famous for its nursery gardens, and 
 especially for its extensive slate-quarries. 
 
 ANGLE. Without entering into the science 
 of Geometry, which does not come within the 
 scope of the present work, a few practical de- 
 tails concerning angles may be useful. 
 
 An angle is the opening of two lines; 
 rectilinear, of two straight lines ; curvilinear, 
 of two curves ; mixtilinear, of a straight line 
 and a curve. But in truth angle always means 
 rectilinear angk ; and when a curve enters, its 
 tangent is the straight line which is used in 
 determining the angle. 
 
 A right angle is half the opening of a straight 
 
 line and its continuation: an acute angle is 
 that which is less than a right angle ; an obtuse 
 angle is that which lies between one and t'.vo 
 right angles. Complemental angles are two 
 which together make a right angle ; supplemen- 
 tal angles are two which together make two 
 right angles. When lines meet and make a 
 pair of angles, the one less than two right 
 angles is called salient ; the other, greater 
 than two right angles, is called re-entrant or 
 re-entering. For salient and re-entering (which 
 are borrowed from fortification) direct and 
 retroflected have sometimes been used. 
 
 The angles which two lines make with the 
 same part of a third, on opposite sides of it, 
 are called alternate. Two lines which cross 
 one another make two pair of vertically oppo- 
 site angles. The angles made by adjacent 
 sides of a figure are called internal ; those 
 made by any sides with adjacent sides pro- 
 duced are external. When the angular point 
 is the centre or on the circumference of a circle, 
 the angle is said to be at the centre, or at the 
 circumference. Beginners often confound the 
 angle with the angular point. 
 
 A spherical angle is made by two circles 
 (usually great circles) of a sphere. When the 
 circles meet at the pole of the equator, and one 
 of them is the meridian, the angle is an horary 
 or hour- angle ; and when neither is the meri- 
 dian, the angle is frequently called horary. 
 The angle of position of a star is that made by 
 the circles drawn to it from the poles of the 
 equator and ecliptic. The angle of eleva- 
 tion is the angle made by a line drawn from 
 the eye to any object with the horizontal line 
 which is in the same vertical plane as the first 
 line ; but when the object is below the horizon, 
 the term is angle of depression. When lines 
 are drawn from two points to a third, those two 
 points, and also the line joining them, are said 
 to subtend the angle which is made at the 
 third point. The angle which two objects 
 subtend at the eye is their angle of elongation, 
 The angle of the vertical is a name given to 
 the angle which a line drawn to the spectator's 
 zenith makes with the radius of the earth pro- 
 duced : it is taken as nothing when the earth 
 is supposed to be a perfect sphere. 
 
 When on<? line falls upon another, the angle 
 of incidence is the acute angle which the inci- 
 dent line makes with the perpendicular to the 
 other. When the incident line is thrown off 
 again on the same side as that from which it 
 came, the acute angle made with the perpen- 
 dicular is called the angle of reflexion ; when 
 on the opposite side, the angle of refraction. 
 These terms are nearly confined to optics. 
 
 A dihedral angle is the opening made by two 
 planes : it is measured by a rectilinear angle, 
 
141 
 
 ANGLESEY. 
 
 ANIMAL STRENGTH. 
 
 142 
 
 namely, that made by two lines drawn in the 
 two planes perpendicular to their common in- 
 tersection. A solid angle is said to exist when 
 three or more straight lines, not in the same 
 plane, meet at a point. 
 
 In measuring angles, a circle is considered 
 as the curved boundary of four right angles. 
 This is divided into 360 degrees (), each of 
 which is divided into 60 minutes ('), and each 
 minute into 60 seconds ("). Formerly, the 
 second was divided into 60 equal parts called 
 thirds, and so on ; but it is now customary to 
 use the tenths, hundredths, &c., of seconds. 
 The present table therefore stands thus : 
 
 Awholerevolution=360=21600'=1296000" 
 A right angle = 90= 5400'= 324000" 
 
 Degrees. Minutes. Seconds. 
 
 1 = 60 = 3600 
 
 1 = 60 
 
 In the attempt to effect a universal change 
 of weights and measures which followed the 
 French Revolution, the circle was divided into 
 400 degrees, each degree into 100 minutes, 
 each minute into 100 seconds, and so on. This 
 innovation obtained only a partial introduction, 
 and is now entirely abandoned. When used, 
 it is customary in this country to distinguish 
 the French degrees by the name of grades, and 
 to denote one grade by !& The convenience 
 of this method, from its close affinity with the 
 decimal system, is certainly great : for exam- 
 ple, grades and decimals of grades, such as 
 12 r - 1329 are converted into grades, minutes, 
 and seconds, by mere separation of the figures : 
 thus, 12* r - 13' 29". 
 
 !& is 0-9 or 54' or 3240" 
 
 1' -009 0'-54 32"-4 
 1" ,,0 -00009 0'-0054 0"-324 
 
 ANGLESEY, or ANGLESEA, the most 
 >orthern county in Wales, is rich in minerals. 
 The Mona and Parys copper mines are noticed 
 under AMIAVCH. Lead ore. rich in silver, has 
 been found also in Parys Mountain. Lime- 
 stone ranges traverse the island ; marbles, both 
 white and variegated, are procured ; mill-stones 
 are quarried at Redwharf and Penmon ; and 
 there are coal-mines at Malltraeth, but they 
 do not appear to have been worked with much 
 success. 
 
 This island-county is noteworthy in an 
 engineering point of view, as being placed in 
 connexion with the rest of Wales by Telford's 
 beautiful Menai suspension-bridge, and by 
 Stephenson's still more wonderful Britannia 
 Tubular Bridge, just now (1850) completed. 
 
 ANIMAL FOOD, PRESERVATION OF. 
 [ANTISEPTICS]. 
 
 ANIMAL STRENGTH. The subject of 
 
 animal strength will continue to be of much 
 importance as long as it shall be found ne- 
 cessary to employ men or animals, either in 
 conveying burdens or in giving motion to 
 machinery ; since by it the employer is enabled 
 to ascertain what is the greatest quantity of 
 useful work which may be obtained from such 
 agents without subjecting them to a degree of 
 fatigue which might in time prove injurious to 
 their health or bodily powers. 
 
 With respect to men, Coulomb found that 
 when a man travels unloaded on level ground 
 he can walk 31 miles daily. Now, assuming 
 the weight of a man to be 360 Ibs., we have 
 160X31 or 4960 for the measure of his 
 strength or the quantity of action, which is, 
 consequently, equivalent to that of a machine 
 capable of carrying 4960 Ibs. to a distance of 
 1 mile, or 1 pound to a distance of 4960 miles 
 in one day. 
 
 He found also, from a mean of the work 
 done by the porters of Paris, that with a bur- 
 den equal to 128 Ibs. a man can walk 9-72 
 miles in a day, from which it follows (the 
 weight of a man being 160 Ibs.) that the 
 quantity of action is ( 160 -f 128) X9.72, or 
 2799. If the weight of the man be not in- 
 cluded, the quantity of action is 128 X 9-72, or 
 1244; and this is to be considered as the use- 
 ful effect. Subtracting 2799 from 4960, we 
 have 2161 for the measure of the action lost 
 in consequence of the burden ; but the useful 
 effect, which in the first case was nothing, is 
 in the second expressed by 1244. 
 
 By means of a formula, which was given by 
 Euler, with the data afforded by these expe- 
 riments, it is found that 272 Ibs. constitute 
 the greatest burden which a man of average 
 strength can support, and under which he 
 cannot move. It is found, moreover, that the 
 useful effect is at a maximum when a man is 
 loaded with 121 Ibs. : under this burden he 
 can walk 10 miles, nearly, in a day; and 
 consequently the greatest useful effect is ex- 
 pressed by 1280. 
 
 Coulomb further determined, that when a 
 man ascends a convenient flight of steps un- 
 loaded, the vertical heights of all the ascents 
 during one day being added together, were 
 equal to 1-82 miles ; the quantity of action 
 may therefore be expressed by 160 X 1-82 or 
 291, as if the action were equivalent to that of 
 a machine which could raise 291 Ibs. to the 
 height of 1 mile vertically, or 1 lb. to the 
 height of 291 miles during a day. When loaded 
 with 150 Ibs. the vertical height ascended was 
 0-494 miles : the whole quantity of action is, 
 therefore, in this case (160 + 150) X 0-494, or 
 153, while the useful effect is 150X0-494, or 
 74 ; that is, 74 Ibs. raised 1 mile vertically. 
 
143 
 
 ANIMAL STRENGTH. 
 
 ANIMAL SUBSTANCES. 
 
 144 
 
 It is remarkable that, from the result of 
 Coulomb's experiments on the power of men 
 ascending steps, both the greatest weight 
 which a man can carry without moving, and 
 the weight which he should bear to render his 
 useful effect a maximum, are nearly the same 
 in this case as they were found to be from expe- 
 riments made with burdens carried on level 
 ground. 
 
 Coulomb has also made experiments to de- 
 termine the quantity of action in the case 
 which most generally occurs when heavy 
 goods are carried in towns, viz., that in which 
 a porter, having delivered his burden, returns 
 unloaded for another ; and his conclusion is, 
 that, in order to produce the most useful 
 effect in this case, the greatest burden which 
 a man should canyon level ground is 135lbs., 
 and with this he should walk 7 miles. The 
 quantity of useful action is therefore 135 X 7, 
 or 945. 
 
 It is said that a London porter can carry 
 200 Ibs. on his shoulders at the rate of 3 
 miles per hour; but this action can only be 
 continued during a short time. 
 
 The following statements of the strength 
 of men are taken from Hachette's ' Traite des 
 Machines,' and from other sources; the nu- 
 merical values being reduced so as to express 
 the number of pounds carried by a man one 
 mile per day of eight hours : Ibs. 
 
 Drawing a vessel on a canal .... 753,459 
 
 Conveying a load (110 Ibs.) in a 
 wheel-barrow (1-018 miles per 
 hour) 896 
 
 Drawing a small waggon on four 
 wheels over rather unequal 
 ground 857 
 
 Pulling horizontally, the weight 
 being raised by a rope passing 
 over a pulley 378 
 
 Rowing in a boat 374 
 
 Thrusting horizontally, as at a 
 
 capstan ;i-s 
 
 Turning a winch and axle 159 
 
 Digging with a spade 85-3 
 
 A soldier marching (12-43 miles) 
 
 with his arms, &c. (60 Ibs.) daily 745 
 
 With respect to the horse, the most useful 
 way of employing his strength is to make him 
 draw loads in a cart or waggon ; but, even for 
 such work, the estimates which have been 
 made of the quantity of action performed 
 daily are various. 
 
 According to Tredgold a horse can draw 
 125 Ibs. at the rate of 2J miles per hour, 
 which, for one day, would give 125 X2| X8 or 
 2500. But Messrs. Boulton and Watt ascer- 
 tained from trials, purposely made, that a 
 strong horse can draw 125 Ibs. at the rate of 3 
 
 miles per hour ; and the measure of the power 
 of such a horse is 3000, which expresses a 
 number of pounds drawn 1 mile in a day. If 
 this be multiplied by the number of feet in a 
 mile, and the product be divided by the num- 
 ber of minutes in eight hours, the result 
 ( =33000 J denotes a weight in pounds drawn 
 1 foot per minute during the eight hours ; and 
 that result is now universally adopted as a 
 measure of the power of a horse, and is called 
 one horse- poicer. 
 
 The useful effect of a horse when 
 walking in a circle, as in somo 
 mills, is considered as equivalent 
 
 to 800 
 
 A horse carrying a soldier with 
 arms, &c. ( = 200 Ibs.), can go 
 25 miles in a day, which gives . . 5000 
 An African dromedary carrying only 
 his rider ( 1 GOlbs.) can go between 
 7 and 8 miles per hour during 
 nine or ten hours, which gives 
 
 lGOX7iX9i, or 11400 
 
 An Asiatic camel will carry bur- 
 dens weighing from 500 to 
 800 Ibs. (suppose 600) at the 
 rate of 2 miles per hour. This, 
 for a day of eight hours, gives 
 
 COOX2J X8, or 12000 
 
 The velocity of a horse in walking is esti- 
 mated at 5 feet per second, or 3J miles per 
 hour; in trotting 12 feet per second, or 8 
 miles per hoiir; and in galloping 18 feet per 
 second, or 12 miles per hour. 
 
 ANIMAL SUBSTANCES. Among the 
 most important materials of manufactures, are 
 those which are derived from the animal king- 
 dom. Few persons are aware, unless they 
 have actually been engaged in manufacturing 
 operations, how numerous and varied these 
 materials are. The bounty of nature has 
 placed at the disposal of man so large a num- 
 ber of substances, derived from so large a 
 number of animals, that there is scarcely an 
 article in daily use but can exhibit an applica- 
 tion of some such substance, either in its for- 
 mation or its decoration. The exterior and 
 the interior, the solids and the liquids all 
 parts of some animals, and numerous parts of 
 many animals, admit of being thus industri- 
 ously applied. 
 
 In the classified list of objects which are ad- 
 missible to the Industrial Exhibition of 1851, 
 as announced by the Commissioners, the prin- 
 cipal materials of manufactures and the arts 
 derived from the animal kingdom are enume- 
 rated, and an attempt is made to arrange them 
 into some convenient systematic form. In the 
 first place the whole series is divided into 
 three sections, viz ; 1st. Animal substances used 
 
145 
 
 ANIMAL SUBSTANCES. 
 
 ANNEALING-. 
 
 146 
 
 as food; 2nd. Animal substances used for medi- 
 cinal purposes; and 3rd. Animal substances used 
 in manufactures. 
 
 Almost every part of almost every species of 
 animal serves as food to some variety or other 
 of the human race. The flesh, the eggs of 
 birds, and the milk of mammalia, are obviously 
 the chief forms in which animal food is pre- 
 sented ; but there are many other forms to 
 which more or less of preparative process has 
 been applied; such as preserved meats for 
 long voyages ; portable soups ; concentrated 
 nutriments ; consolidated milk ; dried gelatine, 
 albumen, and isinglass ; caviare, and trepang ; 
 sharks' fins ; nests of the Java swallow ; 
 honey, &c. 
 
 The animal substances used in the medicinal 
 art are exceedingly numerous. Those which 
 the Commissioners enumerate as being fit sub- 
 jects for exhibition, comprise cod-liver and 
 other animal oils ; unguents of spermaceti, 
 lard, oil, and various combinations of the 
 three ; musk, castoreum, civet, and ambergris, 
 considered as antispasmodics ; phosphorus and 
 ammonia, from bones and hartshorn ; crabs' 
 eyes (the calcareous concretions formed in the 
 craw-fish), and cuttle-bone, considered as 
 antacids ; cantharides, and their essence can- 
 tharidine ; and iodine, obtained from marine 
 zoophytes and sponge. 
 
 But the animal substances used in manufac- 
 turing processes, though perhaps not equalling 
 in quantity those consumed as food, are far 
 more varied in quality and texture. They are 
 so numerous, that the commissioners have 
 found it convenient to separate this section 
 into five divisions, viz ; Animal substances em- 
 ployed, 1st. for textile fabrics and clothing; 2nd. 
 for domestic or ornamental purposes ; 3rd. for 
 serving as agents in the manufacture of other ar- 
 ticles ; 4th. for the production of chemical sub- 
 stances ; and 5th. for pigments and dyes. Under 
 the first division come wool, hair, hair bands 
 and ropes ; bristles and whalebone ; silk from 
 the silkworm, the pinna, and other insects ; 
 feathers, down, and fur; skins, hides, and 
 leather ; elytra or beetle wings, for ornaments 
 of dress ; &c. Under the second division are 
 included bone, horn, hoofs, ivory, tortoise- 
 shellj shagreen, parchment, vellum, quills, 
 pearls, seed-pearls, mother o' pearl, buffalo 
 shells, Bombay shells, black shells, white-edge 
 shells, yellow-edge shells, flat shells, green- 
 snail shells, coral ; together with a large num- 
 ber of softer substances, such as sponge, cat- 
 gut, gold-beaters' skin, bladders, spermaceti, 
 wax, lard, tallows, oils, &c. Under the third 
 division come glue, isinglass, gelatine, bone- 
 black, ivory black, animal charcoal, &c. Under 
 the fourth division are included bones and 
 
 other substances from which phosphorus, am- 
 monia, cyanides, &c. are procured. Under 
 the fifth division are enumerated cochineal and 
 carmine ; dyes from the galls of aphides ; gall- 
 stone pigment from ox-gall ; lac, in its various 
 forms of stick-lac, seed-lac, lump-lac, shell-lac, 
 lac-lake, and lac-dye; sepia, from the cuttle- 
 fish ; essence d' orient, obtained from the scales 
 of the bleak, and used in the manufacture of 
 artificial pearls, <fec. 
 
 All or nearly all of the above-named sub- 
 stances will be found noticed under their 
 proper headings in this Cyclopaedia. 
 
 ANISE and ANISEED. There is a genus 
 of plants known botanically by the name of 
 pimpernella, which is chiefly interesting as com- 
 prising the species of anise, the fruit of which 
 is extensively employed as a carminative 
 medicine, and for the purpose of flavouring 
 liqueurs. 
 
 The compound spirit of aniseed is made from 
 aniseed, angelica seed, cassia bark, carraways, 
 proof spirit, and water; or (according to another 
 receipt) from oil of aniseed, oil of angelica, oil 
 of cassia, oil of carraway, and proof spirit. It 
 is used as a pleasant cordial. Another cordial 
 made in France, and known by the name of 
 Ainsette de Bordeaux, is a compound of aniseed, 
 coriander, sweet fennel seeds, carraway, oil of 
 cassia, proof spirit, &c. 
 
 ANIM'E is the name of a yellowish-brown 
 transparent brittle gum, which exudes from a 
 South American tree called the Courbaril. It 
 occurs in pieces of various sizes, and often 
 contains numerous insects imbedded in its 
 mass. It can be softened by various means, 
 but it requires a careful process for its lique - 
 faction. It is extensively used by varnish 
 makers, who combine it at a high heat with 
 oils and turpentine. 
 
 ANNEALING is a process by which the 
 extreme brittleness common to glass and some 
 metals when cooled suddenly after melting, is 
 avoided or removed. Such brittleness appears 
 to be occasioned by some disturbance in the 
 regular arrangement of the constituent parti- 
 cles in rapid cooling, and is remedied by cool- 
 ing very slowly and regularly. A pretty ex- 
 ample of the effects of non-annealing is 
 afforded by glass-tears, or Prince Rupert's 
 Drops. These are made by letting drops of 
 melted glass fall into cold water, whereby they 
 become suddenly solidified without annealing ; 
 their form resembles that of a pear, rounded 
 at one extremity, and tapering to a very slender 
 tail at the other. If a part of the tail be 
 broken off, the whole drop falls to pieces with 
 a loud explosion. 
 
 Glass-houses are furnished with large an- 
 nealing-ovens, in which this object may be 
 
147 
 
 ANNIHILATOR, FIRE 
 
 ANODY'NES. 
 
 148 
 
 
 attained by the gradual removal of the glass 
 articles from a hotter to a cooler part, or by 
 allowing the heat of the oven to subside 
 slowly. Analogous operations are employed 
 in the manufactures of cast-iron and othar 
 metals. Some malleable metals which crystal- 
 lize on cooling are brittle in their crystalline 
 state, but ar3 rendered tough by heating and 
 rolling. Zinc, for example, thougli incapable 
 of more than very slight extension under the 
 hammer, without cracking, becomes almost as 
 flexible and tough as copper after being rolled 
 at a moderate heat. 
 
 Cast iron may be made malleable, without 
 subjecting it to the process of puddling ; this 
 is effected by a sort of annealing. The iron 
 is kept for several hours at a temperature a 
 little below its fusing point, and then allowed 
 to cool slowly. 
 
 ANNIHILATOR, FIRE. In addition to 
 the machines noticed under FIEE ENGINE and 
 FERE ESCAPE, a new mode of attacking the 
 devouring element is Mr. Phillips's Fire Anni- 
 hilator. Mr. Phillips took out his patent in 
 1819. The materials employed consist of 
 sugar and chlorate of potash, mixed and boiled 
 together into a homogeneous mass. This is 
 placed in a perforated cylinder, within a second 
 perforated cylinder, contained in a third but 
 air-tight cylinder ; and the whole put into an 
 outer case. Water is placed in the space be- 
 tween the bottoms of the third cylinder and 
 outer casing; a vertical pipe opens from 
 this space to the space between the second 
 and third cylinders ; so that as the metal ex- 
 pands from the application of heat, the water 
 will be forced up the pipe, and made to mingle 
 with the gas generated from the chemical 
 materials, which will afterwards escape through 
 an opening at the top of the case. It is this 
 gas which is intended to act so remarkably 
 upon a burning mass as to extinguish flame. 
 
 With this apparatus Mr. Phillips has made 
 many experiments which have attracted a 
 good deal of public attention. A display was 
 made at Vauxhall Gas Works, in Oct. 1849 ; 
 model houses and ships, filled with combusti- 
 bles, were set on fire with a view of shewing 
 how rapidly the annihilator could extinguish 
 the flames. The machine is placed where it 
 can be influenced by the heat of the confla- 
 gration ; and the resulting gas has a remark- 
 able effect in extinguishing flame ; but it does 
 not extinguish red heat unaccompanied by 
 flame. Experiments were made in the early 
 part of 1850 at Trentham Park, at the Pad- 
 dington Railway Station, and at the West 
 India Docks ; but the annihilator on these 
 occasions scarcely merited the good opinion 
 of its admirers. A ' Fire Annihilator Com- 
 
 pany' was, however, established. Shortly after 
 this, the Board of Ordnance permitted a brick 
 building to be constructed in Woolwich Marsh, 
 and made to represent as nearly as practicable 
 (without incurring too much expense) a three 
 storied house, which was then filled with cheap 
 furniture. There were near at hand annihi- 
 lators of various sizes and degrees of power 
 one so large as to require two horses to draw 
 it ; and a day was appointed for having a grand 
 experimental conflagration. The building 
 was set on fire, but the extinction did not 
 take place satisfactorily. 
 
 The truth seems to be (so far as has yet 
 been shewn), that in close rooms, or confined 
 spaces generally, the liberated gases of the 
 annihilator may be serviceably used to extin- 
 guish flame ; but that where there is plenty of 
 access for external air, the action of the ma- 
 chine becomes impaired. So far as the mere 
 setting to work is concerned, it is so easy and 
 simple, that we may hope to find the apparatus 
 available, in a limited if not an extensive de- 
 gree. 
 
 ANNONAY, a town in France on the 
 banks of the Rhone, is celebrated for making 
 the best paper in France ; it is also a busy 
 locality for manufactories of silks, woollens, 
 cottons, and leather. 
 
 ANNOTTO. [ARNOTTO.] 
 
 ANNULET, in architecture, is the small 
 ring or band which enriches the lower part of 
 the moulding of the Doric column, just whei-e 
 it expands from the top of the shaft. 
 
 ANNULUS, the geometrical name for a 
 ring. It is sometimes useful to know the 
 area or solid content of a ring of any sub- 
 stance ; and this may be done as follows : 
 To find the surface of a ring, measure the in- 
 terior and exterior diameters, multiply the 
 sum and difference of these diameters, and 
 multiply this product by 2-4674. To find the 
 solid contents, measure the inner and outer 
 diameters, multiply together their sum and 
 the square of their difference, and multiply 
 by 0-3084. 
 
 ANODY'NES, are substances used in me- 
 dicine for alleviating pain. They appear to 
 be productive of benefit in two ways : first, by 
 rendering the nerves of the part less sensible ; 
 and, secondly, by diminishing the violence 
 with which the large vessels propel the blood, 
 when the anodynes are given in sufficient 
 quantity to influence the brain, and through 
 it, by a process extremely complex, which we 
 need not explain here, the contractile power 
 of the heart and arteries. As most of the 
 articles termed anodynes have a powerful in- 
 fluence over the brain, they generally produce 
 sleep, if given in a large dose : hence they 
 
149 
 
 ANONA'CE^E. 
 
 ANTACIDS. 
 
 150 
 
 are also denominated hypnotics; and, from 
 causing insensibility, they are also denomi 
 nated narcotics. The Anodyne necklaces (which 
 partake a good deal of quackery) are formed 
 of the roots of hyosciamus, Job's-tears, allspice 
 steeped in brandy, jumble heads, or elk's hoof, 
 to suit the fancies of the prescribers ; they are 
 worn with the hope of procuring easy denti- 
 tion in children, and sleep in fevers. 
 
 The substances which are used as anodynes 
 are, with one exception, derived from the 
 vegetable kingdom ; they comprise Opium, 
 Henbane, Woody Nightshade, Deadly Night- 
 shade, Prussic Acid, and Carbonic Acid Gas. 
 
 ANONA'CE^E, is the botanical name for 
 an order of plants, different species of which 
 yield the Ethiopian pepper, the custard apple, 
 bark fit for cordage, &c. The trees and shrubs 
 of this order abound in a powerful aromatic 
 secretion, which renders the flowers of some 
 highly fragrant, the leaves of others a grateful 
 perfume, and the dried fruits of many so 
 highly aromatic as to vie with the spices of 
 commerce. 
 
 ANSER. [GoosE.] 
 
 ANT. If the ant is not especially useful to 
 us in furnishing food, or materials for manu- 
 factures, he is an instructive artisan whose 
 movements we may watch with profit. Let us 
 view him as a miner, a mason, a carpenter. 
 
 The modes in which ants construct their 
 cities differ considerably. The red ant, for 
 example (Myrmica ritbra), which is common 
 in gardens, makes burrows and chambers 
 under stones, or in the ground under roots, 
 and the spade often disturbs a peaceful 
 colony. 
 
 The dusky turf ant (Formico cespitum) se- 
 lects a tuft of long grass, the stems of which 
 serve as supports to a slight tenement con- 
 sisting of small grains of earth, clay, and 
 sand, piled up Avithout any other cement than 
 water, or the dew and moisture of the ground, 
 which produces a sufficient degree of adhesion 
 between the particles. The whole forms a 
 little hillock, underneath which are galleries 
 and chambers. The sanguinary ant, common 
 on the continent (F. sanguinea), makes a sub- 
 terranean city, composed of galleries and 
 chambers, excavated in the earth or clay to a 
 considerable depth. Over the covert ways 
 into this labyrinth is placed a thick coping of 
 dry heath twigs and grass stems to defend it 
 from rain and cold. 
 
 The yellow ant (F.flava) builds mounds, a 
 foot or more in height, and generally in old 
 pastures. They are composed of particles of 
 soil quarried from below, bits of decayed 
 wood, &c., and are generally built during rainy 
 or moist weather, as these ants have no other 
 
 means than what the atmosphere affords of 
 tempering their materials. These mounds are 
 smooth externally, and contain chambers and 
 galleries. 
 
 The nest of the fallow ant, or wood ant, a 
 large species not uncommon in woods and 
 pleasure grounds, presents a rude appearance: 
 externally it looks like a hillock of earth, in- 
 termixed with bits of dried twigs, straws, par- 
 ticles of leaves, and as we have seen, even 
 grains of corn, all mixed together, and form- 
 ing a large coping or protection to numerous 
 chambers arranged in separate stories, some 
 deeply excavated in the earth, others near the 
 centre or even the surface of the hillock ; all 
 communicating with each other by means of 
 galleries; various passages open externally, 
 the entrances being closed or left free, accord- 
 ing to the state of the weather. 
 
 The colonies of the fuliginous or jet ant 
 (F.fidiginosa), make their habitations in the 
 trunks of old oaks or willows, in which with 
 their strong mandibles they work out hori- 
 zontal galleries separated from each other by 
 thin partitions, and all communicating with 
 each other. These excavations often resemble 
 halls supported by multitudes of pillars, rising 
 story above story, and built of ebony, for the 
 wood is invariably stained black, perhaps in 
 consequence of the action of the formic acid, 
 a peculiar secretion found in ants, and which, 
 dissolved in water, serves the purposes of vine- 
 gar in Norway, where the ants are collected 
 and steeped in boiling water, and thus is 
 formed diluted formic acid. 
 
 With respect to the ants of hotter climates, 
 the wonderful structures which they make 
 have attracted the notice of most travellers. 
 Some rear huge mounds ; some construct 
 large edifices in the forks of trees ; some glue 
 leaves together so as to form a purse ; some 
 excavate the branches of the trees, working 
 out the pith to the extremity of the slenderest 
 twig. 
 
 An accurate observer, Dr. J. R. Johnson, 
 remarks, ' I have often been surprised at the 
 ingenuity of these little creatures, in availing 
 themselves of contiguous blades of grass, 
 stalks of corn, &c., when they wish to enlarge 
 the boundaries of their abode. As these are 
 usually met with in the erect position, they 
 are admirably calculated for pillars; they 
 therefore coat them over with a fine paste of 
 earth, giving them, by additional layers, the 
 solidity they judge necessary for the work. 1 
 
 ANTACIDS, signify medicines used to cor- 
 rect acidity in the stomach. Though hydro- 
 chloric acid (formerly called muriatic acid, or 
 spirit of salt) is present in a free state in the 
 stomach during the process of healthy 
 
151 
 
 ANTJS. 
 
 ANTIDOTES. 
 
 153 
 
 tion, yet under particular circumstances it is 
 apt to be generated in excess. Other acids 
 are also occasionally evolved in the stomach, 
 probably from the fermentation of the articles, 
 as vegetables and fruits of different kinds, by 
 which the acetic acid is produced, or introduced 
 ready formed, in wines or hard beer, and in 
 certain vegetables, as sorrel, which contains 
 oxalic acid. The most frequent source of 
 acidity is that first mentioned, the secretion of 
 acid by the vessels of the stomach. " It is, 
 therefore, dependent upon constitutional 
 causes, or the state of the system generally. 
 
 The medicinal means of remedying this 
 state are all alkaline, either the pure alkalies, 
 or some combination of them such as solu- 
 tion of potash, or carbonates of soda, potash, 
 magnesia, ammonia, or lime. These medicines 
 are called Antaoids. 
 
 ANT./E, a term used by architects to desig- 
 nate the pier-formed ends of a wall, as in the 
 terminations of the lateral walls in a Greek 
 temple, where a plain face returns on each 
 side, having some relation in general propor- 
 tion to the columns with which they compose. 
 The antse (for the word is used alike in the 
 singular and in the plural) has a moulded and 
 otherwise enriched cap or cornice, and gene- 
 rally a moulded base. The moulded caps and 
 bases of antse are, in Greek works, generally 
 continued along the flank walls so as to form 
 the cornice and base of the Avhole wall, and 
 not of the protruded faces of its ends alone. 
 In Roman works, and in modern imitations of 
 both, breaks are often made on the face of a 
 wall with the caps and bases of antse, but more 
 frequently with those of columns, and these 
 are called pilasters. In classical Greek works, 
 and in the best Eoman works, antse and pilas- 
 ters are never either diminished or fluted. 
 
 ANT ALKALIES, are medicines for counter- 
 acting the presence of alkalies in the system. 
 Such remedies consist of the various mineral 
 and organic acids. 
 
 ANTEFIXJE, blocks with vertical faces 
 placed along over a cornice in ancient Greek 
 and Roman buildings, to hide the ends of the 
 covering or joint tiles, and their faces are 
 generally ornamented with a flower, leaf, or 
 other enrichment. 
 
 A'NTHEMIS. [CHAMOMILE.] The An- 
 themis tinctoria is used in France by the dyers 
 for the sake of a brilliant yellow tint, which is 
 obtained from it. 
 
 ANTHOXANTHUM. [GRASS.] 
 
 A'NTHRACITE, a black, light, mineral 
 substance, resembling coal. It is also called 
 Mind coal, and glance coal. Its specific gravity 
 is about 1-400 ; it is slowly combustible, but 
 without flame ; and it contains 96 per cent, of 
 
 pure carbon : it is, in fact, a mineral charcoal. 
 Naphtha may be considered as one extremity 
 of the mineral carbonaceous substances, and 
 anthracite as the other. Tar, petroleum, 
 bitumen, asphaltum, and the various kinds of 
 coal, form the intermediate members of the 
 series. Anthracite is now much used as a 
 steam-engine fuel. Sir H. De La Beche and 
 Dr. Lyon Playfair, who were commissioned 
 lately by the Admiralty to investigate the qua- 
 lities of steam-coal for the navy, have pointed 
 out the many useful qualities of Anthracite. 
 [FUEL]. Small quantities of Anthracite are 
 found in the primary strata of most countries, 
 as, for instance, in the old slate of Cornwall, 
 Devon, and Cumberland, where the appear- 
 ances led to borings and other works in searcli 
 of coal. In the south of Ireland anthracite 
 occurs in clay- slate and grauwacke, so thick as 
 to be regularly worked for the purpose of 
 burning the lime of the district ; the most 
 considerable collieries have yielded 25,000 tons 
 annually ; and all the coal of the province of 
 Munster, with the exception of that of the 
 county of Clare, is of the same sort. It is 
 found in many of our coal-mines, but generally 
 in those situations where the coal comes in 
 contact with clay-slate. 
 
 Anthracite, as a fuel for locomotives, has 
 met with but little success. In America, where 
 wood is largely used for this purpose, great 
 desire is exhibited to substitute anthracite for 
 wood ; but Professor Johnson communicated 
 a paper to the Franklin Journal in 1847, shew- 
 ing many reasons why it had hitherto not been 
 very successful. There is a want of rapid 
 ignition and lively combustion ; the intense 
 local heat tends to destroy the grate-bars, to 
 loosen the rivets, and to blister the iron plates ; 
 the ashes of the anthracite fuse into an un- 
 manageable sort of clinker ; the sharp angular 
 particles of coal, projected by the violent 
 draught of the furnace obliquely into the ends 
 of the copper tubes, tend to cut the metal near 
 the fire end. Professor Johnson points out 
 modes which, in his judgment, will obviate 
 these several sources of inconvenience, and 
 render the use of anthracite in locomotives 
 desirable. 
 
 In a series of experiments made by Messrs. 
 Fairbairn of Manchester, on 280 bars made of 
 different kinds of iron, it was found that an- 
 thracite iron, or iron smelted with anthracite 
 instead of other kinds of coal, is superior to 
 other kinds of iron in strength, though not 
 quite equal to some of them in elasticity. The 
 results were communicated in extenso to the 
 British Association in 1HAO. 
 
 ANTIDOTES, administered to counteract 
 the effect of poisons, are used with one of three 
 
153 
 
 ANTI-ATTRITION, 
 
 objects, viz., 1, to remove the poisonous sub- 
 stance : 2, to prevent or limit its local effects : 
 3, to obviate its effects on remote organs, sup- 
 porting their action by appropriate measures, 
 till the injurious impression has subsided. 
 The first of these is accomplished mostly by 
 mechanical means, such as the cupping-glass 
 or the stomach-pump. The second mode de- 
 pends on a very intimate knowledge of the 
 chemical elements and action of the poison. 
 The third mode depends on a close study of 
 the physiology of the human system. 
 
 ANTI-ATTKITION, is a preparation used 
 to lessen friction in machinery, and also to pre- 
 vent iron from rusting. It is made by grinding 
 black lead with four times its weight; of lard or 
 tallow, and adding a little camphor to the 
 mixture. 
 
 ANTI-FERMENT. In the cider-districts 
 a substance under this name is sold for the 
 purpose of correcting fermentation. Mustard 
 seed and clover, or mustard seed and sulphite 
 of lime, are usually the ingredients : they tend 
 to allay the fermentation of cider or perry, or 
 even beer. 
 
 ANTI-FRICTION WHEELS. The action 
 of friction or an ti- friction wheels in machinery 
 is to dimmish resistance by converting what 
 would otherwise be a rubbing into a rolling 
 contact. Friction -rollers, which are generally 
 of small diameter, are not necessarily fixed 
 upon axles or shafts, but are interposed bodily 
 between the rubbing or sliding surfaces which 
 press upon them ; and they may thus be em- 
 ployed to alleviate friction between surface. In 
 some arrangements of mechanism, friction 
 rollers are provided with small axles which do 
 not bear any important strain, but are used 
 chiefly for the purpose of keeping the rollers 
 in their proper place. The wheels of an ordi- 
 nary carriage are in principle very little other 
 than anti-friction wheels or rollers. 
 
 The various applications of anti -friction ro- 
 tation are very numerous ; but they all depend 
 on this principle that when the surfaces of 
 two bodies are made to pass over each other 
 with a rubbing or sliding motion, their inequa- 
 lities necessarily meet and oppose each other, 
 and thereby cause both resistance and wear ; 
 but if rollers or wheels be applied between 
 them, instead of the inequalities of the roller 
 being dragged against those of the surface 
 upon which it rolls, they are successively laid 
 upon (so to speak) and lifted up from them. 
 
 ANTIGUA, is one of the sugar colonies of 
 the British West Indies. The sugar produce 
 of 1840 was 102,044. cwt. ; that of 1847 reached 
 nearly double this amount ; but 1848 proved 
 a deficient year. A considerable quantity of 
 cotton was once produced in this island, but 
 
 ANTIMONY. 154 
 
 the culture has been discontinued. If the expe- 
 riment now being made in Jamaica should, 
 however, be successful, cotton- planting may 
 again be attempted in Antigua. Antigua took 
 British produce and manufactures, in Ib49, to 
 the value of 70,194/. 
 
 ANTILOGARITHM, as used in this 
 country, means the number to the logarithm. 
 Thus, in Briggs's system, ] 00 is the antiloga- 
 rithm of 2, because 2 is the logarithm of 100. 
 [LOGARITHM.] 
 
 ANTIMONY, a metal sometimes called re- 
 gulus of antimony, occurs, though rarely, native, 
 and is generally procured from the sulphuret, 
 which is the only abundant ore of the metal. 
 When this is heated in contact with iron, the 
 sulphur, on account of its greater affinity for 
 that metal, is separated by it from the anti- 
 mony, which is consequently reduced to a 
 nearly pure metallic state. Its colour is silver 
 white, ^lustre considerable, and the fracture 
 fine laminated when pure ; but the antimony 
 of commerce is broad laminated. Its specific 
 gravity is about 0'7, and atomic weight 04. 
 When slowly cooled after fusion, it crystallizes 
 in the octahedron or its varieties. When it 
 is exposed to the air, this metal tarnishes, and 
 at a red heat it melts. Fulminating antimony 
 is much employed in fire-works. - 
 
 Oxygen and antimony may be combined in 
 several modes and in different proportions. 
 There are many ways of producing the sesqui- 
 oxide of antimony, the composition of which is 
 antimony 2, oxygen 3. This oxide is a 
 dingy white powder, insoluble in water, but it 
 is dissolved by dilute nitric acid, and by strong 
 nitric acid is converted into antimonious acid. 
 Muriatic acid also readily takes it up; the 
 same effect is produced by bitartrate of potash, 
 and the solution on cooling deposits octahedral 
 crystals, which have been long known and em- 
 ployed in medicine under the name of tartar 
 emetic, or lartarized antimony. It is soluble 
 also in potash, soda, and ammonia. A second 
 compound is the deutoxide, or antimonious acid, 
 containing antimony 1, oxygen 2. This acid 
 is neither fusible nor volatile at a red heat. 
 Its saline compounds are termed antimonites, 
 as antimoiiite of potash, &c. If it be fused 
 with this alkali, the salt formed dissolves in 
 water, from which the acids throw down a white 
 precipitate of antimonious acid combined with 
 water. A third compound of oxygen and anti- 
 mony is the peroxide, or antimonic acid. It is 
 a pale yellow powder, consisting of antimony 
 2, oxygen 5. Its action on the animal eco- 
 nomy is but slight. Antimonic acid is tasteless 
 and insoluble in water. 
 
 Chlorine and Antimony unite to form two 
 compounds. Tllwprotocldoride, or sesquichforide 
 
155 
 
 ANTIMONY. 
 
 ANTIQUES. 
 
 156 
 
 sometimes called butter of antimony, is com 
 posed of chlorine 3, antimony 2. It is a so 
 and nearly colourless solid. At a moderat 
 heat it liquefies, and it absorbs moisture from 
 the air. From it is prepared the submuriat 
 of antimony, formerly employed in medicin 
 under the name of pulvis Algarotti. The othe 
 compound is a perchloride of antimony, consis 
 ing of chlorine 5, antimony 2. It is a colour 
 less or slightly yellow fluid, has a strong dis 
 agreeable smell, and emits white fumes, 
 attracts moisture from the air, and whei 
 mixed with water it is decomposed, and con 
 verted into muriatic acid and antimonii 
 acid. 
 
 Bromine and Antimony form bromide of anti 
 mony. At common temperatures it is solid 
 colourless, crystallizes in needles, attracts 
 moisture from the air, and is decomposed 
 water. It melts at about 206 u Fahrenheit, anc 
 boils at 518. Iodine also combines with anti 
 mony to form an iodide. 
 
 Sulphur and Antimony combine to form 
 several compounds. The chief of these is the 
 sesquisulphuret, or crude antimony, which is the 
 principal ore of the metal. It is found in 
 many parts of the earth ; it is of a lead gray 
 colour, possessing considerable splendour, and 
 is met with compact, in acicular crystals, and 
 in rhombic prisms. It is composed of sulphur 
 3 atoms, antimony 2 atoms. It is much em- 
 ployed in preparing metallic antimony, glass 
 of antimony, crocus of antimony, James's pow- 
 der, and some preparations in the London and 
 other pharmacopoeias. It is soluble in a hot 
 solution of potash or soda; on cooling, an 
 orange red substance is deposited, called 
 kermes-mineral ; this was formerly much used 
 in medicine. When an acid is added to the 
 remaining cold solution, a further portion of 
 a similar precipitate is formed : this is some- 
 times called the goldun, sulphuret of antimony, 
 and in the ' London Pharmacopoeia,' sulphure- 
 tum antimonii proecipitatum. 
 
 The only salt of antimony, strictly speaking, 
 of any great importance, is the double tartrate 
 of potash and antimony, usually termed tartar 
 emetic, or tartarized antimony the antimo- 
 nium tartarizatum of the ' London Pharmaco- 
 poeia.' Of all the preparations of antimony 
 this is the most valuable. The Pharmacopoeias 
 also contain a preparation in imitation of 
 James's powder, called pulvis antimonialis. 
 
 Antimony is susceptible of combining with 
 all metals. It makes them very brittle. The 
 principal alloys of antimony are that with lead, 
 employed as type metal, and the alloy of anti- 
 mony and tin, used for plates on which music 
 is engraved. 
 
 It has been recently suggested, by Mr. For- 
 
 rest of Liverpool, that antimony would be a 
 
 good substitute for lead in the manufacture of 
 white paint. He considers that the oxide of 
 antimony is usually cheaper than white lead, 
 that it is not so apt to lose its colour, and that 
 an equal weight of paint will spread over a 
 much larger surface. 
 
 Antimony sells at the present time in the 
 London market at 44s. to UOs. per ewt. 
 
 AN1TPAROS, a small island in the Grecian 
 Archipelago, is interesting in an artistic point 
 of view for the exquisite white marble which 
 it yields. Of this material consists the famous 
 grotto, which is 120 yards long, 1]'3 wide, and 
 60 feet high ; it is an immense arch of white 
 marble, from the roof of which depend large 
 stalactites, 10 feet long and as thick as a man's 
 waist, with festoons and leaves of the same 
 substance ; the floor is rough and uneven, with 
 various coloured crystals and stalagmites 
 rising up ; and in the midst is one 20 feet in 
 diameter, and 24 feet high. When lighted up, 
 he whole presents a most brilliant and mag- 
 nificent scene, but the smoke from the torches 
 f the numerous visitors has somewhat dim- 
 ned its effulgence. 
 
 ANTI'PODES, as a term indicating the in- 
 
 abitants on two exactly opposite points on 
 
 he globe, is only interesting to us here so far 
 
 as it concerns climate. Two antipodal points 
 
 f the earth have the same number of degrees 
 
 f latitude, one north and the other south, 
 
 inless one of the points be on the equator, iu 
 
 which case the antipodal point is the opposite 
 
 oint of the equator. Their longitude differs 
 
 y 180 or 12 hours, if we reckon longitude all 
 
 ound the globe ; but if we use east and west 
 
 ongitude, the two longitudes must together 
 
 make up 180 or 12 hours, one east and the 
 
 ther west. We here insert, in -opposite co- 
 
 umns, the names of a few places which are 
 
 early antipodal. 
 
 ( Antipodes Island, S.E. of 
 
 London . . | N e W Zealand. 
 
 Nankin . . . Buenos Ayres. 
 
 Bermudas . . Swan River. 
 
 Quito .... Middle of Sumatra. 
 
 Azores . . . Botany Bay. 
 
 Antipodal places have the same climate, so 
 ar as that depends merely on latitude ; but have 
 1 the seasons, days and nights completely re- 
 ersed. Thus, noon of the longest day at the 
 ermudas is midnight of the shortest day at 
 le Swan River. The remark as to the seasons 
 f course does not apply to antipodal places on 
 le equator. 
 
 ANTIQUES. This term properly refers to 
 orks of Grecian art in sculpture, bas-relief, 
 ngraving of gems, medals, &c. As these arts 
 ourished in the states of Greece, and also 
 
157 
 
 ANTIEEHI'NUM. 
 
 ANTISEPTICS. 
 
 158 
 
 under the Eoman Empire (though most pro- 
 bably they were always successfully cultivated 
 chiefly by Greeks), it is not possible to find 
 any precise chronological limits that shall 
 determine whether a work of art belongs to 
 the antique or not. Still, as there was under 
 the Roman Empire a great and progressive 
 deterioration in the arts above alluded to, until 
 in more recent times they have been again 
 improved, it is clear that many works of con 
 siderable antiquity cannot be classed under 
 the head of antiques; for by the term antiques 
 we understand, in general, works that have 
 decided merit, and may serve as models for 
 imitation ; or they are at least works of art 
 that serve to illustrate and explain those 
 ancient authors whose writings, by common 
 consent, are allowed to be deserving of study. 
 
 ANTIRRHI'NUM. [OILS.] 
 
 ANTIS. A portico is said to be in antis 
 when columns stand in a line, in front, with 
 the ante or projecting ends of the side walls 
 oi the temple or other building. There is a 
 good example of the portico in antis in North 
 Audley Street, London, which forms the en- 
 trance to an episcopal chapel. 
 
 ANTISCORBUTICS, the remedies, real or 
 reputed, against scurvy. Sea-scurvy formerly 
 prevailed in a very extensive degree. Com- 
 modore Anson, in the course of his voyage 
 round the world, lost above four-fifths of his 
 men, and when he arrived at Juan Fernandez, 
 of the 200 men then surviving, eight only were 
 capable of duty. An entire crew has sometimes 
 fallen a victim to it, and the ship been left 
 without a single hand to guide it through the 
 waters. This happened in the case of the 
 Spanish ship Orinamma, in which the whole 
 crew perished, and in this state she was dis- 
 covered with the dead bodies on board. 
 
 The causes of this disease appear to be ex- 
 posure to a cold and damp atmosphere, exces- 
 sive fatigue, badly ventilated sleeping apart- 
 ments, and intemperance ; but none of these 
 causes singly, nor indeed all of them com- 
 bined, are adequate to produce scurvy, unas- 
 sisted by some specific cause, which cause is 
 to be found in the diet. The diet of seamen 
 during long voyages Avas formerly merely 
 salted meat and biscuit ; fresh animal food or 
 recent vegetables formed no part of it. It was 
 also often deficient in quantity. 
 
 Fresh vegetables, vegetable substances, or 
 articles prepared from them, constitute the 
 antiscorbutics, or means of preventing and 
 curing sea-scurvy ; but they are not all of equal 
 value, some far surpassing others in efficacy. 
 The lemon is the most valuable of all. It may 
 be used in various ways ; the best is in the 
 form of the fresh fruit, sucked by the patient : 
 
 | but in the absence of this, lemon-juice may be 
 employed, and this is the usual mode in the 
 naval practice. A quantity of it, having a 
 tenth-part of spirit of wine added to preserve 
 it, are supplied to each ship, and in about a 
 fortnight after leaving port its use is begun ; 
 each sailor is allowed one ounce of it and one 
 ounce and a half of sugar to mix with the 
 grog, or in many instances with wine, a stated 
 quantity of which is granted in lieu of a cer- 
 tain quantity of spirits, which is withdrawn. 
 This has the effect of almost invariably pre- 
 venting scurvy affecting any of the crew. The 
 recent admiralty orders (1850) tend to lessen 
 the use of grog and to increase that of lemon- 
 juice. 
 
 In addition to the lemon-juice, ships in- 
 tended to be sent on long voyages are sup- 
 plied with animal food, so prepared as to be 
 almost as fresh at the end of six years as if 
 it had been killed but a few days and dressed 
 the day previous to its being used. This 
 valuable discovery, which tends so greatly to 
 lessen the inconvenience of a sea-life, as well 
 as to secure the health of those devoted to 
 it, was made by Mr. Appert. 
 
 ANTISEPTICS, are the means of preventing 
 those changes in organized matter which are 
 comprehended under the term putrefaction. 
 
 All organized substances do not putrefy 
 with equal rapidity, nor under all circum- 
 stances. Decomposition goes on fastest in 
 substances which contain nitrogen, and most 
 slowly in substances which contain carbon; 
 hence animal matters putrefy quickly ; vege- 
 table, especially of a woody texture, gradually. 
 The conditions necessary for putrefaction to 
 take place are, the presence of air, of a certain 
 temperature, and moisture. If any one of 
 these be excluded, the process is prevented. 
 The moisture may either be external, or it 
 may be the fluids of the body itself. The 
 bulk of the animal frame is made up of fluids, 
 which must either be dissipated by heat, ab- 
 stracted by some chemical process, or ren- 
 dered solid by a very low temperature, if we 
 wish to preserve any animal substance in the 
 state most near that of its natural constitution . 
 
 The modes of preserving food are either 
 natural or artificial. The natural modes 
 comprehend those which effect this end by 
 abstracting or excluding one or more of the 
 chief agents, heat, moisture and air; the 
 artificial comprehend those methods of pre 
 paration or mixture which produce some che- 
 mical change in the substance. 
 
 1st. Abstraction of heat. The presence of 
 heat is essential to the exertion of those che- 
 mical affinities which take place during decom- 
 position, or constitute the process ; abstracting 
 
159 
 
 ANTISEPTICS. 
 
 ANTISEPTICS. 
 
 160 
 
 it therefore checks or suspends them. Mos 
 articles of food keep better in cold than in warm 
 weather. When the heat has been so com 
 pletely abstracted that the juices are frozen 
 i.e. become solid, the preservation of the sub 
 stance is more effectually accomplished. In 
 deed they may thus be preserved for many 
 years, perhaps ages. 
 
 On this principle the Russians preserve 
 their poultry, which they kill in October, and 
 pack in tubs with layers of snow between 
 The markets of St. Petersburg are supplied 
 with veal brought from a great distance in this 
 state, as well as with whole hogs, sheep, and 
 fish. The Canadians preserve their provisions 
 in the same way. 
 
 A precaution is necessary in thawing them ; 
 for this end, they should always be put into 
 cold water first. Indeed, in the case of persons 
 buried in the snow, recovery is much more 
 likely to be brought about by plunging the 
 individual into cold water, than by placing him 
 in a warm bed. 
 
 This method of preserving food is not 
 applicable to vegetables, but when these are 
 frozen they should also be first put into cold 
 water. 
 
 2nd. The abstraction of moisture by heat 
 is employed in drying fish and other animal 
 substances, as beef, bacon, &c., though in 
 these the rapid tendency to putrefaction makes 
 the employment of a certain quantity of salt, 
 &c., necessary, along with the drying, unless 
 the process be carried on with great rapidity, 
 which may be effected by a high temperature 
 and a free circulation of air. Hence in many 
 places, where turf or wood is burnt, hams are 
 hung within the wide kitchen chimney. Dry- 
 ing is also employed for the preservation of 
 vegetable substances, such as grain, hay, &c. 
 It is by this means that botanists preserve 
 plants to form a hortus siccus, or herbarium, 
 and many plants are thus preserved for medi- 
 cal use, but for this purpose a high tempera- 
 ture should never be applied, as it dissipates 
 their active principles. 
 
 3rd. The exclusion of sources of oxygen 
 gas constitutes another means of preventing 
 or checking putrefaction ; and as the atmos- 
 pheric air is the most common source of 
 oxygen, we shall limit our remarks to the 
 means of excluding it. The effect of such 
 exclusion is very great. Reaumur varnished 
 some eggs, and found that at the end of two 
 years they were yet capable of producing 
 chickens ; and Bomare mentions an instance 
 where three eggs were inclosed within the 
 walls of a church, in the Milanese, and when 
 found at the end of 300 years, they had not 
 lost their flavour. Lime-water is the best 
 
 medium in which to place eggs for long keep- 
 ing. But more valuable articles than eggs are 
 preserved by this means ; and in a condition 
 nearly equal to their fresh state. We allude 
 to the method of preserving animal food and 
 vegetables, promulgated by M. Appert. This 
 consists in boiling the articles (if meat, the 
 bones must be first taken out) to nearly as 
 great a degree as it 1 intended for immediate 
 consumption ; they are then put into jars or 
 tin canisters, which must be completely filled 
 with a broth or jelly prepared from portions 
 of the same meat. The jars are then corked 
 and covered with a luting, and the canisters 
 carefully soldered down. After this, they are 
 placed in a boiler of cold water, to which 
 heat is applied till the water boils, and the 
 boiling of which is continued for an hour; the 
 fire must then be instantly extinguished, and 
 the water soon drawn off, but the boiler must 
 not be uncovered, or the bottles taken out, for 
 one or two hours after. By this method meat 
 has been kept sound and well-flavoured for 
 ix years and upwards, and has been sent to 
 all parts of the globe. The process of ex- 
 hausting the air from the vessel which con- 
 tains the substance to be preserved, and then 
 effectually excluding the atmosphere is a me- 
 thod now frequently used. 
 
 A simpler method of preserving animal food 
 for sea-stores is the following : the meat is 
 cut into slices of four to eight ounces, steeped 
 'or five minutes in a vessel of boiling water, 
 and dried on a network at a temperature of 
 about 120 Fahrenheit. The liquid or soup 
 "ormed by steeping the meat is next evapo- 
 rated to the state of a thick varnish, to which 
 a little spice is added. The dry pieces of meat 
 are dipped into this gravy, and dried again ; 
 and this dipping and drying are repeated two 
 or three times. The meat will in this dry 
 state remain good for a year or two ; and must 
 hen be cooked in the usual way by boiling, 
 L r c. 
 
 The natural methods of preserving organized 
 ubstances are few and simple : the artificial 
 more numerous, as well as more complex. 
 Chey consist either in causing such changes 
 n the elementary constitution of a body as 
 hall form a new and less destructible article, 
 >r in introducing some additional principle 
 vhich shall hinder the exercise of the natural 
 ^endency of the substance to decomposition. 
 
 The first set of means constitute the various 
 dnds of fermentation, with respect to which 
 ve may remark, that the products of them are 
 not only little disposed to undergo decompo- 
 ition, but have also a powerful effect in pre- 
 senting other substances from undergoing it ; 
 he most remarkable of these are acetic acid, 
 
101 
 
 ANTONINE COLUMN. 
 
 ANTKIM. 
 
 162 
 
 or vinegar, and alcohol. The formation of 
 sugar, another product of fermentation, is a 
 powerful means of preserving fruits, in which 
 it is formed spontaneously, or to which it is 
 afterwards added. The addition of sugar is 
 practised in forming syrups, jellies, and pre- 
 serves. 
 
 Those parts of plants which contain much 
 carbon last the longest. In trees cut down 
 and exposed to air and moisture, the bark, 
 which contains most carbon, endures after the 
 rest has perished. The seed also contains 
 much carbon, and when seeds are sent from 
 India to England they are always wrapped in 
 recently prepared charcoal. "When stakes or 
 piles of wood are to be driven into the beds 
 of rivers or marshes, they are previously 
 charred ; and to preserve water sent to sea, 
 the inner side of the cask is also charred. 
 
 There are many substances which when 
 added to animal matter prevent for a longer 
 or shorter time their decomposition, such as 
 saltpetre (nitrate of potass), and common salt 
 (chloride of sodium), which last is supposed 
 to act by abstracting the elements of water ; 
 certain it is that meat is rendered by salting- 
 much drier, harder, less easily digested, ami 
 consequently less nourishing. Many aroma- 
 tic substances have a similar power of pre- 
 venting putrefaction for a time. They were 
 extensively employed in embalming in ancient 
 as well as modern times, as the Egyptian 
 mummies prove. Oils and resinous substances 
 long resist putrefaction, and preserve other 
 substances from it ; bitumen, naphtha, and 
 empyreumatic oils, are examples of this. Eus 
 sia leather, which is dressed with the empy- 
 reumatic oil of the birch, not only does no 
 become mouldy, but also preserves the books 
 which are bound with it. The process of de- 
 composition is greatly hastened by the agency 
 of fungi, such as those which cause mouldiness 
 and the more formidable destroyers which 
 occasion the dry-rot. The fungi which cause 
 mouldiness are generally prevented from de 
 veloping themselves by the presence of some 
 aromatic oil ; and the others which occasion 
 the dry-rot in timber, may be prevented from 
 developing themselves by the process inventec 
 by the late Mr. Kyan. [DnY-EoT.] 
 
 ANTONINE COLUMN, a lofty pillar which 
 stands in the middle of one of the principa 
 squares of the city of Eome. It was raisec 
 by the senate in honour of the Emperor Mar 
 cus Aurelius Antoninus, and in memory of hi 
 victory over the Marcornanni and other Ger 
 man tribes. The shaft of the pillar is 13 fee 
 1 inch in diameter at the bottom, and one foo 
 less at the top ; its height, including th 
 pedestal and capital, is 136 feet, of which 1C 
 
 ire under ground ; and the statue on the top 
 Mid its pedestal are27J feet more, making the 
 whole height 163 feet. The capital is Doric. 
 The shaft is made of twenty-eight blocks of 
 white marble. A spiral staircase of 190 steps 
 s cut through the interior of the marble, and 
 eads to the gallery on the top, which is sur- 
 rounded by a balustrade. The exterior of the 
 shaft is covered with bassi-rilievi placed in 
 i spiral line around, which represent the vic- 
 ories of Marcus Aurelius over the Marco- 
 manni and other hostile nations. The style 
 and execution of these sculptures are inferior 
 to those of the Trajan pillar, which the artists 
 evidently purposed to imitate. 
 
 ANTONINUS, WALL OF. This was an 
 entrenchment raised by the Eomans across 
 the north of Britain under the direction of 
 Lollius Urbicus, legate of Antoninus Pius, 
 about A.D. 140, and is supposed to have con- 
 nected a line of forts erected by Agricola, A.D. 
 80. Julius Capitolinus, the only ancient writer 
 who mentions this rampart, calls it a turf wall 
 (murus cespititius). The work was composed 
 of a ditch, a rampart with its parapet, made of 
 materials taken from the ditch, and a military 
 way running along the whole line of the en- 
 trenchment at the distance of a few yards on 
 the south side. It extended from Dunglass 
 Castle on the Clyde to the heights above Caer 
 Eidden Kirk, a little beyond the river Avon on 
 the Frith of Forth, or probably to Blackness 
 Castle two miles farther on, though it cannot 
 now be traced so far. In its course are nine- 
 teen forts, the eighteen distances between 
 which amount to 63,980 yards, or 36 English 
 miles, and the mean distance from station to 
 station is 3554 yards, or rather more than two 
 English miles. In the position of the forts, 
 the Eomans chose a high and commanding 
 situation from whence the country could be 
 discovered to a considerable distance, con- 
 triving, as far as circumstances would permit, 
 that a river, morass, or some difficult ground 
 should form an obstruction to any approach 
 from the front. Forts were also placed upon 
 the passages of those rivers which crossed the 
 general chain of communication. From in- 
 scriptions discovered in Scotland, it appears 
 that the entrenchment was made by the second 
 legion, by vexillations of the sixth and the 
 twentieth legion, and the first cohort of the 
 Tungri. A very considerable portion of the 
 entrenchment may still be traced. The mo- 
 dern name is Grimes Dyke. 
 
 ANTEIM, is one of the chief flax-spinning 
 and linen - weaving counties of Ireland. It 
 contains the nourishing towns of Belfast (the 
 head-quarters of this department of industry) ; 
 Antrim town, with its smiling bleach-greens 
 
163 
 
 ANTWERP. 
 
 APIIN. 
 
 164 
 
 in the vicinity ; Ballymena and Lisburn, and 
 several other towns which present a marked 
 exception to the poverty of most other parts 
 of Ireland. 
 
 ANTWERP, one of the nine provinces of 
 the kingdom of Belgium, is distinguished in 
 an agricultural point of view for the district 
 called the jiolders, which extends along the 
 Schelde, from the neighbourhood of Antwerp 
 city to Zantvliet ; it was originally a marsh 
 which was flooded by every tide, its surface 
 being lower than the level of the. river at high 
 water. Dykes having been built to keep off 
 the tide, the surface of the marsh was drained 
 by means of water-wheels turned by windmills, 
 and what was before an unhealthy swamp was 
 changed into the richest pasture and arable 
 land. The city of Antwerp has a large com- 
 merce, and fine docks and quays to accommo- 
 date it. The new quay and the great basin were 
 begun by Bonaparte, and were part of the plan 
 by which he intended to make this city a great 
 naval station. The area of the great basin is 
 17 acres, and of the small one 7 acres. On 
 each side of the great basin are two careening 
 docks, made during the empire of Napoleon 
 for repairing the ships of war constructed 
 here. 
 
 Antwei-p is the principal seat of the silk 
 manufactures of Belgium, and is especially 
 famous for its black silks and velvets. It has 
 large manufactures of cotton, linen, lace, car- 
 pets, hats, cutlery, and surgical instruments ; 
 there is also a bleaching establishment which 
 is worked by steam, several sugar refineries, 
 and other establishments common in large 
 towns. It contains a great military arsenal, 
 dockyards, and an extensive rope-walk. The 
 imports consist principally of coffee, sugar, 
 and other colonial products, cotton stuffs, and 
 other manufactured goods, corn, raw cotton, 
 leather, timber, tobacco, wool, dyestuffs, salt, 
 wines, fruits, <fcc. The exports consist chiefly 
 of flax, cotton and linen manufactures, refined 
 sugar, glass, zinc, oak-bark, grain and seeds, 
 lace, &c. 
 
 ANVIL. The anvil on which the swarthy 
 smith pursues his labours is usually made of 
 iron and faced with steel. It is made of seven 
 pieces, forged separately, and welded together 
 into form. These pieces are the core or body, 
 four corner pieces which serve to enlarge the 
 base, a projecting end with a square hole, and 
 a beak or horizontal cone. The welding of 
 these pieces together requires good workman- 
 ship. The steel facing is welded upon the 
 iron in a similar way. 
 
 The size, the shape, and the finish of an 
 anvil depend upon the use to which it is ap- 
 plied. Those used by watchmakers and jew- 
 
 ellers are small and delicate. Perhaps the 
 largest anvil in the world is that which is 
 placed beneath the ponderous Nasmyth's ham- 
 mer at Sir John Guest's Dowlais Iron Works, 
 Merthyr Tydvil ; it weighs 36 tons, and was 
 cast in one piece ! The foundation prepared 
 for it was of vast depth and strength. 
 
 ANZIN, a village in the neighbourhood of 
 Valenciennes, in the department of Nord, is 
 the seat of the most extensive collieries in 
 France. The pits amount to forty altogether, 
 some of which are more than 1400 feet deep. 
 The coal burns fiercely, and is in demand for 
 purposes which require an intense flame ; to 
 this circumstance perhaps may be ascribed 
 the establishment of glass-works and manu- 
 factories at Anzin. The number of persons 
 employed in the mines amounts to 16,000, and 
 the annual produce is about 200,000 tons. 
 
 A'PATITE, a mineral substance crystallized 
 in the regular six-sided prism, usually termi- 
 nated by a truncated six-sided pyramid. It 
 has usually a yellowish green tint, and is trans- 
 lucent. In hardness it ranks above fluor-spar, 
 and below feld spar. It is a compound of 
 phosphate of lime with fluoride of calcium. It 
 principally occurs in the primitive rocks, and 
 is found in the tin mines of St.Miob.aeTs Mount, 
 Cornwall ; in those of Bohemia and Saxony ; 
 and in mineral beds met with in Estremadura 
 in Spain. 
 
 APENNINES, the great mountain- system of 
 Italy, are not so rich in mineral produce as 
 many other mountain chains. The chief among 
 them, perhaps, are the celebrated marble quar- 
 ries of Carrara and the pumice of Vesuvius. 
 There is also the peculiar stone called traver- 
 tine, which is a deposit from water holding 
 carbonate of lime in solution, by means of the 
 carbonic acid which is common in spring 
 waters ; by exposure to air the carbonic acid 
 escapes, and the carbonate of lime is deposited ; 
 such springs abound in many parts of central 
 Italy within the volcanic region. There are 
 vast deposits of this travertino, which is used 
 for building purposes. 
 
 APHIS. The genus of insects called by 
 this name is a great torment to the farmer. 
 These insects sometimes make sad havoc with 
 the CABBAGE, the HOP, and the TURNIP, as the 
 reader will find noticed. 
 
 APIARY, a place for keeping bee-hives, is 
 usually shielded from wind, but authorities 
 differ much as to the best direction in which it 
 can be placed. [BEE-HIVE.] 
 
 APIIN, the peculiar principle of parsley, 
 obtained from it by solution in water. It is 
 nearly insoluble in cold water and alcohol, but 
 soluble in either when heated ; soluble in the 
 alkalies, in lime water, in sulphuric acid, and 
 
J65 
 
 APIUM. 
 
 in muriatic acid. Many of its solutions assum 
 a gelatinous state. 
 
 APIUM. [CELERY.] 
 
 APLANATIC LENS, is a lens which should 
 be capable of so refracting all the rays which 
 diverging from or converging to any one point 
 in the axis, are incident upon it, that after 
 being transmitted through it they may con 
 verge to or diverge from one other point in the 
 same axis. 
 
 A spherical lens cannot, when formed of any 
 known media, be made strictly aplanatic ; and 
 it having been found impossible hitherto to 
 execute lenses with surfaces produced by the 
 revolutions of conic sections, mathematicians 
 have investigated expressions for the form 
 under which, with a given refractive index, the 
 abeiration of the focus shall be a minimum. 
 
 A few details, illustrative of the aplanatic 
 quality in lenses will be met with under MI- 
 CROSCOPE ; TELESCOPE. 
 
 APOLLO BELVEDE'RE, a celebrated 
 statue of Apollo, found at Capo d'Anzo, in the 
 ruins of ancient Antium, about 32 miles from 
 Home, towards the end of the fifteenth century. 
 It was purchased by Pope Julius II., before 
 his elevation to the pontificate; and was placed 
 by him in the Bylvedere of the Vatican, whence 
 it derives its present name. It has been said 
 to be the work of Agasius the Ephesian, but 
 no certain indications of the sculptor are to 
 be traced. But it is now pretty well proved 
 that it was made under the emperors, and 
 probably by the order of Nero himself. 
 
 APOLLO 'NICON, the name given to a 
 chamber organ of vast power, supplied with 
 both keys and barrels, built by Messrs. Flight 
 and Robson, of St. Martin's Lane, London, 
 and first, exhibited by them at their manufac- 
 tory, in 1817. It has 1,900 pipes, the largest 
 24 feet in length, and 1 foot 11 inches in 
 aperture, sounding the G, two octaves below 
 the first line of the base, the highest giving 
 the A in altissimo, two octaves above the second 
 space in the treble. The number of stops is 
 45, and these in their combinations afford very- 
 good imitations of the various wind instruments 
 used in an orchestra. As a self-playing instru- 
 ment, the apollonicon is provided with two 
 revolving cylinders, studded like that of a 
 barrel organ. As a keyed instrument, it has 
 five key-boards, of which the largest comprises 
 five octaves. The swell, the compound pedals, 
 and all the accessory arrangements, are on a 
 very complex scale. 
 
 APO'PHYGE, a term applied by architects 
 generally to a concave surface lying between 
 or connecting two flat surfaces not in the same 
 plane, and particularly to a slight concavity 
 which is almost invariably found to terminate 
 
 APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS. 166 
 
 the shaft of an Ionic or Corinthian column 
 both above and below. The more familiar 
 English term for the same thing is, the escape; 
 and in French, the apophyge is termed the 
 conge. 
 
 APOTHECARIES' WARES. Under this 
 designation the Customs' department give an 
 entry of the quantity and value of the drugs 
 and chemicals exported from England to our 
 Colonies annually. These quantities and 
 values are larger than many persons would 
 suppose. They amounted in 1849 to 22,691 
 cwt., valued at 1 16,546 J. The East Indies and 
 New South Wales were the chief places of 
 destination. 
 
 APOTHECARIES' WEIGHTS AND 
 MEASURES. In buying and selling medi- 
 cines wholesale, avoirdupois weight is em- 
 ployed ; but in dispensing medicines the pound 
 ;roy is divided into 1<J ounces, the ounce into 
 8 drams or drachms, the dram into 3 scruples, 
 and the scruple into 20 grains. 
 
 The late Dr. Young calculated, that the re- 
 ations which exist between apothecaries' 
 weight in England and other countries are as 
 follow : 1000 English grains equal 1 125 
 Austrian, 989 Dutch, 981 French, 978 Hano- 
 verian, 958 German, 956 Bernese, 955 Swe- 
 dish, 925 Spanish, 909 Roman. 864 Portuguese, 
 860 Neapolitan, 850 Genoese, 824 Piedmon- 
 ;ese, 809 Venetian. 
 
 Apothecaries' Jin id measure is as follows : 
 
 60 minims one dram ; 8 drams one ounce ; 
 
 20 ounces one pint. A minim of water is 
 
 almost exactly one drop ; and a fluid ounce 
 
 f pure water is almost exactly equal to an 
 
 rdinary ounce weight ; but this is not the 
 
 ;ase with liquids either heavier or lighter than 
 
 water. 
 
 APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS. This 
 mportant North American mountain chain is 
 hiefly valuable in an economical point of 
 iew for its beds of coal. In Pennsylvania 
 here is a vast deposit of coal, associated wi :h 
 landstones and slates. The coal seems to be 
 >f that quality which in Britain is generally 
 sailed blind coal or anthracite. One of these 
 seal-fields, in the valley of Wyoming, is 60 
 miles long by 5 broad ; a second is in the 
 'alley of the Lehigh river ; and others on the 
 Schuylkill, the Susquehanna, and the Lacka- 
 vanna. Besides these beds of anthracite coal, 
 here are beds of bituminous coal high up in 
 he Alleghanies of Ohio. 
 
 Natural springs, extremely rich in salt, are 
 'ound all along the western slope of the Ap- 
 palachian system; and from Onondago, in 
 STew York, to the southern termination of the 
 mountain system, wherever the earth has 
 >een penetrated to any considerable depth, 
 
107 
 
 APPAREL. 
 
 APPLE. 
 
 168 
 
 salt water has been found ; in some places, 
 where the boring was from 300 to 400 feet, 
 the water rushed up with so much force, as to 
 rise like a fountain several feet above the sur- 
 face of the ground. Among the mineral pro- 
 ducts are iron, lead, and gold ; but not in 
 large quantity. The trees growing on and 
 near the mountains are the oak, the pine, the 
 hickory, the sugar and other maples, the Wey 
 mouth pine, the hemlock spruce, the laurel, 
 the magnolia, the liriodeudron, and many 
 ethers. 
 
 APPAREL. In the exports of British and 
 Irish manufactures, numberless small articles 
 are grouped together by the Customs' autho- 
 rities under the heading Apparel, Slops, and 
 Haberdashery. The value of this Apparel, &c., 
 exported in 1848, amounted to the lai-ge sum 
 of 1,512,271 /. Our best customer was the 
 United States (328,705.'.), then Australia 
 (308,765/.), next British North America 
 (21l,889/.) then the West Indies (143,249/0, 
 the East Indies (115,487/0, and the Cape of 
 Good Hope (103,422/0 
 
 In 1849 the exports of apparel, &c., to our 
 own Colonies alone amounted to 1,186,832/. 
 
 APPENZELL, one of the twenty-two Swiss 
 cantons, is worthy of our notice in respect to 
 its industrial features. 
 
 Dr. Bowling's Report on the manufactures 
 of Switzerland presents the industry of Ap- 
 penzel in an interesting point of view. He 
 says that the cotton and linen manufactures 
 form almost the entire wealth of the canton, 
 pay for all the imposts, and keep the canton 
 out of debt. Hand-spinning, both of linen 
 and cotton, had been known for many genera- 
 tions ; but the first spinning-machine in Ap- 
 penzel was put up in 1783. For many years 
 during a recent period England exported 
 about a million Ibs. of cotton yarn annually to 
 Appenzel ; but the Swiss are now setting up 
 efficient spinning machines for themselves. 
 The factory system, however, is not much 
 acted upon ; and it seems therefore probable 
 that England will continue to be able to sup- 
 ply yarn cheaper than the manufacturers of 
 Appenzel can spin it for themselves. The 
 persons chiefly employed are manufacturers, 
 weavers, and embroiderers. The manufacturer 
 or master undertakes the entire production of 
 the woven goods in some cases only so much 
 as he and his family can weave ; but in other 
 cases as much as a hundred other persons 
 can assist him in producing ; they sell their 
 goods either unbleached to the traders at 
 home, or bleached to foreigners. The weavers 
 are employed at their own houses, receiving 
 yarn from the manufacturers, and returning 
 the finished goods. The embroiderers are 
 
 women and young lads ; the merchants buy 
 woven muslins, cause a pattern to be stamped 
 upon them, and give them out to be embroi- 
 dered an employment at which the embroi- 
 derers earn about eighteen kreutzers (6.Jrf.) 
 per day. 
 
 APPLE. This fruit, which, from its hardi- 
 ness and great abundance, combined with its 
 excellent flavour, is one of the most important 
 productions of cold climates, is, in its wild 
 state, the austere crab-apple of the hedges. 
 
 England is celebrated for the excellence of 
 its apples, and consequently of its cider, a 
 beverage which perhaps acquires its highest 
 degree of excellence in Herefordshire and 
 the neighbouring counties. [ CIDER.] 
 
 For cooking, the best kinds of apples are the 
 following : for summer use, the Keswick 
 Codlin and the Hawthornden ; for autumn the 
 Wormsley Pippin and the Alfriston : for win- 
 ter and spring the Bedfordshire Foundling, 
 Dumelow's Seedling, Dr. Harvey, Brabant 
 Bellefleur, and Gravenstein ; and for drying, 
 the Norfolk Beaufin. Of all these, the Gra- 
 venstein, Alfriston, and Brabant Bellelleur 
 are the best. 
 
 Of dessert apples, the varieties are endless ; 
 but by far the greater part of the local sorts 
 and of those commonly cultivated, is of only 
 second-rate quality. The finest variety of all 
 is the Cornish Gilliflower ; no other equals 
 this in excellence, but it is unfortunately a 
 bad bearer. Of those which combine produc- 
 tiveness and healthiness with the highest 
 quality, the six following must be considered 
 the best : Golden Harvey, Old Nonpareil, 
 Hubbard's Pearrnain, Ribston Pippin, Dutch 
 Mignonne, Court of Wick. Finally, the best 
 selection that could be made for a small gar- 
 den, so as to obtain a constant succession 01 
 fruit from the earliest to the latest season, 
 would be the following, which are enumerated 
 in their order of ripening, the first being fit 
 for use in June, and the last keeping till the 
 end of April: White Juneating, Early Red 
 Margaret, White Astrachan, Sugar-Loaf Pip- 
 pin, Borovitsky, Oslin, Summer Golden Pip- 
 pin, Summer Thorle, Duchess of Oldenburgh, 
 Wormsley Pippin, Kerry Pippin, Yellow In- 
 gestrie, Gravenstein, Autumn Pearmain, Gol- 
 den Reinette, King of the Pippins, Ribston 
 Pippin, Fearn's Pippin, Court of Wick, Golden 
 Harvey, Golden Pippin, Beach amwell, Adam's 
 Pearmain, Pennington's Seedling, Hughes's 
 Golden Pippin, Cornish Gilliflower, Dutch 
 Mignonne, Reinette du Canada, Syke-House 
 Russet, Braddick's Nonpareil, Old Nonpareil, 
 Court -Pendu Plat, Lamb-Abbey Pearmain, 
 Newtown Pippin. 
 
 Many different methods of preserving apples 
 
109 
 
 APPRENTICE. 
 
 APPRENTICE. 
 
 170 
 
 have been recommended, and almost every 
 one has some favourite plan of his own. A 
 very good method is to allow the fruits, after 
 being gathered, to lie till their superfluous 
 moisture has evaporated, which is what is 
 technically called ' sweating ; ' the apples 
 should then be wiped quite dry, wrapped in 
 tissue paper, and stowed away in jars or chests 
 of pure silver sand which has been previously 
 dried in an oven. They should always be 
 taken out of the sand a few days before they 
 are wanted, and laid in dry fern or some such 
 substance ; they then absorb oxygen, and ac- 
 quire a little sweetness, which is necessary 
 to their perfection. 
 
 Apples are kept in good condition for the 
 London market in the following way. A cool 
 spot is selected, and layers are heaped up 
 first of straw or paper, and then of apples, 
 alternately, to a height of about two feet : or 
 the alternate layers are placed in baskets, and 
 the baskets piled one on another. For do- 
 mestic purposes, apples may be preserved by 
 wrapping each in a piece of clean dry paper, 
 placing them in small wide-mouthed jars or 
 honey-pots, piling the pots one on another, 
 and cementing the fissure between the pots 
 with a paste of plaster of Paris. The pots are 
 kept in a cool place ; but shortly before using, 
 the apples are placed in a warm room for a 
 few days. Apples may also be preserved by 
 immersing them in bran : each apple being 
 separated from the rest by its envelope of 
 bran. The Americans preserve apples for 
 two or three years, by peeling them, cutting 
 them into eighths, taking out the cores, and 
 drying the rest in the sun or in a kiln until 
 quite hard ; when about to be used, the 
 apples are exposed for a few minutes to the 
 action of boiling water. 
 
 Apples will yield sugar, by expressing the 
 juice, neutralising the acid with chalk, boiling, 
 clarifying, and evaporating. One cwt. of 
 apples will yield 84 Ibs. of juice, from which 
 may be obtained 12 Ibs. of crude sugar. 
 
 Besides our home growths, the trade in 
 foreign apples is now very large. In 1848 
 we imported no less than 331,069 bushels ; 
 those from British Colonies pay 2d. per bushel 
 import duty ; from foreign countries 6d. 
 
 APPRENTICE, signifies a person who is 
 bound by indenture to serve a master for a 
 certain term, and receives, in return for his 
 services, instruction in his master's profes- 
 sion, art, or occupation. In addition to this, 
 the master is often bound to provide food and 
 clothing for the apprentice, and sometimes to 
 pay him small wages ; but the master often 
 receives a premium. 
 
 The system of apprenticeship in modern 
 
 Europe is said to have grown up with the 
 system of associating and incorporating 
 handicraft trades in the twelfth century. 
 These corporations, it is said, were formed 
 for the purpose of resisting the oppression of 
 the feudal lords, and the union of artisans in 
 various bodies must have enabled them to act 
 with more effect. The restraint of free 
 competition, the maintenance of peculiar pri- 
 vileges, and the limitation of the numbers of 
 such as should participate in them, were the 
 main results to which these institutions 
 tended. To exercise a trade, it was necessary 
 to be free of the company or fraternity of 
 that trade ; and as the principal if not the 
 only mode of acquiring this freedom in early 
 times was by serving an apprenticeship to a 
 member of the body, it became easy to limit 
 the numbers admitted to this privilege, either 
 indirectly by the length of apprenticeship re- 
 quired, or more immediately by limiting the 
 number of apprentices to be taken by each 
 master. In agriculture, apprenticeship, 
 though in some comparatively later instances 
 encouraged by positive laws, has never pre- 
 vailed to any great extent. The tendency to 
 association indeed is not strong among the 
 agricultural population, combination being to 
 the scattered inhabitants of the country in- 
 convenient and often impracticable; whereas 
 the inhabitants of towns are by their very 
 position invited to it. 
 
 Since the twelfth century, apprenticeship 
 has prevailed in almost every part of Europe 
 in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and 
 probably in other countries. It is asserted by 
 Adam Smith, that seven years seems once to 
 have been all over Europe the usual term for 
 the duration of apprenticeships in most 
 trades. There seems, however, to have been no 
 settled rule on this subject, for there is abun- 
 dant evidence that the custom in this respect 
 varied even in different incorporated trades in 
 the same town. 
 
 Neither in Ireland nor in Scotland have the 
 laws relating to associated trades or appren 
 tices been very rigorously enforced. In Ire- 
 land the same system of guilds and com- 
 panies certainly existed; but, as it was the 
 policy of the English government to en- 
 courage settlers there, little attention was 
 paid, to their exclusive privileges; and in 
 1672 the lord- lieutenant and council, under 
 authority of an act of parliament, issued a 
 set of rules and regulations for all the walled 
 towns in Ireland, by which any foreigner was 
 allowed to become free of the guilds and fra- 
 ternities of tradesmen on payment of a fine 
 of 20s. There is no country in Europe in 
 which corporation, laws have been so little 
 
171 
 
 APPRENTICE. 
 
 oppressive as in Scotland. Three years are 
 there a common term of apprenticeship, even 
 in the nicer trades ; but the custom is different 
 in different communities. 
 
 In England the institution of apprentice- 
 ship is of very old date, being probably con- 
 temporaneous with the formation of the guilds 
 or companies of tradesmen. The apprentice 
 laws were enacted at a time when the impo- 
 licy of such legislation was not perceived. 
 But opinion gradually became opposed to 
 these enactments, and the judges interpreted 
 the law favourably to freedom of trade. Ac- 
 cordingly the decisions of the courts tended 
 rather to confine than to extend the effect of 
 the statute of Elizabeth, and thus the opera- 
 tion of it was limited to market towns, and to 
 those crafts, mysteries, and occupations which 
 were in existence at the time it was passed. 
 And although, in consequence of this doc- 
 trine, many absurd decisions were made, yet 
 the exclusion of some manufactures, and par- 
 ticularly of the principal ones of Manchester 
 and Birmingham, from the operation of the 
 act, had probably a favourable effect in causing 
 it to be less strictly enforced even against 
 those who were held to be liable to it. 
 
 Apprenticeship, though no longer legally 
 necessary (except in a few cases), still conti- 
 nues to be the usual mode of learning a 
 trade or art, and contracts of apprenticeship 
 are very common. By common law, a person 
 under the age of twenty-one years cannot 
 bind himself apprentice so as to entitle his 
 master to an action of covenant for leaving 
 his service or other breaches of the indenture. 
 
 The churchwardens of parishes have long 
 possessed power in respect to apprenticing 
 pauper children ; and overseers of the poor 
 possess similar powers. 
 
 An indenture is determinable by the con- 
 sent of all the parties to it; it is also deter- 
 mined by the death of the master. But if 
 there is any covenant for maintenance the 
 executor is bound to discharge this as far as 
 he has assets. By the custom of London, if 
 the master of an apprentice die, the service 
 must be continued with the widow, if she 
 continue to carry on the trade. In other 
 cases it is incumbent on the execiitor to put 
 the apprentice to another master of the same 
 trade. 
 
 A master may moderately chastise his ap- 
 prentice for misbehaviour ; but he cannot 
 discharge him. If he has any complaint 
 against him, or the apprentice against his 
 master, a power is given to punish or dis- 
 charge the apprentice, and in some cases to 
 fine the master. If any apprentice, whose 
 premium does not exceed 10/., run away from 
 
 AQUATINTA ENGRAVING. 172 
 
 his master, he may be compelled to serve 
 beyond his term for the time which he ab- 
 sented himself, or make suitable satisfaction, 
 or be imprisoned for three months. If he 
 enters another person's service, his master is 
 entitled to his earnings, and he may bring an 
 action against any one who has enticed him 
 away. 
 
 Except in the case of surgeons and apothe- 
 caries, proctors, solicitors, attorneys, and nota- 
 ries, there is now no apprenticeship required 
 by law in England. 
 
 The peculiar transition state, in Germany, 
 between apprenticeship and journeymanship, is 
 described under ARTIZANS. 
 
 APRICOT. This fruit is in this country 
 produced either upon open standard trees, or 
 upon walls with a westerly aspect. The fruit 
 produced upon walls is the finest, but that 
 from standards is by far the best flavoured. 
 Of the kinds that are cultivated upon walls 
 there are only three that are much worth 
 having, namely, the Orange for preserving, 
 and the Moorpark and Turkey for the table ; 
 several others are to be met with in nur- 
 serymen's catalogues, but they are of little 
 importance. 
 
 Apricots may be dried (or, as it is some- 
 times termed, candied) in the following way. 
 The stones are thrust out with a wooden 
 skewer; the apricots are peeled, rolled in dry 
 pounded sugar, immersed in cold syrup, and 
 heated gradually nearly to the boiling point. 
 They are scalded again the next day, sweetened 
 with sugar, and allowed to drain on a hair 
 sieve. Sometimes they are preserved, with 
 the peel left on ; and sometimes they are cut 
 into quarters or eighths before preserving. 
 
 A'PTERAL is a term applied to a temple 
 which has prostyles, or porticoes of columns 
 projecting from its fronts or ends, but of 
 which the columns do not extend laterally, 
 and run along the flanks from one end to the 
 other, which would make it peripteral. The 
 parallelogrammic temples of the Romans 
 were for the most part simply apteral pros 
 tyles, and their arrangement has been much 
 more followed in modern works than that of 
 the Greek temples, which are, with few excep- 
 tions, peripteral. 
 
 AQUA REGIA, or NITRO-MURIATIC 
 ACID. [CHLORINE.] 
 
 AQUAFORTIS. [Nrrnic ACID.] 
 
 AQUATINTA ENGRAVING, a mode of 
 engraving which is an imitation of water- 
 olour or India-ink drawings. The inventor, 
 a German artist named Le Prince, was born 
 at Metz in 1723. His method was to sift 
 black resin over a clean copper plate ; the 
 resin was fixed by a moderate heat sufficient 
 
173 AQUATINTA ENGRAVING. 
 
 to make the dust adhere without fluxing or 
 becoming an even varnish : he thus formed a 
 granulated surface, on the plate, usually callec 
 a ground, which suffered very little from th 
 action of the diluted acid, yet allowed it to 
 corrode very freely in the small spaces left 
 between the grains of the resin. Mrs. Ca 
 therine Prestel, also a German, improvec 
 much upon the meagre works of Le Prince 
 and executed several large works with so 
 much success, that little more was founc 
 wanting than a ground that would adhere 
 better to the plate and yield a greater number 
 of impressions ; this was effected by dissolving 
 the resin in alcohol, and then pouring the 
 mixture over the plate, the quantity of resin 
 determining the coarseness or fineness of the 
 grain. The modern aquatinters have another 
 advantage over their predecessors in using a 
 composition for painting the forms of leaves 
 of trees, or other objects, where the trouble of 
 surrounding the forms by a varnish would be 
 too great. This composition is made of 
 treacle, whiting, and gum. When used, it 
 must be thoroughly dry before the varnish is 
 passed over it; the varnish nlso must be 
 allowed time to dry ; after which, cold water 
 poured on the plate will in a few minute 
 bring off all the composition and the varnish 
 which had passed over it, leaving the forms 
 perfect, and the ground in those places free 
 to receive the acid again. The remainder oi 
 the plate is permanently stopped out by a re- 
 sinous varnish; with this also the margin of 
 the plate is to be varnished, leaving a narrow 
 strip of the ground for trials or tests. The 
 design intended to be engraved is then made 
 on the ground; this is done in the following 
 manner : The design is first copied on very 
 thin transparent paper, called tracing-paper; 
 between this tracing and the prepared ground 
 on the plate a thin sheet of paper is placed, 
 which has been rubbed over with lamp-black 
 or vermillion, and sweet oil ; every line of the 
 design is then gone over with an instrument 
 called a blunt point, with a moderate pressure, 
 and is thus transferred to the ground so se- 
 curely that the acid cannot destroy it. 
 
 Before the acid is poured on the plate, a 
 border or wall of wax (formed of burgundy 
 pitch, bees' wax, and sweet oil), about an inch 
 in depth, is placed round the margin of the 
 plate. 
 
 The plate being so far made ready, the 
 completion of the design is resumed by stop- 
 ping out the highest lights on the edges of 
 clouds, water, &c., with a varnish of Canada 
 balsam, oxide of bismuth, and turpentine. 
 Next pour on diluted aquafortis ; let it remain, 
 according to its strength, from half a minute 
 
 AQUEDUCT. 
 
 174 
 
 to a minute, then pour it off, and wash the 
 plate three or four times with clean water, and 
 dry it with a clean linen cloth or a pair of 
 bellows. If on trying the strip the tint is 
 found not to be sufficient, repeat the acid for 
 another half minute, and then proceed. The 
 colour of the bismuth varnish must be changed 
 for the second stopping out, by adding a little 
 chrome-yellow, vermillion, or lamp-black, or 
 any other colour that is not destroyed by the 
 acid. The colour is to be changed after each 
 application of the acid, that the engraver may 
 remember in what places he has carried for- 
 ward his work, what tints have been softened 
 at their edges, &c. The acid should be 
 strengthened a very little after each applica- 
 tion. When the ground changes to a gray 
 colour it is beginning to fail, and must be 
 taken off by heating the plate till the bordering 
 wax will lift off; after this, sweet oil is applied 
 to the whole surface, and a brisk heat beneath 
 the plate will bring off all the different var- 
 nishes with a linen cloth ; then an oil rubber, 
 made of fine woollen cloth, rolled up hard and 
 the end cut off, applied with sweet oil, will 
 take out the stains ; tints which are too strong 
 may be softened or even rubbed out. The 
 plate is now cleaned with spirits of turpentine 
 and sent to the printer to prove, after which it is 
 to be exceedingly well cleaned with turpen- 
 tine, &c., and another ground laid; this should 
 be done in such a manner as to make the 
 grains fall exactly on the granulations of the 
 former ground, which is called re-biting. It is 
 done by making the ground much stronger 
 than the one used before. The process for 
 the second ground is the same as for the first; 
 retouching with the acid those tints which re- 
 quire more depth, and stopping out those 
 parts that are sufficiently dark. Another proof 
 must be taken, and the plate then finished 
 with the burnisher, which some use with oil, 
 but others prefer to use dry, previously filling 
 the whole plate with powdered white lead, by 
 which it can be seen how much has been bur- 
 nished down according to the quantity of co- 
 Lour left in the plate. 
 
 AQUEDUCT, or AQUEDUCT, is usually 
 an elevated channel for the conveyance of 
 water. Aqueducts were most extensively used 
 ay the Romans, and in the vicinities of many 
 of their more important cities, in Asia and 
 Africa, as well as in Europe, remains of ex- 
 pensive constructions of the kind yet exist. 
 Rome itself was supplied with water from 
 sources varying from 30 to 60 miles in dis- 
 tance, and at one period of its history no less 
 ,han twenty aqueducts brought as many dif- 
 erent streams of water across the wide plain 
 r Campagna in which the city stands. Great 
 
175 
 
 AQUEDUCT. 
 
 AQUEDUCT. 
 
 176 
 
 portions of the distance were of course in 
 every case occupied by artificial channels 
 winding along the sides of hills and moun- 
 tains ; and long tunnels carried the streams 
 through these natural barriers when occasion 
 required ; but nevertheless the arcaded duct 
 led the streams across the deep valleys, and 
 the aqueduct was in every case required to 
 cany it onwards from the hills over the wide 
 plain into reservoirs in Rome. In one of these 
 Roman aqueducts the series of arches is cal- 
 culated at nearly 7000, their height being in 
 many places more than a hundred feet. There 
 is nothing more interesting or more really 
 beautiful in the existing ruins of ancient 
 Rome than the remains of these splendid 
 works, three of which, having been restored 
 and repaired, supply the modern city abun- 
 dantly. 
 
 Among the most celebrated modern aque- 
 ducts are that of Caserta in the kingdom of 
 Naples, of Maintenon near Versailles in 
 France, and that of Bemfica, called Agoas 
 JAvres, near Lisbon in Portugal. 
 
 The finest aqueduct of modern times, per- 
 haps, is the Croton Aqueduct, which supplies 
 New York with water. It extends 42 miles 
 across a hilly country on the east side of the 
 Hudson river, diversified with ravines, water 
 courses, and public roads. At a place called 
 Sing Sing, the river Croton is dammed up 
 for a distance of five miles, so as to attain at 
 one point a height of forty feet above its ori- 
 ginal level. The pond of water caused by the 
 dam covers four hundred acres of ground. 
 The water enters the aqueduct from this pond 
 through a tunnel one hundred and fifty feet 
 long ; and the gradients are so arranged that 
 the water descends along the aqueduct at the 
 rate of two feet per second. The channel for 
 the conveyance of the water involves very 
 costly engineering. There are fifteen tunnels, 
 varying in length from 150 to 900 feet ; the 
 tunnels through rock are left in their natural 
 state, but those in an earthy soil are bricked. 
 The aqueduct is carried across ravines by 
 means of embankments, provided with cul- 
 verts for streams ; and over the larger rivers 
 and the turnpike roads it is carried by well- 
 constructed bridges. One of these bridges 
 consists of a single elliptical arch, considered 
 at the time of its erection to be the largest 
 arch in America; it is 88 feet span, 33 feet 
 versed sine, and 80 feet from the foundation 
 to the crown of the arch. On Manhattan 
 Island there are bridges which cross eight or 
 ten of the public streets, over which the aque- 
 duct is carried. The aqueduct terminates at 
 the part of New York called 144th Street, 
 where there is a receiving reservoir which 
 
 occupies 30 aci'es of ground. From this re- 
 servoir the water is conveyed to the distri- 
 buting reservoir on Murray Hill, covering an 
 area of 10 acres : the channel of conveyance 
 from one reservoir to the other being iron 
 pipes. The distributing reservoir is 114 feet 
 above high-water level ; and from this point 
 the water is conducted through the city in 
 pipes. The aqueduct crosses the Haarlem 
 river, at a height of 120 feet, by a bridge of 
 fifteen arches, eight of 80 feet span, and seven 
 of 50 feet span. The expense of this great 
 work has been about 1 2,000,000 dollars ; and 
 the power of supply is stated at the enormous 
 quantity of 50,000,000 gallons per day, so that 
 any increase of population can be met by 
 additional draw-pipes from the great reservoir. 
 The reservoir being as high as the cupola 
 of the city hall, the water can be supplied to 
 the summits of nearly all the houses in and 
 near New York. 
 
 One of the most remarkable existing aque- 
 ducts is the Alleghany wire suspension aque- 
 duct, built at Pittsburg in 1845. It consists 
 of seven spans, of 160 feet each. The trunk 
 or channel of the aqueduct is made of wood, 
 1140 feet long, 14 feet wide at bottom, 
 10 i feet at top, and 8 feet deep; it is 
 formed of double layers of thick plank, united 
 in a very durable manner. The bottom of 
 the trunk rests upon transverse beams ar- 
 ranged in pairs, four feet apart ; and between 
 these are the posts which support the sides of 
 the trunk. There are outside posts, which 
 support the side walk and towing path. Each 
 pair of beams is supported on each side of the 
 trunk by a double suspension rod of 1 & round 
 iron, bent in the shape of a stirrup, and 
 mounted on a small cast-iron saddle, which 
 rests on the cable. This cable (of which there 
 are two, one on each side of the trunk) is 7 
 inches in diameter, perfectly solid and com- 
 pact, and constructed in one piece from shore 
 bo shore of the Ohio, 1175 feet long ; it is 
 composed of 1900 wires, of an inch thick, 
 laid parallel, and subjected to equal tension ; 
 each wire was separately coated with a protec- 
 tive varnish, and the whole bundle is encircled 
 by a close, compact, continuous wrapping of 
 annealed wire. The whole cable appears like 
 a solid cylinder; it is stronger and more 
 lastic than an equal weight of iron chain. 
 The cable passes over the tops of short pyra- 
 mids, built of masonry, and placed in a line 
 between the trunk and the towing path ; the 
 pyramids are so small and so simple that they 
 offer no obstruction to the tow-rope passing 
 over them. The extremities of the cables do 
 not extend below ground, but are connected 
 with anchor-chains which are buried beneath 
 
. SWANSEA. 
 
 KNIGHTS CYCLOPEDIA OF THE 
 
 No. 6. 
 
177 AQUILARIACE^. 
 
 masses of masonry sunk in the ground. The 
 theory of construction throughout has been to 
 form a wooden trunk strong enough and firm 
 enough to support its own weight, and to 
 combine this with wire cables of sufficient 
 strength to bear the weight of water in the 
 trunk; and a very efficient and economical 
 structure has been thus produced. Each 
 cable weighs 110 tons ; the weight of water in 
 the aqueduct is 2100 tons ; the deflexion of 
 the cables between the piers is 14 i feet. 
 
 AQUILARIACEJi;, is the botanical name 
 for an order of plants, of which there are three 
 species useful in the arts. A. Malacccnsis, the 
 Bols d'Aigle, or Eagle-wood, is a native of 
 Malacca, and produces a whitish yellow wood. 
 This is the A. ovata of some botanists. A. 
 Agallochum is a native of the East Indies, 
 where it is called Ugoor or Ugooroo, by the 
 natives, and Lignum-aloes, or Aloe-wood, by 
 the Europeans. The wood has a fine scent, 
 and is supposed to be the Calambac, or Agal- 
 lochum, of the ancients. A. secundaria is 
 another species which also yields a scented 
 wood, and has been known in the Materia 
 Medica, and used in perfumery, under the 
 names of Agallochum, Lignum - aloes, and 
 Aloe-wood. In a healthy state this wood is 
 said to be white and inodorous ; but it is 
 subject to the attacks of disease, which causes 
 the secretion of a resinous matter, and the 
 wood then becomes coloured, and gives out a 
 powerful scent. This secretion resembles 
 camphor in many of its properties, ani has 
 a bitter flavour: hence the name of the 
 tree. 
 
 AEABESQUE. This name is intended to 
 mean simply ' in the Arabian manner,' and is 
 a French form of that expression. The mode 
 of enrichment which it refers to was practised 
 in the decoration of their structures by the 
 Moors, Saracens, or Arabians of Spain. The 
 most celebrated arabesques of modern times 
 are those with which Kaphael ornamented the 
 piers and pilasters of the arcaded gallery of 
 the palace of the Vatican which bears his 
 name. The term Arabesque is more applied 
 to painted than to sculptured ornament, 
 though it is not restricted to the former. 
 
 AKABIA; Products and Industry: This 
 country is rich in vegetable productions use- 
 ful in the arts and in domestic economy. It 
 has long been celebrated for the abundance 
 of its odoriferous plants. The frankincense 
 of Saba is alluded to by the prophets Isaiah 
 and Jeremiah. Herodotus mentions frankin- 
 cense, myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and laudanum, 
 as productions exclusively peculiar to Arabia 
 though his information on the products oi 
 Arabia is neither extensive nor exact. Among 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ARABIA. 
 
 178 
 
 the Romans, also, Arabian odours seem to 
 have been quite proverbial. 
 
 The coffee-shrub is cultivated chiefly on 
 the western descent of the chain of hills 
 which, in the province of Yemen, separates 
 the level country from the high-land : that 
 grown at Bulgosa, near Beit-el-Fakih, and 
 exported from Mocha, still maintains its 
 superiority over the coffee produced in the 
 European colonies in all other parts of the 
 globe. The farinaceous deposit called manna, 
 familiar to all readers from the use made of 
 it by the Israelites during their wanderings 
 in the desert, is now, according to Niebuhr, 
 chiefly, if not exclusively, found on the leaves 
 of a species of oak called ballot or afs : accord- 
 ing to others, it is a pellucid substance ex- 
 uded by the leaves of different kinds of trees, 
 chiefly the hedysarum alhagi of Linnaeus. 
 Grapes are cultivated in several parts of 
 Arabia, though in the Koran wine is forbidden 
 to the Mussulmans. In Yemen, where some 
 pains are bestowed upon agriculture, Nie- 
 buhr saw excellent wheat, Turkey corn or 
 maize, durra, barley, beans, lentils, tobacco, 
 &c. ; senna and the cotton- tree are also culti- 
 vated here. Much indigo is grown about 
 Zebid. Niebuhr says that he saw no oats in 
 Arabia : the horses are fed on barley, and the 
 asses on beans. The time of the harvest 
 varies. At Muscat, wheat and barley are sown 
 in December, and reaped in March; in the 
 high-land, near San'a, the time of the harvest 
 for barley is about the middle of July. 
 
 Arabia is rich in indigenous trees ; the aca- 
 cia vera, from which the gum-arabic is ob- 
 tained, the date -tree, and many varieties of 
 the palm and fig-tree, deserve to be particu- 
 larly noticed. Forests appear to be rare. In 
 the barren tracts of the country, the Beduins 
 sometimes supply the deficiency of fuel by 
 the dried dung of the camel. 
 
 Among the ancients, Arabia was celebrated 
 for its wealth in precious metals ; yet, accord- 
 ing to the accounts of modern travellers, 
 Arabia possesses at present no mines either 
 of gold or silver. Iron mines are noticed by 
 Niebuhr as existing in the territory of Saade. 
 The lead mines of 'Oman are, according to 
 him, very productive, and large quantities of 
 lead are exported from Muscat. 
 
 The pearl-fisheries of the Persian Gulf are 
 universally celebrated. The bank on which 
 pearl-shells are principally found extends* 
 from the Bahrein islands to very near the 
 promontory of Tulfar. The northern extremity, 
 near the isles Karek and Bahrein, is distin- 
 guished as particularly rich in pearls. 
 
 The tents of the Beduins are made of a 
 coarse kind of dark-coloured cloth, woven by 
 
170 
 
 ARABLE LAND. 
 
 ARABLE LAND. 
 
 180 
 
 their own women. There is but little fund 
 ture in a Beduin tent : a mat of straw is used 
 as table, chairs, and bedstead; spare clothes 
 are kept in bags. The kitchen apparatus i 
 very simple and portable. The pots are made 
 of copper lined with tin ; the dishes of the 
 same metals, or of wood. Their hearth is 
 easily built ; they merely place their caldrons 
 on loose stones, or over a pit dug in the 
 ground. They have neither spoons, knives, 
 nor forks. A round piece of leather serves 
 them as table-cloth, in which the remains of 
 the meal are preserved. Their butter, which 
 the heat soon melts down, they keep in leather 
 bottles. Water is kept in goats' skins ; a 
 copper cup, carefully tinned over, serves as a 
 drinking vessel. Wind-mills and water-mills 
 are unknown : all grain being ground in a small 
 hand-mill. There are no ovens in the desert : 
 the dough is either kneaded into a flat cake, 
 and baked on a round iron plate, or it is 
 formed into large lumps, which are laid be- 
 tween glowing coals till they are sufficiently 
 baked. 
 
 ARABLE LAND, is that part of the land 
 which is chiefly cultivated by means of the 
 plough. 
 
 Land in general is divided into arable land, 
 grass land, wood land, common pasture, and waste. 
 
 The German agriculturist Thaer has given 
 a classification of arable soils of known quali- 
 ties, worthy of notice. It is as follows : 
 
 
 .j 
 
 e* 3 
 
 * T*i 
 
 fj 
 
 a; 
 
 
 |! 
 
 1| 
 
 P! 
 
 K&, 
 
 3 
 
 1 -v First class of f 
 
 74 
 
 10 
 
 4i 
 
 114 
 
 100 
 
 2 I strong wheat! 
 3 jsoils . . .{ 
 
 81 
 79 
 40 
 
 6 
 10 
 20 
 
 4 
 4 
 36 
 
 ? 
 
 98 
 96 
 90 
 
 f Rich light) 
 6 < sand in na- > 
 (^ tural grass . ) 
 r /Rich barley \ 
 1 \ land . . 
 
 14 
 
 20 
 
 49 
 67 
 
 10 
 3 
 
 27 
 10 
 
 78 
 
 /Good wheat \ 
 7 X land . . . / 
 
 58 
 
 36 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 77 
 
 8 Wheat land . 
 
 56 
 
 30 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 75 
 
 9 Ditto . . . 
 
 60 
 
 38 
 
 
 2 
 
 70 
 
 10 Ditto . . . 
 
 48 
 
 50 
 
 fl 
 
 2 
 
 Go 
 
 11 Ditto . . . 
 
 68 
 
 30 
 
 1 ' 
 
 2 
 
 60 
 
 , /Good bar ley \ 
 12 X land . . ./ 
 ,, /Ditto, second) 
 1J \ quality . ./ 
 14 Ditto . . . 
 
 38 
 
 33 
 
 28 
 
 60 
 65 
 70 
 
 11 
 If 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 60 
 50 
 40 
 
 ]5 Oat land . . 
 
 23J 
 
 75 
 
 s* 
 
 1 j 
 
 30 
 
 16 Ditto . . . 
 
 18i 
 
 80 
 
 > 
 
 y 
 
 20 
 
 Below this are very poor rye lands. 
 
 In all these soils the depth is supposed the 
 same, and the quality uniform to the depth of 
 at least six inches ; the subsoil sound, and 
 neither too wet nor too dry. The last column, 
 of comparative value, is the result of several 
 years' careful valuation of the returns, after 
 labour and seed had been deducted. 
 
 Under the article SOIL the comparative 
 qualities of different kinds of agricultural land 
 are noticed. We may in this place briefly 
 illustrate the nature and qualities of arable 
 land by tracing the history of a corn crop. 
 
 The better the soil, the less cultivation it 
 requires to produce tolerable crops ; hence, 
 where the land is very rich, we find in general 
 a slovenly culture ; where the ground is less 
 productive, more labour and skill are applied 
 to compensate for the want of natural fertility. 
 The simplest cultivation is that of the spade, 
 the hoe, and the rake and on a small scale 
 it is the best ; but spade husbandry cannot be 
 carried to a great extent without employing 
 more hands than can be spared from other 
 occupations. The plough, drawn by oxen or 
 horses, is the chief instrument of tillage, and 
 lias been so in all ages and nations of which 
 we have any records. Its general form, ami 
 the mode of using, are explained under PLOUGH. 
 The main object of ploughing is to turn over 
 he whole surface of the ground, as a prepara- 
 tion for bringing it to a finely pulverized state, 
 md to admit the atmosphere to act upon parts 
 before excluded from it. When grass-land or 
 stubble is ploughed, care must be taken to 
 ury the grass and weeds completely, and the 
 5lice cut off by the plough must be turned over 
 sntirely, which is best done by making the 
 vidth of the furrow greater than the depth, 
 the grass and weeds are rotten, and the 
 ground is ploughed to pulverize it, a narrow 
 leep furrow is best ; the earth ploughed up is 
 aid against the side of the preceding ridge, 
 which forms a small furrow between the tops 
 f the ridges, well adapted for the seed to 
 odge in and to be readily covered with the 
 mrrows. The Norfolk farmers are very careful 
 not to break the pan, as they call it, in their 
 ight lands : this pan is formed by the pressure 
 f the sole of the plough and the tread of the 
 lorses, and opposes a useful bank to the too 
 rapid filtration of the water ; it lies from five 
 o eight inches below the surface. If it is 
 roken, the manure is washed down into the 
 ight subsoil, and the crop suffers, especially 
 when sheep have been folded, their dung being 
 soluble. In such soils an artificial pan 
 may be formed by the land-presser, or JOTTSS- 
 drill. [PRESS DRILL.] 
 
 The mode in which the soil is prepared 
 nost perfectly for the reception of the seed is 
 >est shown by following the usual operations 
 
 fallows. After the harvest, the plough is 
 
 et to work, and the stubble ploughed in. The 
 
 winter's frost and snow mellow it, while the 
 
 stubble and weeds rot below. In spring, as 
 
 oon as the weather permits, it is ploughed 
 
 again, the first ridges being turned over as 
 
161 
 
 AEABLE LAND. 
 
 ABACK. 
 
 182 
 
 they were before : this completes the decom- 
 position of the roots and weeds. It is then 
 stirred with harrows, or other instruments, 
 which tear up the roots that remained ; and 
 some of these, not being easily destroyed, are 
 carefully gathered and burnt, or put in a heap 
 to ferment and rot, a portion of quick lime 
 being added. Another ploughing and stirring 
 follows, at some interval, till the whole ground 
 is mellow, pulverized, and free from weeds ; 
 manure is put on, if required, and immediately 
 spread and ploughed in ; the land is then 
 prepared for the seed. 
 
 Various instruments have been invented to 
 stir the earth and mix it, subsidiary to the 
 ploughing, and also to loosen and sepa- 
 rate roots and weeds. These are described 
 under HARROW ; they all consist of series of 
 spikes or teeth, which are made to break up 
 the clods of earth. When the soil turned up 
 by the plough is in large hard lumps, a roller, 
 sometimes with spikes in it, is drawn over the 
 land to break the clods, or mallets are used 
 to break them by hand ; but this is seldom 
 necessary except where very stiff soils have 
 been ploughed when too wet, and the ridges 
 have dried and been ploughed again in dry 
 weather. 
 
 When the land has been duly prepared, the 
 seed is sown. This is done sometimes before 
 the last ploughing, but then the manure 
 should have been ploughed in before; for, 
 except in planting potatoes, which are not a 
 seed but a bulb, the manure should always be 
 deeper, and not in contact with the seed. 
 When the seed is ploughed in, the furrow 
 should not be above two or three inches deep, 
 and eight or nine wide ; and it is only in par- 
 ticular soils that this mode is to be recom- 
 mended. The mo^t common method is to 
 sow the seed on the land after the last 
 ploughing, and draw the harrows over to cover 
 it : when the land has been well ploughed, 
 and especially if the press-drill has followed 
 the plough, the seed will mostly fall in the 
 small furrows made by two adjoining ridges, 
 and rise in regular rows. The various modes 
 of sowing are described under DRILL and 
 SOWING. 
 
 The proper season for sowing each kind of 
 grain, the choice of seed, and other particulars, 
 are explained under the name of the different 
 seeds usually sown. As a general rule, it may 
 be observed, that the smaller the seed, the 
 less it must be covered, and clover or grass 
 seed are not usually harrowed in, bat only 
 pressed in with the roller. 
 
 It has been found by experience, that be- 
 sides the general exhaustion of humus ( decaying 
 vegetable matter) produced by vegetation, 
 
 especially by those plants which bear oily or 
 farinaceous seeds, each kind of crop has a 
 specific effect on the soil, so that no care, or 
 manure, can make the same ground produce 
 equal crops, of the same kind of grain, for any 
 length of time without the intervention of 
 other crops. The various important circum- 
 stances which bear on this question are noticed 
 under FALLOW, FARM, and ROTATION OF 
 CROPS. 
 
 The quantity of arable land in Great Bri- 
 tain was roughly estimated some years ago as 
 follows : England, 10,900,000 acres; Scot- 
 land, 2,500,000 acres : Wales, 900,000 acres. 
 It was ascertained in 1847 that in Ireland, in 
 that year, about one-fourth of the whole area 
 ( 5,238,575 acres out of 20,808,271) was 
 under crops, one sixth under corn culture, 
 ond one eighteenth under pasture and clover. 
 
 A'EACHIS, is the botanical name of a 
 kind of pulse, called the Earth-Nut, which is 
 much ciiltivated in the warmer parts of the 
 world : it belongs to the pea tribe, to which 
 and the bean it is botanically related. The 
 seeds are considered a valuable article of food 
 in Africa, and the tropical parts of Asia and 
 America. In flavour they are as sweet as an 
 almond ; and they yield, when pressed, an oil 
 in no respect inferior to that of olives. The 
 plant will only grow in a light sandy soil, in 
 which its pods can readily be buried, and it 
 requires a climate as hot at least as that of the 
 south of France. 
 
 ARACK, or ARRAC, a distilled spirit pre- 
 pared from different substances, more espe- 
 cially from sweet juice (toddy) extracted from 
 the unexpanded flowers of different species of 
 the palm tribe. In Ceylon, where a large 
 quantity of arack is manufactured, it is entirely 
 distilled from cocoa-nut tree toddy. The ' toddy 
 topes,' or cocoa-nut tree orchards, are very 
 extensive in Ceylon, and their produce is col- 
 lected for the distillation of arack, and the 
 manufacture of sugar and oil. 
 
 In Ceylon, when it is intended to draw toddy 
 from a tope, the toddy-drawer selects a tree 
 of easy ascent, and connects the upper branches 
 of other trees to it, so as to pass readily from 
 one to another. He ties the flowering spath 
 in different places, and bruises it with the blow 
 of a small mallet ; this is done twice a day for 
 a week ; after which a portion of the spath is 
 cut off, and juice slowly exudes from it. Suc- 
 cessive portions of each spath, and successive 
 trees in the tope, are treated in the same way. 
 The juice or toddy is collected in gourds, from 
 which it is emptied into vessels. 
 
 Arack may be distilled from toddy the same 
 day it is drawn from the tree, but sometimes 
 this operation is delayed until it becomes sour. 
 
183 
 
 AILEO'METER. 
 
 AEAUCA'EIA. 
 
 184 
 
 The process of distillation is carried on in the 
 maritime provinces in copper stills, but in the 
 interior of the island earthen vessels are 
 chiefly employed. Toddy yields by distillation 
 about one-eighth part of proof-spirit. 
 
 On the peninsula of India, arack is distilled 
 from the flowers of two or three diiferent trees. 
 In Java it is made from molasses, palm-wine, 
 and rice. In Turkeyit is made from the skins 
 of grapes, flavoured with aniseed ; the moun- 
 tain Tartars distil it from many berries and 
 fruits ; and the Calnmcks from milk. 
 
 Ceylon exports annually, and for the most 
 part to the presidencies of Bengal, Madras, 
 and Bombay, from 5000 to 6000 leaguers of 
 arack, each containing 150 gallons. The prime 
 cost of arack at Colombo in Ceylon varies from 
 8d. to lOd. per gallon. Ceylon arack is superior 
 to Batavian arack, and it commonly brings a 
 higher price of from 10 to 15 per cent, on 
 the peninsula of India than Javanese manu- 
 factured spirits. 
 
 It is said that factitious arack is sometimes 
 sold, made by dissolving flowers of benzoin in 
 pale Jamaica rum. The name of v auxliall 
 Nectar has been given to this mock arack. 
 
 AILEO 'METER, Is an instrument employed 
 for the purpose of ascertaining the specific 
 gravities of light substances, fluid or solid. 
 Nicholson's araeometer consists of a hollow 
 copper vessel, from each extremity of which 
 proceeds a stem ; that which, when the instru- 
 ment is in a vertical position, is uppermost, 
 is a wire of hardened steel about -fa inch in 
 diameter, carrying at its top a small cup in 
 which weights may be placed : to the lower 
 stem, which is short, is attached a stirrup 
 carrying a cup in which may be placed a solid 
 body whose specific gravity it may be required 
 to determine. The instrument is so adjusted 
 that if a weight equal to 1000 grams be placed 
 in the upper vessel, the whole will sink in 
 distilled water at a temperature expressed by 
 60 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, till 
 a mark made on the stem is on a level with 
 the fluid surface. When the specific gravity 
 of a fluid, whether lighter or heavier than 
 water, is to be determined, the instrument is 
 plunged into the fluid, and weights are placed 
 in the upper vessel till the mark on the stem 
 is at the surface. 
 
 To obtain the specific gravity of a solid 
 which does not imbibe water ; the instrument 
 is placed in distilled water, the body is laid in 
 the upper vessel, and weights are added till 
 the mark on the stern is at the level of the 
 surface ; these weights being subtracted from 
 1000 grains, leave the weight of the body in 
 air : then, placing the body in the lower vessel, 
 let other weights be added in the upper on e 
 
 till the mark on the stem is again at the sur- 
 face of the water ; these additional weights 
 will express the loss which the body sustains 
 by being immersed hi water. 
 
 If the substance whose specific gravity is 
 required be, like wood, capable of imbibing 
 water during the experiment, it should be left 
 in the lower vessel, while under water, till the 
 instrument is stationary, when the additional 
 weights in the upper vessel will express the 
 weight of the displaced water together with 
 that which is imbibed ; then, having dried the 
 surface, let the substance be placed in the 
 upper vessel and weighed in air as at first : 
 the difference between this weight and that 
 which was found before the substance was put 
 in the water is the weight of the water im- 
 bibed ; and this must of course be subtracted 
 from the observed weight of the substance in 
 water, previously to substituting the values of 
 the terms in the last proportion. 
 
 The instrument more usually employed to 
 determine specific gravities is the HYDRO- 
 METER. 
 
 A'KAGON ; Produce and Industry .-This 
 province of Spain produces wheat, barley, rye, 
 oats, Indian corn, leguminous vegetables, es- 
 parto or Spanish broom, flax, hemp, sumach, 
 barilla madder, saffron, liquorice, fruits, oil, 
 wine, and timber. The productions of the 
 mineral kingdom are gold, silver, copper, iron, 
 lead, quicksilver, cobalt, alum, jet, coals, and 
 copperas ; few of these mines are now worked. 
 Peat earth is found in the district of Teruel, 
 and is used for fuel. The mountains abound 
 in game. Before the Peninsular war the 
 number of sheep was 2,050,000 heads. The 
 produce of grain and wine is more than suffi- 
 cient for the consumption : but there is a 
 deficiency of horned cattle, and mules, which 
 are supplied from France. The industry of 
 Aragon is very limited and consists principally 
 in manufactories of common cloth, hemp san- 
 dals, sacks, and cordage, hats, leather, paper, 
 earthenware, and some iron foundries. 
 
 AKAUCA'RIA, is the name of a singular 
 genus of gigantic firs, of which the Norfolk 
 Island pine is the best known. This tree is 
 found not only in the spot after which it has 
 been named, but also in several other places 
 in the South Seas, as in New Caledonia, Bo- 
 tany Island, Isle of Pines, and in some parts 
 of the east coast of Now Holland. It is 
 described as a most majestic tree, growing to 
 the height of from 160 to 228 feet, with a 
 circumference sometimes of more than 30 feet. 
 Its trunk rises 'iv<-t,:md is sparingly covered 
 with long, drooping, naked branches. The 
 bark abounds in turpentine ; the wood, which 
 is destitute of that substance, is white, tough, 
 
185 
 
 AEBALEST. 
 
 AECH. 
 
 186 
 
 and close-grained. It was once expected that 
 this tree would have been valuable for its 
 timber, and that it would have afforded spars 
 for the navy of great size ; but it has been 
 found on trial to be too heavy, and so unsound, 
 that Captain JTunter could only find seven 
 trees fit for use out of thirty-four that he 
 caused to be felled. Its wood is, however, 
 useful for carpenters' in- door work. Several 
 specimens of this tree exist in the collections 
 of this country. Unfortunately it will not live 
 in the open air in the winter, and its growth 
 is so rapid as to render it very soon too large 
 for the loftiest greenhouses. 
 
 AKBALEST or AKBLAST, a cross-bow, 
 appears to have been derived from the larger 
 battista, and was probably introduced into 
 England by the Normans, who used it with 
 great effect at the battle of Hastings. The 
 arrows used for the cross-bow were called 
 quarrels, from the French carreaux, a term 
 which indicates the square form of their 
 heads. 
 
 ARBOEETUM. An Arboretum in its bo- 
 tanic sense, is a plantation of trees ; in its 
 social sense, it has become associated with an 
 improvement which marks the present age 
 the planning and laying out of parks for the 
 people : pleasure grounds where the artizan 
 can breathe the fresh air at intervals. The 
 Derby Arboretum is an example of the muni- 
 ficence of a distinguished family of manufac- 
 turers, the Messrs. Strutt. Mr. Joseph Strutt 
 presented to the corporation of Derby, in 1840, 
 a people's park or arboretum, on which he 
 had expended about 12,000/. It was beauti- 
 fully laid out by the late Mr. London, and so 
 supplied with trees, shrubs, and flowers, 
 ticketed and labelled, as to be a kind of botanic 
 garden as well as a pleasure-ground. It was 
 given to the inhabitants, with the corporation 
 as trustees. "We must express a regret, how- 
 ever, that a charge is made for admission, to 
 defray the expense of keeping up the ground: 
 this should not be after so munificent a gift, 
 the least that the town could do would be to 
 appropriate a small annual sum for mainte- 
 nance. 
 
 AEBOE YIT^E is the familiar name given 
 to a tree, the botanical name of which is 
 Thuja or Thuya. There are many species. 
 The American Arbor Vitse is a large shrub or 
 small tree, sometimes called white cedar ; the 
 wood is very durable, but is difficult to obtain 
 except in small pieces ; it makes excellent 
 posts and rails, and the branches are used for 
 making brooms. The Chinese and theWeeping 
 Arbor Vitse are not much employed in the 
 arts. The Callitris Arbor Vitse is said by 
 Broquiart and. other authorities to yield the 
 
 useful substance Gum Sandarac [SANDARAC] ; 
 and the wood of this tree, under the name of 
 alercc, is in great repute in the east for build- 
 ing religious edifices; the roof of the cele- 
 brated cathedral of Cordova is built of this 
 wood, and exemplifies the fitness of the ma- 
 terial for such purposes. 
 
 AEC, a bow, signifies any part of a curve 
 line. The straight line which joins the extre- 
 mities of the arc is called its chord. 
 
 The practical method of finding the length 
 of an arc is as follows : Divide the arc into a 
 number of smaller arcs, making the number 
 large in proportion to the degree of accuracy 
 required, and add together the chords of the 
 smaller arcs. The sum of the chords will 
 differ very little from the arc, even when the 
 number of sub -divisions is not very large. 
 For instance, the arc of the quadrant of a 
 circle, whose diameter is ten million of inches, 
 is 7,853,982 inches, within half an inch. 
 Divide this quadrant into ten equal parts, and 
 the sum of the chords is 7,845,910 inches : 
 divide the quadrant into fifty parts, and the 
 same sum is 7,853,659 inches, which is not 
 wrong by more than one part out of 24.316. 
 For only twenty sub-divisions the sum of the 
 chords is 7,851,963 inches, wrong only by one 
 part out of 3890. Therefore, for every prac- 
 tical purpose, an arc of a circle (and the same 
 may be said of every other curve) is the poly- 
 gon made by the chords of a moderate number 
 of sub-divisions of the arc 1 . 
 
 AECADE properly signifies a series of 
 arches on insulated piers, forming a screen, 
 and also the space inclosed by such. 
 
 In addition to its proper technical meaning, 
 this term has of late acquired a different signi- 
 fication among us as the popular name for 
 what the Parisians more properly designate 
 a ' passage ' or * galerie,' viz. an alley lined 
 on each side with shops, and roofed over so 
 as to be in fact a sort of in-door street, entirely 
 protected from the weather, and of uniform 
 design throughout in its architecture. As to 
 such a place being a very great public con- 
 venience there can be but one opinion, as in 
 dirty or wet weather, when the advantages 
 attending such mode of building make them- 
 selves felt very sensibly. The Burlington 
 Arcade was the first place of the kind in Lon- 
 don. Among the Parisian arcades the Passage 
 Colbert is one of the most striking, both for 
 its extent and architectural display, towards 
 which last its Eotunda contributes in no small 
 degree. 
 
 AECH is the general name for any solid 
 work, whether of masonry or otherwise, of 
 which the lower part is formed into an arc of 
 a curve supported at the two extremities. 
 
187 
 
 ARCH. 
 
 ARCH. 
 
 188 
 
 The lower supports are the piers of the arch 
 the arch is said to spring from the tops ot 
 those piers ; the summit 'of the arch is the 
 crown, and on either side of the crown are the 
 flanks of the arch. The lower line of the arch 
 stones is called the intrados or'soffit, the upper, 
 the cxtrados or back ; the arch stones are called 
 voussoirs, and the highest voussoir the key -stone. 
 The width from pier to pier is the span ; and 
 the vertical distance from the crown to the 
 level of the top of the piers is the In-ii/ 
 The voussoirs are cemented together ; and if 
 the cement were sufficiently strong, any form 
 might be given to the arch, or at least any 
 form which would stand if cut out of the solid 
 material. If we suppose the stones unce- 
 mented, their friction upon one another would 
 tend to prevent the disturbance of equilib- 
 rium, and allow considerable variety of form 
 in arches constructed with stones of the same 
 weight. But if we suppose the stones per- 
 fectly smooth, so that each of them is kept 
 from slipping only by the pressure of the ad- 
 joining two, then each intrados has one parti- 
 cular form of extrados and one only, so long 
 as the manner in which the stones are cut 
 follows one given law. 
 
 The applications of the arch, in practice, 
 are noticed under ABUTMENT ; BRIDGE ; BUT- 
 TRESS ; IMPOST ; PIER, &c. 
 
 Sir M. I. Brunei introduced, a few years 
 ago, a singular mode of constructing arches. 
 In the construction of stone arches, some 
 kind of centering is necessary, to support the 
 single stones until by mutual pressure they 
 can support each other ; but Brunei devised 
 the following mode in respect to brick arches. 
 The piers of the bridge or arch having been 
 constructed in the usual manner up to the 
 springing, he commenced building a portion 
 of the arch right and left, on both sides, taking 
 care that both arches progressed at an equal 
 rate, so that they might balance each other. 
 In order to increase the cohesion of the 
 structure, he introduced bands of hoop iron 
 longitudinally between the courses; and by 
 these means he was enabled to carry on the 
 two semi-arches, until they met those pro- 
 duced in a similar way from the opposite 
 piers. A narrow arch, say about four feet in 
 width, having been thus completed, Brunei 
 proposed to extend it to the requisite width 
 by building on each side of it, adding from 
 nine to eighteen inches at a time. To shew 
 that whatever might be the difficulties in 
 practice the principle is sound, Sir M. I. 
 Brunei constructed two semi-arches, of bricks 
 laid with mortar prepared with blue lias lime. 
 Several bands of hoop iron, and several slen- 
 der rods of fir, were inserted longitudinally 
 
 between the courses, extending throughout 
 the whole length of the structure. The radius 
 of curvature of the arch was 177 feet, and 
 although only 4J feet wide at the top, it was 
 extended to the length of 40 feet on each 
 side of the centre pier. One end was after- 
 wards extended an additional 20 feet ; and as 
 the other end could not be extended in the 
 same way, in consequence of want of space, 
 a weight of 28 tons was suspended from it as 
 a counterpoise. Although the structure fell 
 about three years after its completion, the fall 
 was owing to circumstances independent of 
 the pi'inciple on which the arch was con- 
 sti-ucted. 
 
 The origin of the arch in actual construc- 
 tions is still unknown ; it cannot be stated 
 with any degree of certainty, either in what 
 country, or at what epoch it was first used. 
 There is reason to think that it was unknown 
 to the Greeks at the time when they produced 
 their most beautiful temples, in the fifth, 
 fourth, and third centuries before the Chris- 
 tian aera. The want of the arch would lead 
 them to contract the intercolumniations, or 
 spaces between the columns, and to the gene- 
 ral and frequent adoption of columns as the 
 only mode of supporting a superstructure. 
 
 It is maintained that there are brick arches 
 at Thebes in Egypt, which belong to a very 
 remote epoch, and one long prior to the occu- 
 pation of that country by Alexander the 
 
 reat. Etruria seems to have been the first 
 European country in which the arch was 
 used. The great sewer of Rome, com- 
 monly called the Cloaca Maxima, is an arched 
 construction, which probably belongs to the 
 age of the Tarquins. 
 
 The application of the arched structure is 
 one of the most useful mechanical contrivances. 
 By means of it small masses of burnt clay, 
 and conveniently sized pieces of soft and fria- 
 ole sandstone, are made more extensively use- 
 ful for the economic purposes of building, than 
 the most costly and promising materials were 
 n the hands of the Greeks and Egyptians. 
 By means of it cellars are vaulted ; subways, 
 or sewers, are made to pass under hcsivy 
 structures and along streets with certainty and 
 safety; and secure and permanent roadways for 
 every purpose of communication are formed 
 across wide, deep, and rapid rivers. 
 
 The Romans did not deviate much from the 
 semicircular form. Arches of smaller seg- 
 ments were certainly used by them, as well as 
 illiptical arches, but in these cases they were 
 citified with enormous abutments, whiHi 
 jroves that the architects knew very well the 
 weak points of such a construction. The 
 architects of the twelfth, thirteenth, and four- 
 
180 
 
 AKCH, TKIUMPHAL. 
 
 ARCHANGEL. 
 
 190 
 
 teenth centuries, showed what could be done 
 by varying the form and construction of the 
 arch. 
 
 The pointed arch, upon its invention or 
 first introduction into Europe, seems to have 
 exercised the ingenuity of architects in vary- 
 ing its form and application. This we ob- 
 serve in the numerous ecclesiastical structures 
 in this country, in our beautiful pointed styles, 
 and most particularly in some of the greater 
 churches and cathedrals. 
 
 The origin of the pointed arch has been 
 almost as much disputed as the discovery of 
 the principle of the arch itself. It became 
 general in most parts of Europe at nearly the 
 same time, and about the period of the re 
 turn of the warrior -priests and pilgrim-sol- 
 diers of the first crusade. This, and other 
 circumstances which might be adduced, added 
 to the fact of the pointed arch being used in 
 Asia before that period, and that an arch of 
 the pointed form cannot be satisfactorily 
 shown to have been used in the northern and 
 western parts of Europe anterior to it, give a 
 reasonable degree of certainty to the suppo- 
 sition that the notion was brought from the 
 east by the crusaders. 
 
 The most notable of the departures from 
 the principle of the arch in building are de 
 scribed under BRITANNIA BRIDGE ; SUSPEN- 
 SION BRIDGE. 
 
 ARCH, TRIUMPHAL, a structure which 
 the Romans used to erect across their roads 
 or bridges, or at the entrance of their cities, 
 in honour of victorious generals or emperors. 
 They were of two kinds. Temporary arches 
 were made of wood, on the occasion of a 
 triumph. The others were permanent struc- 
 tures, built first of brick, afterwards of hewn 
 stone, and lastly made of, or at least cased 
 with, marble. Their general form is that of 
 a parallelopipedon, which has an opening in 
 the longer side, and sometimes a smaller 
 opening on each side of the large one. These 
 openings are arched over with semicircular 
 arches, and the fronts are decorated with co- 
 lumns and then* accessories on lofty pedestals : 
 the whole is surmounted by a heavy attic, on 
 the faces of which inscriptions were generally 
 placed. . 
 
 Triumphal arches were erected under the 
 republic. Under the emperors these monu- 
 ments became very numerous, and were over- 
 charged with ornaments. One erected to 
 Augustus at Rimini has the widest opening of 
 the ancient arches, the gateway being 31 feet. 
 Of the triumphal arches remaining at Rome, 
 that of Titus is the oldest. This arch is or- 
 namented with sculptures representing the 
 triumph of Titus, and the ornaments of the 
 
 temple of Jerusalem which he brought as 
 spoils to Rome. But arches were also raised 
 in honour of emperors for benefits conferred 
 on their country on some particular occasions ; 
 such is the fine arch of Trajan on the old 
 mole of Ancona. Another fine arch in me- 
 mory of Trajan exists at Benevento ; it is 
 ornamented with fine rilievi, and is in very 
 good preservation. All these are single 
 arches ; but others have two smaller archways, 
 one on each side of the great central one. 
 These are consequently oblong in their shape, 
 and have a heavier appearance than the single 
 arch. Two of these triple arches still exist at 
 Rome, that of Septimius Severus, and that 
 called the arch of Constantine. 
 
 There are other arches in various parts of 
 Italy, at Aquino, Aosta, and Pola in Istria, and 
 several in the south of France, of which those 
 of Nismes and Orange are the best preserved. 
 There are several arches in Syria and in Bar- 
 bary, particularly one at Tripoli, arid another 
 at Constantma. In modern times triumphal 
 arches have been raised in imitation of the 
 Roman arches. Those of the gate of St. Denis 
 and the gate of St. Martin, at Paris, were 
 raised in honour of Louis XIV. Bonaparte 
 also had one constructed on the place du 
 Carousel, after the model of the triumphal 
 arch of Septimius Severus at Rome. The 
 much larger arch, the ' Arc de 1'Etoile,' at the 
 Barrriere de Neuilly, was commenced in 1806, 
 after the battle of Austerlitz, and has only 
 recently been finished (1847.) Another arch 
 (L'Arco della Pace) which was begun by 
 Bonaparte's order at Milan, on the opening of 
 the famous road across the Simplon, has since 
 been completed by the Austrian government. 
 In London there is a single arch at Hyde 
 Park Corner. 
 
 ARCHANGEL, considered as a province, 
 has very little to do with the industry of all 
 nations. Its climate is severe, and its pro- 
 ductions few. The bread in use is a com- 
 pound of meal, moss, scrapings of the bark of 
 the pine, and grated roots ; yet this food, 
 coarse as it is, is unknown to more northern 
 palates, which must be content with dried fish. 
 The southern districts grow hemp and flax, 
 and a few kinds of vegetables. The forests 
 produce very fine timber. Salt and bog- iron 
 form the chief mineral wealth. 
 
 The manufacturing and mechanical industry 
 of the people is principally confined to ship- 
 building, the preparation of pitch and tar, and 
 the weaving of linen, which latter occupation 
 fills up the leisure hours of the peasant's 
 wife in the circles of Kholmogory and Arch- 
 angel, and constitutes a lucrative branch of 
 their commerce with St. Petersburg, Moscow, 
 
191 
 
 ARCHERY. 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 192 
 
 and other Russian marts. Pitch, tar, timber, 
 tallow, train-oil, hemp, flax, mats, canvas, 
 skins, and furs, are the chief exported pro- 
 duce. 
 
 But the town of Archangel (the chief place 
 in the province), is notable in a commercial 
 point of view. It is the most northern empo- 
 rium of trade, and the oldest port, in the 
 Russian dominions. It is now the chief mart 
 of the Russian northern trade, as it was for- 
 merly of all the traffic between Muscovy and 
 foreign parts. The exports consist of lin- 
 seed, rye, oats, wheat, barley, flax, tow, tallow, 
 train-oil, mats, deals, battens and ends, pitch, 
 and tar. The imports, which are generally 
 confined to the town and neighbourhood, are 
 sugar, coffee, spices, salt, woollens, hard- 
 ware, &c. In 1846 there were 634 vessels 
 cleared, of which 368 were British, the car- 
 goes being valued at 1,063,700/. The port is 
 connected by canals with the Volga and the 
 Neva. The navigation is open generally from 
 May to the end of September, and during 
 this period the river is covered with vessels 
 and boats of all sizes ; the quays and shores 
 are peopled with multitudes, variously and 
 actively employed ; and the great road from 
 Siberia is covered with travellers and loaded 
 carts and waggons. An association called 
 the ' White Sea Company,' was formed at 
 Archangel in 1803 ; it despatches a fleet of 
 vessels every year on fishery expeditions to 
 the coast of Nova Zembla, Kalguiew, and 
 Spitzbergen, at the last of which the crews 
 sometimes winter. 
 
 ARCHERY. A few notices of the me- 
 chanical construction of the implements of 
 archery will be found under their proper 
 headings. 
 
 ARCHIL, orchil, litmus, or tournsole, is a 
 blue dye procured from the rocella tinctoria 
 and ceanora tartarca, which are lichens grow- 
 ing abundantly in the Canary and Cape Verde 
 Islands. The colouring matter of these plants 
 appears to be a peculiar vegetable principle 
 which has been called erythrine : it may be 
 extracted either by means of alcohol or am- 
 monia, but the latter is employed by those 
 who manufacture the colour, which is gene- 
 rally sold in small flat pieces, and known by 
 the name of litmus. 
 
 Archil is brought to market in three states 
 violet-red liquid paste, blue lumps, and 
 powder. It is employed by chemists to ascer- 
 tain the presence of acids in solution, because 
 it has the property of changing from blue to 
 red by contact with acids ; and it also detects 
 alkalies, by restoring the blue which had been 
 changed by acids. Archil is never used alone 
 as a dye, on account of its want of perma- 
 
 nence. It is, however, employed for the pur- 
 pose of deepening and improving the tints of 
 other dyes, and it imparts a bloom which it is 
 difficult to obtain from other substances. 
 Liquid archil is much used for staining wood, 
 and tinting silk stockings. 
 
 M. Clencharcl, a French chemist, has re- 
 cently (1850) patented a mode of using archil 
 in the dyeing and printing of woollen and 
 silk goods ; in which the archil is combined 
 with alkalies and lime, and applied to the 
 woven material with a more direct action 
 than in the ordinary mode of its use. 
 
 Archil communicates a beautiful violet co- 
 lour to marble. 
 
 The island of Teneriffe is said to yield an- 
 nually about 30,000 Ibs. of the lichen from 
 which archil is prepared. 
 
 ARCHIMEDEAN SCREW. The great 
 Greek philosopher, Archimedes, is associated 
 with many valuable discoveries in science, 
 among which the principle of specific gravity, 
 and certain geometrical theorems, stand out 
 prominently. But the hydrostatic screw is 
 the contrivance which connects his name 
 more particularly with the arts. Whether it 
 is true that he travelled into Egypt, and in- 
 vented the screw as a means of raising the 
 water of the Nile to points which it could not 
 otherwise reach, is a disputed question ; but 
 it is known that he was aware of the action of 
 such a screw. 
 
 In what way the Archimedean screw maybe 
 made available for raising water, is explained 
 under HYDRAULICS ; while its application to 
 steam navigation is noticed under SCREW 
 PROPELLER. 
 
 ARCHIPELAGO. The small but luxuriant 
 slands which speckle the Mediterranean, be- 
 tween Greece and Asia Minor, are rich in pro- 
 duce which forms no inconsiderable part of 
 the commerce of Europe and the Levant. 
 Many of these islands are composed almost 
 entirely of a pure white marble, of which the 
 Parian, from Paros, where it was formerly 
 most worked, is often mentioned by ancient 
 writers. The productions of the islands are 
 wine, oil, gum-mastic, raisins, figs, silk, honey, 
 wax, olives, and various fruits, especially the 
 Lemon and orange : cotton is grown in small 
 quantities on Milo and other islands, and 
 might be cultivated to a great extent; it is 
 remarkable for its brilliant white hue. Some 
 of the larger islands contain sulphur, alum, 
 iron, and other minerals. An extensive sponge 
 fishery has also long been established among 
 the Sporades, which are noted for their fine 
 sponges. 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. A formal treatise on 
 architecture being beyond the limits of the 
 
193 
 
 ARCHITRAVE. 
 
 present work, the reader is referred simply to 
 the names of the chief component parts of an 
 architectural structure, and to some of the 
 most famous huildings. 
 
 ARCHITRAVE, is the lower part of any 
 structure supported by pillars, or the lowei 
 beam which rests upon the columns and joins 
 them together, on which the whole entabla- 
 ture (or ornamental part which conies imme- 
 diately above the columns) rests. When pil- 
 lars support an arch, the voussoirs supply the 
 place of an architrave, by which name they 
 are sometimes called. In the same way the 
 flat-beam, or row of stones coming imme- 
 diately above a door or window, is called the 
 architrave. 
 
 ARCHIVOLT, or ARCHIVAULT, is the 
 ornamented band or moulding which runs 
 round the lower part of all the voussoirs of 
 an arch. 
 
 ARCH -LUTE, a large lute, or double 
 stringed theorbo, formerly used by the Ita- 
 lians for the base parts, and for accompanying 
 the voice. This instrument had fourteen 
 notes, the highest whereof was A, the fifth 
 line in the base, the lowest the double G 
 below. It possessed considerable power. It 
 was about five feet in extreme length, and 
 proportionally large in the body. At the 
 commencement of the last century this in- 
 strument was much in use. Handel em- 
 ployed it in many of his early operas. 
 
 ARCOGRAPH. [CYCLOGEAPH.] 
 
 ARCTIC FOX, a small species of fox 
 (Canis lagopus), celebrated for the beauty and 
 fineness of its fur, which has long been con- 
 sidered a valuable article of commerce. The 
 colour of the fur, as is the case with all ani- 
 mals which inhabit very high latitudes, varies 
 according to the season, being slaty blue in 
 summer, and pure white in winter. It is in 
 the latter state that the fur is most esteemed, 
 not only on account of its colour, but like- 
 wise because it is of a closer and finer quality 
 than at any other time, and therefore fitted 
 for producing more costly articles. 
 
 ARDECHE, one of the southern depart- 
 ments of France, has considerable manufac- 
 turing industry. There are numerous tan- 
 neries for shoe and glove leather, paper-mills, 
 cotton, woollen cloth and silk factories. Great 
 attention is paid to the rearing of silkworms, 
 for the production of raw silk, of which about 
 700,000 Ibs. are brought to market annually. 
 The department contains mines of lead, cop- 
 per, iron, manganese, antimony, alum, and 
 coal : marble of different colours, gun flints, 
 porcelain clay, and pumice-stone abound. 
 Particles of gold are found in the Rhone, the 
 Ardeche, the Erieux, and also mixed with 
 
 antimony in the 
 Malbosc. 
 
 The number of manufacturing towns is 
 considerable. Annonay, the largest town in 
 the department, has numerous establishments 
 for dressing kid and lamb skins for glove 
 leather, the annual value of which amounts to 
 6,000,000 francs ; there are also several silk- 
 mills, and paper factories which produce the 
 best paper in France ; the value of the paper 
 made here is stated to be 3,000,000 francs a 
 year; the production of white silk for the 
 manufacture of blondes and tulles has rapidly 
 increased of late years. 
 
 ARDENNES, a department of France on 
 the Belgian frontier, has manufactures in 
 ironmongery of all lands, broad cloth, cash- 
 mere shawls and other woollen stuffs, shoe 
 and white leather, hosiery, coarse linen, and 
 hats ; there are also several glass-works, iron- 
 furnaces, and brass-foundries. Coal, iron, 
 slate, porcelain clay, and sand used in the 
 manufacture of plate -glass, are found. At 
 Charleville the chief manufactures are fire- 
 arms, hard-ware, and nails ; there are also 
 soaperies and brass -foundries in the town. 
 Rethel is a busy place, and is largely engaged 
 in the woollen manufactures ; it contains also 
 several tanneries, breweries,and iron-foundries. 
 The environs are fertile, yielding good pas- 
 turage and timber, and contain stone quarries 
 and iron-mines. Sedan has been long famous 
 for its fine broad cloths, and especially for its 
 fine blacks. The total yearly value of this 
 manufacture is set down at 16,000,000 francs. 
 The environs are studded with factories and 
 workshops, engaged in the woollen trade ; 
 there are also several iron -works, tanyards and 
 dyehouses. 
 
 ARDROSSAN is worthy of our attention, 
 for the part which it now fills in the system of 
 steam navigation. Placed on the west coast 
 of Scotland, near Ayr, it has railway commu- 
 nication with Glasgow on the north -east, and 
 with Carlisle on the south-east. The port 
 having many natural advantages, a harbour 
 was commenced there in 1806 ; it has been 
 for many years in a state to receive shipping, 
 and is now considered one of the safest and 
 most accessible on the west coast of Scotland. 
 Steamers ply regularly from Ardrossan to 
 various ports of England, Scotland, and Ire- 
 and. 
 
 ARDWICK LIMESTONE, is a calcareous 
 3ed or series of beds containing shells and fish 
 remains, in the upper part of the coal forma- 
 ions of Manchester and Lebetwood. There 
 is a coal-bed above it at Manchester. 
 
 ARE, is the modern French measure of 
 surface, forming part of the decimal svstem 
 
195 
 
 A'EEA. 
 
 ARGAND LAMP. 
 
 196 
 
 adopted in that country after the revolution 
 It is obtained as follows : the metre or mea 
 sure of length, being the forty-millionth part 
 of the whole meridian, as determined by a 
 trigonometrical survey, is 3-2809167 Engh'sl" 
 feet; and the are is a square, the side o 
 which is 10 metres long. The hectare is gene 
 rally used in describing a quantity of land 
 It is 2-4711695 English acres, or 404^ 
 hectares make 1000 acres. 
 
 A'REA, is the superficies or quantity of sur- 
 face in a plane figure. The measuring unit 
 of every area is the square described upon the 
 measuring unit of length : thus, we talk of the 
 square inches, square feet, square yards, or 
 square miles, which an area contains. 
 
 Any figure which is entirely bounded by 
 straight lines may be divided into triangles 
 and the area of each triangle separately de- 
 ^nnined. This determination may be made 
 in either of two ways. 1st. Measure a side of 
 the triangle, and the perpendicular which is 
 let fall upon it from the opposite vertex, both 
 in units ; half the product of these two lengths 
 is the number of square units in the triangle. 
 2nd. Measure the three sides in units ;tsike 
 the half sum of the three, from it subtract 
 each of the sides, multiply the four results 
 together, and extract the square root of the 
 product ; this gives the number of square units 
 in the triangle. 
 
 To find the area of a parallelogram, multiply 
 one side by its perpendicular distance from 
 the opposite side; for a rectangle, multiply two 
 adjacent sides. 
 
 To find the area of a circle, multiply the 
 radius by itself and the result by 355 ; then 
 divide by 113. In all these cases, the result 
 is in the square units corresponding to the 
 linear units in which the measurements were 
 made. 
 
 The above are a few practical rules, useful 
 for every day purposes. 
 AKECA. [BETEL NUT.] 
 ARENG-. [PALMS; SAGO.] 
 AREQUIPA, one of the largest and finest 
 cities of Peru, has considerable industry and 
 commerce. Gold and silver cloths, woollens, 
 and cottons, are manufactured at Arequipa, 
 which carries on a great trade with Buenos 
 Ayres, exporting brandies, wine, flour, cotton, 
 and sugar ; and importing cattle, dried flesh, 
 tallow, cocoa, &c. The great commercial road 
 from Lima to the southern provinces passes 
 through the city. 
 
 ARFE, is the name of two very distin- 
 guished Spanish silversmiths, and the de- 
 signers and constructors of several of the 
 most costly tabernacles which do or did adorn 
 the cathedrals of Spain. 
 
 Henrique de Arfe, the elder, and the grand- 
 father of the other, Juan de Arfe, made, be- 
 tween 1506 and 1524, the silver tabernacles of 
 the cathedrals of Leon, Cordova, and Toledo. 
 He also made the tabernacle of the Benedic- 
 tine monastery of Sahagun, besides a great 
 many crucifixes and other articles used in 
 Roman worship. 
 
 Juan de Arfe y Vlllafane, the grandson, was 
 born at Leon in 1535. He is the artist of 
 three of the finest tabernacles in Spain those 
 of Avila, Seville, and Osmas. He made also 
 tabernacles for the cathedrals of Burgos and 
 Valladolid, and one for the church of St. Mar- 
 tin at Madrid. Arfe was much employed by 
 Philip II. and Philip III. ; the former ap- 
 pointed him assayer of the mint of Segovia. 
 He was both engraver and writer. 
 
 ARGAND LAMP, a kind of lamp in which 
 the wick, and consequently the flame also, is 
 n the form of a hollow cylinder, through the 
 interior of which a current of air is made to 
 ascend, in order to afford a free supply of oxy- 
 gen to the interior as well as to the exterior of 
 the flame ; and thereby to ensure more perfect 
 combustion and greater brilliancy of light 
 than conld be obtained either by the use of a 
 single large wick, or by a series of small wicks 
 arranged in a straight line. These objects are 
 more perfectly attained by the addition of a 
 jlass chimney, which confines the air imme- 
 diately surrounding the flame, and produces 
 an upward current Avhich causes it to rise high 
 above the wick. This arrangement was in- 
 vented about 1782, by Aime Argand, a native 
 )f Geneva. It is made in many different 
 brms, one of which, with a chimney of copper 
 nstead of glass, is used in chemical operations 
 or the emission of heat. The principle is 
 also extensively applied to gas-burners. 
 
 Mr. Hemmenway took out an American 
 )atent in 1841, for a means of avoiding the 
 necessity of removing the oil chamber when 
 n argand lamp is to be replenished with oil. 
 Che fountain or reservoir is to be supplied 
 with oil through a short pipe at top, which is 
 lermetically closed by a leather valve and 
 crew cap ; and between the bottom of this 
 reservoir and the pipe that conducts the oil to 
 he burner, is an air chamber, which is sup- 
 died with air by a tube passing up through 
 he oil reservoir. This air is made one of the 
 means of filling the vessel with oil. 
 
 Messrs. Bedington and Docker registered 
 an improvement in 1849, whereby an argand 
 amp is enabled to maintain a clear light for a 
 greater number of hours than under ordinary 
 ircumstances. The central air-tube, instead 
 if terminating, as in the usual argand lamps, 
 learly on a level with the top edge of the per* 
 
197 
 
 ARGIL. 
 
 AKITHMETIC. 
 
 198 
 
 
 forated air-cone, is carried about half an inch 
 higher, and has apertures made near its upper 
 end. The outer case is also prolonged at top 
 to a similar extent, and is similarly perforated 
 near the top. By this arrangement, currents 
 of air are directed through the apertures into 
 the wick, just below the point of inflamma- 
 tion ; and thus the oil is prevented from 
 becoming thickened or carbonized at that 
 spot, which is so likely to occur in the ordinary 
 form of argand. 
 
 Many other improvements have from time 
 to time been introduced in the argand lamp ; 
 and our manufacturers in London and Bir- 
 mingham, in the various Exhibitions of Manu- 
 factures which have taken place within the 
 last few years, have shown how much external 
 beauty as well as practical convenience may 
 be imparted to these contrivances. 
 
 The name of Argand having become associ- 
 ated with the means of producing a bright 
 light by a judicious arrangement of air-holes, 
 it has been applied not only to lamps, but also 
 to candles and furnaces. During more than 
 forty years, attention has from time to time 
 been directed to the possibility of producing 
 Argand Candles that is, candles constructed 
 on the argand principle. As, in the argand 
 lamp, air is supplied ivithin the circle of the 
 flame, so it has been thought that if air could 
 ascend through the wick of a candle, the flame 
 produced would be more brilliant. Many 
 varieties have been tried, and some of them 
 patented ; but none of them have yet become 
 permanently and commercially successful. 
 
 The designation Argand Furnace has been 
 lately given to an arrangement, in which a 
 stream of air is made to mingle with the in- 
 flammable gases in the furnace, but is pre- 
 viously divided into a number of minute 
 streamlets bypassing through small apertures. 
 The principle has been known and partially 
 acted on for a considerable time, but it was 
 brought into a practical form a few years ago 
 by Mr. Williams. 
 ARGIL. [ALUMINA.] 
 
 ARGOL is an acidulous concrete salt which 
 is deposited by wine, and forms a crust on 
 the sides of vessels in which that liquid is 
 kept. This crust becomes hard, brilliant, and 
 brittle ; it is easily reduced to powder. The 
 argol brought from Germany, and produced 
 from white wine, is the best. This substance 
 is used by dyers as a mordant, and to neutra- 
 lize various acid agents ; a tartrate of tin is 
 also prepared from it. Argol, also called 
 Tartar, is a bitartrate of potash. When puri- 
 fied and crystallized it is called Cream of Tar- 
 tar, and is much used medicinally. 
 
 More than 1000 tons of argol are annually 
 
 imported into this kingdom. It comes to us 
 from almost all wine-producing countries. 
 The best comes from Bologna and Leghorn ; 
 Rhenish fetches a lower price. Argol is now 
 admitted duty free. Its price at present in 
 the wholesale market is 30s. to 50s. per cwt. 
 
 ARGYLE can put forth very few preten- 
 sions to notice in an industrial point of view. 
 It occupies a position on the western coast of 
 Scotland rather out of the ordinary commer- 
 cial route. Yet it is not without mineral 
 riches. There are lead mines in several parts 
 of the county, copper in Islay, and coal in 
 Mull and Campbeltown. The slate-quarries 
 of Easdale island have been among the most 
 considerable in Britain ; and there are quarries 
 at Balaclulish in Lorn. Eight million slates 
 have been procured from the county in one 
 year. The marble and limestone of the 
 county are of fine quality. The granite quar- 
 ried near Inverary takes as fine a polish as 
 marble; and the lapis ollaris (a kind of mica- 
 ceous slate), with which the Duke of Argyle's 
 castle at that place is built, is one of the 
 handsomest of the building-stones found 
 within the borders. Strontian, cobalt, and 
 coral, occur in or near the county. 
 
 The manufactures of this county are unim- 
 portant. The woollen manufacture was esta- 
 blished at Inverary, and carried on for many 
 years under the patronage of the Duke of 
 Argyle, but it does not seem to have flourished, 
 and has been given up for some time. The cot- 
 ton manufacture has gained but little ground ; 
 whatever is carried on is about Campbel- 
 town. A more important branch of industry 
 is the herring, cod, and ling fishery ; the fish 
 are both good and abundant, and the fisheries 
 employ a great number of men. The chief 
 trade of Campbeltown is in whiskey, the parish 
 containing numerous distilleries. 
 
 ARIE 'GE . The inhabitants of this depart- 
 ment of France, besides the usual agricultural 
 pursuits, are engaged in the manufacture of 
 coarse woollens, linen, soap, hats, combs, 
 porcelain, and pottery. There are also many 
 tan-yards, paper-mills, saw-mills, glass-works, 
 and numerous establishments for smelting 
 iron and copper ores. The principal article 
 of export from the department is iron, which 
 is carried on the backs of mules to Auterive 
 in Haute Garonne, whence it is conveyed 
 down the Ariege to the canal of Languedoc 
 and the Garonne. Wool is largely imported 
 from Spain, which receives in return woollen 
 fabrics, linen, cattle, and wax. Other articles 
 of commerce are rosin, pitch, turpentine, 
 cork, marble, medicinal herbs, and various 
 miscellaneous products. 
 
 ARITHMETIC, as a science, does not 
 
199 
 
 AKITHMETER. 
 
 claim a place in this work ; but a few useful 
 rules and properties of numbers, applicable to 
 the mechanical arts and to the details of 
 every-day life, are given under various head- 
 ings. 
 
 ARITHMETER, is another name for the 
 ABACUS, sometimes employed in teaching 
 children the rudiments of arithmetic. 
 
 ARITHMETICAL PROPORTION, is the 
 relation which exists between four numbers, 
 of which the first and second have the same 
 difference as the third and fourth. Thus : 
 1 : 2 and 81 : 82 
 7 : 3 and 16 : 12 
 2% : 3J and If : 2 
 are severally in arithmetical proportion, and 
 in every such proportion the sum of the ex- 
 tremes is equal to that of the means. Thus 
 12 -f 7 = 3 + 10 
 
 ARKANSAS. This fine American river, 
 the largest affluent (except the Missouri) of 
 the Mississippi, has at the present time a 
 commercial interest imparted to it by the pro- 
 posed railway across America from the At- 
 lantic to the Pacific. The Arkansas has its 
 rise in the Rocky Mountains, and flows 2000 
 miles to the Mississippi ; and one of the rail- 
 way projects, suggested to the enterprising 
 Americans by the discoveries in California 
 and by the possession of Oregon, is to form a 
 railway up the valley of this river, cross the 
 range of the Rocky Mountains at the lowest 
 available pass, and descend to the plains of 
 Oregon and California. Whether this stu- 
 pendous project will ever be executed, remains 
 to be seen ; in the mean time the Arkansas is 
 a medium for bringing the produce of the 
 West to the Mississippi and New Orleans. 
 
 ARKANSAS, one of the territories of the 
 United States which lie westward of the Mis- 
 sissippi, is too young in civilization to present 
 an important figure in manufactures and in- 
 dustry. It is however progressing rapidly. 
 The chief produce is Indian corn, wheat, rye, 
 oats, potatoes, cotton, wool, tobacco, and hay. 
 It has numerous tanneries and manufactories 
 of leather, distilleries, and flour-mills. 
 
 ARKEEKO, a sea-port on the western coast 
 of the Red Sea, exhibits to us the mode in 
 which the products of Arabia and Persia reach 
 Abyssinia. The goods are lauded at Arkeeko, 
 where the kafilas or caravans assemble. From 
 Arkeeko the kafilas journey in a southward 
 direction, passing over the Taranta mountains, 
 and proceed to Dixan, the first Abyssinian 
 town on that side, and thence to Adowa, the 
 chief mart of trade in the kingdom of Tigre. 
 
 ARKWRIGHT, SIR RICHARD, is so 
 intimately associated with the progress of the 
 mighty cotton manufacture in this country, 
 
 ARKWRIG-HT, SIR RICHARD. 200 
 
 that that history could not be understood 
 without a notice of his inventions and im- 
 provements. 
 
 Born in 1732 at Preston, of parents too 
 humble to give him anything more than a 
 very slight education, Arkwright had to earn 
 his living, first as a barber, and then as a 
 dealer in hair. But his mind was busy all 
 this time. To use Carlyle's quaint language 
 ' Nevertheless, in stropping of razors, in 
 shaving of dirty beards, and the contradictions 
 and confusions attendant thereon, the man 
 had notions in that rough head of his ! Spin- 
 dles, shuttles, wheels, and contrivances, plying 
 ideally within the same ; rather hopeless 
 looking, which, however, he did at last bring 
 to bear. Not without difficulty.' 
 
 Conflicting statements render it difficult to 
 trace the history of the machinery by which 
 Arkwright so greatly improved the cotton 
 manufacture. It is, however, certain that in 
 1767 he employed a clockmaker named Kay, 
 then residing at Wan-in gton,- to make a model, 
 which Avas speedily followed by a working 
 machine. This machine was first set up at 
 Preston ; but, fearing to encounter such 
 riotous opposition as had been called forth 
 shortly before by the introduction of liar- 
 greaves' spinning-jenny, Arkwright removed 
 it to Nottingham, where he obtained pecuniary 
 assistance from the Messrs. Wright, bankers, 
 and shortly entered into partnership with 
 Messrs. Need and Strutt, eminent stocking- 
 manufacturers of that town. By this impor- 
 tant connection the mechanical skill of Mr. 
 Jedediah Strutt, who invented the contrivance 
 by which Lee's stocking-frame was adapted to 
 the production of ribbed stockings was brought 
 to bear upon certain deficiencies of the ma- 
 chine with great advantage. In 1709 a patent 
 was obtained for the machine, the most im- 
 portant feature of which was the use of two 
 pairs of rollers, technically called drawing 
 rollers, the first pair revolving slowly in con- 
 tact with each other, and the second pair 
 revolving in like manner, but with greater 
 velocity. The lower roller of each pair w:is 
 fluted longitudinally, and the upper one 
 covered with leather, and the two were pressed 
 together with a gentle pressure by means of 
 weighted levers, in order that they might take 
 sufficient hold of the soft cotton passed be- 
 tween them. The fibres of the cotton-wool 
 were first laid smooth and straight, by carding 
 or combing, so as to produce a soft loose rib- 
 bon or cord called a sliver, the end of which 
 was introduced between the first pair of rollers. 
 In passing between them it received no further 
 change than a slight compression, but as from 
 them it was conducted to the second pair of 
 
201 ABKWEiaHT, SIR RICHARD. 
 
 rollers, moving with twice, thrice, or more 
 times the velocity of the first pair, it was ex- 
 tended or drawn out to two, three, or more 
 times its original length, its thickness being 
 reduced in like proportion. As this action is 
 effected by the sliding of the fibres upon one 
 another, the distance between the two pairs 
 of rollers must be so adjusted, in relation to 
 the average length of the fibres, that the two 
 pairs may never have hold of one fibre at the 
 same time. Such is the beautifully simple 
 principle upon which, with the aid of twisting, 
 the thick soft sliver or carding is converted 
 into a fine, hard, and compact yarn or thread. 
 
 Arkwright's spinning-machine was, in the 
 first instance, worked by horse power ; but in 
 1771 the partners built a spinning mill for 
 working by water-power at Cromford, in 
 Derbyshire, from which establishment, 'the 
 nursing-place,' as it has been styled, 'of the 
 factory opulence and power of Great Britain,' 
 the machine took the name of the water-frame, 
 and the yarn produced by it that of water-twist. 
 It was in the arrangement of this establish- 
 ment, the first of its kind, that Arkwright 
 manifested that extraordinary talent for me- 
 chanical contrivance and adjustment, and for 
 the no less difficult task of training human 
 agents to take then: places as part and parcel 
 of a vast and complicated automatic apparatus, 
 which earned for him the title of father of the 
 factory system. 
 
 Notwithstanding the superior quality of the 
 water-twist over other yarns, a superiority 
 which rendered it available for use as warp, 
 the prejudiced manufacturers formed a com- 
 bination to oppose its use, and thus compelled 
 Arkwright and his partners to commence the 
 manufacture of it themselves, first into stock- 
 ings and afterwards into calicoes similar in 
 quality to those now used. 
 
 The invention of the machine for spinning 
 by rollers was followed up by various improve- 
 ments in the mechanism for carding and for 
 other processes in the cotton manufacture, for 
 which Arkwright obtained a second patent in 
 1775. As, however, the cheapness and beauty 
 of the new cotton fabrics had by this time led 
 to an extensive demand, the hostile manufac- 
 turers altered their tactics, and instead of 
 endeavouring to put down Arkwright's inven- 
 tions, they soon began to dispute his claim to 
 them, and to appropriate them in defiance of 
 his patent rights. The use of his new me- 
 chanism was extended in the course of a few 
 years, by licences granted by the patentees, 
 to a very great extent, and this circumstance 
 rendered piracy more easy. In 1782 Ark- 
 wright computed that the new manufacture 
 already employed upwards of 5000 persons, 
 
 ARLES. 
 
 202 
 
 and a capital of 200,OOOZ. In some cases the 
 new machinery was destroyed by mobs, con- 
 nived at, if not encouraged, by the higher and 
 middle classes ; while in others the unautho- 
 rized use of it without payment to the paten- 
 tees was carried to a great length. He be- 
 came involved in costly litigation, during 
 which attempts were made to deprive him of 
 the fame resulting from his inventions ; the 
 result has been to give merited praise to one 
 or two earlier inventors who had languished 
 in obscurity, but leaving quite enough to jus- 
 tify the high fame which Arkwright had 
 achieved. 
 
 Prosperity continued to attend the establish- 
 ment of Arkwright and his partners, notwith- 
 standing the adverse decisions of the courts. 
 His partnership with Mr. Strutt terminated in 
 1783, after which time he retained the works 
 at Cromford, which were subsequently carried 
 on by his son, while Mr. Strutt continued the 
 works at Belper, which were founded about 
 1776. How greatly the cotton manufacture 
 extended under the stimulating effect of his 
 improvements may be conceived from the fact 
 that the imports of cotton-wool, which ave- 
 raged less than 5,000,000 Ibs. per annum in 
 the five years from 1771 to 1775, rose to an 
 average of 25,443,270 Ibs. per annum in the 
 five years ending with 1790. 
 
 Arkwright was a very early riser; devoted 
 himself most assiduously to business ; was a 
 severe economist of time ; was exceedingly 
 sanguine in his disposition ; and entertained 
 an unbounded confidence in the wealth-pro- 
 ducing powers of machinery and manufactures. 
 To his credit it is recorded that when upwards of 
 fifty years of age he made strenuous efforts to 
 retrieve the deficiencies of his early education ; 
 redeeming time from the hours usually devo- 
 ted to sleep in order to apply one hour a day 
 to grammar, and another to writing and ortho- 
 graphy. In 1786, on occasion of presenting 
 an address to George III. after the attempt 
 on his life by Margaret Nicholson, he received 
 the honour of knighthood ; and in the follow- 
 ing year he served as high sheriff of Derby- 
 shire. He died in 1792, leaving property to 
 the extent of half a million sterling ; and his 
 son Richard, who died in 1843, is said to have 
 been the richest commoner in England. 
 
 ARLES. The situation of Aries on the 
 banks of the Rhone gives it considerable ad- 
 vantages for trade. There is also a navigable 
 canal, which runs from the Rhone to the sea. 
 The corn, wine, fruits, manna, cattle, soda, 
 salt, wool, and oil, of the surrounding country, 
 find sale at Aries ; and several manufactures 
 are carried on, as of glass bottles, soap, silk, 
 tobacco, and brandy. Aries has a very active 
 
203 ARMAGH. 
 
 coasting trade : merchant steamboats ply 
 regularly to Marseille, and passenger steamers 
 up the river to Avignon, Lyon, and Seyssel ; 
 about 100 vessels, of from 30 to 180 tons, are 
 constantly under weigh for Marseille or Tou- 
 louse. 
 
 ARMAGH, one of the north-eastern coun- 
 ties of Ireland is one of the seats of the flax 
 and linen manufacture, which is chiefly in the 
 hands of the small farmers. Cotton is also 
 manufactured, but not to any great extent. 
 Spinning machinery has been introduced in a 
 very limited degree. 
 
 ARME 'NIA. However important Armenia 
 may be in a geographical and historical sense, 
 its industrial, and commercial features are soon 
 enumerated. 
 
 Armenia produces abundance of excellent 
 iron and copper, which are exported to Mosul. 
 Rich mines of gold and silver exist near Keb- 
 ban and Argana, in the two branches of the 
 Taurus which inclose the valley of Karpoot 
 (anciently Sophene), through which the Eu- 
 phrates passes in its way from Armenia to 
 Syria ; rock salt abounds in the valley of Kul- 
 pia, which slopes towards the Araxes, four 
 miles below the fortress of Koor Ougley. A 
 range of hills, bordering the valley on the east 
 side, is apparently entirely composed of that 
 mineral, and in the sides of these numerous 
 excavations have been made. 
 
 The valleys of Armenia are fertile in grain, 
 tobacco, manna, hemp, cotton, and in fruit- 
 trees, particularly a large description of apple, 
 and walnuts. The excellence of the Arme- 
 nian cotton was noticed by Marco Polo. 
 
 ARMILLA, is a bracelet, or large ring, for 
 the wrist or arm. The wearing of the armilla, 
 or bracelet, as an .ornament, is of very high 
 antiquity. It occurs in Genesis, chap, xxiv., 
 22, 23, where Abraham sends his servant to 
 seek a wife for Isaac. The Amalekite who 
 slew Saul (2 Sam i. 10) ' took the crown that 
 was upon his head, and the bracelet that was 
 on his arm,' and brought them to David. The 
 armilla is often mentioned by the Roman 
 writers, and it was worn both by males and 
 females. It was also used as a reward for 
 military bravery. 
 
 The Hamilton, Townley, and Knight collec- 
 tions of antiquities, in the British Museum, 
 contain armillse in great quantities, and of al- 
 most every variety of form, in gold, in silver, 
 and in bronze. 
 
 These armillce are interesting in an indus- 
 trial point of view, in so far as they illustrate 
 metallurgy in early times. 
 
 ARMOUR, is a general term for any defen- 
 sive habit worn to protect the wearer from the 
 attack of an enemy. Harness is a name for- 
 
 ARMOUR. 
 
 204 
 
 merly applied in this country to armour in the 
 aggregate. 
 
 Some of the earliest manufactures in metal 
 were connected with the making of armour. 
 In the Bible we find the shield, helmet and 
 breastplate mentioned at a very early period ; 
 and greaves, or armour for the legs, are named 
 among the armour of Goliath. Homer men- 
 tions them, and his descriptions of the breast- 
 plate of Agamemnon, the shield of Achilles, 
 and the golden armour of Glaucus, indicate 
 the highly decorated character of much ancient 
 armour. 
 
 The complete Roman armour consisted of 
 the helmet, shield, lorica, and greaves. The 
 lorica was originally of leather, but in the 
 time of Servius Tullius the whole of the 
 Roman body armour was of brass. The 
 Roman lorica was frequently enriched with 
 embossed figures. Each Roman legion had 
 ts own device marked upon its shields. 
 
 The early Britons appear to have used no 
 armour except the shield ; but many of the 
 A.nglo-Saxons wore loricse of leather and four- 
 cornered helmets, having probably derived 
 them from the Romans. The Anglo-Saxon 
 soldiers appear in drawings of the eighth cen- 
 iry with no armour besides the shield and 
 lelmet, and armed with the sword and spear. 
 Towards the close of the ninth century the 
 corium, or corietum, was the armour generally 
 used. It was formed of hides cut into the 
 resemblance of leaves, and covering one 
 another. The weight of the ringed byrne 
 seems to have been found a great impediment 
 ;o activity. Edward the Confessor appears on 
 lis great seal in a diadem evidently put upon 
 a helmet. The casque worn by the nobility 
 was of metal, and of a pointed conical 
 hape, but ornamented with gold and jewels, 
 and in the later specimens furnished with a 
 
 rtZ, or small projecting piece to shield the 
 nose. 
 
 The Danes, on their first appearance in 
 England, seem to have had no armour bej'ond 
 i broad collar or thorax of flat rings, and 
 leather greaves or rather shin-pieces ; but 
 about the time of Canute they adopted, pro- 
 bably from the Normans, a tunic with a hood 
 and long sleeves, and cfuiusscs, or pantaloons, 
 which covered the feet, all of these being 
 coated with perforated lozenges of steel, called 
 from their resemblance to the meshes of a 
 net, macles, or mosaics. They wore also a 
 rounded conical helmet, or skull-cap, with a 
 round knob, under which were painted the 
 rays of a star on its apex, and a large broad 
 nasal, to which the hood being drawn up over 
 the mouth, was attached, so as to leave no- 
 thing but the eyes exposed. The shield 
 
205 
 
 AEMOUE, 
 
 ARNOTT'S STOVE. 
 
 206 
 
 remained as before, and the weapons were 
 spears, swords, and battle-axes, or bipennes. 
 
 From the period of the Conquest, seals, 
 especially those of our kings, and monumental 
 effigies, furnish abundant evidence as to the 
 changes which took place in the fashion of 
 armour. The Conqueror himself appears on 
 his seal in a hauberk apparently of rings set 
 edgewise ; and in the Bayeux tapestry ring- 
 armour forming both breeches and jacket at 
 the same time is represented. The chapel de 
 fer, which resembles in shape a Tartar cap, 
 being a cone which projects beyond the head, 
 appears for the first time upon the seal of 
 Eufus ; and tegulated armour, which consisted 
 of little plates covering each other in the 
 manner of tiles, and sewn upon a hauberk, 
 without sleeves or hood, appears during the 
 reign of Stephen, towards the close of which 
 the nasal of the helmet seems to have been 
 disused. Henry II. is represented on his 
 seal in a flat-ringed hauberk, and a conical 
 helmet without a nasal. Pourpointerie, or 
 pourpointing, which consisted of padded work 
 elaborately stitched, appears first in the great 
 seals of Henry III., where the hauberk and 
 chausses appear to be of this description. 
 Some changes appear also in the helmet, 
 which, in his second seal, is cylindrical. Po- 
 kyns, or coverings for the knees, were worn 
 in this reign. Archers are shown in illumina- 
 tions of this period wearing leathern vests 
 over hauberks of edge-ringed mail. Armour 
 of interlaced rings, which did not require to 
 be sewn to" an under garment, and was pro- 
 bably introduced from the east by the crusa- 
 ders, was introduced in this reign ; in which 
 also the chanfron, or armour for the horse's 
 head, appears for the first time. 
 
 Considerable improvements were made in 
 armour during the reigns of Edward I., II., 
 and III. Aileltes, or shoulder-pieces ; mixed 
 armour, partly of plate and partly of mail ; 
 armures defer, or richly adorned plate- armour ; 
 mamelieres, or pieces put upon the breast, and 
 from which chains descended, one to the 
 sword-hilt, and the other to the scabbard ; the 
 cointisse, or surcoat, ornamented with the 
 warrior's arms, over the armour; moveable 
 visors attached to the bacincts, or bason-shaped 
 skull-caps, all appeared during these three 
 reigns. Increased ornament was a charac- 
 teristic of the armour of the reigns of Pd chard 
 II. and Henry IV., about which time Italian 
 armourers were much employed by the Eng- 
 lish nobility. Chain-mail appears to have 
 been entirely disused soon after 1400, com- 
 plete armour of plate superseding it. Black 
 armour was often used at this period for 
 mourning. Plate-armour attained its highest 
 
 perfection about the reign of Eichard III., 
 and one of the finest suits preserved in the 
 Tower of London, accompanied by a chanfron, 
 mansefaire, and poitral. for arming the horse, 
 belonged to Henry VII. In his reign fluted 
 armour was occasionally used ; and in that of 
 his successor armour was frequently stamped 
 or engraved with arms and devices, and some- 
 times damasquinee, or inlaid with gold. 
 
 The use of complete armour began to de- 
 cline in this country after the time of Eliza- 
 beth. The late Sir S. Meyrick's collection of 
 armour at Goodrich Court is perhaps the 
 finest private collection in this country. At 
 the Mediaeval Exhibition of 1850, many fine 
 specimens of armour belonging to the feudal 
 ages were collected. 
 
 AEMS. The few details which may be 
 deemed fitting on this subject, in the present 
 work, will be found under such headings 
 as ARTILLERY, Bow, CANNON, GUN, EIPLE, 
 SWORD, &c. 
 
 AENOTTO, or AENATTO, the inspissated 
 extract from the fruit of the JBixa Orellana, is 
 used by dyers to give a bright orange colour 
 to silk goods, and to give a deeper shade to 
 simple yellow colours. It is further used in 
 many of our dairies to give a reddish colour 
 to cheese, which it does without adding any 
 disagreeable flavour or unwholesome quality. 
 The Amotto of commerce is brought to us 
 from South America. It is moderately hard, 
 brown on the outside, and of a dull red within. 
 It conies in cakes of about two or three pounds 
 weight each, and is generally enveloped in 
 large flag-leaves previous to being packed in 
 casks. In this state it receives the name of 
 flag arnotto, to distinguish it from a less 
 known variety called roll arnotto. Arnotto dis- 
 solved in potass and water forms Nankin dye ; 
 and most of its solutions are effected with alka- 
 lies. A varnish is made from it with alcohol. 
 
 The consumption of arnotto has been much 
 increased in this country of late years. In 
 1847 about 270,000 Ibs. were imported. Ar- 
 notto is now admitted duty free. It sells at 
 present from lOd. to Is. IQd. per Ib. 
 
 AENOTT'S STOVE. Dr. Arnott has dis- 
 tinguished himself by many ingenious con- 
 trivances, brought forward by him not for 
 the sake of profit, but as conducive to general 
 health and comfort. The Water-bed, the 
 Stove, the Ventilator all are familiarly known 
 by the name of the benevolent physician who 
 invented them. 
 
 Arnott's Stove is one of the many varieties 
 of close stove, in which the cheerfulness of an 
 open English fire is abandoned for the sake 
 of a more efficient mode of burning the fuel. 
 It was in 1838 that "Dr. Arnott published his 
 
207 ARNOTT'S VENTILATOR. 
 
 work on Warming and Venlifation t in which he 
 so beautifully and simply explains the philo- 
 sophy of the fire-place. He shows how, in a 
 common open fire we waste a large amount of 
 fuel, heat our rooms very unequally at different 
 distances from the fire-place, cause cold 
 draughts to flow in from the doors and win- 
 dows, and a stratum of cold ear to lie next the 
 floor and near the feet, leave the rooms with- 
 out good ventilation, occasion much unneces- 
 sary smoke and dust, waste much time in 
 attending to the fire, entail danger to person 
 and to property, and necessitate frequent 
 cleaning of chimneys. It was to remove some 
 of these evils, and to lessen others, that he 
 suggested his new form of stove the guiding 
 principle of which is, to allow the fuel to burn 
 very slowly, through the controlling agency of 
 a valve for admitting the air. The stove 
 usually consists of an exterior iron case, 
 square or cylindrical, lined with fire clay ; the 
 fuel is burned in a box or vessel within the 
 case ; there is one opening in the outer case 
 to admit fuel, another to remove ashes, and a 
 third at which a flue may be fixed to carry off 
 the products of combustion. All these aper- 
 tures being closed, air must enter to feed the 
 fire in some other way. This is admitted 
 by a very small aperture near the level of 
 the burning fuel ; and the aperture is 
 closed by a valve which forms the distinguish- 
 ing feature of the Arnott stoves. Many vari- 
 eties of the valve have been adopted ; but all 
 of them are self-acting. When the fire is too 
 fierce, the valve closes automatically, and re- 
 fuses to admit any more air until the heat 
 becomes subdued ; but under average circum- 
 stances the valve remains open, and a small 
 but steady stream of air enters the stove. The 
 most successful contrivance is found to be a 
 tube containing mercury, placed within the 
 outer case, and bending round to the exterior 
 in the form of an inverted siphon ; when the 
 mercury becomes heated, it expands, rises in 
 the tube, and thus moves a small piece of 
 apparatus which governs the valve. 
 
 The relation which Arnott' s stove bears to 
 stoves and heating apparatus generally, is 
 noticed under WAIIMING AND VENTILATING. 
 
 ARNOTT'S VENTILATOR. Dr. Arnott's 
 contrivances in respect to heat and air all de- 
 pend on these two points how to bring pure 
 air into a room and a fire ; and how to expel 
 impure oirfrom a room and a fire. The Ven- 
 tilator, now happily so much used in ordinary 
 rooms, is an exceedingly simple means of 
 effecting the second object. When the cholera 
 was raging in London in 1849, Dr. Arnott 
 suggested that, in every badly ventilated room, 
 a brick should bo taken out of the wall near 
 
 ARNOTT'S VENTILATOR. 208 
 
 the ceiling, so as to open a direct communica- 
 tion between the room and the chimney ; and 
 ho wrote a letter to the Times, in which the 
 rationale of this contrivance was described 
 with a clearness and simplicity which few but 
 himself can effect by words alone. He said, 
 ' Every chimney in a house is what is called 
 a sucking or drawing air-pump, of a certain 
 force, and can easily be rendered a valuable 
 ventilating pump. A chimney is a pump 
 first, by reason of the suction or approach to 
 a vacuum made at the open end of any tube 
 across which the wind blows directly ; and 
 secondly, because the flue is usually occupied, 
 even when there is no fire, by air somewhat 
 warmer than the external air, and has, there- 
 fore, even in a calm day, what is called a 
 chimney - draught proportioned to the dif- 
 ference. In England, therefore, of old, when 
 the chimney breast was made higher than the 
 heads of persons sitting or sleeping in rooms, 
 a room with an open chimney was tolerably 
 well ventilated in the lower part, where the 
 inmates breathe.' But modern fire-places are 
 made low, and the heated air cannot thus 
 escape. ' If, however, an opening be made 
 in a chimney-flue through the wall near the 
 ceiling of the room, then will all the hot im- 
 pure air of the room certainly pass away 
 
 For years past I have recommended the adop- 
 tion of such ventilating chimney openings ; 
 and I devised a balanced valve, to prevent, 
 during the use of the fires, the escape of 
 smoke to the room.' 
 
 Such is the philosophy and the action of 
 the ventilating valves. They are made rectan- 
 gular or circular, of iron or of brass, plain or 
 ornamental, balanced in front or behind ; but 
 all act alike on the same principle. 
 
 Dr. Arnott has devised other and more ela- 
 borate ventilators. He was applied to by the 
 Board of Health, a year or two ago, to suggest 
 means for the ventilation of ships ; and he 
 has described very efficient means of attaining 
 this end. Quite recently (1850) he has planned 
 a system of ventilation for a large building of 
 a highly curious and scientific kind. The 
 building is the York County Hospital, which 
 has a reservoir of water at a height of 00 feet 
 from the ground ; and he resolved that this 
 water should work the apparatus for ventila- 
 ting the whole building. A large circular 
 vessel has been constructed, which is partly 
 filled Avith water; floating on the water, or 
 rather resting with its edges on the water, is 
 a kind of gasometer, or inverted air-chamber. 
 A pipe of small diameter extends verti- 
 cally from the water vessel to the reservoir at 
 the top of the house ; and the water, flowing 
 down this }>i[', rxi'i 1 ! - , ;it hydraulic pres- 
 
209 
 
 AEO'MA. 
 
 AEEIS. 
 
 210 
 
 sure on a piston, which forces the water into 
 the gasometer, and forces the air from the 
 gasometer into air- passages which ventilate 
 the building. The scientific principles of the 
 hydraulic press, of the air-pump, and of the 
 gasometer, are all involved in the arrange- 
 ment. The gasometer holds 125 feet of air; 
 it is filled and emptied by the action of the 
 apparatus, sixteen times in a minute ; so that 
 2000 cubic feet of air per minute are forced 
 into the ventilating passages of the hospital. 
 
 The general subject of ventilation, in its 
 varied forms, is noticed in the article before 
 referred to. [WARMING AND VENTILATING.] 
 
 AEO'MA AND AEOMATICS. Aroma is 
 the supposed principle of odour in plants, 
 formerly called by Boerhaave Spiritus Rector. 
 This quality generally resides in the essential 
 oil ; but there are some vegetables that have 
 a strong odour which yield but little or no 
 essential oil, as the jessamine and the violet ; 
 or when an oil in small quantity is procured 
 from them, it has not a powerful smell. 
 
 Aromatics exercise a peculiar influence over 
 the digestive powers, and are possessed of 
 more or less odour or fragrance. Of this 
 odour, by which they can at all times be recog- 
 nised, the most usual vehicle is an essential 
 or volatile oil, as just stated. Indeed, volatile 
 oil exists in all aromatic plants, and in every 
 part except the cotyledons, save in the nutmeg 
 and a very few other seeds ; but this aromatic 
 oil does not reside in the same part in every 
 kind of plant. 
 
 Aromatics are seldom applied to the organ 
 of smell for the purpose of influencing the 
 system in a remedial manner, but are usually 
 introduced into the stomach. As all aromatics 
 contain volatile oil, their action is generally 
 referred to this principle; but there cannot 
 be a doubt that the more fixed principles 
 which they contain contribute greatly to their 
 effect. Volatile oils, when separated, act 
 chiefly on the nervous system ; but aromatics 
 influence the digestive organs, the function of 
 assimilation, and the circulation. The neces- 
 sity for the employment of aromatica is 
 greater in warm climates and weather than in 
 cold ; and wo find the plants which furnish 
 them grow in the greatest abundance in hot 
 countries. Throughout the East Indies the 
 natives restore the powers of the stomach by 
 chewing betel, which consists of slices of the 
 areca nut, sprinkled with fresh lime, wrapped 
 up along with some aromatic in a leaf of the 
 piper betel. The Indians of South America 
 use the Erythroxylum Peruvianum ( called coca) 
 along with the leaves of the Chenopodium 
 Quinoa, mixed with quicklime, to stimulate 
 the impaired powers of the stomach during 
 
 their long and toilsome journeys over the 
 heights of the Andes, On the same principle, 
 the Europeans who visit tropical countries use 
 curry and other hot dishes. But in every 
 quarter of the globe we find condiments used 
 along with all articles' difficult of digestion, 
 especially vegetables, fish, and young meat, 
 such as veal. 
 
 ARPENT. The arpent is one of the French 
 measures of land, intended to be abolished by 
 the metrical system, but still given in various 
 books, and therefore useful to be known. 
 There were, however, four varieties of it ; the 
 smallest of which contained 4089 English 
 square yards, and the largest 9770. The 
 crown-lands were measured by the arpent of 
 6107 English square yards about 1 acres. 
 
 ARQUEBUS. This variety, of fire-arms, 
 now out of use, was a sort of hand-gun, pro- 
 vided with a small apparatus suggested by the 
 trigger of the cross-bow, to convey with cer- 
 tainty and quickness the burning match to the 
 touch-powder. 
 
 The arquebuses made in the 15th century 
 were often very ornamental. At the exhi- 
 bition of Mediaeval Art, in 1850, many such 
 specimens were collected. In one example, 
 belonging to the Board of Ordnance, the stock 
 is inlaid with ivory, the bow is engraved with 
 arabesques partly gilt, and the linstock is en- 
 graved with figures of seven deities. 
 
 AERACK. [ABACK.] 
 
 AEEAGON. [ARAGON.] 
 
 ARRAGONITE. These crystals have been 
 found abundantly in a ferruginous clay in 
 Aragon in Spain, where they occur accom- 
 panied by sulphate of lime ; and they are also 
 met with in numerous other parts of Europe. 
 Arragonite is a carbonate of lime, chemically 
 almost identical with calc-spar ; but of dif- 
 ferent crystallized form, heavier and harder 
 than that substance. 
 
 ARRAN, the rugged island lying off the 
 coast of Ayrshire, in Scotland, affords a few 
 of the crude materials of industry. It has its 
 quarries of white sandstone; a small supply 
 of slate ; a little coal (too limited however to 
 repay for working at present) ; while wan- 
 derers over its mountains often pick up trans- 
 parent stones, worked by the jewellers under 
 the names of Arran stones, cairngorms, and 
 Scotch topazes. There is a manufactory of 
 sulphate of barytes, used in making paint. 
 
 ARRIS, in French Arestc and Arete, is a 
 term employed in building to express the in- 
 tersection or line in which the two straight or 
 curved surfaces of a body, forming an exte- 
 rior angle, meet each other. The term is 
 synonymous with edge ; but the term edge 
 only is used in reference to parallelopipedal 
 
211 
 
 ARRIS FILLET. 
 
 ARSENIC. 
 
 21.2 
 
 bodies, on which the length and thickness 
 may be measured. 
 
 ARRIS FILLET, a small triangular piece 
 of wood, used to raise the slates of a roof 
 against the shaft of a chimney or a wall, to 
 throw off the rain more effectually ; it is used 
 for the same purpose also in forming gutters 
 round skylights, which have the same incli- 
 nation as the roof, and are slightly raised 
 above it. 
 
 ARROBA, is the name both of a weight 
 and a measure, in Spain, Portugal, and the 
 Canaries. The weight-arroba varies from 
 about 25 to 33 Ib. avoirdupois ; the measure- 
 arroba varies from 2 to 3| gallons. 
 
 ARROO, a large island near New Guinea, 
 is a trading depot for the Chinese, who pro- 
 cure from AriK)o pearls, tortoise-shell, edible 
 birds' -nests, and an aromatic bark named 
 missoy, which resembles cinnamon. Birds of 
 paradise are very numerous in these islands : 
 they are caught by the natives for then* 
 plumage ; their flesh, when preserved by 
 fumigation, is bought by the Chinese traders. 
 
 ARROW. [Bow.] 
 
 ARROW-ROOT is a farinaceous substance 
 prepared from the roots or tubers of various 
 plants; that from America and the West 
 Indies being the produce of Maranta arundi- 
 nacea and Maranta indica, and that from the 
 East Indies being from the M. indica^ and 
 from several species of Curcuma. Among 
 other plants which yield a similar substance 
 is the cuckoo-pint, Arum maculatum. Arrow- 
 root is prepared by either grating or beating 
 the tubers in a mortar to a pulpy consistence ; 
 separating the fibrous matter from the pulp 
 by mixing it with a quantity of water, and 
 passing it through a hair-sieve; and then 
 suffering the pure farina to subside from the 
 remaining milk-like fluid, and if needful, pu- 
 rifying it still further by successive washings 
 and strainings. The moisture is at length 
 evaporated by exposure to sun and air, and 
 when perfectly dry the powder is packed in 
 boxes or casks, in which state it may be kept 
 for many years. West Indian arrow-root is 
 usually of a pure white, and East Indian has 
 a yellowish tinge. Its taste is insipid, and 
 the powder emits a crackling sound when 
 pressed in the hand, and retains the impres- 
 sion of the fingers, which common wheat- 
 starch does not. Being very easy of diges- 
 tion, arrow-root constitutes a valuable article 
 of food for children end delicate persons. It 
 is used mixed with boiling water or milk, or 
 in the form of puddings, and may be given 
 plain, or with wine or spices. Potato-starch 
 is not so digestible, and, if prepared frem 
 potatoes in the spring, is liable to disturb the 
 
 stomach. The common English name of this 
 preparation is derived from the use to which 
 the South American Indians applied the roots 
 of a plant once confounded with the Maranta, 
 but now called Alpinia yalanya, as an antidote 
 to the effect of poisoned arrows. 
 
 It is said that a very large portion of that 
 which is sold in the shops under the name of 
 arrow-root consists of potato-starch. 
 
 The cultivation of arrow-root has lately 
 been introduced with considerable success 
 into the island of St. Vincent. Machinery of 
 skilful construction is employed to prepare 
 the arrow-root from the plant ; and the pack- 
 ing for shipment is very carefully conducted. 
 
 Arrow-root from British colonies pays (Id. 
 per cwt. import duty ; from foreign countries 
 2s. Cd. In 1847 about 10,580 cwts. were im- 
 ported ; and in 1848 about 8,100 cwts. 
 
 ARSENAL, a public establishment win TO 
 naval and military engines, or warlike equip 
 rnents, are manufactured or stored. Th;- 
 Royal Arsenal at Woolwich is the chief esta- 
 blishment of this kind in England. In France 
 the chief arsenal is at Paris. Toulon, Mar- 
 seille, and Brest, are naval arsenals. 
 
 ARSENIC is a peculiar metal, frequently 
 met with in nature ; sometimes in its pure 
 metallic state, but more commonly combined 
 with other metals, as iron and cobalt, or with 
 sulphur, and frequently united with oxygen. 
 Arsenic has a steel gray colour and consider- 
 able brilliancy ; its density is about 5 1 times 
 that of water. The native metal is granular, 
 and the artificial crystalline ; it is extremely 
 brittle, and consequently easily powdered. 
 When arsenic is exposed to the air, it soon 
 loses its lustre, and becomes black on the 
 surface. When kept under water, it under- 
 goes no change ; if heated to 356 Fahrenheit, 
 it is volatilized, without previous fusion ; the 
 vapour has a strong smell, resembling that of 
 garlic, and this, to a certain extent, is relied 
 upon as proof of its presence ; the vapour 
 readily condenses in small brilliant crystals of 
 metallic arsenic. 
 
 Arsenic and oxyyen combine in two propor- 
 tions, and both compounds possess acid pro- 
 perties ; that which contains the smaller 
 quantity of oxygen is termed arscnious arid, 
 the white arsenic of the shops. Arsenic acid, 
 which contains the larger quantity of oxy^ru, 
 exists in nature much more commonly than 
 the arsenious acid, in combination with lime, 
 copper, iron, and lead. It is of a milk-white 
 colour, and is very poisonous. Arsenic and 
 hydrogen combine to form a gas, which, how- 
 ever, when subjected to intense cold, is con- 
 densed into a limpid liquid resembling aether. 
 The gas has ail extremely fetid smell. The 
 
213 
 
 AESENIC. 
 
 AETA. 
 
 214 
 
 chloride of Arsenic is a colourless volatile 
 liquid, which combines with oil of olives and 
 of turpentine, and partially dissolves sulphur 
 and phosphorus when heated. Arsenic and 
 sulphur may be made to combine in four dif- 
 ferent proportions ; of which two yield realgar 
 and orpimcnt. Eealgar, a red sulphuret, is of 
 a deep-red colour, brittle, easily reduced to 
 powder, inodorous, tasteless, and insoluble in 
 water, Orpiment, a yellow sulphuret, is 
 commonly composed of thin plates, which 
 are of a very fine yellow colour, and flexible 
 to a considerable degree. 
 
 Arsenic and metals in general combine with 
 great facility: those which are malleable it 
 renders brittle, and those which are difficult 
 to melt it renders fusible. These alloys do 
 not form an important class of bodies. 
 
 The arsenic and arsenious acids combine 
 with many alkalies and metals to produce 
 salts. These, as well as other preparations 
 of arsenic, are largely used in the arts. Arse- 
 nite of potash is used in making cobalt blue ; 
 the red suiphuret is used in making fire- 
 works ; the yellow sulphuret is used as a 
 dye, as a pigment, and in making fire- 
 works ; arsenic in its metallic state is em- 
 ployed for a few purposes, generally in an 
 alloyed state. The medical applications of 
 arsenial compounds we do not notice here ; 
 further than to say that the common arsenic 
 of the shops is arsenious acid, and that it is 
 too frequently adulterated with plaster of 
 pans and other cheap substances. 
 
 The late Mr. Marsh devised some extremely 
 delicate means of detecting the presence of 
 arsenic. The liquid suspected to contain the 
 poison is acidulated with sulphuric acid and 
 placed in contact with metallic zinc, both of 
 which must be previously ascertained to be 
 free from arsenic ; if any arsenic be present 
 in the liquid, the hydrogen gas generated re- 
 duces and dissolves it, forming arsenuretted 
 hydrogen gas. This gas is to be lighted at a 
 jet, and a piece of white porcelain or of glass 
 is to be held over the flame, when, if any arse- 
 nic be present, a brilliant black spot of metal- 
 lic arsenic is deposited on the glass or porce- 
 lain. Another method of proceeding is to 
 boil a slip of bright metallic copper in the 
 fluid suspected, previously acidulated with 
 hydrochloric acid. If arsenic be present, the 
 copper is covered with a whitish alloy, and 
 then by heating the metal in a test tube, the 
 arsenic is volatilized, and sublimes in the 
 metallic state in the cold part of the glass. 
 This method is susceptible of detecting very 
 minute portions of arsenic. 
 
 Foreign arsenic may be imported into this 
 country duty free. 
 
 AKT-UNIONS are societies for the encou- 
 ragement of the fine arts by the purchase of 
 works of art out of a common fund raised in 
 small shares or subscriptions ; such works of 
 art, or the right of selecting them, being dis- 
 tributed by lot among the subscribers or mem- 
 bers. The success of similar associations in 
 Germany and Prussia led to the establishment 
 in 1837 of the Art-Union of London, which, 
 though it has given rise to many others, re- 
 mains at the head of such societies in this 
 country. In it every member subscribes an- 
 nually the sum of one or more guineas, re- 
 ceiving accordingly one or more shares in the 
 advantages held out. Part of the sum thus 
 raised is expended in the engraving of one or 
 more works of art, of which every subscriber 
 receives a copy ; but, though the prints thus 
 distributed are such as would, in the ordinary 
 course of trade, cost the full amount of the 
 subscription, they are, owing to the combina- 
 tion of a very large body of subscribers, and 
 the avoidance of risk, produced at so small a 
 cost as to leave the greater part of the sub- 
 scribed funds available for the purchase of 
 original pictures or pieces of sculpture. The 
 sum thus appropriated is divided into prizes 
 of from 101. to 3001. or 400Z., which are dis- 
 tributed by lot among the subscribers; the 
 prize-holders being allowed, under certain re- 
 strictions, themselves to select works of art to 
 the specified amount. These works of art, 
 previous to their delivery to the prize-holders, 
 are gratuitously exhibited for three or four 
 weeks to the subscribers and the public. 
 
 In the season of 1850 the subscriptions 
 amounted to 11,180Z. ; the sum laid out in 
 the purchase of pictures, statuettes and medals 
 was 5073/., and on engravings and etchings 
 32501. The works of art selected by the sub- 
 scribers amounted in number to 1021. 
 
 Doubts having been raised as to the legality 
 of art unions, temporary acts were passed in 
 1844 and 1845 to^'indemnify their managers 
 from the penalties to which they were sup- 
 posed to be subject; and in 1846 an act (9 & 
 10 Vic. c. 48) was passed to legalize such as 
 have been or may be incorporated by royal 
 charter, or may have their rules and deed of 
 partnership approved by a committee of the 
 privy council. The Art-Union of London 
 was incorporated by royal charter on the 1st 
 of December, 1846. 
 
 AETA, a town of Albania, holds a respect- 
 able rank in respect to manufactures. In the 
 quarter set apart for trade, each art has its 
 separate street or bazaar, and articles of dress 
 manufactured here are held in high estima- 
 tion. The floccatas, or shaggy capotes of 
 Arta, are considered the finest; woollens, 
 
215 
 
 ARTESIAN WELLS. 
 
 AETESAN WELLS. 
 
 216 
 
 coarse cottons, and Eussia leather, are also 
 manufactured, and this town derives some 
 commercial benefit as the entrepot between 
 Joanina and the gulf, by which the produce of 
 Albania reaches the sea. 
 
 AETESIAN WELLS are perpendicular 
 perforations or borings, through which water 
 rises from various depths, according to cir- 
 cumstances, above the surface of the soil. 
 Such perforations have been named Artesian 
 Avells, from the opinion that they were first 
 used in the district of Artois in France. They 
 are seldom more than a few inches in dia- 
 meter, and are made by means of the usual 
 boring instruments. Their action is due to the 
 constant endeavour of water to seek its level. 
 
 Let us suppose, for example, that there is 
 an undulating tract of country, with a town 
 placed in a hollow or valley. Near the sur- 
 face is a thick bed of rock or clay, either im- 
 pervious to water, or through which it perco- 
 lates with difficulty. Beneath this is a sandy 
 or porous stratum which ' crops out ' or ap- 
 pears at the surface, on certain heights beyond 
 the limits of the town. Beneath this stratum, 
 again, is a close -or impervious one. Under 
 these supposed conditions the rain-water, 
 falling on the heights, is absorbed by the 
 ' crop out,' and filters down through the 
 sandy stratum entirely beneath the town : 
 unable to leave that sandy film or layer, be- 
 cause the strata above and below are nearly 
 impervious to water. If, under these condi- 
 tions, a perforation be made near the town, 
 deep enough to reach the sandy stratum, the 
 water which saturates this sand, the water 
 will rise through the hole not merely to a 
 level with the town, but will often spout up 
 far above that level, according to the height 
 of the ground where the 'out-crop' of the 
 sandy stratum occurs. 
 
 This is the principle of the Artesian well, 
 let it be carried out how it may. The geolo- 
 gist has to determine whether a watery stra- 
 tum probably exists : the well-borer has to 
 devise the mode of reaching it. 
 
 One of the most celebrated Artesian wells 
 is that at Crenelle, near Paris. It was com- 
 menced in 1833, and not finished till 1841. 
 Geologists were aware, from the nature of the 
 formation beneath and around Paris, that any 
 watery sandy stratum must necessarily be at 
 a great depth ; but the urgent want of water 
 for the supply of the south-western portion of 
 Paris, determined the authorities to brave all 
 difficulties in the attempt. The boring pro- 
 ceeded slowly, interrupted from time to time 
 by disasters which severely taxed the patience 
 of the engineer. At length, in February 1841, 
 the boring rods suddenly penetrated into the 
 
 watery stratum ; and a stream of pure and 
 limpid water rushed up to the light of day, 
 from the subterranean depths where it had 
 been so long buried. The depth to which the 
 boring was carried exceeded 1800 feet. 
 
 In 1837 the inhabitants of Southampton, 
 requiring an improved supply of water, caused 
 an experimental boring to be made on an 
 elevated common about two miles north of 
 the town. The result being deemed satisfac- 
 tory, measures were taken for the sinking of 
 a shaft. It proved an enormous work. The 
 well -diggers penetrated through 78 feet of 
 alluvium, 300 feet of stiff clay, 100 feet of 
 plastic clay, and about 100 feet of chalk : 
 encountering much difficulty in forming a 
 substantial open shaft. Having thus reached 
 a depth of about 580 feet, the boring rods 
 were used, and were driven to a further depth 
 of more than 700 feet ; so that the total depth 
 attained exceeds 1300 feet. The labour and 
 expense were ultimately rewarded ; for a flow 
 of 50,000 gallons of water per day was ob- 
 tained. The expense was nearly 20,000/. 
 
 The Artesian Wells of Grenelle in France, 
 and Southampton in England, may be taken 
 as types of these works on a large scale. 
 Nearly all the others which have been formed 
 are of less magnitude, and have involved less 
 expense. 
 
 In a paper read before the Institute of 
 British Architects by Doctor Buckland, in 
 1849, he drew attention to the fact that a well 
 is not properly artesian unless the water over- 
 flows at the surface. Thirty years ago there 
 were several such wells in and about London ; 
 but such has been the exhaustion of the 
 springs within this district, that there is now 
 hardly a single well of such a kind, although 
 there are about 300 which are called artesian, 
 chiefly from the mode in which they are sunk 
 by boring inste'ad of digging. The water now 
 obtained in London wells does not rise to 
 within many feet of the surface, and expensive 
 machinery is often necessary to make it avail- 
 able. In the artesian well which supplies the 
 fountains in Trafalgar Square the water does 
 not reach within forty feet of the surface, 
 whence it is pumped up by a steam engine : 
 the supply is good, but the process of obtain- 
 ing it is costly. The level of the water in the 
 London wells is gradually sinking, as the 
 number of wells increase. Doctor Buck- 
 land estimated the present average level in 
 the London wells at 60 feet below the surface, 
 and he thinks that in twenty years it will have 
 sunk to 120 feet. One of the great porter 
 breweries has now to pump up water from a 
 depth of 188 feet, in a well which a few years ago 
 maintained a level 95 feet below the surface. 
 
217 
 
 AKTICHOKE. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. 
 
 218 
 
 These observations, coming from a high 
 authority, have had some influence on the re- 
 cent discussions concerning the supply of 
 London with water. Whatever may be the 
 plan ultimately adopted, it does not seem that 
 the artesian system would be fitting for such 
 an enormous supply as would be necessary. 
 
 The mode of digging or boring for Artesian 
 Wells is described elsewhere. [BOBING.] 
 
 ARTICHOKE. The artichoke and the 
 cardoon are two species of the same genus of 
 plants. The artichoke came originally from 
 the south of Europe, and though it has long 
 been cultivated in the regions of the north, it 
 does not resist the very severe cold of winter. 
 The root of the artichoke is rather bitter, the 
 stem still more so. It was formerly employed 
 as a diuretic, but it has long been cultivated 
 only as a kitchen-garden plant. The cardoon 
 is found in the southern countries of Europe 
 and in the north of Africa. When cooked it 
 is tender, and its flavour greatly resembles 
 that of the artichoke. It is in general a choice 
 dish, and seldom seen except at the tables of 
 persons in easy circumstances. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. Few employ- 
 ments of a mechanical or manipulative nature 
 are more beautiful in their results than the 
 production of artificial or imitative flowers. 
 Nothing can well exceed the faithfulness of 
 these imitations ; every petal, every leaf, every 
 calyx, every bud, is imitated with an accuracy 
 which must have required long observation 
 and much ingenuity on the part of those who 
 have practised this art. A lady may for a 
 shilling procure one of these delicate produc- 
 tions, such as would be deemed a fitting orna- 
 ment for her attire ; but a curious enquirer 
 might also find a shilling not ill-spent, merely 
 for the instruction to be derived from a dissec- 
 tion of this flower, with a view to study its 
 mechanical anatomy. 
 
 The petals of flowers are imitated by rib- 
 bons, feathers, silk-worm cocoons, cambric, 
 taffeta, velvet, or thin laminae of whalebone 
 shaped and coloured for the purpose. The 
 stems are mostly formed of wires, wrapped 
 round with paper, silk, or some other material 
 of the requisite colour. The leaves and petals 
 are mostly cut and embossed by stamping with 
 dies having sharp cutting edges, and are united 
 together by means of wires and paste or ce- 
 ment. The modes of colouring are exceed- 
 ingly various. Seeds and similar objects, and 
 small fruits, such as currants, are imitated by 
 wax, glass, and other substances. Very beau- 
 tiful imitations of some plants are made with 
 wax, rice-paper, and shells. 
 
 This manufacture is generally carried on in 
 private houses, where a large number of per- 
 
 sons (mostly females) work together, each 
 taking certain departments, according to the 
 principle of the division of labour ; and the 
 whole product is then sold to wholsale dealers, 
 who supply the retail shops. 
 
 Our French neighbours are especially dis- 
 tinguished in this art ; all their delicacy of 
 taste is brought to bear upon it ; and we may 
 reasonably expect that the Great Exhibition 
 of 1851 will afford a favourable display of their 
 skill. M. Dupin, in his recent letter to the 
 French manufacturers, says : ' Let us not 
 forget a branch of trade which, assiduously 
 studied, rivals nature itself ; this is the pro- 
 duction of artificial flowers in every possible 
 variety. Of these, France sells to the extent 
 of a million francs (40,000/.) to the foreigner; 
 and England, with the United States, pur- 
 chases more than half this amount.' 
 
 We will take a rose, as a specimen of French 
 imitative manufacture. The petals, the leaves, 
 the calyx, the buds, the stamens, the stalk all 
 require distinct processes. First, for the petals. 
 These are made of the finest cambric, which 
 is cut out with punches ; there being as many 
 different sized punches as there are different 
 sizes in the petals of a rose. Each petal is 
 held by pincers at the extreme end, dipped 
 into a carmine dye, then dipped into water to 
 soften the tint at the edges, then touched with 
 a brush to deepen the tint near the centre ; 
 and any little variegated spots, or even blem- 
 ishes, are imitated by tinting with a brush. 
 Next for the leaves. These are made of Flo- 
 rence sarcenet, which is dyed to the proper 
 colour, stretched while wet that it may dry out 
 perfectly smooth ; the glazed surface of the 
 leaf is imitated by coating the sarcenet with 
 thin gum- water ; while the velvety texture of 
 the under surface is imitated either by a 
 wash of coloured starch water, or by a layer 
 of flock or cloth powder, such as is used in 
 making flock paper-hangings. To imitate the 
 ribs which form such a peculiar and beautiful 
 characteristic of the leaves, several leaves, 
 placed one upon another, are pressed between 
 yaufroirs or goffering-irons, cut with the re- 
 quired indentations. Then we have the leaf- 
 lets which form the calyx-, the sarcenet for 
 these is stiffened with starch water while 
 yet wet from the dyeing ; and when dry, the 
 material is cut to the proper size and shape 
 by punches. The buds are made of sarcenet 
 or of kid, dyed or painted according to circum- 
 stances ; they are swelled out to the proper 
 shape by a stuffing of cotton, gummed flax, or 
 crumb of bread, arid are tied with silk at the 
 end of thin iron wires. The stamens are made 
 of silk, fixed at the ends of brass wires, and so 
 shaped that the wire shall imitate the filament 
 
219 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FUEL. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. 
 
 220 
 
 and the silk the anther; the silk anther being 
 dippad into a glutinous liquid, is made to re- 
 tain sorne very small seeds which imitate the 
 pollen. Lastly comes the building-up of the 
 delicate structure ; the stalk is made of iron 
 wire, coated with cotton and green paper; and 
 around this stalk are grouped and fastened 
 the several parts which together form the imi- 
 tative rose. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FUEL. Some of the com- 
 positions, recently introduced as substitutes 
 for coal, are noticed under FUEL. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL GEMS; ARTIFICIAL 
 PEARLS. The principal methods adopted 
 in imitating the costly gems which take such 
 a high rank in respect to personal adornment, 
 are described in a later article. [GEMS, FAC- 
 TITIOUS.] 
 
 ARTIFICIAL LIMBS, &c. Considerable 
 mechanical ingenuity is displayed in supplying 
 substitutes for limbs or organs which accident 
 or any other cause has removed. 
 
 The art of the dentist, for instance, calls 
 for no small amount of mechanical skill. 
 First there is the choice of the ivory which, 
 from its colour, texture, and hardness, affords 
 the best imitation of the natural teeth. Then 
 there is the shaping of this ivory to the size 
 and form of the tooth, whether single or 
 double, front or back, upper or under. And 
 lastly there are the remarkable contrivances 
 by means of golden palates, or springs, or 
 wires, or cement, by which the tooth or mouth- 
 ful of teeth are fixed in their places. Expe- 
 rience seems to shew that few kinds of cheap- 
 ness are so dear as cheap tooth-making : so 
 great are the difficulties in supplying teeth 
 that will really eat their way through the dif- 
 ficulties presented to them. As for the succe- 
 daneums and metallic and other cements for 
 stopping decayed teeth, their merit depends 
 more on the quality of the material than on 
 the mode of using. We see from time to 
 time patents for new contrivances in dental 
 surgery, which involve no small amount of 
 ingenuity. One such has been enrolled in 
 1850 by Mr. Dinsdale, in which the manufac- 
 ture of teeth, palates, and gums are described. 
 
 An artificial eye is an example of glass 
 manufacture ; the shaping of the glass being 
 much less difficult than the accurate imitation 
 of tne cornea and iris by means of pigments 
 and dyes. 
 
 All those numerous examples of skill, which 
 may more fittingly be called surgical opera- 
 tions than anatomical contrivances, we have 
 nothing to do with here ; but when a mechani- 
 cian undertakes to supply an arm, a hand, or 
 a leg, which will render tolerable service as a 
 substitute for one of flesh and blood, we have 
 
 as much right to claim it as a proof of con- 
 structive skill as a loom or a lathe, a plough 
 or a clock. And here we mark how quickly a 
 newly discovered substance becomes brought 
 within the scope of the operations. Is it 
 caoutchouc? Then will the artificial leg- 
 maker find out where to use it with advantage. 
 Is it gutta percha? Then will he soon see 
 where the combined elasticity and toughness 
 of that remarkable substance are likely to be 
 valuable. Accordingly we find that many dif- 
 ferent materials are employed, either to give 
 shape to the artificial hand, arm, or leg, or to 
 give smoothness and softness to the surface, 
 or to form the joints for the requisite move- 
 ments. Wood, leather, caoutchouc, gutta 
 percha, cork, iron levers, steel springs all 
 are employed; and much ingenuity is dis- 
 played in arranging. 
 
 Sir George Cayley, who has exhibited much 
 inventive talent in various mechanical con- 
 trivances, has recently made many trials to 
 produce an artificial hand which shall be less 
 costly than those ordinarily constructed. He 
 has made the 'Mechanics' Magazine' the 
 medium of communicating his experience in 
 this matter. His first attempt was in 1845. 
 The son of one of his tenants having lost a 
 hand by accident, Sir George contrived a sub- 
 titute which has in many ways lessened the 
 severity of the privation. The movements of 
 this instrument are derived from the stump ; 
 a light frame-work fixes the apparatus to the 
 upper part of the arm ; and a lever connects 
 this frame-work with the artificial hand. The 
 arm is placed within padded rings of metal, 
 which are connected by two long steel bars 
 linged at the elbow. When the wearer moves 
 lis arm by the usual action of the elbow 
 oint, he shifts a small metal bar near the 
 wrist of the machine, which works two cog- 
 wheels acting on each other; and these cog- 
 wheels bring two steel springs together so as 
 to enable them to grasp an object something 
 n the manner of a thumb and fore-finger. 
 The wheels and springs may either be left 
 xposed, in the metallic state, or may be 
 padded so as to represent a thumb and 
 finger. 
 
 It was found that although this artificial 
 land could be turned round a little way, it 
 could not be turned so much as a quarter of 
 a circle from its horizontal towards a perpen- 
 dicular grasp ; and there was, at the same 
 time, no movement equivalent to the usual 
 bending of the wrist, which gives so great a 
 variety of positions to the natural hand. He 
 therefore contrived a new arrangement of 
 mechanism at the wrist, so as to superadd 
 these two movements to those before pos- 
 
NEWCASTLE 
 
 KNIGHTS CYGLOP/EDIA 
 
 No. 7. 
 
221 
 
 ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 222 
 
 sessed by the apparatus; this involved an 
 increase of rather delicate mechanism. 
 
 At one of the soirees given by the President 
 of the Royal Society in 1845, the boy for whom 
 Sir George Cayley made the artificial hand 
 was introduced, and Prince Albert " shook ' 
 him by his mechanical appendage. The hand 
 had only one finger worked by the mechanism ; 
 but there were the proper number of cork 
 fingers united side by side, and fixed to one 
 broad thin steel plate, jointed, and covered 
 with continuous leather, stitched down to 
 mark the distinction of the fingers under it. 
 But where a more expensive apparatus can be 
 afforded, and the appearance of having a real 
 hand is sought for, the thin steel plate can 
 be separated into digits, though united at the 
 base as in a common hand, and jointed at the 
 proper places in due proportion to each 
 finger. 
 
 In another form of artificial hand, made by 
 Sir G. Cayley, in 1847, there is a case or 
 sheath, into which the stump of the arm. is 
 introduced. A spiral spring is fixed at one 
 end to this sheath, and at the other to a bent 
 lever ; while the middle of the lever is con- 
 nected with the mechanism of rods which 
 move the artificial thumb and fingers. In 
 this arrangement, the wearer uses his sound 
 hand to work his artificial hand. He presses 
 a little button which is connected with the 
 bent lever ; by pressing this towards the 
 wrist, the fingers and thumb open to receive 
 any object they may be intended to grasp ; 
 and when this pressure from the other hand 
 is taken off, the grasp takes effect, without 
 further effort, till released by a contrary move- 
 ment. The mechanism is very simple, and 
 is attached wholly to the lower arm, near the 
 stump. But as the sound hand must be taken 
 from anything else it has to perform, at the 
 time the artificial hand is thus put to work ; 
 and as it may on other accounts be inconve- 
 nient to work the apparatus in this way, Sir 
 George invented a very ingenious means of 
 working the hand by the movement of the 
 upper arm or shoulder-joint. 
 
 M. Magendie described to the Paris Aca- 
 demy of Sciences, in 1845, an artificial arm, 
 invented by M. Van Petersen. A sort of stays 
 are fixed round the breast of the person ; and 
 from these are brought cords made of catgut, 
 which act upon the articulations, according 
 to the motion given to the natural stump. 
 The apparatus was found to be very effective. 
 It was tried (among other patients) on an 
 invalid soldier, who had lost both arms in the 
 wars of the empire, retaining only the stumps. 
 With the aid of two of the artificial arms, he 
 was able to perform many of the functions 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 which had hitherto been performed for him. 
 M. Magendie considers this contrivance to 
 be the best substitute for a natural arm yet 
 introduced. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL STONE. [CEMENT.] 
 
 ARTILLERY. This term, since the intro- 
 duction of gunpowder, has been applied chiefly 
 to large ordnance, together with their ammu- 
 nition and appurtenances. 
 
 The earliest military engines were, in all 
 probability, those for casting large stones. 
 Such machines do not appear to have been 
 used in England until the Norman invasion, 
 and were used by the Normans chiefly in sea- 
 fights, for throwing Greek fire, quicklime, and 
 other combustibles, as well as stones and 
 darts. Richard I. employed against the Sara 
 cens some such engines, worked by the force 
 of the wind acting upon sails. Edward I. 
 used engines at the siege of Stirling Castle, 
 in 1303, which threw stones of 300 Ibs. 
 weight. 
 
 The invention of gunpowder, though it did 
 not for a long time supersede the ancient 
 artillery, gradually brought about great 
 changes in the art of war. The first cannon, 
 which were called bombards, were very clumsy, 
 wider at the mouth than the chamber, and 
 formed of bars of iron bound together with 
 hoops. The earliest cannon-balls were of 
 stone. Hand-cannon carried by two men, and 
 fired from a rest in the ground, were early 
 used ; and carts of war, conveying light artil- 
 lery, are mentioned in a Scotch act of parlia 
 ment in 1456. Cannon began to be formed 
 by casting about the middle of the fifteenth 
 century. Iron bullets (of which Monstrelet 
 mentions one weighing five cwt.) began also 
 to be used, but not to the exclusion of those 
 of stone. A hard mixed metal, called font- 
 metal, or bronze, was early invented for the 
 casting of cannon ; and the casting of this 
 land of ordnance was commenced in England 
 in 1535. In the sixteenth century the size of 
 cannon was reduced, and they were made of 
 superior form. One of the largest cast can- 
 non now existing is a brass one at Bejapoor, 
 which was cast in commemoration of the cap- 
 ure of that place by the Emperor Alum Geer, 
 in 1685. Its extreme length is 14 feet 1 inch ; 
 the diameter of its bore 2 feet 4 inches. An 
 iron shot for this gun of proper size would 
 weigh 1600 pounds. 
 
 ~F or mortars we are indebted to workmen 
 who were employed by Henry VIII. ; those 
 made for him about 1543 being, according to 
 Stowe, ' at the mouth from 11 to 19 inches 
 wide,' and employed to throw hollow shot of 
 cast-iron, filled, like modern bombs, with 
 combustibles, and furnished with a fuse. 
 
 a 
 
223 
 
 AKTIZANS, 
 
 ARTS, FINE. 
 
 224 
 
 Different names were given about that date 
 to different kinds of cannon ; such as falco 
 culverm, demi-culverin, minion, and sakar. Pe- 
 tards, which are explosive engines employed 
 in sieges, were first used hy the Huguenots 
 in 1580. The liowitzer, an improvement on 
 the mortar, was first used in 1697 ; and the 
 carronade, a kind of long howitzer, about 1779. 
 
 The casting of these instruments of de 
 struction is described under CANNON. 
 
 ARTIZANS. In this country it is cus- 
 tomary when a young artizan has served his 
 apprenticeship, for him to enter at once as a 
 journeyman ; to settle down in some town, 
 usually where he has been apprenticed ; and 
 there work for any master who will employ 
 him. Among the less respectable workmen, 
 or when trade in general is dull, the tramp 
 system is acted on ; the artizan goes from 
 town to town, a sort of homeless wanderer, 
 seeking work wherever it may be found, and 
 often forced to associate with disreputable 
 companions. 
 
 But in Germany the custom is different. 
 There a kind of tramp-system is not merely 
 looked forward to, but is compulsory. The 
 ivanderschaft of a German workman is a tran- 
 sition period between the life of an apprentice 
 and that of a master. In many parts both of 
 Germany and Switzerland, an apprentice can- 
 not obtain his freedom and become a master 
 until he has spent a certain number of years 
 in following his calling beyond his native 
 country. He is furnished on setting out with 
 a book called a wander-buch, in which his 
 various employers insert certificates of his 
 service and conduct. In his wanderings he 
 is generally assisted and succoured, not only 
 by the trade to which he belongs, but by the 
 donations of travellers. Many English tra- 
 vellers in Germany must have encountered 
 these young workmen, trudging along tho 
 roads, with knapsack on back. Mr. Symonds, 
 (' Arts and Artizans, at Home and Abroad ') 
 states that, while certain evils arise from this 
 system, it tends on the other hand to give the 
 young men an amount of general information 
 more varied and extensive than is commonly 
 met with among English workmen. 
 
 In the Vorarlberg (a part of the Austrian do- 
 minions) the male inhabitants are accustomed 
 to leave home early in the spring, go to Switzer- 
 land and France, exercise the trades of masons 
 and house-builders during the summer, live 
 with the utmost possible frugality, and return 
 to the Vorarlberg in autumn with the savings 
 of their labour. 
 
 The silk-weavers of Lyons have a very strict 
 system of classification. There are small 
 masters, workmen, and apprentices ; besides 
 
 the capitalist -manufacturers who set all to 
 work. The masters, or chefs d'ateliers, are 
 owners of a few looms, and have fixed resi- 
 dences. The workmen, or compactions, have 
 neither capital, looms, nor houses ; they work 
 the looms belonging to the master, live and 
 board with him, and receive half the money 
 gained by the looms they work the other 
 half going for house-rent, risk, wear and tear 
 of machinery, &c. The apprentices are from 15 
 to 20 years of age ; they are taught by the 
 cliefs d'ateliers, with whom and for whom they 
 work. 
 
 Without entering far on this tangled sub- 
 ject, we shall notice, under CO-OPERATION, one 
 or two of the recent suggestions for modifying 
 the relations between employers and artizans. 
 
 ARTOCARPUS. [BREAD-FRUIT TREE.] 
 
 ARTS, FINE. The fine arts are generally 
 understood to comprehend those productions 
 of human genius and skill which are more or 
 less addressed to the sentiment of taste. They 
 were first employed in embellishing objects of 
 mere utility, but their highest office is to meet 
 our impressions of beauty or sublimity, how- 
 ever acquired, by imitative or adequate repre- 
 sentation. 
 
 The great use of the arts is to humanize 
 and refine, to purify enjoyment, and, when 
 duly appreciated, to connect the perception of 
 physical beauty with that of moral excellence ; 
 )ut it will at once be seen that this idea of 
 usefulness is in a great measure distinct from 
 the ordinary meaning of the term as applicable 
 ;o the productions of human ingenuity. A 
 positive use results indeed indirectly from the 
 cultivation of the formative arts, precisely in 
 proportion as their highest powers are deve- 
 oped. Again, as illustrating science, the fine 
 arts may be directly useful in the stricter 
 sense, but this is not the application which 
 ?est displays their nature and value. The 
 essence of the fine arts, in short, begins where 
 utility in its narrower acceptation ends. That 
 this principle exists in nature we immediately 
 ? eel in calling to mind the merely beautiful 
 appearances of the visible world, and particu- 
 arly the colours of flowers. The fine arts in 
 general may be considered the human repro- 
 duction of this piinciple. The question of 
 :heir utility therefore resolves itself into the 
 nquiry as to the intention of the beauties of 
 lature. 
 
 With regard to the classification of the arts, 
 ;hose are generally considered the most 
 worthy in which the mental labour employed 
 and the mental pleasure produced are greatest, 
 and in which the manual labour, or labour of 
 whatever kind, is least apparent. This test 
 would justly place poetry first. It would be 
 
325 ARTS, MANUFACTURING. 
 
 an invidious as well as a very difficult task to 
 assign the precise order in which painting 
 sculpture, architecture and music, would fol 
 low poetry and its sister, eloquence ; but i 
 may he remarked, that the union of the arts 
 is a hazardous experiment, and is often de 
 structive of their effect. 
 
 ARTS, MANUFACTURING. As the fine 
 arts are destined to the production of objects 
 beautiful rather than useful ; so do the manu 
 facturing arts produce results useful rather 
 than beautiful. But in all the better epochs 
 of society, these two divisions have tended to 
 coalesce into one : the useful and the beauti- 
 ful, the vtile ct dulcc, being found reciprocally 
 to lend strength to each other. The union ol 
 Science and Arts, too, is becoming more and 
 more apparent. It has been remarked by a 
 writer in the 'Edinburgh Review,' (vol. 78) 
 that ' Art will not sufficiently develope her 
 powers, nor science attain her most command- 
 ing position, till the practical knowledge oi 
 the one is taken in return for the sound de- 
 ductions of the other. Many causes have 
 concurred to place art and science at variance ; 
 but these causes have been gradually diminish- 
 ing ; and in the present advanced state of 
 mechanical and useful arts they have almost 
 wholly disappeared.' 
 
 The establishment of Art-Manufactures, in 
 which sculptors and painters of eminence are 
 employed to design models and patterns for 
 manufacturers ; the formation of Schools of 
 Design, where drawing and modelling, Avith an 
 especial relation to manufactures, are taught ; 
 the still more recent establishment of artizan 
 schools, where similar instruction is given 
 under different arrangements all point to a 
 union between fine art and manufacturing 
 art ; while Mechanics' Institutions, Lyceums, 
 popular Treatises on Science so far as they 
 have realised the anticipations concerning 
 them point to a union between Science and 
 Manufactures. Again, such discoveries as 
 those relating to Photography, Electrography, 
 fee., point to a union between science and fine 
 art. Thus do all three Science, Art, and 
 Industry stand in intimate relation one to 
 another. [DESIGN, SCHOOLS OF; MANUFAC- 
 TURES.] 
 
 ARUNDEL MARBLES, are certain pieces 
 of sculpture, consisting of ancient statues, 
 busts, mutilated figures, altars, inscriptions, 
 &c., the remains of a more extensive collection, 
 formed in the early part of the seventeenth 
 century by Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, 
 and presented in 1067 to the University of 
 Oxford, by his grandson. The earl collected 
 these fine specimens during a residence in 
 Italy about 1013. 
 
 AS. 
 
 220 
 
 We learn from catalogues, that the Arunde- 
 lian collection, when entire, contained 37 
 statues, 128 busts, and 250 inscribed marbles, 
 exclusive of sarcophagi, altars, fragments, and 
 the inestimable gems. 
 
 Arundel House and gardens were converted 
 into streets about the year 1678, when it was 
 determined to dispose of the statues by sale. 
 One portion, consisting principally of busts, 
 was purchased by Lord Pembroke ; these are 
 now at Wilton. A second was purchased by 
 Sir William Fermor (the father of the first 
 Earl of Pomfret,) who removed them to his 
 seat at Easton Neston in Northamptonshire. 
 Henrietta Louisa, countess dowager of Pom- 
 fret, in 1755, transferred these marbles to the 
 University of Oxford, where they became again 
 united to the inscribed marbles which had 
 descended to Henry, second son of the former 
 and sixth Duke of Norfolk, and had been pre- 
 sented by him to the University, in 1607. A 
 few statues and broken fragments were given 
 to a Mr. Arundel, a relation of the Duke of 
 Norfolk ; one or two of these Avere subse- 
 quently given to the Earl of Burlington, and 
 went to Chiswick House. A few elegant re- 
 mains were carried to Mrs. Temple's seat at 
 Moor Park, near Farnham, in Surrey. The 
 cameos and intaglios finally became the pro 
 perty of the Dukes of Marlborough ; and are 
 now known by the name of the Maiiborough 
 Gems. 
 
 The greater part of the Greek inscriptions 
 in the Arundel collection IIOAV at Oxford were 
 obtained at Smyrna. They arrived in Eng- 
 land in 1627, soon after which they were care- 
 fully examined by the learned Selden, Avho in 
 1628 published his ' Marmora Arundelliana,' 
 a thin quarto volume, in which tAventy-nine 
 Greek and ten Latin inscriptions of this col- 
 ection are deciphered and illustrated. 
 
 The Arundel and Pomfret marbles are at 
 present preserved at Oxford in two rooms 
 Belonging to the public schools, beneath the 
 picture gallery. Of the Arundel portion, that 
 which the University places at the head of its 
 collection is the Greek inscription knoAvn by 
 ,he name of the Parian Chronicle. Among 
 ,he more important marbles of the Pomfret 
 donation are the colossal torso (for that por- 
 ion only is antique) of a Minerva Galeata, 
 restored as a statue by Guelfi ; a Venus Ves- 
 tita, or Leda; Terpsichore ; a young Hercules; 
 ,n Athleta, which has been called Antinous ; 
 a female figure, unrestored, of early Greek 
 work ; and three statues of senators, one of 
 vhich is usually considered as Cicero. 
 
 AS. The Roman As was a weight, consist- 
 ng of twelve nnclce or ounces ; it was also 
 called libra, libell-a, and pondo, or the pound. 
 
227 
 
 ASAM. 
 
 ASBESTUS. 
 
 228 
 
 As, assis, or Assarius was likewise the name o 
 a Roman coin of .copper, or rather of mixei 
 metal, which varied both in weight and com 
 position at different periods of the common 
 wealth ; but which originally actually weighet 
 a pound, whence it was called As libralis, ant 
 sometimes also ^Es grave. The earliest Ase; 
 were cast probably in imitation of the Etrus 
 can coins, which the Romans appear to hav< 
 copied. In the British Museum there art 
 even four Ases united together, as they \vere 
 taken from the mould or matrix, in whicl 
 many were cast at once. In most of th 
 Ases preserved in our cabinets, the edge shows 
 evidently where they were severed from each 
 other, and where the piece at the mouth o 
 the mould was cut off. From being cast, i 
 will be judged that they are not very correctly 
 sized. As the As fell in weight, the smaller 
 divisions were not cast, but struck. 
 
 The coined divisions of the As were nume- 
 rous, including halves, thirds, fourths, fifths 
 sixths, twelfths, &c. There were also larger 
 coins, representing various multiples of the 
 As. 
 
 ASAM or ASSAM, is chiefly interesting in 
 a commercial point of view for the attempts 
 there made to cultivate the tea-plant. This 
 wild country lies north-eastward of Hindu- 
 stan, and is to a certain extent dependent on 
 the East India Company. Reports having 
 reached the Calcutta Government, relating to 
 the value of the tea-plant found in Asam, a 
 scientific deputation was despatched thither 
 about the year 1836, to enquire into the sub- 
 ject. Tea-plantations were subsequently esta- 
 blished, under the management of Mr. Briice, 
 who examined the surface of the country with 
 a view to select spots favourable to the culture. 
 Chinese labourers were engaged ; and small 
 portions of Asam tea have since been annually 
 produced. An Asam Tea Company has been 
 formed, and the tea sent to market is found 
 to possess the customary qualities of Chinese 
 tea. The Asam Tea Company established a 
 steamer on the Brahmapootra, from Calcutta 
 to Asam ; and they imported Coolies from the 
 interior of India at vast expense, as labourers ; 
 but it has been found that a more cautious 
 expenditure of capital is necessary to the suc- 
 cess of the infant enterprise. Tbe tea-plan- 
 tations are placed in some jeopardy by the 
 hostility of the native Asamese to these new 
 industrial arrangements. [TEA.] 
 
 ASBESTOS must be considered in minera- 
 logy, rather as a term implying a peculiar 
 form sometimes assumed by several minerals, 
 tli an as a name denoting a particular species; 
 it is in fact applied to varieties of the amphi- 
 bolic minerals, such as actinolite, trcmolite, 
 
 tc., which occur in long capillary crystals, 
 placed side by side in parallel position, and 
 thus giving rise to a fibrous mass. Those 
 varieties, the fibres of which are very delicate 
 and regularly arranged, are called amianthus, 
 a Greek term signifying unpolluted, unstained. 
 Of the finest kinds, the individual crystals are 
 readily separated from each other, are very 
 flexible and elastic, and have a white or 
 greenish colour with a fine silky lustre. 
 Though a single fibre is readily fused into a 
 white enamel, in mass it is capable of resisting 
 the ordinary flame, so that when woven it 
 produces a fire-proof cloth. Those varieties 
 in which the crystals are coarser, with scarcely 
 any flexibility, are called common ashes tus. 
 It is generally of a dull green, and sometimes 
 a pearly lustre, and readily fuses before the 
 blow-pipe flame. It occurs more frequently 
 than the amianthus, or finer kind, and is usu- 
 ally found in veins traversing serpentine. 
 
 There are three other varieties known by 
 the names of mountain feather, mountain 
 wood, and mountain cork, which differ from 
 the common asbestus by the fibres interlacing 
 each other. 
 
 In 1845 Mr. Penny of Glasgow described a 
 peculiar substance which had nearly all the 
 characters of asbestus. It was found in a 
 blast furnace, imbedded in the mass of matter 
 which had collected at the bottom of the fur- 
 nace in the course of two years and a half, 
 and which is technically called the hearth. It 
 was in a cavity, about eight inches below the 
 evel on which the liquid metal rested. This 
 substance is colourless, inodorous, and taste- 
 ess ; and occurs in small masses, composed 
 )f extremely minute filaments, coheiing lon- 
 gitudinally together ; these fibres are very 
 easily detached, and are flexible, though not 
 ;o much so as those of common asbestus ; 
 hey have a silky lustre, and are unattacked 
 >y the common acids; they remain unchanged 
 n the flame of a spirit lamp, and are difficult 
 >f fusion even with the blow pipe. This sub- 
 tance consists chiefly of silica, protoxide of 
 nanganese, and alumina; it differs JV<n.i 
 ommon asbestus chiefly in having about ten 
 >er cent, more of silica, and in contain ing 
 nanganese instead of magnesia. Mr. IV 
 hinks that the occurrence of this siibsfaMiv 
 n an iron furnace furnishes a proof of the 
 gneous origin of asbestus. 
 
 Many remarkable proofs have been given, 
 if the power of asbestus to resist heat. Che- 
 alier Aldini about twenty years ago had some 
 isbestus woven into cloth, and the cloth made 
 nto garments ; he clothed himself in these 
 arments, and exhibited sundry astonishing 
 eats before the Royal Society, such as holding 
 
229 
 
 ASH. 
 
 ASHES, 
 
 230 
 
 red-hot iron in a gloved hand, &c. This ma- 
 terial has sometimes been proposed for fire- 
 men's dresses, and for garments calculated to 
 resist heat generally. 
 
 ASH. The ash is one of the most useful 
 of our British trees, on account of the excel- 
 lence of its hard tough wood and the rapidity 
 of its growth. In its appearance too it is 
 singularly graceful for a European tree, often 
 resemhling in its slender stems and thin airy 
 foliage the acacias of tropical regions. The 
 principal objection to the ash is the injury it 
 does to the plants which grow in its neigh- 
 bourhood, by rapidly exhausting the soil of 
 all its organizable materials. 
 
 The principal varieties of the ash are : 
 ] , the Weeping Ash, with all the characters of 
 the common wild tree, except that the 
 branches grow downwards instead of upwards, 
 so that, if grafted upon a lofty stem, the head 
 will soon reach the groiind and form a natural 
 arbour. This is said to have originated 
 accidentally in a field at Gamlingay, in Cam- 
 bridgeshire ; 2, the Entire-Leaved Ash; 3, the 
 Curled-Leaved Ash, with very short stunted 
 branches, and deep green crumpled leaves ; 
 4, the Wartcd Ash. In this the stems are 
 covered over with a great number of little 
 grayish brown tubercles. 5. The Small- 
 Leaved Ash. 0. The Floivering or Common 
 Manna Ash, whence the manna of the shops 
 is procured. 
 
 The uses of the ash in the arts are very 
 numerous. The wood is both elastic and 
 tough. It is used for the lelloes and spokes 
 of wheels, the beams of ploughs, the tops of 
 kitchen tables, milk-pails, oars, blocks and 
 pulleys, handles for spades and other imple- 
 ments, hop-poles, hoops, crates, basket han- 
 dles, fence -wattles, and numerous other pur- 
 poses. ' In the neighbourhood of the Stafford- 
 shire potteries the ash is cultivated to a great 
 extent, and cut every five or six years for 
 crate-wood, which is in much demand in the 
 pottery district. The ashes yield good pot- 
 ash ; the bark is used for tanning nets and 
 calf-skins ; the leaves and shoots are used for 
 food by cattle, and the dishonest use ash- 
 leaves for adulterating tea ; the seeds or keys 
 are sometimes pickled as a sort of salad, and 
 they are used in Siberia to give a flavour to 
 water for drinking. The sap is used for some 
 medicinal purposes. The Flowering Ash, as 
 before stated, yields a juice which solidifies 
 into manna. 
 
 The MOUNTAIN ASH is wrongly named ; it 
 belongs to another genus of plants. 
 
 ASHANTEES. How far distant the time 
 may be when this West African nation will 
 "be commercially important, will depend chiefly 
 
 on the energy of English merchants, and on 
 the lessening of the slave-trade. 
 
 The principal manufacture of the Ashantees 
 is that of cotton cloth, which they weave on a 
 loom worked by strings held between the toes, 
 in webs of never more than four inches broad. 
 Silk is sometimes interwoven with the cotton. 
 The cloths which they produce are often of 
 great fineness of texture, and their colouring 
 of the highest brilliancy. They paint their 
 patterns with a fowl's feather. Another of the 
 arts in which they have attained considerable 
 excellence, is the manufacture of earthen- 
 ware. They also tan leather, and work in 
 iron, brass, and gold. Articles formed of 
 gold abound in the houses of all the wealthier 
 inhabitants; and in the king's palace those of 
 most common use are described as being 
 made of this precious material. 
 
 Gold is found in this country both in mines 
 and in particles washed down by the rains. 
 According to Dupuis, the richest gold mines 
 known to exist in any part of Africa are those 
 in Gaman. Some of the richest of these 
 mines are said to be esteemed sacred, and on 
 that account are not worked. The wealthier 
 inhabitants load their persons with lumps of 
 native gold: some which Dupuis saw, he 
 thinks, must have Aveighed fully four pounds. 
 In Akim, and some other parts of the empire 
 bordering on the Volta, from which much 
 gold was formerly obtained, the mines are 
 now either exhausted, or at least are no 
 longer worked. There are many rich mines 
 in the small district of Adoom, westward from 
 Cape Coast and about three days' journey 
 from the sea; and during the rainy season it 
 is said that not fewer than eight or ten thou- 
 sand slaves are employed in washing for gold 
 dust on the banks of the Bara, in Gaman. 
 
 ASH-BALLS. As a cheap substitute for 
 soap, in various processes of washing and 
 cleansing, the ashes of various kinds of plants, 
 especially ferns, are damped and made into 
 lumps, which are known by the name of ash- 
 balls. 
 
 ASHES, the remains of anything burned, 
 whether of vegetable or animal origin, and to 
 a certain extent of mineral bodies also. 
 , Vegetable ashes. Ashes vary in composition 
 according to the nature of the plant, the soil 
 in which it grows, and the manure used 
 upon it. The substances usually contained 
 in the ashes of land plants are potash, soda, 
 lime, magnesia, silica, the oxides of iron and 
 of manganese, chlorine, carbonic acid, sul- 
 phuric acid, and phosphoric acid. Alumina 
 occurs rarely, and sometimes oxide of copper 
 has beA met with. Very frequently more 
 than one half of the ashes of vegetables con- 
 
231 
 
 ASHES. 
 
 ASHTON-UNDER-LINK 
 
 sists of carbonate of lime. The quantity of 
 ashes varies, not only according to the soil, 
 age, and aspect of the plant, but also in dif- 
 ferent parts of the same plant, from 2 to 6 
 per cent, of its weight, after drying in the 
 air. The soluble part of wood ashes consists 
 of the alkaline sulphates, carbonates, and 
 chlorides; while the insoluble matter is 
 chiefly composed of carbonate of lime, and 
 probably of magnesia, phosphate of lime, and 
 phosphate of iron. 
 
 The incineration of wood is a most im- 
 portant operation ; from its ashes are obtained 
 the immense quantities of impure potash, and 
 the carbonate called pearlash, imported from 
 America and other countries. The sap of 
 plants contains also other vegetable acids, as 
 the oxalic, citric, tartaric, malic, &c.; and the 
 salts which these form with potash are de- 
 composed by heat, and yield the carbonate. 
 The ashes of land plants yield principally the 
 salts of potash, such as barilla those of ma- 
 rine plants afford a large quantity of soda 
 salts, and especially the carbonate, such as 
 kelp. 
 
 Coal ashes are extremely various both in 
 their appearance and composition. Thus, 
 much of the coal of the north of England, 
 under common circumstances, burns to a cin- 
 der, which is a mixture of the ashes of the 
 coal with some carbonaceous matter requiring 
 rather a high temperature to burn it, on 
 account of its being enveloped by incombus- 
 tible matter. The coal of Somersetshire burns 
 to red ashes, evidently coloured by peroxide of 
 iron : those of the Staffordshire coal are nearly 
 white. The quantity of ashes yielded by dif- 
 ferent kinds of coal varies considerably ; ac- 
 cording to Kirwan, Wigan coal contains 1-57 
 per cent, of ashes ; Whitehaven coal 1-7, and 
 Swansea coal 3-33 per cent.; they consist prin- 
 cipally of silica and alumina, with small quan- 
 tities of lime, sometimes magnesia, and also 
 peroxide of iron ; but they do not contain 
 either the chlorides, phosphates, or alkaline 
 salts found in wood-ashes. Peat ashes differ 
 chemically from both the other kinds. 
 
 Animal ashes resulting from the burning of 
 bones and other animal solids, consist princi- 
 pally of phosphate of lime, with traces of 
 salts of lime, magnesia, and soda. 
 
 Mineral ashes, such as those of Vesuvius, as 
 examined by Vauquelin, were grayish in colour; 
 they were tasteless, and found to consist of 
 alumina, oxide of iron, muriate of ammonia, 
 sulphate of lime, potash, copper, manganese, 
 lime, and charcoal. Vauquelin also analyzed 
 the ashes ejected in the same year fn^n JLtna; 
 they were of a gray colour, and in fine pow 
 der; they contained sulphur, sulphates of 
 
 lime, copper, and alumina, and several other 
 mineral ingredients. 
 
 The ashes of domestic economy, compiusing 
 not only the coal- ash from the grate, but a 
 quantity of dust and miscellaneous fragments, 
 are a valuable commercial article. The ash- 
 heap of a dust contractor has a large money- 
 value, for much of the waste serves as mate 
 rial for manufactures. 
 
 ASHFORD, Kent, is one of those towns 
 which, originally only a centre for an agri- 
 cultural district, has been converted by rail- 
 way enterprise into an important scene of 
 manufacturing and trading industry. Ashford 
 has been made a first class station for the South 
 Eastern Railway, and the place of junction 
 with the branch lines to Hastings and Rams- 
 gate. The railway company owing to its con- 
 venient position have erected near the station 
 a new village, comprising a factory for the 
 repair of their locomotive engines, and exten- 
 sive buildings for making and storing their 
 carriages, together with about 200 dwellings 
 (completed and in course of erection) for 
 their workmen. 
 
 ASHLAR, or ASHLER, is a term applied 
 in masonry to rough stones as they are taken 
 from the quarry, and also to the dressed stones 
 used for the facing of walls, which may be 
 either plain, tooled, or rusticated. The word 
 is spelt both ways; but Nicholson, in his ' Ar- 
 chitectural Dictionary,' gives ashlaring as the 
 term for the operation of bedding such slabs 
 of stone as are employed for facing brick or 
 rubble walls ; and ashlerlng as a term in car- 
 pentry for the short pieces of upright quar- 
 tering used in garrets to cut off the acute 
 angle between the floor and the sloping rafters 
 of the roof. 
 
 ASHOVER, in Derbyshire, has somewhat 
 fallen away from its former rank in respect to 
 manufactures. Formerly there were in the 
 parish considerable lead mines, but they have 
 long ceased to be worked. Limestone is 
 quarried to some extent. Medicinal herbs 
 are cultivated in considerable quantities. 
 There is a twisting mill for the Nottingham 
 lace manufacture. Stocking-weaving, once an 
 important branch of industry, is on the de- 
 cline, and tambour working has ceased. 
 
 ASHTON- UNDER -LINE is one of tho 
 busiest of the Lancashire cotton-towns. It 
 has a population of about 25,000 in the town, 
 and 50,000 in the parish. The following de- 
 tails respecting the Ashton cotton mills are 
 taken from a parliamentary paper ; they refer 
 to the year 1843, first in respect to Ashton 
 alone, and then to Ashton together with the 
 surrounding neighbourhood of Staleybridge, 
 Dukinneld, Hyde, and Mossley. 
 
233 
 
 ASIA. 
 
 ASIA MINOE. 
 
 234 
 
 Ashton Ashton with 
 alone. Staleybridge, &c. 
 
 Mule spindles 595,276 1,866,062 
 
 Throstle spindles 9,000 33,136 
 
 Powerlooms 6,738 22,706 
 
 Steam engine horse power 1,667 5,353 
 
 Hands employed... 10,520 34,165 
 
 Weekly wages 5,775 18,763 
 
 Weekly consumption of cotton.338,3901b. l,063,5151b. 
 
 Staleybridge nearly equals Ashton in these 
 particulars. Bleaching, dyeing, and calico 
 printing are also carried on. Hats, woollens, 
 and silks are manufactured. There are more 
 than 20 collieries in the immediate vicinity, 
 which employ upwards of 1000 hands. Ashton 
 is connected with various districts by the 
 Ashtou and Manchester, the Ashton and 
 Huddersfield, and the Peak Forest canals ; 
 also by the Sheffield and Manchester, the 
 Lancashire and Yorkshire, and other railways. 
 
 The manufacturers of Ashton are preparing 
 for the Exhibition of 1851, in those depart- 
 ments of industry for which it has become 
 noted ; and the operatives there, as elsewhere, 
 have commenced those joint-stock arrange- 
 ments which will enable them to visit the me- 
 tropolis during that busy year. 
 
 ASIA. To trace the steps by which com- 
 mercial enterprise has successively discovered 
 the various parts of the Asiatic continent, 
 would be little less than to trace the history 
 of the human race; for, from the time when 
 the Phoenician merchants spread their trading 
 ports far and wide, to the day when the ports 
 of China were laid open to British shipping 
 and manufactures, there has been a continued 
 series of discoveries, which have had com- 
 merce and manufactures among their moving 
 impulses. 
 
 Nor would it be easy to enumerate the na- 
 tural productions which Asia affords to the 
 manufacturer and the merchant. Extending 
 as it does from the burning sands of Arabia 
 to the icy shores of Siberia, from the level 
 plains of Tartary to the lofty heights of the 
 Himalaya, it presents a countless variety of 
 mineral, vegetable, and animal products. The 
 fur -bearing and wool-bearing animals, and 
 those numerous animals which yield flesh for 
 food, milk for drink, and skins for leather, 
 are found in great variety and number. Tim- 
 ber trees, plants used in various arts, and 
 plants used for food, are also bountifully sup- 
 plied. We need only proceed to any details 
 in noticing the chief mineral products. 
 
 Among the mineral products of Asia, pre- 
 cious stones are very abundant. Rock-crystal 
 is found in the greatest variety ; amethysts in 
 the Altai, Himalaya, and Ural Mountains; 
 carnelians and agates, in western India and in 
 the Gobi desert; casholongs and onyxes, in 
 Mongolia; yu, or oriental jade, in Turkistan; 
 
 different kinds of jasper, in the Altai moun- 
 tains ; pearl-stone, marcasit, on the shores of 
 the Gulf of Okhotzk ; beryl, in the mountains 
 near the Lake of Baikal ; lapis lazuli, in the 
 same mountains, as well as in the Hindu 
 Coosh, and on the banks of the Oxus ; to- 
 pazes, in the Ural Mountains ; circony, chry- 
 soberyl, sapphires, on the island of Ceylon ; 
 rubies, in Ceylon and in Badakshan ; tur- 
 quoises, in Khorasan ; diamonds in Deccan, 
 Borneo, and the Ural Mountains. 
 
 Volcanic products are met with on the 
 Sunda Islands, in Japan, and Kamtchatka, in 
 the neighbourhood of Tauris, and many parts 
 of the high-land of Armenia, and in Western 
 Anatolia. 
 
 Steatite, earth-flax, asbestus, and kaolin, or 
 the finest porcelain-clay, are found in China 
 and Japan; talc in Siberia; coals in northern 
 China, and different parts of Hindustan ; rock- 
 salt in the Ural Mountains, northern China, 
 the Panjab, Ajmeer, Yemen, Anatolia; salt in 
 the salt-seas of the steppes, and sometimes on 
 the surface of the ground; sal-ammoniac in 
 the volcanic steppes of Central Asia, not far 
 from the river Hi ; nitre in Hindustan ; borax, 
 or tinqual, in Tibet ; petroleum, near Baku, 
 on the shores of the Caspian Sea, on the 
 Euphrates at Hit, and other places, and at 
 Kerkook east of the Tigris ; asphaltum on the 
 Dead Sea, in Palestine. Hot springs are very- 
 abundant in the snow-covered mountains of 
 the Himalaya range, especially along the 
 upper branches of the Ganges, and also in 
 the N. W. of Anatolia. 
 
 Of the metals, gold is found in Japan, Tibet, 
 Yun-nan, Cochin China, Tonkin, Siam, Ma- 
 lacca, Borneo, Asam, Ava, and in the Ural 
 Mountains ; many rivers bring down gold in 
 their sands ; silver in China, Da-uria, Japan, 
 Armenia, Anatolia, and the Ural Mountains ; 
 tin in Malacca, Anam, the Sunda Islands, and 
 the empire of the Birmans ; mercury in 
 China, Japan, and Tibet ; copper in the Ural 
 and Altai mountains, Japan, China, Nepaul, 
 Azerbijan, Armenia, and Mount Taurus ; ma- 
 lachite in China and Siberia; iron from the 
 Ural Mountains, through central Asia as far 
 as the Peninsula beyond the Ganges, as well 
 as in Japan and Persia; lead in Da-uria, 
 China, Siam, Japan, Georgia, and Armenia. 
 
 Under the names of the principal countries 
 in Asia, the reader will meet with some fur- 
 ther information on the industrial resources 
 of the East. 
 
 ASIA MINOR This rich, outlying por- 
 tion of Asia, often designated Natalia or Ana- 
 tolia- by geographers, contains many mines ; 
 but the mining operations are not conducted 
 with much skill. There are copper mines 
 
235 
 
 ASIA MINOR. 
 
 near Bakir-Kurehsi, not far from the Black 
 Sea ; near Chalwar, on the eastern side of the 
 Lazian group ; near Tireboli, on the Black 
 Sea; near Tokat, and many other places. 
 There are iron mines near Unieh, on the 
 Black Sea; silver with copper, in the mines 
 of Tireboli ; silver and lead at Denek, in the 
 Begrek-Bagh, east of the Kizil-lrmak. Nitre 
 is got at Kara Bunar, in the sonth -eastern 
 part of the central table-land. Rock salt 
 abounds in all parts, especially in the north- 
 eastern part of Asia Minor and in the tract 
 round Angora. Hot springs occur in all the 
 provinces ; those of Brusa are celebrated, and 
 are even visited by European patients. 
 
 The northern shores of Asia Minor are 
 covered with magnificent forest trees of vari- 
 ous kinds. The forests, stretching west from 
 Boli, the great and almost inexhaustible 
 source of supply to the Turkish navy, contain 
 ash, elm, plane, poplar, larch, and beech, and 
 some oaks of large size. It is known to the 
 Turks by the significant name of Ayatch 
 Deynis, or Sea of Trees. The mountains of 
 Karamania are in general well wooded, and 
 Alexandria is mainly supplied with fuel from 
 them. The timber of this coast, at least that 
 near the shore, is chiefly pine, but not in gene- 
 ral of large dimensions. The mountains of 
 Taurus toatain a great variety of forest trees 
 and shrubs. 
 
 No road, in the European acceptation of 
 the term, has ever existed of their own con- 
 struction in the empire of the Turks. Asia 
 Minor still presents remains of the Roman 
 lines of communication ; and of the Roman 
 bridges many yet are in use. Relays of post- 
 horses are still maintained by the Turks at 
 distant intervals. They are principally sta- 
 tioned at the large towns of the leading routes. 
 The most frequented road is that from Smyrna 
 to Constantinople, and the only one by which 
 there is a regular communication, except by 
 caravans. Important as is the trade between 
 these great cities and the rest of Europe, this 
 correspondence takes place but twice a month, 
 and is managed by the Austrian mission and 
 consulate, which, as well as the Russian, 
 despatch, at stated periods, a post to the Eu 
 ropean capitals. The Porte keeps in constant 
 employment a corps of Tatar couriers, by 
 means of whom they make all their commu- 
 nications. On a smaller scale every pasha 
 has a similar establishment. The route from 
 Smyrna to Constantinople passes by way of 
 Magnesia, Thyatira, and Moukalitsch. Another 
 route extends from Constantinople to the 
 southern Pashaliks. It goes by way of Mu- 
 danieh, Brusa, the Olympus range, Kutaya, 
 Afium-Kara-Hissar, Konieh, Karaman, and 
 
 ASPHALTE. 236 
 
 Gulnar. A third route advancing in the 
 same direction from the Bosporus, at Eski- 
 shehr pursues an exact eastern course, and 
 reaches Angora, whence two routes branch off. 
 
 ASPA'RAGIN, a peculiar substance ob- 
 tained from asparagus, and also from marsh- 
 mallow root ; it is also contained in the potato, 
 liquorice-root, and beet-root. It crystallizes 
 in transparent limpid colourless prisms. It 
 is inodorous, has a mawkish disagreeable taste, 
 and is rather hard. 
 
 ASPA'RAGUS. The common cultivated 
 asparagus is found in sandy and maritime 
 places in most parts of the middle and south 
 of Europe, the Crimea, and also of Siberia 
 and Japan. Attention being paid to the pre- 
 paration of the soil, asparagus is one of the 
 easiest of all vegetables to cultivate ; but no 
 art or skill will produce precisely the soil which 
 is most favourable for its growth. This exists 
 naturally in some places in the fittest of all 
 possible states, and it is there only that it is 
 to be obtained in its greatest perfection ; as 
 in the rich alluvial soil of Battersea, Mortlake, 
 and other places round London : in some of 
 these villages it is produced of such extraor- 
 dinary size that 110 heads in a state fit for 
 the kitchen have been known to weigh more 
 than 32 Ibs. 
 
 In this country asparagus is frequently 
 forced, but seldom with much success. In 
 many parts of Europe, however, especially 
 about Riga, a mode of forcing is adopted which 
 causes the asparagus to be much finer than 
 any obtained in this country by artificial 
 means. 
 
 ASPERGILLUS is the blue mould or fun- 
 gus which appears on cheese, lard, broad, ^v. 
 Its colour is sometimes imitated by fraudulent 
 dealers by sticking brass pins into the ci 
 the verdigris formed from the pins giving 
 the desired colour. 
 
 ASPHALTE is a name given to various 
 bituminous compounds, which have been 
 much used of late for street-pavements, for 
 the platforms of railway stations, and for 
 flooring, roofing, and protecting buildings in 
 various ways from damp. One of the most 
 important of these is the Seyssel asphalte, 
 introduced into this country by Mr. Claridge, 
 under a patent obtained in IS.'M . 
 
 The principal ingredient of the asphaltic 
 mastic of Seyssel is a dark brown bituminous 
 limestone, found near the Jura Mountains. 
 This stone is broken to powder and mixed 
 with mineral tar, when intended for fine work, 
 such as the covering of roofs and arches, the 
 lining of tanks, and application as cement ; 
 or, when intended for the coarser purposes of 
 pavement and flooring, with mineral tar and 
 
237 
 
 ASPHALTUM. 
 
 ASS. 
 
 238 
 
 sea-grit ; and the whole is exposed for several 
 hours to a strong heat, in large caldrons, until 
 the ingredients, which are continually stirred 
 by machinery, are perfectly united. The 
 mastic is then run into moulds so as to form 
 it into large cakes or blocks, which are broken 
 up and re-melted on the spot in portahle cal- 
 drons, with wood or coke fires, with the addi- 
 tion of a little more mineral tar ; the whole 
 being well stirred to prevent burning, and to 
 ensure the perfect mixture of the ingredients. 
 When ready for use the mastic emits jets of 
 light smoke, and drops freely from the stirring 
 instrument. It should then be carried very 
 quickly to the spot where it is to be applied, 
 in iron ladles or heated iron buckets. In all 
 cases, however, it is desirable to have the cal- 
 dron as close to the work as possible ; and in 
 covering brick arches or arched roofs, it may 
 be hoisted to the top of the building, proper 
 precautions being observed to shelter the 
 finished work from injury. 
 
 Pavements of asphalte are laid upon a firm 
 and dry foundation of concrete ; and in laying 
 the asphalte the surface is divided by slips of 
 wood, which serve as gauges to regulate the 
 thickness, into compartments of about thirty 
 inches wide, in which the hot cement is spread 
 and levelled with wooden instruments ; after 
 which, while the surface is yet soft, sand mixed 
 with slate dust, dead plaster of Paris, or pow- 
 dered chalk, or, for coarser work, clean sharp 
 grit is sifted over it, and rubbed or beaten in. 
 The thickness of asphalte used for pavements 
 varies from half an inch to about an inch and 
 a quarter ; from half an inch to five-eighths 
 is sufncientfor roofs and the covering of arches 
 to prevent the filtration of water, and for the 
 lining of tanks and ponds ; and about half 
 that thickness is sufficient for covering the 
 ground-line of brickwork, to prevent the rising 
 of damp. 
 
 The experience of the last few years has 
 shown that asphalte is neither a pleasant nor 
 a profitable material for the pavements of the 
 London streets. 
 
 ASPHALTUM is one of the varieties of 
 bitumen, arising from the decomposition of 
 vegetable matter. [BITUMEN.] It occurs 
 massive, of a dark brown or black colour, with 
 a conchoidal fracture, and a resinous lustre. 
 It is opaque, and exceedingly brittle at a low 
 temperature, but softens and fuses by the 
 application of heat. It is insoluble in alcohol, 
 but soluble in about five times its weight of 
 naptha, with which it forms a good and useful 
 varnish. Its combustion is rapid and brilliant, 
 with the production of the bituminous odour. 
 
 It is found in many countries, but most 
 abundantly on the shores, or floating on the 
 
 surface of the Dead Sea ; at Hit, above Baby- 
 lon, on the Euphrates ; and near the Tigris. 
 In Trinidad in the West Indies it fills a basin 
 of three miles in circumference and of unknown 
 depth. The Earl of Dundonald has recently 
 (1849) made some experiments on the avail- 
 ability of the Barbadoes asphaltum for fuel ; 
 he mixed it with coal (two parts of asphaltum 
 to one of coals) and found that it made a good 
 fuel for steamers ; he also devised a form of 
 furnace for burning it. There is a pitch-spring 
 in Zante,Avhich is known to have been at work 
 for above 2000 years. Asphaltum is the prin- 
 cipal colouring matter of the dark indurated 
 marl, or shale, which is found in coal districts. 
 
 A liquid asphaltum, useful as a black japan 
 or varnish, is made by melting asphaltum with 
 Scio turpentine and oil of turpentine ; or sub- 
 stituting balsam of copaiba for the Scio tur- 
 pentine. 
 
 Counterfeit asphaltum is occasionally sub- 
 stituted for the real ; it consists of the dregs 
 of Barbadoes tar, heated until quite hard. 
 
 ASS. This ill-used and ill-appreciated ani- 
 mal (in England, at least) takes an important 
 part in oriental travelling and commerce. The 
 fine Arabian asses are used only for the sad- 
 dle, and are imported in great numbers into 
 Persia, where, according to Chardin, they are 
 frequently sold for 400 livres ; they are taught 
 a kind of easy ambling pace, are richly capa- 
 risoned, and used only by the rich and luxu- 
 rious nobles. A fine breed, of Arab lineage, 
 used exclusively for the saddle, exists in Syria; 
 a small spirited and graceful kind is also 
 found in Syria, upon which the ladies ride 
 from preference ; and besides this there is a 
 stout breed fitted for ordinary labour. Another 
 breed, that of Damascus, is characterized by 
 the length of its body and of its ears ; it is 
 much employed by the bakers of Damascus in 
 carrying flour and brushwood. The ordinary- 
 asses of Persia are strong, but in other respects 
 not to be compared to those of Arabia. As 
 we proceed farther eastward the ass degene- 
 rates, and in India it is very small, of inferior 
 qualities, and used only by the people of the 
 lowest caste. The finest asses of Europe are 
 those of Malta and Spain. Italy also possesses 
 a superior breed; and the same remark ap- 
 plies to some parts of France, as Le Poitou 
 and Le Mirebalais. 
 
 It is a curious example of the extent to 
 which nature is imitated by man, either for 
 honest or dishonest purposes, that artificial 
 asses' milk is manufactured. One recipe com- 
 prises new cow's milk, sugar-candy, ground 
 rice, and eringo root ; while another com- 
 prises water, hartshorn shavings, lump sugar, 
 new mi:k, and syrup of tolu. 
 
ASSAFCETIDA. 
 
 ASSIGNAT. 
 
 240 
 
 ASSAFCETIDA is a gum -resin, obtained 
 from the roots of the Ferula assafcetida, a pe- 
 rennial plant growing in Persia, in the pro- 
 vince of Lar, and in Khorassan. In its recent 
 and purest state it is white and transparent, 
 but by exposure to the air it becomes of a 
 clear brown colour, sometimes verging to red 
 or violet, and of a waxy appearance. The in- 
 ferior sort is dark-brown, of a dull fatty 
 appearance, viscid, and greasy ; it is called 
 assafoetida in masses. The smell of assafoetida 
 is penetrating, very disagreeable, and lasts 
 some time. The taste is bitter, unpleasantly 
 aromatic, of an alliaceous or garlic- like cha- 
 racter. 
 
 Assafoetida acts on the human system as a 
 stimulant, and is employed in various ways 
 in medicine. 
 
 ASSAYING. The difference between as- 
 saying and chemical analysis may be thus 
 stated ; that when an analysis is performed, 
 the nature and proportions of all the ingre- 
 dients of a substance are determined ; but in 
 assaying, the quantity of any particular metal 
 only which the ore or mixture under examina- 
 tion may contain is ascertained, without re- 
 reference to the substances with which it is 
 mixed or alloyed. Assaying is sometimes 
 conducted in what is called the dry icay, or by 
 heat ; at other times in the moist way, or by 
 acids and other re-agents ; and in some cases 
 both methods are necessarily resorted to in 
 assaying the same ore or mixture of metals. 
 
 The assaying of silver and gold is effected 
 by a process called cupellation. Cupels are 
 small flat crucibles made by pressing bone 
 ash, moistened with water, into circular steel 
 moulds, and they are dried by exposure to the 
 air. The principle upon which the operation 
 depends is, that all metals with Avhich gold 
 and silver are usually alloyed, are convertible 
 into oxides by exposure to atmospheric air at 
 a high temperature, whereas the precious 
 metals remain unacted upon. 
 
 To assay silver by cupellation, the silver is 
 flattened, and wrapped up in an envelope of 
 lead. A muffle or oven is heated in an assay 
 furnace, and the two metals put into it. The 
 metals melt, and the lead becomes converted 
 into an oxide, which, as well as any baser 
 metals before combined with the silver, is ab- 
 sorbed by the substance of the cupel, until at 
 length the silver is left absolutely pure. 
 
 The assaying of gold is performed, to a cer- 
 tain extent, exactly in the same way as that 
 of silver ; and if the gold were alloyed only 
 with copper, the process would be as simple 
 as that -of silver assaying. Usually, however, 
 gold contains silver, and this cannot be got 
 rid of by cupellation , the parting process is 
 
 therefore had recourse to ; this consists in 
 dissolving the silver by dilute nitric acid, which 
 leaves the gold perfectly pure. 
 
 Iron ores are assayed by separating the 
 oxygen from the iron, by the greater affinity 
 of charcoal for that element at high tempera- 
 tures. The ore, some charcoal, and an alka- 
 line flux, are heated in a crucible; and the 
 result is that all the impurities in the ore are 
 made to leave the iron, so that the latter is 
 presented in a purely metallic form. 
 
 Copper ores for the most part contain sul- 
 phur ; and in order to assay them, a flux is 
 prepared of fluor spar, borax, slaked lime, 
 argol, and nitre. The ore is pounded, calcined 
 in a crucible at a red heat ; then cooled ; then 
 heated again with some of the flux until it is 
 brought to a liquid state. The liquid metal 
 is poured into a mould, and quenched when 
 solid but yet hot. There is then found a por- 
 tion of metal underneath a layer of coarse 
 lag. The metal is separated from the slag, 
 reduced to powder, and again heated until the 
 sulphur is driven off from it. 
 
 Lead. The principal ore of lead is the sul- 
 phuret, commonly called galena ; but the car- 
 bonate, or white lead ore, is sometimes found 
 in considerable quantity. The former of these 
 is assayed by being put into a crucible with 
 iron and flux, all in small grains ; and after 
 being covered with a layer of salt, they are 
 heated until the lead becomes separated from 
 all impurities. The second kind of ore is 
 assayed in the same way, but with a different 
 flux. 
 
 Tin. The ores of tin are principally of two 
 kinds, the oxide and the sulphuret. The 
 oxide is assayed by simple fusion with a flux, 
 which removes the oxygen. The sulphuret 
 is assayed by being first pounded and calcined, 
 to drive off any sulphur or arsenic ; and then 
 melted again with a flux of alkalies, fluor spar, 
 and lime, by which the tin becomes separated 
 from all the other impurities. 
 
 Zinc. The ores of zinc are of two kinds, 
 the carbonate, or calamine, and the sulphuret 
 or blende. The carbonate is assayed by being 
 broken into small pieces, brought to a red 
 heat, cooled, reduced to a fine powder, mixed 
 with powdered charcoal, and melted in a cru- 
 cible, under such conditions that the zinc 
 may leave the ore, and combine with a thin 
 layer of granulated copper so as to produce 
 brass ; and the quantity of the brass so pro- 
 duced tests the richness of the ore in zinc. 
 The sulphuret, or blende, is assayed nearly in 
 the same way. 
 
 ASSIGNAT. The commercial history of 
 an assignat bears some such relation to that 
 of a bank note, as a swindler does to an honest 
 
241 
 
 ASSIZE. 
 
 trader. During the early stages of the French 
 Revolution, the government siezed the clergy 
 lands, and made them over to the municipali- 
 ties ; the municipalities gave security for the 
 value, which securities the government ordered 
 should be a legal tender. Paper money was 
 issued to represent these securities ; and the 
 paper notes were called assignats, or tokens 
 that church-land had been assigned to the 
 holder. The government once having began 
 this system, were induced to proceed; and 
 issued more and more assignats, though there 
 was nothing to be represented by them. By 
 the end of 1792 the assignats had been issued 
 to the extent of nearly 3000 million francs ; 
 and as they were not convertible into cash, 
 one silver franc became after a time worth two 
 paper or assignat-francs, then three, then six. 
 During a flash of national glory, in 1793, the 
 assignats rose for a brief period to par, but 
 speedily fell again. By 1794 the number had 
 increased to 6,500 millions, and in the next 
 year it increased to 19,000 millions, the market 
 value being less than one-hundredth of the 
 nominal value. In 1796 the sum reached 
 36,000 million francs ; but the scraps of paper 
 were almost entirely worthless ; and as the 
 government officials at length refused them in 
 payment of salaries, the whole thing fell to the 
 ground. 
 
 The misery which this nefarious system in- 
 flicted is incalculable. There are at the present 
 time, in France and Belgium, rooms which 
 have been completely papered with assignats 
 for all of which money or money's value had 
 been given, but which became utterly worth- 
 less. 
 
 ASSIZE. In early times there were assizes 
 or ordinances regulating the price of bread, 
 ale, fuel, and other common necessaries of life, 
 called in Latin assisce venalium. The earliest 
 express notice of any regulation of this kind 
 in England is in the reign of King John (1203), 
 when a proclamation was made throughout 
 the kingdom enforcing the observance of the 
 legal assize of bread : many statutes were 
 passed regulating the assize of articles of com- 
 mon consumption ; the earliest of these is the 
 assize of bread and ale, ' assisa panis et cer- 
 visiaV commonly called the stat. of 51 Henry 
 III., though its precise date is doubtful. The 
 stat. 8 Anne, c. 19, repealed the 51 Henry III., 
 and imposed a new assize of bread, and made 
 various other regulations respecting it. Several 
 subsequent acts have been passed on the sub- 
 ject ; but by the 55 George III., c. 99, the 
 practice was expressly abolished in London 
 and its neighbourhood, and in other places it 
 has fallen into disuse. Trade is now allowed 
 to settle its own prices. 
 
 ASTRAKHAN. ^ 
 
 ASSURANCE. [INSURANCE.] 
 
 ASSY'RIA. We refer to BABYLON and 
 NINEVEH for a few notices of the extraordinary 
 works of art found in Assyria and Mesopo 
 tamia. 
 
 A'STACUS. [LOBSTER.] 
 
 ASTI. This province of Piedmont is well 
 adapted for the cultivation of the vine. A 
 sparkling fine-flavoured white wine, called vino 
 d'Asti, resembling champagne, is made in the 
 neighbourhood of Villanuova. The soil is also 
 fertile in corn and fruit-trees, especially mul- 
 berries, the leaves of which serve to feed the 
 silkworms. The chief town, also called Asti, 
 has some trade in silk and woollen fabrics, 
 wines, and other agricultural produce. 
 
 ASTRAGAL, a moulding used in architec- 
 ture, and applied principally to the upper ends 
 of the shafts of columns and to their bases. 
 It is also used in the entablatures of the Ro- 
 man Doric, the Ionic, Corinthian, and Compo- 
 site orders. The form of this moulding is 
 semicircular, projecting from a vertical dia- 
 meter. In Egyptian architecture, bands 
 curved after the manner of astragals seem to 
 bind the reeds of which the shaft of the column 
 often appears to be formed. The most remark- 
 able example of the use of the astragal in 
 Grecian architecture is in the base employed 
 in the Ionic temple of Minerva Polias at 
 Priene. 
 
 ASTRA'GALUS. [TKAGACANTH GUM.] 
 
 ASTRAKHAN. This Russian province 
 depends a good deal for its commercial pros- 
 perity on its fisheries. The Volga is scarcely 
 equalled by any other stream in the world for 
 abundance of fish. This noble river flows 
 through the province. In the spring of the 
 year its fishing -grounds, particularly between 
 the sea and the capital, are so abundantly 
 stocked with fish, as to employ upwards of 
 five thousand vessels, and twice that number 
 of persons, who are brought by the fisheries 
 from remote places. Isinglass and caviar are 
 brought from this region. 
 
 Goats are reared, not so much for the sake 
 of their milk or flesh, as of their hides, with 
 which the Russians prepare morocco-leather : 
 there is a fine species of hair too, which either 
 falls from the animal's back, or is combed 
 from it, out of which a stun of beautiful tex- 
 ture is occasionally woven. But the greatest 
 resource possessed by the rural population 
 and nomadic tribes of the province is their 
 flocks of sheep, which are valuable both for 
 their wool and for their fat. 
 
 To the principal branches of industry already 
 enumerated we may add the manufacturing of 
 magnesia, tallow, and soap, in considerable 
 quantities, distilleries of brandy and spirits., 
 
243 
 
 ASTRINGENTS. 
 
 ASTURIAS. 
 
 244 
 
 and manufactories of leather, cotton, and silk 
 Astrakhan soap is in much request among the 
 Russians on account of its firm substance and 
 fragrant scent. The Volga, which secures a 
 ready access to the eastern shores of the Cas- 
 pian Sea, has hitherto rendered the capital of 
 this province the principal seat of the traffic 
 carried on between Asia and the Russian do- 
 minions. 
 
 The chief city, also called Astrakhan, has 
 a navigable communication with St. Peters- 
 burg, from which it is upwards of 1200 miles 
 distant. The establishments for weaving silks 
 and cottons are nearly one hundred in num- 
 ber ; it manufactures also considerable quan- 
 tities of leather, particularly a superior descrip- 
 tion of morocco and shagreen, as well as tallow 
 and soap. The business of buying and selling, 
 more than one -half of which has been en- 
 grossed by the Armenians, is conducted in 
 twenty eight khans or bazaars, which contain 
 1500 stores built of stone, and 560 wooden 
 stalls. Raw silk and silk goods, cotton and 
 cotton-yarn, drugs, dye-stuffs, carpets, oil, rice, 
 and other eastern productions form the chief 
 importations : the exportations are principally 
 woollen cloth, iinens, cochineal, velvet, iron, 
 salt, fruits, fish, wine, liquorice, soda, hides, 
 skins, and grain. 
 
 The fisheries of the Volga centre principally a 
 little below the city. Every weir has its group 
 of huts, with a little church attached to it, in 
 which from two to three score fishermen re- 
 side ; they are divided into divers, catchers, 
 salting-men, and makers of caviar and isin- 
 glass. Each little colony is provided with 
 spacious ice-cellars, which contain compart- 
 ments for storing away the fish when salted, 
 with intervals between the compartments 
 which are filled with ice. 
 
 ASTRINGENTS are agents which contract 
 the fibres of the muscles and blood-vessels, 
 and lessen the flow of fluids. Without dwell- 
 ing on their medical uses, we may briefly enu- 
 merate the chief substances so employed. 
 
 Of vegetable astringents the chief are barks, 
 as of oak and willow, such as that of the 
 quercus robur. The best willow bark is pro- 
 cured from the salix pentandra, or sweet bay- 
 leaved willow, though very excellent bark is 
 yielded by the salix Russeliana, or Bedford 
 willow. Roots, as of tormentil (potentilla tor- 
 mcntillci) ; bistort (polygonum bistorla) ; com- 
 mon avens (geum urbanum), which are British 
 plants ; and rhatany (krameria triandra} ; rhu- 
 barb (rJieum palmatum) ; pomegranate (punica 
 yranatum), which are exotic plants; leaves of 
 iin-.tostapliylos (uva wsi), petals of the rosa 
 gqUica, fruits of prunus spinosa, or sloe-thorn 
 (punica granatum), and secreted juices of 
 
 many plants, as kino, from pterocarpus Sene- 
 yalensis, and .several others ; and catechu, from 
 acacia catechu, and galls, from quercus infoc- 
 toria; in all of which the astringent principle 
 is tannin, with more or less of gallic-acid ; and 
 lastly log-wood, (/nematoxylon Campechianum), 
 in which luvnintine as well as tannin possesses 
 an astringent property. Acetic acid must also 
 be classed among the vegetable astringents. 
 
 The mineral astringents are diluted sul- 
 phuric acid, and salts of iron, zinc, copper, 
 silver, and the salts of lead. Cold, in what- 
 ever way applied, is also a valuable astringent. 
 
 ASTROCA'RYUM, is the botanical name 
 for a genus of palms. One species, the A. 
 murinniri, yields a delicious fruit. Another 
 species, A. airi, has very hard wood, which is 
 much used in tropical America for bows, and 
 similar purposes, where hardness and tough- 
 ness are required. The fibres of the leaves of 
 A. tiicuma are much valued for fishing-nets. 
 
 ASTROLABE, among the Greeks, was a 
 circular instrument used for observations of 
 the stars ; but in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries it signified a projection of the 
 sphere upon a plane, being used in the same 
 sense as the word Planisphere. To this small 
 projection, which had a graduated rim, sights 
 were added, for the purpose of taking alti- 
 tudes ; and in this state it was the constant 
 companion and badge of office of the astrc- 
 oger. In later times, before the invention of 
 Hadley's quadrant, a graduated circular rim, 
 with sights attached, called an astrolabe, was 
 used for taking altitudes at sea. 
 
 Improved astronomical instruments have 
 ;hrown the astrolabe quite out of use. 
 
 ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 Without entering into the scientific details of 
 astronomy, the mechanical construction of 
 the principal instruments employed will be 
 found under the names of the instruments 
 themselves. 
 
 'We are rivals with Britain," says M. Du- 
 pin, speaking of his countrymen, " in mathe- 
 matical instruments, and in those of philo- 
 sophy, optics, and astronomy." Let us hope 
 that the scientific instrument makers of both 
 countries will be worthily represented in 1851. 
 
 ASTURIAS. This portion of Spain does 
 not hold a high rank in relation to manufac- 
 tures and their materials. There are found, 
 lowever, marble, stone used for grind-stones, 
 copper, mineral amber, cinnabar, iron, zinc, 
 lead, antimony, jet, coals and turf. The 
 mountainous parts of the province are covered 
 with forests of oak, beech, chestnut, and other 
 
 368. 
 
 The only manufactories of Asturias are a 
 royal manufactory of fire-arms at Trubia, a 
 
245 
 
 .STY'LAE. 
 
 ATLANTES. 
 
 246 
 
 few others belonging to private individuals 
 for the fabrication of copper, earthenware, and 
 jet trinkets, some tanneries, and looms for 
 common woollen and linen stuffs, principally 
 for home consumption. A considerable quan- 
 tity of pickled fish is sent from Asturias to 
 Madrid. 
 
 AST Y 'LAB, in architecture, signifies without 
 columns. Thus, we speak of Astylar Italian 
 in contradistinction from the columnar class 
 of buildings in that style, or such as are de 
 corated with the orders. In this country we 
 had no examples of the astylar class of de- 
 sign, until it was introduced by Mr. Barry, in 
 the Travellers' Clubhouse and Reform Club- 
 house, London. 
 
 ASY'LUM, in its original meaning, was a 
 place of refuge. In the present day it has 
 the same signification as a hospital or alms- 
 house ; and some of the handsomest modern 
 structures in this country are thus called 
 asylums, such as the Lrinatic Asylum at 
 Hanwell, and the still larger structure at 
 Colney Hatch. 
 
 ATACA'MA, is the slip of Bolivia which 
 lies between the Andes and the Pacific. The 
 surrounding mountains contain mines of gold 
 and silver, but they are not worked, and are 
 inhabited by numerous herds of vicunas, which 
 the Indians hunt, selling their skins and 
 eating their flesh, which is tender and of ex- 
 cellent taste. It has been proposed to bore 
 Artesian wells at Puerto de la Mar (the only 
 port in Bolivia), in order to remedy the want 
 of fresh water, which is a serious bar to the 
 prosperity, and even to the existence of the 
 town. The interior districts contain veins of 
 crystal of various colours, of jasper, talc, cop- 
 per, blue .vitriol, and alum. 
 
 ATCKEEN, or ACHEEN, one of the many 
 petty kingdoms in the large island of Sumatra, 
 carries on a considerable trade with Coro- 
 na andel, to which it furnishes gold-dust, raw- 
 silk, betel-nut, pepper, sulphur, camphor, and 
 benzoin ; receiving in return cotton goods and 
 salt. A considerable trade is also carried on 
 between Atcheen and Singapore. Coarse 
 manufactures of cotton, woollen, and silk are 
 carried on by the inhabitants. 
 
 ATH, or AATH, is a flourishing manu- 
 facturing town in the Belgian province of 
 Hainault. The manufactures are caps, hats, 
 gloves, cotton and linen cloth, bleaching, and 
 asbestus cloth. It carries on also some trade 
 in grain, and in the products of the neigh- 
 bouring country, among which are tobacco, 
 poppies, and rape. The mulberry is exten- 
 sively cultivated in the neighbourhood for the 
 growth of silk. 
 
 ATHENS. As long as the memory of an- 
 
 cient art remains, the name of Athens will be 
 respected as the greatest of its supporters. 
 No other city has ever contained so many 
 buildings and sculptures of high artistic ex- 
 cellence. On the hill called the Acropolis is 
 the Avorld renowned Temple of the Parthenon 
 [PAIITHEXON]. Near the hill called the Areo- 
 pagus is the Temple of Theseus [THESEimi]. 
 Eastward of the Theseium are the remains of 
 the Stoa or Portico of Hadrian. South of the 
 Stoa is the Tower of the Winds. In the south- 
 east quarter of the city is the Arch of Ha drian ; 
 and within this are all that now remain of 
 the magnificent temple of Jupiter Olympus. 
 Not far from this temple is the beautiful 
 Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, which has 
 served as the model for the steeple of one of 
 our London churches. The great Dionysiac 
 Theatre Avas on the south-east side of the 
 Acropolis ; while on the south west of the 
 Acropolis was the Odcium or Musical The- 
 atre, and on the west was the Propylcea or 
 military approach. On or near the Acropolis, 
 too, were the large structure or structures, 
 the remains of which are now known as the 
 Erechtheium. 
 
 The ELGIN and PHIGALEIAN Saloons at the 
 British Museum are richly adorned with price- 
 less works of sculpture brought from Athens. 
 These are briefly noticed in other parts of 
 this volume. 
 
 ATHERSTONE, in Warwickshire, contri- 
 butes its mite towards the industry of the 
 country. The chief manufacture is that of 
 hats. Ribands and shalloons are also made. 
 The Coventry Canal, which passes close by 
 the town on the west, contributes to its trade. 
 Among the anomalous rocks by which the 
 coal-field is bounded on the south-east, is a 
 peculiar quartzose sandstone, of extraordinary 
 hardness, which is extensively quarried, and 
 sent to a great distance for the purpose of 
 road-making. Nearly adjacent to this is a 
 rich bed of manganese, which at Hartshill 
 las yielded a very profitable return, but which 
 is now nearly exhausted. Coal is found at 
 Baddesley Moor, in the vicinity of Atherstone. 
 
 ATHLONE, which is connected with Dub 
 in by the newly opened Midland Great 
 Western Railway of Ireland, had formerly a 
 considerable trade in the manufacture of 
 coarse hats, but it has declined. There are 
 extensive distilleries, breweries, and tanneries 
 lere, and a brisk trade is carried on by means 
 of the Shannon navigation and Grand and 
 Royal Canals with Limerick and Dublin. 
 
 ATLANTES, is a term applied to figures 
 or half figures of men used in the place of 
 columns or pilasters, to sustain an entabla- 
 ture. In the temple of Jupiter Olympus, at 
 
247 
 
 ATLANTIC OCEAN. 
 
 ATMOMETER. 
 
 2-18 
 
 Agrigentura, restored by Mr. Cockerell, anc 
 described in Stuart's 'Athens,' vol. 4, Atlantes 
 are represented standing upon a plinth placec 
 on the entablature above the pilasters of the 
 cella of the temple, and supporting with their 
 heads and arms the entablature on which the 
 beams of the roof were to have been placed 
 The Atlantes of this temple were twenty -fiv 
 feet high, built in courses of stone, corre- 
 sponding with the walls of the cella, and 
 partly attached to it. 
 
 ATLANTIC OCEAN, as the watery ex- 
 panse which separates Europe from America, 
 is one of the most notable of commercial 
 highways. 
 
 No first-class river flows into the Atlantic 
 from Europe or Africa, the Rhine, the Danube, 
 the Dnieper, and the Nile being of the se- 
 cond class. Of Africa, about one-half the 
 surface is supposed to be drained by rivers 
 which, directly or indirectly, flow into the 
 Atlantic. But, on the American side, the 
 Atlantic rivers are on the grandest scale; in- 
 cluding the Amazon, the Plata, the Orinoco, 
 the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and their 
 numerous tributaries. It is calculated that 
 the areas of country drained by rivers which 
 flow into the Atlantic and its seas are six 
 millions in America, six millions in Africa, 
 three millions in Europe, and half a million 
 in Asia. 
 
 The Gulf Stream greatly affects the naviga- 
 tion of the Atlantic Ocean. Vessels bound 
 from Europe to North America avoid it as 
 much as possible, because it would create a 
 delay of at least a fortnight if they were to 
 stem it. They therefore either sail to the 
 south or to the north of it, commonly the 
 latter, their course being accelerated as soon 
 as they approach the continent of North 
 America by the counter- currents which run 
 between the Gulf Stream and the coast. The 
 Gulf Stream is now avoided even by vessels 
 returning from the West Indies and the Gulf 
 of Mexico, though by following its course they 
 arrive four or five days sooner in Europe than 
 those which avoid it. But it has been found 
 by experience that such vessels suffer a 
 damage in wear and tear which is greater than 
 can be compensated by the gain of a few 
 days. 
 
 It is a known fact that the water of the 
 Atlantic Ocean, in different parts, contains 
 different quantities of salt ; and that the spe- 
 cific gravity is less near the poles than near 
 the equator. There is a considerable difference 
 between the specific gravity of the water of the 
 Baltic and Mediterranean seas and the ocean. 
 That of the Baltic contains only one-sixth of 
 the salt which is found dissolved in the ocean, 
 
 its specific gravity being on an average not 
 more than 1-0049. The Mediterranean Sea 
 contains somewhat more salt than the ocean ; 
 to the east of the Straits of Gibraltar, the spe- 
 cific gravity of the sea-water is 1-0-338 ; whilst 
 between Cape St. Vincent and Cape Cantin, it 
 was only found to be 1 -0294. 
 
 The Atlantic is always busily laden with the 
 produce which is passing from the old conti- 
 nent to the new, and vice versa. Magnificent 
 steam ships traverse it from Glasgow, from 
 Liverpool, from Southampton, from Bremen, 
 from Havre, to Halifax, Boston, New York, 
 the West Indies, and South America ; while 
 sailing ships traverse its whole length on their 
 route to the Pacific, to the great but almost 
 unknown Southern Ocean, to the Cape of 
 Good Hope, to India and China, and to our 
 Australian Colonies. In a very few weeks after 
 this page reaches the hands of the reader, 
 ships laden with foreign treasures treasures 
 of productive industry will be ascending and 
 crossing the Atlantic, on then- way to the great 
 Gathering of Nations in 1851. 
 
 ATLAS is the historical and geographical 
 name of an extensive mountain-system in 
 North Africa, which, though not inhabited by 
 a manufacturing race, produces many sub- 
 stances useful in the Arts. On the low plains 
 at the southern foot of the mountains, and 
 within its lower ranges, the date palms cover 
 extensive tracts ; the higher lands abound in 
 gum trees, almonds, olives, and other produc- 
 ions of the hotter countries ; the lower table- 
 ands produce apples, pears, cherries, walnuts, 
 ipricots, and other fruits, common to the 
 southern countries of Europe; and, proceeding 
 ligher up the ranges, the plains are covered 
 with pines of an immense size, with a species 
 of oak, called the belute, with ferns, elms, 
 mountain -ash, and several species of juniper, 
 rligher up, large forests of firs form the prin- 
 cipal vegetation. 
 
 Rich mines of different kinds exist in that 
 ateral range which separates the province of 
 Suse from the countries on the river Drab a ; 
 t abounds especially in iron, copper, and lead. 
 etewa, a district east of Tarudant, contains 
 rich mines of lead and brimstone ; and salt- 
 )etre of a superior quality abounds in the 
 neighbourhood of Tarudant itself. Other 
 mines of iron, copper, antimony, lead, and a 
 ittle silver and gold, are met with in various 
 mrts. Salt and sulphur are also found. 
 
 ATMOMETER, an instrument employed 
 to measure the quantity of exhalation from a 
 lumid surface in a given time. The instru- 
 ment to which the name is usually applied is 
 ne invented by Professor Leslie, consisting 
 f a very thin ball of porous earthenware, two 
 
249 
 
 ATMOPYEE. 
 
 ATOMIC THEORY. 
 
 250 
 
 or three inches in diameter, to which is ce- 
 mented a long tube of glass, marked hy a dia- 
 mond with divisions, each of which is capable 
 of containing as much liquid as would, if 
 spread over the outer surface of the ball, cover 
 it with a film equal in thickness to the T (jV<yth 
 part of an inch. The open end of the tube 
 is fitted with a brass cap and a leather collar; 
 and when in use the instrument is filled with 
 distilled or boiled water, and suspended verti- 
 cally with the ball downwards, the end of the 
 tube being perfectly closed with the cap and 
 collar. The water then percolates through 
 the porous ball precisely in proportion to the 
 evaporation from its outer surface, of which 
 its waste in the tube forms an accurate indica- 
 tion. The vacuous space above the water in 
 the tube becomes, during the operation, gra- 
 dually filled with air which enters through the 
 porous ball. When the tube becomes empty, 
 the cap is removed to refill it. This instru- 
 ment is not only useful in meteorological ob- 
 servations, but is also capable of being applied 
 with advantage in chemical operations, and in 
 the application of science to agriculture. 
 
 ATMOPYRE is the name given to an inge- 
 nious contrivance, very recently introduced by 
 Mr.D.O.Ed\vards. Smoke is only one of the evils 
 occasioned by imperfect combustion ; and Mr. 
 Edwards's invention is intended to lessen these 
 evils. A small cylinder or tube of pipe-clay, 
 from two to four inches long, is perforated 
 with holes only one-fiftieth of an inch in dia- 
 meter. One end of the tube is fixed upon 
 a gas-burner ; and when the gas is turned on, 
 it becomes mixed with atmospheric air in the 
 cylinder. The little jets which penetrate 
 through the minute holes are ignited, the 
 clay cylinder becomes red-hot, and has the 
 appearance of a solid red flame. By placing 
 these clay cylinders within others of larger 
 size, an intense heat may be produced ; and 
 this heat (it is proposed) may be applied to 
 many manufacturing purposes. The gas is 
 thoroughly consumed on account of the mi- 
 nuteness of the threads into which it is 
 divided ; while the perforations, acting on the 
 principle of those in the safety-lamp, prevent 
 the flame from reaching the interior of the 
 cylinder. 
 
 Common gas is estimated by the inventor 
 to yield double as much heat by this method 
 as in the ordinaiy mode of combustion ; and 
 this heat, by a due multiplication and combi- 
 nation of clay-cylinders, is proposed to be 
 used in raising steam for warm-baths and 
 other minor purposes, and for heating rooms. 
 If the principle be sound, the practical appli- 
 cations will speedily develope themselves. 
 
 ATMOSPHERE, is the whole body of air 
 
 or other mixture of gases which envelopes a 
 planet. As we do not here treat of the atmos- 
 phere in its scientific relations, it will suffice 
 to refer to AIR, ANEMOMETER, BALLOON, &c., 
 where the practical results of the existence 
 of an atmosphere are brought into prominent 
 view. 
 
 ATOMIC THEORY, in chemistry, some- 
 times termed the doctrine of definite propor- 
 tions. This very important theory, founded 
 on well ascertained facts, has bestowed on 
 modern chemistry an almost mathematical 
 degree of precision. The theory, which is to 
 be distinguished from the experimental part 
 of the subject, supposes that chemical com- 
 pounds result from the combination of the 
 ultimate atoms of their constituent parts. It 
 has been determined by experiment, and the 
 fact serves as ths basis of the theory, that a 
 compound body, when pure, always contains 
 the same proportion of its constituents : thus 
 calcareous spar, and the pure part of marble, 
 chalk, and limestone, consist of carbonate of 
 lime, composed of uniform proportions of 
 carbonic acid and lime ; the carbonic acid 
 always contains uniform quantities of carbon 
 and oxygen, and the lime uniform proportions 
 of calcium and oxygen. The same law also 
 exists with regard to all similarly-constituted 
 oxides, sulphurets, and salts, and indeed 
 to all chemical compounds whatever, whether 
 presented to us by nature or formed by art. 
 
 Wenzel, Bryan Higgins, Richter, Proust, 
 and other chemists, made many discoveries 
 which tended towards a law of definite propor- 
 tions in chemistry ; but Dalton reduced it to 
 a system by his atomic theory, promulgated in 
 1803. According to his view, the atomic num- 
 ber, or atomic weight, or atomic equivalent, of 
 any substance, represents the relative quan- 
 tity or weight of each which will combine with 
 other substances; and the labours of later 
 chemists have been directed to the exact 
 determination of these numbers. Dalton 
 thought that if hydrogen were reckoned 1, all 
 other substances might be represented by in- 
 tegers, and this is still frequently done ;* but 
 these integers are not strictly accurate. 
 
 The following diagram will illustrate the 
 mode in which the atomic numbers or com- 
 bining weights retain their character through- 
 out all the compositions or decompositions 
 which may take place. An atom of nitric 
 acid (hydrogen being taken as 1, and oxygen 
 as 8) weighs 54 ; and one of barytes 76 ; forming 
 when combined 130 of neutral nitrate of ba- 
 rytes. An atom of neutral sulphate of potash 
 88, is composed of an atom of sulphuric 
 acid 40, and an atom of potash = 48. Now 
 when an atom of nitrate of barytes = 180, 
 
251 
 
 ATRIUM. 
 
 ATTALEA. 
 
 252 
 
 dissolved in water, is mixed with an atom o 
 sulphate of potash = 88, in solution, double 
 decomposition ensues, and two new and per 
 iectly neutral salts are formed, viz. 1 atom o: 
 nitrate of potash =. 102, consisting of an atom 
 of nitric acid 54, and an atom of potash ==. 
 48. This remains in solution ; and there is 
 precipitated an atom of neutral sulphate of 
 barytes = 116, composed of 1 atom of sul 
 phuric acid = 40, and 1 atom of barytes = 76 
 102 Nitrate of Potash. 
 
 
 54 Nitric Acid Potash 48. ' 
 
 
 130 
 
 
 88 
 
 Nitrate 
 
 
 Sulphate 
 
 of 
 
 
 of 
 
 Barytes. 
 
 
 Potash. 
 
 
 Sulphuric 
 
 
 
 76 Barytes acid 40. J 
 
 
 116 Sulphate of Barytes. 
 
 Tables of these combining numbers are now 
 published for the use of chemists. 
 
 In 1809 Gay-Lussac published an important 
 memoir on the ' Theory of Volumes,' in which 
 the definite composition of compound gases 
 was placed in a new and instructive light. 
 Suspecting, from the previously ascertained 
 fact that 100 volumes of oxygen gas combine 
 with 200 volumes of hydrogen gas to form 
 water, that other gaseous bodies would be 
 found to unite in simple proportions, he made 
 further experiments, and found that gaseous 
 substances unite in the simple ratio of 1 to 1, 
 1 to 2, 1 to 3, &c. Thus, for example, 
 
 By Volume. By Weight. 
 Nitrog. Oxygen. Nitrog. Oxygen. 
 
 Nitrous oxide .2 1 . 14 8 
 
 Nitric oxide . . 2 2 . 14 16 
 
 Hyponitrous acid 2 3 . 14 24 
 
 Nitrous acid .2 4 . 14 32 
 
 Nitric acid . . 2 5 . 14 40 
 
 The same rule was found also to apply to 
 the combination of vapours with gases, thus, 
 Volumes. Volumes. 
 
 100 hydrogen gas with 100 vapour of sulphur. 
 100 oxygen gas with 100 
 
 100 hydrogen gas with 100 vapour of iodine. 
 
 As Chemistry is treated in this work only in 
 respect to some of its practical applications, 
 this brief notice of the atomic theory will 
 suffice. 
 
 A'TRIUM, a hall or room of audience in a 
 Roman house. The Cavum ^Edium was pro - 
 bably the hollow space in the middla of a 
 Roman house, open to the sky and rain; 
 while the Atrium was the covered part, the hall 
 
 or room of audience. The Atrium was the 
 most important and usually the most splendid 
 apartment. Here the owner received his 
 crowd of morning visitors, who were not ad- 
 mitted to the inner apartments. Originally 
 the Atrium was the common room of ivsort 
 for the whole family the place of their do- 
 mestic occupations ; and such it probably con- 
 tinued in the humbler ranks of life. It con- 
 sisted of a large apartment roofed over, but 
 with an opening in the centre, called compln- 
 viiiHi, towards which the roof sloped so as to 
 throw the rain-water into a cistern in the floor 
 called impluvium, 
 
 In building a marine villa, a Roman Atrium 
 might be introduced with utility and effect ; 
 and we can conceive nothing more delightful 
 than the enjoyment of the warm sea-breeze of 
 summer in the cool shade of an Atrium, with 
 a portico open to the sea. In such a design, 
 the Atrium, with its portico, should form the 
 centre feature, and the apartments and offices 
 of the occupants should be arranged round 
 the back and two sides ; the Atrium, with the 
 portico, being placed towards the sea, would 
 give a full view of it. 
 
 A'TROPA, is the botanical name for the 
 genus of plants which includes belladonna, or 
 t nightshade; and mandrake ; both of 
 which are very poisonous, except when care- 
 fully prepared as medicines. 
 
 ATHO'PIA, a vegetable alkali which is found 
 to exist in the juice of the atropa belladonna, 
 and in which the poisonous qualities of the 
 plant reside. Atropia forms long transparent 
 colourless crystals which are insoluble in cold 
 water, and very slightly soluble by boiling 
 water and alcohol. It forms with acids pecu- 
 liar salts, which readily crystallize. During 
 ihe evaporation of a salt of atropia, the vapour 
 which rises occasions an enlargement of the 
 pupil of the eyes of those exposed to its influ- 
 ^nce, which continues for several hours. 
 
 ATTALE'A is the botanical name for a 
 :enus of plants, which includes many species 
 lighly valuable to the natives of South Ame- 
 rica. One species, called by the natives piacaba 
 s found in the native forests of the maritime 
 )rovinces of Brazil, where it is one of the 
 nost valuable gifts which the bountiful hand 
 if nature has conferred on man. The best 
 ordage in America, for naval purposes, is 
 manufactured from the fibres of the leaf-stalks 
 and other parts : such ropes are of great 
 trength, and are extremely durable in salt 
 water. No other cables are employed in a 
 jreat part of the Brazilian navy. Another 
 pecies, the pimjfoya. of the old writers on 
 frazil, and the indaja of the modern Portu- 
 guese, forms delightful groves in the interior 
 
253 
 
 ATTAR OF ROSES. 
 
 ATT WOOD'S MACHINE. 
 
 254 
 
 of the country, growing from twenty to fifty 
 feet clear of its branch-like leaves. The latter 
 are from fifteen to twenty feet long, and about 
 three feet wide. The fruit is the size of a 
 goose's egg, and contains an eatable kernel, 
 of which the negroes are fond. Its leaves 
 form an excellent thatch, and are woven into 
 hats, mats, and baskets. Another species 
 furnishes the nuts which the Brazilians burn 
 for the purpose of smoking the juice of Si- 
 phon ia elastica, or Indian rubber, until it be- 
 comes black. 
 
 ATTAR (or OTTO) OF ROSES, is an 
 essential oil obtained in India from the petals 
 of the Rosa centifolia and R. sempervivens, by 
 evaporation from the steeped petals, the attar 
 rising to the top of the water as a kind of 
 yellowish scum. It is a very powerful per- 
 fume, and is said by Saussure to be a mixture 
 of two oils, one solid and the other fluid at 
 the common temperature of the air. 
 
 Attar of Roses liquefies at about 85 of 
 Fahrenheit, and the solid oil at about 91 ; 
 the latter crystallizes by cold into brilliant 
 white transparent laminae of the consistence 
 of bees' wax. 
 
 The Attar is produced in two ways. In one 
 method the rose-leaves are carefully distilled, 
 to produce rose-water of a certain degree of 
 strength ; this is poured on a fresh heap of 
 rose-leaves, and distilled to produce stronger 
 rose-water; and this latter (a highly fragrant 
 liquid) is poured into shallow vessels, and left 
 exposed to the fresh air during one night ; in 
 the morning the attar or essential oil is found 
 to have collected in a thin film on the top. In 
 the other method, rose-leaves steeped in water 
 are exposed in open vessels to the action of 
 the sun for several days, by which time the 
 attar has collected on the surface of the water. 
 
 So intense is the odour of attar of roses, 
 that a morsel on the point of a needle will 
 scent a room during a whole day. One hun- 
 dred pounds weight of rose-leaves are required 
 to produce only three drachms of attar, even 
 under favourable circumstances ; and this will 
 suffice to explain the enormous price of this 
 perfume, when pure. 
 
 ATTIC, as a term in building, is applied to 
 the upper room or rooms of a house, with or 
 without a parapet-wall in front. But in archi- 
 tecture the attic comprehends the Avhole of a 
 plain or decorated parapet wall, which termi- 
 nates the upper part of the fa9ade of an edifice. 
 There is at Athens a monument, that of 
 Thrasyllus, with an attic over the order of 
 pilasters which form the basement; in the 
 centre was a colossal statue. This example 
 may be taken as the best type of a Greek attic 
 which is at present mown. Another example. 
 
 which bears a closer resemblance to the Ro- 
 man attic, exists in the upper wall of the nave 
 of the Temple of Jupiter Olympiis at Agri- 
 gentum, where there is an entire wall with 
 short pilasters at intervals, in the front of 
 which are figures placed above the pilasters 
 of the nave. The attic is a conspicuous fea- 
 ture in the triumphal arches at Rome, and a 
 necessary one : it was not merely intended as 
 a frame-work for the inscription, nor as a 
 support for statues, but is essential to the 
 proportions of the composition. 
 
 In all the best examples, and especially in 
 the remains of antiquity at Rome, the attic is 
 decorated with a moulded base and cornice, 
 often with pilasters and figures, as in the arch 
 of Constantirie. 
 
 The Italian architects who had studied the 
 remains of antiquity in Rome, and those who 
 followed in their school, usually employed an 
 attic in their designs. The attic is in such 
 common use, that there are few public build- 
 ings in London without it. Somerset House, 
 in the view towards the street, may be taken 
 as offering a very fine example of this feature 
 of an edifice. 
 
 ATTRACTION, in its scientific meaning, 
 denotes that quality by which the bodies of 
 the universe, or the molecules of the same 
 body or of different bodies, approach one 
 another Avhen not prevented from doing so. 
 The tendency by which bodies when unsup- 
 ported approach the earth is called Gravita- 
 tion ; that by which the minute particles of 
 bodies are held together is called Cohesion; 
 that by which particles combine together che- 
 mically is called Affinity ; while those actions 
 which exist between the particles of the elec- 
 trical and magnetic fluids, or between these 
 and the particles of bodies, are called ^Electri- 
 cal or Magnetic attractions. 
 
 So far as they have any place in this work, 
 these forms of attraction are briefly noticed 
 under the headings just indicated. 
 
 ATTWOOD'S MACHINE. This appara- 
 tus Avas invented by George Attwood, a fellow 
 and tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge, to- 
 wards the close of the last century. It is 
 intended to demonstrate the law of the velocity 
 of falling bodies. 
 
 Suppose weights of six and seven pounds 
 hang over a pulley, the weight and friction of 
 which we neglect for the present ; if both 
 weights were six pounds, the machine would 
 not move : therefore, the moving pressure is 
 the one pound by which the one weight ex- 
 ceeds the other. This weight, if it had only 
 its own mass to move, or if it fell freely, would 
 generate 32 feet of velocity per second ; but 
 before this system can move, G -f- 7, or 13 
 
255 
 
 AUBE. 
 
 AUCTION. 
 
 256 
 
 Ibs. must be stirred by 1 lb., and tbere will 
 only be the 13th part of 32 feet of velocity 
 produced in one second, that is, about 2f feet. 
 Therefore, in one second, the heavier weight 
 will fall only l foot ; and in five seconds, 25 
 times as much, or 30 feet. And the velocity 
 acquired may be reduced in any proportion, 
 by making the weights more nearly equal. 
 
 Attwood's machine is a pulley, the pivots of 
 which, instead of being placed in a block, are 
 sustained on friction wheels, to diminish the 
 friction. Two weights are hung over this by 
 a string, and the mass moved consists of the 
 two weights, the pulley, and the friction 
 wheels. 
 
 The length described in any time is mea- 
 sured by a vertical scale of feet, placed close 
 to the line of motion of one of the Aveights. 
 To measure the velocity acquired at any point 
 the moving pressure (the excess of one weight 
 above the other) must be taken off, in order 
 that there may be no fresh accession of velo- 
 city, or that the system may proceed only with 
 the velocity acquired. This is effected by 
 making the larger weight in two parts, one 
 part equal to the smaller weight, and the other 
 of course to the excess or moving pressure. 
 The latter is so formed that it cannot pass 
 through a certain ring, while the former can. 
 By fixing this ring to any required point of 
 the scale of feet, the moving pressure is taken 
 off when the larger weight passes through it. 
 
 Attwood's machine is not wholly satisfactory ; 
 but of the four principles 1, the law of uni- 
 formly accelerated motion : 2, the constancy 
 of the retardation caused by the having to 
 communicate every acceleration also to the 
 pulley and friction wheels ; 3, the constancy 
 of the retardation arising from friction; 4, the 
 smallness of the resistance of the ah- to small 
 velocities this machine may be made to 
 prove any one to a spectator who admits the 
 other three. 
 
 AUBE. This department of France, formed 
 out of portions of the former provinces of 
 Champagne and Burgundy, possesses a little 
 mineral wealth ; iron is found, but no mine 
 is worked ; limestone is abundant ; building 
 stone, potter's clay, marl, and pipe-clay are 
 found. Turf also is found in some districts, 
 but the fuel of the department is supplied by 
 its forests, the principal of which are those of 
 Clairvaux, Chaource, Montmorency, Orient, 
 and Soulaines. 
 
 The principal manufactures are broad cloth, 
 cotton, stuffs, and hosiery. Leather, coarse 
 cloth, cambric, silk, linen, and gloves are also 
 made. Besides these fabrics the department 
 has numerous potteries, tile, poi'celain, and 
 glass-works, paper mills, distilleries, vinegar 
 
 yards, beet-root sugar factories, rope-walks, 
 starch factories, dyeing and bleaching estab- 
 blishments. The trade of the department is 
 in the agricultural and manufacturing pro- 
 ducts already mentioned, together with cheese, 
 wool, sausages, firewood, and charcoal. 
 
 The chief towns in which the manufactures 
 are centred are Troyes, Mery-sur-Seine (the 
 centre of a great honey district containing 
 above 3000 hives), Piney (where there is a 
 large manufacture of ropes and mats from 
 the bark of the lime-tree), Arcis-sur-Aube 
 (where cotton spinning and dyeing are carried 
 on), Ricey (a good wine district), Villenaux, 
 Romilly (where there are several oil and corn- 
 mills), Nogent, Bar sur-Aube, &c. 
 
 AUCH, the capital of the department of 
 Gers in France, has a trade in wine, brandy, 
 wool, quills, and fruits ; woollen and cotton 
 stuffs, leather, crape, and hats, are manufac- 
 tured in the town and neighbourhood. 
 
 AUCKLAND ISLANDS. These remote 
 islands, lying about 200 miles south of New 
 Zealand, were discovered by Captain Briscoe 
 in 1806. A commercial interest is attached 
 to them at the present time arising out of an 
 attempt to colonize them and make them a 
 depot for the Southern Whale Fishery. 
 
 The Auckland Islands have been granted 
 by government to the Messrs. Enderby on very 
 advantageous terms, in consideration of the 
 services rendered by their father to this 
 country, as also for the more recent discov- 
 eries of the southern continent by Captain 
 Briscoe whilst in the employ of the Messrs. 
 Enderby. A company, to which the Messrs. 
 Enderby have ceded their privileges, obtained 
 a charter of incorporation on the 10th of Jan- 
 uary, 1849, for the purpose of prosecuting the 
 southern whale fishery from the Auckland 
 Islands ; and Laurie Harbour has been chosen 
 as the head station of the company, from the 
 superior facilities it affords to whaling vessels. 
 The islands were uninhabited until the 
 Southern Whale Fishery Company, under the 
 conduct of one of the Messrs. Enderby, made 
 a settlement there in 1849. At the first an- 
 nual meeting of the company, held in February 
 1850, it was stated that the company had de- 
 spatched a store-ship, an emigrant ship with 
 settlers, and three whale ships to the island ; 
 and that others would soon follow. Quite 
 recently (Nov. 1850) accounts have been re- 
 ceived, detailing the successful commencement 
 of the settlement. 
 
 AUCTION, a method employed for the 
 sale of property. The Romans gave it the 
 descriptive name of audio, an increase, because 
 the property was publicly sold to him who 
 would offer most for it. In modern times a 
 
25V 
 
 AUDE. 
 
 different method of sale has been sometimes 
 adopted, which is called a Dutch auction, thus 
 indicating the local origin of the practice : it 
 consists in the public offer of property at a 
 price beyond its value, and then gradually 
 lowering or diminishing that price until some 
 one consents to become the purchaser. Fish 
 is often sold in this way on the beach near 
 the fishing-towns. The system adopted at 
 the Cornish mines is a sort of medium be- 
 tween the ordinary and the Dutch auctions ; 
 two months' mining is let to a gang or a party 
 of miners who bid the lowest sum, that is, who 
 agree to take the smallest per centage of the 
 produce for their reward. 
 
 Persons are now sometimes invited to a 
 ' sale by the candle,' or ' by the inch of can 
 die.' The origin of this expression arose 
 from the employment of candles as the means 
 of measuring time, it being declared that no 
 one lot of goods should continue to be offered 
 to the biddings of the persons who were present 
 for a longer time than would suffice for the 
 burning of one inch of candle ; as soon as the 
 candle had wasted to that extent, the then 
 highest bidder was declared to be the pur- 
 chaser. 
 
 AUDE, a department of France formed of 
 a portion of the old province of Languedoc, 
 has a fair proportion of produce and manufac- 
 tures. Mines of coal, plastic clay, arid plaster 
 of Paris are profitably worked ; limestone, 
 good building stone, and slate are found. The 
 Corbieres Mountains contain mines of anti- 
 mony, manganese, copper, lead, and silver ; 
 but none of them are worked. There are 
 several mineral and salt springs. Marble of 
 great beauty is found among the transition 
 limestone and the lower secondary strata in 
 the quarries of Caunes, 
 
 The chief manufacture of the department 
 is fine broad cloth, for making which wool is 
 imported from Spain ; leather, hats, hosiery, 
 paper, and pottery are made. There are nu- 
 merous distilleries, flour-mills and saw-mills, 
 furnaces and iron foundries. The exports of 
 the department consist of soda, which is 
 found abundantly on the coast of the Medi- 
 terranean; salt, of which about 90,000 tons are 
 annually made in the salt-pans in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Bages and Sigean; boxwood 
 combs, jet ornaments, and the agricultural, mi- 
 neral, and industrial products before named. 
 
 Besides NARBONNE,the chief manufacturing 
 town is Carcassone, where there is a consi- 
 derable commerce in mineral products, wine, 
 corn, fruits, &c. ; but the town is principally 
 engaged in the manufacture of fine broad 
 cloth, blankets, hosiery, woollen yarn, and 
 linen. There are also several brandy distil- 
 
 AUGSBUEG. 258 
 
 leries, soaperies, dye-houses, paper-mills, and 
 naileries in the town. Limoux has important 
 manufactures of broad cloth: there are also 
 woollen -yarn manufactories, tanneries, soap- 
 eries, and oil-mills. Limoux has a consider- 
 able trade in wine, and is the mart for the 
 iron of the neighbouring furnaces. Castel- 
 naudery has manufactures of coarse cloths, 
 canal boats, pottery, and bricks; there are 
 also brandy distilleries and flour-mills ; besides 
 the articles named, the town trades in timber, 
 iron, and hides. 
 
 AUGEE. The auger is an instrument for 
 boring holes in wood, larger than can be 
 made with an awl or a gimlet. In its simple 
 form, this instrument is too well known to 
 need description. A few years ago a new 
 kind of auger was invented, and introduced 
 into some of our manufacturing establish- 
 ments ; it differs from the common auger in 
 having a spiral like that of a corkscrew, which 
 empties itself of the fragments of wood with- 
 out having need to be withdrawn from the bore. 
 
 AUGITE, a mineral which presents many 
 varieties according to its mode of production. 
 Mineralogists have discussed at much length 
 the connection between augite and hornblende, 
 and their probable formation. Mitscherlich 
 has observed that at many iron-foundries in 
 Sweden and Germany the scoriae possessed 
 the form, structure, and chemical composition 
 of certain minerals found in nature. From 
 this source he has been led to the opinion, 
 that augite is formed whenever the process of 
 cooling, and consequently of crystallization, is 
 rapid ; and horn-blende, when it is conducted 
 more slowly : the chemical ingredients being 
 in both cases nearly the same. 
 
 AUGSBUEG, the capital of the Bavarian 
 circle of the Upper Danube, is distinguished 
 in commercial matters by its banking and 
 exchange operations, and by its transit of 
 merchandise. It is a staple town also for the 
 deposit and sale of the wines of Italy, Switz- 
 erland, and the south of Germany. It has 
 above 200 mercantile establishments, and an 
 annual circulation, varying in value from three 
 to four millions sterling, in bills and mer- 
 chandise. Augsburg is famous for its plate, 
 jewellery, time-pieces, philosophical and ma- 
 thematical instruments, books, prints, maps, 
 cotton and woollen manufactures, leather, 
 beet-root sugar, and many other products, 
 which rank it among the chief industrial and 
 commercial cities of Germany. 
 
 The manufacturers of Augsburg are making 
 preparations to represent the industry of their 
 town and the surrounding district, in the 
 approaching Industrial Exhibition in Hyde 
 Park, 
 
259 
 
 AUGUSTOVO. 
 
 AUSTEN, WILLIAM. 
 
 260 
 
 AUGUSTOVO, one of the districts of 
 Russian Poland, produces considerable quan- 
 tities of wild hops, which form an article of 
 export to Konigsberg. It is likewise rich in 
 forests, those which skirt the Memel being 
 full of linden trees, whence the celebrated 
 ' linden-honey.' 
 
 AUK, is a family of oceanic birds, of which 
 some of the species yield products of mer- 
 chantable value. The razor-bill auk abounds 
 on the shores of Labrador, where thousands 
 are killed for the sake of the breast feathers, 
 and vast numbers of eggs are collected. This 
 species also visits the cliffs of the Isle of 
 Wight, the Isle of Man, and the Scottish 
 isles ; where the eggs, which are esteemed a 
 delicacy, are taken in great numbers; but the 
 means by which they are obtained is perilous, 
 and requires no little nerve. A large stake or 
 bar of iron is driven into the top of the cliff 
 (five or six hundred feet in height), and to 
 this is fastened a strong rope, at the end of 
 which a stick is put crosswise, on which rides 
 the adventurer, who is lowered down the front 
 of the precipice. If his object be to secure 
 the eggs only, he shouts to scare the birds 
 away, which rise in countless numbers, utter- 
 ing discordant cries ; but if his object be the 
 feathers, which are valuable, lie goes to work 
 in silence, and knocks down all the birds 
 within his reach. The flesh is worthless, but 
 is used by fishermen as a bait for crab-pots, &c. 
 This plan is practised in the Isle of Wight, 
 in the Isle of Man, and the Feroe Islands, 
 as well as along the coast of Norway. 
 
 AURANTIA'CE A. A few details respecting 
 the fruits thus named will be found under 
 LEMON ; ORANGE. 
 
 AU'REUS, or DENA'RIUS AUREUS, 
 was the ordinary Roman coin of gold. It was 
 equivalent to twenty-five silver denarii, or a 
 hundred sestertii. 
 
 Gold was first struck at Rome B.C. 207. The 
 earliest coin of gold at this tune was named a 
 scruple (scrupulum), and went for twenty 
 sesterces of that age. Pliny says, that it was 
 afterwards usual to coin forty pieces out of 
 the pound of gold (larger of course, bearing 
 the general name of Aurei), and that the 
 Roman emperors by degrees made them forty- 
 five to the pound. The aureus was sometimes 
 called solidus, as opposed to a half and a 
 third. A constitution of Valentinian and Va- 
 lens declares that the pound of gold must be 
 considered as 72 solidi. An aureus of Julius 
 Ceesar, in the British Museum, weighs 123 
 grains, which is exactly the weight of an 
 English sovereign, but the Roman coin con- 
 tains no alloy, or very little. Of the aurei of 
 Constantine in the Museum, one weighs 66 
 
 grains, three 67, three 69 J, one 73 , and one 
 81 1 . The average weight of the aurei of 
 Augustus appears to have been nearly 121 
 grains ; that of Nero's aurei nearly 117. 
 
 AURICH,'a province (landrostei) of Hanover, 
 has a few industrial features to recommend it 
 to our attention. Its inhabitants grow grain, par- 
 ticularly oats and rapeseed ; breed great num- 
 bers of horses, sheep, and cattle ; make much 
 honey; export great quantities of turf; and 
 are actively engaged in foreign commerce and 
 the herring-fishery on the Scotch coast. Be- 
 sides the town of EMDEN, Aurich contains the 
 busy town of Norden, which has timber and 
 dockyards, tanneries, breweries, distilleries, 
 tobacco and woollen factories. 
 
 AURILLAC, capital of the department of 
 Cantal in France, carries on manufactures in 
 paper, lace, copper, household utensils, and 
 leather; the chief trade is in cattle, cheese, 
 stockings, tapestry, and lace. 
 
 AURUNGABAD, like many other cities in 
 India, carries on a considerable traffic in the 
 bazaar, where both European and native 
 goods are exposed for sale; the principal 
 trade is in silk manufactures, mostly of Indian 
 workmanship. 
 
 AUSTELL, (ST.) or ST. AUSTLE, is the 
 centre of one of the rich mining districts in 
 Cornwall. It first rose to eminence from its 
 vicinity to the great tin mine of Polgooth and 
 other considerable mines. Polgooth is partly 
 in this parish, and was at one time esteemed 
 the richest mine ever worked in England ; it 
 is still productive, the working of it having 
 been recently recommenced. The town still 
 owes its principal importance to the mines, 
 and has formed harbours at Charlestown and 
 Pentewan for the convenience of importing 
 coals from Wales, and of exporting the ores 
 or porcelain clay of the district. A railroad 
 connects the town with the harbour of Pen- 
 tewan. There is a smelting-house at the 
 west end of the town, and another at Charles 
 town. Copper ore is said to have been smelted 
 at St. Austell before any other place in Corn- 
 wall. 
 
 AUSTEN, WILLIAM, an English metal- 
 founder of the fifteenth century, is worthy of 
 a brief notice in this place, in so far as ho had 
 a great share in the construction of the cele- 
 brated tomb at Warwick, in St. Mary's church, 
 of Richard de Beauchamp, earl of Wanvi <!;, 
 who died in 1439. In a document given in 
 Dugdale's 'Warwickshire,' William Ans 
 styled, ' citizen and founder of London,' from 
 which and the details of the agreement, it. 
 appears that he was not the designer or mo- 
 deller of the figures which he cast in brass, 
 for it is expressly stated that he is to work 
 
381 
 
 AUSTRALIA. 
 
 AUSTRALIA. 
 
 262 
 
 from models made of timber. ' Will. Austen, 
 citizen and founder, of London,' xiv. Martii, 
 JJO H. 6, covenanteth &c. to cast, work, and 
 perfectly to make, of the finest latten (brass) 
 to be gilded, that may be found, xiv. images 
 embossed, of lords and ladies in divers ves- 
 tures called weepers, to stand in housings 
 made about the tomb, those images to be 
 made in breadth, length, and thickness, &c., 
 to xiv. patterns made of timber. Also he shall 
 make xviii. less images of angells, to stand in 
 other housings, as shall be appointed by pat- 
 terns, whereof ix. after one side, and ix. after 
 another. Also he must make an hearse to 
 stand on the tombe above and about the prin- 
 cipal image that shall lye in the tomb accord- 
 ing to a pattern ; the stuff and workmanship 
 to the repairing to be at the charge of the 
 said Wil. Austen. 
 
 ' The said William Austen, xi. Feb. 28 H. 6. 
 doth covenant to cast and make an image of a 
 man armed, of fine latten, garnished with 
 certain ornaments, viz. with sword and dagger; 
 with a garter; with a helm and crest under 
 his head, and at his feet a bear musted (muz- 
 /.led), and a griffon perfectly made of the 
 finest latten, according to patterns ; all of 
 Avhich to be brought to Warwick and laid on 
 the tombe, at the peril (risk) of the said 
 Austen.' 
 
 In the opinion of Flaxman, these works of 
 Austen are equal to what was done in Italy at 
 the same time ; and though he is mentioned 
 only as the founder, he may possibly be the 
 designer of the figures, as the patterns spoken 
 of in the covenant may have been made in 
 relation to size and costume, and not as exact 
 models to prepare the casts from. The monu- 
 ment, one of the earliest and best in England, 
 is still in a good state of preservation, and is 
 of brass ; the meaning therefore of the word 
 latten, which has been disputed, is evidently 
 brass. 
 
 AUSTRALIA. The time is not far distant 
 when this island, the largest on the globe, 
 will possess a high degree of commercial im- 
 portance. All our colonies on its shores 
 NCAV South Wales, Port Phillip, South Aus- 
 tralia, and Western Australia are gradually 
 advancing in industry and in commerce. The 
 first three are becoming rich in sheep and its 
 produce, while South Australia is also con- 
 tributing the riches of its mineral produce. 
 
 The mineral riches of Australia are being 
 yearly more and more explored. Iron, coal, 
 copper, tin, and lead, are known to exist 
 some in large quantities. There were in 1847, 
 in South Australia alone, 27 copper mines, 
 1 lead mine, 2 copper and lead mines, and 1 
 copper and gold mine. On the estate of the 
 
 Australian Agricultural Company, near New- 
 castle, coal was found in 1849 ; and it was ex- 
 pected that mines would be ready for working 
 on that spot by the beginning of 1850. In 
 1847 Dr. Van Sommer explored, in a geolo- 
 gical survey ordered by the governor, a vast 
 bed of coal in Western Australia, which bids 
 fair to realize the hopes of that hitherto un- 
 successful colony; and in 1850 ebony, sandal- 
 wood, and guano, have begun to occupy a 
 place among the exports from this colony. 
 Limestones, sandstones, clays, gypsum, roofing 
 slate, are among the abundant materials of 
 manufactures. 
 
 From the latest returns from Australia, we 
 find that copper is now offered for sale in con- 
 siderable quantities. A brig has sailed thence 
 during the present summer to Singapore, with 
 246 tons of fine tough copper, worth 20,000^. ; 
 this was collected from four of the South 
 Australian copper works. The value of the 
 mineral produce exported from that colony 
 has increased with surprising rapidity as 
 thus : 
 
 1843 128/. 
 
 1844 6,437J. 
 
 1845 19,0197. 
 
 1846 142,231/. 
 
 1847 174,0] 71. 
 
 1848 320,624^'. 
 
 This Australian copper finds a market in Ger- 
 many and in France, as well as in England ; 
 its quality is said to be very fine. In August 
 1850, the shares of no fewer than 21 Austra- 
 lian copper mines were in the market, most 
 of them commanding high prices ! 
 
 The wool trade of Australia, also, is be- 
 coming of vast importance. The export of 
 wool from the various colonies of the island in 
 
 1847 was about 20 millions of pounds ; in 
 
 1848 it exceeded 30 million pounds ; and in 
 
 1849 it rose to the amount of 35 millions. 
 Efforts are now being made to establish a 
 
 mail steam -packet route from England to Aus- 
 tralia. Four routes are advocated by different 
 interests 1st, across the Isthmus of Panama 
 and the Pacific; 2nd, by the Cape of Good 
 Hope ; 3rd, by Singapore and Western Aus- 
 tralia to Sydney ; 4th, by Singapore and North 
 Australia to Sydney. The first three routes 
 are each, in round numbers, about 13,000 
 miles ; the fourth is rather over 12,000. One 
 of the Singapore routes, by placing Australia 
 in connection with India and China, as well 
 as with England, will probably be selected as 
 most advantageous ; but an unfortunate dif- 
 ference of view between the government and 
 the East India Company at present exists on 
 this point. It has been recently shown, that 
 the voyage from Australia to England by the 
 
263 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 264 
 
 system of what is termed Great Circle sailing, 
 effects a saving in distance of nearly 900 
 miles, over the old sea route. 
 
 Australia will contribute to the Exhibition 
 of 1851. 
 
 AUSTRIA. This large empire has been 
 formed by the annexation of so many king- 
 doms and states, and embraces so great a 
 diversity of soil and productions, that we can 
 only briefly notice its chief industrial features. 
 
 Slavonia and the south-eastern and central 
 parts of Hungary are richer than most Euro- 
 pean countries in metals and minerals. Sla- 
 vonia is traversed from east to west by moun- 
 tains and hills ; and this province, as well as 
 Croatia, has alternations of plain and highland 
 which are very fruitful in grain, wine, tobacco, 
 silk, honey, and other products. Transylvania 
 being mountainous, the produce is chiefly 
 timber and minerals. Galizia is, next to Hun- 
 gary, a principal granary of the Austrian 
 states, and supplies large quantities of salt, 
 some precious metals, and many other mine- 
 ral and vegetable productions ; but the climate 
 is too cold for the grape. Austrian Silesia, 
 next adjoining Galizia, is abundant in pasture 
 and timber, but not in grain. Moravia, in its 
 central and southern parts, is a rich land of 
 maize and wine. Bohemia has rich and 
 abundant produce. Upper and Lower Austria 
 are poor in grain ; but fruit, wine, and salt 
 are procured in abundance. The adjoining 
 province of Styria is well supplied with pas- 
 tures, and is besides rich in mineral produce. 
 Next to this is the Tyrol, in which the chief 
 products are horses and cattle, grain, wine, 
 fruit, potatoes, timber, salt, iron, copper, sil- 
 ver, lead, and a little gold. Illyria, which is 
 composed of Carinthia, Carniola, and some 
 smaller provinces, includes more varieties of 
 climate and productions than any other part 
 of the Austrian empire. Dalmatia, southward 
 of Illyria, supplies much produce, which con- 
 sists chiefly of marble of excellent quality, 
 wine, oil, figs, almonds, wax, horned cattle, 
 sheep, salt, and more particularly fish. Aus- 
 trian Italy produces grain, maize, rice, millet, 
 peas, beans, potatoes, hemp, flax, vegetables 
 and fruits of all kinds, and, in some parts, 
 saffron ; there is no branch of industry more 
 carefully or profitably cultivated than the 
 production and manufacture of silk. The 
 Alpine districts yield considerable quantities of 
 iron, copper, coal, marble, and other minerals. 
 
 The principal plants cultivated in Austria 
 comprise all the usual kinds of grain, fruit, 
 and vegetables. The chief medicinal plants 
 are rhubarb, which is raised in Styria, the 
 Lower Ens, Bohemia, and Galizia; liquorice, 
 a favourite article of growth in Moravia, 
 
 whence 400 tons and upwards are annually 
 exported, and which is also gathered in the 
 wild state in Hungary and Slavonia ; manna, 
 derived from the Fraxinus ornus, which 
 abounds in the forests of Hungary and Slavo- 
 nia; and spikenard (Spica Celtica}, which is 
 collected with much care in the mountains of 
 Carniola, Styria, the Tyrol, and the Upper 
 Ens. An intoxicating spirit is distilled in 
 Carinthia and Styria fram gentian, which is 
 found in most of the elevated regions ; and 
 Iceland-moss is collected in considerable 
 quantities on the Carpathian mountains, 
 where it grows in masses of five and six feet 
 in height. 
 
 More than one-third of what is deemed the 
 available soil of the Austrian dominions is 
 occupied by woods and forests ; and wood is 
 one of the staple productions. Among the 
 products of the Austrian forests we may name 
 potashes, which are chiefly made in Hungary, 
 Galizia, and the Buckowine, Moravia, the 
 Archduchy, and Bohemia. Tar, charcoal, 
 gall -apples, and turpentine should be added 
 to this enumeration of the products of these 
 forests, though they are not of considerable 
 moment. 
 
 The quantity of wine annually made in the 
 Austrian territory averages about 3,200,000,000 
 gallons ; of which Hungary produces more 
 than one-half, and of which the inhabitants of 
 the empire are said to consume about seven - 
 eights. Tokay is a Hungarian wine, very 
 choice, but small in quantity. 
 
 The rearing of the silkworm, though not 
 wholly neglected in other parts of the south 
 of Austria, is nowhere carried on to such an 
 extent as in the territories of Lombardy and 
 Venice. The whole produce of the empire is 
 estimated at about 6,000,000 Ibs., of which 
 about 4,500,000 Ibs. are the produce of the 
 Italian provinces. A considerable proportion 
 of this article in the wrought state, chiefly of 
 the sort termed organsine, is exported from 
 the Italian provinces to the English market. 
 Cantharides, or Spanish flies, are a consider- 
 able article of export from Hungary and 
 Slavonia; the cochineal insect draws many 
 purchasers into the sandy tracts of Galizia 
 from Turkey and Armenia ; and the leech of 
 late years has become an article of considerable 
 trade between Austria and France. 
 
 Among the other productions of this mo- 
 narchy, we may notice that tobacco is a mono- 
 poly engrossed by the department of finance 
 in every province but Hungary, Transylvania, 
 and the Tyrol. The annual produce of Hun- 
 gary alone amounts to 330,000 cwts. There 
 are private manufactories in the three pro- 
 vinces to which this monopoly does not ex- 
 
BAR. GATE. SOUTHAMPTON.. 
 
 KNIGHTS CYCLOPEDIA. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
265 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 266 
 
 tend. Of seed-oil, though the produce is 
 very considerable in all quarters, enough is 
 not manufactured for the consumption. Large 
 quantities of olive-oil also are obtained from 
 the territories of Lombardy and Venice, parti- 
 cularly the neighbourhood of the Lago di 
 Garda, Illyria, and Dalmatia. The manufac- 
 tures of paper and of glass are very extensive, 
 and employ a large number of hands. 
 
 In Mineral Productions Austria surpasses 
 every other country in Europe. With the 
 exception of platinum, it would be difficult to 
 name any metal which it does not possess. 
 The richest of its gold-mines are in Transyl- 
 vania, which has been called the gold-mine of 
 Europe, and in which no less than forty mines 
 are worked. Silver is largely produced in 
 Hungary ; and in smaller quantities in other 
 districts. Schemnitz is the great mining 
 capital for the gold and silver districts. Cop- 
 per mines and works exist in different parts 
 of the empire : and the annual supply of cop- 
 per which is raised in the Austrian dominions 
 would appear to amount to about 2500 or 3000 
 tons. More than double this quantity of lead 
 is produced. Iron is a metal of which almost 
 inexhaustible resources exist, though, on ac- 
 count of the dearness of fuel, the mines have 
 not yet been turned to any very extensive use : 
 the quantity raised throughout the empire is 
 about 80,000 tons per annum. In the Hut- 
 tenberg, Carinthia possesses one of the oldest 
 and at the same time one of the richest iron 
 mines in Europe, its produce being from 8000 
 to 9000 tons a year. Tin is raised in no part 
 of Austria but Bohemia, and the whole pro- 
 duce does not exceed 2000 cwt., which is far 
 short of the consumption. The quality, how- 
 ever is good. There is no mine of quicksilver 
 in Europe so rich as the mine at Idria in 
 Carniola. Calamine and zinc are obtained 
 from the Tyrol, the Archduchy, Styria, and 
 Bohemia ; cobalt from Hungary, Styria, and 
 Bohemia; arsenic from Hungary, Transyl- 
 vania, Bohemia, and Salsburg ; antimony 
 from Hungary, Transylvania, the Tyrol, and 
 Bohemia ; chrome from the Tyrol ; and bis- 
 muth and manganese from Hungary. 
 
 The various species of salt, such as sea- 
 salt, rock, and that made from brine-springs, 
 exist in abundance. The celebrated mine of 
 Wieliczka, which has been worked ever since 
 the year 1253, and lies in the north-western 
 part of Galizia, is but an inconsiderable inroad 
 upon a massive bed extending for a length of 
 nearly 600 miles along the Carpathians, as far 
 as Okua in Wallachia. The whole salt pro- 
 duce of the empire amounts to nearly 300,000 
 tons yearly. Vitriol, alum, saltpetre, and soda, 
 are among the mineral produc 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 Wood fuel is much more used than coal or 
 peat; yet there is considerable abundance of 
 these. Every part of the Austrian dominions 
 possesses more or less of native sulphur, but 
 more particularly Galizia, Hungary, Transyl- 
 vania, and Bohemia. Mineral tar and oil are 
 chiefly obtained in Galizia and the Bucko- 
 wine ; but they are also produced, though but 
 partially turned to account, in the Archduchy, 
 Hungary, Bohemia, Illyria, and Dalmatia. 
 
 Among precious stones, the Bohemian car- 
 buncle and Hungarian opal stand in highest 
 repute. The chalcedony, ruby, emerald, jas- 
 per, amethyst, topaz, carnelian, chrysolite, and 
 beryl, as well as what is called the 'marble 
 diamond,' in Hungary, must be added to the 
 list of Austrian precious stones. Marble of 
 every description and variety of colour and 
 vein is raised either in Hungary, Transylva- 
 nia, Bohemia, the Archduchy, Tyrol, Styria, 
 Illyria, Dalmatia, or the Italian possessions of 
 Austria, in which latter the Veronese alone is 
 said to possess 106 distinct varieties. Carin- 
 thia and Styria, indeed, supply a quality of 
 white marble no way inferior to the Carrara 
 marble. Alabaster, serpentine, black tourma- 
 line, gypsum, black-lead, slates, and flint, are 
 among the mineral produce. 
 
 The principal seats of the linen manufac- 
 ture, or rather of those productions in which 
 flax and hemp are employed, are Bohemia, 
 Moravia, and Silesia, which furnish the finest 
 articles of this description in Austria, though 
 in diminished quantities as compared with 
 the earlier part of the present century. For 
 variety and goodness of manufacture, the 
 states of Lombardy and Venice deserve to be 
 classed in the next rank to those three pro- 
 vinces. The Tyrol, Hungary, Galizia, and 
 Transylvania produce scarcely any but the 
 middling and coarser species of linen ; nor is 
 there much beyond what is termed house - 
 linen made in the Archduchy, Illyria, or 'the 
 Military-Frontier districts. The raising and 
 preparation of flax alone in Austria are esti- 
 mated to give employment to 750,000 indi- 
 viduals, and its native manufactures to yield 
 sufficient not only for domestic use, but for 
 partial exportation. 
 
 The largest manufactures of woollens, both 
 cloth and other kinds, are established in Mo- 
 ravia and Bohemia. These products in both 
 countries are said to be as much distinguished 
 for their excellence as their variety. In the 
 other parts of the empire, where this branch 
 of industry is proportionably pushed to a 
 much less extent, the principal articles manu- 
 factured are of middling and coarse quality, 
 whilst the finer sorts, so far as their domestic 
 consumption requires it, are of Moravian and 
 
267 
 
 AUSTKIA. 
 
 AUTO'MATON. 
 
 268 
 
 Bohemian fabric. Considerable quantities o 
 the latter are exported to foreign parts. Th 
 woollen manufacture employs at least 320,00( 
 Austrian hands ; and the crown has given n 
 small impulse to it by erecting several esta 
 blishments, conducted at its own expense 
 among which is that at Linz, which employs 
 10,000 spinners and weavers. 
 
 The silk manufactures have been rapidly 
 extending in Austria since the introduction ol 
 Jacquard's machinery. They are principally 
 carried on in the province of the Lower Ens 
 and in the Milanese and Venetian territories 
 The cotton manufacture, though it has been 
 prosecuted with some energy, especially near 
 Vienna, can hardly be said to be prosperous, 
 owing to the difficulty of competing with 
 England and other countries. 
 
 The province of the Lower Ens takes the 
 lead in the manufacture of leather, of which 
 the best qualities are made in Vienna. The 
 Upper Ens, Moravia, Styria, Bohemia, and 
 the Tyrol rank next in importance. Hun- 
 gary abounds in tanneries ; and in fact nearly 
 every province in Austria is engaged more or 
 less in this branch. 
 
 Iron, the mines of which have been already 
 alluded to, is wrought into marketable form 
 in many parts of the empire. Cast iron is 
 produced in Bohemia, Styria, Hungary, and 
 Illyria; bars and sheets are rolled in the 
 Lower Ens, Styria, Carinthia and Bohemia ; 
 iron and steel wire are made in the Arch- 
 duchy ; nails in many of the provinces ; and 
 fire-arms and swords in Styria and Hungary. 
 Manufactories of copper, brass, cannon, tin, 
 lead, balls and shot, buttons, gold and silver, 
 are maintained in various parts of the empire. 
 It was estimated by Lichtenstern, Stein, and 
 Malchus, a few years ago, that the number of 
 manufacturers employed in working up the 
 native produce of Austria, or the raw mate- 
 rials imported from other countries, amounted 
 to 2,365,000, and the yearly value of their pro- 
 ductions to 1425 millions of silver currency, 
 representing a sum in British sterling of up- 
 wards of 140 millions. 
 
 With respect to external trade, no country 
 of equal extent is perhaps more disadvanta- 
 geously situated ; its line of sea-coast is com 
 paratively inconsiderable, and with the soli- 
 tary exceptions of the Po and the Adige, its 
 finest streams, such, for instance as the 
 Danube and Elbe, lie, even when crossing its 
 frontiers, at a considerable distance from the 
 sea. 
 
 Considerable preparations are being made 
 in various parts of the Austrian empire, espe- 
 cially Vienna, to hold a worthy position in the 
 Industrial Exhibition of 1851. The manufac- 
 
 turers hope to produce articles in which com- 
 bined cJieapness and excellence will be charac- 
 teristics. Viennese pianofortes, especially, 
 are expected to illustrate this combination a 
 feature of much value. 
 
 AUTO'MATON, derived from two Greek 
 words, meaning self-moved, is a name gene- 
 rally applied to all machines which are so 
 constructed as to imitate any actions of men 
 or animals. 
 
 The pigeon of Archytas, the clock of Char- 
 lemagne, the automaton made by Albertus 
 Magnus to open his door when any one 
 knocked, the speaking head of Koger Bacon, 
 and the fly of Regiomontanus, are early ex- 
 amples of such machinery, respecting which, 
 however, we have too little information to 
 afford a correct judgment concerning them. 
 In more recent times we read a marvellous 
 account of an automaton group constructed 
 by M. Camus for the amusement of Louis 
 XIV., consisting of a carriage and horses, 
 with a lady who alighted to present a petition ; 
 and also, in the ' Memoirs of the Academy of 
 Sciences' for 1729, of a set of actors repre- 
 senting a pantomime in five acts. Less mar- 
 vellous, though highly ingenious, was the 
 automaton flute-player of Vaucanson, exhi- 
 jited at Paris in 1738. The same ingenious 
 person subsequently produced a figure which 
 )layed the flageolet and tambourine ; and a 
 duck, which not only imitated the motions and 
 sounds of a real duck, but swallowed food, and 
 digested it by means of chemical substances 
 in the stomach. More recently M. Maelzel 
 exhibited at Vienna an automaton trumpeter ; 
 and automata have been made to write, to 
 Iraw, and to play on the piano-forte. The 
 automaton chess-player is now known to have 
 been worked by a person concealed inside the 
 figure and its table or pedestal, which suppo- 
 sition, however, does not deprive its maker of 
 he credit of great ingenuity in the mechanism 
 >y which the hands were set in motion. 
 
 The passion for making automata has not 
 r et quite passed away. A recent example was 
 Mr. Faber's Euphonia. It consisted of a 
 [raped bust and waxen -faced figure, which 
 rticulated language with a certain degree of 
 ntelligibility. The sounds were produced by 
 triking on sixteen keys. A small pair of bel- 
 ows was worked with the nozzle in the back 
 art of the head of the figure; and in the 
 :ead were various arrangements of India 
 ubber and other materials, calculated to yield 
 
 particular sound in each part or section. 
 When the exhibitor wished to produce a sen- 
 ,ence or word, he first mentally divided it 
 nto as many parts as there are actually dis- 
 nct sounds not necessarily coinciding with 
 
269 
 
 AUTO'MATON. 
 
 AUTUN. 
 
 270 
 
 the syllables or the single letters ; since the 
 various phonographic systems far more 
 correctly represent distinct sounds. Ha- 
 ving determined the first word, the operator 
 pressed his finger on a particular key, which 
 admitted a blast of air to a particular com- 
 partment, in which the mechanism was of the 
 kind to produce the sound required. Other 
 keys were similarly pressed, until all the 
 required sounds of the word or sentence were 
 produced. The sounds were near enough to 
 those of the human voice to convey the 
 meaning intended, but they had an unpleasant 
 eifect to the ear. By a modification of the 
 action, whispering was imitated. 
 
 A remarkable machine was the Automaton 
 Latin Versifier, introduced in 1845, by Mr. 
 John Clark of Bridgewater, after a labour of 
 thirteen years. At the first thought such an 
 invention seems inexplicable, owing to the 
 mental character of the process ; but a little 
 enquiry shews that it is only a system of 
 permutations, such as a machine can easily 
 be made to produce. The specimens given in 
 the 'Athenaeum' and other public journals at 
 the time, are all Latin hexameters, and 
 moreover have all the same grammatical for- 
 mula and scansion, in respect to dactyls and 
 spondees. The following nine specimens are 
 given, each complete in itself, as an hexame- 
 tric line, but having no connexion with the 
 others. 
 
 1. Horrida sponsa reis promittunt tempora 
 den 3 a. 
 
 2. Sontia tela bonis causabunt agmina 
 crebra. 
 
 3. Bellica vota modis promulgant crimina 
 fusca. 
 
 4. Aspera pila patet depromunt prselia 
 qusedam. 
 
 5. Effera sponsa* fere confirmant vincula 
 nequam. 
 
 6. Barbara tela reis prsemonstrant nubila 
 dura. 
 
 7. Horrida vota bonis progignunt jurgia 
 crebra. 
 
 8. Sontia castra* modis prositant somnia 
 fusca. 
 
 9. Trucida regna quidem conquirunt 
 opera cara. 
 
 The exterior of the machine which com- 
 poses these lines resembles in size and shape 
 a small bureau book-case ; in the frontispiece 
 of which, through an aperture, the verses ap- 
 pear in succession as they are composed. Mr. 
 Clark, in a communication to the ' Athenaeum ' 
 (No. 923) makes the following observations 
 on his machine, which he calls the Eureka : 
 " The machine is neither more nor less 
 than a practical illustration of the law of evo- 
 
 lution The machine contains 
 
 letters in alphabetical arrangement ; out of 
 these, through the medium of numbers, ren- 
 dered tangible by being expressed by inden- 
 tures on wheel-work, the instrument selects 
 such as are requisite to form the verse con- 
 ceived : the components of words suited to form 
 hexameters being alone previously calculated, 
 the harmonious combination of which will be 
 found to be practicably interminable.' 
 
 Mr. A. J. Cooley, in the same journal, 
 pointed out the existence of a forgotten pam- 
 phlet, a century and a half old, in which the 
 author showed how, from a table given, a per- 
 son might produce millions of hexameter 
 lines. But these were produced by accumu- 
 lations of words ; whereas Mr. Clark's machine, 
 if we rightly understand his description, ac- 
 tually builds up the lines letter by letter. 
 
 It is matter of regret that so much ingenuity 
 should be expended in the production of use- 
 less results. There are, however, many ma- 
 chines for calculating, numbering, register- 
 ing, stamping, paging, &c. which will be 
 described in various parts of this work, and 
 which illustrate the application of automatic 
 action to useful purposes. 
 
 AUTOPHON, is the name given by Mr. 
 Dawson, the organ builder, to an ingenious 
 little contrivance, whereby a barrel organ can 
 be made to play an unlimited number of tunes, 
 instead of the limit usually placed to its 
 action. The tunes or the notes representing 
 them are perforated on sheets of millboard, 
 one to each tune ; when one of these is placed 
 within the instrument, the pipes can only 
 sound (on the handle being turned) according 
 to the perforations ; so that the tune played 
 depends on those perforations, and not on 
 any particular arrangement of studs in the 
 barrel. There is much of the principle of 
 the Jacquard apparatus in this contrivance. 
 As the perforated tune- cards are sold at a 
 few pence each, a large variety of tunes can 
 be made available. We believe the primary 
 object of the inventor is to make a barrel 
 organ serve for country churches, where it is 
 not convenient to have a player for a keyed 
 instrument. The Autophon was exhibited at 
 the recent Industrial Exhibitions at Dublin 
 and Devonport. 
 
 AUTUN, a city in the south of France, is 
 more celebrated for its remains of antiquity 
 than for its industrial features. It has how- 
 ever a respectable amount of trade and manu- 
 factures. The trade of the town consists in 
 horses, cattle, wood, and hemp. Serge, cotton- 
 velvet, cloth for regimentals, hosiery, and 
 leather are among its manufactures ; and a 
 fabric called tapisserie de ware/taw, fitted for 
 
271 
 
 AUXERRE. 
 
 AVEBUKY. 
 
 272 
 
 coverlets of beds, horse-cloths, and other pur 
 poses, is made. The district round the citj 
 contains green porphyry and gray granite 
 and there are also iron and lead mines near 
 the town. 
 
 AUXERRE, a city near the centre 01 
 France, stands in a country fruitful in wine 
 Woollen cloths, serges, druggets, stockings, 
 cotton -yarn, bricks, and pottery are made ; but 
 the chief trade of the town is in wine, of which 
 about 4,000,000 gallons are sent by water to 
 Paris and into Normandy. Wood and char 
 coal are also considerable articles of trade at 
 Auxerre. 
 
 AUXONNE, a town near the centre of 
 France, haa a cannon foundry and powder 
 mills. The trade is chiefly in wine, brandy, 
 grain, melons, and wood ; as well as in cloth, 
 and serges, which are sent to Lyon. In return, 
 groceries, silk, and the wines of Macon, are 
 received. There are in the neighbourhood 
 quarries of marble and of various kinds of 
 stone. Turquoises and fossil corals are found 
 in these quarries. 
 
 AVANT URINE, a variety of quartz, remark- 
 able for the brilliancy with which it reflects 
 light, the effect being in general produced by 
 fine points of mica imbedded within the crys- 
 talline mass. From this circumstance it is 
 sometimes employed in jewellery, but it is of 
 little value. 
 
 AVANT URINE GLASS. This name has 
 been given to a species of coloured glass, 
 formerly made at Venice, and applied to the 
 manufacture of trinkets and ornaments. The 
 name is given to it on account of its resem- 
 blance to the crystal similarly designated. It 
 consists of a yellowish brown kind of glass, 
 enclosing fine thin yellow laminae or scales, 
 which have a brilliant metallic lustre. 
 
 It does not seem to be clearly known in this 
 country how the Avanturine glass is made. 
 Some suppose that the yellow laminae are 
 produced by melting scales of metal or mica 
 with the glass ; but it is deemed more pro- 
 bable that a salt of copper is mixed and melted 
 with the glass, and that a powerful reducing 
 agent decomposes this salt during the melting, 
 and separates the copper in the state of thin 
 metallic 'scales. 
 
 A tazza of Avanturine glass was exhibited 
 in the display of Mediaeval Art, at the rooms 
 of the Society of Arts in 1850 ; and many such 
 are preserved as relics of art. 
 
 AVEBURY, or ABURY, in Wiltshire, is 
 remarkable as the site of what appears to have 
 been one of the largest Celtic or Druidical 
 temples in Europe. In forming this temple, 
 no less than 650 blocks seem to have been 
 brought together and placed in circles and 
 
 rows. These stones were of various dimen- 
 sions, measuring from five to twenty feet in 
 height above the ground, and from three to 
 twelve feet in width and thickness. One hun- 
 dred were raised on end, and placed in a cir- 
 cular form, within a flat and nearly circular 
 area of about 1400 feet in diameter ; and these 
 stones were bounded by a deep ditch and lofty 
 bank, which inclosed the whole work, except 
 at two places, where openings were left for 
 entrances. The bank or mound at present is 
 broken down in four places, but there seem to 
 have been originally only two openings corre- 
 sponding to the two great avenues which 
 formed the approaches. The inner slope of the 
 bank measured 80 feet, and its whole circum- 
 ference at the top was 4442 feet: the area within 
 the bank or mound is somewhat more than 
 thirty-five acres. There were two other small 
 circles within the periphery of the great circle. 
 One was a double circle of upright stones, 
 with a single stone raised near the centre, 
 and consisted of forty-three stones. Another 
 circle, of forty-five stones, some of which are 
 still standing and of immense size, was placed 
 a little north of the former, and consisted 
 also of two concentric circles, inclosing a 
 group of three tall stones. These were the 
 component parts and general design and 
 arrangement of the triple temple, as it may 
 DC called ; but there were two connecting 
 parts which gave a peculiarity to this work 
 distinguishing it from all other Celtic temples. 
 These were avenues of approach, consisting 
 of double rows or lines of upright stones, 
 which branched off from the central work, 
 each to the extent of more than a mile. One 
 of them branched off from the outer circle to 
 the south, turning, near its extremity, to the 
 south-east, where it terminated in two circular 
 or rather elliptical ranges of upright stones. 
 According to Stukeley, this avenue was formed 
 >y two hundred stones, being finished at its 
 eastern extremity with fifty-eight stones, which 
 were arranged in a double circle on an emi- 
 nence called Overton Hill, or the Hakpen 
 ELill, and measured about 146 feet in diameter 
 from outside to outside. The width of the 
 venue varied from fifty-six to thirty- five feet 
 between the stones, which were on an average 
 iighty-six feet apart from each other in their 
 inear direction. The western avenue extended 
 about one mile and a half, and consisted of 
 203 stones ; its extremity ended in a point or 
 with a single stone. These avenues or grand 
 approaches to the temple were not arranged 
 n straight lines, but in flowing or curved 
 hies. 
 
 Only a few stones now remain of this re- 
 riarkable specimen of Druidical Art. 
 
273 
 
 AVENA. 
 
 AVENA.' [OATS.] 
 
 AVERAGE is a quantity intermediate to 
 a number of other quantities, so that the sum 
 total of its excesses above those which are less 
 is equal to the sum total of its defects from 
 those which are greater. Thus, 7 is the ave- 
 rage of 2, 3, 4, 6, 13, and 14. To find the 
 average of any number of quantities,, add them 
 all together, and divide by the number of quan- 
 tities. 
 
 The average of a set of averages is not the 
 average of the whole, unless there are equal 
 numbers of quantities in each set averaged ; 
 for instance, if a harvest were called good be- 
 cause an average bushel of its corn was better 
 than that of another, without taking into ac- 
 count the number of bushels of the two, this 
 might not necessarily be true. The average 
 quantity is a valuable common-sense test of 
 the goodness or badness of any particular lot, 
 but only when there is a perfect similarity of 
 circumstances in the things compared. For 
 instance no one would think of calling a tree 
 well-grown because it gave more timber than 
 the average of all trees ; but if any particular 
 tree, say an oak, yielded more timber than the 
 average of all oaks of the same age, it would 
 be called good, because, if every oak gave the 
 same, the quantity of oak timber would be 
 greater than it is. In Marine Insurance, a 
 sum or contribution determined in the follow- 
 ing way, is called an Average. If any part of 
 the ship or furniture, or of the goods, is pur- 
 posely sacrificed for the sake of saving the 
 rest, all parties interested must contribute to- 
 wards the loss ; and this contribution is the 
 Average, or the share of the loss to be borne 
 by each owner. 
 
 AVEYRON, a department in France, part 
 of the ancient province of Guienne, produces 
 0,000,000' gallons of wine yearly. Between 
 the rivers Lot and Aveyron there is a very rich 
 bed of coal. Besides its valuable coal mines, 
 the department contains mines of copper, 
 lead, zinc, sulphur, antimony, iron, and alum. 
 The lead ores are rich, and contain a consi- 
 derable quantity of silver. Marble, rock- 
 crystal, kaolin, millstone grit, flint, emery, 
 chalk, marl, plaster of Paris, &c., are found. 
 The abundant water power of the department 
 is applied to good purpose in various factories 
 for the manufacture of paper, iron, cotton, 
 leather, woollen stuffs, &c. The trade of the 
 department is in the mineral and industrial 
 products already named, together with corn, 
 plums, chestnuts, almonds, wax, bacon, cattle, 
 hides, wool, hemp, timber, turnery, oak planks, 
 &c. Cheese also, made of ewe's milk mixed 
 with that of goat's, is manufactured in great 
 quantities in the south of the department, 
 
 AVOIRDUPOIS. 274 
 
 especially in the neighbourhood of Roquefort 
 and forms an impoitant article of export. 
 
 These departments of industry are carried 
 on in numerous towns of moderate size. In 
 Rodez, serges, coarse woollens, woollen yarn, 
 and leather, are manufactured. At La Guiolle, 
 a large quantity of good cheese, and some 
 woollen stuffs are made. St. Geniez has 
 several woollen and cotton factories, besides 
 numerous tan- yards, dyeing establishments 
 and naileries, the produce of which, together 
 with timber, wool, and turnery, are the chief 
 articles of trade. At Millau, broad cloths, 
 gloves, and leather of different kinds, are 
 made ; there are also some silk-throwing esta- 
 blishments. These products, with wool, hides, 
 timber, oak-staves, cheese, wine, and cattle, 
 are the chief articles of trade. The same 
 products are met with at St. Affrique. Near 
 Roquefort there are extensive grottoes, in 
 which about 18,000 cwts. of cheese are annu- 
 ally made. In Villefranche, the manufacturing 
 industry is important : there are several large 
 linen factories, copper and iron foundries, tan- 
 yards, and paper-mills. At Aubin there are 
 rich coal mines, which produce 500,000 to 
 600,000 tons per annum ; there are also mines 
 of sulphur, alum, and iron, and several large 
 iron furnaces in the neighbourhood. 
 
 AVIGNON, the capital of the department 
 of Vaucluse, in France, has been rapidly ad- 
 vancing lately in trade and manufactures. 
 Silk stuffs of various kinds are largely manu- 
 factured ; of taffeta (florence), about 5,000,000 
 yards are annually made, the value of which 
 is estimated at upwards of 8,000,000 francs : 
 there are also a cannon foundry, a foundry for 
 sheet-iron, copper, and tin, a saltpetre refinery, 
 tanneries, paper-mills, type-foundries, cotton 
 factories, and various other industrial esta- 
 blishments in the town. Avignon has also a 
 large trade in books, corn, wine, brandy, su- 
 mac, colonial products, and cattle. A great 
 part of the trade of Avignon is carried on 
 through the port of Marseille, to and from 
 which goods are conveyed on the Rhone by 
 way of Aries. There is constant communica- 
 tion by steamers with Lyon, Aries, and Mar- 
 seille, and by diligence with Paris and Mar- 
 seille several times a day. A railroad now in 
 course of construction between Lyon and Mar- 
 seille passes through Avignon. 
 
 AVILA, a district of Old Castile in Spain, 
 produces grain, fruit, oil, wine, and flax. There 
 are at Avila (the chief town in the district) 
 manufactories of woollen stuffs, cotton prints, 
 and hats, besides the royal manufactory of 
 cloth, the machinery of which is moved by 
 water. 
 
 AVOIRDUPOIS, or AVERDUPOIS is the 
 
275 
 
 AXIS. 
 
 AYRSHIRE. 
 
 276 
 
 common system of weights in England, now 
 applied to all goods except the precious metals 
 and medicines. Thus, a pound of tea is a 
 pound averdupois, and contains 7000 grains ; 
 a pound of gold is a pound troy, and contains 
 5760 grains. The ancient pound was heavier 
 than the averdupois, and weighed 7600 grains. 
 The earliest regulations on the subject fix the 
 troy weight. 
 
 A cubic foot of water, at 62 Fahrenheit and 
 30 in. barometrical pressure, weighs 997-14 
 ounces, which, being very nearly 1000 ounces, 
 gives an expeditious rule for deducing the 
 real weight of a cubic foot of any substance 
 from its specific gravity. For example, if the 
 specific gravity of gold be 19-36, the weight of 
 a cubic foot of gold is 19360 ounces averdu- 
 pois. 
 
 AXIS, AXE. This word is used in so many 
 different senses, that it may be defined as fol- 
 lows : any line whatsoever which it is conve- 
 nient to distinguish by a specific term, with 
 respect to any motion or other phenomenon, 
 is called the axis. Thus we have axes of co- 
 ordinates, of oscillation, of inertia, of rotation, 
 of polarization, &c. The word, when used by 
 itself, generally means either Axis of Rotation, 
 or Axis of Symmetry. An axis of rotation, or 
 revolution, is the line about which a body 
 turns ; an axis of symmetry is a line on both 
 sides of which the parts of the body are dis- 
 posed in the same manner, so that to what- 
 ever distance it extends in one direction from 
 the axis, it extends as far in the direction ex- 
 actly opposite. Or if perpendiculars to the 
 axis be drawn from all points and in all direc- 
 tions through the body, the whole of each 
 perpendicular which is within the limits of the 
 body will be bisected by the axis. Such is the 
 middle line of a cone, any diameter of a sphere, 
 the line drawn through the middle of the op- 
 posite faces of a cube, &c. 
 
 AXLE. Since the extensive use of locomo- 
 tives, the theory of the action of axles, and 
 the enquiries into the cause of their fracture, 
 have been the result of elaborate enquiry 
 among engineers. Rowan's patent axles are 
 intended to lessen the ordinary amount of 
 friction, by the use of friction rollers applied 
 in a peculiar way. Mr. Bessemer, in a recent 
 paper on the frequent breakage of the axles 
 of railway carriages, attributes it mainly to 
 the oscillations of the carriage. Whether solid 
 or hollow axles, with a given weight of metal, 
 are the stronger, is a disputed point among 
 engineers ; Mr. Yorke, in a paper read before 
 the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1843, con- 
 tends for the superior strength of hollow axles ; 
 but this conclusion is disputed by others. 
 
 The theory of axles may, indeed, be consi- 
 
 dered at present in a tentative state ; mean- 
 while patents are frequently obtained for im- 
 provements in form and in mechanical action. 
 
 Hardy's patent axles have shown the pos- 
 session of sucla a remarkable degree of tough- 
 ness, that the Privy Council in 1849 granted 
 a continuation of the patent ; and remarks 
 were made in the House of Lords relating to 
 the lessening of railway accidents by their 
 use. Since that period the patent has been 
 sold for a considerable sum to a company 
 at Birmingham, established for the manufac- 
 ture of these axles on a large scale. 
 
 AXMINSTER. This Devonshire town 
 was formerly celebrated for its manufacture 
 of carpets. In this it rivalled the productions 
 of Turkey and Persia so successfully, that the 
 carpets of Axminster were considered little 
 inferior to those imported. They were woven 
 in one entire piece. But after lasting for 100 
 years, this manufactory was given up, the 
 demand not being found equal to the expense 
 of producing the article. 
 
 AYLESBURY is chiefly an agricultural 
 town. There is one silk factory ; but the lace 
 manufacture which once nourished here has 
 greatly declined. The making of straw-plait 
 is more prosperous; and the straw -plait 
 market established some years back is still 
 (1850) held every Saturday. Many of the 
 inhabitants of the neighbourhood add to their 
 income by their skill in breeding ducks, of 
 which they send a considerable number to the 
 metropolis about Christmas. 
 
 The straw-plait of the Aylesbury district 
 will occupy a place in the industrial display of 
 1851. 
 
 AYRSHIRE maintains a goodly rank among 
 the commercial counties of Scotland. The 
 mineral riches are considerable. Coal is 
 abundant, especially in the middle and northern 
 parts of the county. The coal is of different 
 varieties, among which is the blende coal, 
 found in the earth charred, or reduced to the 
 state of a cinder ; it burns without smoke or 
 much flame, and is used for drying grain and 
 malt. Considerable quantities are exported 
 to Ireland and to the Western Isles. Near 
 Saltcoats eleven different strata or seams of 
 coal of various quality have been discovered. 
 The proprietor constructed the harbour of 
 Saltcoats, and built salt-pans, in order to use 
 profitably the otherwise useless part of the 
 coal. 
 
 The county affords abundance of limestone. 
 Freestone is quarried in great quantity ; and 
 there is some whinstone and puddingstone. 
 Mill-stones of coarse granite are quarried at 
 Kilbride, near the northern part of the coast, 
 and are in great request for their hardness 
 
277 
 
 A'ZIMUTH. 
 
 AZURE BLUE. 
 
 278 
 
 and durability ; they are exported to the West 
 Indies and to America. Near Auchinleck 
 is a quarry of black stone much used for 
 building ovens, on account of its power of re- 
 sisting the action of fire. The whetstone 
 known by the name of Water-of-Ayr stone is 
 found near the banks of the river Ayr. Marl 
 also is procured in many places. 
 
 Ironstone is also abundant, and at a few 
 places extensive iron works are carried on. 
 Lead, plumbago or black-lead, antimony, and 
 copper (of each of which the quantity is small) 
 may be considered as nearly completing the 
 list of minerals of Ayrshire. 
 
 The manufactures of Ayrshire are im- 
 portant, for the district possesses considerable 
 advantages. Fuel is abundant ; materials for 
 building are at hand ; and channels of com- 
 munication of all kinds are open in every 
 direction. The vicinity of Glasgow and Pais- 
 ley seems to have given an impulse to im- 
 provement. Carpets, cloths, and stockings 
 are manufactured; and the most improved 
 machinery is in use. The woollen manufac- 
 ture has long been extended to all parts of the 
 county, and is carried on to a considerable 
 extent by the aid of machinery. Dyers and 
 fullers have established themselves in con- 
 nection with it. The linen manufacture has 
 never been carried to any great extent. The 
 silk manufacture was tried but did not become 
 permanent. The cotton manufacture, esta- 
 blished in Glasgow and Paisley, soon extended 
 itself into Ayrshire. Great cotton works were 
 erected at the village of Catrine on the river 
 Ayr; and the weaving of muslins has been 
 established nearly all over the county. Bleach- 
 ing, as connected with the cotton trade, has 
 also been extensively carried on. Woollen 
 bonnets and serges are largely made. 
 
 Leather is another manufactured article of 
 considerable importance. Tanneries have 
 been greatly extended; the leather is em- 
 ployed in making shoes, boots, and saddlery. 
 Of the latter some is exported to foreign parts. 
 Pottery for domestic purposes is made, but 
 not to any great amount, or with much profit. 
 Kelp, soda, and salt have all been made to 
 advantage along the shore. 
 
 A'ZIMUTH. The azimuth of a celestial 
 body is the angle contained between the ^lane 
 
 of the meridian of any station and that of a 
 vertical circle passing through the body. The 
 instruments by means of which the azimuth 
 of a celestial body may be directly observed 
 are the theodolite and the altitude and azi- 
 muth circle. [ CHICLE ; THEODOLITE.] An 
 instrument is said to be moved in azimuth 
 when it is turned on a vertical axis, so that 
 any line in it drawn through the axis points 
 to the same altitude in the heavens, but not 
 to the same azimuth. 
 
 AZOF, or AZOV, called by the Turks 
 Assak, the once busy town on the shores of 
 the once-important lake of the same name, 
 has fallen to insignificance, chiefly by the 
 shallowing of the water near the shore. Ta- 
 ganrog is the only town on the lake which 
 carries on commerce to any extent. 
 
 AZOKES. These beautiful islands, which 
 stand so invitingly in the track of ships 
 voyaging down the Atlantic, are very fertile. 
 The lava districts are cultivated with vines, 
 oranges, and lemons ; but, where decomposi- 
 tion has aflbrded richer land, it yields wheat, 
 Indian corn, beans, &c. Both European and 
 tropical fruits arrive at the greatest perfec- 
 tion ; and the face of the earth is so diver- 
 sified as in many places to exhibit within a 
 small extent gardens of aromatic flowers, 
 pastures, vineyards, orangeries, &c. The is- 
 lands, though still abounding in uncultivated 
 lands, produce much more than sufficient for 
 the supply of their present population, not 
 only of the necessaries but also of the luxu- 
 ries of life. Vessels touching at any of them 
 are certain of being able to procure an abun- 
 dant stock of refreshments; and the cattle 
 are equal to any in the world. On the flanks 
 of the mountain called the Peak of Pico are 
 produced the finest wines, which, though infe- 
 rior to those of Madeira, being much cheaper, 
 find a good market both in Europe and Ame- 
 rica. The inhabitants of the islands import 
 woollens, hardware, boards, staves, pitch, tar, 
 iron, &c. ; in return for which wine and fruit 
 are the chief payments. 
 
 AZOTE. English chemists now mostly 
 concur in giving the name of NITROGEN to the 
 gaseous element which used to be called 
 Azote. 
 
 AZUKE BLUE. COBALT.] 
 
279 
 
 BAALBEC. 
 
 BABYLON. 
 
 280 
 
 B 
 
 BAALBEC, or BALBEC, in Syria, is cele- 
 brated for three temples and other relics oi 
 ancient works of art. The great temple was 
 peripteral, having ten columns in front and 
 nineteen on the flank ; the length of the temple 
 is near 290 feet, and the width 160 : in its per- 
 fect state, the height from the ground to the 
 top of the pediment was 120 feet. The shafts of 
 the columns consist of three pieces, united so 
 exactly, that the hlade of a knife cannot be 
 inserted between the joints. The two smaller 
 temples, like other buildings whose ruins are 
 strewed about this once-important city, are 
 mostly of the Corinthian order. 
 
 BABLAH, is a name given to the rind of 
 the fruit of the mimosa cineraica, brought from 
 the East Indies and Western Africa. It is 
 used as a substitute for more expensive dye- 
 drugs to impart a drab colour to cotton. 
 
 BABYLON. This world-renowned city is 
 still, in its ruin and desolation, a place of 
 interest to the artist and the artificer, on ac- 
 count of the huge fragments which it contains. 
 These ruins consist of mounds of earth formed 
 by the decomposition of buildings, channelled 
 and furrowed by the weather ; the surface of 
 them is strewed with pieces of brick, bitumen, 
 and pottery. 
 
 In the eastern quarter of the city there is 
 one remarkable group of ruins. It forms a 
 mass which is 1100 yards in length and 800 
 in its greatest breadth; its figure nearly re- 
 sembles that of a quadrant; its height is 
 irregular ; but the most elevated part may be 
 about 50 or 60 feet above the level of the 
 plain, and it has been dug into for the purpose 
 of procuring bricks. Just below the highest 
 part of it is a small dome, in an oblong en- 
 closure, distinguished by the name of Amram 
 Ibn Ali. On the north is a valley of 550 yards 
 in length, the area of which is covered with 
 tussocks of rank grass, and crossed by a line 
 of ruins of very little elevation. To this suc- 
 ceeds another grand heap of ruins, the shape 
 of which is nearly a square of 700 yards' 
 length and breadth, and its south-west angle 
 is connected with the north-west angle of the 
 mound of Amran by a ridge of considerable 
 height and nearly 100 yards in breadth. About 
 200 yards from this mound is a ravine, hol- 
 lowed out by those who dig for bricks, in 
 length 100 yards, and 10 feet wide by 40 or 
 50 deep. On one side of it a few yards of 
 wall remain standing, the face of which is very 
 clean and perfect, and appears to have been 
 
 the front of some building. A little to the 
 west of the ravine is the Kasr, or palace, a 
 huge mass of brickwork in a surprising state 
 of preservation. A mile to the north of the 
 Kasr is a ruin called the Mujelibe, meaning 
 the overturned: its shape is oblong, and its 
 height, as well as the measurements of its 
 sides, irregular. The sides face the cardinal 
 points; the northern is 200, the southern 219, 
 the eastern 182, and the western 186 yards in 
 length ; and the elevation of the south-east, 
 or highest angle, is 141 feet. The western 
 face, which is the least elevated, is the most 
 interesting, on account of the appearance of 
 building it presents. Near the summit of it 
 appears a low wall, with interruptions, built 
 of unburnt bricks mixed up with chopped 
 straw or reeds, and cemented with clay-mortar 
 of great thickness, having between every layer 
 a layer of reeds ; and on the north side are 
 also some vestiges of a similar construction. 
 The summit is covered with heaps of rubbish, 
 in digging into some of which layers of broken 
 burnt brick cemented with mortar were dis- 
 covered, and whole bricks with inscriptions 
 are sometimes found. The whole is covered 
 with innumerable fragments of pottery, brick, 
 bitumen, pebbles, vitrified brick or scoria, and 
 even shells, bits of glass and mother-of-pearl. 
 It appears that the walls were lined with a 
 fine burnt brick to conceal the unburnt bricks, 
 of which the body of the building was princi- 
 pally composed. About 70 yards to the north 
 and west of the Mujelib^ are traces of a very 
 low mound of earth, which may have formed 
 an inclosure round the whole. 
 
 But the most vast ruins are those of the 
 Tower of Belus, or Birs Nimroud. These 
 form a mound of an oblong form, the total 
 circumference of which is 762 yards. At the 
 eastern side it is cloven by a deep furrow, and 
 .s not more than 50 or 60 feet high ; but at 
 the western side it rises in a conical figure to 
 the elevation of 198 feet, and on its summit 
 is a solid pile of brick, 37 feet high by 28 in 
 Dreadth. The fine burnt bricks of which it is 
 suilt have inscriptions on them ; and so ex- 
 cellent is the cement, which appears to be 
 ime-mortar, that it is nearly impossible to 
 extract one whole. The other parts of the 
 summit of this hill are occupied by immense 
 ragments of brickwork of no determinate 
 figure, tumbled together and converted into 
 solid vitrified masses, the layers of brick being 
 perfectly discernible. These ruin.8 stand on 
 
281 
 
 BACON. 
 
 BADAKHSHAN. 
 
 282 
 
 a prodigious mound, the whole of which is 
 itself a ruin, channelled by the weather, and 
 strewed with fragments of black stone, sand- 
 stone, and marble. 
 
 Buttresses and pilastres were component 
 parts of Babylonian buildings, which were 
 sometimes decorated with niches ; the edifices 
 generally were of bricks, either dried in the 
 sun or burnt in a kiln or furnace. Tiles were 
 also painted and glazed for the purpose of 
 decorating buildings, and a very fine sort of 
 brick was employed to case thick walls built 
 of common bricks or rubbish. These bricks 
 were impressed with characters. The clay of 
 which they were formed appears to have been 
 mixed up with chopped straw or reeds. When 
 baked or dry they were laid in hot bitumen, 
 sometimes in clay-mortar, and sometimes 
 also in a fine lime-mortar. Thick piers were 
 used for columns. Timber was scarce ; and 
 the wood-work of the houses, which were 
 sometimes of three and four stories, was 
 made of the date-tree. Round the posts 
 reeds were twisted, on which a coat of paint 
 was laid. The bitumen used in the building 
 of Babylon is not by any means so tenacious 
 as the mortar. Mr. Eich thinks that lime- 
 cement was most generally employed. 
 
 In the British Museum there are many 
 specimens of Babylonian bricks. Stones, 
 elegantly engraved, and seal-rings were in 
 general use among the Babylonians. Heeren 
 is of opinion that these stones and the en- 
 graved cylinders served for signatures. These 
 cylinders were made not only of clay, but of 
 the hardest stones, and the Babylonians had 
 brought the art of cutting these stones to a 
 very high state of perfection. Heeren men- 
 tions a cylinder of jasper, and Sir E. K. 
 Porter another of white agate. 
 
 BACON. Every one knows that bacon is 
 pork prepared by a process in which salt, heat, 
 and smoke are employed. Unless of the best 
 kind, it is eitherprepared from inferior meat, or 
 prepared in a defective manner. Good bacon 
 has a thin rind ; the fat has a firm consistency 
 and a reddish tinge ; and the lean adheres 
 strongly to the bone. 
 
 As there is no excise duty on bacon, there 
 are. no means of ascertaining the quantity 
 made in this country. Imported bacon pays 
 a duty of 14s. per cwt. from foreign countries, 
 and 3s. 6d. from the colonies. Our imports 
 of bacon in .1848 amounted to 211,000 cwt. 
 We export a small quantity every year to the 
 colonies and the East Indies. 
 
 In a recent Liverpool commercial list, it is 
 stated that the sale of foreign bacon in this 
 country has not been brisk during the year 
 1850. ' We attribute this to the very plenti- 
 
 ful supply and consequent cheapness of both 
 Irish and English bacon- The cure of the 
 former is estimated to have been nearly as 
 great as during any previous season, while 
 that of the latter has been undoubtedly much 
 larger.' The prosperous condition of the 
 working classes in this country enabling them 
 to neglect almost entirely the ordinary and 
 even middling kinds of bacon, the dealers 
 have lately had difficulty to find a market for 
 any but the best. 
 
 BACON. Were it possible to trace the 
 services which were rendered to industry, 
 through the medium of science, by Eoger 
 Bacon in the 13th century, and by Francis 
 Bacon in the 16th and 17th, the list would 
 doubtless be an important one ; but it would 
 belong to the biography of Science rather 
 than of Art. The Opus Majus of Eoger 
 Bacon laid the groundwork for better reason- 
 ing in later ages; but the great points by 
 which Bacon is known are his reputed know- 
 ledge of gunpowder and of the telescope. 
 With regard to the former, it is not at all 
 clear that what we call gunpowder is intended, 
 though some detonating mixture, of which 
 saltpetre is an ingredient, is spoken of as 
 commonly known. In respect to the teles- 
 cope, it must be admitted chat Bacon had 
 conceived the instrument, though there is no 
 proof that he carried his conception into 
 practice, or invented it. The question has 
 been agitated whether the invention of spec- 
 tacles is due to Bacon, or whether they had 
 been introduced just before he wrote. He 
 certainly describes them, and explains why a 
 plane convex glass magnifies. But he seems 
 to us to speak of them as already in use. 
 
 In respect to the far greater Francis Bacon 
 familiarly known as Lord Bacon, the contri- 
 butions to Art or Industry were more 
 indirect ; for his scientific labours applied 
 chiefly to the logic of science, to the best 
 means by which the human mind may master 
 the difficulties which lie at the threshold of 
 all scientific enquiries. He was in fact re- 
 moved two stages from the philosophy of 
 manufactures : he taught the man of science 
 how to grasp theoretical principles ; and the 
 man of science, thus taught, wa.-? in a condition 
 to apply his science to the practical wants of 
 the manufacturer, the mechanist, and the 
 engineer. 
 
 BADAKHSHAN, one of the khanats of 
 Turkistan, is rich in gems. The celebrated! 
 ruby mines of Badakhshan, often alluded to 
 by Persian poets, are situated at a place 
 called Gharan, near Shughnan, near the 
 Oxus. They are at present worked by the 
 command of the chief of Kunduz, who haa 
 
283 
 
 BADEN. 
 
 BAHAMAS. 
 
 284 
 
 conquered this part of the country. The 
 rubies are said to be found like round pieces 
 of pebble or flint, and imbedded in limestone 
 BADEN. The grand-duchy of Baden is 
 rich in many kinds of produce. Agriculture 
 is the chief occupation of its inhabitants, am 
 yields a surplus of produce for which Swit 
 zerland and France afford a ready market 
 Only six acres in a thousand are said to be 
 waste land. On an average it is stated to 
 produce about 1,358.000 quarters of all de- 
 scriptions of grain, and exports between 
 75,000 and 93,000. It yields also hay and 
 other fodder for horses and cattle in super- 
 abundance. The upper and lower districts 
 produce rapeseed, hemp, flax, and opium ; 
 and the lower districts in particular, which 
 include the former Palatinate of the Khine 
 where the best husbandry prevails, consider- 
 able quantities of tobacco and hops. Potatoes 
 and fruits are largely grown; and cyder, 
 perry, and wine are made in considerable 
 quantities. The timber trees of the grand- 
 duchy consist principally of the fir, pine, oak, 
 beech, birch, alder, aspen, and ash. 
 
 Among the mineral productions we may 
 enumerate the garnet, crystal, jasper, chalce- 
 dony, and onyx ; marble, alabaster, gypsum, 
 chalk, porcelain earth, and potters clay. 
 Silver, copper, and lead are found along the 
 valley of the Kinzig and Miinster, and in the 
 neighbourhood of Kork and Pforzheim. Iron 
 ore is obtained from the mines at Stockach, 
 Kandern, the Black Forest, Hauenstein, &c. 
 Inconsiderable quantities of Cobalt, manga- 
 nese, zinc, snlphur, coals, alum, vitriol, and 
 bismuth, are likewise raised. Salt is pro- 
 cured in great abundance in the Black Forest. 
 The manufacturing industry of the grand- 
 duchy does not rank high, either for its extent, 
 or for the variety or superiority of its produc- 
 tions. Pforzheim, Carlsruhe, and Mannheim 
 are the chief places. The government pos- 
 sesses eight iron-works ; and there are others 
 in private hands, but the produce is small. 
 Fire-arms, iron wire, copper ware, nails, alum, 
 vitriol, saltpetre, linen, woollen, cotton, silk, 
 clocks, watches, jewellery, wooden ware, paper, 
 tobacco, potash, white lead, smalt, glass, and 
 earthenware, are manufactured in various 
 parts of the duchy mostly in small quantities. 
 The position of the country on the Khine, 
 Main, Neckar, and other streams, and the 
 access which they give it to Switzerland, 
 France, and Germany, have rendered Baden 
 a country of extensive transit, and secured to 
 it outlets for its own productions. The im- 
 ports of Baden consist of French and other 
 wines, colonial produce, drugs and dyes, iron, 
 steel, cottons, silks, fine woollens, horses, 
 
 cattle, &c., and its exports of timber, grain, 
 meal, oil, skins and hides, wine, hemp, linen, 
 tobacco, iron wares, jewellery, fish, <fec. 
 
 BADGEK. The hide of this animal is not 
 without value ; when properly dressed, it makes 
 the best pistol furniture. In some parts of 
 France badger's hides are commonly used as 
 a sort of cover or ornament to the collar and 
 trappings of waggon-horses. The hair is used 
 for painter's brushes, and brushes for other 
 purposes. The hind-quarters, when salted 
 and smoked, make excellent hams. In China, 
 as Bell the traveller assures us, dozens of 
 badgers may be seen hanging for sale, as food, 
 in the meat markets of Pekin. 
 
 BAGDAD is the name both of a pashalic 
 and of a city, in the Tigris region of 
 Asia. The pashalic produces the tamarisk 
 shrub, the liquorice plant, the willow, the 
 poplar, the castor-oil plant, the carob plant, 
 the crowfoot, the caper, and many others. 
 Grapes, figs, pomegranates, and quinces are 
 Largely grown ; but the plants best known in 
 England are not much cultivated. The region 
 
 not rich either in timber or in minerals. 
 
 The city of Bagdad, so famous in oriental 
 story, was formerly a great emporium of 
 eastern commerce. Besides the traffic with 
 ts own manufactures, it was the entrepot for 
 ihe commodities of eastern aud western Asia. 
 But the political and commercial events of 
 recent years have greatly reduced this com- 
 merce. The manufactures are not very 
 numerous or extensive. The red and yellow 
 eathers are excellent, and are held in high 
 estimation throughout Turkey. Another 
 principal manufacture consists of pieces of a 
 sort of plush, in shawl patterns, often very 
 rich and beautiful, and used by the Turks for 
 covering the cushions which form their divans 
 or sofas. A few other manufactures in wool 
 and silk are carried on. 
 
 BAGPIPE, a musical instrument, which 
 onsists of a leathern bag, inflated by a port- 
 rent fixed in it, which has a valve. It has 
 hree pipes, the first and second called the 
 great and little drone, each giving but one 
 lote, the third, a kind of oboe having eight 
 entages, or holes, on which the tune is played 
 y the fingers. The wind is communicated to 
 he pipes by compressing the bag under the 
 arm, the mouth-piece of each pipe being fixed 
 in the bag. The compass of this instrument 
 s three octaves. 
 
 A similar instrument was in use among the 
 
 antients under the name of tibia ntrlcularis. 
 
 ["he bagpipe is mentioned by Chaucer as the 
 
 music to which the Canterbury pilgrims per- 
 
 ormed their journey. 
 
 BAHAMAS. These West India Island* 
 
285 
 
 BAHAE. 
 
 BAKE WELL. 
 
 286 
 
 are in general fruitful, and produce several 
 species of trees, as mahogany, satinwood, 
 lignum vitse, cedars, pines, braziletto, wild 
 cinnamon, fustic, and pimento, with a great 
 variety of esculent vegetables. Cattle are 
 reared in great plenty. 
 
 The chief articles of export are sugar, 
 cotton, dyewoods, bark, fustic, salt, with turtle 
 and fruits. The crops of cotton are often 
 destroyed by the chenille and red bug ; the 
 latter stains the cotton so as to render it oi 
 little value. The cultivation of cotton is no 
 longer the staple. Great numbers of pine- 
 apples are grown for sale, principally to North 
 American traders. The islands generally pro- 
 duce sufficient maize and ground provisions 
 for the use of the inhabitants. Turk's Islands 
 afford the principal supply of salt ; from one 
 to two thousand * rakers ' visit them annually, 
 beginning their operations in February. The 
 Bahamas took British produce and manufac- 
 tures to the value of 24,709/. in 1849. 
 
 BAHAE, one of the provinces of Northern 
 India, yields large quantities of saltpetre, 
 which is produced in artificial beds, consisting 
 of the refuse of vegetable and animal matters 
 in a state of decomposition, mixed with calca- 
 reous and other earths. Opium is produced 
 very abundantly ; but wheat of excellent 
 quality is the chief produce. Eice, sugar, 
 indigo, cotton, castor-oil, and essences, parti- 
 cularly the attar of roses, are among the ordi- 
 nary productions of the province. 
 
 BAHAWU'LPOOE, in the province of Mool- 
 tan, is deserving of our notice in this place 
 not so much for its products as for the com- 
 mercial energy which marks its inhabitants. 
 The manufactures carried on by them are 
 silken girdles and turbans, and some species 
 of cotton cloths called coongees, which are 
 celebrated for the fineness of their texture : 
 the weavers are chiefly Hindoos. The mer- 
 chants of Bahawulpoor are also Hindoos ; 
 they have a great deal of commercial enterprise, 
 and deal extensively in goods of European 
 manufacture, which they receive from Pallee 
 in Marwar, by way of Bicaneer and the desert 
 of Ajmeer, and conveyed them by land-car- 
 riage through Mooltan and Lahore, crossing 
 the Indus at Kaheree, These Bahawulpoor 
 merchants often travel to Balk and Bokhara, 
 and sometimes to Astrakhan, for commercial 
 purposes. 
 
 BAHI'A, one of the maritime provinces of 
 Brazil, is distinguished rather for commerce 
 than for manufactures. The metals, which 
 once formed a considerable portion of the 
 wealth of this province, are now of very little 
 importance. Gold has long ago ceased to be 
 worked : silver is found, but it would not pay 
 
 the expense of working. Iron is abundant, 
 but neglected. Copper is still worked in the 
 northern district, but not to any great amount. 
 The largest piece of native copper perhaps in 
 the world (excepting one recently found on 
 the shores of Lake Superior) was found about 
 two miles to the east of the town of Cochocira ; 
 it weighed 1666 pounds, and is now in the 
 Eoyal Museum at Lisbon. Armenian bole, 
 antimony, saltpetre, and rock-salt, are among 
 the mineral produce. 
 
 The chief cultivated plants are cotton, 
 sugar, coffee, tobacco, and corn ; while among 
 the spontaneous products of the soil, posses- 
 sing commercial value, are ipecacuanha, 
 Jesuits' bark, jalap, tamarinds, Brazil root, 
 curcuma or turmeric, betony, copal, dragon's 
 blood, mastic, copaiba, Brazil-wood, bow- wood, 
 iron-wood, oil-wood, cachew nut, nayha, palm, 
 and numerous timber trees for carpentry and 
 cabinet work. 
 
 BAHEEIN is the name of a bay and an 
 island on the Arabian coast. The chief town 
 of the island, called Manama, is at the north- 
 east extremity, and is large and populous, 
 being supposed to contain upwards of 40,000 
 inhabitants. The bazaar is well supplied with 
 cattle, sheep, poultry, fish and vegetables ; 
 and a very considerable trade is carried on. 
 Upwards of 140 vessels of various sizes are 
 employed in trading ; but the pearl fishery is 
 of the greatest importance to the island, 
 which in the season employs 2,400 boats, each 
 containing from eight to twenty men. The 
 annual produce of these fisheries amounts, 
 it is said, to sixteen or twenty lacs of dollars. 
 BAIGOEEY, a valley in the south of France, 
 of has rich copper and iron mines, and large 
 copper and iron works for smelting and 
 refining the ores. 
 
 BAIKAL. The mineral productions on the 
 shores of this extensive Asiatic lake are no- 
 ticed under ALTAI MOUNTAINS. 
 
 BAIEEUTH, in Bavaria, has tan-yards, 
 manufactories for making tobacco-pipes, parch - 
 ment, linen, porcelain and earthenware, cot- 
 tons, and stockings ; and the inhabitants carry 
 on considerable trade in grain and flour. 
 
 BAKE WELL, is situated in the middle of 
 Jb.at part of Derbyshire which is so rich in 
 mineral produce. There are stone and marble 
 quarries at Ashford, and lead mines at some 
 ittle distance from Bakewell, which afford 
 employment to numerous labourers belonging 
 to the town and its vicinity. The marble, a 
 ery beautiful black kind, is wrought here into 
 a great variety of useful and ornamental 
 objects ; and the inlaying of it with a species 
 of mosaic is carried on with great skill. Those 
 who are familiar with the contents of the 
 
287 
 
 BAKING. 
 
 BALCONY. 
 
 288 
 
 British Museum will remember two beautiful 
 tables in the Mineralogical Gallery made of 
 Bakewell marble. Near the town is a cotton 
 manufactory established by Arkwright; but 
 during the last ten years it has only been 
 worked occasionally. 
 
 In the parish of Bakewell there is one 
 building which will ever be associated with 
 the recollection of Mr. Paxton's Crystal Palace 
 in Hyde Park we mean Cliatsworth. The 
 unequalled conservatory which Mr.'Paxton 
 constructed for the Duke of Devonshire in 
 the grounds of that palatial residence was the 
 forerunner of the building now being erected 
 for the Exhibition of Industry'. This build - 
 ing, and the relation between it and the Hyde 
 Park structure, will be found described a few 
 pages later [CONSERVATORY]. 
 
 BAKING. [BREAD.] 
 
 BAKU. This peninsula, which juts into 
 the west side of the Caspian Sea, is celebrated 
 for its numerous volcanoes, which discharge 
 volumes of mud ; but still more for the super- 
 abundance of naphtha with which its soil is 
 charged, particularly in the neighbourhood of 
 the capital. It not only issues spontaneously 
 through the surface, but rises wherever a hole 
 is bored. It is of two descriptions, black and 
 white ; and its principal sources are situated 
 at a spot called Balegan, about 6 miles from 
 Baku. The whole of these naphtha springs 
 belong to the government, and are farmed at 
 a rental of about 9000/. 
 
 BALAGHAUTS, a district near the Madras 
 coast of India, exports indigo and cotton in 
 considerable quantities. The central and 
 eastern divisions contain several diamond 
 mines ; and it is from these, and not from 
 mines in their own district, that the diamond 
 merchants of Golconda have been supplied. 
 
 BALANCE. The instrument most com- 
 monly known by the term balance is a su- 
 perior sort of scales, executed with all the 
 precision necessary for the nicest operations 
 of physics, and particularly of chemistry. 
 
 A balance should be so sensible that, when 
 equipoised, a very small additional weight in 
 either scale may overcome the friction and 
 adherence of the pivot by which it rests ; and 
 the diminution of friction to the utmost pos- 
 sible extent is accomplished by giving the 
 supports a high polish and attaching a knife- 
 edge pivot to each side of the beam. The 
 knife-edges must not be so sharp as to cut the 
 supports ; and, to prevent them from becoming 
 too blunt, they are in some balances removed 
 from the supports, when the instruments are 
 not in use, by an apparatus for the purpose. 
 
 The sensibility of a balance is estimated by 
 the angular deviation of the beam from a 
 
 horizontal position when a very small weight 
 is placed in one scale : [thus, if one grain 
 placed in a scale of each of two balances should 
 make the beam of the first incline two degrees, 
 and that of the second four degrees, the latter 
 balance would be twice as sensible as the 
 former. The quantities weighed in delicate 
 balances are usually small. A balance made 
 by Ramsden for the Royal Society, weighing 
 ten pounds altogether, turned with the ten- 
 millionth of that quantity, or with about the 
 thousandth part of a grain. 
 
 A balance should be made as much as pos- 
 sible of brass. Steel and iron are apt to 
 acquire magnetic properties. It should also 
 be enclosed in a glass case, with doors for 
 communication. 
 
 Mr. Cotton's beautiful apparatus, employed 
 at the Bank for weighing sovereigns, is de- 
 scribed under GOLD-WEIGHING MACHINE. 
 The more ordinary balances for commercial 
 purposes are noticed under STEELYARD ; 
 WEIGHING MACHINES. 
 
 BALASO'RE, a large town, not far from 
 Calcutta, affords an instructive example of the 
 mode in which British manufactures become 
 spread among the islands of the east. The 
 trade carried on here is principally with the 
 Maldives' islanders, whose boats, constructed 
 of the trunks of cocoa-nut trees, arrive at 
 Balasore in the months of June and July, 
 during the south-west monsoon. Their 
 import cargoes consist of coir, cocoa-nut 
 oil, and other products of the cocoa-nut 
 tree, which is their grand staple; cowries, 
 tortoise-shell, and salted fish. These articles 
 they exchange for rice, sugar, broad-cloths, 
 stuffs of silk and cotton, hardwares, and cut- 
 lery ; and with these they return home during 
 the month of December, favoured by the 
 north-east monsoon. Some trade is likewise 
 carried on in salt, which is made on the sea- 
 shore a few miles from the town, by lixiviating 
 the mud in the manner practised in the Sun- 
 derbunds of Bengal. 
 
 BALAS RUBY, a term used by lapidaries 
 to designate the rose-red varieties of Spinel. 
 It should be carefully distinguished from 
 oriental ruby (the sapphire), a gem of much 
 greater rarity and value. 
 
 BALCONY. Balconies are much employed in 
 edifices of modern date. They are formed nearly 
 on a level with the floors of rooms, and sup- 
 ported on cantilevers or brackets, and some- 
 times, though more rarely, on columns of 
 wood or stone. The floor of the balconv is 
 laid on the cantilevers, and the sides are en- 
 closed with a rail of iron, or a balustrade of 
 stone. Since the introduction of Grecian 
 architecture some balconies have been inclosed 
 
289 
 
 BA'LDACHIN. 
 
 BA'LLIUM 
 
 290 
 
 with small Greek columns, instead of the 
 baluster used by the Italian architects. In 
 Venice there are very magnificent balconies 
 in the Gothic taste, remarkable for their rich- 
 ness. Elizabethan architecture shows some 
 veiy elaborately designed balconies ; but per- 
 haps the nearest example to the palco of the 
 Italians will be found in some of the colleges 
 of Oxford. Magdalen College contains an 
 example of such a balcony in a pulpit sup- 
 ported on corbels. 
 
 BA'LDACHIN, a kind of canopy, either 
 supported on columns, or suspended from and 
 used to cover an altar in a Kornan Catholic 
 church. The form, for the most part, is 
 square, and the top covered with cloth with a 
 hanging fringe: sometimes the fringe is 
 formed of pieces of cloth cut out after the 
 fashion of a banner. The baldachin in St. 
 Peter's at Rome, made by Bernini, is the 
 most celebrated, and is the largest known 
 work of the kind in bronze. 
 
 BALEA'KIC ISLANDS. These Mediter- 
 ranean islands, comprising Majorca, Minorca, 
 and three others, yield granite, marble, jasper, 
 porphyry, slate, and pit-coal, also lead and 
 iron. The soil is generally good, and chiefly 
 cultivated with vines, olives, and other fruit- 
 trees : corn is not produced in sufficient 
 quantities for home consumption. This article 
 and cattle form the principal imports, in ex- 
 change for wines and brandies of an inferior 
 quality, coarse woollen cloths, and dried fruits ; 
 the pottery made in these islands is much 
 esteemed. 
 
 BALIZE, or BELIZE. [HONDUEAS.] 
 
 BALKAN. The natural riches of this ex- 
 tensive Turkish mountain system are very 
 imperfectly known. The silver and gold 
 mines worked by the ancients are not now 
 known. Yet, in some parts, mines of this 
 description are worked, as at Kostendil, or 
 Guistendil, not far from the sources of the 
 Karasa Struma, in the Egrisu Dagh. In the 
 same range, farther to the west, are consider- 
 able mines of copper, which are also found in 
 the Emineh Dagh, near Shumla, and probably 
 in other places. Iron seems also to be abun- 
 dant, and is got from the Dupishna Dagh, 
 near the place which has given to this range 
 its name. In many parts there are mines of 
 lead, and in others rock-salt in great abun- 
 dance. Marble is abundant in the southern 
 ranges. 
 
 BALKH. This once celebrated Asiatic 
 city has sunk into insignificance. Its com- 
 merce and manufactures have been super- 
 seded by those of Bokhara. 
 
 BALLAST, a term used to denote any 
 heavy material placed in a ship's hold with 
 
 the object of sinking her deeper in the water, 
 and of thereby rendering her capable of car- 
 rying sail without danger of being overset. 
 Ships are said to be hi baUast when they sail 
 without a cargo, having on board only the 
 stores and other articles requisite for the use 
 of the vessel and c r iw, as well as of any pas- 
 sengers who maybe proceeding with her upon 
 the voyage. In favour of vessels thus cir- 
 cumstanced it is usual to dispense with many 
 formalities at the custom-houses of the ports 
 of departure and entry, and to remit the pay- 
 ment of certain dues and port charges which 
 are levied upon ships having cargoes on 
 board. 
 
 A foreign vessel proceeding from a British 
 port may take on board chalk as ballast. Ke- 
 gulations have at various times been made in 
 different ports and countries determining the 
 modes in which ships may be supplied with 
 ballast, and in what manner they may dis- 
 charge the same ; such regulations being ne- 
 cessary to prevent injury to harbours. 
 
 Iron weights are sometimes used as ballast, 
 but sand is more extensively employed. All 
 the empty Newcastle coal ships carry river- 
 sand ballast on their return voyages to the 
 north ; and the hoisting and shipping of this 
 ballast in the Thames amounts to 10,000 tons 
 per week. 
 
 BALLISTIC PENDULUM, a rectangular 
 block of elm weighing from 600 to 2800 Ibs., 
 and suspended by an iron stem from a hori- 
 zontal axle, which rests upon the upper part 
 of a strong frame of timber standing on the 
 ground, or, for the sake of greater stability, 
 inserted in the wall of a building. It is used 
 for determining the velocities of shot dis- 
 charged from a gun by given quantities of 
 powder. The shot being made to strike the 
 block in the direction of its fibres, and en- 
 tering it to a certain distance, causes it to 
 vibrate on tbe horizontal axis of the machine, 
 when, by the extent of the vibrations, mea- 
 sured from a vertical plane passing through 
 the axis, the velocities at the instant of striking 
 are found. 
 
 The block is strongly bound by bars of iron, 
 and, in order to obtain the extent of a vibra- 
 tion, a tongue of iron terminating below in a 
 point projects from the lowest surface of the 
 block ; and this tongue makes a mark which 
 indicates the extent of the vibration. 
 
 By the Ballistic Pendulum has been ob- 
 tained almost all the information we possess 
 respecting the velocities of cannon balls and 
 the resistance of the air in the case of bodies 
 in rapid motion. 
 
 BA'LLIUM. This term antiently meant 
 an outer bulwark; but was afterwards adopted 
 
291 
 
 BALLOON. 
 
 for the area or court-yard contained within 
 one. In towns, the appellation of ballium 
 was given to a work fenced with palisades, and 
 sometimes masonry, covering the suburbs. 
 When there was a double enclosure of walls, 
 the areas between the walls and within the 
 interior wall were styled respectively the 
 outer and inner ballia. 
 
 The name Bailey, as the Old Bailey, in 
 London, and the church of St. Peter in the 
 Bailey, in Oxford, seems to have been derived 
 from ballium. 
 
 BALLOON. A balloon generally consists 
 of a bag of silk, or other light material, in- 
 flated with gas or heated air, so that, being 
 lighter than an equal bulk of common air, it 
 will rise from the earth with sufficient force 
 to lift a car, in which persons may perform an 
 aerial voyage. 
 
 The notion of flying or sailing through the 
 air, evidently suggested by the flight of birds, 
 is very ancient ; but passing over the early 
 fables or traditions on the subject, we find the 
 first idea of a real balloon suggested by the 
 Jesuit Francis Lana, in a work published in 
 1670. The actual invention of balloons, how- 
 ever, is of much later date, and is due to Stephen 
 and Joseph de Montgolfier, paper - manu- 
 facturers at Annonay, near Lyon. They first 
 tried to confine hydrogen in paper. Failing 
 in this, in consequence of the escape of the 
 gas through the pores of the paper, they suc- 
 ceeded in raising a small balloon by heating 
 and thereby rarefying the air within it. The 
 balloon was made of large pieces of paper 
 110 feet in circumference, fixed to a frame, 
 the whole weighing about 500 pounds, and 
 containing 22,000 cubic feet (Trench measure). 
 On the application of fire underneath, the 
 mass gradually unfolded and assumed the 
 form of a large globe, striving at the same 
 time to burst from the arms which held it. 
 At length it rose with great rapidity, and in 
 less than ten minutes was at 1000 toises of 
 elevation. It then described a horizontal 
 line of 7,200 feet, and gradually sank. This 
 balloon contained nothing but heated air, 
 maintained in a state of rarefaction by a fire, 
 the receptacle of which was attached under- 
 neath the globe of paper, which had an orifice 
 opening downwards. This occurred in 1783. 
 
 Very soon afterwards balloons were made 
 of varnished silk, and small animals were 
 caused to ascend in them, or suspended from 
 them. 
 
 In November M. Pilatre de Eozier made 
 the first aeronautical voyage attempted with a 
 free balloon. The balloon used was a Mont- 
 golfier (fire balloon), 70 feet high, and 40 
 feet in diameter. It ascended from the 
 
 BALLOON. 292 
 
 Chateau de la Muette, near Passey, gained an 
 ^levation of at least 3000 feet, and, after 
 catching fire, which was easily extinguished 
 by the intrepid voyagers, descended safely, 
 after a journey of 5000 toises (about 6 miles), 
 which was performed in from twenty to twenty- 
 five minutes. On the 1st of December 
 M. Charles ascended to the height of 1500 
 toises (nearly 2 miles), in a hydrogen balloon 
 of 26 feet diameter, from the Tuileries ; and 
 on the 19th of January seven persons as- 
 cended in a Montgolfier 126 feet high, 
 and 102 feet in diameter. To reduce the 
 above measures, which are French, to the 
 English standard, it should be remembered 
 that the French foot was equal to 12.7892 
 English inches. 
 
 On the 22nd of February, 1784, a small 
 balloon, launched by itself from Sandwich, 
 crossed the Channel ; and in the course of 
 that year several personal ascents were made 
 with both kinds of balloon. M. Blanchard, 
 in his first ascent from Paris on the 2nd 
 of March, with a hydrogen balloon, added 
 wings and a rudder, but found them use- 
 less. He also first attached a parachute, 
 or open umbrella, above the car, to break 
 his fall in case of becoming accidentally 
 separated from the balloon. In one of the 
 French ascents of this year the use of oars 
 was tried, with, it was thought, some effect. 
 In England a hydrogen balloon of 10 feet 
 in diameter was launched from the Artillery 
 Ground, London, by Count Zambeccari, on 
 the 25th of November, 1783; but the first 
 personal ascent was made by Vincentio Lu- 
 nardi, from the same place, on the 15th of 
 September, 1784. On the 7th of January, 1785, 
 M. Blanchard and Dr. Jeffries crossed the 
 Channel from Dover; and on the 15th of 
 June following M. Pilatre de Eozier and 
 M. Romain ascended from Boulogne with the 
 same object, with a Montgolfier, which caught 
 fire, and precipitated them from a height of 
 ]000 yards. Among the more memorable 
 subsequent ascents may be mentioned that of 
 M. Garnerin in 1802, from London, on which 
 occasion he descended successfully by means 
 of a parachute ; that of the same person 
 from Paris, in 1807, in which, after encoun- 
 tering great risks, he landed at, or rather was 
 dashed against, Mount Tonnerre, at a distance 
 of 300 miles from his starting -point ; that of 
 MM. Gay Lussac and Biot, from Paris, in 
 1804, to the height of 13,000 feet, for the pur- 
 pose of making scientific observations ; the 
 subsequent ascent of M. Gay Lussac alone, 
 in the same year, to the height of 23,000 feet ; 
 and the attempt made in 1806, by Carlo Bri- 
 oschi, astronomer royal at Naples, and Signor 
 
293 
 
 BALLOON. 
 
 BALLOON. 
 
 294 
 
 Andreani, to attain a yet greater elevation ; 
 when they reached an atmosphere so rarefied 
 that the balloon burst, its remains proving, 
 however, sufficient to break their fall so that 
 then* lives were saved. 
 
 Although much has been suggested, very 
 little has been accomplished towards rendering 
 balloons available for any practical use. Little 
 has been done towards guiding a balloon. 
 Many of the schemes which have been pro- 
 posed for the purpose evince a singular disre- 
 gard of the essential difference between a ship 
 and a balloon. The former sails in two fluids 
 of very different density, and the action of the 
 water, the denser of the two, upon the rudder 
 is a guide to the impelling power derived 
 from the air, or lighter or less dense element ; 
 but no such regulator can be applied to the 
 balloon, which is sustained, as well as im- 
 I>elled, by the air. 
 
 Mr. Green has been the most successful of 
 our aeronauts. He was the first to introduce 
 the use of common coal gas instead of hydro- 
 gen gas for the purpose of inflation, by which 
 an immense saving of cost is effected, and 
 the buoyancy of the balloon may be longer 
 maintained, as it is far less liable to escape. 
 Mr. Green, accompanied by Messrs. Holland 
 and Monck Mason, made the remarkable 
 voyage undertaken on the 7th of November, 
 1836, with the Great Nassau balloon. In- 
 tending to cross over to the continent, these 
 voyagers started from Vauxhall Gardens, Lon- 
 don, at half-past one on the above-named 
 day, crossed the Channel, continued their 
 voyage through the night, and descended at 
 half-past seven the following morning in the 
 valley of Elbern, about two leagues from 
 "Weilburg, in the duchy of Nassau. The 
 balloon with which this feat was performed is 
 of silk, more than 60 feet high, and about 50 
 feet in diameter, and will contain, when fully 
 distended, more than 85,000 cubic feet of 
 gas. 
 
 We can hardly avoid an expression of regret 
 that so much ingenuity should be still unpro 
 fitably wasted on ballooning. Year after year 
 contrivances are brought forward which have 
 before been shown to be unsound in theory 
 In 1840 Messrs. Marsh and Eanwell suggested 
 a complicated machine, consisting of a ligh 
 metallic frame, to which about twenty smal 
 balloons were attached. Sir George Cayley 
 has proposed a light kind of frame, exposing 
 about 500 square feet of surface, to whicl 
 some sort of steering apparatus is to be 
 attached. Mr. Partridge has drawn attention 
 to a machine which had somewhat the appear 
 ance of an ovoid balloon ; with a complicatec 
 apparatus of sails and vanes ; and a steam 
 
 engine fed with liquid fuel ! o\t. Eubriot, in 
 .839, made an oblong balloon, with a car pro- 
 dded with sails ; he expected that the car 
 and sails would guide the balloon ; but when 
 the machine was tried at Paris, the balloon 
 guided the car, as it is the wont of balloons 
 do. Mr. Green himself, in 1840, exhibited 
 model at the Polytechnic Institution, of 
 an apparatus which he expected would suffice 
 to guide a balloon ; but we may conclude that 
 nothing satisfactory has resulted. About ten 
 rears ago, Dr. Polli, of Milan, suggested that 
 ;he structure of a fish should form a model 
 "or an aerial locomotive ; but he was fore- 
 stalled in this obvious but fallacious idea, by 
 other parties in England. In 1842 Mr. Henson 
 took out his patent for that " aerial machine " 
 which lived its little day of popularity, and 
 then went out of sight ; a small steam-engine, 
 in a car, was to propel a light framework 150 
 feet long ; and a tail 50 feet long was to 
 serve as a rudder at one end ; but whether 
 the machine could raise itself to a height, or 
 could propel itself by the engine, or could 
 steer itself by the tail, were enquiries never 
 satisfactorily answered. Next came M. Monge's 
 copper balloon, constructed at Paris in 1844 ; 
 it was about 30 feet diameter, formed of sheet 
 copper 2-^yth of an inch thick, weighed 
 300 Ibs., and was capable of containing 100 Ib. 
 of hydrogen ; but of its success we have 
 heard nothing. The egg-shape, the fish- 
 shape, the fan-shape, the kite-shape, all have 
 been proposed, time after time, within the 
 last few years ; one of the latest being that of 
 Mr. Bell, who recently patented two machines 
 a balloon motor, having both a sustaining 
 and a propelling power; and a parachute 
 motor, having a propelling power which con- 
 stituted its own sustaining power. The plan 
 looked ingenious upon paper, but this is not 
 very high praise. 
 
 Occasionally balloons are made subsidiary 
 to science; but very seldom. The British 
 Association has more than once directed its 
 attention to this matter, but with very little 
 result. In 1843 Mr. Green made observa- 
 tions with meteorological instruments, at five 
 different elevations, varying from 2591 to 
 6758 feet; while Mr. Jones, the instrument 
 maker, was making similar observations at 
 the surface of the earth at the same time 
 such observations as these might perhaps be 
 multiplied with advantage. Mr. Eush com- 
 municated to the British Association, in ] 849, 
 a series of thermometrical and barometrical 
 observations, made during five balloon as- 
 cents, in 1847-8-9, at various altitudes ranging 
 up to 20,000 feet. One of the latest sugges- 
 tions, for making balloons useful, was that 
 
295 
 
 BALSAMODE'NDRON. 
 
 BALTIMORE. 
 
 296 
 
 recently made by the unfortunate Lieutenant 
 Gale, for rendering assistance in the search 
 of Sir John Franklin. 
 
 During the recent ballooning season, it was 
 stated that the number of recorded ascents 
 exceeds 3000, of which the elder Green has 
 made nearly 500; and that the ascertained 
 fatal accidents do not amount to 20. 
 
 Of the sad foolery of ascending on the backs 
 of horses, ponies, and other animals, nothing 
 can be said but in condemnation. The last 
 example was that in which Madame Poitevin, 
 decked in white muslin and purple velvet, 
 with a crown of roses on her head, ascended 
 from the Champ de Mars on the back of a 
 bullock! 
 
 BALSAMODE'NDRON, a genus of Oriental 
 trees, is deserving of our notice here as pro- 
 ducing Myrrh, and Balsam of Gilead, Myrrh 
 exudes from the bark, and is at first soft, oily, 
 and of a yellowish -white colour, then acquires 
 the consistence of butter, and by exposure to 
 the air becomes harder, and changes to a red- 
 dish hue. As met with in commerce, it is of 
 two kinds, that which is called myrrh in tears, 
 and that called myrrh in sorts. The smell is 
 peculiar and rather disagreeable, the taste is 
 bitter and very unpleasant. 
 
 The alcoholic tincture of the best myrrh, 
 mixed with equal parts of nitric acid, becomes 
 red or violet. The tincture of the false myrrh 
 (of Bonastre) so treated becomes turbid and 
 yellow, but not red. The taste of this false 
 myrrh is very bitter, but the smell is that of 
 turpentine. 
 
 The produce of the Salsamodendron Oilea- 
 dense, though called a balsam, and denomi- 
 nated Balsam of Mecca and Balsam of Gilead, 
 is not entitled chemically to rank as such, 
 being an oleo-resin. It is of two kinds, that 
 obtained by spontaneous exudation, and that 
 which is obtained by boiling the branches. 
 The former is so highly prized in the East 
 and so expensive, that it is never brought to 
 Europe. It is said that even in Constantinople 
 there are only two shops whence it can be pro- 
 cured genuine, and where it costs about Is. 
 per grain English. That which is obtained 
 by boiling is of different qualities and value, 
 according as the boiling is continued for a 
 short or long time. When for a short time 
 only, the substance which floats on the sur- 
 face is highly esteemed, and almost all of this 
 quality is consumed in Asiatic Turkey and 
 Egypt. The variety procured by long-con- 
 tinued boiling is sent to Europe in small 
 conical leaden bottles, the mouth of which is 
 closed with a leaden stopper, and covered over 
 with bladder. It is, however, frequently adul- 
 terated on account of its high price ; and the 
 
 cheaper kinds ordinarily sold contain not an 
 atom of the reel balsam. 
 
 BALSAMS. The substances commonly in- 
 cluded under this title are of various natures. 
 There are natural balsams exuding from trees, 
 as those of Peru and Tolu, <fcc., which contain 
 benzoic acid and resin. There are also the 
 balsams of Copaiba, Gilead, &c., which contain 
 no benzoic acid, but are turpentines contain- 
 ing a volatile oil and resin. There were in 
 former pharmacopoeias sundry very different 
 preparations ranked together as balsams, 
 such as balsam of sulphur, traumatic balsam, 
 &c. : these, when retained in modern pharma- 
 copoeias, are arranged under other forms. 
 
 Balsams are obtained from certain vegeta- 
 bles, chiefly of the Leyminos<B, or pea tribe, 
 the Styracece, or Storax tribe, and that section 
 of Amentaceoe called Salicinete. Numerous 
 substances of a resinous nature were formerly 
 designated balsams, and turpentines and bal- 
 sams are still popularly confounded with each 
 other. The term balsam, however, should be 
 limited to such articles as contain benzoic acid 
 along with a volatile oil and resin. The others, 
 which contain only volatile oil and resin, 
 should be called turpentines, or oleo- resins. 
 The true balsams appear to be only five, viz. 
 balsam of Peru and balsam of Tolu, benzoin, 
 storax, and liquidamber. 
 
 Balsams command very varied prices in the 
 wholesale market, from Is. to 6s. per Ib. 
 
 BALTIC SEA. The countries surrounding 
 this very important sea supply timber, grain 
 of different kinds, hides, tallow, &c., in the 
 greatest abundance and of the first quality. 
 If we except the seas contiguous to the British 
 islands, and that which incloses the maritime 
 tracts of the Chinese empire, no portion of the 
 ocean is so much frequented by ships as the 
 Baltic ; and this in spite of the difficulties of 
 the navigation. From 13,000 to 15,000 ships 
 enter and leave the Baltic every year, of which 
 about one-fourth are British. It is thought 
 that 2 per cent, of the vessels which visit the 
 Baltic are annually lost, while the commerce 
 between Great Britain and America is carried 
 on with the loss of 1 per cent. Besides this, 
 the harbours of the Baltic are shut up for 
 three or four months by the ice, and thus the 
 navigation is interrupted for nearly one-third 
 of the year. Another disadvantage is the 
 shallowness of the harbours on the southern 
 coast, and the complete want of tides. These 
 difficulties render it necessary that the vessels 
 employed in the Baltic trade should be of 
 comparatively small burthen, averaging from 
 200 to 300 tons. 
 
 BALTIMORE. This important American 
 city has great trade. The exports consist 
 
297 
 
 BALUSTER, 
 
 BAMBOO. 
 
 298 
 
 principally of tobacco, wheat, wheat - flour, 
 maize, hemp, and flax ; and its imports, of 
 colonial produce and the principal European 
 products and manufactures. Its export trade 
 has of late years been greatly increased by 
 the railroads which connect the town with 
 Philadelphia, Washington, Ohio, York in 
 Pennsylvania, &c. ; by these the products of 
 the interior, including even the valley of the 
 Mississippi, find a rapid transit to Baltimore, 
 whence they are shipped to various parts of 
 the United States and of Europe. There are 
 lines of steam-packets to Philadelphia and to 
 Norfolk, and other packets to New York and 
 various parts of the Atlantic. The water power 
 of the Jones' Falls and of the Patapsco, which 
 has a fall of 800 feet in a course of 30 miles, 
 is made available in the numerous flour mills, 
 cotton factories, and other manufactories of 
 cloth, paper, iron, copper, glass, steam-engines, 
 tobacco, chemicals, powder, &c., in the envi- 
 rons of the city. In the city itself there are 
 cotton factories, tanneries, distilleries, brew- 
 eries, sugar refineries, potteries, saw-mills, 
 glass-works, rope-walks, tobacco manufacto- 
 ries, printing-offices, &c. 
 
 BALUSTER, or BALLISTER, a peculiar 
 kind of column employed in balustrades. The 
 baluster has also of late years been formed 
 after the model of Greek and Roman columns. 
 Balusters are placed on a plinth, and are sur- 
 mounted with a cornice. 
 
 BALUSTRADE, the termination of a mo- 
 dern edifice. Balustrades are most commonly 
 placed over the cornices of large edifices, after 
 the manner of a parapet, as at the Banqueting 
 House at Whitehall, and St. Paul's Cathedral. 
 Balustrades are not only employed in large 
 edifices, above the orders of architecture, but 
 also to inclose stairs, terraces, altars, fonts, 
 and the balconies of houses. The balusters 
 forming a balustrade are placed on a plinth, 
 at equal distances from one another, with a 
 small opening between them : they support 
 a cornice, and are divided at intervals by a 
 pedestal. 
 
 BAMBARRA. The chief mineral wealth 
 of this African region is iron : it abounds in 
 many districts, and the inhabitants make 
 utensils of this metal, which are exported to 
 the neighbouring nations. Gold is also found. 
 Salt is imported in large quantitities from the 
 Sahara and the coasts of Guinea. Dried fish 
 is a considerable article of commerce. 
 
 Bambarra carries on a very active commerce 
 though it is limited to a small number of com> 
 modities. The principal trading places are 
 Jennee, Sansanding, Sego, Yamina, Bamvnaku, 
 and Boure, all of which are on the Joliba. 
 The last, which lies to the south-west of Bam- 
 
 maku, is the principal market for gold. Be- 
 sides gold, the principal articles of exchange 
 are slaves, ivory, and coarse cotton cloth 
 made by the natives; they are exchanged 
 for salt brought from the desert, for tobacco, 
 and European merchandise. In their way to 
 the northern countries they pass through 
 Timbuctu, which is the general depot for 
 them. There seems also to exist some trade 
 with the coast of Guinea, from which salt is 
 imported. 
 
 BAMBERG, in Bavaria, has many points 
 of interest as a commercial town. Among 
 the numerous incorporations in this town is 
 that of the gardeners, which consists of 508 
 masters, 70 apprentices, anil upwards of ^50 
 workmen. The highest prize which it gives 
 and it is given bub once in three years is 
 for the cultivation of officinal plants, particu- 
 larly the liquorice root, of which above 50,000 
 Ibs. are annually exported. Very considerable 
 quantities of vegetable seeds are raised and 
 exported by the Bamberg growers. There 
 are sixty brewers here, whose beer is in much 
 demand in some of the German states. The 
 other manufactures consist of tobacco, porce- 
 lain, musical instruments, marble wares.starch, 
 sealing-wax, gold and silver plate, gloves, &c. 
 Two annual fairs give life to the trade of the 
 town, the situation of which enables it to 
 share largely in the traffic of central Germany. 
 BAMBOO, or BAMBUSA. This very useful 
 genus of grass is distinguished by its stems, 
 which are hard externally and coated with 
 flint ; in the inside they are hollow, except at 
 the nodes, where strong partitions stretch 
 across the inside, and cut off the interior into 
 a number of closed up cylinders. 
 
 The purposes to which different species of 
 bamboo are applied are so numerous, that it 
 would be difficult to point out an object in 
 which strength and elasticity are requisite, 
 and for which lightness is no objection, to 
 which the stems are not adapted in the 
 countries where they grow. The young shoots 
 of some species are cut when tender, and 
 eaten like asparagus. The full grown stems, 
 while green, form elegant cases, exhaling a 
 perpetual moisture,and capable of transporting 
 fresh flowers for hundreds of miles : when 
 ripe and hard, they are converted into bows, 
 arrows, and quivers, lance-shafts, the masts 
 of vessels, bed-posts, walking-sticks, the poles 
 of palanquins, the floors and supporters of 
 rustic bridges, and a variety of similar pur- 
 poses. In a growing state the spiny kinds 
 are formed into stockades, which are impene- 
 trable to any biit regular infantry, aided by 
 artillery. By notching their sides, the Malays 
 make wonderfully light scaling-ladders which 
 
299 
 
 BAMBOUK. 
 
 BANCA. 
 
 300 
 
 can be conveyed with facility where heavier 
 machines could not be transported. Bruised 
 and crushed in water, the leaves and stems 
 form Chinese paper, the finer qualities of 
 which are improved by a mixture of raw cot- 
 ton and by more careful pounding. The 
 leaves of a small species are the material used 
 by the Chinese for the lining of their tea 
 chests. Cut into lengths and the partitions 
 knocked out, they form durable water pipes, 
 or, by a little contrivance, are made into excel- 
 lent cases for holding rolls of papers. Slit 
 into strips, they afford a most durable mate- 
 rial for weaving into mats, baskets, window- 
 blinds, and even the sails of boats. Finally, 
 the larger and thicker truncheons are exqui- 
 sitely carved by the Chinese into beautiful 
 ornaments. It is however more especially for 
 building purposes that the bamboo is impor- 
 tant. In Sumatra the frame-work of the houses 
 of the natives is chiefly composed of this mate- 
 rial. In the floorings, whole stems, four or 
 five inches in diameter, are laid close to each 
 other, and across these laths of split bamboo 
 about an inch wide, are fastened down with 
 filaments of the rattan-cane. The sides of 
 the houses are closed in with the bamboo 
 opened and rendered flat by splitting or notch- 
 ing the circular joints on the outside, chipping 
 away the corresponding divisions within, and 
 laying it in the sun to dry, pressed clown with 
 weights. Whole bamboos often form the up- 
 upright timbers, and the house is generally 
 roofed in with a thatch of narrow split bam- 
 boos, six feet long, placed in regular layers, 
 each reaching within two feet of the extremity 
 of that beneath it, by which a treble covering 
 is formed. Another and most ingenious roof 
 is also formed by cutting large straight bam- 
 boos of sufficient length to reach from the 
 ridge to the eaves, then splitting them exactly 
 in two, knocking out the partitions, and ar- 
 ranging them in close order with the hollow 
 or inner sides uppermost ; after which a second 
 layer, with the outer or convex sides up, is 
 placed upon the other in such a manner that 
 each of the convex falls into the two conti- 
 guous concave pieces, covering their edges ; 
 the latter serving as gutters to carry off the 
 rain that falls upon the upper or convex layer. 
 BAMBOUK, in Northern Africa, is a 
 country which yields silver and iron of excel- 
 lent quality, and also a great quantity of gold. 
 The principal gold mines of Bambouk are 
 situated to the south of the city of Bambouk, 
 in the mountains of Tambaoura ; but a 
 greater quantity seems to be obtained by 
 washing the sand which the rivers have car- 
 ried down from the mountains and imbedded 
 along their courses in the alluvial soil. 
 
 Part of the gold is converted into ornaments 
 for the women. When a lady of consequence 
 is in full dress, her gold ornaments may be 
 worth altogether from 50/. to 80/. sterling. 
 But the greater part of this metal is annually 
 carried away by the Moors, who take it to 
 Timbuctu, whence it finds its way to the 
 northern coast of Africa, to Egypt, and to Asia. 
 It is exchanged for other commodities, but 
 chiefly for salt, the value of which article is 
 very great in these mountainous countries of 
 Africa. One slab, about two feet and a half 
 in length, fourteen inches in breadth, and two 
 inches in thickness, will sometimes sell for 
 21. 10s. sterling ; and from I/. 15s. to 2!. may 
 be considered as the common price. ..This 
 salt is brought from the Desert of Sa- 
 hara. The European merchandise brought 
 from the coast, has till lately been generally 
 paid for with slaves. 
 
 BANBUEY, in Oxfordshire, has long been 
 noted as a thriving place of trade. The 
 neighbourhood is very thickly covered with 
 villages. The trade chiefly depends on the 
 agricultural neighbourhood ; but there is a 
 considerable manufacture of plush, shag, and 
 girth and other webbing, carried on at Ban- 
 bury, which employs within the parish above 
 a hundred men, besides women and children, 
 in some branches of the manufacture ; and 
 many others are engaged in the same manu- 
 facture in some of the adjacent villages. A 
 manufacture of linen-weaving, formerly earned 
 on at Banbury, has been abandoned. There 
 is also a manufactory of agricultural imple- 
 ments. 
 
 The Banbury Cakes, which have been cele- 
 brated from the time of Ben Jonson, are still 
 in high repute ; and are not only sold in the 
 town and neighbourhood but sent to conside- 
 rable distances. They have been exported to 
 America, Australia, and India. The Banbury 
 cheese, which Shakspere and Burton mention, 
 s believed to be no longer made ; though a 
 peculiar kind of rich cream cheese is still made 
 in the neighbourhood of Banbury at a late 
 season of the year, whence it is known as 
 latter made cheese,' and fetches a high price. 
 
 Banbury agricultural implements, and Ban- 
 aury cakes are to take part in the Exhibition 
 of Industry in 1851. 
 
 BANCA, an island in the Indian Ocean 
 ying off the north coast of Sumatra, derives 
 all its importance in a commercial point of 
 view, from its tin-mines, which were first dis- 
 covered in 1710 or 1711, and have since 
 yielded immense quantities of ore : they ap- 
 pear in fact to be inexhaustible. The ore (an 
 oxide), after being washed in the nearest 
 mountain stream, is smelted, and yields in 
 
301 
 
 BAND. 
 
 BANISTER, 
 
 302 
 
 various proportions from thirty to seventy 
 pounds of tin, for every hundred pounds of 
 ore ; the more usual proportion is about sixty 
 of metal to one hundred of ore. If the ore 
 should yield less than twenty-five per cent, of 
 metal, the mine is abandoned as unprofitable. 
 The proportion of metal partly depends upon 
 the quality of the charcoal used in smelting. 
 
 From the time of their first discovery, the 
 tin-rnines of Banca have been worked by Chi- 
 nese, whose numbers have been annually re- 
 cruited. The quantity of tin procured was 
 about 3,000,000 Ibs. annually, at the time of 
 cession to the Dutch ; since which time it has 
 largely increased ; so largely, indeed, that 
 after fully supplying the markets of China 
 and India, a large quantity is annually brought 
 to Europe, where it has consequently lessened 
 the demand for the tin of Cornwall. 
 
 BAND, in architecture, a flat moulding, 
 with a vertical face slightly projecting beyond 
 the vertical or curved face of any moulding or 
 parts of an edifice to which it is attached. It 
 is very extensively employed, and is used to 
 give an appearance of binding parts of build- 
 ings together. 
 
 BANDA ISLANDS, a small group of islands 
 in the Malay Archipelago. These islands 
 produce the nutmeg almost exclusively ,whence 
 they are frequently called the Nutmeg Islands, 
 in contradistinction to the Amboynas, which 
 yield the clove. 
 
 BANDANAS, or BANDANNAS, a name 
 originally applied to a peculiar kind of silk 
 handkerchief made by the Hindoos, is now 
 given to silk and cotton handkerchiefs manu- 
 factured in this country, decorated with pat- 
 terns of similar character, though by a very 
 different process. A bandana handkerchiei 
 has a dyed ground, usually of a bright red or 
 blue, ornamented with circular, lozenge- 
 shaped, or other simple figures, either white 
 or in some cases of a yellow colour. These 
 spots are said to be produced, in real Indian 
 bandanas, by tying up the parts intended to 
 be white or yellow with bits of thread before 
 exposing the handkerchief to the action of the 
 dye, and thus protecting them from it. In the 
 process followed by British manufacturers 
 which was invented in 1810 by M. Kochlin o: 
 Miihlhausen, the whole surface of the hand 
 kerchief is dyed of one uniform colour ; anum 
 ber of pieces thus dyed are laid between two 
 leaden plates perforated with holes whereve 
 white spots are intended to be, and while the 
 several thicknesses of cloth are compresse< 
 in this manner by the power of a hydrauli 
 press, a fluid capable of discharging the dye 
 is made to percolate through the holes in th 
 leaden plates, removing, in its passage, th 
 
 ye from such parts of the cloth as are ex- 
 >osed to its action. By varying the discharging 
 luid the spots may be made yellow instead of 
 white ; and arrangements are sometimes made 
 or combining white and yellow spots in the 
 ame handkerchief. 
 
 Messrs. Monteith's Bandanna Works, near 
 Glasgow, are among the finest of our factory 
 istablishments. 
 
 BANGALORE, in the Mysore territory, is 
 a busy commercial place. Its merchants carry 
 m dealings with every part of the south of 
 ndia. The principal articles which enter 
 nto this commerce are salt, sugar, betel-nut, 
 spices, metals, dyeing-stuffs, raw silk, and 
 cotton wool. Many of these articles are im- 
 ported for the use of its manufacturers. The 
 issues woven here, both of silk and cotton, 
 are almost entirely retained for the use of the 
 district. The spinning of cotton is all per- 
 'ormed by women, who carry their yarn to a 
 weekly market for sale to the weavers. 
 
 BANGKOK, the capital of the kingdom of 
 Siam, is a place of considerable trade. The 
 most active commerce is carried on with the 
 ports of the Chinese empire; but the trade 
 between Singapore and other places of the 
 neighbourhood has greatly increased of late 
 years. The internal commerce with the ex- 
 tensive countries drained by the river Menam 
 is also very important. 
 
 BANGOR. This Welsh city owes its trade 
 almost entirely to slates, which are brought 
 to Port Penrhyn from the quarries of Llan- 
 degai, a place about 8 miles distant, by means 
 of a railway made for the purpose. These 
 quarries give constant employment to upwards 
 of 2000 workmen, and they produce a large 
 revenue to the proprietor. It is stated by 
 Mr. Parry, * Cambrian Mirror,' p. 152, that 
 * 90 years ago these quarries brought only 80J. 
 a year to the pocket of the proprietor ; and 
 now it is said that the present honourable 
 and fortunate possessor receives the enor- 
 mous and almost incredible sum of 250,000/. 
 a year.' But this no doubt means the pro 
 duce of the quarries, from which all working 
 expenses have to be deducted. The greater 
 part of the slates are exported, but many are 
 manufactured in Bangor into billiard tables, 
 chimney-piers, and a great variety of objects. 
 One slate manufactory is on a very extensive 
 scale, and there are several less extensive. 
 All of them have been established within a 
 few years ; indeed the application of slate to 
 these purposes is quite recent. In addition 
 to the dock and wharfs at Port Penryhn, a new 
 shipping place has just been erected at Garth 
 for shipping slates from another quarry. 
 BANISTER. [BALUSTER.] 
 
303 
 
 BANJARMASSIN. 
 
 BANJARMASSIN, a town on the south 
 coast of the island of Borneo, carries on 
 considerable trade with China. The imports 
 of the town are principally of piece goods 
 cutlery, opium, gunpowder, and fire-arms 
 The produce exported in return consists o; 
 pepper, diamonds, gold dust, wax, camphor 
 spices, rattans, and edible birds' nests. Some 
 steel of very superior quality is also manu- 
 factured at this place. 
 
 BANK BANKER BANKING. Im 
 portant as the principle of banking is to the 
 development of manufactures and commerce, 
 it would be impossible so to treat the subject 
 as to bring it within the limits of the present 
 work. There is, however, one aspect of the 
 subject, of much moment to the operative 
 classes, treated under SAVINGS BANKS. 
 
 BANK NOTE MACHINERY. Consider- 
 ble mechanical ingenuity has been shewn in 
 devising the best mode of manufacturing bank 
 notes, so that they shall be light, durable, and 
 not easily imitated by forgers. The making of 
 the paper, the engraving of the steel-plate, 
 and the numbering of the notes, have all 
 called forth this ingenuity. 
 
 It was stated some short time ago in the 
 public journals that many of the banks in the 
 United States have adopted the use of a pecu- 
 liar kind of paper made expressly for bank- 
 notes. There are introduced into the body 
 of the piece of paper for each note as many 
 cotton threads as will shew the value of the note 
 in dollars, up to certain limits ; or at least, that 
 a definite number of threads shall represent 
 a definite value in the note ; so that no chemi- 
 cal or mechanical tampering with the printed 
 part of the note will prevent the paper from 
 revealing the true original value. 
 
 In respect to the plates from which bank- 
 notes are printed, they used to be formed of 
 copper ; but as this material soon wears away, 
 a mode of using steel plates was devised by 
 Messrs. Perkins and Heath, by which a sur- 
 prising number of copies may be taken. A 
 block or thick plate of steel is softened on the 
 upper side ; the device is engraved on this 
 softened surface ; the block is hardened by a 
 very careful process after the engraving ; the 
 device is transferred from the hardened block 
 to the convex surface of a small soft steel roller, 
 by intense pressure ; the roller is hardened, and 
 the device is transferred from it to any num- 
 ber of softened steel plates ; these plates are 
 hardened after the transfer, and are then in a 
 state to be printed from. By this beautiful 
 train of operations one originally engraved 
 block is made to suffice for an almost endless 
 number of printings. 
 
 The mode in which the writing, the em- 
 
 BANK NOTE MACHINERY. 304 
 
 blems, and the ornaments are combined in a 
 bank-note, is so planned as to render forgery 
 difficult. The numbering is a remarkable pro- 
 cess, as now performed. In 1809, the bank 
 adopted a numbering press invented by 
 Mr. Bramah, by which the expense and un- 
 certainty of finishing annually a large number 
 of bank notes with a pen was materially di- 
 minished, and forgery rendered more difficult. 
 The machine was, however, so far incomplete 
 that it produced only units, the tens and hun- 
 dreds requiring to be brought forward by 
 hand. In 1813 a machine invented by 
 Mr. John Oldham, and used at the Bank of 
 Ireland, had the additional power of effecting 
 numerical progression, from 1 to 100,000 by 
 its own operation ; one of these machines 
 was subsequently attached to each press for 
 printing the body of the notes, in order to 
 register and check the number of notes pass- 
 ing through the press. 
 
 In 1819 Mr. Bryan Donlcin invented a 
 counting machine, applicable to the number- 
 ing of notes. Like most others of the kind, 
 its action depended on the relative motion of 
 a series of ratchet wheels with projecting 
 rims, having notches cut in them ; so that 
 when the first wheel counted units, the second 
 wheel indicated tens, and so on progressively. 
 When Mr. Thomas Oldham succeeded his 
 "ather, Mr. John Oldham, as engineer to the 
 Bank of England, he endeavoured to improve 
 on the instruments previously constructed, 
 and devised the form of apparatus now em- 
 ployed, which is as follows : Four wheels 
 ach divided by ten notches, leaving a facet 
 Between each pair, engraved with consecutive 
 numbers from 1 to 0, are placed upon a shaft ; 
 portion of their breadth being turned down 
 about one-half of their depth, having a boss 
 or collar between every two. Upon these 
 )osses, and filling up the spaces, rest latches ; 
 and over each wheel is a pall, the width of 
 he first being equal to that of the unit wheel, 
 and the breadth of the others equalling that 
 f the wheel and latch. The palls are driven 
 >y a crank; by each revolution of which the 
 irst wheel is moved through a space equal to 
 )ne tenth of its entire circumference, bringing 
 regularly forward the numbers from 1 to 0. 
 When the figure is reached, the latch of the 
 econd wheel is depressed, and the wheel 
 noves forward one division marking the tens. 
 Che same process is repeated with regard to 
 he other wheels, and thus any amount of 
 numbers can be registered, by simply in- 
 reasing the number of wheels in proportion. 
 Machines of this kind are extensively adopted 
 n the Bank of England ; with, of course, an 
 nking apparatus to apply to the types. 
 
305 
 
 BANKS SIE JOSEPH. 
 
 BAE-LE-DUC. 
 
 306 
 
 A patent was taken out in 1844 for a mode 
 of printing bank-notes intended to obviate 
 the liability to forgery. The surface is covered 
 with two designs, one geometrically regular, 
 and the other very irregular ; the two designs 
 are engraved on different plates, and are 
 printed with different inks, the one with visible 
 and the other with invisible ink. Both of the 
 inks are delible or removeable by chemical 
 means ; and the usual engraving of a bank- 
 note is printed 0n paper so prepared. The 
 rationale of the suggestion is this: that 
 whatever means a forger might take to alter 
 by chemical agency the letters or figures, or 
 to transfer them by lithographic or anastatic 
 processes, the state of the paper would betray 
 him : for he would remove some parts of the 
 design in the one case, and fail to transfer it 
 in the other. 
 
 BANKS, SIE JOSEPH, was a great con- 
 tributor to industry and science in the latter 
 half of the last century. Besides his own 
 voyages and travels, all the voyages of disco- 
 very which were made under the auspices of 
 Government for the last thirty years of Sir 
 Joseph Banks's life had either been suggested 
 by him, or had received his approbation and 
 support. In the affairs of the Board of Trade, 
 of the Board of Agriculture, and of the Mint, 
 he was constantly consulted, and he took a 
 leading pail in the management of the Eoyal 
 Gardens at Kew. He was a distinguished 
 promoter also of the interests of the Horticul- 
 tural Society founded in 1804. His influence 
 was frequently directed to soften to men of 
 science the inconveniences of the long war 
 which followed the French Eevolution; to 
 alleviate their sufferings in captivity; or to 
 procure the restoration of their papers and 
 collections when taken by an enemy. Baron 
 Cuvier,in his 'Eloge' upon Sir Joseph Banks, 
 mentions that no less than ten times collections 
 addressed to the Jardin du Eoi at Paris, and 
 captured by the English, were restored, by his 
 intercession, to their original destination. His 
 purse was always open to promote the cause 
 of science, and his library of natural history 
 always accessible to those who desired to 
 consult it. During the two-and-forty years in 
 which he continued President of the Eoyal 
 Society, he was indefatigable as an official 
 trustee in the management of the British 
 Museum ; to which institution, after innu- 
 merable gifts, he made a contingent bequest 
 of his scientific library, together with his foreign 
 correspondence, where both are now deposited. 
 
 BANNEE, a piece of drapery attached to 
 the upper part of a pole or staff, generally 
 hanging loose, but sometimes fixed in a slight 
 framework of wood. 
 
 BANQUETTE, in fortification, is a step 
 formed of earth at the foot of the interior 
 slope of a parapet, and extending along its 
 whole length, except where intervals are left 
 for placing artillery to fire through the em- 
 brazures. 
 
 BANYAN-TEEE, orficus indices is a native 
 of most parts of India, both on the islands 
 and the main land. The wood is light, white, 
 porous, and of no value. Brahmins use the 
 leaves as plates to eat off; birdlime is manu- 
 factured from the tenacious milky juice. The 
 branches spread to a great extent, dropping 
 their roots here and there, which as soon as 
 they reach the ground rapidly increase in 
 size till they become as large as and similar 
 to the parent trunk, by which means the 
 quantity of ground they cover is almost in- 
 credible. Eoxburgh says that he has seen 
 such trees full five hundred yards round the 
 circumference of the branches, and a hundred 
 feet high, the principal trunk being more than 
 twenty-five feet to the branches, and eight or 
 nine feet in diameter. 
 
 BAPTISTEEY, an ancient building, in 
 which Christians performed the ceremony of 
 baptism. The most celebrated existing bap- 
 tisteries are those of Borne, Florence, and 
 Pisa ; the most ancient is the baptistery of 
 S. Giovanni in Fonte, near the church of 
 S. Giovanni Laterano at Eome, commonly 
 said to have been erected by Constantino the 
 Great. The plan of this building is an 
 octagon, with a small portico at the entrance ; 
 the interior is decorated with eight most 
 beautiful porphyry columns, the finest of the 
 kind in Eome. The diameter of this struc- 
 ture is about 75 feet. 
 
 The Baptistery of Florence, which is octan- 
 gular, with a diameter of about 100 feet, 
 stands opposite to the principal entrance of 
 the Cathedral. The three great bronze doors 
 are celebrated for the beauty of their bas- 
 reliefs, and for the marble and bronze figures 
 above them. 
 
 The Baptistery of Pisa, erected between 
 the years 1152 and 1160, by Diotisalvi, is a 
 singular design. The plan is circular, with a 
 diameter of 116 feet; the building is raised 
 on three steps, and surmounted with a dome 
 n the shape of a pear. The external eleva- 
 tion is divided into three stories. 
 
 BAE-LE-DUC, is a busy town in the eastern 
 part of France. Its manufactures consist of 
 cotton and woollen goods, cotton yarn, hosiery, 
 handkerchiefs, and leather. The town is 
 celebrated for its sweetmeats, and contains 
 several breweries. The Ornain is navigable 
 below Bar, which has thus a ready means of 
 transit for its industrial products, and for the 
 
307 
 
 BA'RBACAN. 
 
 BARILLA. 
 
 308 
 
 other items of its trade, namely, wine, iron 
 fir and oak planks, and firewood for the sup 
 ply of Paris. There are extensive iron-works 
 and stone-quarries in the neighbourhood. 
 
 BA'RBACAN, or BARBICAN, in ancient 
 fortification, was usually a small round tower 
 for the station of an advanced guard, placed 
 just before the outward gate of the castle-yard 
 or ballium. In cities or towns the barbacan was 
 a watch-tower, placed at some important point 
 of the circumvallation. It had sometimes a 
 ditch and drawbridge of its own. The street 
 of London called Barbican received its appel- 
 lation from its vicinity to a tower of this sort 
 attached to the city wall, the remains of which 
 were visible within the last half-century. 
 
 BARBADOES is one of our West India 
 Sugar Islands. Like others of the same group 
 which have lost a monopoly, it has suffered 
 from the recent change in the sugar duties. 
 There are about 106,000 acres of surface, of 
 which 20,000 were under sugar cultivation in 
 1848. The sugar exported in that year was 
 about 33,000 hogsheads, and the molasses 
 13,000 hogsheads. The shipping that be- 
 longed to Barbadoes in 1848 amounted to 43 
 vessels, of 1716 tons, with 255 men. The 
 entire imports for that year were valued at 
 430,000/. and the exports 600,000/. In 1849 
 the island imported British and Irish produce 
 and manufactures to the value of 319,958/. 
 
 Governor Colebrooke, in a letter to Earl 
 Grey in the spring of 1850, expressed an in- 
 tention to encourage by every means in his 
 power the cultivation of cotton in Barbadoes. 
 He stated that ' at a former period, and espe- 
 cially in seasons when the sugar crops had 
 failed, or were unproductive, cotton was ex- 
 tensively cultivated.' 
 
 BA'RBARY. The products and industry 
 of this great African region are briefly noticed 
 under the names of the countries which com- 
 prise it. [ALGIERS ; MAROCCO ; TRIPOLI ; 
 TUNIS.] 
 
 BARBERINI VASE. [PORTLAND VASE.] 
 
 BARCELONA is the most important manu- 
 facturing and trading town in Spain. The 
 staple manufactures are cotton and silk. The 
 commerce of Barcelona, owing to a variety of 
 causes, but principally to oppressive restric- 
 tions on the importation of foreign goods, to 
 the independence of South American states, 
 and to the civil wars, has greatly fallen off 
 from its former prosperity. The imports are 
 cotton, sugar, coffee, cocoa, indigo, and other 
 colonial products, chiefly from Cuba and Pu- 
 erto Rico, hemp, coals, corn, deals, salt fish, 
 hides, iron, hardware, &c. The trade with 
 the Levant, the colonies, and France, as well 
 as the coasting trade, is pretty active. The 
 
 exports are wrought silks, soap, fire-arms, 
 paper, hats, ribands, wine, brandy, oil, vermi- 
 celli, cork, bark, fruits, &c. The so-called 
 Barcelona nuts are shipped to England from 
 Tarragona. The exports and imports of Bar- 
 celona each amount to three to four millions 
 sterling annually. From the ' Mercado,' or 
 Price Current, of Barcelona, we are enabled 
 to give the quantities of the principal imports 
 into Barcelona for the year 1846. They are 
 as follows : 8,000,000 Ibs. of sugar, 115,000 
 cwts. of salt fish, 114,000 hides, 3,250,000 Ibs. 
 of cocoa, 2,000,000 Ibs. of coffee, 50,000 tons 
 of coal, 16,000,000 Ibs. of cotton, and 280,000 
 Ibs. of indigo. In the year 1846 the export 
 of wine amounted to 30,000 pipes, nearly all 
 of which went to the West Indies. 
 
 BARGE COURSE, a term applied to that 
 part of the tiling of a roof which projects over 
 the gable end of a building ; the under part 
 of which is stuccoed. To protect this stucco 
 from the weather, two boards, called barge- 
 oards, following the inclination of the roof, 
 are often attached to the gables of old Eng- 
 ish houses, fixed near the extremity of the 
 mrge-course, and carved in the gothic style. 
 
 BARI, TERRA DI, a province in the king- 
 lorn of Naples, is rich in grain. Two kinds 
 f it are cultivated, the common wheat for 
 bread, and a small-grained hard wheat (grano 
 luro) Avhich is preferred for maccaroni, and 
 s exported to Naples and elsewhere under 
 lie name of Barletta corn, from the harbour 
 )f Barletta where it is shipped. The princi- 
 pal farmers of this part of the province have 
 brmed themselves into a company, so that 
 he corn trade of Barletta is entirely in their 
 lands. The other crops are olives, tobacco, 
 iotton, flax, almonds, and other fruits. Capers, 
 iquorice, and the soda plant are also abun- 
 lantly grown. The best wines are those of 
 frani, Bitonto, and Terlizzi. A little silk is 
 >roduced. The fisheries and saltworks along 
 he coast are very valuable. The province has 
 10 manufactures of importance; but ship- 
 uilding is carried on in most of the towns 
 along the coast. The trade is chiefly carried 
 >n by sea with Naples, Venice, Trieste, and 
 he coast of Dalmatia, and consists of the 
 Lgricultural products mentioned above. 
 
 BARILLA is the commercial name given to 
 he impure carbonate of soda imported into 
 his country, principally from Spain, the Ca , 
 lary Islands, and Sicily. The best is brought 
 rom Alicante, in the neighbourhood of which 
 lace it is prepared chiefly from the Salsola 
 oda. The plants are usually gathered in 
 September, and, after they have been allowed 
 o become heated by being thrown together 
 n heaps, are dried in the sun. In October 
 

 KNIGHTS CYC LOPA1D1<\ 
 
 No. 0. 
 
309 
 
 BA'RIUM. 
 
 BAEK. 
 
 310 
 
 the planes are burned in a hemispherical kiln 
 dug in the earth ; the soda contained in 
 them is fused and collected in masses, which 
 have a hard and spongy consistence ; and this 
 soda, when broken into fragments, is read}' 
 for shipment. 
 
 The carbonate of soda is largely used in the 
 manufacture of soap and glass, and for 
 other purposes. From 1829 to 1834, the 
 average annual importation of barilla into 
 Great Britain was 252,000 cwts. ; and at the 
 present time it is hardly imported at all 
 in 1848 the import was only 2349 cwts. This 
 change has been occasioned hy the production 
 of carbonate of soda from common salt 
 through the agency of sulphuric acid : salt 
 having become much cheaper from the repeal 
 of the duty, and sulphuric acid also, from im- 
 provements in the manufacture. The quan- 
 tity of carbonate of soda now consumed an- 
 nually is calculated to be seven times as much 
 as the largest importation of barilla in any 
 single year. Barilla at present sells at 97. to 
 107. per cwt. 
 
 BA'RIUM, a peculiar metal, discovered by 
 Davy in 1807 : it is the basis of the alkaline 
 oxide or earth barytes, from which it is ob- 
 tained by various chemical processes. It re- 
 sembles silver in appearance : it is much 
 heavier than water. By exposure to the air 
 it is slightly covered with a crust of barytes. 
 It fuses before it becomes red hot, and at this 
 temperature it acts upon glass, without being 
 volatilized; when exposed to the air, and mo- 
 derately heated, it burns with a deep red 
 light. It may be flattened a little, so that it 
 is to a certain extent a malleable metal. Ba- 
 rium has, however, as yet been obtained only 
 in small quantities, and consequently its pro- 
 perties are but imperfectly known. 
 
 The protoxide is met with combined with 
 sulphuric acid, forming heavy spar, or cawJt, 
 termed chemically sulphate of barytes, and 
 with carbonic acid, constituting the mineral 
 termed witheritc, or carbonate of barytes ; it 
 may be procured by decomposing either of 
 these native compounds. It is of a grayish 
 white colour ; when moistened with water it 
 becomes very hot, und in a short time falls 
 into a fine white powder; if more water is 
 added, it becomes a crystalline and very hard 
 mass. It is extremely poisonous, has an 
 acrid, alkaline, caustic taste, and requires a, 
 high temperature to fuse it. 
 
 Barium combines with many substances to 
 produce chemical compounds. One of the 
 hest known is sulphate of barytes, which occurs 
 largely in many parts of the" earth, especially 
 in the lead mines of the north of England ; 
 it occurs both amorphous and crystallized, In 
 
 VOL. fc 
 
 the former state it is sometimes colourless 
 and transparent, and frequently opaque. The 
 crystals are often very large. It is extremely 
 heavy, its specific gravity being about 4.7. 
 It is unalterable by ah- or by water, and 
 is scarcely affected by heat. When sulphate 
 of barytes is only moderately heated with car- 
 bonaceous matter, a solar phosphorus is 
 formed, which is called the Bolognian Phos- 
 phorus. 
 
 BARK. Several kinds of bark, being used 
 for processes in the arts or for medicine, enter 
 largely into commerce. Of the former class 
 are oak bark, cork bark, mimosa or wattle 
 bark, and quercitron bark ; and the most im- 
 portant among the latter is Jesuits' or Peru- 
 vian bark. [CINCHONA.] Some others, such 
 as CINNAMON and CASSIA, are noticed else- 
 where. 
 
 Oak bark is extensively, and was formerly 
 almost exclusively, used in tanning, for which 
 it is valuable on account of the large propor- 
 tion which it contains of the peculiar astrin- 
 gent called tannin. Sir H. Davy has shown 
 that 8 Ibs. of oak bark are equal in efficiency 
 to 2i Ibs. of galls, 3 Ibs. of Sumach, 7$ Ibs. 
 of the bark of the Leicester willow, 11 Ibs. of 
 the bark of the Spanish chestnut, 18 Ibs. of 
 elm bark, or 21 Ibs. of common willow bark. 
 The quantity of tannin, however, varies both 
 with the age of the trees, and with the season 
 in which they are cut ; being more abundant 
 in the bark of young than of old trees, while 
 if taken in the spring the bark has four and a 
 half times the quantity, in a given weight, 
 that it would have in the winter. 
 
 Cork bark, or Cork, is the outer bark of an 
 evergreen oak ( Quercus siiber), which grows 
 abundantly in Portugal, Spain, the south of 
 France, and Italy. Most of the cork bark 
 used in Europe is supplied by Spain and Por- 
 tugal, but that of the best quality by France. 
 As the cork is really dead bark, it may be care- 
 fully removed without injuring the tree, which 
 may be stripped every eight or ten years, be- 
 ginning when it is fifteen years old. At each 
 successive stripping the produce becomes 
 greater in quantity, and better in quality. The 
 inner bark, which contains much tannin, can- 
 not be removed without destroying the tree, 
 ork bark is usually charred lightly when 
 taken from the tree, to improve the texture 
 by closing the pores ; but this process, which 
 s liable to impart a disagreeable flavour to 
 iquors stopped with cork so treated, is not 
 required for the thinner but closer layers of 
 young bark. The lightness of cork recom- 
 mends its use as floats for fishing-nets, for 
 life-preservers, for insuring the buoyancy of 
 life-boats, and for similar purposes ; while its 
 
BARK-BED 
 
 BAitLEi'. 
 
 compressibility and elasticity, being combined 
 with a closeness of pore which prevents the 
 passage of liquids, render it valuable for stop- 
 ping bottles and casks. [CORK-MANUFACTURE. 
 
 Mimosa, or wattle bark, is collected from two 
 species of Mimosa which abound in New 
 South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and New 
 Zealand, where it is employed in tanning. It 
 contains about loOlbs. of pure tannin in a 
 ton of bark, which is about three fifths of the 
 proportion yielded by the best white oak 
 bark ; and it imparts a reddish colour to the 
 leather. 
 
 Quercitron bark is the produce of the Qitercus 
 nigra, or tinctoria, a North American oak, and 
 is used as a yellow dye. The colouring matter 
 resides wholly in the inner bark ; and care is 
 needful in extracting it to avoid any admix- 
 ture of the tannin of the bark, which would 
 give a brown tinge. 
 
 The imports of bark for tanning in 1849 
 amounted to the very large quantity of 
 8(55,755 cwt.,* of which more than two-thirds 
 were supplied by Holland and Belgium. Oak 
 bark sells at present from 90s. to 130s. per ton. 
 
 BARK-BED, in Horticulture, is a bed 
 formed of the spent bark used by tanners, 
 placed in the inside of a brick pit in a glazed 
 house, constructed . for forcing, or for the 
 growth of tender plants. 
 
 BARKER, ROBERT, deserves notice in this 
 place as the inventor and patentee of panora- 
 mas. He practised originally as a portrait- 
 painter in Dublin and in Edinburgh. The first 
 picture of the kind which he painted was a view 
 of Edinburgh, exhibited in Edinburgh in 1788, 
 and in London in 1789, but with indifferent 
 success. His second panorama was a view of 
 London from the Albion Mills, and it was ex- 
 hibited, with complete success, in Castle- street, 
 Leicester-square, and afterwards in Germany. 
 He built, and opened in 1793, with a pano- 
 rama of Spithead, the present panorama exhi- 
 bition-rooms in Leicester-square. He died 
 in London, in 1806. 
 
 The chief characteristics of Dioramas and 
 Panoramas are briefly noticed in later articles. 
 [DIORAMA ; PANORAMA.] 
 
 BARLEY is a grain too generally known to 
 require a minute description. It is readily 
 distinguished from other grain by its pointed 
 extremities, and by the rough appearance of 
 its outer skin, which is the corolla of the 
 flower closely enveloping the seed, and. in 
 most varieties, adhering strongly to it. 
 
 Of all the cultivated grains, barley is per- 
 haps that which comes to perfection in the 
 greatest variety of climates, and is conse- 
 quently found over the greatest extent of the 
 habitable world. It bears the beat mid drought 
 
 of tropical regions, and ripens in the short 
 summers of those which verge on the frigid 
 zone. In genial climates, such as Egypt, 
 Barbary, and the south of Spain, two crops of 
 barley maybe reaped in the same year, one in 
 spring from seed sown the preceding 
 autumn, and one in autumn from a spring 
 sowing. 
 
 Winter barley is mostly sown in those coun- 
 tries where the winters are mild, and the 
 springs dry, as in the south of France, Italy, 
 and Spain ; or in those where the snow lies 
 deep all the winter, and where the sun is 
 powerful immediately after the melting of the 
 snow in spring, as is the case in parts of 
 Russia, Poland, and some parts of North 
 America. In most climates, where the winter 
 consists of alternate frost and thaws, and the 
 early part of the spring is usually wet, as is 
 the case in England, Scotland, and Ireland, 
 the young barley is too apt to suffer from 
 these vicissitudes, and the spring -sown barley 
 gives the more certain prospect of a good 
 crop. 
 
 The barley most commonly cultivated in 
 England is that which has only two rows. It 
 is almost universally sown in spring. The 
 cultivation of all the varieties is nearly the 
 same, and is best understood in the counties 
 of Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, in which a 
 great quantity of excellent barley is produced 
 and malted for the London market. 
 
 The quantity of barley sown formerly was 
 four or five bushels per acre : but, if the land 
 is duly prepared and the seed good, from two 
 to three bushels is an ample allowance. The 
 best practical rule is, to sow as soon after the 
 middle of March as the ground is dry. The 
 practice of sowing clover, rye grass, or other 
 seeds, with the barley, is almost universal, 
 and is considered as one of the great modern 
 improvements in agriculture. 
 
 The principal use of barley in this country, 
 and wherever the climate does not permit the 
 vine to thrive, and no wine is made, is to 
 onvert it into malt for brewing and distilling. 
 The best and heaviest grain is chosen for this 
 purpose, and, as it must have its germinating 
 power unimpaired, the least discoloration, 
 from rain or heating in the stack, renders it 
 suspected, and consequently not so saleable. 
 It is, however, still fit for being ground into 
 meal, for feeding cattle and pigs, when it 
 is not used for human food ; or it may be 
 made into pot barley by the process of 
 shelling. 
 
 The produce of barley on land well pre- 
 pared is from 30 to 50 bushels, and more, 
 per statute acre, weighing from 45 to 55 Ibs. 
 per bushol, arroi-ding to the qunlity. Tt is 
 
313 BARLEY, PEARL. 
 
 said to contain 65 per cent, of nutritive 
 matter ; wheat contains 78 per cent. A. bushel 
 of barley weighing 50 Ibs. will therefore con- 
 tain about 32 Ibs. of nutriment; while a bushel 
 of wheat weighing 60 Ibs. contains 47 Ibs. 
 Good oats weighing 40 Ibs. contain about 
 
 BARN. 
 
 314 
 
 24 Ibs. of nutritive substance 
 
 that the 
 
 extensively for making barley -water; but if 
 the essential oil possesses any medicinal pro- 
 perties, it is evident from what was observed 
 before, that common pot-barley would be pre- 
 ferable for making a decoction of barley when 
 prescribed as a remedy. The great use of 
 pot and pearl-barley is in broths, stews, and 
 puddings, as a substitute for rice. It swells, 
 and unites well with the fat and oily matter 
 extracted from meat in boiling. Even the 
 bran, having been steeped in water, and 
 allowed to ferment till it becomes acid, is 
 relished by the humbler orders in the mess 
 called sowens. In Holland, pot-barley, boiled 
 in butter-milk and sweetened with treacle, 
 is a common mess for children and sen-ants. 
 BARM. [YEAST.] 
 
 BARMEN, a town in Rhenish Prussia, is a 
 busy centre of industry. It is literally studded 
 with cloth factories, cotton and silk mills, 
 bleaching-establishments, dye-houses, soape- 
 ries, tobacco-factories, potteries, warehouses, 
 and a variety of other buildings for the manu- 
 facture of linen, ironmongery, metal and 
 plated goods, chemical products, <tc. The 
 annual value of the industrial products of 
 this busy district are stated to be nearly a 
 million sterling. 
 
 BARN, a building in which agricultural 
 produce is stored, to protect it from the wea- 
 ther and keep it in safety. The thrashing- 
 floor, which is required even where thrashing- 
 machines are used for thrashing out the smaller 
 seeds, is usually in the middle of the barn, 
 and made of stone, brick, oak, or tempered 
 earth ; those of oak, formed of planks two 
 inches and a half thick, dowelled or ploughed 
 and tongued together, being considered the 
 best ; and it is often so arranged that a loaded 
 waggon may be drawn in upon it, so as to 
 throw the corn at once into the &./, or ends 
 of the barn. Free circulation of air is import- 
 ant in all parts of a barn. 
 
 Barns are built of stone, brick, timber, or, 
 in some places, of dry rammed earth in the 
 manner termed pise. If roofed with tiles, 
 they should be bedded in coarse hay, which is 
 more eifectual than mortar in preventing 
 the drifting of snow ; and, if with thatch, 
 reeds are to be preferred to any other mate- 
 rial, because they afford no lodgment for ver- 
 min, and afford an excellent protection against 
 the weather. 
 
 Hay is now seldom put in a close barn, 
 experience having shown that it keeps much 
 better in the open air in ricks. But v/here a 
 considerable quantity of hay is tied up in 
 trusses for thu market, it is extremely useful 
 to have a building with a roof to protect them 
 comm on mill, is called patent barley and is used j from the wet, and to load the calls under 
 
 comparative value of wheat, barley, and oats, 
 in feeding cattle, may be represented by 47, 
 32, and 24, the measure being the same. 
 
 1,389,858 quarters of barley were imported 
 in 1849; average price 27s. Qd. 
 
 BARLEY, PEARL, is the small round 
 kernel which remains after the skin and a 
 considerable portion of the barley have been 
 ground off. Barley from which only the outer 
 husk or skin has been removed is called Pot 
 Barley. 
 
 Both these preparations of barley are made 
 by means of mills constructed for the purpose, 
 and differ only in the degree of grinding 
 which the grain undergoes. In the mill ori- 
 ginally used, and still common in Germany 
 and France, the barley is nabbed between a 
 pair of small mill-stones, the upper one of 
 which has several grooves in its lower surface, 
 mounted at such a distance from one another, 
 that they rub without breaking the grains. 
 This is pot-barley ; and pearl-barley is pro- 
 duced by continuing the process until a fur- 
 ther portion of the outside of the grain is 
 rubbed off. The powder or meal which flies 
 off through the perforated case forms excel- 
 lent food for cattle, pigs, and poultry. 
 
 In another kind of mill, originally intro- 
 duced from Holland, and generally used in 
 Scotland, an ordinary grindstone of about 
 tLree feet in diameter is made to revolve upon 
 an horizontal axis, while a perforated case, 
 similar to that above described, surrounds it, 
 and revolves in the same direction, but with 
 a much slower motion. The barley is admitted 
 at an opening in the circumference of the 
 case, and the effect is produced by the violent 
 tossing which it receives between the stone 
 and the case. This kind of mill is much 
 more easily constructed and kept in order than 
 the former, and is well adapted for use with 
 hand-labour. 
 
 Pot and pearl-barley are very wholesome 
 and nutritious, and it is to be regretted that 
 they are not more used as food by the labour- 
 ing classes of England, as they are in Scot 
 laud, Germany, and Holland. The essential 
 oil of barley, which gives it its peculiar taste, 
 resides chiefly in the skin and adjacent parts 
 of the grain; the interior is a purer farina, 
 more nearly resembling that of wheat. This 
 farina, obtained by grinding pearl-barley in a 
 
315 
 
 BARNARD CASTLE. 
 
 BAROMETER. 
 
 316 
 
 shelter. For this purpose a kind of barn is 
 contrived, which some call a Dutch barn, but 
 which may very properly be called a skeleton 
 barn, being the frame of a barn without the 
 boarding. Another contrivance of similar 
 character is used in Holland, in which a pen- 
 tagonal thatched roof is made to slide up and 
 down a series of vertical poles, on which it 
 may be secured by pins at any required ele- 
 vation. The lower ends of the poles are well 
 braced together by a timber framing, which 
 rests upon a brick foundation. Its chief 
 use is for hay, which may be deposited safely 
 in either large or small quantities, the roof 
 being raised when additions are made, and 
 lowered as the hay is taken off the top for 
 use. 
 
 BARNARD CASTLE. This is among the 
 busiest towns in Durham. The inhabitants 
 are chiefly employed in the manufacture of 
 carpets and shoemakers' thread. There are 
 four large carpet manufactories and two 
 thread mills, which employ several hundred 
 hands. Many persons are engaged in the 
 tanning business, producing a leather formerly 
 highly esteemed in the manufacture of white 
 leather breeches. 
 
 BARNSLEY, owes all its importance to its 
 manufactures. Vrire -works were in existence 
 here in the time of James I., and the town 
 had for a long period the reputation of pro- 
 ducing the best wire in the kingdom. This 
 manufacture has, however, greatly declined ; 
 and but little wire is now made in the town. 
 Barnsley has lost its ancient trade, and has 
 acquired a new one, to which its present pros- 
 perity is entirely owing ; viz., the linen trade. 
 Its fabrics are linen cloth, damasks, diapers, 
 drills, ducks, checks, and ticks. The great 
 improvements which Barnsley has made 
 during a very recent period in the production 
 of these articles, is a main cause of the pros- 
 perous state of the town. In damasks and 
 drills it is said that Barnsley stands unri- 
 valled. Some of the above goods are techni- 
 cally called unions, from both linen and cotton 
 being united in their production. Much of 
 the flax which is spun in the large flax-mills 
 of Leeds is sent to Barnsley to be woven : 
 there are, however, two flax-spinning mills in 
 Barnsley. Weavers in this town are not gene- 
 rally employed in factories, but the manufac- 
 turers give out the yarn to them, which they 
 weave at their own houses. 
 
 There are extensive bleaching works and 
 dye-houses connected with the staple com- 
 modity of the town. The numerous coal- 
 mines, and the iron-works in the immediate 
 neighbourhood find occupation for hundreds 
 of people ; there are also several iron-foundries 
 
 and a glass-house. The coal-mines became a 
 subject of painful interest in 1847, when by 
 an explosion at the Oaks Colliery 72 lives 
 were lost. 
 
 All the varieties of Barnsley linen and flax 
 manufactures will be illustrated l>y specimens 
 at the Hyde Park Exhibition in 1851. 
 
 BARNSTAPLE, hi Devonshire, enjoys the 
 advantage of being the port for an extensive. 
 and improving inland district, and carries on 
 a steady trade. There are lace-manufactories 
 in the town, and also establishments for the 
 manufacture of baizes, shalloons, tammies, 
 hose, pottery, and fishing-nets, which afford 
 employment to a considerable number of per- 
 sons. 
 
 BAROACH, a city on the Bombay side of 
 India, maintains a considerable trade with 
 Bombay and Surat, to which places it sends 
 cotton, grain, and seeds. This traffic is can*ied 
 on in boats which draw little water, and which 
 are impelled by large lal^en sails. 
 
 BARO'METER, is the name applied to 
 those instruments in which a column of air 
 is weighed against a column of mercury. 
 
 Galileo, Torricelli, and Pascal, in the 17th 
 century, successively made those experiments 
 and observations on the pressure of the air, 
 which led to the invention of the barometer. 
 It was first found that the pressure of a 
 column of the entire atmosphere is equal 
 to that of a column of water (of the same 
 diameter) about 33 feet high; it was next 
 found that the pressure is equal to that of a 
 column of mercury about 30 inches high; 
 and it was afterwards ascertained that on a 
 mountain the pressure will sustain a less 
 height of mercury than at the earth's surface. 
 These facts proved the existence of atmo- 
 spheric pressure, and also the lav,' of diminu- 
 tion in this pressure at different altitudes. 
 
 If a tube, closed at one end, be deprived of 
 air, and the open end be immersed in mer- 
 cury, the mercury will rise in the tube to the 
 height of 28 or 30 inches, by the pressure of 
 the atmosphere on the mercury in the vessel. 
 Descartes, Huyghens and Dr. Hooke, de- 
 vised barometers in which the use of one or 
 more fluids of different specific gravity in con- 
 nection with mercury was tried as a means of 
 obtaining more distinct indications of very 
 small changes of level; and many other 
 forms of simple mercurial barometers have 
 been constructed. One contrived by Amon- 
 tons, consisting of a conical tube of glass 
 closed at the smaller end, partially filled with 
 mercury, and then inverted, is more simple 
 and elegant in principle than any other; but 
 the obtaining of a tube of the requisite accu- 
 racy is almost an ideal supposition. Ono 
 
317 
 
 BAKOMETEB, 
 
 BARBEL. 
 
 318 
 
 contrived by Oay-Lussac for portable purposes 
 permits the access of air to the mercury only 
 by a hole too minute to allow the escape of 
 mercury. Fortin's is a Torricellian barometer 
 with a contrivance for raising or lowering the 
 bottom of the cistern by a screw, so as to ad 
 just the lower level of the mercury exactly to 
 the zero point before commencing an obser- 
 vation. Hooke's ivheel barometer, though too 
 inaccurate for scientific use, is very much 
 used as a weather-glass ; for which it may 
 answer well enough, if it be remembered that 
 it is not the state of the barometer which fur- 
 nishes any probable test of the weather, but 
 the change which is taking place for the time 
 being. This change is indicated by it pretty 
 distinctly, though it cannot be trusted for 
 showing either the exact amount of the 
 change, or the exact height of the column of 
 mercury. In this contrivance,a weight is placed 
 on the mercury of a siphon barometer, and 
 nearly counterpoised by another weight con- 
 nected with it by a string, which passes over a 
 pulley. The movement of the mercury causes 
 this floating weight to rise and fall, and con- 
 sequently the pulley, which carries an index, 
 to turn more or less on its axis. The form of 
 barometer invented by Gay-Lussac has been 
 recently much employed in determining the 
 heights of the mountains along the Anglo- 
 American frontier in New Brunswick. 
 
 To observe the temperature of the mer- 
 cury, which, by altering its bulk, affects the 
 indications of the barometer, a thermometer 
 is attached to the best instruments, the bulb 
 of which is in the cistern. 
 
 In using the barometer as a weather-glass, 
 it must be remembered that no rule which 
 can be given will always hold time. The 
 rising of the mercury usually presages fair 
 weather, and its falling foul weather, as rain, 
 snow, high winds, and storms, the lowest fall 
 being found in great winds, though unaccom- 
 panied by rain. In very hot weather the 
 falling of the mercury usually foreshows 
 thunder ; in winter, the rising presages frost ; 
 in frosty weather a continued fall foretells a 
 thaw, and, in a continued frost, a rise indicates 
 the approach of snow. If a change of weather 
 follows very close upon a change in the baro- 
 meter, it may be expected to last but for a 
 short time, and vice versa ; and where the mo- 
 tion of the mercury is unsettled, changeable 
 weather may be anticipated. 
 
 The mountain barometer, used for deter- 
 mining the altitude of mountains, is the most 
 scientific form which the instrument assumes. 
 All the resources of the instrument maker are 
 here brought into requisition ; and many of 
 our distinguished philosophers have devised 
 
 forms of the instrument known by their 
 names. Among the more recent changes in 
 this instrument are two for which Mr. Bursill 
 obtained patents in 1841, intended to obviate 
 certain slight inaccuracies in the ordinary 
 forms. Another kind of mountain barometer 
 was patented by Mr. Beadman, in 1842. 
 Mr. David Napier, in 1848, patented a baro- 
 meter of such ingenious construction, that it 
 can not only mark the entire course of atmo- 
 spheric pressure for a continuous period of 24 
 hours, but can register its own observations 
 on a piece of paper. 
 
 Sir John Bobinson has contrived a simple 
 substitute for the complex mountain barometer. 
 It consists of a wooden box, containing a 
 thermometer and a number of tubes, of a bore 
 somewhat wider than those of self-registering 
 thermometers, open at one end, and blown 
 into bulbs at the other ; there is also a small 
 vessel of mercury. The observer notes the 
 thermometer at each station on the mountain 
 and immerses the end of one of the tubes in 
 the mercury. When the observer descends to 
 a lower level, mercury will be found to have 
 entered each tube, to a greater height accord- 
 ing to the height of the station to which each 
 tube refers. By exposing each tube to an 
 air-pump, exhausted till the mercury stands 
 at the same height as at the station, the at- 
 mospheric pressure at that station becomes 
 determined. 
 
 The making of barometer and thermometer 
 tubes is among the curiosities of the glass - 
 manufacture. Few manipulative processes 
 are more striking. The workman collects a 
 quantity of melted glass on the end of a tube, 
 rolls it into a cylindrical form, blows through 
 the tube to hollow the glass within, and holds 
 t up to enable another man to attach a rod 
 to the other end of the glass ; the two men 
 :hen walk backwards in opposite directions, to 
 a distance of forty or fifty feet, elongating the 
 lass as they go, or rather allowing it to elon- 
 gate itself; until that which was a short thick 
 cylinder, becomes a long thin tube, with an 
 equable bore throughout its whole length. 
 The tube so made sinks gently to the floor of 
 the glass-house ; and when cold it is cut or 
 broken into convenient lengths. 
 
 The filling of the tubes with mercury, and 
 the adjustment of the scales, are delicate 
 processes in the manufacture of a good baro- 
 neter. 
 
 A remarkable modern form of this instru- 
 ment has been already described, [ANEROID 
 BAROMETER.] 
 
 BABBEL. In the old English measures a 
 jarrel was used to denote 
 
 31 gallons of wine, 
 
819 
 
 BARREN LAND. 
 
 32 gallons of ale, 
 
 36 gallons of beer. 
 But these measures were altered in the reig 
 of William and Mary, and of Anne; and whe 
 the imperial measures were introduced (1835 
 the contents of a barrel were thus deter 
 mined : 
 
 Imp. Galls 
 
 Wine barrel 26$ 
 
 Ale ditto (London) 32f 
 
 Ale and beer ditto (England) .... 
 Beer ditto (London) 
 
 Many other barrels have been in use to de 
 note certain quantities of goods usually sol 
 in barrels ; thus the barrel of salmon or eels 
 == 2 gallons, that of soap 256 Ibs., &c. 
 
 The word barrel means, in common use 
 also any hollow cylinder, such as the barrel o: 
 a gun, a jack, or a hand organ. 
 
 BARREN LAND, in Agriculture, is thai 
 in which the plants generally cultivated do 
 not prosper or arrive at maturity. This bar- 
 renness may arise from various causes. The 
 texture of the soil may be such that the mois- 
 ture essential to vegetation cannot be retained; 
 or that the fibres of the roots cannot penetrate 
 in search of food. In either case it is seldom 
 that the soil can be rendered productive, so as 
 to repay the expense of cultivation. There 
 are, however, in all countries tracts of land 
 which are barren and waste in then 1 present 
 state, but which, for want of better soils to 
 employ and feed an increasing population, are 
 well worth improving, and will ultimately re- 
 jmy the labour bestowed on them. The rela- 
 tive acreage of cultivated and uncultivated 
 laud in the British Islands is estimated as 
 follows : 
 
 England . 
 Wales . . 
 Scotland . 
 Ireland . 
 British } 
 Islands } 
 
 Total . 
 
 Cultivated. 
 Acres. 
 
 Uncultivated. 
 Acres. 
 
 Total. 
 Acres. 
 
 26,632,000 
 3,117,000 
 5,205,000 
 12,125,280 
 
 383,690 
 
 6,710,4=00 
 1,635,000 
 14,473,930 
 7,316,664 
 
 735,469 
 
 33,342,400 
 4,752,000 
 19,738,930 
 19,441,944 
 
 1,119,159 
 
 4 522,970 
 
 30,871,463 
 
 78,394,433 
 
 Looking at this table, it is impossible not to 
 ask whether so very large a proportion of the 
 surface of the British dominions in Europe 
 may not remain uncultivated, more from want 
 of industry and skill than from insuperable 
 barrenness ? 
 
 The most prevalent causes of barrenness in 
 land are a deficiency or an excess of water : j 
 
 BARTER. 3>0 
 
 the methods of remedying these are explained 
 under IRRIGATION and DRAINING. Supposing 
 that the moisture has been regulated, and that 
 the land is to be brought into cultivation, the 
 first tiling to be done is to remove obstructions 
 and impediments, whether they be rocks, 
 stones, trees, or shrubs, or only the heath and 
 coarse grasses which generally cover waste 
 lands. When the surface is very uneven, so 
 as to form hillocks and hollows, in which the 
 water is apt to stagnate, levelling is a neces- 
 sary process. The most effectual way of doing 
 this is by the wheelbarrow and shovel ; but, if 
 the soil is loose and sandy, it may be best 
 done by means of the mollebart, a Flemish in- 
 strument, consisting of a kind of large shovel, 
 drawn along by a horse, and guided by a man. 
 The small fields of Flanders are often levelled 
 jy this means. In France a somewhat more 
 complex kind of mollebart has been patented. 
 
 The land being thus so far prepared the 
 skill of the agriculturist is made available to 
 determine on the crop, and to suit the soil for 
 hat crop. Some soils in this condition, re- 
 quire only exposure to the air ; others require 
 manure; others marling and ploughing; others 
 a course of turnip husbandry ; others a season 
 )f pasturing; &c. 
 
 The unproductive state of waste lands in 
 many populous countries has suggested the 
 mployment of the poor and friendless on 
 heir improvement ; and it has been thought 
 
 more enlightened charity to expend the 
 uoney, which would otherwise be given in 
 imple temporary relief, in such a manner as 
 D make the labour of paupers available to 
 leir future comfort and independence. It is 
 ear increasing manufactures, where land ac- 
 uires a greater value, that barren land is soon 
 onverted into fertile fields. It is there also 
 lat the improvement of waste lands is most 
 rentable. The neighbourhoods of Aberdeen, 
 irmingham, Manchester, and Sheffield, 
 mong many others, furnish examples of the 
 reatest industry and perseverance in over- - 
 oming the natural barrenness of the soil. 
 BAR-IRON. This important material of ma- 
 ufactures is noticed under IRON-MAN rr.u - 
 URE. 
 
 BARTER is the exchange of one thing for 
 nother. The term is properly applied only 
 the exchange of movable things. Barter is 
 mply the giving of one movable thing for an- 
 iher, without reference to anystandard of value. 
 If two persons exchange things with refer- 
 tice to a money value, as if one man gives 
 ne hundred pounds' worth of wheat at the 
 urrent price for one hundred pounds' worth 
 f cotton wool at the current price, the trans- 
 action is still exchange or barter : the price 
 
821 
 
 BARYTES. 
 
 BASI'LICA. 
 
 322 
 
 has only been used as a means of making the 
 exchange a fair transaction. If two persons 
 exchange things on which they have agreed to 
 put a money value, and the two things have 
 an unequal money value, so that one party has 
 also to give a sum of money to another, the 
 transaction may be considered a sale. 
 
 Pure harter only takes place among barba- 
 rous nations, or between barbarous people 
 and the traders of civilized nations. The ex- 
 changes of civilized nations are effected in the 
 form of sale, which is more convenient for all 
 parties. 
 
 BAEYTES. [BARIUM.] 
 
 BASALT, a 
 
 igneous origin. 
 
 hard dark-coloured rock of 
 It can only be considered as 
 
 a variety (and a comparatively recent variety) 
 of that mass of melted rock which has been 
 ejected at various periods from beneath the 
 crust of the globe, and to which various names 
 have been assigned,according to the characters 
 which circumstances have impressed upon 
 different portions of it. Basalt is a rock of 
 very extensive occurrence on the surface of 
 the earth, and is very frequently found in the 
 vicinity of volcanoes, both extinct and active. 
 The greatest mass yet observed is that noticed 
 by Colonel Sykes in the Deccan, constituting 
 the surface of many thousand square miles of 
 that part of India. When basalt occurs in 
 horizontal tabular masses, and is columnar, 
 the columns are generally perpendicular. 
 When basalt forms the substance of a perpen- 
 dicular dyke, cutting through other rocks, and 
 is columnar, the columns are usually horizon- 
 tal. Basaltic columns are sometimes also 
 curved, and of this mode of occurrence there 
 is a beautiful example in the island of Staffa. 
 
 When basaltic columns are jointed, and ex- 
 posed to the destructive action of breakers on 
 a coast, they often present the appearance of 
 some great ruined work of art. Such decep- 
 tive appearances are, however, not confined to 
 coasts, for in some countries, and especially 
 in India, masses of basalt rise suddenly from 
 the plains, and the broken columns, shooting 
 upwards, may readily at a distance be mistaken 
 for buildings. When viewed from above, the 
 heads of a number of basaltic columns, if un- 
 broken, appear like a pavement composed of 
 numerous polygonal pieces of stone fitted into 
 each other. 
 
 BASCINET, BASINET, or BASNET, was 
 a light helmet, so called from its resemblance 
 to a basin, generally without a visor, though it 
 appears that the 
 panied it. 
 
 visor occasionally accom- 
 
 BASE, or BASS, a name sometimes given 
 
 to ihe VIOLONCELLO. 
 BASEL, BASLE, or BALE. 
 
 manufacture of this important town and can- 
 ton is silk ribands ; which are exported to the 
 amount of 12,000,000 francs annually, princi- 
 pally to America. The transit trade also em- 
 ploys many hands. Business in Bills of ex- 
 change, and the wine and book trade are also 
 considerable. There are likewise large tan- 
 neries, tobacco manufactories, &c. Basel 
 stands at the termination of three great lines 
 of railway. 
 
 BASEMENT, in Architecture, is the lowest 
 story of a building, forming the base of a pri- 
 vate house or public edifice. In edifices used 
 as dwellings the basement is high; but in 
 churches and other public buildings it is usu- 
 ally kept low. In basements the masonry is 
 usually rusticated and set upon a plinth, on 
 which there is sometimes a moulded base ; 
 ihe upper part of the basement is surrounded 
 with a broad band, under which, at times, 
 mouldings are employed. A cornice is also 
 used occasionally instead of the band. 
 
 BASI'LICA. g The Eomans gave the name 
 of Basilicas to those public buildings with spa- 
 cious halls, often surrounded with wide porti- 
 coes, many of which were built at different 
 times in the various Fora of Rome. They 
 were usually called after the person who 
 caused them to be built. 
 
 The principal feature of the Basilica was a 
 large roofed building, supported on columns. 
 The roof, which was called the testudo, rose 
 high above the other part of the structure, 
 which consisted of two galleries, called porlicus 
 placed one above the other, and round the in- 
 ternal sides of the central building. The 
 porticus was covered with a lean-to roof, the 
 upper part of which commenced below the 
 capitals of the columns which supported the 
 testudo. The light was admitted between the 
 spaces formed by the under line of the archi- 
 trave of the testudo, the upper line of the 
 lean-to roof, and the perpendicular lines of 
 the columns. At the end of the central part 
 of the interior a raised platform formed the 
 tribunal for a magistrate. 
 
 It is probable that Rome possessed Basilicce 
 in all the different Fora of the city. Of these 
 the Basilica Ulpia, which formed a part of the i 
 Forum Trajanum is the only one of which 
 there are considerable remains left. Another 
 Basilica, of the Corinthian order, was dis- 
 covered on the Palatine Hill. A large edifice 
 in the Forum, called the Temple of Peace, 
 has also been named the Basilica of Constan- 
 tine. 
 
 The most perfect Basilica of antiquity exists 
 in Pompeii, constructed on the south-west, 
 
 and consequently the warm side of the Forum. 
 The chief j This edifice is 220 feet by 80. The testudo 
 
323 
 
 BASIN. 
 
 BASRA. 
 
 821 
 
 rose to the height of about 60 feet, judging 
 from the diameter of the portions of the co- 
 lumns still remaining. 
 
 The early Christian churches of Home may 
 be considered as the best resemblances of the 
 Eoman Basilica. Not only the apsis, but the 
 general form of the nave and aisles, of our 
 ancient cathedrals is evidently borrowed from 
 the Italian church Basilica. 
 
 BASIN is a geographical term which is 
 used in such expressions as the basin of a 
 sea, the basin of a lake, the basin of a river ; 
 and it includes all the countries drained by 
 the waters that run into such sea, lake, or 
 river. 
 
 If the basin of a sea runs far inland, and 
 comprehends a great extent of country, it 
 commonly contains large and fertile plains, 
 maintains a numerous population, and at 
 some period of history civilization has made 
 considerable progress within its limits. Thus 
 the basin of the Bay of Bengal comprehends 
 countries not much less than half of Europe 
 in extent. Accordingly we find, not only that 
 it is, and ever has been, much frequented by 
 vessels, but also that at a very early period 
 civilization made considerable progress, and 
 that at all times the arts of peace have been 
 greatly cultivated within the limits of this 
 basin. 
 
 On the other hand, if the basin of a sea is 
 of small extent, the surrounding country is 
 poor, its inhabitants backward in civilization, 
 and its ports only occasionally resorted to by 
 vessels. Such is the case with the Arabian 
 G'olf, of which the basin commonly coincides 
 with its shores, and in no place probably ex- 
 tends more than twenty miles inland. 
 
 The basins of lakes otter likewise several 
 varieties. Those which are commonly called 
 mountain-lakes, but with more propriety valley- 
 lakes, have in general a very narrow basin, 
 being inclosed on all sides by mountains. 
 Many of them receive a river at one extremity, 
 in which case their basin runs up such river 
 to its source. The lakes of plains have in 
 general a much larger basin, as they receive 
 the drainage of a more extensive country, as 
 he lakea of North America, and those of 
 Russia. 
 
 In its geological sense, a basin indicates a 
 depression or concavity of strata. Thus, the 
 tertiary basins of London, Hampshire, and 
 Paris, resting on chalk; the coal- basin of 
 South Wales, resting on old red sandstone ; 
 and, in a larger sense, the European basins 
 between the Ural, the Scandinavian chains, 
 and the Pyrenees, Alps, &c. Some of these 
 basins are due to the original circumstances 
 of deposition, others have acquired their con- 
 
 figuration from elevations and depressions of 
 particular geographical areas. 
 
 BASKET-MAKING. Baskets have been 
 made from the earliest ages, in most countries 
 where pliant willows, reeds, or grasses are to 
 be met with. In England the osier or willow 
 is chieily used for this purpose ; and many of 
 the specimens produced are exceedingly ele- 
 gant. The willow twigs or other materials 
 are prepared in various ways, according to the 
 costliness of the basket to be made ; and the 
 manufacture consists in a kind of interlacing, 
 very simple in its character, and requiring the 
 aid of but few tools. Any of our excellent 
 Blind Asylums, where industrial pursuits are 
 carried on, will aflbrd a pleasing exemplifica- 
 tion of the ease with which basket-making can 
 be carried on by blind persons. 
 
 A very large per-centage of the baskets 
 bought by the middle and working classes in 
 London, are made by poor persons, whose 
 wives and children hawk them about the 
 streets for sale. It is precisely one of those 
 trades likely to put on such a commercial as- 
 pect easy to learn, and requiring little or no 
 capital to carry it on. 
 
 Foreign baskets are imported to a conside- 
 rable amount about 30,0007. in the year 1849. 
 
 BASQUE PROVINCES. The inhabitants 
 of these Spanish provinces are very indus- 
 trious. Most of them are engaged in agricul- 
 ture, which is better understood than in most 
 parts of Spain. Oxen are used in ploughing, 
 but spade husbandry is the system chiefly 
 adopted. The peasantry live generally in 
 caserios, or hamlets of six or eight houses. 
 Each farmer is the proprietor of the land he 
 tills. The chief crops raised are wheat, bar- 
 ley, oats, maize, fruits, hemp, flax, and pulse. 
 Some poor wine called chacoll is made ; but 
 the common beVerage is cider, apples being 
 very abundant. The chief iron mines and 
 smelting furnaces of Spam are in these pro- 
 vinces. The ores are very rich ; those of 
 Somorrostro yield 33 per cent., those of Mon - 
 dragon 40 per cent, of metal. Copper, tin, 
 marble of different colours, and jasper, are 
 also found. The preparation of charcoal, and 
 the important fishery on their long extent 
 of seaboard afford employment to those not 
 engaged in tillage of the soil, or in the iron 
 works. The number of corn-mills for grinding 
 flour, which is one of the principal exports, is 
 very great. Somorrostro, one of the towns, is ce- 
 lebrated for its iron-mines and iron-works, in 
 which about OOOOtons of iron are annuallymade. 
 
 BASRA, BASSORA, or BUSSORA, the 
 chief town of the Turkish district of Basra, is 
 the chief inlet by which the products of Hin- 
 dustan and the eastern countries are intro- 
 
325 
 
 BASSA'NO. 
 
 BATA'VIA. 
 
 326 
 
 duced into the Turkish empire. Its commerce 
 is therefore considerable. Six or eight British 
 ships arrive annually, but the chief part of the 
 commerce is carried on in Arabian vessels, 
 which belong to the merchants of Muscat. 
 The imports consist of indigo, sugar, spices, 
 &c., from Hindustan, tin from Banca, shawls 
 from Persia, pearls from Bahrein, and cotton 
 and woollen goods and cutlery from Europe ; 
 the exports, of bullion, copper, dates, raw silk, 
 horses, and drugs. The export of dates has 
 sometimes exceeded 10,000 tons in a year. 
 The trade in the interior is chiefly carried on 
 by caravans to Aleppo and Bagdad. 
 
 'BASSA'NO, a town in the delegation of 
 Vicenza, in Austrian Italy, is a place of great 
 trade : it has manufactures of woollen cloths, 
 straw hats, and tanneries; and it exports a 
 great quantity of silk, the produce of its own 
 territory. 
 
 BASSET -HORN, is a clarinet of enlarged 
 dimensions, and the bell end is wider. On 
 account of its length, the tube, which consists 
 of five pieces, is bent inwards, forming a very 
 obtuse angle. The scale of this instrument 
 embraces nearly four octaves from c, the 
 second space in the base, to G in altissimo, 
 including every semitone ; but its real notes, 
 in relation to its use in the orchestra, are from 
 r below the base staff, to c. the second leger 
 line above the treble. 
 
 BA'SSIA, is a genus of tropical plants, 
 which yields many valuable substances. The 
 Bassia bntyracca,the Indian butter tree, yields 
 a fat-like substance, which is a kind of vege- 
 table butter. The Bassia longifolia, the Indian 
 oil-tree, has a yellowish fruit, from which is ob- 
 tained by pressure a valuable oil, used by the 
 poorer natives of India,for their lamps,for soap, 
 and,instead of better oil,for cookery.The flowers 
 also are roasted and eaten by the Indian pea- 
 sants, or bruised and boiled to a jelly, and 
 made into small balls, which are sold or ex- 
 changed for fish, rice, and various sorts of 
 small grain. The wood is as hard and durable 
 as teak, so that this is one of the most gene- 
 rally useful trees found on the continent of 
 India. The Bassia latifolia has hard and 
 strong wood, flowers which yield a spirit by 
 distillation, and seeds from which a conside- 
 rable quantity of greenish yellow oil is ob- 
 tained, which is found useful for the supply 
 of lamps. The Shea tree, another species, is 
 the butter tree, so very important an article of 
 African internal commerce. 
 
 BASSO DI CA'MERA, a double base, or 
 contrabass, reduced in size and power, but not 
 in compass, and thus adapted to small or pri- 
 vate rooms. It has four strings ; two of gut, 
 and two covered with silver wire, all propor- 
 
 tionably thicker than those of the violoncello, 
 and tuned in 5ths, to the same literal notes as 
 the violin, but two octaves lower than the 
 latter. 
 
 BASSO-RILIEVO. The Italian term basso- 
 rilievo, or the French bas-relief, is commonly 
 applied to any work of sculpture connected 
 more or less with a plane surface or back- 
 ground, and in this general sense is opposed 
 to insulated detached figures, or sculpture in 
 the round. In its more particular meaning 
 basso-rilievo, low or flat relief, is usually ap- 
 propriated to figures which have a very slight 
 projection from the ground. Atto-rifievo, on 
 the other hand, is not only rounded to the full 
 bulk, but has generally some portions of the 
 figures quite detached ; and mezzo-rilievo, a 
 style between the two, although sometimes 
 rounded to a considerable bulk, has no part 
 entirely unconnected with the plane surface 
 or ground. 
 
 The British Museum contains unquestion- 
 ably the finest existing specimens of this 
 branch of sculpture in the rilievi which deco 
 rated the Parthenon, or Temple of Minerva, 
 at Athens. 
 
 BASSOON, a musical instrument blown 
 through a reed. It consists of four tubes of 
 wood, bound together and pierced for ven- 
 tages, of a brass craned neck, in which the 
 reed is inserted, and of several keys. The 
 whole length of the tubes is C feet, but by 
 doubling up this is reduced to four. It may 
 be considered as a base oboe, and its compass 
 is from B flat, below the base staff, to B flat, 
 in the treble staff. 
 
 The double-bassoon is a bassoon of increased 
 dimensions, the scale of which is an octave 
 below that of the ordinary bassoon. The 
 Serpent and the Ophicleide now supply the 
 place which it was meant to fill. 
 
 BASTE NNES. a village in the French 
 department of Landes, is noted for a rich 
 asphalte mine, which is said to yield more 
 bitumen than the mines at Seyssel. The 
 bitumen at Bastennes is very much used as 
 cement for stone or wood ; and when mixed 
 with pebbles it forms an excellent pavement. 
 Its adhesiveness is so great, that stones ce- 
 mented with it cannot be separated by a less 
 force than is sufficient to break them. 
 
 BASTI'A, the most populous and most 
 commercial town in the island of Corsica, has 
 manufactures of shoes, glove-leather, soap, 
 wax candles, and liquors. The exports con- 
 sist "of wine, oil, hides, timber, and cattle. 
 Fishing gives employment to a large part of 
 the population. Steamers ply regularly every 
 week between Bastia and Marseille. 
 
 BATAVIA, a city on the north coast of 
 
327 BATHS AND WASHHOUSES. 
 
 BATHS AND WASHHOUSES. 328 
 
 Java, is an important place, from its excellent 
 bay and its advantageous position for Euro- 
 pean commerce. It is the chief Dutch settle- 
 ment in the east, and is a place of much trade. 
 The Chinese carry on much traffic there. The 
 town is unhealthy ; but the country around is 
 very beautiful and fertile, producing pine-ap- 
 ples, oranges, shaddocks, lemons, limes, man- 
 goes, bananas, grapes, melons, pomegranates, 
 custard - apples, papaws, mangosteens, and 
 rombusteens, with many others mostly un- 
 known in Europe. The chief impoi-ts are 
 opium and piece goods ; the exports, sugar, 
 coffee, and spices : salt also forms an impor- 
 tant article of colonial commerce. Near Ba- 
 tavia there are some very extensive works for 
 making salt from sea-water. 
 
 BATHS AND WASHHOUSES. The 
 practice of bathing is one which is too much 
 neglected in this country. In the east, and at 
 Home in ancient times, the arrangements for 
 bathing show much completeness. Some of 
 the finest buildings at Borne were Baths. 
 There were sixteen public baths at Borne in 
 the time of Augustus, besides many sump- 
 tuous private baths ; the public baths named 
 after or by Agrippa, Nero, Titus, Domitian, 
 Caracalla, and Diocletian, have acquired quite 
 a European celebrity for their vastness and 
 splendour. 
 
 In England domestic bathing is far too 
 little practised. As metal -work becomes 
 cheapened, the means of so doing are placed 
 more and more within reach of the middle 
 class. The shower-bath, especially, is becoming 
 more and more efficient and economical. One 
 form, recently introduced, is a kind of funnel 
 turned upside down, with a colander or per- 
 forated plate piacud over the open surface of 
 the funnel; the small end is held in the hand; 
 and as long as that exit is closed so as to pre- 
 vent the admission of air, no water can flow 
 from the colander ; but as soon as the small 
 end is opened, water flows through the perfo- 
 rations. The bather therefore keeps his 
 finger on the small end of the machine until 
 ready for the flow of water. Another bath has 
 been more recently introduced, in which there 
 are two holes stopped by the two thumbs at 
 the lower part of the apparatus ; it is more 
 convenient than the other, inasmuch that the 
 hand has not to be held so high above the 
 head. 
 
 An ingenious improvement on the common 
 sho \er-bath was made in 1844 by Messrs. 
 Lewis, who registered their invention. It 
 consists in making the water flow out at 
 various heights and in various directions; and 
 it is designated by its inventors by the some- 
 what learned name of omni directive. Water 
 
 is in the first instance poured into a reservoir 
 at the bottom, whence a small hand-pump 
 forces it to a reservoir at the top. From this 
 upper reservoir it is made to descend in a 
 great variety of ways. By pulling one parti- 
 cular string, the water descends perpendicu- 
 larly, as in the common shower-bath. By 
 pulling another string, it descends along five 
 tubes which extend the whole height of the 
 bath, round the outer circumference ; and as 
 these tubes have small orifices on the side 
 next the bather, he can have a number of 
 little streams pouring upon him from all di- 
 rections. By moving one or more slides, he 
 can close any number of these orifices in the 
 tubes so as to limit the streams of water to 
 particular directions. By turning a handle, 
 and holding a small leathern pipe in the hand, 
 the bather can discharge a more copious 
 stream in any required direction ; and by 
 moving another handle at the bottom of the 
 bath, he can obtain an upward stream. The 
 apparatus is somewhat complex ; but it cer- 
 tainly is ' omni-directive.' 
 
 The public baths in England are very few 
 in number ; and being also too high-charged 
 to meet the wants of the oporative classes, a 
 happy suggestion was made to combine cheap 
 public batlis with public laundries. It was in 
 1844 that an association was formed in Lon- 
 don, for ' Promoting cleanliness amongst the 
 Poor ; ' and this association has been the fore- 
 runner of an amount of good which can hardly 
 be calculated. At first it was a charitable 
 undertaking, supported by the benevolent; 
 then it was regarded as a commercial under- 
 taking, planned so as to support itself; and 
 at last it has assumed the form of a corporate 
 undertaking, supported by parish or borough 
 funds. All three varieties do, indeed, exist at 
 the present time; but it is the last of the 
 three which will probably be developed to the 
 greatest extent. Public washhouses and 
 laundries were formed in Glasshouse Yard, 
 in Whitechapel, and in George Street, Hamp 
 stead Boad ; and these having been found 
 very advantageous, an Act of Parliament was 
 passed in 1846 empowering parishes and 
 boroughs to construct baths and washhouses, 
 under certain regulations. Few recent sta- 
 tutes have worked so much good, silently and 
 unostentatiously. Baths and washhouses 
 have been formed, and are now being formed, 
 not only in various parts of the metropolis, 
 but in most of the populous towns in England. 
 
 In the George Street Batlis, in the six. 
 months from March to September, 1850, 
 there were 60,000 persons who used the baths, 
 and 36,000 who used the washhouses. 
 
 It is gratifying to learn that the French Na- 
 
3'29 BATTENS. 
 
 tional Assembly has just voted 600,000 francs 
 for the establishment ofBaths andWashhouses. 
 
 BATTENS are pieces of timber 6 feet or 
 more in length, 7 inches in width, and usually 
 from 2 to 2| inches in thickness. Deals differ 
 from battens in being always above 7 inches 
 wide, and batten-ends in being under 6 fset 
 long. These are merely technical distinctions 
 used in the timber trade. 
 
 BATTERIES, ELECTRICAL AND GAL- 
 VANIC. All that need be said on this head 
 in the present work, will be found under 
 ELECTRO-METALLUKGY and GALVANISM. 
 
 BATTLE-AXE, a military weapon of offence 
 used in different countries from the remotest 
 times. The introduction of the battle-axe 
 into this country has been attributed to the 
 Danes : but proofs of an earlier use of it in 
 our islands are deducible. That it was used 
 in England in the Saxon times appears from 
 severaj, MSS. of the ninth century ; and the 
 English are represented as using it, in the 
 Bayeux tapestiy. The pole-axe, with an edge 
 on one side and a sharp point on the other, 
 is believed to have come in with the Normans. 
 The use of the battle-axe declined during the 
 middle period of English history. 
 
 BATTLEMENT, a parapet wall, commonly 
 employed in castellated and in ecclesiastical 
 edifices of that kind which are distinguished by 
 the general name of Gothic. The battlement 
 was originally designed for the protection of 
 the besieged, but afterwards became merely 
 an ornament to the edifice. The battlement 
 is generally indented, with a coping inclined 
 both ways from about the centre ; the lower 
 part between the coping and the cornice of 
 ' the building is often pierced and decorated. 
 Mr. Rickman has described the characteristic 
 features of the Norman, Early English, Deco- 
 rated English, raid Perpendicular English 
 styles of battlements. 
 
 Castellated battlements have the embrasures 
 between the battlements sometimes nearly 
 equal to the width of the battlements them- 
 selves ; sometimes the embrasures are nar- 
 row, and the battlements wide, with the coping 
 moulding placed horizontally and the sides 
 cut plain. Another battlement consists of a 
 moulding running round the battlement and 
 the embrasure, while a capping is set upon 
 the horizontal part of the embrasure and bat- 
 tlement, as at York Minster. 
 
 BAVARIA. This important country, like most 
 others which have mountain ranges as well as 
 wide plains and river valleys, is rich in varied 
 produce. Few countries possess a more pro- 
 ductive soil than Bavaria. Agricultural indus- 
 try is principally directed to the cultivation of 
 wheat, rye, barley, and oats. The grape is 
 
 BAVABIA. 
 
 830 
 
 much cultivated in Bavaria, especially for the 
 Franconian, the Steinwein, and the Leisten- 
 wein varieties. About 20,000,000 English 
 gallons are supposed to be an average produce 
 of Bavarian wines. Among other articles of 
 Bavarian vegetable produce are hops, tobacco, 
 flax, hemp, linseed, rapeseed, mulberry-trees 
 for silk- rearing, fruits of many kinds, coriander 
 and other seeds, madder, the potato, and fod- 
 der for cattle. Most of the mountains are 
 finely wooded. 
 
 The principal mineral products are iron, 
 coal, and salt; gold and silver are found in 
 small quantities, only in the waters of the Inn, 
 Rhine, Danube, and Isar ; quicksilver, in the 
 circle of the Rhine ; and copper, which was 
 formerly raised in several quarters, is now 
 confined to the works at Kahl'and Kaulsdorf, 
 in the circle of the Upper Main. There are 
 two mines of cobalt also on the latter spot, 
 from which small quantities of tin, lead, and 
 antimony have occasionally been obtained. 
 The Upper Main, Rhenish Bavaria, Regen, 
 Lower Danube, and Isar territories are the 
 chief mining districts in Bavaria. Among 
 the other mineral produce may be named 
 black lead, sulphur, porcelain earth, marble, 
 alabaster, rock crystal, asbestos, and many of 
 the gems. 
 
 In Bavaria, as in ir any other German states, 
 the profits arising from vast establishments, 
 and the concentration of productive powers, 
 are comparatively unknown ; manufacturing 
 industry is mostly diffused over a multitude 
 of adventures on a small scale. The manu- 
 facture of linens, which is the chief, is not 
 confined to a few large establishments, but is 
 scattered over the whole state, and in many 
 districts the agricultural population partly 
 maintain themselves by weaving linen. Linen- 
 yarn is also spun in some districts, but not to 
 any great extent, and chiefly for exportation. 
 The manufacture of woollens and worsted 
 hose is carried on principally in Ansbach, 
 Baireuth, Lindau, Munich, and the Upper 
 Palatinate ; but this branch of industry is in 
 the hands of individuals, and not carried on 
 in large factories. The supply is very inade- 
 quate to the consumption of the country, and 
 sometimes the excess of imports over exports 
 has amounted to 40,000. per annum. There 
 is a similar deficiency in the domestic supply 
 of manufactured cottons ; the use of improved 
 machinery, however, is gradually increasing 
 in many quarters, and additions are constantly 
 making to the number of spinning-mills. The 
 districts about Augsburg, Kaufbeueren, and 
 Hof are the most important seats of this 
 branch of Bavarian industry, and numbers 
 are also employed in hand-spinning. The 
 
331 
 
 BAVARIA. 
 
 BAYO'NNE. 
 
 leather manufactories are of considerable im- 
 portance, but mostly carried on by numbers 
 of small manufacturers. Bavarian calf-skins 
 are in great repute and largely exported, but 
 sole leathers are not produced in sufficient 
 quantity for the home demand. The supply 
 of paper, of which Aschaffenburg, Niirnberg, 
 FiirthjAugsburg, and Schwabach furnish many 
 fancy sorts, is beyond the domestic consump- 
 tion. Schweinfurt and Mainberg possess 
 large manufactories of paper-hangings, which 
 are of excellent quality, and in much demand 
 in other German states. Straw-platting has 
 increased considerably of late years. The 
 manufacture of looking-glasses and of glass 
 for optical purposes is in a high state of effi- 
 ciency in Bavaria ; and the glass manufactures 
 generally are very extensive. The manufac- 
 ture of articles in wood, and the felling, hew- 
 ing, and general manufacture of timber occupy 
 thousands of hands. There are nearly 2000 
 sawing-mills in Bavaria for the preparation of 
 boards, deals, and laths ; and almost as many 
 families are wholly supported in Ammergau 
 and Berchtesgaden by the manufacture of 
 articles in carved wood, some of which are 
 very beautiful. There are several porcelain 
 manufactories at work ; that at Nymphenburg, 
 not far from Munich, produces china which 
 may bear comparison with the finest in Eu- 
 rope. The potteries and the slate- works are 
 numerous. The working of the metals chiefly 
 consists in extensive manufactories of iron- 
 ware, especially nails and needles, the export 
 of which is considerable. There is a manu- 
 factory of arms at Amberg which supplies the 
 army. The gold and silver smiths of Munich, 
 Wiirzburg, Niirnberg, and Augsburg, are in 
 great repute. Fire-arms, fowling-pieces, can- 
 non, brass-ware, gold and silver leaf, employ 
 a large number of workmen. The brewing of 
 beer, in many respects the most important 
 branch of manufacture in Bavaria, employs 
 upwards of 5000 establishments, or taxed 
 brewers, by whom about one hundred million 
 gallons of beer are annually made. Many 
 establishments and institutions exist in Ba- 
 varia tending to the encouragement of manu- 
 factures. 
 
 Though Bavaria is an inland country, its 
 trade is greatly favoured by its geographical 
 position, which has rendered it in some degree 
 a central point between the Mediterranean, 
 the Baltic, and the German Ocean, and a 
 medium of intercourse between the west and 
 the east of Europe. Its excellent roads, 
 rivers, and railways, have tended to the same 
 result. The principal articles of export are 
 grain, salt, timber, potashes, fruit, liquorice- 
 root, seeds, hops, cattle, sheep, swine, fish, 
 
 flax, yarn, coarse linens, glass, leather, beer, 
 &c. The imports are principally wines, cotton, 
 coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, drugs, sea-fish, 
 copper, oil, hides and skins, hemp and flax, 
 silk and silk goods, woollens, lead, furs, honey, 
 and cheese. 
 
 Bavaria being an inland country, all British 
 goods reach there by indirect means ; so that 
 the amount can hardly be stated. 
 
 To the extent of her means, Bavaria is 
 making preparations to occupy a place in the 
 Industrial Exhibition of 1851. All the chief 
 towns will be contributors, and many of the 
 articles contributed will be of a peculiar cha- 
 racter. 
 
 BAYEUX, a town in the French department 
 of Calvados, is famous for its manufacture of 
 lace. There is a manufactory for producing 
 large lace-pieces, such as dresses, scarfs, 
 shawls, mantillas, &c. These laces are ex- 
 ported to Spain, Mexico, the United States, 
 and elsewhere. The porcelain of Bayeux 
 maintains a very high repute. Muslins, serges, 
 calicoes, table-linen, cotton yarn, leather, and 
 hats are also manufactured. 
 
 BAYEUX TAPESTEY, a weh or roll of 
 linen cloth or canvass, preserved at Bayeux, 
 upon which a continuous representation of the 
 events connected with the invasion and con- 
 quest of England by the Normans is worked 
 in coloured woollen thread, after the manner 
 of a sampler. It is 20 inches wide, and 214 
 feet long ; and is divided into 72 compartments, 
 each of which bears an explanatory Lathi in- 
 scription. It is stated traditionally to have 
 been worked by or under the superintendence 
 of Matilda, the Conqueror's queen, and pre- 
 sented by her to the cathedral of Bayeux, of 
 which Odo, the Conqueror's half-brother, was 
 bishop. It represents the minutest manners 
 and customs of the earliest Norman lines in 
 England, and was evidently designed while 
 the particulars of the contest, of nmny of 
 which it affords the only record known, were 
 fresh in recollection. A curious illustration 
 of its minute accuracy of detail occurs in the 
 compartment representing the funeral of Ed- 
 ward the Confessor, where a person is repre- 
 sented placing a weathercock upon the spiro 
 ol Westminster Abbey ; indicating that the 
 building was scarcely finished at the time of 
 his decease. 
 
 BAYO'NNE, a town in France, on the con- 
 fines of Spain, has extensive rope-walks, glass 
 bottle factories, sugar refineries, ship building 
 yards, and establishments for fitting out ships 
 for the whale fishery. It is famous for its 
 hams, for its liqueur-brandies, and for its cho- 
 colate. The trade of the town is very consi- 
 derable. The exports consist of broad cloth, 
 
333 
 
 BAZAAR. 
 
 BEAN. 
 
 334 
 
 linen, silks, and other manufactured articles, 
 wine, brandy, timber, planks, pitch and tar, 
 drugs, &c. The imports are chiefly Spanish 
 wool, saffron, liquorice, bullion, &c. The 
 coasting trade employs the greater part of the 
 vessels which enter or leave the port of Ba- 
 yomie. 
 
 BAZAAR. In Turkey, Egypt, Persia, and 
 India, this term distinguishes those parts of 
 towns which are exclusively appropriated to 
 trade. In this exclusive appropriation they 
 resemble our markets ; but in other respects 
 they approximate more nearly to our retail 
 shops. 
 
 The regular bazaars consist of a connected 
 series of streets and lanes ; and, when of a 
 superior description, they are vaulted with 
 high brick roofs. The domes or cupolas which 
 surmount the vaulting admit of a subdued 
 daylight. In the best specimens of the vaulted 
 bazaar the passages are lined on each side 
 with a uniform series of shops, the floor of 
 which is a platform raised from two to three 
 feet above the level of the ground, and faced 
 with brick. As the vault springs from the 
 front of the line of shops, they seem like a 
 series of recesses, and the partition-walls be- 
 tween them appeal' like piers supporting the 
 arch. These recesses are entirely open in 
 front, in all their height and breadth ; they are 
 scarcely more than very small closets, seldom 
 exceeding six feet in breadth, rarely so deep 
 us wide, but generally from eight to ten feet 
 in height, and occasionally more. But in the 
 more respectable parts of large bazaars, there 
 is generally a little door in the back wall which 
 conducts to another small and dark closet, 
 which serves the purpose of a store-room. 
 The front cell is the shop, on the floor of 
 which the master sits with his goods all around 
 him. 
 
 The peculiar principle of the oriental bazaars 
 is that all the shops of a city are there col- 
 lected, instead of being dispersed in different 
 streets as in Europe; and that in this collected 
 form the different trades and occupations are 
 severally associated in different parts of the 
 bazaar, instead of being indiscriminately min- 
 gled as in our streets. 
 
 An English Bazaar, in which many different 
 kinds of manufacture are assembled under 
 the same roof, is not a good imitation of its 
 eastern original. 
 
 BDE'LLIUM is a gum -resin, the produce 
 of a species of amyris, or rather balsamoden- 
 dron, a native of India. This substance occurs 
 in masses sometimes as large as a walnut, in 
 oblong or angular pieces of a yellow, red, or 
 brownish colour. The clearest pieces are 
 transparent ; the odour is weak and peculiar ; 
 
 the taste bitter, balsamic, and resembling 
 myrrh, or Venice turpentine. It is tolerably 
 brittle at the ordinary temperature of the at- 
 mosphere, but with a slight increase of heat 
 the finer kinds may be kneaded between the 
 fingers. 
 
 Resembling myrrh in appearance, it also 
 resembles it in its effects upon the human 
 system, and is often fraudulently substituted 
 for it : it is however weaker, while it is more 
 disagreeable and acrid. It is now disused in 
 Britain, but is found intermixed with gum 
 Arabic. 
 
 BEACON, a sign ordinarily raised upon 
 some foreland or high ground as a sea-mark. 
 It is also the term used for the fire-signal 
 which was formerly set up to alarm the country 
 upon tha approach of a foreign enemy. The 
 power of erecting beacons as sea-marks was 
 originally in the king, and was usually dele- 
 gated to the lord high admiral. Many sea- 
 marks, signal-posts, and substitutes for light- 
 houses, are still called beacons. 
 
 BEADS. The manufacture of Glass Beads 
 is carried on in the following manner, at Mu- 
 rano near Venice. Tubes of glass of various 
 colours are drawn out to great length, in a 
 gallery adjoining the glasshouse; in the same 
 way as barometer and thermometer tubes are 
 drawn out in an English glass house. The 
 tubes are then cut into very small pieces of 
 nearly uniform length, on the edge of a fixed 
 chisel. These small pieces are put in a heap 
 into a mixture of fine sand and wood ashes, 
 and stirred about with an iron spatula till 
 their cavities get filled. The mixture is trans- 
 ferred to an iron pan suspended over a mode- 
 rate fire and continually stirred until the 
 cylindrical bits assume a smooth rounded 
 form. When removed from the fire, and 
 cleared out in the bore, they constitute beads. 
 
 Foreign beads are imported to the value of 
 8,OOOZ. to 10,000/. annually. 
 
 BEAN. There are two distinct kinds of 
 beans cultivated; the one is our common gar- 
 den or field bean: the other is the French 
 bean, haricot, or kidney-bean. 
 
 The common bean, of which there are seve- 
 ral varieties, bears a pod containing several 
 oblong rounded seeds, which are used in the 
 soft young state for the table, and in the hard 
 dry state for domestic animals chiefly, either 
 whole or ground into merl. The Windsor 
 bean and the horse bean are the two chief 
 varieties. The usual mode of sowing is to 
 drill them by a machine, at the distance of 
 from twenty to thirty inches, according to the 
 richness of the soil ; or to dibble them by 
 hand. The soil best adapted for beans is a 
 rich strong loam, such as produces good 
 
335 
 
 BEAR. 
 
 BEAUCAIRE. 
 
 336 
 
 wheat. In such a soil the produce is some- 
 times fifty or sixty bushels per acre, but an 
 average crop, on moderate land, is about half 
 that quantity. The wheat which follows beans 
 is generally good and heavy, and seldom runs 
 to straw. In cold wet soils beans require 
 great care to ensure good crops. Although 
 the nutritious matter in a good crop of beans 
 is great, and almost equal to that obtained 
 from a crop of wheat, it exhausts the soil 
 much less ; and thus there is perhaps no crop 
 bearing seed which gives so great a return 
 with so small an expenditure of the nutritive 
 juices of the soil. 
 
 The principal use of beans is to feed horses, 
 for which purpose they are admirably adapted, 
 and far more nourishing than oats. They 
 should be bruised or split in a mill, and given 
 to horses mixed with hay and straw cut into 
 chaff. Great quantities of beans are con- 
 sumed in fatting hogs, to which they are 
 given whole at first, and afterwards ground 
 into meal. Bacon hogs may be fatted almost 
 entirely on beans and bean-meal. Bean-meal 
 given to oxen soon makes them fat. All but 
 the very best wheaten flour is adulterated with 
 bean -meal. 
 
 The French bean, kidney bean, or haricot 
 bean, is chiefly cultivated for its tender and 
 succulent pod, being one of the most esteemed 
 vegetables for the table. The dried seeds are 
 also boiled after being soaked in water for 
 some time, and are thus used very extensively 
 by the French. 
 
 The imports of beans for three years were 
 3846 .. 255,047 \ Qrs. 
 
 1847 .. 443,675 I of 
 
 1848 .. 490,353 j beans. 
 BEAR. Many species of bear contribute 
 
 in various ways to the arts and to domestic 
 economy. In the Arctic countries the brown 
 bear is hunted and taken in pitfalls and traps 
 of various kinds ; and in some countries, as 
 Lapland and Kamtchatka, there is no part of 
 the animal which is not turned to some useful 
 purpose. The fur of the brown bear in youth 
 is of a yellowish colour, excepting on the feet, 
 where it is of a deep black. The black bear 
 inhabits every wooded district of the American 
 continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
 and from Carolina to the shores of the Arctic 
 Sea. Every where however its numbers have 
 been greatly thinned, partly owing to the value 
 of the animal's skin in commerce, and partly 
 to the tide of European colonization. It must 
 not, however, be imagined that ' bear's skin ' 
 gloves or other articles of dress are necessarily 
 made from the skin of the animal whose 
 name they assume. No part is useless to 
 the American bear-hunter: the flesh, the fat, 
 
 and the skin are peculiarly esteemed ; and a 
 feast of bear's flesh is conducted with many 
 observances. Of the Syrian bear, the gall is 
 in great esteem ; the skins are sold, and so is 
 the dung, which is used as medicine for dis- 
 eases of the eye in Syria and Egypt. The 
 fur is woolly beneath, with long straight or 
 but slightly curled hair externally. Many 
 other species of bear are occasionally captured 
 for the sake of their furs. The bear-skins 
 imported into this country in 1848 amounted in 
 number to 9712, of which about two-thirds were 
 from the Hudson's Bay Company's territories. 
 
 It is perhaps scarcely necessary to inform 
 any reader of average intelligence, that the 
 bear's grease so profusely advertised has, for 
 the most part, had little indeed to do with 
 the life or the death of bears. More is used 
 every year in England than could be procured 
 from the carcases of all the obtainable bears 
 in all countries. Large quantities of the so- 
 called bear's grease are made of hog's lard, 
 palm oil, and flowers of benzoin. 
 
 BEARING, the direction of the line drawn 
 from one point to another, is a term usually 
 applied to the points of the compass. To take 
 bearings is to ascertain the points of the com- 
 pass on which objects lie. The distances of 
 a ship from a headland may be found by ob- 
 serving its bearings at two different hours of 
 the day, knowing the course or bearing of the 
 ship's path and the distance sailed in the in- 
 termediate time. 
 
 BEAUCAIRE, a town in the department 
 of Gard in France, is very advantageously 
 situated for trade ; whereby it has long been 
 an entrepot of the/ trade of France with Spain, 
 Africa, Italy, and the Levant. One of the 
 great old fairs of Europe is held here every 
 year ; when Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Egyp- 
 tian, Arabian, Italian, Spanish, and Moorish 
 merchants anive to sell the merchandise of 
 their respective countries and take away in 
 return the manufactures of France. The con- 
 course of people at this fair in ordinary times 
 is said to exceed 100,000. For their accom- 
 modation a supplemental town, regularly laid 
 out in streets, is built of tents in a vast mea- 
 dow bordered with elm and plane trees, which 
 extends between the Rhone and the ruins of 
 the old castle. Here articles of every kind, 
 whether of convenience or luxury, may be 
 found; and in this city of canvas the main 
 business of the fair is transacted. A tribunal 
 consisting of twelve members settles any dis- 
 putes between the buyers and sellers during 
 the continuance of the fair. The prefect of 
 Gard always attends and entertains the prin- 
 cipal merchants and strangers. The trans- 
 actions at this fair, which lasts two or three 
 
BEAUNE 
 
 BEDSTEAD. 
 
 weeks, are uaid to cause an outlay of above 
 150 millions of francs, and to be so profitable 
 to the good folks of Beaucaire, that when it 
 terminates they resume the far niente habits 
 of the south, having gained in one month 
 wherewith to take their ease during the rest 
 of the year. 
 
 The ordinary commerce of the town consists 
 of corn, flour, provision stores, wine, oak 
 planks, &c. The principal manufactures are 
 hosiery, serge, silk stuffs, olive oil, pottery, 
 and leather. The Aries and Lyon steamboats 
 land and take up passengers at Beaucaire. 
 
 BEAUNE, an old Burgundian town in the 
 department of C6te-d'-0r, in France, has 
 manufactures of broad-cloth, serge, druggets, 
 and great numbers of wine-casks. There are 
 beet-root sugar-refineries, vinegar-works, dye- 
 houses, breweries, and tanneries in the town, 
 the trade of which consists in the products 
 named, and in corn, cattle, and provisions. 
 Beaune exports annually about 40,000 butts 
 of wine. 
 
 BEAUVAIS, an ancient episcopal city of 
 Pieardy, has some very important manufac- 
 tures. It has long been famous for its silk 
 tapestries ; broad cloths of every quality and 
 colour, flannels, swansdowns, shawls, hosiery, 
 cotton and woollen yarn, ribands, black lace 
 china, and chemical products, are also exten- 
 sively manufactured. The greater part of the 
 cloth worn by the French army is made al 
 Beauvais. There are also several establish 
 ments for bleaching linen, besides tanneries 
 and dye houses. The commerce of the town 
 consists of its industrial products and corn. 
 
 BEAVER. The beaver is almost as inter 
 esting to us as an artificer, in the formatioi 
 of his retreat, as in respect to tne valuabh 
 fur which lie yields, and which ha,^ in pas 
 vears been so largely used for hats (thougl 
 less now than formerly). It is not only fo: 
 its fur that the beaver is prized, but for i 
 product called castor., found yi certain glandu 
 lur sacs, and used in medicine and perfumery 
 The fur of the beaver varies from -gloss; 
 brown to almost black ; the tail, or cauda 
 paddle, used as a rudder in diving or ascend 
 ing, is flat, scaled, and oarlike. 
 
 The beaver-skins imported inl848 amounte 
 in number to 41,132; almost entirely fron 
 the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories. 
 
 BEDFOKD LEVEL. The Bedford Leve 
 is an instructive example of energy overcoming 
 natural difficulties. The level comprises about 
 400,000 acres of flat country in the fen-district 
 of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, &c. There 
 is abundant evidence that it was once a forest, 
 and then a stagnant morass ; and to bring 
 the morass into the state of fertile corn-fields, 
 
 as been the object of the Bedford Level 
 )rainage. This drainage has been in pro- 
 ress, at intervals, for four centuries : the 
 rincipal works being the construction of 
 anals or artificial rivers to carry off the stag 
 ant water to the sea. These rivers or ' cuts,' 
 are several miles long, and of various widths. 
 One of the great works is that called the 
 Outfall, which includes a cut six miles 
 ong by 200 feet wide, and which was made at 
 he cost of 200,000/. 
 
 At the present time very extensive opera- 
 ions are in progress. A fine bridge is being 
 onstructed over the Nene at Sutton Wash ; 
 he cuts and embankments in the northern 
 art of the Level are undergoing improve- 
 ments ; and the whole of Whittlesea Mere is 
 >eing drained. The public spirit and the 
 rivate munificence which have marked the 
 encouragement given to this useful enterprise 
 )y the successive Dukes of Bedford, well jus- 
 ify the name given to the Level. 
 
 BEDFORDSHIRE is the most purely 
 agricultural county in England, having the 
 smallest proportional number of inhabitants 
 engaged in manufactures and trade. Indeed, 
 t can hardly be said that the county contains 
 any persons engaged in manufactures; the 
 comparatively few persons so employed might 
 with equal propriety have been included among 
 the class engaged in trade or handicraft, their 
 employment being for the most part that of 
 straw-plaiting. 
 
 BEDSTEAD, the frame employed to sup- 
 port a bed. Bedsteads of iron and brass, of 
 very light and simple construction, occupying 
 little space, easily taken to pieces and put to- 
 gether, and affording the best security against 
 the harbouring of vermin, have been much 
 used of late years, and may be highly recom- 
 mended as favourable to health and cleanli 
 ness. Mr. "VVinfield, the eminent brass manu- 
 facturer of Birmingham, patented many valu- 
 able improvements in metallic bedsteads, in 
 1848. In the next following year Messrs. 
 Sturges and Harlow, also of Birmingham, 
 patented other improvements in bedsteads, 
 calculated to impart elasticity to various pails. 
 The metallic bedsteads of Birmingham manu- 
 facture, and probably others from the conti- 
 nent, will occupy a place in the Industrial 
 Exhibition of 1851. 
 
 Invalid bedsteads have been contrived, in 
 which, besides offering facilities for performing 
 surgical operations, dressing wounds, &c., in- 
 genious mechanism has been applied to enable 
 the patient to vary his position with very little 
 labour or trouble ; but all contrivances of this 
 character fall short of Dr. Amott's hydrostatic 
 bed, or water-bed, in which a very soft feather- 
 
339 
 
 BEE. 
 
 BEECH. 
 
 310 
 
 bed or mattress is laid upon a waterproof 
 sheet floating upon the surface of a tank or 
 vessel partly filled with water. The support 
 offered by such a bed is so perfectly equable 
 as to afford comfortable rest under circum- 
 stances where the unequal pressure of the 
 body upon the softest ordinary bed would be 
 painful and injurious ; while its yielding cha- 
 racter will in many cases allow the application 
 of poultices, or the performance of other 
 offices of the sick-chamber, without any alte- 
 ration of the patient's position. 
 
 BEE. We can only notice this small but 
 important insect, in so far as regards the 
 honey and wax of the honey-bee. A colony of 
 bees is termed a swarm, or a hive, and con- 
 sists of three sorts, viz. males or drones, neu- 
 ters or workers, and the queen or reigning 
 female. A hive of bees, besides males, workers, 
 and queen, consists also of eggs and larvee, 
 destined to form a future brood. The number 
 of workers in a well- stocked hive varies from 
 15,000 to 20,000. The number of males, or 
 drones is irregular; sometimes they amount 
 to 1000, sometimes only to 000 or 700. 
 
 To the labours of the workers are clue 
 various products, as honey, bee-bread, wax, and 
 propolis. 
 
 Honey. Honey is the nectar of flowers, 
 lapped out of the nectary by the tongue, and 
 conveyed to the crop or honey-bag. Here it 
 undergoes but little alteration (for honey ex- 
 tracted from some plants is poisonous), and 
 is disgorged into the cells destined to receive 
 it. Of these some are store-cells, others are 
 filled for daily use. A single cell will contain 
 the contents of many honey bags ; and though 
 the cell is horizontal the honey will not escape, 
 for a thick cream arises, and forms a glutin- 
 ous film obliquely placed, keeping in the 
 treasure. The store cells, when filled, are 
 covered with a waxed lid. 
 
 Bee-Bread. While the bee is extracting the 
 sweets of the flowers, it becomes covered with 
 the pollen of the anthers ; this pollen it wipes 
 off from its body with the brushes of its logs, 
 collects every particle together, and kneads it 
 into two little masses, which are each placed 
 in a sort of basket on the broad surface of the 
 tibia or middle joint of the leg, where a fringe 
 of elastic hair over-arches a concavity, and 
 acts as a sort of lid or covering. Thus bur- 
 dened, off the insect flies to the hive ; first 
 the honey is safely lodged, then the bee-bread, 
 or kneaded pollen, is disposed of as circum- 
 stances may require. Sometimes it is eaten 
 by several bees, called by a peculiar sort of 
 hum to their repast, and if more is collected 
 than required for present use it is deposited in 
 some of the empty cells as a future provision. 
 
 Wax. Wax is a peculiar secretion in little 
 pouches or cells, beneath the scales of the ab- 
 domen. Of these pouches there are gene- 
 rally four on each side, at the base of each in- 
 termediate segment on the under surface, and 
 concealed by the overlapping of the preceding 
 segment. It would appear that by some in- 
 ternal process wax is elaborated from honey, 
 as the wax workers retain the honey when wax 
 is required, which they would otherwise dis- 
 gorge into the cells. The wax oozes out 
 between the abdominal rings in the form of 
 little laminae ; it is then worked with the 
 mouth, and kneaded with saliva, that it may 
 acquire the requisite degree of ductility for the 
 construction of the comb. 
 
 Propolis. This is a glutinous or gummy 
 matter, employed for smearing or varnishing 
 the waxen cells. It is procured from the buds 
 of various trees, as the birch, &c. The bees 
 procure this gum by means of their mouth, 
 prepare it, load each hind leg with it, and so 
 carry it to the hive. It is employed, not only 
 in varnishing the cells, but in stopping up 
 crevices, for coating the sticks which support 
 the combs, and for mixing with wax, and 
 patching up weak parts. Often it is spread 
 interiorly over the dome of the hive, and it is 
 mixed up with the wax forming the cells. 
 
 The marvellous instinct which impels the 
 bee to construct its beautiful honey-comb, we 
 do not touch upon here. 
 
 BEECH. The common beech, known in 
 America as the white beech, is the most useful 
 species of this valuable tree. The timber is 
 hard, and is employed for a great variety of 
 purposes. It is used for the keels and side 
 planking of ships ; for ringing mill-wheels ; 
 for making piles, weirs, sluices, flood-gates, 
 and other constructions exposed to the action 
 of water ; for cogs of wooden wheels ; for 
 making bedsteads and chairs ; for panels of 
 carriages: for various articles in j 
 cabinet-making, and turnery ; for numberk-ss 
 small articles of household furniture ; for rail- 
 way-sleepers ; for barn-floors ; for hen-ing 
 barrels ; for wooden shovels and peels ; for 
 wooden screws and sieves. In Germany 
 beech-wood is used for many of the purposes 
 above-named ; and also for gun-carriages, 
 wheel-felloes, bowls, porringers, salt boxes, 
 spindles, rollers, spinning - wheels, pestles, 
 presses, bellows, and numerous other articles ; 
 while, sawn into thin boards, it is used for 
 boxes, packing cases, sword scabbards, and 
 even the boards of books (instead of mill- 
 board). In France, besides other purposes, 
 beech is used for gun-stocks, plough socks, 
 cricket bats, cheap knife-handles, and cheap 
 sabots or wooden shoes. 
 
341 
 
 BEER-MACHINE. 
 
 BEIRUT. 
 
 342 
 
 Beech is used to an enormous extent in 
 France and Germany for fuel. The hark is 
 used in tanning. The dried leaves are said to 
 form an excellent substitute for feathers in 
 heds, and to he largely employed in such a 
 way in some districts. The dried catkins of 
 the leaves are used to stuff cushions. The 
 mast or fruit is eaten hy many animals ; and 
 from this fruit an oil useful for lamps and for 
 cooking is obtained. A Beech-Oil Company 
 was one of the most noted commercial specu- 
 lations of Queen Anne's reign. 
 
 BEER-MACHINE. In the ordinary Beer 
 Machine, each handle has a single action, 
 that is, draws from one cask only; hut in 
 many respects it would he useful if two pumps 
 could be worked at once by the same handle. 
 From the rapid fluctuations which malt-liquor 
 undergoes in quality, owing to changes in the 
 weather, it is frequently necessary for the re- 
 tailer to mix old and new beer together, in 
 order to maintain a uniform quality. This is 
 done either by drawing from two butts, by two 
 pumps and two handles, or by mixing beer of 
 two ages in the same butt, by which a liability to 
 a new fermentation is incurred.To obviate these 
 inconveniences was the purpose of Ernest's 
 Beer Engines, patented a few years ago. The 
 arrangement of this machine is very ingenious. 
 One handle works the levers, rods, and pistons 
 of two pumps, which may be connected with 
 the beer in two butts. In the usual perpen- 
 dicular position of the handle it works both 
 pumps at once ; but if drawn a little on one 
 side, by a slight movement of the hand, it 
 works one pump only ; and it is optional with 
 the drawer whether to work one or the other 
 pump, or both, and whether to draw equally 
 or unequally from both. 
 
 BEET. There are two distinct species of 
 beet commonly cultivated, each containing 
 several varieties, the one called Beta dcla, 
 which produces succulent leaves only, the 
 other Beta vulgaris, distinguished by its large 
 fleshy root. The cicla is chiefly cultivated in 
 gardens as a culinary vegetable, and forms 
 one of the principal vegetables used by agri- 
 cultural labourers and small occupiers of land 
 in many parts of Germany, France, and Swit- 
 zerland. The second species, the Beta vul- 
 garls, or Beet-Root, has been long cultivated, 
 especially that variety called the red leet, 
 which, when boiled and sliced, makes such an 
 excellent addition to salads. 
 
 The common field-beet for cattle, or mangel 
 witrzel, which has been long known in Ger- 
 many, was introduced into England at the 
 latter end of the last century. There are few 
 crops so valuable for winter food for cattle as 
 the beet; Swedish turnips exceed them in the 
 
 quantity of nourishment, weight for weight, 
 but on good light soils the produce of the beet 
 per acre is much greater. The white beet has 
 been chiefly cultivated for the extraction of 
 sugar from its juice. It is smaller than the 
 mangel-wurzel, and more compact, and ap- 
 pears in its texture to be more like the Swe- 
 dish turnip. The beet-root sugar manufacture 
 sprang up in France in consequence of Bona- 
 parte's scheme for destroying the colonial pros- 
 perity of GreatBritainby excludingBritish colo- 
 nial produce. It having been found that from 
 the juice of the beet-root a crystallizable sugar 
 could be obtained, he encouraged the estab- 
 lishment of the manufacture by every advan- 
 tage which monopoly and premiums could 
 give it. According to Chaptal, the process is 
 thus conducted. The roots, after being 
 cleansed by washing and scraping, are rasped 
 and reduced to a pulp in a rasping machine. 
 When ground, the pulp is powerfully squeezed 
 by a press, in canvass bags, to expel the juice, 
 which is received in a copper. In this copper 
 the beet-juice is heated to about 178 Fall. ; 
 lime-water is then added, and stirred up with 
 it. Having been mixed with animal charcoal 
 it is made to boil, by which both a scum and 
 a sediment are separated from it. The clear 
 liquor is drawn off, and is evaporated in shal- 
 low vessels ; the process is continued till the 
 juice becomes a thick syrup, which is then 
 strained through a linen bag. The syrup is 
 again boiled and slammed and then trans- 
 ferred to a cooler, where it remains for a short 
 time. It is next transferred to sugar moulds, 
 and treated pretty much in the same way as 
 the sugar-cane juice, described under SUGAK. 
 
 The beet-root sugar manufacture is said to 
 be difficult to manage well ; but the sugar 
 when produced is equal to cane-sugar. Five 
 tons of clean roots produce about 4 cwt. of 
 coarse sugar, which give about 160 Ibs. of 
 double-refined sugar, and 60 Ibs. of inferior 
 lump sugar. There is also a quantity of mo- 
 lasses, fitted to yield spirit, and the pressed 
 refuse, which is good food for sheep and cattle. 
 As a question of commercial enterprise, how- 
 ever, the manufacture of sugar from beet is 
 not found profitable, wherever colonial cane- 
 sugar is admitted at a reasonable rate of duty. 
 There are beet-root sugar manufactories in 
 Russia, France, Prussia, and many of the 
 other German States. 
 
 BEIRUT, or BAIROUT, the Syrian port 
 for Damascus, is the channel through which 
 British goods find their way to Bagdad and 
 Mesopotamia. There are about 400 laden 
 vessels enter the port yearly. The imports 
 consist of cambrics, cotton twist, calicoes, 
 indigo, shawls, printed goods, shirtings, hand- 
 
343 
 
 BELFAST. 
 
 BELGIUM. 
 
 344 
 
 kerchiefs, &c. : the exports are chiefly raw 
 silk and cotton, slans, hides, madder, gum, 
 galls, fruit, tobacco, sponges, &c. 
 
 BELFAST is the principal place of trade ii: 
 Ireland, and has increased in wealth anc 
 population with great rapidity. In 1758 the 
 number of looms was 399. The spinning o: 
 cotton by machinery was introduced in 1777 
 and of linen in 1808. In 1838 there were 
 50 steam engines of an aggregate of 1274 
 horse-power engaged in the spinning of linen 
 and cotton yarns. In 1841 the number of steam- 
 mills for spinning linen yarn was 25 ; one of 
 which employed 800 persons ; and since then 
 the number and extent of the mills has greatly 
 increased. In 1792 ship-building was first 
 commenced here : there are now four large 
 ship yards in full employment. The registry 
 of shipping belonging to the port, the arrival 
 and departure of laden ships, the quantity of 
 imports and exports, and the amount of 
 customs' revenue, have all increased with 
 great rapidity during the last few years. 
 
 The manufacture of linens, damasks, and 
 diapers is carried on in all its branches with 
 great activity. In the ornamental wrappers 
 alone in which the linens are made up for the 
 foreign market, a sum of 80,OOOJ. a year is 
 said to be expended. In cottons the principal 
 articles manufactured are velvets, fustians, 
 jeans, ticking, ginghams, quiltings, calico mus- 
 lins. Calico printing is carried on extensively 
 at Whitehouse, and there are in the town and 
 vicinity numerous dye-works, bleach-works, 
 and print fields. The total number of spin- 
 dles employed in the linen and cotton facto- 
 ries was computed in 1837 at 982,000. Since 
 that time the number has probably increased 
 more than half. There is also a very large 
 trade in cured provisions. In the town and 
 vicinity are several extensive foundries and 
 machine making establishments, where all 
 kinds of steam-engines and mill machinery 
 are made. Orders have recently been exe- 
 cuted at the iron-works of Messrs. MacAdam 
 for St. Petersburg and Cairo. 
 
 The Royal Society for the Promotion and 
 Improvement of the growth of Flax in Ire- 
 land has its office in Belfast. It was esta- 
 blished in 1841 by some Belfast merchants, 
 who perceived the great importance of pro- 
 viding the market in Ireland and Great Bri- 
 tain, with a home-grown article, instead of 
 purchasing it as heretofore from abroad at an 
 annual average cost of 0,000,000/. A staff of 
 agriculturists trained in the most approved 
 methods of management is retained by the 
 society, and sent to give instructions to all 
 parts of Ireland where there are fanning so- 
 cieties or landed proprietors subscribing to 
 
 the society's funds. The cultivation of the 
 flax-plant has by this means been largely in- 
 troduced into many parts of the country where 
 it was previously unknown. The recent im- 
 portant experiments concerning the growth 
 and manufacture of flax are likely to be of 
 great moment to Belfast. The School of 
 Design, at Belfast, is one of the most flour- 
 ishing in the three kingdoms. In the middle 
 of 1850 the number of pupils was no less 
 than 148, many of whom are designers for 
 damask weavers and muslin embroiderers. 
 
 Few towns in the empire have entered with 
 more earnestness than Belfast into the prin- 
 ciple and details of the Industrial Exhibition 
 of 1851. A managing committee has been 
 hosen, and local juries are to be formed for 
 selecting the specimens to be exhibited. The 
 flax fabrics generally are to be divided by the 
 Belfast Committee into three classes. 1st. 
 Plain linens, and lawns. 2nd. Damasks, 
 diapers, drills, and other twilled linens. 
 3rd. Cambrics, printed linens and cambrics, 
 and handkerchiefs plain, bordered, embroi- 
 dered, printed, and dyed. Each class is to 
 contain specimens bleached, unbleached, and 
 lyed. There will also be a very rich exhibi- 
 ;ion of Irish produce from Belfast. 
 
 BELI'ZE, or BALIZE. [HONDURAS.] 
 
 BELFRY, that part of a church-tower or 
 steeple in Avhich the bells are hung. In con- 
 structing a belfry, the frame-work is placed 
 either on stone corbels, or is made to bear on 
 
 recess formed in the wall. The higher the 
 bells are placed in the tower, the more does 
 he vibration, caused by ringing them, affect 
 he masonry. 
 
 BELGIUM. The coal-fields of this im- 
 )ortant country are in the provinces of Lim- 
 jourg, Liege, Namur, and Hainault; and 
 iiany of them are very rich in produce. The 
 ther varieties of mineral produce include 
 ron, calamine, and building stone. 
 
 The soil, which in each of the provinces 
 'onsists almost entirely of clay and sand, has 
 or the most part been rendered fertile by a 
 [lie admixture of both these elements. Agri- 
 ultural industry is carried to a great extent 
 n the kingdom, and the cultivators have 
 availed themselves of every advantage within 
 heir reach for increasing their productions. 
 Che most general objects of cultivation arc 
 wheat, rye, barley, oats, meslin, buck -wheat, 
 lemp, flax, madder, hops, chicory, colza, and 
 he artificial grasses, clover, trefoil, lucerne, 
 and sainfoin. The ruta baga, or Swedish 
 urnip, turnips, carrots, parsnips, and pota- 
 oes are raised to a considerable amount In- 
 field culture. Tobacco is grown in some situ- 
 itions, and everywhere fruits of the kinds 
 
BELGIUM- 
 
 BELGEADE. 
 
 340 
 
 grown in England are objects of careful cul- 
 tivation. Turf-ashes and drainage refuse are 
 much more largely and advantageously used 
 as manure in Belgium than in England. 
 Among the timber trees are the oak, chestnut, 
 horse-chestnut, beech, elm, horn-beam, ash, 
 walnut,fir, and different descriptions of poplars. 
 
 The manufacturing industry of Belgium 
 has declined in modern times as compared 
 with the extent to which it was carried on in 
 the 14th century. The making of thread- 
 lace, originated in Flanders, and up to a com- 
 paratively recent period Brussels and Mechlin 
 carried on a large trade in that article : in the 
 former city more than 12,000 persons were 
 once employed for its production. Early in 
 the 14th century, Louvain contained 4,000 
 looms for woollens ; and Brussels and Ant- 
 werp had together as large a number. At a 
 date not quite so remote, Ghent employed be- 
 tween 30,000 and 40,000 looms for the weaving 
 of woollen and linen goods. It is mentioned 
 that the weavers of that city once mustered 
 16,000 men in arms under the banners of 
 their respective trades. The woollen manu- 
 facture is now prosecuted at Verviers, Char- 
 leroy, Tournay, Mons, and some other towns. 
 Cotton-spinning and weaving are carried on 
 in some of the larger towns. Liege and 
 Maastricht contain large tanneries. At Ant- 
 werp, Ostend, and Ghent, there are some 
 sugar refineries ; cutlery is made at Namur ; 
 and fire-arms in considerable quantities at 
 Liege. Breweries are numerous and exten- 
 sive in most of the principal towns through- 
 out the kingdom. Earthenware is made of 
 good quality in several places ; and the manu- 
 facture of nails has been carried on for a 
 very long period in the provinces of Liege 
 and Hainault. 
 
 The articles which Belgium supplies to 
 England are oak-bark, flax, madder, clover 
 seed, spelter, and sheep's wool ; in return for 
 which we send various kinds of East India 
 and West India produce, tolacco, and cotton 
 wool, besides British and Irish produce and 
 manufactures, consisting principally of brass 
 and copper manufactures, cotton manufac- 
 tures and yarn, hardware, earthenware, salt, 
 sheep's wool, woollen and worsted yarn, and 
 woollen manufactures. The exports of 
 British produce and manufactures to Belgium 
 have averaged about one million sterling an- 
 nually for the last six or eight years ; but in 
 1849 they reached nearly a million and a half. 
 
 In no continental country, except France, 
 are such extensive preparations being made 
 to assume a creditable position at the Groat 
 Exhibition of 1851, as in Belgium. The 
 whole of the great towns will contribute their 
 
 choicest productions. Of the industrial ex- 
 hibitions of Belgium, we have spoken in the 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 BELGOROD, or BJELGOEOD, the chief 
 town of a circle in the Russian province of 
 Kursk, has several manufactories for refining 
 and pressing wax, and for spinning and 
 weaving ; and it carries on a considerable 
 trade in hemp, bristles, honey, wax, leather, 
 soap, &c. 
 
 BELGEADE, the capital of the principality 
 of Servia in Turkey, is the principal entrepot 
 of the trade between Constantinople and 
 Saloniki on one side, and Vienna and Pestli 
 on the other. The exports consist of wool, 
 dressed skins, buffalo and cow hides, wax, 
 honey, tan-bark, silk, oxen and cows, immense 
 numbers of pigs, and firewood. From Hun- 
 gary, hardware, delft, porcelain, pottery, and 
 salt are imported ; and from Semlin the city 
 is supplied with wheat, flour, oats, meat, vege- 
 tables, and fruits. There is considerable 
 manufacturing industry among the inha- 
 bitants. Carpets, silk and cotton stufils, 
 arms, and leather are manufactured, and 
 there are several bell foundries in the town. 
 
 BELL. Bells of a small size are undoubt- 
 edly very ancient ; the Hebrews, the Greeks, 
 and the Romans used them. The large bells 
 now used in churches are said to have been 
 invented by Paulinus, bishop of Nola in Cam- 
 pania, about the year 400 ; and they were 
 probably introduced into England very soon 
 after their invention. 
 
 The city of Nankin in China was anciently 
 famous for the largeness of its bells, but they 
 were afterwards far exceeded in size by those 
 of the churches in Moscow. A bell given by 
 the czar Boris Godunof to the cathedral of 
 Moscow weighed 288,000 pounds, and another 
 given by the Empress Anne, probably the 
 largest in the known world, weighed 432,000 
 pounds. According to Coxe the height of 
 this last bell was 19 feet, the circumference 
 at the bottom 03 feet 11 inches, and its 
 greatest thickness 23 inches. The great bell 
 of St. Paul's weighs between 11,000 and 
 12,000 pounds. The new Great Tom of 
 Lincoln,' oast in 1835, weighs 12,000 pounds ; 
 the ' Great Tom of Oxford,' 17,000 pounds ; 
 and the great bell cast in 1845 for York Min- 
 ster, the heaviest in the United Kingdom, 
 upwards of twelve tons, or about 27,000 
 pounds. The most ponderous bell ever cast 
 in this country was, we believe, that made by 
 Messrs. Mears in 1843 for the Roman catholic 
 cathedral at Montreal. 
 
 The tone of a bell depends conjointly on 
 the diameter and the thickness ; a small bell 
 or a thick bell giving, relatively, a more acute 
 
347 
 
 BELL-METAL. 
 
 BENGAL. 
 
 348 
 
 tone than one wmch is either larger or 
 thinner. Hence the founder regulates the 
 diameter and thickness according to the musi- 
 cal pitch of the tone which the bell is to 
 yield ; but, as this cannot be rigidly attained 
 by casting only, the bells (say a set to form 
 chimes) are attuned by chipping away some 
 of the metal with a sharp-pointed hammer ; 
 reducing the diameter at the lower edge when 
 the tone is too low, and reducing the thick- 
 ness at the part where the hammer strikes 
 when the tone is too acute. 
 
 Some of the recent parlour or table bells 
 are not only convenient but very elegant pro- 
 ductions. In Mr. Furlong's registered table- 
 bell, which is quite ornamental enough to 
 take its place among other adornments of the 
 table, we 'have only to press down a little 
 button or knob at the top, when a sound is 
 produced loud enough to be heard in a dis- 
 tant room. The knob acts upon a small 
 spring which moves a hammer. 
 
 It has been suggested that a single bar 
 of well-made cast steel would be the cheapest 
 of all bells for small churches, on account of 
 its sonorous quality. There remains the con- 
 sideration, however, how far such a substance 
 would bear blows without fracture. 
 
 The casting of large church-bells is a 
 process requiring great care and attention. 
 Messrs. Mears, of Whitechapel, have for 
 many years manufactured nearly all those 
 made in this country of large dimensions. 
 The operations are briefly described in a later 
 article. [FOUNDING.] 
 
 BELL-METAL. [ALLOY.] 
 
 BELPEK, Derbyshire, is one of those 
 towns which owe their rise and importance to 
 the cotton manufacture. Its prosperity is of 
 modern date, and is to be principally ascribed 
 to the establishment of the cotton works of 
 Messrs. Strutt. It is now one of the most 
 flourishing towns in Derbyshire. The chief 
 manufacturing establishments are Messrs. 
 Strutt's, who employ upwards of 2000 persons 
 in the various departments of the cotton 
 manufacture ; Messrs. Ward, Sturt, and Sharp, 
 manufacturing hosiers ; and Messrs. Brettle, 
 also manufacturing hosiers. This hosiery 
 work is mostly carried on at the houses of 
 the operatives. The manufacture of nails 
 is carried on to some extent at Belper. There 
 is also an extensive manufactory of brown 
 earthenware near the town. Seams of coal 
 are worked in the neighbourhood. 
 
 BELVEDERE, in Architecture, is a small 
 building constructed at the top of a house or 
 palace, and open to the air, at least on one 
 side, and often on all. The term is an Italian 
 compound, signifying a fine view ;' and in 
 
 Italy it is constructed expressly for that pur- 
 pose, combined with the object of enjoying 
 the cool evening breeze. The most celebrated 
 construction of this kind at Rome, which is in 
 the Vatican, was built by B ram ante in that 
 part called the Court of the Belvedere. Bel- 
 vederes are not uncommon in France ; but 
 the term is applied rather to a summer-house 
 in a park or garden, than to the constructions 
 on the tops of houses. 
 
 BENCOOLEN, a settlement in the posses- 
 sion of the Dutch on the Island of Sumatra, 
 has many spice plantations, which are culti- 
 vated by slaves under the superintendence of 
 the Dutch. Bencoolen trades with Batavia, 
 Bengal, the Coromandel coast, and the more 
 northern ports of Sumatra. The imports are 
 chiefly cloths, rice, salt, opium, tobacco, sugar, 
 and European manufactures. 
 
 BENGAL. The province of Bengal is 
 poor in mineral productions. The hills in 
 Silhet produce iron ore. Iron is made at, 
 Punduah by a curious process, which at once 
 smelts the ore and renders it malleable. 
 Granular iron ore of the fineness of sand is 
 washed clean and mixed with water into a 
 soft mass ; bits of reed, sticks, or leaves are 
 then dipped in it, and take up as much as 
 they will hold, and these, \vhen pretty dry, are 
 thrown into the top of a small clay cupola 
 furnace and melted. It appears from this de- 
 tail that the ore must possess a great degree 
 of purity. The ore might be collected in large 
 quantities, and as limestone of good quality 
 and coal are found in the same range of hills 
 the smelting might be easily effected. Some 
 petroleum springs exist in the same district. 
 Coal is abundant also in the Jungle Mahals, 
 whence it can be easily conveyed to Calcutta 
 in the rainy season, down the Dummoodah 
 river. Coal and iron ore are both of them 
 procured in Birbhoom, and iron works have 
 long been caniecl on there by the natives. 
 Extensive forests occur in the neighbourhood 
 of these works, and the smelting is performed 
 by means of charcoal. 
 
 The external commerce of Bengal is of 
 great magnitude In the year 1831-2, under 
 the regulated commerce during the existenoo 
 of the trading privileges of the East India 
 Company, the amount of the imports into 
 Bengal (exclusive of the trade with China) 
 was close upon two millions sterling ; of the 
 exports about 3,380,000*. The imports, by 
 the year 1842, rose to nearly 0,000,000/., 
 and the exports to more than 8,000,000/. In 
 1846 the number of British ships entered 
 inwards at Calcutta was 1080, of foreign ships 
 only 99 ; in the same year there cleared out- 
 ward 725 British ships, and 114 foreign ships. 
 
349 
 
 BENGAL. 
 
 BENZOIC ACID. 
 
 350 
 
 The whole of these vessels had an average 
 tonnage of about 800 tons. 
 
 A considerable part of the trade between 
 Bengal and China is carried on from Calcutta. 
 The most valuable part of this trade as re- 
 gards its amount, is the shipment of opium. 
 It formed more than one half of the value of 
 the cargoes sent from the different presiden- 
 cies to China, but the recent treaties with that 
 country have considerably altered the trade in 
 that article. The present value of opium ex- 
 ported from India amounts to upwards of 
 3,500,00(M. The other principal articles 
 sliipped from Bengal to China are saltpetre, 
 pearls, carnelians, coral, woollen and cotton 
 manufactures of Europe, and rice. 
 
 The trade of Bengal with England com- 
 prehends an immense variety of objects. The 
 principal articles of import are various metals, 
 foreign wine and spirits, beer, woollen and 
 cotton cloths, cotton yarn, glass, and hard- 
 ware ; in return for which the exports are, 
 silk and silk manufactures, indigo, sugar, salt- 
 petre, and lac-dye. Of these articles indigo 
 is by far the most important, its value being 
 equal to nearly one-half the total exports to 
 Europe from the province. It is principally 
 cultivated in Moorshedabad, Nuddea, and 
 Jessore in Bengal, and Tirhoot in Bahar, 
 where there are altogether from 300 to 400 
 factories in operation. The cotton exported 
 /s not so much from Bengal as from other 
 provinces. With the exception of the dis- 
 tricts on the eastern frontier, silk is grown in 
 every part of the province of Bengal, and 
 forms a considerable part of its exports ; 
 nearly the whole quantity of raw silk that is 
 Chipped is sent to England, which likewise 
 receives more than half of the silk fabrics 
 exported from the" province. Saltpetre is 
 another article of importance. Nearly seven- 
 eighths of the whole quantity shipped from 
 the province come to Great Britain. This 
 branch of trade is valuable, from its furnishing 
 a material part of the freight of homeward 
 bound ships, the weight and bulk of saltpetre 
 being great in proportion to its money value, 
 while the opposite condition holds with re- 
 gard to the greater part of the productions of 
 India. 
 
 From France Bengal receives wine and 
 brandy ; the returns are principally made in 
 saltpetre and indigo. To Portugal cotton 
 piece-goods form the principal export ; the 
 imports consist almost wholly of bullion and 
 wine. A large part of the trade of Portugal 
 with China has been carried on intermediately 
 through Calcutta, where the Portuguese 
 traders take in opium and cotton, the returns 
 for which go direct from Canton to Portugal, 
 
 or to the transatlantic possessions of that 
 country. A trade nearly similar in its cha- 
 racter has been kept up between Bengal and 
 Brazil, since the political separation of the 
 tatter country from Portugal. The United 
 States of America take from Bengal silk, 
 piece-goods, and indigo, with some other arti- 
 cles of Indian produce to a small amount ; 
 and send in exchange specie, metals, manu- 
 factured goods, and ice. 
 
 Bengal exports to Java piece-goods and 
 opium, and receives in return copper, Banca 
 tin, pepper and spices. To Manilla cotton 
 piece-goods are sent ; the returns are copper 
 and silver from the South American mines, 
 and a few trifling articles of fragrant woods 
 and spices, the produce of the Philippine 
 isles. From the Coromandel coast chank 
 shells are brought, to a considerable value. 
 These shells are employed by the Hindoos in 
 their religious worship, and are cut into brace- 
 lets or worn round the ancle : payment for 
 them is usually made in rice, and European 
 goods. Ceylon supplies Bengal with cocoa- 
 nut oil, coir, a few pearls, some spices, and 
 chank-shells; in return for piece-goods, sugar, 
 silk, and rice. Teak timber, sandal-wood, 
 coir, cocoa-nuts, and drugs, are received from 
 Malabar ; which takes in payment piece-goods, 
 metals and British woollens, with dates, 
 raisins, coral and pearls. From the shores 
 of the Persian Gulf Bengal receives Persian 
 copper, almonds, dates, coffee, gums, pearls, 
 coir, cocoa-nuts, pepper, and bullion ; the re- 
 turns are made in cotton piece-goods, silk 
 goods, indigo, sugar, and grain. With the 
 Mauritius, Bengal exchanges rice for pepper 
 and spices. With the Moluccas and other 
 eastern islands Bengal carries on a consider- 
 able trade. From the Burmese empire Ben- 
 gal imports timber, gold and silver treasure, 
 wax, sapan-wood, ivory, and drugs ; and ex- 
 ports thither British cotton goods, grain, in- 
 digo, sugar, and opium. 
 
 It is expected that a few productions from 
 this far distant region will grace the Indus- 
 trial Exhibition of 1851. 
 
 BENZO'IC ACID. This acid, as its name 
 imports, is usually obtained from the resinous 
 substance called gum lenzoin or benjamin ; it 
 occurs also in some other vegetable bodies, 
 as the balsam of Peru and of Tolu, storax, 
 and the flowers of the Irifolium melilotus offici- 
 nalls. It is found also in the urine of some 
 animals. 
 
 The properties of benzoic acid are, that 
 when pure it is colourless ; it crystallizes in 
 soft and rather elastic crystals, which have 
 scarcely any smell ; its taste is rather aromatic 
 and penetrating than sour ; by exposure to 
 
351 
 
 BENZOIN. 
 
 DKJiGEN. 
 
 352 
 
 the air it undergoes no change ; it combines 
 readily with alkalies, and earthy and metallic 
 oxides, forming salts which are called ben- 
 zoates ; it fuses and sublimes at a gentle heat, 
 but a part of it is decomposed by the process ; 
 if strongly heated, it takes fire and burns 
 vith a bright yellow flame. 
 
 The saline compounds of benzoic acid are 
 not very important. In its medical uses, the 
 sublimed acid is the best form. It occurs in 
 white needle -like prisms, with a silky lustre, 
 a peculiar odour, and a pungent taste. It 
 enters into the composition of the Tinctnra 
 Camphora Composita of the ' London Pharma- 
 copoeia* and the Tinctnra Opii Ammoniata of 
 the ' Edinburgh Pharmacopeia,' two prepara- 
 tions long known under the name of paregoric 
 elixir. 
 
 BENZOIN, or BENJAMIN, a resinous 
 substance commonly but improperly termed 
 a gum. It is extracted from the Styrax Ben- 
 zoin, which grows in Sumatra, by making in- 
 cisions in the trunk. It hardens very quickly, 
 and is imported in the state of brittle masses, 
 which when fractured present a mixture of 
 white, brown, and red grains, frequently as 
 large as an almond. Its smell is agreeable, 
 resembling that of vanilla. It melts at a mo- 
 derate heat, and yields benzoic acid, of which 
 it contains about eighteen per cent. It con- 
 tains, besides benzoic acicl and a little volatile 
 oil, three different resins, the separation of 
 which requires complicated chemical pro- 
 cesses. 
 
 In its medicinal action benzoin resembles 
 the other balsamic resins, being stimulant 
 and exciting. It is chiefly employed to yield 
 benzoic acid, and as an ingredient in pastiles, 
 or to burn, in censers in Roman Catholic 
 churches. It enters into the composition of 
 the Tinctnra Benzoini Composita. A solution 
 of benzoin in alcohol, added to twenty parts 
 of rose water, forms the cosmetic called Vir- 
 gin's milk. 
 
 Gum benzoin is rather an expensive article. 
 Its present price is about 50/. per cwt. 
 
 BENZOLE LIGHT. The Benzole light, 
 introduced in -1849 by Mr. Mansfield, is 
 founded on an ingenious mode of combining j 
 air with the vapour of a volatile liquid. Ben- 
 zole is a compound of hydrogen and carbon, 
 procured in considerable quantity from coal 
 tar. Mr. Mansfield's plan consists in con- 
 ducting a stream of atmospheric air or of 
 common gas through a resei voir charged with 
 benzole. The benzole vaporizes very rapidly ; 
 and in so doing, it combines with the air or 
 gas, and produces a mixture well fitted for 
 artificial illumination. Benzole and other 
 hydro-carbons, when used in lamp? in the 
 
 usual way, contain too much carbon to burn 
 satisfactorily ; and means have long been 
 sought to obviate the difficulty, by mixing the 
 vapour of these substances with any gas or air 
 which contains less carbon, or by mixing two 
 liquids together before the vaporization of the 
 hydro-carbon. A gallon of benzole is said to 
 be equal in light-giving power t > a thousand 
 cubic feet of coal gas. The method is intended 
 to be applied both on a large and on a small 
 scale. 
 
 BE'BBBBIS, a genus of plants containing 
 
 many useful species. The fruit of the Ber- 
 
 beris ariftata and B. Xepiti'-iisix is dried bv the 
 
 mountaineers of India as raisins, and sont to 
 
 the plains for sale. The bitterness and as- 
 
 I tringency of the bark has caused them to be 
 
 j received into the list of useful medicinal 
 
 ; plants. The Bcrl>cris nthjnris^ or Common 
 
 | Barberry, appears to inhabit equally the north 
 
 of Europe, Asia, and America, in Avoods and 
 
 thickets, especially in limestone countries. 
 
 It is usually a bush from four to six foot 
 
 high ; but in Italy it becomes as Lirge as a 
 
 plum treo, living a couplo of centuries or 
 
 more. The wood is hard, but briul; 1 . and is 
 
 chiefly employed by the dyers for staining 
 
 yellow. 
 
 BERBICE. [GUYANA.] 
 
 BERGAMO, a province of Austrian Italy, 
 is in many parts very fertile ; and the system 
 of irrigation is extensively applied. The vine, 
 the olive, and the walnut are cultivated, and 
 there are large plantations of mulberry-trees, 
 raising silk, Avhich constitute the chief wealth 
 of the country. There are also valuable iron 
 mines, large iron-works, and several Avoollen 
 and silk -factories in. the province. In the 
 chief town, Bergamo, is La Fiera, a A'ast 
 quadrangular building, Avith three gates on 
 eacn skle, courts and streets within, and con- 
 tains GOO shops, in which the various manu- 
 factures of Lombardy and other provinces of 
 Austria are exposed for sale, at an annual 
 autumnal fair. Goods are sold at this fair to 
 tho amount of 1,000,0001., about one-third of 
 which is laid out for silks. 
 
 BERGAMOT, ESSENCE OF, an essential 
 oil, obtained both by pressure and distillation 
 from the rind of the Bergamot, the ripe, fruit 
 of the Citrus Berffamium : it is limpid, yellow- 
 ish, and fluid. The kind procured by pressure 
 is not so fluid as that yielded by distillation, 
 but its odour is more agreeable. The smoll 
 resembles that of oranges, and it is used as 
 perfume. 
 
 About 22,000 Ibs. of Bel-garnet oil Avas im- 
 ported in 1848. 
 
 BERGEN, a town in the kingdom of Nor- 
 way, on the sea-coast, has a commerce of 
 
No. 10. 
 
 KNIGHTS CYCLOPEDIA 
 
 OF THE 
 
 INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS 
 

353 
 
 BERLIN. 
 
 BERMUDAS. 
 
 354 
 
 much magnitude. The northern provinces 
 receive from Bergen the greater part both 
 of the necessaries and the luxuries of life. In 
 return, Bergen receives from these provinces 
 large quantities of fish, herrings, roes, fish- 
 oil, tallow, skins, feathers, &c., all which arti- 
 cles are brought by the Nordlandmen them- 
 selves in their own vessels to Bergen. They 
 come to Bergen twice a year with their own 
 yachts, which form a peculiar class of mer- 
 chant vessels. The arrival at Bergen of the 
 fishing-vessels from the Lofoden winter fish- 
 eries occasions extraordinary life in the port 
 and on the quays ; the harbour is almost 
 blocked up with vessels ; frequently the whole 
 night is employed in transporting, packing, 
 and preparing goods ; so that this season may 
 be considered as a continual fair. 
 
 The trade of Bergen with the other parts 
 of Norway is by no means so important as 
 that with Nordland. From the interior of the 
 country Bergen receives iron -manufactures, 
 glass, tiles, &c. ; from the towns in the dio- 
 cese of Trondjera, some copper, with mill- 
 stones and grindstones. 
 
 Of foreign trade, that with the Baltic is very 
 considerable. Bergen exports thither large 
 quantities of herrings and other fish, and skins, 
 receiving in return hemp, glue, hops, canvas, 
 linen, &c. The trade with Denmark, Ham- 
 burg, Holland, England, Sweden, France, and 
 the Mediterranean, is extensive : the produce 
 and manufactures of those countries being 
 received in exchange for the fish and other 
 produce of Norway. Bergen is, in fact, the 
 Liverpool of Norway. 
 
 BERLIN, the metropolis of the Prussian 
 monarchy, and the largest and finest town in 
 Germany, (Vienna only excepted) cannot be 
 otherwise than an important commercial and 
 industrial centre. Among the six quart iers, 
 or quarters, and the five suburbs, of which the 
 city consists, are many manufacturing esta- 
 blishments of great magnitude. In the Ber- 
 lin Quarter are the Lager house and the royal 
 Geiverb house, where several royal manufac- 
 tories are conducted on a large scale. In the 
 new Cologne Quarter is the Royal Salt Mag- 
 azine. In the Friedrichswerder Quarter is 
 the Royal Foundry. In the Friedrichstadt 
 Quarter is the Royal Porcelain Manufactory 
 and the royal manufactory of gold and silver 
 work. The celebrated Berlin iron trinkets 
 are manufactured near the Oranienburg Gate 
 Berlin is one of the first manufacturing 
 towns in the Prussian dominions. Its chief 
 productions are the celebrated Berlin china, 
 silks, silks and cottons mixed, woollens, cot- 
 tons, stockings, and ribands ; and next in 
 order are gunpowder, cast-iron ware, silk hats, 
 
 >aper, oils, refined sugars, and tobacco and 
 snuff. 
 
 If war should not unhappily step in to 
 iheck industry, Berlin will be well represented 
 it the Hyde Park Exhibition of 1851. Its 
 ron, porcelain, terra cotta, silks, woollens, 
 inens, paper, and machinery, are all to be 
 llustrated by choice specimens. The Berlin 
 castings are especially looked forward to with 
 nterest. Casting in zinc, an art not much 
 jractised in England, is carried to much per- 
 fection in Berlin ; cast groups in this mate- 
 rial, the size of life, are to be forwarded to 
 England. In terra-cotta and earthenware 
 the Berlin manufacturers are endeavouring 
 not merely to attain high artistic excellence, 
 out also to produce good and cheap articles 
 for every day use. 
 
 A very interesting feature, in relation to the 
 Industrial Exhibition, is the formation of a 
 committee at Berlin, for facilitating the visit 
 of a large number of Prussians to London in 
 1851. Contracts are to be made with railway 
 companies, and with steam-boat and omnibus 
 proprietors ; dwelling-houses and a dining- 
 hall are to be engaged ; and all expenses from 
 Berlin to London, in London, and from Lon- 
 don back to Berlin, are to be charged to each 
 visitor in one sum. 
 
 BERLIN WORK. [EMBROIDERY.] 
 
 BERMUDAS. These islands grow the 
 palm-tree, the leaves of which are exported to 
 be made up as ladies' fans. Coffee, cotton, 
 indigo, and tobacco, are no longer cultivated, 
 with the exception of a little indigo ; the soil 
 appears to have become less suitable than 
 formerly for the production of these articles. 
 The principal employment is the building of 
 vessels, which are generally small, swift, and 
 very durable, being constructed of cedar. 
 Plaiting of straw, and of the mid-rib of the 
 palmetto leaf, is also carried on ; and a beau- 
 tiful species of white freestone, easily cut, is 
 exported to the West Indies for ornamental 
 architecture. Vessels annually visit the Ba- 
 hamas for salt. 
 
 Bermuda is one of the naval and military 
 depots of Britain. Plans have been recently 
 drawn up for a new steam factory, storehouses, 
 hospitals, workmen's dwellings, &c. Upwards 
 of 300,000/. were spent in the public works 
 between ] 838 and 1848 ; of this 157,000/. were 
 for a breakwater. The Goveniment are about 
 to build a hauling-up slip. The new victual- 
 ling-office is planned to contain one year's 
 stores for 5000 men. The new steam factory 
 has been formed in order to facilitate the re- 
 pairs when needed of the Atlantic steamers. 
 The vessels belonging to the Bermudas in 
 1848 were 56, of 3645 tons burden. The iin- 
 
355 
 
 BEEN. 
 
 BERYL, 
 
 356 
 
 ports in 1848 were of the value of 149,000/. ; 
 the exports 18,000/. The British produce 
 and manufactures sent to Bermuda in 1849 
 were valued at 47,138/. 
 
 BERN, the largest and most populous can- 
 ton of Switzerland, produces corn, though 
 not sufficient for the consumption of the 
 population, and fruit in abundance, especially 
 apples, pears, plums, nuts, and cherries. 
 From the cherries the spirit called kirsch- 
 wasser is made, which, as well as the extract 
 from absinth, or wormwood, are articles of 
 common use, as in the rest of Switzerland. 
 Beer and cider are made in the country. The 
 vine thrives in a few districts, chiefly in that 
 of Nidau near the lake of Bienne, where wine 
 is made. Hemp and flax are also among the 
 products of the soil; but cattle and the pro- 
 ducts of the dairy constitute the chief wealth 
 of the country ; cheese is made in abundance 
 for exportation, especially in the valleys of 
 Emmenthal, Simmenthal, and Gessenai or 
 Saanen. 
 
 The canton of Bern is, to a moderate ex- 
 tent, a manufacturing country. Linen is made 
 in many places, sufficient for the internal 
 consumption : there are tanneries at Bern, 
 as well as a few manufactories of silks, coarse 
 woollens, and paper. Mathematical instru- 
 ments, watches, and jewellery, muskets, and 
 other arms, are made at Bern, Porentrui, &c. 
 The Bernese gunpowder is excellent, and far 
 superior in quality to the French : the manu- 
 facturing of it is free, and not subject to 
 monopoly as in France. At Correndelin, Un- 
 tervilier, and other places in the valleys of the 
 Jura, there are iron-works and foundries, 
 the iron ore being found in abundance in the 
 mountains. Timber for building and fuel are 
 supplied by the mountain forests, and from 
 other woods in several parts of the lowlands. 
 
 The chief town, Bern, is rather a centre for 
 the general commerce of the country, than a 
 manufacturing place. 
 
 BERTHOLLET, CLAUDE LOUIS, must 
 be briefly noticed in this place, for the services 
 which his chemical discoveries rendered to 
 manufactures. Shortly before the first French 
 revolution, he was appointed superintendent 
 of dyeing processes, which office had been 
 occupied by Macquer. To this appointment 
 chemistry was indebted for his work on dyeing, 
 which contains a better account both of the 
 theory and practice of the art than any work 
 which had before made its appearance. When 
 the French Revolution broke out, and that 
 country became involved in war, many of the 
 requisites for carrying it on which had pre- 
 viously been imported could no longer be 
 obtained through this channel. This 
 
 was especially the case with saltpetre for the 
 manufacture of gunpowder. In this emer- 
 gency Berthollet visited almost every part of 
 the country, for the purpose of pointing out 
 the means of extracting and purifying this 
 salt ; he was also employed with some other 
 men of science, in the processes of smelting 
 iron and converting it into steel. In the year 
 1792, being appointed one of the commission- 
 ers of the mint, he introduced considerable 
 improvements into the processes employed in 
 that establishment. 
 
 BERWICK -UPON -TWEED. From the 
 reign of Edward I. to that of Elizabeth, the 
 principal export trade of Berwick was wool, 
 wool fells, hides, and salmon : but the trade 
 of the place has suffered some modification 
 in later times. The principal manufactures 
 are those connected with shipping ; but there 
 are also iron -foundries, and steam-engines ; 
 sacking, cotton hosiery, damask, diaper, car- 
 pets, hats, and shoes are made. Until within 
 the last thirty-five years, a highly lucrative 
 trade was carried on in the export of pork and 
 eggs to London, the annual value of the eggs 
 shipped being at least 30,000/., and of pork 
 about 10,000/. ; but since the peace this trade 
 has totally ceased, and the metropolis is sup- 
 plied from Ireland and the Continent. Ber- 
 wick is now a bonding port. The existing 
 trade of the town is principally confined to the 
 exporting of salmon, corn, aud coals to Lon- 
 don, to various ports in Scotland, and to 
 Foreign countries. Of late considerable quan- 
 tities of ale and whiskey have been shipped to 
 London. The smacks and small brigs which 
 formerly earned on the trade of the place 
 have been superseded by large and well fitted 
 schooners, and clipper ships. There are regu- 
 lar traders between Berwick, London, Kings- 
 ton- upon - Hull, Newcastle- upon -Tyne, and 
 Leith. About 70 vessels belong to the port. 
 
 The salmon fisheries in the Tweed have for 
 many centuries been very productive. Until 
 about the year 1790 the salmon sent from 
 Berwick were either salted and dried, or boiled 
 and pickled with salt and vinegar, except sal- 
 mon-trout, which were occasionally kept alive 
 in wells or tanks in the ship's hold. The ex- 
 ports were principally to London, but conside- 
 rable quantities of salted salmon were also 
 sent to the Mediterranean. At present the 
 whole are sent fresh to London packed in ice. 
 About 800 of the inhabitants of Berwick are 
 now (1850J employed in the fisheries. 
 
 BERYL, a mineral species, among the vari- 
 eties of which are found two of the most beau- 
 tiful and costly gems with which we are 
 acquainted, namely, the emerald and the pre- 
 cious Icryl. The species belongs to the 
 
357 
 
 BESANCON. 
 
 rhombohedral system of crystallization, usu- 
 ally occurring in regular hexagonal prisms. 
 Its constituents are silica, alumina, glucina, 
 lime, and oxides of iron, columbium, and chro- 
 mium, in proportions which differ in different 
 specimens. 
 
 The two chief varieties, emerald and aqua- 
 marine or precious beryl, differ chiefly in 
 colour; the term emerald being applied to 
 those possessing the peculiar rich deep green 
 so well known as the emerald green ; while all 
 the other varieties are comprehended under 
 the name of beryl : those which are clear, 
 transparent, possess a good colour, and pre- 
 sent various shades of sky-blue or mountain- 
 green, being the aquamarine or precious beryl. 
 The colour of the emerald is attributed to a 
 small quantity of green oxide of chromium ; 
 while the varieties in the tints of beryl may 
 be considered to be produced by admixtures 
 of the oxides of iron, the yellow being the 
 colour of the peroxides of iron, and the moun- 
 tain-green and the various shades of blue 
 being the effect of varying quantities of the 
 protoxide. 
 
 Emeralds, for the last two centuries, have 
 rarely been found, except in Peru, where they 
 occur in Santa Fe and in the valley of Tunca. 
 Those met Avith in modern times seldom -ex- 
 ceed the size of a walnut. Beryls are procured 
 from Siberia, Brazil, Sweden, Saxony, Bohe- 
 mia, and Iceland. The beryl sometimes occurs 
 in crystals of very large size. The value of 
 the emerald depends not only on its size, co- 
 lour, and brilliancy, but also 011 its being free 
 from flaws, by which this gem is frequently 
 greatly deteriorated in the eye of the jeweller. 
 BESANCON, the capital formerly of Franche- 
 Comte, is a place of considerable manufac- 
 turing industry ; its position on the Doubs, 
 which is navigable, and on the canal which 
 unites the Ehone and the Rhine, makes it the 
 centre of an important trade. The chief 
 manufacture is that of the works of watches 
 and clocks, in which 2000 men are employed. 
 Hosiery, coarse woollens and cottons, carpets, 
 room-paper, hardware, stoves, liqueurs, and 
 artificial flowers, are manufactured. There 
 are also iron-foundries, china- works, tanneries, 
 several large breweries, and establishments 
 for bleaching wax. The trade of the town 
 consists in its industrial products, and in wine, 
 brandy, broad- cloth, groceries, iron, and coal. 
 
 BETEL-NUTS. These nuts are procured 
 from the Arcca Catechu, a palm which grows 
 in India. They have an astringent flavour ; 
 but when mixed with lime, and with the leaf 
 of the betel pepper, they become milder, and 
 are chewed by the natives of India. 
 
 BEVEL, or BEVIL, is the name applied 
 
 BILL OF LADING. 038 
 
 both to the oblique angle formed by two sur- 
 faces which meet at either more or less than 
 a right angle, and to the instrument employed 
 by carpenters and joiners for taking and trans- 
 ferring such angles. The common carpenter's 
 bevel consists of a straight wooden stock, 
 mortised at one end to receive a thin blade, 
 which is usually formed of steel, and attached 
 to the stock by a pin in such a way that it may 
 be turned to any required angle, and secured 
 by a tightening screw. Where many articles 
 have to be worked to the same angle, it is 
 desirable to use a fixed bevel, made to the re- 
 quired angle, especially where one or both of 
 the limbs are curved. 
 
 BIDEFORD. This town, one of the most 
 active in Devonshire, has long had a conside- 
 rable foreign trade. The principal imports 
 are timber from North America ; timber, 
 hemp, and tallow, from Russia and Norway ; 
 fruits, wines, and brandies, from Spain, Por- 
 tugal, and the Mediterranean ; and general 
 goods from Ireland. The exports are oak- 
 bark, which is shipped in considerable quan- 
 tities to Scotland and Ireland ; earthenware, 
 tiles, &c., to Wales, Guernsey, and Jersey ; 
 linen and woollen goods, cordage, iron, naval 
 stores, provisions, &c., to the North American 
 colonies. Corn is largely exported to the 
 Metropolis, and to the ports along the coast. 
 About 150 vessels belong to the port. In re- 
 cent years there have been about 800 arrivals 
 and departures of vessels annually. Ship 
 building is carried on at Bicleford to a consi- 
 derable extent. There are several potteries, 
 principally for the manufacture of flower-pots. 
 A manufactory of coarse china and earthenware 
 has been lately established at a short distance 
 from the town. Clay of a good quality is 
 found on land in the neighbourhood belonging 
 to Lord Clinton. Anthracite or culm is found 
 in the vicinity in sufficient quantity to be 
 worked for economical purposes. 
 
 BIGA, a chariot or car drawn by two horses. 
 The Romans had also their quadrigne, and 
 sometimes their sejuges, septim-juges, &c. ; 
 and Suetonius says that Nero, when he was a 
 performer in the Olympic games, made use 
 of a decem-jugis, a chariot drawn by ten 
 horses. 
 
 BILBA'O, one of the chief towns of Spain 
 on the Biscayan coast, has an active popula- 
 tion, who are employed in agriculture, com- 
 merce, and the manufacturing of iron. There 
 are also manufactures of paper, hats, soap, 
 leather, earthenware, and cigars. 
 
 The principal articles of exportation are 
 wool and wheat to foreign countries, and iron 
 to other parts of the Peninsula. 
 
 BILL OF LADING, is an acknowledgment 
 
350 
 
 BILLON. 
 
 BIRCH. 
 
 
 signed usually by the master of a trading ship, 
 but occasionally by some person authorised to 
 act on his behalf, certifying the receipt of 
 merchandise on board the ship, and engaging 
 under certain conditions and with certain ex- 
 ceptions, such as ' the act of God,' the ' king's 
 enemies,' <fec., to deliver the said merchandise 
 safely at the port to which the ship is bound, 
 either to the shipper, or to such other person 
 as he may signify by a written assignment 
 upon the Bill of Lading. 
 
 BILLON, in coinage, is a composition of 
 precious and base metal, consisting of gold or 
 silver alloyed with copper, in the mixture of 
 which the copper predominates. The word 
 came to us from the French. 
 
 BILSTON, Staffordshire, owes all its im- 
 portance to the introduction of the iron 
 works. It previously consisted of only a few 
 private houses ; but standing in a district 
 which possesses considerable mines of coal, 
 iron-stone, quarry -stone, and clay, it has 
 rapidly increased in extent and population. 
 The manufacturing industry is very great. 
 There are numerous furnaces for smelting 
 iron-ore, with foundries, forges, slitting-mills, 
 steam engines, and the various works neces- 
 sary for the preparation of iron. The manu- 
 facture of tin, and of every kind of japanned 
 and enamelled wares, with that of iron, from 
 nails and wire to the heaviest and bulkiest 
 articles, is largely carried on at Bilston. At 
 night there are upwards of fifty furnace fires 
 and coke heaps sending forth their bodies of 
 flame in and near the town. Coarse pottery 
 is made with the clay which is found in the 
 neighbourhood in much abundance. There 
 is also here a deep orange-coloured and almost 
 impalpable sand, which is much used in the 
 casting of metals ; the neighbourhood is like- 
 wise noted for a stone quarry. 
 
 BINGLEY is one of the remarkable clo- 
 thing towns of West Yorkshire. The manu- 
 facture of worsted yarn is carried on to a con- 
 siderable extent in the town and neighbour- 
 hood, besides which there are very extensive 
 cotton -mills ; there are also paper manufac- 
 tories ; and there is some trade in malt. 
 Altogether Bingley has become a place of 
 much manufacturing and commercial import- 
 ance. 
 
 BINNACLE, a kind of box used on board 
 skip to contain the compass. Bitlade, an 
 abbreviation of the French word luibitade, 
 a small habitation, was the original form of 
 the word. Many improvements have been 
 made in the binnacle within the last few years ; 
 chiefly in relation to the mode of throwing 
 light upon the compass card in the night. 
 
 BIRCH. The birch is extremely valuable 
 
 among our forest trees, from the variety of 
 materials which it furnishes to the manufac- 
 turing arts. The common birch is one of 
 the hardiest of known trees, and flourishes 
 best in cold countries. The timber, without 
 possessing any one quality in an eminent 
 degree, possesses many qualities in a very 
 useful degree. It is employed in France for 
 the felloes of wheels ; and in Russia for 
 the construction of small rustic carriages. On 
 many parts of the continent it is used for 
 many articles of furniture, cooperage, and 
 turnery, and sabots or wooden shoes. The 
 Highlanders of Scotland use birch for so 
 many purposes that they are said to, 'make 
 everything of it ;' they build their houses of 
 it ; make their beds, chairs, tables, dishes and 
 spoons of it; construct their mills of it; 
 make their carts, ploughs, barrows, gates, and 
 fences of it ; and even manufacture ropes of 
 it. The above uses apply to the white birch. 
 The black or canoe birch is also of great value ; 
 it flourishes in North America, and is there 
 applied to numerous purposes : some speci- 
 mens of the timber are so beautifully grained 
 that they are cut into veneers and used in 
 cabinet work. The wood of the tall or Ame- 
 rican birch is used in the United States and 
 Nova Scotia for yokes of cattle and frames of 
 sledges, for hoops of casks, for articles of 
 furniture, and for many other purposes. The 
 wood of the pliant birch has a fine and close 
 grain, a considerable degree of strength, and 
 takes a brilliant polish. It is used in the 
 United States for tables, bedsteads, arm-chairs, 
 sofas, coach- panels, shoe-lasts, and a great 
 variety of purposes. 
 
 The bark of all the species of birch is of 
 very considerable value, especially in cold 
 northern countries, where it is applied to a 
 great variety of uses. It is very durable, and 
 little acted on by air or water. In some 
 countries it is used as a coping for walls and 
 a covering for roofs. The bark of large trees 
 is cut by the Laplanders into pieces large 
 enough to form capes or short cloaks. It is 
 also employed for boots, shoes, baskets, boxes, 
 mats, cordage, harness, and thread. In 
 Kamtschatka the inner bark is dried and 
 ground, and mixed with oatmeal to form an 
 article of food; and the same people eat the 
 bark in small pieces with the roe of fish. It 
 is much used for tanning leather; and a yel- 
 lowish brown dye which it yields is employed 
 in some countries for dyeing woollens and 
 rein-deer skins. The bark of the canoe birch 
 is used in America for roof coverings, baskets, 
 boxes, portfolios, paper, and inner soles of 
 shoes ; but it is more extensively employed 
 in making the canoes of the voyageurs, en- 
 
361 
 
 BIRCH. 
 
 BIRKBECK, GEORGE. 
 
 362 
 
 gaged in the fur-trade of Canada : such a 
 canoe, capable of accommodating four per- 
 sons will weigh no more than forty Ibs. 
 Tents are also made of this bark. The bark 
 of the tall birch is used in tanning ; that of 
 the pliant birch is stripped white in the green 
 state, by the Kamtschatkadales, cut into nar- 
 row strips like vermicelli, and stewed with 
 caviare. 
 
 The branches and young shoots are also of 
 much value. They are made into hoops, 
 brooms, faggot-ties, baskets, hurdles, cream- 
 whisks, and similar articles including the 
 well-known rod of our old-fashioned school 
 masters. The Alpine mountaineers make 
 torches of them. The Laplanders construct 
 tents with birch branches covered with turf. 
 In the Scottish highlands the branches are 
 employed as fuel in the distillation of whiskey, 
 being found to impart a flavour to it which 
 enhances its value; they are similarly em- 
 ployed for smoking hams and herrings. The 
 young branches of the dwarf birch furnish 
 beds and fuel to the Laplanders ; and those 
 of the black birch are employed in the United 
 States for making hoops for rice-casks. 
 
 The leaves, catkins, and other green parts, 
 have also their value. The leaves are eaten 
 by goats and rabbits. A yellow colour is ob- 
 tained from them, useful in painting and dye- 
 ing. The Finlanders use the dried leaves as 
 tea. The buds and catkins afford a substi- 
 tute for bees' wax. A bed stuffed with birch 
 leaves is said to be useful to rheumatic per- 
 sons by promoting perspiration. The leaves 
 of the dwarf birch yield a peculiar kind of 
 fungus, from which the moxa or amadou ' is 
 prepared, and which the Laplanders employ 
 as a medicine in many painful diseases ; and 
 its seeds afford nourishment to the ptarmigan 
 or white partridge, a very important bird in 
 Lapland. 
 
 The sap of the birch is made to yield beer, 
 wine, spirit, vinegar, and sugar, according to 
 the mode of treatment ; the tree being tapped 
 to allow the sap to flow or ooze out. Birch 
 beer is made by fermenting the Bap with 
 yeast, hot-water, and hops; birch wine is 
 made by boiling the sap with sugar or honey, 
 and fermenting, clarifying aud flavouring in 
 various ways ; but spirit is made by distilla- 
 tion ; birch vinegar by allowing the acetous 
 fermentation to supervene on the vinous ; and 
 birch sugar by boiling and evaporating the sap. 
 
 To complete the catalogue of the use of 
 the birch we have to mention the fuel, the 
 ashes, and the oil. The wood gives a bright 
 aud ardent flame, and is much employed for 
 smelting iron in France, Russia, and Sweden 
 its charcoal burns a long time, and is in 
 
 much demand for making gunpowder and 
 black crayons. The ashes are rich in potash. 
 An oil, much used in Russia, is obtained by 
 burning birch bark in close receptacles. 
 
 BIRD'S-EYE ATEW, a mode of perspec- 
 tive representation, in which the objects are 
 drawn as seen from above. Thus, if a hole 
 were bored through the ceiling of a lofty 
 room, a person looking down through it 
 would have a proper bird's-eye view of the 
 apartment and its furniture. But the most 
 common mode of giving a bird's-eye view dif- 
 fers from ordinary perspective only in the 
 horizontal line, and consequently the point of 
 sight, being placed considerably above the 
 objects represented. The scene is thus 
 shown as it would appear from some lofty 
 station, as a tower or other eminence. 
 
 BIRD-LIME, a glutinous vegetable pro- 
 duct, obtained principally from the inner 
 bark of the holly, or from the berries of the 
 misletoe, but also from other plants. It is 
 prepared from the holly bark by bruising, 
 long boiling in water, and fermentation ; the 
 mass is again boiled in water, and evaporated 
 to a proper consistence. In different coun- 
 tries various processes are employed. When 
 properly prepared from the holly it is of a 
 greenish colour ; its smell resembles that of 
 linseed oil ; its taste is bitter ; it is adhe- 
 sive, tenacious, and may be drawn out into 
 threads. 
 
 BIRKBECK, GEORGE, M.D., one of the 
 warmest friends and kindest instructors of 
 the operative classes, was born in 1776, at 
 Settle, in Yorkshire, where his father was a 
 merchant and banker. He displayed an early 
 predilection for mechanical and scientific sub- 
 jects, which led him to select the medical 
 profession as his pursuit. While at Edin- 
 burgh, he was put in nomination for the pro- 
 fessorship of the Andersonian Institution at 
 Glasgow, and his election was carried by a 
 considerable majority. In November 179!) lie 
 commenced his first course of lectures afc 
 Glasgow on Natural and Experimental Philo- 
 sophy. Some time afterwards he commenced 
 a gratuitous course of lectures, which he con- 
 tinued until 1804, when he relinquished the 
 professorship, and was succeeded by Dr. Ure. 
 
 While in active practice in London as a, 
 physician, Dr. Birkbeck had few opportunities 
 of following up the labours which he had 
 commenced at Glasgow for the advancement 
 of scientific knowledge amongst artisans ; but 
 it was a subject which he had always at heart. 
 In 1820 he gave a gratuitous course of seven- 
 teen lectures at the London Institution. In 
 1827 he was the chief means of promoting 
 the first Mechanics' Institution. He presided 
 
303 
 
 BIRKENHEAD. 
 
 BIRMAH. 
 
 304 
 
 at a public meeting at the Crown and Anchor, 
 which was attended, amongst others, by 
 Dr. Lushington, Jeremy Bentham, David 
 Wilkie, and Cobbett ; and after another meet- 
 ing, on the 2nd of December, the first officers 
 of the ' London Mechanics' Institution ' were 
 appointed on the 15th of December. Dr. Birk- 
 beck was elected president, which office he 
 filled till his death; and liis son has since 
 been annually elected to the same post. At 
 the formation of the institution, Dr. Birkbeck 
 generously lent the sum of 3,700/., for the 
 purpose of building a lecture-room, &c. 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck's professional and scientific 
 pursuits, and his services in various ways, in 
 connection with objects of public utility, were 
 continued to the last ; and those who attended 
 the lectures at the London Mechanics' Insti- 
 tution, in its best days, will well remember 
 those of Dr. Birkbeck as among the most in- 
 structive and the most attractive. He died 
 December 1, 1841, at his residence in Fins- 
 bury-square, London. 
 
 BIRKENHEAD. The grand undertakings 
 at this town are among the most remarkable 
 commercial phenomena of our age. The 
 overflowings of Liverpool commerce are to 
 form the basis of Birkenhead commerce. 
 
 The rapid growth of Birkenhead is entirely 
 owing to the formation of commodious docks. 
 In 1842 the town commissioners were em- 
 powered by act of parliament to purchase the 
 manorial rights, &c., pertaining to the ancient 
 ferry at Woodside, which is the nearest ferry 
 to Liverpool ; and in 1844, under another act, 
 they purchased Monk's Ferry. In 1844 they 
 obtained an act of still greater importance, 
 under which a tidal basin, docks, and other 
 extensive accommodations for trade and ship- 
 ping are now in progress. The magnitude of 
 these works may be inferred from the follow- 
 ing abstract of their cost, which is taken from 
 the estimates : New market, 20,000/. ; town- 
 hall, 10,000/. ; park, 25,000/. ; docks in Walla- 
 sey Pool, 400,000/. ; dock warehouses (by a 
 private company), 6 00,000 J. The design of 
 converting Wallasey Pool, on which Birken- 
 head is situated, into docks, was entertained 
 several years ago, and originated with the late 
 Mr. Laird ; but it was not until 1844 that an 
 act, as already mentioned, was obtained for 
 effecting this object. The first stone of the 
 proposed docks was laid on the 23rd of Octo- 
 ber, 1844. The area of the principal or float- 
 ing dock will be 120 acres, a space exceeding 
 that of all the docks in Liverpool, and it will 
 have 19 feet depth of water. It will be sur- 
 rounded with quays, warehouses, and other 
 conveniences for shipping and discharging 
 cargoes. There will also be a tidal harbour 
 
 of about 40 acres, accessible at all times by 
 the largest steamers employed in the coasting 
 trade, and by all vessels whose draught does 
 not exceed 15 feet ; a harbour of refuge with 
 an area of 10 acres ; and beaching-ground 
 of 4 or 5 acres, for the free use of the river 
 craft. 
 
 A certain clashing of interests between dif- 
 ferent governing bodies at Birkenhead, has 
 rendered new arrangements frequently neces- 
 sary. Besides the act of 1844, a second was 
 obtained in 1845 for the formation of dock 
 and wharf walls; and another in 1847 for new 
 powers in respect to these constructions. In 
 1.848 an act was passed for the formation of a 
 board of trustees of the Birkenhead clocks, 
 which board (in order to represent and recon- 
 cile conflicting interests) is to be formed as 
 follows : Four trustees chosen by the bond- 
 holders, with whose funds the docks were in 
 part constructed ; four chosen by the Birken- 
 head commissioners ; and three by the Walla- 
 sey commissioners. 
 
 There has recently (1850) been an act 
 passed, which relieves the commissioners 
 from a very onerous engagement with the 
 Woods and Forests department ; and the 
 dock- works have recommenced (after some 
 delay) with great vigour. Three thousand 
 men are now employed; forty -five acres of 
 dock are nearly ready for the reception of 
 shipping ; and the whole are expected to be 
 finished in 1851. 
 
 Birkenhead is connected by railway with 
 Chester, and thence with all parts of England ; 
 and a branch to Wanington, recently opened, 
 has shortened the distance between Birken 
 head and Manchester. The rails are brought 
 round all the quays of the docks. Hitherto 
 the trade of Birkenhead has not reached the 
 point which had been anticipated, and the 
 hope of which had led to such extensive and 
 costly works ; but whenever a large traffic 
 shall grow up there, it will be well accommo- 
 dated by the railway, the docks, and the ware- 
 houses, all of which are admirably planned to 
 work together in one system. It is expected 
 that the coasting trade and the steam -packet 
 trade will be those which will first seek accom- 
 modation at Birkenhead. 
 
 BIRMAH. The Birman empire is rich in 
 mines of gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, anti- 
 mony, and iron, but they are much neglected 
 by the natives. Many kinds of precious stones 
 are obtained by digging and washing tho 
 gravel in the beds of rivulets or small brooks. 
 The varieties said to exist are, the oriental 
 sapphire, the oriental ruby, the opalescent 
 ruby, the star ruby ; the green, the yellow, 
 and the white sapphire ; and the oriental aiv>u- 
 
365 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 366 
 
 thyst. Noble serpentine or green-stone, is 
 found in most of the upper branches of the 
 Irawaddi, and exported in considerable quan- 
 tities by the Chinese to their own country, 
 where it is used for rings and amulets. Mines 
 of amber are found on the branches of the 
 Kyan - Duayn, and in the vicinity of the 
 Bhanmo. Coal seems to be plentiful, but it 
 is not used. Limestone exists in great abund- 
 ance in the mountains near the capital ; and 
 statuary marble is- also met with. Nitre, na- 
 tron, and culinary salt, are found in many 
 of the arid and calcareous tracts in the upper 
 provinces, and chiefly in the neighbourhood 
 of the capital. Natron, in an impure state, is 
 used by the natives instead of soap, a prepa- 
 ration with which they seem to be unac- 
 quainted. Salt is extracted from some lakes 
 in the upper provinces, especially near Mon- 
 chabo, and from the sea water in the lower 
 provinces. 
 
 Among the vegetable productions of the 
 Birman forests the teak holds the first place. 
 The plants which become articles of com- 
 merce in the country include bamboo, cate- 
 chu, sugar, tea, cocoa, tobacco, cotton, indigo, 
 and betel. 
 
 The progress of the Birmans in the useful 
 arts has not been great. All their cotton 
 fabrics are coarse and high-priced, and British 
 piece-goods are imported in considerable 
 quantity. Silk articles, coarse and unglazed 
 earthenware, iron implements, muskets and 
 swords, and gold and silver ornaments, are 
 manufactured, mostly in a rude style. 
 
 The commerce carried on in the interior of 
 the country is considerable ; the different por- 
 tions of the empire producing several things 
 which are not found in others. The inha- 
 bitants of the sea-coast and the lower country 
 carry to the capital and the upper provinces 
 rice, salt, dried fish, and foreign commodities ; 
 which are paid for by the produce of the in- 
 terior. The foreign commerce, chiefly with 
 China, is conducted principally at two annual 
 fairs, at Bhanmo and Mide. The Chinese 
 arrive with laden horses, mules, and asses ; 
 bringing with them an immense assortment 
 of goods. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM, is in many respects the 
 most remarkable of our manufacturing towns. 
 It dates its productive industry from early 
 times. Being situated at a moderate distance 
 from the Staffordshire iron mines, which were 
 unquestionably worked at a very early date, 
 and placed in a district which was distin- 
 guished as woody (the northern or Arden di- 
 vision of Warwickshire), it offered great faci- 
 lities for smelting the ore of iron, which, 
 before the introduction of the steam-engine, 
 
 could only be effected by means of charcoal. 
 The iron being prepared on the spot, it is 
 natural to suppose that a colony of artificers 
 would settle here, and that they would early 
 acquire skill in the use of the material. In 
 the time of Leland, Birmingham was inha- 
 bited by ' smiths, that use to make knives and 
 all manner of cutting-tools ; and many lori- 
 mers that make bitts, and a great many 
 nailors.' A place thus characterised by the 
 industry and ingenuity of its inhabitants, 
 waited only for more favourable circumstances 
 to increase its wealth. This change appeal's 
 to have taken place in the 17th century, when, 
 on the restoration of Charles II., a fondness 
 for metal ornaments was introduced from 
 France, where the exiled king and his adhe- 
 rents had long resided, and Birmingham took 
 the lead in the manufacture of the glitter- 
 ing trifles which the taste of the age de- 
 manded. 
 
 Camden, who travelled through England in 
 the 16th century, a few years after Leland, 
 says of Birmingham, in his ' Britannia,' that 
 ' most of the inhabitants be smiths ;' to which 
 Bishop Gibson, in his edition of Camden, 
 published in 1722, adds, ' and other artificers 
 in iron and steel, whose performances are 
 greatly admired both at home and abroad.' 
 The editor was, however, scarcely correct if 
 he meant it to be understood that the manufac- 
 tures of the town were in his time confined to 
 iron and steel goods. Various fancy articles 
 in other materials were then regularly made, 
 and the manufacture of brass goods had 
 commenced. The use of this valuable com- 
 pound metal has continually increased during 
 the last hundred years, and the talent of the 
 designer has been tasked in the invention of 
 new forms, and in the. adaptation of classical 
 models to the purposes of modern domestic 
 comfort and ornament. The introduction of 
 the stamp especially, which was first applied 
 to the multiplication of copies of smaller 
 wares, as buttons, buckles, and cloak pins, 
 and which was at length adapted, by increas- 
 ing its power, to the production of large 
 forms, has caused the greatest change in this 
 branch of manufacture. There are establish- 
 ments in Birmingham which have from two 
 to three hundred thousand dies employed in 
 stamping 
 
 In plated wares the style and form were 
 long deficient in grace, but the taste and spirit 
 of Messrs. Boulton and Watt were instru- 
 mental in improving the forms of the articles 
 usually produced ; and an increasing fami- 
 liarity with antient models, and with the 
 florid and playful style of the age of Louis 
 XIV., continues to give new impetus to this 
 
367 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 368 
 
 manufacture. The introduction of the new 
 mixture called Albata, or British plate, was 
 the forerunner of a very large branch of manu 
 facture at Birmingham. The convenient ma 
 terial called Britannia metal is also largely 
 manufactured here. 
 
 The founding of iron is rapidly improving 
 and extending itself in this town. A compa- 
 ratively few years ago the principal cast arti 
 cles of this material were heavy kitchen articles 
 grates and stoves ; but increased care in the 
 selection of the metal, and a desire to produce 
 elegant forms at a cheap rate, have caused 
 cast iron articles to be manufactured of small 
 size and of light and tasteful patterns, which 
 when coloured by bronzing, almost equal the 
 more expensive brass wares; and in hollow 
 vessels such perfection in thinness and light- 
 ness is attained, that the use of beaten copper 
 is almost forgotten. The iron-work of Mr. 
 Paxton's Palace of Industry has been pre- 
 pared under the direction of the eminent Bir- 
 mingham firm of Fox and Henderson. 
 
 The manufacture of guns was introduced 
 at the commencement of the last century, and 
 has been carried on to an immense extent; 
 nearly 5,000,000 of fire arms were supplied 
 from Birmingham between the years 1804 and 
 1818 inclusive, to meet the demands of go- 
 vernment and of private trade. A proof-house, 
 under the conduct of a master, wardens, and 
 trustees, was established by act of parliament 
 in 1813 where the fabric of all guns and pis- 
 tol barrels is tried by a heavy charge : all 
 those which sustain the explosion receive a 
 stamp, to counterfeit which is felony; and to 
 sell such barrels without the stamp is punish- 
 able by heavy fines. There is also a govern- 
 ment proof house for the ordnance depart- 
 ment, a comprehensive and interesting esta- 
 blishment near the Walsall Road, at the 
 northern end of the town. 
 
 Buttons and buckles, so far as they are 
 articles of ornament, almost took their rise in 
 Birmingham, and this town witnessed all the 
 fluctuations of these manufactures, from the 
 small plain buckle, and the horn or bone but- 
 ton coated Avith metal foil, through all the 
 capricious and almost innumerable varieties 
 of form and ornament which prevailed during 
 the age of powder, embroidery, and gold lace, 
 or which the still more fantastic taste of 
 foreign markets demanded. At length the 
 buckle has been completely supplanted by 
 shoe-strings, and the button has undergone 
 great changes : moulds of wood or horn being 
 now very generally covered with silk or 
 some other woven material, as a substitute 
 for the metal button. The button factories 
 are among the largest establishments in Bir- 
 
 mingham. The denomination of The toy- 
 shop of Europe,' given to Birmingham by 
 Burke, was correct at the time, but the exten- 
 sive application of powerful mechanical forces 
 has now raised the character of the staple 
 productions of the place. All articles of me- 
 tallic ornament, such as polished steel toys, 
 gold and gilt jewellery, chains, snuff-boxes, 
 &c., are still manufactured, but not to such 
 an amount as to form a preponderant part of 
 the industry of Birmingham. 
 
 The quantity of silver used in the manu- 
 facture of pencil-cases, boxes, chains, thim- 
 bles, &c., and in the numerous fittings and 
 mountings attached to glass and other wares, 
 is considerable, and an assay office is esta- 
 blished in the town, where all articles in this 
 metal being above five dwt. are examined, 
 and if found to be of the proper standard, are 
 marked with the government stamp. The 
 use of gold and silver has greatly increased in 
 Birmingham in recent years. The process of 
 electro plating has given rise to a wholly new 
 department of manufacture, of which Bir- 
 mingham is the chief seat. 
 
 Japanning in all its varieties, is another 
 extensive branch of manufacture. It com- 
 menced with the varnished boxes and small 
 articles, which were coarse imitations of the 
 Oriental toys, but the art was gradually im- 
 proved by John Taylor, who gave elegance 
 to the devices on the surface ; and still fur 
 ther by Baskerville, who introduced the light 
 and highly polished but firm and durable 
 papier mdche, which he adorned with paint- 
 ngs in a style before unknown. This branch 
 of industry has called forth great talent ; and 
 some of those who have taken rank among 
 the painters of their age have commenced 
 heir career by executing the ornamental de- 
 signs on the trays and waiters of Birmingham. 
 Articles of this kind are susceptible of great 
 elegance, and when produced in perfection 
 are beautiful specimens of the pictorial art. 
 [n all the recent Exhibitions of Manufactures 
 n this country the papier mdche of Messrs. 
 Fennens and Bettridge and other manufactu- 
 rers at Birmingham, has been remarkable for 
 ts artistic beauty. 
 
 Glass making has long been carried on in 
 Birmingham. This manufacture is not now 
 confined, in its higher branches, to cut ves- 
 sels for the table, nor to the sparkling drops 
 yhich decorate girandoles and chandeliers; 
 >ut glass for ornamental purposes is cast into 
 brms of scrolls, foliage, busts, and well- 
 brmed complete figures of small size. Win- 
 dow-glass is also made in large quantities. 
 Messrs. Chance's glass works, among the 
 argest in the world, are at Birmingham ; it is 
 
369 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 870 
 
 here that the glass for the Industrial Palace 
 has been made. 
 
 An apparently trivial article, the steel-pen, 
 has latterly grown into such extensive use as 
 to form a considerable branch of nnanufac- 
 ture. The price has been perpetually dimi- 
 nishing, and the article itself, at the same 
 time, continually improving. This manufac- 
 ture was first established in Birmingham in 
 1821, before which time the article was 
 scarcely known in the market. Shortly after 
 this date they sold for 12s. per dozen, but the 
 price rapidly fell to 2s. per dozen, or II. 4s. 
 per gross. The increasing facilities of pro- 
 duction, and the consequent abundant supply, 
 added to the competition of the numerous 
 manufacturers, has since gradually lowered 
 the price to Qd. a gross, or even less. There 
 is one establishment in Birmingham (besides 
 others of less extent)' where many hundred 
 millions of pens are made annually, and where 
 300 persons are employed. 
 
 The cutlers, lorimers, and makers of wrought 
 nails, who in Leland's time formed the bulk 
 of the industrious population of Birmingham, 
 have thus been gradually driven away by the 
 increasing demand for articles requiring more 
 taste and skill in design and execution. Agri- 
 cultural and manufacturing steel and edge 
 tools, including files and saws, are however 
 still made, and numerous new manufactures 
 have been introduced during the present cen- 
 tury, which owed their origin to the facilities 
 afforded by the newly created mechanical 
 forces, that gave a spur to invention by almost 
 insuring its success. Among these are wire- 
 drawing, cut-nail, screw, and pin manufac- 
 turing. Fine turnery naturally arose from 
 the increasing use of the lathe. Die-sinkers, 
 modellers, and designers were required by 
 those who used stamps and casting-moulds ; 
 and engravers were called for to represent in 
 the books of patterns exhibited by the mer- 
 chants the forms of the numerous articles 
 prepared by brass and iron - founders and 
 other manufacturers. Artists in these seve- 
 ral lines have been thus drawn to the place, 
 and the arts themselves are here cultivated to 
 a degree of perfection before unknown out of 
 the metropolis. 
 
 The establishment of gas companies gave 
 an impetus to the manufacture of tubes of 
 various descriptions, as well as to the taste of 
 the designer in forming graceful combinations. 
 One of the most complete establishments in 
 the town, the Cambridge Works, comprising 
 long ranges of newly-built premises, is de- 
 voted to the making of all kinds of furniture 
 in which brass tubing can be employed. 
 
 Some branches of the cotton manufacture 
 
 have been localized in Birmingham, such as 
 those of webbing for braces and girths, cords, 
 lines, fcc., probably on account of the facility 
 with which the requisite machinery can be, 
 procured. 
 
 The umbrella trade arose from the demand 
 for the brass furniture of these useful con- 
 trivances, which led to an attempt to execute 
 orders for the articles complete. This attempt 
 has been so successful that many thousand 
 operatives are now engaged in the Birming- 
 ham umbrella trade. 
 
 In the nail manufacture as carried on in 
 Birmingham, machinery is used by which 
 well-formed nails are cut out of sheet-iron, 
 with a rapidity which leaves far behind the 
 swiftest motion of the muscles in snipping 
 paper with scissors. There is one very large 
 establishment, filled with machines for making- 
 nails by steam-power, where from one to two 
 thousand millions of nails are made in a year. 
 Screws are also formed with beautiful preci- 
 sion without heat, and by a series of mechani- 
 cal contrivances which remove the severity of 
 the labour, and render the attention and su- 
 perintendence of women and children nearly 
 sufficient. 
 
 Steam-engines are now very numerous in 
 Birmingham. Their number was estimated 
 in 1849 at 5,400 horses' power, consuming 
 about 380 tons of coal per day, and equalling 
 the labour of 86,400 men. 
 
 There are few large factories, properly so 
 called, in which an article goes through the 
 entire range of manufacturing processes ; but 
 there is a vast number of workshops, more or 
 less extensive, in each of w r hich portions of 
 the work are done. One manufactured article, 
 which is sold retail for a penny, may go 
 through 20 workshops before it is finished ; 
 some having 40 or 50 workmen, some 4 or 5, 
 while some are simply the garrets of work- 
 men, who ply their trade each by his own fire- 
 side. With the exception of the metropolis, 
 there is perhaps no town in England where 
 there are so many persons combining in them- 
 selves the characters of master and workman, 
 as Birmingham, and none in which there is 
 more observable a chain of links connecting 
 one with another. 
 
 The School of Design is rendering much 
 service in Birmingham. The classes have 
 been well filled from the time of their establish- 
 ment; and it is found that boys who have 
 attended those classes are sought after by 
 manufacturers in preference to those who 
 have not had such training. During 1850 
 there have been about thirty pupils in the 
 modelling class alone : a branch of study 
 peculiarly important in a town where so much 
 
871 
 
 BISCAY. 
 
 BISCUIT 
 
 373 
 
 metal casting is carried on. Some time 
 elapsed before the Birmingham, manufacturers 
 fully appreciated the necessity of cultivating 
 the arts of design, as a means of competing 
 with France in productions of taste ; but this 
 necessity is no\v well understood, and rapid 
 advances are being made in the right direc- 
 tion. 
 
 Near Birmingham were the celebrated Soho 
 Works. These works were built by a native 
 of Birmingham, Matthew Boulton, and ten 
 years afterwards, in 1774, Watt entered into 
 partnership with him. During the remainder 
 of the century, the Soho Works produced 
 those numerous steam-engines which became 
 the marvel of all Europe. But it was not 
 merely the making of steam - engines and 
 other large pieces of machinery that made 
 these works famous; other manufacturing 
 processes were introduced ; or, more properly 
 speaking, other manufactures preceded that 
 of steam-engines by a few years. Buttons, 
 buckles, watch-chains, and trinkets, were the 
 first objects of manufacture; then plated 
 ware ; then or-molu vases, candelabra, clock 
 cases, and watch stands; then pure silver 
 plate of the highest order of excellence. 
 Among the various processes carried on at 
 Soho, perhaps none has attained a more ex- 
 tended celebrity than the application of steam 
 to coining; the engine for this purpose was 
 erected by Boulton in 1783, but subsequently 
 received great improvements. The Soho fac- 
 tory has been recently abandoned; and the 
 Soho or Aston estate has been offered for 
 sale to the town authorities, to form a Peo- 
 ple's Park for Birmingham. 
 
 Of all the towns in England, perhaps, ex- 
 cepting the metropolis, Birmingham could 
 present the greatest variety of manufactures 
 to the Exhibition of 1851 ; and it is on all 
 accounts to be hoped that that town will be 
 worthily represented. There are understood 
 to be about 300 Exhibitors from Birmingham, 
 ivho will illustrate between 4=0 and 50 dif- 
 rfcrent branches of manufacture, and will 
 occupy about 25,000 square feet of exhibition 
 space. All the chief departments of Bir- 
 mingham industry will be represented. 
 
 BISCAY. The commerce carried on in the 
 harbours of the Bay of Biscay is considerable. 
 Spain, however, furnishes only a small portion 
 of the exports, owing to the difficulty of trans- 
 porting heavy commodities to the coast from 
 the interior. From the inland provinces only 
 wool is brought to the ports of Santander and 
 Bilbao ; the produce of the coast itself is not 
 considerable, and consists chiefly of fruits. 
 But more than half the products of the soil 
 of France, and nearly the same portion of its 
 
 manufactures, are exported from the harbours 
 of Bayonne, Bordeaux, Rochelle, Nantes, 
 Vannes, and Orient ; and large quantities of 
 foreign merchandise are received by the same 
 ports. 
 
 BISCUIT, a kind of bread usually made in 
 the form of flat cakes, and pierced with holes, 
 to insure the complete evaporation of mois- 
 ture in the baking, which is necessary for pre- 
 serving it during long voyages. Biscuits are 
 used on land as a kind of luxury, but at sea 
 they are an article of the first necessity, since 
 bread, in the more ordinary form in which it 
 is used on shore, would speedily become 
 mouldy and unfit for food. The name biscuit 
 (twice-baked), is evidently derived from the 
 nature of the processes to which this kind of 
 bread was formerly subjected. The two bakings 
 then used are no longer found necessary ; but 
 the name, although thus rendered inappro- 
 priate, has been continued. The same name 
 is applied, inappropriately also, to several 
 articles made by confectioners, such as sponge 
 biscuits, Naples biscuits, &c., which are 
 sweetened with sugar, and are not reduced by 
 baking to the state of dryness which is a 
 necessary quality of biscuits in their ordi- 
 nary form. Biscuits for use as ship-bread are 
 usually made of the meal of wheat from which 
 only the coarsest bran has been separated. 
 The process of mixing, kneading, stamping, 
 and baking by hand were brought to an almost 
 machine-like degree of rapidity and regularity 
 in the great biscuit manufactories established 
 by government for supplying the British navy ; 
 but of late years they have been still further 
 perfected and facilitated by the introduction of 
 machinery, by which the dough is thoroughly 
 mixed and rolled out into sheets about two 
 yards long and one wide, which are stamped at 
 one stroke, into about sixty hexagonal biscuits 
 of about six to the pound, in such a manner 
 as to leave the sheet sufficiently coherent to 
 be put into the oven as one piece, though 
 when baked the biscuits are easily separated. 
 The hexagonal shape has been substituted for 
 the circular, because it effects a saving of time 
 and material, and also of space in packing. 
 
 At the ship biscuit bakery of Mr. Harrison, 
 at Liverpool, an apparatus has been con- 
 structed which exceeds in automatic complete- 
 ness even that employed at the government 
 establishments ; for the made biscuits travel 
 into the oven without the aid of any peel or 
 other hand-worked tool. The flour and water 
 are placed in a cylinder, mixed well together 
 by revolving bars, kneaded by a large iron cy- 
 linder, and spread like a large sheet on an 
 endless cloth. As this cloth travels along, a 
 nicely adjusted piece of mechanism cuts the 
 
373 
 
 BISCUIT. 
 
 BITTERS. 
 
 37-1 
 
 dough into the shape of six-sided biscuits, and 
 stamps them. Passing along the endless 
 cloth, the biscuits are received by a kind of 
 gridiron and enter the oven. This oven is 26 
 feet long ; it is heated by hot water, and bakes 
 the biscuits as they slowly travel through it. 
 The mechanism was patented by Mr. Harri- 
 son in 1849. 
 
 BISCUIT, in pottery, is a term applied to 
 articles which have been only once baked or 
 burnt, and have not yet received the glaze or 
 vitreous coat, with which most articles of por- 
 celain or earthenware are covered. The name 
 appears to be given on account of the resem- 
 blance of such wares in colour and texture to 
 ship-bread. Biscuit-ware is permeable to water, 
 which, however, it imbibes without undergoing 
 any alteration of texture; and owing to this 
 quality it is used for vessels in which fluids are 
 cooled by evaporation from the outer surface. 
 Statuettes of great delicacy are now made of 
 this material. 
 
 BISMUTH. The minerals in which this 
 metal constitutes the principal ingredient are 
 comparatively few in number. Native or Oc- 
 tahedral Bismuth occurs in opaque crystals, 
 having a metallic lustre, and a reddish silver- 
 white fracture. Bismuth-ochre is a .straw- 
 coloured mineral, consisting of an oxide of the 
 metal. Bismuth-glance is a lead-gray-coloured 
 mineral, occurring in four-sided prisms, having 
 a metallic lustre ; it is a sulphuret of the metal. 
 
 The pure metal, bismuth, was first shown to 
 be a peculiar one by Stahl and Dufay : this 
 metal generally occurs native, sometimes com- 
 bined with sulphur, but rarely with oxygen, in 
 Saxony, Bohemia, and Transylvania. It is 
 largely produced at Schneeberg, in Saxony, to 
 the extent of 10,000 Ibs. per annum. Bismuth 
 is of a reddish- white colour ; its lustre is con- 
 siderable, and its structure lamellated : it is 
 so brittle as to be easily reducible to powder 
 when cold ; it melts at about 470 or 480. 
 At a high temperature this metal is volatilised, 
 may be distilled in close vessels, and solidifies 
 in foliated crystals ; if it be merely melted in 
 a crucible and cautiously cooled, it crystallises 
 in well-defined cubes. 
 
 Bismuth and the metals generally combine 
 to form alloys, and it frequently renders the 
 metal with which it unites more fusible. Po 
 tassium, sodium, arsenic, antimony, and tellu- 
 rium, all form alloys with bismuth. It impart 
 brittleness to copper, silver, tungsten, palla- 
 dium, rhodium, gold, and platinum, when al- 
 loyed with them. With mercury it forms a 
 very fluid alloy. Newton's fusible metal is 
 composed of eight parts of bismuth, five oi 
 lead, three of tin ; this alloy melts at 212 
 Hose's alloy is still more fusible ; it is made 
 
 )f two parts bismuth, one lead, and one tin ; 
 t fuses at about 201. 
 
 Bismuth and Acids combine to form salts of 
 Bismuth, many of which are used in medicine 
 and the arts. Bismuth is principally eni 
 _ loyed for the purpose of making fusible alloys 
 and as an ingre'dient hi solders. It is often 
 called in the arts tin-glass. For medicinal pur- 
 joses, the subnitrate or magistery of bismuth 
 s sometimes employed. The cosmetic termed 
 pearl white, or Spanish white, is subnitrate of 
 }ismuth. 
 
 BISON. This fine animal is much valued 
 ?y the North American Indians : among whom 
 the flesh is in great request, and is prepared 
 n various ways. The tongue is accounted an 
 especial delicacy; and the hump, or rather the 
 flesh on the long spinous processes of the an- 
 terior dorsal vertebra, forming the withers, is 
 accounted excellent. Much of the bison meat 
 is made into pemmlcan for keeping, and a good 
 bison cow furnishes dried flesh and fat suffi- 
 cient to make a bag weighing ninety pounds. 
 A fat bull has yielded a hundred and fifty 
 pounds weight of tallow. The Indians dress 
 the skins generally with the hair on; they 
 serve as blankets and warm wrappers, and are 
 sold for a considerable sum. The fleece is also 
 useful, and is spun and woven into various ar- 
 ticles. Dr. Richardson informs us that some 
 of the bison wool has been manufactured in 
 England into a remarkably fine and beautiful 
 cloth ; in the colony of Osnaboya on the Red 
 River, a warm and durable cloth is formed of it. 
 The horns are converted into powder-flasks. 
 
 BISTRE, a brown pigment made of the soot 
 of different lands of wood, but that of beech is 
 generally preferred. The soot of the burned 
 wood is sifted, steeped in water, decanted, and 
 dried, to obtain a pure clean powder. Bistre 
 is not used in oil painting, but produces the 
 same effect in water-colours as brown pink 
 does in oil. 
 
 BITTERS, a collective term applied to those 
 vegetable substances the most prominent sen- 
 sible quality of which is bitterness. It was at 
 one time attempted to refer this quality to an 
 hypothetical principle, which was termed Utter 
 principle ; but it was soon perceived that sbu- 
 stances having a bitter taste were indebted for 
 it to very different sources. A certain quan- 
 tity of bitter matter seems to promote the di- 
 gestion of all food; hence bitter substances 
 are found abundantly distributed in the vege- 
 table kingdom. Where there is a deficiency 
 of bitter matter, and the food is of a very 
 watery kind, such as grows in wet pastures, 
 cattle are known to suffer from various dis- 
 eases, especially from the rot. The best known 
 bitters, perhaps, are quassia, wormwood, aloes, 
 
875 
 
 BITTERSPAR. 
 
 ! 
 
 BLACKBUKN. 
 
 876 
 
 chamomile, colocynth, gentian, hop, rhubarb 
 rue, trefoil, and briony. Bitters is also th 
 name for a class of beverages. The Swiss pea 
 sant, inhabiting high stations on the Alps 
 which are almost constantly wrapped in 
 thick and penetrating mist, uses a spirit dis 
 tilled from gentian, called bitter snaps. In th 
 West Indies, where languor of the system, with 
 weakness of the digestive organs, is produced bj 
 the excessive heat, the appetite is restored anc 
 the stomach invigorated by taking before din 
 ner a few drops in a glass of water of an elixii 
 made of gentian, serpeutaiia, orange-peel, anc 
 sweet flag-root; and in America the infusion or 
 tincture of serpentaria is sometimes taken every 
 morning in damp aguish situations to prevent 
 intermittents. In England, the " bitters" of 
 the spirit shops are made of brandy, orange- 
 peel, gentian, cassia, cloves or some other 
 spice, sugar, and one or two other ingredients. 
 BITTERSPAR is a crystallized mineral, 
 sometimes colourless, but frequently presents 
 tints of pink, yellow, brown, and green, derived 
 from the presence of iron and manganese. It 
 possesses various degrees of transparency, and 
 has a somewhat pearly lustre, whence it has 
 been called pearlspar. 
 
 BITUMEN. A considerable number of 
 combustible mineral substances are sometimes 
 arranged under the head of bitumens; but 
 then: properties vary greatly hi some respects, 
 as, for example, with regard to solidity, fluidity, 
 and colour. The term bitumen is however 
 usually applied to two varieties, a harder kind 
 called asphaltum [ASPHALTUM], and a softer 
 kind called elastic bitumen. Naphtha is a 
 fluid kind, and petroleum semi-fluid. 
 
 Elastic bitumen, sometimes called fossil 
 caoutchouc, is a rare mineral product. ' It is 
 found in the Odin mine, near Castleton, in 
 Derbyshire; in a coal-mine of Montrelais, a 
 few leagues from Angers, in France ; and in a 
 coal-mine near South Bury, in Massachusets, 
 United States. 
 
 Elastic bitumen is brown or blackish brown, 
 translucent in small portions, soft and elastic 
 like caoutchouc, but sometimes hard as lea- 
 ther. Its density varies from 0.9053 to 1.233. 
 It fuses readily, and at a higher temperature it 
 takes fire and burns with a sooty flame. It is but 
 slightly soluble in alcohol, but readily in potash. 
 According to the analysis of M. Henry, jun., 
 the elastic bitumen consists of 
 
 Carbon 
 Hydrogen 
 Azote 
 Oxygen 
 
 English. 
 
 52.250 
 7.496 
 0.154 
 
 40.100 
 
 100. 
 
 French. 
 
 58.260 
 4.890 
 0.104 
 
 36.746 
 
 100. 
 
 In Texas there has recently been discovered 
 a bituminous lake very similar to that of Trin- 
 idad. It is situated in Jeflerson county, about 
 100 miles from Houston. It is about a quarter 
 of a mile in circumference. In the summer 
 months there is a spring near the middle of 
 the lake where an oily liquid like petroleum 
 continually boils up from the bottom ; this 
 liquid gradually hardens on exposure to the 
 air, and forms a black pitchy substance. It 
 burns, when lighted, with a clear bright light, 
 but gives out a very pungent odour. During 
 the winter the bitumen in the lake presents a 
 hard surface, and is covered with water having 
 a somewhat sour taste. 
 
 BLACK LEAD. [PLUMBAGO.] 
 
 BLACKBURN. This is one of the great 
 cotton manufacturing towns of Lancashire. As 
 far back as 1650, one particular article of 
 the staple trade of the county was produced 
 here with better success than in any other 
 place. It was known by the name of ' Black 
 burn checks,' and was a species of cloth con- 
 sisting of a linen warp and cotton woof, onu 
 or both of which being dyed in the thread, 
 jave to the piece when woven a striped or 
 checked appearance. This fabric was after- 
 wards superseded by another, ' the Blackburn 
 jrays,' so called because the materials of which 
 t was composed were not dyed, but sent to the 
 >rinters unbleached, or as it is technically 
 described, in the gray state, in order to have 
 .he patterns stamped upon them. In the hi*- 
 ory of the improvements by which the rnauu- 
 acture of cotton has been brought to its present 
 itate of perfection, it appears that several im- 
 )rovements of considerable importance owe 
 heir discovery to the ingenuity and talent of 
 natives of this town. Among others the in- 
 ention of the crank and comb for taking the 
 arding from the cylinder of the carding- en- 
 gine, undoubtedly belongs to James Hargruve, 
 a working carpenter of Blackburn. His patent 
 vas one of the earliest that was taken out for 
 he construction of the spinning-jenny. But, 
 or a long period, the chief article manufac- 
 ured here was calicoes, for which the Black- 
 urn weavers were celebrated. This branch 
 >f trade is now transferred to the power looms, 
 md the remnant of hand-loom weavers are 
 hiefly employed in making low-priced muslins. 
 
 According to statistics recently furnished to 
 us, there are now (1850) from 50,000 to 
 )Q,000 pieces of cotton goods manufactured 
 ,ach week in Blackburn and the vicinity, on 
 which above 10,000 persons are employed. 
 The annual value of the goods produced is 
 upposed to exceed 2,000,000/. About 100,000 
 pindles are employed in cotton -spinning, pro- 
 Lucing about 100,000 pounds of yarn weekly, 
 
377 
 
 BLACK SEA. 
 
 BLASTING. 
 
 378 
 
 at 40 hanks to the pound. The power-looms 
 and woven fabrics of Blackburn will be illus- 
 trated at the Industrial Exhibition. 
 
 BLACK SEA. This important sea was an 
 emporium of commerce in very early times 
 The Greeks, and more especially the Ionian 
 Greeks of Miletus, formed numerous estab- 
 lishments along its shores, from which they 
 exported slaves, cattle, and corn in great quan- 
 tities. The shores were pretty well known to 
 the Komans. In the times of the Byzantine 
 emperors, Constantinople drew from it a con- 
 siderable part of its provision ; and in the 
 twelfth century the Genoese formed some es 
 tablishments on its north-eastern coast, and 
 carried on a very active commerce overland 
 with India. When the Turks acquired power 
 in this quarter, the trade of this sea declined, 
 but the rise of Eussian power on the northern 
 shore gave a new impulse to it. At the pre- 
 sent time foe number of Greek vessels is by 
 far the greatest in this sea. They export 
 the corn, hides, timber, iron, and furs of 
 Eussia, and import wine, fruits, and the ma- 
 nufactures of England and France. Between 
 the northern and southern shores of the Black 
 Sea the commercial intercourse is not great, 
 the produce of the Anatolian shores, which 
 consists of grain, timber, and copper, not 
 being in demand in Eussia, which exports the 
 same commodities. There are veiy few fish- 
 eries carried on hi this sea. 
 
 BLADDEES, when brought to a clean and 
 prepared state, are especially useful to drug- 
 gists, oilmen, colourmen, and other manufac- 
 turers, as coverings for various kinds of ves- 
 sels ; they derive their value from their thin- 
 ness, toughness, and impermeability to water. 
 The bladders of the ox and other animals, 
 when deprived of bits of loose membrane and 
 other impurities, are washed in a weak solu- 
 tion of chloride of lime ; then rinsed in clean 
 water ; then blown out and submitted to pres- 
 sure by rolling them under the arm, which 
 stretches and enlarges them ; then blown out 
 quite tight, and fastened and dried. 
 
 BLASTING has long been practised as the 
 most efficient mode of removing or detaching 
 heavy masses of rock in mining operations, 
 and, by reason of recent improvements, has 
 become one of the most important resources 
 of the civil engineer. The old method of 
 blasting rocks consisted in drilling or boring 
 a hole to a considerable depth with suitable 
 instruments, depositing a charge of gunpowder 
 at the lower or farther end of the hole, and 
 then filling up, ' r ' tamping,' the remainder of 
 the hole with cl iy, or some other soft mineral 
 substance, well rammed, to make it as tight 
 as possible. A wire laid in the hole during 
 
 this operation was subsequently withdrawn, 
 and a train of gunpowder inserted in its place ; 
 and this train, and consequently the blast it- 
 self, was fired by a slow match (often consist- 
 ing simply of brown paper smeared with 
 grease), intended to burn long enough to 
 allow the person who fired it to reach a place 
 of safety. Many accidents have arisen from 
 the uncertainty of this process, the risk of 
 which has however been lessened by the sub- 
 stitution of copper for iron in the ' needle ' by 
 which a passage for the train is formed. Beck- 
 ford's ' safety fuse,' too, is a great improve- 
 ment ; it consists of a small train of powder 
 inserted in a water-proof cord, which burns at 
 so steady and uniform a rate, that by cutting 
 it to a suitable length any desired interval may 
 be secured between the lighting and the ex- 
 plosion. 
 
 The great improvement of modern times 
 however consists in the employment of a gal- 
 vanic current to ignite the powder, an ar- 
 rangement which renders premature explosion 
 next to impossible. A galvanic current, so 
 long as it passes along an uninterrupted wire, 
 is perfectly harmless ; but if its course be in- 
 terrupted by breaking the continuity of the 
 wire, intense heat, sufficient to ignite powder, 
 is produced. In addition to the superior 
 safety and certainty of this mode of firing, it 
 has the advantage of being applicable under 
 water as well as on land, and, by its perfectly 
 instantaneous action, of enabling the engineer 
 to fire as many blasts as he may desire at one 
 operation, so as to accomplish, by their joint 
 action, effects otherwise unattainable. 
 
 Colonel (now General) Pasley first employed 
 galvanism in submarine blasting in 1839, in 
 tris successful operations on the wreck of the 
 Eoyal George at Spithead. Shortly afterwards 
 alvanic blasting, both on land and under 
 water, was practised both in America and in 
 Scotland; but it was in January 1843 that Mr. 
 William Cubitt commenced, on the works of 
 the South-E astern Eailway, the stupendous 
 operations which established its capabilities on 
 a scale never before attempted. He began by 
 throwing down, by three simultaneous blasts, 
 consuming together about 18,000 Ibs. or more 
 than eight tons of gunpowder, a bulky pro- 
 montory called the Eound Down Cliff, between 
 ,he Abbot's Cliff and Shakspere tunnels, near 
 Dover. By this operation, which was attended 
 with very little noise, a cliff nearly 400 feet 
 ligh was thrown down, and no less than 
 iOO,000 cubic yards of chalk were distributed 
 iver the beach, covering an area of 18 acres 
 o an average depth of 14 feet; and it was 
 computed that 7000/. and six months' tune 
 were saved to the company. Several smaller 
 
879 
 
 BLAST FURNACE. 
 
 BLEACHING. 
 
 380 
 
 operations followed this great experiment, in 
 one of which twenty-eight blasts were arranged 
 to explode simultaneously, although fron: 
 some derangement of the wires a few failed 
 The same agency has since been extensively 
 employed elsewhere, especially at Seaford in 
 1850. 
 
 The latest invention relating to blasting 
 which requires notice is the substitution of 
 gun-cotton for gunpowder, which bids fair still 
 further to diminish danger and to increase the 
 certainty of the operation. From experiments 
 tried early in 1817, at the. Standege tunnel, on 
 the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway, 
 and on the works of the Birmingham, Wol- 
 verhampton, and Stour Valley Railway at 
 Birmingham, it appears that the effects of the 
 gun cotton is, weight for weight, from three 
 to five times as great as that of gunpowder ; 
 so that a much smaller bore will suffice for 
 the blast, and it may be, with equal labour, 
 carried down much deeper into the rock. A 
 still more important difference is, that the 
 gun-cotton produces no -smoke, so that the 
 workmen may resume their labours immedi- 
 ately after the explosion, instead of having to 
 wait several hours, and sometimes awhole day, 
 as when gunpowder is used. The cotton also 
 produces much less noise and vibration, and 
 is considered far less liable to accident in 
 removal from place to place than gunpowder. 
 
 BLAST FURNACE. [FURNACE.] 
 
 BLEACHING is the whitening of fibrous 
 materials used as clothing. Wool and silk, 
 cotton and flax, the substances most usually 
 submitted to this process, contain certain co- 
 louring matters which, though natural, are 
 not essential constituents ; and these colour- 
 ing matters are more readily acted upon by 
 chemical agents, and suffer decomposition with 
 greater facility than the animal and vegetable 
 substances with which they are combined ; so 
 that they may be removed with little or no 
 injury to the texture of the articles, thereby 
 increasing their beauty, and fitting them for 
 the processes of the dyer and calico-printer. 
 
 Bleaching is a very ancient process, and was 
 practised especially in Egypt, but probably in 
 a very simple and tedious way ; the process, 
 perhaps, consisting of little more than expo- 
 sure to air, light, and moisture. The art was 
 scarcely known in Great Britain until about a 
 century since, it, having formerly been usual 
 to send brown Scotch linen to Holland to be 
 bleached, where it was done by steeping seve- 
 ral days in a solution of potash, and subse- 
 quently for nearly a week in butter-milk, and 
 then spreading it out upon grass for some 
 months. One of the first improvements on 
 'this tedious process was the introduction, 
 
 about the middle of the last century, by Dr. 
 Home, of Edinburgh, of dilute sulphuric acid 
 in lieu of sour milk, by which the process, 
 which formerly occupied from six to eight 
 months, was reduced to four months, the acid 
 being as effectual in one day's application as 
 the milk in six or eight weeks. This improve- 
 ment was eclipsed by the application of chlo- 
 rine, formerly called dephlogisticated marine 
 acid, or oxymuriatic acid, which was discovered 
 by Scheele about 1774. Berthollet suggested 
 its application to bleaching in 1785, in a paper 
 read before the Academy of Sciences at 
 Paris ; and from him the process was shortly 
 afterwards introduced into Scotland by 
 Watt. About the same time Mr. Thomas 
 Henry, of Manchester, introduced the process 
 in Lancashire ; and to these two gentlemen 
 belongs the credit of perfecting and applying 
 in this country a process whereby as much 
 bleaching is as well performed in a k few hours, 
 \\ithin a space a few hundred yards square, 
 as on the old process would have required 
 weeks of exposure upon a hundred acres of 
 land. The chlorine was first used in a state 
 of simple solution in water ; but chloride of 
 lime, commonly called bleaching powder, for 
 the manufacture of which Mr. Tennant, of 
 Glasgow, obtained a patent in 1799, is now 
 almost universally employed, especially hi the 
 aleaching of cotton. Sulphurous acid gas, or 
 the fumes of burning sulphur, is also often 
 employed in bleaching wool and silk, as well 
 as straw and feathers. Wax is usually bleached 
 imply by exposure to air, light, and moisture. 
 
 Scarcely a year elapses without developing 
 some new processes or apparatus for bleaching, 
 which are made the subjects of patents, though 
 not always with advantage to the patentees. 
 VI. David, of Paris, took out a patent in 1849 
 "or a peculiar mode of applying chlorine to 
 ;he goods to be bleached. The chemical ma- 
 .erials for making the gas are to be provided 
 )y the bleacher ; and as the gas is generated, 
 t is conveyed by pipes into a close chamber. 
 The woven goods are to be laid on perforated 
 shelves in this chamber, and thus be acted on 
 by the chlorine. A fan or blowing machine 
 
 used to clear the chamber of gas before the 
 goods are removed from it ; and glass windows 
 are provided to the chamber, through which 
 he process may be watched. Messrs. Cock- 
 Bey and Nightingale, in the same year patented 
 ,n apparatus to be used' in bleaching, dyeing, 
 >r sizing ; it consists in a peculiar way of cori- 
 iuctinqj tbe cloth into and through a vessel of 
 iquid, and beating it on both surfaces imme- 
 diately after its emersion ; so that the fibres 
 oecome impregnated, and the superfluous 
 liquid driven off. A third patent in the same 
 
J81 
 
 BLEIBERG. 
 
 BLOCK MACHINERY. 
 
 382 
 
 year, by Mr. Thorn, relates to a mode of caus- 
 ing the woven goods to pass over two rollers, 
 one above another, in a close chamber filled 
 with chlorine or sulphurous acid gas. 
 
 The bleach-works of Lancashire and Glas- 
 gow are among the largest and finest of our 
 manufacturing establishments ; exhibiting 
 mechanical contrivance, chemical knowledge, 
 and those powers of combination and classifi- 
 cation so remarkably developed where many 
 hundred persons are employed. 
 
 BLEIBERG, is the seat of one of the Aus- 
 trian mining departments, and its neighbour- 
 hood contains valuable lead mines, which pro- 
 duce annually about 2000 tons of metal. About 
 80 tons of red lead also are annually produced. 
 There are besides valuable copper mines and 
 marble quarries in the neighbourhood. 
 
 BLIND, MECHANISM FOR THE. 
 There are many ingenious mechanical contri- 
 vances for assisting in the instruction of the 
 blind. 
 
 In the infancy of the art of teaching the 
 blind, raised music was invented, in order that 
 they might be enabled to acquire their lessons 
 independent of a master. In 1827 the Society 
 of Arts gave the large silver medal for a con- 
 trivance by Don Jaime Isern, the object of 
 which is to enable a blind composer to transfer 
 his thoughts to paper in the usual musical 
 notation, without the necessity of employing 
 an amanuensis. Embossed music, and maps 
 and globes for teaching geography, would na- 
 turally be suggested to those persons who 
 were engaged in teaching reading to the blind 
 by raised figures. M. Weissembourg, a blind 
 man of Mannheim, appears to have been the 
 first person who made relief-maps ; up to which 
 time the instruction given to the blind on 
 geography was merely oral. Various methods 
 for producing maps of this character were 
 employed, but at first without success ; after 
 a time, however, the chief difficulties were 
 conquered, and a process which is minutely 
 described by Dr. Guillie has supplied all the 
 maps which have been in use at the Parisian 
 Institution to the present time. The map of 
 a country is pasted upon thick pasteboard, a 
 wire is then bent round the curves of the 
 coast, and along the courses of he rivers ; 
 these wires are fastened down, and a second 
 map in every respect similar to the first is 
 pasted over it ; when this is pressed, the 
 windings of the wire will be easily traced by 
 the touch. Another plan consists in having 
 a metal plate engraved with all the lines, ele- 
 vations, boundary marks, positions of towns, 
 &c. ; from this plate impressions are struck 
 in pasteboard, which produce a perfect em- 
 bossed map. There is an elementary treatise 
 
 on mathematics, by the Rev. William Taylor, 
 of York, called ' The Diagrams of Euclid's 
 Elements of Geometry, arranged according to 
 Simpson's edition, in an embossed or tangible 
 form, for the use of blind persons who wish 
 to enter upon the study of that noble science,' 
 York, 1828. 
 
 The intellectual education of the blind has 
 made great advances within the last few years. 
 The interest connected with the question of 
 4 Types for the Blind,' to which considerable 
 impetus was given by the Society of Arts for 
 Scotland at Edinburgh, who offered their gold 
 medal for the best alphabet for the blind, has 
 tended greatly to bring about this change. 
 The late Mr. John Alston, the treasurer of the 
 Glasgow Asylum, adopted the plain Roman 
 characters deprived of their small extremities 
 the sans-serif of type-founders ; and, finding 
 that it could be easily read, that it would also 
 enable any seeing person who could read to 
 be a teacher of the blind, he at once procured 
 founts of type, and published several works in 
 raised letters ; the success of these for their 
 special object established the pre-eminence of 
 his alphabet. He also brought out some 
 beautiful embossed music and maps ; and he 
 published the Old and New Testaments in 19 
 vols., super-royal 4to. The paper used for 
 these works is strongly sized, to retain the 
 impression. In order to account for the great 
 extent of the Bible, it must be borne in mind 
 that the paper can only be printed on one side, 
 and that the letters require to be of consider- 
 able size in order to be distinct to the touch. 
 The printing is effected by a copper-plate 
 press. The types being strongly relieved, and 
 liable frequently to give way under the heavy 
 pressure required, it was necessary to have 
 them re-cast four times during the progress 
 of the work. The whole of the works have 
 been completed within the walls of the Glas- 
 gow Asylum, a man and a boy acting as com 
 positors, there being one pressman, and the 
 ordinary teacher acting as corrector of the 
 press. 
 
 The different kinds of industrial works exe- 
 cuted by the blind are nearly the same in all 
 the asylums, varying slightly with the require- 
 ments of the district : at Glasgow they are 
 house baskets of all kinds, mill baskets and 
 hampers, door-mats, twines, mattresses, hair- 
 friction gloves, curled hair for upholsterers, 
 hearth and door rugs, table rugs, fringed rugs, 
 articles of needle-work, stockings and pan- 
 soufles, nets, sacks and sacking. 
 
 BLOCK MACHINERY. The vast number 
 of blocks constantly required for the use of 
 the English navy and the mercantile marine 
 of this country may be understood from the 
 
383 
 
 BLOCK MACHINERY. 
 
 BLOW-PIPE. 
 
 384 
 
 fact, that upwards of 1400 blocks of all sorts 
 are needed for fitting one ship of 74 guns ; 
 while for smaller vessels, although the sizes 
 may be different, the number will not mate- 
 rially vary from what is here stated. These 
 blocks are a kind of pulley, for fastening and 
 guiding the rigging. It was long a matter of 
 considerable moment to devise means for sim- 
 plifying the mode of manufacture, which re- 
 quires great accuracy, and thus diminishing 
 the cost. In 1781 a large manufactory was 
 established at Southampton by Mr. Taylor, 
 who had secured a patent for an improved 
 method of making sheaves, and who further 
 adapted machinery for cutting the timber and 
 shaping the shells of the blocks. Mr. Taylor 
 for some time supplied all the blocks re- 
 quired for the navy ; but shortly after the ex- 
 piration of his patent machinery was intro- 
 duced into the dock-yard at Portsmouth, and 
 the government undertook the manufacture, 
 with the double object of economy, and of 
 being independent of any individual for the 
 supply of an article of first necessity for the 
 equipment of ships. 
 
 About this time (1801) the late Sir M. I. 
 Brunei succeeded in completing a perfect 
 working model for constructing both the shells 
 and sheaves of blocks. This model being 
 submitted to the inspection of the Lords of 
 the Admiralty, the invention was at once 
 adopted by government, and the inventor was 
 engaged to superintend the construction of 
 the requisite machinery upon a scale suffi- 
 ciently large for making blocks to supply the 
 whole naval service of the country. The com- 
 pletion of this machinery occupied nearly six 
 years, and was not brought into full operation 
 until September 1808, since which time it has 
 been found to work without requiring any 
 alteration. It is a truly beautiful combination 
 of mechanism. It consists mainly of an 
 assemblage of saws and lathes, forming an 
 extensive series of machines all of which are 
 set in motion by one steam-engine. By some 
 of these the logs of elm from which the shells 
 are to be formed are cut up into pieces of 
 suitable dimensions ; others bore the holes for 
 the pins or axles, and cut the mortices into 
 which the sheaves are to be placed ; others cut 
 off the corners and complete the rounding and 
 shaping of the shell by very ingenious arrange- 
 ments ; and another, the scoring-machine, 
 cuts the grooves intended to receive the rope 
 by which the block is to be suspended. An- 
 other series of apparatus is provided for cut- 
 ting the lignurn-vitae of which the sheaves are 
 made into slices, sawing them to a circular 
 shape and cutting a round hole in the centre, 
 fixing in the centre hole a metal conk, or ring- 
 
 through which the axis is to pass, forming the 
 groove in the edge of the sheave, and turning 
 and polishing the iron pins for the axles. It 
 is found that with this machinery ten men can 
 perform the work that previously required 
 one hundred and ten, and can easily produce 
 140,000 blocks per annum. Sir M. I. Brunei 
 received 20,000/. from government as a reward 
 for his ingenuity; yet it is said that the savhtt/a 
 of four years, as compared with the cost of 
 blocks made in the former manner, were suffi- 
 cient to defray this sum and the whole cost of 
 erecting the buildings and machinery. So 
 important has this mechanism been regarded, 
 in a national point of view, that duplicate ma- 
 chines have been constructed in the Chatham 
 dock-yard, to be used in case of accident to 
 those at Portsmouth. 
 
 Ship's blocks for the mercantile navy are 
 still made by hand, and improvements are 
 frequently made therein. 
 
 Among many recent patents relating to 
 ship's blocks, one by Mr. Stowe, of Bermuda, 
 describes the use of a metal fork which 
 contains the block, and which has a hole 
 chilled in the lower part of each leg ; through 
 this pair of holes is passed the spindle on 
 which the spear revolves. Another patent, 
 taken out by Capt. Chamier in 1849, relates 
 to improvements in the strapping, the cheeks, 
 and the sheaves. Instead of the ordinary rope 
 strapping, a coil of strands of iron wire is used, 
 coated or painted for preservation ; the cheeks 
 are formed of two thin metallic sheets, one 
 flat and one convex, filled up by soft metal 
 between them ; the sheave is formed of three 
 metal discs the outer ones bent, and having 
 their ends turned over to form the groove for 
 the rope, while the centre one is kept straight. 
 
 BLOOD is useful for many purposes in the 
 Arts. The blood of the bullock is employed 
 for the clarification of wines and spirits ; for 
 the preparation of adhesive cements ; for mix- 
 ing with coarse paint for out-door work ; as 
 an ingredient in some modes of bleaching ; 
 and as a manure. Dried or powdered blood 
 is prepared for export to the West Indies, 
 where it is used in clarifying sugar ; the dry- 
 ing is effected by exposing the bullock's blood 
 to currents-of warm air. Dried bullock's blood 
 is said to be much used in adulterating musk. 
 
 BLOW-PIPE. This instrument, in the 
 simple form in which it has long been em- 
 ployed by jewellers and others in soldering 
 upon a small scale, is a metallic tube seven or 
 eight inches long, about a quarter of an inch 
 in diameter at one end, and gradually tapering 
 to a fine point, pierced by an extremely mi- 
 nute orifice at the other. The tube is bent to 
 a right angle about an inch or an inch and a 
 
385 
 
 BLOW-PIPE. 
 
 BLOWING-MACHINES. 
 
 386 
 
 half from its smaller extremity ; and, the 
 larger end being inserted in the mouth of the 
 operator, it is used to direct the flame of a 
 lamp upon the solder or other substance to be 
 l.eated. The substance thus operated upon 
 is laid upon a piece of charcoal held in the 
 left hand of the operator, and a steady gentle 
 current of air is impelled through the pipe by 
 contracting the muscles of the cheek, the 
 mouth having been previously inflated with 
 air. The power of thus producing a blast 
 without the aid of the lungs, and of respiring 
 during the operation, is an important accom- 
 plishment, as without it the health may be 
 injured by the use of the blow-pipe ; and ex- 
 perience is necessary to enable the operator 
 to regulate the strength of the blast, which if 
 too great will diminish the heat by throwing 
 too much air into the flame, and if too weak 
 will produce a feeble flame. 
 
 In the simplest form of blow-pipe, the col- 
 lection of water from the condensed moisture 
 of the breath prevents the continuance of the 
 blast for any length of time. This inconven- 
 ience is avoided by making the blow-pipe in 
 two pieces, and interposing between them a 
 receptacle for retaining the water, and prevent- 
 ing its entrance to the finer portion of the pipe. 
 
 The application of the blow-pipe to scien- 
 tific purposes appears to have originated about 
 1738, when Antony Swab, a Swedish bergrath, 
 or counsellor of mines, employed it in the ex- 
 amination of ores and minerals. Cronstedt, 
 whose system of mineralogy, based upon the 
 chemical composition of the minerals, was 
 published in 1758, by the employment of 
 fluxes in the experiments performed with this 
 instrument, may be considered the founder of 
 a new department of chemical science ; Berg- 
 man published a Latin treatise embodying the 
 results of his researches with it in 1779 ; and 
 Gahn, though he left no work on the subject, 
 far exceeded any of his predecessors in expe- 
 riments with this instrument, the results of 
 which were subsequently given to the world 
 by J. J. Berzelius, in a treatise, of which Eng- 
 lish, French, and German translations have 
 appeared. 
 
 Modifications of the common blow-pipe have 
 been contrived with jets of hydrogen or oxy- 
 gen, or of the two gases combined in definite 
 proportions. By the oxyhydrogen blow-pipe, 
 which, though highly dangerous in the form 
 in which it was originally contrived by Dr. 
 Hare, of Philadelphia, early in the present 
 century, has by successive improvements, been 
 rendered a safe apparatus, the hardest and 
 most refractory substances, including all kinds 
 of jewels and other stones, metals, rock crys- 
 tal, and every description of porcelain, may be 
 
 fused or sublimed, and the most brilliant 
 effects of combustion may be produced. 
 
 BLOWING MACHINES. Bellows, or ma- 
 chines for directing a current of air upon a 
 fire, to excite the requisite intensity of com- 
 bustion for metallurgical and other operations, 
 are of very early origin. Eosellini represents 
 an Egyptian painting in which a man is en- 
 gaged in working two pairs of bellows with 
 his feet, having strings to assist in raising 
 the boards of the- exhausted pair to admit a 
 fresh supply of air. Bellows consist, essen- 
 tially, of an air-tight chamber capable of alter- 
 nate expansion and contraction, and furnished 
 with two valves, one opening inwards to admit 
 air while the chamber is expanding, and the 
 other opening outwards into a pipe or muzzle, 
 to allow the air to escape when the chamber 
 is compressed. In some of the recent Expo- 
 sitions of Manufactures, bellows have been 
 exhibited which show great beauty in form 
 and ornament. 
 
 The blast from common bellows being ne- 
 cessarily intermittent, and variable in inten- 
 sity, it is necessary, when a continuous blast 
 is required, either to employ two or more 
 separate beUows or pairs of bellows, working 
 alternately ; or, where more perfect equability 
 is required, to direct the air expelled from the 
 bellows into a second chamber of variable di- 
 mensions, which is kept under a constant and 
 uniform pressure, and from which the blast is 
 directed into the nozzle. In forge-bellows of 
 this construction three boards are used, con- 
 nected by leather sides, which are kept in re- 
 gular folds by hoops of cane. The middle 
 board, to the upper side of which the nozzle 
 is attached, is fixed in a horizontal position, 
 and the upper and lower boards are moveable, 
 forming two chambers, of which the lower one 
 is kept distended by weights excepting when 
 the board is raised by a lever and chains, and 
 forms the part analagous to ordinary bellows ; 
 while the upper one, which is constantly com- 
 pressed by weights attached to the top board, 
 constitutes the air-chamber or reservoir. In 
 the best smith's bellows the boards are circu- 
 lar, instead of being pear-shaped like the do - 
 mestic machine, and in some helical springs 
 are used instead of weights. Very simple and 
 efficient bellows may be made of wood alone, 
 on the model of common bellows, by the use 
 of two boxes sliding upon one another so as 
 to constitute, jointly, a chamber of variable 
 dimensions ; and the missionary Williams, in 
 the absence of leather for ordinary bellows, con- 
 structed an efficient blowing-machine of wood, 
 consisting of two square boxes with pistons 
 arranged to rise and fall alternately. Wooden 
 bellows are sometimes used in large organs. 
 
M87 
 
 BLUE. 
 
 BOG. 
 
 388 
 
 The trombc, or trompe, is a blowing engine 
 often referred to by old writers, in which a 
 shower of water, in its fall down a large verti- 
 cal tube, draws with it so much air as to pro 
 duce a powerful current, which is conducted 
 from the bottom of the tube, where it is sepa- 
 rated from the water, to the furnace. The 
 most important blowing-machines however 
 for metallurgical operations, are those in 
 which the air is alternately drawn into and 
 expelled from large cylinders resembling 
 those of a steam-engine, by the action of pis- 
 tons impelled either by water wheels or by 
 steam-engines. The first machines of this 
 character were constructed by Smeaton for 
 the Carron Foundry about 1700. The cylin- 
 ders, of which any number may be employed, 
 usually force the air into large air-chests, or 
 chambers of iron or masonry, from which it 
 is conducted to the blast-pines, which are 
 called tuyeres or lircers. The force of the 
 blast may be regulated either by a contrivance 
 resembling a safety-valve, allowing the air to 
 escape when the pressure exceeds a given 
 degree, or by connecting with the air-chest an 
 apparatus similar to a gasometer. 
 
 One of the largest blast-engines or blowing- 
 machines ever constructed is now in use at 
 the Coltness Iron Works in Scotland. The 
 high pressure cylinder is 54 inches in diam- 
 eter, 9 feet stroke, and weighs 10 tons ; the 
 blowing cylinder is 122 inches in diameter, 
 feet stroke, and weighs 31 tons. The 
 beam is 36 feet long, 6 feet broad in the centre, 
 and weighs 36 tons. The connecting rod gives 
 14 strokes per minute, with a stroke of 1 2 feet. 
 The fly-wheel is 30 feet in diameter, and with 
 its shaft weighs 35 tons. The steam pipes 
 ane 21 inches in diameter. The working me- 
 chanism is supported on two columns and 
 entablature, weighing 22 tons. The pedes- 
 tals on which the machine stands are com- 
 posed of 1900 tons of solid masonry. This 
 gigantic machine was constructed to supply a 
 blast to ten iron furnaces. 
 
 BLUE, as a pigment. The substances used 
 for this purpose are of different natures, and 
 derived from various sources : they are all com- 
 pound bodieSjSome natural and others artificial. 
 
 Prussian Slue. This beautiful pigment was 
 discovered in 1710 by Diesbach, a manufac- 
 turer of Berlin. It is a compound of cyanogen 
 and iron, is inodorous, tasteless, insoluble in 
 water, alcohol, aether, and oils. It is hygro- 
 metric, attracting water strongly from the air, 
 which it retains until heated to nearly 280. 
 Prussian blue is employed both as a water 
 colour and in oil ; in the latter case, on ac- 
 count of the deficiency of what is termed l><><Ii/, 
 it is usually mixed with white lead, and it will 
 
 bear admixture with a large portion of this 
 on account of the intensity of its colour. Its 
 stability is very considerable, and it is not 
 only used as a pigment, but also as a dye. 
 
 Indigo. This fine blue is extracted from 
 different species of indigofera in the East 
 Indies, and Guatimala in North America, of 
 which the latter is most esteemed. [INDIGO.] 
 
 Slue Vcrdltcr. This pigment is used as a 
 water-colour, and chiefly in the manufacture 
 of paper-hanging. It is a gritty powder of a 
 very fine light blue. It is a carbonate of copper. 
 
 Ultramarine. This splendid and permanent 
 blue pigment was originally, and indeed until 
 within a few years exclusively, prepared from 
 a mineral called Azure Stone, or Lapis Lazuli ; 
 but it is now prepared by artificial means. It 
 has hitherto, on account of its high price, 
 been used almost exclusively by artists, both 
 as a Avater-colour and in oil ; but on account 
 of the reduced charge at which it will pro 
 bably be hereafter obtained, it will doubtless 
 be rendered much more extensively useful. 
 
 Cobalt Blue. This was proposed as a sub- 
 stitute for ultra-marine before the invention 
 above described had rendered this latter colour 
 easily obtainable at a moderate price ; it is of 
 reat permanence, but is not so fine as the 
 ultra-marine, and will hereafter be probably 
 ittie employed. 
 
 Smalt is a blue colour also prepared from 
 cobalt, but is generally used rather to diminish 
 the yellow tint of writing paper and of linen, 
 and to give a bluish colour to starch, than 
 strictly speaking as a pigment ; it is merely 
 glass rendered blue by oxide of cobalt, and 
 .his, when reduced to a very fine powder, is 
 commonly called powder blue. 
 
 BOAT. [LIFE-BOAT; SHIP-BUILDING.] 
 
 BOBBIN NET. [LACE.] 
 
 BOG>. The name of bog has been given 
 ndiscriminately to very different kinds of sub- 
 stances. In all cases the expression signifies 
 an earthy substance wanting in firmness en- 
 consistency. In some cases, where springs of 
 water, or the drainage from an extensive area 
 are pent up near the surface of the soil, they 
 simply render it soft or boggy, and in iliis 
 state the land is perhaps more properly called 
 a quagmire. A second state of bog is where 
 n addition to the condition just described, a 
 brmation of vegetable matter is induced, 
 which, dying, and being reproduced on the, 
 surface, assumes the state of a spongy mass 
 of sufficient consistence to bear a considerable 
 weight. Bogs of this description arc nume- 
 rous and extensive in Ireland, where they are 
 aluable, from the use made of the solid vege- 
 table matter both as fuel and as a principal 
 ngredient in composts for manures. "Where 
 
380 
 
 BOHEMIA. 
 
 BOILING OF FLUIDS. 
 
 390 
 
 the turf has been cut away for these purposes, 
 several bogs have been reclaimed by draining; 
 and the subsoil is then readily brought into 
 cultivation. Bogs also occur in Cornwall, and 
 other parts of Great Britain, where the form 
 of the surface and the nature of the earth 
 favour the general condition under which bog 
 is formed. The bogs of Ireland are estimated 
 in the whole to exceed in extent 2,800,000 
 English acres. 
 
 When bogs become consolidated or com- 
 pressed, they are called peat-mosses. An 
 extensive tract of peat-moss (Chatmoss) in 
 the county of Lancaster has attracted public 
 attention from the circumstance of the Liver- 
 pool and Manchester Eailway having been 
 carried through it. Chatmoss (6 miles long 
 by 3 broad) has a depth of 30 feet of spongy 
 moss, which Mr. Stephenson succeeded in 
 making fit to bear a railway, by filling it with 
 an enormous mass of solid earth. The late 
 Mr. Eoscoe brought part of Chatmoss into a 
 state fit for cultivation by marling and manu- 
 ring. 
 
 Many of the Irish bogs contain wood of a 
 peculiar kind, called bog-oak, bog-yew, &c. ; 
 of which statuettes, models, and ornaments 
 are carved ; beautiful specimens of this kind 
 were displayed at the ' Dublin ' Exhibition of 
 Manufactures in 1850. 
 
 The present attempts to give commercial 
 value to the peat of Dartmoor are noticed 
 elsewhere. [PEAT.] 
 
 BOHEMIA. The productive and indus- 
 trial resources of this important country have 
 been briefly noticed in connexion with the 
 Empire of which it forms a part. [AUSTRIA.] 
 
 BOILEE. This name is now most com- 
 monly applied to the close vessels used for 
 the generation of steam. Such boilers, to les- 
 sen the danger of explosion, are almost inva- 
 riably made of wrought metal, which, if burst, 
 will tear rather than fly to pieces, as cast nie- 
 taJ would do ; and the plates made for the 
 purpose are formed of the best and toughest 
 metal, and rolled or wrought with peculiar 
 care. Engineers differ as to the comparative 
 merits of iron and copper as a material for 
 steam-engine boilers. Most however admit 
 that iron, when of good quality, has the great- 
 est cohesive strength, although the greater 
 uniformity of texture in sheet-copper renders 
 it safe to construct copper boilers of less 
 thickness than those of iron, to withstand a 
 given pressure. Further than this, supposing 
 an explosion to occur with a copper boiler, it 
 is likely only to produce a rent or tear in the 
 metal, while an iron boiler, even though wholly 
 of wrought plates, is frequently blown to 
 pieces. 
 
 Dr. Eitterbandt's plan of removing from 
 steam-engine boilers the incrustations with 
 which they become coated, is a valuable re- 
 cent improvement. All the fresh water em- 
 ployed in boilers contains lime, in the form of 
 a soluble bi-carbonate. The heat converts 
 this into an insoluble carbonate, which falls to 
 the bottom of the boiler, and carries with it 
 any floating masses of other insoluble matter. 
 When salt water is used the same results oc- 
 cur, but in addition to this, the carbonate 
 forms nuclei for the accrescence of sulphate of 
 magnesia, chloride of sodium, and other saline 
 compounds, which crystallize and precipitate 
 much sooner than would otherwise be the case. 
 The incrustations so formed within the boiler 
 thicken its substance, occasion a greater ex- 
 penditure of fuel for the heat to reach the 
 water, and renders the boiler lia-ble to burst ; 
 because as the incrustation is not so good a 
 conductor of heat as the metal, the latter be- 
 comes burnt and weakened before the heat of 
 the furnace can penetrate through the incrus- 
 tation to the water, and thus explosion may 
 occur. Dr. Eitterbandt's method is a chemical 
 one. He introduces into the water of the 
 boiler some ammoniacal salt, the acid of which, 
 mixing with the lime, will form a soluble salt 
 instead of an insoluble carbonate of lime. It 
 is not therefore simply a cure for a disease ; 
 it is a prevention of the disease from taking 
 place at all, and is on that account a very 
 scientific method. There are many ammoni- 
 acal salts to choose from, such as the muriate, 
 the acetate, and the nitrate. The quantity of 
 ammoniacal salt used must depend on the 
 quantity of lime in the water. 
 
 The Times gave valuable testimony, in 1847, 
 to the efficacy of Eitterbandt's process in the 
 following paragraph ; " The invention has 
 been tried for nearly twelve months upon the 
 boilers of the engines printing the Times, 
 working on an average seventeen hours per 
 diem throughout the year. Not only have the 
 boilers been kept perfectly free from deposit, 
 but an incrustation which was formed pre- 
 viously to the application of the invention 
 has been completely removed. We can fur- 
 ther state, that neither the boilers nor any 
 part of the machinery, has been in any, even 
 the slightest degree acted upon or injured by 
 the action of the remedy in question." 
 
 The patented improvements in steam-en- 
 gine boilers, introduced within the last few 
 years, are so varied that we cannot even enu- 
 merate them. 
 
 BOILING OF FLUIDS. When fluids are 
 heated to such a degree as to be strongly agi- 
 tated and produce much vapour, they are said 
 to boil, or be in a state of ebullition. Under 
 
391 
 
 BOILING OF FLUIDS. 
 
 BOKHA'RA. 
 
 392 
 
 similar circumstances, the temperature at 
 which this occurs is always the same in the 
 same fluid, and is called its boiling point, being 
 the greatest heat which the fluid is capable o1 
 acquiring. When the vapour which arises 
 from a boiling fluid is condensed, the result- 
 ing liquid is perfectly similar to that from 
 which its vapour was produced, having suf- 
 fered no chemical change. Most metals, 
 though rendered fluid by melting, never boil, 
 and many oils become decomposed before 
 reaching a temperature at which they would 
 otherwise boil. 
 
 When water is heated, there is a point, just 
 before it has acquired it highest temperature, 
 at which a slight noise, or rather a succession 
 of noises, is heard, usually called simmering. 
 This is occasioned by the formation of minute 
 bubbles of vapour, at the bottom of the vessel, 
 and nearest the source of heat, which, being 
 specifically lighter than the water in which 
 they are formed, rise into the upper and cooler 
 part of it, and are then condensed. Soon after 
 this and when the whole of the water has ac- 
 quired its highest temperature, the bubbles of 
 vapour rise to the surface, and there bursting 
 constitute steam, which, being transparent 
 and colourless, is consequently invisible, but 
 when it comes into contact with the cold air 
 it undergoes partial condensation, and is then 
 visible and appears as a mist. This tempera- 
 ture, under average circumstances, is about 
 212 Fah. ; but, with variations in the density 
 of the air, it varies as follows : 
 
 Barometer. 
 26 inches 
 26.5 
 27 
 27.5 
 28 
 28.5 
 29 
 29.5 
 30 
 30.5 
 31 
 
 Boiling point 
 
 . 204.91 
 
 . 205.79 
 
 . 206.67 
 
 . 207.55 
 
 . 208.43 
 
 . 209.31 
 
 . 210.1!) 
 
 . 211.07 
 
 . 212.00 
 
 . 212.88 
 
 . 213.76 
 
 On ascending mountains, by the consequent 
 diminution of atmospheric pressure, and in 
 proportion to it, water is found to boil at a 
 lower temperature. Thus, on the summit of 
 Mont Blanc, which is about 15,000 feet above 
 the level of the sea, Saussure found water to 
 boil at 178 of Fah., or 34 b'elow its usual 
 temperature. Fluids boil at 140 less in vacuo 
 than under ordinary atmospheric pressure ; 
 so that water in vacuo boils at about 72. On 
 the other hand, if the pressure of air be in- 
 creased, the boiling point becomes higher. 
 
 Thus, Southern established the following 
 
 relation between the barometric pressure and 
 the boiling point of water : 
 
 Atmospheres. Inches of Mercury. Temperature. 
 ' 
 
 89.4 
 119.2 
 149 
 178.8 
 208.6 
 238.4 
 
 250.3 
 
 275 
 
 293.4 
 
 309.2 
 
 322.7 
 
 334.4 
 
 343.6 
 
 It is to be observed, that the temperature 
 of the steam is always equal to that of the 
 water from which it is generated. The boiling 
 point of any one liquid, as above stated, de- 
 pends mainly on the pressure to which it is 
 exposed ; but it is also slightly affected by tlu> 
 substance of the vessel containing it, and the 
 ontiguity or immersion of other bodies. 
 
 The following are the boiling points of a 
 few liquids under the same atmospheric pres- 
 sure: 
 
 Boiling 
 point. 
 Muriatic tether .... 52 
 
 Sulphuric sether(sp.gr. 0.7365 at48) 113 
 Bisulphuret of carbon . . .113 
 Acetic aether ..... 160 
 
 Nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.5) . . . 210 
 Oil of turpentine .... 314 
 
 Naphtha ..... 320 
 
 Phosphorus ..... 554 
 
 Sulphur ...... 570 
 
 Sulphuric acid (sp^gr. 1.848) . 600 
 Mercury ..... "G2 
 
 BOKHA'RA, a country situated in Central 
 Asia, exhibits the industry of its inhabitants 
 n the cultivation of their lands. The larger 
 and the smaller canals, both of which are nu- 
 merous, must have required a good deal of 
 labour when they were first made ; and they 
 are still kept up at a considerable expense. 
 Ootton, hemp, sesamum, tobacco, and a few 
 lye-s tufts are cultivated. 
 
 Gold is found among the sands of the Amoo, 
 and collected from it in many places along its 
 3anks. All other metals are imported from 
 Russia. Salt is dug out in masses in some 
 parts of the desert, and on the banks of the 
 Amoo, below Chard jooee. Alum and brim- 
 stone are got in the neighbourhood of Samar- 
 cand, and sal-ammoniac in its native state 
 occurs in the mountainous district. 
 
 The mechanical arts are not neglected, and 
 some commodities are even made for exporta- 
 tion. The most extensive manufactures are 
 those of cotton and silk ; and some kinds of 
 loth, in which both materials are combined, 
 are in great demand in Russia for morning 
 dresses of the rich nobility. The dye of all 
 
893 
 
 BOLE. 
 
 BOLTON. 
 
 394 
 
 their manufactured goods is excellent. The 
 Bokharians do not understand the art of tan- 
 ning so well as the Russians, but they make 
 excellent Marocco leather. Their swords are 
 good, but mu<;h inferior to those of Persia. 
 
 The chief city, also called Bokhara, is a place 
 of much commercial importance. There are 
 six commercial routes radiating from it. One of 
 these leads to Samarcand, Khokand, and Kash- 
 gar ; another to Khiva and Astrakhan ; a third 
 through the Kirghis region between the Sea of 
 Aral and the Caspian ; a fourth to Merve and 
 Meshed ; a fifth to the Oxus and Herat ; and 
 a sixth to Balkh, Khooloom, Bameean, and 
 Cabul. Most of the commodities of Asia and 
 Europe find their \vay along one or other of 
 these six routes. 
 
 BOLE, an earthy mineral which occurs in 
 amorphous masses in various countries, as in 
 Armenia, Saxony, Tuscany, Siena, Ireland, and 
 the Isle of Skye. The colour of Bole is va- 
 rious, either yellow, brown, red, or brownish, 
 and pitch black ; it is dull, has a greasy feel, 
 and adheres to the tongue. Its fracture is 
 conchoidal, yields to the nail, and the streak 
 is shining. The chief varieties are the Arme- 
 nian and the Lemnian bole, both of which con- 
 sist mainly of silica and alumina. They are 
 used to a small extent as pigments, and also 
 in medicine : but not to so great an extent as 
 formerly. 
 
 BOLETUS, an extensive genus of fungi, 
 consisting, according to the old botanists, of 
 leathery masses, which are sometimes of con- 
 siderable thickness, and having the spores 
 lodged in tubes whieh occupy the same situ- 
 ation as the plates in the gills (or hymenium) 
 of the common mushroom. 
 
 The true Boleti are generally found grow- 
 ing on the ground in woods and meadoAvs, es- 
 pecially in pine woods. Some are eatable; 
 some are used in medicine ; while one variety, 
 when dried and sliced, furnishes the German 
 tinder, or AMADOU. 
 
 BOLSOVER STONE. The yellow lime- 
 stone of Bolsover, in Derbyshire, is used in the 
 construction of the New Houses of Parliament, 
 in London. It was selected for its durability, 
 strength, fitness for ornamental work, and 
 colour. It is a combination of carbonate of 
 magnesia with carbonate of lime, in small 
 granular crystals, without flinty nodules or 
 other blemishes. 
 
 BOLTHEAD, a chemical vessel, usually of 
 green glass, and of a globular form, with a 
 narrow neck. It is chiefly employed in the 
 process of sublimation. 
 
 BOLTON. This important Lancashire 
 town has maintained an eminent position in 
 manufactures for many centuries, Leland 
 
 speaks of its being a market for cottons and 
 coarse yarns ; and another writer (Blome), 
 who wrote somewhat later, describes it as ' a 
 fair well-built town, with broad streets, with 
 a market on Mondays, which is very good for 
 clothing and provisions ; and it is a place of 
 great trade for fustians.' There seems to be 
 little doubt that the making of woollens was 
 introduced by some Flemish clothiers who 
 came over in the 14th century; that other 
 branches of trade were introduced by the 
 French refugee manufacturers, who were at- 
 tracted by the prosperity of the neighbour- 
 hood; and that the manufacture of cotton 
 cloth was improved, and in many of its kinds 
 originated, by some emigrant Aveavers, who 
 came from the palatinate of the Rhine. 
 
 Bolton made no great advances in popula- 
 tion until the improA 7 ements in the machinery 
 for spinning cotton gave an impetus to the 
 trade, Avhich has been gradually increasing 
 ever since. Almost the first invention of im- 
 portance originated in this town. It Avas a 
 machine which combined the principles of the 
 spinning-jenny and the Avater-frame, and was 
 called a mule, by its inventor, Samuel Cromp 
 ton. This ingenious man lived at 'Hall in 
 the Wood,' near Bolton, and had to struggle 
 for an existence, Avhile his invention Avas en- 
 riching others. 'Hall in the Wood' still 
 exists, a memento of the rise of the cotton 
 manufacture. 
 
 While Crompton's invention was enriching 
 others, Sir Richard Arkwright, another native 
 of Bolton, who had risen from a very obscure 
 condition, had established large factories in 
 Derbyshire, Avhere he carried the cotton ma- 
 chinery to the greatest perfection. The oppo- 
 sition made by the labouring classes in Bolton 
 to the improvements in machinery has, at 
 various times, driven the most lucrative 
 branches of employment from that town to 
 other places. The introduction of the mule 
 and of the power-loom was not accomplished 
 until they had enriched other communities 
 for some time. After a while cotton factories, 
 filled Avith machinery upon the best principle, 
 began to rise up in various parts of the town. 
 Foundries and machine manufactories folloAved 
 them, and a great extension Avas immediately 
 given to the trading interests of the place. 
 
 The cotton mills of Bolton are very nume- 
 rous ; and some of them are among the largest 
 in the county, employing more than 100,000 
 spindles each. The weavers of Bolton pro- 
 duce a great variety of fabrics, probably a 
 greater variety than any other single place in 
 the county. Plain and fancy muslins, quilt- 
 ings, counterpanes, and dimities, are the chief 
 kinds of cloth ; but cambrics, ginghams, &c., 
 
395 
 
 BOMB. 
 
 BOMBAY. 
 
 390 
 
 are also woven. Formerly, fustians, jeans 
 -etts, and similar fabrics, were the prin- 
 cipal articles made in the town ; but these 
 descriptions of cloth are now chiefly produced 
 n the power-loom, as well as calicoes and 
 ^^B|es. The bleach and dye-works, espe 
 the former, in the town and neighbour- 
 hood are among the largest in the kingdom ; 
 and there are likewise a few print-works. A 
 great proportion of the cotton goods manufac- 
 tured here are sold in Manchester, where the 
 manufacturers have warehouses for the storing 
 and sale of then: cloths ; they meet their 
 ners there from all parts of the country, 
 one, two, or three days of each week. 
 
 Mr. Harris, superintendent of the Bolton 
 
 Police, in his Police Keport for 1849, made to 
 
 the Corporation, gives the following interesting 
 
 respecting the manufactures of Bolton, 
 
 year just named; these details relate to 
 
 the borough only, and do not include the other 
 
 townships of the parish. 
 
 Steam Hands 
 
 No. Horse-power* Employed. 
 
 Cotton Mills .. .. 53 ... 2200 .. 9759 
 
 Foundries and Forges 22 ... 590 ... 3043 
 
 Bleach Works 8 ... 628 ... 937 
 
 Paper Mills 1 ... 124 ... 118 
 
 Coal Mines 5 ... 85 ... 64 
 
 Gas Works 1 43 
 
 90 3627 13,964 
 
 Many of the above items fluctuate so much, 
 that the table can be regarded only as a use- 
 ful approximation. Several new cotton mills 
 have since that date been built at Bolton. 
 The attempts occasionally made to introduce 
 the silk manufacture into Bolton have only 
 been partially successful. The manufacture 
 of steam-engines and machines is earned on 
 to a large extent. The town is abundantly 
 supplied with coal, which lies beneath and 
 around it. 
 
 Counterpanes and other products of Bolton 
 industry will be exhibited at the grand display 
 of 1851 ; and many of the workmen in the 
 factories have subscribed to the general fund 
 for the Exhibition. 
 
 BOMB, the original name of what is now 
 called a shell, is a hollow globe of iron, which, 
 when charged with a certain quantity of gun- 
 powder, is projected from a mortar or howitzer, 
 generally at a considerable angle with the 
 horizon, in order that, by the momentum ac- 
 quired in its descent, it may crush the roofs, 
 and, by exploding, destroy the buildings on 
 which it may fall. 
 
 In 1688 there was cast in France an enor- 
 mous bomb, which is said to have been in the 
 shape of an egg, and to have been capable of 
 containing 7000 or 8000 pounds of powder ; 
 it was to have been discharged against the 
 
 Algerines, but it was not employed, probably 
 in consequence of an opinion that it would not 
 have had the intended effect; and no attempt 
 has since been made to project such an im- 
 mense mass of metal. While the citadel of 
 Antwerp was besieged by the French army in 
 1832, shells twenty-four inches in diameter 
 were thrown from the largest mortar which 
 has been employed in modern warfare ; the 
 shell or bomb was capable of containing 
 ninety-nine pounds of powder, and when 
 charged weighed 1015 pounds. 
 
 BOMB-PKOOF. This name is given to a 
 military magazine, or other building, when its 
 roof has sufficient thickness to resist the shock 
 of shells falling on it. 
 
 BOMB-VESSEL, a ship of about 350 tons 
 burthen, usually forming part of a fleet in- 
 tended by a bombardment to destroy or com- 
 pel the surrender of some town situated on 
 the sea-coast. It carries one 13-inch and one 
 10-inch mortar, besides two 6-pounder guns, 
 one 12-pounder, and eight 24 pounder carro- 
 nades. The mortars are placed on traversing 
 platforms in the middle of the gun-deck, and 
 they may be fired over either side of the ship 
 at elevations never less than 45. 
 
 BOMBAX. The wood of this genus of 
 trees is soft and spongy, and is frequently 
 used for making canoes. One species, the 
 silk-cotton tree, is very large ; the down, which 
 is contained In the seed vessel, is soft, but is 
 too short to be used in the manufacture of 
 cloth. It is made into hats and bonnets, and 
 used for stuffing chairs and pillows by the 
 poor people in the districts in which it grows. 
 It is not made into beds, as it is reputed un- 
 wholesome to lie upon. The trunks of the 
 Largest are made into canoes, and some of 
 them will carry from 15 to 20 hogsheads of 
 sugar. The bark of another species is used 
 in making ropes. 
 
 BOMBAY. This great and important city 
 s more distinguished for commerce than for 
 manufactures : for exchanging the produce 
 of India for that of England, than for pro- 
 ducing on its own account. Yet there must 
 necessarily be much manufacturing carried 
 on. The property is principally in the Parsee 
 nhabitants, who are also the principal mer- 
 chants ; and it is usual for every European 
 louse of commerce to contain one or more 
 Parsee partners, who supply a great part of 
 he capital. The shops and warehouses be- 
 .onging both to European and to native mer- 
 chants and traders are upon a large scale. 
 
 The docks within the fort, although the 
 property of the East India Company, are en- 
 tirely under the management of Parsces, by 
 whom merchant-vessels of 1000 to 1200 tons 
 
A 
 
 KNIGHTS CYCtOF/EDlA 
 
 OF THE 
 
 \0. 11. 
 
397 
 
 BOMBAY. 
 
 BONES. 
 
 398 
 
 burden, frigates, and even line-of-battle ships 
 are built. These docks were about forty years 
 ago enlarged and improved under the super- 
 intendence of Major Cooper of the Engineers. 
 The buildings are greatly admired for their 
 architectural beauty ; and the slips and basins 
 are calculated for vessels of any size. Bom- 
 bay being situated between the forests of 
 Malabar and Gujerat, receives supplies of 
 timber with every wind that blows. Ships 
 built of teak-wood are much more durable 
 than those built Avith European timber ; they 
 have been known to last more than 50 years. 
 From the cheapness of labour, ships were 
 formerly built at Bombay for three-fourths of 
 the cost in England ; but recent experience 
 has shown that ships can be built cheaper in 
 England. The Minden, a 74 gun ship, 
 launched at Bombay, in 1810, was constructed 
 entirely by Parsees, without any assistance 
 from Europeans ; and since that time several 
 frigates and line-of-battle ships have been 
 built at these docks. 
 
 In addition to its trade with Europe and 
 with China, a very great traffic is carried on 
 by coasting-vessels with all the ports on the 
 western side of India, from Cape Comoiin to 
 the Gulf of Cutch. The vessels thus em- 
 ployed vary in size from 10 to near 200 tons 
 burden, and nearly 800 of them are registered 
 as belonging to the port. The articles which 
 form the principal part of this trade from 
 Bombay are European manufactures, and 
 the produce of Bengal and China, the 
 returns being made in cotton-wool and cloths, 
 timber, oil, and grain from the northern ports, 
 and from the south, cotton, hemp, coir, tim- 
 ber, pepper, rice, and cocoa-nuts. 
 
 The merchandise thus brought to Bombay 
 is in great part re-exported in larger ships to 
 different parts of Europe, to North and South 
 America, to Canton, to the Arabian and Per- 
 sian Gulfs, and to the Bay of Bengal. The 
 goods sent from India to China comprise 
 principally cotton wool, opium, metals, spices, 
 dye-woods, and Avoollen goods. From the 
 Arabian and Persian Gulfs, Bombay receives 
 raw silk, copper, pearls, galls, coffee, gum- 
 arabic, copal, myrrh, olibanum, bdellium, 
 assafoetida, dried fruits, horses, and bullion. 
 The returns are grain, Bengal and China 
 sugar, British manufactured goods, cotton 
 and woollen, and spices. The merchandise 
 sent to Calcutta from Bombay, in return for 
 sugar, indigo, and rice, are timber, coir, cocoa- 
 nuts, sandal-wood, and cotton. 
 
 Cotton forms the most important article of 
 export from Bombay. It is received from the 
 provinces of Gujerat and the Concan, from 
 Malabar, Cutch, and Sinde. Bombay has 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 exported more than 100 millions of pounds 
 of cotton in one year, besides exports to 
 other places. 
 
 The following were the' imports into and 
 exports from Bombay during the years 
 stated : 
 
 Years. 
 1834 
 1836 
 1838 
 1840 
 1842 
 
 Imports. 
 
 3,053,319 
 
 4,429,127 
 
 4,444,693 
 
 4,831,558 
 5,542,578 
 
 Exports. 
 3,303,515 J 
 5,451,554 : 
 4,236,027 ". 
 5,018,335 ~ 
 5,273,986 
 
 Jjqmbay has been the chief Indian port 
 connected with the establishment of steam 
 communication with England. The route 
 between Suez and Bombay is still in the 
 hands of the East India Company; but the 
 other portions of the great overland route are 
 managed by the Peninsular and Oriental 
 Steam Navigation Company ; and if the pre- 
 sent discussions concerning the Australian 
 mails should result in the Singapore route 
 being chosen, Bombay will have an enlarged 
 field for its commercial enterprise. 
 
 BOMBAZINE is a woven fabric in which 
 the warp is formed of silk, and the weft, or 
 shoot, of worsted. The worsted is thrown on 
 the right side, which has a twill upon it. The 
 manufacture originated in Norwich, among 
 the Dutch who were settled in that city, about 
 1575. Bombazines were formerly made of 
 various colours, but owing to changes of 
 fashion they are now manufactured in black 
 only, for use as mourning. 
 
 BOMBYX. [SILK.] 
 
 BONA, is the principal rendezvous of the 
 vessels employed in the coral fishery, which 
 extends along the coast as far as the island 
 of Tabarkah, which belongs to Tunis. 
 
 BONES have been of late years very exten- 
 sively used as a manure, especially on poor 
 and dry sands and gravels. When crushed 
 and used judiciously, the advantage of bones 
 as a manure, in distant and uncultivated spots, 
 where the carriage of common stable or yard 
 manure would have been too expensive, and 
 where it could not be made for want of food 
 for cattle, is incalculable. By means of bones 
 large tracts of barren sands and heaths have 
 been converted into fertile fields. 
 
 The bruising or grinding of bones has be- 
 come a distinct business, and they may be 
 bought in London and at the principal ports 
 ready to put upon the land. They are broken 
 into different sizes, and are accordingly called 
 inch bones, half-inch bones and bone-dust. Most 
 of the bones procured from London and the 
 manufacturing towns have undergone the 
 process of boiling, by which the oil and a 
 great part of the gelatine which they contain 
 
 L 
 
399 
 
 BONE. 
 
 BOOK-BINDING. 
 
 400 
 
 have been extracted. The German agricul- 
 turists instead of using bone-manure on then- 
 own land, now export it to England, on ac- 
 count of the good price here obtainable. No 
 less than 29,424 tons of foreign bones were 
 imported in 1849. 
 
 Bones consist of about one-half animal 
 matter : the rest being phosphates of lime 
 and magnesia, and carbonate of lime. They 
 derive then- fertilising property mainly from 
 the phosphate of lime ; but in part also from 
 the mechanical texture of the bones, and 
 their power of absorbing and retaining mois- 
 ture, which enables the plants to feed on the 
 decomposed gelatine of the bones. 
 
 The mode of applying bone manure to the 
 land is either by sowing from twenty to forty 
 bushels of them per acre by the hand broad- 
 cast, as is done with corn, and harrowing them 
 in with the seed; or by putting them into the 
 drills by a machine made for the purpose, 
 which is an addition to the common drilling 
 machine. 
 
 The mill which is used to break and grind 
 bones consists of two iron or steel cylinders, 
 with grooves running round their circumfer 
 ence, the projections being cut so as to form 
 strong teeth. These turn upon one another 
 by means of machinery, so that the teeth of 
 one run in the groove between the teeth of 
 the other. The bones are put into a hopper, 
 whence they pass between the two cylinders, 
 where they are crushed during the passage. 
 The bones from Germany are sometimes 
 ground before importation, sometimes after- 
 wards. 
 
 The uses of bones (besides as a manure) 
 are very numerous. Bone-ash is prepared by 
 calcining bones to whiteness, and reducing 
 them to a powder ; it is used for burnt harts- 
 horn, and for making cupels. Bone-Hack, or 
 ivory black, is made by a careful preparation 
 of the soot of clean bones, when burned in a 
 peculiar manner. There are successive stages 
 in the manufacturing uses of bones ; first the 
 bones are boiled, and the grease sold to the 
 candle and soap makers ; then the larger 
 pieces are selected for making knife-handles, 
 &c. ; then the best pieces are laid aside for 
 bone-black ; and finally the worst pieces are 
 appropriated as manure. The coarser kind of 
 bone-black is made into animal charcoal, used 
 by sugar refiners ; while the finer kind is em- 
 ployed in making black paint and colours, 
 inks, dyes, &c. 
 
 Bone, as a material for knife handles and 
 other articles, may be dyed red, black, green, 
 purple, yellow, blue, or other colours, by the 
 same dyes as are used for ivory. Bone is 
 easily wrought by the saw and lathe. 
 
 BOOK-BINDING. This interesting art 
 includes not only the fastening together of 
 the leaves of a book ; but also the preliminary 
 operations of folding each sheet so that the 
 several pages of which it consists may follow 
 one another in due order, and of gathering or 
 collecting together in proper sequence the 
 several sheets, and collating or examining 
 them, to see that no error has been made in 
 the arrangement. To aid these operations 
 certain letters or figures, called signatures, are 
 alaced at the bottom of the first page and one 
 or two other pages of each sheet. 
 
 In the subsequent processes it is necessary 
 to distinguish between the comparatively 
 slight and loose mode of binding in cloth or 
 paper covers, which is technically called board 
 ing, and the more solid kind of binding in 
 leather, to which, among the trade, the appli- 
 cation of the term binding is limited. 
 
 If the book is to be simply boarded, the 
 sewing of the sheets, individually, to a series 
 of strings called bands, stretched in a machine 
 called a sewing-press, is the next operation 
 after folding and collating ; but, if it is to be 
 bound, the sheets are previously either beaten 
 upon a smooth stone, or passed in small par- 
 cels through a rolling-press, to make them 
 close and smooth. The bands run across the 
 back of the book, and are often rendered 
 invisible by cutting with a saw, in the back of 
 the collected parcel of sheets, a series of 
 grooves to receive them. After the sheets 
 are thus sewn to the bands, and also con- 
 nected together here and there by a ketch - 
 stitch, the bands are cut so as to leave about 
 an inch projecting beyond the book on each 
 side, and the back is smeared over with 
 melted glue, which further unites the back 
 edges of the several sheets. The back is 
 then rounded in a curious manner by a 
 process of hammering, before the glue 
 is fully set ; and the book is compressed 
 firmly between two boards, with the back pro 
 jecting a little, while the back is further beaten 
 so as to make it spread out a little over the 
 edges of the boards. If for binding, the edges 
 of the sheets are then ploughed or cut with ;i 
 machine to a perfectly Hat and smooth surface, 
 the convexity of the back being temporarily 
 destroyed while the front edges are cTit, so 
 that they may be cut flat, and afterwards re 
 stored, so as to draw them into a correspond- 
 ing concavity. If the book is only to he 
 boarded, it is not usual to cut the top edges, 
 which, being 'folded, are pretty smooth and 
 regular; and the front and bottom edges, if 
 cut at all, are only pared sufficiently to remove 
 the principal irregularities. 
 
 The boards or pieces of millboard (which is 
 
401 
 
 BOOK-BINDING. 
 
 BOOK-BINDING. 
 
 402 
 
 a kind of strong and smooth brown paste- 
 board, of different degrees of thickness to 
 suit the different sizes of books), which con- 
 stitute what in ordinary language are the 
 covers of the volume, are cut a little larger 
 than the leaves, and, when the volume is to 
 be bound, are laid on the sides of the book, 
 with their back edges against the projecting or 
 overlapping edges of the glued back, and se- 
 cured to the book by passing the ends of the 
 strings or bands, which are previously scraped 
 thin, through holes near their back edges, 
 from the outside, and glueing them down 
 firmly and smoothly on the inside. In board 
 ing, however, it is the more usual practice to 
 paste the boards to the paper or cloth cover, 
 leaving a space between their back edges suf- 
 ficient for the back of the book, and to con- 
 nect the boards with the book simply by past- 
 ing down to them the end-papers, or blank 
 leaves which are applied in sewing at the 
 beginning and end of the book. In binding, 
 on the contrary, the leather is put on after 
 the boards are attached to the book in the 
 manner above described. Books are often so 
 boarded or bound as to leave the back of the 
 cover detached from the glued back of the 
 book itself, which is done by interposing a 
 double layer of paper or cloth between the 
 back and the cover, glueing one layer to the 
 cloth or leather cover, and the other to the 
 back, and connecting the two layers with one 
 another at their edges only. 
 
 Half-binding is that style of binding in 
 which only the back and corners are covered 
 with leather, and the sides with paper or 
 cloth. 
 
 In the finishing or ornamenting of a bound 
 book much taste may be displayed. The cut 
 edges of the leaves are usually either sprinkled 
 with colour, smeared over uniformly with a 
 sponge dipped in colour, marbled, or gilt with 
 leaf-gold ; the edges being, for the last-men 
 tioned process, previously coloured with red 
 chalk and water, and then moistened with 
 white of egg mixed with water, and subse- 
 quently burnished with a smooth hard stone 
 which polishes, but does not disturb the gold 
 The covers are sometimes coloured or sprin- 
 kled by the binder, and are impressed, both 
 at the sides and back, with ornamental devices 
 and inscriptions, by the application of heated 
 stamps or dies, either with or without leaf 
 gold; such impressed devices as are not gil 
 being distinguished by the name of blind 
 tooling. When gold is used, the surface of the 
 leather is prepared to receive it by the succes 
 sive application of parchment -size, white o 
 egg, and a little oil. In ordinary hand-Avork 
 the patterns are produced by the separate ap 
 
 lication of a number of small dies, and en- 
 raved rollers for lines and long narrow pat- 
 erns ; but sometimes a number of dies are 
 itted together, and applied simultaneously by 
 aeans of a press. This process is called 
 locking. 
 
 Much ingenuity and taste have been devoted 
 
 >f late years to . the perfection of cloth-bind- 
 
 ng or boarding. By peculiarities in the 
 
 mode of weaving the cotton cloth used for the 
 
 urpose, and of subsequently stamping or 
 
 embossing it between steel rollers, the textile 
 
 ppearance is destroyed, and a surface is 
 
 sometimes produced very nearly resembling 
 
 morocco leather. 
 
 The peculiarity of India -rubier binding 
 [ which has been imitated with an artificial 
 iement) consists in the entire absence of 
 sewing. The back as well as the other edges 
 are ploughed, so as to reduce the book to a 
 collection of single leaves, to the back edges 
 of which a layer of caoutchouc or cement is 
 applied. This mode of binding is well adapted 
 for maps, music, ledgers, and manuscript 
 books generally, as it allows the book to lie 
 open with equal facility at any place, and the 
 inner margin to be used, if needful, close to 
 the edge of the paper. 
 
 Mr. Richards, a bookbinder, patented a few 
 years ago a method of stitching the sheets by 
 machinery ; but we are not aware that it has 
 come much into practice. 
 
 The book-binding trade has gradually as- 
 sumed many of the features of the factory 
 system. Some of the principal London firms, 
 such as that of Messrs. Westley, have im- 
 mense buildings planned expressly for that 
 species of combination and subdivision which 
 mark the larger departments of manufactures. 
 Tier after tier of stories, each lighted from 
 end to end with numerous windows ; each 
 story or range under the supervision of one 
 foreman, and devoted to one department of 
 binding ; separate warehouses for the mill- 
 board, the leather, and the cloth ; powerful 
 machines for embossing cloth and stamping 
 leather ; a department where females are em- 
 ployed in folding, collating, and sewing ; ano- 
 ther department where men are engaged in 
 glueing, pasting, cutting, hammering, and 
 pressing the ' boarded ' books ; another de- 
 partment for the ' roan ' or ' sheep ' binding ; 
 a fourth entirely devoted to those school 
 books which (whatever be their merit), have 
 a sale so enormous and continuous that the 
 process of binding them is always going on ; a 
 fifth occupied by the ' extra ' workmen em- 
 ployed in the costlier kinds of binding such 
 are the features of the establishments 
 in question : establishments where many 
 
40:{ BOOK TRADE. 
 
 hundreds of workpeople are employed under 
 one roof. 
 
 We may reasonably hope that our book- 
 binders, as well as those of foreign countries, 
 will not be slow to contribute to the grand In- 
 dustrial Congress of 1851. It is profitable, 
 too, to glance once now and then at the curious 
 specimens of bookbinding belonging to the 
 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries : many beauti- 
 ful examples of such work were placed in the 
 Mediaeval Exhibition of 1850. 
 
 BOOK TRADE. The publisher of the 
 ' Cyclopaedia of Industry ' has made various 
 computations, from time to time, of the pro- 
 duce of the Press in this country. The data 
 for such estimates must necessarily be inex- 
 act, and the results can only be considered 
 as approximations to truth. They are, how- 
 ever, abundantly sufficient to show the prodi- 
 gious increase of readers. 
 
 \Yf may exhibit the rapid growth of the 
 publication of new books, by examining the 
 catalogues of the latter part of the eighteenth 
 century, passing over the earlier years of the 
 reign of George III. In the ' Modern Cata- 
 logue of Books,' from 1792 to the end of 1802, 
 eleven years, we find that 4,090 new works 
 were published, exclusive of reprints not 
 altered in price, and also exclusive of pam- 
 phlets : we have thus an average of 372 new 
 books per year. 
 
 The number of ne\v publications issued 
 from 1800 to 1827, including reprints altered 
 in size and price, but excluding pamphlets, 
 was, according to the London catalogue, 
 19,860, showing an average of 735 new books 
 per year, being an increase of 363 per year 
 over the last eleven years of the previous cen- 
 tury. The demand for new books, even at 
 the very high cost of those days, was princi- 
 pally maintained by Reading Societies and 
 Circulating Libraries. When these new modes 
 of diffusing knowledge were first established, 
 it was predicted that 'they would destroy the 
 trade of publishing. But the Reading Socie- 
 ties and the Circulating Libraries, by enabling 
 many to read new books at a small expense, 
 created a much larger market than the desires 
 of individual purchasers for ephemeral works 
 could have formed ; and a very large class 
 of books were expressly produced for this 
 market. 
 
 But a much larger class of book-buyers had 
 sprung up, principally out of the middle ranks. 
 For these a new species of literature had to 
 be produced, that of books conveying ster- 
 ling information in a popular form, and pub- 
 lished at a very cheap rate. In the year 1827 
 'Constable's Miscellany' led the way in this 
 novel attempt ; the Society for the Diffusion 
 
 BOOK TRADE. 
 
 404 
 
 of Useful Knowledge commenced its opera- 
 tions; and several publishers of eminence 
 soon directed their capital into the same 
 channels. Subsequently editions of our great 
 writers have been multiplied at very reason- 
 able prices. This circumstance will explain 
 how the number of works published of late 
 years does not exhibit a proportionate in- 
 crease in the number of volumes. One com- 
 pact volume may now contain as much matter 
 as three octavos of the beginning of the cen- 
 tury. 
 
 The ' London Catalogue of Books published 
 in Great Britain' from 1814 to 1846 a pe- 
 riod of thirty -three years contains about 
 36,500 titles of works, shewing an average of 
 1100 new books per year, being an increase 
 of 371 over the number in the former 
 catalogue. 
 
 The Catalogue of New Books for 1849, ar- 
 ranged from ' Bent's Literary Advertiser,' ex- 
 hibits the titles of above 2000 works an enor- 
 mous number for the issue of one year, and 
 that not particularly favourable to publishing 
 enterprise. In looking over this catalogiie we 
 cannot help remarking that the range of price 
 is perhaps more extreme than at any former 
 period, from the Shilling Railway Volume to 
 the Five Guinea Illustrated Book. Luxurious 
 and expensive books, for a few purchasers, 
 are not less frequent than in times when dear 
 books formed the greater portion of the Book 
 Trade. Taking the cheap and the dear 
 we find that a single copy of each of these 
 2000 books would amount to about 
 1000/. 
 
 But the most remarkable characteristic of 
 the Press of this country is its Periodical Li- 
 terature. The number of weekly periodical 
 works (not newspapers) issued in London on 
 Saturday December 21, 1850, was 87 ; in this 
 number we include the 'Athenoeum,' 'Builder,' 
 'Chambers' Journal' and 'Papers,' 'Church 
 of England Magazine,' ' Eliza Cook's Journal,' 
 ' Dickens's Household Words,' ' Expositor,' 
 ' Family Herald,' ' Hogg's Instructor,' - llmi;.- 
 Circle,' ' Knight's Half-Hours,' ' London ' and 
 ' Industry,' ' Lady's Companion,' ' Lamp,' 
 ' Lancet,' ' London Journal,' ' London Labour,' 
 'Mechanics' Magazine,' ' Punch,' 'Working 
 Man's Friend,' &c.; the total issue of th- K'I 
 is fully400,000weekly,or upwards of 20,000,000 
 yearly. 
 
 Of these 87 weekly publications the 
 prices vary, being Id., !</., ',!</., .'!</., 4rf., 
 Id. ; the total retail value of their sale, inde- 
 pendent of the supply of them in monthly 
 parts, we assume, upon the authority of an 
 experienced bookseller, to be 2,5007. per week 
 or 130,000^. per annum. Other authorities 
 
405 BOOK TKADE. 
 
 would set the number higher. A minute ana- 
 lysis of these Weekly Periodicals is, to some 
 extent, satisfactory ; for it shows that of the 
 low publications including those which may 
 be called ' Guides to Newgate,' the number 
 sold is about an eighth of the innoxious pub- 
 lications. 
 
 The issue of monthly periodical publications 
 from London is unequalled by any similar 
 commercial operation in Europe. 287 monthly 
 periodical works were sent out of London on 
 the last day of December, 1850, to all parts 
 of the United Kingdom, the bulk of them de- 
 parting from Paternoster-row; to which must 
 also be added 41 periodical works published 
 quarterly, making a total of 328. 
 
 A wholesale bookseller, who has been thirty 
 years an attentive observer of the progress of 
 periodical literature, and has been nearly all 
 that time in the midst of it in Paternoster- 
 row, has made a variety of computations of 
 the work of the great literary hive of industry 
 in London on ' Magazine-day ; ' the results of 
 his examinations are as follow : 
 
 The total of the new numbers of the 
 monthly and quarterly periodical works sold 
 in London on December 31, 1850, was about 
 000,000. The total retail price of these works 
 was 38,000^. 
 
 Three thousand five hundred parcels were 
 despatched into the country by the various 
 wholesale agents in London on this day. 
 The total returns of these monthly and quar- 
 terly periodical works must exceed annually 
 1,000,000/., the selling prices varying from d. 
 to 7s. fid. It must be observed that the sale 
 on ' Magazine-day ' does not by any means 
 represent the total sale. 
 
 In addition to the monthly periodical works 
 issued through the regular booksellers ' the 
 Trade ' an amount quite unequalled at any 
 former period is circulated throughout the 
 country by a class of persons known as ' can- 
 vassers.' We are induced to think that the 
 annual returns of such works cannot be, less 
 than 150,000/. 
 
 The number of newspapers published in the 
 United Kingdom in 1849 was 603. They 
 consumed nearly 79 millions of stamps at one 
 penny, besides halfpenny stamps for supple- 
 ments. At fivepence each their annual re- 
 turns would be nearly 1,500,000^. 
 
 We recapitulate the estimated annual re- 
 turns of the commerce of the press : 
 
 L New books and reprints one 1 } 
 
 setl,000/ l750000 
 
 Estimated average number sold f 4 
 of each work 750 . . . . ) 
 
 BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE. 406 
 
 2. Weekly periodicals .. 130,000 
 Monthly periodicals 1,000,000 
 Canvassers' numbers 150,000 
 
 3. Newspapers 
 
 1,280,000 
 1,500,000 
 
 3,530,000 
 The English books exported in 1849 were 
 
 returned as entitled to drawback of duty on 
 
 12,000 cwts. in value 190,00()/. 
 
 The foreign books imported in 1849 paid a 
 
 duty of 7,751Z. 
 
 The writer of this article considers that the 
 
 paper duty enters into the selling price of 
 
 books, &c., in the following proportions : 
 
 1. New books 4 per cent. .. 30,000 
 
 2. Periodicals 8 per cent. . . 102,400 
 
 3. Newspapers 56,250 
 
 Estimated total of duty on 
 
 printing paper . . . . . . 188,650 
 
 BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTUEE. 
 
 Scarcely any handicraft employment engages 
 the attention of so many persons in this 
 country as boot and shoe making. From the 
 artist of aristocratic circles to the cobbler who 
 rolls himself up in a stall under a pot-house, 
 is a wide interval ; and this interval is filled 
 lip by numerous grades. At Northampton 
 boots and shoes are made on a very large 
 scale for the London market ; they include 
 chiefly the cheap varieties ; but at some of the 
 recent Exhibitions of Manufactures the North- 
 ampton boot -makers have exhibited specimens 
 of workmanship which are considered to fall 
 in no way behind those of London or Paris. 
 At Edenbridge in Kent, and at other places, 
 the strong coarse 'hob-nailed' shoes are made, 
 which are so much worn by waggoners and 
 others. The London makers import from 
 Paris very large quantities of boot/ronta, which 
 when combined with other parts of English 
 manufacture, constitute many of the ' French 
 boots ' which now glitter in the windows. 
 
 Of the circumstances of the trade, so far as 
 regard the relations between masters and 
 workmen, the most ample and interesting, 
 perhaps, are those prepared a few months ago 
 by Mr. H. Mayhew, for the ' Morning Chron- 
 icle.' The London work, and the more 
 wretched features of it, are at any rate here 
 depicted with much vividness. 
 
 The mechanical details of the manufacture 
 have been well described by Mr. Devlin ; 
 who, in his ' Shoemaker,' forming one of the 
 ' Guides to Trade,' has contrived to throw a 
 general interest into that which would other- 
 wise be merely technical. 
 
 Of the improvements or suggested improve- 
 ments recently introduced into the manufac- 
 
407 BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE. 
 
 ture, our patent records contain many exam- 
 ples. One inventor has suggested that the 
 different parts of a boot or shoe should be 
 sewn together with wire -thread instead of 
 hempen thread. Another has proposed the 
 use of revolving circular heels, which may be 
 turned round in order that every part may re- 
 ceive equal wear. A third proposes heels to 
 be made of an iron rim, with the vacuity filled 
 up with gutta percha. A fourth has directed 
 his attention to a mode of introducing a layer 
 of gutta percha between the outer and inner 
 soles. A fifth has introduced elastic pieces 
 into the side of the boot to ensure a close fit 
 round the instep. A sixth has invented a 
 simple apparatus to assist in ' blocking ' the 
 fronts of boots. With respect to making boots 
 and shoes by machinery, Sir M. I. Brunei in- 
 vented a comprehensive plan, to be adopted 
 for soldiers' shoes in the time of the war; but 
 it has not acquired a permanent utility. 
 
 It has often seemed strange to persons not 
 engaged in those trades, that boot and shoe 
 makers should adopt such a cramped attitude 
 as those to which we see them accustomed. 
 In most cases of this kind there is a good 
 reason for the adoption of that which has be- 
 come very general. But be this as it may, a 
 contrivance was introduced a few years ago, 
 with a view to enabling a shoe-maker to ply 
 his avocation either sitting or standing, with- 
 out necessitating the stooping position which 
 appears to be (and perhaps is) so painful. Mr. 
 Warne, practically engaged in the craft, regis- 
 tered the contrivance in question. It consists 
 of a kind of high stool, something like a desk 
 stool, covered with a hard leather cushion. 
 Another round cushion is placed upon the 
 lower. There is a hole through both cushions, 
 through which a strap passes down to an axle, 
 wheel, and ratchet beneath. A last being 
 placed upon the upper cushion, can be in- 
 stantly bound tightly by the strap ; while the 
 last and the upper cushion can easily be 
 moved round horizontally. A hinged seat is 
 attached to the frame. The inventor states 
 that every operation of boot and shoe making 
 can derive aid from this contrivance. 
 
 Notwithstanding the large number of per- 
 sons employed in these avocations in Eng- 
 land, and the abundant supply of leather, there 
 is still a considerable import of boots and 
 shoes from abroad, chiefly France. In 1849 
 these imports amounted to 100,000 pairs of 
 boots and shoes, and no less than 540,000 
 pairs of boot-fronts. The clue to this differ- 
 ence is, that boot fronts pay a much smaller 
 import duty than boots and shoes. 
 
 We may expect to see a rich supply of these 
 commodities at the forthcoming Exhibitir 
 
 BOEASSUS. 
 
 408 
 
 The boots of All Nations are worthy of com- 
 parison one with another. 
 
 BOEACIC ACID, formerly called Hom- 
 bcry's sedative salt and sedative salt of borax, is 
 a compound of the elementary body boron and 
 oxygen. It exists not only in the form of 
 boracic acid, but also in large quantity in the 
 East Indies, in combination with soda, form- 
 ing borax, or the borate of soda. Boracic 
 acid is usually obtained from borax. It has 
 the form of small, scaly, brilliant, colourless 
 crystals, which have a greasy feel. This acid 
 is inodorous ; its taste is not strong, and 
 scarcely at all acid. Dr. Bo wring ('Eeport 
 on the Statistics of Tuscany') describes a re- 
 markable boracic acid lagoon, or system of 
 lagoons, in Tuscany. They are spread over a 
 surface of 30 square miles, and send out dense 
 and stinking odours. The peasants long 
 deemed the district an entrance to the infernal 
 regions, and regarded it with great supersti- 
 tion. The lagoons are now the property of an 
 enterprising manufacturer, who derives a con- 
 siderable revenue from the boracic acid which 
 he obtains from them. 
 
 Borax, or borate of soda, consists of boracic 
 acid and soda. A crude kind of borax, im- 
 ported from the East Indies, is called tincal ; 
 which is found crystallised on the edges and 
 shallows of a brackish lake. Tincal is in the 
 form of bluish or greenish white crystals, 
 which are dissolved and recrystallised to form 
 borax. Borax has an alkaline and sweetish 
 taste, and effervesces slowly in the air. 
 
 Boracic Acid and Borax are largely employed 
 as a flux for metals, as an aid in soldering, as 
 an ingredient in cosmetics, and as a medicine. 
 No less than 30,000 cwts.,(chiefly boracic acid) 
 were imported in 1848. 
 
 BOEA'SSUS, a kind of palm-tree, which 
 grows all over India both on the continent 
 and in the islands, where it is esteemed of the 
 greatest use on account of the vinous sap and 
 the sugar which are extracted from it. The 
 mode of obtaining the sap of this palm is l>y 
 crushing the young inflorescence, and ampu- 
 tating the upper half; the lower half is then 
 tied to a leaf-stalk, and has a vessel, usually 
 of bamboo, attached to its end. The vessel 
 gradually fills with sap, and is removed every 
 morning ; \vhen replaced, a fresh slice is cut 
 from the wounded end of the inflorescence, 
 an operation which is repeated daily until the 
 whole of the raceme is sliced away. In pro- 
 curing the sugar, exactly the same process is 
 followed: but the inside of the receiver is 
 powdered with lime, which prevents fermenta- 
 tion taking place : the juice is afterwards 
 boiled down and finally dried by exposure to 
 ke in little baskets, 
 
409 
 
 BORDEAUX. 
 
 BORING. 
 
 410 
 
 BORDEAUX. This celebrated city,'"one of 
 the most important in France, has great faci- 
 lities both for foreign and internal commerce. 
 Wine, brandy, and fruits are the chief articles 
 of export. The Medoc or claret wines are sent 
 chiefly to England ; the inferior sorts to Hol- 
 land and Germany. England was among the 
 best customers for Medoc wines as far back as 
 the time of our Norman kings. The produce 
 of this famous district of the Gironde is about 
 ] 65,000 hogsheads annually. One half of the 
 total produce of the three best vineyards, viz. 
 Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafitte, and Cha- 
 teau Latour, comes to England. Large quan- 
 tities of wine are also shipped to America ; but 
 this trade is chiefly in the hands of European 
 and American Spaniards who are settled at 
 Bordeaux. Other articles of commerce are, 
 all kinds of bread-stuffs, hemp, flax, pitch and 
 tar, cork, oil, salt provisions, hardware, metals, 
 cotton yarn, ship timber, and rigging. Ships 
 are fitted out at Bordeaux for the whale and 
 cod fisheries. The manufactures of the town 
 are jewellery and plated goods, linen, muslin, 
 woollen stuffs, calicoes, hosiery, gloves, corks, 
 soap, chemical products, musical instruments, 
 &c. The town also has several distilleries, 
 sugar-refineries, breweries, gas-works, glass 
 and china works, tobacco-factories, rope-walks 
 and dockyards. Colonial products, cotton, 
 dye-stuffs, pepper, hides, tobacco, and rice, 
 are the principal imports. There is a regular 
 service of packets from Bordeaux to the Ha 
 vanna and the coast of Mexico. The custom 
 duties paid at Bordeaux amount to the large 
 sum of 12,000,000 francs a year, nearly half 
 a million sterling. 
 
 BORING. Whether the vertical cavity for 
 an Artesian Well is made, or the cavity of a 
 cannon formed, or the cavity of a cylinder or 
 barrel perfected, or a hole simply made in 
 wood the term boring is equally applied to 
 all these operations. 
 
 Cannon are usually cast solid, and bored by 
 machinery; and in an accommodated sense 
 the term is applied to the similar operations 
 by which musket-barrels, the cylinders of 
 steam-engines, and other articles which are 
 originally made hollow, have their inner sur- 
 faces turned to a perfectly smooth surface and 
 cylindrical shape. The boring instruments of 
 the carpenter consist of awls, which are put 
 into soft wood, with a rotatory motion, with- 
 out removing or bringing away its substance ; 
 gimlets and augers, which are supplied with 
 cutting edges, and are partially hollowed, to 
 allow of the escape from the hole of the de- 
 tached particles of wood ; and bits of various 
 kinds, which also remove the wood, and are 
 applied with greater power and precision by 
 
 means of a crank-shaped instrument called a 
 brace. Small holes in metals are usually 
 bored with drills, which are formed with 
 scraping rather than cutting edges, and are 
 used either in a brace, a drill-stock capable of 
 imparting an alternating rotatory motion by 
 means of a bow worked by hand, or some 
 other contrivance, or in a lathe,. Boring ma- 
 chines of the lathe character are too various 
 and complex to be described here. Suffice it 
 to say, that the perfection to which they have 
 been brought has rendered most essential ser- 
 vice to science and manufactures, and removed 
 one of the greatest difficulties experienced by 
 early improvers of the steam-engine. 
 
 Of the various boring operations of the 
 miner, that of boring Artesian wells is unques- 
 tionably the most interesting. It is performed 
 with various kinds of chisels or jumpers, augers, 
 and instruments suitable for extracting the 
 detached fragments, attached to the lower end 
 of an iron rod formed of many lengths screwed 
 into one another ; these instruments are either 
 turned round, or jumped up and down, or 
 worked with a combination of these two mo- 
 tions by suitable mechanism, the kind of tool 
 employed, and the mode of working, being va- 
 ried from time to time as the several strata 
 are met with. By such means the interesting 
 works noticed in ARTESIAN WELLS were com- 
 pleted. 
 
 Beart's boring tools, patented in 1844, are 
 intended to be used in circumstances where 
 the hole made by the borer can be kept con- 
 stantly full of water. The borer itself is at- 
 tached to a hollow tube instead of a solid rod, 
 and acts as one leg of a syphon ; the other 
 leg being an excavated channel prepared for 
 the purpose, and kept full of water. The ar- 
 rangement of the several parts is such, that 
 as fast as the fragments of rock or soil are 
 loosened by the borer, they are drawn up with 
 the water by which they become saturated, 
 through the tube which forms the stem or 
 vertical rod of the borer : this, at least, is the 
 theory on which the inventor has founded his 
 patent. 
 
 At the meeting of the British Association in 
 1846, Mr. Yignolles communicated an account 
 of a method of boring Artesian wells, invented 
 by M. Fauvel of Perpignan. M. Fauvel had 
 observed that in several cases of success in 
 boring for water with solid iron rods, so soon as 
 the spring was tapped all the triturated parti- 
 cles were brought up without the use of the 
 auger. He inferred that if the boring could 
 be effected by a hollow tube about two inches 
 less in diameter than the width of the auger, 
 communicating with an injecting force-pump 
 by a flexible tube from the surface, a result 
 
411 BORNEO. 
 
 would follow similar to that which resulted 
 from the natural power of the rising column 
 of water. Having tested the hypothesis, he 
 found that the well could be bored in much 
 less time than by the former method. The 
 plan has since been largely adopted, in some 
 cases to very great depths. 
 
 An attempt was made by Mr. Gard, of Cal- 
 stock, in 1848, to produce an improved boring 
 machine, to effect in another way the objects 
 intended by Mr. Beart in England, and M. 
 Fauvel in France. His boring machine con- 
 sists of a hollow cylinder to the bottom of 
 Avhich the boring-bit is attached in a peculiar 
 way; and as the rock or earth is bored, the 
 fragments force themselves up into the cylin- 
 der, where they are retained by a valve. The 
 cylinder does not reach to the top of the bore, 
 but requires to be raised when full, in order 
 that it may be emptied ; it however will con . 
 tain so large a quantity, that the necessity of 
 raising it will occur much less frequently than 
 under the usual system. Instead of joining 
 successive lengths of rod to the boring tool, 
 the latter is raised and lowered by a chain. 
 
 At a meeting of the Cornwall Polytechnic 
 Society, a few years ago, Mr. Prideaux pro- 
 posed the adoption of a chemical means of 
 facilitating the process of boring. He found 
 that a stream of hydro-oxygen gas applied to 
 a piece of granite stone produced heat ; and 
 that on the application of cold water the stone 
 became soft, and yielded to the tool. Oxygen 
 might be superseded by common air from a 
 pair of double bellows ; and common coal-gas 
 might be used instead of hydrogen. 
 
 A very instructive illustration of the appa- 
 ratus employed in well-boring may be studied 
 at the Museum of Economic Geology. 
 
 BORNEO is likely, at some future time, to 
 become an important commercial emporium- 
 When the Dutch made an exploratory Expe- 
 dition into the island in 1823, they found it 
 rich in many materials of manufactures ; and 
 since Sir James Brooke has acquired power in 
 those regions, the natural riches have become 
 still further known. Diamonds, gold, anti- 
 mony, tin, iron, copper, lead, and coal, are all 
 known to exist in Borneo or its neighbouring 
 island Labuan ; and the vegetable produce is 
 also rich and varied. If the time should ar- 
 rive (and we may hope it is not far distant) 
 when Australia will be placed in steam commu- 
 nication with India and China, Borneo will be 
 in the route, and the commmercial advantages 
 of the island will become developed. 
 
 BORON is an elementary body, and one of 
 the constituents of boracic acid, oxygen being 
 the other. This substance was first obtained 
 by Davy in 1807. It is always procured 
 
 BOSTON. 
 
 412 
 
 either from boracic acid or from one of its 
 salts. 
 
 Boron is a powder of a deep brown colour 
 with a shade of green. It is devoid of smell 
 and taste. It is not altered by exposure to 
 the air or to oxygen gas at the usual tempera- 
 tures j but when heated to about 600 it ab- 
 sorbs oxygen, and burning with considerable 
 brilliancy it is converted into boracic acid. It 
 combines with most of the elementary bodies 
 and forms compounds which are noticed under 
 the names of those bodies. 
 
 Minerals containing boron or any of its 
 compounds as an essential component part 
 are comparatively few in number, and only 
 found in a few spots. They comprise sasso- 
 line, or native boracic acid ; borax, or borate 
 of soda ; boracite, or borate of magnesia ; da 
 tholite, or borate and silicate of lime ; botry- 
 olite ; axinite ; and tourmaline. The presence 
 of boron in any mineral may be readily de- 
 tected with the blow-pipe, owing to the beau- 
 tiful green tint communicated to the flame by 
 the boracic acid. 
 
 BOSNIA, one of the provinces of Turkey, 
 has a fair amount of natural produce, if the 
 industry of the inhabitants would do it and 
 themselves justice. Gold, silver, iron, quick- 
 silver, lead, and coal, are known to exist in 
 many districts : some of the mines are indeed 
 rich, but are poorly worked. Among the 
 articles manufactured are leather, coarse 
 woollens, worsted coverlets, cannon balls, 
 saltpetre, gunpowder, iron ware, and weapons ; 
 but the extent of the manufactures is very 
 limited. 
 
 The exports comprise wool, honey, wax, 
 goats' hair, hides, morocco and other leather, 
 timber and other articles of wood, worsted 
 coverlids, <fcc., horses, horned cattle, sbeep, 
 goats, swine, poultry, dried fish, pitch, and 
 other domestic produce : and the imports 
 consist of linens, woollens, silks, cotton goods, 
 glass-ware, flax, steel- ware, tin, lead, copper, 
 and iron-wares, indigo, colonial produce, frc. 
 
 BOSTON is the chief port of Lincolnshire, 
 ami a place of considerable trade. The 
 foreign trade is chiefly with the Baltic, whence 
 are imported hemp, iron, timber, tar, and 
 other commodities. The chief exports con- 
 sist of corn, particularly oats, large cargoes of 
 which are sent to London. The gross receipts 
 of customs in 1847 amounted to 40,555/. The 
 vessels registered at the port in 1849 were 
 159 : and the ships which entered and cleared 
 the port amounted in number, in that year, 
 to 1,833. The manufactures carried on 
 within and around the town consist chiefly 
 of ships, sails, canvas, sacking, iron and brass 
 work, cooperage, ropes and cordage, leather, 
 
3 BOSTON. 
 
 hats, bricks, whiting ; there are also breweries 
 and malt-houses. 
 
 BOSTON, in the United States, is one of 
 the most important commercial cities in the 
 republic. Several large steam-vessels form a 
 regular line of communication between Bos- 
 ton and Great Britain, stopping at Halifax, 
 and performing their voyages in 11 to 13 days ; 
 they start once a fortnight from Liverpool. 
 Other lines of steam-packets communicate 
 with every port of importance in the United 
 States. The foreign commerce is very large, 
 amounting to six or seven millions sterling 
 annually, and employing a vast number of fine 
 vessels. The manufactures, too, are important ; 
 but Boston is a trading rather than a manu- 
 facturing city. 
 
 BOTANY. It scarcely needs to be observed 
 that, though botany as a science cannot be 
 treated in this work, a knowledge of it is 
 most important to the arts and manufactures : 
 every increase in our knowledge of the princi- 
 ples which govern the vegetable kingdom, 
 increases our store of materials for industrial 
 pursuits. 
 
 BOTHNIA. This frigid region of Sweden 
 and Kussia cannot be expected to yield many 
 materials of industry. Bye is the principal 
 grain cultivated, and potatoes are largely 
 grown. Butter and hides, which are the prin- 
 cipal articles of export, are sent to Stockholm. 
 The Laplanders have considerable herds of 
 reindeer, and live upon their flesh and other 
 produce. Fish is very abundant. The forests 
 yield abundance of timber, including birch, 
 pine, fir, alder, and aspen. Some of the trees 
 yield tar and pitch. 
 
 BbTTICHER WARE. All the collectors 
 of old china are glad to obtain specimens of 
 Botticher ware. Botticher was a chemist and 
 druggist in Saxony, who after failing in various 
 attempts at alchemy, tried the much more 
 rational art of pottery. He produced, in 1703, 
 a kind of red-stone ware ; and in 1709 he 
 succeeded in making a beautiful white porce- 
 lain the first European example of that which 
 had before been limited to 'China. He found 
 that the proper materials were procurable in 
 Saxony ; and he established the famous ma- 
 nufactory at Meissena, which has since pro- 
 duced the well-known Dresden china. 
 
 The Botticher ware which finds a place in 
 our cabinets of rarities, and of which many 
 specimens were to be seen at the Medieval 
 Exhibition of 1850, is generally a kind of 
 brown or reddish brown pottery, polished in a 
 lathe, and covered with a black or iron varnish, 
 enriched with painting and gilding, but not 
 fixed by fire. 
 
 BOTTLES, GLASS. The curious mode of 
 
 BOULOGNE. 
 
 414 
 
 making glass bottles is briefly described in a 
 later article [GLASS]. We will here merely 
 state that the making of bottles is one of the 
 most extensive departments of the g- ( s 
 manufacture in this country. Besides the 
 immense quantity used for home purposes, 
 no less than 233,108 cwts. of glass bottles 
 were exported in 1849. 
 
 BOTTOMRY, as a contract in commercial 
 transactions, is a pledge of the ship as a 
 security of the repayment of money advanced to 
 an owner for the purpose of enabling him to 
 carry on the voyage. This contract is usually 
 in the form of a bond, called a Bottomry 
 Bond, and the condition is that, if the ship be 
 lost on the voyage, the lender loses the whole 
 of his money ; but, if the ship and tackle 
 reach the destined port, they become imme- 
 diately liable, as well as the person of the 
 borrower, for the money lent, and also the 
 premium or interest agreed to be paid upon 
 the loan. 
 
 BOUCHES-DU-RHONE. This depart- 
 ment of France is chiefly deserving of a word 
 of mention here on account of its wine pro- 
 duce. Nearly 100,000 acres are devoted to 
 vineyards. In 1846 the quantity of wine pro- 
 duced in the department amounted to 
 13,750,000 gallons, about one -half of which 
 was used for home consumption, and the re- 
 mainder exported or converted into brandy. 
 The white wines of Cassis and Ciotat, the red 
 wines of Seon and St. Louis, and those of 
 Chateau-Regnard and Saintes- Maries are the 
 most esteemed sorts. The number of Mul- 
 berry-trees for the production of silk exceeds 
 a million. The olive is extensively cultivated, 
 and the oils of this department are the best 
 in France. The manufacturing industry of 
 the department, too, is great. The most im- 
 portant products are brandy, soap, vinegar, 
 soda, chemical products, broad cloth, leather, 
 hats, and perfumes. There are several sugar 
 refineries, glass-works, tile and brick-fields, 
 silk, cotton, and tobacco factories, and im- 
 portant salt-works along the coast and on the 
 several lagttnes. The commerce of the de- 
 partment is very active with all the southern 
 departments, with the Levant, the coasts of 
 Africa and Spain, and the West Indies. The 
 exports consist of the industrial products 
 named, and dried fruits, cork, and colonial 
 produce. Mines of coal, marble, slate, plaster 
 of Paris, chalk, alabaster, and potters' clay, 
 are successfully worked. Iron and lead-mines 
 have been discovered, but they are not worked. 
 The chief commercial town is noticed else- 
 where. [MARSEILLE.] 
 
 BOULOGNE, in a commercial point of view, 
 is gradually becoming an important place. The 
 
415 
 
 BOULTON, MATTHEW. 
 
 BRADFORD. 
 
 410 
 
 connection by railway of Boulogne with Paris 
 and of Folkestone with London, has given rise 
 to a large passenger-transit through Boulogne 
 and goods-traffic is now beginning to follow 
 the same route. The trade of the town is 
 considerable. The herring and mackerel 
 fisheries call into employment a considerable 
 capital, and several vessels are fitted out for 
 the Newfoundland cod fisher}-. Coarse wool- 
 lens, sailcloths, pottery, nets, and tulles, are 
 manufactured. There are also a linen-yarn 
 factory which contains 3,000 spindles, glass- 
 bottle works, rope-walks, gin distilleries, sugar 
 refineries, tan-yards, tile and brick works. 
 
 BOULTON, MATTHEW, has left a name 
 which will live in all records of mechanical 
 art. He was born in 1728, at Birmingham, 
 where his father carried on the business of a 
 hardwareman. He received an ordinary edu- 
 cation, and also acquired a knowledge of 
 drawing and mathematics. The death of his 
 father left him in possession of considerable 
 property; and, in order to extend his com- 
 mercial operations, he purchased, about 1762, 
 a lease of Soho, near Handsworth, two miles 
 from Birmingham. In 1769 Mr. Boulton 
 having entered into communication with Watt, 
 who had obtained a patent for some improve- 
 ments in the steam-engine, Watt was induced 
 to settle at Soho; and on his entering into 
 partnership with Mr. Boulton, the Soho works 
 soon became famous for their excellent en- 
 gines. The manufacture of plated wares, of 
 works in bronze and or molu, such as vases, 
 candelabra, and other ornamental articles, 
 was successively introduced at Soho. Artists 
 and men of taste were warmly encouraged, 
 and their talents called forth by Mr. Boulton's 
 liberal spirit. Boulton expended about 47,000/. 
 in the course of experiments on the steam- 
 engine, before Watt perfected the construction 
 and occasioned any return of profit. Mr. 
 Boulton died in 1809. 
 
 BOURGEOIS, SIR FRANCIS, is notice- 
 able here as the bequeather of the Bourgeois 
 collection to the custody of Dulwich college, 
 for the use of the public. The collection was 
 formed by Noel Desenfans, an eminent pic- 
 ture-dealer, who left it to Sir Francis. He at 
 his death, left it to the widow of his friend, 
 with the greater part of his property, for life ; 
 bequeathing 2,00()/. to Dulwich college for the 
 purpose of building a gallery for the pictures, 
 the reversion of which they were to have. 
 The Dulwich Gallery, as it is generally termed, 
 comprises upwards of 300 pictures. 
 
 BOW, an instrument used in producing 
 the sounds from violins, &c. It consists of 
 a stick[of Brazil wood, 80 or 100 horse hairs, 
 and a nut to tighten these hairs in the bow. 
 
 The violin bow was very short in Corelli's 
 time, but gradually increased in length, till 
 Viotti fixed it at 28 inches. The violiucello 
 bow is larger and stronger. That for the 
 double-bass is short and strong, and the stick 
 is bent, forming something like the segment 
 of a circle, of which the hairs when stretched 
 are the chord. 
 
 BOWS. The common bow and arrow have 
 been known as weapons of offence in almost 
 every country. Among the ancients the bows 
 were made from reeds, the spath of the palm, 
 and various kinds of elastic and tough wood ; 
 while the arrows, made of reeds or light wood, 
 were often pointed at the ends with sharp 
 stone instead of iron. At the present day the 
 bow and arrow-makers have an extensive 
 choice of materials, as well for the bow and 
 the arrow as for the string. The cross-bow 
 has been noticed elsewhere. [ARBALEST.] 
 
 BOX -WOOD. This remarkably close- 
 grained wood is the produce of the Biixus 
 genus of trees. The Bitxus Sempcrvircns is 
 the species which yields this valuable wood. 
 It is a small tree common to the south of 
 Europe ; but in England it is only found on 
 warm chalky hills, such as Boxhill in Surrey. 
 England is supplied with box-wood chiefly 
 from Turkey ; while France receives her supply 
 mainly from Spain. In 1815 there were box- 
 trees cut down on Boxhill which produced 
 10,000^. For the turner, the mathematical 
 instrument-maker, the carver, and especially 
 for the uses of the wood-engraver, box-wood 
 is extremely valuable. The French employ 
 it for making coat-buttons. 
 
 At the Mediaeval Exhibition of 1850 oppor- 
 tunity was afforded for witnessing the exqui- 
 site skill of some of the old carvers in box- 
 wood. 
 
 BRABANT. The chief features which 
 render Brabant interesting, in an industrial 
 point of view, are briefly noticed under BEL- 
 GIUM ; BRUSSELS ; NETHERLANDS. 
 
 BRADFORD. It is curious that both of the 
 well-known towns of Bradford owe their im- 
 portance to the woollen manufacture. Brad- 
 ford in Wiltshire has for many centuries been 
 noted for its fine broad- cloths, which have at 
 all times formed its principal manufacture. 
 The toune of Bradford stondith by clooth 
 making,' Leland said three centuries ago ; and 
 this is still true. 
 
 Bradford, in the West Riding, is how- 
 ever the greater town of the two ; for its recent 
 progress in wealth and importance hns been 
 astonishingly rapid. The chief manufacture 
 of Bradford and the neighbourhood is of 
 worsted stufls. The spinning of worsted yarn 
 mploys many thousands of workpeople, in 
 
417 
 
 BRADFORD. 
 
 BRAMAH, JOSEPH. 
 
 418 
 
 some of the largest mills of Yorkshire, and 
 the stuffs are woven from the yarn. Woollen 
 yarn for the manufacture of cloths, broad and 
 narrow, is also spun and woven at Bradford in 
 considerable quantities ; but the worsted ma- 
 nufacture is the staple employment of the 
 place, Leeds and its dependencies being the 
 more immediate seat of the woollen manufac- 
 ture. The piece hall, which is the mart for 
 stuff goods, is 144 feet long by 30 feet broad, 
 and has a lower and an upper chamber. The 
 business which is transacted in the piece hall 
 at fhe Thursday's market is. very great, and 
 forms one of the most animated commercial 
 scenes in the kingdom. Many proprietors of 
 worsted mills supply the small manufacturers 
 with yarn, besides employing a great number 
 of looms . themselves. Machinery, worked by 
 steam, has almost superseded manual labour 
 in the stuff manufacture, the weaving being 
 now generally done by power-looms. The 
 stuffs manufactured in Bradford are chiefly 
 dyed in Leeds, the proprietors of the dye- 
 houses being among the largest purchasers in 
 the Bradford market. It is however under- 
 stood that at the present time (1851J Brad- 
 ford is rapidly rising at the expense of Leeds. 
 Many of the woollen and wool merchants 
 have lately left Leeds, and opened warehouses 
 in Bradford. Several of the large firms of 
 Manchester and Huddersfield have also re- 
 cently opened warehouses in this flourishing 
 town. Several new worsted mills have been 
 erected between 1846 and 1850, and others 
 are now in course of erection. The central 
 situation of Bradford, with reference to the 
 other clothing towns, has probably been a 
 chief cause of this recent advancement. 
 
 The iron trade has long flourished in the 
 neighbourhood of Bradford ; indeed it is sup- 
 posed that the Romans worked iron mines 
 near this spot. There is an abundant supply 
 of iron-ore and coal, both of excellent quality ; 
 and the well-known ironworks at Bowling and 
 Low Moor are only a short distance from 
 Bradford. At these foundries some of the 
 most ponderous works in cast-iron are exe- 
 cuted. Vast numbers of workmen are em- 
 ployed in different departments of the esta- 
 blishments from the raising of the ore and 
 coal, to the various marketable states of the 
 metal. These ironworks have the reputation 
 of being carried on with great skill ; the im- 
 provements of modern times having been suc- 
 cessfully introduced in the different branches 
 of the manufacture. 
 
 The principal merchants and manufacturers 
 in the trades of Bradford are wool-staplers, 
 wool-combers, worsted-spinnners and manu- 
 facturers, worsted-stuff manufacturers, and 
 
 woollen-cloth manufacturers. Several of the 
 trades which are carried on are dependent 
 upon the woollen and worsted trade ; among 
 them are the manufactures for combs, shut- 
 tles, and machinery. 
 
 Bradford is preparing with much vigour to 
 take part in the Industrial Exhibition of 
 1851. The manufacturers require 2,000 
 square feet of space for their appropriation ; 
 and they have appointed a committee by whom 
 the articles to be exhibited are grouped in five 
 classes : viz., worsted stuffs, cotton stuffs, iron, 
 machinery, and miscellaneous. One inde- 
 fatigable weaver, it is said, has woven the 
 four Gospels on cloth, to exhibit as a speci- 
 men of his skill. 
 
 BRAKE, or BREAK. This name is given 
 by machinists to a contrivance for retarding 
 or arresting motion, by creating an amount of 
 friction too great for the moving power, or for 
 the momentum of the machine, in cases where 
 the moving power is suspended, to overcome. 
 Brakes generally consist of blocks of wood so 
 connected with a system of levers or screws 
 that they may be pressed firmly against the 
 periphery of a wheel mounted upon the main 
 axle of the machine ; but in some cases, in 
 stead of a block of wood, a strap or belt of 
 iron, of sufficient length to embrace one-half 
 of the periphery of the brake-wheel, or a series 
 of small blocks of wood attached to the con- 
 cave surface of such a strap is used. 
 
 Among the many contrivances for attaining 
 safety in railway travelling, self-acting brakes 
 have been devised, which would begin to act 
 as soon as the buffers of two adjacent carriages 
 were pressed together, and would arrest the 
 revolution of the wheels with a force directly 
 proportionate to the force with Avhich the car- 
 riages ran together; but it is doubtful whether 
 the inconvenience of such an apparatus under 
 certain circumstances would not more than 
 counterbalance the anticipated advantages. 
 It is however a fair field for invention, and 
 many patents have recently been obtained in 
 relation to this matter. 
 
 BRAMAH, JOSEPH, occupies a distin- 
 guished rank as the maker of delicate pieces 
 of mechanism. He was born in 1749. He 
 established himself as a cabinet-maker in 
 London, and afterwards obtained celebrity as 
 the inventor of important improvements in 
 water-closets, and of an ingenious lock, which 
 yet maintains its character as one of the most 
 inviolable ever contrived. [Locx.] This in- 
 vention was patented in 1784. He also con- 
 trived improvements in water-cocks, pumps, 
 and fire-engines, and in 179G patented the in- 
 valuable machine known as the Bramah press, 
 or hydraulic press. Among his other inven- 
 
410 
 
 BRAMAH'S PRESS. 
 
 BRANDY. 
 
 420 
 
 tions were the beer-machine, commonly used 
 in taverns for drawing beer in the bar from 
 barrels deposited in the cellar; improved 
 planing-machinery ; paper-making machinery ; 
 an instrument for making quill-pen nibs ; and 
 the beautiful contrivance [BANK-NOTE MA- 
 CHINERY] by which bank notes are numbered 
 with a regular succession of numbers, without 
 the possibility of twice producing the same 
 number. By the introduction of this last- 
 named machine into the Bank of England the 
 labour of 100 clerks out of 120 was dispensed 
 with. Bramah died in 1814. 
 
 BRAMAH'S PRESS. [HYDRAULICS.] 
 BRANDENBURG, a province of Prussia, 
 possesses considerable manufactures in many 
 of the towns. The first manufactures were esta- 
 blished by the Huguenot refugees, who received 
 cordial assistance from the government, and 
 were liberally seconded by it in their outset. 
 The woollen manufactures, which are the most 
 important, are established in most of the 
 towns ; those for the finer sorts of goods are 
 at Luckenwalde, Ziillichau, Kottbus, and 
 Guben ; kerseymeres and merino cloths are 
 made in Berlin, where woollen yarns are spun 
 on a large scale by steam-machinery. The 
 manufactures of linens, chiefly of the middling 
 and coarser sorts, is extensively carried on in 
 the Lusatian districts and the circle of Frank- 
 fort. Tanneries, paper-mills, sugar-refineries, 
 and manufactures of tobacco, glass, porcelain, 
 earthenware, iron, steel, copper and gunpow- 
 der, are among the industrial establishments 
 of the province. The Berlin iron ornaments 
 have become particularly celebrated. 
 
 BRANDY. This well known liquid is the 
 alcoholic or spirituous portion of wine, sepa- 
 rated from the aqueous part, the colouring 
 matter, c., by distillation. The word is of 
 German origin, and in its German form, 
 brantwein, signifies burnt wine, or wine that 
 has undergone the action of fire. Brandies, 
 however, have been made from potatoes, car- 
 rots, beet root, pears, and other vegetable 
 substances ; but they are all inferior to true 
 brandy. Brandy is prepared in most wine 
 countries, but that of France is the most 
 esteemed. It is procured not only by distil- 
 ling the wine itself, but also by fermenting 
 and distilling the marc or residue of the pres- 
 sings of the grape. It is procured indiffer- 
 ently from red or white wine ; and different 
 wines yield very different proportions of it, 
 the strongest of course giving the largest 
 quantity. Brandy obtained from marc has a 
 more acrid flavour than that from wine, 
 which appears to be occasioned by an oil con 
 tained in the skin of the grape, which when 
 separated proves so acrid that a single drop 
 
 would deteriorate several gallons of good 
 brandy. The celebrated brandy of Cognac, 
 a town in the department of Charente, and 
 that brought from Andraye, seem to owe their 
 excellence to being made from white wine, so 
 fermented as not to be impregnated with this 
 oil. Like other spirit, brandy is colourless 
 when recently distilled. By mere keeping 
 however, owing probably to some change in 
 the soluble matter contained in it, it acquires 
 a slight colour, which is much increased by 
 keeping in casks, and is made of the required 
 intensity by the addition of burnt sugar, or 
 other colouring matter. 
 
 The production of brandy, so far as obtain- 
 ing the alcoholic principle is concerned, is 
 described under DISTILLATION. 
 
 Although brandy drinkers despise or affect 
 to despise patent or British brandy, yet it is a 
 question whether this may not be quite as 
 pure and strong as much that goes by the 
 name of foreign brandy. So enormous is the 
 duty paid on foreign brandy, that the French 
 manufacturers are induced to strengthen it 
 artificially by spirits of wine, and the English 
 dealers to increase its bulk by water and other 
 additions. Foreign brandy ought to be a 
 little 'over proof;' but it is frequently 12 to 
 15 degrees below proof. Dr. Normandy, in 
 his recent work on adulteration, has the 
 following remarks on the worst or really frau- 
 dulent brandy : 
 
 ' Brandy, when newly distilled, is white, but 
 that met with in commerce is always of a 
 yellowish, brown, or dark brown colour, which 
 is due to the presence of some extractive 
 matter, and of tannic acid, which it has dis- 
 solved from the oak casks in which it has 
 been kept for a long time. But in order to 
 simulate this colour of genuine brandy, the 
 brandy of commerce is nothing else than new 
 brandy or alcohol, at once converted apparently 
 into old brandy by means of caramel, or 
 burnt sugar.' 
 
 British brandy, for which patents have been 
 obtained by many English distillers, is the 
 result of numerous attempts to produce, from 
 malt-spirit, a liquor that shall bear much 
 resemblance to foreign brandy. The best malt- 
 spirit is the basis of nil the British brandies ; 
 and the flavour, colour, and degree of strength, 
 are brought about by the addition of some 
 among the following long list of ingredients : 
 water, red tartar, acetic ether, French vinegar, 
 French plums, wine-bottoms, tincture of ca- 
 techu, oak shavings, bitter almonds, burnt 
 sugar, tincture of vanilla, oil of cassia, rum, 
 &c. : each manufacturer having a favourite 
 recipe of his own. It is said that where black 
 tea is cheap, as in America, it is often employed 
 
421 BEASS. 
 
 to give an imitative brandy-roughness to 
 coloured spirits. 
 
 Whatever may be the quantity of imitative 
 brandy made in England, the importation of 
 foreign brandy still continues very large. In 
 1849 it amounted to no less than 4,480,306 
 gallons. 
 
 Brandy is an ingredient in a large number 
 of cordials and liqueurs ; such as cherry- 
 brandy, carraway brandy, lemon brandy, 
 orange brandy, peach brandy, raspberry brandy, 
 and the like. They all bear a family resem- 
 blance in so far as they consist of brandy, 
 flavoured by the fruits or seeds whose name 
 they bear, sweetened with sugar, and rendered 
 fragrant with spices. 
 
 BKASS. This very valuable metal is an 
 alloy of copper and zinc, which, from the re- 
 motest antiquity, has been extensively applied 
 to useful and ornamental purposes. It was 
 made long before zinc was obtained in its 
 metallic form, by exposing grain or bean 
 copper, whicli was produced by pouring melted 
 copper into water, or copper clippings, to great 
 heat in crucibles with calcined and powdered 
 calamine, a native carbonate of zinc and 
 charcoal ; but in 1781 James Emerson ob- 
 tained a patent for making brass v in a more 
 direct way, by melting together its constituent 
 metals ; and this mode is now generally 
 practised. The proportions of the two metals 
 vary much in different kinds of brass, but 
 nearly two-thirds copper and one-third zinc 
 appears to be ''best for ordinary purposes. 
 M. Machts, of Vienna, has recently found 
 that brass made in a peculiar way from 60 per 
 cent of copper, and 40 of zinc possesses a 
 valuable degree of malleability. Prince's, or 
 Prince Eupert's metal, tombac, or tombak, 
 pinchbeck, similor, Mannheim gold, and se 
 veral other alloys of similar character, are 
 only varieties of brass, the several proportions 
 of which however are variously given by 
 different writers. 
 
 The general properties of brass are, a fine 
 yellow colour, susceptibility of a high polish, 
 and being only superficially acted upon by the 
 air. It is brittle at a high temperature, but 
 very malleable and ductile when cold. Its 
 specific gravity is greater than that dediicible 
 from the specific gravities of its constituent 
 metals. It is more fusible, a worse conductoi 
 of heat, and harder than copper. The facility 
 with which it may be cast, and turned in a 
 lathe, or otherwise worked, renders it pecu- 
 liarly useful in the construction of mathema 
 tical instruments, and the smaller parts of 
 machinery. Brass wire is extensively used hi 
 pin-making, and for various other purposes 
 Latten is a name sometimes given to thin 
 
 BKAZIL. 
 
 422 
 
 heets of rolled brass ; and Dutch metal or Dutch 
 gold is brass beaten out into very thin leaves* 
 It has been much contested Avhether brass 
 s a true chemical compound of copper and 
 sine, or merely a mechanical mixture. Since 
 the rise of electro-metallurgy, many experi- 
 menters have stated that they have precipitated 
 or deposited brass from liquid solution, which, 
 it is calculated, could not occur if the two 
 omponent metals were merely an alloy, and 
 not a chemical compound. The subject has 
 not yet been definitely settled. 
 
 A mode of using sheet brass or other metal 
 for ornamental purposes was introduced a few 
 years ago, in which the appearance of solid 
 metal might be obtained without the weight, 
 by using a wooden core to place the sheet 
 metal upon. The method is useful for making 
 cornice-poles, mouldings, or other articles of 
 continuous form and pattern. The wood is 
 first shaped, by planes and other tools, to the 
 required pattern ; the sheet metal is placed 
 upon it ; and the two together are drawn 
 through a suitable die, which unites them by 
 driving the edges of the metal into the sub- 
 stance of the wood. If the pattern be a plain 
 one, it is struck down upon the wood by the 
 die through which it passes ; but if the pat- 
 tern be full and complicated, it is imparted to 
 the sheet metal by swaging tools and dies, 
 previous to the application of the metal to the 
 surface of the wood. 
 
 The brass manufacture is one of the most 
 important of the Birmingham branches of 
 industry. No less than thirty manufacturers 
 of that town have announced their intention 
 to present specimens at the forthcoming grand 
 Exhibition, in the departments of brass bed- 
 steads, lamps, gas furniture, tubing, orna- 
 ments, &c. 
 
 Brass work was exported in 1849 to the 
 value of 114,000/. 
 
 BEAZIL. This vast country is rich in 
 products useful in the arts and manufactures. 
 Besides the ordinary kinds of vegetable food, 
 the natives cultivate the cocoa-plant, the mate- 
 plant, coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco, indigo, 
 ginger, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, sar- 
 saparilla, caoutchouc, copaiva, copal, various 
 fruits and also various dye-plants and timber- 
 trees. The herds of horned cattle are 
 immense ; and their produce, consisting, 
 besides live stock, of hides, jerked beef, tallow, 
 horns, and horn tips, is exported in great 
 quantities. As soon as the animals are 
 skinned, the hides are spread on the ground, 
 slightly salted, and dried in the sun. The 
 flesh is cut into thin slices, salted, and dried 
 in the air, for consumption in the northern pro- 
 vinces.. A little butter and cheese is made. 
 
423 
 
 BRAZIL. 
 
 BREAD AND BAKING. 
 
 424 
 
 The Brazilians produce many useful sub- 
 stances from the animals by which they are 
 surrounded. They prepare spermaceti and oil 
 from some of their fish ; they salt and dry 
 many of their larger fish, to serve as a store 
 of provisions ; they make sausages from the 
 llesh of the manati, a peculiar land of fish ; 
 they produce a fatty substance from the eggs 
 of turtles by roasting ; and they fry one 
 species of ant as an article of food. 
 .. The mineral wealth of Brazil is consider- 
 able, but limited to a few articles, of which 
 the chief are gold and iron, diamonds and 
 topazes, and salt. Before the beginning of 
 the last century the quantity of gold obtained 
 was inconsiderable, but it increased rapidly. 
 The greatest quantity was found between 1753 
 and 1703, but it afterwards decreased. The 
 grains of gold in the sand being nearly ex- 
 hausted, and capital being wanted to work the 
 veins in the mountains, the produce fell off; 
 but, since the introduction of British capital 
 into some of the provinces, the produce of the 
 mines has increased. Iron is very abundant : 
 in some places there are whole mountains of 
 ore ; but up to the present time it has been 
 worked on an extensive scale only in two or 
 three places. In 1843 a government iron- 
 foundry was abandoned as an unprofitable 
 speculation. No silver has been found, and 
 only slight indications of copper, tin, and 
 quicksilver. Platinum occurs in some places. 
 Lead and cobalt are more common. 
 
 No country 1 probably is richer in diamonds 
 than Brazil, but hitherto they have only been 
 found in the rivers. The diamond district, or 
 the district of Tejuco, where by far the greatest 
 quantity of diamonds has been found, is situ- 
 ated under 18 S. lat. ; and here many 
 hundreds of persons are employed by the 
 government in searching for diamonds. In 
 about a century from 1730 to 1830, it is sup- 
 posed that the diamonds found must have 
 been worth three millions sterling. In another 
 diamond district, that of Abaete, was found in 
 1791 the great diamond weighing 138J carats, 
 one of the largest in the world. Diamonds 
 are also found in other districts of Brazil. 
 
 The Brazilians obtain their salt from salt 
 steppes or plains. There are here and there 
 patches of salt efflorescence on the surface of the 
 ground. There are also salt springs, and salt 
 steppes which yield salt after a shower of rain. 
 
 Internal communication in Brazil is in 'a 
 very imperfect state. The roads are few, and 
 mostly bad. The rivers offer a fine field for 
 traffic enterprise , but the country is not in a 
 (state to develope its own advantages. Steam 
 transit has been partially introduced on one or 
 two of the rivers. 
 
 The foreign commerce of Brazil is very 
 large. The vessels of all nations are admit- 
 ted on the same conditions, and their cargoes 
 pay the same duties. The most important 
 articles of exportation are sugar, coffee, and 
 cotton. The exportation of cocoa, hides, 
 tobacco, rice, horns and horn-tips, dye-woods, 
 sarsaparilla, and indian-rubber is also consi- 
 derable. The smaller articles are isinglass, 
 indigo, castor beans, castor oil, and different 
 drugs. The chief ports visited by European 
 vessels are S. Pedro, Santos, Rio Janeiro, 
 Bahia, Pernambuco, Maranhao, Para,Aracaty, 
 Seara, and Parahyba. Rio Janeiro is the chief 
 place of export for coffee, Bahia for sugar, and 
 Pernambuco for cotton. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures sent 
 to Brazil in 1849 exceeded 2,000,000/. in value. 
 The exports from Brazil amount to four or 
 five millions sterling per annum ; they are 
 sent to almost every part of Europe and 
 America, and to many African and Asiatic 
 ports. 
 
 BRAZIL NUTS. There is in the vast 
 forests on the banks of the Orinoco, a genus 
 of trees, of large size, called Bertholletia. Its 
 stem averages a hundred feet in height, and 
 two feet in diameter, not branching till near 
 the top, whence its boughs hang down in a 
 graceful manner. The fruit is figured and 
 described by Humboldt as a spherical case, as 
 big as a man's head, with four cells, in each of 
 which are six or eight nuts ; its shell is nigged 
 and furrowed, and covered with a rind of a 
 green colour. The nuts are irregularly trian- 
 gular bodies, having a hard shell, which is 
 very much wrinkled, and which is fixed to a 
 central placenta by their lower end. The 
 seed is a firm oily almond, of a pure white 
 colour. ' The Portuguese of Para, ' says 
 Humboldt, ' have for a long time driven a 
 great trade with the nuts of this tree, which 
 the Spaniards call almcndron; they send car- 
 goes to French Guiana, whence they are ship- 
 ped for England and Lisbon. The kernels 
 yield a large quantity of oil, well suited for 
 lamps.' They are sold in England under the 
 name of Brazil Nuts. 
 
 BRAZIL WOOD, is much used in dyeing. 
 A decoction is made from the wood by the 
 action of hot water ; and this decoction, by 
 various modes of using, is made to impart a 
 beautiful red-dye to cottons, linens, silks, and 
 woollens. 
 
 Another name for this wood is sapan. It is 
 brought from Brazil and is the wood of the 
 casalpinia cm/a. From 3,000 to 4,000 tons are 
 imported annually. 
 
 BREAD and BAKING. There is a marked 
 characteristic which separates bread into two 
 
425 
 
 BREAD AND BAKING. 
 
 BREAD AND BAKING. 
 
 426 
 
 kinds : biscuit bread, which is made without 
 fermentation, and is compact, heavy, and 
 hard ; and loaf bread, which is fermented, and 
 thereby rendered porous, light, and soft, The 
 flour of barley, oats, and rye, is used as well 
 as that of wheat for making bread ; but our 
 brief details will apply more especially to 
 wh eaten bread, which is the most extensively 
 used in England, and in which the properties 
 of perfect bread are most distinctly exhibited. 
 
 In making biscuit bread [BiscuiT], no 
 chemical change is effected: the operation 
 being the merely mechanical one of moisten- 
 ing particles of flour so as to cause them to 
 adhere together, and t to remain in one mass 
 by the subsequent process of baking. The 
 operation of making fermented bread is far 
 less simple. 
 
 Wheat flour consists of starch and gluten, 
 with a very small proportion of other sub- 
 stances : and the relative proportions of these 
 constituents vary in different kinds of corn. 
 A mode of comparing the qualities of flour in 
 this respect has been already described. 
 [ALEUROMETER.] 
 
 When flour is mixed with water, it forms 
 the well-known paste called dough, which fer- 
 ments if left in a moderately warm place. 
 During this fermentation, carbonic acid gas is 
 evolved ; and this gas, in its natural tendency 
 to escape into the air, is arrested in its pro- 
 gress through the dough by the adhesiveness 
 of the gluten, and consequently forms the 
 numerous cavities we see in fermented bread. 
 These are more numerous, and consequently 
 the bread is lighter, when wheat flour is used 
 than when the flour of oats or rye, which con- 
 tains less gluten, is employed. This natural 
 process of fermentation however is slow and 
 tedious, and is liable to impart a disagreeable 
 flavour to the bread ; to remedy which, the 
 custom of accelerating the fermentation by 
 adding a small quantity of dough in a state of 
 strong fermentation, called leaven, was intro- 
 duced. The substitution of yest (the frothy 
 scum which rises on the surface of beer 
 during 'its fermentation,) for this leaven is a 
 further improvement. 
 
 In the ordinary mode of making bread the 
 water is used at a temperature of from 90 to 
 100, a little salt and yest is mixed with it, and 
 then a quantity of flour. The substance thus 
 produced is covered up and set aside in a 
 Avarm situation : this part of the process 
 being called setting the sponge. Within an 
 hour the progress of fermentation is mani- 
 fested by the swelling and heaving of the 
 sponge ; and this process is allowed to proceed, 
 with the occasional dropping or sinking of the 
 dough when the confined gas becomes so 
 
 powerful as to force a way for escape, until a 
 period dictated by experience as that beyond 
 which further fermentation would be hazard- 
 ous. The baker then adds the remaining 
 flour, water, and salt, and incorporates all the 
 materials thoroughly together by long and 
 laborious kneading. When this has been con- 
 tinued until the dough will receive a smart 
 pressure of the hand without adhering to it, 
 it is again left to ferment for a few hours, 
 and afterwards kneaded more gently, in order 
 so to distribute the gas engendered within it 
 as to make the bread equally light and porous 
 throughout. It is then formed into loaves, 
 which being set aside for an hour or two, ex- 
 pand to about double their original volume : 
 and these loaves are finally baked in the oven, 
 by which process they enlarge still more in 
 bulk, not by the continuance of fermentation, 
 but by the expansion of the gas already formed, 
 through the effect of heat. The result is a 
 loaf composed of an infinite number of cel- 
 lules filled with carbonic acid gas, and lined 
 with a glutinous membrane. 
 
 When flour is converted into bread, it is 
 found on leaving the oven to have increased 
 from 28 to 34 per cent, in weight ; but bread 
 which has gained 281bs. will lose about 41bs. 
 within thirty-six hours after leaving the oven. 
 The^season of growth, the age of the flour, and 
 other circumstances, affect the quantity of 
 bread obtainable from a given weight of flour ; 
 but generally speaking the better the flour is, 
 and the older, within certain limits, the greater 
 will be the quantity of bread. 
 
 The panary fermentation, or the fermenta- 
 tion which dough undergoes, is nearly identical 
 with vinous fermentation 1 ; a little alcohol 
 being produced by it. Hence arose a notable 
 project, a few years ago, for saving the spirit 
 produced in bread making; a sum of 20,0001. 
 was spent in establishing a bakery at Chelsea 
 but it was soon found that the projectors had 
 totally misconceived the chemistry of their 
 subject; while neighbouring bakers, by adver- 
 tising ' bread with the gin in it,' contrived to 
 ;hrow the gin-less bread quite out of popular 
 7 avour. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances, no machi- 
 nery is employed in bread making in England. 
 About 20 years ago Mr. Clayton obtained a pa- 
 tent for a rotatory kneading machine : in the 
 interior of which knives were placed diagonally ; 
 and other mixing and kneading machines have 
 since been invented; but the hand method 
 remains still almost exclusively in force in 
 this country. Our French neighbours under- 
 stand these [things better: they apply more 
 science to the chemistry of eating and drinking. 
 The mixing and kneading are generally 
 
427 
 
 BREAD AND BAKING. 
 
 BREAKWATER. 
 
 428 
 
 effected by hand : but they are more carefully 
 attended to than in England. There is, how- 
 rviT, a machine-bakery, patented at Paris by 
 M. Mouchot, of which Dumas gives a descrip- 
 tion : the lifting of the flour into the troughs, 
 the admission of water, the mixing, the 
 kneading, the baking- all are effected by the 
 aid of efficient machinery. 
 
 A machine for baking bread by steam was 
 inti educed into France about five years ago. 
 It consists principally of two concentric cylin- 
 ders, the inner one of which has numerous 
 perforations. The dough is placed in the 
 inner cylinder, and steam is admitted to the 
 space between the two cylinders. Half an 
 hour is said to be sufficient for the heat of the 
 steam to bake the bread ; but it would appear 
 that there ought to be some mode of drying 
 the bread after this process. 
 
 An ingenious mooe of baking biscuits is de- 
 scribed in the 'Mechanics Magazine' (No. 
 981) as having been invented by Mr. Deucale, 
 an American, and practised in New York. A 
 brick oven stands in the middle of the bake- 
 house, 12 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 feet 
 high. The top has no opening whatever. 
 The front has an opening near the ground, 
 with a metal door, through which the fuel is 
 introduced and made to cover the entire area 
 of the floor^of the oven. About a foot above 
 the furnace door is an opening six or eight 
 inches high and the whole width of the oven; 
 4 similar opening exists at the back of the 
 oven. Near each opening is a wooden cylin- 
 der ; and round both cylinders a wire lattice- 
 work is tightly coiled, so as to form an endless 
 cloth stretching horizontally within and across 
 the oven, over the fire. The dough and bis- 
 cuits being ranged in a row along the front 
 edge of the wire-cloth, the baker turns a winch 
 hand and winds them into the oven ; this he 
 does row after row, until, by the time the first 
 row has reached the back of the oven, the bis- 
 cuits in that row are properly baked. This 
 method presents a good deal of analogy to 
 that described under BISCUIT. 
 
 In respect to oyen.s,considerable improvements 
 have been introduced within the last few years ; 
 instead of placing fuel in the oven, it is placed 
 on one side, and flues are so arranged as to 
 heat the oven with less waste, more quickly, 
 and with more cleanliness than on the old 
 method. 
 
 Of the condition of the bakers much has 
 been said lately which tends to show that 
 there is sad want of improvement ; Dr. Guy's 
 Report on this subject gives a gloomy picture 
 of the effects of night work on the journeymen 
 bakers. Nor is the genuineness of the bread 
 produced quite so undeniable as one might 
 
 wish. Indeed the public has been a little 
 scared at the long list of objectionables used 
 to adulterate bread damaged wheat, beans, 
 peas, carbonate of ammonia, potatoes, plaster 
 of Paris, chalk, pipeclay, burnt bones, are all 
 said occasionally to take part in the manufac- 
 ture of what ought to be wheaten bread. 
 There is a double mischief in all this : it is a 
 robbery in itself ; and it leads to the honest 
 as well as the dishonest being suspected by 
 those whose suspicions are aroused, but who 
 have neither inclination nor skill to analyse 
 their bread. 
 
 The varieties of bread used only in a small 
 degree are numerous. There are bran bread, 
 French soup bread, grain bread, household 
 bread, Iceland moss bread, leavened bread, 
 potato bread, &c. all of which have pecu- 
 liarities either in the ingredients or in the 
 mode of making. 
 
 BREAD FRUIT. A Bread-Fruit is a fig 
 turned inside out, and much larger in all its 
 parts ; that is to say, the flowers which form 
 the bread-fruit and fig grow, in both cases, 
 upon a fleshy receptacle ; but in the former 
 the receptacle is solid and bears its flowers 
 externally, while in the latter it is hollow and 
 bears its flowers internally. 
 
 The bread-fruit (Artocarpns inclm) is a 
 native of the South Sea Islands, and of many 
 parts of the Indian Archipelago. The fruit 
 is green and of considerable size, equalling a 
 melon of the larger kind in dimensions, and 
 is of many different forms. The nuts, when 
 roasted, are said to be as good as the best 
 chesnuts ; but it is principally for the fleshy 
 receptacle that it is valued. When roasted it 
 becomes soft, tender, and white, resembling 
 the crumb of a loaf ; but it must be eaten new, 
 or it becomes hard and difficult to swallow. 
 It forms so important a part of the support of 
 the South Sea Islanders that it was introduced 
 by the British Government into the West 
 Indies, where it is still cultivated, and whence 
 il has been carried to the continent of Ame- 
 rica. It does not appear, however, equal to 
 the plantain as an article of human food. 
 
 BREAKWATER. The Plymouth break- 
 water is a public work on which we justly pride 
 ourselves. It was commenced in 1812, and is 
 formed of stone procured from the shores of 
 the harbour. The quarrying of the stone, the 
 conveyance into the vessels by a railway, the 
 dropping of the stones into the sea by opening 
 trap doors in the vessels, the gradual accumu- 
 lation of the vast heap, and the dressing of the 
 surface to the required form, are all remark- 
 able operations. The works are not even yet 
 completed; for so late as August, 1850, the 
 admiralty advertised for 130,000 cubic feet of 
 
429 
 
 BREAKWATER. 
 
 BREAKWATER. 
 
 430 
 
 dressed limestone, to be supplied during 1851. 
 The breakwater is a straight line of stone-work 
 with two wings inclined a little towards the 
 north ; the straight portion is about 1000 yards 
 in length, and the wings 350 yards each. The 
 width at the bed of the sea is 300 to 400 feet ; 
 but only 50 at high water level. The upper 
 surface is horizontal, and about 2 feet above 
 high water spring tide. The inner face has a 
 slope of 2 to 1, and the outer face a slope of 
 5 to 1. The coarse rubble contained in the 
 structure, up to the present time, exceeds 
 3,600,000 tons ; the dressed masonry 2,500,000 
 tons. Upwards of 330,000 tons were deposited 
 in one year (1816). The works (which were 
 under the late John Rennie until 1821, and 
 since under the present Sir John) have cost 
 about 1,500,000/.; and seldom has public money 
 been more advantageously expended. 
 
 The breakwater at Cherbourg, which is so 
 honourable to our French neighbours, and 
 which attracted so much the attention of our 
 naval officers on a recent occasion, is briefly 
 described in another article. [CHEBBOUEG.] 
 
 The breakwater at Portland, now being con- 
 structed by Mr. Rendel, will shelter an area 
 of 1822 acres. From the eastern point of the 
 island of Portland, it will run out 1 ,500 feet in 
 an easterly direction, and then 6,000 feet north- 
 eastward; but at the angle between these two 
 portions will be an opening about 500 feet 
 wide, for the entrance of steamers and small 
 craft. More than 7,000 feet of the entire 
 length will be built in 5 to 8 fathoms depth 
 at low water. From the large store of stone 
 in the island, the facility of transport, and the 
 employment of convict labour, it is estimated 
 that this great work may be completed for 
 560,000/. A railway, with three inclines, 
 drums, wire-ropes, <tc., are employed to raise 
 and lower the waggons, and to cany stones 
 from the top of the island to the spot where 
 they are dropped into the sea. 
 
 The determination of the government to 
 construct harbours of refuge has led to the 
 promulgation of many plans for breakwaters. 
 A few of these we shall briefly glance at, as 
 well as others suggested somewhat earlier. 
 
 Captain Tayler's Floating Breakwater was 
 introduced to public notice in 1838. It con- 
 sists of a frame-work or caisson of timber, 
 moored and shackled, so as to yield to the 
 violence of the sea, and to admit the water to 
 pass under, over, and through it. The cir- 
 cumstances which, to the inventor's mind, seem 
 to point out this as a useful form, are the fol- 
 lowing : 1st. It divides and breaks the waves, 
 and reduces them to a harmless state ; con- 
 verting all that happens to lie within a crescent 
 of such breakwaters to still or smooth water. 
 
 2nd. It is free from the objections which often 
 pertain to solid breakwaters, in so far as they 
 tend to the filling up or obstructing of har- 
 bours and channels by accumulation of sand 
 and mud. 3rd. It can be laid down on any 
 part of the coast, so as to form a harbour 
 where none can be formed by ordinary means. 
 4th. It can be constructed and kept in repair 
 at a mere fraction of the cost of an ordinary 
 breakwater. These are high claims, but they 
 have not yet met with a favourable reception. 
 According to the specification of the patent, 
 the timber -framed caissons are to vary in shape 
 and form according to the depth and nature 
 of the sea wherein they are to be moored ; but, 
 as a general rule, about one- third of the mass 
 is above water. As it is optional to make the 
 structure of any convenient dimensions, many 
 such may be chained or otherwise fastened 
 end to end, so as to form a lengthened straight 
 or curved breakwater. 
 
 Another plan recently proposed consists in 
 placing a number of spars upright in the sea, 
 three or four feet apart : the spars being five 
 or six inches square, and of a length (about 
 24 feet) sufficient to reach the whole depth of 
 the deepest waves. A heavy stone or any kind 
 of mooring anchor is lowered to the bottom of 
 the sea beneath each spar, and the spar is 
 connected with this by a chain. Each spar 
 yields easily to any forcible pressure from the 
 sea, since the small chain at bottom acts as a 
 hinge ; but it will soon recover its vertical 
 direction, which it maintains by virtue of the 
 wood being of less specific gravity than sea- 
 water. How many rows of such spars would 
 be necessary to check the force of a sea, 
 would in all probability depend on the nature 
 of the locality. 
 
 Captain Vetch (in Weale's Quarterly Papers, 
 1843) advocates a vertical construction of 
 breakwaters, instead of a sloping face towards 
 the sea. His plan consists in a peculiar ap- 
 plication of wrought iron rods, which pass 
 vertically through the water, and are supported 
 by horizontal iron frames, through orifices in 
 which the rods pass. The frames and rods 
 receive lateral support by other rods placed in 
 a sloping position, in a double row on the two 
 faces of the breakwater. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. W. H. Smith published a small 
 pamphlet relating to Harbours of Refuge, in 
 which he recommends the use of a peculiar 
 kind of breakwater. It consists of a hollow 
 framework of timber, which is secured to the 
 ground by screw -piles, such as those employed 
 in Mitchell's screw-pile lighthouses ; the frame- 
 work is free to oscillate on these piles, within 
 certain limits, which are determined by mooring 
 blocks, and counterbalance weights. 
 
431 
 
 BREMEN. 
 
 Captain Sleigh's proposed breakwater con- 
 sists of a series of sloping or oblique platforms 
 supported by floating hollow vessels or caissons ; 
 by which the platforms are always maintained 
 in an oblique position, and are enabled to rise 
 and fall with the tide. These floating vessels 
 and sloping platforms are to be so arranged 
 as to form sea and wind barriers for sheltering 
 ships, pier-heads, and bridges ; they may be 
 made of any dimensions, and any convenient 
 number of them may be ranged end to end, 
 so as to form either a straight or a curved 
 line, according to the size and shape of the 
 spot to be sheltered. 
 
 A singular form of Breakwater was suggested 
 by Captain Norton a few years ago. He had 
 observed, that where the lotus plant grows on 
 a lake or pond, if a strong wind ruffles the 
 water on one side of the leaf, the water is com- 
 paratively smootli on the other side : resulting 
 from the wind having no hold on the broad 
 expanse of the leaves. He had also observed, 
 after a storm at sea, the solid timbers of a 
 wrecked vessel splintered in pieces by being 
 driven against the shore ; while a wicker basket 
 escaped uninjured. These two facts suggested 
 the idea of constructing a floating breakwater 
 of osiers. A model of such a machine was ex- 
 hibited at the Polytechnic Institution in 1843. 
 
 Engineers of eminence, both military and 
 civil, are at present engaged in a discussion 
 whether vertical or sloped faces are best for 
 seawalls and breakwaters. So much is this 
 an undecided question, that the recent injury 
 to the new works at Dover Harbour is ap- 
 pealed to, to afford evidence on one side or 
 the other. 
 
 BREMEN, one of the free Hanseatic towns, 
 owes its prosperity to the navigable river (the 
 Weser) on which it stands. It is the entrepot 
 for | imports of all the countries bordering 
 on the Weser, and especially for Hanover, 
 Oldenburg, and Hesse-Cassel. A railroad 
 from Bremen to Hanover was opened in Dec. 
 1847. Large vessels go up the river only as 
 far as Bremerlehe, 28 miles below Bremen ; 
 there they discharge their cargoes in a new 
 harbour called Bremerhaven. Ships of 200 
 to 250 tons unload at Vegesack, 13 miles below 
 Bremen ; and vessels of seven or eight feet 
 draft go quite up to the town. Cargoes brought 
 to Bremerhaven and Vegesack are forwarded 
 to Bremen by lighters and boats. Bremen is 
 a place of great resort for the warehousing and 
 transit of foreign and German goods ; it has a 
 bank,discount office, and several insurance com- 
 panies. The ships of Bremen have been largely 
 engaged of late years in carrying out German 
 emigrants to America. The chief imports are 
 raw cotton, cotton yarn, sugar, coffee, tea, to- 
 
 BREWING AND BREWERIES. 432 
 
 bacco, dye-stuffs, and other colonial produce. 
 The exports consist of these same items, and 
 linens, grain, oak-bark, salt meat, hides, seeds, 
 rags, wool, 'woollen goods, and wine. The ves- 
 sels which arrive annually are 1100 or 1200 in 
 number, many of them of large tonnage ; and 
 they bring to the city an immense quantity of 
 merchandize. The town has several sugar- 
 refineries, above 100 distilleries, tanyards, 
 soaperies, cordage and canvas factories, cotton- 
 mills, bleach-works, tobacco factories, &c. 
 
 BRE'SCIA is rich in most of those articles 
 of produce, such as silk, oil, wine, and fruit, 
 which will come under our notice in the article 
 
 LOMBARDY. 
 
 BRESLAU, the capital of the Prussian 
 province of Silesia, is highly favoured by nature 
 for a trading depot ; its central position among 
 the manufacturing districts of Silesia, its faci- 
 lities for trade by means of internal navigation, 
 and by railroads which connect it with Vienna, 
 Prague, Dresden, Leipzig, Hanover, Hamburg, 
 Berlin, and Stettin, render it one of the most 
 thriving manufacturing and commercial cities 
 of Europe. It is an entrepot for the fine and 
 coarse woollens, cottons, linens, silks, hard- 
 wares, glass, wools, hemp, and flax of Silesia ; 
 for the wines of Hungary and all kinds of 
 colonial produce. The oxen of the Ukraine 
 and Moldavia, the corn and cattle of Silesia, 
 and the produce of its own distilleries, tan- 
 yards, typefoundries, and all those manufac- 
 tures which it has in common with other large 
 towns, find a regular sale at Breslau. Four 
 fairs are held in the year, those for wool are 
 held in the early part of June and October. 
 The average quantity of wool sold at the June 
 fairs amounts to 7,000,000 Ibs. 
 
 It is interesting [to note, as a proof of the 
 tendency of trade to penetrate in all directions, 
 that at the Michaelmas wool-fair at Breslau, 
 in 1850, more than 300 bales of Australian 
 wool were sold, and were readily bought by 
 the manufacturers of the Zollverein or Cus- 
 toms' Union district of Germany. 
 
 BREST is a fortress and naval station of 
 the first class. There are handsome quays, 
 ship-building yards, extensive storehouses, 
 rope-walks, and barracks ; but as its works 
 relate wholly to defence and not to commerce, 
 we need not describe them here. 
 
 BREWING and BREWERIES. Whether 
 ale or beer be the object of the brewer's at- 
 tention, the chemisti'y of the manufacture is 
 pretty nearly the same. It consists in the pro- 
 cess of extracting a saccharine solution from 
 grain, and in converting that solution into a 
 fermented and spirituous beverage. Tins art, 
 although a perfectly chemical one in nearly all 
 its stages, has not until recent tunes been in- 
 
433 BREWING AND BREWERIES. 
 
 debted to chemistry for any of the improve- 
 ments which have been made in its details. 
 
 In brewing the various beers, as ale, porter, 
 and table-ale, two kinds of malt are employed, 
 the pale and the brown. The first is used for 
 ales, and for the finer qualities the malt is 
 dried very pale indeed; the brown malt is 
 used for porters and stouts. Roasted or black 
 in alt is used as a colouring material, in place 
 of burnt sugar. 
 
 The malt is first ground or crushed ; and 
 the grist or ground malt being prepared, the 
 next part of the process is the mashing. The 
 mash-tun, or vessel in which this operation is 
 carried on, is usually of wood, varying in size 
 according to the quantity of malt to be wetted, 
 and having two or more taps in the bottom. 
 From one to two inches above this bottom is 
 a false bottom pierced full of small holes, on 
 which the grist is placed; the hot water is 
 then admitted, and the grist is intimately 
 mixed with the water. For this purpose ma- 
 chinery is used to stir it about, and cause it 
 to assume a homogeneous consistence. The 
 whole is then allowed to stand at rest for a 
 certain time ; and the taps being opened, the 
 infusion, or sweet wort, is allowed to run off 
 into a vessel called the underback, whence it 
 is pumped or otherwise conveyed to the copper 
 for boiling. When the wort has run off, the 
 taps are closed, and a fresh quantity of hot 
 water is run on for a second mash. When the 
 whole of the wort is pumped into the copper, 
 the hops are thrown in, and the boiling com- 
 mences. For large coppers machinery is 
 used to prevent the hops from settling down 
 and burning. When the boiling is complete, 
 the whole contents of the copper are turned 
 into the hop-back, which is a large square or 
 oblong vessel of wood or iron, having a false 
 bottom for large brewings, and a sieve par- 
 tition at the corner for small ones. 
 
 As the boiled wort drains from the hops it 
 is allowed to run, or is pumped, into the cool- 
 ers. These hops, when sufficiently drained, 
 may be again boiled with a second copper of 
 wort, or with the return wort or table-beer. 
 The coolers are large shallow vessels, placed 
 in as open a part of the brewery as possible, 
 so as to command a free current of air over 
 the whole of their surface : they may be con- 
 structed of either wood or iron. Fans and 
 blowers are sometimes used to assist the 
 rapidity of this part of the process. When 
 sufficiently cool, the wort is allowed to run 
 into the fermenting tun. 
 
 The wort is next fermented in a large vessel 
 called a gyle, or fermenting tun. As soon as 
 the wort begins to run from the coolers, and 
 when a sufficient quantity is in the tun, the 
 
 BREWING AND BREWERIES. 434 
 
 yest is added. Wlien the fermentation has 
 arrived at a certain point of attenuation, that 
 is, when a certain quantity of the saccharine 
 matter of the wort has been converted into 
 alcohol or spirit, it is cleansed from the yest ; 
 for this purpose it is either run into smaller 
 vessels, such as casks or rounds, or the yesty 
 head is skimmed off from the top ; and this 
 is repeated at intervals until the beer is clean. 
 This operation of skimming is generally con- 
 fined to the cleansing of ales. The casks are 
 simply filled with the fermenting beer, and so 
 arranged as to be always kept quite full, with 
 a trough or stillion to catch the yest as it 
 works out at the orifice of these vessels. The 
 beer, being thus cleansed from all the yest, is 
 now either racked directly into casks as for 
 ale, or run into vats prepared for it. On the 
 large scale a large vessel is first used, into 
 which the beer in tended to be vatted is allowed 
 to run so as to be perfectly well mixed, and 
 also to deposit a further portion of yest by 
 standing. The beer is ,by this means also 
 rendered flat, which is necessary for stock or 
 store beer that is to be kept some time before 
 coming into use. 
 
 The last operation the beer has to undergo 
 is the fining, or clearing, which is sometimes 
 done by the brewer, sometimes by the publi- 
 can. The fining material consists of isinglass, 
 or other gelatinous matter, dissolved in acid 
 beer, or sours, which, having been added to 
 the ale or beer, agglutinates or collects to- 
 gether all the lighter floating matters which 
 render the beer thick, and ultimately falls to 
 the bottom of the vessel Avith them, leaving 
 the beer clear and transparent. 
 
 Such is a simple outline of the processes, 
 whether bitter or mild, strong or weak bever- 
 age is to be brewed, and whether the scale of 
 operations be large or small. The reader will 
 have no difficulty in conceiving that the me- 
 chanism and details of the processes must vary 
 greatly, although the chemical principles may 
 remain the same. In Bavaria the brewing of 
 beer is one of the chief, perhaps the chief, 
 manufacture ; for the Germans are resolute 
 beer drinkers. They have black beer, white 
 beer, brown beer, thin beer, strong beer, double 
 beer, bitter beer differences which we attempt, 
 though not very successfully, to indicate by 
 our names ale, beer, porter, stout, &c. Bavarian 
 beer and Scotch ale differ from English beers 
 and ales in being fermented at lower tempera- 
 tures. Ale, in England, is brewed from paler 
 malt than beer; porter is brewed from pale 
 malt coloured with burnt malt; stout is only a 
 superior kind of porter; table-beer is simply 
 poor or weak beer. Malt is the proper mate- 
 rial for yielding beer ; bat imitative beers are 
 
435 BREWING AND BREWERIES. 
 
 brewed from bran, potatoes, spruce, sugar, 
 and treacle. 
 
 A few flavouring and sweetening ingre- 
 dients are recognized and allowable in brewing ; 
 but the world knows very little of the adultera- 
 tions to which beer is too often subjected. 
 Quassia, gentian, wormwood, broom-top, to 
 impart bitterness ; capsicum, ginger, coriander, 
 orange peel, caraway, to give pungency ; opium, 
 cocculus indicus, nux vomica, tobacco, poppy, 
 henbane, to intoxicate ; molasses, sugar, trea- 
 cle, as substitutes for malt ; sulphuric acid, 
 alum, vitriol, salt, to impart various properties 
 all are suspected, and more than suspected, 
 of playing a part in the manufacture of some 
 of those beverages which occasionally go by 
 the name of beer. The Excise have battled 
 hard against these difficulties ; but with only 
 partial success. 
 
 Mr. Tizard, a brewer of Birmingham, has 
 suggested a remarkable arrangement for fer- 
 menting the beer. He proposes the use of a 
 subterranean fermenting room, sunk to such 
 a depth as to have a uniform temperature 
 from 45 b to 52 at all hours and seasons. This, 
 in our country would be a depth of about 70 
 or 80 feet. The fermenting vessels are sur- 
 rounded with cold water in this subterranean 
 chamber. The cooled wort is conveyed by a 
 pipe down into the vessel ; and after the pro- 
 cesses of fermenting, cleansing, and fining, it 
 is drawn up again through racking taps, which 
 only just dip below the surface of the liquid, 
 so as not to disturb the lees of the liquor. 
 
 A cooler for brewing, introduced by Mr. 
 Davidson, acts in the following way. The wort 
 is pumped up at a slow and regulated speed 
 into a recipient at the top of the machine ; it 
 there divides into a series of thin films or 
 streams, and trickles down the inside of a 
 number of thin metallic tubes, set vertically. 
 An upward current of air passes through these 
 tubes, meeting and cooling the hot wort. 
 
 Various other improvements are frequently 
 being introduced or suggested ; but we must 
 hasten to say a few words of the vast establish- 
 ments wherein brewing is sometimes con- 
 ducted, and of which Messrs. Barclay and Per- 
 kins' Porter Brewery is the most notable spe- 
 cimen. 
 
 This large establishment covers many acres, 
 and contains so many court yards and build- 
 ings surrounding them, that it almost requires 
 a map to render the arrangement intelligible 
 Here is the vast 'tun-room' or fermenting 
 house ; north-east of this, on the river side, is 
 the wharf for landing the malt and for ship- 
 ping the beer ; westward of the wharf are the 
 immense malt warehouses ; nearer at hand 
 are the steam-engine apparatus, the water re- 
 
 BRICK. 
 
 436 
 
 servoir, the cooperage, the ale and porter 
 Drewhouses, the fining house, the store vaults, 
 he splendid stables for the dray-horses. 
 Such are the objects which present them- 
 selves, over an area of eight or nine acres. 
 And when we examine them more closely, the 
 details themselves are vast. Everything is on 
 a large scale. The water cisterns are 30 feet 
 .ong by 20 wide ; the malt-bins, two dozen in 
 number, are each large enough to contain an 
 ordinary three-storied house ; the great brew- 
 louse is nearly as large as Westminster Hall; 
 the copper vessels for boiling contain 12,000 
 gallons each ; the store of beer always on 
 land requires 150 vats, of an average capacity 
 of 30,000 gallons each ; one particular vat con- 
 tains 100,000 gallons, and weighs when lull 
 500 tons ; the number of butts, puncheons, 
 and barrels, belonging to the establishment 
 exceeds 60,000; about 200 horses are kept, 
 who have stables arranged with all scientific 
 appliances, and a veterinary surgeon on their 
 especial behoof. 
 
 BRICK. The ancients used bricks both 
 baked and simply dried in the sun. Those 
 found in the ruins of Babylon [BABYLON] are 
 among the oldest specimens existing. The 
 Egyptians used sun-dried bricks, and the pro- 
 cess of making them is represented in their 
 paintings. The Greek bricks appear to have 
 been used simply dried. Roman bricks were 
 very thin in proportion to their length and 
 breadth, and were well burnt. 
 
 In making ordinary English bricks, the top 
 soil, or cncallou; is first removed from the 
 clay, which is dug and turned over in the 
 winter. Exposure to wet and' frost prepares 
 it for use by the spring, when fine ashes are 
 added to it in the proportion of one-lil'th 
 ashes to four-fifths clay, or 60 chaldrons to 240 
 cubic yards, which will make 100,000 bricks. 
 When much sand is mixed with the clay, 
 forming what is called a mild earth, a smaller 
 proportion of ashes may be used. This quan- 
 tity requires also the addition of about 15 
 chaldrons, or, if mild, of about 12 chaldrons 
 of freeze, which is a kind of coarse coal ash, 
 separated by sifting, to aid the burning. The 
 clay and ashes being well mixed by digging, 
 watering, and raking backwards and forwards 
 with a pronged hoe, the mass is removed in 
 barrows to the pity-mill, which consists of an 
 upright barrel in which a series of strong iron 
 knives and teeth are caused to revolve by the 
 power of a horse walking in a circular path, 
 so as to cut and masticate the clay very 
 thoroughly as it passes from the top of the 
 barrel to an aperture provided for its exit at 
 the bottom. As the clay oozes out of the 
 mill, it is removed with a cuckhold, or concave 
 
437 
 
 BKICK. 
 
 BKICK. 
 
 438 
 
 shovel, and covered with sacks to prevent its 
 drying too fast. A person called the feeder 
 takes from the stock of clay thus prepared a 
 piece ahout the size of a hrick, covers it with 
 sand, and passes it to the moulder, who 
 throws it with some force into a wooden 
 mould of the size and shape of the hrick, 
 which mould is previously sanded. Having 
 filled the mould, the moulder cuts off any 
 superfluous clay with a stick kept in a howl of 
 water by his side, and then removes the hack 
 and sides of the mould, after which the soft 
 hrick is carefully transferred from the hottom 
 hoard of the mould to a pallet-board, and, when 
 a sufficient number have been moulded, is con- 
 veyed with others to the hacks, which are 
 long level lines raised about 4 inches from 
 the surface of the field, and formed about 2 
 feet G inches wide. The upper surfaces of 
 the bricks are previously sanded, and great 
 care is taken to avoid twisting or otherwise 
 injuring their shape in transferring them to 
 the hacks, on which they are laid in two rows, 
 with a little space between each to allow the 
 free circulation of air. One double row being 
 completed, another is put upon them, and 
 this is continued until the bricks are piled 
 from seven to ten high. In putting them 
 down the workman counts them, and makes a 
 dot with a stick in every thousandth brick 
 The hacks are covered with straw at night and 
 showery weather; and in some brick-fields 
 sheds are erected over them ; but this plan is 
 expensive, and retards the drying. When 
 partially dried, the bricks are removed, placet 
 diagonally, with wider apertures, and with the 
 bottom bricks brought to the top ; and after 
 this process, which is called skintUny, they are 
 removed to the kiln or clamp, which is a vas 
 pile of bricks, laid together as closely as pos 
 sible, on a slightly concave foundation of bricl 
 rubbish, the raised ends of which face the 
 north and south. On this foundation the new 
 bricks are built up in lots or necks, of which 
 the centre one, which is first erected, is vertical 
 while the others, owing to the concavity of tin 
 foundation, have a slight inclination toward 
 it. Small spaces, filled with breeze, are lei 
 among the lowest courses of bricks, and flues 
 or live-holes, about the width of a brick, an 
 from 6 to 9 feet apart, are also formed to ai 
 the lighting of the clamp, and filled with dr 
 bavins or wood. When full, the clarnp is sur 
 rounded by old bricks, or by the driest o 
 those newly made, and a thick layer of breez 
 is spread on the top. The external bricks ar 
 coated with a thin plastering of clay ; and, i 
 the weather prove wet, the kiln is protecte 
 by loos, or hurdles interwoven with rushes 
 The fire is lighted at the mouths of the flue 
 
 r live-holes, which are closed when it burns 
 ell; and in favourable weather the bricks 
 will be completely burnt in about twenty-five 
 r thirty days, in the course of which time 
 cindery matter dispersed through their 
 ubstance becomes gradually ignited and con- 
 umed. Such bricks as are found to be im- 
 erfectly burnt, are put into the next clamp 
 o be burned again. Those which are suffi 
 iently burnt are separated, according to 
 uality, into hard sound stocks; place, or 
 nferior soft red bricks ; and burrs or clinkers, 
 rhich are black-looking masses of vitrified 
 rick, of very inferior value. 
 
 Ordinary bricks are moulded in this country 
 inches long, 5 inches wide, and three inches 
 hick, and are reduced by drying and burning 
 o about 9 inches long, 4 inches wide, and a 
 roportionate thickness. 
 
 Kiln-burnt bricks, are, as their name im- 
 lies, burnt in a kiln or oven instead of a 
 lamp, and have no ashes mixed with the 
 3lay. Marl or malm stocks, which are either 
 baked or burnt, take their name from the 
 marl originally used in them, which has now 
 given place to chalk. Dutch clinkers are a 
 and of small, hard, yellow bricks. Fire- 
 bricks, also called Windsor bricks, are 1J inch 
 thick, and of a quality to resist the action of 
 fire. Paving bricks, draining bricks, capping 
 or coping bricks, coggin bricks, compass bricks 
 for wells and circular works, feather-edged or 
 thin bricks for the external parts of wooden 
 buildings, and many other varieties of form, 
 size, and quality, are also made. In some 
 cases, a smooth or glazed surface is produced 
 in the burning. 
 
 Much ingenuity has been directed, and of 
 late years with great success, to the substitu- 
 tion of machinery for hand-labour in many of 
 the processes of brick-making. The contri- 
 vances for this purpose are necessarily too 
 complicated for description within our limits ; 
 but as a general remark it may be observed, 
 that the increased solidity and closeness of 
 texture obtained in bricks so made recom- 
 mend them for use in the brick-work of rail- 
 way arches and tunnels, which has been found 
 in some cases subject to decay from the alter- 
 nations of temperature and moisture. The 
 comparative costliness of machine-made bricks 
 has hitherto impeded their general use ; but 
 machinery is already very extensively employed 
 in the manufacture of draining and other 
 tiles and other superior articles of the brick 
 character. 
 
 It is known that the ancients were in pos- 
 session of a method of making bricks which, 
 though having considerable strength, and a 
 remarkable power of resisting heat, were yet 
 
430 
 
 BRICKWORK. 
 
 BRICKWORK. 
 
 440 
 
 of such small specific gravity that they floated 
 on the surface of water. About the year 1790 
 M. Fabbroni, an Italian," suggested that these 
 bricks were probably made of a kind of earth 
 found in Sicily, called mountain meal, con- 
 taining 55 per cent, of silica, 15 of magnesia, 
 12 of clay, 3 of lime, 1 of iron, and 14 of 
 water. Bricks formed of this material were 
 found to be very slow conductors of heat, 
 and to be so light as to float in water. They 
 are not quite so strong as common bricks, 
 but can be made so by the addition of a little 
 more pure clay. They imite well with lime, 
 and resist the action of mortar. These vari- 
 ous qualities render such a material very ser- 
 viceable for the construction of various parts 
 of ships liable to be exposed to great heat; 
 such as stoves, cooking arrangements, steam- 
 engine furnaces, &c. ; where lightness and in- 
 combustibility are wanted. Such bricks also 
 might be used for constructing floating-houses 
 on ornamental waters. 
 
 The recent repeal of the brick duty has 
 already begun to produce beneficial effects, by 
 allowing scope for the exercise of inventive 
 talent. The duty, which was 5s. lOd. per 
 thousand on ordinary bricks, increased largely 
 if the bricks were either larger in size or of 
 superior quality ; so that the maker was de- 
 terred from any departure from ordinary size 
 and quality. The number of bricks charged 
 with duty during the last few years, has varied 
 from 1,200 to 1,000 millions. Since the repeal 
 of the duty, measures have been taken to in- 
 troduce brick ornaments in architecture. 
 Messrs. Bowers of Tunstall have patented a 
 method of making brick ornaments by winch 
 the substance assumes a much more vitrified 
 appearance than ordinary brick. A hydraulic 
 press is used to force the prepared clay into 
 moulds ; and the ornament is produced with 
 a degree of sharpness equal to fine carving. 
 It is intended to apply such bricks to the for- 
 mation of cornices, mouldings, skirting boards, 
 finger-plates for doors, pilaster facings, orna- 
 mental archivolts, picture frames, upholsterers' 
 fittings, &c. The surface is so hard and 
 smooth, that it is capable of being painted, 
 grained, or gilt. 
 
 Mr. Robert's hollow bricks, introduced in 
 1640, are valuable for many purposes where 
 dry, warm, and light brickwork is required. 
 
 BRICKWORK. The art of the bricklayer 
 is shown, not merely in laying and cementing 
 his bricks, but in making them to mutually 
 support each other. This object, whicli is 
 termed bonding, is accomplished by breaking 
 or distributing the joints; so that two may 
 never come immediately over each other; and 
 by laying some of the bricks as stretchers, or 
 
 stretching courses, Avith their length in the 
 direction of that of the wall, and others, which 
 are called headers, with their length running 
 across, or in the direction of the breadth or 
 thickness of the wall. The bonds in most 
 common use are English bund, consisting of 
 alternate layers or courses of headers and 
 stretchers ; Flemish bond, in which headers 
 and stretchers are laid alternately in the same 
 course, the headers of one course being laid 
 across the middle of the stretchers of the 
 course below it; garden-wall bond, consisting 
 of three stretchers and one header in the 
 same course ; and herring-bone bond, which is 
 sometimes used in very thick walls, and is 
 produced by laying the bricks at an angle of 
 45 with the direction of the wall, and revers- 
 ing the inclination of each successive course. 
 Whenever it is necessary, in order to prevent 
 the perpends, or vertical joints, coming imme- 
 diately over each other, a half, quarter, or 
 three-quarter brick, or bat, is used to com- 
 mence or finish a course. Walls, the thick- 
 ness of which is nine inches, or equal to the 
 length of one brick, are called single brick ; 
 those half that thickness, half-brick ; and 
 others brick and a half, two bricks, two bricks 
 and a half, &c. 
 
 Arched and groined work requires peculiar 
 care, and in many cases the cutting of the 
 bricks to fit each to its particular bed ; and in 
 ordinary house-building great neatness is 
 called for in the formation of the flat arches 
 over doorways and windows. 
 
 Mortar, the cement usually employed for 
 brickwork, is composed of either gray or white 
 lime, and river, sea, or road sand mixed with 
 water in. the proportion of one part of gray 
 lime to two and a half of sand, or one of 
 white or chalk lime to two of sand. The dip- 
 ping of the bricks in water as they are laid 
 makes them adhere more firmly to the mor- 
 tar. Pntly is a very fine kind of mortar, 
 made of lime and water only, used for deli- 
 cate purposes, and such as the setting of 
 rubbed or gauged arches, where the joints are 
 visible. 
 
 The foundations of a wall are always laid 
 broader than the superstructure, and the 
 broader courses are termed f outings, the pro- 
 jections themselves being called sct-ojs. Gar 
 len-walls are usually strengthened with piers 
 or buttresses projecting 4J inches, at inter- 
 vals of 10 or 12 feet. When ne\v walls are 
 joined on to old, it is usual to take out a brick 
 or part of a brick from every alternate corner 
 of the old work, in order to tooth in the new 
 work ; and these toothings are left in the first 
 building when it is intended to join new work 
 to it. In many cases, also, strips of iron 
 
KNIGHTS. CYCLOPEDIA OB 
 
 No, 12. 
 
441 
 
 BRIDGE. 
 
 BRIDGE. 
 
 442 
 
 hooping are laid in the horizontal joints, to 
 afford a further bond or tie between the old 
 and new brickwork. Brickwork is measured 
 by the rod of 272 superficial feet. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy, in his ' Campaign of the 
 Indus,' states that no brickwork he had ever 
 seen in Europe equalled the perfection of 
 that exhibited in the ancient tombs near 
 Tatta. The most beautifully-chiselled stone 
 could not surpass the sharpness of edge and 
 angle, or the accuracy of form ; whilst the 
 substance was so perfectly homogeneous and 
 skilfully burned, that each brick had a metallic 
 ringing sound, and fractured with a clear sur- 
 face like breaking freestone. 
 
 BKIDGE. Most countries can exhibit 
 specimens of bridge-building. The Chinese 
 lay claim to high antiquity in the construction 
 of arched bridges. One at Fou-tcheou-fou is 
 400 yards long, about 12 yards wide, and had 
 formerly ranges of shops upon it ; and one 
 at the eestuary of Suen-tcheou-fou is 2500 
 Chinese feet in length, 20 in width, and has 
 252 stone piers, on which is laid a roadway of 
 huge stone blocks. Chinese bridges have 
 pointed, semi-circular, polygonal, and semi- 
 elliptical arches. The Romans executed 
 many good specimens of bridge-building, some 
 of which remain in use to the present time. 
 Trajan's bridge over the Danube, the most 
 stupendous work of the kind constructed by 
 the Romans, had 20 stone piers, 60 Roman 
 feet broad, and 150 feet, without the founda- 
 tions, above the bed of the river. The Pont 
 du Gard, near Nismes, is a remarkable exam- 
 ple of their bridge-aqueducts. It consists at 
 the base of a series of six arches, forming a 
 bridge of 465 feet long ; this is surmounted 
 by a longer series of arches,. extending 780 
 feet, to the slope of the mountains on each 
 side ; and above these is a third series, of 35 
 smaller arches, extending to the length of 
 850 feet, on the top of which is the aqueduct 
 or channel for water. The entire height is 
 190 feet. 
 
 The bridges erected by the Romans in the 
 provinces under their sway afforded models 
 from which the art of constructing bridges 
 extended throughout the north and west of 
 Europe. No country possesses finer or more 
 numerous examples than our own ; in which, 
 even before the extraordinary impulse given 
 to this department of civil engineering by the 
 introduction of the railway system, it has 
 been carried to the utmost perfection. The 
 oldest bridge now existing in England is the 
 triangular bridge at Croyland, in Lincolnshire, 
 which is said to have been erected about A.D., 
 860 ; it consists of three semi or half-arches, 
 whose bases stand equidistant from each other, 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 in the circumference of a circle, and unite 
 at the top. Old London Bridge, which, with 
 numerous alterations and patchings-up, re- 
 mained in use until 1831, was begun in 
 1176, and was for several centuries covered 
 with houses. The modern bridges across the 
 Thames at the metropolis form noble speci- 
 mens of bridge architecture and engineering ; 
 but those constructed in the last century, 
 Westminster and Blackfriars bridges, have 
 entailed heavy subsequent charges on account 
 of the insufficiency of the foundations. New 
 London Bridge is of granite, 928 feet long 
 between the abutments, and consists of five 
 semi-elliptical arches, of which the centre one 
 has a span of 152 feet, while the next pair and 
 the abutment arches are 140 and 130 feet 
 respectively. It was commenced in 1824, and 
 completed in 1831. Southwark Bridge is 718 
 feet between the abutments, and consists of 
 three cast-iron arches each forming a seg- 
 ment of a very large circle ; the span of the 
 centre one being 250 feet, and of the others 
 210 feet each ; they are supported by granite 
 piers. Waterloo Bridge is a fine example of 
 a flat or level bridge, with a horizontal road- 
 way, supported by a series of arches of equal 
 elevation. It is of granite, has nine elliptical 
 arches of 120 feet span, and is approached by 
 elevated roads, supported upon brick arches. 
 The length between the abutments is 1380 
 feet, the river being wider at this point than 
 it is lower down ; but, including the arched 
 approaches, the total length is 2456 feet. The 
 cost was upwards of 1,000,OOOZ. Some very 
 fine specimens of equal-arched bridges have 
 been erected by French engineers, of which 
 the Pont de Neuilly, built by M. Perronnet, 
 between 1768 and 1780, over the Seine, has 
 five arches of 128 feet span. 
 
 The first iron bridge in England was erected 
 in 1779 over the Severn at Coalbrook-dale ; it 
 consists of a single arch of about 100 feet 
 span. Bishop Wearmouth iron bridge, com- 
 pleted in 1796, is a single arch of 240 feet span ; 
 and Sunderland iron bridge, built about the 
 the same time, is an arch of 236 feet span, 
 and has a clear height from low water of 60 
 feet to the spring and 94 feet to the centre of 
 the arch, so that ships of 300 tons pass under 
 it by lowering their top- gallant masts. The 
 very important class of iron bridges in which 
 the suspension principle is adopted are treated 
 of under SUSPENSION-BRIDGE. Swing-bridges, 
 and other contrivances for removing the road- 
 way when it is necessary to allow a passage 
 for masted vessels, constitute another class of 
 iron bridges on which much ingenuity has 
 been expended. In many cases such a bridge 
 consists of two parts, which when closed meet 
 
443 
 
 BRIDGE. 
 
 BRIDGE. 
 
 444 
 
 in the centre, and which are either raised or 
 turned aside out of the way when the water- 
 way has to be opened. Another curious con- 
 trivance for a similar purpose is the telescope- 
 bridge introduced by Mr. Rastrick, on the 
 Brighton and Chichester Railway ; in which a 
 massive platform, more than twice as long as 
 the water way is broad, is so mounted on 
 wheels as to be capable of having one half 
 either projected across the river Arun, or 
 drawn back out of the way ; an adjoining por- 
 tion of the railway being laid on another 
 moveable platform which may be rolled to one 
 side to make way for the larger platform when 
 it is thus pushed back from the river. 
 
 Timber bridges, which are hi many cases 
 advantageous from their cheapness, are fre- 
 quently preferred by modern engineers for 
 their peculiar fitness in cases where an im- 
 perfect foundation, or some other circum- 
 stance, renders bridges of stone, brick, or 
 iron unsuitable ; while the introduction of 
 various methods for preserving wood from 
 decay obviates one of the principal objections 
 to them. By the due application of trussing, 
 timber bridges of extraordinary span may be 
 constructed with safety. Some such are called 
 pendent or philosophical bridges, and many ex. 
 amples of this kind of structure are found in 
 America. The Upper and Lower Schuylkill 
 bridges, near Philadelphia, and that across 
 the Delaware at Trenton, are among the most 
 remarkable. The Upper Schuylkill bridge, 
 which is also called the Colossus, consists of 
 one very flat arch of 340 feet span. The 
 Lower Schuylkill bridge has three arches, one 
 of 195 and the others 150 feet span, resting 
 on stone piers. The Trenton bridge, erected 
 in 1819, has five arches, one of 200, two of 180, 
 and two of 160 feet span, resting upon light 
 stone piers. Lattice bridges, so called from 
 then: structure resembling lattice-work, are 
 much used in the United States, and have 
 been introduced in English railway engi- 
 neering. 
 
 The securing of a good foundation for the 
 piers is the point of primary importance in 
 bridge-building. Where the ground is soft, 
 this must be done by piling, or driving whole 
 trunks of timber, pointed and shod with iron, 
 into the earth ; it is in this kind of work that 
 Nasmyth's steam pile-driver shows its great 
 power; and still more, perhaps, Dr. Pott's 
 mode of sinking hollow piles by pneumatic 
 pressure. In order to exclude the water 
 while laving the foundations and constructing 
 the masonry of the piers, it is usual to form 
 in the bed of the river a coffer-dam, or water- 
 tight enclosure of piling, from the interior of 
 which the water is pumped out. To save the 
 
 enormous expense of this plan caissons were 
 invented ; they may be compared to great 
 tubs or flat-bottomed boats, with very strong 
 vertical sides. One of these being floated to 
 the spot where a pier is to be founded, a few 
 courses of masonry are built within it, and it 
 is sunk into the required position. The ver- 
 tical sides are subsequently removed, leaving 
 the flat bottom beneath the masonry, as a kind 
 of floor or foundation. 
 
 An ingenious modern contrivance is the 
 floating bridge contrived by Mr. Reudel in lieu 
 of an ordinary steam ferry-boat, for which the 
 current was found to be too strong, as a means 
 of communication between Torpoint and the 
 Cornwall shore, at the mouth of Plymouth 
 harbour, and which has since been applied 
 also to the harbours of Dartmouth, Ports- 
 mouth, and Southampton. It consists of a 
 large flat -bottomed vessel, the deck of which 
 is adapted to receive horses and carriages as 
 well as foot passengers, and which is pro- 
 pelled by means of wheels turned by a steam- 
 engine mounted in the vessel. These wheels, 
 however, instead of propelling the vessel by 
 their action upon the water, do so by taking 
 hold, by means of protuberances formed on 
 then- circumference, of chains which are ex- 
 tended from shore to shore, secured at each 
 end, but allowed to hang under Avater in a 
 festoon or curve of sufficient depth to allow 
 ships to pass over them without danger. The 
 chains, which are not absolutely fixed at the 
 ends, but are attached to very heavy balance 
 weights, are lifted up by the vessel as it pro- 
 ceeds, and serve not only as an abutment to 
 secure the progress of the vessel, but also to 
 keep it in its right course. 
 
 The high-level bridge at Newcastle is one ot 
 the finest examples of modern bridge build- 
 ing. It accommodates the York and Berwick 
 Railway, and also the ordinary road traffic. 
 It is a double bridge, with the railway road 22 
 feet above the horse road. The total length 
 is about 1,400 feet. The extreme height is 
 112 feet above high water mark. There are 6 
 arches, each of 125 feet span, besides several 
 land arches. The piers are of masonry ; but 
 the arches, pillars, braces, girders, and balus- 
 trades are of iron. The carriage roadway is 
 20 feet wide, with two foot pavements of 6 feet 
 each. The bridge piers are no less than 131 
 feet high from the foundation ; they are 48 
 feet by 1C^ in the square ; they are built on 
 piles, some of which penetrate to a depth of 
 50 feet in the ground. The road bridge is 
 suspended from the arches of the upper or 
 railway bridge; thus affording a very re- 
 markable example of the combination -of two 
 distinct principles in bridge building. 
 
445 
 
 BRIDGE. 
 
 BRIDGE WATER. 
 
 440 
 
 The border bridge over the Tweed at Ber- 
 wick is another fine example of railway work ; 
 constituting one of the finest stone bridges in 
 existence. The still more extraordinary Bri- 
 tannia tubular bridge over the Menai Avill 
 come for notice in a later article. [MENAI 
 BRIDGES.] The hollow girder principle, so has obtained its name from its extreme light- 
 
 scientifically applied in the Britannia bridge, 
 is now much used for small railway bridges 
 over roads and streets. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone has recently suggested the 
 employment of wrought iron bars as a mate- 
 
 entire mass of the abutments, and the greater 
 part of the arch, was made of beton : bricks 
 being used only in a few places, to increase 
 the strength. 
 
 Mr. Remington's anal bridge, familiar to 
 the visitors at the Surrey Zoological Gardens, 
 
 ness. It is entirely formed of thin pieces of 
 wood : so thin and light as to excite general 
 surprise that it should be able to bear the 
 weigbt of many persons at one time. In 1848 
 Earl Talbot caused a bridge to be built on 
 
 rial for bridges. The astonishing strength of j this system by Mr. Remington, over the river 
 
 the angle irons and other parts of the Britan- 
 nia tubular bridge, is leading engineers to the 
 consideration of further employment of simi- 
 lar materials. Mr. Gladstone proposes the 
 use of malleable iron bars, of the double T 
 shape, to form almost the only material of the 
 bridge. These bars are to be either rivetted at 
 their flanges, or fastened together by nuts 
 and screws. All the bars are to be placed 
 horizontally ; and, at spots where additional 
 strength is required, such as near the abut- 
 ments or piers, they might be rivetted side by 
 side, so as to form a solid mass ; while near 
 the centre of the water-way or arch they might 
 be so extended as to form an open iron-work 
 of elegant character. The engineer who sug- 
 gests this plan points out four advantages 
 which he thinks would accompany its adop- 
 tion it would enable a span of almost any 
 length to be made ; it would render a nearly 
 flat roadway practicable ; it would give a higher 
 water-way than an arch springing from piers 
 in the usual manner ; and it would render the 
 use of expensive centering unnecessary. 
 
 The fall of an iron railway bridge over the 
 Dee, at Chester, belonging to the Chester and 
 Holyhead Railway Company, in 1847, has led 
 to many enquiries on the nature of such 
 bridges. Mr. Locke, who has constructed so 
 many bridges of stone, brick, and timber, 
 stated in the evidence which he gave in rela- 
 tion to that catastrophe, that he thinks cast- 
 iron to be wholly unfitted for the construction 
 of bridges for railways, unless under special 
 circumstances. 
 
 In 1839 a bridge had to be constructed at 
 Grisoles, over the branch canal of Garonne, 
 in France ; and as building stone is scarce in 
 that district, M. Lebrun determined to con- 
 struct it of beton or concrete. This he accom- 
 plished, and the bridge was finished in 1841. 
 Both the French beton and the English con- 
 crete are formed of lime, sand, and pebbles ; 
 but there are slight differences in the mode 
 of preparation. The beton was laid on course 
 after course; and only as much was made 
 each d^y as could be laid on in that day. The 
 
 Trent, as part of an accommodation road on 
 the earl's estate near Ingestre. The bridge 
 is 150 feet span ; and yet, remarkable to ob- 
 serve, the beams or stringers, six in number, 
 which extend from end to end, are only five 
 inches square at each end, and diminish to 2 
 inches square at the centre of the bridge ; 
 they are formed of pieces of timber, 20 to 25 
 feet long, scarped together at the ends. They 
 rest, at either shore, on a light abutment 
 formed of posts of oak, G inches square, 
 
 framed together 
 
 iron clasps. The 
 
 stringers hang into a slight curve, depressed 
 about two feet in the centre ; and the extreme 
 lightness at the centre prevents the structure 
 from being borne down by its own weight. 
 The planks which form the bridge are placed 
 crosswise upon the stringers. The bridge, 
 although strong enough to bear a carriage 
 and horses, cost only 200/. ; and the timber 
 of which it is formed was growing on the earl's 
 estate six weeks before the completion of 
 the bridge. A similar bridge has been since 
 thrown over the lake in Birkenhead Park, and 
 others have been built in Birmingham and 
 elsewhere. 
 
 BRIDGEWATER. Much of the foreign 
 and coasting trade of Somersetshire centres 
 at Bridgewater, which lies nearly at the 
 mouth of the river Parret. The principal 
 imports are grain, coals, tallow, and timber. 
 Coals are imported from Wales, and conveyed 
 into the interior of the country by means of 
 the river Parret and a canal. The foreign 
 trade is principally with Russia, the United 
 States, Canada, Newfoundland, and the West 
 Indies. More than 4,000 vessels, large and 
 small, enter and clear at Bridgewater in the 
 course of a year. 
 
 A manufacture peculiar to, and constituting 
 the staple trade of Bridgewater, is the fabrica- 
 tion of that kind of white brick known as 
 Bath Brick, so largely used in knife-cleaning ; 
 this branch of industry gives employment to 
 many of the inhabitants. These bricks are 
 formed of the sediment or sand of the river 
 Parret, cast into moulds and dried. These 
 
447 BRIDGE WATER, DUKE OF. 
 
 Bath (or more justly Bridgewater) bricks will 
 have the honour of a place in the grand dis 
 play of 1851 ; for it is quite fitting that the 
 staple manufacture of a town, however appa- 
 rently humble, should be there represented. 
 Various manufactures in clay and brick will 
 also be exhibited from Bridgewater. 
 
 BRIDGE WATER, FRANCIS EGERTON, 
 DUKE OF, is indissolubly associated with 
 the history of canal engineering in this 
 country. One of the estates which he inhe- 
 rited, situated at Worsley, near Manchester, 
 contained a rich bed of coal ; but was compa- 
 ratively of little value, in consequence of the 
 heavy expense of land carriage and the inade- 
 quate means of communication afforded by the 
 Irwell ; and this led him to conceive the plan 
 of a navigable canal, for which, in 1758-9, he 
 obtained an act of parliament. From this cir- 
 cumstaace he is frequently styled 'the Father 
 of British Inland Navigation. 1 He chose 
 BRINDLEY for his engineer, and on his plans, 
 and under his superintendence, the work was 
 completed in spite of many difficulties. The 
 length of the main line is above 27 miles, all 
 on the same level, which has rendered great 
 embankments necessary, as the canal crosses 
 several depressions. One of these embank- 
 ments is 900 yards long, 17 feet high, and 112 
 feet wide at the base. With the exception of 
 that part between Worsley and Leigh, every 
 part of the canal was executed, under the 
 direction of Brindley, in about five years. 
 
 The Duke of Bridgewater died March 8, 
 1803, without children, and his great wealth 
 was distributed among the collateral branches 
 of his family. The canal property, with the 
 Lancashire, Cheshire, and Brackley estates, he 
 left to his nephew, the late Duke of Suther- 
 land. They are now in the possession of the 
 Earl of Ellesmere. 
 
 BRIDPORT is one of the few commercial 
 towns in Dorsetshire ; having a safe and busy 
 harbour. It once had a considerable coasting 
 trade in coal and grain ; but this trade has 
 been almost entirely lost in consequence of 
 the superior facilities for transmission of 
 goods afforded by railways. Hemp, flax, tal- 
 low, timber, and wheat are imported from 
 Russia and the Baltic ; and timber from Nor- 
 way and America. Wines, spirits, skins, 
 coals, culm, and slates are also imported. 
 The exports consist chiefly of the manufac- 
 tures of the town, and of cheese and butter 
 for which the neighbourhood is celebrated. 
 The manufactures of Bridport are principally 
 of twine, shoe-thread, cordage, sailcloth, and 
 fishing nets. The antiquity of the hemp 
 trade in Bridport has long since dignified a 
 halter with the name of a * Bridport dagger.' 
 
 BRISTOL. 
 
 448 
 
 The townsmen of Bridport very properly 
 intend to illustrate the industry, which has 
 given them their manufacturing title, at the 
 forthcoming exhibition. Specimens of hemp 
 and flax twine, netting, yarn, canvas, girth, 
 webbing, bags, and sacking for all of which 
 Bridport has been noted ever since the time 
 of Henry VIII are to be exhibited. 
 
 BRIMSTONE. [SULPHUR.] 
 
 BRINDLEY, JAMES, shared with the 
 Duke of Bridgewater in the honour of intro- 
 ducing canal navigation into this country. H 
 was born in 1716, and was apprenticed in his 
 17th year to a millwright near Macclesfield. 
 When the period of his apprenticeship had 
 expired, Brindley engaged in business on bis 
 own account; but he did not confine himself 
 to the making of mill machinery. His repu- 
 tation as a man of skill and ingenuity steadily 
 increased ; in 1755 he executed the machinery 
 for a silk-mill at Congleton ; and in 1 756 he 
 erected a steam-engine at Newcastle-under- 
 Lyne. 
 
 Shortly after this time, Brindley was con- 
 sulted by the Duke of Bridgewater on the 
 practicability of constructing a canal from 
 Worsley to Manchester. His success in this 
 undertaking was the means of fully awakening 
 public attention to the advantages of canals. 
 Within forty-two years after the Duke's canal 
 was opened, application had been made to 
 Parliament for 165 acts for cutting canals in 
 Great Britain, at an expense of above thirteen 
 millions. In 1766 the Trent and Mersey 
 Canal was commenced under Brindley's su- 
 perintendence. It is 93 miles long, and unites 
 the navigation of the Mersey with that of the 
 Trent and the Humber. It was called by 
 Brindley the * Grand Trunk Navigation,' 
 owing to the probability, from its great com- 
 mercial importance, of many other canals 
 being made to join it. Brindley next designed 
 a canal 46 miles in length, called the Stafford- 
 shire and Worcestershire Canal, for the pur- 
 pose of connecting the Grand Trunk with the 
 Severn. He also planned the Coventry Canal, 
 but did not superintend its execution. He, 
 however, superintended the execution of the 
 Oxford Canal. The canal from the Trent at 
 Stockwith to Chesterfield, 46 miles long, was 
 Brindley's last public undertaking. He also 
 surveyed and gave his opinion on many other 
 lines for navigable canals besides those men- 
 tioned. Brindley died in 1772, aged 56. 
 
 BRISTOL. This famous old city has been 
 an emporium of commerce for a longer period 
 than almost any other sea-port in the king- 
 dom. It long preceded its great rival Liver- 
 pool, which has now so signally overtaken it. 
 The commercial buildings of Bristol are 
 
449 
 
 BETSTOL. 
 
 BRITANNIA BRIDGE. 
 
 450 
 
 mostly connected more or less closely with 
 the docks. These docks were formed by ex- 
 cavating a new course for the Avon south of 
 the city, and converting the whole of the old 
 channel, through the city, into one floating 
 harbour, about 3 miles in length. By subse- 
 quent changes and enlargements, the harbour 
 and docks have gradually been made capable 
 of accommodating a large amount of ship- 
 ping. The dock rates on vessels and goods, 
 until 1848, far exceeded the corresponding 
 rates at the ports of London, Liverpool, Hull, 
 and Gloucester ; but a gradual decline in the 
 commerce of Bristol has led the inhabitants 
 generally to see the necessity of modifying 
 the port charges, in order to invite shipping 
 to bring their cargoes thither. 
 
 By a special Act obtained in 1848 the docks 
 are transferred from a private company to the 
 corporation ; and new dock charges have been 
 established, much more calculated to attract 
 shipping to the port. On November 13, 1848, 
 a grand procession paraded through Bristol 
 to commemorate this important alteration. 
 It has been found that arrivals and departures 
 of shipping have considerably increased since 
 the new system was adopted. There were in 
 1849 about 300 vessels registered at the port, 
 some of very large tonnage. The tonnage of 
 merchandize brought into Bristol is always 
 much greater than that shipped from thence; 
 on account of Bristol being one of the chief 
 places of import of West India produce. 
 
 The foreign trade of Bristol principally 
 consists in imports of sugar, rum, wine, 
 brandy, colonial and Baltic timber, tallow, 
 hemp, turpentine, barilla, dye-woods, fruits, 
 wheat, and tea. The principal articles of ex- 
 port are iron, tin, bricks, refined sugar, glass 
 bottles, Irish linen, and manufactured goods. 
 Bristol derives a considerable portion of her 
 supply of foreign produce coastwise under 
 bond principally from London and Liverpool, 
 but also from the minor ports of Gloucester, 
 Newport, Bridgewater, Exeter, Barnstable, and 
 Bideford. The coasting trade is very consi- 
 derable, particularly with Ireland. The im- 
 ports principally consist of iron, tin, coal, salt, 
 Irish linens, and agricultural produce ; the 
 exports of articles of foreign and colonial pro- 
 duce, particularly groceries, tea, wines, and 
 spirits, and of the manufactures of the place. 
 The quantity of live stock imported into Bris- 
 tol from Ireland in three successive years was 
 as follows : 
 
 Pigs. Sheep. Cattle. Horses. 
 
 184532,926 .. 1,603 .. 1,015 .. 38 
 184646,811 .. 3,590 .. 4,925 .. 19 
 184733,673 .. 46,465 .. 13,602 .. 381 
 
 The existing manufactures of Bristol are 
 
 glass bottles, crown and flint glass, brass wire, 
 pins, sheet lead, zinc, spelter, chain cables, 
 anchors, machinery, drugs, colours, dyes, 
 painted floor cloth, earthenware, refined sugar, 
 starch, soap, British spirits, tin, copper and 
 brass wares, bricks, beer, porter, pipes, to- 
 bacco, and hats. Most of these manufactures 
 are either carried on within the city or in its 
 immediate neighbourhood ; but the manufac- 
 turing circuit may be considered to extend 6 
 miles around. The principal factories are 
 those for glass, sugar, iron, brass, floor-cloth, 
 and earthenware. In addition to these there 
 has been established a very large joint-stock 
 cotton factory in the parish of St. Philip, un- 
 der the title of the Great Western Cotton 
 Works. The building was commenced in 
 1837. It consists of an immense range of 
 spinning, weaving, bleaching, and repairing 
 shops, with all the appliances for employing 
 2000 hands. In May, 1850, this building suf- 
 fered extensively by an accidental fire. 
 
 As a specimen of engineering work we must 
 not omit mention of the suspension bridge 
 over the Avon. The original act for the con- 
 struction of the bridge was obtained so far 
 back as 1831 ; but as it appeared likely to be 
 a failure from the exhaustion of the funds, 
 four subsequent acts have been obtained for 
 permitting the postponement of the works. 
 The last of these postponing acts was passed 
 in 1848, by which the powers of the Bridge 
 Company are extended to 1853. A sum of 
 4:5,0001. has been collected, partly by the accu- 
 mulation at compound interest of a sum of 
 money left for this purpose in 1754, and partly 
 by private subscription; and this sum has 
 been expended in erecting the abutments and 
 piers on both sides of the river, the excava- 
 tion of the rock for the roads of approach, and 
 the purchase of a portion of the iron-work. 
 The estimate for the future cost is 30,000/., 
 towards which there is nothing forthcoming ; 
 but it is said that there are negociations now 
 on foot which will render the finishing of this 
 remarkable bridge a probability. [SUSPENSION 
 BRIDGE.] 
 
 Among the contributions from Bristol to 
 the Industrial Exhibition will be one of a pe- 
 culiarly interesting character ; viz., a few spe- 
 cimens of native African manufacture, con- 
 signed by the black king of Dahomey to the 
 care of Messrs. King, African merchants at 
 Bristol. Nothing can better show how widely 
 spread is the fame of this Exhibition. 
 
 BRISTLES. The bristles so largely used 
 in brush making are brought almost entirely 
 from Russia. The importation in 1849 ex- 
 ceeded 2,000,000 Ibs. 
 
 BRITANNIA BRIDGE. The two splendid 
 
451 
 
 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 452 
 
 works over the Menai, by Telford and Stephen- 
 son, will be best described in conjunction. 
 [MENAI BRIDGES.] 
 
 BRITISH AMERICA. The commercial 
 and industrial features of this vast country are 
 noticed under the names of the territories 
 which compose it [CANADA ; NOVA SCOTIA ; 
 &c.J We may here briefly state that the 
 British produce and manufactures, exported 
 to the whole of those colonies in 1849, 
 amounted in value to 2,279,1 93/. 
 
 BRITISH ASSOCIATION. Those who 
 appreciate the intimate connexion between 
 theory and practice, will be ready to expect 
 that an Association ' for the advancement of 
 science,' ought to advance industrial art like- 
 wise. This has been most undeniably the 
 case in respect to the distinguished body here 
 under notice. From the first meeting in 1831 
 to the twentieth meeting in 1850, every year 
 has contributed something to the improvement 
 of manufacturing industry through its me- 
 dium. Mr. Eaton Hodgkinson's researches 
 on the strength of iron and other materials ; 
 Mr. Scott Russell's very remarkable investiga- 
 tions on waves, and on the best form of ships 
 to accommodate themselves to the waves ; the 
 long and patient observations of Dr. Whewell 
 and Mr. Burt on tides ; Baron Liebig's labours 
 in the fruitful field of organic chemistry 
 such are a few among the numerous services, 
 fostered by the Association, which have been 
 found to be directly beneficial to some among 
 the many departments of art. And the British 
 Association has shown, too, that Art can aid 
 Science, as Science can aid Art ; for many 
 beautiful pieces of mechanism have been 
 brought forward under the auspices of the 
 Association, which have rendered important 
 services to scientific investigations. 
 
 BRITISH MUSEUM. This valuable es- 
 tablishment so instructively illustrates Art 
 fine art in respect to its best specimens, and 
 industrial art in respect to its minerals, <fec., 
 that we must not pass it over without a few 
 words of notice. The establishment of a na- 
 tional Museum was suggested by the will of 
 Sir Hans Sloane, who, during a long period of 
 eminent practice in physic, had accumulated, 
 in addition to a numerous library of books and 
 MSS., a large collection of objects of natural 
 history and works of art ; these he directed 
 should be offered after his death, which took 
 place in 1753, to the British Parliament for 
 the sum of 20,000/., the collection having cost 
 him 50,000/. From that period to the present, 
 valuable donations of books, manuscripts, 
 sculptures, bronzes, coins, prints, minerals, 
 &c., have been made ; and Parliament has 
 appropriated large annual sums to the same 
 
 object. Hence has gradually accumulated the 
 present most valuable collection. 
 
 The buildings forming the New British Mu- 
 seum are arranged in a hollow square, facing 
 the cardinal points of the compass. The 
 southern or Russell-street front is the princi- 
 pal one, and presents to view a columnar fa- 
 yade of the Ionic order. At the extreme west 
 end is a detached building, and another one at 
 the east end ; these are dwelling-houses and 
 offices for the librarians and chief officers of 
 the establishment. 
 
 There are two stories of galleries and rooms 
 round the greater part of the building, to 
 some of which the general public are not ad- 
 mitted. All the ground-floor between the 
 portico-entrance and the south-east angle is 
 occupied as a depository for manuscripts, and 
 as apartments for receiving, sorting, and read- 
 ing manuscripts. The ground-floor of the 
 greater part of the east side is occupied by the 
 King's Library, a magnificent apartment, 300 
 feet long. The entire ground-floor of the 
 north side is closed from general visitors, 
 being devoted to literature and study ; there 
 are two large reading-rooms, together about 
 120 feet in length, and a library for books, ex- 
 tending 200 feet. At the north-west angle of 
 the building, and in one or two other parts, 
 are collections which are not thrown open to 
 the public generally ; such as the prints, the 
 botanical collection, the coins, and the gems. 
 
 The door in the centre of the portico gives 
 entrance to the new hall or vestibule. This 
 s a fine large apartment, worthy of the build- 
 ing to which it gives access. On the right 
 are the two statues of Sir Joseph Banks and 
 Shakspere, on each side of the door leading to 
 the manuscript department ; and on the left 
 is the statue of the Hon. Mrs. Darner, the 
 lady sculptor, who left the attractions and fas- 
 cinations of gay life for the mallet and chisel. 
 In front is a glazed door opening to the cen- 
 tral quadrangle, the buildings on three sides 
 of which can be well seen from this point ; 
 and at present, until other arrangements are 
 completed, the extraordinary Lion and Bull 
 brought by Mr. Layard from Nineveh are 
 placed near this door. The hall is lofty, and 
 ;he ceiling is richly painted in encaustic co- 
 ours, formed into square compartments of 
 divers tints. On the left, close to the front 
 wall of the building, is a passage leading to 
 ;he various sculpture galleries ; and north- 
 ward of this is the grand staircase, a noble 
 feature of the building. The ascent of nearly 
 seventy stone stairs, half of them westward 
 and then the other half eastward, the elegant 
 balustrade, and the encaustic work of the ceil- 
 ng, come with freshness and welcome upon 
 
453 
 
 BKITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 BROMINE. 
 
 454 
 
 the eyes of those who for many years have 
 been accustomed to the dingy entrances to the 
 Museum. 
 
 Arrived at the top of the stairs, a range of 
 rooms extends eastward along the building. 
 By the side of the upper part of the staircase, 
 over the passage leading to the sculptures, is 
 an antiquarian or ethnographical room, in 
 which the dresses and ornaments, the industry 
 and implements, of all nations, are illustrated 
 in a highly interesting manner. The room at 
 the head of the stairs, and immediately over 
 the entrance-hall, is devoted to zoology. Be- 
 yond this room, towards the east, are two 
 others, devoted like it to zoological specimens. 
 The Mammalia Saloon forms the upper story 
 of the south-east angle of the Museum ; and 
 from thence proceed a magnificent suite of 
 rooms, called the Eastern Zoological Gallery, 
 extending along the whole eastern side of the 
 building from south to north, and filled with 
 specimens illustrating the natural history of 
 animals. Arrived at the north-east angle of 
 the building, we find a double range of galle- 
 ries almost as beautiful as the former : they 
 are side by side, and occupy the upper floor 
 of the whole northern side of the Museum, 
 from end to end. One of these ranges is the 
 Northern Zoological Gallery, and the other 
 the Mineralogical Gallery. 
 
 At the north-west angle is a staircase lead- 
 ing down to the lower story ; but turning to 
 the left, a range of rooms leading along the 
 west side of the building is devoted to the re- 
 ception of Egyptian and Etruscan antiquities. 
 There are portions of this west side lately 
 opened to visitors, but not yet filled with spe- 
 cimens : they lead to the western entrance of 
 the Ethnographical Room ; so that the entire 
 circuit of the building may now be made. The 
 staircase conducts the visitor down to an ante-- 
 room at the northern extremity of the great 
 Egyptian gallery ; from which ante-room pro- 
 ceeds an entrance to another smaller Egyp- 
 tian room, and lso doors leading to the li- 
 brary not open to the public. Traversing the 
 Egyptian Gallery southward, we come to a 
 kind of large central saloon ; westward, and 
 projecting from this range, is the Phigaleian 
 sculpture-room ; and beyond this the Elgin 
 Saloon, where the valuable sculptures from 
 the Parthenon are placed. 
 
 All the rooms from the Egyptian Saloon 
 back to the entrance are of recent construction, 
 and many of them are not yet occupied : they 
 will contain the Townley, the Xanthian, the 
 Nineveh, and other collections of sculptures. 
 
 Such is a sketch of the important building 
 which is silently and healthfully educating 
 thousands of persons ; for every visit is an 
 
 educational lesson, in some form or other. Of 
 the 1,062,218 visits made to the British Mu- 
 seum in 1849 ; of the 19,000 visits made on 
 the ' boxing-day ' of 1850 ; it may safely be 
 said that they were visits in a proper direction, 
 having a germ of good in them. 
 
 BRIXHAM. The prosperity of this sea- 
 port of Devonshire is chiefly dependent on its 
 fishery, which is said to be the largest in Eng- 
 land. More than 200 sail of vessels, compris- 
 ing 20,000 tons of shipping, and employing 
 1,500 seamen, belong to this town, most of 
 which are engaged in the fishing trade. The 
 average amount received for fish is said to be 
 600/. per week. The best of the fish are sent 
 to Exeter, Bath, Bristol, and London. The 
 cost for carriage alone has been calculated to 
 average 1000/. per annum. Turbot, soles, 
 whiting, plaice, mullet, mackerel, and other 
 kinds of fish are taken .in considerable num- 
 bers. During the London season about 50 of 
 the decked trawl boats are usually absent from 
 Brixham, being employed in supplying the 
 London market with soles, turbots, &c., from 
 Hull and Ramsgate, fishing over all the inter- 
 mediate space between those places. Several 
 of the vessels belonging to Brixham are em- 
 ployed in the Mediterranean, Spanish, and 
 coasting trade. 
 
 BROKER. In relation to ordinary com- 
 mercial dealings,a broker is a person employed 
 in the negotiation of mercantile transactions 
 between other parties, and generally engaged 
 in the interest of one of the principals, either 
 the buyer or the seller, but sometimes acting 
 as the agent of both. As it usually happens 
 that brokers apply themselves to negotiations 
 for the purchase and sale of some particular 
 article or articles, they acquire an intimate 
 knowledge of the qualities and market value 
 of the goods in which they deal, and obtain an 
 acquaintance with the sellers and buyers as 
 well as with the state of supply and demand, 
 and are thus enabled to bring the dealers to- 
 gether, and to negotiate between them on 
 equitable terms. There are separate brokers 
 in London for nearly all the great articles of 
 consumption ; and there are also ship-brokers, 
 exchange-brokers, stock-brokers, share -bro- 
 kers, &c., to conduct the transactions indicated 
 by their names. Custom-house brokers, or 
 agents, are licensed by the Commissioner of 
 Customs ; and no person without such licence 
 can transact business at the Custom-house or 
 in the port of London relative to the entrance 
 or clearance of ships, &c. 
 
 BROMINE, an elementary fluid body, was 
 discovered in 1826 by M. Balard, and named 
 from ftp&pos (stink), on account of its strong 
 and disagreeable odour. It is found in sea 
 
455 
 
 BROMSGROVE. 
 
 BRONZE. 
 
 456 
 
 water, in salt springs, in mineral waters, in 
 many marine plants, and in some marine ani- 
 mals. Balard first procured it from a salt 
 spring ; but it is now obtained from various 
 sources. 
 
 Bromine is liquid at the usual temperature 
 of the air. Its specific gravity is 2.996. It is 
 poisonous. In considerable bulk its colour 
 is a deep brownish red ; in small quantities it 
 is of a hyacinthine red. Its odour is extremely 
 strong, greatly resembling that of chlorine ; 
 its taste is disagreeable. When exposed to a 
 temperature between zero and 4 of Fahren- 
 heit, it becomes solid, crystalline, brittle, and 
 hard enough to be powdered. It boils at about 
 110 Fahrenheit, and its volatility is great. It 
 suffers no change by the agency of light, heat, 
 or electricity, and, having never been decom- 
 posed, it is regarded as an elementary or sim- 
 ple substance. It is very corrosive. 
 
 The various combinations of bromine with 
 other substances have been hitherto but little 
 used in the arts. 
 
 BROMSGROVE. In this Worcestershire 
 town the linen manufacture was formerly car- 
 ried on to a considerable extent, but has been 
 entirely abandoned. Nail-making is now the 
 principal trade, but there is also an extensive 
 manufactory for patent buttons. 
 
 In the parish of Stoke Prior, and closely 
 adjoining that of Bromsgrove, are situated the 
 extensive salt and alkali works of the British 
 Alkali Company. The manufacture of salt 
 has been carried on for centuries in the ad- 
 joining borough of Droitwich, \vhere it is pre- 
 pared from rich springs of native brine. The 
 only situations where rock-salt had been met 
 with in this island were in Cheshire, previously 
 to its being discovered at Stoke Prior, where 
 it was obtained in 1829, in the course of sink- 
 ing a pit in search of brine. The beds of salt 
 were of great thickness, and were excavated to 
 a considerable extent; but at present the sup- 
 plies for making refined salt are derived from 
 a natural brine spring, which has communi- 
 cated with the excavations. Immediately after 
 making this discovery, the proprietors erected 
 extensive works for the manufacture of salt, 
 and for the preparation of British alkali, by 
 the decomposition of this substance, which 
 very speedily changed the green fields and re- 
 tired lanes into an active manufactory and a 
 lively village. The works have become very 
 extensive and the centre of a considerable po- 
 pulation. 
 
 BROMWICH, WEST, or West Bromwich, 
 in Staffordshire, affords a remarkable instance 
 of the growth of population and wealth through 
 mining and manufacturing industry. A few 
 years ago it was little else than a barren heath 
 
 lying on either side of the road from Birming- 
 ham to Wolverhampton ; but it has gradually 
 grown up to a town nearly three miles in 
 length, which takes the name of the parish in 
 which it is situated. The existence of iron 
 and coal beneath the surface of the whole 
 parish is the cause of the growth of the town. 
 The manufacture of iron goods is carried on 
 to an immense extent at Bromwich : guns, 
 gun-locks, swords, bayonets, saddlers' iron- 
 mongery, fire-irons, coach ironmongery,chains, 
 bolts, nails, and agricultural implements, are 
 among the kinds of iron goods made here. 
 
 BRONZE is essentially a compound of cop- 
 per and tin, which metals appear to have been 
 among the earliest known. Copper is not un- 
 frequently found in its metallic state, and lit 
 for immediate use; and tin, though not so 
 met with, often occurs near the surface, and 
 its ore is easily reduced. These metals, though 
 neither of them possesses the hardness requi- 
 site for making instruments either for domes- 
 tic or warlike purposes, appear to have been 
 early found capable of hardening each other 
 by combination ; the bronze, which is the re- 
 sult of this combination, consisting of different 
 proportions of them, according to the purposes 
 ;o which it is to be applied. 
 
 Bronze is always harder and more fusible 
 than copper ; it is highly malleable when it 
 contains 85 to 90 per cent, of copper ; temper- 
 ng increases its malleability ; it oxidises very 
 slowly even in moist air, and hence its appli- 
 cation to so many purposes. The density of 
 jronze is always greater than that of the mean 
 of the metals which compose it : for example, 
 an alloy of 100 parts of copper and 12 parts 
 of tin is of specific gravity 8.80, whereas by 
 calculation it would be only 8.63. 
 
 The green hue that distinguishes ancient 
 :>ron/es is acquired by oxidation and the com- 
 bination with carbonic acid ; and the moderns, 
 
 imitate the effect of the finer antique works, 
 sometimes advance that process by artificial 
 Tieans, usually by washing the surface with 
 an acid. Vasari alludes to this practice 
 among the artists of his time, and to the 
 means they adopted to produce a brown, a 
 black, or a green colour in their bronze. 
 
 Bronze was well known to the ancients. 
 Among the remains of bronze works of art 
 bund in Egypt none are of large dimensions. 
 Many specimens of bron/e works found in In- 
 dia are doubtless very ancient. In the time 
 of Homer, arms, offensive and defensive, are 
 always described as being made of bronze, or 
 perhaps copper alone, which it is possible they 
 ad some means of tempering and hardening. 
 The art of casting statues seems to have been 
 first practised in Asia Minor, Greece, properly 
 
457 
 
 BRONZE. 
 
 BRONZE. 
 
 458 
 
 so called, being then probably too uncivilised 
 to undertake such works. The first and most 
 simple process, among the Greeks, appears to 
 have been hammer-work; in which lumps of the 
 material were beaten into the proposed form ; 
 and, when the work was too large to be made 
 of one piece, several were shaped, and the dif- 
 ferent parts fitted and fastened together by 
 means of pins or keys. 
 
 The art of metal-casting in regular moulds 
 was undoubtedly known very early, though 
 its adoption in European Greece is probably 
 of a comparatively late date. Its progress 
 was evidently marked by three distinct stages. 
 The first was beating out the metal, either 
 as solid hammer -work or in plates. The 
 next was casting it into a mould or form, 
 the statue being of course made solid. The 
 last stage was casting it into a mould, with 
 a centre or core to limit the thickness of 
 the metal. Bronze- casting seems to have 
 reached its perfection in Greece about the time 
 of Alexander the Great. The ancient statuaries 
 seem to have been extremely choice in their 
 selection and composition of bronze ; and they 
 seem also to have had a method of running 
 or welding various metals together, by which 
 they were enabled to produce more or less the 
 effect of natural colour. Some works are de- 
 scribed that were remarkable for the success 
 which attended this curious and, to us, unat- 
 tainable process. They also tinted or painted 
 their bronze with the same view of more 
 closely imitating nature. Pliny states that 
 there were three sorts of the Corinthian bronze; 
 the first, called candidum, received its name 
 from the effect of silver which was mixed with 
 the copper ; the second had a greater propor- 
 tion of gold ; the third was composed of equal 
 quantities of the different metals. 
 
 The Romans never attained any great emi- 
 nence in the arts of design. Their earliest 
 statues were executed for them by Etruscan 
 artists. Rome, however, was afterwards filled 
 with a prodigious number of works of the best 
 schools of Greece ; and artists of that country, 
 unable to meet with employment at home, 
 settled at Rome. Zenodorus executed some 
 magnificent works in the time of Nero. But 
 Pliny, who lived in the reign of Vespasian, la- 
 ments the decline of the art, and the want of 
 skill of the artists, in his time. The practice 
 of gilding bronze statues does not seem to 
 have prevailed till taste had much deteriorated. 
 The practice of art among the Romans declin- 
 ing rapidly, and with but few interruptions, 
 ceases to interest us about A.D. 200. In the 
 beginning of the thirteenth century, at the 
 taking of Constantinople, we read that some 
 of the finest works of the ancient masters 
 
 were destroyed for the mere value of the 
 metal. Among the few works saved are the 
 celebrated bronze horses, which now decorate 
 the exterior of the church of St. Mark at 
 Venice. 
 
 Passing over the intermediate age of bar- 
 barism, we arrive at the epoch of the revival 
 of art in Italy, under the Pisani and others, 
 about the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 
 The celebrated bronze gates of the Baptistery 
 at Florence, by Ghiberti, which M. Angelo 
 said were fit to be the gates of Paradise, are 
 among the more remarkable works of the 
 time. In the succeeding century we find 
 Guglielmo della Porta practising the art with 
 great success; and he is distinguished by 
 Vasari for adopting a mode of casting that 
 was considered quite original, in executing his 
 colossal statue of Paul III. The metal when 
 run from the furnace, was carried downwards 
 by a duct, and then admitted to the under 
 side or bottom of the mould, and thus, acte i 
 upon by a superior pressure, as in a common 
 fountain, was forced upwards till the mould 
 was entirely filled. It is necessary in this pr,,, 
 cess that the mould should be kept in a stat* 
 of great heat, in order that the metal may no* 
 cool before the whole is nm. But among the 
 artists who are celebrated for their skill ir 
 bronze-casting, Benvenuto Cellini holds a dis- 
 tinguished rank : there are few collections 
 that cannot boast some specimens of his 
 smaller productions, Avhile the larger works 
 that remain, particularly at Florence, prov> 
 that his high reputation was not undeserved. 
 In his process the metal was allowed to flow 
 at once from the furnace into the channels or 
 ducts of the moulds. 
 
 The modern practice of the English, French, 
 Italian, and German artists does not differ 
 materially in its principle, from that of the 
 earlier Italians. The process is described 
 under FOUNDING. 
 
 Bronze for cannon in England is composed 
 of 90 copper and 10 tin. Bronze for cymbals 
 and tamtans is composed of 78 copper and 
 22 tin; in France, of 100 copper and 11 tin. 
 English bell-metal consists of copper 80, tin 
 10.1, zinc 5.0, lead 4.3, = 100. Reflectors 
 for telescopes consist of 6G parts of copper 
 and 33 parts of tin ; they resemble steel in 
 colour, are very hard and brittle, and suscep- 
 tible of a fine polish. Bronze for medals is 
 formed of 100 copper, and 7 to 11 of tin and 
 
 ac. 
 
 At the Medieeval Exhibition of 1850, there 
 were many bronzes of great beauty displayed. 
 Vases, chains, keys, fibulre, lamps, busts, sta- 
 tuettes, censers, fountains, inkstands, ewers, 
 these were among the specimens exhibited. 
 
459 
 
 BRONZING. 
 
 The articles of bronze imported are classed 
 by the customs' authorities tinder three groups 
 1st. works of art, 2nd. other articles in 
 bronze, and 3rd. bronze powder : the first 
 group is stated at from 200 to 300 cwts. 
 annually ; the second and third groups have 
 a value of about 2000Z. annually. 
 
 BRONZING; BRONZE POWDER. Much 
 ingenuity is displayed in imitating the colour 
 of ancient bronzes both the greenish and 
 the rich golden tints. Metals, wood, and 
 plaster, are all subject to surface-processes 
 having this object in view. 
 
 Captain Pidding states that the Chinese 
 exercise the art of bronzing in a very superior 
 manner. After having rubbed the vase or 
 other ornament with coal-ashes and vinegar, 
 they dry it in the sun, and then coat it with a 
 composition of which the following are the in- 
 gredients two parts of verdigris, two of cin- 
 nabar, two of sal ammoniac, two of the beak 
 and liver of duck, and five of pounded alum, 
 moistened to the consistency of a paste. 
 When the article is thus prepared, it is passed 
 through the fire, and washed when cold ; 
 Again it is coated with the composition, again 
 rfred, and again washed ; and so on for several 
 times in succession. 
 
 Becquerel introduced to the notice of the 
 Academie des Sciences, a few years ago, a 
 method of bronzing, in which a thin layer of 
 bronze is applied to the surface of any article 
 of iron, steel, lead, zinc, tin, or other metal. 
 It is effected by precipitation from a solution, 
 through the agency of a galvanic battery in 
 ^he usual manner of electro-metallurgy; but 
 the difficulty surmounted consists in the dis- 
 covery of a proper solution. The solution 
 described by Becquerel consists of carbonate 
 of potash, chloride of copper, sulphate of zinc, 
 and nitrate of ammonia ; with a plate of brass 
 or bronze as a positive decomposing plate. 
 
 A process of bronzing on paper is now fre- 
 quently adopted for ornamental purposes. 
 Thin plates of copper, or of copper alloyed 
 with some other metal, are beaten out into 
 thin leaves, and these leaves are ground or 
 worked to powder. A pattern is printed on 
 the surface of paper with an adhesive and 
 rapidly-drying varnish ; and just before this 
 varnish is dry, the bronze powder is rubbed 
 on with a piece of soft cotton, whereby a me- 
 tallic lustre is produced, varying in its tint 
 from a bright gold to a deep red colour, ac- 
 cording to the metallic constituents of the 
 bronze powder. Sheets of paper, thus bronzed 
 after having been glazed and printed,in various 
 colours, now form the highly adorned cover- 
 ings for albums and many other kinds of 
 books. 
 
 BRUNEL, MARK ISAMBERT, 460 
 
 BRU'CIA, a vegetable alkali, found in the 
 bark of the strychnos nux vomica, and in some 
 other kinds of bark. It is a non-crystallised 
 substance, resembling wax in appearance; 
 but it crystallises under certain circumstances 
 in colourless oblique four-sided prisms. It 
 combines with the principal acids to form Ni. 
 trate, Muriate, Sulphate, Oxalate, Phosphate, 
 andAcetatc of Brucia: most of which are crys- 
 tallised, and have a bitter taste. 
 
 Brucia acts on the human system as a vio- 
 lent poison, and in precisely the same man- 
 ner as strychnia, but more gently, being much 
 less powerful, 
 
 BRUGES (Brugge), capital of the Belgian 
 province of West Flanders, has considerable 
 manufactures of linens, lace, woollen and cot- 
 ton goods, salt, refined sugar, earthenware, 
 paper, distilled liquors, and other minor 
 branches of industry. 
 
 Many of the Bruges manufactures will be 
 illustrated at the Exhibition of 1851. 
 
 BRUNEL, MARK ISAMBERT. So long 
 as engineering genius and mechanical inven- 
 tion are honoured, so long will the name of 
 Brunei occnpy a niche among the worthies of 
 industry. 
 
 The late Sir M. I. Brunei was born at Hac- 
 queville in Normandy, in 1768. He studied 
 first for the church, and then for the navy ; 
 but the natural bent of his mind marked out 
 another career for him. He was obliged to 
 flee to the United States during the French 
 Revolution, and here he commenced his en- 
 gineering career ; but feeling that England 
 was a better sphere for him, he crossed the 
 Atlantic about the year 1800, and devoted the 
 rest of his life to mechanism and engineering 
 in the country of his adoption. His first great 
 work was the Block Machinery at Portsmouth, 
 which occupied him till 1806. [BLOCK MA- 
 CHINERY.] He next constructed the Royal 
 Saw Mills at Chatham and Woolwich. Soon 
 after this he invented a beautiful little ma- 
 chine for winding cotton thread into balls. In 
 1813 he contrived an extensive series of ma- 
 chines for making shoes for the army ; but 
 these machines have not been used since the 
 war. He was engaged in building one of the 
 early steamboats, and introduced many im- 
 provements in marine engines. After nume- 
 rous minor works he projected the Thames 
 Tunnel : having previously proposed to the 
 Emperor Alexander the construction of a tun- 
 nel under the Neva at St. Petersburg, to ob- 
 viate the evils occasioned by the freezing of 
 the river in winter. The Thames Tunnel was 
 commenced in 1824, but was not finished (so 
 far even as it may yet be deemed finished) 
 until 1843, under an amount of difficulty which 
 
461 
 
 BEUNN. 
 
 BRUSH-MAKING. 
 
 462 
 
 would have crushed any but an indomitable 
 mind. [THAMES TUNNEL.] 
 
 During the later years of his life, Sir Mark 
 (who received the honour of knighthood du- 
 ring the Melbourne administration) did not 
 engage in any great enterprizes, but lived 
 quietly and respected to a good old age. He 
 died in Dec. 1849 ; leaving a worthy successor 
 in his son, the present Mr. I. K. Brunei, en- 
 gineer of the Great Western Railway and of 
 other extensive works. 
 
 BRUNN, the capital of the Austrian pro- 
 vince of Moravia and Silesia, is the principal 
 seat of the woollen manufactures of Austria. 
 Its fine woollen cloths and kerseymeres are in 
 great repute. It also manufactures largely 
 silks, ribbons, yarns, machinery, leather, cot- 
 ton prints, soap, and vinegar. It has four 
 wholesale markets in the year, which are each 
 of fourteen days' duration, and to which manu- 
 facturers from all parts of Austria resort in 
 considerable numbers. 
 
 BRUNSWICK. The duchy of Brunswick 
 is rich in mines, which are of two classes ; one 
 class comprising such as are worked in con- 
 junction with the Hanoverian government, 
 and the other independently of it. The an- 
 nual produce of the first class, which includes 
 the mines on the Rammelsberge, in the Upper 
 Harz, has ever since the year 1788 been divi- 
 ded into seven shares, of which Hanover takes 
 four and Brunswick three. These mines are 
 under the direction of a joint board at Goslar, 
 and consist of one of gold, three of silver, cop- 
 per, and lead, and three copper and sulphur 
 works. The independent mines lie on the 
 Lower Harz, in the principality of Blanken- 
 burg, near Seesen, and the district of the 
 Weser; their principal produce is iron. 
 
 Brunswick produces marble, alabaster, lime- 
 stone, gypsum, potter's clay, asbestos, serpen- 
 tine-stone, agate, jasper, chalcedony, garnets, 
 porphyry, sandstone, freestone, coal, and alum. 
 There are salt-works at Salzdahlum, Schb'n- 
 ingen, Salzliebenhall, and Juliushall. 
 
 The chief manufactures of the Duchy are 
 metals, yarn and linen, stockings, cloth made 
 of a mixture of woollen and linen, oil, paper, 
 gypsum, earthenware, tobacco pipes, glass, 
 soap, and beer. The export and import trade 
 is small, on account of the want of sea-coasts. 
 
 BRUSA or BRUSSA, a city in Asia Minor, 
 about 60 miles from Constantinople, is one of 
 the most flourishing towns in the Turkish 
 empire. Its satins and tapestry are of the 
 best quality. Gauzes, taffetas, and cottons, 
 are also manufactured. The trade with the 
 interior is carried on by the caravans which 
 pass through the town between Constantinople 
 and Smyrna. Brusa is the centre of a district 
 
 in which a great quantity of raw silk is pro- 
 duced, to the amount of about half a million 
 Ibs. annually ; and the cultivation of the mul- 
 berry is yearly on the increase. Grapes, me- 
 lons, and fruits of all kinds, are abundant. 
 Meerschaum clay is dug in the neighbouring 
 mountain. British long-cloths, dyed sarcenets, 
 cotton shirtings, cambrics, chalks or thin 
 figured woollen dresses, cotton twist, Paisley 
 shawls, and printed calicoes, find a ready 
 market at Brusa. 
 
 BRUSH-MAKING. Brushes and brooms 
 may be classified into simple brushes, or such 
 as consist of a single tuft of hairs, be it 
 large or small; and compound brushes, or 
 such as have many tufts. The former may 
 be subdivided into such as are inserted in a 
 handle, or in a tube which serves to connect 
 them with a handle, as the several varieties 
 of hair pencils, mounted in quills, and painters' 
 tools, which are similarly inserted in tubes or 
 flattened cases of tin, or put into the cleft end 
 of a wooden handle, and bound round with 
 twine or thread, smeared over with glue ; and 
 the larger and coarser brushes, in which the 
 end of the handle is inserted and bound up in 
 the midst of the tuft, such as the large paint- 
 ing and dusting brushes (technically so called), 
 used by house-painters, and the much larger 
 carpet brooms and besoms or birch-brooms. Stock- 
 brushes form an intermediate kind, in which 
 several simple tufts or brushes are separately 
 attached, side by side, to the thin edge of a flat 
 board-like stock or handle : such are used for 
 whitewash and distemper. Compound brushes, 
 consisting of several tufts or knots, inserted 
 in a stock or handle, range under two principal 
 kinds : set-work or pan-work, and drawn work. 
 For both the wooden stock is bored, usually 
 in a lathe, with holes varying in size, depth, 
 and direction, "according to the kind of brush. 
 In pan-work, the tufts or knots are formed by 
 gathering together as many bristles or hairs 
 as may be needed, striking one end even, 
 dipping it in melted pitch, binding it round 
 with thread, and, having dipped it again in the 
 pitch, setting it in one of the holes in the stock 
 with a peculiar twisting motion. Common 
 house-brooms of most kinds, and some dusters, 
 are made in this way. In drawn brushes the 
 boring of the stock is more carefully per 
 formed, and a small hole is carried through 
 from the extremity of each knot-hole to the 
 back of the stock ; and the brushmaker, taking 
 in one hand about half as many bristles as 
 will fill the knot-hole, passes their root ends 
 through the bight or loop of a fine flexible 
 wire which, with the other hand, he has passed 
 double through the hole from the back of the 
 stock. He then pulls the wire smartly, the 
 
463 
 
 BRUSH-MAKING. 
 
 BUC'CINA. 
 
 464 
 
 effect of which is to draw the tuft into a bight 
 or double, and to force it as far as possible 
 into the knot-hole. After proceeding thus 
 from hole to hole, he cuts the ends of the 
 bristles evenly to the required length with 
 shears. Brushes of this character comprise 
 scrubbing, shoe, clothes, tooth, and nail 
 brushes. In such the stiffness of the root 
 end of the bristles is mostly desirable ; while 
 in such as are used for laying on colour, dust- 
 ing, or sweeping, the softness of the flag or 
 taper ends, which are cut as little as possible, 
 is preferable. The stocks of drawn brushes 
 are usually covered at the back with a veneer, 
 which conceals and protects the wires ; but 
 small brushes set in bone or ivory are often 
 drawn with silver wire, which is either left 
 visible or sunk in fine grooves which are sub- 
 sequently filled with hard red cement. The 
 best are trepanned, or have the drawing holes 
 so contrived as to come out, not through the 
 back, but at some unconspicuous part of the 
 stock, where they may be filled up with small 
 plugs after the drawing, which is done with 
 silk instead of wire. Mr. Hancock has 
 patented a brush in which leather is used in- 
 stead of wood or other unyielding material for 
 the stock. 
 
 The brush manufacture is chiefly a domestic 
 one, and is well adapted for the employment 
 of females and children. The chief materials 
 employed are Irlstles, many of which are im- 
 ported from Russia and Poland, and are sorted 
 into black, gray, yellow, white, and lUlics, the 
 lightest of all ; horse-hair, goat's hair, and other 
 kinds of hair; fibres of whalebone; a dark- 
 coloured vegetable fibre called bass, used for 
 stable and other coarse brooms ; and wish, a 
 light-coloured vegetable substance of much 
 finer quality, used for carpet- brooms, and a very 
 fine variety for velvet-brushes ; woods of 
 various kinds for the stocks and veneers ; and 
 wire, usually of brass, but sometimes of a 
 superior compound, looking much like copper, 
 called red brass wire, 
 
 Mr. Cole, a brush-manufacturer, took out a 
 patent in ] 842 for numerous improvements in 
 brush-making. In the general modes of 
 making brushes the bristles are fixed in their 
 places either by some kind of cement or by 
 wire ; but in Mr. Cole's new method the knot 
 of bristles is kept in each hole by the hole 
 being made of a conical shape, with the 
 smaller end of the cone at the face or hair 
 side of the brush : the knot is so shaped that 
 it maintains its place in the brush without 
 either cement or wire. A second improvement 
 consists in steeping in a preservative solution 
 the string with which some brushes are bound 
 round, so as to enable them to be placed in 
 
 water without loosening. A third consists in 
 a new mode of fastening wedge-shaped handles 
 into various kinds of brushes. A fourth con- 
 sists in the manufacture of a new kind of 
 brush for delicate purposes, by making a 
 covering of plush to a foundation of white 
 flock. A fifth consists in making brushes or 
 pencils of spun glass, by which aquafortis and 
 other corrosive acids can be applied by silver- 
 smiths and jewellers with more delicacy and 
 safety than by any of the usual means. A 
 sixth improvement is in the construction of 
 brushes intended for cleansing decanters and 
 bottles. A seventh relates to brushes for 
 cleaning cruets and small phials. 
 
 Various patents have been taken out for 
 making flexible backs to brushes. 
 
 A recent project, the subject of a patent, 
 is to make brushes and brooms of the branches 
 of the cabbage-palmetto tree, in such a way 
 that the handle shall form one piece with the 
 brush. 
 
 In Mr. Cocker's brushes, registered in 
 1849, the bi-istles are set diagonally, by which 
 more of them are brought into action at once, 
 and the surface of the brush is firmer. 
 
 BRUSSELS, the capital of Belgium, is a 
 place of considerable manufacturing activity. 
 The manufacture of lace is carried on to a 
 considerable extent; the quality is very su- 
 perior, and the finest sorts fetch from 3,000 
 to 4,000 francs a pound. A few facts con- 
 cerning the lace manufacture of Brussels, in 
 connection with the Exhibition of Industry, 
 are given in the Introduction to this work. 
 Many other manufactures are also prosecuted, 
 among which are carpets, silk hats, cutlery 
 and surgical instruments, hosiery, calicoes, 
 gold and silver lace, paper-hangings, uphol- 
 stery, porcelain, hardware, and chemical pro- 
 ducts. Vast numbers of books are printed in 
 Brussels, a large number of which are cheap 
 reprints of foreign works, chiefly French. 
 
 BRYO'NIA, the wild Bryony of our hedges, , 
 Bryonia dioica, is a plant formerly much em- 
 ployed in rural pharmacy, but now disused. 
 It was chiefly employed on account of the 
 powerful drastic properties of its root. Over- 
 doses are extremely dangerous, and some- 
 times even fatal. The peculiar principle of 
 Bryony -root is called bryonin. It is a yellowish 
 white substance, sometimes with a red or 
 brownish tint. Its taste is at first rather 
 sweet, then styptic, and extremely bitter. It 
 is a drastic purgative, and poisonous in too 
 large doses. 
 
 BUC'CINA, a military instrument of the 
 shrill horn or cornet kind, in use among the 
 ancients, and by some supposed to have been 
 formed of the horn of the bull or goat. Ao- 
 
465 
 
 BUCHAREST. 
 
 BUDE -LIGHT. 
 
 466 
 
 cording to others it -was the shell of the buc- 
 cinum, a fish. Vegetius says that it was made 
 of hrass, and bent in a circle. The probability 
 is, that in its primitive state it was a simple 
 horn, and that subsequently it was formed of 
 a more durable material. 
 
 BUCHAREST, the capital of Wallachia, 
 is the grand commercial mart for the princi- 
 pality, and the inhabitants carry on an exten- 
 sive trade in grain, wool, honey, wax, tallow, 
 and cattle. There are no large manufactures ; 
 but small quantities of woollen cloths, carpets, 
 brandy, &c., are made. 
 
 BUCK-WHEAT. The cultivation of buck- 
 wheat has never been very extensive in the 
 variable climate of Britain. It is not so well 
 adapted to cold wet soils as to warm sands ; 
 nor is it so certain a crop as oats or barley on 
 lands which are suited to the growth of these 
 grains. For countries where there are very 
 poor light lands with a hot dry climate, un- 
 favourable to the growth of oats and not rich 
 enough for barley, buck-wheat is a great re- 
 source. Under particular circumstances, it 
 might be introduced with advantage into many 
 parts of England where it is now unknown. 
 It is sown tolerably thick, and when the plant 
 is in its greatest vigour and in full blossom 
 a roller is passed over the crop to lay it level 
 with the ground. Manure is seldom or never 
 laid upon land in which buck-wheat is sown, 
 because even where manure is abundant it 
 is reserved for other crops supposed to re- 
 quire it more. 
 
 Buck-wheat is sometimes cut in its tender 
 state for soiling cattle. It is said to increase 
 the milk of cows, and is occasionally pastured 
 by sheep. It may be given to horses instead 
 of oats, or mixed with them. No grain seems 
 so eagerly eaten by poultry, or makes them 
 lay eggs so soon and so abundantly. The 
 meal, when it is ground, is excellent for fat- 
 tening cattle or pigs. The flour is fine and 
 white, but, from a deficiency in gluten, does 
 not make good fermented bread. It serves 
 well however for pastry and cakes ; crumpets 
 made of buck-wheat flour, eaten with butter, 
 are a favourite dainty with children in Hol- 
 land. A hasty pudding is also made of the 
 flour, with water or milk, and eaten with 
 butter or sugar. 
 
 Out of nearly 11,000,000 quarters of corn 
 and meal imported in 1849, only 027 quarters 
 were buck-wheat. 
 
 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. A little cheese 
 is made in this county; but the quantity of 
 butter is much larger. It, is chiefly sent to 
 London made up in the form of oblong rolls 
 weighing two pounds each. It is sent in 
 baskets called from their shape flats, which 
 
 hold from 20 to 40 rolls. Their depth is 
 unif brmly 11 inches. Each flat is marked with 
 the initials of the dairyman who sends the 
 butter, and the carrier who conveys it, to 
 whom also the flat belongs. Many of the 
 calves in the dairy farms are fattened for 
 veal, for the London market. The rearing 
 and fattening of ducks for the early London 
 season is carried on to a large extent. It is 
 said that ducks to the value of 4,000/ are sent 
 annually from Aylesbury alone, and 20,000/. 
 worth from the whole county. 
 
 BUD A, or OFEN, is that half of the me- 
 tropolis of Hungary which stands on the left- 
 bank of the Danube ; the other half, Pesth, 
 being on the right bank. Bucla manufactures 
 a little silk and velvet, leather, some cottons, 
 and woollens. It possesses also a cannon- 
 foundry, copper foundries, a gunpowder ma- 
 nufactory, a silk-spinning mill, and a tobacco 
 manufactory. The trade of the town princi- 
 pally consists in the wines produced by the 
 vineyards in the environs, to the annual 
 amount of about 4,500,000 gallons. This wine, 
 which is well known under the name of 
 ' Ofener-Avein,' comes from the extensive vine- 
 yards belonging to the town itself, which are 
 said to cover an area of 70 square miles. But 
 Bucla is now perhaps more interesting to us 
 since the magnificent suspension-bridge over 
 the Danube has been built by our country- 
 man, Mr. Tierney Clark : perhaps the finest 
 engineering work on the Danube. 
 
 BUDDING is an operation in horticulture, 
 by means of which the branches of one kind 
 of plant are often made to grow upon the 
 stem of another kind. It is adopted for the 
 purpose of artificial propagation, either by 
 planting the separate buds in earth, or by in- 
 troducing them into the branches of other 
 plants. The former is called propagation by 
 eyes ; the latter only is technically named 
 budding. 
 
 There are several modes of budding, such 
 as reversed budding and scallop-budding, which 
 are occasionally practised. Roses, plums, 
 peaches, nectarines, cherries, and many other 
 plants are chiefly propagated thus, and there 
 is no theoretical reason why it should not be 
 extended to all species. In practice however 
 t is occasionally found impracticable, as in 
 heaths, in vines, &c., owing to specific causes 
 which vary in different instances. 
 
 Budding is usually performed in the months 
 of July and August, because at that season 
 the bark separates freely from the wood, and 
 the young buds are fully formed ; but, when- 
 ever the two latter conditions can be satisfied, 
 the operation may take place equally well. 
 
 BUDE-LIGHT is the name given by its 
 
467 
 
 BUENOS AYRES. 
 
 BULKHEADS. 
 
 468 
 
 inventor Mr. Gurney to a vivid flame, em 
 ployed in lighting churches and other build- 
 ings. Originally it was obtained from an oil- 
 lamp, the flame from which was acted on by 
 a current of oxygen gas ; subsequently oil 
 gas was substituted for the liquid oil ; but now 
 the gas which is made for lighting the streets 
 of towns is employed to produce the flame, 
 and the brilliancy is increased by a current of 
 air ingeniously introduced. The mode of ad- 
 mitting fresh air, and carrying off the products 
 of combustion, constitute the difference be- 
 tween this and the common gas-light. It is 
 found to be a cheap mode of producing a 
 bright light; but as a similar effect may be 
 produced by other means, the distinctive name 
 of bude-light is not now much employed. 
 
 BUENOS AYRES, the capital of the re- 
 public of La Plata, carries on a large trade 
 with France, importing from thence linen, 
 wearing apparel, toilet articles, shoes, dressed 
 leather, woollen and silk goods, &c. The 
 imports from England and Germany are 
 smaller in amount. The imports from France 
 in 1844 amounted to 769,280J. ; the exports 
 to France to 411,168/. The total exports 
 from Buenos Ayres in 1843 were valued at 
 1,659,206/. Buenos Ayres is the outlet for 
 the produce of the vast herds of cattle which 
 roam over the Pampas of La Plata ; from this 
 source we imported in 1848 about 115,000 hides, 
 13,000 lamb skins, and 80,000 cwts. of tallow. 
 BUILDING. In the practice of civil ar- 
 chitecture, the builder is the individual who 
 comes between the architect who designs and 
 the artisans who execute the work ; and build- 
 ing is essentially a manufacture. Referring 
 to such articles as BRICKWORK, CARPENTRY, 
 FLOOR, FOUNDATION, HOUSE, JOINERY, PLAS- 
 TERING, ROOF, &c., for a few details relating 
 to the art of building, a few words of a general 
 nature may be here introduced. 
 
 The article BRICKWORK relates simply to the 
 modes of arranging the separate bricks or 
 component parts into a solid and adhesive 
 wall. The builder must further combine the 
 several portions of a wall broken or separated 
 by openings for doorways and windows, and 
 the several walls of a house, into a self-sus- 
 taining structure, every part of which should, 
 as far as possible, lend support to every other 
 part. The effect of openings, for example, 
 must be counteracted by inverts or inverted 
 arches beneath them, and discharging arches 
 over them ; these being either left visible or 
 concealed by a facing of other brickwork, ac- 
 cording to circumstances. Wood bricks, or 
 blocks of seasoned wood, must be inserted in 
 the walls to facilitate the fixing of door and 
 window frames, or other woodwork. Lintels, 
 
 or bars of wood surmounting square-headed 
 apertures, are sometimes used in lieu of arches, 
 but should always be surmounted by dis- 
 charging arches. Templates are pieces of 
 wood larger than wood bricks, inserted to sup- 
 port and distribute the pressure of the ends 
 of beams, &c., and ivall-platcs are still longer 
 pieces let into the brickwork to support the 
 floor-timbers. Bond-timbers are sometimes 
 inserted to distribute and equalise strain ; but 
 the liability of timber to shrink and swell, to 
 rot and to be destroyed by fire, render it de- 
 sirable to insert it in brickwork as little as 
 possible, and that under such circumstances 
 that its total destruction may not affect the 
 stability of the walls. The plans recently in- 
 troduced for preserving timber [TIMBER, PRE- 
 SERVATION or] somewhat lessen the objections 
 to its use. 
 
 In the erection of any building it is desirable 
 to carry up all the walls as equally as possible, 
 to avoid the risk of unequal settlement. Inte- 
 rior partition walls are often formed of lath and 
 plaster, on a timber framing ; but, where weight 
 is not an objection, ofbricfc-nogging, or brickwork 
 
 or 3 inches thick, strengthened by timber 
 framing. Some use half brick walls, built in 
 cement, and strengthened with iron hooping 
 [aid in a few of the joints. The tops of brick 
 walls are protected by COPING, which should 
 be so formed as to throw off water. 
 
 Other modes of building than with brick are 
 noticed elsewhere. [MASONRY.] Flints and 
 earth are also advantageously employed in cer- 
 tain districts. Buildings of flint depend much 
 for their strength upon the quality of the 
 rnortar or cement employed, and upon the 
 ludicious introduction of bonding-courses and 
 quoins or angles of brick or of larger stone. 
 Building with compressed earth, or building 
 en pise, is a very cheap mode, long used in 
 some parts of France, but less known in this 
 country than it deserves to be. Another mode 
 of building well adapted for cottages in which 
 no great strength is required in the walls, is 
 with hollow walls of brick laid on edge, but 
 otherwise arranged like ordinary Flemish bond. 
 In this plan a space of 3 inches is left in the 
 middle of the wall between each pair of 
 stretchers. Walls thus constructed exclude 
 damp and cold far better than solid walls. For 
 modes of constructing FIRE-PROOF BUILDINGS, 
 ee that article. 
 
 BULKHEADS, which divide the hull of a 
 ship into several water-tight compartments, 
 are formed with the view of preventing the 
 whole hull from being filled with water in case 
 of a fracture or leak. Mr. C. W. Williams, in 
 a paper communicated to a parliamentary com- 
 mittee on steam vessels, states that it has been 
 
469 
 
 BULLETS. 
 
 BUOYS. 
 
 470 
 
 found impracticable to make bulkheads of 
 timber, on account of the liability of timber to 
 shrinkage and leakage. Bulkheads of iron 
 plates obviate this objection. Vessels are 
 divided into two, three, four, or five water-tight 
 compartments, by one, two, three, or four 
 bulkheads; the more there are the greater 
 the safety ; but as they interfere with free 
 passage from one end to another of the vessel, 
 and .as they entail greater expense and con- 
 sumption of material, there soon arises a 
 practical limit to the number. Mr. Williams 
 recommends four bulkheads and five compart- 
 ments for a steam-boat. The central com- 
 partment would hold the engine, boiler, and 
 other machinery ; the two compartments next 
 to the centre would form the fore and after 
 cabins or the fore and after holds, according as 
 the steamer is a passenger or a trading vessel ; 
 while the two end compartments need not 
 come up so high as the main-deck, on account 
 of the deck at these parts being lifted higher 
 up above the water than near the waist or 
 middle of the ship. 
 
 BULLETS. The general mode of making 
 bullets is noticed under SHOT-MANUFACTUBE. 
 We may, however, here state that a patent for 
 making bullets was taken out in America in 
 1849, in which the bullet is formed by punch 
 ing. The end of the punch has a hemispherical 
 cavity, and a die is used which has a similar 
 cavity. A strip of sheet lead is laid on the 
 die, and the punch is brought down upon it 
 with a force sufficient to sever a small piece of 
 lead, and to form it into a globular shape by 
 means of the two hemi-spherical cavities. 
 
 Several years before, however, in 1840, Mr. 
 David Napier had patented a method, some- 
 what similar in principle, but more compre- 
 hensive, for making bullets in which great 
 accuracy of form may be required. The ma- 
 chinery consists of two sliding plungers, placed 
 horizontally and opposite to each other ; each 
 carrying a hemispherical die. The meeting 
 and closing of the two dies give a perfectly 
 spherical form to any substance compressed 
 between them. In the centres of these plungers 
 are two sliding plugs, which, in the retroces- 
 sion of the plungers, are urged forward by a 
 spring placed behind them, and drive out the 
 compressed ball. An alternating motion back- 
 wards and forwards is given to the plungers. 
 Strips of lead having projections, prepared 
 either by rolling or casting, are supplied to 
 the machine, the continuous pressing of which 
 converts the projecting pieces of lead into per- 
 fect spheres, held together by a thin film of 
 lead. The strips are then taken to a small 
 hemispherical punch, working vertically into 
 a circular bed the same size as the balls : and 
 
 on bringing" down this punch by means of a 
 foot treadle, the balls are cut out, fall through 
 the bed, and roll down a trough into a proper 
 receptacle. This method of making bullets 
 by compression was, we believe, at one time 
 adopted by the government at Woolwich, the 
 apparatus being worked by steam. 
 
 BULLION. This term is strictly applicable 
 only to uncoined gold and silver, but it is 
 frequently used in discussions relating to 
 subjects of public economy to denote those 
 metals both in a coined and in an uncoined 
 state. At the Bank of England, all persons 
 may demand of the issue department notes in 
 exchange for gold bullion at the rate of 
 31. .1 7s. 9d. per ounce of standard gold, to be 
 melted and assayed by persons appointed by 
 the Bank, at the expense of the persons who 
 tender the bullion. 
 
 Bullion is also applied as a distinctive name 
 of particular kinds of fringe. 
 
 BU'NIUM. The pig-nut of the rural 
 districts is the nearly globular root of the 
 bunium plant, of a black or chesnut colour on 
 the outside, and white inside. It has an aro- 
 matic sweet taste, and is frequently dug up 
 and eaten by children. Pigs are very fond of 
 these nuts, and get fat when allowed to feed 
 on them. When boiled, they are a pleasant 
 and nutritious food. Roasted, they are pre- 
 ferred by some people to chesnuts, and are 
 often in this country and on the continent 
 added to soup or broth. 
 
 BUOYANCY is the power which certain 
 materials have of being supported at the 
 surface of a fluid, so as to sink in it as much 
 only as a part of their depth or thickness. 
 Thus ice, some woods, &c., are said to have 
 buoyancy in water, and almost all solid bodies 
 have the power of floating on mercury. The 
 term is frequently used to designate the 
 weight which a solid mass of wood, or a 
 vessel of wood or metal, will support in water. 
 A brief explanation of the principle of buoy- 
 ancy is given under HYDRAULICS. The propo- 
 sitions relating to it are useful in determining 
 the amount of volume which would have buoy- 
 ancy sufficient to raise a sunken ship ; or in 
 determining the dimensions of a floating 
 bridge which may support a given weight of 
 troops or artillery. 
 
 BUOYS are vessels formed of wood, cork, 
 or some other siibstance which is specifically 
 lighter than water. They are moored so as to 
 float on the water at some certain spot, in 
 order to point out the course or channel that 
 a vessel should follow. Buoys are also used 
 for the purpose of marking the situation of 
 ships' anchors to which they are attached, and 
 thus facilitating the future recovery of the 
 
471 
 
 BURETTE. 
 
 BURSLEM. 
 
 472 
 
 anchor and cable in cases where the latter has 
 been broken, or where it has been cut, in 
 order to provide on emergencies for the safety 
 of the ship, when circumstances do not admit 
 of the anchor being weighed into the vessel. 
 The first description of buoys are denominated 
 public buoys, nd the last private buoys. 
 Another kind of buoys are those placed in 
 harbours to mark the situation of mooring- 
 chains to which snips frequenting the port are 
 made fast. 
 
 Until the reign of Queen Elizabeth all 
 public buoys in this kingdom were under the 
 management of the Lord High Admiral ; but 
 since 15!)4 they have been under the control 
 of the Trinity House. The amount of reve- 
 nue annually collected for the use of buoys by 
 the Trinity. House corporation is between 
 11,00()/. and J2,000/. The charge made is 
 according to the tonnage of the vessels fre- 
 quenting the ports in or leading to which 
 buoys are placed : the rates vary according to 
 circumstances, and are highest in the port of 
 London, where British and foreign privileged 
 vessels (those belonging to countries with 
 which we have ' reciprocity treaties') pay 
 one penny per ton ; and foreign vessels not 
 privileged pay two pence per ton. 
 
 The buoys which are sometimes used as 
 life- preservers are noticed elsewhere [ LIFE- 
 BUOYS.] 
 
 BURETTE, is an instrument invented by 
 M. Gay-Lussac, for the purpose of dividing a 
 given portion of any liquid into 100 or 1,000 
 equal parts. It consists of a measure of de- 
 finite capacity, a graduated tube, and another 
 tube of smaller bore attached to the former. 
 It is much used in French chemical factories, 
 hut is scarcely known in England. 
 
 BURNING GLASSKS AND MIRRORS. 
 A convex lens or a concave mirror, by collect- 
 ing a quantity of light within a small space at 
 the focus, will also, if the lens or mirror be of 
 considerable size and the light very strong, as 
 that of the sun, collect a quantity of heat 
 sufficient to destroy almost any substance. 
 This property has been long known. Among 
 the earliest attempts to produce considerable 
 effects by burning instruments is that of 
 Tschirnhausen, who, about the year 1700, 
 made a glass lens 33 inches diameter and 7 
 feet focal length, by which the concentrated 
 light of the sun, in a short time, burnt wood, 
 melted small pieces of metal, vitrified slate, 
 <fec. In the year 1747 M. Buffon constructed 
 an apparatus which, on a concave surface, 
 carried 220 plane mirrors ; with this the sun's 
 light burnt wood at the distance of 200 feet, 
 and melted metals at 50 feet. About the year 
 1800 Mr. Parker, in London, executed a 
 
 burning lens of flint glass 3 feet diameter and 
 6 feet 8 inches focal length, with which, by 
 concentrating the sun's light, lie fused gold in 
 three seconds, steel in 12 seconds, and lime- 
 stone in 55 seconds ; and, by the heat thus 
 produced, a diamond weighing 10 grains was 
 reduced to six grains. 
 
 As a source of heat, the burning glass has 
 not yet been made available in manufactures, 
 except in a few trifling instances : but there is 
 nothing irrational in supposing that it may 
 one day subserve useful purposes. 
 
 BURNLEY is one of the busy cotton-spin- 
 ning towns of Lancashire. The trade of the 
 town was formerly confined to woollens : but 
 the cotton manufacture is now the staple. At 
 the present time (1850) there are about 30 
 cotton spinning and weaving mills ; there aro 
 no cotton bleaching or dye works ; but there 
 are two calico printing establishments. There 
 are also three worsted mills. Besides the 
 above, Burnley contains four corn mills (one 
 of them very large), iron foundries, machine- 
 making works, brass foundries, roperies, tan- 
 neries, breweries, and collieries. 
 
 The Leeds and Liverpool canal, and the 
 East Lancashire and other railways, afford 
 media for the conveyance of goods through 
 the whole line of country, from the German 
 Ocean to the Irish Sea. Besides its manu- 
 factures Burnley sends coal, freestone, and 
 slate from the vicinity. 
 
 BURNT-EAR, in corn, is adisease in which 
 the fructification of the plant is destroyed 
 and as it were burnt up : hence its English 
 name and the corresponding names of ckurbon 
 in French and brand in German. In burnt-ear 
 the black powder which appears in the ear is 
 external, and the grain has either never been 
 formed, or its coat .has been destroyed, so 
 that the whole ear appears black or burnt. 
 The powder also has no smell, and, being 
 easily blown away by the wind, or shaken off 
 in the reaping, little of it adheres to the corn 
 or is mixed with it when ground ; and, ex- 
 cept the loss of so much grain as would have 
 been contained in the sound ears, no great 
 detriment arises to the quality of the corn. 
 Microscopic observations show that the black 
 powder consists of the minute germs or 
 sporules of a parasitical fungus, which are 
 developed in the growing ears and live on its 
 substance. The best preservative against this 
 disease is to drain the land well and keep it in 
 good heart. 
 
 BURSLEM, in Staffordshire, often receives 
 the name of the ' Mother of Potteries,' having 
 been the first, and for a long period the chief 
 of the pottery towns. From an early period 
 it has been distinguished for the variety and 
 
478 
 
 BUEY. 
 
 BUTTEK. 
 
 excellence of the clays in its vicinity. All the 
 subsoil of the town is clay, varying from two 
 to ten feet in thickness; it is called in the 
 neighbourhood tough Tom, and is employed 
 in the manufacture of red, brown, and yellow 
 wares. Below the subsoil is a very thick stra- 
 tum of fire clay, of which the saggers or baking 
 vessels for the pottery kilns are made. Be- 
 low the fire-clay is coal. Most of the early 
 improvements in the pottery manufacture 
 were made at Burslem ; and the town took 
 the lead in this art, until Wedgwood removed 
 thence to Etruria. Longport is now so closely 
 united to Burslem, that the two form in effect 
 one large town, every part of which is occupied 
 by the pottery works, the houses of the work- 
 people and employers, or the shopkeepers. 
 No town in England, perhaps, is more depen- 
 dent on one particular branch of manufacture 
 than Burslem is on that of porcelain and 
 earthenware. There are at the present time 
 in the whole parish nearly forty pottery esta- 
 blishments ; besides glass-works at Longport. 
 
 BURY is one of the active manufacturing 
 towns of Lancashire. The manufacture of 
 woollen cloth became a staple article of trade 
 in this place so far back as the fourteenth cen- 
 tury, and nourished to such an extent that in 
 the reign of Elizabeth one of her aulnagers 
 was stationed in the town to stamp the cloth. 
 Up to a much later date woollens were almost 
 the sole manufacture of the place ; but upon 
 the introduction of the cotton trade into the 
 county many of the inhabitants became weav- 
 ers of cotton fabrics, and the woollen trade 
 has been gradually retiring into Yorkshire and 
 other parts of the country where the cotton ma- 
 nufacture is less paramount. Tbe different 
 branches of the cotton manufacture, owing to 
 tbe vicinity of Bury to the Manchester mar- 
 ket, and the abundant supply of coal and wa- 
 ter, are carried on to a considerable and in- 
 creasing extent in this and the adjoining 
 township. 
 
 Several important improvements in the cot- 
 ton manufacture took their rise in this place. 
 A new method of throwing the shuttle by 
 means of the picking-peg instead of the hand, 
 and thence called the fly-shuttle, was invented 
 by John Kay, a native of the town : and in 
 1760 his son, Eobert Kay, invented the drop- 
 box, by means of which the weaver can at 
 will use any one of three shuttles an inven- 
 tion which led to the introduction of various 
 colours into the same fabric, and made it al- 
 most as easy to produce a fabric consisting of 
 different colours as a common cloth of only 
 one. ^ Bury is indebted for one branch of its 
 present trade to the father of the late Sir Ro- 
 bert Peel, who established his extensive print- 
 
 works on the banks of the Irwell, near this 
 town ; he resided at Chamber Hall, in the 
 immediate vicinity, where, or at a smaller 
 house close by it, the late Sir Robert Peel was 
 born. 
 
 There are at tbe present time in Bury more 
 than a dozen large factories for spinning and 
 manufacturing cotton, several large woollen 
 manufactories, two calico-printing and bleach- 
 ing establishments, and two dye-works. Be- 
 sides the different branches of cotton and 
 woollen manufactures, there are three large 
 foundries, several smaller ones, and manufac- 
 tories of hats and other articles. 
 
 BUSHEL. By the act of 1824 the standard 
 gallon contains 10 pounds avoirdupois of pure 
 water. Eight such gallons make a bushel, 
 and eight bushels a quarter. This, by the 
 other provisions of the act, made it contain 
 22LS.2 cubic inches very nearly. 
 
 BUST, in sculpture, means a statue trun- 
 cated below the breast. As a question of fine 
 art, the production of a bust depends on the 
 same exercise of taste and refined judgment 
 as that of a statue. As a question of mechan- 
 ical execution, we shall have occasion in a 
 later article to describe Mr. Cheverton's re- 
 markable mode of carving busts by machinery. 
 Busts in bronze or other metal, in biscuit or 
 other kinds of porcelain, and in plaster, are 
 produced by casting. 
 
 BUTTER is the fat or oleaginous parts of 
 the milk of various animals, principally of the 
 domestic cow. The milk of the cow consists 
 of curd, whey, and butter, and is esteemed 
 chiefly in proportion to the amount of butter, 
 which differs much in that of different 
 breeds. 
 
 For the making of butter, the milk, brought 
 into the dairy from the milking - shed, is 
 strained through a fine sieve or cloth into shal- 
 low pans, or troughs lined with lead, which 
 are filled to the depth of four or five inches. 
 These should be in a place sheltered from the 
 sun, but having a thorough draught of air by 
 means of opposite wire windows. The floor 
 should be kept moist in summer, to produce 
 coolness by evaporation ; but in winter a small 
 stove is an advantage, provided smoke and 
 smell be avoided. After standing twelve hours 
 the finest parts of the cream will be found to 
 have risen to the surface ; and this, if skimmed 
 off, will furnish a very delicate butter. More 
 generally however the milk is allowed to stand 
 twenty-four hours, and then the cream is col- 
 lected, either by skimming or by letting off the 
 thin milk from beneath it by opening plugs in 
 the troughs. The cream is put in a deep 
 earthen or stone-ware jar, which should be 
 glazed, but not with lead ; and more is added 
 
475 
 
 BUTTER, 
 
 BUTTEK. 
 
 470 
 
 every day until there is sufficient to churn. 
 The cream is usually stirred from time to 
 time, to promote a slight acidity, which facili - 
 tates the process of churning. 
 
 There are many varieties of churn [CHURN] ; 
 but most of them have a beater or fan which 
 agitates the cream. The barrel of the churn 
 should not be more than two-thirds full of 
 cream. In the course of an hour's agitation 
 or churning, small kernels of butter are found 
 among the cream, and these become gradually 
 united into a solid mass, leaving a fluid resi- 
 due called butter-milk, which is set aside for 
 domestic use, or for feeding pigs. The butter 
 is then removed to a shallow tub, well beaten 
 with the hand or a flat wooden spoon, and 
 repeatedly washed with clear spring water, 
 until all the remaining butter-milk is removed 
 from it ; after which, if intended to be sold 
 fresh, it is made up in rolls or cakes for the 
 market, or salted and put into casks if intended 
 for keeping. Cakes or pats of fresh butter 
 are often impressed with some device from a 
 carved wooden print, resembling a large seal. 
 In Cambridgeshire butter is made up into rolls 
 a yard long, and passed through a ring of a 
 certain diameter, for the convenience of divid- 
 ing it into small portions without weighing. 
 In salting butter the quality of the salt is of 
 great importance ; and some, instead of sim 
 pie salt, use half an ounce of dry salt, pounded 
 fine, two drams of sugar, and two drams of 
 saltpetre, to every pound of butter. As a cask 
 is gradually filled up, every addition is care- 
 fully incorporated with the preceding portion. 
 Should it shrink in the cask, melted butter 
 may be poured round it to fill up the inter- 
 stices. 
 
 Butter may be preserved for domestic use, 
 without salt, by melting it very gently, without 
 boiling ; Avhich causes the watery particles to 
 evaporate, and the curd, which is always pre- 
 sent in small quantity and is a principal cause 
 of rancidity, to fall to the bottom. The clear 
 butter is then poured into an earthen vessel, 
 and covered with paper ; and a piece of blad- 
 der or leather is tied over it to exclude the 
 air. Butter thus prepared resembles lard in 
 appearance, loses some of its flavour, but is 
 much superior to salt butter for ordinary pur- 
 poses. 
 
 r *In Devonshire, instead of the ordinary 
 mode of raising cream in shallow pans, the 
 milk is, after standing twelve hours, exposed 
 to heat, without boiling, by which a thick 
 scum called clotted cream, more solid than 
 cream, but not so solid as butter, is thrown 
 up. A very slight agitation converts it into 
 butter, another mode, which is followed in 
 parts of Holland, Scotland, and Ireland, is to 
 
 churn the milk and cream together, by which, 
 it is said, more butter is produced. 
 
 Much attention is paid to the most minute 
 circumstances in the manufacture of butter, 
 especially in all that relates to cleanliness. In 
 Switzerland men are chiefly employed in milk- 
 ing and in making butter and cheese; the 
 women only cleaning the utensils and carrying 
 green food to the cows when kept in the sta- 
 ble. The gradually extending use of the 
 thermometer is an important improvement in 
 dairy practice ; and probably the electrometer 
 may be found similarly useful, as the state of 
 the atmosphere in reference to electricity evi- 
 dently has a powerful influence on the making 
 of butter. The nature of the pasture is also 
 important. The best butter is produced from 
 cows fed in rich natural meadows ; and some 
 plants which grow in poor and marshy soils 
 impart a disagreeable flavour to the butter, as 
 also do turnips and other roots, and most cut 
 grasses. This may be in some measure obvi- 
 ated by adding a little water and saltpetre to 
 the milk, or, it is said, by giving salt to the 
 cows with their food. The best winter butter 
 is made where the cows are fed with good 
 meadow hay, or aftermath hay, which contains 
 few seedstalks. The colour varies much from 
 different cows, and from the same at different 
 times. Arnotto or the juice of carrots is some- 
 times mixed with the cream to impart a deeper 
 yellow. 
 
 Upon an average, four gallons of*milk pro- 
 duce sixteen ounces of butter ; and, to be pro- 
 fitable, a good dairy cow in England should 
 produce six pounds of butter per week in 
 summer, and three pounds in winter, allowing 
 from six weeks to two months for her being 
 dry before calving. This makes 120 Ibs. in 
 twenty weeks after calving, and 80 Ibs. in the 
 remaining time, or 200 Ibs. in the year. 
 
 Whey Butter is an inferior kind made in 
 some cheese dairies from the oily portion of 
 the milk skimmed from the whey ; it is sold 
 chiefly to labourers, seldom comes to market, 
 and is totally unfit for salting and keeping. 
 Ghee, or fluid butter, forms one of the staple 
 productions of many districts in India. 
 
 All the butter that is produced in England 
 is consumed at home, and a large quantity is 
 imported from Ireland, Holland, and other 
 countries. The consumption of butter in 
 London is estimated by M'Culloch at 15,000 
 to 16,000 tons annually, of which 2000 tons 
 are supplied to shipping. At Wd. per Ib. for 
 34,400,000 Ibs., the value consumed of this 
 article amounts to 1,433,3337. The consump- 
 tion per head in this estimate is assumed to 
 be 5 oz. weekly, or 1C Ibs. per annum. In 
 1835 the imports from Ireland were 827,009 
 
477 BUTTERS, VEGETABLE. 
 
 cwts., valued at 3,316,306/. ; but since that 
 date the imports of Irish butter do not appear 
 in the Government tables. 
 
 Almost all the butter exported is derived 
 from Ireland. In 1849 the exports of this 
 commodity amounted in value to 210,604Z., of 
 which the largest quantities were sent to Bra- 
 zil, West Indies, and Portugal. The impor- 
 tations of foreign butter, in 1849, amounted to 
 282,501 cwts., of which two-thirds came from 
 Holland. 
 
 A few interesting details concerning the 
 Irish butter -trade will be found under CORK. 
 
 BUTTERS, VEGETABLE, the name 
 given to the concrete oil of certain vegetables, 
 from its resemblance to the butter obtained 
 from the milk of animals, and from being em- 
 ployed for similar purposes. The chief vege- 
 table butters are produced by the Bassia buty- 
 racea and other species of the genus Bassia. 
 [BASSIA.] 
 
 BUTTERS, (in pharmacy), is an obsolete 
 name for the hydrochlorates of the metals, 
 such as antimony, arsenic, bismuth, tin, and 
 zinc. 
 
 BUTTON MANUFACTURE. Gold, silver, 
 brass, copper, pewter, mother-of-pearl, hard 
 wood, bone, ivory, horn, leather, paper, glass, 
 silk, wool, cotton, linen, thread, are all formed 
 into buttons, and the manufacture is earned 
 on to a very great extent. Metal buttons with 
 shanks are stamped out of a plate of the mate- 
 rial ; and each circular piece or ' blank ' is 
 trimmed and smoothed. The shanks are made 
 of wire by an ingenious machine and are sol- 
 dered on to the blanks. After a little further 
 preparation, the buttons (if of the .common 
 gilt kind) receive a coating of gold [GILDING], 
 which is now often effected by the electro pro- 
 cess. White metal buttons, such as those on 
 soldiers' dresses, are cast in moulds containing 
 ten or twelve dozen, and the shanks are placed 
 in the moulds previously to casting, so that 
 when the buttons are cast the shanks are fixed 
 at the same time. Mother-of-pearl buttons 
 are cut out of the pearl shell by a cylindrical 
 saw ; and the shanks are fixed by a kind of 
 dove- tailed projection of the wire in a hole 
 drilled in the shell through one-half its thick- 
 ness. 
 
 Buttons with out shanks are made of mother- 
 of-pearl, wood, bone, metal, &c., the metal 
 ones being stamped, and the rest turned. 
 They have four holes through which the 
 thread is passed to fix them on the garment. 
 These holes are stamped in metal buttons, 
 but they are drilled in those which are made 
 of other materials. The holes are drilled 
 while the buttons *re in the lathe : four long 
 drills are made to converge towards the but- 
 
 BUTTON MANUFACTURE. 478 
 
 ton, and thus the four holes are all drilled at 
 once. The buttons most extensively used at 
 present are those covered with cloth or silk, 
 the manufacture of which has arrived at great 
 perfection. Most varieties of coat-button now 
 consist of two circular blanks of iron, one of 
 thick pasteboard, one of thick canvas, and one 
 of silk or florentine. All these are cut out 
 separately with great rapidity, by a stamping 
 press from sheets of the respective materials. 
 Into a kind of die or cell is placed, first, the 
 silk or florentine, then a disc or 'blank' of 
 iron, then the pasteboard, then the canvas, 
 then the other piece of iron all superposed. 
 A stamping-press, of beautiful construction, 
 fixes all these together, without the aid of any 
 other mode of fastening. 
 
 Buttons made of wire rings covered with 
 thread or with linen, and metal buttons made 
 iridescent of minute grooves, are among the 
 varieties of the manufacture. 
 
 A singular method was introduced a few 
 years ago, of imitating covered cloth buttons 
 by a layer of flock, such as is used in paper 
 hangings. In the first place, thin sheets of 
 metal are coated on one side with copal var- 
 nish thinned with turpentine, and coloured 
 according to the colour of the flock to be em- 
 ployed. After being heated in an oven to 150 
 Fahr., and then allowed to cool, the surface is 
 coated with a kind of paint formed of white- 
 lead, linseed oil, gold size, and colouring mat- 
 ter. While in this wet state, a quantity of 
 flock is sifted over the surface, and allowed to 
 remain on it twelve hours, by which time a 
 film of flock will have adhered firmly to the 
 metal. The loose flock being shaken off, the 
 sheet is fitted to be cut up into collets or discs 
 for the backs of buttons, to be made in the 
 usual way. 
 
 Mr. Prosser's method of making buttons 
 and other small articles of compressed clay 
 was patented in 1840. Clay, clayey earth, or 
 clay combined with a small portion of flint or 
 felspar to give it hardness, is thoroughly dried 
 and ground to a fine powder. The powder is 
 passed through a sieve having about two 
 thousand perforations in a square inch: all 
 particles too large to pass through the perfo- 
 rations being rejected. For some coarser pur- 
 poses a coarser sieve may be used. Buttons 
 and other small articles are made of this pow- 
 der by dies, or moulds and a fly-press. The 
 fly-press is firmly secured to a strong bed or 
 frame ; and a die, carrying on its under face 
 the form in reverse (i. e. hollow instead of re- 
 lief,) proposed to be given to the top of the 
 button, is screwed to the follower of the press. 
 A second tool or die of a kind of T shape, with 
 an impress of the back of the button, fits 
 
 
479 BUTTON MANUFACTURE. 
 
 loosely into a corresponding recess in the bol- 
 ster. Below the press there is a treadle sup- 
 ported on a fulcrum near its centre, from one 
 end of which a rod passes up through a small 
 hole in the bolster to the lower die or tool. 
 The hollow or recess in the bolster in which 
 this tool rises and falls is of such a depth as 
 to be an exact measure of the quantity of 
 powder necessary for the formation of a but- 
 ton. The hollow in the mould being filled 
 with powder, and the powder squared off to 
 an exact level with the top of the mould, such 
 power is applied to the press as will bring 
 down the tool with a force of about 200 Ibs. 
 on the square inch, upon the powder lying in 
 the mould. The powder is by this means com- 
 pressed into a very dense, hard, and durable 
 substance, having on its surface the device 
 imparted to it by the die. If the button is to 
 have a metallic shank attached to it, a recess 
 is formed at the back of the button for its re- 
 ception, by a corresponding projection on the 
 face of the lower die. If the button is to have 
 holes similar to a brace-button, the dies must 
 have such projections as will form these holes 
 while the powder is being pressed into the 
 mould. 
 
 In the course of a year or two after this pa- 
 tent was obtained, no less than 5000 gross of 
 these buttons were made weekly, at Minton's 
 porcelain works in Staffordshire. 
 
 The Yicomte de Serionne took out a patent 
 in 1850, for a somewhat complicated mode of 
 making buttons, which should have a sort of 
 crystalline appearance. They are made of 
 felspar, basalt, lava pumice, granite, or flint. 
 These minerals, or the one to be adopted, is 
 reduced to powder, and made into a paste with 
 salt and flour ; the paste is pressed into a 
 mould, of which the upper and under parts 
 give the device to the button ; and by subse- 
 quent modes of treating the surface, the but- 
 ton assumes either a transparency, or an 
 agate-like opacity. 
 
 Birmingham is the great seat of the Button 
 manufacture in this country. [BIEMINGHAM.] 
 It is supposed that at the present time (1851) 
 there are upwards of 5000 persons employed 
 
 BYSSUS. 
 
 480 
 
 at Birmingham in making buttons, of whom 
 rather more than half are women and children. 
 
 BUTTKESS, a projecting support to a wall, 
 most commonly applied to churches in the 
 Gothic style. Buttresses are usually finished 
 with a sloping top, and divided into several 
 heights, each of which projects less from the 
 wall as they ascend. The buttresses of Go- 
 thic buildings are variously decorated. The 
 most superb buttresses ever executed in this 
 country belong to Henry VII's chapel at 
 Westminster Abbey. 
 
 BUTY'KIC ACID, a colourless acid liquid, 
 which exists in butter. It combines with wa- 
 ter, and evaporates readily in the open air. It 
 consists of carbon 8, oxygen 3, hydrogen 6. 
 It combines with different bases to form salts, 
 called butt/rates, few of which are of impoi'- 
 tance. In intimate relation with this substance 
 is biityrinC) a yellow liquid procurable from 
 butter. 
 
 BYSSUS. Eecent investigations have de- 
 termined that byssus is linen : at least so far 
 as the term has been applied by Greek and 
 Roman writers to mummy-cloth. Herodotus 
 states, that the Egyptians wrapped their dead 
 in the cloth of the byssus ; and it has been 
 shown, by microscopic observations, that every 
 specimen of mummy -cloth yet examined is 
 made of linen fibre. 
 
 Byssus is also a name given to the long 
 ilky fasciculus of filaments by which some of 
 the bivalve shell -fish (such as mussels, ham- 
 mer oysters, &c.), are moored to submarine 
 rocks. Some authors have regarded these 
 threads as a peculiar secretion spun as 
 it were by the animal. De Blainville, how- 
 ever, asserts them to be an assemblage of 
 muscular fibres, dried up in one part of their 
 extent, but contractile and living at their 
 origin, as they were throughout at the period 
 of their first attachment. The Byssus in the 
 great Pinna of the Mediterranean is largely 
 developed. It is manufactured in Italy into 
 various articles, as gloves, &c., of which spe- 
 cimens are preserved in many museums. The 
 byssus or beard of the mussel is familiar to 
 all. 
 
481 
 
 CABBAGE. 
 
 CA'DMIUM. 
 
 482 
 
 c 
 
 CABBAGE. The cabbage is not only 
 valuable as a food for man, but it is an im- 
 portant aid to the operations of the grazier. 
 When given to cattle or sheep, cabbages 
 should be sliced in the same manlier as tur- 
 nips or beet-root. When milch cows are fed 
 with them, all the decayed leaves should be 
 carefully taken off and given to store cattle or 
 pigs ; for these are the chief cause of the bad 
 taste which the milk and butter acquire from 
 this food. For bullocks, cabbages and oil- 
 cakes are excellent food, and increase their 
 flesh rapidly. For sheep, cabbages should be 
 sliced, and given to them in troughs in the 
 field where the cabbages grow, or on grass 
 land which requires to be manured. 
 
 In Germany there is an immense consump- 
 tion of the large white cabbage in the form of 
 the national mess, called sauerkraut. This is 
 prepared by slicing the cabbage, and placing 
 them in a tub with alternate layers of salt and 
 allowing them to ferment. This preparation, 
 when washed with soft water and stewed with 
 bacon or salted meat, is a very wholesome 
 dish, and much relished by those who have 
 been early accustomed to it. In long voyages 
 it has been found to be an admirable preser- 
 vative from the sea-scurvy. 
 
 CABIN, is an apartment or room in a ship. 
 In large vessels, the admiral's and captain's 
 cabins extend across the ship near her stern, 
 and are usually divided into two, termed the 
 fore-cabin and after-cabin. Those belonging 
 to the junior commissioned and warrant offi- 
 cers are ranged along the side of the ship, 
 having an area of from 5 to 6 feet in width, 
 and from 6 to 7 feet in length. 
 
 In frigates the captain's cabin is on the 
 main-deck ; and the gun-room, or after part of 
 the lower deck, is given to the officers ; but in 
 two-decked line-of-battle ships the captain 
 takes the cabin under the poop, and the offi- 
 cers the great cabin on the upper gun-deck, 
 which is called the ward-room. In three- 
 deckers this large apartment is appropriated 
 to the admiral, and the officers take the 
 corresponding one on the middle gun deck. 
 The partitions by which all these cabins are 
 inclosed are called bulk-heads, which are in- 
 stantly removeable when the decks are ordered 
 to be cleared for action. 
 
 CABINET MAKING. [[FUKNITURE MA- 
 NUFACTURE.] 
 
 CABLE. [CHAIN-CABLE; HOPE.] 
 
 CABUL, or CAUBUL. The industry and 
 
 commerce of this country have been already 
 briefly described. [AFGHANISTAN.] 
 
 CACAO, the bruised seed of the Theobroma, 
 is more familiarly known as COCOA, under 
 which name we shall describe it. 
 
 CACTUS. Some kinds of cactus render 
 useful services to man. In most of those 
 found in tropical America, the stems are filled 
 with an abundant insipid wholesome fluid, and 
 their fruit is succulent, and in many cases 
 superior to that of European gooseberries. In 
 cases of fever in their native countries they 
 are freely administered as a cooling drink ; 
 and being bruised they are esteemed a valu- 
 able means of curing ulcers. 
 
 Opuntia Tuna is the species of cactus which 
 nourishes the cochineal insect. According to 
 Humboldt it is in much esteem in Peru as the 
 food of that valuable insect. 
 
 CADIZ, a large commercial town on the 
 S. W. coast of Spain, enjoyed for a long time 
 a high degree of prosperity, arising from its 
 trade with the Spanish American colonies. In 
 1792 the imports from Spanish America were 
 to the amount of 7,295,833/. ; in 1791, the 
 amount of gold and silver, coined and un- 
 coined, received from the same quarter ex- 
 ceeded 5,300,000/. This commercial activity 
 was wholly destroyed by the defection of the 
 Spanish possessions in America. The foreign 
 trade of Cadiz, which is now in a state of 
 great depression, consists of the importation, 
 in Spanish bottoms, of colonial produce from 
 Cuba, Puerto-Eico, and the Philippine Is- 
 lands ; cocoa, hides, cochineal, indigo, and 
 other produce from South America. Salt-fish 
 is imported from Newfoundland in English 
 vessels. Linens, silks, and woollen cloths, 
 iron hoops, -tin, glass, hardware, and earthen- 
 ware, butter and cheese, are imported from 
 England, Germany, and France, mostly in 
 Spanish ships; staves are supplied by the 
 United States in vessels belonging to those 
 states ; and timber is imported from Eussia 
 and Sweden, in foreign bottoms. The chief 
 articles of export are wine, salt, fruit, oil, 
 wood, cork, and quicksilver, which are usually 
 shipped in vessels bearing the flag of the 
 country to which the shipments are made. 
 The manufactures carried on in the city con- 
 sist of soap, glass-ware, coarse woollens and 
 linens, cotton and silk fabrics, and hats : 
 there are likewise some sugar refineries and 
 tanneries. 
 
 CA'DMIUM, is one of the recently disco* 
 
483 
 
 CAEN. 
 
 CA'LAMUS. 
 
 484= 
 
 vered metals. It occurs in ores of zinc, from 
 which it is usually obtained. It has the colour 
 of tin, is brilliant, and susceptible of a fine 
 polish. Its fracture is fibrous, and it crystal- 
 lizes readily in regular octahedrons ; while 
 solidifying its surface is covered with arbora- 
 tions like fern leaves. It is soft, easily bent, 
 filed, and cut; it stains substances upon 
 which it is rubbed, like lead. When bent, it 
 gives a peculiar crackling noise, like tin. It 
 is very ductile, easily drawn into wire and 
 beaten into thin leaves. Its specific gravity 
 after fusion is 8-C04, but when beaten 8-694. 
 Cadmium melts below a red heat; and, at a 
 temperature a little above that of boiling mer- 
 cury, it boils and distils in drops. The vapour 
 of cadmium has no particular odour. Like tin, 
 it is slowly acted upon by the air, but is even- 
 tually tarnished by it. 
 
 Cadmium combines with several other ele- 
 ments; but these compounds have not yet 
 become extensively valuable in the arts. 
 
 CAEN, in Normandy, is famous for the 
 manufacture of lace, angola gloves, and cut- 
 lery ; linen, woollen and cotton stuffs, hosiery, 
 porcelain, oil, paper, and leather, are also 
 made. The town is a depot for salt, and has 
 large timber and ship-building yards. About 
 800 vessels arrive annually, of which 100 are 
 freighted with salt. The other articles of 
 commerce are corn, wine, brandy, cider, clover - 
 seed, hemp, horses, fat cattle, butter, iron, 
 hardware, mill-stones, building stone, and 
 granite for paving. 
 
 CAERMARTHENSHIRE. The southern 
 part of this county, bordering upon Glamor- 
 ganshire and the sea, forms part of the great 
 coal-field of South Wales. The coal is chiefly 
 what is called stone coal ; the large coal of 
 this quality is used for drying hops and malt ; 
 the small coal, called culm, for burning lime- 
 stone. Towards the coast the coal is more 
 bituminous. The coal-field of South Wales 
 lies in a basin of mountain or carboniferous 
 limestone, and the northern outcrop of this 
 limestone crosses Caermar then shire in a 
 waving line E. and W. From this limestone is 
 obtained marble for chimney-pieces, stone for 
 tomb-stones, and lime for manure. 
 
 CAERNARVONSHIRE, in North Wales, is 
 rich in minerals. There are copper-mines at 
 Great Orme's Head, in the vale of Conwy a 
 little west of Llanrwst, in the vale of Llaii- 
 beris, and near Pont Aberglasllyn. Lead and 
 calamine are obtained in the vale of Conwy 
 near the junction of the Llugwy with the 
 Conwy, aud in that part of the county which 
 lies east of the Conwy. Mill-stones are dug 
 in the vale of Conwy. Slates are found in 
 various parts of the county, and form one of 
 
 the chief articles of export. The finest are 
 those on the west side of the ridge of the 
 Snowdonian mountains, and they become 
 finer as they descend towards the sea. Not 
 only roofing-slates and writing-slates are pro- 
 cured from these mines, but inkstands and 
 other fancy articles are made. Slabs are pro- 
 cured large enough for tomb -stones and 
 paving-slabs. 
 
 CAFE 1C ACID exists in coffee, which owes 
 to it a part of its odour. It is combined with 
 lime, magnesia, alumina, and iron, forming 
 salts or cafeates of those bases. The alkaline 
 cafeates are of a pure brown colour without 
 any admixture of green, and by evaporating 
 the solutions they are obtained in the state of 
 brown horny masses. Cafeine is another 
 peculiar substance obtained from coffee, in 
 soft, silky fibres, which have a very bitter 
 taste. 
 
 CAIRN, or CARN, a heap of stones thrown 
 together in a conical form. Lhuyd, in his 
 ' Additions to Camden's Britannia, in Radnor- 
 shire,' asserts that in the Cambro-Britannic 
 Kaern is a primitive word appropriated to 
 signify such heaps of stones. Cairns and 
 tumuli of earth were the common monuments 
 which the ancient Britons erected in honour 
 of their great men. Pausinius mentions monu- 
 ments of collected stones, especially near 
 Orchomenus, in Arcadia, for persons who had 
 fallen in battle. 
 
 CAIRO. The industry and commerce of 
 this important city are noticed under EGYPT. 
 
 CAJEPUT OIL, is produced chiefly from 
 the Mclalenca Cajuputi, a native of Amboyna, 
 and other East India islands. The oil is 
 obtained by distillation of the leaves and 
 branches, which are collected the night before 
 they are subjected to this process. It is very 
 limpid, pellucid, and of a light or yellowish 
 green colour. In its action on the human 
 frame Cajeput Oil participates in the proper- 
 ties of other volatile oils, and is rubefacient 
 externally ; stimulant, and anti - spasmodic, 
 when taken internally. 
 
 The Cajeput Tree, a native of the I'.isl 
 India Islands, was at one time supposed to 
 yield the oil of commerce. Roxburgh asserts 
 that it possesses little or no fragrance in its 
 leaves, and that it is seldom or never used for 
 the distillation of the oil which is used in the 
 European markets. 
 
 CALIMINE. [ZINC.] 
 
 CA'LAMUS is the genus of palms whose 
 different species constitute the rattan canes of 
 commerce. 
 
 The species are principally found in the 
 hotter parts of the East Indies, where they 
 grow in the forests, climbing over trees and 
 
BRUSSELS-CARPET LOOM 
 
 .1 -COMBING WHEEL 
 2-PERS1AN RUG PATTERN PAPER 
 3- CARPETrSHEARINC 
 
 SCOTCH-CARPET-LOOM 
 5 PERSIAN RUC'MAKINC 
 
 KNIGHTS CYCLOWED-iA 
 
 OF THE 
 
 No 13. 
 
485 
 
 CALCAREOUS SPAR. 
 
 CALCULATING MACHINES. 486 
 
 bushes to a greater extent than any other 
 known plants. The stem of Calamus verusis 
 described as being 100 feet long, that of C 
 olilongus 300 to 400, of C. rudcntum upwards 
 of 500, and of C. extensus as much as 600 
 feet ; Rumphius even states that one kinc 
 
 of Calamus attains the extraordinary length 
 of 1,200 feet. It is closely covered over b, 
 the tubular bases of the leaves, through which 
 it is drawn by the cane-gatherers when green 
 afterwards it is dried in the sun, and then is 
 ready for market. From three to four mil 
 lions of these canes are imported into this 
 country annually. They are extensively used 
 for the sake of the hard flinty coating of tbeii 
 stems, which are readily split into strips 
 from which the bottoms of chairs and similar 
 articles are manufactured. It is not possible 
 to say from what particular species the canes 
 of the shops are obtained, it being probable 
 that many are gathered indiscriminately. The 
 flesh that surrounds the seeds is a delicate 
 article of food ; and the young shoots of some 
 of the species while still tender, are roasted 
 or boiled, chopped small, and, being fried with 
 pepper and gravy, are said to furnish a very 
 delicate dish. 
 
 The greater part of the Dragon's Blood now 
 met with in commerce is obtained from seve- 
 ral species of tbis genus. They are natives 
 only of Hindustan, Cochin China, and the 
 Moluccas. The ripe fruits are covered with a 
 reddish-brown, dry, resinous substance. In 
 this state they are collected, and allowed to 
 remain till the resin drops off. The resin is 
 afterwards melted, either by the natural 
 warmth of the air or by artificial heat, and 
 then moulded into the different forms in which 
 it occurs hi commerce. Dragon's Blood pos- 
 sesses no astringent properties, as was once 
 supposed to be the case, owing to kino being 
 confounded with it. It is now seldom used 
 internally, but it is added to tooth-powders. 
 It is however employed as a colouring matter 
 and an ingredient in varnishes. 
 
 TALCAREOUS SPAR is one of the 
 names given to the rhombohedral crystals of 
 carbonate of lime. The specific gravity of 
 the purest crystals of this mineral is 2-721 ; 
 and the hardness is between gyps and fluor 
 spar. It is of itself colourless, but fre- 
 quently occurs of various tints of yellow, 
 green, red, brown, and even black, from 
 the admixture of impurities. Its glance is 
 mostly vitreous. The lead mines of Derby- 
 shire and Cumberland, and of Andreasberg 
 in the Harz, are noted as affording the most 
 beautiful crystals, and the greatest diversity 
 of forms. 
 
 Every visitor to the British Museum has 
 VOL. i. 
 
 opportunities of inspecting exquisite specimens 
 of calcareous spar. 
 
 CALCEDONY. [AGATE.] 
 
 CALCINATION, is the separation of the 
 volatile from the. more fixed parts of a body : 
 thus bones which are heated till they become 
 
 black are termed burnt bones; but when, by 
 the further operation of heat, they become 
 white, they are called calcined bones. But 
 what were formerly termed metallic calces or 
 calcined metals are now described as metallic 
 oxides. 
 
 CAL'CIUM, a peculiar metal, of which 
 lime is the well-known oxide. It was first 
 obtained by Davy, in 1808, by the action 01 
 voltaic electricity on a small mass of chalk. 
 That calcium is a white combustible metal is 
 nearly all that is known respecting it; but 
 many of its compounds with other elements 
 have been long known and extensively em- 
 ployed. [LlME.] 
 
 CALCULATING MACHINES. Before 
 computers had attained great proficiency in 
 performing arithmetical operations by the pen, 
 machines by which the results of such opera- 
 tions could be obtained by inspection were in 
 almost constant use. The principal of these 
 were the Roman abacus, which continued to 
 be employed in the south of Europe till the 
 end of the 15th century, and in England to a 
 later period ; and the Schwan-pan, which in 
 China has long been the principal means of 
 making computations. [ABACUS.] For the 
 operations of multiplication and division the 
 ivory rods of Napier, commonly called Napier's 
 Bones, were for a tune used ; and, for solving 
 trigonometrical problems, G-u liter's Scale or 
 the Logarithmic Scales were once very gene- 
 rally employed by navigators. 
 
 The celebrated Pascal constructed, it is said, 
 when only 19 years of age a machine for 
 executing the ordinary operations of arithmetic. 
 Subsequently to the time of Pascal, Leibnitz 
 invented a machine by which arithmetical 
 computations could be made ; but no account 
 of it appears to have been published. 
 
 All former contrivances for performimg 
 such operations may be said to have been 
 cast in the shade by the machine invented 
 >y Mr. Babbage, which, should it be comple- 
 ;ed, will constitute one of the most superb 
 monuments of human ingenuity. Not only 
 are its operations accomplished with certainty, 
 >ut the results may be transferred to copper- 
 plates, from which any number of copies may 
 )e printed without a possibility of error. A 
 rery brief notice however of the manner of 
 using it, and of the principles on which it is 
 sonstfucted, can be here given. 
 In any series of numbers arranged in line 
 
 N 
 
487 CALCULATING MACHINES. 
 
 or column, if the difference between the firs 
 and second, between the second and third, anc 
 so on, be taken, there will be formed a line o: 
 column of what are called first differences 
 if the difference between the first and second 
 between the second and third, and so on, o: 
 these last numbers be taken, there will be 
 formed a line or column of what are callec 
 second differences. Proceeding in like man 
 ner to form third, fourth, &c., orders ol 
 differences, there will at length be found a 
 series of differences which are either constant, 
 or to a great extent are nearly so. Then 
 having any one of the numbers in the first 
 column, and the numbers corresponding to it 
 in the several columns of differences, all the 
 succeeding numbers of the series may be 
 found by mere additions or subtractions, and 
 the latter process may be avoided by using 
 arithmetical complements. 
 
 The machine accomplishes these additions 
 by the movements of a number of cylinders 
 having on the convex surface of each the 
 series of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0; 
 and the operations are of two kinds : by the 
 first, the additions are made; and by the 
 second, there is introduced the 1 which 
 should be carried to the ten's place every time 
 that the sum of two numbers is greater than 10. 
 
 Let it be imagined that there are side by 
 side several vertical axles, on each of which 
 are several cylinders ono above another; and 
 that these axles with their cylinders are capa- 
 ble of being turned by wheelwork, so that any 
 one of the ten figures may be made to stand 
 on the face of the machine, and immediately 
 under a fixed index. Let it be further ima- 
 gined that the figures composing a given 
 number are under the indices in front of the 
 cylinders on the first vertical axis towards the 
 left hand ; and the figures composing the 
 several orders of differences in front of the 
 cylinders on the other axis successively 
 towards the right. Then, the general axle of 
 the machine being, by a winch, turned one 
 quarter of a revolution, only the first, third, 
 fifth, &c. axles turn, and every cylinder on each 
 of these axles turns, at the same time, through 
 as many tenths of a revolution as are expressed 
 by the figure in front of the cylinder imme- 
 diately on its right hand. 
 
 There is thus brought to the front of each 
 turning cylinder the unit's figure in the sum 
 of the figure previously in front of that 
 cylinder, and the figure in front of the cylinder 
 on its right. When any of these sums exceed 
 10, a turn of the general axle through a 
 socond quarter revolution causes each of 
 those cylinders, whose number should be 
 increased by the 1 carried to describe one- 
 
 CALCULATlNa MACHINES. 488 
 
 tenth of a revolution, and thus the number 
 in its front becomes greater by 1 than before. 
 
 Now, on turning the general axle through a 
 third quarter revolution, the second, fourth, 
 &c. axles only turn, and every cylinder on 
 each turns at the same time through as many 
 tenths of a revolution as are expressed by the 
 figure in front of the cylinder immediately on 
 its right hand ; there is thus made, as before, 
 an addition of the figure previously in front 
 of the turning cylinder and the figure on its 
 right. A turn of the general axle through a 
 fourth quarter revolution performs also, as 
 before, the operation of candying where neces- 
 sary ; and now the cylinders on the first axle 
 towards the left present to the front the 
 figures constituting the number which, in the 
 required series, follows the given number. The 
 like operations are to be performed for all the 
 succeeding numbers. 
 
 We have it not in our power to do more 
 than give the following very general notion of 
 the mechanism by which these remarkable 
 movements are produced. Behind eacli 
 column of the cylinders on whose convex 
 surfaces are the nine numerals with zero is a 
 vertical axle, carrying as many pairs of wheels, 
 one above another, as there are cylinders. The 
 upper wheel in each pair acts as a driving 
 wheel to the cylinder, and has besides, on its 
 circumference, teeth like those of an inverted 
 crown wheel, and both wheels are capable of 
 being connected with or disconnected from 
 their common axle, the lower wheel carries 
 on its upper surface an inclined plane, and 
 between the two wheels is a bolt with two pins 
 which project from it. one above and the other 
 aelow. By the revolution of that wheel, the 
 nclined plane is earned under the lower pin, 
 and thus the upper pin is enabled to enter 
 between two teeth in the crown wheel or to 
 disengage itself from them. Another axle, in 
 a vertical position behind the former, carries 
 projecting bars which, when the axle is turned. 
 )y the moving power, press upon the bolts 
 and cause the pins to move up or down as 
 above mentioned. This engagement and 
 release of the inverted crown wheel are the 
 means by which the cylinder is made to de- 
 cribe such part of a revolution as is required ; 
 and when the cylinder is to remain at rest 
 while those on other axles turn round, an 
 apparatus provided for the purpose removes 
 ut of its place the bar which should press 
 igainst the end of the bolt. The process of 
 arrying is accomplished by a bar on the axis 
 >f a cylinder, which at a proper, time comes 
 igainst the extremity of a claw; and this 
 hen engages itself between the teeth of a 
 atchet wheel connected with the next cylinder. 
 
489 CALCULATING MACHINES. 
 
 In order to transfer to copper-plates the 
 results obtained from the machine, a curvili- 
 near bar of metal is to act on an arm of a 
 lever so as to raise it to ten different heights, 
 corresponding to the ten figures on the surface 
 of each cylinder, and the opposite arm of a 
 lever is to move an arch carrying ten punches 
 having on them in relief, the ten characters, 
 .1, 2, 3, &c. to 0. A bent lever is to press the 
 punch upon the copper-plate and produce the 
 impressions of the figure. 
 
 Various circumstances, concerning which 
 there has been much discussion in Parliament 
 and among men of science, have led to the 
 suspension of the construction of this superb 
 machine: a subject of great regret. The 
 portion which has been already executed is 
 now in the library of King's College, London ; 
 and it is capable of producing tables of the 
 powers and roots of numbers not extending 
 beyond eight places of figures. 
 
 Edmondson's Eailway Ticket Machine con- 
 sists of a series of multiplying wheels, with a 
 stamping and cutting instrument in the inte- 
 rior. There is an index wheel whose disc is 
 engraved with letters and numbers corre- 
 sponding with those on an inner wheel. 
 When the pasteboard material is introduced, 
 and the machine set in motion by hand, the 
 cards ready printed, numbered, and dated are 
 ejected with great rapidity into a receiving 
 box, ready packed and sorted for delivery; 
 and the machine itself tells with unerring 
 accuracy the number of tickets it has struck 
 off. Machines of this kind are now exten- 
 sively used at railway stations. Nothing can 
 be more beautiful than the arithmetical accu- 
 racy with which this machine delivers and 
 tells off an immense number of tickets in a 
 brief period. 
 
 Baranowski's calculating or registering 
 machine, recently introduced, is intended to 
 facilitate many commercial operations. One 
 form of the machine is adapted to the prompt 
 calculation of goods per ton, cwt., or lb., or 
 for the calculation of monies per day, month, 
 or year. By adjusting a slide displaying the 
 given sum, and turning a wheel, the amount 
 per year, or week, or month is given in a mar- 
 ginal slide, which is developed by the opera- 
 tion. Mr. Baranowski has patented various 
 modifications of his machine, adapted for 
 numbering, stamping, and registering. 
 
 At the meeting of the British Association 
 in 1840, the Astronomer Koyal described a 
 new calculating machine which had been 
 invented by Mr. Fowler, to facilitate the 
 labours of the guardians of a Poor Law 
 district in Devonshire, in calculating the propor- 
 tions in which the several divisions were to 
 
 CALCULATING MACHINES. 490 
 
 be assessed. The mechanism was much the 
 same as in many other machines of a similar 
 character : but there was a peculiarity in the 
 notation adopted for the special object held in 
 view. Instead of the common decimal notation, 
 it had a ternary notation ; that is, the digits 
 became not tenfold but threefold more valu- 
 able in their course from right to left. Thus, 
 in such a notation, 1 and 2 express one and 
 two as in the common system ; but 10 express 
 (not ten, but j three, 11 express four, 12 express 
 five, and so on. The relative number of teeth in 
 some of the wheels of the machine would 
 depend on which notational system is employed. 
 Dr. Both's Automaton Calculator, intro- 
 duced about the year 1841, has many modi- 
 fications suited to the performance of 
 different calculations. The machine for 
 performing addition, subtraction and multi- 
 plication consists of a narrow oblong box, 
 with a metal plate on the top, which is divided 
 into nine indexes and semicircular notches. 
 The first six, from left to right, serve for the 
 numbers from hundred thousands to units : 
 the last three are appropriated to shillings, 
 pence, and farthings. Bound each index are 
 engraved figures, from to 9 ; and the semi- 
 circular notches contain teeth which cor- 
 respond with the figures. Under each notch 
 is a circular hole, in which the result of the 
 calculation appears at the end of the opera- 
 tion. In using the instrument, a metal point 
 is inserted in the teeth of such figures in the 
 indexes as are required to be brought into 
 action, and each point is brought down to ; 
 the result is then read off from the circular 
 opening in which it appears recorded. The 
 interior mechanism consists chiefly of a 
 simple combination of toothed wheels and 
 springs. This machine has been used in 
 some offices to facilitate calculations ; and 
 also as a register of the number of strokes or 
 of rotations in machines. 
 
 A new calculating or rather numbering 
 machine was invented and patented by Mr. 
 Lewthwaite in 1847; for numbering railway 
 tickets and pawnbrokers tickets, paging books, 
 and similar purposes, and printing numbers 
 in any consecutive or serial form. The 
 mechanism is complicated but ingenious. The 
 chief parts consist of figure-wheels, driving- 
 wheels, and key-stops. The figure-wheel is a 
 wheel with ten teeth, the outer facets or ends 
 of which are stamped or typed with the ten 
 digits from to 9 ; the driving-wheel is also a 
 wheel with ten teeth, which work between the 
 teeth of the figure-wheel ; and the key-stop is 
 a kind of lever, one end of which catches 
 successively in the teeth of the figure driving- 
 wheel. If the machine were only required to 
 
491 CALCULATING MACHINES. 
 
 number up to 9, comprising only one digit or 
 place of figures, only one figure-wheel would 
 be required ; but if two, three, four, or five 
 places of figures be necessary, expressing 
 tens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thou- 
 sands, then two, three, four, or five figure- 
 wheels would be required. There are one 
 driving-wheel and one key stop to each figure- 
 wheel. All the figure-wheels are placed upon 
 one axis, on which they revolve independently 
 of each other ; the same may be said of all 
 the driving-wheels, and all the key-stops : 
 each driving-wheel moving its appropriate 
 figure-wheel, and each key-stop being similarly 
 limited. By working a crank handle all the 
 ten facets of the units' figure-wheel come in 
 succession downwards, and stamp or impress 
 their device by a small inking apparatus. 
 When figure 9 is produced, the key-stop 
 catches into the wheel so as to bring the tens' 
 figure-wheel also into action ; and two wheels 
 then work together, producing the numbers 
 10, 11, 12, <fec. At every complete revolution 
 of the units' wheel, the tens' wheel makes 
 one tenth of a revolution ; at every complete 
 revolution of the tens' wheel, the hundreds' 
 wheel makes one-tenth of a revolution : and 
 so on consecutively. It is obviously a sort of 
 clock-work mechanism, with figures at the 
 ends of the cogs capable of being brought 
 into such a position as to print their results 
 upon paper. 
 
 In 1849 a Calculating Machine was intro- 
 duced before the British Association, invented 
 by M. Slovinski, a Pole. It consists of a thin 
 box covered by a metal plate, in which are 
 ten circular apertures ; the digits from to 9 
 are marked near these holes, and toothed 
 wheels are placed behind them. The upper 
 part of the instrument is used for addition 
 and the lower for subtraction ; and the pro- 
 cesses are performed by causing a rotation of 
 the wheels which correspond to the digits to 
 be added or subtracted. The multiplication 
 instrument consists of a shallow rectangular 
 box, containing cylinders which are made to 
 revolve by knobs that protrude through the 
 box. The cylinders have printed tables of 
 figures on their circumference, and there are 
 also index figures which appear through small 
 holes over the axes of the cylinders. Besides 
 these index holes there are nine other rows of 
 holes, eight in a row, at which appear the 
 results of the multiplication. The instrument 
 can perform all sums up to millions multiplied 
 by millions. 
 
 A principle of numerical reckoning is 
 adopted in Whiffen's Registering machine, 
 patented in 1850. It consists of a dial-plate 
 and a system of wheel-work, to be attached to 
 
 CALENDERING. 
 
 492 
 
 the trap-door of ship's coal weighing machines. 
 The object is to determine the number of 
 times that the door is opened for the discharge 
 of coals. The same object, it is conceived, 
 may be attained in respect to the filling of 
 grain measures ; but there is nothing essen- 
 tially new in this : it is but an application of 
 the principle of the WEIGHING MACHINE. 
 
 A remarkable apparatus for registering 
 votes by ballot is described under VOTING 
 MACHINE. 
 
 CALCUTTA, the seat of the supreme go- 
 vernment of Great Britain in the East Indies, 
 possesses great advantages for inland naviga- 
 tion. All kinds of foreign produce are trans- 
 ported on the Ganges and its affluents with 
 great facility to the north-western parts of 
 Hindustan over a distance of at least 1,000 
 miles, while the productions of the interior are 
 received at Calcutta by the same channel. 
 Operations have lately commenced for the 
 construction of a railroad from Calcutta to 
 Delhi, a distance of more than 1,000 miles, 
 of which so much as can be constructed for 
 3,000,000/. is to be proceeded with forthwith. 
 
 The chief articles of export from Calcutta 
 are indigo, opium, sugar, raw silk, and silk 
 piece-goods, saltpetre, rice, hides, cotton, and 
 cotton piece goods. The chief articles of 
 mport are British cotton manufactures and 
 cotton twist, bullion, copper, tin, lead, zinc, 
 iron, and other metals ; woollens, wines and 
 spirits ; hardware and cutlery ; jewellery, 
 watches, &c. ; coffee, tea, books, and stationery. 
 
 The present system of communication be- 
 tween London and Calcutta by steam-vessels 
 (the ' overland route') was established in 1845 ; 
 but it is hoped that the time is not far distant 
 when Calcutta will also have communication 
 with China and with the Australian colonies. 
 The foreign commerce of Calcutta has been 
 already noticed under BENGAL. 
 
 CALENDERING, in the manufacturing dis- 
 tricts, is a general name applied to the processes 
 of smoothing, dressing, and glazing cotton 
 and linen goods ; the object being either to pro - 
 pare them for the operations of the calico- 
 printer, or to impart the last finish to the 
 goods before they are folded and packed for 
 the market. The earlier calenders, or calen- 
 dering machines, closely resembled a common 
 mangle in their action, but were very large 
 and heavy, arid worked by a horse-wheel, or 
 other sufficient power; but the process was 
 greatly improved by the invention of a ma- 
 ;hine in which the pressure is produced be- 
 tween cylinders, instead of between cylinders 
 and flat surfaces, and in which, consequently, 
 the alternating motion is got rid of, and, also, 
 it is easier to give a uniform and equal pres- 
 
493 
 
 CALF. 
 
 sure. The rollers or cylinders were formerly 
 made of wood ; they are now usually made 
 either of paper or of cast-iron. The paper 
 cylinders are formed by packing a great 
 number of circular pieces of stout pasteboard 
 upon an iron axis, and compressing them very 
 tightly by means of iron bolts passed through 
 them, acting upon circular end-plates of cast- 
 iron. The surface is brought to a perfectly 
 even and polished state by turning in a lathe. 
 Iron rollers are made hollow, and, when ne- 
 cessary, heated from the inside. Where a 
 glazed or polished surface is required on the 
 goods to be calendered, mechanism is employed 
 to cause two adjacent rollers to revolve with 
 different velocities, so as to produce a rubbing 
 action. 
 
 CALF. The rearing and fattening of calves 
 is an important part of rural economy. In 
 dairy districts the milk is so valuable, that the 
 calves are got rid of as early as possible, and 
 are purchased by the calf-dealers, who fatten 
 them and prepare them for sale to the butcher. 
 Calves should be fat by eight or nine weeks 
 old ; it is seldom advisable to keep them above 
 twelve weeks, as they then consume a greater 
 quantity of milk than can be afforded. In some 
 countries calves are killed when only a few 
 days old; the flesh is then soft and tasteless. 
 In France and Switzerland no calf is allowed 
 to be killed for sale under the age of ten days. 
 Calves intended to be reared for grazing or the 
 dairy are suckled for three or four days, then 
 brought up by the pail, and gradually educted 
 from their milk diet to one of a vegetable na- 
 ture. About 30,000 calves are sold annually at 
 Smithfield. About 14,000 calves were imported 
 from foreign countries in 1849 ; this import 
 commenced hi 1842. Calf-skins form the mate- 
 rial for one of the most valuable kinds of leather. 
 
 CALIBRE, CALIPER, or CALLIPER, 
 The first of these words is French, and was a 
 technical term signifying the internal dia- 
 meter or bore of any piece of ordnance. In 
 England it has come to signify generally 
 the diameter of any round substance. Ca- 
 liper compasses, or callipers, are compasses 
 intended to measure the calibre or diameter 
 of round bodies, and are formed with curved 
 legs. 
 
 CALICO. [COTTON.] 
 
 CALICUT, a sea-port town in Hindustan, 
 is worthy of notice as exemplifying a remark- 
 able fact in the history of manufactures. It 
 used to be an extensive cotton manufacturing 
 town : our word calico being derived from it ; 
 but, notwithstanding Indian cotton and Hin- 
 doo labour being so cheap, cotton goods are 
 now mostly imported. The present exports 
 consist principally of cocoa-nuts, betel-nuts, 
 
 CALIFORNIA. 40i 
 
 pepper, ginger, turmeric, teak-wood, sandal- 
 wood^ cardamoms, and wax. 
 
 CALIFORNIA. There is, perhaps, no 
 parallel in the history of nations to the rapid 
 growth of a community in California. That 
 which was almost a desert country four or five 
 years ago is now a busy mart of commerce 
 and mining. 
 
 The whole region of California comprises 
 the wide stretch of Pacific coast from Oregon 
 in the north to Mexico in the south ; but that 
 portion which now attracts commercial atten- 
 tion is the river district, whereof the outlet is 
 at San Francisco, in 38 N. lat., 122 W. long. 
 Here, about the time that California was as- 
 signed by treaty from Mexico to the United 
 States, gold was first discovered unless, in- 
 deed, as is supposed, the Jesuits were aware 
 of its existence there some generations back. 
 The gold is so loosely mixed up with sand 
 and sediment in the bed and the banks of 
 the Sacramento and other rivers, that the 
 grains and small particles are without difficulty 
 separated from the impurities. For a short 
 time the secret was retained by a few ; but no 
 sooner did the news spread abroad than a 
 gold mania sprang up. The Mexicans, from 
 the hitherto insignificant town of St. Fran- 
 cisco, the native Indians of the country, and 
 the hardy trappers and backwoodsmen from 
 the United States, all rushed to seize the 
 golden treasure. After a time the Sandwich 
 Islanders heard the news, and steered over 
 the Pacific to get a share of the riches. Ves- 
 sels came to St. Francisco from different ports ; 
 and the seamen, abandoning their vessels to 
 the mercy of chance, ran off to the ' diggings ' 
 and became gold-hunters. Soon the tidings 
 reached the United States, and parties and 
 companies set forth to El Dorado, the golden 
 land. Some took the perilous inland route 
 across the Rocky Mountains ; some adopted 
 the tedious sail round Cape Horn ; but the ma- 
 jority have availed themselves of the Panama 
 route. The tens of thousands who thus went, 
 having no other object than to get gold, had 
 neither means nor inclination to grow their own 
 food nor to manufacture their own neces- 
 saries ; and hence arose a field of enterprise 
 which the merchants of England and of the 
 United States did not neglect. Valuable car- 
 goes were transmited to St. Francisco to be 
 there sold in exchange for the gold-dust ; and 
 as such transactions could not be carried on 
 without some kind of commercial machinery, 
 St. Francisco speedily put on those features 
 which distinguish a busy port. 
 
 So rapid have been these transactions that 
 they have scarcely yet been narrated in an 
 authentic form. It would not be safe to say 
 
495 
 
 CALLAO. 
 
 CALOTYPE. 
 
 496 
 
 how much gold dust has left California, nor 
 how many adventurers have arrived there, for 
 both have been exaggerated. St. Francisco 
 has been nearly destroyed by fire three or 
 four times during its brief existence ; yet it 
 rises from the ashes, after each conflagration, 
 with increased vigour and importance. ~\Ve 
 may simply jot down two or three facts which 
 serve to illustrate the present position of this 
 remarkable place. 
 
 During one week in 1850 gold-dust to the 
 value of three million dollars was shipped 
 and exported from St. Francisco. In August 
 of the same year the monthly shipment was 
 about 8,000,000 dollars, of which gold-dust 
 to the value of 3,000,000 dollars was trans- 
 mitted to England, the rest being consigned 
 chiefly to the United States. On September 
 15, 1850, there were in that port no less than 
 684 vessels of 181,021 tons, belonging to 
 twenty-one different nations ; 496 vessels be- 
 longed to the United States, 86 to England, 
 all other countries much smaller numbers; 
 some of the vessels, small in size, had crossed 
 the whole breadth of the Pacific from Aus- 
 tralia and New Zealand, with the view of ex- 
 changing their produce for gold-dust. In the 
 first two weeks of October, in the same year, 
 94 vessels arrived at St. Francisco, besides 
 the mail steamers which ply between that 
 town and Panama, and besides 10 other 
 steamers which now ply between St. Francisco 
 and the smaller Californian ports. Between 
 40,000 and 50,000 letters now cross the isthmus 
 of Panama every month en route from the 
 Atlantic nations to California, and an equal 
 number in the opposite direction. 
 
 As might reasonably be expected under 
 such circumstances, recklessness and mad 
 speculation have done much injury at Cali- 
 fornia ; but the United States government 
 has shown energy in establishing steady and 
 useful laws and institutions in its newly- 
 acquired territory ; and, whatever may be said 
 of the Industry of all nations, the Commerce 
 of all nations is likely to be instructively illus- 
 trated at California. 
 
 CALLAO, a small sea-port town in Peru, 
 derives all its commercial importance from 
 being the port for Lima, which is seven miles 
 distant. The Peruvian ships in 1840 amounted 
 to 57 (6637 tons) ; in the same year the cus- 
 tom duties on British goods, chiefly cottons 
 and linens, amounted to 240,000/. ; and the 
 total value of British manufactures sent to 
 Peru through Callao and Valparaiso was 
 1,230,0002. The exports from Callao consist 
 of bark, bullion, specie, copper in ore and in 
 bars, raw cotton, hides, &c. The value of the 
 exports to Europe and the United States in 
 
 1840 was 948,346/., being an increase of 
 315,476/. on the preceding year. There has 
 since been a small annual increase in these 
 quantities. 
 
 CALOMEL. [MERCUKY.] 
 
 CALOPHYLLUM is the name of a genus 
 of trees from which much useful oil is procured. 
 The Calophylhon Inophyllnmis a native of the 
 East Indies, and often attains a height of 90 
 or 100 feet. It has large handsome leaves 
 like those of a water-lily, snow-white fragrant 
 flowers, and a fruit about the size of a walnut. 
 The nuts afford a fixed oil, which is expressed 
 and used for burning in lamps. Another species, 
 the Calaba-tree, attains a height of 60 feet, 
 and is a native of the Cai-ibee Islands. It has 
 white sweet-scented flowers, and a green fruit 
 omething like the Cornelian cherry, which 
 contains a white solid kernel. An oil is ex- 
 pressed from the seed for domestic uses and 
 for burning in lamps. The timber is used for 
 various purposes, especially for staves and 
 cask-headings. 
 
 CALOTYPE. The patent for Mr. Fox 
 Talbot's Calotype, obtained in 1841, contained 
 specifications relating to many departments 
 of photographic operation ; but the proper 
 calotypic process is what we are here con- 
 cerned with. The operation comprises three 
 stages to prepare the paper ; to produce the 
 negative picture ; and to produce the positive 
 picture. The best and smoothest writing- 
 paper is washed on one side with a camel- 
 hair pencil dipped in a solution of 100 grains 
 of crystallised nitrate of silver in six ounces 
 of distilled water. The paper is dried slowly, 
 and then dipped for a minute or two in a so- 
 lution of 500 grains of iodide of potassium in 
 a pint of water ; it is then dipped in water and 
 dried. Immediately before using, this paper 
 is washed on the prepared side with a solution 
 of 100 grains of nitrate of silver in two ounces 
 of distilled water, combined with one-fourth of 
 its volume of acetic acid, and an equal quan- 
 tity of tincture of galls or of a saturated solu- 
 tion of crystallised gallic acid. The paper is 
 dried a third time, and is then ready for use. 
 In taking the calotype picture, the paper is 
 placed in a camera obscura, where it speedily 
 receives the image, which sometimes requires 
 to be brought out by a wash of gallo- nitrate 
 of silver. To fix the image, the paper is 
 dipped into water, partly dried with blotting- 
 paper, and washed with a solution of 100 
 grains of bromide of potassium in 8 or 10 
 ounces of water, after which it is again washed 
 and dried. The imago or picture thus pro- 
 duced is a negative one, the lights and darks 
 being reversed. To produce & positive picture 
 from this, a second sheet of calotype paper, 
 
497 
 
 CALUMET. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 498 
 
 or of common photographic paper, is placed 
 in contact with the picture ; a board is placed 
 beneath, and a plate of glass above them, and all 
 are screwed closely together. On placing them 
 in the sunshine for some time, a picture with 
 the lights and shadows in their natural posi- 
 tion is produced on the second paper ; and 
 this duplicate is to be fixed in the same man- 
 ner as the original picture. Many calotype 
 positive pictures may be taken from one 
 negative picture. 
 
 In another method, Mr. Talbot produces a 
 positive calotype at once, without the inter- 
 vention of a negative one. A sheet of calo- 
 type paper is exposed to the daylight until its 
 surface is slightly browned. It is then dipped 
 into a solution of iodide of potassium ; on 
 being taken out of this solution the paper is 
 dipped into water and partially dried. It is 
 next placed in the camera, where, in the 
 course of five or ten minutes, the image be- 
 comes impressed upon it. The paper, when 
 removed from the camera, is washed Avith 
 gallo-nitrate of silver, and warmed. A posi- 
 tive picture then makes its appearance on the 
 surface. 
 
 CALUMET, the name given by the North 
 American Indians to a pipe for smoking to- 
 bacco. The calumet, or pipe of peace, is a 
 large tobacco pipe, with a bowl of polished 
 marble, and a stem two feet and a half long, 
 made of strong reed, adorned with feathers 
 and locks of women's hair. When it is used 
 in treaties and embassies, the Indians fill the 
 calumet with the best tobacco, and, presenting 
 it to those with whom they have concluded 
 any great affair, smoke out of it after them. 
 
 CALVADOS, a department in France, which 
 formerly constituted part of Normandy, is a 
 great cider district, the annual produce being 
 about 30,000,000 gallons. The best kind is 
 that made in the Auge district ; it will keep 
 for years and contains a large proportion ol 
 alcohol. Melons, haricots, onions, &c., are 
 extensively cultivated. The department con- 
 tains about 1,000 wind and water mills, 150 
 foundries and furnaces, and about as many 
 factories. Building stone, marble, slate, brick, 
 potter's clay, and iron, are found. Marl 
 abounds in the arrondissement of Lisieux 
 and Pont-1'Eveque, and is used for manure. 
 Coal mines are worked at Littry, in which 
 several steam engines are employed. 
 
 The chief industrial products of the depart- 
 ment are cotton and woollen yarn, fine and 
 coarse woollen cloths, linen, flannel, blankets, 
 shawls, calicoes, lace, porcelain and cutlery. 
 Throughout the department the manufacture 
 of lace alone gives employment to 50,000 per- 
 sons, and the value of the lace annually ex- 
 
 ported amounts to many millions of francs. 
 The department contains several paper-mills, 
 ugar refineries, tanneries, oil-mills, and es- 
 tablishments for the manufacture of chemical 
 products and bleaching linen. The com- 
 mercp consists of its industrial products, to- 
 gether with horses, fat cattle, butter, cheese, 
 poultry, cider, honey, spirits distilled from 
 cider, clover seed, hemp, wood, oil, &c. The 
 imports are iron, wool, raw cotton, hides, and 
 colonial produce. Great quantities of lobsters, 
 oysters, and other fish, are taken along the 
 coast and conveyed to the markets of Paris 
 and of the interior. 
 
 GAMBOGE, or GAMBOGE. This gum- 
 resin was introduced into Europe by Clusius 
 about 1603. From the bruised leaves and 
 young branches of Stalagmites cambogioides 
 flows a yellow juice, which is received in cocoa- 
 nut shells or earthen vessels ; it is then al- 
 lowed to thicken, and afterwards formed into 
 rolls ; this is the finest sort called the Pipe Cam- 
 bo(/e of Siam. A portion is formed into round 
 cakes, which are either entire or have a hole 
 in the centre ; this is the Cake Gamboge of 
 Siam. 
 
 At the ordinary temperature of the air, cam- 
 boge, from whatever source obtained, has little 
 smell, but when heated gives out a very pecu- 
 liar one. Taken into the mouth it has scarcely 
 any perceptible taste, but upon being chewed 
 for some time it causes a sharp and somewhat 
 acrid feeling, ending in a sweet sensation, ac- 
 companied with dryness in the mouth. It 
 excites afterwards a flow of saliva, which is 
 coloured yellow. It is almost entirely soluble 
 in alcohol, and is not precipitated from solu- 
 tion by the addition of water. With water it 
 forms an emulsion, in which the resin is kept 
 suspended by the gum. It is soluble in the alka- 
 lies. The resin, which forms three-fourths of its 
 weight, may be considered its active principle. 
 
 Gamboge is much used in medicine, espe- 
 cially in quack medicines ; but it is more ex- 
 tensively used as a pigment. 
 
 CAMBRIC. This is one of the numerous 
 varieties of flax or linen manufactures, which 
 derived its name from having been first made 
 at Cambray. It bears much the same relation 
 to linen that muslin does to calico, being a 
 very fine and thin fabric. Scotch cambric, 
 now largely manufactured, is a kind of imita- 
 tion cambric, made from fine hard -twisted 
 cotton. The French material called batiste is 
 a sort of Scotch cambric, to which dyes and 
 printed colours are applied. 
 
 In 1848 about 33,000 pieces of French cam- 
 bric and lawn were imported. In 1849 the 
 quantity sank to 29,000 pieces. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE is so much more closely 
 
499 
 
 CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 
 
 CAMEO. 
 
 500 
 
 associated with education than with trade, 
 that we can have little to say concerning it in 
 this place. It has however a considerable 
 trade in coals and grain ; and a large quantity 
 of butter is conveyed from Norfolk and the 
 Isle of Ely to London, where it obtains the 
 name of Cambridge butter. 
 
 CAMBRIDGESHIKE is so purely an agri- 
 eultural county (except in relation to the straw- 
 plait manufacture, and one or two others), 
 that we need merely say a few words concern- 
 ing its fens. When these fens are drained 
 [BEDFORD LEVEL], the first operation is to 
 pare, by means of a paring plough, the surface 
 on which coarse grass and sedge are growing 
 in a matted state. The sods are then burnt, 
 and reduced to a carbonised mass, which, 
 when cool, is spread over the ground. This 
 is immediately ploughed in, and the land is 
 sown with cole-seed or rape, of which an 
 abundant crop is invariably produced. The 
 cole is fed off with sheep, the land ploughed 
 once, and oats are sown, which produce as- 
 tonishing crops ; after which the land is avail- 
 able for the rotation culture. Rape-cake is 
 much used as manure. The uncultivated fens 
 yield turf, reeds, and osiers. 
 
 CAMEL. The camel is an important ad- 
 junct to trade and commerce in tropical sandy 
 regions. The organization of this animal 
 proves its adaptation for the arid deserts over 
 which it is destined to travel. The pads, or 
 sole-cushions of the spreading feet, divided 
 into two toes without being externally sepa- 
 rated, which buoy up, as it were, the whole 
 bulk with their expansive elasticity from sink- 
 ing in the sand, on which the animal advances 
 with silent step the nostrils so formed that 
 the animal can close them at will, so as 
 to exclude the drift sand and the parching 
 simoom the beetling brow, and long lashes 
 which fringe the upper lid, so as to screen the 
 eyes from the glare of the sun the cleft pre- 
 hensile upper lip, and the powerful upper in- 
 cisor teeth, for browsing on the dry tough 
 prickly shrubs of the desert the hunch acting 
 as a reservoir of nutriment against a time of 
 long abstinence and the assemblage of water 
 tanks in the stomach these are characteristics 
 without which the ' ship of the desert' could 
 not render his invaluable services to man. 
 
 The Bactrian, or two-humped camel, occurs 
 .throughout Centi-al Asia; it is the patient, 
 laborious, and willing slave of the Turcomans, 
 travelling over sandy deserts, and administer- 
 ing to the wants of a wandering people. The 
 Arabian, or single-humped camel, or drome- 
 dary, is spread through Egypt, Arabia, Syria, 
 North Africa, Persia, India, (fee., and its his- 
 tory is interwoven with that of the patriarchs 
 
 of old, nor is it now less important than in 
 those early days. Caravans of camels still 
 traverse the desert, conveying merchandise. 
 The load of a camel is from 500 to 600 Ibs., 
 and it will move at the rate of nearly 3 miles 
 an hour, regularly as clock-work, day after 
 day, for eight hours daily. It lies dow^. rest- 
 ing on the callosities of its breast and i; mbs, 
 to be loaded and unloaded. In the oriental 
 caravans some of the animals are loaded with 
 water skins, some with merchandise, others 
 carry the food and necessaries of the pilgrims 
 and their own provender, and others are 
 mounted by riders. 
 
 The camel is not only serviceable as a beast 
 of burden ; its milk and flesh are both in re 
 quisition, especially the former. Of its hair 
 the Arab weaves clothing, and even tents ; 
 his belt and sandals are the produce of its 
 hide ; and the dung affords him fuel. From 
 the soot, sublimated in closed vessels, is pro- 
 cured sal ammoniac, formerly imported into 
 this country from Egypt. Camel's hair is im- 
 ported into this country for the manufacture 
 of pencils for the painter ; that from Persia 
 is the best. There are three qualities, black, 
 red, and gray; the black is most valuable, 
 next the red ; the gray is very inferior. 
 
 CAMEO, or CAMAIEU, is a gem worked 
 in rilievo. The art of engraving on stone is 
 of high antiquity ; but it was for the most 
 part confined to intaglio, or indenting. It has 
 been supposed that the Etruscans had the 
 art of engraving hard stones before it was 
 known to the Greeks ; many engraved stones, 
 however, that are called Etruscan are doubt- 
 less early Greek, as may be inferred from then* 
 subjects. 
 
 The age of Augustus is remarkable for the 
 excellence of the gem-engravers who were 
 then living. One of the finest camei pre- 
 served in the collections of Europe is the 
 Apotheosis of Augustus, in the collection at 
 Vienna. In the French collection, the sar- 
 donyx of Tiberius is one of the best known. 
 We possess in this country some camei of 
 first-rate excellence, but they are chiefly in 
 private collections. 
 
 The workers in cameo not only exercised 
 their skill in the cutting or engraving, but 
 also in so arranging their subject and the 
 composition of its details as to make the dif- 
 ferent colours or zones of the stones answer 
 for parts of the design. The ancients were 
 so partial to this variously coloured work, that 
 they even imitated the material in glass ; and 
 we possess in this country one of the most 
 beautiful specimens of their ability in the 
 Barberini, or Portland Vase, now in the 
 British Museum. 
 
501 
 
 CA'MERA LUCID A. 
 
 CAMP, ROMAN. 
 
 G02 
 
 At the decline of the Eoman Empire, gem 
 engraving fell with the other arts ; and it was 
 not till a late period that the taste and muni- 
 ficence of the Florentine family of Medic" 
 caused its revival in Italy. It was much en 
 couraged in the fifteenth century, and the 
 sixteenth century- can also hoast of several 
 very distinguished artists in this class. In 
 the succeeding century there was a consider- 
 able falling off, hut in the eighteenth the art 
 again rose. 
 
 Eome is now the chief seat of the art oi 
 cameo-cutting. There are two kinds : those 
 cut in pietra dura, or hard stone, and those 
 cut in shell. The stones most prized for this 
 purpose are oriental onyx and sardonyx pro 
 vided they have at least two different colours 
 in parallel layers. The value of the stone is 
 greatly increased if it has four or five differ- 
 ently coloured parallel layers, provided that 
 the layers are so thin as to assist in marking 
 the device of the cameo. For example, a 
 specimen of stone which had four parallel 
 layers might he useful for a cameo of Minerva ; 
 where the ground would he (say) dark gray, 
 the face light, the bust and helmet black, and 
 the crest over the helmet brown or gray. All 
 such camei are wrought by a lapidary's lathe 
 with pointed instruments of steel, and by 
 means of diamond dust. Shell cameos are 
 cut from large shells found on the African 
 and Brazilian coasts, and generally show two 
 layers, one white, and the other either pale 
 coffee colour or deep reddish orange. The 
 subject is exit with small steel chisels out of 
 the white portion of the shell. The gem 
 camei are far more costly than those made of 
 shells. 
 
 At the Medieval Exhibition of 1850, very 
 beautiful specimens of the cameo were ex- 
 hibited in sardonyx and blood stone. 
 
 Camei to the value of G,502. were imported 
 from France in 1847. 
 
 CA'MERA LU'CIDA and CAMERA OB- 
 SCU'RA (light and dark chambers) are names 
 given to two methods, very like in principle, 
 of throwing images of external objects upon a 
 plane or curved surface, for the purpose of 
 drawing or amusement. 
 
 The Camera Obscura now in use has, oc- 
 casionally, the form of a box. In front is a 
 sliding tube, carrying a convex lens, through 
 which the light from distant objects passes to 
 a mirror at the opposite extremity of the box : 
 the mirror is inclined to the horizon at an 
 angle of 45 degrees, and from thence the light 
 is reflected upwards to a glass plate in a hori- 
 zontal position. The rays in the pencils con- 
 verge at the upper surface of this plate, which, 
 on that surface only, is ground rough, and 
 
 thus the images of distant objects are visible 
 upon it, a shade over the plate preventing the 
 direct light from interfering with them. 
 
 A camera obscura for exhibition is generally 
 made in a room with a conical roof and an 
 aperture at the top. Above this aperture is a 
 revolving plane mirror inclined at 45, and 
 reflecting pencils downwards. A convex lens 
 causes these pencils to converge upon a sur- 
 face of plaster of Paris, properly curved. The 
 mirror revolves about a vertical axis, thus 
 allowing all the compass points of a landscape 
 to be successively thrown on the surface. 
 
 Portable camera obscuras are often made 
 in a similar manner, the mirror and lens 
 being in a sliding case at the top of a pyra- 
 midal box, and the image being received on 
 paper laid at the bottom. Apertures on one 
 side of the box allow the spectator to see the 
 image and introduce a hand for the purpose 
 of drawing on the paper. 
 
 A camera obscura is an indispensable aid 
 in most forms of photographic operation. 
 
 The Camera Lucida was invented by Dr. 
 Wollaston. It consists of a metal stand sup- 
 porting a glass prism, of which one angle is 
 135. The action of the instrument is such, 
 that when rays of light fall horizontally on 
 one side of the prism, they suffer reflection 
 within the glass, and are thrown upwards to 
 the eye through an opening in a plate which 
 excludes aU except the end of the prism, and 
 a part of a sheet of paper or other flat surface 
 placed beneath the prism. Hence the image 
 of an object is thrown towards the visible part 
 of the paper, and, the eye viewing both the 
 image and the sheet of paper (with different 
 parts of the pupil, however, which creates a 
 difficulty in using this instrument), the ob- 
 server is enabled to trace the object upon the 
 paper. 
 
 The image of the distant object must be 
 made to coincide with that of the paper ; and, 
 for this purpose, since, except when the object 
 is very remote, the rays in the pencil are in a 
 divergent state, a convex lens is interposed 
 setween the prism and the paper. 
 
 CAMP, ROMAN. In a Roman camp the 
 standard was fixed in the centre, and around 
 ,his, within a space of 200 feet each way, was 
 ,he prsetorium or place of the general's quar- 
 ters, on one side of which was the forum, 
 and on the other the space allotted to the 
 stores of the army, with the quarters of the 
 Quaestor, or officer who had charge of the 
 military chest. Further, towards the right 
 and left were the cavalry and infantry, form- 
 ng the general's body-guard, and the volun- 
 teers in his service. This line, which in length 
 may be estimated at 1650 feet, constituted the 
 
303 
 
 CAMPANILE. 
 
 CAMPHINE LAMPS, 
 
 504 
 
 breadth of the camp. In front of the line 
 were the tents of the legionary tribunes and 
 of those officers among the allies who had 
 corresponding rank. Before the tribunes 
 tents was the principal street, 100 feet wide, 
 stretching across the camp ; and beyond this, 
 extending about 1050 feet towards the front, 
 were the quarters of the soldiers. These were 
 Jivided into two parts by a street 50 feet wide, 
 which ran from the praetorium to the head of 
 the camp. The streets divided the various 
 bodies of soldiers. 
 
 Such was the order of encampment for a 
 consular army, consisting of two legions be- 
 sides the allies ; its whole depth might be 
 about 1700 feet; and there was round the en- 
 campment a clear interval 200 feet broad, 
 between the tents and the entrenchments. 
 These consisted of a rampart of earth and 
 stones, and a ditch, through which were four 
 gates or entrances : the Praetorian gate, in 
 front of the camp, opposite the Prsetorium ; 
 the Decuman gate, at the back of the camp, 
 and a gate at each end of the Principia or 
 principal street. 
 
 CAMPANI'LE, an Italian term signifying 
 ^ tower for bells. The word is derived from 
 campan-a, ' a bell.' Many of the Italian churches 
 have these towers or campanili separated from 
 the body of the church. Among the most 
 yemarkable are those of Cremona, Florence, 
 Ravenna, Padua, Bologna, and Pisa. The 
 leaning tower of Pisa is a campanile ; it is 
 150 feet high, and 13 feet out of the perpen- 
 dicular. The campanile of Cremona is the 
 highest hi Italy, having an elevation of 395 
 feet. The campanile of Florence, which is 
 207 feet high, was constructed by Giotto in 
 1324, and is considered the most elegant cam- 
 panile in Italy ; the facade of the tower is in 
 the Gothic style, mixed with somewhat of the 
 Italian taste in architecture, which soon after 
 prevailed over the Gothic. The cathedral at 
 Seville has a fine campanile 350 feet high, 
 which was built in 1568 by Guever the 
 Moor. 
 
 CAMPA'NULA. Many plants belonging 
 to this genus are usefully applied. The cam- 
 panula edulis is a native of Arabia Felix ; its 
 root is thick and sapid, and contains a consi- 
 derable quantity of starch ; it is on this ac- 
 count frequently eaten by children, as are the 
 roots of many other species. Of the campa- 
 nula rotundifolia, or blue-bell, the juice of the 
 flowers makes a very good blue ink, and when 
 mixed with alum a green one. The roots of 
 this species also may be eaten. The campa- 
 nula rapunculus is much cultivated in France 
 and Italy, and sometimes in Britain, for the 
 sak of the roots, w'iich are foiled tender, and 
 
 eaten hot with sauce, or cold with vinegar and 
 pepper. 
 
 CAMPHINE LAMPS. Camphine is very 
 pure spirit of turpentine, obtained by the dis- 
 tillation of common turpentine. Turpentine 
 is very cheap in the United States, and cam- 
 phine is there much used for lighting ; and 
 when the duty on turpentine was reduced in 
 England a few years ago, the use of camphine 
 became familiarized among us one of the 
 many proofs how much influence fiscal laws 
 have upon manufactures. 
 
 The light produced from camphine is very 
 pure and brilliant ; and the modes of applying 
 the liquid to this purpose have given rise to 
 various forms of lamp which are now familiar ; 
 such as the ' Vesta,' the ' Imperial,' the ' Vic- 
 toria,' the 'Gem,' the ' Paragon,' and many 
 others. All lamp-oils contain some oxygen, 
 which neutralizes a part of the hydrogen and 
 carbon; and also some oxide or other sub- 
 stance which damps the brilliancy of the 
 flame; whereas rectified camphine, being 
 composed almost wholly of hydrogen and car- 
 bon, contains nothing but what is susceptible 
 of combustion. The best camphine is ob- 
 tained, as stated, from turpentine ; but tar and 
 naphtha, if subjected to careful distillation 
 and rectification, will yield very fair cam- 
 phine. 
 
 In using camphine for lamps, certain pre - 
 cautions are necessary. Camphine is so ex- 
 tremely inflammable, that the arrangements of 
 a common oil-lamp would not be available 
 without danger of accident. All the camphme 
 lamps present in common a reservoir, gene- 
 rally of glass, placed between the supporting 
 pillar and the burner ; the spirit is contained 
 in this reservoir, and a cotton wick dips down 
 into it. The chief points in which the various 
 amphine lamps differ are in the arrangement 
 for admitting air to the flame. In Young's 
 'Vesta' lamp, the cotton wick hangs down 
 from the burner into the camphine, so as to 
 supply itself by capillary attraction, without 
 the intervention of any metallic or heat-con- 
 ducting substance. 
 
 As a question of art-manufactures, many 
 camphine lamps are now made of veiy ele- 
 gant forms. The last Birmingham Exposi- 
 tion was rich in specimens ; and we may rea- 
 sonably expect that the Great Exhibition of 
 1851 will not be deficient in this respect. 
 
 A very elegant application has been made 
 of the gas produced from camphine. The gas 
 can be made with a small apparatus, and with 
 little difficulty ; and the jet which it produces 
 is very pure and brilliant. The camphine is 
 heated in a retort set in a small furnace ; and 
 the gas, escaping from the retort, is purified 
 
fi05 
 
 CAMPHOR. 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 506 
 
 by passing through certain liquids. This gas 
 has been found useful for lighting railway 
 stations and other buildings, too- far distant 
 from ordinary gas-works. 
 
 CAMPHOE is the stearopten (or one of 
 the principles arising from the separation of 
 the volatile oil) of two trees the one Cinna- 
 momum camphora, a native of Japan, China, 
 and Cochin China ; the other, Dipterocarpus 
 camphora, a native of Borneo and Sumatra. 
 From these it is procured by different pro- 
 cesses. It exists in every part root, stem, 
 branches, and leaves of the Cinnamomum 
 camphora, which is chopped into pieces suffi- 
 ciently small to be thrown into iron vessels : 
 these vessels are afterwards covered with 
 earthern hoods, in which are placed rice-straw 
 and rushes, heat being subsequently gradually 
 applied. The camphor is volatilised, and after- 
 wards condenses on the straws, rushes, &c. 
 This, after being purified from the intermix- 
 ture of straws, is found in commerce under 
 the name of crude camphor. 
 
 From the Dipterocarpus camphora it is not 
 procured by distillation, but exists in a solid 
 form in the stem of the tree. In that part of 
 the stem which should be occupied by the 
 pith it is found along with camphor-oil, and 
 on the trunk being split open the camphor is 
 found in the centre, in pieces about a foot 
 long, which is much prized and used in the 
 East, but is not sent to Europe. 
 
 Camphor is an organic substance of a pecu- 
 liar kind, representing the volatile oils in a 
 solid state. It is so volatile, that on exposure 
 to the air it is entirely volatilised, and leaves 
 no residuum. It is insoluble in water, but is 
 easily dissolved in spirit, is inflammable, and 
 has an aromatic smell and taste. It is much 
 employed in medicine. 
 
 Two substances, called camphor oil and 
 camphoric acid, are obtained from camphor : 
 they are not much employed. 
 
 CAMWOOD, is a red wood, the colouring 
 matter of which is similar to that of Nicara- 
 gua or peach wood. It is used in dyeing, and 
 also in cabinet work. It is brought chiefly 
 from Sierra Leone. 
 
 CANADA. This large country, with its 
 magnificent lakes, cannot fail to rise steadily 
 in commercial importance. The mineral re- 
 sources are immense, but till very recently 
 they have been almost wholly neglected. Mar- 
 bles and serpentine are quite common. Plum 
 bago, ores of antimony, lead, iron, and copper 
 are frequently met with. The mountains north 
 of the Saguenay abound in iron to such an 
 extent as to influence the mariner's compass. 
 The iron mines of St. Maurice have long been 
 celebrated for the excellence of their yield, 
 
 and metal not at all inferior is cheaply pro- 
 duced at Charlotteville near Lake Erie, and at 
 the Marmora works about 32 miles N. of the 
 Bay of Quinte. The dreary wastes northward 
 of Lake Superior contain stores of copper, 
 perhaps unsurpassed any where in the world. 
 At the Coppermine river 300 miles from the 
 Sault de St. Marie the metal occurs in great 
 masses in a pure state. Gold, silver, and tin 
 have also been discovered in the same region. 
 The northern and western shores of Ontario 
 abound in salt springs, some of which (Stony 
 Creek and St. Catherine's) are very produc- 
 tive. The north shore of Lake Erie exhibits 
 immense beds of gypsum which are quarried 
 for agricultural purposes. 
 
 Copper mining is now being prosecuted with 
 great energy on the banks of Lake Superior. 
 If the accounts recently received should prove 
 correct, Canada will far excel every other part 
 of the world in the richness of the copper ore ; 
 indeed it seems as if the produce should 
 scarcely be termed ore : it is almost pure 
 native copper. 
 
 The variety of trees found in the vast Cana- 
 dian forests is astonishing, and it is supposed 
 that many kinds still remain unknown. Of 
 all these none is more beautiful and useful 
 than the maple, the adopted emblem of Cana- 
 dian nationality. Its timber is valuable for 
 many purposes, and large quantities of excel- 
 lent sugar are made from its sap. The other 
 forest trees most prevalent are beech, birch, 
 elm, bass, ash, oak, pine, hickory, butternut, 
 balsam, hazel, hemlock, cherry, cedar, cypress, 
 fir, poplar, sycamore, whitewood, willow, and 
 spruce. Timber and ashes, the raw produce 
 of the forests, constitute the chief exports of 
 the province. An immense quantity of oak 
 and pine is annually sent down to Montreal 
 and Quebec. The American ashes contain a 
 larger proportion of pure potash than those 
 of Dantzic or Eussia. 
 
 The total breadth of land under culture in 
 Lower Canada in 1844 was 2,802,317 acres. The 
 number of inhabited houses in Lower Canada 
 in the same year was 108,794 ; the number 
 building 1652; vacant 4115. The following 
 particulars, given in the returns of that year, 
 throw some further light upon the habits and 
 occupations of the people : Lbs. of maple 
 sugar 2,272,457 ; number of taverns, 1052 ; 
 stores where spirituous liquors are sold, 808 ; 
 grist mills, 422 ; oatmeal mills, 108 ; barley 
 mills, 45 ; saw mills, 911 ; oil mills, 14 ; ful- 
 ling mills, 153; carding mills, 169 ; threshing 
 mills, 469 ; paper mills, 8 ; iron works, 99 ; 
 triphammers, 18 ; nail factories, 6 ; distille- 
 ries, 36 ; breweries, 30 ; tanneries, 335 ; pot 
 and pearl ash factories, 540 ; other factories, 
 
5or 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 CANAL. 
 
 GOft 
 
 80. There were in Lower Canada in 1844, 
 469,851 cattle, 146,729 horses, 602,821 sheep, 
 and 19 7 ,9:io swine. 
 
 In Upper Canada in 1848 the number of 
 acres occupied was 8,613,591. The lands re- 
 turned as under cultivation were 1,780,152 
 acres arable, and 766,768 pasture, or 2,546,920 
 in all. The crops of Upper Canada in 1847 
 were Wheat, 7,558,773 bushels, (an increase 
 of more than 50 per cent, in five years) ; barley, 
 rye, and buckwheat, 1,394,593; oats, 7,055,730; 
 maize, 1,137,555; potatoes, 4,751,331; 
 peas, 1,753,846. In 1848 there were in 
 Upper Canada 565,845 neat cattle, 151,389 
 horses, 484,241 hogs, 833,807 sheep. The 
 average annual yield of maple sugar in Upper 
 Canada is 4,140,667 Ibs., which is very nearly 
 6 Ibs. for each inhabitant, no portion of this 
 produce being exported. There were sent to 
 market in 1848 butter, 3,380,406 Ibs. ; cheese, 
 668,357 Ibs. ; beef or pork, 99,231 ban-els. In 
 the census returns of 1848 are enumerated 
 553 grist mills, 96 oat and barley mills, 1584 
 saw mills, 239 fulling mills, 138 distilleries, 
 100 breweries, 354 tanneries, 1,200 asheries, 
 67 woollen factories, 10 shingle factories, 105 
 foundries. 
 
 From the United Kingdom Canada receives 
 coals, metals, cordage, East India produce, 
 and the various kinds of British manufac- 
 tures ; from the British West Indies, sugar, 
 molasses, coffee, rum, and hard woods ; from 
 the United States, beef and pork, biscuit, rice, 
 and tobacco. The exports of Canada are to 
 the United Kingdom, pot and pearl ashes, 
 wheat and flour, and timber; to the West 
 Indies, beef and pork, beer, grain, and flour ; 
 to the United States, forest produce, wheat, 
 flour, butter, wool, live stock, &c. The total 
 exports of the colony in 1847 amounted to 
 2,612,852*. 
 
 The exports of British and Irish produce 
 and manufactures to Canada, in 1849, 
 amounted to the large sum of 1,324.931/. It 
 may be interesting to note some of the chief 
 items : 
 
 Apparel 
 ott 
 
 Hardware and cutlery 
 Iron and steel 
 Linen goods ... 
 Silk poods ..... 
 Woollen goods 
 
 111,772. 
 357,626. 
 
 64,47I>. 
 20J),3!>1. 
 
 52,527. 
 
 5(1,624. 
 219,630. 
 
 The commercial prosperity of Canada will 
 be greatly increased by the Great Western 
 Kailway, now being constructed from Detroit 
 to Niagara : a portion of 75 miles, from Ha- 
 milton to London, is under contract ; and the 
 works have been pushed forward with great 
 energy during 1850. 
 
 In no part of our colonies has the Great 
 
 Exhibition of 1851 been welcomed with more 
 heartiness than in Canada. As a sort of test 
 of their manufacturing ability, the colonists 
 held an Industrial Exhibition of their own 
 at Montreal, in October 1850, at which the 
 manufactures filled two vast rooms. Hard- 
 ware, cutlery, cottons, woollens, linens, silks, 
 earthenware, and other goods of Canadian 
 manufacture ; corn, beef, pork, butter, cheese, 
 maple - sugar, honey, hams, of Canadian 
 growth; a veneer of bird's-eye maple, 100 
 feet long, sawn from a single log ; soft and 
 beautiful leather made from porpoise-skins ; 
 clear and bright oil obtained from the same 
 animal these were some of the specimens in 
 the Montreal Exhibition. Mr. Logan, a Cana- 
 dian geologist, has been employed to classify 
 specimens of all the principal minerals found 
 in that country. Household furniture, of 
 Canadian forest -wood, is to be transmitted 
 to London. During the last week in 1850 
 the ship Pearl arrived hi London, bring- 
 ing the first consignment of Canadian speci- 
 mens for the Great Exhibition, in 107 pack- 
 
 CANAL. Ancient Egypt was intersected 
 with canals, which were used both for naviga- 
 tion and irrigation ; and in China they have 
 been in use from before the Christian cera. 
 The first made in Europe appears to have 
 been that cut by Xerxes across the low isth- 
 mus of Athos. The Eomans made canals in 
 Italy and in the Low Countries, about the out- 
 lets of the Rhine, and pi'obably also in Britain. 
 In modern Europe canal making commenced 
 in Lombardy between the llth and 13th cen- 
 turies, and in Holland, where they may be 
 compared for number with the public roads 
 of this country, in the 12th century. 
 
 The origin of canal navigation in this 
 country dates from 1755, when an act of par- 
 liament was passed for constructing a canal 
 about 11 miles long from the mouth of San- 
 key-brook, on the Mersey, to Gerrard's Bridge 
 and St. Helen's. The next works of this kind 
 are noticed under BRIDGEWATER, DUKE or ; 
 and BRINDLEY. 
 
 During the remainder of the 18th and the 
 earlier years of the 19th centuries, the con- 
 struction of navigable canals was earned on 
 with vigour, until they were made in England 
 alone to an aggregate length of more than 
 2200 miles. In conjunction with new canals, 
 many rivers have been artificially rendered 
 navigable, so that it has been asserted that no 
 spot in England, south of Durham, is more 
 than 15 miles distant from water communica- 
 tion. The introduction and rapid extension 
 of railways has almost entirely put a stop to 
 the construction of canals, and in several 
 
S09 
 
 CANAL. 
 
 CANAL. 
 
 510 
 
 Instances canals either have been, or are about 
 to be, drained and converted into railways; 
 but it is by no means indisputably proved that 
 the newer and more rapid mode of transit can 
 compete with canals in the transit of heavy 
 goods, especially as competition has led to a 
 very great reduction in canal charges, and to 
 improved modes of conducting the carrying 
 trade. 
 
 In cutting a canal where the soil consists of 
 sand, gravel, loose rock, or other matter 
 through which the water will percolate, the 
 floor and sides of the canal must be covered 
 with an impervious lining, called puddling, 
 which generally consists of light loam and 
 coarse sand or fine gravel, well mixed with 
 water, and applied, in a semi-fluid state, in 
 three or more successive strata, each carefully 
 worked into the preceding, to the thickness of 
 about three feet. The puddling is then co- 
 vered with common soil to the depth of 18 or 
 24 inches. Strong clay is not suitable for 
 puddling, on account of its tendency to shrink 
 and crack, nor is any soil containing roots or 
 other organic matter which would decay and 
 leave cavities. As a further security against 
 the escape of water, mud or puddle-ditches or 
 gutters are sometimes formed along the sides 
 of the canal. They are ditches about three 
 feet wide, dug perpendicularly to a depth 
 below the bottom of the canal, and gradually 
 filled with puddling stuff to a few inches above 
 the top water-line. When the banks are raised 
 above the natural level, if the soil be of a 
 porous nature, their stability will be aided by 
 covering them with turf. 
 
 Canals are supplied with water from springs 
 and rivulets, and reservoirs are occasionally 
 necessary. Steam-engines may in some cases 
 be indispensable for raising water to supply 
 these reservoirs ; and many arrangements are 
 necessary with the owners of mills and others 
 affected by any interference with the waters 
 from which a supply may be taken. Puddling, 
 embanking, and other engineering operations 
 may be needed in improving the streams 
 adopted as feeders ; and in some cases brick 
 culverts or iron pipes may have to be used to 
 conduct the supply. Where the feeders have 
 to be- conveyed across a valley or another 
 stream, cast-iron pipes may be found very ad- 
 vantageous. 
 
 When the canal passes through an uneven 
 country it must frequently be conducted in a 
 very tortuous course to maintain the level ; 
 and deep cuttings, tunnels, embankments and 
 arched or iron aqueducts must be introduced 
 where the level of the canal is unavoidably 
 much below or above the natural surface. 
 Canal tunnels are usually of smaller trans- 
 
 verse dimensions than those found on rail- 
 ways, though this is not invariably the case ; 
 but many are of great length. That at Blis- 
 worth, on the Grand Jtmction Canal, is 3080 
 yards, or a mile and three quarters long ; that 
 on the Thames and Medway Canal, which has 
 been recently converted into a railway tunnel, 
 is about two miles and one- eighth ; one on 
 the Leominster Canal at Pensax is 3850 yards, 
 or nearly two miles and a qiiarter ; and the 
 Marsden tunnel, on the Huddersfield Canal, 
 is 5451 yards, or upwards of three miles long. 
 The tunnels or excavations on the Duke of 
 Bridgewater's Canal, which is conducted by 
 several channels into the heart of a coal mine, 
 are said to be altogether eighteen miles long. 
 Telford introduced, for situations where a 
 canal is greatly elevated above the surface, 
 aqueducts formed of cast-iron plates screwed 
 together by means of flanches, and supported 
 upon piers or pillars of masonry. The first 
 aqueduct of this kind was that for carrying 
 the Shrewsbury Canal across the Fern valley 
 at Long Mill ; but the most extensive and re- 
 markable is the Pont-y-Cysylte, which carries 
 the Ellcsmere and Chester Canal over the Dee 
 at an elevation of about ]25 feet above the 
 bed of the river. The trough or aqueduct is 
 988 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 6 feet deep, 
 and it is supported by 19 pairs of stone pil- 
 lars, 52 feet apart. 
 
 Unavoidable changes of level are usually 
 overcome by locks, the invention of which has 
 been disputed by the Dutch and the Vene- 
 tians. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have ap- 
 plied them in 1497 to the Milanese canals. A 
 lock is a chamber of masonry constituting the 
 bed of the canal between the upper and lower 
 levels, at the point where it is desired to trans- 
 fer boats from one to the other, and is fur- 
 nished with gates at each end, and with sluices 
 communicating with both the levels. When 
 a boat is to be passed from the lower to the 
 upper level, the water is suffered to escape 
 from the lock until its surface coincides with 
 the lower level. The gates at the lower end 
 are then opened, and the boat is floated into 
 the lock. The sluices which communicate 
 with the upper level being then opened, the 
 level of the water in the lock is raised until it 
 coincides with the upper level of the canal. 
 The upper gates are then opened, and the 
 boat is floated out of the lock. The operation 
 of lowering a boat is precisely the reverse. 
 Every time the operation is performed, a 
 quantity of water, equal to the contents of the 
 lock, is lost from the upper level. To make 
 this loss as small as possible, locks are made 
 only just wide enough to admit the widest boats 
 used on the canal ; and in some cases two are 
 
511 
 
 CANAL. 
 
 CANAL. 
 
 512 
 
 formed side by side, with a communication 
 between them, so that, whenever one has to 
 be emptied, one-half of its contents may be 
 transferred to the adjoining one, and saved 
 for a future occasion. This arrangement also 
 saves time. Inclined planes, up and down 
 which the boats may be conveyed on trucks 
 or sledges, have in a few cases been used as 
 substitutes for locks. 
 
 The usual mode of moving boats upon a 
 canal is to tow or draw them by means of a 
 long rope, by horses driven along a raised 
 towing-path formed along one bank of the 
 canal. To save expense, the older canal 
 bridges were made so small that it was neces- 
 sary to detach the horses on coming to them, 
 and to get the boats through by manual 
 labour, or by mere impetus ; but on the best 
 modern canals the arches are made large 
 enough to include a towing-path as well as 
 a water-way. The same remark applies to 
 tunnels. In several of the older tunnels the 
 boats were forced through by the laborious 
 and dangerous process of legging, which was 
 performed by men lying upon their backs on 
 the boat, and thrusting their feet against the 
 sides or roof of the tunnel. In some cases, 
 ropes or chains worked by steam-engines 
 have been used for hauling boats through. 
 The attempts made to propel canal-boats by 
 steam-power, have been of questionable suc- 
 cess. Paddle-wheels of every kind disturb the 
 water so much as to injure the banks. In 
 1844 screw propellers were for the first time 
 used on canals in Scotland, on the Union 
 Canal. The steamer was a tug-boat, capable 
 of drawing eight or ten heavily laden barges : 
 it had two Archimedean screws on either side 
 of the bow. A steam tug was tried on the 
 Grand Junction Canal in 1845, provided with 
 a submerged propeller invented by Captain 
 W. H. Taylor, differing somewhat from the 
 screw-propeller. It produced scarcely any 
 wave when going four miles through the 
 water, and gave promise of being a useful 
 means of traction for goods traffic. On the 
 Glasgow, Paisley, and Androssan Canal fly- 
 boats for passengers, drawn by horses at a 
 considerable speed, have been run success- 
 fully : but, amidst conflicting statements, it is 
 difficult to decide whether in any case the or- 
 dinary walking pace of a horse can be ex- 
 ceeded on a canal without a greater loss of 
 power than would attend the like increase of 
 speed upon a railway or perfect road. From 
 experiments made while railways were yet in 
 their infancy, it would appear that, while at a 
 very slow pace heavy goods may be conveyed 
 much more economically on a canal than in 
 any other way, the economy turns in favour 
 
 of a railway where the velocity exceeds four 
 miles per hour, while at high velocities the 
 economy of the canal disappears even as 
 compared with an ordinary road. 
 
 Mr. Watson patented in 1839 a form of 
 canal boat which could be lengthened or 
 shortened according to the length of the lock 
 which it had to pass through. It was divided 
 into two or more separate and independent 
 water-tight portions, connected together by 
 means of hinges or coupling links and bolts ; 
 so that they might either be separated and 
 placed side by side, or the ends turned round 
 and doubled back without being unhinged or 
 uncoupled. 
 
 A singular mode of ascending and descend 
 ing canals was proposed by the late Mr. Smith 
 of Deanston, as a means of saving expense in 
 locks and gates at changes of level. He pro- 
 posed to divide the canal into a series of 
 basins, the water levels of which should be 
 from 12 to 18 inches above each other. The 
 extremity of each basin is so contracted as to 
 permit only the free passage of a boat ; and 
 at this spot is placed a single gate, hinged to 
 a sill across the bottom ; the head pointing at 
 a given angle across the stream, and the late- 
 ral faces pressing against rabbits in the ma- 
 sonry. The gate is constructed of buoyant 
 materials, or made hollow so as to float and 
 36 held up by the pressure of the water in 
 he higher level. On the top of the gate is a 
 roller to precipitate the passage of boats. 
 When a boat is required to pass from a higher 
 
 a lower level, the bow end, which must be 
 armed with an inclined projection, depresses 
 the gate to as great a degree as the depth of 
 the immersion of the boat, and as much water 
 escapes as can pass between its sides and the 
 walls ot the contracted part of the basin. The 
 same action takes place in ascending, except 
 that a certain additional amount of power 
 must be expended to enable the boat to 
 surmount the difference of level between the 
 msins. 
 
 The canals which have been commenced 
 and completed in the United Kingdom, since 
 the year 1800, are thirty in number, and 
 extend about 600 miles. Mr. M'Culloch 
 ives a list of British canals, with the numbers 
 f shareholders in the proprietary of each, 
 the amount and cost of shares, and the price 
 on the 27th of June, 1843. The Erewash, 
 with 231 shares, each 100Z., returned a divi- 
 lend of 40/., each share being then worth 
 675/. The Loughborough, with only seventy 
 100/. shares, the average cost of each share 
 laving been 142/. 17s., had a dividend of 80Z., 
 and a selling price per share of 1,4007. The 
 Stroudwater, with two hundred shares of ISO/., 
 
513 
 
 CAN ABIES. 
 
 CANDIA. 
 
 514 
 
 returned a dividend of 24/., with a price in the 
 market of 490/. On the other hand, the 50/. 
 shares of the Crinan were then selling at 21. 
 The 50/. shares of the North Walsham and 
 Dillon were of the same almost nominal value 
 in the market ; and the shares of the Thames 
 and Medway, with an average cost of 34/. 4s. 3d. 
 were worth but II. Of the cost expended in 
 the construction of the canals of England, 
 there is no means of giving a precise account, 
 but the following calculation seems sufficiently 
 accurate. In round numbers, the 250,000 
 shares of the forty principal canals averaged 
 an expenditure of 1001. per share, the result 
 would be 25,000,OOOZ., and perhaps we may 
 estimate the canals of the United Kingdom 
 to have cost 35,000,OOOZ., or one-tenth as 
 much as the railways already sanctioned. 
 
 In 1846 a canal was opened, under the 
 name of Ludwig's Kanal, from Bamberg to 
 Khleim, in Bavaria. It unites the Khine with 
 the Danube ; ' so that a vessel could cross 
 Europe from Rotterdam to the Black Sea; 
 and in so far it carries out an idea which 
 had been suggested in early times by Char- 
 lemagne. 
 
 One of the most interesting features at the 
 present time, in respect to canals, is the pro- 
 ject for a ship-canal over the isthmus which 
 connects North and South America. A con- 
 vention was signed at Washington in April 
 1850, between the British and United States 
 governments ; by which both governments 
 promise their protection, though no pecuniary 
 support, to a company formed for cutting the 
 Nicaragua ship-canal. 
 
 There has also recently been a revival of 
 the very ancient plan for cutting a ship-canal 
 through the isthmus of Suez, to connect the 
 Mediterranean with the Eed Sea. 
 
 CANAKIES. These islands are fruitful in 
 produce. On an average of the last few years 
 they have produced wheat, maize, barley, mil- 
 let, and rye, 170,000 quarters ; wine, 54,000 
 pipes ; barilla, 300,000 quintals ; and potatoes, 
 500,000 barrels. The chief foreign trade is 
 with England, the United States, and Ham- 
 burg : there is also an active trade between 
 the islands. The number of foreign vessels 
 which visit the islands annually is about 120. 
 The principal ports are Santa- Cruz and Oro- 
 tava in Teneriffe, and Palmas in Gran-Canaria. 
 The exports consist of wine, fruits, corn, ba- 
 rilla, honey, orchilla, moss, fish, cochineal, 
 raw silk, &c. ; the imports are woollen and 
 cotton cloths, linen, silks, colonial produce, 
 brandy, paper, oil, glass, hardware, &c. There 
 are important fisheries along the coast of 
 Africa. 
 
 The exports of British and Irish manufac- 
 
 tures to the Canaries have varied, during the 
 last twenty years, from 20,000/. to 60,0001. per 
 annum. In 1848 they were 45,832J. 
 
 In the chief island, Teneriffe, the quantity 
 of wine annually made amounts to 3,000,000 
 gallons ; the best sort, called Vidonia, which 
 resembles Madeira, is exported to England. 
 Coffee has been cultivated with success ; iron 
 ore is found, and sulphur abounds on the 
 Peak of Teyde. Linen and woollen stuffs are 
 manufactured by each family generally for its 
 own use. Some silk stuffs, earthenware, soap, 
 vermicelli, leather, brandy, ropes from the 
 agave, hats, baskets, and mats of palm leaves, 
 are the other chief articles of /manufacture. 
 
 CANDELA'BRUM, was aii article of fur- 
 niture used by the Romans both in their pub- 
 lic edifices and private dwellings. The can- 
 delabra used in public edifices were usually of 
 a greater size than those for private dwellings, 
 and were made with a large cup at the top to 
 receive a lamp or sufficient unctuous material 
 to feed a large flame. 
 
 In the Townley collection, in the British 
 Museum, there are several bronze candelabra 
 from 12 inches in height to upwards of 5 feet, 
 and of various patterns. They are mostly flat 
 on the top, although some are formed with a 
 cup-like top, as if for a large flame. One has 
 a spike to receive a clay lamp, with a hole in 
 the centre. Two exquisite works of candela- 
 bra, carved in marble, are preserved in the 
 Radcliffe Library, Oxford. 
 
 CANDIA. This once-celebrated island is 
 still rich in produce, though fallen from its 
 high position. It contains extensive woods, 
 pastures, and meadows ; and produces corn, 
 wine, oil, opium, liquorice, flax, cotton, silk, 
 carobs, oranges, lemons, dates, and other 
 southern produce. Besides the common do- 
 mestic animals, game, wild sheep, chamois, 
 goats, bees, and fish are very numerous and 
 abundant. About 600,000 sheep and goats 
 are fed on the mountains; their wool is 
 coarse, their milk is made into cheese. There 
 are in the island about 50,000 horned cattle, 
 which are used chiefly for ploughing : the 
 milk of cows is not used, there being a preju- 
 dice against it. The habitations of the pea- 
 santry are rude in the extreme, and their 
 clothing consists of coarse cottons, linens or 
 woollens, manufactured by each household. 
 The chief manufacture is soap, which is highly 
 esteemed all through the Levant. The prin- 
 cipal exports are oil and soap ; the imports 
 are some British and Austrian manufactured 
 goods and metals, colonial produce and corn. 
 Every article produced on the island pays 
 one-seventh to the government. In lieu of a 
 tax on silk, the mulberry trees are rated. 
 
615 CANDLES AND CANDLESTICKS. 
 
 CANDLES AND CANDLESTICKS. 516 
 
 CANDLES AND CANDLESTICKS. Can- 
 dles are commonly made of tallow ; but wax, 
 spermaceti, stearine, palm oil, and other ma- 
 terials are also employed. A wick, mostly 
 formed of cotton fibres, passes through the 
 candle. The action of this wick is merely 
 mechanical, serving in the first instance by 
 the heat given out during its combustion to 
 fuse that portion of the tallow or wax to which 
 it is more nearly applied, and then to take up 
 through its fibres the fluid matter, which is 
 thus prepared by minute division for decom- 
 position and combustion. In order to ensure 
 the proper burning of the candle, the wick 
 requires to bear a given relation to the thick- 
 ness of the candle. 
 
 There are two ways of making candles, which 
 are distinguished as dipped or mould candles, 
 according to the method employed. Dipped 
 candles are made as follows : Wicks made of 
 spun cotton are selected of a size proper for 
 the intended diameter of the candle, and are 
 cut into the requisite lengths by a simple and 
 convenient machine, being first doubled and 
 twisted so as to leave a loop at one end. Into 
 this loop a smooth cylindrical stick half an 
 inch in diameter and about three feet long is 
 inserted, and several of the cottons or wicks, 
 being so treated and disposed at regular inter- 
 vals on the stick, are ready to receive then* 
 external coating of tallow. The number of 
 cottons ranged upon each stick varies accord- 
 ing to the size of the candles to be made. The 
 tallow, being previously melted and strained, 
 is placed in a kind of trough, into which the 
 wicks are dipped three times for the first * lay;' 
 after being kept a short time over the trough 
 for the wicks to drain, the sticks are placed on 
 a rack from which the candles hang freely, 
 and are thus allowed to harden. The same 
 process is repeated a second and a third time 
 and oftener, according to the required weight 
 of the candles. Where large quantities are to 
 be made, several sticks are placed together in 
 a kind of frame, and are lowered into the 
 melted tallow and raised again by machinery, 
 a counter- weight being used in order to indi- 
 cate when the wicks have taken up the re- 
 quired quantity of tallow. 
 
 Mould candles are made in cylindrical 
 moulds of pewter, one end of which is smaller 
 than the other to allow of the easy removal 
 of the candles. 
 
 From 10 to 16 of these moulds are placed 
 together in a wooden frame, so that their 
 larger ends terminate in a kind of trough 
 common to the whole ; the wicks are inserted 
 and kept firmly in their proper places in the 
 centre of each cylinder by strong wires. The 
 frame being then placed with the trough up- 
 
 permost, the moulds are filled with melted 
 tallow and are placed in the air to cool, after 
 which the wires by which the wicks are fixed 
 are withdrawn, the superfluous tallow is re-- 
 moved from the trough, and the candles are 
 pulled out of the moulds. 
 
 The process used in making wax candles is 
 ditferent. The wicks being cut and twisted 
 in the manner above described, a set of them 
 is suspended over a basin of melted wax, 
 which is taken up by a large ladle and poured 
 from time to time on the tops of the wicks, 
 and the melted wax running downwards ad- 
 heres to and covers the wicks throughout their 
 length. This is repeated until a sufficient 
 weight of wax has been gathered upon each. 
 After the candles are sufficiently cooled, they 
 are rolled upon a smooth table in order to 
 give them a perfectly cylindrical form, and 
 they are then polished. 
 
 The candle manufacture is distinguished 
 by many interesting features. In most cases 
 the processes are little other than of a handi- 
 craft character; but in large establishments 
 machinery is more and more introduced. At 
 the great soap and candle works in London, 
 and at other establishments of magnitude 
 elsewhere, store or dip candles are made by 
 dipping as at other places ; but a greater 
 number are dipped at one time. Twenty to 
 twenty -four candles, for instance, are hung on 
 one broach or stick ; thirty broaches are ranged 
 side by side to form a frame ; and thirty six 
 frames are suspended from a machine which 
 is capable of being brought over the vat of 
 melted tallow. There may thus be twenty to 
 five and twenty thousand candle wicks sus- 
 pended from one machine, and all the candles 
 made by one man and a boy in less than a 
 day. 
 
 At several of the larger and more impor- 
 tant establishments, a beautiful machine is 
 now employed for making mould candles. The 
 wick is wound on a reel in lengths of 100 feet, 
 of which there are as many as there are 
 moulds. In a kind of frame are enclosed a 
 certain number of moulds, with a reel of 
 cotton attached to each. A portion of cotton 
 is unwound from each wheel, and made to pass 
 through a mould, the lower end of which is 
 only large enough to admit of the passage of 
 the wick. The frames are then so arranged 
 that the melted tallow can be made to flow 
 into them; and when the tallow has solidified, 
 the frames are laid on their side, and by a 
 beautiful adaptation of mechanism, the candles 
 are forced out of the moulds, and thrown on 
 a table in parallel lines ; after which the wicks 
 are cut to a proper length. 
 
 The novelties in the manufacture of candles, 
 
517 CANDLES AND CANDLESTICKS. CANDLES AND CANDLESTICKS. 518 
 
 and in candlesticks adapted to them, have 
 been very numerous within the last few years. 
 Patents have been obtained for candles made 
 of palm oil, which is solid in our climate, 
 though liquid in Africa. Stearine and marga- 
 rine are also employed for this purpose. 
 Palmer's candles are distinguished chiefly by 
 the use of a wick Avhich, bending out to the 
 hottest part of the flame as it burns, consumes 
 without the necessity of snuffing. But the 
 chief feature in Palmer's patents is the use of 
 a candlestick which maintains the candle al- 
 ways at the same height; there is a spring 
 beneath the candle, which presses it upwards 
 with such force, that the top of the candle is 
 always maintained on a level with the top of 
 the candlestick, the wick alone protruding. 
 The construction of candles with wicks so con 
 trived as to require no snuffing, has often en- 
 gaged the ingenuity of practical men ; but in 
 most cases the attempts have failed. A kind 
 of candle lamp was introduced a few years 
 ago, in which solid tallow is placed within a 
 lamp, and melted as it is required for burning. 
 One of the patents obtained by Mr. Palmer 
 in 1849, relates to several improvements in 
 the manufacture of wicks for candles. The 
 first is the formation of helical or spiral wicks, 
 consisting of a number of strands bound to- 
 gether by cross gymp : with one strand stiffer 
 than the rest, to retain the wick in its proper 
 position. The second form consists of cotton 
 cord, twisted hard and firm. The third is the 
 formation of wicks plaited on a wire, which 
 wire is afterwards withdrawn to leave a space 
 for capillary action of the melted tallow. The 
 fourth is for coating one of the strands of a 
 wick in a metallic envelope, by dipping it in 
 melted bismuth. 
 
 Mr. Maudslay patented a remarkable ma- 
 chine in 1 847, for making candles by a sort of 
 tube-drawing process, something akin to the 
 Italian mode of making maccaroni. The tal- 
 low or composition is brought to a soft warm 
 paste-like state, and in that state is forced 
 through a tube kept cold by immersion in wa- 
 ter; it gradually solidifies during its passage 
 through the tube (which is of considerable 
 length, and is coiled round a circular vessel), 
 and is discharged into water, where it at once 
 assumes a solid form. At one particular point 
 before the tallow has solidified, an end of cot- 
 ton wick is introduced into the tube, and is 
 drawn in and enveloped by the tallow as it 
 passes. The theory of the machine is such 
 that it could produce an endless candle, which 
 may be cut by simple machinery to any given 
 length. The machine is remarkably novel and 
 ingenious in its arrangements. 
 
 The Patent Candle Company's works at 
 
 Vauxhall and Battersea are interesting, as 
 showing the application of chemistry and of 
 mechanism on a large scale to this manufac- 
 ture. Besides the steam-engines and hydraulic 
 presses, 700 men are employed, and 4,000 
 tons of palm and cocoa-nut oil are used per 
 annum. The cocoa-nut oil is chiefly procured 
 from Ceylon, but the palm-oil (which is the 
 chief ingredient in the patent candles) from 
 Africa. The palm-oil reaches this country in 
 a semi-solid state. It is first liquified by pass- 
 ing a steam-pipe through it, then converted 
 by chemical processes into a colourless con- 
 crete mass ; then cut by a rotatory machine 
 into slices, which are placed one upon another, 
 with cocoa-fibre mats between them, and iron 
 plates between the mats. These bundles are 
 taken to a room where are forty-two powerful 
 hydraulic presses, worked by steam power; 
 and this immense pressure is applied, first 
 cold and then hot, to force out the oleic acid 
 from the palm-oil, leaving the solid stearine 
 behind. This stearine, after being again lique- 
 fied, is in a fit state for use in making candles, 
 which is effected by the patent moulding ma- 
 chine. The company spin their own wicks 
 (29 miles of which form the preliminary 
 "cottoning" of one machine), and conduct 
 several other subsidiary arrangements on a 
 large scale, involving the combustion of 160 
 tons of coals per week. 
 
 There are many curious little pieces of 
 mechanism, patented within the last few years, 
 having for their principal object the mode of 
 adjusting candles in candlesticks. One con- 
 sists of a candle shade constructed in a 
 circular ring, which ring is suspended from a 
 conical cap resting on the top of the candle ; 
 as the candle burns this cap sinks with 
 it, and by that means, the shade main- 
 tains a constant level relatively to the flame 
 of the candle. Another little piece of appa- 
 ratus consists of a wire-frame for supporting 
 a shade, and which is itself supported by 
 having a sort of circular spring hoop, which 
 clasps the candle. Many varieties of wedges 
 and springs have been devised for fixing 
 candles into the candlesticks. An ingenious 
 self-acting extinguisher for candles was in- 
 vented a few years ago, but we believe not 
 patented. A steel spring clasps the candle 
 firmly within its jaws : and the extinguisher 
 is hinged to the handle of this spring by a 
 bent arm. A wire projects from the arm of 
 the extinguisher, and thrusts into the solid 
 part of the tallow of the candle. When the 
 candle has burned down so as to soften the 
 tallow around the wire, the latter slips 
 aside by being no longer able to maintain 
 its position ; and the extinguisher falls 
 
519 
 
 CANE. 
 
 over the flame of the candle. By adjusting 
 the wire to any particular distance below the 
 wick, the candle can be extinguished after 
 any given amount of time. 
 
 Among the almost endless variety of new 
 candlesticks is one patented in 1849 by Mr. 
 Sturges of Birmingham. Where the general 
 character and pattern of a candlestick are 
 such as ill fit it to be finished in a lathe, Mr. 
 Sturges proposed to cast it with melted metal 
 in moulds, which moulds are kept slowly rota- 
 ting during the casting. 
 
 The export of candles for the first nine 
 months of 1850 amounted to 2,033,280 Ibs. 
 
 CANE. [CALAMUS.] 
 
 CA'NNABIS. [HEMP.] 
 
 CANNON. The invention of cannon is no- 
 ticed under ARTILLERY, and matters relating 
 to their use under GUNNERY. Cannon are not 
 cast hollow, it being found that if so cast they 
 would not, owing to the irregular cooling of 
 the metal, be equally strong in every part. 
 Being cast solid, the outside cools first, with 
 a close sound grain, and all the porous or 
 spongy parts of the metal are found in the 
 centre. This is subsequently turned or bored 
 out in an engine-lathe, which leaves the inner 
 surface perfectly true, and the bore of the re- 
 quisite diameter. 
 
 Mr. Maudslay has recently proposed to the 
 government the use of cannon having a pecu- 
 liar form of breech. Under ordinary circum- 
 stances, cannon are loaded, and sponged after 
 firing, at the mouth ; but it has long been 
 felt that if these operations could be per- 
 formed at or near the remote end of the can - 
 non, the change would be accompanied by 
 greater rapidity of firing, less exposure to the 
 enemy, and a diminution in the number of 
 hands employed. According to Mr. Mauds- 
 lay's plan, the cannon is bored quite through; 
 but a moveable breech is provided, which is 
 fixed after the cannon is loaded, but is re- 
 moved for the sponging and re-loading. A 
 lever, rack, and pinion are provided for fixing 
 and unfixing the moveable breech. 
 
 CANOPUS is the name of an Egyptian jar 
 of a big-bellied form, with a cover or top repre- 
 senting a human head or that of some animal. 
 These vessels are generally made of baked 
 earth, sometimes of alabaster, and even of 
 green basalt. Some have hieroglyphics on 
 them, and are painted and glazed. Bodies of 
 sacred animals are sometimes found in these 
 vessels. Earthen jars of this form seem to 
 have been used for keeping water cool, as they 
 still are in Egypt. 
 
 CANOPY, the covering over a niche used in 
 Gothic architecture. They are usually elabo- 
 rately carved, being intended not merely as a 
 
 CANTON. 52U 
 
 covering, but also as a mark of distinction. 
 The various Gothic edifices in England present 
 numerous examples of canopies ; of which 
 Henry the Seventh's chapel at Westminster 
 Abbey is perhaps one of the most striking. 
 
 CANTAL, one of the southern departments 
 of France, is rich in pastures. The number 
 of horned cattle reared for exportation and for 
 the purpose of making butter and cheese is 
 Immense. As much as 50,000 quintals of 
 cheese is annually made. In mineral wealth 
 the department is also rich ; copper, iron, 
 lead, sulphur, alum, antimony, coal, limestone, 
 slate, granite, &c., are found, but the only 
 mine worked is one of coal. The manufac- 
 turing industry of the department is of little 
 importance ; it is confined to the making of 
 lace, copper vessels, coarse stuffs, glue, and 
 leather. At the end of autumn many of the 
 popiilation emigrate to Paris and other parts 
 of France, where they find employment as 
 porters, water-carriers, tinkers, and handi- 
 craftsmen, returning home in the spring of 
 the following year, or in some instances after 
 an interval of several years, for the inhabitants 
 are strongly att ched to their poor, wild, but 
 highly picturesque country. 
 
 CANTEEN, a small wooden vessel capable 
 of containing three pints, which is earned by 
 each soldier on the march on foreign service 
 or in the field. The use of them has been 
 for some time general in the British army. 
 Another kind of canteen is a square box fitted 
 up with compartments, in which officers on 
 foreign service pack a variety of articles. 
 
 CA'NTHARIS, or Spanish Fly, is largely 
 imported for medical use, on account of a 
 pungent volatile principle contained in the 
 insect. The insects are killed in vinegar, 
 dried on hurdles, and packed for use. Though 
 bearing the name of Spanish Blistering Flies, 
 the greatest quantity is obtained from St. Pe 
 tersburg ; and the Russian insects are supe- 
 rior to those from Sicily or France. Wlicn 
 good, they are of a shining yellowish green 
 colour ; the odour is strong and disagreeable ; 
 and the taste acrid and caustic. 
 
 The active principle of these insects is a 
 white substance, which may be obtained in 
 the form of small crystalline plates. To this 
 principle the name of cantharidin has been 
 given. Cantharidin may be extracted in va- 
 rious ways. It is so powerful, that one-hun- 
 dredth part of a grain applied to the skin will 
 excite vesication. 
 
 CANTILEVER, or bracket, a projecting 
 piece of wood, stone, or iron, which supports 
 a cornice, balcony, &c. 
 
 CANTON. The trading and manufacturing 
 features of this city are highly interesting. 
 
521 
 
 CANTON. 
 
 CAOUTCHOUC. 
 
 522 
 
 The shops are commonly quite open towards 
 the street, that is, those appropriated to Chi- 
 nese customers ; for the few streets devoted 
 to European trade are rather on a different 
 plan, the shops being of a closer structure, 
 and less exposed to external observation. The 
 several streets are commonly devoted to dis- 
 tinct trades. By the side of each shop is sus- 
 pended from on high a huge ornamental tab- 
 let of wood, varnished and gilded, on which 
 are described the particular calling of the te- 
 nant and the goods in which he deals. Some 
 of the shops, which are pretty richly supplied, 
 are much exposed towards the street ; but the 
 inhabitants of each division generally com- 
 bine into a system of watch and ward for com- 
 mon protection, and during the night the 
 streets are closed at each end by doors, which 
 are guarded by the regular police. 
 
 No inconsiderable part of the population 
 lives upon the river, in the junks, barges, and 
 small boats. The space opposite to Canton 
 and its suburbs resembles a floating city. By 
 far the largest part consists of boats which are 
 generally not more than 10 or ]2 feet long, 
 about 6 broad, and so low that a person can 
 scarcely stand up in them. Their covering- 
 consists of a bamboo or mat tilt, shaped like 
 that of a waggon, which is very light, and 
 serves tolerably as a defence against the wea- 
 ther. Whole families live in these boats, and 
 are considered as a distinct part of the popu- 
 lation, being under a, separate regulation, and 
 not allowed to intermarry with those on 
 shore. 
 
 The whole frontage of the buildings in 
 which foreigners of all nations are shut up 
 together for the prosecution of their trading 
 business at Canton does not exceed between 
 seven and eight hundred feet. Each front, of 
 which there are about thirteen, extends back- 
 wards a hundred and thirty yards into a long 
 narrow lane, on each side of which, as well 
 as over arches that cross it, are the confined 
 abodes of the English, French, Dutch, Ameri- 
 cans, Parsees, and others. 
 
 The European factories are called by the 
 Chinese Hongs, this word hong being always 
 I used by them to denote a commercial esta- 
 : blishment or warehouse. Near the factories 
 j are the warehouses of the several Hong mer- 
 chants, all of them communicating with the 
 river by wooden stairs, from which the tea 
 | and other goods are shipped. The shops, in- 
 I stead of being set out with the showy and 
 ' sometimes expensive front of an English or 
 French shop, are closed in by gloomy black 
 shutters, and very ill lit by a small sky-light, 
 or rather a hole in the roof. 
 Canton is one of the five ports of China, at 
 
 which, according to the treaty with the Chinese 
 of August 29, 1842, British subjects are per- 
 mitted to trade. The principal stipulations in 
 that treaty have since been very fully carried 
 into effect, under a series of general regula- 
 tions, subject to occasional interruptions. 
 
 By far the largest article of export from 
 Canton is tea. The other chief exports consist 
 of silver, silks, and china-ware. Exports have 
 frequently exceeded 4,000,000/. annually. The 
 imports consist of woollen goods, cotton, cot- 
 ton-yarn, long cloths, and vai-ious other articles 
 of British manufacture. 
 
 Canton has few native manufactures or pro- 
 ducts suitable for deposit in the Great Exhibi- 
 tion of 1851 ; but its merchants have contri- 
 buted towards the subscribed funds. 
 
 CANVAS. As exemplifications of hempen 
 canvas, we cannot do better than refer to those 
 important uses of it described under FLOOK- 
 CLOTH MANUFAGTUKE ; and SAIL-MAKING. 
 
 CAOUTCHOUC. This remarkable sub- 
 stance is produced by the Siphonia elastica, 
 the Ficus elastica, the Urceola elastica, and 
 many other American and Asiatic plants. It 
 is often termed India rubier, from its use in 
 removing pencil traces from paper. It was in 
 the year 1735 that this substance was first dis- 
 covered by De La Condamine to be the inspis- 
 sated juice of a tree. In a pure state, it is in- 
 sipid and scentless, white, extremely elastic, 
 inflammable, not altered by exposure to the 
 air, insoluble in water and in alcohol, soluble 
 in aether and in the essential oils, acted upon 
 by alkalies, and decomposed by concentrated 
 sulphuric and nitric acids. 
 
 In order to obtain caoutchouc, the trees 
 which produce it are pierced in the rainy sea- 
 son, upon which a thick juice of a yellowish 
 white colour exudes, which becomes darker by 
 exposure to the air. If this juice be kept in 
 well-corked bottles, it may be preserved for 
 some time without undergoing much change, 
 and it has been imported in this state ; but, 
 however perfectly the atmosphere may be ex- 
 cluded, it will ultimately solidify. Heat coa- 
 gulates the juice and separates the caoutchouc : 
 alcohol and acids produce the same effect. If 
 exposed to the air in thin films, it soon dries, 
 losing from one-third to one-half of its weight : 
 and leaving caoutchouc of the usual appear- 
 ance. By the natives of South America it is 
 applied in successive coats to the surface of 
 clay models of bottles and of animals, and 
 dried over fires, the smoke of which communi- 
 cates to it a dark colour. While the caoutchouc 
 is still soft, various lines are drawn upon it 
 with a blunt tool, which remain permanently 
 impressed. When the whole has become dry, the 
 clay is crushed and shaken out of the bottles. 
 
523 
 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 
 CAPILLAKY ATTRACTION. 524 
 
 The import of caoutchouc in 1849 amounted 
 to 5328 cwts., and in the first nine months of 
 1850 to 4899 cwts. 
 
 The varied useful purposes to which this 
 singular substance is applied are noticed under 
 INDIA RUBBER MANUFACTURES. 
 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. This colony 
 will probahly play an important part in the 
 future industrial history of nations. The im- 
 migrants have yet been too few to place the 
 colony in a high position ; but Cape Town, 
 Graham Town, Port Elizabeth, &c., are rapidly 
 growing in commercial importance, and the 
 inner country is year by year producing more 
 and more of the raw materials of manufacture. 
 
 The exports of British and Irish produce 
 and manufactures to the Cape of Good Hope 
 at several periods five years apart, were as 
 follow : 
 
 1830 . . 330.036 
 1835 . . 326,921 
 1840 . . 417,091 
 1845 . . 648,749 
 
 In 1848 they amounted to 645,718/. ; but in 
 1849 they lessened to 520,896Z. 
 
 During the first seven months of 1850, 
 296 vessels arrived at the Cape with cargoes ; 
 against 275 in the same period of 1845. Port 
 Elizabeth (Algoa Bay) exported produce to 
 the value of 80,000/. during three months only 
 of J850; the exports included 1,167,273 Ibs. 
 of wool, and 228,335 Ibs. of gum. Graham's 
 Town is also rapidly rising as a place of ex- 
 port. 
 
 A sub-committee is arranging the details of 
 a transmission of South African produce, to 
 the Great Exhibition of 1851. 
 
 CAPE VERDE. The Cape Verde Islands 
 are rich in plants. Maize and rice, the chief 
 food of the people, oranges, melons, pomegra- 
 nates, bananas, lemons, figs, guavas, are the 
 chief products. The fruits are of the best 
 quality. Sweet potatoes are grown ; the sugar- 
 cane and the vine are cultivated, but it is pro- 
 hibited to make wine. The palm, tamarind, 
 and adansonia are the principal trees. Turtles 
 are abundant in the neighbouring seas. Salt 
 is made from sea water by solar evaporation, 
 and is an important article of export to Ame - 
 rica and the coast of Africa. Orchilla is 
 gathered for the government. Besides salt 
 and the products above named, the principal 
 exports are goat skins and asses to the West 
 Indies. 
 
 The exports from this country to the Cape 
 Verde Islands are but small : seldom above 
 2000Z. per annum ; in 1848 they were however 
 
 8,3m 
 
 CAPERS, are the flower-buds of a plant 
 which grows naturally upon rocks and ruins 
 
 all over the south of France and Italy, render- 
 ing them inconceivably gay with its large white 
 blossoms, from the centre of each of which 
 there springs a long tassel of deep lilac sta- 
 mens. The quality depends exclusively upon 
 the age at which they are gathered, the smal- 
 lest and youngest being the dearest and most 
 delicate, and the largest and oldest the coarsest 
 and cheapest. On an average each plant of 
 the Caper-bush gives a pound of buds. The 
 consumption of capers in this country is in 
 considerable. 
 
 CAPILLARY ATTRACTION and RE- 
 PULSION. If a tube of very small diameter 
 be plunged into a fluid, the fluid in the tube 
 either rises above or sinks below the level of 
 that on the exterior, and at the same time is 
 slightly curved at its upper surface. In cases 
 where the fluid stands higher within the tube 
 than without, as is the case with water and 
 glass, its upper surface is always concave ; but 
 when the fluid is lower within the tube, as 
 with mercury and glass, it is convex. These 
 phenomena are the results of what are termed 
 capillary attraction and repulsion. 
 
 The laws according to which a fluid thus 
 rises or falls are as follow : 1. When a tube 
 of dry glass is plunged in a vessel of water, 
 the attraction of the glass does not extend be- 
 yond the depth of the very thin film of water 
 which would adhere to the interior surface if 
 the tube were drawn out, 2. If the tube pre- 
 viously moistened by such film Avere plunged 
 in water, the rise would be much less than in 
 the other case; and, whatever be the substance 
 of the tube so moistened, the elevation of the 
 water in it is found to be the same. 3. When 
 cylindrical tubes of different diameters are 
 compared, the elevation is inversely propor- 
 tional to the diameter. 4. If the interior of 
 the tube be conical, the elevation or depression 
 in it is found to depend on the diameter at 
 the upper part only of the elevation ; and to 
 be the same as in a cylindrical tube of that 
 diameter. 5. If the tube be double (one tube 
 within another), the fluid rises to the same 
 height in the interval between the two tubes, 
 as it would do in a tube with that interval for 
 its radius. 6. Between two parallel plates 
 immersed at a very small interval, the fluid 
 rises as high as in a tube with that interval 
 for its radius. 7. Between two plates vertically 
 placed, but inclined at a very small angle (like 
 a double screen nearly closed), the fluid rises 
 higher and higher as we proceed towards the 
 upright line of junction ; and the curve of the 
 upper surface of the fluid is an hyperbola. 
 
 As an example of capillary action exempli- 
 fying itself in cvery-day processes, we may 
 mention the wick of a candle or lamp, in which 
 
CAPITAL. 
 
 CA'PSICUM. 
 
 520 
 
 oil or melted tallow rises solely by virtue of 
 this power. 
 
 CAPITAL is a term used in commerce to 
 express the stock of the merchant, manufac- 
 turer, or trader, used in carrying on his busi- 
 ness, in the purchase or manufacture of com- 
 modities, and in the payment of the wages of 
 labour; and is understood not only of money, 
 but of buildings, machinery, and all other ma- 
 terial objects which facilitate his operations in 
 trade. The term itself and the practical qua- 
 lities and uses of capital are sufficiently under- 
 stood in this its commercial sense. But capi- 
 tal, in a more extended form, embraces not 
 only the capital of particular individuals, "but 
 the entire capital of a country. In this latter 
 sense capital may be denned as the products 
 of industry possessed by the community, and 
 still available for use only, or for further pro- 
 duction. 
 
 Capital is first called into existence by the 
 natural foresight of man, who even in a savage 
 state discerns the advantage of not immedi- 
 ately consuming the whole produce of his ex- 
 ertions in present gratification, and stores up 
 a part for his future subsistence. The greater 
 proportion of mankind possess this quality, 
 and those who do not are admonished of its 
 value by privation. A desire to accumulate 
 some portion of the produce of industry being 
 natural to mankind and nearly universal, the 
 growth of capital may be expected wherever 
 the means of accumulation exist ; or, in other 
 words, wherever men are not obliged to con- 
 sume the whole products of their labour in 
 their own subsistence. From the moment at 
 which a man produces more than he consumes 
 he is creating a capital ; and the accumulated 
 surplus of production over the consumption 
 of the whole community is the capital of a 
 country. 
 
 The relation of capital to manufacturing in- 
 dustry forms one of the most important de- 
 partments of study in political economy. 
 
 CAPFiLFICATION is the process by which 
 the maturation of the fig is accelerated in the 
 Levant. It is well known that fruits which 
 have been bitten by insects ripen sooner than 
 others, the wound appearing to act as a stimu- 
 lant to the local action of the parenchyma. 
 This is turned to account by the Greeks in 
 the following manner, which is called Capri- 
 ncation. When the cultivated fig is preparing 
 for becoming ripe, a quantity of the branches 
 of wild fig trees are brought into the fig or- 
 chards and placed upon the cultivated plants, 
 The wild figs bring with them a great number 
 of a small insect called Cynlps Psenes, or Di- 
 pullepls Ficus Carica, which fly among the 
 cultivated figs and pierce their fruit for the i 
 
 purpose of laying eggs. This not only brings 
 about an earlier ripening of the fig crop than 
 would otherwise be obtained, but enables the 
 cultivator to obtain two harvests a year. It is 
 however said that the practice deteriorates the 
 quality of the fruit. Caprification has been 
 artificially imitated by puncturing a fig with an 
 awl, and introducing a little oil into the wound, 
 for the purpose of preventing its healing too 
 soon. 
 
 CAPS, PERCUSSION. It is explained in 
 ARUS how the earlier kind of fire-arms were 
 discharged. The percussion-cap is a modern 
 contrivance for this purpose. It depends 011 
 the property possessed by several chemical 
 substances of exploding by a blow or percus- 
 sion. Fulminating mercury was the first sub- 
 stance employed in this way ; but as soon as 
 it became known that a slight blow would ex- 
 plode certain powders, and that this explosion 
 would ignite gunpowder, numerous improve- 
 ments were introduced by degrees. Various 
 salts and other chemical compounds, such as 
 some of the chlorates, nitrates, and fulminates, 
 will explode in this way, the most familiar 
 example of which is afforded by the ' lucifers ' 
 or ' congreves ' now sold so cheaply in the 
 streets, and which ignite so readily by friction 
 fin effect a series of minute percussions). 
 
 When the method was first introduced, there 
 was some difficulty in cauping the explosion 
 of the mixture to ignite the gunpowder. But 
 this is now effected by putting the detonating 
 mixture into a little copper box or cell called 
 a cap, which is adjusted over the touch-hole, 
 and so arranged that a smart blow bursts the 
 cap and explodes its contents : the little cell 
 itself is destroyed, so that a new one is re- 
 quired for each firing. The size of the cell, 
 or ' percussion-cap,' the nature of the mixture, 
 the quantity employed with each charge, and 
 the mechanism for firing it, have been the 
 subjects of many improvements within the 
 last few years, some of which are patented. 
 The caps are now made in large numbers at 
 Birmingham, in much the same mariner as 
 metal buttons, blanks being cut out of sheet 
 copper or mixed metal, and stamped or 
 pressed into the proper shape. One of the 
 recent inventions has been to make the cap 
 double, or one cap within another, with the 
 mixture between the two, and a small hole in 
 the inner one to communicate with the gun- 
 powder. 
 
 Many contrivances have also been suggested 
 for applying these caps under a modified form 
 to larger guns ; and the detonating compounds 
 themselves have been brought into use for 
 exploding the contents of bombs and shells. 
 
 CA'PSICUM, cr Bird-Pepper. The shell 
 
527 
 
 CAPSTAN. 
 
 CARBON. 
 
 528 
 
 of the fruit of this plant is fleshy and colourec 
 and contains a pungent principle, which als 
 exists in its seed in great activity. On this ac 
 count both the fruit and seeds of differen 
 species of capsicum are in request as a condi 
 ment, and either in the unprepared state o 
 ground into Cayenne pepper, form a consider 
 able part of the stimulating vegetables use( 
 by man. In Europe the capsicum enters 
 largely into the seasoning of food and tin 
 preparation of pickles ; and in warmer coun 
 tiles it constitutes one of the first necessaries 
 of life, either green or ripe. The species 
 from which the fresh capsicums used in 
 Europe are principally obtained is the Cap 
 sicum annuum, a weedy plant found wilt 
 in South America and the West Indies. A 
 much hotter species is the Capsicum fnitl- 
 cosum or Goat-Pepper, a native of the East 
 Indies, which differs from the Capsicum an- 
 mntm in being a shrub, and in its fruit being 
 very small. 
 
 The capsicum is easily brought to perfec 
 tion in this country. Its seeds are sown in a 
 hot-bed in the beginning of April ; the young 
 plants are managed like other tender annuals ; 
 and about the end of May they are planted in 
 the open air under a south wall. They will 
 readily ripen their fruit in such a situation. 
 CAPSTAN. [WINDLASS.] 
 CARAT, KARAT. The karatium was ori- 
 ginally the twenty-fourth part of the marc, or 
 half pound among the French, from whom 
 the word came : so that three carats made an 
 ounce. The carat was a small weight used 
 for gold and jewels, and varied greatly in dif- 
 ferent countries. At last however it went out 
 of use, except only in the sense in which it 
 still exists, namely, that a carat means the 
 twenty-fourth part of any weight of gold or 
 gold alloy. If such a weight be all gold, it is 
 said to be twenty-four carats fine ; if one- 
 third only be gold, it is said to be eight carats 
 fine. 
 
 CARAVAN, a travelling body of merchants 
 or pilgrims, who join company for safety and 
 convenience. The term, which is of Persian 
 origin, is confined to journeys in the East, 
 and applies more particularly to those made 
 in Arabia, Nubia, Syria, Persia, and Asia 
 Minor; but the practice obtains, though 
 mostly on a smaller scale, in many other 
 countries where the roads are insecure, and 
 where deserts and desolate tracts of land are 
 to be crossed. 
 
 In the East the caravans have a commercial 
 or a religious character, and very frequently 
 both ; the greatest of them all, or those which 
 proceed annually to the holy city of Mecca, 
 have always trade as well as prayers in view. 
 
 Besides these large annual caravans, others 
 on a smaller scale are constantly occurring in 
 the East, where merchants and travellers 
 going the same road wait for one another 
 until they can form a caravan, when they ge- 
 nerally appoint one of their voluntary associa- 
 tion to regulate the order of march. But the 
 caravan trade is not limited to Southern Asia. 
 The great trade between China and Russia is 
 a caravan trade. The road runs from Peking 
 to Kiachta, the great border-market for the 
 barter of Chinese and European articles : the 
 journey is from 70 to 90 days. Other similar 
 lines of route exist in Russia and the coun- 
 tries to the east of the Caspian Sea. 
 
 CARAWAYS, the ripe fruit of a plant called 
 Carum Carui. The seeds, as they are vulgarly 
 ailed, which are the furrowed halves of the 
 ripe fruit, have a peculiar aromatic flavour, 
 and are used as an agreeable carminative by 
 confectioners : the roots themselves are eaten 
 n the north of Europe. 
 
 Caraways are used in medicine as a car- 
 minative. The chief English cultivation of 
 lie plant is in Essex and Suffolk, upon old 
 
 grass land broken up for the purpose. As it 
 s a biennial, it is generally sown with another 
 )lant of the same tribe called coriander ; and 
 ometimes a crop of teazles ( Carduus Fullo- 
 unn) is raised on the same land. The three 
 ;ive a very valuable return during two or three 
 ears. 
 
 It would hardly be supposed, considering 
 he minor uses to which they are applied, 
 hat caraways would be imported to so large an 
 :xtent as the Board of Trade tables indicate 
 u 1848 the importation amounted to 7,260 
 wts. 
 
 CARBON, a non -metallic elementary solid 
 )ody, which is widely diffused throughout 
 ature. The purest and at the same time the 
 
 rarest form in which it occurs is that of the 
 llamond '; the more common states in which 
 t is met with are those of anthracite, graphite, 
 nd coal ; but in these cases it is not free 
 rom admixture. Another well-known form 
 f carbon, but still impure, is charcoal. Carbon 
 s the chief element in three groups of sub- 
 tances : the mineral forms, such as diamond, 
 nthracite. &c. ; the carbonates ; and the vege- 
 able series, as coal, asphaltum, peat, amber, 
 
 &c. 
 
 Charcoal consists mainly of carbon procured 
 rom the decomposition of wood by burning. 
 
 This operation is generally conducted in pits 
 tiade in the ground ; sometimes however it 
 
 s carried on in iron cylinders. Wood is es- 
 entially composed of carbon, oxygen, and 
 ydrogen. By the action of the heat it is de- 
 onroosed the oxygen and hydrogen are ex- 
 
No. 14. 
 
529 
 
 CAEBON. 
 
 CARCASS. 
 
 530 
 
 pelled, and uniting in certain proportions form 
 water ; and also with carbon various gaseous 
 and other compounds are formed. Among 
 the latter are acetic acid, sometimes called 
 pyroligneous acid, and a peculiar inflammable 
 fluid known by the name of pyroxilic spirit, and 
 tar. 
 
 Charcoal has the following properties. It 
 is black, lighter than water, and full of pores, 
 occasioned by the expulsion of the bodies 
 volatilised. Charcoal, from whatever source 
 procured, is absolutely infusible by any degree 
 of heat however great; neither that of a mir- 
 ror, the oxhydrogen blow pipe, nor the voltaic 
 discharge, being sufficient to produce fusion. 
 In its common state it is one of the worst con- 
 ductors of heat known, but its power is in- 
 creased after being strongly heated. Charcoal 
 is a conductor of electricity, which is so far 
 from being the case with the diamond, that it 
 may be rendered electrical by friction. 
 
 Charcoal is tasteless, inodorous, and inso- 
 luble in water. It possesses the property of 
 destroying colouring matter, especially the 
 charcoal procured by burning bones, which is 
 usually called animal charcoal. It is largely 
 used for this purpose in sugar refining. It 
 has the power of condensing gaseous bodies 
 to a greater degree than most or perhaps any 
 other substances. Charcoal is highly com- 
 bustible ; it burns in the air when strongly 
 heated, though not very rapidly. During this 
 combustion carbonic acid is formed by the 
 union of the oxygen of the air with carbon. 
 
 It has been mentioned that charcoal is not, 
 pure carbon ; when a quantity is burnt there 
 always remains a portion of ashes containing 
 a considerable quantity of carbonate of potash 
 and some other alkaline and earthy salts, 
 which have been taken up from the soil in 
 which the tree grew that furnished the char- 
 coal. 
 
 Charcoal is used not merely for combustion, 
 but also for the important purpose of making 
 gunpowder. It is also applied to other various 
 well-known uses. Its power of absorbing gases 
 and moisture renders it useful in some cases, 
 while in other cases it seems to act by some 
 power exerted, on the vital energies of the 
 system. Charcoal, especially animal charcoal, 
 possesses the power of destroying the colour, 
 smell, and taste of a great variety of vegetable 
 and animal substances, particularly of muci- 
 lages and oils, and of matters in which extrac- 
 tive abounds. Meat and game too far decom- 
 posed may be restored to a condition fit for 
 use by the employment of finely powdered 
 charcoal, assisted by sulphuric acid. Water 
 also may be restored from a tainted state by 
 filtering it through charcoal. Charcoal, both 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 from its antiseptic and vital properties, is use- 
 ful in many forms of disease. 
 
 CARBONIC ACID. There are three com- 
 pounds of carbon and oxygen, Carbonic Oxide, 
 Carbonic Acid, and Oxalic Acid. Carbonic 
 acid is the most important of the three. It 
 exists largely in nature. It is in comparatively 
 small quantity in the gaseous state in the 
 atmosphere ; it is in solution in most spring 
 water, and in some called mineral waters to a 
 considerable degree ; but it is in solid combi- 
 nation that it is found in the largest quantity, 
 forming nearly 44 per cent, of ftii limestones 
 and marbles, besides occurring in less quan- 
 tity united with other earths and metallic 
 oxides. Carbonic acid is produced by fermen- 
 tation; by the process of respiration ; by animal 
 and vegetable putrefaction ; and by combustion, 
 whether of oil, wax, tallow, vegetable matter, 
 or coal. 
 
 In its uncombined state carbonic acid is a 
 gas, colourless and transparent, and therefore 
 invisible ; it has an acid and slightly astringent 
 taste ; it extinguishes burning bodies, and is 
 fatal to animals. On account of its great 
 density, it diffuses slowly in the air, and hence 
 it is apt to remain long in fermenting vats, 
 old wells, &c., and has frequently produced 
 fatal effects upon persons descending into 
 them. Atmospheric air may however contain 
 l-20th of its volume of this gas, and be re- 
 spired without becoming hurtful. On account 
 of its great weight, it may be poured from 
 vessel to vessel, as is shown by its extinguish- 
 ing a taper repeatedly. Though gaseous at 
 common temperatures, Faraday has showed 
 that carbonic acid can be brought to the liquid 
 state by intense cold and pressure : it is then 
 a limpid colourless fluid, which M. Thilorier 
 rendered even solid, in which state it is one 
 of the most powerful refrigerating substances 
 known. Carbonic acid is an ingredient in 
 many mineral waters, to which it imparts 
 effervescing qualities. 
 
 Carbonic acid gas is apt to be formed and 
 accumulate in mines, particularly coal-mines, 
 where it is termed choke-damp, and whence 
 have arisen fearful colliery accidents; it is 
 also found in old draw-wells. 
 
 Carbonic acid plays so important a part in 
 medicine, in chemical manufactures, and in 
 every day life, that it would be impossible 
 even to enumerate its characteristic functions. 
 
 CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM is the geo- 
 logical name for the great group of strata 
 which includes nearly all the valuable coal yet 
 discovered. We are concerned with it here 
 only in respect to COAL. 
 
 CARCASS, a shell, or hollow ball of iron, 
 perforated in three places at equal distances 
 
 o 
 
531 
 
 CARDAMOMS. 
 
 from each other within one hemisphere of tin 
 shell, and filled with a composition whicl 
 burns with violence during eight or ten mi 
 nutes. When discharged from a mortar or 
 howitzer, the flames issuing from the perfora 
 tions set fire to any building on which the 
 carcass may happen to fall. 
 
 CARDAMOMS are the aromatic capsules 
 of different species of a genus of plants called 
 Amomam. The Malabar cardamoms are the 
 best, and are in most extensive use. The 
 Madagascar cardamoms are strong-flavoured. 
 The Grains of Paradise are the fruit of one 
 species of cardamoms. 
 
 CARDIFF is one of the busiest and most 
 rapidly growing towns in South Wales. The 
 population rose from 2,000 to upwards of 
 10,000 between 1801 and 1841 ; this increase 
 has been chiefly owing to the shipment of 
 the coal and iron from Merthyr Tydfil and its 
 neighbourhood. The Glamorganshire canal, 
 finished in 1798, was for many years the chan- 
 nel by which this produce reached the coast ; 
 but in 1840 the Taff railway was opened as an 
 additional means of conveyance. The river, 
 the canal, and the railway run nearly side by 
 side, and terminate at Cardiff. While the 
 railway was under construction, the late Mar- 
 quess of Bute, the owner of a large amount 
 of property in this neighbourhood, conceived 
 the project of forming a large harbour or dock 
 between the town and the Bristol Channel on 
 a piece of waste ground belonging to himself. 
 The dock, called the Bute Dock, and a ship 
 canal leading thence to the sea, were opened 
 about the same time as the railway. They 
 form a work of great magnitude, on which a 
 sum of 300,000/. has been expended. The 
 entrance into the floating harbour from the 
 sea is through sea-gates 45 feet in width ; the 
 harbour or basin has an area of an acre and a 
 half, and is fitted for the reception of large 
 vessels. The main entrance lock is at the 
 north end of this outer basin, and is 152 feet 
 long by 36 feet wide. On passing this lock 
 the ship canal is entered, which extends to 
 Cardiff, 1,400 yards in length and 200 feet in 
 width, comprising a great extent of fine 
 wharfage, and varying in depth from 13 feet 
 to 19 feet. 
 
 Since these facilities were afforded, the 
 trade of the port has increased rapidly. The 
 coals shipped coastwise in 1848 were 544,196 
 tons, and to foreign ports 115,604 being five 
 times as large a quantity in 1848 as in 1838. 
 The value of the exports in 1848 was 729,094/. 
 Few ports in Great Britain have increased 
 more rapidly in the extent of their export trade 
 than Cardiff. The number and tonnage of 
 vessels registered as belonging to the port of 
 
 CARDS. 632 
 
 Cardiff on the 31st of December, 1849, were 
 77 vessels, of 6,287 tons. The number and 
 tonnage of vessels that entered and cleared at 
 the port during the year 1849 were 9,064 ves- 
 sels, of 695,022 tons. 
 
 CARDIGAN carries on a respectable 
 amount of commerce. The number and ton- 
 nage of vessels registered as belonging to the 
 port of Cardigan on 31st December 1849 were 
 249 vessels, of 14,368 tons. Many of these 
 vessels are engaged in the Irish, colonial, and 
 coasting trade. The number and tonnage of 
 vessels entered and cleared at the port during 
 1849 were 777 vessels, of 20,170 tons. 
 
 The imports are chiefly coal, culm, lime- 
 stone, and deals ; the exports, oats, butter, 
 and slates. No manufacture of any import- 
 ance is carried on here. Salmon fishing is 
 productive, and the herring fishery is of some 
 importance. 
 
 CARDIGANSHIRE has a little mineral 
 wealth. Veins of copper ore,) lead, and sul- 
 phate of zinc occur. The mines were in the 
 16th and 17th centuries worked extensively 
 and profitably. They afterwards became un- 
 productive, and were almost wholly neglected ; 
 but within the last 12 or 14 years the spirit of 
 iiining enterprise has led to the re-opening 
 some of the old mines and to the commencing 
 of new ones. The lead mines are said to be 
 most successful. The lead contains silver, 
 varying from 14 to 80 ozs. to the ton : at 
 Llanvair mine specimens have occurred which 
 yielded 100 ozs. to the ton. There are slate 
 quarries in the neighbourhood of Aberystwith, 
 Dut the slate is not of good quality. 
 
 Cardiganshire is chiefly an agricultural 
 county. The manufactures are unimportant, 
 >eing confined to the weaving of a small 
 quantity of flannel and coarse woollen stuffs, 
 loves are made in the neighbourhood of 
 Aberystwith and Tregaron. Oats, butter, and 
 slates are exported. The decks of some of 
 the vessels engaged during the summer in the 
 coasting trade, are taken off in autumn, and 
 hey are used as fishing-boats. The principal 
 mports are coal from Liverpool, culm from 
 South Wales, Pembroke limestone, and Memel 
 and American deals. 
 
 CARDS, CARD-MAKING MACHINE, an 
 arrangement of wires used in the manner ex 
 lained in COTTON MANUFACTURE, for disen- 
 angling the fibres of cotton preparatory to 
 pinning. These cards are now made by a 
 rery beautiful machine. The wires are in- 
 jerted in rows in strips of leather; and, by 
 arious movements of the machine, the strips 
 if leather are pierced with holes ; the wire is 
 unwound from a coil, straightened, and cut off 
 o the proper lengths; each wire is bent to a 
 
533 
 
 CAKES, PLAYING. 
 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 534 
 
 definite form, and then driven into the hole. 
 One steam engine can set 100 of these ma- 
 chines at work at once ; and each machine can 
 form and fix 400 or 500 teetli in a minute. 
 
 CAKDS, PLAYING. The manufacture of 
 playing cards involves several processes of 
 much nicety. The preparation of the material, 
 the cutting into quadrangular pieces, and the 
 stamping with the coloured device, all require 
 careful operations. The card-board is made 
 hy many successive processes of pasting and 
 pressing. In Mr. Dickinson's patented method, 
 damp paper is wound over certain rollers ; a 
 paste trough with circular brushes are placed 
 near the rollers ; and during the transfer of 
 the paper from one set of rollers to another, 
 these circular brushes coat the surfaces of two 
 or more papers with paste. Eoller-pressure 
 completes the operation. 
 
 Several patents have been taken out for 
 cutting the pasteboard into strips, preparatory 
 to a further cutting into card-pieces ; of these 
 patents, one by Mr. Dickinson will illustrate 
 the principle generally. The machine con- 
 sists of a pair of rollers, each roller having a 
 number of circular revolving cutters ; the 
 pasteboard is passed between the rollers, 
 where the cutters act upon it in the manner 
 of shears, and cut it into strips, which strips 
 are afterwards cut into card pieces. 
 
 The printing and colouring of the cards 
 have exercised much ingenuity. In the ordi- 
 nary mode of manufacture, the device is partly 
 produced by copperplate printing and partly 
 by stencilling in water-colours. Mr. De la 
 Hue has patented a method of using oil- 
 colours, and of printing in a mode very simi- 
 lar to that of calico-printing. The pips 
 (hearts, spades, &c.) are set up by blocks or 
 types, and printed at a press the black with 
 lamp-black ground in oil, and the red with 
 vermilion ground in oil. The 'court cards' 
 are printed by a series of impressions in dif- 
 ferent colours, almost precisely in the same 
 way as that described under FLOOR CLOTH 
 MANUFACTURE. Mr. De la Eue also employs 
 the system of lithography, in which case there 
 must be as many stones as there are colours, 
 each having one particular part of the device. 
 
 The same ingenious inventor has contrived 
 a mode of introducing gold or silver among 
 the colours of the device. In this case all the 
 portions of surface which are to be thus 
 adorned are printed with gold-size instead of 
 ink ; and while this gold-size is yet moist, gold 
 or silver-powder is sprinkled over the card : it 
 adheres to the moistened parts, and may be 
 lightly brushed from other places ; and when all 
 is dry, the gold will bear a careful polishing. 
 
 Some playing cards have a surface of such 
 
 exquisite whiteness and smoothness as to re- 
 semble ivory; this is produced by coating 
 them with a composition of fine French white, 
 drying-oil, and size. 
 
 CAEEX is the name of a genus of plants 
 which render a few useful purposes to man. 
 In the hop-grounds of Great Britain the 
 leaves of some of the species are used for 
 tying the bines of the hops to the poles. In 
 Italy they are used for placing between the 
 staves of wine-casks, are woven over Florence 
 flasks, and occasionally employed for making 
 chair bottoms. The leaves of the Carex syl- 
 vatica, according to Linnceus, are combed and 
 dressed, and used as a warm lining for gloves 
 and shoes ; and, thus protected, the Lap- 
 landers seldom suffer from being frost-bitten. 
 
 CA'EICA, a remarkable tree found in 
 various parts of South America, having a sim- 
 ple trunk, from 12 to 20 feet high, and abound- 
 ing in a milky juice. The fruit is called the 
 papaw, and is singularly useful in many ways 
 to the natives where it grows. The fruit is 
 eaten ripe, and when unripe is boiled and used 
 as a vegetable. The juice forms a cosmetic, 
 and the leaves are employed in washing in- 
 stead of soap. It is also much used in medi- 
 cine. The milky juice of the fruit is spoken 
 of as a vermifuge; but the most extraordinary 
 property of the papaw tree is, that animals 
 which are fed upon the fruit are found, when 
 killed, to be peculiarly tender. 
 
 CAELISLE. Till about a century ago, no 
 trade or manufacture of any importance ap- 
 pears to have been carried on within this city : 
 but it is now gradually rising in importance. 
 The principal business of Carlisle arises from 
 its manufactures of cotton goods and ginghams, 
 and its coasting trade, which is somewhat ex- 
 tensive. The distance of the city from Port 
 Carlisle, at the mouth of the river Eden, on 
 the Solway Frith, is about nine miles ; a ship 
 canal, eleven miles in length, which was com- 
 pleted in 1823, connects Carlisle with Bow- 
 ness on the Solway Frith. By this canal ves- 
 sels of 100 tons burden can ascend to the 
 town. A steamer plies twice a week between 
 Liverpool and Port Carlisle. One of the prin- 
 cipal stations on the line of railway from Lon- 
 don to the Scottish districts by the North 
 Western and Caledonian railways is at Car- 
 lisle. The town also possesses railway com- 
 munication with Newcastle-on-Tyne and South 
 Shields on the eastern coast, and with Mary- 
 port on the western coast. The vessels regis- 
 tered as belonging to Carlisle on the 31st of 
 December, 1849, were 42, of 2107 tons. The 
 number and tonnage of vessels entered and 
 cleared during the year 1849 were 88S vessels 
 of 108,115 tons. 
 
535 
 
 CARMINE. 
 
 CARPET. 
 
 536 
 
 The products of Carlisle industry will be 
 exhibited to a limited extent at the G-ranc 
 Display of 1851. Cottons, furniture chintzes 
 woollens, checks, and mixed fabrics, will oc 
 cupy a place. 
 
 CARMINE, one of the most beautiful o: 
 the red colours used by painters. It is ob- 
 tained from cochineal ; and its colouring mat- 
 ter, called carmin, may be extracted by the aic 
 of ammonia. [COCHINEAL.] 
 
 Carmine has been obtained from dahlias, by 
 M. Rupprecht of Vienna. It is only the deep 
 clear purple dahlia that will yield it ; but from 
 this variety he has obtained 235 Ibs. of car 
 mine from 200 square fathoms of dahlia beds 
 The carmine is said to be too fleeting for silk 
 or cotton dyeing, but to be fitted for staining 
 confectionary, artificial flowers, fancy paper 
 leather, and rouge powder. 
 
 CARNELIAN, or CORNELIAN. [AGATE.] 
 
 CAROLINA. North and South Carolina 
 supply varied produce for the commercial 
 markets. In North Carolina Indian corn is 
 raised throughout the State, and in some parts 
 cotton. In the upper country, oak, walnut, 
 lime, and cherry-trees of large size abound. 
 The principal minerals are gold and iron ; the 
 gold region is on both sides of the Blue Ridge ; 
 and here the gold is found in grains, in small 
 lumps, and in veins. The exports consist of 
 live cattle, tar, pitch, and turpentine, lumber, 
 Indian corn, cotton, tobacco, pork, lard, tallow, 
 &c. Most of these are sent to South Carolina 
 and Virginia to be exported thence. 
 
 In South Carolina, the principal objects of 
 agriculture in the low plains are rice and cot- 
 ton, the latter being also cultivated in some 
 districts farther inland. The sugar-cane is 
 only grown with advantage in the most south- 
 ern part of the state. The fruits of the sea- 
 coast are oranges, lemons, pomegranates, 
 obes, and figs. In the upper country all the 
 grains and vegetables of England are grown, 
 with Indian corn in addition. The forests 
 contain fine timber trees, especially oak, beech, 
 and hickory. No metal abounds, except iron, 
 which is met with in several places in the 
 upper country. A little gold is found, and 
 some copper and lead are wrought. To faci- 
 litate internal commerce a few short canals 
 have been cut, especially to avoid the rapids 
 of the rivers. The exports consist of cotton, 
 rice, tobacco, and hides, and the imports of 
 manufactured goods, and the productions of 
 the East and West Indies, with wines from 
 the countries of southern Europe. 
 
 CARPENTRY is the art of framing timber 
 generally, and especially the chief timbers in 
 house-building. The neater wood-work of 
 doors, window-frames, the planking of floors, 
 
 skirtings, and stairs, more properly belong to 
 JOINERY. 
 
 Carpentry requires a knowledge of the pro- 
 perties of timber, and of its strength when 
 exposed to various strains. [MATERIALS, 
 STRENGTH OF.] This will teach the peculiar 
 fitness of each kind of timber for its own pe- 
 culiar pui*pose. It will show, for example, 
 that while oak greatly exceeds fir in hardness 
 and durability, it may be inferior to it under 
 certain circumstances ; because, while the 
 fibres of a sawn beam of fir are so straight as 
 to run in unbroken lines from end to end, 
 those of a sawn beam of oak are often so tor- 
 tuous as to be repeatedly divided by the saw. 
 Seasoning, by long exposure to a current of 
 air, is necessary to prepare timber for use. in 
 carpentry ; but as the best seasoning will not 
 entirely prevent subsequent warping, shrink- 
 ing, and splitting or flying, timbers should be 
 so fitted together as to counteract as far as 
 may be the effect of such changes. When it 
 s required to bend timbers, they may be sof- 
 :ened by boiling or steaming, and then brought 
 to and secured at the desired curvature, which, 
 when cold and dry, they will retain with very 
 ittle variation. 
 
 Illustrations of a few details of carpentry 
 will be found under FLOOR, ROOF, SCARFING, 
 TRUSSING, &c. The most gigantic examples 
 of timber-work in modern times, are to be 
 bund, perhaps, in the scaffolding for the Bri- 
 .annia tubular bridge. In respect to one con- 
 inuous flooring, the Palace of Industry in 
 3yde Park furnishes, perhaps, the largest 
 mown example. 
 
 CARPET. The following kinds of carpets 
 
 are now made in Great Britain : Axminster, 
 
 Venetian, Kidderminster or Scotch, British 
 
 >r damask Venetian, Brussels, and Wilton or 
 
 ^ile carpeting. These names do not always 
 
 ienote either the present or original place of 
 
 nanufacture. Brussels carpets were intro- 
 
 luced into Kidderminster from Tournay in 
 
 745 : and it is doubtful whether Venetians 
 
 were ever made at Venice. Wiltons (which 
 
 re in fact Brussels carpets) were made on 
 
 he continent before they were introduced at 
 
 Vilton ; and what are called Kidderminster 
 
 ,re made in the greatest quantities in Scotland 
 
 r Yorkshire. 
 
 Axminster Carpets are usually made in one 
 dece, according to the dimensions of the room 
 or which they are required. The Avarp or 
 hain is of strong linen, placed perpendicularly 
 'etween two rolls, or beams which turn round 
 ncl enable the chain to be rolled from off 
 ne beam and on to the other as the weaving 
 f the carpet proceeds. Small tufts or bunches 
 f different coloured worsted or woollen are 
 
537 
 
 CAEPET. 
 
 CARPET. 
 
 538 
 
 tied to or fastened under the warp ; and when 
 one row of these tufts has been completed, 
 the shoot of linen is also thrown in and firmly 
 rammed down. Another row of tufts is then 
 arranged in such a manner as, by a change of 
 the colours, to form a further portion of the 
 pattern. To guide the weaver as to the posi- 
 tion of the colours, a small paper design or 
 drawing constantly hangs before him, from 
 which he works. The tufts wholly conceal 
 the linen threads. Real Turkey carpets are 
 manufactured in a similar manner, and they 
 are regularly imported, though not in very 
 large quantities. Finger or Town-made and 
 Storm ont rugs are also formed with tufts put 
 in as they are in Axminster carpets, but with 
 a different arrangement of apparatus. 
 
 Venetian Carpets. Here the warp or chain 
 which is of worsted, and generally arranged 
 in stripes of different colours, is alone visible ; 
 the shoot, which is of a dark colour and usu- 
 ally black, is concealed between the upper and 
 under surface. By using shoot of different 
 sizes these carpets are sometimes made to 
 assume the appearance of plaids, checks, or 
 twills. 
 
 Kidderminster or Scotch Carpets are formed 
 by the intersection of two or more cloths of 
 different colours ; but as these cloths may be 
 Avoven in stripes of different shades, by intro- 
 ducing at intervals shoots of different colours, 
 the carpet is usually made to assume a great 
 variety of colours. These carpets are some- 
 times ' three-ply,' or have three thicknesses of 
 cloth , but for the most part they are 'two-ply.' 
 Each cloth is perfect in itself, so that, if one 
 cloth were carefully cut away, the other would 
 remain perfect, and be in appearance like a 
 very coarse baize. The process of weaving 
 both cloths is carried on at the same time, 
 and in each part of the carpet that cloth is 
 brought to the surface which is required to 
 produce that portion of the pattern. The 
 back of the carpet will necessarily be of ex- 
 actly the same pattern as the front, but the 
 colours will be reversed. A complicated vari- 
 ety of the jacquard loom is employed in weav- 
 ing these carpets. 
 
 British or damask Venetian Carpets partake 
 both of the character of Venetian and Kidder- 
 minster, though more of the former than the 
 latter. The warp, as in the Venetian, is the 
 only pai-t seen, whereas in Riddel-minsters the 
 shoot forms by far the greatest portion of 
 what is visible. 
 
 Brussels Carpets form by far the most impor- 
 tant and increasing portion of the carpet trade. 
 Brussels are composed of linen and worsted, 
 the cloth or reticulated part of the structure 
 being entirely of linen, which is formed into 
 
 a kind of very coarse sampler cloth, with two 
 threads of linen for the shoot (one above, and 
 the other below the worsted). The mode of 
 bringing up to the surface the particular wor- 
 sted thread which gives the pattern requires 
 much ingenuity in the arrangement of the 
 Brussels loom. 
 
 Wilton or Pile Carpets differ from Brussels 
 only in this : that the loops of worsted are all 
 cut through, and the carpet assumes a velvety 
 appearance. At Glasgow a beautiful kind of 
 velvet carpet is manufactured, in which co- 
 loured chenille is thrown in as a shoot, and 
 afterwards cut at the surface. The manufac- 
 ture of Brussels carpet was introduced into 
 Wilton soon aftei its introduction into Kidder- 
 minster: the Wilton carpets being originally 
 a better description of goods, were distin- 
 guished by the name of Cut or Wilton Car- 
 pets. 
 
 The chief export trade for carpets is to the 
 United States of America ; but they are also 
 sent to most parts of the continents of Europe 
 and America. By far the greatest quantity 
 of Brussels is made in Kidderminster : what 
 are called Kidderminster or Scotch are made 
 in the largest quantities in different parts of 
 Scotland and the north of England. 
 
 Mr. Wood, of Darwen, patented in 1850 an 
 ingenious mode of making looped or piled (or 
 what may perhaps be termed velvet) carpets. 
 Under the ordinary circumstances of making 
 velvet [VELVET] wires are inserted at inter- 
 vals to assist in forming the loops ; and these 
 wires have to be inserted and removed by 
 hand. In Mr. Wood's plan of carpet making, 
 however, wires are thrown in among the warp- 
 threads, and removed when the weft is formed, 
 by ingenious mechanism attached to tho 
 loom. 
 
 There is a mode of imparting colour to car- 
 pets, patented by Mr. Henshall, a carpet ma- 
 nufacturer of Huddersfield, in which some- 
 thing like the principle of calico-printing is 
 applied to carpet-work. The object is to pro- 
 duce differently coloured spots, squares, or 
 stripes, independent of the mere weaving pro- 
 cess. The warp threads are arranged side by 
 side in a peculiar frame, so as to form an even 
 horizontal layer ; and in that state they are 
 drawn tightly over a printing table, and printed 
 in colours by blocks in the usual way. When 
 these warp threads (or they may just as con- 
 veniently be weft-threads) are applied to weav- 
 ing, a pattern is produced by the variation of 
 the colour in each thread, in addition to the 
 primary pattern which results from the weav- 
 ing process. 
 
 In a communication to the Times in 1845, a 
 correspondent suggests the manufacture of 
 
539 
 
 CARPOBA'LSAMUM. 
 
 CARROT. 
 
 540 
 
 cheap carpets from coarse cotton. ' There 
 are many kinds of carpets made of cotton in 
 India stout, serviceable, handsome things ; 
 generally they are termed serrigee. These are 
 of all sizes, from the small one, seven feet by 
 three, which every man possesses ; to enor- 
 mous ones for rooms and halls. These are 
 generally striped, red and blue, or three shades 
 of blue, sometimes woven into patterns ; and 
 I have often thought how useful they would 
 be in England, these coarse kinds, for the 
 poorer classes, for bed-rooms, &c. Again, 
 what beautiful designs might not be manufac- 
 tured by the skill of English workmen, how 
 large a quantity of small ones for individuals, 
 or large for halls, might not be made for ex- 
 portation to Africa, South America, and even 
 India ! At Warungole, in the Nizam's country, 
 beautiful carpets of the same description as 
 Turkey that is, with a nap raised are made 
 of cotton. 
 
 A patent has been taken out within the last 
 few years, for a mode of manufacturing car- 
 pets by a felting process. 
 
 A carpet of a very remarkable kind is now 
 being prepared for the Great Exhibition, by a 
 committee of ladies of Westminster. It will 
 be thirty feet long by twenty wide, and will 
 consist of 150 pieces two feet square. For 
 each piece a design has been drawn by Mr. 
 Papworth and Mr. Simpson, the full size ; and 
 each lady, on payment of a guinea, has one 
 design placed at her disposal, to work up into 
 a piece of the carpet ; the work is to be execu- 
 ted by hand in Berlin wool, which is supplied 
 by the committee. There are to be 340 threads 
 in each direction, in each piece ; and when 
 completed, the whole of the pieces are to be 
 joined edge to edge to form a carpet. The 
 whole carpet will form not a repetition 
 of designs but one comprehensive design, 
 which it is supposed could not be imitated in 
 the loom for less than 1000Z. 
 
 CARPOBA'LSAMUM, a kind of Volatile 
 aromatic oil, said by Bruce to be furnished by 
 the Balsamodendron Gileadense. It is produced 
 by the nuts, which have a fleshy kernel yield- 
 ing the balsam by simple expression. It 
 should be employed while recent, otherwise 
 it loses its odour and becomes inert. 
 
 CARRIER, in a commercial sense, is one 
 who for hire undertakes the conveyance of 
 goods or persons for any one who employs 
 him. In a legal sense, it extends not only to 
 those who convey goods by land, but also to 
 the owners and masters of ships, mail-con- 
 tractors, and even to wharfingers who under- 
 take to convey goods for hire from their 
 wharfs to the vessel in their own lighters, but 
 not to mere hackney coachmen. A common 
 
 carrier of goods for hire is not only bound to 
 take goods tendered to him, if he has room in 
 his conveyance, and he is informed of their 
 quality and value, but he is liable for their 
 loss, except in three cases : 1, Loss arising 
 from the king's public enemies ; 2, Loss aris- 
 ing from the act of God, such as storm, light- 
 ning, or tempest ; 3, Loss arising from the 
 owner's own fault, as by imperfect packing. A 
 carrier can refuse to deliver up goods which 
 have come into his possession as a carrier, 
 until his reasonable charges for the carriage 
 are paid. 
 
 CARRONADES are short iron guns, differ- 
 ing from other guns, and from howitzers, only 
 in their dimensions and hi the manner of at- 
 taching them to their carriages, which is by a 
 joint and bolt underneath the piece, instead 
 of trunnions. They derive their name from 
 the village of Carron, in Stirlingshire, where 
 they were first made. 
 
 When fired at point-blank, their range is 
 about 150 yards ; and, at an elevation of three 
 degrees, it varies from 660 to 750 yards. They 
 are extremely serviceable on land for breach- 
 ing ramparts of earth, or for enfilading the 
 faces of works ; and at sea, in engagements at 
 close quarters. 
 
 CARROT. The principal use of carrots is 
 as food for cattle. The orange carrot and its 
 varieties are the most common in England ; 
 but the large white and yellow carrots are 
 more esteemed on the continent ; they are 
 supposed to contain more saccharine matter, 
 and to produce a greater bulk of nutriment on 
 the same extent of ground. The best method 
 of taking up the carrots, to store them for 
 winter use, is by means of three-pronged forks, 
 such as are used in digging asparagus beds. 
 The plough is sometimes used after the coul- 
 ter has been removed; but, with all the care 
 of the ploughman, the plough and the horses 
 will cut and bruise many of the finest carrots. 
 Carrots may be kept all winter in dry cellars, 
 if they are protected against the frost. The 
 more common way is to store them in straw in 
 long trenches. The produce of carrots on 
 ood light land is nearly double that of pota- 
 toes, and they do not impoverish the land so 
 much. From twenty to forty pounds of carrots, 
 with a small quantity of oats, is a sufficient 
 allowance for a hard working horse for twenty- 
 four hours. Where hay is scarce, it is a most 
 economical substitute ; and where the value 
 of urine is known carrots are much prized, as 
 they greatly tend to its increase. 
 
 If carrots are cut in pieces and steamed, 
 they become more nutritious, and the ex- 
 pressed juice made to ferment affords by dis- 
 tillation a very good and wholesome spirit, 
 
CAKT. 
 
 CAETOON. 
 
 542 
 
 Sugai' may also be extracted; but the carrot is 
 inferior to the beet in this respect. 
 
 Carrot seed to the amount of 22,000 Ibs. 
 was imported from France in 1847. 
 
 CAKT. The drag - cart without wheels, 
 which is used in some mountainous districts, 
 is one of the simplest contrivances for trans- 
 porting heavy weights. It consists of two 
 strong poles, connected by cross-pieces fixed 
 at right angles to them, the ends resting on 
 the ground. The other ends of the poles form 
 the shafts for the horse to draw by. The Irish 
 car may be considered as the next step to- 
 wards a better construction. This car consists 
 of a bed or platform and two shafts. The 
 wheels, in the simplest form, are round disks 
 of wood, fixed on a square axle of wood at the 
 distance of three or four feet from each other. 
 To the under part of the bed of the cart two 
 blocks of wood are fixed, which raise it so that 
 the wheels may go under the cart, and in these 
 blocks are two round holes to admit the ends 
 of the axle. This is the simple old Irish car. 
 The only difference in the construction of the 
 most improved modern cars is the substitution 
 of neat wheels and iron axles for those de- 
 scribed above, and a railing or box fixed on 
 the platform. 
 
 The common cart differs from the car in 
 that the body rests on a fixed axle between 
 the wheels, which turn upon the axle by means 
 of boxes in the centre of the naves. The sim- 
 plest cart is that used by carriers in France 
 and Germany. It consists of two strong poles 
 of ash or beech, resembling those of the drag- 
 cart described above. One end forms the 
 shafts, and the whole is equally poised on the 
 axle. The wheels are often nearly six feet in 
 diameter, and narrow at the tire ; they are 
 slightly dished, but run nearly perpendicularly 
 to the road. On these carts very great weights 
 are transported, so as to require five or six 
 horses to draw them. Where the roads are 
 level and hard, waggons are much to be pre- 
 ferred to carts ; but in hilly countries and bad 
 roads carts have many advantages. For agri- 
 cultural purposes various kinds of carts have 
 been invented. The capacious tumbril for 
 carting earth and dung, with broad wheels to 
 prevent their sinking in soft ground, is too 
 generally known to require description. The 
 light Scotch cart, drawn by one horse, is justly 
 considered as the most advantageous for tran- 
 sporting earth, lime, or dung, especially in 
 hilly countries. It is low and short, so that 
 the horse draws very near the centre of gravity ; 
 and there is little power lost by obliquity. It 
 is made to carry hay and straw by means of a 
 light frame, which is laid on it, and projects 
 over the body and the wheels in every direction. 
 
 To avoid the weight resting on the back of 
 the horse, carts have been invented with three 
 wheels, the small additional wheel being made 
 to turn in front. The addition of springs to 
 carts and waggons is a very great improvement, 
 and should be adopted in every case where 
 they are much used on the roads. The addi- 
 tional weight of the springs and their cost are 
 greatly overbalanced by their advantage : they 
 lessen the draught, and, by preventing jolting 
 and shaking, add to the durability of the vehi- 
 cles. 
 
 Our agricultural machine makers have made 
 many improvements in carts within the last 
 few years. Croskill's one-horse cart is formed 
 to carry a considerable load, with less weight 
 on the horse than ordinary carts ; it is now 
 much used in agricultural counties, to carry 
 (say) five quarters of wheat 10 or 12 miles to 
 market and return with a solid load of 30 cwt. 
 Among other varieties are the Norwich cart, 
 the Norwich pair-horse waggon, the Exeter 
 cart, the Scotch cart, the Newcastle cart, &c. 
 Many of these carts are now provided with 
 Croskill's patent wheels and axles,made wholly 
 by machinery, and consisting principally of 
 iron. 
 
 CAETHAMIN and CAETHAMEIN. The 
 yellow colouring matter of carthamus is to be 
 extracted by water, and it is then to be sprin- 
 kled with a very dilute solution of carbonate of 
 soda, which dissolves the carthamin ; this is 
 to be precipitated by a salt of lead, and the 
 oxide of read separated by hydrosulphuric acid. 
 By this treatment a yellow solution is obtained, 
 which by spontaneous evaporation yields small 
 prismatic crystals of pure carthamin. When 
 exposed over mercury to oxygen gas, it be- 
 comes after some days merely yellowish ; but, 
 if a little alkali be added to it, it becomes im- 
 mediately yellow, and then passes rapidly to a 
 rose colour, which is employed by dyers as the 
 source of some of the more delicate rose co- 
 lours and the rich scarlet called ponceau. It 
 also constitutes the basis of the cosmetic 
 known by the name of rouge. The acids, and 
 particularly citric acid, precipitate it from the 
 alkali in the state of the well-known fine rose 
 colour, which is called by M. Preisser cartha- 
 mein. 
 
 CAETOON, is a word used by artists to sig- 
 nify the full-sized drawings or studies made 
 in chalks, or body colour (tempera, as it is 
 called in Italy), preparatory to executing any 
 great work either in oil colour or fresco. Car- 
 toons are also made when the design is to be 
 copied in tapestry. The great masters seldom 
 commenced any extensive picture without 
 first making studies or cartoons in chiaro 'sciiro, 
 Many of those by Eaffaelle, Andrea Mantegna, 
 
543 
 
 CARTRIDGE. 
 
 CARTRIDGE. 
 
 544 
 
 Domenichino, the Caracci, and others, remain 
 to attest the laborious diligence and care with 
 which their great works were accomplished. 
 By this means the composition, drawing, ex- 
 pression, and light and shade, were all per- 
 fected before the colouring of the picture was 
 attempted. 
 
 The finest specimens of cartoons that are 
 known are those executed by Raffaelle d'Ur- 
 bino, which were sent to Flanders, in the reign 
 of Pope Leo X., to be copied in tapestry, in 
 two sets. The tapestries (only shadows of 
 Raflaelle's exquisite designs) were finished, 
 and one set is now in Rome. The cartoons, 
 originally twenty-five in number, were left neg- 
 lected at Brussels, and most of them seem to 
 have been lost or destroyed. A few, however, 
 escaped this fate, and seven are now in Eng- 
 land in the royal collection at Hampton Court. 
 Their history ever since their arrival in Eng- 
 land is eventful. They were bought in Flan- 
 ders by Rubens for King Charles I. At the 
 dispersion and sale of the royal collection, 
 the cartoons were secured to the country by 
 purchase, by Cromwell's particular command ; 
 at which time, we are told, the Triumphs of 
 Julius Caesar, by Andrea Mantegna (still pre- 
 served at Hampton Court) were valued at 
 2000/., while the cartoons of Raflaelle were 
 estimated at only 300/. In the reign of Charles 
 II. they were again consigned to neglect. They 
 had been sent to Mortlake to be copied in ta- 
 pestry, where they were seriously injiged. Wil- 
 liam III. had them repaired, and built a gal- 
 lery at Hampton Court for their reception. 
 George III. removed them to Buckingham 
 Palace, and subsequently to Windsor Castle. 
 They were again removed to Hampton Court, 
 where they now are. 
 
 The subjects of these seven Cartoons are as 
 follow : 
 
 1. Paul preaching at Athens. 
 
 2. Death of Ananias. 
 
 3. Elimas the Sorcerer. 
 
 4. Christ delivering the keys. 
 
 5. Sacrifice at Lystra. 
 
 6. Apostles healing the Sick. 
 
 7. Miraculous draught of Fishes. 
 CARTRIDGE, is a cylindrical case contain- 
 ing a charge of gunpowder or shot, or of pow- 
 der and ball, for fire-arms. Those used for 
 loading muskets, carbines, and pistols, are 
 formed of paper, and are styled ball or blank 
 cartridges according as they contain both pow- 
 der and ball, or powder only ; while the larger 
 cartridges for cannon and mortars, which al- 
 ways consist of powder only, are usually cased 
 with flannel, though sometimes pasteboard, 
 tin, or even wood, is employed. The North 
 Americans, during their last war with England, 
 
 are said to have employed very thin sheets of 
 lead, resembling those used for lining tea- 
 chests, for this purpose, thereby avoiding the 
 danger of burning fragments of the cartridge- 
 case remaining in the piece after firing. 
 
 Wire cartridges, for containing a charge of 
 small shot, without powder, have been intro- 
 duced for sporting purposes within the last 
 few years. They consist of an inner case of 
 wire network inclosed in a thin paper case, to 
 the outer end of which a wadding is attached. 
 The shot, with which it is usual to mix bone- 
 dust or some other substance to fill up the 
 interstices, is put within this case, which is 
 rammed down upon the charge of powder. 
 When the gun is fired, the paper case is torn 
 to pieces as soon as the cartridge leaves the 
 gun, and the shot immediately begins to quit 
 the cartridge by passing through the meshes 
 of the iron net work, which is carried forward 
 with the charge until it is quite empty, when 
 it falls to the ground. By this contrivance the 
 heating of the gun is avoided, and the recoil 
 produced by the discharge is lessened, the 
 charge leaving the barrel like a bullet. The 
 shot are also carried so much more closely 
 than when loose, that lighter charges, and con- 
 equently a lighter gun, may be used ; much 
 time is saved in loading, especially as no sepa- 
 rate wadding is required ; and, as the cartridge 
 has no inclination to move before it is impel- 
 led by the explosion of the powder, the danger 
 arising from the accidental shifting or rising 
 of loose charges is avoided. 
 
 Mr. Berney patented a few years ago a new 
 kind of cartridge. The shot is enclosed in a 
 spiral wire case, tapered towards the end, and 
 provided with a cushion at bottom of wool, 
 moss, tow, or any other soft elastic substance, 
 to prevent by its elasticity the sudden explo- 
 sion of the powder from breaking the case or 
 jamming the shot. The case expands after its 
 discharge from the gun, and according as the 
 coils are more or less apart, so does the dis- 
 tance vary to which the bulk of the shot may 
 be carried before escaping through the coils. 
 The object intended by this cartridge is to 
 convey a greater number of shot to a given 
 mark, without diverging or separating, than 
 can be done by the use of the ordinary cart- 
 ridges ; and experiments made near Chalk 
 Farm in 1840, with this object in view, seem 
 to have borne out the intention of the patentee. 
 
 Another new form of cartridge was patented 
 in 1840 by Mr. Bush. It is made by taking 
 a circular disc of wood, or two card -board 
 boxes, like two pill -box lids fitted one within 
 the other, having a hole in the centre in which 
 a percussion cap is placed, and held there by 
 being covered with a piece of calico or canvas. 
 
545 CARTWRIGHT, EDMUND. 
 
 Around this as a base the paper cylinder or 
 case is formed and filled up with the proper 
 charge of gunpowder, and shots or a hall as 
 the case may he. This invention is intended 
 to be used in conjunction with a peculiar mode 
 of constructing muskets so as to be loaded at 
 the breech. 
 
 Dr. Jager invented a new kind of cartridge 
 in 1847, intended to be used with a new kind 
 of musket also invented by him. There is 
 neither priming nor percussion cap needed in 
 the firing ; but a kind of percussion cap, or nip- 
 ple filled with fulminating powder, is formed 
 in the cartridge itself; and the gun is so 
 formed, that a small hammer, moved by the 
 trigger, strikes on the nipple, which projects a 
 little way into an aperture in the side of the gun. 
 
 From a return presented to the Committee 
 of the House of Commons on the Ordnance 
 Estimates, in 1849, it appears that the store 
 of cartridges kept on hand by the Ordnance is 
 immense. On the 1st January, 1849, the 
 store in the United Kingdom and the colonies 
 was as follows : 
 
 Musket Ball Cartridges . . 48,7,27,366 
 Blank ... 8,527,159 
 
 Carbine Ball ... 8,188,288 
 Blank ... 4,335,087 
 
 Pistol Ball ... 4,077,722 
 
 Blank ... 946,023 
 
 Bine Ball ... 3,802,584 
 
 Musketoon Ball ... 58,326 
 
 CARVING. 
 
 546 
 
 78,662,555 
 
 "When percussion muskets were introduced 
 into the army, the old cartridges became use- 
 less. Most of the cartridges are made up by 
 boys, in the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich ; 
 there are about 180 boys so employed, each of 
 whom can make 600 ball cartridges or 900 
 blank cartridges in a day ; but sometimes ar- 
 tillery men make them up in the colonies from 
 powder sent from England in barrels. 
 
 CARTWRIGHT, EDMUND, though a 
 graduate and a clergyman, comes before us 
 for notice here as a mechanical inventor. In 
 the year 1784 his attention was accidentally 
 called to the subject of mechanical weaving. 
 Dr. Cartwright's attention had never been di- 
 rected to mechanical inventions, but by the 
 April of 1785 he was enabled to produce his 
 first power-loom, which, though an extremely 
 rude machine, soon received many valuable 
 improvements. Its first introduction was op- 
 posed both by manufacturers and their work- 
 men, owing to various prejudices ; and a mill 
 containing 500 of his looms, the first which 
 had been erected, was wilfully burnt down. 
 With various improvements however it con- 
 tinued to force its way into use. In April 
 
 1790, Dr. Cartwright took out a patent for 
 combing wool ; altogether he obtained ten dif- 
 ferent patents for inventions and improvements 
 of various kinds. In 1809 Parliament granted 
 to Dr. Cartwright, who had hitherto derived 
 little advantage from his inventions, the sum 
 of 10,000/. for ' the good service he had ren- 
 dered the public by his invention of weaving.' 
 This was less than he had expended on his 
 projects, but it enabled him to pass the re- 
 mainder of his days in ease and comfort. He 
 died in 1823, in his 81st year. 
 
 CARVING is usually understood to refer 
 exclusively to works in ivory or wood, to dis- 
 tinguish it from carving in marble 01 stone, 
 which comes under the term sculpture ; or in 
 metals, when it is called chasing. The ancients 
 used ivory to a great extent in works of art, 
 and its union vith gold, called by the Greeks 
 chrys-elcphantine sculpture, was adopted by the 
 greatest artists. In later times carving in 
 ivory has been confined to smaller objects. 
 Wood of almost every description was a fa- 
 vourite material for carving among the an- 
 cients, and, after clay, was doubtless, from the 
 facility of cutting it, the first substance used 
 for imitative art. 
 
 For a long period in modern times, there 
 was a great demand for fine wood-carvings. 
 The elaborately worked Gothic screens, choir 
 seats, and desks, in most of our cathedrals 
 and colleges, canopies, frames for doors and 
 pictures, cabinets, and indeed every description 
 of furniture, are evidences of the extent to 
 which it was employed, and of the skill of the 
 artists. One of the most eminent modern 
 carvers in wood was Grinling Gibbons, a na,- 
 tive of England. In London, the choir of St. 
 Paul's may be instanced as a work of this ar- 
 tist. The German and Flemish carvers in 
 ivory and wood were also much distinguished. 
 
 In Jordan's carving machinery, now at 
 work at Messrs. Taylor, Williams and Jordan's 
 establishment in the Belvedere Road, the 
 wood has movement given to it, while the tools 
 remain nearly stationary. A pattern of the 
 work to be carved is first modelled by the ar- 
 tist, and afterwards copied by the machine in 
 wood with perfect accuracy, and in such a 
 manner that two or three copies are made si- 
 multaneously ; the carving thus prepared by 
 the machine is then sent back to the artist, 
 who introduces by hand the finishing touches. 
 A very large amount of the carving in the new 
 Houses of Parliament has been effected by 
 this machine. The more delicate work for 
 the same building requiring hand -processes, is 
 entrusted to Mr. Rogers, whose exquisite pro- 
 ductions have done much towards the revival 
 of a taste for this art. 
 
547 
 
 CARY'ATIDES. 
 
 CASE-SHOT. 
 
 548 
 
 About five years ago Mr. Pratt patented a 
 carving machine, which was based on another 
 patent machine, invented by Mr. Irving, for 
 preparing the materials for inlaying. Accord- 
 ing to a description given of it before the In- 
 stitute of British Architects, Mr. Pratt's Ma- 
 chine combines the principle of the lathe, the 
 drill, and the pantograph. The material on 
 which the design is to be carved is fixed on a 
 table which turns on a centre. The tool, acting 
 in the manner of a centre-bit, is attached to an 
 arm, also working on a centre, and is made to 
 revolve with great velocity. Guided by a pat- 
 tern of cast iron, the tool, by a double move- 
 ment of the arm and the table, can be made 
 to pass through any combination of curves, 
 drilling out the material as it passes over it. 
 The lines of the design are determined by the 
 iron pattern, and the depth and form of the 
 sinking by the shape and position of the tool ; 
 and if a double moulding is required, two pat- 
 terns and two tools and a double operation are 
 necessary. The tool and its position at the 
 end of the arm being once adapted to the sec- 
 tion of the moulding to be produced, the rest 
 is purely mechanical ; the workman guides the 
 tool with one hand, and the table with the 
 other, and the design comes out with great 
 rapidity. The tool revolves three thousand 
 times in a minute ; and the wood is cut away 
 in the form of very fine fragments, like saw- 
 dust, leaving a smooth surface behind it. The 
 machine will cut stone with nearly the same 
 facility as wood. 
 
 A kind of imitative carving was introduced 
 a few years ago, in which a hot iron is em- 
 ployed instead of a cutting tool. An iron 
 mould is prepared corresponding to the pat- 
 tern to be produced ; and this mould, being 
 heated to redness, is applied with great force 
 to the surface of a piece of damped wood ; and 
 this process is repeated until the required 
 form is produced, by burning away the surface 
 of the wood. The char is then removed ; and 
 any requisite undercutting is done by hand. 
 When finished, the work has somewhat the 
 appearance of old oak ; and the surface may 
 be brought to a high polish. 
 
 The recent exhibitions of manufactures, 
 both modern and mediaeval, have been rich in 
 specimens of carving, showing to how high a 
 degree of excellence this art may be carried. 
 It is a pleasing feature in the history of taste 
 that this art, after a long period of decline, 
 has now again worked itself into favour. 
 
 CARYA'TIDES, female figures employed 
 in architecture in place of columns. Like 
 many other forms of art, they were most pro- 
 bably drawn from Egypt. Six beautiful Cary- 
 atid figure* were employed in the Pandrosion, 
 
 one of the buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. 
 The northern portico of the Pandrosion had 
 six Ionic columns, four in front, and one on 
 each flank : the southern portico was supported 
 by six Caryatid figures, four in front, and one 
 on each flank. They were placed upon a base- 
 ment, and supported an enriched entablature. 
 One of the figures is now in the British Mu- 
 seum, among the Elgin collection. The exe- 
 cution of this figure is very fine ; its height is 
 7 feet 9 inches. Caryatides may be seen at 
 the side porches of St. Pancras Church. 
 
 CARYO'TA, a genus of palms which grows 
 in tropical Asia. Its wood is so hard as to be 
 cut with some difficulty, and is consequently 
 of considerable value, provided the soft sap- 
 wood in the centre is scraped away. Roxburgh 
 describes the tree as being highly valuable to 
 the natives of the countries where it grows in 
 plenty : it yields them, during the hot season, 
 an immense quantity of toddy, or palm-wine. 
 The pith, or farinaceous part, of the trunk of 
 old trees is said to be equal to the best sago ; 
 the natives make it into bread, and boil it into 
 thick gruel. 
 
 CAS AN is one of the busiest cities of Eu- 
 ropean Russia. It has a great cloth manu- 
 factory, in which 1000 work-people are em- 
 ployed. Cottons, morocco and other leather, 
 soap, steel, iron, and earthenware, tiles, gun- 
 powder, spirits, and beer are the other chief 
 manufactures. It carries on an extensive 
 trade by means of the Volga in these products, 
 and in tea and other Asiatic imports. 
 
 CASE-HARDENING. This is a process 
 by which the surface of a piece of iron has a 
 quality imparted to it very much allied to that 
 of steel ; so as to superadd the hardness of a 
 steel surface to the toughness of an iron foun- 
 dation. It is applied to various kinds of tools 
 and utensils ; and is brought about by the ac- 
 tion of heat and charcoal, as in the conversion 
 of steel. [STEEL MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 CASE-SHOT are bullets contained in a 
 cylindrical tin canister, or in a spherical shell 
 of iron, which are discharged from a piece of 
 ordnance. The first of these kinds of cases 
 burst immediately on leaving the gun, and the 
 bullets, which at first take diverging rectilinear 
 directions, soon lose all regularity of motion ; 
 their effective range does not exceed 500 yards. 
 The spherical case-shot, which were formerly 
 called Shrapnell's Shells from the name of the 
 inventor, are fired like common shells, and, 
 the length of the fuse being properly regula- 
 ted, they only burst at the required spot ; 
 consequently the scattered balls and the frag- 
 ments of the shell may be made to take full 
 effect in a column of an enemv's troops at 800 
 or 1200 yards' distance. 
 
549 
 
 CASEIN. 
 
 CASHMERE. 
 
 550 
 
 CASEIN is the basis of the -various kinds 
 of cheese, and closely resembles albumen in 
 many properties. It is a curdy white substance, 
 insoluble in water or alcohol, but soluble by 
 water containing an alkali or its carbonate. 
 It is coagulable, and is separated from the 
 milk in making cheese. 
 
 CASEMATE, is a vault of stone or brick- 
 work, frequently built in the thickness of the 
 rampart of a fortress for the reception of ar- 
 tillery which is to fire through embrasures 
 pierced for the purpose in the front of the 
 vault. 
 
 CASHMERE. This very interesting moun- 
 tain region of India has produce and manu- 
 factures of a peculiar character. The lower 
 classes live partly on the singhara, or water- 
 tun, which, during eight or nine months in 
 the year, is fished from the bottom of the lake 
 Wulur. Of this article, 60,000 tons are pro- 
 cured annually, sufficient for the support of 
 20,000 persons. The mucilaginous pith of 
 the water-lily also supports a considerable 
 number of people during eight months. Among 
 the cultivated plants the crocus is the only 
 one which furnishes an article of export, the 
 saffron of Cashmere being known in all parts 
 of Western Asia. A sort of grape, called sitn- 
 aut, yields, by distillation, a beverage which, 
 in the opinion of the Chinese, is not inferior 
 to that of the ordinary grape. Common 
 grapes also abound, and the wine which is 
 made resembles Madeira. No trees are cul- 
 tivated with any care except the walnut, of 
 which there are three different kinds ; the 
 kernel is eaten, and used for making oil ; and 
 the husks of the fruit are employed in dyeing 
 black. Cashmere is famous for its flowers, 
 especially roses, which are cultivated with care, 
 and from them attar is extracted. [ATTAE, OF 
 ROSES.] Bees are very numerous, and each 
 farmer has several bee-hives in the walls of 
 his house, sometimes as many as ten ; these 
 hives are of a cylindrical form, and extend 
 quite through the wall. Silk-worms are 
 reared, but less than formerly, when silk was 
 an article of export. The metals are iron, 
 which is abundant, copper, plumbago, and 
 lead exist, but are not worked. 
 
 The Cashmerians are very industrious, 
 which is shown in the excellence of their cul- 
 tivation, and the perfection which their manu- 
 factures have attained. The principal branch 
 of industry is shawl-making, in which 60,000 
 individuals are employed, though the number 
 of looms, which two hundred years ago 
 amounted to 40,000, has been greatly reduced. 
 Two weavers work at each loom, when the 
 shawls are simple ; but when they are of a 
 superior kind, four persons are required. Ac- 
 
 cording to one authority, 80,000 shawls are 
 annually made, but the number is constantly 
 fluctuating, so that no correct estimate can 
 possibly be formed. Paper is also manufac- 
 tured, and though less is now exported than 
 formerly, it is still considered as the best 
 made in Western Asia. The Cashmerians 
 work with great skill and taste different objects 
 in wood, which, as well as lacker-work, are ex- 
 ported to the neighbouring countries. The 
 commerce of the country seems to be limited 
 to the exportation of the manufactured goods, 
 and the importation of wool from Tibet, and 
 of metals from India, and perhaps from Per- 
 sia. The transport of goods over the high 
 mountains is chiefly effected by men, who 
 carry them on their backs. Between Cash- 
 mere and Ladak sheep are used to carry bur- 
 dens. 
 
 CASHMERE, is a peculiar textile fabric 
 formed of the fine downy wool found about 
 the roots of the hair of the Tibet goat, and so 
 called from the original seat of the manufac- 
 ture, in the valley of Cashmere. Shawls of 
 exceedingly delicate quality are the principal 
 articles manufactured of this material ; but a 
 cloth woven in imitation of them is also made, 
 and called by the same name, or by corruption, 
 Cassimere. Kerseymere, which resembles 
 cassimere in sound, is a different fabric. 
 [WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURES.] 
 
 An interesting description of the manufac- 
 ture of Cashmere shawls is given in ' Vigne's 
 Travels in Kashmir.' The process is exceed- 
 ingly slow, the weaving of a pair of shawls, or, 
 as some writers have it, of a single shawl, 
 often employing three men with a clumsy old- 
 fashioned loom for a period of six months ; 
 and, owing to the numerous heavy duties 
 charged upon the shawls between leaving the 
 loom and reaching a purchaser in this country, 
 the price of real Cashmere shawls of the best 
 quality is very high. They have frequently 
 been sold in London at from 100 to 400 gui- 
 neas each, and at one time, when the import 
 duty, which has since been greatly reduced, 
 amounted to 80 per cent, on the value, as 
 much as 500 guineas has been demanded for 
 a single shawl. 
 
 Various attempts have been made to natu- 
 ralise the Cashmere shawl goat in this and 
 other European countries ; but, as the pecu- 
 liarities of its wool appear to be dependent 
 upon climate, the perfect success of any such 
 attempt is problematical. The wool itself has 
 also been imported as a raw material. In 
 1830, at which time the weaving of shawls 
 from Cashmere yarn imported from France, 
 had become an important branch of manufac- 
 ture, a premium of 300/. was offered by the 
 
551 
 
 CASKS. 
 
 CASPIAN SEA. 
 
 Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of 
 Arts and Manufactures in Scotland, to the 
 person who should first establish the spinning 
 of Cashmere wool upon the French principle. 
 In consequence of this offer, Captain C. S. 
 Cochrane devoted himself to the subject, and 
 having succeeded, after some difficulty, in ob- 
 taining a knowledge of the secret, he patented 
 the plan, and subsequently sold his patent to 
 the Messrs. Holdsworth, of Glasgow, who es- 
 tablished the manufacture successfully, and 
 obtained the offered reward in 1832. 
 
 CASKS ; COOPERAGE. The making of 
 casks, barrels, butts, hogsheads, tubs, <fec., is, 
 up to the present time, almost wholly a han- 
 dicraft employment. The peculiar shaping of 
 the pieces of wood, the fitting them together, 
 and the mode of binding them with iron hoops, 
 are all effected without the aid of anything 
 which deserves the name of machinery. Yet 
 when we consider how mathematically exact 
 all the angles and curves must be, it would 
 seem to be a branch of manufacture peculiarly 
 fitted for the application of machinery. 
 
 Accordingly, we find that patents are fre- 
 quently taken out for cask-making machinery. 
 One such patent, by Mr. Brown, obtained 
 twenty or thirty years ago, relates to a system 
 of machinery, of which one part cuts the edges 
 of the staves ; another part cuts the groove or 
 chine for receiving the head ; a third part cuts 
 the head into a circular shape : a fourth bevels 
 the edge of the head; and a fifth gives a 
 smooth circular surface to the exterior of the 
 cask. 
 
 Davison and Symington's patent respecting 
 casks, taken out in 1844, relates to the value 
 of a rapid current of heated air, not only in 
 drying wood, but in removing fungous impuri- 
 ties which often accompany damp -wood. They 
 recommend that, in making a cask, instead of 
 drying the wood in the ordinary way before 
 using, by which it is difficult to bend without 
 blistering, it should be cut up quite green, 
 and shaped into staves and heads due allow- 
 ance being made for shrinkage. The pieces 
 are easily bent in this state ; and being tem- 
 porarily fastened together, they are exposed 
 to a rapid current of heated air, which carries 
 off all the moisture, and shrinks the pieces to 
 the proper size. 
 
 The same patentees also use hot air to 
 cleanse casks after using : a method which 
 they consider to be more effectual and cheaper 
 than the use of steam, which is ordinarily em- 
 ployed in the great breweries. In order to 
 remove from the interior of the cask any fun- 
 gus or impurity which cannot be removed by 
 the heated air, the patentees use a peculiar 
 kind of chain, which enters at the bung-hole, 
 
 and is worked about by means of machi- 
 nery. 
 
 Mr. Robertson, a cooper of Liverpool, took 
 out a patent in 1849 for a series of machines 
 of rather complicated character, for making 
 casks and similar vessels. One piece of ap- 
 paratus is intended to plane, at one time, both 
 sides of the staves which are to form the 
 curved part of the cask ; giving a convexity to 
 one surface and a concavity to the other sur- 
 face of each piece of wood. A second piece of 
 apparatus planes the edges of the staves, 
 giving to each edge the particular slope neces- 
 sary for the staves to assume a circular ar- 
 rangement when placed edge to edge. A third 
 machine compresses all the staves together 
 in a circular form, and forces the ends within 
 ,he hoops which are to bind them together. 
 Another machine presses together the pieces 
 of wood which are to form the head of the 
 cask, cuts them into a circular form, and bevels 
 the edges. A fifth piece of apparatus cuts the 
 groove in which the head is fitted to the cask ; 
 and another punches the holes in the iron 
 hoops. Thus, according to the patentee's 
 plans, every part of a cask is made by machi- 
 nery. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Brown patented in 1840 a mode 
 of making metallic casks. The cask is formed 
 of a parallelogram of sheet iron or other metal, 
 turned up into a cylindrical form, with an or- 
 dinary lap joint. The head of the cask is 
 formed of a circular piece of metal, cut out 
 and turned up all round the edge ; this being 
 forcibly driven into the cylindrical barrel, has 
 rivets placed at intervals of four or five inches 
 all round, which are rivetted through the bar- 
 rel and through the turned up edge of the 
 head. The other end of the cask, called the 
 moveable head, is made like the first, but at- 
 tached in a different manner ; in this case 
 projecting ears of metal are rivetted at proper 
 intervals around the cylinder ; and the heads 
 of these rivets being within the cylinder, serve 
 as stops to prevent the head of the cask from 
 being driven in too far. This second head 
 being forced into its place, the ears are bent 
 down upon the edge of the cylinder and over 
 the raised edge of the head, thereby retaining 
 it firmly in its place. The joints are to be 
 made fluid-tight with any of the ordinary 
 paints or cements. 
 
 CASPIAN SEA. The depth of this inland 
 sea in some places reaches to 600 feet ; but, 
 as the sea is mostly shallow near the coasts, 
 it is unfavourable for navigation by large ships. 
 The water is salt, but less so than that of the 
 ocean. The navigation is confined to the 
 countries lying on the west shores between 
 the mouth of the Volga and the town of Aster- 
 
558 
 
 CASSA'VA. 
 
 CASTLE. 
 
 554 
 
 abad. The Russians of Astrakhan use hrigs 
 of from 150 to 200 tons ; but the Persians 
 only small vessels, from 50 to 70 tons. The 
 fisheries give employment to the inhabitants 
 of the adjacent countries, who capture vast 
 numbers of sturgeon, belugas, sterlets, sal- 
 mon, and seals. On. the shores, much naphtha 
 is met with. 
 
 CASSA'VA, or Manioc, a nutritious fecula 
 obtained from the roots of Jatropha or Janipha 
 Manihot, and some allied species. This plant 
 abounds in a highly poisonous juice, very 
 small doses of which produce the most dan- 
 gerous consequences ; it is however of so vol- 
 atile a nature as to be entirely driven off by 
 heat, and consequently there is no practical 
 difficulty in procuring the nutritious sub- 
 stance in a pure state. In order to effect this 
 the roots are peeled, well washed, and then 
 ground between millstones till they are redu- 
 ced to a state of paste. This is subjected to 
 pressure for the purpose of depriving it, as 
 far as possible, of the juice ; the residue is 
 placed in vessels over a brisk and regular fire, 
 and continually stirred, until it becomes dry ; 
 it then acquires a granular appearance, is gra- 
 dually cooled, and afterwards packed in bar- 
 rels, when it may be preserved for a great 
 length of time. Tapioca is a preparation of 
 Cassava. 
 
 CA'SSIA, is a genus of leguminous plants, 
 consisting of a large number of species, chiefly 
 inhabiting the tropical or temperate parts of 
 the world, and including among them the 
 plants that produce the Senna leaves of the 
 apothecaries. 
 
 Cassia fistula is a small tree, with large yel- 
 low flowers growing in long loose racemes, 
 having the aspect of a laburnum, and is found 
 wild in India and the tropical parts of Africa. 
 The leaves, flowers and pulp of this plant are 
 purgative, but they are not now much used. 
 Cassia acutifolia, a small under shrub, is found 
 wild in Egypt, Sennaar, and Abyssinia, and 
 forms an important article in the commerce 
 of those countries. It is chiefly sent to Alex- 
 andria for shipment, whence it has gained the 
 name of Alexandrian Senna among the drug- 
 merchants. It is considered the most valu- 
 able of all the sennas. Cassia lanceolata is 
 found wild in Arabia, whence it is exported 
 under the name of Senna of Mecca. 
 
 Of the species of Cassia mentioned above 
 either the pulp or leaves are used in medicine. 
 The quantity of Cassia imported in 1849, 
 amounted to no less than 472,693 Ibs. ; and 
 in six months, from April to October ] 850, to 
 the enormous quantity of 940,395 Ibs. 
 
 CASSIA BUDS. The unexpanded flowers 
 of a species of Cinnamomwn, when they have 
 
 attained about a fourth of their complete size, 
 are collected and sold under this name. The 
 taste and odour resemble cinnamon, and they 
 are used for similar purposes. By distilla- 
 tion they yield a heavy yellowish-coloured oil. 
 CASTILE. New and Old Castile are richly 
 favoured provinces in Spain. The plains of 
 New Castile are among the finest wheat dis- 
 tricts in the world ; in La Mancha and Toledo 
 the annual produce of wheat amounts to about 
 2,000,000 quarters. The want of roads, canals, 
 and navigable rivers, is however severely felt. 
 Almost the only means of transport for all 
 kinds of produce is by mule -back. The prin- 
 cipal objects of cultivation besides wheat are 
 saffron, oil, fruits, wines, hemp, silk, and gar- 
 banzos, a sort of pea much used for food. The 
 province is rich in minerals ; but mines of 
 iron, salt, and quicksilver are the only ones 
 worked. The manufactures are confined 
 principally to articles of common use. The 
 province contains three or four important 
 towns which call for notice elsewhere. [ALMA- 
 DEN; MADRID; TOLEDO.] 
 
 The other province, Old Castile, nearly re- 
 sembles New Castile in general character. In 
 the department of Santander the high lands 
 contain fine pasturage, and in many places 
 are covered with forests of chestnuts, oak, pine, 
 and fir. A great deal of butter is made. Goats 
 are very numerous. Iron of the best quality 
 is obtained. In summer the mountain pas- 
 tures of the sierras are frequented by count- 
 Less numbers of migratory sheep, which remain 
 here till the beginning of October, when they 
 commence their return to Andalusia for the 
 winter. The manufactures are confined to 
 coarse woollens, cotton, linen, leather and 
 iss. Though agriculture is in a very back- 
 ward state in all the departments, yet a good 
 deal of wheat is exported from the province. 
 The chief sea-port, Santander, is a place of 
 considerable commercial activity, and carries 
 on an extensive trade with Cuba, to which it 
 exports flour ground at the large mills in the 
 neighbourhood. Wool is exported to England 
 and other countries. The imports consist 
 chiefly of colonial produce. San Ildefonso, 
 on the northern slope of the Sierra de Gua- 
 darrama, is famous for its manufacture of 
 
 CASTING. [FOUNDING.] 
 
 CASTLE, from the Latin castellum, a dimin- 
 utive of castrum, an encampment, is a walled 
 inclosure with a tower or towers, strongly con 
 structed and intended as a place of safety. 
 Numerous castles, many of which are in ruins, 
 still remain in various parts of Great Britain, 
 France, Germany, Italy, and in the East. The 
 castles of England consist of those erected by 
 
555 
 
 CASTLE. 
 
 CASTOR-OIL. 
 
 556 
 
 the Romans ; of British and Saxon castles 
 erected previous to the Norman conquest, and 
 Norman castles erected after it ; and also of 
 the more modern stone and brick castles, 
 erected from about the reign of Edward I. to 
 the time of Henry VII. The Roman castles 
 in this country are numerous, and some of 
 them still in very perfect condition, such as 
 Burgh Castle and Richborough. The Saxons 
 most probably adapted the Roman inclosures 
 to their modes of defence, and it appears that 
 they often raised a mound on one side of the 
 walls, on which they erected a keep or citadel. 
 Roman castles were probably sometimes 
 formed on the sites of British works; and 
 Saxon castle-building was probably borrowed 
 from the Romanised Britons, who had ac- 
 quired a taste and knowledge of the arts from 
 the Romans. 
 
 Norman castles, as fortifications, are the 
 strongest. They consisted of mounds and 
 ditches, or moats, with walls on the mounds 
 surmounted with battlements : the walls were 
 also fortified at the top with small projecting 
 towers called bastions. In the walls were en- 
 trance gate towers, with bridges either of 
 stone or wood, which were made to draw up 
 and down. The entrances were also guarded 
 with thick doors and portcullises, or gates 
 which dropped down through grooves at the 
 side of the masonry. All apertures, except 
 the gateway, were usually very small. Plat- 
 forms were made behind the parapets. The 
 gateway was sometimes defended by a barbican 
 and also flanked by towers, as well as the 
 outer walls. The keep was usually in or near 
 the centre of the castle, and it had sometimes 
 a chapel within it. Rochester Castle, which 
 stands on a small eminence near the bridge 
 over the Medway, is a fine example of a Nor- 
 man castle. 
 
 William the Conqueror was a great builder 
 of castles. Forty-nine castles are mentioned 
 in Domesday Book, which notices Arundel as 
 the only one named in the time of the Confes- 
 sor. It is said that in the nineteen years of 
 Stephen's reign 1115 castles were erected. 
 Every feudal chieftain had his stronghold, 
 round which his immediate retainers rallied, 
 for the purpose of mutual defence or to annoy 
 and plunder their neighbours. A very consi- 
 derable number of old towns of Europe gra- 
 dually arose around these baronial fortifica- 
 tions ; and it is interesting to trace, in the 
 history of many of these communities, the pro- 
 gress by which the town, originally a miserable 
 dependence on the castle, gradually attained 
 privileges, and charters, and wealth, and in 
 creased in strength and importance exactly in 
 proportion as the owner of the fortress lost 
 
 both, till finally the castle, from being neg- 
 lected and deserted, was either levelled with 
 the ground and furnished materials for house- 
 building, or remained in ruins, an enduring 
 monument of the slow but certain victory of 
 the once subject townsmen over then* lords. 
 
 CASTOR is a secretion formed within the 
 body of the beaver. The secretion is at first 
 in a liquid state about the consistence of syrup, 
 but it ultimately becomes solid, losing some 
 of its odour and activity. As met with in com- 
 merce it is of two kinds, the Russian, and Ca- 
 nadian or English, of which the Russian is 
 the rarest and most esteemed : it is more care- 
 fully managed from the time of its excision, 
 being first dried in smoke, and often wrapped 
 in swine's bladder. The odour is peculiar, 
 very penetrating and unpleasant ; the taste is 
 also peculiar, bitterish, somewhat acrid or aro- 
 matic, and enduring. Castorlnc may be ob- 
 tained by boiling one part of castor in six of 
 alcohol, and leaving the filtered liquid to cool, 
 Avhen it falls to the bottom. It is very com- 
 bustible, and is neither acid nor alkaline ; it 
 has a copperish taste. 
 
 Castor is used to a considerable extent in 
 medicine. 
 
 CASTOR-OIL is procured from the Eicinns 
 Communis, or Castor-oil plant, which was 
 known from very ancient times both to the 
 Egyptians and to the Greeks. The native 
 country of the Ricinus communis is unknown, 
 though it is conjectured to be originally from 
 Barbary. The entire plant is possessed of ac- 
 tive properties, but the oil extracted from the 
 seeds is only employed in Europe. The an- 
 cients administered the seeds entire, but their 
 variable action, occasionally even producing 
 fatal effects, led to their disuse, and the oil is 
 of comparatively recent introduction. The 
 seeds, of which three are found in each cap- 
 sule, are about the size of a small bean. They 
 were formerly known in the shops as Semina 
 Ricini. Various procedures have been adopted 
 to extract the oil, and these have much influ- 
 ence on its qualities in respect of colour, acri- 
 dity, and freedom from rancidity. Both in 
 India and America, whence the first supplies 
 were brought, much heat was employed, and 
 during the process a volatile principle was 
 either liberated or produced, which was so irri- 
 tating as to require the workmen to protect 
 their faces by masks. Even in the present 
 day some heat is used to obtain what is termed 
 the cold drawn castor-oil, but it is quite unne- 
 cessary, and should always be avoided. 
 
 Castor-Oil of good quality is a thickish fluid, 
 of a very pale yellow colour, almost limpid, 
 with a slightly nauseous odour, and an oily 
 taste, mild at first, but causing a feeling in the 
 
557 CASTRES. 
 
 back of the throat, which is more or less in- 
 tense in proportion to the freshness of the 
 specimen. Old or badly-prepared oil is rancid 
 and disagreeable. It can be solidified only by 
 a very low temperature. 
 
 Castor Oil is a valuable and well-known me- 
 dicine, of which considerable quantities are 
 used. The quantity imported in 1848 was no 
 less than 4588 cwts. 
 
 CASTRES, a town in the department of 
 Tarn in France, is a place of great manufac- 
 turing industry ; for their care and skill, and 
 the finish given to their productions, its arti- 
 sans are considered the best in the south of 
 France. It is particularly celebrated for its 
 fine wool-dyed cloths, called cuirs de laine; but 
 all other sorts of woollen stuffs are manufac- 
 tured, as well as linen, soap, leather, glue, and 
 paper. There are also several bleaching, dye- 
 ing, and silk- weaving establishments, and iron 
 and copper foundries. The commerce of the 
 town is very considerable. 
 
 CATALONIA, one of the provinces of Spain, 
 is deficient in corn and cattle, but a good deal 
 of wine is produced. Other articles of produce 
 are oil, hemp, nuts, almonds, fruits, silks, &c. 
 The forests abound with cork trees, the bark 
 of which is a considerable article of commerce. 
 Catalonia abounds in mineral wealth, coal, 
 copper, lead, zinc, manganese, cobalt, nitre, 
 salt, marble, <fcc., being found. It is the chief 
 manufacturing province of Spain, the princi- 
 pal products being woollens, cottons, silks, lace, 
 leather, paper, iron, brandy, and liqueurs. The 
 coasts abound with fish. Since the loss of 
 the Spanish American colonies the trade of 
 Catalonia has greatly declined. 
 
 Besides BARCELONA, the principal town, 
 there are Tortosa. with its salt pits and quar- 
 ries of jasper; Tarragona, with its manufacto- 
 ries of silks, trade by sea, and exports of oil, 
 nuts, wine, brandy, cork, &c. ; Iteus, with its 
 manufactories of brandy and liqueurs ; Man- 
 rcsa, with its manufactures of silks and gun- 
 powder. Mataro has manufactories of cottons, 
 silks, lace, and glass, and ship-building yards. 
 Vlch has manufactories of woollens and cot- 
 tons ; coal and copper mines are worked in 
 the neighbourhood, in which also are found 
 amethysts, topazes, and coloured crystals, 
 which are worked by the jewellers of Barcelona. 
 Rlpoll is north of Vich, and has manufactories 
 of firelocks, swords, and bayonets. 
 
 CATAMARAN is a name given both in the 
 East and West Indies to some kinds of rafts 
 which are used in short navigations along the 
 sea-shore. Those used at Madras, where the 
 coast is shallow and shelving and the surf very 
 great, consist of three cocoa-tree logs lashed 
 together, and only large enough to carry one 
 
 CATTLE. 
 
 558 
 
 or at most two persons. On the coast of South 
 America the rafts are from 70 to 80 feet long, 
 and from 20 to 25 feet wide. 
 
 CATECHI'NUM. This peculiar principle 
 is obtained not merely from Catechu, strictly 
 so called, but also from gambir and some 
 kinds of cinchona bark. The best mode of 
 procuring it is to digest catechu in sulphuric 
 aether, then evaporate the aether, wash the re- 
 siduum in cold water, repeatedly dissolve it in 
 boiling water, and by renewed evaporation 
 procure it pure. It is persistent at the ordi- 
 nary temperature of the air ; but by long ex- 
 posure to damp it resolves into a mould-like 
 mass : at a moderate heat it melts into a 
 transparent fluid ; by a strong heat it becomes 
 brown. Catechin is valuable as an applica- 
 tion to check the flow of blood from leech- 
 bites, scarification of the gums, &c. 
 
 CATECHU. [ ACACIA.] 
 
 CATENARY (from catena, a chain) is the 
 curve in which a string of perfect flexibility 
 and uniform thickness and density will hang 
 from two points, which we may suppose to be 
 in the same horizontal line, as the nature and 
 properties of the curve will be the same from 
 whatever points it may hang. And all caten- 
 aries are similar curves ; that is to say, let 
 there be any number of such curves formed 
 by chains of different lengths, then each of 
 them will be a picture, on a reduced or en- 
 larged scale, of some portion of the longest. 
 
 In Bridge-building, great attention is paid 
 to the natural tendency of materials to assume 
 a catenary curve under certain circumstances. 
 
 CATGUT. Several useful articles, manu- 
 factured from the intestines of the sheep, are 
 for some explained reason denominated cat- 
 gut. Catgut is generally in the form of cord, 
 string, or twine. The chief purposes to which 
 such cord is applied are musical strings, for 
 harps, violins, and guitars ; hatters' bowstrings, 
 for the bowing of fur and wool ; clockmakers' 
 cord ; and thongs or cords for whips. Gold- 
 beaters' skin is formed from a membrane 
 covering the intestine of the ox. 
 
 CATTLE. A few of the commercial features 
 relating to cattle are all that need be touched 
 on in this work. 
 
 The British and Irish breeds of cattle have 
 been resolved into Long-horns, Middle-horns, 
 and Short-horns. The Long-horns were for- 
 merly coarse and heavy beasts ; they had, 
 however, good points ; the hide was thick and 
 mellow, and the milk, though not abundant, 
 was rich. The great improver of this breed 
 was Mr. Robert Bake well, of Dishley, who 
 founded what was called the New Leicester or 
 Dishley Stock. But of late years this breed 
 has fallen behind the improved Short-horns ; 
 
559 
 
 CATTLE. 
 
 CAXTON, WILLIAM. 
 
 560 
 
 and, though good Loiig-horned cattle ma) 
 occasionally he seen in the midland coun 
 ties, the fame of the New Leicesters is ex 
 tinguished. To the Middle-horned race helong 
 the hreeds of Devonshire, Herefordshire 
 Gloucestershire, Sussex, Wales, and the Scot 
 tish Highlands. The horns are tff moderate 
 size, fine, well turned, and sharp pointed ; the 
 limbs are clean ; the figure is compact, and 
 the expression animated ; the oxen readily 
 fatten, and the cows yield rich milk. In har- 
 diness, and in the excellence of the meat they 
 yield, the Middle-horns claim a high rank. 
 Devons, Herefords, and Scots, whether horned 
 or polled, sell well in the London markets. 
 The Short-lwrns had long heen known in the 
 counties of Durham and York, before the 
 time of their great improver, Mr. Collings. 
 The cows were held in reputation as milkers, 
 hut the oxen were indifferent feeders, coarse, 
 and ill formed, and produced meat of inferior 
 quality. In the improved breed, however, 
 while the milking properties are preserved, 
 the tendency to fatten is brought to a high 
 degree; and these qualities are combined 
 with size, a magnificent figure, and the pro- 
 duction of beef of the highest excellence. 
 
 The present leading breeds are the Middle- 
 horns, and the Durham, Yorkshire, and Tees- 
 water improved Short-horns. It is from the 
 latter stocks that the great London dairies 
 are supplied with milch cows. While in milk 
 they yield abundantly, and when dry may be 
 fattened off for the market with rapidity. 
 
 The great day for the sale of cattle in Lon- 
 don is on the Monday in the week before 
 Christmas. On this day, in six following 
 years, the numbers brought to Smithfield have 
 been as follows : 
 
 1845 .. .. 5320 
 
 1846 .. .. 5470 
 
 1847 .. .. 4250 
 
 1848 .. .. 5940 
 
 1849 .. .. 5758 
 
 1850 .. .. 0720 
 
 The cattle exhibited for prizes at the Smith- 
 field Cattle Show increased in number from 
 83 in 1845 to 180 in 1850. 
 
 The foreign cattle (including calves), im- 
 ported into the ports of London and Hull, in 
 forty-six weeks of the year 1850, amounted 
 to 51,572. 
 
 The cattle sold at Smithfield amount at the 
 present time to about 220,000 annually. 
 
 Of the uses which cattle render to the arts 
 of life, in respect to milk, butter, cheese, lea- 
 ther, bladder, gold-beater's skin, horn, blood 
 for clarifying, bone for handles and for ma- 
 nure, &c., the details given in this work afford 
 much evidence. 
 
 CAVIAR, an article of food, which consists 
 of the roes of large fish, salted and dried, 
 especially of the sturgeon caught in the Volga. 
 Large quantities are made in the neighbour- 
 hood of Astrakhan, as many as 30,000 casks 
 having been exported from that city in a sin- 
 gle season. 
 
 CAXTON, WILLIAM, to whom England 
 owes the introduction of printing, was born 
 probably in 1412, in the Weald of Kent. He 
 was put apprentice to one Robert Large, a 
 mercer or merchant of considerable eminence ; 
 and afterwards he travelled in the Low Coun- 
 tries for a short time. In 1471 Caxton de- 
 scribes himself as leading a life of ease, when, 
 'having no great charge or occupation,' he set 
 about finishing the translation of Raoul le 
 Fevre's ' Recueil des Histoires de Troye,' 
 which he had commenced two years before. 
 The original was the first book he printed, 
 and this translation the third. In the Low 
 Countries he entered into the service, or at 
 least the household, of Margaret, duchess of 
 Burgundy, who encouraged him to finish his 
 translation of Le Fevre's ' History of Troy.' 
 From the prologues and epilogues of this 
 work we discover that he was now somewhat 
 advanced in years, and that he had learnt to 
 exercise the art of printing ; but by what 
 steps he had acquired this knowledge cannot 
 
 discovered ; his types, however, show that 
 le acquired it in the Low Countries. The 
 ime of his return to his native country is not 
 mown with certainty ; but the usual supposi 
 ion has been that he brought the art of print- 
 ng into England in 1474. In 1477 he had 
 undoubtedly quitted the Low Countries, and 
 lad taken up his residence in the vicinity of 
 Westminster Abbey, where and in which year 
 
 printed his ' Dictes and Sayings of the 
 Philosophers.' Stowe says he first exercised 
 lis business in an old chapel near the en- 
 trance of the Abbey; but a very curious 
 )lacard, a copy of which, in Caxton's largest 
 ype, is now at Oxford in the late Mr. Douce's 
 ibrary, shows that he printed in the Almonry. 
 His death took place in 1401 or 1492. 
 
 Caxton, Mr. Warton observes, by a-ansla- 
 
 ing, or procuring to be translated, a groat 
 
 number of books from the French, greatly 
 
 jontributed to promote the state of literature 
 
 n England. The known productions of his 
 
 ress amount to G4, and are enumerated 
 
 with their titles in the * Penny Cyclopaedia.' 
 
 lists are also given by Dibdin, Lewis, and 
 
 thers. 
 
 The two largest assemblages of the produc- 
 ions from Caxton's press now known are 
 hose in the British Museum and in Earl 
 Spencer's library at Althorpe. 
 
561 
 
 CAYENNE PEPPEB, 
 
 CENTEE. 
 
 562 
 
 CAYENNE PEPPEE, is capsicum in a 
 ground state. [CAPSICUM.] 
 
 CEDAR. The Cedar of Lebanon (ables 
 ccdrus) is described under ABIES, p. 6. The 
 name of Red Cedar is sometimes given to the 
 Jiiniperus Bermudiana, a tree from whose 
 wood cedar pencils are made. About 1700 
 tons of this wood were imported in 1847. 
 
 CE'LEBES, a large island in the Eastern 
 Seas, grows cotton, coffee, tobacco, and other 
 merchantable produce. There are mines of 
 iron, which yield metal of excellent quality, 
 and some gold is obtained. Very large quan- 
 tities of turtle are taken on the coast. 
 
 The population of Celebes is composed of 
 several distinct races, of which the Bugis are 
 considered to be the first in enterprise and 
 intelligence ; they engross nearly all the car- 
 rying trade of the Indian Archipelago, the 
 trading of other tribes being almost entirely 
 confined to coasting voyages. 
 
 CELLI'NI, BENVENUTO, born at Flo- 
 rence in 1500, was one who combined metallur- 
 gic skill with artistic genius to a degree perhaps 
 never paralleled. His works may be divided 
 into two classes. The first, for which he was 
 most celebrated, comprises his smaller pro- 
 ductions in metal, the embossed decorations 
 of shields, cups, salvers, ornamented sword 
 and dagger hilts, clasps, medals, and coins, in 
 which he showed great skill in composition, 
 and excellence in the details of execution. 
 The second includes his large works, as a 
 sculptor; and a reference to his bronze group 
 of Perseus, with the head of Medusa, in the 
 Piazza del Gran' Duca, in Florence, will be 
 sufficient to illustrate his merit in the higher 
 walk of his art. He also executed some fine 
 portraits. His far-famed Shield of Achilles 
 was displayed at the Mediaeval Exhibition of 
 1850 
 
 CEMENT. Various cements are described 
 under GLUE ; LUTES ; MASTICH ; MORTAR ; 
 SOLDER. Another cement, used for fixing 
 pieces of glass while being ground for optical 
 purposes, is made of resin, bees' wax, and 
 whiting. Metal chasers often use a cement 
 made of pitch, resin, tallow and brickdust. A 
 cement for alabaster or spar may be formed 
 of resin, bees' wax, and plaster of Paris. For 
 various purposes in the arts, the following are 
 used as cements : Shell-lac ; melted sul- 
 phur ; a mixture of lime and white of egg ; a 
 mixture of gum arabic, gum ammoniac, and 
 alcohol; gum ammoniac, isinglass, and alco- 
 hol ; rice paste ; sal ammoniac, flowers of 
 sulphur, and iron filings ; red lead, white 
 lead, and linseed oil ; quicklime and ox-blood. 
 
 Benson's metallic cement is a mixture of 
 blue lias lime with a sort of metallic sand 
 very much like the Italian puzzuolano, but 
 containing rather more iron. It is very dura- 
 ble both as a concrete and as a cement. It 
 has been used at the Houses of Parliament, 
 at the London Bridge Station, at the Alfred 
 Life Office, and at other large buildings 
 sometimes as a concrete for foundations, but 
 more frequently as a stucco for surfaces. 
 
 The recipes given in practical works, for 
 making cements, are exceedingly numerous. 
 
 Mr. Swindells, a manufacturing chemist of 
 Manchester, has recently introduced a cement 
 made from the refuse of the manufacture of 
 chromates of potash and soda useful for no 
 other purpose. 
 
 CENSUS. The general subject of a census 
 of population is beyond the scope of the pre- 
 sent work ; but we may give from the census 
 of 1841, the number of persons engaged in 
 productive industry, under the headings of 
 commerce, trade, manufactures, agriculture, 
 and unskilled labour, in Great Britain. 
 
 CLASSES. 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 WALES. 
 
 SCOTLAND 
 
 ISLES 
 in the 
 BRITISH 
 
 SEAS. 
 
 GREAT. 
 BRITAIN. 
 
 
 Total of 
 Persons. 
 
 Total of 
 Persons. 
 
 Total of 
 Persons. 
 
 Total of 
 Persons. 
 
 Total of 
 Persons. 
 
 Commerce, Trade, and Manu- 
 
 2 529 073 
 
 00 133 
 
 473 531 
 
 17 580 
 
 3,110,376 
 
 
 1 157 816 
 
 103 632 
 
 ooo 337 
 
 ji 493 
 
 1,499,278 
 
 
 620 492 
 
 53 430 
 
 573 
 
 3 373 
 
 761,868 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,307,381 
 
 247,195 
 
 787,491 
 
 29,455 
 
 5,371,522 
 
 The approaching census, to be made on 
 March 30, 1851, will afford materials for a 
 useful comparison with the above. 
 
 CENTIGRADE means divided into one 
 hundred degrees. The centigrade therrao- 
 meter of Celsius, which is much used on the 
 
 continent, divides the interval between the 
 freezing and boiling points into 100 degrees. 
 Thus 100 centigrade degrees are equivalent to 
 180 of Fahrenheit. 
 
 CENTKE, CENTEE. This word is used 
 with many different applications, in manufac- 
 
503 
 
 CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. 
 
 CEYLON. 
 
 564 
 
 tures and machines dependent on dynamics 
 and statics : Centre of gravity is the point at 
 which, the weight of a body being collected, 
 the equilibrium of the body and of the system, 
 if any, of which it forms a part, will not be 
 disturbed. Centre of gyration is the point at 
 which, if the whole of the matter in a body 
 were collected, given forces would produce 
 the same angular velocity of rotation in a 
 given time as they would do if the particles of 
 the body were distributed in their proper 
 places. Centre of percussion is that point of 
 a revolving body which would strike an ob- 
 stacle with the same force as if the whole 
 of the matter were collected in it. Centre of 
 oscillation is the point in which the whole of 
 the matter must be collected, in order that 
 the time of oscillation may be the same as 
 when it is distributed. Centre of pressure is 
 the point at which the whole amount of pres- 
 sure may be applied with the same effect as it 
 has when distributed. 
 
 CENTRI'FUGrAL FORCE. Centrifugal 
 force is very usefully applied in the action of 
 DRYING MACHINES, and many other pieces of 
 mechanism employed in manufactures. The 
 nature of the force may be thus illustrated : 
 Let us suppose a small bullet attached to a 
 string, which string is fastened to a point 
 upon a table, friction and the resistance of the 
 air not being supposed to exist. Let the bullet 
 be placed in a state of revolution round the 
 fixed point, by means of the string, and with 
 a given velocity. It will continue to revolve 
 round with the same velocity, and the string 
 will be stretched by a pressure depending upon 
 the mass of the bullet and its velocity. 
 
 This pressure of the string is caused by an 
 effort to escape on the part of the bullet, ari- 
 sing from its tendency to continue its motion 
 in the direction of the tangent. This is the 
 centrifugal (or centre-avoiding) force, which is 
 thus measured : suppose, for instance, the 
 velocity of revolution in the circle to be 8 feet 
 per second, and the radius 10 feet. Divide the 
 square of the velocity by the radius, or divide 
 64 by ]0, which gives 6.4. Then the pressure 
 is such, that were it to take the place of the 
 earth's attraction, the bullet, being allowed to 
 fall, would, at the end of one second, have 
 acquired a velocity of 6 T % feet per second, in- 
 stead of 32, which is the case with bodies 
 falling freely to the earth. 
 
 CERATES are mixtures made by druggists, 
 in which wax is always a component. They 
 are of a consistence between that of plasters 
 and ointments, and are used as external appli- 
 cations in many surgical cases. There are 
 not less than thirty different varieties of 
 cerate employed by medical practitioners. 
 
 CERIUM, a peculiar metal, discovered in 
 1804, is pulverulent, chocolate-coloured, in- 
 flammable in gaseous chlorine and the vapour 
 of sulphur. It decomposes water readily. 
 When heated it burns long before redness. 
 With oxygen and other simple substances it 
 unites to form many compounds ; but these 
 are not yet much employed in the arts. 
 
 CETINE, is the cystallisable matter which 
 forms the greater part of the substance called 
 spermaceti. It is white, crystalline, soft to the 
 touch, and friable ; it is nearly inodorous, and 
 tasteless; it fuses at 120 Fahr. 
 
 CEYLON. This fine island is particularly 
 rich in natural produce ; and preparations are 
 being made to exhibit a most extensive collec- 
 tion of such produce at Hyde Park in the 
 present year. Among the vegetable produce 
 are cotton, tamarinds, gamboge, coir, cocoa- 
 nuts, coffee, rice, nutmegs, ginger, mandioca, 
 arrow-root, a great variety of vegetable fibres 
 fitted for cordage, and a fair variety of timber 
 wood. Of animal products there are being 
 collected ivory, buffalo and deer horns, honey, 
 wax, hides, hoofs, and musk. Among dye 
 materials are madder, jack-wood, sapan-wood, 
 and turmeric. The sea shores will yield pearls, 
 mosses, sponge, cowries, and salt, minerals, 
 medicinal substances, gnms, and resins are 
 all in rich variety. 
 
 Mr. Capper, secretary to a committee for 
 managing the transmission of specimens to 
 England,in a letter to Lord Torrington,remarks : 
 " Without placing the Cingalese carvers and 
 workers in the fine metals, on an exact par 
 with other nations famed for such works, they 
 may yet be fairly entitled to an honourable 
 place. The specimens now preparing of car- 
 vings in ebony, calamander, ivory, shells, &c. 
 will, it is believed, earn a reputation for the 
 island workmen, which has not yet been 
 accorded them in England. The committee is 
 doing all in its power to procure the best spe- 
 cimens of silver ornaments." 
 
 An important arrangement for Ceylon is 
 that which makes it a central point for the 
 Oriental Mail Packets. A mail which leaves 
 Southampton every month, via Alexandria and 
 the Red Sea, stops at Ceylon whence two 
 branch mails issue, one to Madras and 
 Calcutta, the other to Penang, Singapore, and 
 Hong Kong ; and it is probable that another 
 branch mail to Australia, Van Diemen's Land, 
 and New Zealand, will be made part of this 
 monthly system all conducted by steam 
 navigation. 
 
 A good deal of weaving is carried on at 
 Ceylon. The pressure of oil from numerous 
 varieties of seed is also largely conducted. 
 Ceylon takes British goods to the value of 
 
565 
 
 CHAFF MACHINES. 
 
 CHAIRS. 
 
 566 
 
 about a million sterling annually, and sells in i than would be required to cut a hemp cable. 
 
 return large quantities of cinnamon, coffee, 
 and cocoa-nut oil. 
 
 CHAFF MACHINES. The machines for 
 cutting chaff for cattle and horses present 
 many varieties. At the recent Smithfield 
 cattle show (1850) many forms were exhibited. 
 Gillet's Guillotine Chaff Engine acts either 
 by hand or by steam power ; by hand it will 
 cut 30 bushels per hour ; by steam 200 
 bushels. It has a knife with two edges so as 
 to cut both up and down during its motion, 
 which is communicated by a crank. Samuel- 
 son's chaff cutter has a large wheel, rotated 
 by a lever handle, and having a knife edge 
 forming one radius to the wheel. Wedlake's 
 machine is somewhat similar, but has two 
 radial knives instead of one. The more 
 common chaff-cutter or chaff box consists of 
 an oblong box, in which the hay or straw is 
 laid : and a long knife cuts the ends which 
 protrude beyond the box ; the knife has a 
 double lever action, which assists the labour 
 of the cutter. Messrs. Cottam's chaff-cutting 
 machine, patented in 1849, is a complicated 
 piece of apparatus in which the hay or straw 
 is led between rollers to the spot where the 
 cutters can act upon it. 
 
 CHAG-EES. Under PANAMA is given 
 slight sketch of the important travelling 
 routes across the American isthmus, of one of 
 which Chagres is the Atlantic port. 
 
 CHAIN fin Surveying) is a measuring 
 chain of 100 links, altogether 4 poles, or 6f 
 feet, 01 22 yards in length, so that ten square 
 chains mak^ an acre. It is commonly callec 
 Gunter's Chain, having been first used by him 
 and described in his treatise on the Cross 
 Staff, &c. 
 
 The chain is of universal use in moderr 
 surveying ; but care must be taken to verif; 
 its length from time to time, since the mate 
 rial is very extensible, and the apparatus mus 
 necessarily be roughly used. 
 
 CHAIN-CABLES are iron chains used in 
 lieu of hemp cables for anchoring vessels 
 The liability of hemp cables to be destroye 
 by the alternate action of air and water, an 
 especially by chafing in rocky anchorag 
 ground, led M. Bougainville to suggest th 
 idea of substituting iron as early as 1771 
 but the idea was not taken up till 1808, whe: 
 Mr. Slater, a surgeon in the navy, obtained 
 patent for a chain-cable. Even after thi 
 many years elapsed before their advantage 
 wree generally recognised. Chain cables ar 
 usually furnished with bolts at the distance ( 
 one or two fathoms from- each other, by witl 
 drawing one of which a ship may slip he 
 anchor in case of emergency in less tim 
 
 
 he weight of a chain-cable is an advantage 
 hile the ship is at anchor, as the strain is 
 xerted on the cable rather than on the ship, 
 ad must be excessive before it can draw the 
 able straight. 
 
 Mr. Frearson, of Birmingham, patented in 
 848 a method of making chains (for cables 
 nd other purposes). The rod of iron is 
 rasped while red-hot by tongs or pinchers. 
 nd drawn between two grooved rollers ; these 
 oilers have so peculiar a movement imparted 
 
 them by machinery, that the bar is forced 
 ound a die or mandril, into a form fitted to 
 roduce a link; while arrangements are at 
 tie same time made for connecting this link 
 dth the one last made. 
 
 A new cable-pi oving machine was intro- 
 uced in 1848 by Messrs. Dunn and Elliot, of 
 Manchester. It consists mainly of a hori- 
 ontal iron cylinder, with a piston working to 
 and fro. The chain-cable is attached to one end 
 >f the piston-rod ; and beyond this rod is a 
 ong iron trough, in a right line with the 
 :ylinder, and continuing to a considerable 
 ength, depending on the length of chain to 
 )e tested at one time. At the remote end of 
 Iris trough a pair of claws grasp the other 
 end of the chain ; so that the chain extends 
 rom the piston to the claws, through the 
 cylinders and the trough; and any force 
 which tends to move the piston backwards will 
 stretch the chain. The end of the cylinder 
 next the trough is made watertight ; and 
 water is forced by a double hydraulic pump 
 nto the hollow space between the piston and 
 this closed end of the cylinder: the cylinder 
 is thus forced backward, and the chain becomes 
 severely stretched. A water ram and scale- 
 beam are so placed in connection with the 
 cylinder as to measure the amount of force 
 exerted on the chain. The same machine 
 can test strengths between the wide limits of 
 
 cwt. and 100 tons. 
 
 CHAIN-SHOT. Two iron balls linked 
 together by a chain eight or ten inches long 
 are so called. They are used in naval ac- 
 tions. 
 
 CHAIRS. It is a remarkable fact that the 
 handsome chairs of a modern drawing-room 
 are very little other in shape than fac-similes 
 of the chairs made by the Etruscans twenty- 
 five centuries ago. The chair of Bede, the 
 Saxon bishop and historian, was simply a long 
 narrow box without a lid, formed of rough 
 boards, nailed together and set upright, with a 
 shelf near the lower end as a seat. King 
 Edmund Ironside had a gala chair formed of 
 two carved beams of oak, crossed like the 
 letter X, with a cushion-seat at the place 
 
567 
 
 CHALK. 
 
 CHARCOAL. 
 
 where the heams crossed. The chair appears 
 to have been more used in England than on 
 the continent in past ages ; for it did not 
 come into customary use among the nobility 
 of France and Italy till about the reign of 
 Francis I. 
 
 In reference to chair making in London at 
 the present time, a few details are given under 
 FURNITURE MANTIFACTUEE. 
 
 Modern ingenuity has devised a mode of 
 making chairs which shall also serve as sofas 
 and bedsteads. A piece of furniture recently 
 patented by Messrs. Key and Mitchell is of 
 this kind. The suspension chair, patented by 
 Messrs. Brown, is a remarkable contrivance 
 consisting simply of eight wrought iron bars, 
 arid a piece of strong canvas or damask ; 
 although capable of forming either a chair or 
 a sort of couch-bed, it can be unscrewed, and 
 packed in a box 52 inches long by about 2 
 inches square. 
 
 CHALK forms the higher part of the 
 geological series or group termed cretaceous. 
 It is composed of nearly 44 parts of carbonic 
 acid and 56 parts of lime. It is extensively 
 used in agriculture, to improve various soils : 
 the soils most improved being the strong wet 
 clays which contain a portion of iron. Chalk 
 acts as an absorbent, corrects astringency, and 
 prevents clay from becoming a solid mass. 
 On loose sands it acts chiefly as a cement, 
 binding the silicious particles together. In 
 districts where chalk is much used, it is gene- 
 rally put on the land in autumn, and not 
 ploughed in till it has been exposed to the 
 frost. 
 
 It is of advantage to throw chalk into 
 ponds used by cattle : it corrects any acidity 
 which may arise from stagnation. In fattening 
 calves chalk is of great use ; it may be laid in 
 the calf-pens for them to lick, or it may be 
 scraped and mixed with a small quantity of 
 salt, and laid in a small manger within the 
 reach of each calf. 
 
 Chalk is used in preparing crayons, and for 
 a few other purposes in the arts. 
 
 CHAMOMILE. This useful plant is fre- 
 quent in a wild state on many of the commons 
 near London. The flowers are much used as 
 a tonic. 
 
 CHAMPAGNE WINE is the produce of 
 the vineyards of the departments of the 
 Marne, Haute -Marne, Ardennes, and Aube, 
 which were comprehended in the ancient 
 French province of Champagne. Of the 
 various growths of Champagne, that made on 
 the banks of the Marne has the highest re- 
 putation, and forms the greater part of what 
 is sent to foreign countries. Champagne 
 wine is light in body : it is of various 
 
 colours, white, straw-colour, pink, and red ; 
 and these are divided into sparkling, creaming, 
 and still, or. as they are called in France, 
 moiissciix, crcm/ntf) and non-moiisseux. The 
 red wines of good quality are, for the most 
 part, exported to Belgium, and the white to 
 England, Russia, Germany, the Levant, 
 Greece, and the French West India colonies ; 
 some portion of the shipments to England 
 are reshipped to India and other parts. The 
 details of the vintage are given under WINE. 
 
 CHAPTAL, JEAN ANTOINE, was one of 
 those experimental chemists whose labours 
 bring great and immediate aid to the manu- 
 facturing arts. He was bom in 1750; and 
 inheriting a large fortune from his uncle, he 
 established some important chemical manu- 
 factories in Montpellier, and thus bestowed 
 upon France several valuable products which 
 were previously obtained from foreigners. In 
 1793 Chaptal was called to the capital by the 
 Committee of Pnbh'c Safety, to manage the 
 manufactory of salt-petre, which substance 
 could no longer be obtained from abroad, and 
 the want of which was pressing. He was one 
 of the first professors of the Polytechnic 
 School, and in 1798 was elected a member of 
 the Institute. While he was in office 
 under Napoleon, he established chambers of 
 commerce, and consulting councils of arts 
 and manufactures ; the School of Arts and 
 the Conservatory at Paris are monuments of 
 his enlightened solicitude for increasing the 
 opportunities and means of instruction. He 
 published useful processes, visited the manu- 
 factories, conversed with the workmen, offered 
 them his advice, applauded their discoveries, 
 and encouraged the importation of processes 
 and apparatus from abroad. In fact, during 
 the whole course of his active life, he extended 
 his views and his care to every substance and 
 circumstance which he considered favourable 
 to the improvement of arts and manufactures. 
 He died at Paris in 1832. 
 
 CHARCOAL. The relation which char- 
 Opal bears to carbon has been already ex- 
 plained. [CARBON]. As now conducted, 
 charcoal is prepared by two different methods. 
 One is that of piling the wood in a heap, 
 which is covered with turfs and sand, to allow 
 of the entrance of such a portion only of 
 atmospheric' air as is sufficient to carry on the 
 imperfect combustion required. The heap is 
 fired at several holes left near the bottom, 
 and a draught of air is obtained by at first 
 leaving an orifice at the top of the heap ; this 
 is afterwards covered, and, when it is found 
 that the flame has prevaded the heap entirely, 
 the bottom holes are also closed. In the other 
 method, the wood is put into iron cylinders, 
 
569 
 
 CHASING OF METALS. 
 
 CHATHAM ARSENAL. 
 
 570 
 
 which are set in brick-work, and surrounded 
 by fire: the wood in the cylinders has no 
 communication with the external air, and 
 they have only a small opening to allow of the 
 escape of the residual products, which con- 
 sist chiefly of water, pyroligneous acid, 
 creosote, pyroxylic spirit, andempyreumatic oil. 
 
 M. Violette communicated an important 
 paper to the French Academy of Sciences in 
 1848, on the manufacture of charcoal for 
 gunpowder. He found that when wood is 
 exposed to heat in close vessels, it does not 
 become charred till near 500 F., when it 
 produces an imperfect charcoal ; at near 600 
 it yields a brown charcoal ; while the best 
 black charcoal requires a temperature of 
 nearly 700 F. He also invented a remark- 
 able mode of making charcoal by the heat of 
 steam. The wood is put into a horizontal 
 cylinder, round which is coiled a steam-pipe, 
 and through this pipe is sent a constant flow 
 of steam of a determinate temperature, 
 according as a greater or lesser degree of 
 charring is required. M. Yiolette has found 
 that fuel is saved, and better charcoal produced 
 by this method; he has adopted it at the 
 powder mills of Esquerdes, which are under 
 his charge. 
 
 CHASING OF METALS. Metallic goods 
 are generally made in one of three ways by 
 casting in moulds, by forging or turning in 
 masses, or by pressing or stamping out of thin 
 sheets. The last of these three has been 
 greatly developed at Birmingham within the 
 last few years. Either the entire article 
 receives its form from the sheet by stamping, 
 or, when roughly formed, it receives an orna- 
 mental device by a process of chasing. For 
 the latter variety of work, steel blocks, 
 punches, or bosses are provided, each one 
 presenting at the end a definite form, such as 
 curved, angular, square, &c. ; and these are 
 fixed or held with the finished end uppermost. 
 The article to be ornamented, which is always 
 of a thin, hollow kind, is placed face upper- 
 most on the punch: a pattern or design is 
 drawn on the face of the article, and the 
 adjustmentis so made that the punch beneath 
 shall follow the course of the lines in the 
 device. A fine hammer is then employed to 
 strike the piece of thin metal ; the effect of 
 which is, that the metal is forced upwards in a 
 fine burr or protuberance at every place where 
 there is a punch beneath it. By shifting the 
 piece of metal so that different parts of its 
 lower surface may in succession be brought 
 over the punch, and by changing the form of 
 the punch when necessary, a protuberant 
 design or pattern in relief is formed on the 
 article of metal. 
 
 At the Mediaeval Exhibition of 1850 the 
 specimens of chased metal were numerous 
 and beautiful. 
 
 CHATHAM ARSENAL. Chatham is 
 worthy of our attention for the government 
 works there established. The naval and mili- 
 tary establishments consist of a dockyard, 
 nearly a mile in length, which has four wet 
 docks capable of receiving vessels of the 
 largest size, and several building-slips ; metal 
 mills : an extensive arsenal ; barracks on a 
 large scale for artillery and engineers, infantry 
 and royal marines ; a park of artillery ; ma- 
 gazines and storehouses ; besides a handsome 
 dock-chapel and a number of habitations for 
 the civilians who are employed. The princi- 
 pal mast-house is 240 feet long by 120 feet 
 wide. The rope house is 1,128 feet in length, 
 and 47 feet wide: in it cables 101 fathoms in 
 length and 25 inches in circumference are 
 made. The machinery used in all the depart- 
 ments is of the very best land. A duplicate 
 of Brunei's block-making machine is kept 
 here, ready for use in case the machine at 
 Portsmouth should get out of order. The 
 engineer barracks are built in a plain and 
 simple style, and are extensive and convenient. 
 Near the dock-yard gate is a large naval hos- 
 pital, which was erected at the suggestion of 
 William IV. when lord high admiral. 
 
 In 1848 a committee of the House of Com- 
 mons inquired into the navy estimates and the 
 works and expenditure for which they were 
 required. Chatham dock-yard was included 
 among the naval establishments investigated. 
 The estimates included salaries 17,459/. ; and 
 wages 101,3002. The authorised or established 
 workmen were 1,727 in number, and the hired 
 workmen 233. There were said, in the Report, 
 to be four docks, viz. : two for first rates, and 
 two for frigates ; and nine slips, of which six 
 were for first rates. After the fire at Devon- 
 port dock-yard in 1840, which was greatly 
 extended owing to the tarred wooden and 
 paper roofs which covered the building slips, 
 the admiralty began gradually to replace such 
 roofs with others made of metal. Of these 
 three have been constructed for Chatham, 
 and placed over the slips Nos. 1, 2, and 3, at 
 a cost of 32,590Z. Nearly all the slips have 
 been recently either rebuilt or strengthened 
 and repaired. The metal mills at Chatham 
 are more extensive than at any other of the 
 dock-yards. At the time of the inquiry (1848) 
 the metal mills produced 700 tons of sheet 
 copper, 400 tons of bolt copper, and 800 tons 
 of remanufactured iron per annum. All the 
 old copper sheeting from the various dock- 
 yards is re-melted here into sheets. 
 
 There are saw-mills at Woolwich, Chatham, 
 
571 
 
 CHECK, 
 
 CHEESE. 
 
 673 
 
 and Sheerness: but those at Chatham are 
 the most complete. The Chatham mills 
 could, indeed, it is said, cut timber enough for 
 most of the yards. It is merely straight 
 cutting : the machinery employed is not fitted 
 for cutting the curved pieces required in a 
 ship, which are still cut by hand. 
 
 CHECK, a species of chequered cloth, in 
 which coloured lines or stripes cross each 
 other rectangularly, like a chess-board. This 
 manner of beautifying webs is very antient ; for 
 many of the figures in Rosellini's ' Egypt ' are 
 dressed in chequered cloths. The compart- 
 ments of a checked pattern are sometimes 
 formed by differently coloured threads, and 
 sometimes by threads of different quality. 
 Cotton handkerchiefs checked of various 
 colours have been manufactured in India, 
 probably from time immemorial, under the 
 name of pullicates. The ground of these has 
 usually a pale buff colour, and is woven with 
 the nankin yellow cotton. Checks in this 
 country are mostly manufactured for the 
 coarser purposes of seamen's shirts, aprons, 
 <fec., and the demand is very large. 
 
 Mr. Robert Kay, of Bury, son of the ingeni- 
 ous but persecuted inventor of the fly shuttle, 
 invented the drop box, for making checks, by 
 means of which the wea.ver could at pleasure 
 use any one of three shuttles without rising 
 from his seat, each shuttle containing a dif- 
 ferently coloured weft. 
 
 CHEESE. Milk consists of three distinct 
 substances, which begin to separate from one 
 another as soon as it is exposed to the 
 air. The oily part rises to the surface by its 
 less specific gravity, and, when it is collected 
 into a solid mass by agitation, it forms butter ; 
 the caseum coagulated by the action of any 
 acid is called curd, and when pressed becomes 
 cheese. The fluid which remains is the serum, 
 or whey. 
 
 The first process in making cheese is to 
 separate the curd from the whey, which may 
 be done by allowing the milk to become sour ; 
 but it is better to bring about this result by 
 artificial means, by the addition either of cer- 
 tain vegetable acids, or of a substance called 
 rennet, which is the gastric juice of the stomach 
 of a sucking calf. The calf stomach is very 
 carefully prepared, and brought to a dry state 
 like parchment ; and at the time of making 
 cheese, a piece of this substance, called veil, 
 is cut off and soaked for some hours in water 
 or whey, and the whole is added to the warm 
 milk, or else pieces of veil are put into a linen 
 bag, and soaked in warm water until the water 
 has acquired sufficient strength. Soft and 
 rich cheeses are not intended to be kept long ; 
 hard and dry cheeses are adapted to be kept 
 
 and stored for provisions. Of the first kind 
 are all cream cheeses, and those soft cheeses 
 called Bath cheeses and Yorkshire cheeses, 
 which are sold as soon as made, and if kept 
 too long become soft and putrid. Stilton and 
 Gruyere cheeses are intermediate ; Parmesan, 
 Dutch, Cheshire, Gloucestershire, and similar 
 cheeses are intended for longer keeping. The 
 poorer the cheese is the longer it will keep ; 
 and all cheese that is well cleared from whey 
 and sufficiently salted will keep for years. The 
 Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses differ only in 
 the nature of the milk, and in the degree of 
 heat given to the curd in different parts of the 
 process. Gruyere cheese is entirely made 
 from new milk, and Parmesan from skimmed 
 milk. In the first nothing is added to give 
 flavour ; in the latter saffron gives both colour 
 and flavour: the process in both is exactly 
 similar. 
 
 In making cheese the milk is heated to about 
 blood-heat (95 to 100 Fahr.), and the solution 
 of rennet is well mixed with it. The coagulum, 
 or curd, having been formed, which may be 
 in about half an hour, it is cut into slices, the 
 heat raised to about 135, and after remaining 
 about an hour at that temperature, and being 
 stirred with a staff, the curd is found to be 
 broken into small pieces. It is then collected 
 on a cloth woven with wide interstices, or a 
 sieve, to allow the whey to drain from it. 
 When sufficiently drained, the curd is put into 
 a wide hoop, shallow barrel, box, or something 
 of the kind, and subjected to the action of the 
 cheese-press. Sometimes the curd is mixed 
 with salt, and sometimes salt is rubbed on the 
 cheese after it is made. 
 
 In Cheshire the making of cheese is carried 
 on in great perfection, and the greatest pains 
 are taken to extract every particle of whey. 
 For this purpose, the curd is repeatedly broken 
 and mixed, the cheeses are much pressed, 
 and placed in wooden boxes which have holes 
 bored into them. Through these holes sharp 
 skewers are stuck into the cheese in every 
 direction, so that no particle of whey can re- 
 main in the curd. The elastic matter formed 
 also escapes through these channels, and the 
 whole cheese is a solid mass without holes, 
 which in this cheese would be looked upon as 
 a great defect. The salt is intimately mixed 
 with the curd, and not merely rubbed on the 
 outside. This checks internal fermentation 
 and prevents the formation of elastic matter. 
 
 Gloucester and Somersetshire cheeses are 
 similarly made with this difference, that the 
 curd is not so often broken or the cheese 
 skewered, and a portion of the cream is gene- 
 rally abstracted to make butter. 
 
 Stilton cheese is made by adding the cream 
 
If THE OF 
 

573 
 
 CHEESE. 
 
 CHERBOURG. 
 
 574 
 
 of the preceding evening's milk to the morn- 
 ing's milking. It is generally preferred when 
 a green mould appears in its texture. To 
 accelerate this, pieces of a mouldy cheese are 
 sometimes inserted into holes made for the 
 purpose by the scoop called a taster, and wine 
 or ale is poured over for the same purpose ; 
 hut the hest cheeses do not require this, and 
 are in perfection when the inside becomes 
 soft, like butter, without any appearance of 
 mouldiness. 
 
 Cheeses are frequently coloured, a practice 
 which probably arose from the notion of 
 making the cheese look richer ; but now it 
 deceives no one. Yet, if some cheeses were 
 not coloured they would not be so marketable, 
 owing to the association which subsists be- 
 tween the colour and the quality of the cheese. 
 The substance used for colouring is most 
 commonly arnotto, which is ground fine on a 
 stone, and mixed with the milk at the time 
 the rennet is put in. The juice of the orange 
 carrot and marygold-flowers are also used for 
 this purpose ; this last gives a more natural 
 tint than the arnotto, which is too red. Ched- 
 dar, Stilton, Derby, and some other cheeses 
 are never coloured; Cheshire slightly; but 
 Gloucester and North Wiltshire deeply. Fo- 
 reign cheeses are only coloured very slightly, 
 if at all. Dutch cheeses are made in a very 
 similar manner to the Gloucester cheeses, but 
 the milk is generally curdled by means of 
 muriatic acid. Before the curd is made up 
 into the round shape in which it is usually 
 sold, it is well soaked in a strong solution of 
 common salt in water ; this diffuses the salt 
 throughout the whole mass, and effectually 
 checks fermentation. When the cheeses are 
 finally pressed, all the whey which may re- 
 main is washed out with the brine ; salt is 
 likewise rubbed over the outside, and they are 
 set to dry on shelves in a cool place. The 
 flavour of the cheese is perhaps impaired by 
 the stoppage of the fermentation ; but it never 
 heaves, and it acquires the valuable quality of 
 keeping well even in warm climates. The 
 little cheeses made from cream, and folded 
 in paper, and called Neufchatel cheeses, are 
 imported from France as a delicacy. They 
 can be easily imitated, being nothing more 
 than cream thickened by heat, and pressed in 
 a small mould. They undergo a rapid change, 
 first becoming sour and then mellow, in which 
 state they must be eaten. 
 
 When a cheese which has been much salted 
 and kept very dry is washed several times in 
 soft water, and then laid in a cloth moistened 
 with wine or vinegar, it gradually loses its 
 saltness, and from being hard and dry becomes 
 soft and mellow, provided it be a rich cheese. 
 
 This simple method of improving cheese is 
 worth knowing. A dry Stilton cheese may 
 thus be much improved. 
 
 No less than 379,648 cwts. of foreign cheese 
 were imported in 1849. The quantity of Eng- 
 lish cheese exported is extremely small, so 
 much does the consumption in England ex- 
 ceed the manufacture. 
 
 CHEMISTRY. Under this heading, as 
 under BOTANY and many others relating to 
 large bodies of scientific knowledge, no syste- 
 matic details can be given in this work ; but 
 the practical application of chemical principles 
 to manufactures is illustrated in an immense 
 range of industrial art. ALUM, BLEACHING, 
 DYEING, COTTON PRINTING, and other ar- 
 ticles, furnish evidence of this important 
 application, and show how it arises that the 
 manufacturer is so intimately dependent on 
 the scientific chemist. Nothing that the 
 Fourcroys, the Berthollets, the Davys, the 
 Faradays, the Liebigs discover, but may one 
 day be of value to the manufacturer. The 
 connection of science with practical application 
 is in no case more striking or more instructive. 
 
 CHERBOURG. This important French 
 sea-port and naval station is distinguished for 
 its great engineering works. The naval har- 
 bour is cut out of the solid rock ; it has a 
 depth of 52 feet at high water, and is large 
 enough to contain fifteen vessels of the line. 
 To the south of the harbour are dry docks, 
 and round these four slips for building the 
 largest ships, two slips for frigates, forges, 
 furnaces, workshops, a large timber shed, and 
 various other establishments necessary to a 
 naval arsenal. To protect the roadstead from 
 winds, as well as to defend that part of it 
 which is beyond the range of the guns of the 
 forts, a breakwater (digue} was commenced 
 about two miles north of the town, in 1784, 
 and after many failures, disasters, interrup- 
 tions, and an enormous expense, this gigantic 
 undertaking is now all but accomplished. It 
 extends between Isle Pelee . on the east and 
 Querqueville on the west for a length of 2 
 miles 593 yards, leaving an opening of 1,093 
 yards at the eastern end, and of 1 mile 830 
 yards on the west. Its width at the base is 
 99 yards, on the summit 33 yards ; and the 
 depth of water about it varies from 36 feet to 
 45 feet. In the central fort of the breakwater 
 there is a lighthouse 65 feet high. 
 
 Cherbourg is also a place of considerable 
 commercial activity. The principal industrial 
 articles are cotton-yarn ; hosiery ; refined sugar 
 to the amount of 12,000 cwts. a year ; soda, of 
 which 12,000 tons are produced annually in 
 the neighbourhood; chemical products, and 
 .eather. 
 
070 
 
 CHERRY. 
 
 CHESNUT. 
 
 576 
 
 CHERRY. The cherry-tree includes many 
 varieties. Of the Wild Cherry, the wood is 
 remarkahle for the large size of its medullary 
 processes, which give its longitudinal section 
 a bright satiny lustre, and render it well suitec 
 for ornamental cabinet work. The Common 
 Cherry is found wild in the woods of Asia Mi- 
 nor, where it attains a very large size ; from 
 the time of the Romans it has ever since 
 formed one of the most esteemed varieties of 
 dessert fruit. The Slack American Cherry is 
 rather a handsome tree, of which the fruit is 
 as large as a moderately-sized cherry. The 
 Choke Cherry is a large tree growing in the 
 United States, from 80 to 100 feet high ; its 
 fruit is not very edible in a recent state, but 
 when dried and bruised it forms an esteemed 
 addition to pemmican. The timber is among 
 the best in the United States for cabinet ma- 
 kers' work. The Broad-leaved Laurel Cherry 
 is remarkable for the abundance of hydrocy- 
 anic acid secreted in its leaves. 
 
 CHESHIRE. The most important mine- 
 ral productions of this county are fossil or 
 rock-salt, and coal. The rock-salt is obtained 
 near the banks of the Weaver and its tributary 
 streams. It was first discovered near North- 
 wich, in 1670, in searching for coal; it has 
 since been found very abundantly in the 
 townships of Witton, Wincham, Winnington, 
 and Marston, near North wich. There are 
 salt works also at Nantwich, Middlewich, and 
 Winsford. The salt is of two kinds, the one 
 white and transparent, the other of a reddish 
 brown. The former lias been found by 
 analysis to be an almost pure muriate of soda : 
 the latter contains a small portion of oxide of 
 iron, from which its colour is derived. 
 
 The principal salt-works are in the neigh- 
 bourhood of North wich, where there are 
 mines in addition to brine springs. The 
 rock-salt is found from 28 to 48 yards beneath 
 the surface of the earth. The first stratum 
 is from 15 to 25 yards in thickness, extremely 
 solid and hard, and resembling brown sugar- 
 candy. Many tons at a time are loosened 
 by blasting with gunpowder. The second 
 stratum is of hard stone, from 25 to 35 yards 
 in thickness. The salt lies beneath the stra- 
 tum in a bed above 40 yards thick, generally 
 quite white and clear as crystal. The external 
 surface above these strata is of whitish clay 
 and gypsum. The quantity of salt annually 
 taken from the pits around North wich, amounts 
 to many thousand tons ; besides this quantity 
 of fossil salt, many thousand tons are annually 
 manufactured at the same place from brine- 
 springs, which are from 20 to 40 yards in 
 depth. 
 
 Coal of a good quality is found abundantly Chesnuts 
 
 in the north-east part of the county, especially 
 in the townships of Worth and Poynton, where 
 there are very extensive collieries, which 
 supply the manufactories of Stockport. At 
 Denwell, in the hundred of Wirral, there is 
 also coal. Copper and lead are found at 
 Alderley Edge and the Peckforton Hills ; the 
 former place supplies a considerable quantity 
 of cobalt. There are several quarries of ex- 
 cellent freestone in this county, of which those 
 at Ruucorn, Manley, and Great Bebington, 
 are the most important. Limestone is found 
 only at Newbold Astbury. Mowcop Hill, or 
 Molecop, which is partly in Staffordshire, has 
 long been famous for its mill stones. Marl 
 is found in almost every part of the county, 
 and is generally used for manure. 
 
 Cheshire is famous for its dairy husbandry. 
 Dairy farms require considerable buildings ; 
 and some have been erected by wealthy pro- 
 prietors in the best and most substantial 
 manner. Although butter is made in con- 
 siderable quantity, cheese is the main pro- 
 duce of these dairies. The making of Che- 
 shire cheese is described in another article 
 [CHEESE.] 
 
 Excepting at Stockport, and at other towns 
 which share in the cotton manufacture of the 
 neighbouring county of Lancashire, Cheshire 
 can hardly be termed a manufacturing county. 
 Ship-building, rope-making, sail-making, shot- 
 making, and fringe- making, are, to some extent, 
 carried on at Chester, where there are also tan- 
 neries,chemicalworks,soap works,and quarries. 
 
 CHESNUT, or CHESTNUT. This tree 
 s available for a great variety of uses in the 
 arts and domestic economy. There are two 
 dnds the Sweet Chesnut&nd the Horse Chcs- 
 int. 
 
 The Sweet Chcsmit is in most cases culti- 
 ated more for its fruit than for any other 
 purpose. In England the chesnut is eaten 
 n many ways raw, roasted, stewed with 
 cream, made into soup either with milk or 
 ravy, stewed with salt-fish, or used as a stufF- 
 ng for fowls and turkey. Evelyn speaks of the 
 hesnut as being ' a lusty and masculine food 
 or rustics at all times, and of better nourish- 
 ment for husbandmen than kale or rusty 
 )acon ; yea, or beans to boot.' In the south 
 )f France and the north of Italy, chesnuts 
 erve in a great measure as a substitute for 
 read and potatoes. The nuts laid by for 
 winter vegetable are those which fall off the 
 rees ; while those which are beaten off ore 
 arried to Paris and other large towns for 
 mmediate use. As a means of depriving the 
 uts of their husks, they are trodden under 
 oot by men wearing sabots or wooden shoes, 
 are dried in France, and preserved 
 
577 
 
 CHICORY. 
 
 CHILE. 
 
 578 
 
 for many years ; they are dried by the air, by 
 the sun's heat, by a kiln, or by partial boiling, 
 according to the mode in which they are to be 
 used. The French make many dishes from 
 chesnuts. Galette is a thick flat cake made 
 with chesnut meal, milk, salt, and sometimes 
 a little butter and eggs, and baked on a hot 
 stone or iron plate ; polentais a thick porridge 
 made by boiling the chesnut meal in water or 
 milk, and stirring it till it forms a thick paste, 
 something like the oatmeal parritch of the 
 Scotch ; chatigna is made by boiling the nuts 
 whole, without their skins, in water with a 
 little salt, till they become soft, and then 
 mixing them up like mashed potatoes ; marrow - 
 glace is made by dipping the nuts into clarified 
 sugar, and then drying them. The nuts are 
 also frequently cooked by boiling them in 
 water containing the leaves of celery or sage. 
 
 The timber of the sweet or Spanish ches- 
 nut is much used for posts, fences, stakes, 
 hoops, etc. The wood is more fitted for such 
 purposes than for beams or planks, as it is 
 liable to become rent with fissures. It is used 
 in France for making wine-casks ; and for 
 many purposes where most other woods would 
 decay, chesnut timber is found very desirable. 
 
 In respect to the Horse-Chesnut, the fruit 
 is eaten by animals ; the meal is used in some 
 places to whiten flaxen cloth, in others to 
 strengthen bookbinders' paste ; and in France 
 attempts have been made to produce sugar 
 and spirit from it. The timber is used for 
 flooring, cart- linings, sabots, packing-cases, 
 and water-pipes ; on being burned it yields 
 good charcoal and potash. The bark is used 
 in tanning, in dyeing, and as a drug. 
 
 There were 63,033 bushels of Spanish ches- 
 nuts (as the fruit of the sweet chesnut is 
 called) imported in 1848. 
 
 CHICORY is a perennial plant, the whole 
 of which is bitter and aromatic ; the leaves, 
 as well as the root, have been used in medi- 
 cine, in the form of a decoction, as a tonic 
 bitter, and diuretic. It is frequently used 
 as a salad, especially when blanched. The 
 luxuriant growth of the leaves of the chicory, 
 and their speedy reproduction after they have 
 been cut, suggested the more extensive culti- 
 vation of this plant as food for cattle and 
 sheep. But, notwithstanding its abundant 
 produce, it has not been found so much su- 
 perior to other green food as to make its cul- 
 tivation general. 
 
 Chicory is now chiefly cultivated in Belgium 
 and Germany, for the purpose of preparing 
 from the root a powder which can be substi- 
 tuted for coifee. The roots, when taken up in 
 September, are cleaned by scraping and wash- 
 ing, split where they are thickest, and cut 
 
 across in pieces about two or three inches 
 long. These pieces are dried by means of a 
 slow oven or a kiln. In this state it is sold 
 to the merchants, packed in bags. It is after- 
 wards cut or chopped into small pieces, and 
 roasted exactly as coffee, ground in a mill, 
 and packed in papers in pounds and half- 
 pounds for retail sale. 
 
 Chicory was brought into use long before 
 the once-celebrated Roasted Corn of Henry 
 Hunt. This latter was simply roasted rye; 
 and, although used in large quantity, and 
 sweetened with much sugar, it had but a flat 
 and insipid taste. Chicory bears a much 
 closer resemblance to coffee of middling 
 quality. It was about the year 1808 that 
 chicory became generally known in England, 
 when Napoleon's anti-commercial policy led 
 the nations of Europe to look around them 
 for various substitutes for articles no longer 
 obtainable with the same ease as before. The 
 Germans and the French used chicory before 
 the English; and the Germans still use it 
 largely, often without any admixture with 
 coffee. They even, as a question of economy, 
 use the leaves of the plant in the same way. 
 
 There has been much said and written 
 lately about the admixture of chicory with 
 coffee. Many persons prefer coffee which has 
 a little chicory added to it, as it is said that 
 body, colour, and a soft pleasant aroma are 
 imparted thereby. From. one to two ounces 
 to a pound of coffee is stated to be a proper 
 proportion. It is however known that this 
 proportion is enormously increased; for as 
 chicory is much cheaper than coffee, fraudu- 
 lent dealers do not fail to avail themselves of 
 the circumstance. It is known that the very 
 low-priced coffee of such vendors sometimes 
 contains as much as two-thirds chicory to one- 
 third pure coffee. If purchasers bought their 
 coffee whole, and ground it at home, they 
 might at once defeat this fraud. 
 
 Chicory imported from Germany pays a 
 small import duty, and English farmers have 
 therefore be gun to grow it. Hence has arisen 
 alarm in two quarters the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer fears for his customs revenue, and 
 the Colonial coffee-growers fear a competition 
 against their produce. It is said that 
 12,000,000 Ibs. of chicory are now used annu- 
 ally in England. 
 
 CHILE is famous for its herds of cattle. 
 Single proprietors sometimes possess from 
 10,000 to 20,000 head of cattle. Live stock, 
 jerked beef, tallow, and hides are large articles 
 of export. Cheese is made on the banks of 
 the Rio Maule, and sent to Peru ; and butter 
 is made in the neighbourhood of the larger 
 towns. 
 
579 
 
 CHIMES. 
 
 CHIMNEY. 
 
 580 
 
 Gold dust is found in the sand of nearly 
 all the rivers which come down from the 
 Andes, as in the Rio de Aconcagua, Rio Maule 
 and Biohio. Silver is still more abundant, 
 but the ore is not very rich. In 1832 however 
 very rich silver mines were discovered, about 
 sixty miles south of the town of Copiap6. 
 The copper mines are very numerous, especi- 
 ally in the northern districts. Ores of lead, 
 tin, and iron, are said to exist, but they are 
 not worked. There are considerable stores 
 of coal, but it is of bad quality. A little salt 
 is met with, but not sufficient for the demand. 
 
 The British exports to Chile amounted in 
 value to about a million sterling in 1849. 
 
 CHIMES. These are bells tuned to the 
 modern musical scale, and struck by hammers 
 acted on by a pinned cylinder or barrel, 
 which revolves by means of clock-work. 
 Chimes differ from Carillons (as the last word 
 is commonly understood in England), inas- 
 much as the bells of the former are acted on 
 by clock-work, those of the latter by keys 
 struck by the hand. But the French apply 
 the term carillon to the tune played, and, 
 generally, to the series of bells, whether 
 sounded by machinery or by hand, though the 
 most accurate writers distinguish the latter 
 kind as le carillon a clavier. The carillons a 
 clavier comprise three octaves of bells, sounded 
 by means of keys, similar to the pedals of an 
 organ, which the performer strikes forcibly with 
 hands clenched and sideways, the li ttle fingers 
 being guarded by a thick covering of leather. 
 These keyed carillons are found in many 
 towns of Holland and the Netherlands. 
 
 In Mr. Payne's musical chime clocks, for 
 which a patent was taken out a year or two 
 ago, the sounds are emitted by steel springs 
 instead of bells, and elicited by pins instead of 
 hammers. In the general arrangement of 
 hammers and bells, the mechanism is com- 
 plex and takes up much room ; and it was 
 to lessen these inconveniences that Mr. Payne 
 introduced his new arrangement. The prin- 
 ciple of action is almost precisely that of the 
 musical snuff-box. Steel springs emit sounds 
 not only equal but superior to those of 
 bells. 
 
 CHIMNEY. In modern English houses 
 chimney-flues are often formed within the 
 substance of the party-wall, leaving the width 
 and projection of the jambs entirely to the 
 taste of the architect ; and, where two adjoin- 
 ing houses are built with the fire-places back 
 to back, two sets of flues are introduced in 
 the same party-wall. Where this is not done, 
 the flues are carried up in the projecting 
 jambs, which are necessarily made large. In 
 some of the best houses all the flues are so 
 
 constructed as to be swept from openings in 
 the basement story, without entering the 
 rooms into which the fire-places open. 
 
 The chimneys, flues, or stalks, (as they are 
 often termed) of our great chemical works, 
 are among the most remarkable examples of 
 construction. The gaseous exhalations from 
 such works are so noxious, that an attempt is 
 made to discharge them into the atmosphere 
 a', as great a height as possible ; and a great 
 height also increases the draught of the fur- 
 naces below. Hence the enonnous chimneys 
 which have been constructed within the last 
 few years. Cotton factories have also occa- 
 sionally chimneys of enormous height. At 
 Messrs. Dewhirst's factory, at Manchester, 
 a chimney has lately been built 243 feet high ; 
 it has a circular shaft, resting on a rectangular 
 base 21 feet square by 45 feet high ; and is 
 wholly built of stone, of which it contains 
 1,700 tons. The chimney to Messrs. Dixon's 
 cotton factory, at Carlisle, is 305 feet high ; 
 and it is octangular, and built of brick with 
 stone angles. The chimney to Messrs. Mus- 
 pratt's chemical works at Newton is 397 feet 
 high. At Messrs. Blinkhorn's chemical works 
 near Little Bolton is a chimney 368 feet high ; 
 it consumed in its construction 800,000 bricks 
 and 120 tons of stone. The chimney at the 
 great St. Rollox chemical works, near Glasgow, 
 is 430 feet high, 50 feet in diameter at the 
 foundation, 40 feet at the level of the ground, 
 and 14 feet at the top. It has an inner 
 chimney, disconnected from the outer, 260 
 feet in height by 16 feet in diameter. This 
 fine chimney, being on a hill, forms a fine 
 object for many miles ; but it has needed 
 repairs of a very troublesome and difficult 
 kind. A great chimney was finished at Wigan 
 in 1847, after four years of construction, in 
 connexion with an extensive chemical work. 
 It exceeded 400 feet in height. Almost im- 
 mediately after its completion, an indentation 
 was observed near the top, and an eminent 
 engineer of Manchester recommended the 
 removal of a portion of the top. About 80 
 feet was thus gradually removed ; but the 
 base continued to sink and displace during 
 this period, until at length the whole ponder- 
 ous structure fell in one mass, and stretched 
 its huge mass across the Leeds and Liverpool 
 Canal. 
 
 The chimney belonging to Messrs. Cubitt's 
 building establishment at Pimlico, is a remark- 
 able one. An attempt has been here made to 
 give architectural character to that which is 
 too often unsightly. The chimney shaft is 
 entirely enclosed within a square tower, which 
 presents much the appearance of an Italian 
 campanile, The shaft is circular, 120 feet 
 
581 
 
 CHIMNEY-PIECF. 
 
 CHINA. 
 
 582 
 
 high, 5 feet internal diameter, and varying in 
 thickness from 14 to 6 inches. The square 
 tower envelopes the shaft without touching it. 
 The upper portion of the tower, besides a 
 belfry and a clock-room, affords space for a 
 capacious cistern, useful in many exigencies. 
 These advantages, and a saving of fuel from 
 the shaft being kept shielded from the ex- 
 ternal cool air, are considered to pay an 
 ample return for the increased outlay, inde- 
 pendently of the architectural ornament thus 
 produced. 
 
 The chimneys or flues connected with some 
 of oui' mines are more remarkable than any 
 yet described. At the great Gwm Avon mining 
 and smelting works in South Wales, a chimney 
 has been built at the top of a mountain ; and 
 flues are carried up the sides of this mountain 
 from the works below to the chimney above. 
 At the Tamer lead mine, on the confines of 
 Cornwall and Devon, a steam engine has 
 lately been set to work at a depth of 800 feet 
 below the level of the river Tamer ; and in 
 order to give an outlet for the smoke of this 
 engine, flues extend from it, in horizontal 
 galleries and vertical shafts, like a flight of 
 steps, until they reach the surface on the 
 opposite side of the river. This united flue 
 is nearly two miles in length. 
 
 CHIMNEY PIECE. As soon as some 
 degree of architectural refinement began to 
 bo introduced into the habitations of noble- 
 men, external dressings, constituting a chim- 
 ney-piece, were added to the fire-place. Some 
 of these, in which the Gothic style was 
 employed, are marked by a fitness and pro- 
 priety of character, and a happy union of 
 simplicity with richness. Some examples 
 one from Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire, 
 and two from Windsor Castle are given in 
 Pugin's ' Gothic Specimens,' all of which, in 
 regard to compactness and simplicity of com- 
 position, accord mnch more nearly with 
 modern taste, and have a much less ' Gothic' 
 air than the cumbrous and extravagantly 
 ornamented chimney-pieces in the Eenaissance 
 style of the Continent, and our own Elizabe- 
 than. In these the design was carried quite 
 up. to the ceiling, so as to form a sort of 
 architectural frontispiece, composed of two or 
 more stages piled upon each other, and 
 adorned with columns, pilasters, caryatides, 
 termini, niches, &c., presenting an overloaded 
 mass of carving and sculpture. But, though 
 such compositions were generally exceedingly 
 capricious, and equally fantastic and coarse 
 in detail, some were real works of art truly 
 admirable for artistic beauty of design and 
 masterly execution ; such as were in the 
 palace of Fontainebleau ; two noted ones in 
 
 the Hotel de Ville at Courtrai ; and one of 
 matchless beauty for its exquisite carvings in 
 chestnut wood, in the Palais du Franc de 
 Bruges. In our own country, chimney-pieces 
 of the time of Elizabeth and James I. are by 
 no means uncommon : many are remaining, 
 not only in mansions of that period which 
 are still kept up, but in houses which have 
 been almost completely modernized in all 
 other respects. 
 
 As the more regular Italian style gained 
 ground, the fashion of chimney pieces greatly 
 changed. The chimney-piece and fire-place 
 were reduced to nearly their modern propor- 
 tions and dimensions, whereas the opening or 
 fire-place had previously been of such size 
 that a person might stand within it. Marble 
 is now the usual material for chimney-pieces 
 even in ordinary houses. 
 
 CHINA. Whatever may be the actual 
 antiquity of the Chinese people, no doubt 
 seems now to exist of their having been the 
 authors of Avhat are justly considered in 
 Europe as three of the most important in- 
 inventions or discoveries of modern times : 
 the art of block-printing, the composition of 
 gunpowder, and the magnetic compass. To 
 these may be added two very remarkable ma- 
 nufactures, of which they were unquestion- 
 ably the first inventors, those of silk and of 
 porcelain. It is curious to contrast inventions 
 of such high utility and importance with the 
 very small progress which the Chinese have 
 made in the sciences, as astronomy, geogra 
 phy, and mathematics, for which they were 
 not ashamed to be indebted to the European 
 missionaries. With regard 10 the fine arts, 
 the Chinese have not made much progress. 
 In painting, their colours are beautiful, but 
 their perspective is very erroneous. In music, 
 their instruments are numerous, consisting of 
 different species of lutes and guitars ; flutes 
 and other wind instruments ; an harmonicon 
 of wires, touched with two slender slips of 
 bamboo : bells and pieces of sonorous metal ; 
 drums ; and a sort of clarionet, which emits 
 a's nearly as possible the tones of the Scottish 
 bagpipe. 
 
 Through the plain which constitutes the 
 north-east part of China runs the Imperial 
 Canal 700 miles long. Its width, depth, 
 embankments, cuttings, flood-gates, and 
 bridges are on a large scale. It serves partly 
 for navigation, partly for draining, and partly 
 for irrigation. This canal, together with the 
 rivers, gives a very extensive system of inland 
 navigation in China. The plain watered by 
 the canal is perhaps the most populous 
 country upon earth. It contained, in 1813, 
 177,000,000 of inhabitants. To protect this? 
 
583 
 
 CHINA. 
 
 CHLOBINE. 
 
 584 
 
 rich plain the Great Wall was erected, which 
 incloses China on the northern boundary, and 
 extends over mountains and rivers for about 
 1,400 miles. This great work was constructed 
 about 200 years before the Christian eera, as 
 a defence against the nomadic tribes of 
 Tartars. The main substance of the wall is 
 earth or rubbish, retained on each side by a 
 thick casing of stone and brick, and terraced 
 by a platform of square tiles. From its east- 
 ern extremity there is an extensive stockade 
 of wooden piles, inclosing the country of 
 Mougden. The total height of the wall is 
 about 20 feet, on a basis of stone projecting 
 2 feet under the brickwork, and about the 
 same in height. The thickness of the whole 
 wall at the base is 25 feet, diminishing to 23 
 feet at the platform. The towers are -10 feet 
 square at the base, diminishing to 30 at the 
 top, and about '67 feet in height. 
 
 Of the produce of this remarkable empire, 
 tea is that with which England is most 
 interested [TEA]. Coal, lime, gold, silver, 
 and other minerals are met with. 
 
 Of the mechanical ingenuity of the Chinese 
 we have spoken in the Introduction (p. xi). 
 There seems no reason, however, to expect that 
 the Chinese will take part in the Industrial 
 Exhibition of the 'barbarians' of Europe; 
 although the European residents at Hong 
 Kong and Canton have contributed towards 
 the funds of the Exhibition. 
 
 The materials employed by the Chinese in 
 house -building are wood, of which that most 
 in use is the nan-mon, a kind of cedar : stone, 
 marble, bricks, bamboo, and glazed or porce- 
 lain tiles are also employed. The construc- 
 tion of houses is directed by a public func- 
 tionary, whom we may not inaptly designate a 
 district surveyor. Every one is obliged to 
 build his house according to his rank, and for 
 every house a certain size and details are 
 fixed. The ordinary habitations have one 
 floor. The houses called heon, that is, of 
 many floors, were once very much the fashion, 
 and some Avere built about 211 feet high. 
 Wooden columns, so placed as to support the 
 roof, are common, and are from eight to ten 
 diameters in height. They are fixed on stone 
 or marble bases, but have no capitals. The 
 roofs, which are slightly constructed of bam- 
 boo, are often double, and resemble one roof 
 rising out of the other : they turn up at the eaves, 
 at the angles of which are hung grotesque 
 figures of dragons, &c. Not the least singular 
 appearance in a Chinese house is the door, 
 which is often a complete circle ; the window 
 frames and sashes are formed of small pan- 
 nelS of various forms moulded out of clay, 
 and neatly joined together. The sills of doors 
 
 are of stone. The palace of Pekiu is on an 
 immense scale, 2,513 feet by 3,235 feet. It 
 is divided into a number of courts, is com- 
 posed of towers, galleries, porticoes, halls, 
 and immense buildings, and, as a whole, has 
 an imposing appearance. 
 
 CHINA WAEE. [POECELAIN.] 
 
 CHINCHILLA. This small animal, a 
 native of South America, is in request for the 
 sake of its fur. That which comes from Peru 
 is rougher than that brought from Chile, but 
 not always so beautiful. Great numbers of 
 these animals are caught in the neighbourhood 
 of Coquimbo and Copiapo, generally by boys 
 with dogs, Avho bring them to Santiago and 
 Valparaiso, whence they are exported. The 
 Peruvian skins are either brought to Buenos 
 Ayres from the eastern parts of the Andes, or 
 are sent to Lima. The extensive demand in 
 Europe for this fur has occasioned a very 
 large destruction of these animals. 
 
 CHLORINE is an elementary gaseous 
 body discovered by Scheele, in 1774. It has 
 a very powerful and disagreeable odour, is very 
 suffocating, even when considerably diluted 
 with air, and its taste is astringent. Faraday 
 has shown that, when this gas is subjected to 
 a pressure of about four atmospheres, and 
 kept cool, it is condensed into a yellow limpid 
 fluid, which is extremely volatile, and, when 
 the pressure is removed, rapidly reassumes 
 the gaseous form. Neither light, heat, nor 
 electricity produces any change in the pro- 
 perties of chlorine gas, provided it be dry ; 
 but, if it be moist, then light causes it to 
 decompose the water. 
 
 One of the most curious and important pro- 
 perties of chlorine is the power which it pos- 
 sesses of destroying the colour of animal and 
 vegetable matter in general, and hence its ex- 
 tensive application to the purpose of bleach- 
 ing. [BLEACHING.] This is effected how- 
 ever not by dry chlorine, but when moisture 
 is present. Chlorine is a powerful supporter 
 of combustion : if certain metals, and espe- 
 cially antimony, in the state of powder, be 
 thrown into chlorine gas, they burn spontane- 
 ously ; phosphorus also fcxhibits similar phe- 
 nomena. Chlorine is a powerful disinfectant ; 
 Sir William Burnett's ' Disinfecting Fluid ' 
 consists of chloride of zinc. Mr. F. Smith 
 has recently (1847) introduced a small appa- 
 ratus for making chlorine, to be used in hos- 
 pitals, or houses, or rooms, where the air is 
 likely to be tainted. 
 
 Many of the compounds of chlorine with 
 other substances are highly important. The 
 most so perhaps is Muriatic or Hydro-chloric 
 Acid, which consists of chlorine and hydrogen ; 
 it is a colourless gas, with a pungent odour 
 
585 
 
 CHLOEOFOEM. 
 
 and an acrid taste; it extinguishes burning 
 bodies, and excites coughing ; it is expanded 
 by heat, and decomposed by electricity; it 
 readily absorbs atmospheric moisture, and 
 then becomes liquid muriatic acid, which has 
 the smell and acid properties of the gas. 
 
 Muriatic acid is largely used in chemistry 
 and the arts. When it is mixed with nitric 
 acid, it is decomposed, and a solution of chlo- 
 rine is obtained, which, under the old name 
 of aqua regia or modern name of mtro-muriatic 
 acid, is used for dissolving gold and platinum. 
 
 The manufacture of chlorine at the Felling 
 Chemical Works, near Newcastle, according 
 to the patent obtained by Mr. Lee in 1842, is 
 conducted as follows : Each of the chambers 
 for the manufacture is covered by an arch, 
 over which the furnace flue is led, so that the 
 heat may be transmitted downward through 
 the arches to the materials placed within the 
 chambers. In each chamber is a stone trough, 
 such as is used for the condensers and flues 
 of alkali works. One side of each chamber 
 is furnished with a leaden door, and at the 
 opposite side is a pipe of lead or of earthen- 
 ware for the escape of the chlorine. The fire 
 being kindled, and the chamber sufficiently 
 heated, lumps of manganese are placed in the 
 troughs, and the doors closed ; muriatic acid 
 is then introduced through glass tubes, con- 
 veniently placed for that purpose. The chlo- 
 rine is speedily given off, and passes into an- 
 other chamber ; and the muriate of manga- 
 nese is drawn off from the troughs on 
 the completion of the process by means of 
 syphons. 
 
 CHLOEOFOEM is a peculiar compound 
 limpid fluid, which is soluble in alcohol and 
 aether, and dissolves iodine, phosphorus, and 
 sulphur. Although mankind had for a long 
 time had recourse to various narcotic agents 
 for relieving pain in disease, it was not till 
 the discovery by Drs. Jackson and Norton, in 
 America, of the narcotising powers of the 
 vapour of aether, that such agents were em- 
 ployed for the purpose of relieving the dread- 
 ful suffering endured in surgical operations. 
 This discovery can only be regarded as second 
 in importance to that of vaccination, as a pre- 
 ventive of small-pox, by Dr. Jenner. Scarcely 
 had it been generally known that aether pos- 
 sessed the power we have mentioned than, in 
 the latter end of the year 1847, Dr. Simpson, 
 of Edinburgh, discovered that the vapour of 
 chloroform possesses the same powers. The 
 discovery that the vapour of chloroform pro- 
 duced the same effect as that of aether pro- 
 duced scarcely less sensation than the dis- 
 covery of the powers of aether itself. For it 
 possesses many advantages over aether in its 
 
 CHEOMATIC THEEMOMETEE. 586 
 
 application to the production of insensibility. 
 These are 1. A smaller quantity of chloro- 
 form than of sether is required to produce the 
 same effect ; for thirty or forty drops upon a 
 handkerchief or sponge, and applied to the 
 nostrils, are sufficient to produce the desired 
 effect. 2. The action of chloroform is more 
 rapid and complete, and more persistent than 
 that of sether. 3. Frequently after taking the 
 vapour of aether, sickness and headache come 
 on; but, although these effects sometimes 
 take place with chloroform, they are not so 
 frequent. 4. The expense of chloroform is 
 much less than that of aether, from the small 
 quantity required. 
 
 Chloroform is obtained by distilling a mix- 
 ture of chloride of lime, water, and spirit. 
 
 CHOCOLATE. [CocoA.] 
 
 CHOELEY is one of the busy cotton- 
 manufacturing towns of Lancashire. The chief 
 articles of manufacture are calicoes, muslins, 
 and ginghams. Eight cotton factories, two 
 print works, two weaving sheds, bleaching 
 works, a paper-mill, coal-mines, and stone- 
 quarries, afford employment to many of the 
 inhabitants. Another large cotton factory has 
 been just completed. A new patent brick and 
 draining-tile manufactory has been recently 
 established. Four miles from Chorley, lead 
 and carbonate of barytes are found. The 
 Leeds and Liverpool canal, and the Lanca- 
 shire and Yorkshire Eailway, are of great 
 benefit to Chorley in affording facilities for 
 the carriage of goods. A very large increase 
 has taken place in the population and pros- 
 perity of the town owing to the great increase 
 of calico-printing. 
 
 CHEOMATYPE is the name given by Mr. 
 Eobert Hunt to a variety of the photographic . 
 process discovered by him in 1842. It derives 
 its name from some of the chromates, espe- 
 cially the chromates of mercury and copper, 
 employed in preparing the photographic 
 paper. 
 
 CHEOMATIC THEEMOMETEE is the 
 name given by Sir David Brewster to an in- 
 strument consisting of several rectangular 
 plates of glass placed with their surfaces in 
 contact, and intended to measure the difference 
 between-the temperature of the glass and of 
 any body, solid or fluid, which may be applied 
 to it. The temperature induced in the glass 
 must however be below that at which the 
 glass would become red hot. The heated 
 body, solid or fluid, being in contact with the 
 edges of the glass plates, the inequality of 
 action caused by differences of temperature in 
 the parts of each plate of glass gives rise to 
 differences of tint in the polarized light of the 
 glass, which differences are made to measure 
 
581 
 
 CHROMIUM. 
 
 CHRONOMETER. 
 
 588 
 
 (scientifically though not practically) differ 
 ences of temperature. 
 
 CHROMIUM, a metal discovered by Vau 
 quelin in the year 1797, is pulverulent, of a 
 yellowish white colour, and metallic lustre 
 It suffers but little change by exposure to the 
 air, and acids act upon it but slightly. Chro 
 mium combines with many of the elementary 
 substances. One of the oxides of chromium 
 has a green colour, and is the colouring matter 
 of the emerald ; it is employed to give a green 
 colour to glass and porcelain. The chromate 
 of lead and other compounds of the metal are 
 of great value in the arts. 
 
 CHRONOMETER. Such time-keepers as 
 are used for determining the longitude at sea 
 or for other purposes where great accuracy is 
 required, combined with portability, are called 
 by this name. Some are made for the pocket 
 resemble ordinary watches in appearance, and, 
 like them, are made to go thirty hours with 
 once winding up. Marine chronometers are 
 usually larger, with dial -plates three or four 
 inches in diameter, and made to go from two to 
 eight, or, by some recent improvements, even 
 as many as thirty-two days with once winding 
 up. They indicate hours (from I. to XXIV., 
 to avoid the possibility of an error of twelve 
 hours), minutes, and seconds, often on sepa- 
 rate circles ; and they are furnished with a 
 small hand to indicate the days which have 
 elapsed since the winding up. The mechanism 
 is enclosed in a brass box, mounted on gim- 
 bals, so as to preserve one uniform position, 
 and inclosed in a mahogany case. 
 
 The greater part of the mechanism of a 
 chronometer resembles that of a common 
 watch, but is constructed with every possible 
 provision to ensure accuracy. They differ 
 from the common watch chiefly in the detached 
 escapement and the compensation balance. The 
 former is a contrivance by which the balance, 
 the vibrations of which constitute the actual 
 measure of time, is, during the greater part 
 of its movement, entirely detached from, and 
 consequently unaffected by, the train of wheel- 
 work from which its impulse is derived ; the 
 wheels, in fact, standing still through the 
 greater part of each vibration. The compen- 
 sation-balance is a beautiful contrivance for 
 counteracting the effect of changes of tempe- 
 rature, which, by causing an ordinary balance 
 to expand and contract, occasion a variation 
 in the extent of its vibration, and consequently 
 in the rate of going of the time-piece of which 
 it forms the essential feature. This correc- 
 tion, in the ordinary compensation-balance, 
 is effected by forming the rim of the balance 
 of two semicircular slips of metal, fixed at one 
 end only, and each consisting of a very narrow 
 
 riband of steel joined to an outer rim of brass. 
 Each of these semicircular slips, consisting 
 thus of two metals differently affected by heat, 
 is capable of altering its shape with every 
 change in the temperature to which the chro- 
 nometer is exposed, in such a way as to keep 
 the vibrations of the balance always the same. 
 In the first marine chronometers, constructed 
 by Harrison, this object was attained by apply- 
 ing such a compensating apparatus to the 
 balance-spring. Arnold, following, probably 
 unconsciously, in the track of the great 
 French watch-maker, Le Roy, applied it to 
 the balance itself. Many other improvements 
 have been made hi the chronometer, render- 
 ing it almost as perfect as any thing from the 
 hand of man can be expected to be ; and of 
 late years very ingenious contrivances have 
 been devised by Messrs. Dent, Eiffe, and Mo- 
 lyneux, for correcting certain irregularities of 
 action in the ordinary compensation -balance 
 and producing a balance surpassing it in accu- 
 racy of movement as it surpasses the balance 
 of a common watch. 
 
 The wonderful accuracy of modern chrono- 
 meters was made the means in 1839 of deter- 
 mining the longitude of New York, as corn- 
 Dared with Greenwich. The first experiment 
 was made on the occasion of the first trip 
 across the Atlantic by the British Queen. The 
 ongitude determined by that mode differed 
 2 - 63 seconds from that determined by tho 
 usual astronomical means. Mr. Dent was 
 dissatisfied with a discrepancy marvellously 
 small to the minds of others but large in 
 he estimation of one accustomed to the per- 
 brmances of chronometers ; and he deter- 
 mined to made a second attempt. He placed 
 bur chronometers under the care of Captain 
 Roberts, the rates of which had been pre- 
 viously ascertained. The chronometers made 
 a voyage out and home in the British Queen, 
 bowing, of course, Greenwich time all the 
 ,vhile ; and on being compared in America 
 with other chronometers which marked New 
 York time, the difference of longitude was 
 neasured by this difference of chronometer 
 ime. So astounding \vas the accuracy of 
 hose instruments, that while the difference of 
 ongitude between the observatory at Green- 
 wich and the City Hall at New York is found 
 the best astronomical methods to be 
 
 h. 56m. 0-72 s., it was measured by the 
 hronometers to be 4 h. 56 m. 0-24 s., a differ- 
 nce of less than half a second ! It was found 
 fiat the chronometers were able to withstand 
 he shaking of the vessel, and all other dis- 
 urbances incidental to a steam-ship, without 
 erceptibly marring their action. 
 
 Mr. Dent, shortly afterwards, determined 
 
589 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 CIDER. 
 
 590 
 
 by chronoraetric means the difference of lor 
 gitude between Greenwich and Devonpor 
 As ascertained by the Trigonometrical Survey 
 the difference of longitude, between the Ob 
 servatory at Greenwich and the flag-staff 01 
 Mount Wise, near Devonport, is 16m. 38-1 s. 
 while the difference given by a mean of fou 
 chronometers was 16 m, 89-8 s. a difference o 
 less than two seconds. 
 
 During the last five years, there have been 
 219 Admiralty chronometers at Greenwich 
 Observatory. It is curious that in these sue 
 cessive years, 1845-6-7-8-9, five differen 
 makers stood successively first on the list, ir 
 respect to the accuracy of the chronometers 
 made by them; showing how closely the spiri 
 of honourable scientific competition has 
 brought them on a level one with another. 
 the whole number 79 were purchased for th( 
 public use ; the highest price paid was 68/. 5s 
 [CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING.]^ 
 
 CHURCH. The principal type of a complete 
 church, as an architectural structure, is acathe 
 dral. Almost every cathedral is varied in plan 
 although the leading features, the nave and 
 choir, are found in almost all. The plan usually 
 consists of agalilee, or chapel, at the principal 
 entrance ; the nave, or main body of the 
 church ; the side aisles, which do not rise so 
 high as the nave, and are placed on each side 
 of the nave, sometimes with chapels, at other 
 times without, between the openings formed 
 by the windows ; the choir, or place for the 
 ceremonies of the church ; the transept, or 
 division at right angles to the end of the nave 
 next the choir, which projects on each side, 
 and forms a cross on the plan. Some cathe- 
 drals have a double transept, and the tran- 
 septs have often aisles. At the end of the 
 choir is the high altar, behind which is occa- 
 sionally a lady chapel, or chapel to the Virgin. 
 The choir end of a cathedral is sometimes ter- 
 minated by an apsis or semicircular end. 
 Along the sides of the choir are ranged richly 
 carved seats, ornamented with arches, pin- 
 nacles, and tracery, carved in oak. The 
 bishop's seat, richer than the others and 
 raised above them, is on one side, at the 
 eastern end. The choir has also side aisles. 
 Cloisters and a chapter - house are usually 
 attached to English cathedrals. The minor 
 parts of a cathedral are the muniment room, 
 the library, the consistory court, the vestries 
 of the dean and chapter, minstrels' chapels, a 
 font, and a minstrels' gallery. Beneath the 
 body of the cathedral there is usually a crypt, 
 or low basement, supported on arches spring- 
 ing from thick columns, as in Canterbury Ca- 
 thedral and others. At the point of intersec- 
 tion of the transept with the nave there is 
 
 usually a tower, sometimes surmounted by a 
 spire. The nave of a Gothic cathedral is sup- 
 ported by clustered columns, arched from one 
 to the other, over which there is usually 
 a row of small arches forming a gallery, which 
 is called the triforium, and above are windows 
 called clere-story windows. The chapter- 
 house and cloister are large and important 
 features in many of our cathedrals. The 
 finest chapter- houses in England are of a 
 polygonal form, and have in some cases a co- 
 lumn, or cluster of columns, in the centre, to 
 support the vaulted roof. The cloistures are 
 rectangular inclosures, with a richly orna- 
 mented and arched gallery running round the 
 sides. Such are the leading features of the 
 cathedrals and large churches of Europe. The 
 numerous cathedrals of France, Italy, and 
 Germany present beautiful specimens of ar- 
 chitecture, not only in the Gothic style, but 
 also in the Italian style. St. Peter's at Rome 
 is the largest cathedral in Europe. Vienna 
 and Strasburg have the highest spires ; the 
 former is 465 feet, the latter 456 feet high. 
 
 CHURN. The common churn for making 
 butter is a wooden cask rather wider at bottom 
 han at top, covered with a round lid having a 
 lole in the centre. Through this hole passes 
 i round stick about four feet long, inserted in 
 he centre of a round flat board having holes 
 n it ; the diameter of this board is a little 
 ess than that of the top of the churn. The 
 nilk is churned by giving a vertical movement 
 
 the board immersed in it. 
 
 There is obviously a great waste of power 
 
 1 such a contrivance ; and many forms have 
 een devised to render the work of the churner 
 
 more efficacious. One of the most recent is 
 he atmospheric c7m{,made by Mr. Samuelson. 
 t consists of a square box, inside which are 
 our vanes or boards, made to rotate round a 
 entral horizontal axis, the handle of which 
 rejects through one side of the box. Two of 
 tie vanes are perforated, and two are solid ; 
 he former break the cream and separate the 
 utter from the butter-milk ; while the latter 
 ause air to be forced into the milk. These 
 burns are made of various sizes, to churn 
 rom 4 to 96 quarts, and are sold from 25s. to 
 o 115s. each. 
 
 CIDER, or CYDER. There are two cider 
 istricts in this country. The Hereford cider 
 istrict is comprised in the four counties of 
 [ereford, Gloucester, Worcester, and Mon- 
 
 outh ; the Devonshire cider district in 
 hose of Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Corn- 
 all. 
 
 The principal kinds of apple used in these 
 istricts for cider are the New Foxwhelp, the 
 Vilding, the Cherry Pearmain. and the Yellow 
 
591 
 
 CIDER. 
 
 and Red Norman. In the Devonshire dis 
 trict, the situations chosen for orchards are 
 generally hollow dells or shelving hanks, in 
 the neighbourhood of the farm-houses, the 
 land on which they are planted being put to 
 little other use ; while in the Hereford dis- 
 trict the choice is determined chiefly by the 
 quality of the soil, without reference to the 
 position of the farm-house. Very little atten- 
 tion is paid to enriching the soil round the 
 trees when once they have been planted. In 
 by far the largest proportion of orchards, with 
 the exception of gathering the fruit, nothing 
 is done to the trees from the beginning of the 
 year to the end. The fruit of the different 
 varieties of apple ripen at different times of 
 the year, earlier or later, according to the sea- 
 son. The customary method of picking the 
 fruit is by striking the trees with poles, pro- 
 vincially called ' poulting,' and then gathering 
 the fallen apples ; but it is better economy to 
 pay a small extra price for collecting the fruit 
 which falls at several times. When the 
 apples have been gathered, each sort by itself 
 is collected into heaps, about ten inches deep, 
 where they remain for a month, or more, until 
 they become mellow ; they are then ready for 
 the mill. 
 
 Cider is manufactured with very rude ma- 
 chinery, by the following process : The apples 
 are thrown into a circular stone trough, usu- 
 ally about eighteen feet in diameter, called the 
 chase, round which the runner, a heavy circu- 
 lar stone, is turned by one or two horses. The 
 crushed pulp or must is pressed between horse- 
 hair cloths, and the juice expelled. This juice 
 is poured into casks, placed either out of doors, 
 or in sheds where there is a free current of 
 air. In about three or four days the liquor 
 ferments ; the thick heavier parts subside as 
 a sediment at the bottom of the cask, and the 
 lighter becomes bright clear cider. This is 
 ihen racked, or drawn off into another cask. 
 
 The fermentation of cider is a process re- 
 quiring great care and skill. Slight fermenta- 
 tion will leave the liquor thick and unpalata- 
 ble; rapid fermentation will impair both its 
 strength and durability ; excessive fermentation 
 will make it sour, harsh, and thin. It is not 
 the habit of the farmer to add sugar, treacle, 
 brandy, or any colouring matter to the liquor ; 
 it is only adulterated in the hands of cider 
 dealers and publicans, who often ' doctor ' up 
 sour cider to make it palatable. 
 
 At the beginning of January the cider is 
 moved into cellars, where by large growers it 
 is frequently stored in casks of great capacity, 
 containing 1000, 1500, or even 2000 gal- 
 lons. In March the liquor is bunged down ; 
 it is then fit for sale, and may be used soon 
 
 CIGAR. u!J;i 
 
 afterwards, though it will greatly improve by 
 keeping. 
 
 Cider of good quality is made in Ireland, in 
 the counties of Waterford and Cork ; in Nor- 
 mandy, whence we have many of our best 
 apples; in Belgium; and of inferior quality 
 in Germany. It is also made in abundance, 
 and of excellent quality, in many parts of the 
 United States of North America. 
 
 CIGAR. The manufacture of cigars is 
 exceedingly simple. A boy, with a quantity 
 of unstripped leaves before him, takes them 
 one by one, strips them, and then passes 
 them to the cigar-maker, who is seated in 
 front of a low work-bench, which has raised 
 ledges on every side excepting that nearest to 
 him. He takes a leaf of tobacco, spreads it 
 smoothly before him on the bench, and cuts 
 it to a form resembling one of the gores or 
 stripes of a balloon. He then lays a few frag - 
 ments of tobacco leaf in its centre, and rolls 
 the whole up into a form nearly resembling 
 that of a cigar. The next operation is to 
 place the partially-formed cigar in an iron 
 guage, which cuts it to a given length. The 
 maker then lays a narrow strip of leaf upon 
 the bench, and rolls the cigar spirally in it. 
 All this is done with great rapidity, a few 
 seconds being sufficient for the production of 
 a cigar. The cigars are finally dried for sale. 
 
 The following account of the cigar manu- 
 facture at Havannah appeared in some of the 
 London journals in 1841: The greatest 
 manufacturers of Havannah cigars are Ca- 
 banas, Hernandez, Silva, and Rencareiul ; 
 there are a hundred others of less note, who 
 make from 10,000 to 100,000 a day. The 
 cigar is composed of two distinct parts, the 
 inside and the cover. For these, two different 
 lands of leaves are used ; of which that for 
 :he cover is generally finer in texture and 
 more pliant. These leaves are damped the 
 light previous to their being made up ; when 
 rolled, they are placed on a large table, where 
 they are divided into the various qualities of 
 first, second, third, &c., and priced accord- 
 ngly. Those which are most carefully rolled 
 are called Regalias, and are sold at 22 to 26 
 dollars per thousand; while the second best, 
 which are of the very same tobacco, and made 
 by the same man, only with less care, are sold 
 at 14 dollars ; and others are done so low as 
 6 dollars. D. Hernandez employs about fifty 
 men in his manufactory. Of the best common 
 cigars, a workman can make a thousand a 
 day ; of the Regalias six hundred. The daily 
 ssues from that immense fabrica are about 
 30,000 cigars ; which at 14 dollars per thou- 
 sand would give nearly 1001. per day. They 
 pay an export duty of half a dollar per thou- 
 
593 
 
 CINCHONA. 
 
 CINNAMON. 
 
 594 
 
 sand, and an import duty in England of nine 
 shillings. The very best in quality do not 
 find their way to Europe, because they are 
 not fashionable here : they are generally dark 
 coloured ; whereas a light coloured and 
 smoothly rolled cigar is preferred to the 
 strong and highly flavoured rough ones, which 
 are the best. 
 
 CI'NCHONA; Jesuits' or Peruvian Bark. 
 By whom the important properties of the va- 
 rious species of this genus was first made 
 known to Europeans is unrecorded. The na- 
 tive Peruvians attached no febrifugal import- 
 ance to the bark. Its introduction to Europe 
 took place through the Spaniards in the year 
 1640. Little was known of the tree producing 
 this substance till the voyage of La Conda- 
 rnine, who, in 1738, first printed a detailed 
 account of Quinquina, as it was ti.en called. 
 
 The manner of collecting the Cinchona 
 bark of commerce is thus described : In the 
 month of April the preparations for an expe- 
 dition commence ; and in May the people start 
 for the forest, whence the last green bales are 
 transmitted home in November. They fell 
 the trees close to the root, sparing those 
 trunks which appear too young, as, till they 
 have attained maturity, the bark is of no 
 value. The next process is to divide the 
 stems into pieces of uniform length, rejecting 
 only the very smallest branches. The bark 
 is then cut lengthwise, so as to remove the 
 rind without injuring the wood or severing 
 any of the fibres. In a few days the bark is 
 taken off in strips as broad as possible. In 
 the market the value of the bark depends on 
 the celerity with which it is dried. In the dense 
 forests it is impossible to perform this opera- 
 tion properly, and therefore the bundles of 
 green bark are dispatched with all speed to 
 the nearest inhabited place, where the person 
 appointed to take charge of them is stationed. 
 They are laid in a spot exposed to the full 
 action of the sun, and the greatest care is re- 
 quisite to protect them from the wet. 
 
 Cinchona barks, in England, are classed 
 under three heads pale, yellow, and red 
 barks. Of each there are several varieties. 
 Of the .Pak Barks, three varieties are known 
 in English commerce: 1, Crown or Loxa 
 Bark, 2, Gray, Silver, or Huanuco Bark; 
 3, Ash Bark. These are always quilled, and 
 never in flat pieces. The powder, which 
 gives the name, varies from gray to fawn 
 colour. The Crown Bark occurs in pieces 
 from 6 to 14 inches long, the quills varying 
 in diameter from the fourth or even smaller 
 part of an inch to nearly half an inch. The 
 colour of the exterior is marked dark gray, in 
 some specimens verging to brown. The odour 
 
 resembles that of tan. The taste at first is 
 slightly astringent, and faintly acid ; after- 
 wards very astringent, somewhat bitter, but 
 not acrid. The Gray and Ash Barks differ 
 from the Crown chiefly in tint. 
 
 The Yellow Barks also present three varie- 
 ties. The variety best known in England 
 occurs in two forms quills and flat pieces ; 
 the quills were formerly most prized, but all 
 well - informed persons now prefer the flat 
 pieces as much richer in quinia. The exter- 
 nal surface is generally grayish brown, in- 
 clining to blackish, yellow, or whitish, accord- 
 ing to the kind of lichen by which it is beset. 
 The flat Yellow Bark, or that in splints, 
 occurs either with the epidermis or divested 
 of it. 
 
 The Bed Bark, of which one kind only is 
 known in English trade, was not much used 
 in Europe till 1779. It occurs in quills and 
 flat pieces, most frequently in the latter 
 form. 
 
 The various forms of Cinchona Bark are 
 justly considered the most valuable tonic and 
 febrifugal medicines we possess ; and the 
 commerce in them has thereby become im- 
 portant. 
 
 CINCHONIA, is a vegetable alkali con- 
 tained in all the varieties of Cinchona, but 
 principally in the Cinchona lanclfolia, or pale 
 bark. Cinchonia has a peculiar bitter taste ; 
 and combines with many of the acids to pro- 
 duce a peculiar class of salts. 
 
 CINNABAR. [MERCUEY.] 
 
 CINNAMON has been known to European 
 nations from very high antiquity. That which 
 
 now chiefly consumed in England is the 
 aromatic bark of a small tree found in the 
 sland of Ceylon. The time for stripping off 
 the bark is from May to October. The bark, 
 after being removed from the branches, is 
 tied up in bundles for twenty -four hours, du- 
 ring which time a sort of fermentation takes 
 Dlace, which greatly facilitates the separation 
 of the outer part of the bark from the cuticle 
 and the epidermis, which is very carefully 
 scraped off the Ceylon cinnamon. It is then 
 rolled up into quills, or pipes, about three feet 
 n length, the thinner or smaller quills being 
 surrounded by larger ones, a mark which al- 
 ways distinguishes cinnamon from cassia. It 
 .s then conveyed to Colombo, where it is 
 sorted by government inspectors into three 
 dnds, of which the two finest alone are al- 
 owed to be exported to Europe, while the 
 third, or inferior kind, is reserved to be dis- 
 tilled, along with the broken pieces of the 
 ther two, for the purpose of obtaining the 
 oil of cinnamon. The select cinnamon is 
 brmed into bales of about 92 Ibs. weight, 
 
505 
 
 CINNAMON. 
 
 CITRIC ACID. 
 
 f>'IO 
 
 containing some pepper or coffee, and wrapped 
 in double cloths made of hemp. 
 
 This fine cinnamon occurs in pieces ahout 
 forty inches in length, generally containing 
 from six to eight rolls or quills in each, one 
 within the other, of the thickness of vellum 
 paper, of a dull golden yellow colour. It is 
 very fragrant, agreeably aromatic, taste plea- 
 sant, warm, aromatic, slightly astringent. 
 Analysed by Vauquelin, it yielded volatile oil, 
 tannin in large quantity, an azotised colouring 
 matter, a peculiar acid, mucilage, and fecu- 
 lum. 
 
 The root of the cinnamon tree yields a kind 
 of camphor, and the leaves yield an oil which 
 resembles oil of cloves, which it is often used 
 to adulterate. This is quite distinct from the 
 oil of cinnamon obtained from the bark. The 
 ripe berries yield by decoction h, solid volatile 
 oil, similar to the oil of junipers. 
 
 Cassia is often mistaken for cinnamon ; but 
 they differ in the following particulars : The 
 bales in which Cassia arrives are much smal- 
 ler, containing only from two to four pounds, 
 bound together by portions of the bark of a 
 tree. The quills are thicker, rolled once or 
 twice only, and never contain thinner pieces 
 within ; the diameter of the bark is much 
 thicker than that of cinnamon, and harder, 
 and the outer rind less carefully removed. It 
 has the odour of cinnamon, but fainter and 
 less grateful ; the taste more acridly aromatic, 
 pungent, less sweet, at the same time more 
 powerfully astringent, yet mucilaginous. 
 
 Oil of Cinnamon is obtained chiefly from 
 the fragments which fall from the quills during 
 the inspection and sorting at Colombo. These 
 fragments are coarsely powdered, and, after 
 being immersed for forty-eight hours in sea- 
 water, are distilled, when a milky fluid comes 
 over, which separates into two parts, a light 
 oil which floats on the water, and a heavy one 
 which sinks. In time a spontaneous separa- 
 tion takes place, and there are formed trans- 
 parent crystals of stearopten, or cinnamon 
 camphor. Oil of Cassia is also obtained by 
 distillation; at first it is whiter than oil of 
 cinnamon, afterwards it becomes yellow, but 
 never of such a fiery yellow as cinnamon-oil. 
 The odour is agreeable, but not so delicate ; 
 the taste, acrid, burning, but different from 
 cinnamon. 
 
 Oil of cinnamon, as a costly article, is often 
 adulterated with oil of cassia ; with the oil of 
 cassia-buds ; with the oil of the Cerasus lauro- 
 cerasus, or cherry-laurel ; and it is also said 
 with oil cf bitter almonds, an exceedingly dan- 
 gerous intermixture. 
 
 Cinnamon is an extremely valuable aroma- 
 tic stimulant, useful both in cookery and in 
 
 medicine. Cassia has similar properties in a 
 less degree. 
 
 347,368 Ibs. of cinnamon were imported in 
 1848. 
 
 CIPOLIN is a variety of green marble with 
 white zones, found in the vicinities of Rome 
 and Autun. 
 
 CIRCLE . The following rules respecting 
 the circle are of constant application in me- 
 chanical operations. To find the circumfer- 
 ence of a circle (with more than sufficient 
 nearness for practical purposes ) take the 113th 
 part of 355 times the diameter, or 3.14159 
 times the diameter. To find the area in square 
 units, multiply the number of units in the ra- 
 dius by itself, and take the 113th part of 355 
 times the result (or multiply by 3.14159). 
 
 CIRCUMFERENTOR. This instrument 
 is a species of surveying compass, consisting 
 of one circular plate of brass, graduated, and 
 of another turning on the same axis, which 
 carries a A'ernier ; these are supported on a 
 tripod stand, and may be rendered horizontal 
 by means of small spirit-levels. The upper 
 plate carries two sight-vanes or perforated 
 plates in vertical positions, at the opposite ex- 
 tremities of a diameter, and through these an 
 object is seen when the bearing of a station 
 line from the magnetic meridian is to be 
 found. 
 
 Such an instrument, being far inferior to a 
 theodolite in respect of the accuracy with 
 which by its means a survey may be made, is 
 not much used in Europe ; but in the United 
 States of America, and in the British Colonies, 
 where land is less valuable, it is almost the 
 only instrument employed. 
 
 CI'THARA was an ancient stringed instru- 
 ment, supposed to have been somewhat like 
 the modern guitar. 
 
 CITRIC ACID. This acid exists in nume- 
 rous fruits, particularly those of the orange 
 tribe, such as the lemon and lime, either alone 
 or with malic and other acids ; sugar, muci- 
 age, and extractive are also present. It is 
 colourless, inodorous, and extremely sour. 
 When decomposed, it yields pyrocitric acid, 
 and several other compounds. The citric acid 
 is separated and purified on a large scale. 
 Citric acid, when crystallised, has scarcely any 
 odour, but a very distinct acid taste. It is so- 
 luble in cold and still moi-e in warm water. It 
 is used as a discharge in calico printing. 
 
 Citric acid combines with ammonia, potash, 
 soda, iron, zinc, copper, silver, lead, and other 
 bases, to form salts. 
 
 Concentrated citric acid is somewhat caustic,, 
 but lemon juice is gratefully acid. To imitate 
 the natural state, citric acid is only given 
 argely diluted. In this state it proves a 
 
597 
 
 CITRON. 
 
 CLAVICHORD. 
 
 598 
 
 pleasant drink in fevers and diseases where 
 the temperature of the body rises above the 
 natural standard. According to Broussais, it 
 agrees better than any other acid with the sto- 
 mach when affected with acute inflammation. 
 It is not so pleasant as lemonade prepared 
 from new fresh lemons ; and, according to the 
 statement of Sir Gr. Blane, the solution of citric 
 acid is not so efficacious in the prevention and 
 cure of sea-scurvy as the recent lemon-juice. 
 This is attributable to the absence of the vola- 
 tile oil and the bitter principle of the rind, 
 which are valuable adjuncts to the citric acid 
 in its action on the stomach. The utility of 
 lemon-juice in promoting the digestion of ge- 
 latinous meats, such as veal and turtle, is well 
 known. Fresh lemon juice may be preserved 
 in bottles in the same way as ripe fruits, by 
 boiling the bottles in which it is contained for 
 half an hour, first placing them in cold water 
 and gradually heating it, and, as soon as the 
 contents of the bottles have fallen to the tem- 
 perature of the air, closing them hermetically. 
 Where lemon juice so preserved, or fresh le- 
 mons, cannot be obtained by ships on long 
 voyages, the dissolved citrio acid, to which a 
 portion of an alcoholic extract of lemon peel 
 may be added at the time of using, is some- 
 times used when apprehensions of scurvy are 
 entertained. 
 
 Citric acid, as well as lemon juice, is much 
 employed to decompose alkaline carbonates, 
 forming therewith pleasant effervescing solu- 
 tions. 
 
 CITRON, is one species of that important 
 kind of fruit which includes the LEMON and 
 ORANGE. 
 
 CIVET is a perfume obtained from an ani- 
 mal bearing the same name. The animal is 
 a native of North Africa, and is two to three 
 feet in length. The perfume is procured by 
 scraping the inside of the pouch with an iron 
 spatula, at intervals of three or four days ; 
 about fi drachm may be obtained each time. 
 
 As civet sells at rather a high price, that 
 which goes by the name in the market is too 
 often adulterated with suet or oil. 
 
 CLACKMANNANSHIRE. This Scottish 
 county, presents a fair amount of produce and 
 manufacturing industry. In the parish of 
 Alloa are distilleries, breweries, manufactures 
 of yarns, plaidings, shawls, tartans, druggets, 
 and blankets, corn and flour mills, besides a 
 glass work, a foundry, a brick and tile work 
 and pottery, and a tan work. There are sal- 
 mon fishings in the Forth. The manufacture 
 of Scotch blankets and serge was formerly 
 carried on at Tillicoultry, but shawls and tar- 
 tans have been found more lucrative, and have 
 engrossed much of the industry of this popu- 
 
 lous village. Small quarries of sandstone and 
 limestone are wrought in various parts of the 
 county, but the most important branch of in- 
 dustry pursued is the working of the extensive 
 coalfields in Alloa and Clackmannan parishes, 
 which form that part of the county lying on 
 the banks of the Forth. Coal has been 
 wrought here for 200 years, and there is an 
 immense annual exportation of that article 
 from Alloa. The occupation next and almost 
 equal in importance is the iron manufacture, 
 at Devon iron works, on the banks of the 
 stream of that name, and in Clackmannan 
 parish. Small railways connect these several 
 works with Alloa harbour and Clackmannan 
 Pow, and they will soon be brought into ready 
 communication with all the great markets by 
 the Stirling and Dunfermline line of railway. 
 
 CLARET, a name used in England to de- 
 note the red wine of Medoc, or, more correctly 
 a mixture of that wine with some other more 
 full-bodied. The word clairet, from which the 
 name is derived, is used in France to signify 
 those wines which are red or rose-coloured; 
 but the name, as understood by us, is not 
 known in that country. [BORDEAUX ; WINE 
 MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 CLARIFICATION, the process of render- 
 ing a fluid clear by separating the substances 
 which, being suspended in it, render it turbid. 
 Isinglass, gelatine, bullocks' blood, and white 
 of eggs, are employed for the purpose. In 
 the great London porter-breweries, a liquid 
 solution is prepared, of which isinglass is one 
 ingredient ; and a very small portion of this 
 ' fining-liquor ' is put into every butt of beer. 
 
 CLARINET, a musical instrument made 
 of wood, similar in shape to the oboe, but of 
 rather larger dimensions, and having a fixed 
 mouth-piece containing a reed, which forms 
 the upper joint of the instrument. In the 
 orchestra three instruments are employed, of 
 different dimensions, namely, a o, a B, and an 
 A clarinet, to play in different modes or keys. 
 The compass is from E in the base to G in al- 
 tissimo. The clarinet was invented about a 
 century and a half ago, by Denner of Niirn- 
 berg. The Base Clarinet, and the Contra-Base 
 Clarinet, invented by Streitwolf, about twenty 
 years ago, are longer, larger, and deeper-toned 
 instruments than the above. 
 
 CLARION, was the name of a shrill kind of 
 trumpet, not now in use. 
 
 CLAVICHORD, was the name of a musical 
 instrument which preceded the pianoforte. 
 The strings were struck by brass pins, project- 
 ing from the remote ends of the keys, instead 
 of by hammers ; but the tone was one which 
 would now be deemed intolerably harsh and 
 wiry. 
 
591) 
 
 CLAY. 
 
 CLAY. Any natural mixture of earths 
 which breaks down or disintegrates in water, 
 and affords a plastic ductile mixture may be 
 called a clay. Pipe-Clay is of a grayish-white 
 colour, has an earthy fracture, and a smooth 
 greasy feel. Potter's Clay disintegrates by ex- 
 posure to the air ; when mixed with sand it is 
 made into bricks and tiles. Stourbridge Clay 
 is of a dark colour; it is extensively employed 
 in the manufacture of crucibles. Brick-Clay 
 or loam varies much in appearance, texture, 
 and composition ; it lies in abundance upon 
 the London clay, and frequently rests upon 
 an interposed bed of sand. London Clay is a 
 blueish deposit, often in eluding beds of sand- 
 stone. Plastic Clay consists of a variable 
 number of sand, clay, and pebble beds, irregu- 
 larly alternating, lying immediately upon the 
 chalk. Porcelain Clay is of various shades of 
 white ; it is dull and opaque ; occurs friable 
 or compact ; feels soft to the fingers, and ad- 
 heres to the tongue. 
 
 Clay is an essential component part of all 
 fertile soils. A clay soil consists of a large 
 proportion of alumina united to silica of vari- 
 ous degrees of fineness, and frequently also a 
 portion of carbonate of lime. In rich wheat 
 soils the silica is very fine, and intimately 
 mixed with the alumina ; but English clays 
 are not usually of this character, and are not 
 so much approved for wheat crops as lighter 
 soils. Clay land will bear a repetition of the 
 same crops much oftener than lighter lands. 
 The great disadvantage of clay soils in a moist 
 climate like that of Great Britain arises from 
 an excess of water, and the obvious remedy is 
 perfect draining of the subsoil. [DRAINING.] 
 Clay is extensively used in many parts of 
 England to improve light land, by being car- 
 ried on the surface in considerable quantities. 
 Burnt clay is used as manure. Clay by burn- 
 ing alters its nature ; it becomes insoluble in 
 water, and loses its attraction for it ; it then 
 resembles silicious sand, and may greatly im- 
 prove a very strong retentive clay, tempering 
 it and rendering it more porous. 
 
 The Newcastle district will furnish many 
 specimens of clays used in the Arts, for exhi- 
 bition at the approaching industrial festival. 
 The manufacture of fire clay into bricks, &c., 
 is carried on very extensively in the neighbour- 
 hood of this town; and among the articles 
 exhibited, formed of clay, will be fire-bricks, 
 vases, pedestals, and ornaments of various 
 kinds. Stourbridge will in like manner send 
 specimens of those clays and clay-manufac- 
 tures which have given celebrity to that town. 
 
 CLE'PSYDrA. Before the invention of 
 pendulum clocks, it was not unusual in astron- 
 omical observations to measure time by the 
 
 CLICHES MEDALLIONS. 600 
 
 flowing of water, upon a principle which, in 
 its most simple application, resembled that of 
 the hour-glass, but which was varied by con- 
 trivances for accuracy or ornament. Such a 
 contrivance was called a clepsydra or water- 
 clock. The Chaldeans divided the day into 
 twelve equal parts by a Clepsydra. Water- 
 clocks were used in Egypt, Greece, and Rome ; 
 and there is evidence that they were tised in 
 India in the twelfth century. Many fanciful 
 forms of Clepsydrae are given in old works on 
 Hydraulics ; but modern clock and watch 
 work has rendered them quite obsolete. 
 
 CLICHEE MEDALLIONS. Large medal- 
 lions are sometimes made in France by a pro- 
 cess called en clichee. The metal of which 
 the medallion is formed is used while in a 
 pasty state, between solid and liquid. Such 
 medallions, unlike more elaborately wrought 
 coins and medals, have a device on one side 
 only, on which side alone they are intended to 
 be seen ; they appear to have been devised ir 
 France, where large and cheap medallions are 
 more prized, and are more extensively pro- 
 duced, than in England. In the time of Na- 
 poleon, it was customary to make large medal- 
 lions en clichee, bronze them, mount them into 
 the lids of snuff-boxes, and protect them with 
 convex glasses. 
 
 The medallions are made in the following 
 way. The metal employed is fusible metal, 
 [ALLOY] which melts at a very low tempera- 
 ture. This being melted in an iron vessel, a 
 little is taken up in a ladle, and agitated until 
 it assumes a pasty consistency. Sufficient to 
 form one medallion is poured on a piece of 
 clean paper, placed hi the bottom of a box en- 
 closed on all ; a stamper is made to fall sud- 
 denly on the mass, and impress a device upon 
 it, which device remains when the metal cools. 
 The device is produced in one of two ways. 
 In one case the original medallion, which is 
 to serve as a copy for those to be made, is 
 used as a model from which a mould en clicheo 
 is made, and this mould is fixed, face down- 
 wards, to the bottom of the stamper ; while 
 in the other case a die is engraved, and this 
 die itself is fixed to the stamper. It is obvious 
 that the same results are produced by both 
 means. The box contains a little simple me- 
 chanism for regulating the descent of the 
 stamper, and to prevent the semi-liquid metal 
 from splashing about. The medallions are 
 made one by one, and removed as fast as made. 
 
 The medallions are generally finished by 
 bronzing. The back and edge are brought 
 true by turning in a lathe ; and the medallion 
 is then subjected to some one of many differ- 
 ent routines of processes, any of which will 
 impart a bronze-like colour to the surface. 
 
601 
 
 CLITHEROE. 
 
 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. 602 
 
 The dies or moulds for clichee medallion; 
 may be formed of iron, brass, copper, wood 
 sulphur, or plaster. The Italian figure casters 
 often employ a kind of clichee method in pro- 
 ducing moulds for small casts. 
 
 CLITHEROE, in Lancashire, was, until 
 recently, a place of little trade ; but extensive 
 print works and cotton manufactories have 
 been established, which, along with the lime- 
 kilns, provide ample employment for the 
 increasing population. The neighbourhood 
 abounds with limestone, for which there is a 
 great demand, as it can now be conveyed by 
 water to any part of the kingdom. The chief 
 establishment in the town is the celebrated 
 print-works of Messrs. Thomson at Primrose 
 Lodge, on the south-west margin of the town. 
 A dam has been thrown across the valley of 
 Mearley Brook, to form a reservoir for working 
 the great water-wheel of these works. At the 
 beginning of the present year, 765 males and 
 121 females were employed at the Primrose 
 works. Attached to the works is a farm of 80 
 acres, supplied with manure by means of sew- 
 age refuse, which would otherwise contami- 
 nate the streams. The chief proprietor of 
 these works is one of our most accomplished 
 manufacturers. No calico-printer in this 
 country has done more to study the chemistry 
 of colours, and the application of taste to the 
 production of designs. 
 
 There are four cotton factories at Clitheroe, 
 which at the beginning of 1850 employed 556 
 males and 1,117 females. Nearly one third of 
 the total population of Clitheroe, adults and 
 children, are employed at the five large esta- 
 blishments. 
 
 The Bolton and Blackburn Railway has re- 
 cently (June 1850) been extended to Cli- 
 theroe. 
 
 CLOA'C^E,were large arched drains or 
 sewers, formed under the streets of some an- 
 cient Roman cities. The most remarkable 
 were the cloacae of Rome, large portions of 
 which still remain, and which were doubtless 
 of high antiquity. 
 
 The cloacae of Rome consisted of several 
 branches, which ran in the low parts between 
 the hills ; these branches fell into one very 
 large arched drain, constructed of solid blocks 
 of stone, called the Cloaca Maxima. A por- 
 tion of this cloaca is visible near the arch of 
 Janus. The arched drain of the Cloaca Max- 
 ima is fifteen feet wide, and thirty high (these 
 dimensions include the masonry), with three 
 arches in contact one within another : in some 
 parts there are raised paths along the sides of 
 the cloaca ; and in the walls are stone brack- 
 ets to support the ends of the waste pipes of 
 the fountain. The only cloacae or drains for 
 
 a city, which can be compared with the cloacae 
 of Rome, are the sewers of London. 
 
 The maintenance of the Roman cloacae was 
 originally the business of the censors, but 
 afterwards belonged to the aediles. Agrippa, 
 during the sedileship, made numerous large 
 cloaca3. The city of Pompeii had cloacae on a 
 smaller scale. 
 
 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING-. The 
 first author who has introduced the term horo 
 loglum as applicable to a clock that struck the 
 hours appears to be Dante, who was born in 
 1265 and died in 1321. It would appear from, 
 this, that striking clocks were known in Italy 
 as early as the latter part of the thirteenth or 
 beginning of the fourteenth century. There 
 is known to have been some such kind of 
 clock at quite as early a period in England ; 
 but it is considered probable that the next fol 
 lowing century produced the first clock pro 
 perly so called, the term horologium having 
 previously included many kind of time mea 
 surers. Many allusions to celebrated clocks, 
 in France, Italy, Germany, and Holland, are 
 to be met with, belonging to the fourteenth 
 and fifteenth centuries. It is now believed 
 that a regulated clock was not the invention 
 of one man, but a compound of successive 
 inventions, each worthy of a separate con- 
 triver. 
 
 There was a clock made in 1364 by De 
 Wyck, for the Emperor of Germany, which 
 had two pallets worked by a crown-wheel, and 
 two weights on a lever to regulate the move- 
 ment to time. In 1484 Walthus made a ba- 
 lance-clock for astronomical observations. In 
 1560 Tycho Brahe had four clocks which in- 
 dicated hours, minutes, and seconds ; the 
 largest of which had only three wheels, one 
 laving 1200 teeth. In 1577 Moestlin had a 
 clock whose beats enabled him to determine 
 approximately the apparent diameter of the 
 sun. At what time watches or small clocks 
 ,vere introduced, by the use of a mainspring 
 nstead of a weight as the moving power, is not 
 mown ; but it is supposed to have been in 
 ,he early part of the sixteenth century. Gali- 
 eo's discovery of the isochronism of the pen- 
 dulum paved the way for the introduction of 
 pendulum clocks ; and it is probable that both 
 Galileo arid Huyghens had constructed pen- 
 dulum clocks before 1648, though some writers 
 say that Richard Harris made a pendulum 
 clock a few years earlier, viz. in 1641. In 1676 
 Barlow, a London clock-maker, invented the 
 repeating mechanism by which the hour last 
 struck may be known by pulling a string. Se- 
 veral artists followed in the same line, parti- 
 cularly Quare, in London, and Julien le Roy, 
 Collier, Laryay, Thiout, <fcc., on the Continent. 
 
603 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. 
 
 Clocks were soon <\fter this made to show no 
 only mean but apparent time. 
 
 A London clockmaker named Clement in 
 vented in 1680 the anchor-escapement, whu; 
 was a great improvement on the crown-whee 
 before in use ; he also introduced the practice o 
 suspending the pendulum by a thin and flexi 
 ble spring. The next important improvernen 
 was the adjustment of the length of the pendu 
 lum to the varied effects of heat and cold. Inl 71J 
 George Graham, by substituting a jar of mer 
 cury for the pendulum -ball, succeeded in re 
 taining the point of suspension and the centn 
 of oscillation at the same distance from eacl 
 other. The principal objection to this pendu 
 lum is its liability to breakage, of which its 
 author felt the full force, and in consequence 
 suggested the idea of the opposite expansions 
 of different metals as a compensation for a 
 pendulum. John Harrison immediately turnec 
 his attention to the subject, and, by dint o 
 perseverance, overcoming all the difficulties o 
 his humble and retired situation, .not only as- 
 tonished the world by his improvements in 
 horological machines, but absolutely construc- 
 ted with his own hands a timekeeper which 
 determined the longitude within such limits 
 as to procure him the parliamentary reward of 
 20,0007. Although the anchor escapement 
 previously mentioned was a great improvement 
 upon all that had preceded it, still it was sub 
 ject to objections, not one of the least of which 
 was that at every vibration a considerable re 
 coil took place. The inconveniences of this 
 escapement were however removed (about the 
 same time with the invention of Harrison's 
 pendulum) by Graham, who introduced what 
 is called the dead-beat escapement, which is 
 both simple and effective. 
 
 Eight-Day Clocks. In an eight-day clock 
 there are two barrels containing springs, one 
 to give motion to the train of wheels called 
 the going train, and the other to the striking 
 train. The first of these springs gives motion 
 to a wheel called the main wheel, which in 
 its turn acts upon several other wheels, the 
 time of rotation of which corresponds with 
 that of the minute and hour hand. The last 
 wheel of this system acts upon two little levers 
 or pallets, which give an alternating motion 
 to the pendulum of the clock. A fusee, which 
 is a kind of spiral system of grooves, is fitted 
 to the main wheel^and enables the main wheel 
 to maintain an equable motion during the 
 varying pulling force of the spring. All the 
 above-named wheels belong to the going train. 
 There is a somewhat similar train belonging 
 to the striking action ; but the teeth of the 
 wheels, instead of being so cut as to facilitate 
 the movement of two index hands, act upon 
 
 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. C04 
 
 certain pins and levers which move the ham- 
 mer belonging to the bell ; this part of the 
 mechanism is exceedingly beautiful, especially 
 when the clock strikes the quarters. 
 
 Once in eight days the clock is ' wound up,' 
 which consists in coiling up the going spring 
 very tightly in its barrel. In its efforts to un- 
 coil itself, the spring forcibly pulls round the 
 main wheel with which it is placed in connec- 
 tion ; and the fusee causes this motion to go 
 on pretty steadily and equably. As the main- 
 wheel cannot rotate without moving the train 
 of wheels to which it is connected, all these 
 latter also rotate, with a velocity depending 
 on the number of teeth which act on each 
 other. In two of the wheels these numbers 
 are so regulated that the wheels revolve in 
 one hour and twelve hours respectively ; and 
 the axes of these wheels serve as axes for the 
 minute and hour hands. Meanwhile the se- 
 cond spring gives motion to the second train 
 of wheels, which are so connected with the 
 ^oing wheels as to enable the bell-hammer to 
 be moved at the proper time. One of the 
 many kinds of pendulum, concealed behind 
 or within the clock, is set in motion by one of 
 :he wheels, and, by its isochronous or ' equal- 
 timed ' vibrations, tends to give regularity to 
 the movements of the wheels generally. 
 
 Large Pendulum Clocks. Turret clocks dif- 
 er from other machines employed for measur- 
 ng time, not only in their greatly superior 
 size, but because such a clock is frequently 
 squired to indicate the time upon as many as 
 bur different dials, on the four external faces 
 >f the tower in which it is mounted. This is 
 accomplished by placing the clock near the 
 sentre of an apartment, and causing the mo- 
 ion of the axis which under ordinary circum 
 ;tances would carry the minute hand (which 
 evolves once in an hour)) to b transmitted 
 y bevil-gear to a vertical rod, the opposite 
 nd of which carries a horizontal bevil-wheel 
 learly on a level with, and situated centrically 
 rith reference to, the four external dials. The 
 lotion of this central wheel is communicated 
 y four vertical bevil-wheels of the same size 
 nd number of teeth, ranged round its circum - 
 erence, to four horizontal rods, the opposite 
 nds of which, passing through the several 
 ials, carry the four minute-hands. At the 
 ack of each dial is a series of wheels and 
 inions, by which motion is imparted to the 
 our-hand, which revolves once in twelve 
 ours. In a turret-clock, the moving power 
 s supplied by the descent of a weight, regula- 
 ed in the case of the movement, or going- 
 rain, by the oscillations of a large pendulum, 
 nd in that of the striking train by the resist- 
 uce of the air to the rapid revolutions of a fly 
 
605 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. 
 
 or fan set in motion by the wheelwork. Owing 
 to the necessity for using a very heavy ham- 
 mer to strike the hours in a church clock, the 
 power required for working the striking -train 
 considerably exceeds that of the going train. 
 
 Musical Chimes. These require the addition 
 of another train of mechanism, somewhat like 
 that which constitutes the striking train. The 
 mechanism of the chimes very nearly resem- 
 bles, on a large scale, that of a musical snuff- 
 box: levers, connected with hammers which 
 strike upon a series of bells, being substituted 
 for the springs which in the musical snuff-box 
 are caused to vibrate by the projecting pins on 
 the revolving barrel. 
 
 In the new Royal Exchange clock, made by 
 Mr. Dent, many improvements have been in- 
 troduced. There is a simple but strong cast- 
 iron framing, which enables the several parts 
 of the clock to be put together with less strain 
 than usual. The wheels for the striking train 
 are made of cast iron ; more durable and less 
 costly than the usual gun-metal wheels. The 
 wheels of the going train, smaller and requir- 
 ing to be more nicely adjusted than those of 
 the striking train, are made of hammered 
 brass. Hollow iron drums are used instead 
 of wooden cylinders for the driving barrels, 
 and wire instead of hemp or ropes for suspend- 
 ing the weights. It was required, by the terms 
 of contract, that this most admirable clock 
 should have a compensation-pendulum, and 
 that it should be so constructed as not only 
 to show perfectly correct time upon the dials, 
 but also to tell it with accuracy by making the 
 first stroke of the hour upon the bell true to a 
 second. This object is attained by a beautiful 
 arrangement of mechanism. In this clock has 
 also been introduced a beautiful contrivance 
 for maintaining the motion of the wheels du- 
 ring the time of winding up, which was in- 
 | vented a few years since by Professor Airy for 
 ! the clock-work of the great Northumberland 
 j telescope at the University of Cambridge. 
 
 Pocket Watches. A pocket-watch is very 
 similar in principle to a good clock, except 
 that the regulation of the former is by a ba- 
 lance and spring, and that of the latter by a 
 pendulum. It would be a matter of some dif- 
 ficulty to determine what artist first reduced 
 the portable spring- clock to the dimensions of 
 a watch to be worn in the pocket. The small 
 clocks prior to the time of Huyghens and 
 Hooke were very imperfect machines ; they 
 did not even profess to subdivide the hours 
 into minutes and seconds until the invention 
 of the balance-spring, which is to the balance 
 what gravity is to the pendulum, and its intro- 
 duction has contributed as much to the im- 
 provement of watches as did that of the pen- 
 
 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. 606 
 
 dulum to clocks. The honour of this inven- 
 tion was Avarmly contested by the last-named 
 individuals previous to 1658 ; but, so far as 
 priority of publication is concerned, the honour 
 is due to Hooke. 
 
 When clocks and watches had acquired a 
 certain degree of accuracy in their perform- 
 ance, the time lost in winding up (especially 
 when it had to be done every twenty-four 
 hours) became a matter of importance, and 
 there have been several inventions to remedy 
 this evil. By Huyghens the clock was kept 
 going while winding up by means of an end- 
 less cord. The forcing spring gives another 
 plan, in which a lever is so adjusted as to 
 allow the wheels free movement, while the 
 spring barrel is being acted on by the key. 
 But Harrison's contrivance for the same pur- 
 pose is the one now in general use, both in 
 clocks and watches, and is admirably adapted 
 to the purpose, as it requires no attention 
 from the person who has to wind up the ma- 
 chine, but is always in its place, and ready for 
 action the moment the operation of winding is 
 commenced. It is generally called the going 
 fusee, but a better name for it is maintaining 
 power. The principle of its action depends 
 on the mode in which the fusee is fixed into 
 a socket connected with the main wheel, so 
 as to allow the wheel and the fusee to rotate 
 independently of each other when required. 
 
 The word escapement is a term applied to a 
 combination of parts in a clock or watch, which 
 has for its object the conversion of the circu- 
 lar motion of the wheels into a vibratory mo- 
 tion, as exhibited in the pendulum. The 
 component parts include the scape-wheel, the 
 pallets with their arbor or axis, and a bent 
 lever attached thereto, called the crutch, which 
 last piece maintains the motion of the pendu- 
 lum. In a watch this combination consists of 
 the scape-wheel, together with all those parts 
 lying between it and the balance, and which 
 are concerned in converting the circular mo- 
 tion of the wheels into the alternating one of 
 the balance. The pallets act upon or between 
 the pointed teeth of the scape-wheel by a reci- 
 procal or oscillatory motion. 
 
 In a common Vertical Watch, the barrel 
 containing the spring is near one edge ; and 
 next to it is the fusee. The spring within the 
 barrel, formed by a narrow strip of highly tem- 
 pered steel, is fastened at one end to the in- 
 terior of the barrel, and at the other to the 
 axis or arbor of the barrel. A fine steel chain 
 runs from the exterior of the barrel to the ex- 
 terior of the fusee ; and, when the watch is 
 wound up by the application of the watch-key 
 to the arbor of the fusee, the chain is drawn 
 from off the cylindrical surface of the barrel, 
 
 I 
 
607 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. 
 
 and wound on the grooved surface of the fusee 
 In this process the spring within the harrel 
 becomes coiled round very tightly ; and, it is 
 the recoil or resistance of the spring which 
 slowly pulls the chain back again to the barrel, 
 and causes the fusee to rotate. The fusee is 
 concentric with a toothed wheel, whose teeth 
 act upon those of a second wheel, and those 
 upon a third, and so on throughout the deli- 
 cate machine : one wheel rotating with such a 
 velocity as to enable an index hand upon its 
 axis to mark hours, another minutes, another 
 (in a seconds-watch) seconds, and another to 
 act upon the regulating or pendulum appa- 
 ratus. 
 
 One of the chief distinctive features in 
 watches, and the one by which the name or 
 designation is often determined, is the nature 
 of the escapement. The duplex escapement 
 so named from a French watchmaker, is much 
 more intricate than the escapement of a com- 
 mon vertical watch. A vertical watch has the 
 escapement perpendicular to the face of the 
 watch, while a horizontal toatch has the escape- 
 ment so formed parallel to the face of the 
 watch. A lever watch has an escapement dif- 
 fering from all the others, which is preferred 
 to those of either the vertical or horizontal 
 watch. Earnshaw's detached escapement, in- 
 tended chiefly for chronometers, is considered 
 to excel all others for the accuracy of its per 
 formance. 
 
 The term repeater, or repeating watch, is ap- 
 plied to those watches which, in addition to 
 showing the time on the dial, are supplied 
 with mechanism for giving audible indication 
 of the time when required. In an eight day 
 spring clock, the number of blows given by the 
 hammer to the bell corresponds with the hour 
 denoted by the hand of the clock ; and there 
 is an arrangement by which the pulling of 
 a string may be made to denote the hour 
 last struck. But, from the peculiar mechan- 
 ism involved, there are about ten minutes in 
 every hour during which this repeating could 
 not be produced. The filling up of this defi- 
 ciency is an object in a repeating watch or 
 clock. Some of these watches strike only the 
 hours and quarters ; while others, called 
 minute repeaters, strike the minutes also. In 
 a common watch, the wheels and pinions 
 which are placed between the frame-plates 
 constitute the going train; while the wheels 
 and pinions placed between the uppermost 
 \ame-plate and the dial, serving to communi- 
 cate the motion from the centre wheel to the 
 i:id:?x hands, constitute the motion-work; but, 
 in addition to these a repeating watch has 
 a*i')!!u-r system of mechanism, called the re- 
 .1, for the purpose of tr 
 
 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. COS 
 
 the movement from the motion-work to the 
 hammers which are to strike the hours and 
 quarters. 
 
 Many interesting novelties have been intro- 
 duced within the last few years, in respect to 
 clocks and watches. 
 
 Trinity Church at Hull is believed to have 
 the largest clock in the world with four dials 
 or faces. Each dial is ]3 feet in diameter, 
 and each pair of hands weighs 56 Ibs. 
 
 A useful kind of kitchen clock was described 
 a few years ago by the late Mr. London. It 
 had a bell which called the attention of the 
 cook at certain prescribed periods. Whether 
 it were to boil an egg, or to perform any other 
 kind of cooking which required a certain defi- 
 nite number of minutes, the cook moved an 
 index hand on the face of a dial ; and when 
 the allotted time had expired, an alarum or 
 bell rang to announce the fact. 
 
 Many of our churches and public buildings 
 have clocks of which the faces are illuminated 
 at night. The Horse Guards' clock was thus 
 first illuminated in 1839, by the rays from a 
 bude-light falling on the surface. It has, how- 
 ever, been frequently felt that the mode of 
 illuminating public clocks is not such as to 
 enable the hands to be visible for any conside- 
 rable distance ; the direction of the hands is 
 the one important point in the indications of 
 a clock ; and if this be made distinct, the 
 illumination of the clock generally may be in 
 considerable part dispensed with. Mr. Hughes 
 of Liverpool introduced a new method in that 
 town in 1844, and published a small pamphlet 
 relating to it. His plan consists in illumina- 
 ting three points only ; viz. the centre of the 
 clock, and the outer extremity of each of the 
 two hands. A stream of gas is conveyed into 
 the spindle or shaft on which the hands are 
 fixed, and thence to the hands themselves; 
 and there are three orifices or jets where this 
 gas is ignited. In the centre is a red light ; 
 at the outer extremity of the short hand is a 
 green light ; and at the outer extremity of the 
 long hand a white light. The white and the 
 green lights revolve with the hands round 
 the dial plate: the white being always <lio 
 farthest distant from the central stationary red 
 light. A little consideration will show that 
 this is quite sufficient to make the time intel- 
 ligible ; for in looking at an ordinary clock or 
 watch, we are more guided by the direction. 
 taken by the two hands, with respect to iho 
 centre, than the figures towards whi:h Iho 
 ends of the hands point. It can be scon from 
 a much greater distance than tlu- ordinary 
 kinds of illuminated clocks ; and if it be at 
 first not quite so intclligiblo, it nii^l it easily 
 be made so by a few illuminuU' 1 markings 
 
609 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. 
 
 or figures round the circumference of the 
 dial. 
 
 A curious circumstance is observable at 
 nearly all our railway stations. If a train 
 proceeds eastward or westward, the change of 
 longitude produces a change in the proper 
 time at the successive stations. If the station 
 clocks show time corresponding to their longi- 
 tudes, it would make the time-tables very con- 
 fused; and the pocket watch carried by a 
 passenger would never correspond with the 
 station clocks, except at the town from which 
 his watch is adjusted. But if, on the other 
 hand, all the station-clocks shew Greenwich 
 time (which is the plan adopted throughout 
 Great Britain), then those clocks will not and 
 do not correspond with the church -clocks and 
 pocket-watches of the several towns, and much 
 miscalculation of time results. Mr. Pilbrow 
 has suggested an ingenious mode of obviating 
 these difficulties, by having a clock which shall 
 shew double time ; and a clock so suggested 
 has been constructed by Mr. Fairer of Totten- 
 ham. The arrangement is very simple : dif- 
 fering from the common clock only in the 
 construction of the long or minute hand. This 
 hand is shaped like the sector of a circle, cor- 
 responding in size or the number of degrees 
 to the number of minutes in the difference 
 between Greenwich time and the time at any 
 particular station. The curved part of the 
 hand is made of glass, so that the figures can 
 be read through it. One edge or corner of 
 the sector will mark Greenwich time, and the 
 other edge the time at the station ; so that the 
 relation between the two will be instantly ob- 
 servable. 
 
 A singular kind of clock was registered in 
 1849 by Mr. Tanner, for shewing time adapted 
 to places in five different longitudes. There 
 is one large dial plate, with four smaller dials 
 disposed equidistant upon it. The large dial 
 has hour and minute hands, figures, &c., like 
 an ordinary clock ; while each small dial has 
 its own set of figures and hands. The large 
 dial shews Greenwich time ; while the four 
 small dials may be made to shew the time at 
 four different places in any part of the world : 
 differing from Greenwich time according to 
 the differences of longitude. The mechanism 
 of the clock is so adjusted as to shew Green- 
 wich time on the large dial, while a train of 
 toothed wheels and pinions transmits motion 
 from the central clock to each one of the four 
 small dials : the index hands being arranged 
 ' fast ' or ' slow,' according as the place to which 
 the small dial refers lies east or west of the 
 meridian of Greenwich. 
 
 An ingenious clock was made by Ratren- 
 hofer of Vienna, in 1840, which shewed' the 
 
 CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING. 610 
 
 time for 73 towns in different parts of the 
 ,vorld, according to their longitudes. It had 
 a dial- plate 14 inches in diameter, in the 
 centre of which was the dial for Vienna ; and 
 around this dial were arranged 72 very small 
 ilials for the other towns ; the Vienna dial 
 or clock was set to work by the descent of a 4 
 Lb. weight ; and the other 72 dials were moved 
 by wheels connected with the Vienna dial ; so 
 that one winding up set the whole in motion. 
 All the 73 dials shewed different time, accord- 
 ing to the longitudes of the towns to which 
 they were respectively adjusted. 
 
 From a Report made by M. Francoeur to a 
 committee on the Mechanic Arts of the So- 
 Societe d'Encouragement, in 1839, it appears 
 that the French clock makers have endeav- 
 oured to produce church clocks at a much 
 Lower rate than they could be constructed in 
 former times, by the adoption of the manufac- 
 turing system rather than the handicraft sys- 
 tem : that is, by making considerable numbers 
 of each kind at once. There is at Moret a 
 manufactory of what are called Jura Clocks, 
 in which all the pieces of the mechanism are 
 made in the large way and all made to fit ; 
 wheels, weights, bells, dial plates, hands, 
 hammers, &c., are made, set up, and delivered 
 in the market for about forty francs the set. 
 One of these low-priced clocks is taken, and 
 a few changes made in it to fit for the tower 
 of a church, by using larger hammer, bell, 
 dial, and hands. According to the report of 
 M. Francoeur, as quoted in the Annales des 
 Mines, the result is much cheaper than if a 
 single clock were made throughout on the 
 usual system. 
 
 French clocks, many of which exhibit great 
 beauty of form (though we believe they are 
 scarcely considered to equal English clocks in 
 solidity and durability of construction) were 
 imported in 1849 to the value of 65,000. 
 
 The Clock and Watch Manufacture exhibits 
 many remarkable features. The large clocks 
 for public buildings are made by a very small 
 number of firms, on account of the demand 
 being limited and the duration of the clocks 
 considerable. Nearly all the watch-makers of 
 London live in one district Clerkenwell ; but 
 even these, great as is their number, do not 
 make the wheel-work for the watches ; these 
 works, or movements, as they are called, are 
 nearly all manufactured in Lancashire, where 
 they can be produced cheaper than in London. 
 There are no watch factories in Clerkenwell ; 
 but there are thirty or forty distinct classes of 
 tradesmen, comprising perhaps three times 
 that number of minor subdivisions, all living 
 and working at their own homes, most of them 
 having aid from apprentices or -'ourneymen, 
 
611 
 
 CLONMEL. 
 
 and all employed at some one or other of the 
 numerous parts of a watch. A Watch Manu- 
 facturer, in the Clerkenwell sense of the term, 
 makes none of these parts, but puts them all 
 together when others have made them. 
 
 CLONMEL is one of those towns to 
 which Ireland may fairly look as seats of her 
 future prosperity, whenever that prosperity 
 shall arrive. For the last 20 years Clonmel 
 has been steadily advancing in prosperity. 
 ' It is,' says Mr. Inglis,' writing in 1834, 'the 
 great point of export for Tipperary, which is 
 one great granary, as well as for parts of 
 other counties, for it is the first point at which 
 water-carriage commences.' The exports are 
 chiefly corn, bacon, and butter ; of wheat from 
 two to three hundred thousand barrels are 
 annually brought into the town. The flour 
 mills are very numerous and extensive. 
 They are chiefly situated on Suir island. 
 The bacon trade was also very extensive 
 until within a few years. The butter trade, 
 though large, has also lately been on the de- 
 cline. Another considerable source of em- 
 ployment is the great posting establishment 
 of Mr. Bianconi, of which Clonmel is the 
 depot. There are also several breweries, and 
 an extensive distillery in the vicinity ; and a 
 cotton manufactory, which employs about 200 
 persons. There is consequently little want of 
 employment. The carrying trade of the town 
 is conducted by barges of from 20 to 40 tons 
 which ply on the Suir to Waterford : of these 
 there are about 120 on the river. The northern 
 bank of the Suir, between the two lower 
 bridges, is quayed in. The Waterford and 
 Limerick Railway now in progress passes 
 through Clonmel. 
 
 CLOVER was introduced into the agricul- 
 ture of Great Britain about the 16th century, 
 from the Low Countries, where it had been 
 long cultivated as green food for cattle in 
 situations where natural pastures were scarce. 
 The species of clover are annual, biennial, or 
 perennial plants. The most approved variety 
 of the biennial clovers is the common red or 
 broad clover, which is usually sown with bar- 
 ley or oats, or sometimes among wheat or rye 
 in spring. In Scotland clover is often sown 
 among wheat, in Norfolk invariably with bar- 
 ley, and in Belgium among rye. It is usual 
 to sow rye-grass in a small proportion with 
 clover seed, especially where clover, having 
 been often repeated on the same land, is apt 
 to fail. A very extensive use of clover-hay in 
 London is to cut it into chaff, and to mix this 
 with oats and beans for dray horses, which 
 have little or no hay given them in any 
 other way; but the most profitable use of 
 clover is to cut it prpen for horses and cattle. 
 
 CLYDE. 612 
 
 The white or Dutch clover, the cow-grass, the 
 yellow trefoil, and the hop trefoil are all use- 
 fully employed as fodder. The only annual 
 clover which is cultivated is the French clover, 
 a most valuable addition to the plants usually 
 sold for fodder, from the short time in which 
 it arrives at perfection if sown in spring ; so 
 that, where clover has failed, this may be 
 sown to fill up the bare places. 
 
 On good land, an acre of clover will produce 
 as much as three tons and a half of dry hay ; 
 that is, two tons the first cutting, and one and 
 a half the second. Greater crops are obtained 
 on A'ery highly manured land. 
 
 Clover seed was imported to the extent of 
 99,813 CAvts. in 1848. 
 
 CLOVES. The cloves of the spice-shops 
 are the flower-buds of the CaryophyUns 
 Aromaticus, gathered before they open, and 
 dried in the sun. The tree is a native of the 
 Molucca, Avhence it has been carried to other 
 tropical countries. The name clove is a cor- 
 ruption of the French Avord clou, a nail, a 
 name that has been suggested by the resem- 
 blance of the dried clove to a nail. The aro- 
 matic stimulating effects of cloves are AY el I 
 known. 
 
 By distillation a thickish oil is obtained, 
 which is at first colourless, but by time be- 
 comes yellow and brown. Its taste is very 
 fiery and aromatic; it reacts as an acid. In 
 time there separates from it a stearopten, or 
 clove-camphor, called caryophyllin. 
 
 Cloves are employed in medicine, and also 
 more extensively for culinary purposes. "When 
 received into the stomach they are powerfully 
 stimulant, and promote digestion when taken 
 along with food which is insipid or difficult of 
 digestion. Oil of cloves is used much in 
 medicine. 
 
 Cloves Avere imported in 1849 to the extent 
 of 274,712 Ib. 
 
 CLYDE. BeloAv Glasgow the Clyde lias 
 been made the scene of astonishing engineer- 
 ing Avorks. About 80 years ago, only T 
 of 3J feet draught could come up to Glasgow 
 Bridge ; in 1775 the whole river from Gla-'.'-<>\\- 
 to Dumbarton was deepened so as to receive 
 vessels of 6 feet draught : this depth was in- 
 creased by 1831 to 13 J feet; by 1847 to l'> 
 feet; and works now in progress will carry 
 the depth to 20 feet at neap tides. The river 
 for 12 miles is being widened, straightened 
 and deepened. 
 
 A suggestion of a singular kind has been re- 
 cently thrown out, in the pages of the Glasgow 
 Advertiser, concerning the forthcoming Indus- 
 trial Exhibition. " There is at the present day 
 in Glasgow, we believe, in the hands of 
 Messrs. Claud, Girdwood, and Co., or their 
 
613 COACHES AND COACH-MAKING. COACHES AND COACH-MAKING. 614 
 
 successors, the very identical steam-engine 
 that Henry Bell fitted on board the Comet, 
 the first steamer that ever sailed on the Clyde 
 the vessel, in fact, which may be called the 
 precursor of the splendid steamers that now 
 circumnavigate the globe, and bring the anti- 
 podes, as it were, to our very threshold. This 
 steam-engine has on several occasions been 
 exhibited in Glasgow, and has always been an 
 object of much attraction, as properly it should 
 be, to those who know the value of such 
 a wonderful invention as that of the marine 
 steam-engine. Mr. John Wood, of Port 
 Glasgow, the veteran ship-builder who laid the 
 keel of the first passsage steamer that navi- 
 gated the Clyde the father of all the won- 
 derful steamships that now exist possesses 
 the draft, and, if required, could even at the 
 present day produce an exact counterpart of 
 the Comet. Now, what we would propose as 
 a source of attraction at the Exhibition of 
 1851, is that an exact duplicate of the Comet 
 should be built by Mr. Wood, and that it 
 should be fitted with the original steam-engine 
 of that vessel, so as to present an exact coun- 
 terpart to that eventful steamer as she sailed on 
 the river Clyde in the year 1812. The expense 
 of such an undertaking would be a mere baga- 
 telle." 
 
 COACHES AND COACH-MAKING. It 
 is stated by Stow, that in '1564, Boonen, a 
 Dutchman, became the queen's coachman, 
 and was the first that brought the use of 
 coaches into England.' 
 
 A long time elapsed before this luxury was 
 attained by more than a few very rich and 
 distinguished individuals, and a very much 
 longer time before coaches became general. 
 Coaches let for hire were first established in 
 England in 1625; they did not stand in the 
 streets, but at the principal inns. In 1637 
 there were, in London and Westminster, 50 
 hackney-coaches. Stage-coaches were first 
 used in England soon after the introduction 
 of hired carriages. The first mail coach tra- 
 velled from London to Edinburgh about 
 1785, and to Glasgow in 1788. 
 
 The use of stage-coaches rapidly extended 
 itself; and from the latter part of the last 
 century, until the establishment of railways, 
 there was scarcely any small town through 
 which some stage coach did not pass, and no 
 considerable road which was not travelled by 
 many. In this country the best stage-coaches 
 were very perfect machines, and the arrange- 
 ments by which they were conducted, when 
 the number of persons and animals that were 
 engaged is considered, were extremely com- 
 plete. The principal stage-coaches ran with 
 four horses, and the rate of travelling among 
 
 the fast coaches was rapid. In 1833, the dis- 
 tance between London and Shrewsbury (154 
 miles), Exeter (171 miles), and Manchester 
 (187 miles), was done in a day. The mail to 
 Holyhead did the 261 miles in 27 hours, and 
 that to Liverpool, 203 miles, in 21 hours. The 
 coaches were on springs, and, though strong, 
 were light and elegant. 
 
 The omnibus, a sort of long -bodied coach, 
 was introduced into London in 1831. We 
 shall have some details to give in a later ar- 
 ticle, concerning the hired vehicles of London. 
 [OMNIBUSES AND CABS.] 
 
 The coaches which form the trains upon 
 railroads are of very different construction 
 from those used on common roads; they 
 are stronger, larger, and heavier: they are 
 fastened together with links of chain, and 
 there is attached to the back and front of each 
 a ' fender ' by which concussion is prevented 
 when the train is stopped. 
 
 Upon the Continent, travelling in public car- 
 riages was never so rapid or so commodious 
 as in England. In France the diligences were, 
 and those which still exist are,clumsy carnages, 
 generally consisting of three bodies, and are 
 drawn by five or six horses, usually driven by 
 one postilion from his saddle. The first body, 
 called the ' coupe,' formed like a chariot, con- 
 tains three people ; the second, which is like 
 a coach, the 'interieur,' holds six persons; 
 the third, which is similar to a coach turned 
 sidewise, carries six or eight passengers, and 
 is called the ' rotonde.' In addition to these, 
 there is on the roof, before the place appro- 
 priated to the luggage, the ' banquette,' a 
 bench sometimes furnished with a hood for 
 the accommodation of four passengers. But 
 every where the use of the railroad is super 
 seding the old stage-coach on ah 1 the great 
 lines of road in all highly civilised coun- 
 tries. 
 
 In the making of coaches or carriages, as a 
 highly skilled department of manufacture ; the 
 timber, the iron, the leather, the brass and 
 plated metals, the trimmings, and other ma- 
 terials, are wrought by wholly distinct bodies 
 of operatives; and there are many minor 
 divisions of each class. The ' body-makers ' 
 produce the vehicle or body itself, while the 
 ' carriage-makers ' are employed on the stouter 
 and stronger timbers beneath and around the 
 body. The chief kinds of wood employed are 
 ash, beech, elm, oak, mahogany, cedar, pine, 
 deal, fustic, birch, and larch each kind appro- 
 priated to the purpose for which its fibrous 
 nature best fits it. In working up these varie- 
 ties of timber, tools and processes are em- 
 ployed similar to those in cabinet-making, 
 together with others peculiar to coach-making. 
 
615 
 
 COAGULATION. 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 
 
 610 
 
 The various forms of the coach, gig, dennet, 
 curricle, tilbury, stanhope, &c., lead to the 
 exercise of much ingenuity in fashioning the 
 wood-work to the requisite curved forms. The 
 axles on which the wheels work, the springs 
 which protect the carriage from concussion, 
 and the iron perch which is sometimes used 
 instead of wood, are the work of the ' coach- 
 smith, 1 one of the most highly paid classes of 
 London workmen. The coating of the body 
 of the coach with leather is a most difficult 
 and delicate art ; and the subsequent painting, 
 trimming, and decorating, all rank among the 
 highest kinds in their respective classes. 
 Coach-axles have been made the subject of 
 patents ; and so indeed have many other im- 
 provements in the manufacture of parts of 
 coaches. So far as regards workmanship and 
 processes, carts and waggons bear almost the 
 same relation to coaches that carpentry does 
 to cabinet-making ; similar in character, but 
 coarser. 
 
 COAGULATION is the solidification of a 
 liquid produced without evaporation and with - 
 out crystallisation. 
 
 COALS AND COAL MINING. We shall 
 here treat in succession of the formation of 
 coal, the coal fields, coal mining, and the coal 
 trade, giving a few brief details under each 
 heading. 
 
 Formation of Coal. From the presence of 
 tree-ferns, and palms, and other plants which 
 now grow in tropical climates, in coal, it has 
 been inferred that at the period at which the 
 coal-beds were deposited the temperature of 
 these parts of the world at least was much 
 greater than it is at present. If the facts we 
 actually possess are soberly examined, they 
 amount to these : 
 
 1. That coal is of vegetable origin. 
 
 2. That at the period of its deposit the 
 earth was covered with a rich vegetation, of 
 which only a small portion has been preserved, 
 and that of this portion all the species and 
 several of the races are totally unknown at 
 the present day. 
 
 3. That the climate may possibly have been 
 something milder than it now is, but that 
 there is no evidence in the vegetable king- 
 dom to show that it was materially different 
 from that of the present day. 
 
 From these data it is assumed that coal 
 is the result of vegetable substances which 
 have been pressed down through unknown 
 ages into a compact mass, which has passed 
 through the intermediate stage of peat or 
 bog, and become gradually consolidated into 
 coal. 
 
 The report of Sir H. De la Beche and Dr. 
 Lyon Playfair, on the quality of coal best 
 
 suited for the steam navy, contains much 
 valuable information on the different kinds of 
 coal, and their heating effect. One land will 
 raise steam very quickly ; another is slower in 
 its action, but generates a greater abundance 
 of steam. Two kinds may be equal in these 
 respects, yet one would speedily crumble by 
 stowage, while the other would remain un- 
 broken. Some kinds occupy much less bulk 
 for a given weight than others. All these 
 points being of importance, it has been the 
 desire of the Admiralty to ascertain which 
 kind of coal possesses the greatest number of 
 advantages, and the fewest disadvantages, in 
 respect to steam navigation. The commis- 
 sioners constructed apparatus, especially cal- 
 culated to further the enquiry; and experi- 
 mented on thirty varieties of coal. Among 
 the data ascertained were the number of 
 pounds of water evaporated from an initial 
 temperature of 212, by one pound of coal ; 
 weight of one cubic foot of the coal, as used 
 for fuel, and as calculated from the specific 
 gravity ; space in cubic feet occupied by one 
 ton; cohesive power of the coal; weight of 
 water evaporated from 212 by one cubic foot ; 
 rate of evaporation, or weight of water evapo- 
 rated in one hour; chemical constituents of 
 the coal, in carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sul- 
 phur, oxygen, and ash ; per centage of coke 
 after coking; weight of water that can be 
 raised from 32 to 212 by the heat of one 
 pound of coal ; per centage of the various pro- 
 ducts of combustion, in coke, tar, water, am- 
 monia, carbonic acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, 
 olefiant gas, &c. ; and the force generated or 
 weight that could be raised to the height of 
 one foot by the combustion of one pound of 
 coal. 
 
 The commissioners show that fuel for war- 
 steamers ought to raise steam quickly; to 
 possess high evaporative powers ; to contain 
 but little bitumen ; to possess considerable 
 cohesion among the particles ; to have density 
 and closeness of structure; to contain but 
 little sulphur ; and to have no liability to decay 
 dm-ing storage. The kinds brought to the 
 test of experiment shewed, as might be ex- 
 pected, very different results under these seve- 
 ral headings; insomuch that no one kind 
 stood first on the list in respect to more than 
 two or three of the above qualities. Three 
 kinds of patent fuel, formed by admixtures of 
 coal dust with bituminous and other sub- 
 stances, were included among the varieties 
 examined; and it was found that Warlich'a 
 patent fuel stood higher than any kinds of 
 coal in respect to many qualities. The com- 
 missionors expressed an opinion that it might 
 bo practicable to produce a composite coal, or 
 
FLAX HECK LI NO 
 
 AND 
 
 DRAWI.NG THE 
 
 HECKLED FLAX 
 
 OR LINE 
 
 No. 16. 
 
617 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING-. 
 
 618 
 
 
 a mixture of many kinds of coal, which would 
 possess a more useful aggregate of qualities 
 than those possessed by any one sort of coal 
 per se; and they recommend further experi- 
 ments as a means of putting this plan to the 
 test. As an example of their mode of stating 
 the evidence for and against any one species 
 of coal, we may take Anthracite : " It has a 
 very high evaporative power; but not being 
 easily ignited, it is not suited for quick action. 
 It has great cohesion in its particles, and is 
 not easily broken up by attrition ; but it is 
 not a caking coal, and therefore would not 
 cohere in the furnace when the ship rolled in 
 a gale of wind. It emits no smoke ; but from 
 the intensity of its combustion it causes the 
 iron of the bars and boilers to oxidate or wear 
 away rapidly." 
 
 Coal Fields. These are large accumulations 
 of coal which exist in various parts of the 
 world. Coal is found in these fields in strata 
 of various thickness, alternating with slate- 
 clay and sandstone ; the alternations being 
 frequently and indefinitely repeated. The 
 coal beds, which are of various qualities, are 
 principally distinguished by the proportion of 
 bitumen in the coal. The coal-seams, toge- 
 ther with their alternating strata, called the 
 coal-measures, usually lie on beds of millstone 
 grit and shale (hard coarse-grained sandstone 
 and slate clay), which sometimes exceed 120 
 fathoms in thickness. Under this series is 
 the mountain or carboniferous limestone, an 
 assemblage of calcareous strata, of variable 
 thickness, sometimes exceeding 900 feet. The 
 carboniferous limestone rests on a bed of old 
 red sandstone, varying in thickness from 200 
 to 2000 feet. These four different series of 
 strata are usually comprehended under the 
 term ' coal-formation.' 
 
 The coal-fields of Great Britain are very 
 numerous and deserve to be studied somewhat 
 in detail. The Northumberland and Durham 
 coal-field commences near the mouth of the 
 river Coquet on the north, and extends nearly 
 to the Tees on the south. Its greatest length 
 is 58 miles, and its greatest breadth about 24. 
 The beds of coal in some places appear at the 
 surface, while in the opposite direction they 
 are at great depths. The beds of these coal- 
 measures are about 80 in number, and con- 
 sist of alternating beds of coal, sandstone, 
 and slate-clay; making an aggregate thick- 
 ness of 1620 feet, which varies however in 
 different parts. The aggregate thickness of 
 coal is supposed to be about 44 feet, of which 
 about 30 feet are workable. This coal is 
 shipped in immense quantities from the Tyne, 
 the Wear, and the Tees. There is another 
 coal-formation, which, extends through parts of 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Durham, Northumberland, and Cumberland, 
 independent of the former. 
 
 In Yorkshire there are detached coal-fields, 
 very limited in extent, being small insulated 
 coal-basins, lying in hollows in the gritstone. 
 They occur near Middleham, Leyburne, 
 Thorpefell, near Burnsell, and as far west as 
 Kettlewell. Southward of these is an exten- 
 sive coal-field, which occupies an area extend- 
 ing north and south from a little to the north- 
 east of Leeds nearly to Derby, a distance of 
 more than 65 miles ; its greatest width, 23 
 miles, is on the north, reaching nearly as far 
 as Halifax to the west. The strata of this 
 coal- formation are very numerous ; the coal- 
 seams are about 30 in number, varying from 
 6 inches to 11 feet in thickness. Since the 
 opening of the Midland Eailway, which tra- 
 verses this coal-field, the working of the col- 
 lieries has been vastly extended by the facili- 
 ties for inland carriage. In north Stafford- 
 shire there are two detached coal-fields : the 
 one situated on the N. E. of Newcastle-under- 
 Lyme, distinguished as the Pottery Coal Field ; 
 the other at Cheadle, to the east of the first. 
 The first measures from 6 to 10 miles in ever} 
 direction; the second, from 3 to 5 miles, 
 Thirty-two beds of coal have been met with, 
 from 3 to 10 feet thick, and at depths from 
 50 to 400 yards. The South Lancashire coal- 
 field forms an area somewhat in the shape of 
 a crescent, having Manchester nearly in the 
 centre ; and northward of this are the North 
 Lancashire and the Whitehaven beds ; in the 
 latter, some of the seams are very thick and 
 of the finest quality; the shafts are very deep, 
 and some of the mines are worked under the 
 sea. 
 
 The South Staffordshire coal-field is about 
 20 miles long by 7 broad. Many coal-seams, 
 of eight, six, and four feet in thickness, are 
 worked in the northern portion of this field ; 
 but the southern portion is of much more im- 
 portance, as it contains seams from 30 to 45 
 feet in thickness. This enormous thickness 
 is however not one continuous seam, but a 
 number of seams, divided by layers of what 
 the miners call land, which are very thin beds 
 of clay-slate. The working of these thick 
 seams is not so profitable as might be sup- . 
 posed. The pillars left standing in order to 
 support the high roof are estimated at about 
 one-third of the whole coal in the bed, and 
 the small coal left in the mine is about equal 
 to another third, so that only one third of the 
 whole is at present taken out of the mine. 
 This district supplies coal to the numerous 
 iron-works in the immediate neighbourhood, 
 and the manufactories of Birmingham and its 
 vicinity ; besides which, all the neighbouring 
 
019 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 
 
 620 
 
 counties, as far south as Beading and Glou- 
 cester, are supplied by means of inland navi- 
 gation. Leicestershire and Warwickshire have 
 small coal fields, independent of the one here 
 noticed. 
 
 In North Wales, a valley crosses the Isle of 
 Anglesea, parallel to the Menai Straits, and is 
 flanked on both sides by parallel bands of 
 carboniferous limestone. Coal of good quality 
 exists here, and a few mines have been suc- 
 cessfully opened. In Flintshire a coal-field 
 exists, extending north and south from the 
 Dee to Oswestry, about 30 miles : not conti- 
 nuously however, but in patches. It is sup- 
 posed that the seams pass under the Dee, and 
 join those of Lancashire. The Coalbrook 
 Dale coal-field is composed of the usual alter- 
 nating strata, and comprises nearly 90 alterna- 
 tions ; the seams vary from a few inches to 5 
 "eet in thickness ; they occur at depths from 
 100 to 700 feet. 
 
 The coal-field of South Wales is upwards of 
 100 miles in length, and the average breadth 
 in the counties of Monmouth, Glamorgan, 
 Caermarthen, and part of Brecon, is from 18 
 to 20 miles ; it becomes much narrower in 
 Pembrokeshire, being there only from 3 to 5 
 miles. This area extends from Pontypool on 
 the east, to St. Bride's Bay on the west, and 
 forms a vast basin of limestone, in which all 
 the strata of coal and ironstone are deposited. 
 The lowest bed is 700 fathoms deep at the 
 centre, and all the principal strata lie from 
 500 fathoms deep to this depth. But this 
 district is intersected by deep valleys, which 
 generally run in a north and south direction, 
 intersecting the coal. By driving levels in 
 the hills, the beds of coal are found without 
 the labour and expense of sinking shafts ; 
 there are also many pits in the low valleys. 
 The seams vary from a few inches to 9 feet 
 in thickness ; and their aggregate thickness 
 is about 100 feet. On the south side of the 
 basin, the coal is principally of a bituminous 
 nature ; on the north-east it is a coking coal ; 
 on the north-west, stone coal. The occur- 
 rence of rich iron ore with or near the coal 
 has led to the establishment of vast iron- 
 works in South Wales. 
 
 The Gloucester and Somerset coal-field is 
 about 25 miles long by 11 wide. The seams 
 of coal are very thin in comparison with those 
 which are worked in the principal coal-fields 
 of England, and in most of those would be 
 rejected as not worth the working. The 
 Forest of Dean contains a coal-field about 10 
 miles long by 6 wide. 
 
 The principal coal-district of Scotland occu- 
 pies the tract which forms the great central 
 lowland of Scotland, and lies between the 
 
 great transition chain on the south, and the 
 still loftier primitive mountains of the High- 
 lands on the north. In the county of Had- 
 dington are three seams of good workable 
 coal. There are a few mines in Fifeshire and 
 Mid-Lothian. In Lanark the coal-fields are 
 numerous and extensive. Throughout this 
 district seven seams of coal are usually found 
 within 415 feet of the surface ; five of these 
 seams are of sufficient thickness to be wrought, 
 and of good quality. Coal is found in various 
 other parts of Scotland. 
 
 Coal has been discovered in more or less 
 quantity in seventeen counties of Ireland. 
 The Minister coal-district occupies a consi- 
 derable portion of the counties of Limerick 
 and Kerry, and a large part of the county of 
 Cork; it is by much the most extensive in 
 Ireland. Coal and culm have been raised for 
 near a century in the neighbourhood of Kan- 
 turk, in the county of Cork. At Dromagh 
 colliery the work has been carried on to a 
 very considerable extent ; and the beds found 
 in it are of four kinds, the Coal-Bed, the 
 Rock Coal, the Bulk-Bed, and Bath's Bed. 
 The greatest depth of the Munster collieries 
 is about 80 yards. 
 
 On the continent of Europe coal-fields are 
 very irregularly scattered. They occur abun- 
 dantly in Belgium. In Saxony and Bohemia 
 coal is found; and in less quantity in Russia, 
 Sweden, and Spain. France has many coal- 
 fields, but the produce is not enough for her 
 consumption. There were 425 coal mines in 
 France in 1844, of which however only 252 
 were worked, employing 30,000 persons. 
 
 Asia contains a little coal in China, Birmah, 
 India, and Persia. Coal has been found 
 abundantly both in Australia and Yan Die- 
 men's Land. America, according to recent 
 discoveries, seems to be richer in coal than 
 any other part of the world. 
 
 Mr. Taylor, in his valuable ' Statistics of 
 Coal,' says that the ascertained areas of the 
 coal-fields of various countries are as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 United States .. . 133,132 sq. m. 
 
 British America ... .. 18,000 
 
 Great Britain ... .. 11,859 
 
 Spain . .1,41)8 
 
 France .. 1719 
 
 Belgium 518 
 
 But the actual yearly production, and bring- 
 ing to market, form a remarkably different 
 series : 
 
 Great Britain 
 
 SftLHFi 
 
 United States 
 France ... 
 Prussia 
 Austria 
 
 Coal Mln'inq. 
 
 81,500,000 tons. 
 
 4,<)(;o.ooo 
 
 4,40(1,000 
 4,14<I,0<M) 
 3,500,000 
 
 700,000 
 
 jkness of workable 
 
 beds of coal \\M\\ be *aid generally to vary 
 
021 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 
 
 from three or four to eight or nine feet, 
 although sometimes, when several seams 
 come together without any intervening layers 
 of rock, they may expand to twenty or thirty 
 feet, of which we have an example in the ' ten 
 yard coal' of Staffordshire. In every coal 
 field there are many seams of coal at greater 
 or less intervals, one helow another, of which 
 as many as three or four are frequently worked 
 in the same mine. 
 
 When the position of the beds of coal has 
 been discovered, the first process is to sink a 
 perpendicular shaft from the surface so as to 
 intersect the various strata containing the 
 coal, and of course as many of the beds of 
 coal as are considered to be worth working. 
 The upper portion, as far down as the solid 
 rock, is either bricked or walled, and where 
 the ground is weak this casing may be conti- 
 nued throughout. On reaching the first work- 
 able seam of coal, the sinking of the pit is 
 for a time suspended, and a broad straight 
 passage termed a 'bord' or 'gate' is driven 
 from it upon the seam of coal in opposite 
 directions. The breadth of this passage is 
 usually twelve or fourteen feet, and it is 
 formed the whole height of the seam of coal, 
 so as to expose the stratum above, which is 
 called the ' roof,' and the one below, which is 
 termed the ' thill,' and its direction is always 
 arranged so as to follow the cleavage of the 
 coal which forms its sides, which thus pre- 
 sents a clean uniform surface. When the 
 principal bord has proceeded some distance 
 on both sides of the pit, narrow passages, 
 termed 'headways,' are driven from it at re- 
 gular intervals, and exactly at right angles ; 
 and when these have proceeded eight or ten 
 yards, they are made to communicate with 
 another bord, which is opened parallel to the 
 first and on each side of it. Thus the oper- 
 ations continue, until the mine resembles a 
 town of streets rectangularly arranged. The 
 water encountered in the above operations is 
 drawn to the surface by a steam-engine erected 
 at the top of the shaft, which is so arranged 
 as also to raise the coal and rubbish, for 
 which purpose either 'corves' or baskets are 
 commonly employed. In small coal mines the 
 ventilation is managed by separating a portion 
 of the shaft from the larger part by an air- 
 tight boarding, which is carried down to the 
 bottom ; but in large coal-mines another shaft 
 is sunk at some distance from the first, and 
 wheu the communication between them has 
 been effected, the one being made downcast 
 and the other upcast, the air is made to pass 
 through the whole of the passages. 
 
 While the workings on the first seam of 
 coal are thus going on, the shaft maybe sunk 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 022 
 
 to a second or third seam, where similar ope- 
 rations will be commenced, small under- 
 ground pits or ' staples ' being sunk at inter- 
 vals from the workings on the upper seam to 
 those on the seam below, by which ventilation 
 will be promoted. 
 
 The mode in which the pitman proceeds in 
 excavating the coal is by cutting a narrow fis- 
 sure on the seam on each side of the bord 
 with his pick-axe, and undermining the coal 
 between, and then cutting into and forcing 
 down the isolated portion of coal, or, where 
 the seam is thick, by detaching the great cu- 
 bical mass thus prepared by blasting, two or 
 three shots being sometimes simultaneously 
 fired at the top of the seam. From 00 to 80 
 or 100 tons of coal may thus be brought 
 down at once, when it is put into corves, 
 drawn along a tram-road to the shaft, and 
 thence raised by a steam-engine to the sur- 
 face, where it is often passed over gratings or 
 ' screens ' in order to separate the small pul- 
 verised coal from the larger masses. 
 
 In mines which are not endangered by ex- 
 plosive gases or ' fire-damp,' the coal-miner 
 or ' pit-man ' is guided in his operations by 
 the usual subterranean light a small candle 
 stuck into apiece of moist clay; but where 
 the fire-damp is apprehended the safety-lamp 
 is used. [LAMP, SAFETY.] 
 
 The frequency of colliery accidents has re- 
 cently drawn the attention of scientific men to 
 the subject ; and the Institute of Civil Engi- 
 neers is at the present time engaged in the 
 discussion of schemes for improved systems 
 of ventilation. 
 
 Coal Trade. It was long considered politic 
 to check the exportation of coals to other 
 countries, both through fear of exhausting 
 the mines, and because it was imagined that 
 our superiority as manufacturers might be 
 endangered. A heavy export duty was accord- 
 ngly levied ; but this was gradually lessened 
 in 1831, 1835, and 1842, and abolished alto- 
 ether in 1845. There was formerly a revenue 
 on coals carried coastwise, but this was abo- 
 lished in 1831. 
 
 A very peculiar regulation was established 
 by the coal owners of the northern coal-field, 
 sailed the ' limitation of the vend.' It was a 
 ystematic combination among the owners of 
 iollieries having their outlets by the Tyne, 
 the Wear, and the Tees, to raise the price to 
 consumers by a self imposed restriction as to 
 the quantity supplied. When the coal duty 
 was abandoned in 1845 the coal-owners gave 
 up the ' limitation of the vend.' 
 
 A regulation which affects the coal trade 
 from the Tyne and the Wear has been esta- 
 blished by act of parliament (1820), under the 
 
623 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 
 
 COAL AND COAL MINING. 
 
 024 
 
 provisions of which every ship must be loaded 
 in her turn ; and, if any colliery refuse to sell, 
 a penalty is imposed of IOGL ; but this regu- 
 lation may be and has been evaded by the 
 coal-owners by an easily concocted pretext. 
 Kegulations have also been made as to the 
 unloading of coal-vessels in the Thames : the 
 number being guided by the price of coal in 
 siich a way as to keep up the monopoly. 
 
 In May 1844, the harbour- master of the 
 port of London presented a return to the 
 lord mayor, which shows the operation of the 
 regulations established by the coal-owners in 
 the port of London for keeping up the price 
 of coal. On the first of May there were 260 
 vessels laden with coal, detained in sections 
 waiting their ' turn ' of sale. On one day in 
 the same month, ten colliers had been de- 
 tained, with their Captains and crews, for 46 
 days, and two had been detained above 50 
 days. On the 27th of May, 109 coal-laden 
 ships were detained in sections, and the pzice 
 of the best coal had advanced to 24s. and 25s. 
 per ton, or about 34s. per ton to the con- 
 sumer. 
 
 The railways now in progress will have an 
 important and most beneficial effect in redu- 
 cing the price of coal in all districts lying far 
 away from the collieries ; indeed such influ- 
 ence has already been felt, since the year just 
 named. The York and Berwick Kailway, and 
 the York and North Midland Railway, carry 
 an immense quantity of coal ; and the Great 
 Northern Company have lately commenced to 
 do the same. 
 
 In 1845, the collieries of Northumberland 
 and Durham were 120 in number ; the steam- 
 engines employed were 19,204 horse-power; 
 the actual production was 6,790,993 tons. In 
 1844 there were 16,515 persons employed at 
 the Tyne collieries ; 13,173 at those of the 
 Wear; and 4211 at those of the Tees ; making 
 33,899 in all. The largest number at any one 
 colliery was 1403 at Lambton. The colliery 
 proprietorships are ranged under four classes, 
 according to the scale of the operations. The 
 ]st class comprises four great concerns, 
 headed respectively by the Marquis of Lon- 
 donderry, the Earl of Durham, Lord Ravens- 
 worth, and the Hetton Coal Company. The 
 capital sunk in each of these concerns is sup- 
 posed to be not less than half a million ster- 
 ling ; they each comprise from six to twelve 
 separate mines, and all the necessary engines, 
 waggons, horses, &c. : and they are believed 
 to realise a profit on an average from 35,OOOZ. 
 to 45,OOOZ. per year each. The 2nd class com- 
 pnscs companies or partnerships whose sunk 
 capital ranges from one to two hundred thou- 
 sand pounds. The 3rd class includes those 
 
 concerns which have only a single pit each, 
 and whose capitals are from forty to sixty 
 thousand pounds. The 4th class, humbler 
 but more numerous than any of the others, 
 comprises those which have a capital ranging 
 from eight to thirty thousand pounds. In 
 South Staffordshire, the 'Butty' system of 
 employing miners is extensively acted on. 
 This consists in the miners being the servants, 
 not of the proprietor or lessee of a colliery, 
 but of a contractor called a ' butty,' who en- 
 gages with the proprietor of the mine to 
 deliver the coal at so much per ton ; hiring 
 the labourers himself, using his own horses, 
 and supplying all the tools necessary for 
 working the mines. These butties have in 
 general been working miners, who, by the ac- 
 cumulation of some little capital, or by the 
 assistance of relations, are enabled to engage 
 a pit, with or without partnership with other 
 persons, and to enter into a bond to raise the 
 coal at a given price per ton. But in the 
 Northumberland and Durham district the re- 
 lation between the proprietors and the miners 
 is more direct and intimate. No middlemen 
 or contractors are employed; the overseers, 
 viewers, and other intermediate officers are 
 paid by regular' salaries ; and the working col- 
 liers receive in cash from the proprietors, once 
 a fortnight, the amount of their earnings. 
 
 The coal trade of England is one of great 
 magnitude. The coal exported from the Uni- 
 ted Kingdom to foreign countries in 1849 
 amounted to 2,730,507 tons. The coal 
 brought to Eondon in the same year amounted 
 to 3,380,786 tons. Of the quantity brought 
 to London, about two-fifths are shipped at the 
 Tyne, and nearly the whole of the remaining 
 three-fifths at the Durham ports. Of the coal 
 sent to foreign countries, about 600,000 tons, 
 or more than one-fifth of the whole, is sent 
 to France : our next best customers being 
 Germany and Prussia, who together take 
 about 450,000 tons. 
 
 The great towns of Lancashire, Yorkshire, 
 Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Loiccstershiiv. 
 Warwickshire, and Staffordshire, are supplied 
 by canals or by land-carriage from collieries 
 in the respective counties hei-e enumerated. 
 It has been estimated that the iron-works of 
 reat Britain, most of which are situated in 
 spots were coal is found, require every yrar, 
 for smelting the ore and converting the raw 
 material into bars, plates, &c., nearly seven 
 millions of tons. There is good reason for 
 believing that the annual consumption of 
 coal within the United Kingdom is not far 
 short of 35,000,000 tons. In 1841 the num- 
 ber of persons in Great Britain employed in 
 coal-mines was 1] 8,233. In Durham there 
 
325 
 
 COALBROOK DALE. 
 
 COCA. 
 
 626 
 
 tvere in that year, on an exact enumeration, 
 more persons employed under ground in coal- 
 mines than in cultivating the surface. 
 
 Coal and the collieries mil not he neglected 
 at the forthcoming Exhibition of Industry. 
 The coal-owners of Northumberland and Dur- 
 ham have deputed to a number of intelligent 
 colliery viewers the preparation of a map of 
 the coal district, showing the extent and out- 
 crop of the different coal-beds, together with 
 the faults and other remarkable interruptions 
 a section of a coal-field, from and to given 
 points, north and south, and a similar section 
 from east to west a model in pieces showing 
 the structure of a given portion of the coal- 
 field a synopsis of the coal-seams in illus- 
 tration of the map and sections a collection 
 of the fossils found in the coal-strata work- 
 ing plan of a colliery, exhibiting the system 
 of working and ventilation a model showing 
 the system of ventilation specimens of the 
 strata properly arranged materials, &c., em- 
 ployed in coal-mining models of machinery, 
 underground railways, engines, shafts, lamps, 
 loading machinery, drops, &c. 
 
 A block of coal, of gigantic dimensions, has 
 been raised from Hange Colliery, near Tipton, 
 to be sent to the Exhibition. It is six feet 
 high by eighteen feet in circumference, and 
 weighs about five tons. It is supposed to be 
 the greatest weight ever attempted to be 
 drawn out of a coal-mine in one piece ; and it 
 is also a general opinion that no coal-field in 
 Great Britain could yield such a large mass, 
 except the 30 foot seam of South Staffordshire. 
 The specimen is said to be remarkably fine, 
 bright, and clear. 
 
 COALBROOK DALE. This small spot, 
 situated in the eastern part of Shropshire, 
 has acquired a manufacturing celebrity for 
 the iron goods cast there ; and this as a manu- 
 facture has depended in part on the existence 
 of coal at the spot. The coal-field of the 
 Dale is about 6 miles long by 2 broad, and 
 contains 86 alternations of coal and other 
 strata, which have been penetrated to a depth 
 of more than 700 feet. 
 
 The Coalbrook Dale Iron Works have be- 
 longed to the family of Messrs. Darby for 
 more than 200 years. Some of the earliest 
 castings of great magnitude in this country 
 indeed we believe the earliest, were made 
 here ; and the works have ever since been ce- 
 lebrated for the delicacy and beauty of the 
 smaller castings in iron. On a pleasant fes- 
 tive occasion in 1850, planned in compliment 
 to the chief proprietor, the colliers, miners, 
 and workmen of the Coalbrook Dale district 
 generally, to the number of nearly 4,000, 
 walked in procession through Horsehay,Iron- 
 
 bridge, Madeley, and Dawley, and ended the 
 day with some of those displays of kindly 
 feeling which are always so valuable in the 
 relation between employers and the employed. 
 
 COBALT. This metal was discovered by 
 Brandt in 1733, associated with arsenic and 
 other metals. It has a reddish gray colour, 
 and a weak metallic lustre ; it fuses at a high 
 temperature, and crystallises in cooling. 
 
 Cobalt is extensively employed in the Arts. 
 Its oxide gives an intense and beautiful blue 
 colour to glass, and is hence much employed 
 in painting glass and porcelain ; while the 
 blue glass thus produced, when reduced to a 
 fine powder, is called Smalts or powder blue, 
 and is used for correcting the yellowish tint of 
 paper and linen. 
 
 The nitrate of cobalt, when dissolved in 
 water, forms a sympathetic ink, the traces of 
 which become blue when heated, or green if 
 iron be present. The acetate forms a sympa- 
 thetic ink which becomes blue when heated. The 
 phosphate of cobalt, combined with alumina, 
 produces a blue colour almost as intense and 
 beautiful as that of ultramarine : it is called 
 Thenard's or cobalt blue. 
 
 Cobalt forms alloys with arsenic, antimony, 
 tin, zinc, lead, gold, and platinum. 
 
 COCA, the dried leaf of JErythroxylon coca, 
 is one of those stimulating narcotics which 
 belong to the same class with tobacco and 
 opium, but is more remarkable than either of 
 them in its effects upon the human system. 
 The plant is found wild in Peru, according to 
 Poppig, in the environs of Cuchero, and on 
 the stony summit of Cerro de San Cristobal. 
 It is cultivated extensively in the mild but 
 very moist climate of the Andes of Peru, at 
 from 2000 -to 5000 feet above the sea: in 
 colder situations it is apt to be killed, and in 
 wanner districts the leaf loses its flavour. 
 
 The effects of this drug are said to be of 
 the most pernicious nature, exceeding even 
 opium in the destruction of mental and bodily 
 powers. The coca leaf is chewed by the 
 Peruvian, mixed with finely powdered chalk, 
 and brings on a state of apathy and indif- 
 ference to all surrounding objects. The desire 
 for this drug increases so much with indulgence 
 in it, that a confirmed coca-chewer is said 
 never to have been reclaimed. 
 
 The immoderate addiction of the Peruvians 
 to the use of this drug is such that their 
 forests have long since ceased to be able to 
 supply their wants ; and the cultivation of the 
 plant has been carried to a very great extent, 
 not only under the Incas but beneath the 
 local government of the Spaniards, who seem 
 to have been no more able to resist the temp- 
 tation of a large revenue from the monopoly 
 
627 
 
 CO'CCULUS. 
 
 COCK. 
 
 628 
 
 of this article than European nations fromth 
 consumption of ardent spirits. The cultivation 
 of coca is therefore an important feature in 
 Peruvian husbandry. 
 
 The exciting principle of the coca has so 
 very volatile a nature that leaves only twelve 
 months old hecome perfectly inert and good 
 for nothing. Large heaps of the freshly dried 
 leaves, particularly while the warm rays of the 
 sun are upon them, diffuse a very strong smell 
 resembling that of hay in which there is a 
 quantity of melilot. 
 
 CO'CCULUS. Many species of this plant 
 are usefully applied, chiefly in medicine ; but 
 that which is best known is the Cocculus Indicus, 
 a native of East Africa. Cocculus Indicus 
 Berries are the fruit of the Cocculus suberosiis, 
 or Menispcrmum cocculus. Besides being 
 occasionally used in medicine, it is a poison 
 which is used for destroying fish, and has 
 also been extensively used by brewers as a 
 substitute for hops an adulteration which is 
 prohibited in Britain by severe statutes. 
 Cocculus Indicus is never used internally in 
 the practice of medicine ; but an ointment 
 formed of the powdered berries is very effica- 
 cious in some cutaneous diseases. 
 
 Cohtmba is the root of the Cocculus palmatns, 
 a native of the forests on the east coast of 
 Africa, whence it is sent to Ceylon, and then, je 
 to Europe. It occurs in the form of trans- 
 verse sections, the bark of which is thick and 
 easily separable : the woody portion is spongy, 
 of a yellow colour, and when old much perfo- 
 rated by worms. The odour is faintly aro- 
 matic, the taste bitter and slightly acrid. It 
 contains much starch, a yellow azotised matter, 
 a yellow bitter principle, traces of a volatile 
 oil, woody fibre, salts (chiefly of lime and 
 potassa), oxide of iron, and silex. The active 
 principle is Columbine, which may be obtained 
 either by alcohol or aether. Columba is much 
 used in medicine. Other roots are often fraudu- 
 lently substituted for it ; and slices of Bryony 
 root are often employed to adulterate it. 
 
 COCHINEAL is extremely richin the finest 
 red colouring matter, and has been long em- 
 ployed in scarlet dyeing, and in the manufac- 
 ture of carmine. It consists of a colouring 
 matter, a peculiar animal matter, a fatty 
 substance, and several salts. The chief use 
 of cochineal is the dyeing of scarlet. The 
 fine colour which it yields is converted to this 
 tint by means of chloride or muriate of tin. 
 
 The insect which constitutes cochineal feeds 
 chiefly upon Cactus cochenillifcra and C. opun- 
 tia. The female insect only is collected. 
 Several varieties are distinguished in com- 
 merce, and have different degrees of value 
 attached to them, dependent chiefly upon the 
 
 different methods employed to kill and dry 
 the insects. AY hen dried, they resemble small 
 grains, scarcely so large as a pepper-corn, 
 ovate, convex above, plane below, transversely 
 furrowed, externally blackish brown, but as if 
 dusted with a white powder, light, friable, the 
 internal substance consisting of extremely 
 small grains, obscurely purple, but when re- 
 duced to powder of a rich purple. They are 
 inodorous, but with a bitter sweet acrid taste. 
 They impart to water or alcohol by digestion 
 an intensely red colour. 
 
 Cochineal has hitherto been employed 
 mostly as a colouring material, either of tinc- 
 tures, or of other things, the nature of which 
 it is wished to disguise ; but it is also used to 
 a small extent in medicine. 
 
 Previous to the revolt of the Spanish Ame- 
 rican provinces, almost all the trade in cochi- 
 neal with the different markets of Europe 
 was carried on through Spain, and chiefly 
 through Cadiz ; but since that event the 
 markets of consumption are supplied with 
 cochineal either direct from the places of pro- 
 duction, or from neighbouring stations, to 
 which the article has found its way in the 
 natural course of commerce. Representing 
 a considerable value in a small bulk, cochineal 
 is frequently used, with great convenience to 
 merchants, as a medium for making remit- 
 tances, and hence the comparatively circuitous 
 route by which the greater part of it reaches 
 the places of ultimate consumption. The 
 quantity of cochineal imported into Great 
 Britain in 1848 was 18,380 cwt ; of which Hon- 
 duras yielded 9139 cwt., and Mexico 6054 cwt. 
 
 COCK, or STOP-COCK. The stop-cocks 
 in most common use consist of a short tube 
 of brass, intersected by a nearly cylindrical 
 plug, capable of being turned on its axis at 
 pleasure, and so perforated or cut that, while 
 in one position it completely prevents the 
 passage of fluid through the pipe, it may be 
 so turned as to permit the fluid to pass 
 through it, and consequently to flow through 
 the pipe. The kind of cock usually employed, 
 under the name of a tap, for drawing off the 
 contents of barrels, usually terminates in a 
 curved nose, or spout, from which the liquor 
 maybe conveniently received in a jug or other 
 open vessel ; but, where it is desired to trans- 
 fer the liquor from the cask immediately to 
 bottles, the nose is prolonged into a long 
 slender tube, which will enter the neck of a 
 bottle, and obviate the necessity for a funnel. 
 Other cocks are adapted for insertion in me- 
 tallic cisterns or boilers, and fitted with a 
 flange to bear against the outer face of the 
 cistern, and a nut, wormed on to the portion 
 of the tube of the cock which passes into ths 
 
629 
 
 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE. 
 
 COCOA NUT. 
 
 630 
 
 cistern, by which they may he screwed up 
 firmly. Others again are adapted for solder- 
 ing to the end of a leaden pipe, such as the 
 service-pipe for laying water on to a house. 
 Some stop- cocks, again, have no nose or 
 spout, but are made alike at each end, for the 
 purpose of being soldered between two lengths 
 of leaden pipe. 
 
 In some cocks the plug is so contrived as 
 either to contain a piece of cork, which may 
 be turned so as to close the pipe, or to 
 revolve within a hollow cylinder of cork, with 
 arrangements for opening or closing a passage 
 through it at pleasure. In others the princi- 
 ple of the revolving plug is entirely departed 
 from, and the pipe is closed by means of a 
 flat disc of metal, covered with a leather 
 washer, and screwed up firmly against the end 
 of the pipe, or by a conical or globular valve 
 similarly applied. In such cocks caoutchouc 
 forms an excellent substitute for leather. 
 Another ingenious class of cocks comprises 
 those furnished with contrivances for admit- 
 ting air to a barrel as fast as the liquor is 
 drawn off, and thereby superseding the use of 
 a vent-peg. Another class are furnished with 
 apparatus for locking the cock. 
 
 Cocks are most commonly made of tap- 
 metal, a peculiar alloy of inferior brass, or 
 rather copper saturated with lead. Fine brass 
 is sometimes used; as also a white alloy made 
 to resist the action of vinegar and other cor- 
 rosive liquors. For such liquors, however, 
 cocks of porcelain or stoneware are to be pre- 
 ferred. Even wood is occasionally employed ; 
 and attempts have been made to manufacture 
 cocks of cast-iron. 
 
 The four-way cock consists of a plug perfo- 
 rated with two distinct passages, and mounted 
 in a barrel into which four separate pipes or 
 channels open. Its object is to connect the 
 four passages with each other in alternate 
 couples, either by a continuous revolution 
 upon its axis, or by an alternating motion 
 through one-fourth part of a revolution ; and 
 it has frequently been applied to steam en- 
 gines as a means of alternately admitting 
 steam to and allowing it to escape from each 
 end of the engine-cylinder. 
 
 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE. Cocoa is 
 the more familiar name of the article, the 
 proper name of which is cacao ; just a reversal 
 of the vowels. It is the cotyledon of the seeds 
 of the cacao plant, which is extensively culti- 
 vated in many tropical countries. The Mexi- 
 cans call the tree cJiocolalt, and hence our 
 name for the seed in a prepared state. 
 The capsules of the fruit each contain about 
 twenty-five seeds. The quality varies greatly; 
 and the Mexicans are accustomed, to improve 
 
 ;he flavour of the inferior sorts, to bury them 
 n the earth in heaps, and allow them to fer- 
 nent for nearly a month. The kinds pro- 
 iuced in different countries vary much in the 
 quantity of the oil or butter of cacao which 
 they contain ; a product to which much of the 
 nutritious quality is due. 
 
 The simplest and best form of using cocoa 
 is that of cocoa-nibs, consisting of the seeds 
 roughly crushed. Flake cocoa is merely the 
 seeds crushed between rollers. Common 
 cocoa is usually the seeds pressed into cakes, 
 or reduced to a paste. 
 
 Chocolate is cocoa brought to a further state 
 of preparation. The seeds or beans, after 
 being carefully picked, are gently roasted in 
 an iron cylinder; and when the aroma begins 
 to be well developed, they are turned out, 
 cooled, and sifted. They are then mixed into 
 a paste, and put into moulds, and when dry 
 they form the ordinary chocolate of the shops, 
 especially in England ; but on the continent 
 the chocolate is more frequently sold in a 
 flavoured state, having had vanilla, cloves, 
 cinnamon, almonds, starch, or sugar mixed 
 with it. Lard, sago, and red lead are said to 
 be used in the compounding of some of the 
 cheap kinds of chocolate. The various ' patent' 
 chocolates presented to our notice in the 
 shops, are simply various modes of preparing 
 the cocoa seeds. 
 
 The imports of cocoa are now becoming 
 large. In 1848 they amounted to : 
 
 British colonial cocoa .. .. 2,602,30.9 Ibs. 
 Foreign 3,848,6/7 
 
 Hucks and shells 
 Chocolate and cocoa paste 
 
 1,208,282 
 13,016 
 
 7,672,284 
 
 COCOA NUT. The cocoa-nut tree is 
 found all over the tropical parts of the world, 
 especially in the vicinity of the sea, growing 
 within reach of salt water, and establishing 
 itself upon reefs and sand-banks as soon as 
 they emerge from the ocean. Its great im- 
 portance to man has caused it to be cultivated 
 wherever the climate is favourable to its 
 growth ; the whole Brazilian coast from the 
 river San Francisco to the bar of Maman- 
 guape, a distance of 280 miles, is, with few 
 breaks, thus occupied ; and it was estimated 
 that in the year 1813 no fewer than 10,000,000 
 trees were growing on the south-west coast of 
 Ceylon. The cocoa-nut palm rises like a 
 slender column to from 60 to 90 feet in 
 height. 
 
 In hot countries the uses to which the 
 cocoa-nut tree is applicable are innumerable. 
 The roots are chewed in place of the areca- 
 nut; gutters, drains, and the posts of huts 
 are formed from the trunk ; the young buds 
 are a delicate vegetable ; shade is furnished 
 
631 
 
 CODEIA. 
 
 COFFEE. 
 
 632 
 
 by the leaves when growing, and after separa 
 tion from the tree their large size and ban 
 texture render them invaluable as thatch fo 
 cottages ; they are, moreover, manufacture< 
 into baskets, buckets, lanterns, articles of head 
 dress, and even books, upon which writing i 
 traced with an iron stylus. Their ashes yielc 
 potash in abundance ; their midrib forms oars 
 and brushes are formed by bruising the em 
 of a leaf with a portion of the midrib adhering 
 to it. From the juice of the stem, a kind o: 
 palm wine, and subsequently an ardent spirit 
 are prepared ; the farinaceous matter contained 
 in the stem is a good substitute for sago ; and 
 a coarse dark coloured sugar, called jagghery. 
 is obtained from inspissating the sap. This 
 jagghery, mixed with lime, forms a powerfu 
 cement, which resists moisture, endures great 
 solar heat, and will take a fine polish. The 
 ripe fruit is a wholesome food, and the milk 
 it contains, a grateful cooling beverage ; in 
 deed these together constitute the principal 
 sustenance of the poorer Indians in many 
 countries. The fibrous bark is used to polish 
 furniture, as brushes, and to form a valuable 
 elastic cordage called coir ; the fibrous matter 
 of the husk is also employed to stuff mattres- 
 ses, and a manufacture of it into cordage, 
 mats, sacking, &c., has lately sprung up in 
 Great Britain. The shell is manufactured into 
 drinking -vessels and vessels of measure; and, fi- 
 finally, the albumen, or white solid matter con- 
 tained within the shell, yields by pressure or de- 
 coction an excellent oil ; pressure is the method 
 usually employed. This oil is not only em- 
 ployed for burning, but in the manufacture of 
 torches, and in the composition of pharmaceu- 
 tical preparations ; and mixed with dammer 
 (the resin of Shorea robusta) it forms the sub- 
 stance used in India for covering the seams of 
 boats and ships. 
 
 Cocoa-nuts are brought to Europe as wedges 
 to set fast the casks and other round pack- 
 ages in the cargo of vessels ; their freight 
 therefore costs nothing. 
 
 It is a curious circumstance that in com- 
 merce there are two kinds of Cocoa-Oil or Oil 
 of Cocoa, entirely different in origin. The 
 Cacao or cocoa seeds, described in the last 
 article, yield a butter or solid oil which is use- 
 fully employed in making candles, soaps, and 
 pomatums chiefly in France. But that sub- 
 stance which is quoted in our market-lists as 
 Cocoa-nut Oil is produced from the cocoa-nut, 
 now under notice. So much has this substance 
 now come into "demand, that no less than 
 <> !.!01 cwts. were imported in 1849. 
 
 CODEIA, an alkali discovered by Robiquet 
 in opium, is a bitter, alkaline, crystalline sub- 
 stance, used to a small extent in medicine. 
 
 COFFEE. The Coffee-Tree or Coffea Ara- 
 bica is an evergreen shrub, with oblong pulpy 
 berries, which are at first of a bright red, but 
 afterwards become purple. It is stated by 
 Niebuhr to have been brought from Abyssinia 
 to Yemen by the Arabs, from a country similar 
 to their own plains and mountains. By that 
 people it has for ages been cultivated in the 
 hilly range of Jabal, in a healthy temperate 
 climate, watered by frequent rains, and abound- 
 ing in wells and water-tanks. A combination 
 of circumstances seems to favour the cultiva 
 tion of coffee in Arabia, which can hardly be 
 attained elsewhere. Frequent rains, and a 
 pure and cloudless sky causing an almost un- 
 interrupted flood of light, communicate an ex- 
 cessive stimulus to all the functions of vegeta- 
 tion, and are causes of the perfect elaboration 
 of those delicate principles on which the aroma 
 of the coffee is dependent. 
 
 The seed consists of much horny albumen 
 and a peculiar principle or alkaloid, termed 
 
 i'hte, which is identical with the active prin- 
 ciple of tea, theine, as well as with paragmthtc, 
 the alkaloid of the Paraguay Tea. The seed 
 s used in a raw state in medicine ; but when 
 roasted, it forms the well-known coffee of com- 
 merce. The coffee-plant begins to produce 
 fruit when two or two and a half years old ; 
 but the quality of the seeds from young stems 
 is not so good as that from stems four or five 
 years old. The size and colour of the bean 
 as the inner part of the seed is called) vary 
 considerably, those from the West Indies 
 being larger than those from the East. 
 
 Much more depends upon the manner of 
 roasting and making the coffee than upon the 
 quality of the bean. The superiority of French 
 offee, in the preparation of which little or no 
 Vtocha coffee is used, proves this position. 
 The taste of raw coffee is somewhat sweetish ; 
 )ut the application of heat in the process of 
 roasting produces important changes. The 
 >ean increases to nearly twice the original 
 ize, while it loses about a third of its weight : 
 i powerful and agreeable odour is evolved, 
 and a large quantity of empyreumatic oil, 
 which appears in small drops on the surface, 
 s formed along with a bitter principle, proba- 
 ly by an alteration in the cafeine and of the 
 accharine matter. The roasting should take 
 )lace in a close revolving iron cylinder, over a 
 lear but moderate fire, and should not be 
 arried too far : when the beans have acquired 
 i light chestnut colour, the roasting should 
 >e discontinued. The beans are then to be 
 ooled quickly by being tossed up into the air, 
 ;nd the gi-inding, or rather rough pounding, 
 hould be performed in a covered mortar 
 ir mill. The drink should be prepared 
 
633 
 
 COFFEE APPAEATUS. 
 
 COFFEE APPAKATUS. 
 
 034 
 
 from it as soon as possible, by infusion, which 
 is preferable, unless some apparatus be em- 
 ployed by which a kind of decoction is made 
 in a close vessel. About half an ounce of 
 coffee powder should be used for every eight 
 ounces (half a pint) of water. In Britain the 
 roasting is generally carried too far ; and the 
 subsequent parts of the process, instead of 
 being performed immediately, are often post- 
 poned for days or even weeks, by which the 
 aroma is dissipated : when made, the liquid is 
 generally deficient in strength and clearness. 
 The employment of white of egg or fish-skin 
 to clarify is decidedly objectionable : clearness 
 is thus purchased, but at the expense of the 
 strength. 
 
 It was an endeavour to establish an improved 
 mode of roasting coffee that led to the death 
 of Mr. Dakin, of St. Paul's Churchyard, in 
 1848. His plan consisted in placing the 
 coffee in a cylinder lined with silver, and in 
 enclosing this cylinder within a cellular steam 
 oven, or cylinder, patented by other parties. 
 The heat attained within the oven was very 
 great, and the metal of the oven was not 
 sound enough to resist its action : an explo- 
 sion ensued, with a fatal result. The silver 
 or silvered cylinder was an intended means of 
 retaining the fine qualities of the coffee, with- 
 out acquiring any defective qualities during 
 the roasting. 
 
 The addition of milk (which should always 
 be hot) and of sugar heighten the nourishing 
 qualities of coffee, and in the morning render 
 it a more substantial article for breakfast. 
 When taken after dinner to promote digestion, 
 it should be without milk, and, where the pa- 
 late can be reconciled to it, without sugar. 
 
 The coffee-trade has been wholly created 
 since the beginning of the eighteenth century. 
 Nearly all the coffee which now comes to Eu- 
 rope is the produce of trees propagated from 
 a single plant, which, having been raised from 
 seed procured from Mocha in Arabia, by Van 
 Hoorn, governor of Batavia, was sent by him 
 to the Botanical Garden at Amsterdam, and 
 the progeny of which was, in the year 1718, 
 twenty years after its reception from Java, sent 
 to Surinam. 
 
 The coffee imported in 1849 amounted to 
 the following quantities : 
 
 British 
 Foreign 
 
 40,334,630 Ibs. 
 22,985,876 Ibs. 
 
 63,320,506 Ibs. 
 
 Of this quantity nearly 37,000,000 Ibs. were 
 brought from Ceylon alone. 
 
 The use of chicory in coffee has already 
 been adverted to. [CHICORY.] 
 
 COFFEE APPAEATUS. Considerable 
 
 ingenuity has been displayed in devising ap- 
 paratus for preparing coffee for the table. The 
 ordinary coffee pot is the plainest and simplest 
 of all ; there is no contrivance for filtering the 
 coffee. In Dresden and other parts of O" 
 many, a thick piece of flannel or some other 
 woven material, is laid in a funnel ; the ground 
 coffee is placed on the flannel ; and the boiling 
 water filters through the coffee, the flannel, 
 and the funnel, to a vessel below carrying 
 with it the flavour of the coffee without the 
 grounds or sediment. 
 
 Platow's Automaton Coffee Pot has for its 
 object to make coffee in less time and in a 
 better manner than by the ordinary method. 
 The machine consists of of two parts. There 
 is at the top a glass vase which screws off and 
 on by means of wooden handles, and is fur- 
 nished with a long narrow straight tube, re- 
 sembling the pipe of a common funnel, and 
 reaching nearly to the bottom of a metallic 
 urn placed beneath the vase. Boiling water 
 is poured into the vase in quantity sufficient 
 for the coffee to be made ; and this is allowed 
 to descend into the urn. The ground coffee 
 is then placed within the vase, on a small per- 
 forated silver plate. A lamp containing spirit 
 or naphtha is placed beneath the urn ; and in 
 a short time the peculiar action of the appar- 
 atus developes itself. The steam formed on 
 the surface of the water in the urn forces, by 
 its elasticity, the water up the tube into the 
 glass vase ; where it acts upon the coffee in 
 the usual way for extracting the qualities of 
 the berry. When the coffee is so far prepared 
 and is required to be fined, the lamp is re- 
 moved, the formation of steam ceases, a partial 
 vacuum is formed in the urn, and the external 
 atmosphere, pressing on the open vase, presses 
 or strains the coffee, first through the grounds 
 and then through the perforated silver plate ; 
 so that it trickles into the urn in the state of 
 a pure bright decoction. It is thus 'seen that 
 the liquid makes two descents and one ascent 
 between the vase and the urn, during the pro- 
 cess. In a cheaper form of the apparatus, a 
 common fire or a lamp is used instead of a 
 spirit lamp. 
 
 A coffee pot of rather complicated structure 
 was patented by Mr. Andrews of Wolverhamp- 
 ton in 1842. This coffee-pot had no less an 
 adjunct than a small forcing-pump, placed 
 near the handle. The boiling water was 
 poured in the forcing-pump, while the ground 
 coffee was put in a perforated vessel in the 
 middle of the coffee-pot ; and the hot water, 
 being forced by the pump, was made to satu- 
 rate the ground coffee in a way which (we 
 presume) was supposed to produce a result 
 adequate to the costliness of the apparatus. 
 
 
635 
 
 COFFERDAM. 
 
 COKE. 
 
 636 
 
 Waller's Coffee Pot, patented in 1847, differs 
 in many particulars from all the others. A 
 horizontal partition, perforated near the centre 
 with fine holes, divides the vessel into two 
 equal chambers ; an open pipe leads nearly 
 from the top of the upper chamber to near 
 the bottom of the lower chamber ; and another 
 pipe leads from the perforations some way 
 down the lower chamber, with a tap or cock 
 which can be worked by a handle protruding 
 through the side of the coffee-pot. The requi- 
 site quantity of water, either hot or cold, is 
 poured into the upper chamber, and allowed 
 to flow through the perforations and small 
 pipe into the lower chamber ; the ground 
 coffee is placed on the perforated plate ; the 
 spout is closed with a cork or plug ; and the 
 vessel is placed on the fire. As the water be- 
 comes heated, the steam generated has no 
 outlet upwards or sideways, and it therefore 
 presses on the water, and forces it up the long 
 pipe, whence it falls into the upper chamber, 
 upon the ground coffee. When all the water 
 is thus forced up, the coffee-pot is removed 
 from the fire, the vacuum in the lower chamber 
 is condensed, the plug is removed from the 
 spout, the top of the short pipe is opened, and 
 the water trickles through the ground coffee and 
 through the perforations into the lower vessel, 
 imbibing all the soluble and aromatic proper- 
 lies of the coffee as it descends. 
 
 COFFERDAM, called by the French a ba- 
 iiardeau, is a wooden inclosure formed in a 
 \iver, in order to obtain a firm and dry founda- 
 \\on for the piers of a bridge. It usually con- 
 sists of a double wall of piles, with intervening 
 itpace between the inner and outer wall filled 
 with clay or chalk rammed down hard. This 
 done, the water is pumped out from the inte- 
 rior of the cofferdam. 
 
 COHESION means the adherence or co- 
 herence of particles of matter, by which they 
 form collective masses, requiring the applica- 
 tion of more or less force to separate the parts. 
 The gaseous, fluid, and solid states of matter 
 show the most sensible effects of the variations 
 produced by the action of heat in the forces ex- 
 isting between the particles of bodies.In the first 
 state, the particles absolutely repel one an- 
 other ; in the second, a repulsive force is al- 
 most exactly counterbalanced by an attractive 
 force, so that there results only that weak de- 
 gree of cohesion which exists in fluids ; while, 
 in the third, the parlicles absolutely attract 
 each other. Again, two plates of a solid mate- 
 rial may be pressed together till the particles 
 at their nearest surfaces are brought close 
 enough to attract one another, so that the 
 plates will remain in cohesion even in a va- 
 cuum ; and they may be hammered together 
 
 till the cohesion is as strong as if they had 
 been naturally united. In the force of cohe- 
 sion we have therefore indications of a real 
 physical attraction : and it follows that there 
 must exist in the intervals between the parti- 
 cles of bodies a repulsive power, having its 
 sphere of action interior to that of the cohesive 
 force ; from which we are led to conclude that 
 the particles of bodies really act on one another 
 at a distance. 
 
 A few practical considerations connected 
 with cohesive forces, in relation to mechanism 
 and manufactures, are treated of under 
 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS. 
 
 COINS AND COINING. The production 
 of coins, as a branch of manufacture, is briefly 
 described under MINT. 
 
 COIRE, consists of the fibres of the cocoa- 
 nut. The rind of the nut is soaked in water 
 for several months, then beaten upon a stone 
 with a piece of heavy wood, and afterwards 
 rubbed with the hand until the intermediate 
 substance is completely separated from the 
 fibrous portion. The rind of forty average 
 nuts supplies about six pounds' weight of the 
 fibre. This fibre constitutes the coiro, which 
 is then ready for use in the same way as hemp 
 or other fibrous materials, for cordage, matting, 
 canvas, &c. Besides the actual weaving or 
 plaiting of this material into textile fabrics of 
 a coarse kind, it is used as a stuffing for mat- 
 tresses, pillows, and cushions. The availabi- 
 lity of coire for such a purpose seems to de- 
 pend upon these qualities : that the coire is 
 very indestructible ; that it does not harbour 
 vermin, as horse hair would in a warm cli- 
 mate ; and that it is free from offensive 
 smell. 
 
 COKE is coal divested of its gaseous and 
 more volatile constituents by partial combus- 
 tion in close chambers, or in heaps from which 
 the free access of air is excluded. The sim- 
 plest mode of coking coal, which is still occa- 
 sionally followed, is to- lay the coal in large 
 flattened heaps, often containing thirty or forty 
 tons each, in the open air ; and to cover it 
 with ashes and earth to confine the heat, so 
 that the mass of coal may be slowly burnt in 
 a smothered manner: men being employed 
 during the process to renew the covering 
 wherever the fire may begin to burn too 
 fiercely. But the best mode of making coke 
 is by means of ovens. These are of different 
 forms ; but in principle they consist of an in- 
 closed chamber, in which the coal is burned 
 without access of air : the volatile ingredients 
 are driven off, but the carbon remains. Coke 
 is also made, in the process of making gas, in 
 all gas-works : the coal which is put into the 
 cylinders to make the gas being removed as 
 
637 
 
 COKE. 
 
 COLLISION. 
 
 638 
 
 coke after the volatile matter has been earned 
 off to the gasometer. Coke is much prefer- 
 able to coal where pure fuel is required in 
 many smelting operations, and where smoke 
 is wished to be avoided. An immense quan- 
 tity is now used for locomotives ; and the 
 principal railway companies have established 
 coke-ovens at their depots. From a given 
 quantity of coal, the produce of coke is about 
 20 per cent, less in respect to weight, but 20 
 per cent, more in respect to bulk. 
 
 There has recently been established a com- 
 pany at Alloa, for supplying coke to the rail- 
 way companies of Scotland. Coke ovens have 
 been built at a spot which lies near the Forth, 
 and also near the Alloa branch of the Scottish 
 Midland Railway ; so that there are great fa- 
 cilities both for receiving coal and sending out 
 coke. 
 
 Mr. Church's method of making coke, in- 
 troduced in 1846, has many peculiarities. The 
 coke oven is much more complicated than 
 those usually made, and the process altogether 
 more carefully conducted. The coal is thrown 
 into the oven so as to form a layer about two 
 feet thick over the whole area. A slight de- 
 pression is made in the middle of the surface 
 of the layer ; and in this depression is thrown 
 a little burning coal. All apertures arc then 
 closed, except a few for admitting air for com- 
 bustion, and these are gradually more and 
 more closed as the coking advances. When 
 the cessation of flame shows that the coal is 
 wholly converted into coke, the last aperture 
 is closed. In ordinary coke making, the coke 
 is cooled by cold water being applied to it ; 
 but by Mr. Church's method, two air passages 
 are opened, which allow a stream of cold air 
 to enter a series of passages which run under 
 and around the oven, without communicating 
 with the interior ; these passages end in a 
 chimney or flue ; so that the air cools the 
 oven as it passes, becomes itself heated, and 
 finally escapes. Not until the oven and the 
 contents are thoroughly cold is the coke re- 
 moved. The professed object of this method 
 (which, regarded in a scientific point of view 
 is much more complete than the ordinary me- 
 thod) is to produce coke which shall be purer, 
 denser, harder, of more powerful heating qua- 
 lity, and more abundant in quantity, than was 
 before producible from a given amount of coal. 
 Of course a long and strict trial could alone 
 test the existence of these superior qualities. 
 
 Mr. Fisher patented a new form of coke- 
 oven in 1849, intended to produce a better in- 
 gress and egress of air to the burning mass 
 beneath the coke retorts, than in the ordinary 
 construction. 
 
 It has been recently discovered, that al- 
 
 though coke is apparently a loose spongy sub- 
 stance, the particles of which it is formed are 
 intensely hard so hard indeed as to cut glass 
 like a diamond, which no other mineral will 
 effect so well. This is deemed a striking con- 
 firmation of the well known chemical fact, 
 that the diamond is nothing more than pure 
 carbon in a crystalline state. It is expected 
 that coke, carefully prepared for the purpose, 
 will gradually come into use as a substitute 
 for the diamond in the ordinary cutting of 
 plate and window glass. Mr. Nasmyth stated 
 at the Swansea meeting of the British Associ- 
 ation, that the eminent firm of Messrs. Chance 
 at Birmingham, by whom all the glass for the 
 Crystal Palace has been since made, looked 
 forward to a saving of 400J. a year, in respect 
 to this apparently simple discovery. 
 
 COLBEKT, JEAN BAPTISTE, is worthy 
 of a meed of admiration from all who advocate 
 the advancement of manufactures and com- 
 merce. Louis XIV. appointed Colbert contro- 
 leur-general des finances ; and Colbert's most 
 strenuous and effective efforts were directed 
 to the encouragement of commerce and ma- 
 nufactures. He succeeded in giving a great 
 impulse to French industry ; he roused and 
 directed the national mind to ards a new and 
 useful exercise of its faculties. Woollens, 
 silks, glass, pottery, leather, and iron manu- 
 factures were either created by him, or greatly 
 enlarged and improved. He founded Quebec 
 and Cayenne, made new settlements in India 
 and on the coast of Africa, and favoured the 
 colonies of Martinique and St. Domingo. He 
 caused the first statistical tables of the popu- 
 lation to be made out, and advanced the inter- 
 ests of his country, in industry and commerce, 
 in many ways. Colbert was born in 1619, and 
 died in 1683. 
 
 CO'LCHICUM, or Meadow Saffron, is a 
 plant with a solid rootstock or cormus, found 
 wild in various parts of Europe and in Great 
 Britain, forming a gay carpet in the autumn 
 in the fields, where its lively purple crocus- 
 like flowers spring up. Its corms and its 
 seeds abound in an acrid, stimulating, de- 
 leterious principle, which has been carefully 
 examined by modern chemists, and forms an 
 important plant in the Materia Medica. large 
 quantities of both corms and seeds being an- 
 nually consumed in the manufacture of Eau 
 Medicinalc, and other medicinal preparations. 
 
 COLLISION. When a body in motion 
 strikes another, whether at rest or in move- 
 ment, the particles of the first body, at the 
 place of contact, have their forward motions 
 retarded, in consequence of which the particles 
 immediately behind approach closer to those 
 in front than they were before the impact, and 
 
COLOGNE. 
 
 COLONIES. 
 
 640 
 
 thus a condensation takes place. This con- 
 densation gives rise to an exertion of the force 
 of elasticity, which acts against the succeeding 
 particles, retarding the motions of these last 
 and giving rise to a new condensation and a 
 new exertion of elasticity against the next 
 succeeding particles ; and so on. The like 
 actions must he understood to take place in 
 the body struck ; and these actions continue 
 in both bodies till the bodies have attained the 
 state of greatest compression, when, for a mo- 
 ment, both may be conceived to move with a 
 common velocity. After this, the force of 
 elasticity overcoming the force of compression, 
 the particles of both bodies gradually return 
 to a permanent state, which, if the elasticity 
 were perfect, would be the same as that in 
 which they were before the impact, the force 
 of restitution thus causing the bodies to sepa- 
 rate as if repelled from each other. A certain 
 interval of time elapses between the instants 
 of first contact and separation, but this is so 
 short as to be scarcely sensible. 
 
 If the bodies have different degrees of hard- 
 ness, an indentation may take place in that 
 which is the least hard, the other penetrating 
 to a certain distance in it. When the bodies 
 are soft, like balls of wet clay, the change oi 
 figure produced by collision is manifest. When 
 the hardness is very great, a vast resistance 
 arising from friction will be overcome by the 
 percussion arising from the descent of a com- 
 paratively small rammer. It has been ob- 
 served that a sledge-hammer, in driving hard 
 pegs, produces an effect equivalent to the 
 pressure of 70 tons. It is from this circum- 
 stance that collision or percussion is a very 
 valuable mode of applying force, in many of 
 the manufacturing arts connected with machi- 
 nery. 
 
 COLOGN,E. This important city has the 
 manufactures and commerce belonging to a 
 sort of metropolis, rather than one distinguish- 
 ing manufacture. The manufactures are cot- 
 ton yarns, cotton goods, hosiery, woollens, 
 silks, velvets, tobacco, brandy and spirits, Eau 
 de Cologne, of which above a million bottles 
 are annually exported, &c. Being a free port 
 and having communication by railway with 
 Belgium and various parts of Germany, Co- 
 logne has an important transit trade in home 
 and foreign produce. In the vicinity of the 
 city are several coal-mines, and abundance of 
 a particularly fine sort of porcelain-earth and 
 potter's clay. Steamers ply regularly between 
 Cologne and the towns along the Ehine. 
 
 COLONIES. The British Colonies exert a 
 most important influence on our National 
 Manufactures. So varied are the climate and 
 productions of those colonies, scattered as 
 
 they are in every part of the world, that the 
 talent of our manufacturers is repeatedly 
 brought into play to supply the every-day 
 wants of the colonists : especially as it is the 
 policy of England wise or unwise to confina 
 her colonial trade pretty nearly to her own 
 manufacturers, merchants, and ship-owners. 
 
 In a parliamentary paper published in 1850 
 the whole of the British Colonies and depen- 
 dencies, including British India, are placed 
 under 48 headings ; and the value of all the 
 British and Irish produce and manufactures, 
 exported to those 48 possessions in the year 
 1849, is stated. These exports are arranged 
 under 48 headings, according to the kinds of 
 goods exported. Without entering into this 
 degree of minuteness, it may yet be interesting 
 to give the total values to each of the colonies, 
 which we do as follow : 
 
 Colony. Exports. 
 
 Heligoland 3571. 
 
 Channel Islands .. .. 034,125 
 
 Gibraltar 533,48] 
 
 Malta 387,744 
 
 Ionian Islands .. .. 165,805 
 
 Kiver Gambia Settlements . . 35,770 
 
 Sierra Leone . . . . 60,200 
 
 Gold Coast Settlements . . 134,591 
 
 Fernando Po .. .. 3,197 
 
 Cape of Good Hope . . 520,896 
 
 Ascension Island . . . . 4,997 
 
 St. Helena 18,315 
 
 Mauritius 234,022 
 
 Aden 14,564 
 
 East Indies 6,149,784 
 
 Ceylon 159,351 
 
 Singapore 494,080 
 
 Hong Kong 651,969 
 
 Western Australia .. .. 12,518 
 
 South Australia .. .. 315,652 
 
 New South Wales .. .. 1,330,8:50 
 
 Van Diemen's Land . . . . 315,0-21 
 
 New Zealand .. .. 106,334 
 
 Hudson's Bay Territories .. 01,70") 
 
 Newfoundland and Labrador 297,349 
 
 Canada 1,324,031 
 
 New Brunswick .. .. 277,501 
 
 Prince Edward Island . . 41,421 
 
 Nova Scotia and Cape Breton 276,106 
 
 Antigua 70,194 
 
 Barbadoes 319,958 
 
 Dominica 22,484 
 
 Grenada 28,348 
 
 Jamaica 624,568 
 
 Montserrat 402 
 
 Nevis U>03 
 
 St. Christopher . . . . 45,408 
 
 St. Lucia 16,672 
 
 St. Vincent 58,268 
 
 Tobago .. .. .. 14,887 
 
C41 
 
 COLOUES. 
 
 COLUMBUS, 
 
 642 
 
 Colony. 
 
 Tortola 
 
 Trinidad 
 
 Bahamas 
 
 Bermudas 
 
 Demerara 
 
 Berbice 
 
 Honduras 
 
 Falkland Isles 
 
 Exports; 
 
 467. 
 
 247,779 
 
 24,709 
 
 47,138 
 
 279,002 
 
 17,819 
 
 206,244 
 
 6,173 
 
 16,594,087 
 
 It is no less interesting to see which among 
 our manufactures are exported in greatest 
 value to these numerous possessions. Cottons 
 take the lead ; in their various forms of piece- 
 goods, hosiery, lace, small wares, twist, and 
 yarn, their value is no less than 7,264,4697. 
 Iron, steel, and machinery, amount in value 
 to 1,056, 9017. All other metal goods (gold, 
 silver, tin, pewter, brass, and copper) give an 
 aggregate of 1,374,3162. Woollen and wor- 
 sted goods amount to 1,275,8337. Linen and 
 hempen goods, 710,9517. Glass and earthen- 
 ware, 291, 652/. Apparel, slops, haberdashery, 
 and hats, 1,281,927/. Leather and harness, 
 349,9377. Beer and ale, 294,9917. Soap and 
 candles, 202,0777. Books and stationery, 
 300,4227. Out of the sixteen millions sterling, 
 about eleven millions relate to the materials 
 for dress. 
 
 The imports from the Colonies to Great 
 Britain consist chiefly in the raw materials of 
 manufactures, and vegetable substances used 
 for food. Their value is not given with the 
 same degree of minuteness in the government 
 tables; but they are less in value than the 
 exports. 
 
 Canada, Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, 
 and several other of these colonies, will be re- 
 presented at the Industrial Exhibition. 
 
 COLOUES. The word Colour is used in 
 many different ways. Besides its original 
 meaning, in relation to the tints of rays of 
 light, it lias gradually come, to be applied to 
 the substances by which those tints are imi- 
 tated. 
 
 Painter's Colours, for house-painting and 
 similar purposes, are mostly prepared from 
 mineral substances (white lead, red lead, um- 
 ber, ochre, &c.) ground up with linseed oil 
 and turpentine to the state of a thick liquid. 
 It would, perhaps, scarcely be supposed that 
 ' Painters' Colours ' appear in the Board of 
 Trade tables, as an article of export to the 
 value of about 170,0007. annually. 
 
 The oil colours for artists are more carefully 
 prepared than those for house painting. They 
 used to be sold tied up in small bladders ; but 
 an ingenious and more convenient arrange- 
 
 ment is now adopted. Mr. Winsor's envelopes 
 for colours, patented in 1840, consist of small 
 metal or glass tubes, open at both ends, and 
 provided with elastic pistons or plugs of cork 
 or some similar material. The piston has a 
 worm or nut in its centre, which corresponds 
 to a screw attached to a handle rather larger 
 than the tube. The open ends of the tube 
 are covered with small metallic plates having 
 holes in their centres. When the colour is 
 placed in the tube, the arrangement of the 
 apparatus is such as to keep the air from acting 
 on it ; and when any is required to be used, the 
 screw is turned round,the piston is pressed down 
 and a little colour exudes from the lower end.Mr. 
 Eand'sCollapsibleColour-tubes, so useful to ar- 
 tists, were the subject of a later patent in 1842 ; 
 the objects of which were, to introduce a mode 
 of punching out by dies the thin pieces of tin 
 of which the tubes are made ; and to make a 
 screw cap at the mouth of the tube, to prevent 
 leakage. These little tubes, by a gentle 
 squeeze, are made to yield the colour at one 
 end just in sufficient quantity for use. 
 
 Water-Colours for artists include both vege- 
 table and animal as well as mineral substances, 
 and are prepared with very great care. 
 
 Mr. Smith of Blackford has lately commu- 
 nicated to the Eoyal Scottish Society of Arts, 
 a paper showing that when chromate of lead 
 is mixed with muriate of ammonia, and sub- 
 jected to the action of heat, a substance is ob- 
 tained of a different colour from either of the 
 matters used. If the proportions of the sub- 
 stances be varied, and different degrees of 
 heat applied, distinct colours and tints will be 
 the result. Thus, when five parts of chromate 
 of lead, and one part of muriate of ammonia, 
 are heated to redness in a crucible, a red colour 
 is obtained ; a blue colour is formed by heating 
 10 parts of muriate of ammonia, and 1 part of 
 hromate of lead to ebullition ; and a green is 
 produced when the last mixture is heated 
 nearly to redness. By employing various pro- 
 portions of the substances, and different de- 
 grees of heat, a great variety of tints are 
 formed scarlets, oranges, browns, blues, pur- 
 ples, greens, yellows, and others. It is con- 
 ceived that these properties may lead to use- 
 ful applications in the arts. 
 
 COLU'MBIUM, a metal discovered in 1801 
 ay Mr.Hatchett in a ferruginous mineral from 
 North America, is a black powder which by 
 the burnisher acquires the colour and lustre 
 of iron. It is nearly insoluble in acids and in 
 chlorine. When heated in the air, it is oxi- 
 dised, and converted into columbic acid. Its 
 combinations with other bodies are very little 
 used, or even known. 
 
 COLUMBUS. This truly great man ex- 
 
643 
 
 COLUMI3US. 
 
 COLUMN. 
 
 644 
 
 erted such immense influence on the industry 
 and commerce of the last three centuries hy 
 his discoveries in America, that it is desirable 
 here to note down the extent and dates of his 
 researches. Born at Genoa in or ahout 1445, 
 he acquired a taste for a maritime life ; and 
 towards the close of the century he conceived 
 the idea of crossing the Atlantic, and reaching 
 Asia on the opposite side from that which it 
 had already presented to European travellers : 
 the intervening Continent of America heing 
 then unknown. After many difficulties Fer- 
 dinand and Isabella of Spain authorized an 
 Expedition hy him in 1492. 
 
 On Friday, August 3, 1492, Columbus, as 
 admiral of the seas and lands which he ex- 
 pected to discover, set sail from the bar of 
 Saltes, near Palos, with three vessels and 120 
 men, who were full of doubts and fears, and 
 were partly pressed into the service. With 
 great difficulty he succeeded in inducing his 
 crew to persevere thro\igh a tedious voyage, 
 till on October 11, 1492, the manifestations of 
 land were such as to convince the most de- 
 jected. Accordingly, after the evening prayer, 
 Columbus ordered a careful look out, and 
 himself remained on the high stern of his 
 vessel from ten o'clock, when he had observed 
 glimmerings of light, as he supposed on shore, 
 till two in the morning, when the foremost 
 vessel fired a gun as a signal of land having 
 been discovered. Not an eye was closed that 
 night, and on October 12, with tears of joy, 
 after fervid thanksgivings, Columbus kissed 
 the earth on which he landed, and with great 
 solemnity planted the cross in the new world, 
 at Guanahani, or San Salvador, one of the 
 Gucayos, Lucayan, or Bahama Islands. Those 
 who had lately been most in despair were now 
 the most extravagant in their joy. 
 
 On the 24th Columbus set out in quest of 
 gold and Cipango (Japan). After discovering 
 Concepcion, Exuma, and Isla Larga, Cuba 
 broke upon him like an elysium ; he no longer 
 doubted tbat this beautiful land was the real 
 Cipango. When this delusion was over, he 
 fancied Cuba, which to the day of his death 
 he took for part of the main land of India, to 
 be not far from Mango and Cathay. He next 
 took Hayti or Santo Domingo for the ancient 
 Ophir, the source of the riches of Solomon, 
 but he gave it the Latin diminutive of His- 
 paniola, from its resembling the fairest tracts 
 of Spain. Leaving here the germ of a future 
 colony, he set sail homeward January 4, 1493. 
 After weathering a dreadful storm, he at last 
 landed triumphantly at Palos, March 15, 1493. 
 He proceeded to Barcelona, where Ferdinand 
 and Isabella received him seated in state, rose 
 as he approached, raised him as he kneeled to 
 
 kiss their hands, and ordered him to be seated 
 in their presence. 
 
 On September 25, 1493, Columbus left Ca- 
 diz on a second expedition, with seventeen 
 ships and 1500 men. He discovered the Ca- 
 ribbee Islands, Puerto Eico, and Jamaica ; 
 and after repeated mutinies of his colonists, 
 and great hardships, he returned against the 
 trade-winds to Cadiz, June 11, 1496. Having 
 dispelled various calumnies that had been ac- 
 cumulated upon him, Columbus embarked on 
 May 30, 1498, at San Lucar de Barrameda, on 
 a third expedition, with only six vessels. In 
 this voyage he discovered Trinidad, the mouths 
 of the Orinoco, the coast of Paria, and the 
 Margarita and Cubagua Islands. On August 
 14 he bore away for Hispaniola to recruit his 
 health. While here the intrigues of his ene- 
 mies induced Ferdinand, in July 1500, to de- 
 spatch Francisco Bovadilla to supersede Co- 
 lumbus, and bring him back in chains. Val- 
 lejo, the officer who had him in charge, would 
 have taken his chains off ; but Columbus 
 proudly refused. The general burst of indig- 
 nation at Cadiz, which was echoed throughout 
 Spain, on the arrival of Columbus in fetters, 
 compelled Ferdinand himself to disclaim ail 
 knowledge of the shameful transaction. With 
 restricted powers and a broken frame, but 
 with his ever-soaring and irrepressible enthu- 
 siasm, Columbus sailed from Cadiz again on 
 May 9, 1502, with four caravels and 150 men, 
 in search of a passage to the East Indies near 
 the Isthmus of Darien, which should super- 
 sede that of Vasco de Gama. The mutiny of 
 his crew compelled him to return to Hispa- 
 niola after coasting the Mosquito Coast, Costa 
 Eica, and Veragua to the point called El Ee- 
 trete. He reached Santo Domingo August 13, 
 1503. Sailing homewards on September 12, 
 he anchored his tempest-tossed and shattered 
 bark at San Lucar on November 7, 1504. 
 From San Lucar he proceeded to Sevilla, 
 where he soon after received the news of the 
 death of his patroness Isabella. He was de- 
 tained by illness till the spring of 1505, when 
 he arrived at Segovia, to have only another 
 courtly denial of his redress, and to linger a 
 year longer in neglect, poverty, and pain, till 
 death gave him relief at Valladolid on the 20th 
 of May, 1506. 
 
 COLUMN. The column, in architecture, 
 is a shaft of wood, stone, or iron, in the form 
 of a truncated cone, a little swelled from the 
 straight line at about one-third its height 
 from the lower extremity : this swelling is 
 called the entasis. Columns are of various 
 proportions and kinds : circular on the plan, 
 and rarely polygonal. The Eomans had five 
 models of columns, which were called orders; 
 
645 
 
 COMB-CUTTING. 
 
 COMBINATION LAWS. 
 
 046 
 
 buttlio G reeks, from \vhom the Komans appear 
 to have derived their architecture, only three. 
 The Egyptians used columns, but they were 
 very different in their form and proportions 
 from both the Koman and Greek examples. 
 
 It seems not at all improbable, that the ad- 
 mirable construction of the Palace of Industry 
 by Messrs. Fox and Henderson, in which 
 light and graceful columns of iron form so 
 notable a feature, will go far to bring into 
 vogue a new kind of architecture, in which 
 unexpected resources may gradually develops 
 themselves. 
 
 COMB-CUTTING. The old method of 
 forming the teeth of combs is by means, of a 
 double saw, which consists of tAvo separate 
 fine saws, placed parallel with each other, and 
 adjusted to such a distance from each other 
 as to embrace a tooth of the required fineness 
 between them. These two saws are so ar- 
 ranged that, while one cuts into the comb to 
 the full depth required, the other cuts only 
 about half that depth, and by this contrivance 
 the uniformity of the comb is secured, be- 
 cause, while the deeper saw is completing the 
 first cut, the shallower one is forming the com- 
 mencement of the second, and when, on the 
 completion of the first cut, the deep saw is 
 put into the second cut to complete it, the 
 shallower one immediately commences a third 
 The cuts thus formed are subsequently en- 
 larged and rendered smoother by means of a 
 very thin wedge-shaped file, which also points 
 the teeth. Though this method of comb-cut- 
 ting is still practised, a much quicker mode of 
 performing the same operations by means of 
 circular saws and revolving cutters for point- 
 ing the teeth has been long in use. 
 
 By the above described modes of comb -cut-- 
 ting all the material of the interstices between 
 the teeth is lost or destroyed, but by the ope- 
 ration known as the parting of combs such 
 loss or waste of material may be avoided in 
 the manufacture of combs of tortoiseshell, 
 horn, or any tough material. Two combs are 
 by this process, made out of one piece, the 
 teeth of one being cut, by the pressure of 
 chisel like instruments, out of the interstices 
 of the other. 
 
 An American patent was taken out in 1839, 
 by Mr. Ives of Connecticut, for making me- 
 tallic combs by the following method. A strip 
 of sheet metal is prepared, of a width equal to 
 that of the intended comb, and of a thickness 
 equal to that of the intended teeth. The piece 
 of metal is bent or plaited in a zig-zag man- 
 ner crosswise : the bends being of such width 
 only as shall adapt them to the forming of a 
 single tooth. The bending is effected by a 
 sort of crimping rollers ; and these plaits or 
 
 bent portions are placed up together, being 
 kept separated by a distance equal to the in- 
 terval between the teeth of the intended comb. 
 Bibs are soldered to make the back of the 
 comb ; and the two surfaces are smoothed or 
 cut away, so as to separate the several plaits, 
 and make each one stand singly as a tooth of 
 the comb. 
 
 COMBINATION LAWS. These laws, 
 which were an object of much solicitude to 
 manufacturers and artizans, were repealed in 
 1824. Till then any combination of any two 
 or more masters, or any two or more workmen, 
 to lower or raise wages, or to increase or di- 
 minish the number of hours of work, or quan- 
 tity of work to be done, was punishable at 
 common law as a misdemeanour ; and there 
 were also thirty-five statutes in existence, 
 most of them applying to particular trades, 
 prohibiting combinations of workmen against 
 masters. The act passed in 1824 repealed 
 all the statute and common law against com- 
 binations of masters and of workmen, provided 
 a -summary mode of conviction, and a punish- 
 ment not exceeding two months' imprison- 
 ment, for violent interference with workmen 
 or masters, and for combinations for violent 
 interference ; and it contained a proviso, with 
 regard to combinations for violent inter- 
 ference, that no law in force with regard 
 to them should be altered or affected by 
 the act. But, all the common law against 
 combinations being repealed by the act, this 
 proviso was considered as of no force ; and 
 the act also went beyond the intentions of the 
 framers in legalising combinations unattended 
 with violence for the purpose of controlling 
 masters in the mode of carrying on their 
 trades and manufactures, as well as peaceable 
 combinations to procure advance of wages or 
 reduction of hours of work. 
 
 Immediately after the passing of this act a 
 number of widely-organised and formidable 
 combinations arose in various trades and ma- 
 nufactures for the purpose of controlling the 
 masters as to the way in which they should 
 conduct their business ; and the extent to 
 which the act had repealed the common law 
 being doubtful, and the act having clearly 
 gone beyond the resolutions on which it was 
 grounded in legalising combinations, the act 
 of 1825 was passed, which is the act now in 
 force relative to combinations. It relieved 
 from all prosecution and punishment persons 
 meeting solely to consult upon rate of wages 
 or hours of work, or entering into any agree- 
 ment, verbal or written, on these points. And 
 it provided a punishment of not more than 
 three months' imprisonment, with or without 
 hard labour, for any one using violence or 
 
647 
 
 COMBUSTION. 
 
 threats to make a workman leave his hiring, 
 or return work unfinished, or refuse to accept 
 work, or belong to any club, or contribute to 
 any common fund, or pay any fine for not be 
 longing to a club, or contributing to a common 
 fund, or refusing to conform to any rules 
 made for advance of wages or lessening of 
 the hours of work, or regulations of the mode 
 of carrying on any business, and for any one 
 using violence to make any master alter his 
 mode of carrying on his business. By this act 
 therefore, combinations of masters and work- 
 men to settle as to rate of wages and hours of 
 labour are made legal : but the common law 
 remains as it was as to combinations for other- 
 wise controlling masters. This enactment 
 does not necessarily interfere with plans for 
 joint enterprises among workmen. [Co-OpE- 
 AATFVE SYSTEMS.] 
 
 COMBUSTION, a process in which both 
 light and heat are emitted by chemical agency. 
 When a piece of charcoal is ignited and put 
 into oxygen gas, combustion commences and 
 continues with increasing brilliancy until the 
 charcoal disappears, or the oxygen has under- 
 gone a change which renders it iucapable of 
 further action as a supporter of combustion. 
 This is an example in which a gas (carbonic 
 acid) is the result of the combustion ; but in 
 other examples, such as burning iron in oxy- 
 gen gas, a solid oxide is produced. Ignition 
 differs from combustion in this, that the heated 
 body gives out light and heat without under- 
 going decomposition. In all common cases 
 of combustion, the heat which is generated by 
 it is accompanied by flame, but not necessarily 
 so. Some idea of the difference may be 
 formed by observing the circumstances under 
 which bituminous coal and anthracite burn ; 
 the former burns with flame, and the latter 
 with scarcely any. 
 
 COMPASS, AZIMUTH. This instrument 
 used by astronomers and by surveyors, is a 
 compass with a telescope, or with plain sights 
 (generally vertical wires) attached to it in such 
 a manner as to be moveable round a vertical 
 axis independently of the needle or of the 
 card to which the needle is affixed. A pointer 
 shows the angle which the position of the 
 telescope, or sights, marks out on the card, 
 that is, the bearing of the object towards which 
 the sights are directed. This angle is the 
 true azimuth of the object. 
 
 COMPASS, THE MARINER'S. This in- 
 valuable instrument is a cylindrical box, gene- 
 rally of brass, in the centre of which is fixed 
 vertically a steel pin terminating in a fine co- 
 nical point, and on this is accurately balanced 
 a magnetised needle, or a circular card to the 
 underside of which such a needle is attached 
 
 THE MARINER'S COMPASS. 648 
 
 in the direction of a diameter. In the centre 
 of the needle is usually inserted a piece of 
 agate in the lo\ver part of which is sunk ;i co- 
 nical hole to receive the point of the pin ; an I 
 the needle with the card is supported on that 
 point so as to traverse freely in a horizontal 
 position. The rim of the compass-box, or the 
 circumference of the card, is divided into 
 thirty-two equal parts called points, which have 
 symmetrical designations on opposite sides of 
 each of the four cardinal points as they are 
 called, namely, the north, the east, the south, 
 and the west. In some compasses the points 
 are subdivided into quarters of 11| degrees 
 each, and sometimes into single degrees. 
 
 When the needle is attached to a card, the 
 north point on the card is directly over the 
 northern extremity or pole of the needle. To 
 insure the horizontality of the compass-card 
 the cylindrical box in which it is enclosed is 
 supported in a hoop at opposite points by pins 
 projecting from it, so as to allow the box to 
 revolve inside the hoop. This hoop is sup- 
 ported in the same manner on pivots, the line 
 of which is at right angles to the first pivots ; 
 so that, between the rotation of the compass- 
 box in the hoop and the hoop itself, the former 
 can always find its position of equilibrium, 
 which is the horizontal position. The small 
 oscillations of the apparatus are immediatel}' 
 destroyed by the friction. The apparatus is 
 then said to be supported on gimbles, or gim- 
 bals. 
 
 The Mariner's Compass still remains, in 
 principle, what it has been for ages ; but there 
 have not been wanting attempts to improve it 
 in minor details. Mr. David Napier included 
 in his patent of 1848 a kind of compass-box 
 having an analogous movement to that of his 
 barometer [BAROMETER]. There is ordinary 
 clock-work machinery placed at the bottom of 
 the compass-box. Connected with this are a 
 lever and a pricker, which rise and fall at cer- 
 tain regular intervals of time. Within the 
 c.ompass-box is placed a ruled circular piece of 
 paper containing 24 concentric circles, and a 
 number of radiating lines corresponding i<> 
 the points of the compass in a compass curd. 
 The vertical pricker is made to travel over the 
 surface of the paper from the inner concen- 
 tric circle to the outer one, and in a line pa- 
 rallel with the keel of the vessel, once in 24 
 hours. The pricker punctures the paper at 
 certain regular intervals of time ; while the 
 paper follows the movements of the magnet 
 and compass card ; the consequence of which 
 is that the direction of the ship's course will 
 be indicated by the punctures on the radiating 
 lines, while the hours of the day which corre- 
 spond to these directions will be marked by 
 
C49 
 
 COMPASSES. 
 
 COMPOSING MACHINES. 
 
 650 
 
 the punctures on the concentric circles, 
 new paper has to be used every day : each 
 paper being a record of one day's proceedings 
 The Admiralty have recently bestowed a 
 good deal of attention on the storm compasse, 
 of Mr. Walker, which are becoming extensively 
 used in the navy. During a storm the ordi 
 nary compasses are liable to great derange 
 ment by the violent commotion ; and Mr 
 Walker has sought to devise such an adjust- 
 ment of the apparatus as will bring this evi] 
 to a minimum. 
 
 COMPASSES. There are many varieties 
 of these useful instruments. The Common 
 Compasses, or Dividers, are simply two pointed 
 legs on a common pivot, for transferring dis- 
 tances. For drawing a circle the lower end of 
 one of the legs is removed, and its place sup- 
 plied by a holder for a pencil, or by a steel 
 pen. In the Hair Compasses, one of the legs 
 has a part attached to the upper part by a 
 spring, so that by means of a screw a very 
 small motion may be given to the lower end ; 
 the instrument is convenient for very accurate 
 dividing, but must be used with care. Trian- 
 gular Compasses have three legs and two pivots, 
 so that the three points of a triangle can be 
 at once transferred ; the instrument is useful 
 only in rough work, as it is difficult to handle. 
 Proportional Compasses consist of two dividing 
 compasses with a common pivot, which, when 
 open, present vertically opposite angles ; con- 
 sequently, the intervals between the points of 
 one and the other are in the same proportion 
 as the legs of one to the legs of the other. 
 The pivot is a clamping screw, which can be 
 transferred along the interval between the 
 pairs of points ; and a scale points out how to 
 adjust the instrument to alter any line, or sur- 
 face, or solid, in a given proportion. These 
 compasses sometimes have an apparatus for 
 slight adjustment. Beam Compasses consist 
 of a cylindrical bar, perpendicular to which, 
 with clamping screws, slide a point and a pen- 
 cil. The use of it is to describe large circles, 
 or measure large distances, the common com- 
 passes being very liable to slip when opened very 
 wide. It is a very safe and sure construction. 
 A machine used as a substitute for com- 
 passes, in describing a curve passing through 
 three or more points nearly in a straight line 
 is made as follows : An elastic rod of metal 
 is furnished with a rigid bar on which it can 
 be drawn up by screws, so that the rod shall 
 form an arc, the chord of which is a part of 
 the bar. This may be adjusted so as to pass 
 through the given points when the curve is to 
 be traced along the front of the rod. This is 
 sometimes called a Shipwrights' Bow. 
 
 COMPOSING MACHINES. In ordinary 
 
 typography [PEINTING] the types are collected 
 one by one, by the fingers of the compositor, 
 from little cells or compartments, and ar- 
 ranged in the proper order for printing. About 
 ten years ago however two very ingenious at- 
 tempts were made, by Messrs. Young and Del- 
 cambre in one case, and by Captain Rosenberg 
 in the other, to perform this work by the aid 
 of a machine. 
 
 Messrs. Young and Delcambre's first com- 
 posing machine was patented in 1810 ; but by 
 the year 1842 considerable improvements had 
 been introduced in its mechanism. Considered 
 in its latest form, it does not set up types in 
 a state fit for printing from ; but it is intended 
 so to facilitate the process of composition as 
 to enable that to be done by females and chil- 
 dren which now requires the services of highly 
 paid men, and to do the work more quickly. 
 
 The mechanism for carrying out this in- 
 ended object may be described as follows. 
 The general appearance of the machine some- 
 what resembles that of a cottage piano forte, 
 without its case. There is a row of keys which 
 are played upon by the fingers of the compo- 
 sitor, who is seated in front of the machine. 
 There is one key to each letter, stop, numeral, 
 pace, &c., required in printing ; so that the 
 lumber of keys must be very considerable. 
 Each key is marked with its particular letter 
 ir other type, and each type is placed in a re- 
 eptacle containing many duplicates of that 
 haracter. These receptacles are all filled with 
 ypes by boys ; and one compositor can use 
 he types as fast as two boys can supply them, 
 ["he compositor seats himself in front of the 
 nstrument, with the author's MS. placed he- 
 ore him. We will suppose the first word to 
 )e The, He places his finger on the key 
 narked with a capital T ; the key moves an 
 ipright steel lever, the upper end of which 
 mshes a type out of its receptacle or channel ; 
 his type is a T, which slides down an inclined 
 lane, in a little hollow or groove, until it 
 caches a sort of spout at the bottom ; thence 
 t passes to the justifying-box, where the auto- 
 natic action of the machine terminates. Here 
 .nother compositor takes up the type and ar- 
 anges it in the composing stick, as in ordinary 
 ninting. While the T has been thus travel- 
 ing downwards, the h and the e have been 
 aade to follow, and are treated exactly in the 
 ame way ; and so on throughout the MS. 
 The number of persons required to work the 
 aachine is five ; viz. two to distribute the type 
 ised in previous printing and to supply the 
 ypes to the receptacles, one to play the keys, 
 ne to work an excentric wheel which forces 
 he arranged types into the justifying-box, and 
 >ne to justify or place the types in. the com- 
 
C51 
 
 COMPOSING MACHINES. 
 
 CONCERTINA. 
 
 cos 
 
 posing stick. Two of the persons are females, 
 and three boys ; and these five are said by the 
 inventor to be able, after six months practice, 
 to compose and distribute .0000 types in an 
 hour ; 1,500 per hour being an ordinary com- 
 positor's work, including corrections. 
 
 It is singular that two machines were in 
 progress for the same object about the same 
 time. Rosenberg's Type Composing Machine 
 was patented in 1841, shortly after the first 
 patent of Messrs. Young and Delcambre. The 
 two machines bear a strong general likeness ; 
 but there are sufficient points of difference to 
 mark the ingenuity which has been shewn in 
 each. Rosenberg's Machine is rather more 
 compact of the two, and effects more by auto- 
 matic means requiring the aid of fewer per- 
 sons. In Captain Rosenberg's own statement 
 of the capabilities of his machine, he claims 
 for it the the power of composing 10,800 types 
 in an hour ; of requiring only three persons 
 instead of five ; and of distributing the type 
 as well as composing it, instead of composing 
 only as in Young and Delcambre's machine. 
 
 The compositor, pressing on the keys in 
 succession, forces down the several types from 
 a series of vertical racks in which they had 
 been placed. The types arrange themselves 
 in proper order upon an endless belt or chain, 
 which is constantly passing through the mid- 
 dle of the machine from right to left. The 
 types travel along this endless band till they 
 come to a receiver, where they rank themselves 
 closely side by side until enough are so ar- 
 ranged to form one line of the book to be 
 printed. The compositor is warned by the 
 striking of a little bell that the line is full ; 
 and by turning a handle close to him, he re- 
 moves the finished line from its place, and 
 leaves room for the next line. An assistant 
 compositor then takes up the finished line, in 
 a small apparatus into which it falls, reads it, 
 corrects any mistakes, and places it in the 
 page of type ready for printing. All the leads 
 for ' spacing ' the type are applied by hand by 
 this assistant compositor. The arrangement 
 of the types in their original receptacles is so 
 peculiar, that the compositor can sometimes 
 compose or bring down four or five types at 
 one time, by pressing four or five keys at once, 
 as a pianoforte player can do. This may be 
 done whenever the letters of a word succeed 
 each other in the order which they follow in 
 the alphabet. For instance, in the word adopt 
 each letter has a later alphabetical rank than 
 the one which precedes it ; so that if the five 
 corresponding keys be pressed down at one 
 time, the five types will be found ranged in 
 their proper order on the endless band : it is 
 true that they will be unequally distant apart ; 
 
 but they all become pressed together closely 
 at a later stage of the operations. The word 
 accentuation is given as an example wherein 
 three pressures on the keys will suffice instead 
 of twelve; thus, accentu ut ion, in which each 
 of the three groups consists of letters which 
 take rank in their proper alphabetical order. 
 
 The Distributing Machine is quite detached 
 from the Composing Machine. "When the 
 printing is completed, a line of type is lowered 
 from the galley [Pitixuxa] into a sort of tra- 
 velling carriage, by means of a slider with a 
 handle. The distributor reads over the line, 
 and puts his finger successively 011 a row of 
 keys, each key corresponding to a particular 
 letter; the key is raised by the touch, and he 
 moves the carriage sideways until it is stopped 
 by the key which has been thus raised. The 
 type contained in the carriage is by this move- 
 ment forced out of the line in which it had 
 previously held a place, and falling down 
 through a recess, it is deposited in a small re- 
 ceptacle. By the time the whole line has been 
 thus distributed, by touching the keys as many 
 times as there are types in the line, all the 's 
 are found in one receptacle, all the /'s in an- 
 other, and so on. By means of a ' feeding- 
 stick,' 200 or 300 of these types of one letter 
 may be lifted up and transferred from the dis- 
 tributing machine to the composing machine, 
 ready to be used over again. 
 
 There is considerable mechanical beauty in 
 these two machines, especially Rosenberg's ; 
 and the leading printers would certainly by 
 this time have adopted them had the state- 
 ments of the respective patentees been borne 
 out. It seems however now fully decided that 
 a book cannot be printed so quickly or cheaply 
 by the aid of these machines as by the ordi- 
 nary means. 
 
 CONCAVE and CONVEX. A curve or sur- 
 face is concave on the side on which straight 
 lines drawn from point to point in it fall be- 
 tween the curve or surface and the spectator ; 
 that side is convex on which the curve or sur- 
 face falls between such lines and the spectator. 
 A surface may bo either entirely concave, as 
 the inside of a sphere, or entirely convex, as 
 the outside; or concave in some directions and 
 convex in others, as the surface of a dice box. 
 
 CONCENTRIC, means having the same 
 centre; thus concentric circles are those de- 
 scribed about the same point. 
 
 CONCERTI'NA, a musical instrument re- 
 cently invented by Professor Wheat stone, the 
 principle of which is explained under the word 
 ACCOKDION. One variety is called the Double- 
 Action Concertina, because two springs arc 
 given to each note, in order that the same 
 ound may be produced whether the bellows 
 
653 
 
 CONCEETE. 
 
 CONNAUGHT 
 
 654 
 
 be pressed in or drawn out. The Single Ac- 
 tion Concertina has but one spring or tongue 
 for each note, yielding a sound only AY hen the 
 bellows are moved inwards ; that is, pressed. 
 There are treble, tenor, and base concertinas, 
 embracing different portions of the musical 
 scale. The concertina is far more complete 
 as an instrument than the accordion. 
 
 CONCRETE. This name is given to a very 
 useful kind of cement or rather rough earth, 
 largely used in the foundation of buildings. 
 It usually consists of crushed pebbles, rough 
 sand, and lime. The Palace of Industry af- 
 fords an example of the useful application of 
 concrete, as a means of preserving wood and 
 iron from damp. The columns and the floor- 
 ing joists are shielded from the damp soil by- 
 layers of concrete. 
 
 CONDENSER, is the general name for a 
 vessel employed to facilitate the liquefaction 
 of aqueous or spirituous vapours, by exposing 
 them to the cooling effect of a current of wa- 
 ter, which may be either injected immediately 
 upon or among the vapour, or, where it is re- 
 quired to keep the condensing water and the 
 product of condensation distinct, separated 
 from the vapour by a thin partition of metal. 
 In the latter case, copper is the metal most 
 generally employed, on account of the rapidity 
 with which it conducts heat, and the facility 
 with which it may be fashioned into thin sheets 
 adapted for the purpose. Mr. Siemens de- 
 scribed before the Society of Arts in 1850 a 
 remarkable condenser, so contrived as to save 
 or render available the heat developed during 
 the process of condensation. [BREWING ; 
 DISTILLATION ; STEAM ENGINE ; STEAM VES- 
 SEL.] 
 
 CONDIMENTS are substances taken with 
 food, either to impart flavour or to promote 
 digestion : such as salt, vinegar, lemon-juice, 
 aromatic herbs, oil, butter, sugar, honey, and 
 sauces. 
 
 CONE. The following measurements re- 
 lating to the cone are often useful. The sur- 
 face of a cone is one half the circumference of 
 its base multiplied by the distance from the 
 vertex to the circumference of the base (called 
 the slant side). The solidity of a cone is one- 
 third of the product of the area of the base 
 and the perpendicular distance of the vertex 
 from the axis. 
 
 CONFECTIONS, called also Conserves and 
 Electuaries, are formed of fresh, generally suc- 
 culent, vegetable substances, in a few instances 
 with prepared chalk, as in the aromatic con- 
 fection, preserved by means of sugar or honey. 
 These were formerly much more numerous 
 than at present. 
 
 "When astringent substances, such as roses, 
 
 are to be pounded, this process must be con- 
 ducted in marble, not iron, mortars. The con-, 
 serves should be put into several small pots, 
 rather than one large pot, which should be 
 glazed with salt, as in Bristol ware, not lead. 
 They should' then be Avell closed, and kept in 
 a dry cool place. Patent jars, of a very useful 
 kind, are now manufactured for this purpose. 
 There are more than twenty varieties of con- 
 fections, whose names find place in books of 
 receipts. 
 
 CONGELATION. [FREEZING MIXTURES.] 
 CONGLETON. At one period the chief 
 manufactures of Congleton were gloves, and 
 tagged -leather laces called Congleton points ; 
 but for nearly a century the silk manufacture 
 has been the principal occupation of the inha- 
 bitants of the town. A number of mills for 
 the manufacture of silk (chiefly black silk), 
 for silk throwing, silk spinning, &c., are situ- 
 ated in Congleton and its immediate vicinity. 
 The making of silk ribbons has of late years 
 grown into an important branch of industry, in 
 which females as well as males find employ- 
 ment. In the neighbourhood are several ex- 
 tensive coal mines. The Congleton viaduct 
 of the North Staffordshire Railway, about 
 half a mile from the station, is a fine work of 
 ten arches. It is constructed of blue brick 
 with stone bastions and stone parapet. The 
 arches are 50 feet in span. The height from 
 the bed of the stream to the rails is 114 feet; 
 the length of the viaduct, exclusive of the em- 
 bankments, is 231 feet. 
 
 CONGREVE LIGHTS. [MATCHES.] 
 CONGREVE ROCKETS. [ROCKETS.] 
 CONIA, is an alkali obtained from hem- 
 lock (Conium maciilatum) . It is procured 
 from the seeds or fresh leaves of the plant by 
 distillation with water holding some potash in 
 solution. It has the appearance of a colour- 
 less volatile oil, and is lighter than Avater, its 
 specific gravity being 0.89. Its odour is pow- 
 erful, diffusible, and repulsive, someAvhat like 
 that of hemlock itself. It is intensely acrid 
 to the taste, and is strongly alkaline. By ex- 
 posure to the air it quickly becomes of a dark 
 colour, and spontaneously decomposes with 
 the evolution of ammonia. 
 
 Conia is an awfully -rapid poison; but Avhen 
 greatly diluted it is used in medicine. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. This, the north-western 
 province of Ireland, is almost shut out from 
 industrial connection with England. It is 
 very poor, and the potato failure of 1847 ren- 
 dered it still poorer. There have been lately, 
 however, numerous projects formed for the 
 improvement of this province, and the deve- 
 lopment of its great resources. Of these the 
 chief is the extension, now in progress, of tho 
 
655 
 
 CONSEKVE. 
 
 CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 650 
 
 Great Midland Kailway from Mullingar b 
 Athlone to Galway. Another is the establish 
 ment of a packet station for the conveyanc 
 of the mails from that port to Halifax. Th 
 Viceroy steam-ship was placed on the station 
 in 1850, but was not of sufficient dimension 
 to perform the voyage with the requisite speed 
 and having been wrecked on the return pas 
 sage from New York to Halifax, has not a 
 yet been replaced. The merchants of Galwaj 
 are at the present time strenuously endeavour 
 ing to have that port selected as a mail-packe 
 station. The improvement of the navigation 
 of the Shannon has given a continuous line o 
 water carnage along the eastern boundary o 
 the province. It has also been in contempla 
 tion to connect the lakes of Galway and Mayo 
 so as to form a line of navigation from Gal 
 ' way to Killala, through Loughs Corrib, Mask 
 Carra, Castlebar, Cullin, Conn, and the river 
 Moy to Ballina, a distance of 80 miles, througl: 
 a district susceptible of immense improvement 
 To connect these lakes it would require a 
 series of cuts only 17 miles in length. 
 
 Perhaps the most useful of the various 
 efforts made for the improvement of Connaught 
 has been the introduction or revival of the 
 culture of flax. The quantity grown in ] 84 
 was 10,866 cwt. and the cultivation of flax 
 crops is since then much increased. The 
 system of farming has been greatly improved 
 in these districts which have passed through 
 the transition attendant on the recent change 
 of proprietary and occupants. 
 
 CONSERVE. A conserve differs from a 
 confection in having a more definite relation 
 to some particular vegetable substance. All 
 conserves are pasty mixtures of sugar with 
 some recent or fresh vegetable, whether fruit, 
 flowers, or leaves. Their number is consider- 
 able. 
 
 CONSERVATORY, properly so called, is a 
 building heated by artificial means, having its 
 whole southern part closed by large glazed 
 sashes, which may be opened or shut at 
 pleasure. Its floor is generally of stone, and 
 a part of it is occupied by a stage on which 
 plants in pots can be placed. Plants when 
 in a growing state require an abundant supply 
 of light : a conservatory is ill calculated, on 
 account of its solid roof and sides, for the ad- 
 mission of light, and consequently a conser- 
 vatory is not suitable for plants in a growing 
 state ; but plants when torpid, as in the winter 
 season, require a very moderate supply of 
 light, and this a conservatory is sufficiently 
 calculated to admit. 
 
 A house of this kind is best suited for gar- 
 dens of considerable extent, where a large 
 number of plants is required during the sum- 
 
 mer for the ornament of the flower garden 
 and shrubbery. Under such circumstances 
 the erection of conservatories is the cheapest, 
 the most efficient, and the most ornamental 
 mode of preserving in a healthy state during 
 winter not only oranges, myrtles, and similar 
 plants, but in general all the species which 
 are natives of countries that, without expe- 
 riencing severe frost, are cold enough during 
 winter to suspend the vital energies of vege- 
 tation. 
 
 A most important change has recently been 
 introduced by Mr. Paxton in the principle of 
 construction in conservatories, by the substi- 
 tution of iron and glass for brickwork. The 
 Duke of Devonshire's magnificent conserva- 
 tory at Chatsworth, planned by Mr. Paxton, 
 is composed entirely of iron and glass. The 
 length is nearly 300 feet, the width 150, and 
 the height 70. It covers nearly an acre of 
 ground, and has a carriage drive through it. 
 The tubes for the hot water which regulate 
 the temperature are six miles in length. A 
 light but beautiful gallery extends round the 
 upper part of the interior of the building ; 
 while around the foundation is a tunnel, which 
 ives access to the stoves and pipes. 
 
 The new Palm House in Kew Gardens is 
 another beautiful example of the same kind 
 of construction. It is 362 feet long, 100 feet 
 wide by 66 high at the centre, and 50 feet 
 wide by 30 high at the wings or ends. The 
 curves which the glassy surface is made to 
 assume are exceedingly graceful. A gallery 
 runs round the lofty central portion, which is 
 reached by an elegant iron spiral staircase. 
 The glass employed has had a pale yellowish 
 reen tint imparted to it, to temper the heat 
 of the solar rays. The structure is heated 
 rom beneath by stoves, the chimney of which, 
 made somewhat ornamental, is at a consider- 
 able distance. 
 
 That triumph of constructive skill, the 
 Mace of Industry in Hyde Park, was sug- 
 gested by Mr. Paxton on the sti-ength of the 
 experience which his conservatory-buildin ; 
 as afforded him ; and Messrs Fox and Hrii 
 lersori have worked out the idea with masterly 
 esults. This palace will be described in 
 another part of the present work. 
 
 CONSTANTINOPLE. This capital of the 
 race great Turkish Empire is commercial 
 ather than manufacturing. The harbour 
 ormed by the strait called the Golden Horn 
 s deep, commodious, well sheltered, and ca- 
 able of containing above 1000 large ships, 
 which may load and unload alongside the 
 uays. The number of vessels that enter 
 early is from 5000 to 6000 ; and the depar- 
 tures about the same. About 2000 tons of 
 
G57 
 
 CONTENT, OR CAPACITY. 
 
 COOKING APPAEATUS. 
 
 658 
 
 coffee, 1,200,000 Ibs. of sugar, 300,000 Ibs. of 
 spices, 2000 puncheons of rum, and very large 
 quantities of cheap cottons, are annually im- 
 ported. Other articles of import are dye- 
 stuffs, woollens, cotton-twist, cutlery, coals, 
 iron, furniture, nails, butter, cheese, flour, 
 paper, glass, watches, jewellery, &c. The 
 exports are wool, silk, opium, otto of roses, 
 wax, hides, bullion, diamonds, goat's hair and 
 skins, valonia, box-wood, mohair, yarn, &c. 
 Steamboats ply regularly to Trieste, Smyrna, 
 Odessa, the Danube, and Trebisond, under 
 the management of an Austrian company; 
 and to Malta, Gibraltar, and Southampton, 
 under the Peninsular and Oriental company. 
 
 Among the earliest continental arrivals of 
 products of industry for the Exhibition in 
 Hyde Park, has been a consignment from 
 Constantinople, transmitted at the expence of 
 the Sultan. It comprises both natural pro- 
 ducts and manufactured specimens, from va- 
 rious parts of Turkey. 
 
 CONTENT, or CAPACITY. The content, 
 er quantity of space contained within any given 
 boundary, is calculated by certain rules. The 
 solid content of a parallelepiped (or figure like a 
 box) is found by multiplying together the units 
 in the lengths of its three dimensions. Thus, 8 
 feet of length, 2 J feet of breadth, and 4 feet of 
 height, give 3 X 2 X 4, or 30 cubic feet. The 
 solid content of any cylinder or prism is found 
 by multiplying together the number of square 
 units in the base and the number of linear 
 units in the altitude ; and one-third of a simi- 
 lar product is the content of a pyramid or a 
 cone. The content of any irregular solid 
 bounded by planes must be found by dividing 
 it into pyramids. 
 
 COOKING APPAEATUS. If cookery be 
 raised to the dignity of a chemical art (and 
 there is no good reason why it should not) 
 we ought to regard cooking vessels as chemi- 
 cal apparatus. It is, however, chiefly in the 
 mode of applying and economising heat, that 
 such apparatus calls forth the exercise of 
 ingenuity. 
 
 Of the ordinary cooking vessels we need say 
 nothing ; their simplicity has rendered them 
 familiar to all ; but of the modern cooking 
 stoves and apparatus, many examples evince 
 skilful arrangement. 
 
 In the so-called ' bachelor's kettles,' of which 
 Spiller's is a recent specimen, the problem 
 seems to be to determine in how short a space 
 of time, and with how little trouble, can a 
 frugal meal for one person be prepared. 
 Spiller's apparatus consists of a kind of 
 saucepan, with a small opening on one side to 
 admit air, and a flue fixed in the opposite side 
 to let off smoke. A very shallow tea-kettle 
 
 forms the cover to this saucepan. In the 
 middle of the saucepan is a small iron grating, 
 and on this grating is placed one of those 
 small net-work arrangements of sticks which 
 constitute 'patent firewood' and which are 
 now sold so cheaply at one farthing each. 
 This wood being kindled, and the kettle 
 placed over it, the heat is so confined as to 
 make the water in the kettle boil by the time 
 the wood is consumed. With some of these 
 contrivances a kind of small frying-pan is 
 sold ; and by using a larger piece of patent 
 firewood, time is allowed for a small dish of 
 savory cookery after the water has boiled : the 
 kettle being quickly replaced by the pan. 
 There is a certain amount of usefulness in 
 the contrivance, which makes it available for 
 others besides the ' bachelors ' whom the 
 patentee seems to have had in his thoughts. 
 
 Many varieties of gas cooking-stoves have 
 been introduced, in which gas jets are made 
 to yield heat sufficient for the processes of 
 boiling, stewing, roasting, baking, frying, &c. 
 Among other varieties is Defries' ' Economic 
 Gas Cooking-stove,' which is made to suit 
 either large or small culinary wants. Mr. 
 Boggett's gas stoves, for which a patent was 
 taken out in 1850, comprise many varieties, 
 which differ from each other chiefly in the 
 mode of making the heat practically available. 
 There is one form called the Liverpool Gas 
 stove, in which separate departments are pro- 
 vided for roasting, baking, broiling, frying, 
 boiling, stewing and steaming. For many of 
 these purposes the gas is supplied in a ring 
 of jets. On a recent festive occasion at Exe- 
 ter, M. Soyer cooked a monster joint of meat 
 by means of this apparatus. The meat 
 weighed 565 Ibs., and was cooked in a gas 
 oven in five hours, with an expenditure of 
 about five shillings worth of gas. 
 
 The kitchen ranges, and other stoves and 
 grates in which coal or coke is burned, are 
 for the most part contrived both for warming 
 apartments and for cooking ; but some are 
 designed especially for cooking. The Cottager's 
 stove, designed by Mr. Grant, and manufac- 
 tured by Messrs. Bailey of Holborn, consists 
 of a square iron case supported on four legs. 
 Inside this case, and near one end, is a fire- 
 pot, the top of which opens into a flue to 
 carry off the smoke ; the rest of the vacant 
 space constitutes an oven ; while the top, 
 being flat, is available for many cooking pro- 
 cesses. In some of these stoves a boiler is 
 attached to that end which is nearest to the 
 fire. 
 
 The cooking apparatus of Messrs. Burbidge 
 and Healy is founded on the plans of heating 
 developed by Mr. Sylvester. There are, as ir 
 
659 
 
 COOKING APPARATUS. 
 
 CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEMS. COO 
 
 many other similar kinds of apparatus, a 
 large range, an oven, a boiler, a hot-plate, and 
 various subsidiary parts ; but its chief features 
 consist in the economising of fuel, and in 
 lessening the amount of radiation sent into 
 the middle of the room. This radiation is an 
 annoyance to the persons present, and in- 
 volves a loss of some of the heat produced ; 
 and it is unquestionably an improvement, 
 other things being equal, if nearly the whole 
 of the heat produced can be applied to the 
 purposes for which it is primarily intended. 
 
 Among the many forms of cocking appara- 
 tus, that of Mr. Brown is distinguished by 
 having the whole kitchen range, with its oven 
 boiler, hot-plate, &c., set in a frame-work 
 which may be placed in any sized fire-place, 
 however large, without setting. The throat, or 
 opening to the flue, is formed in the iron-work 
 of the range itself, so as to be at once deter- 
 minate in shape and size. With this range is 
 used an Automaton Roasting jack, arranged in 
 a singular way. In front of the range is 
 placed a sort of semi- cylindrical oven, with 
 the usual hooks and dripping pans for roast- 
 ing. A hollow tube projects from the lower 
 part of the oven ; and when the oven and 
 range are arranged for cooking, this tube is 
 thrust into an opening beneath the fire-place 
 of the range. While the contents of the oven 
 are exposed to the action of the fire, a current 
 of air is continually drawn through the tube 
 into the oven ; and this current sets in rota- 
 tion a vane-wheel to which the suspended 
 hooks are attached. 
 
 Remington's Roasting apparatus, recently 
 introduced, is, as the name imports, adapted 
 to roasting only. The meat is suspended and 
 roasted by a jack. There are concave reflec- 
 tors above and below, which reflect the heat so 
 as to act on the upper and under surfaces of 
 the meat. The centre of both reflectors is 
 perforated ; the fat which drips from the meat 
 passes through the perforation in the lower 
 reflector into a small vessel beneath, and is 
 from time to time poured into another vessel, 
 which is perforated and placed over the per- 
 forations in the upper reflector. The inventor 
 hence calls his apparatus not only a roaster, 
 but a ' self-acting baster.' 
 
 M. Soyer, whose gastronomic skill has 
 acquired some notoriety, has devised a very 
 pretty and scientific cooking stove, in which 
 spirit is the fuel used. A lamp is so placed as, 
 by its heat, to boil spirit placed in a vesse] 
 above ; the steam or vapour of this boiling 
 spirit has no outlet, except through a tube 
 which gradually becomes so narrow as to re- 
 semble a blow-pipe ; this blow-pipe is placed 
 opposite to a second spirit-flame, and the 
 
 blowpipe wafts such a constant stream of 
 spirit-vapour into this flame as to heat it 
 greatly, and to make it act rapidly on small 
 cooking vessels placed above it. There is a 
 good deal of chemical ingenuity shewn in 
 ,hus feeding one spirit-flame by vapour de- 
 rived from another. 
 
 COOLER. For cooling wine, wort, &c., 
 the hot liquor is sometimes exposed in shal- 
 wooden vessels, and stirred with fans to 
 ieep the liquor in motion, and thus expose 
 resh surfaces to the air. Sometimes cold 
 ipring water is allowed to pass through metal 
 pipes placed in the liquorwliich is to be cooled. 
 In Spain and Egypt, wine is cooled by placing 
 it in porous earthenware vessels, called by the 
 Spaniards Alcarrazas : the vessels are wettecl 
 ixternally, and the consequent evaporation 
 occasions cold within. 
 
 A remarkable mode of cooling liquids was 
 introduced in 1848 by Mr. Lillie of Manches- 
 ter. It depends on centrifugal force. The 
 liquid is placed in a bowl or colander, either 
 pierced with minute holes all round the sides, 
 or having sides made of wire gauze. Through 
 the intervention of a vertical shaft, this bowl 
 is made to rotate rapidly. The water first 
 rises all round the sides, and then rushes 
 out through the perforations or meshes in a 
 multitude of small streams; these streams, 
 coming in contact either with the ordinary 
 atmosphere in an outer vessel, or still move 
 effectively with artificial currents of air, be- 
 come rapidly cooled. 
 
 Professor Smyth, of Edinburgh University, 
 has recently suggested a method of cooling 
 the air of rooms in sultry weather. It depends 
 on the principle that air when compressed 
 shows a higher temperature than it had before, 
 but resumes its initial temperature on the 
 pressure being removed. Professor Smyth 
 proposes to compress air, and cool it wliilo 
 under pressure ; so that on regaining its ori- 
 ginal bulk, the temperature shall be less than 
 that of the external air. 
 
 CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEMS. There seems 
 to be a longing in modern society for the dis- 
 covery of some new mode of remunerating the 
 workman for the skill and labour which he 
 bestows on manufacturing operations. Under 
 the usual arrangements the employer agrees 
 with the workman for a certain money pay- 
 ment, determined either on the quantity of 
 work done or on the number of hours engaged : 
 in other words, by ' piece-work ' or by ' day- 
 work.' The relative supply and demand of 
 work to be done and of persons to do the 
 work, is almost the only condition which de- 
 termines the amount of wages to be paid for 
 labour. It is wished at the present day, and 
 
THE 6F ALL KAflONS. 
 
 No. 17. 
 
661 
 
 COPAIBA. 
 
 COPING 
 
 663 
 
 it has often been wished in former periods, 
 that some mode could he devised hy which 
 the workman would have a deeper personal 
 interest in the success of the firm for which 
 he works, than he now has ; that some sort of 
 partnership system could be introduced, which 
 would make the workman a partner on a hum- 
 ble scale, and yet leave to the capitalist and to 
 the skilled superintendent a proper degree of 
 liberty and of remuneration. Something of 
 this kind is observable in the system on which 
 the Cornish miners work ; and many earnest 
 persons are endeavouring to test the practica- 
 bility of applying a similar system to manu- 
 factures generally. 
 
 If any clear and undoubted result had yet 
 developed itself, we would briefly review the 
 subject in this place ; but the attempts hitherto 
 made are too much in their infancy for us to 
 do more than point out a few sources where 
 the reader can obtain information on both 
 sides of the question. Among the works we 
 would name are Mr. Babbage's " Economy 
 of Machinery and Manufactures "; Mr. Mill's 
 " Political Economy ; " " Companion to the 
 British Almanac," for 1851 ; " Report of the 
 Committee of the House of Commons on the 
 Savings of the Middle and Working Classes," 
 in 1850 ; "Edinburgh Review," January 1851; 
 and the Reports of various co-operative asso- 
 ciations. 
 
 COPAIBA or COPAIVA, is a resin or tur- 
 pentine produced from several species of a 
 tree grown in South America and the West 
 Indies. It varies in appearance and qualities 
 according to the species from which it has 
 been procured, and likewise according to the 
 age of the tree and the time of the year. In- 
 cisions are made in the tree, from which flows 
 a liquid differing little in consistence from 
 thick sap. It is collected in calabashes, after 
 which the incisions are closed with wax or 
 clay. The incisions are repeated in general 
 three times each season. The fluid is brighter 
 or darker in colour, more or less rich in volatile 
 oil, more acrid or more bitter, according to 
 circumstances. It is mostly of a light yellow 
 colour, clear and transparent, seldom turbid 
 or cloudy ; odour peculiar, volatile ; taste oily, 
 mild, slightly aromatic, at last acridly bitter. 
 In a state of purity, it consists of a volatile 
 oil, in the proportion of 40 to 45 per cent., and 
 50 per cent, of an acid cry stallis able resin. 
 It is frequently adulterated with castor-oil, 
 almond, poppy, nut-oil, and the finer sorts of 
 turpentines. Good copaiva should be perfectly 
 soluble in alcohol of the strength of 90 per 
 cent. It is soluble in all known aethers, and 
 in the volatile and fixed oils. 
 
 Copaiva is a valuable .ingredient in many 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 medicines. It is imported in casks containing 
 100 to 150 Ibs. each, in large bottles, or in 
 cylindrical tin boxes. 
 
 COPAL, a resin, the produce of the Rhus 
 copallinum, a native of Mexico ; it is in rounded 
 masses, smooth and brittle, nearly transparent 
 and colourless ; it has but little taste, and is 
 nearly inodorous ; it is insoluble in water, 
 fusible, and inflammable. 
 
 Copal varnish is prepared from copal and 
 oil of turpentine. It is exceedingly durable 
 and brilliant ; it resists scratches, and is sus- 
 ceptible of a fine polish. There are several 
 modifications of this varnish used for particular 
 purposes. 
 
 COPENHAGEN. The trade of Copenhagen 
 is considerable, but stationary rather than im- 
 proving. The imports are chiefly sugar, coffee, 
 cotton, rice, tobacco, potash, train oil and 
 blubber, iron, salt, wool, dry and salt fish, 
 pitch and tar, flax, hemp, oranges and other 
 fruits, wine, brandy, rum, coals, &c. The ex- 
 ports consist of corn, flour, rape and other 
 seeds, butter, cheese, beef, pork, cattle, wool, 
 hides, bones, spirits distilled from corn, peas, 
 beans, &c. A foreigner cannot trade as a 
 merchant without becoming a burgher, which 
 costs 1001. The industrial establishments of 
 the city are numerous ; they consist of brandy 
 distilleries, breweries, vinegar distilleries, sugar 
 refineries, soaperies, tanneries, iron foundries ; 
 cloth, cotton, silk, linen, and tobacco factories ; 
 besides ropewalks and extensive workshops 
 for the making of hats, gloves, &c. 
 
 Copenhagen is preparing a collection of its 
 produce and manufactures for the Hyde Park 
 Exhibition. 
 
 A few details illustrative of the commerce 
 of Copenhagen are given under DENMARK. 
 
 COPING. This name is applied to the 
 stone or brick covering of a wall, intended to 
 protect it from the weather. Flat coping is 
 called parallel coping, and is used upon inclined 
 surfaces, as on the gables and parapets of 
 houses, and also on the tops of garden and 
 other walls. Feather-edged coping has one 
 edge thinner than the other. Saddle-back 
 coping is thicker in the middle than at the 
 edges. Coping-stones should project over 
 the walls which they cover, and should have 
 a groove or throating underneath the pro- 
 jected part to throw off the water. The coping 
 of Gothic battlements.and the walls of churches, 
 castles, and dwellings in the Gothic style of 
 architecture, have a deep throating in the form 
 of a bold cavetto in front, and are sometimes 
 decorated with mouldings. 
 
 In South Wales, near the copper-smelting 
 town of Swansea, very durable coping, of a 
 semi-cylindrical shape, is made from the 
 
003 
 
 COPPER, 
 
 hard slag of the copper-works, cast into 
 moulds. 
 
 COPrEK AND ITS MANUFACTURES 
 Copper is one of the metals with which the 
 Greeks were acquainted ; it was used, by them 
 alloyed with tin, for cutting and warlike in- 
 struments, before iron was known, or at any 
 rate before it was common. 
 
 Copper has a red colour, and is capable of 
 receiving a good polish ; when warmed or 
 rubbed, it emits a disagreeable smell, and it 
 imparts a nauseous taste : all its preparations 
 are poisonous. It is both malleable and duc- 
 tile, and is so tenacious, that a wire y^g-^ of 
 an inch in diameter supports a weight of 
 302 pounds without breaking ; it is extremely 
 sonorous, and is a good conductor of heat and 
 electricity. It melts at a temperature about 
 1196 Fahr. 
 
 This metal is one of those which occur in 
 the greatest number of places and in the 
 largest quantity. It is found in small propor- 
 tion in a metallic state, both crystallised and 
 non-crystallised. Its ores are very numerous, 
 the chief being sulphuret of copper and iron 
 (Copper Pyrites), and sulphuret of copper 
 (Nitreous Copper Ore). It occurs also na- 
 turally in some oxides and salts. 
 
 Copper pyrites occurs in the north of Europe, 
 in England, especially in Cornwall, Devonshire, 
 and Anglesey, and in many parts of Asia and 
 Africa, and the American continents. 
 
 In 1844, a vein of very productive copper 
 ore was discovered in South Australia. In 
 1846 the owners of the Capunda mine shipped 
 to England 1200 tons of copper-ore, which 
 sold for 251. a ton, while English copper ore 
 brought only 19/. But the Burra-Burra mine 
 is perhaps the richest in the world. It con- 
 tains a layer 17 feet high and very wide, which 
 is worked like a quarry. The ore is a pure 
 oxide of copper, and fit to be put at once into 
 the smelting forge, and yielded in 1846 from 
 35 to 75 per cent, of pure metal. In July 
 1846, several tons of ore from this mine were 
 sold at Swansea for 31/. 11s. a ton ; and during 
 the six months preceding May 1847, 2700 
 tons were raised from the same mine, which 
 yielded 87 per cent, of pure copper, and sold 
 for 31/. a ton. The shares in this mining 
 company, on which only 5/. have been paid, 
 now command a price of more than 200/. ; 
 and even at that price they yield a very large 
 dividend. Such is the facility of working the 
 Burra-Burra mine, that in 30 days 8 miners 
 dug out 80 tons of ore. The copper ore ex- 
 ported from South Australia in six years 
 was as follows : 
 
 1843 20 tons. 
 
 1844.. 492 
 
 COPPER. 604 
 
 1845 1158 tons. 
 
 1846 6609 
 
 1847 9301 
 
 1848 17006 
 
 There seems to be remarkable evidence of 
 the existence of large masses of native copper 
 around the shores of Lake Superior. One 
 such piece was met with a few years ago, at 
 Outanagon, which weighed two tons ; but a 
 Toronto newspaper, in 1846, gave an account 
 of a mass of copper, far exceeding in bulk any 
 piece of native metal, probably, yet seen in 
 the world. The miners had excavated 90 feet 
 horizontally without coming to the end of its 
 length ; they had sunk 4 feet without finding 
 the limit of its depth ; but the thickness was 
 about 1 feet. The part exposed to view was 
 estimated to weigh 80 tons, and to be worth 
 25,000 dollars. It was stated that machinery 
 was about to be erected for sawing the block 
 into moderate pieces, as the only mode of re- 
 moving it from its bed. Since that time fur- 
 ther indications of the richness of this store 
 have been obtained ; but the country is so 
 scantily supplied with roads, that some time 
 will elapse before mining operations can be 
 regularly carried on. 
 
 The copper of England is chiefly produced 
 :rom copper pyrites, yielded by the mines of 
 Cornwall and Devonshire. As coal is scarce 
 n those counties and plentiful in South Wales, 
 ;he ore is conveyed to the latter district for 
 smelting. 
 
 The first process in smelting copper is to 
 calcine the ore ; this is done by heating it in 
 a calcining oven, which expels the arsenic and 
 ;he sulphur contained in the ore, oxidises 
 ;he copper and the iron, and reduces them to 
 a black powdery state. This powder is then 
 melted in a highly heated oven ; and when 
 iquid the mass is well stirred, to allow the 
 metallic sulphuret to separate from the earthy 
 matter. This metallic sulphuret is drawn off 
 nto a vessel of water and granulates into 
 'oarse metal, which is, weight for weight, four 
 times as rich in copper as the original ore. 
 The coarse metal is again calcined, and again 
 melted; if drawn off into water, it obtains the 
 lame ofjinc metal, but if into sand, blue mcfui : 
 t now contains 60 per cent, of copper (tlir 
 ;oarse metal having about 33 per cent.). 
 Another calcination and another melting bring 
 t to the state of coarse copper, which contains 
 80 to 90 per cent, of pure copper. This coarse 
 copper is exposed to a high heat in a roasting 
 urnace, by which volatile matters are expelled, 
 and the metals become oxidised ; it is kept in 
 i melted state for many hours, and is drawn 
 brth from the furnace as Ulstcred 
 
665 
 
 COPPER. 
 
 COPPEE. 
 
 660 
 
 almost wholly free from sulphur, iron, and 
 other impurities. The blistered copper is 
 transferred to a refining furnace, covered with 
 charcoal, and is brought to a liquid state. It 
 is thus rendered tough and malleable, and fit 
 for subsequent manufacturing processes. 
 
 Attention has for some years been directed 
 to the commercial advantage of smelting 
 copper-ore by electric agency. Several years 
 ago, Messrs. Claubry and Dechaud submitted 
 to the French Academy of Sciences a plan in 
 which the ore was first to be converted into 
 a sulphate of copper by ordinary chemical 
 means, and then the copper precipitated from 
 a solution of this salt by electricity. In 1843 
 and 1844 Mr. Wall took out patents ; and Mr. 
 Ritchie, in 1844, took out another patent, 
 having similar objects in view, namely, to se- 
 parate the pure copper from the impurities of 
 the ore, while in either a melted or a liquid 
 state, by electric agency. Electro-smelting 
 however has not yet been practised to any 
 considerable extent. 
 
 Various important applications are made of 
 copper in the state of sheets or rolled copper. 
 Copper, like most of the unmixed metals, is 
 generally rolled hot, being malleable at all 
 degrees of heat till it approaches its melting 
 point. Most of its alloys with zinc, forming 
 brass, are malleable only when cold, with the 
 exception of one or two lately brought into 
 use, which are extremely malleable at a cer- 
 tain high temperature. Copper for the pur- 
 pose of rolling leaves the smelting works in 
 calves about 12 X 18-J inches, each weighing 
 about 00 Ibs. The cakes are put into muffles, 
 where they are uniformly heated ; and the 
 heated copper is drawn between casfc-iron 
 rollers. This double process of heating and 
 rolling is repeated until the cake of copper is 
 reduced to the form of a sheet. An oxide 
 forms on the surface during these operations ; 
 but this is easily removed by the applica- 
 tion of a saline liquid, aided by heat. The 
 edges are then trimmed, and the sheet 
 copper is fit for application to manufacturing 
 purposes. 
 
 Copper forms valuable alloys with other 
 metals. Those which result from its imion 
 with tin and Avith zinc are the most important, 
 such as Bronze, Bell-Metal, and Brass. Tutc- 
 nag is an alloy of copper, zinc, and a little 
 iron. Tombac, Dutch Gold, Similor, Prince 
 Rupert's Metal, and Pinchbeck, are alloys con- 
 taining more copper than exists in common 
 brass. Manheim Gold is a peculiar alloy of 
 copper and zinc, which is said to consist of 
 three parts of copper and one part of zinc. 
 Packfong, or the white copper of China, is an 
 alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc, now exten- 
 
 sively employed in this country under the 
 name of German Silver. 
 
 The compounds of copper with non-metallic 
 substances are numerous and important. The 
 oxides are often employed to give a blue colour 
 to other substances. The sulphuret constitutes 
 one of the most valuable ores of copper. 
 Acetate of Copper, more commonly known as 
 verdigris, is much employed in painting, dye- 
 ing, and calico-printing. The Arsenite of 
 Copper forms Scheele's Green, a well known 
 valuable pigment. Green Verditer and Ee- 
 fincrs' Verditer are obtained from Carbonate of 
 Copper, and Blue Verditer from the Nitrate. 
 Sulphate of Copper, under the name of Blue 
 Vitriol, is largely employed by colour makers, 
 dyers, and others. 
 
 The principal peculiarity of manufactures 
 in copper arises from the facility with which 
 it may be fashioned by the hammer. The 
 processes of casting and rolling, both of which 
 are extensively practised in the manufacture 
 of copper goods, so closely resemble the like 
 operations upon other metals, that they do 
 not require further notice ; but the operations 
 of the coppersmith are very distinct from any 
 other branch of metallic manufactures. For 
 example, in the manufacture of the lower half 
 or hemisphere of the large vessels called 
 sugar-pans, used in sugar-refining, the copper 
 is in the first place cast into a form resembling 
 that of a double convex lens, or spectacle- 
 glass, thickest in the middle, and diminishing 
 gradually towards the edges. This lens is 
 then subjected to the powerful blows of a tilt- 
 hammer, directed more continuously near the 
 centre than near the edges. This hammering 
 while it reduces the thickness of the copper, 
 makes it curl up at the edges, and assume a 
 dished or hollow form. Another process no 
 less peculiar to the manufacture of copper is 
 the hammering, technically called planishing, 
 by which the metal is rendered dense and firm, 
 and its toughness is increased. Any one who 
 examines a large copper vessel will perceive, 
 both in the hammer-marks and in the density 
 and close grain of the surface, evidences of the 
 planishing process. 
 
 It is by the combined operations of casting, 
 rolling, hammering, and planishing, aided by 
 the fastening processes of riveting and solder- 
 ing, that neai-ly all articles of copper are made. 
 There are five different modes of forming 
 copper piping out of sheet metal ; in the first 
 the edges of the sheet, which is curved round 
 a mandril, are made to meet without over- 
 lapping, and united by a hard solder; in the 
 second they overlap, and are united by soft 
 solder; in the third they overlap, and arc 
 secured by rivets : in the fourth the edges are 
 
687 
 
 COPPERAS. 
 
 COPYING MACHINES. 
 
 folded one over another, and made close and 
 firm by hammering; while in the fifth both 
 edges of the pipe are turned back, and covered 
 with a strip of sheet metal, the two edges oi 
 which are turned in and hammered down. 
 
 Copper was at first obtained in this country 
 in small quantities in working the tin mines 
 in Cornwall; but about the close of the 17th 
 century mines were set at Avork purposely for 
 copper. Improvements in the art of smelting 
 have greatly increased the products of the 
 mines, and ores which produce only three or 
 four per cent, of metal are now smelted. The 
 average annual produce of the Cornish mines 
 was only about 3,300 tons in 1780; the later 
 produce we shall presently have to mention. 
 The value of the produce of all the British 
 copper-mines is in good years about 1,500,OOOZ. 
 Four-fifths of the whole quantity is raised 
 from the Cornish mines ; the rest being de- 
 rived from Devonshire, Staffordshire, Angle- 
 sey, and the Isle of Man. 
 
 The duty on foreign copper ore, previous 
 to 1842, was 12/. a ton, and on smelted but 
 unwrought copper 271. a ton ; these rates were 
 greatly lowered in 1842, and were reduced to 
 merely nominal amounts in 1848. 
 
 The Cornish copper-ore sent to Swansea to 
 be smelted, from 1820 to 1850, has varied 
 from 100,000 to 160,000 tons annually. The 
 quantity has gradually increased, but the 
 quality of the ore has deteriorated. The 
 selling value of this ore for the last few years 
 has been from 800,000/. to 900,000/. Between 
 1844 and 1848 the foreign copper ore smelted 
 at Swansea varied from 36,000 to 47,000 tons 
 annually. The whole of the ore, British and Fo- 
 reign, smelted at Swansea during the sixteen 
 years from 1833 to 1848, has yielded the fol- 
 lowing averages : 
 
 Average quantity smelted .. 194,142 tons. 
 
 Average price per ton . . . . 7 7s. 
 
 Average money value . . . . 1,424,818 
 
 Average produce of copper . . 18,567 tons. 
 
 Average richness of ore . . 10 per cent. 
 In 1848 four firms at Swansea purchased and 
 smelted no less than four-fifths of all the 
 British and foreign ore smelted in Great Bri- 
 tain ; the firms were those of Messrs. Williams 
 and Foster, Messrs. Vivian, Messrs. Simms 
 and Willyams, and Messrs. Grenfell ; and the 
 value of the ore purchased by them exceeded 
 1,100,000;. 
 
 COPPERAS. The sulphate of copper is 
 frequently called Blue Copperas, the sulphate 
 of iron Green Copperas, and the sulphate of 
 zinc White Copperas. 
 
 COPYING MACHINES. Copying Ma- 
 chines are extensively used in mercantile es- 
 tablishments for producing duplicates of 
 
 letters, invoices, and other manuscript papers. 
 The most simple contrivance acts by trans- 
 ferring, by means of a rolling or screw press, 
 a portion of the ink with which a letter is 
 written to the sui-face of a sheet of blank 
 paper prepared to receive it by damping. The 
 transfer thus obtained is of course the reverse 
 of the original letter, and, unless it be taken 
 on paper so thin and transparent that it may 
 be read through it, it must be read backwards. 
 Watt's copying-press was a contrivance for 
 obtaining transfers of this kind upon thin un - 
 sized paper, wetted, and then placed between 
 two woollen cloths, which absorbed all un 
 necessary moisture. Elegant screw presses 
 of iron are manufactured for this purpose ; 
 some having the power applied solely by 
 means of a screw, turned by a transverse bar 
 or lever, or by a cross or wheel-shaped handle ; 
 while others have also a contrivance for in- 
 creasing the pressure beyond what can be 
 conveniently applied by the simple turning of 
 the screw. In some cases, letters intended 
 for transferring by the copying-press are 
 written with an ink made for the purpose ; 
 and when common ink is used it may be 
 thickened by adding a little sugar to it. 
 Transfers are also taken from the pages of a 
 manuscript book prepared for the purpose, a 
 sheet of dry oiled paper being placed over the 
 damp sheet to prevent the transmission of the 
 moisture. 
 
 Contrivances for enabling a person to write 
 with two pens or pencils at once, on different 
 sheets of paper, on the principle of the PAN- 
 TOGRAPH, have been tried as copying-machines, 
 but they are too complicated for ordinary use. 
 All such machines, and perhaps even the 
 copying press, are far surpassed in conveni- 
 ence by the Manifold Writer. In this appa- 
 ratus a sheet of paper blackened on both sides 
 with printers' ink, and dried for five or six 
 weeks between sheets of blotting-paper, or 
 covered with some other black composition 
 which will come off when pressed hard, but 
 will not move with a slight degree of pressure 
 or friction, is laid between two sheets of thin 
 writing-paper, and the whole is placed upon a 
 smooth copper or pewter plate. The letter is 
 then written firmly on the upper sheet of 
 paper with an agate style or point, the pres- 
 sure of which causes the blackened paper to 
 produce two impressions of the writing, one, 
 which is read through the paper, upon the 
 under side of the sheet directly acted upon by 
 he style, and the other upon the upper side 
 of the lower sheet. More than two impres- 
 sions of the writing may be obtained by using 
 two or more sheets of blackened paper, inter- 
 posed between several sheets of thin white 
 
669 COPYRIGHT OF DESIGNS. 
 
 paper. This apparatus is conveniently fitted 
 up in a small portfolio, and occupies no more 
 room than an ordinary writing-case. 
 
 In a machine recently registered by Messrs. 
 Mordan, a stamping press is combined with 
 an ordinary copying machine. When worked 
 in the customary way, the platten rises with 
 the screw, leaving a space beneath it for the 
 copying process ; but by a little adjustment 
 the screw is raised without the platten, leaving 
 a die and counterdie in proper position for 
 stamping any device on letters, envelopes, or 
 papers. 
 
 COPYKIGHT OF DESIGNS. [DESIGNS, 
 
 COPYRIGHT AND REGISTRATION.] 
 
 COKAL AND THE COKAL FISHEKY. 
 Coral consists of the cells or habitations of 
 minute animals, so built Up as to form a tree- 
 like structure. Being beautiful in form and 
 colour, it is sought after for purposes of orna- 
 ment ; and its fishery or gathering gives em- 
 ployment to many persons in the Eed Sea, the 
 Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean, and other 
 places. In the Straits of Messina, the rocks 
 which yield coral are from about 350 to 650 
 feet below the surface of the water. The coral 
 here grows to about the height or length of 
 twelve inches, and requires eight or ten years 
 to come to perfection. In the general mode 
 of fishing for coral, the instrument used con- 
 sists of two heavy beams of wood, secured 
 together at right angles, and loaded with stones 
 to sink them. Hemp and netting are attached 
 to the under side of the beams, to the middle 
 of which is secured one end of a strong rope, 
 by which the apparatus is let down from a 
 boat, and guided to the spots where the coral 
 is most abundant. The branching form of 
 the coral causes it to become entangled in the 
 hemp and network, by which means it is bro- 
 ken off from the rock, and drawn up with the 
 apparatus to the surface of the water. 
 
 CORBEL, in building, is a projecting piece 
 of stone, wood, or iron, placed so as to sup- 
 port a weight of materials. Corbels are some- 
 times in the form of the modillion or mutule 
 employed in entablatures, and also like the 
 console of a window. The machicolations of 
 towers are almost always supported on corbel 
 stones, as may be observed in the old gates of 
 Southampton, Canterbury, and York. In 
 Norman architecture the cornice is supported 
 by a row of corbel stones, the ends of which 
 are carved. In old English castles the main 
 beams of the floors were frequently carried on 
 large corbel stones, as at Porchester Castle. 
 The term bracket is sometimes used for a 
 corbel. 
 
 CORDIALS. A cordial is generally one of 
 the many kinds of spirit, flavoured with 
 
 CORK. 
 
 670 
 
 sweetening and aromatic substances. A dis- 
 tiller who produces raw spirits from corn or 
 malt, is not allowed by the excise laws of this 
 country to give any additional or artificial 
 flavour to his spirit ; he must sell it in the 
 crude ardent state in which it leaves the still. 
 This is not done out of any consideration in 
 which the consumers are concerned, but 
 simply as a matter of revenue. The distillers 
 rarely if ever sell spirit to the public generally. 
 It is sold to the rectifiers, who re-distil it, and 
 impart flavour to it by various means. Cordials 
 are among the liquors which are so treated. 
 Some are made simply by adding essential 
 oils and syrup to diluted spirit ; while others 
 are made by adding aromatics to the spirit, 
 boiling and re-distilling it, and sweetening the 
 re-distilled liquor. Some cordials are made 
 from raw spirit, but the best from rectified 
 spirit of wine. 
 
 The various cordials are known by the 
 names of the vegetable substance to which 
 they chiefly owe their distinguishing flavours. 
 Hence we hear of Aniseed, Caraway, Cedrat, 
 Cinnamon, Citron, Clove, Coriander, Lemon, 
 Lovage, Orange, Peppermint, and other 
 cordials. 
 
 CORFU. A few details illustrative of the 
 industry and commerce of this island will be 
 found in connexion with the group of which 
 it forms a part [IONIAN ISLANDS.] 
 
 CORIANDER, is an annual umbelliferous 
 plant, inhabiting the southern parts of Europe 
 and yielding a globular dry fruit, with slight 
 carminative stomachic properties and a pow 
 erful smell. 
 
 Coriander fruit, or seeds as they are incor- 
 rectly called, are used in sweetmeats, in certain 
 stomachic liquers, and in some countries in 
 cookery. 
 
 CORK. The county and city of Cork are 
 both worthy of attention, in respect to natural 
 products and commercial pursuits. The prin- 
 cipal copper-mines in Ireland are situated at 
 Allahies in this county. They were first 
 worked in 1814. The ore contains from 55 
 to 65 per cent, of copper. In the same neigh- 
 bourhood the ashes of a bog impregnated with 
 copper yielded a considerable return until 
 burned out. A deposit of manganese is worked 
 with good profit on the same coast. Veins of 
 sulphate of barytes occur in the neighbourhood 
 of Bantry, and specimens of asbestos have 
 been procured at Beerhaven. The iron-ore is 
 abundant, and when timber was plentiful, 
 many iron-works Were carried on. There is 
 good anthracite coal in the Blackwater district; 
 but it is so difficult of access, that it has not 
 yet been made available for the smelting of 
 iron. The principal trade of the county is 
 
6T1 
 
 COEK CUTTING. 
 
 CORK CUTTING. 
 
 672 
 
 the export of agricultural produce, such as 
 grain and butter. The linen and woollen 
 manufactures at one time flourished in severa 
 towns of this county ; hut trade in these 
 branches has for many years back been lan- 
 guishing. 
 
 In the city of Cork, the manufactures are 
 of little importance compared wiih the trade 
 and commerce. There are tanneries, iron- 
 foundries, glass-houses, distilleries, and brew- 
 eries. The export trade consists principally 
 of grain, butter, and other provisions, and 
 cattle; the import trade of timber and the 
 various articles required for the use of the city 
 and the surrounding neighbourhood. Steamers 
 ply daily between Cork and the harbour at 
 Cove ; and large steamers trade regularly with 
 Dublin, Belfast, Liverpool, Bristol, and Glas- 
 gow. 
 
 The principal harbour of Cork is at Cove, 
 about 9 miles below the city, but lighters of 
 30 tons' burthen come up to Patrick's Bridge, 
 on the north branch of the river, where there 
 is a fine line of quays. Merchant-vessels un- 
 load into the lighters at Passage, about 6 miles 
 down the river. The harbour at Cove is 3 
 miles long and 2 miles wide, completely shel- 
 tered and protected by forts on various points. 
 The entrance is 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. 
 600 merchant-ships have been at anchor in it 
 at once, and 400 have left it under convoy in 
 one day. The colonial trade is chiefly with 
 Canada; the foreign with Portugal, the Baltic, 
 and the Mediterranean. 
 
 The butter trade of Cork is very extensive, 
 and is conducted on a remarkable system. 
 There is a committee of members to superin- 
 tend all the dealings between buyers and 
 sellers. All the butter brought to market is 
 inspected and branded by orders of the com- 
 mittee, and is divided into four classes, ac- 
 cording to its quality, A sub-committee each 
 morning fixes the price at which each kind of 
 butter shall be sold on that day; the four 
 kinds differ in value about 5s. per cwt. from 
 each other. The number of firkins branded 
 in certain years was as follow : 
 
 1770 105,800 firkins. 
 
 1800 183,249 
 
 1830 277,947 
 
 1850.. (about) 400,000 
 The butter buyers are hi the habit of advancing 
 money before-hand to the dairy farmers ; so 
 that sometimes a whole season's produce is 
 thus paid for before any of the butter is 
 made. 
 
 CORK CUTTING. The nature of cork is 
 explained in an earlier article [BARK]. In: 
 thy making of ordinary corks, the material is j 
 
 entirely shaped by very sharp, smooth -edged 
 broad knives, without the aid of any machinery ; 
 it is one of those employments in which 
 everything depends on the manual skill gra- 
 dually acquired by the workman. 
 
 The attempts to make corks by machinery 
 have been very numerous. In one among 
 several American patents for this purpose the 
 quadrangular pieces of cork, cut to proper 
 lengths, are held between two revolving spin- 
 dles which grip them ; and as they revolve, 
 the cork is cut round by a revolving cutter- 
 wheel, the arbor of which is horizontal and 
 has its bearings in a sliding frame. Other 
 apparatus allows the spindles to disengage the 
 cork when cut. The edge of the cutter-wheel 
 is kept sharp during the operation by means 
 of two rotating discs, one acting on each face, 
 and each covered with leather and emery. 
 The blocks or pieces of cork are placed in a 
 box, from which they are taken by a jaw 
 which slides forward and places them between 
 the grips of the revolving spindles. 
 
 Another plan was patented a few years ago 
 by Messrs. Cutler and Hancock. A horizontal 
 spindle, running in suitable bearings, carries 
 a hollow conical cutter at each end. The 
 largest end of the cone, which is outwards, is 
 made very sharp ; and a small opening length- 
 wise of the cutter has also a cutting edge, 
 for reducing the cork to a proper size and 
 shape, as it enters the cone. A convenient 
 number of these spindles are mounted in a 
 frame, to which a traversing motion can be 
 given by means of a screw and handle. A 
 rapid motion is communicated to the spindles 
 ay a number of belts from a large drum 
 moved by a steam engine or other source of 
 power. Pieces of cork are placed in a holder; 
 and the holder being placed in front of the 
 cutters, with a proper support behind, they are 
 urged forward by the hand screw until the 
 cork has been cut through. The corks, as 
 ,hey are made, are pushed out by rods, which 
 slide within the spindles. 
 
 A ' Patent Cork Cutting Company ' has 
 been lately established, for the manufacture 
 of corks by machinery. The patentees assert 
 that the corks so made are both cheaper and 
 >etter than those made by hand, a matter 
 which will soon be determined by the pur- 
 chasers. The same company manufacture 
 cork gun- wadding, used in military services. 
 
 Many substitutes for cork have from time 
 x> time been introduced,as stoppers for bottles. 
 \Ir. Brockedon has invented bottle-stoppers 
 made of india rubber. The core of the stop- 
 er is made of cotton twisted into strands ; 
 several of the strands, lapped with flax thread, 
 are laid together longitudinally, with loose 
 
COEKSCEEW. 
 
 COEN TEADE. 
 
 674 
 
 fine cotton roving laid between them. They 
 are then lapped in a cylindrical form with flax 
 thread, and the india-rubber solution applied 
 to it while warm. It is only for peculiar pur- 
 poses that these stoppers can be used as 
 substitutes for corks ; when applied, they 
 must be slightly wetted to make them slide 
 down the inner surface of the neck of the 
 bottle. 
 
 Mr. Betts, the distiller, has introduced a 
 patent capsule, for stopping bottles containing 
 patented and other liquors. The material 
 employed consists of thin plates of metal, 
 formed of a layer of tin united to a layer of 
 lead ; and this material is brought to a shape 
 which enables it entirely to cover the corked 
 mouth of the bottle. 
 
 One of many modes suggested of employing 
 cork for stuffing beds and cushions is that 
 patented a few years ago by M. Bachelard. 
 According to this suggestion, the cork is used 
 in the state of saw-dust or shreds, instead of 
 in bulk. Any mode of preparing it may be 
 adopted, provided it be in very small frag- 
 ments. It may be used alone, or combined 
 with wool or horsehair. The patentee states 
 that if a substratum of the cork be covered 
 with a layer of horse- hair or wool, we shall 
 have all the smoothness of a horse-hair or 
 wool mattrass, combined with the lightness 
 and elasticity of cork. When used at sea, 
 such a mattrass might be light enough to act 
 as a life-preserver, in case of exigency. 
 
 The unmanufactured cork imported in 1848 
 amounted to 3,028 tons. The French corks 
 imported in a manufactured state amounted in 
 1849 to 151,861 Ib. 
 
 COEKSCEEW. The common corkscrew 
 is too simple in its action to require any de- 
 scription ; but that which goes by the name 
 of its inventor, and is called the Shrapnel* 
 Corkscrew, deserves a little notice. 
 
 The Shrapnell Corkscrew, though specially 
 adapted for the Shrapnell bottle, is also useful 
 for other bottles. This corkscrew has three 
 spikes, which press down vertically on the 
 upper surface of the cork soon after the screw 
 has entered. As soon as the spikes touch the 
 cork, they are prevented from turning rounc 
 with the screw, and they thus enter the cork 
 as the screw rotates. When the cork is aboui 
 to be extracted, a slight twist given to th< 
 instrument enables the extraction to take 
 place with much ease. The Shrapnell botth 
 is intended to obviate the necessity of usin< 
 wire or string for fastening down the corks o 
 bottles which contain effervescing drinks. The 
 inside of the neck of the bottle is cut or cas 
 with an internal screw ; so that the cork 
 driven in in tbo usual way, expands in th 
 
 crew, and holds so tightly that nothing but a 
 ircular or screw-like movement, such as 
 hat of the Shrapnell corkscrew, can remove it. 
 
 COEN TEADE. The name of corn is 
 ometimes given to grain only, while at other 
 times it is made to include meal or flour as 
 fell as grain. The American merchants, and 
 ome in our own country, give the name of 
 ireadstuffs to grain and meal collectively- We 
 liall give a few entries illustrative of the con- 
 iumption of foreign corn in this country. 
 
 The wheat and wheat flour imported into 
 jreat Britain between the years 1825 and 
 1849, varied from 66,905 qrs. in 1835, to 
 4,835,280 qrs. in 1849. Of the quantity in 
 ,his last mentioned year, which exceeded that 
 )f any previous year, the imports from the 
 chief sources of supply were in round nuni- 
 
 France .............. 750,000 qrs. 
 
 United States ........ 600,000 
 
 Eussia .............. 600,000 
 
 Prussia ............ 600,000 
 
 The average importation of wheat and wheat 
 flour, from 1828 to 1849, was 1,771,067 qrs. 
 annually ; of which Prussia supplied 435,791, 
 United States 242,094, Germany 232,034, and 
 Eussia 209,237. 
 
 The quantities of all kinds of grain and 
 meal imported in 1849, were as follow : 
 
 Wheat and wheat-meal ...... 4,835,280 
 
 Barley and barley-meal ...... 1,389,858 
 
 Oats and oat-meal .......... 1,307,904 
 
 Eye and rye-meal ............ 246,843 
 
 Peas and pea-meal .......... 236,525 
 
 Beans and bean-meal ........ 458,651 
 
 Indian corn and meal ........ 2,277,224 
 
 Buckwheat and meal ........ 627 
 
 Beer or Bigg ............... 843 
 
 10,753 755 
 
 The average prices paid for six of these va- 
 rieties of foreign corn and pulse in that year 
 were wheat 44s. 3d., barley 27s. 9rf., oats 
 17s. 6d., rye 25s. 8d., peas 31s. 2d., beans 
 30s. 2d. per quarter. 
 
 The wheat, barley, and oats, sold in the 
 towns from which the averages given by the 
 corn inspectors are obtained, in three conse- 
 cutive years, amounted to the following quan- 
 tities : 
 
 Wheat. Barley. Oats. 
 
 1847. .4,637,616. .2,041,129. . 960,334 
 1848 . . 5,399,833 . . 2,401,736 . . 1,022,875 
 1849 . . 4,453,982 . . 2,099,820 . . 851,079 
 
 In the year 1850, the following enormous 
 quantities of 'bread-stuif ' were brought into 
 
675 
 
 CORNELIAN. 
 
 CORSICA. 
 
 676 
 
 the port of London, from the agricultural 
 counties and from abroad : 
 
 Wheat 874,410 quarters. 
 
 Barley 455,475 
 
 Oats 1,141,398 
 
 Beans 122,226 
 
 Peas 76,255 
 
 G,, f 399,123 sacks and 
 
 " 1 66,463 ban-els. 
 
 More than three-fourths of this entire quantity 
 was brought from foreign countries. In 1849 
 the quantities of wheat, barley, and oats, ex- 
 ceeded those of 1850. 
 
 CORNELIAN, or CARNELIAN. [AGATE.] 
 CORNET was an ancient wind instrument 
 formed of wood ; it was superseded in the 
 latter part of the 17th century by the oboe. 
 
 CORNET-STOP, in the organ, is an imi- 
 tative treble-stop, consisting of five ranks of 
 pipes, each key of the instrument causing all 
 the five pipes to sound at once; they are 
 tuned to a given note and its 8th, 12th, 15th, 
 and 17th. 
 
 CORNWALL. Copper and tin are the 
 most important minerals of Cornwall. The 
 extent of the metalliferous veins is unknown, 
 as well as the depth to which they extend : 
 no miner has yet seen the end or bottom of a 
 vein. Their width varies much, from the 
 thickness of a sheet of paper to 30 feet; but 
 they are usually from 1 to 3 feet in thickness. 
 The ores of copper or tin do not often occur 
 together in the same vein at any great depth 
 If tin be discovered first, it sometimes disap- 
 pears, after sinking 100 feet more, and is sue 
 ceeded by copper ; in others, tin is found at 
 the depth of 1000 feet beneath the surface 
 almost without a trace of copper ; if copper 
 be first discovered, it is very rarely, if ever, 
 succeeded by tin. It is seldom that either 
 ore is found nearer to the surface than 80 or 
 100 feet. 
 
 The copper and tin mines, excepting a few 
 near Callington, are south-west of the rivers 
 Alan and Fowey. The chief mining distric 
 extends from St. Agnes on the north coast bj 
 Redruth to the neighbourhood of Helston and 
 Marazion ; and some mines are worked wesi 
 of Marazion. St. Austell is in the centre o: 
 another but less extensive mining district 
 near the south coast. 
 
 The lead mines of Cornwall are not nu 
 merous, though the ore has been discoverec 
 in many parts of the county. Silver ores have 
 been obtained from several mines in Corn 
 wall, chiefly in lodes or cross courses in th< 
 graywacke. Gold has been found in the tin 
 streams. Iron ore is also obtained, an 
 shipped to Wales. Zinc, antimony, cobalt 
 and arsenic are procured, as well as som 
 
 ther of the semi-metals. Freestone of dif- 
 erent qualities is quarried. 
 
 During the 30 years from 1815 to 1845, 
 
 here were 220 copper mines in the county, 
 
 be produce of which was sold at the public 
 
 ticketings. In the year 1845, 35 of these 
 
 mines had been worked upwards of 20 years ; 
 
 : had been worked between 10 and 20 years ; 
 
 1 had been worked between 5 and 10 years ; 
 
 and 114 had been worked less than 5 years. 
 
 ?he average per-centage of copper from all 
 
 he mines during the 30 years was 7g ; the 
 
 aighest average from any one mine was 26 4 ; 
 
 and the lowest average from any mine was 
 
 ;|. The quantity and value of Cornish 
 
 res are briefly alluded to in another article 
 
 COPPEE]. 
 
 The following demands for space at the 
 Great Exhibition, whether fully adhered to or 
 not, will serve to illustrate the products and 
 resources of Cornwall : In the first section 
 ^raw materials and produce) for the mineral 
 dngdomwill be required for ores, 398 super- 
 ficial feet ; for models of machinery, illus- 
 trating the preparation of the ore for the 
 smelter and tin smelting, 70 feet ; ochres, clays, 
 and china stone, including a model of a clay- 
 work, 94 feet ; building and road stones, sand, 
 lone stones, &c., 171 feet; ornamental stones 
 and slates, 202 feet. Animal and vegetable 
 kingdoms for hides, 100 feet; pilchards, 4 
 ? eet ; Normal guano, 3 feet ; wheat, 2 feet 
 109 feet; for nets illustrating the Cornish 
 fisheries, 150 feet; making a total required in 
 section 1, 1,194 feet. In the second section 
 (machinery) are required for steam-engines 
 and instruments connected with steam ma- 
 chinery, 784 superficial feet ; miscellaneous 
 machines, models, and tools, 204 superficial 
 feet; naval architecture, 70 superficial feet; 
 total in second section, 1,058 superficial feet. 
 For the display of manufactures 412 feet of 
 space have been demanded, 336 feet of which 
 are required for ornamental manufactures in 
 granite, porphyry, serpentine, riband slate, <fec., 
 the remainder being wanted for crucibles, 
 safety fuze, chairs, embroidery, &c. Making 
 a total of space required for the county of 
 2,664 superficial feet. 
 
 CORRIDOR signifies a gallery or passage- 
 way leading to apartments independent of 
 each other. In all large buildings containing 
 numerous apartments corridors are necessary, 
 either closed or open. The corridor round 
 the great cortile, or open court, of the Cancel- 
 larea at Rome, designed by Bramante, consists 
 of an open gallery supported by columns. 
 
 CORSICA. About 25,000 acres in this 
 island are planted with vines. The yearly 
 produce of wine is 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 gal- 
 
877 
 
 CORUNDUM. 
 
 COTE-D'OK. 
 
 678 
 
 Ions, some of which, especially that of Cap 
 Corso, is of good quality ; but in general it is 
 carelessly made, ripe and unripe grapes being 
 put indiscriminately into the wine-press. Of 
 chestnuts, an important article of food, the 
 produce is about 50,000 quarters ; the chest- 
 nut-tree is one of the most magnificent vege- 
 table productions of the island. The mulberry 
 is cultivated for the production of silk. The 
 cotton-shrub, sugar-cane, indigo, tobacco, and 
 madder are also cultivated. The orange, 
 citron, fig, almond, pomegranate, date-palm, 
 and other fruit-trees, flourish, and their pro- 
 duce is largely exported. The chestnuts and 
 walnuts of the island are of the best quality 
 and of the largest size. A good deal of excel- 
 lent honey and wax is gathered. 
 
 Iron, lead, antimony, black manganese, 
 granite, varying in colour from gray to red. 
 porphyry, white marble, limestone, jaspar, 
 emerald, amianthus, &c., are found. Of ma- 
 nufacturing industry there is little. A little 
 iron is manufactured from ore brought from 
 the island of Elba, for no mines are worked 
 by the Corsicans. The island has several oil 
 and flour mills, tanneries, and brick-works ; 
 2 establishments for the manufacture of soap, 
 and 1 for making glass. These articles, to- 
 gether with turnery, pitch and tar, and bad 
 cheese, are almost the only industrial products. 
 The commerce consists of the agricultural pro- 
 duce, and brandy, olive oil, dried fruits, wax, 
 salt fish, coral, ship-timber, myrtle leaves, 
 orange flowers, lichen, tanned hides, goat-skins, 
 deals, &c. 
 
 CORUNDUM. Several substances differ- 
 ing considerably in colour, and sometimes in 
 form, but nearly agreeing in composition, are 
 classed together under the name of corundum, 
 which is that given to the common variety by 
 the natives of India. The sapphire is one of 
 these substances ; its chief varieties are the 
 white, transparent or translucent; the oriental, 
 blue ; oriental amethyst, purple ; oriental topaz, 
 yellow ; oriental emerald, green. The sapphire 
 occurs in rolled masses and crystallised; it 
 possesses double refraction, and is inferior in 
 hardness only to the diamond. Ruby is of a 
 rose-red colour, and generally occurs in six- 
 sided prisms. Common corundum, or adaman- 
 tine spar, is sometimes nearly colourless, and 
 rather translucent; it presents great variety 
 of colour, but is most commonly greenish or 
 grayish, occasionally brown or red, rarely 
 blue ; it is used in the East Indies for cutting 
 and polishing precious stones, and also gra- 
 nite and other hard rocks. Emery is regarded 
 as amorphous corundum ; its colour is usually 
 gray ; its lustre is somewhat glistening ; when 
 ground to powder, it is used in polishing hard 
 
 bodies. Alumina forms about nine-tenths of 
 all varieties of Corundum. 
 
 COSMETICS. The chemistry of the toilet-- 
 table has provided many preparations under 
 the name of Cosmetics, for external adornment 
 or artificial beautifying. Hair dyes, pomatums, 
 pomades, depilatories, dentifrices, tooth-powders, 
 &c., may all be deemed more or less as belong- 
 ing to the class of cosmetics ; but the name 
 is usually confined to those preparations which 
 are applied to the skin. 
 
 The best cosmetic is plain soap and water. 
 To soften the skin, however, many substances 
 are used, such as almond soap, Naples soap, 
 Castile soap, milk of roses, cold cream, or 
 almond paste. Sometimes it is desired to 
 harden the cuticle or outer skin, and this is 
 done by spirit, astringents, and acids. For 
 removing or hiding freckles, various lotions 
 and washes are employed. To give an artificial 
 tint or bloom to the skin is the chief work of 
 the cosmetic artist. Rouge and carmine are 
 much employed to give a red tint : starch and 
 magnesia to impart a delicate whiteness. 
 Several of the salts of bismuth and of lead, 
 under the various fine names of pearl while, 
 flake white, cream of roses, &c., are often em- 
 ployed as cosmetics ; but they have an injurious 
 effect on the skin, and sometimes produce a 
 sort of skin-poisoning. 
 
 A want of attention to the chemical action 
 of colours has sometimes led ladies into an 
 embarrassing predicament. Bismuth-powder, 
 sometimes sold as a substitute for genuine 
 pearl-powder, has the property of turning 
 black when in contact with fumes of sulphur, 
 or with sulphuretted hydrogen gas. A lady 
 who painted with this cosmetic, happened to 
 bathe in a mineral water impregnated with 
 this gas ; and the consequence was, that the 
 artificially whitened skin turned nearly black, 
 and so remained for several weeks. Another 
 lady, who used the same cosmetic, attended a 
 lecture at Harrogate on mineral waters ; and 
 the lecturer handed round a bottle containing 
 sulphuretted water, that its odour might illus- 
 trate the point on which he was directing 
 attention ; the lady did as others did smelt 
 at the bottle ; and the result was that she be- 
 came, not merely figuratively, but literally 
 ' black in the face.' Even the coals of a com- 
 mon English fire often contain enough sul- 
 phur to produce in a slighter degree an 
 analogous effect. Instances have been known 
 in which a lady, seated near a large fire at 
 Christmas time, has had one side of her white 
 neck tinged with a darkness which puzzled 
 all, except those who were aware of the effect 
 of sulphur fumes upon bismuth -cosmetics. 
 
 COTE-D'OR. This department of France 
 
679 
 
 COTTON CULTUEE. 
 
 COTTON CULTURE. 
 
 680 
 
 is famous for its wines. The favoured district 
 is divided into two parts the C6te-de-Nuits, 
 extending from Dijon to Nuite; and the Cote- 
 Beaunoise, from Nuits to the Dheune. The 
 former is famous for its red wines, the most 
 renowned of which are those called Romance, 
 Vougeot, Charnhertin, Richebourg, and Nuits ; 
 while the latter produces hoth red and white 
 wines, which for flavour, delicacy, and perfume, 
 are not surpassed in the world ; hut they do 
 not bear transport so well as those grown on 
 the Nuitonne slope. Among the red wines of 
 the Beaune slope, the most famous are those 
 called Volnay, Pomard, Beaune, La Peyrieure ; 
 and among the white, Meursault, Montrachet, 
 and Goutte-d'Or. Besides these famous Bur- 
 gundy wines, a good deal of wine resembling 
 Champagne is manufactured in the depart- 
 ment, and sold as such. The annual produce 
 of all the vineyards of the department amounts 
 to about 12,000,000 gallons. 
 
 The department ranks the first in France 
 with respect to the extent of its forests, in 
 which oak, beech, and elm are the principal 
 trees. 
 
 Iron, coal, marble, millstones, limestone, 
 plaster of Paris, potter's clay, &c. are found. 
 The iron mines, which lie chiefly in the 
 mountains in the north-east of the department, 
 are amongst the most productive in France ; 
 the ore is converted into malleable iron and 
 steel at nearly 100 blast furnaces and foundries 
 by means of charcoal near the mine-mouth. 
 There are about 300 factories of -various kinds 
 in the department, the products being linen, 
 woollen cloth, blankets, cotton and woollen 
 yarn, beet-root sugar, brandy, vinegar, paper, 
 seed-oil, beer, leather, and earthenware. The 
 commerce of the department consists in the 
 agricultural and industrial products already 
 named, and in wool, hides, timber, oak staves, 
 hay, fuel-wood, nails, and whetstones. 
 
 COTTON CULTURE AND TRADE. 
 Cotton is a filamentous substance produced 
 by the surface of the seeds of various species 
 of Gossyplum. It consists of vegetable hairs, 
 of considerable length, springing from the 
 surface of the seed -coat, and filling up the 
 cavity of the seed vessel in which the seeds 
 lie. These hairs are long weak tubes, formed 
 from cells which have grown together, and 
 which, when immersed in water and examined 
 under the microscope by transmitted light, 
 look like flat narrow transparent ribands, pre- 
 senting at short intervals a spiral twist, by 
 means of which their surface is roughened, 
 so that cotton goods are less soft than linen. 
 
 The genus Gossyplum is common to both 
 continents. There is no record of the first 
 cultivation of the cotton plant in Asia or 
 
 America: it being indigenous to both, so far 
 as our present knowledge extends. Africa 
 and Europe are supposed to have first be- 
 come acquainted with cotton by the exporta- 
 tion of muslin from India by way of the Red 
 Sea. The various species occupy naturally ' 
 a belt probably exceeding the torrid zone in 
 breadth, but in a cultivated state we have 
 cotton now extending on one hand to the 
 south of Europe, and Lower Virginia, and 
 even Maryland, in the United States of 
 America ; while, on the other, we have it as 
 far south as the Cape of Good Hope, and in 
 America to the southern parts of Brazil. 
 Within these limits it may also be seen culti- 
 vated at considerable elevations. Baron Hum- 
 boldt mentions having seen it even at 9000 
 feet of elevation in the Equinoctial Andes ; 
 and in Mexico, at 5500 feet. Dr. Royle states 
 it as being cultivated in small quantities at 
 4000 feet of elevation in 30 N. lat. in the 
 Himalayas. The localities suited to the pro- 
 duction of cotton depend as much upon the 
 climate as the soil, and also upon the specific 
 peculiarities of the different kinds of cotton 
 plants. 
 
 The distinctive names by which cotton is 
 known in commerce are mostly derived from 
 the countries of their production : the excep- 
 tions are Sea Island Cotton and Upland 
 Cotton. The former of these was first culti- 
 vated in the low sandy islands near the coast 
 of Charleston in America ; while the latter is 
 grown in the inner or upland country. The 
 Sea Island Cotton is the finest of all the 
 varieties of cotton. The Upland is often 
 called Bowed Cotton. 
 
 In India and many of the islands of the 
 Indian Ocean, the cotton-plant has been culti- 
 vated, and its filaments spun and woven, from 
 time immemorial. In Mexico the Spaniards 
 found cotton in common use at the time of 
 their conquest of the country. The Egyptians 
 were acquainted in the time of Pliny with the 
 use of cotton. The cotton-plant was very 
 early known in China, and cultivated as an 
 ornamental garden shrub ; but its filaments 
 were not brought into use until about the 
 13th century. The Saracens cultivated cotton 
 in Spain and Sicily in the 10th century. The 
 manufacture of cotton did not rise in other 
 countries till a much later period. It was not 
 until the 17th century that cotton goods were 
 made in England; and even of these the warp 
 was composed of linen and only the weft of 
 cotton, until the invention of Arkwright 
 afforded the means of producing good fabrics 
 of cotton only. From that date (1709), the 
 trade in cotton in this country has gone on 
 ncreasing with astonishing rapidity. The 
 
681 
 
 COTTON CULTURE. 
 
 COTTON MANUFACTURE. 082 
 
 quantity of cotton brought to this country in 
 1764 was about 4,000,000 Ibs. ; in 1780, about 
 7,000,000 Ibs. ; in 1790, about 30,000,000 Ibs. ; 
 and in 1800, about 50,000,000 Ibs. The im- 
 ports did not increase very rapidly during the 
 war ; but since that time they have augmented 
 in the following manner, taking an interval of 
 five years between the respective dates : 
 
 Years. 
 1815 
 1820 
 1825 
 1830 
 1835 
 1840 
 1845 
 1849 
 
 Pounds. 
 99,000,000 
 152,000,000 
 229,000,000 
 264,000,000 
 364,000,000 
 592,000,000 
 722,000,000 
 775,000,000 
 
 Mr. Woodbury, the Secretary of the United 
 States Treasury, has estimated the entire pro- 
 duce of cotton in all countries, at various 
 periods, as follows : 
 
 Years. 
 1791 
 1801 
 1811 
 1821 
 1831 
 1834 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 490,000,000 
 520,000,000 
 555,000,000 
 630,000,000 
 820,000,000 
 900,000,000 
 
 In 1791 the United States produced only 
 of the entire quantity ; in 1834 its share 
 exceeded one-half; and in 1844 its produce 
 was nearly double of that in 1834. More than 
 half in value of the entire exports from the 
 United States now consist in cotton wool. 
 More than four-fifths of the entire cotton pro- 
 duce of the United States is purchased by 
 Great Britain. In the Mississippi valley land 
 fresh brought under cultivation will yield on 
 an average from 1000 to 1200 Ibs. per acre 
 of cotton with the seed, which will yield 250 
 or 300 Ibs. of cleaned cotton. 
 
 As there are frequently doubts entertained 
 concerning the capability of the United States 
 to supply us regularly with cotton, and con- 
 cerning the prudence of depending mainly on 
 one country for a supply, attempts are now 
 being made to encourage the growth of cotton 
 in the West Indies and Port Natal, and an 
 increased growth in the East Indies. Many of 
 these attempts seem likely to be attended with 
 success. The experiments now being made in 
 respect to flax [FLAX] were in like manner sug- 
 gested by uncertainty concerning the American 
 supply of cotton^ 
 
 The imports of cotton in the years 1845-6- 
 7-8 and 9, and placed under the names of the 
 countries whence imported, were as follow, in 
 bales : 
 
 United States 
 Brazil . . 
 Egypt . . 
 East Indies 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 184549. 
 
 6,188,144 
 
 495,685 
 
 224,579 
 
 899,213 
 
 44,833 
 
 Yearly 
 
 average. 
 
 1,237,619 
 
 99,137 
 
 44,918 
 
 179,852 
 
 8,966 
 
 7,852,454 . . 1,570,492 
 
 A bale or bag of cotton has become a gra- 
 dually increasing quantity. In 1820 it ave- 
 raged about 250 Ibs. ; at present the average 
 is somewhat above 400 Ibs. Our imports, in 
 Ibs., were 717 millions in 1848, and 775 mil- 
 lions in 1849. 
 
 Nearly all the cotton used on the continent 
 of Europe is grown in the United States. The 
 average United States produce for the years 
 1844-50 has been about 2,200,000 bales 
 nearly a thousand million Ibs. ! 
 
 COTTON MANUFACTURE. Cotton 
 was woven by the Hindoos and Chinese 
 many centuries before the Christian sera. 
 The Egyptians are supposed to have im- 
 ported woven cotton before the plant had 
 begun to be cultivated in their country ; and 
 the Romans received woven cotton from India 
 long before the cotton-plant was known in 
 Europe. The first Europeans who spun and 
 wove cotton were the Italians of the commer- 
 cial republics, who had become familiar with 
 the material while exercising their trade as 
 merchants between Europe and the East. 
 From the 10th to the 13th centuries, cotton 
 goods were manufactured to a large extent by 
 rhe Moors of Spain, especially a coarse variety 
 to which they gave the name offustc, whence 
 our ' fustian.' The other nations of Europe 
 learned the manufacture of cotton, not from 
 the Moors of Spain, but from the Christians 
 of Italy. The art travelled from Italy to the 
 Netherlands, and thence to England, where 
 it was first practised in the beginning of the 
 17th century. 
 
 The extension of this manufacture has been 
 far more rapid in England than in any other 
 country. Before Arkwrigkt's time, it was the 
 custom for the weavers, who were dispersed 
 in cottages throughout the manufacturing 
 districts, to purchase the material with Avhich 
 they worked, and, having converted ,it into 
 cloth, to carry their wares to market, and sell 
 them on their own account to the dealers ; 
 but about 1760 the merchants of Manchester 
 began to employ the weavers, furnishing them 
 with yarn for warp, and with raw cotton, which 
 was spun by the weaver's family for the weft, 
 and paying a fixed price for the labour be- 
 stowed in weaving. The Factory System, now 
 so closely connected with the cotton manufac- 
 ture, arose out of the invention of complicated 
 
COTTON MANUFACTUKE. 
 
 COTTON SPINNING. 
 
 084 
 
 pieces of machinery which could not be worked 
 in the cottages of the weavers. Ahout 1760 
 James Hargreaves invented a carding -engine, 
 to assist in straightening the fibres of cotton. 
 In 1767 the same ingenious man invented the 
 Spinning Jenny, by which a number of threads 
 could be spun as easily as one thread by the 
 old spinning wheel. The saving of labour 
 which this machine effected roused the jea- 
 lousy of the spinners, who for a time pre- 
 vented the new machine from coming into 
 general use. This opposition however being 
 overcome, the Spinning Jenny became gene- 
 rally used for spinning weft threads in the 
 manufacture of cloth, wherein linen thread 
 formed the warp. Arkwright patented in 
 1769 his Spinning Frame, by which cotton 
 yarn could be woven strong enough for warp 
 threads. All attempts to produce fine muslin, 
 although India-spun yarn was used as weft, 
 were for many years fruitless ; but in 1786 
 Samuel Crompton invented the Mule Jenny, 
 by which yarn could be produced much finer 
 and softer than any before wrought in this 
 country. 
 
 This train of inventions led to an astonish- 
 ing increase of manufacture. But the manu- 
 facturers were for a time subjected to much 
 discouragement from the determination of the 
 revenue officers to charge for cloth composed 
 wholly of cotton double the duty payable upon 
 calicoes woven with linen warp and printed 
 for exportation, and also by prohibiting their 
 use at home. With some difficulty an act of 
 Parliament was obtained for removing these 
 obstacles to the development of the maufac- 
 ture, which from that time was prosecuted 
 with a great and continually accelerated rate 
 of increase. Of the inventors who gave the 
 spur to this industry, Hargreaves and Cromp- 
 ton died comparatively poor, while Arkwright 
 was enabled to accumulate enormous wealth. 
 Some of Crompton's finest yarns were sold by 
 him at 20 guineas per Ib. : they can now be 
 produced of the same fineness for 15 shillings ! 
 
 Arkwright brought out a succession of im- 
 provements in the various processes of the 
 manufacture ; and since his time every year 
 has added to the number, until the preparing 
 and spinning machinery has reached an extra- 
 ordinary degree of perfection. The first suc- 
 cessful attempt to weave by machinery was 
 made in 1785 by Dr. Cartwright; and Mr. 
 Monteith of Glasgow was the first person to 
 make use of the new method on a large scale. 
 Padcliffe added efficiency to the power looms 
 by the invention in 1804 of the Dressing or 
 Starching Machine. 
 
 The processes connected with the prepara- 
 tion and spinning of the cotton fibres are de- 
 
 scribed under ARKWRIGHT ; COTTON SPINNING; 
 and THREAD. The weaving of the yarn into 
 piece-goods is described under FUSTIAN ; 
 VELVET ; and WEAVING. The imparting of 
 colour and design to the woven cloth is 
 treated under BANDANA; COTTON or CALICO 
 PRINTING ; and DYEING. The statistics of the 
 manufacture, in respect to the number of 
 factories, power-looms, work-people, &c., are 
 given under FACTORIES. Mr. McCulluch esti- 
 mates that, allowing for old persons and chil- 
 dren dependent upon those actually employed 
 in the various departments of the cotton ma- 
 nufacture, and in the construction and re- 
 pairs of the machinery and buildings required 
 to carry it on, the entire manufacture in Great 
 Britain must furnish subsistence for at least 
 1,250,000 persons. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy estimated the value of the 
 cotton manufactures produced in Great Bri- 
 tain in 1832 at about 25,000,OOOZ. Mr. Baines 
 made the estimate for 1833 at about 31,000,000*. 
 Mr. McCulloch's estimate for 1836 was about 
 34,000,OOOZ. Mr. Porter's estimate for 1841 
 was about 49,000,000*. It is admitted that 
 there are no exact data for determining these 
 quantities ; but the above are approximately 
 correct. The capital invested is supposed to 
 amount to 30,000,000*. or 35,000,000*. 
 
 The real or declared value of manufactured 
 cotton goods exported from this country in 
 various years was as follows : 
 
 . . . . 16,516,748 
 
 . . . . 18,359,526 
 
 .. .. 19,428,664 
 
 . . . . 22,128,304 
 
 . . . . 24,668,618 
 
 .. .. 26,119,331 
 
 . . . . 26,890,794 
 
 The exports for 1849 were thus divided : 
 
 
 
 Piece goods . . . . 18,834,601 
 
 Lace and net . . 487,300 
 
 Thread 427,422 
 
 Hosiery .. .. 118,418 
 
 Yarn 6,701,920 
 
 Sundries .. .. 321,133 
 
 Years. 
 
 1820 
 1825 
 1830 
 1835 
 1840 
 1845 
 1849 
 
 26,890,794 
 
 Of this enormous value the portion sent to 
 the British colonies amounted to 7,264,469*. 
 
 The cotton manufacture is now largely con- 
 ducted in the United States, France, Belgium, 
 Germany, and other countries ; and specimens 
 from all those countries will be found in the 
 forthcoming Industrial Exhibition. 
 
 COTTON SPINNING. The spinning of 
 cotton into the form of yarn, or thread, re- 
 
685 
 
 COTTON SPINNING. 
 
 COTTON SPINNING. 
 
 686 
 
 quires many preparatory processes. The first 
 of these consists in mixing the contents of 
 different hags together, to equalise the quality. 
 This is done by spreading out the contents of 
 each bag in a horizontal layer of uniform 
 thickness, the contents of the several bags 
 forming separate layers and resting one upon 
 the other, so that the number of layers cor- 
 responds to the number of bags. The cotton 
 of which this heap is composed is then torn 
 down by a rake from top to bottom. It is 
 evident that in its progress a portion of each 
 horizontal layer will be brought away, and 
 that thus, if the work be skilfully done, the 
 contents of the different bags must be collected 
 together in a mass of uniform quality. The 
 mode of conducting the mixing depends on 
 the quality of yarn required. 
 
 The scutching -machine is used to open the 
 locks of cotton and separate its fibres, while 
 at the same time it separates from it any sand 
 or seeds which it may contain. This machine 
 consists of feeding rollers made of wood, and 
 placed at a short distance from each other, 
 through which the cotton is made to pass 
 slowly. After passing through the rollers the 
 cotton is struck by a set of beaters made to 
 revolve 1000 or more times in a minute. The 
 cotton is passed through two sets of rollers, 
 and subjected to two sets of beaters. 
 
 Up to this stage the fibres of the cotton 
 cross each other in every direction. The use 
 of the carding-engine is to disentangle them, 
 to draw them out, and to lay them parallel to 
 each other. The card is a species of brush 
 made of short wires passed through a sheet of 
 leather and pointing all in one direction. In 
 the early period of cotton-spinning in this 
 country, these cards were nailed on small 
 pieces of board with handles, and two of them 
 were used together, one held in each hand. 
 Hargreaves invented an improved arrange- 
 ment of cards in 1760 ; but this gave way to 
 the cylinder machine, now universally em- 
 ployed. This consists of a horizontal cylinder 
 covered with narrow fillet cards, studded with 
 wires. Over the cylinder is a concave frame, 
 the interior surface of which is lined with 
 cards, and the form of which corresponds to 
 that of the cylinder. When the cylinder is 
 made to revolve, the cards on it and on the 
 frame work against each other, by which 
 means the fibres of cotton are disentangled 
 and properly arranged, as already mentioned. 
 The cotton is spread out into a sheet of given 
 length and breadth, and placed so that the 
 teeth of the carding-engine can catch it and 
 draw it in. A sort of comb draws the fibres 
 of cotton off the teeth when the carding is 
 effected ; and the cotton passes through two 
 
 rollers into a tin can, where it assumes a light 
 fleecy form called a sliver. 
 
 The next operation, that of drawing, has 
 for its object the arranging of the fibres of 
 cotton longitudinally, in a uniform and pa- 
 rallel direction, and to remedy all existing 
 inequalities in the thickness of the sliver. 
 The drawing-frame acts upon the same prin- 
 ciple as Arkwright's spinning-frame, two sets 
 of rollers being employed moving with unequal 
 velocities. The cotton is drawn several times, 
 to attain the utmost regularity. 
 
 Roving, the next step in the process, is a 
 continuation of the drawing, with this only 
 difference, that the cord, now called a rove or 
 slub, being so much reduced in thickness that 
 it will not otherwise hold together, a slight 
 twist is given to it by passing it into a conical 
 can, which, while receiving it, is made to re- 
 volve with great velocity. The rove, thus 
 slightly twisted, is wound upon bobbins by 
 children, and is then ready for the spinning- 
 frame. The fly-frame and the tubeframe are 
 two machines employed in this process. 
 
 The principle of Arkwright's spinning-frame 
 has been already explained. [AEKWEIGHT.] 
 The throstle -frame is the same in principle as 
 Arkwright's invention, but the movement of 
 the parts is simplified. A throstle-frame now 
 contains from 70 to 1 50 spindles on each side ; 
 and one young woman can manage the double 
 set, from 140 to 300 spindles. The Mule 
 Jenny, invented by Samuel Crompton, com- 
 bines the essential principle of Arkwright's 
 frame with the property of stretching pos- 
 sessed by Hargreave's Jenny. By means of 
 the mule-jenny, the roving is first drawn and 
 then stretched. The effect of this improve- 
 ment is to make the yarn finer, and of a more 
 uniform tenuity. The spindles in this ma- 
 chine are regularly arranged on a carriage, 
 which, when put in motion, recedes from the 
 rollers with a velocity somewhat greater than 
 that at which the reduced rovings are delivered 
 from them ; during this time the yarn is re- 
 ceiving its twist by the rapid revolving of the 
 spindles, and when the rollers are made to 
 cease giving out the rovings, the mule-jenny 
 still continues to recede, but with a slower 
 motion, and its spindles to revolve, and thus 
 the stretching is effected. When the drawing, 
 stretching, and twisting of the thread are thus 
 accomplished, the mule disengages itself from 
 the parts of the machine by which it has been 
 driven, and then the attendant spinner re turns 
 the carriage to the rollers, again to perform 
 its task. While returning to the roller, the 
 thread which has been spun is wound or built 
 on the spindle in a conical form, and is called 
 a cop. The mule-jenny has become a self- 
 
687 COTTON or CALICO PRINTING. 
 
 acting machine,' by some beautiful inventions 
 of Messrs. Sharp and Roberts, at Manchester. 
 Some of the modern double self-acting mules 
 contain 2200 spindles, all managed by one 
 man. 
 
 The spun yarn is reeled into hanks con- 
 taining 840 yards. Yarn of low numbers, or 
 below 40 hanks to the lb., is generally spun 
 by the throstle ; but high numbers, or fine 
 yarn, is more frequently spun by the mule. 
 At Houldsworth's Mill, at Manchester, yarn 
 was spun a few years ago to the astonishing 
 degree of fineness of No. 460; that is, 
 460 X by 840, or 386,400 yards, or nearly 
 220 miles in length, from 1 lb. of cotton. 
 This yarn was worth five times its weight in 
 silver, and was spun for a muslin dress for 
 her Majesty. But even this triumph of skill 
 is about to be exceeded. A Manchester manu- 
 facturer is spinning a pound of cotton for 
 the Great Exhibition of 1851, in length 238 
 miles and 1120 yards, being the finest ever 
 yet produced. Those most conversant with 
 the details of cotton-spinning can best appre- 
 ciate the value of the machinery and the 
 talent displayed in so wonderful a production. 
 The cotton was, we believe, from Egypt, and 
 is considered the finest specimen that was 
 ever imported into this country. 
 
 COTTON or CALICO PRINTING. This 
 art has been practised from time immemorial 
 in India. Pliny describes a mode which was 
 adopted by the Egyptians in staining cotton 
 cloth, evidently similar to the modern process 
 of employing wood-cuts. In India, not only 
 is the art of using wood printing-blocks well 
 known, but also that of applying resist-pastes, 
 in order to preserve the cloth from the action 
 of the dye-bath in any desired figures or spots. 
 Processes of printing, similar to the Indian, 
 have been long practised in Asia Minor and 
 in the Levant ; but they were not attempted 
 in Europe till about the middle of the 17th 
 century. The first print-ground in England 
 was established near Richmond, in Surrey, in 
 1696; but it was not till the year 1768 that 
 the business was carried into Lancashire, 
 where it now constitutes one of the most in- 
 teresting and productive branches of English 
 manufactures. From its outset the printing 
 of cotton goods encountered the keenest hos- 
 tility from the silk weavers of Spitalfields; 
 and it was not till 1831 that printed cottons 
 were relieved from the burdens thrown on 
 them by protection. 
 
 Calicoes, muslins, &c., intended for printing 
 are first of all freed from their fibrous down 
 by the action of the singeing machine. This 
 consists either of a semi-cylinder of iron or 
 copper, laid horizontally, and kept at a bright 
 
 COTTON or CALICO PRINTING. 688 
 
 red heat by a furnace, or by a horizontal range 
 of gas-jet flames : over one of these the plain 
 of cloth is drawn with a steady continuous 
 motion, and at a rate suited to its texture. 
 The cotton cloth is next well bleached 
 [BLEACHING], because, the whiter it is, the 
 more light it will reflect from its surface, and 
 the more brilliant will be the colour of its 
 dyes. The goods are next rinsed, dried, and 
 sometimes smoothed under the calender. If 
 they are not calendered, they are run through 
 a machine called in Lancashire the candroy, 
 which spreads them smoothly in the act of 
 rolling them upon a cylinder. 
 
 There are four mechanical modes of print- 
 ing calicoes: first, by small wooden blocks, 
 worked by hand ; second, by large wooden 
 blocks, set in a frame, and worked by a ma- 
 chine called the Perrotine ; third, by flat 
 copper plates (a method now nearly obsolete) ; 
 and fourth, by copper cylinders. 
 
 The blocks are made of sycamore wood, or 
 of deal faced with sycamore. They are about 
 ten inches long and five broad, with an arched 
 handle on the back for convenience of holding. 
 The face is either cut in relief into the design 
 required, or the same object is obtained by 
 the insertion edgewise into the wood of nar- 
 row slips of flattened copper wire in the de- 
 sired configurations. These narrow fillets 
 have one edge inserted into the wood, are 
 fixed by the taps of a light hammer, and are 
 all filed down and polished into one horizon- 
 tal plain, to secure equality of impression in 
 the several lines. The interstices between 
 the copper ridges are filled up with felt-stuff. 
 Occasionally both the wood-cutting and inser- 
 tion plan are combined in one block. 
 
 Calico-printing by hand is performed by ap- 
 plying the face of the block to a piece of 
 woollen cloth stretched over one end of a 
 sieve-hoop, and imbued with a colouring 
 matter of a thin pasty consistence by means 
 of a flat brush. The block is then applied to 
 the surface of the cotton cloth while extended 
 upon a flat table covered with a blanket, and 
 the impression is transferred to it by striking 
 the back of the block \vith a light mallet. 
 This method, besides the great cost of labour 
 which it involves, has the inconvenience of 
 causing many irregularities in the execution 
 of the work. It has been superseded to a 
 considerable extent, both in France and 
 Belgium, by the Perrotine. Three thin wooden 
 blocks, engraved in relief, about three feet 
 long, and from two to five inches broad, are 
 successively brought to bear on three of the 
 four faces of a prismatic roller of iron, round 
 which the cloth is successively wound. Each 
 block rests on springs, which enable it to 
 
689 COTTON or CALICO PRINTING. 
 
 press with the delicacy of a skilful arm ; and 
 each receives its peculiar-coloured paste from 
 a woollen surface imbued by a mechanical 
 brush in rapid alternation. In England a 
 machine has been introduced in which three 
 or more oblong blocks are laid side by side, 
 and are imbued with different colours all at 
 the same time, from a trough arranged for 
 the purpose. 
 
 The cylinder-machine consists of a hollow 
 cylinder of copper about three feet long and 
 three or four inches in diameter, whose sur- 
 face is engraved, not by the hand-graver, but 
 by the mechanical pressure of a steel roller 
 from one to two inches in diameter, and 
 three inches long, which transfers the figures 
 engraved on it to the relatively softer copper. 
 The first steel roller, called the die, is softened 
 before being engraved in intaglio ; it is then 
 hardened, and made, by a powerful press, to 
 transfer its design in relief to a similar die 
 called the mill, which is the one used for 
 transferring the design to the copper cylinder. 
 The process of etching is also sometimes had 
 recourse to for covering the cylinder with 
 various figures. 
 
 The engraved cylinders are mounted upon 
 a strong iron shaft or arbor, carrying a 
 toothed wheel at its end, in order to put it in 
 train with the rotatory printing machine, for 
 one, two, or more colours. On a roller, at the 
 upper part of this apparatus, are wound whole 
 calico webs stitched together, the end of 
 which is then introduced between the engraved 
 copper cylinder and a large central cylinder 
 covered with blanket, against which it is made 
 to bear with regulated pressure. The en- 
 graved cylinder turns on the top of another 
 cylinder covered with woollen cloth, which 
 revolves with the former while its under part 
 is plunged in an oblong trough containing the 
 dyeing matter, which is of a pasty consistence. 
 The engraved cylinder is thus supplied with 
 an abundance of impressible colour, and is 
 cleared from the superfluity by the thin edge 
 of a flat ruler made of bronze, called vulgarly 
 the doctor, which is applied obliquely to it 
 with a gentle force. The cylinder, after its 
 escape from this wiping tool, acts upon the 
 calico, and rolls it onwards with its revolution, 
 imparting its figured design with great preci- 
 sion. One single machine will print calico at 
 the rate of a mile an hour. 
 
 Dye-stuffs, capable alone of imparting fast 
 colours to calico, have been called substantive ; 
 and such as require the intervention of a 
 mordant, adjective. Indigo, catechu, and 
 certain metallic oxides belong to the former 
 class ; madder, cochineal, and Persian berries 
 to the latter. There ore five general styles of 
 
 COTTON or CALICO PRINTING. 690 
 
 work in calico printing : 1, The fast colour or 
 chintz style, in which the mordants are 
 applied to the white cloth, and the colours of 
 the design are afterwards brought up in the 
 dye-bath. 2, Where the whole surface re- 
 ceives a uniform tint from one colouring mat- 
 ter, and figures of other colours are afterwards 
 brought up by chemical discharges and reac- 
 tions ; this is called the Rongeant style in 
 France. 3, Where the white surface is 
 impressed with figures in a resist-paste, and 
 is afterwards subjected to a general dye, such 
 as the indigo-vat. 4, Steam-colours, in which 
 a mixture of the mordants and dye- extracts 
 is applied to the cloth, and the chemical com- 
 bination is effected by the agency of steam. 
 5, Spirit-colours, consisting of mixtures of 
 dye-extracts with nitro -muriate of tin; these 
 cannot be exposed to a steam heat without 
 corroding the cloth : this style is brilliant, but 
 fugitive. 
 
 The tint or Shade of colour produced in 
 the dyeing-bath is proportional to the strength 
 of the mordant previously applied to the cloth. 
 The thickening of mordants is one of the 
 most important operations in calico-printing ; 
 for the permanence and beauty of the impres- 
 sion depend not a little on the consistence 
 and quality of the inspissating substance. 
 The substances usually employed in thicken- 
 ing are flour starch ; flour ; roasted starch ; 
 gum Senegal ; gum tragacansh ; salep ; nige- 
 clay mixed with gum Senegal ; potato starch ; 
 sulphate of lead and gum ; sugar ; treacle ; 
 glue. 
 
 In the printing of yellows, greens, purples, 
 pinks, and browns, different colouring sub- 
 stances are used, and different processes 
 adopted for causing the colours to combine 
 permanently with the cloth ; but they all pos 
 sess a common character, inasmuch as 
 mordants are applied to the white cloth, and 
 the colours of the design are afterwards 
 brought up in the dye-bath. 
 
 In almost all the modes of calico-printing, 
 the processes are very numerous, to ensure 
 the beauty and the permanence of the colours. 
 In what is called the steam-colour printing, the 
 agency of steam is applied to aid in fixing the 
 colours to the cloth. The cloth is first 
 steeped in a mordant liquor ; then printed by 
 the cylinder with various colours, which for 
 their peculiar properties are called steam- 
 colours. The cloth is hung up to dry, and 
 when dry it is exposed to the action of dry 
 steam. This is done by five different kinds 
 of apparatus the column, the lantern, the 
 cask, the steam-chest, and the chamber. The 
 first of these, which is most frequently used, 
 is a hollow copper cylinder about 45 inches 
 
691 
 
 COUNTERPOISE. 
 
 COVENTRY. 
 
 692 
 
 long by 2 to 6 in diameter, perforated along 
 its whole surface with small holes one quarter 
 of an inch apart. To the lower end of the 
 column a circular plate is soldered, which 
 serves to prevent the cloth coiled round the 
 cylinder from falling down from it. The 
 bottom of the hollow cylinder is terminated by 
 a tube one inch wide, which fits tight into the 
 socket of an iron chest beneath it, into whose 
 side the steam pipe of supply enters. The 
 goods printed with the steam-colours and 
 properly dried are lapped tight round this 
 hollow cylinder, and covered exteriorly with 
 an envelope of strong cotton cloth, blanket- 
 stuff, or flannel. The steam is then let on, 
 and continued for 20 or 30 minutes, according 
 to the nature of the dyes. The steam being 
 stopped, the printed goods are rapidly un- 
 rolled from the column while still hot, lest any 
 condensation of vapour should take place to 
 stain them. 
 
 A pretty and ingenious method of producing 
 the ' rainbow ' pattern is as follows : a num- 
 ber of sieves, containing the different shades 
 of colour, are placed nearly under each other, 
 over each sieve a disc revolves, having pro- 
 jections of copper wire, which dip into the 
 colours. These discs are supported on pe- 
 destals which admit of easy adjustment, and 
 are so regulated, that as they revolve the 
 projecting wires give colour to the cylinder 
 in successively lighter shades. 
 
 The designs for calico printing are very 
 costly. A copper cylinder is worth from 5L 
 to 71. ; and the engraving costs from 51. to 10/. 
 more. A constant succession of new patterns 
 must be kept up by the manufacturer to pro- 
 duce ' novelties ' for the season. Some of the 
 Lancashire firms expend as much as 5000/. a 
 year in designing and engraving new patterns. 
 Property in these designs is secured by law. 
 [DESIGNS, COPYRIGHT, AND REGISTRATION.] 
 The art of designing now receives encourage- 
 ment from the government. [DESIGN, 
 SCHOOLS OF.] 
 
 In the year ending June 1846, the printed 
 and dyed cotton goods exported from this 
 country amounted to 327,465,580 yards. 
 
 COUNTERPOISE is, generally, a mass of 
 brass or iron so disposed as to keep a part of 
 some instrument or machine in equilibrio. 
 Large astronomical instruments are generally 
 mounted so that their centres of gravity are 
 supported, in which case they require no 
 counterpoise ; but a reflecting circle is some- 
 times so placed as to require a heavy counter- 
 poise on the other side of the pillar which 
 sustains it. A transit instrument or mural 
 circle, whose pivots would press heavily on 
 their supports, is sometimes provided with 
 
 counterpoises, one for each point which is to 
 be relieved. Lord Rosse's great telescope has 
 two counterpoises to assist in the requisite 
 adjustments. A drawbridge usually has its 
 weight relieved, or almost wholly removed, by 
 a counterpoise, so that the machinery 
 employed to raise it has little except the 
 resistance arising from friction to over- 
 come. 
 
 COUPLING-, in machinery, is the name 
 given to various arrangements by which the 
 parts of a machine may be connected or dis 
 connected at pleasure, or by which a machine 
 may be disengaged from, or re- engaged with, 
 a revolving wheel or shaft, through which it 
 receives motion from a steam-engine, water- 
 wheel, or other prime mover. Coupling-boxes, 
 clutches or glands, a solid conical wheel work- 
 ing in a hollow cone, friction-wheels whose 
 peripheries act in contact, and Hook's univer- 
 sal joint, are different forms of apparatus for 
 effecting this adjustment. 
 
 COURTRAI, a town in West Flanders, 
 is famous for the manufacture of damask 
 and other linen textures, which are exported 
 to all parts of Europe. Flax of the finest 
 quality is produced in large quantities in the 
 vicinity, which contains a great number of 
 bleaching establishments, The dyers of 
 Courtray imitate with success the colour 
 known as Turkey red. Thread and silk lace 
 are among the branches of industry pursued. 
 
 COVENTRY. In the time of the Edwards 
 and Henries, the tradesmen of Coventry were 
 famed for then- affluence. In 14-18 they 
 equipped 600 armed men for the public ser- 
 vice. Until the war between England and 
 France in 1694, the staple manufacture was 
 woollens, broad-cloths and caps ; and previous 
 to 1580 there existed a famous manufacture 
 of blue thread ; the water of the small river 
 Sherbourne, which passes through the city, 
 being an excellent menstruum for dyeing this 
 colour. During the 18th century there was a 
 flourishing manufacture of tammies, camlets, 
 shalloons, calimancoes, gauzes, (fee., but it is 
 no longer continued. At present the staple 
 manufactures are ribbons and watches. The 
 ribbon manufacture was introduced about 
 1730, and is supposed now to give employment 
 to about 6,000 persons in the city ; it is said 
 that 20,000 are employed in ribbon weaving in 
 Coventry and the vicinity. The weaving has 
 hitherto been almost entirely performed by 
 the hand-loom, and the weavers are in general 
 a poor class ; but steam factories have been 
 of late increasing, and are probably superse- 
 ding the loom at the workmen's dwellings. 
 The leaders of the trade are not the manu- 
 facturers, but a comparatively small number 
 
693 
 
 COWEY SHELLS. 
 
 CRANE. 
 
 694 
 
 of wholesale firms in London and Manchester, 
 whose agents attend at Coventry. Gimp and 
 other trimmings are also made in Coventry, 
 and there are large establishments for dyeing 
 silk. The making of watches has been 
 carried on here probably as long as the ribbon 
 manufacture, and is now so extensive that as 
 many watches are said to be made in Coventry 
 as in London. 
 
 The Report on the Government Schools of 
 Design for 1850 contains a statement relating 
 to the branch school of Coventry well worthy 
 of attention. ' Of the beneficial influence of 
 the school on the manufactures of the town, 
 the manufacturers entertain a strong and 
 increasing conviction ; for the employment of 
 designers in the strict sense of the term, the 
 ribbon manufacture affords but a narrow basis ; 
 and until the prejudices of the public in favour 
 of French ribbons is removed, there can be 
 but little production in England of that de- 
 scription of goods upon which designs of the 
 highest class can be exhibited ; but it is certain 
 that during the last five years there has been 
 a marked improvement in the Coventry pat- 
 terns, accompanied by improved quality and 
 closeness of texture in the fabric, and that a 
 superior class of Coventry goods, to some 
 extent, under the name of French, is gaining 
 ground in the market. These results the 
 manufacturers unhesitatingly ascribe to the 
 superiority which the rising generation of 
 pattern draughters have attained through 
 their education in the school. Nor is it only 
 in the greater refinement and better execution 
 of the patterns that an advantage has been 
 obtained ; they are also drawn and draughted 
 at a much less expense than formerly, an evi- 
 dence that it is the young hands and appren- 
 tices who excel in the art.' 
 
 There are several guilds, or incorporated 
 trading companies, some of which are pos- 
 sessed of considerable property, which they 
 spend in charity and festivities. 
 
 The local position of Coventry is favourable 
 for commercial operations, being nearly cen- 
 tral between the four greatest ports of England 
 London, Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull ; pos- 
 sessing great facilities of water communication 
 by the Coventry and Oxford Canal, which 
 opens into the Grand Trunk navigation, and 
 having one of the main roads from London to 
 Birmingham passing through its streets. The 
 London, and North Western Railway passes 
 close to the town ; and there are two branch 
 lines, one turning northward to Leamington 
 and Warwick, and another (not yet finished) 
 to Nuneaton. 
 
 COWRY SHELLS are called by concholo- 
 gists Cyprae<B. Their beauty has procured them 
 
 a place among the ornaments of OUT chimney- 
 pieces, and they have been in demand among 
 civilised and uncivilised nations time out of 
 memory. Cowries are used as small coin in 
 many parts of Southern Asia, as in India, the 
 Burmese Empire, Siam, &c., and especially 
 on the coast of Guinea in Africa. In 1740 a 
 rupee in Bengal was worth 2400 cowries ; in 
 1766, 2560 cowries ; and now, we believe, 3200 
 may be had for it. 
 
 COYPOU or COYPU is one of the nume- 
 rous fur-bearing animals of South America. 
 Like the beaver it has two kinds of fur ; an 
 outer coat of long ruddy hairs, and an under 
 garment of fine brownish wool, much used in 
 the manufacture of hats. In France the skins 
 of this animal are sold under the name of 
 Racoonda. M. Geoffroy mentions that in 
 certain years a single French furrier, M. Be- 
 chem, has received from 15,000 to 20,000 
 skins. They are imported into Great Britain 
 to a large amount ; from 600,000 to 800,000 
 have been stated as the importation of one 
 year, principally from the Rio de la Plata. 
 They are here known under the name of 
 Neutria or Nutria, an appellation derived from 
 some supposed similarity in the habits and 
 appearance of the animal to those of the otter, 
 the Spanish name of which is Nutria. 
 
 CRAB is a kind of portable windlass, or 
 machine for raising weights, or otherwise 
 exerting force, by winding a rope or chain 
 round a horizontal barrel. Crabs are usually 
 mounted in a strong heavy framework of 
 wood or iron ; and, when employed for a 
 temporary purpose, but one which involves 
 considerable strain, they are either bolted 
 down to a temporary foundation, or loaded 
 with heavy weights put upon the framework. 
 
 CRACOW. The little which can be said 
 concerning the produce and industry of 
 Cracow will be found under POLAND. 
 
 CRADLING, is a name given to the slight 
 timber - framing constructed under floors in 
 order to form arched or coved ceilings. 
 
 CRAMP, or CRAMPERN, is a piece of 
 metal bent at each end and let into the upper 
 surface of two pieces of stone when their per- 
 pendicular faces are joined together. Cramps 
 are employed in the masonry of all solid 
 structures. Iron is mostly used, but copper 
 is more durable. The Greeks used cramps in 
 the construction of their temples, and wooden 
 cramps were sometimes used by the Egyp- 
 tians. 
 
 CRANE, is a machine employed for raising 
 weights vertically by means of a rope or chain 
 acted upon by a windlass, but carried over a 
 pulley or wheels attached to the extremity of 
 a projecting arm or jib. The common ware- 
 
695 
 
 CRANE. 
 
 house crane, which is usually formed of iron, 
 may be compared to an inverted L, the verti- 
 cal portion of which is so mounted as to form 
 a pivot or axis upon which the whole may be 
 swung round; so that the horizontal arm, 
 which is strengthed by diagonal struts, may 
 extend in any direction. The rope or chain 
 of such a crane is conducted along the hori- 
 zontal arm, and connected with a kind of 
 windlass or crab, which is usually provided 
 with two sets of gearing for working at dif- 
 ferent velocities, so that in raising light goods 
 a much greater speed may be given to the 
 chain with the same motion of the winch- 
 handles than when the load is very heavy. 
 Wharf-cranes are frequently of somewhat 
 different construction, owing to the circum- 
 stance that they usually stand alone, that is 
 to say, that they are self-supported, instead 
 of being attached to and supported by a wall 
 or a post secured to a wall. There is a verti- 
 cal pillar of iron or wood, the lower end of 
 which is firmly secured to a foundation of 
 masonry, while the upper end terminates in a 
 pointed or conical pin, upon which, as a pivot, 
 the revolving part of the crane rests and 
 turns. The arm or jib projects obliquely from 
 the pillar, and is strengthened by diagonal 
 braces. The windlass or crab for working the 
 crane is attached to the central pillar. Some 
 cranes are worked by a tread-mill moved 
 by men ; some by horses or oxen ; some by 
 the sui-plus power of a steam engine ; some 
 by the compression of air in a strong vessel ; 
 some by hydrostatic pressure ; but the cus- 
 tomary mode is by a winch-handle. Many of 
 the cranes at the principal docks and quays 
 are capable of raising immense weights. 
 
 Mr. W. G. Amstrong, who has introduced 
 many ingenious applications of water power, 
 has recently patented a singular method of 
 working a crane by means of the pressure of 
 the water in the common water pipes of a 
 town. One such hydraulic crane was set up 
 and worked on the quay at Newcastle in 
 1846. The machinery for working the crane 
 is ail underground. There is a sort of dial 
 plate visible, with handles or indicators for 
 guiding all the movements of the machine, 
 such as i-aising, lowering, stopping, <fec. , these 
 indicators act upon valves which regulate the 
 water-pressure beneath, so that the move- 
 ments produced can be made exactly propor- 
 tionate to the work to be done. 
 
 Mr. Henderson's derrick crane, which has 
 been so largely used by Messrs. Fox and 
 Henderson at the Industrial Palace in Hyde 
 Park, is especially adapted for circumstances 
 where tho crane is required to be moved from 
 place to place during the progress of the 
 
 CRAYONS. 69t> 
 
 I works. This kind of crane has a derrick or 
 jib, rising nearly from the ground, and hinged 
 at its lower extremity to the upright post of 
 the crane. This hinge enables the derrick to 
 be moved to any required angle, so that the 
 upper extremity may be near or far from the 
 central post, according to the position of the 
 load to be raised. While the derrick can 
 thus move vertically on a horizontal hinge, 
 the post can rotate horizontally on a vertical 
 pivot ; so that the crane has a wide extended 
 area of action. 
 
 CRANK, in machinery, is a bend in an 
 axle by which a reciprocating motion in a rod 
 is made to produce a revolving motion of the 
 axle and of a wheel which may be connected 
 with it. 
 
 CRAPE is a light transparent fabric com- 
 posed of silk, from which, by the mode of its 
 preparation, all the gloss has been taken, and 
 which, when dyed, as it usually is, of a black 
 colour, is worn as a material for mourning- 
 dresses. For thin crape, the only preparation 
 which the filaments of silk undergo previous 
 to the weaving is the simple twisting, which 
 forms the first process of the throwing mill, 
 and in which state the thread is technically 
 called singles. When it is intended to make 
 a more substantial fabric, the warp is made of 
 two and sometimes three filaments twisted 
 together, which in that state are called tram : 
 the weft is still composed of singles. The 
 wrinkled appearance of crape is produced by 
 the application of a viscid solution of gum. 
 
 In the Custom House returns, crape goods 
 are entered distinct from other varieties of 
 silk. In 1848 crape shawls, scarfs, and hand- 
 kerchiefs were imported to the value of 
 15,490/.; partly from France, but chiefly from 
 India. 
 
 CRAYONS are a useful kind of material for 
 drawing. Black chalk found in Italy, white 
 chalk found in France, and red chalk, form 
 three of the best varieties of crayons; each 
 has its own peculiar value as a drawing ma- 
 terial. Artificial crayons are composed of 
 different coloured earths and other pigments, 
 rolled into solid sticks with some tenacious 
 stuff such as milk, common gin, or beer wort ; 
 the best are procured from Switzerland. A 
 new kind called Athenian crayons has recently 
 been introduced ; they are sold at the London 
 colour-shops at three to four shillings per 
 dozen. The native crayons are the legiti- 
 mate materials for the artist in the study of 
 drawing, and in tracing the first thoughts of 
 design. Some of the sketches of Raphel, 
 Michael Angelo, the Caracci, and othei's of 
 the great painters are in this material. 
 
 An instrument called' a portcrayon is em- 
 
69V 
 
 CREAM. 
 
 CRETA LEVIS. 
 
 COS 
 
 ployed to hold the crayon. It is a metal tube 
 split at each end, so as to admit the crayon ; a 
 sliding ring embraces the tube, and assists in 
 retaining the crayon. A stump made of lea- 
 ther, cork, or paper, closely rolled, or cut into 
 a short round stick more or less sharply 
 pointed at each end, is used to soften and 
 spread the chalk or crayon in the shaded 
 parts of the drawing. 
 
 Messrs. Wolff have recently introduced 
 what they call crayon-paper ; its surface has 
 a fine nap similar to that of cloth, which 
 renders it capable of receiving the marks of 
 the crayon with great readiness. 
 
 The following materials are said to form a 
 kind of crayon fitted for drawing on glass. 
 Equal quantities of asphaltum and yellow 
 wax, melted together, thickened with lamp 
 black, and poured into moulds to form cra- 
 yons. These crayons may be bevelled to a 
 fine point, and will mark well on a perfectly 
 clean piece of glass. 
 
 CREAM. [BUTTEK; MILK.] 
 
 There are various preparations which pass 
 by the name of creams, and which for the most 
 part consist of cream combined with syrups, 
 spices, fruits, &c. ; but sometimes there is no 
 milk -cream contained in them; the name 
 being derived from the consistency rather 
 than from the ingredient. 
 
 The French crernes are cordials or liqueurs, 
 which have a cream-like smoothness in their 
 taste. Such are the Creme d'Anise, Creme 
 d'Orange, &c. 
 
 CREASOTE or KREASOTE is a fluid 
 compound of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, 
 obtained from oil of tar. It is colourless, trans- 
 parent, arid has a strong odour which greatly 
 resembles that of smoked meat, with a caustic 
 and burning taste. It is highly antiseptic, 
 and combines both with acids and with alka- 
 lies ; but it is decomposed by strong nitric and 
 sulphuric acid. 
 
 Creasote coagulates albumen, even when 
 much diluted, and it also coagulates serum. 
 Meat and fish are preserved after having been 
 brushed over with creasote and dried in the 
 sun ; the antiseptic power of pyroligneous 
 acid and wood smoke is supposed to be derived 
 from its .presence. A few drops added to ink 
 are said effectually to prevent its becoming 
 mouldy. 
 
 Creasote, from its extraordinary antiseptic 
 qualities, is becoming employed in various 
 ways for the preservation of animal and vege- 
 table food. A joint of uncooked meat, in hot 
 weather, may be preserved pure for many 
 days by the use of this remarkable agent. 
 There are many ways in which this may be 
 done, The meat may be exposed to the smoke 
 
 produced by the burning of the wood which 
 contains or yields creasote ; or the meat may 
 be soaked for a short time in water which 
 contains a few drops of creasote ; or it may 
 be hung up in a larder or safe, with a dish 
 beneath it containing a little creasote, the 
 slow evaporation of which gradually affects 
 the meat. The first two of these methods are 
 in some respects objectionable, inasmuch as a 
 peculiar smell and taste are imparted to the 
 meat ; but in the third method, especially if 
 both the dish and the meat are covered with 
 cloths, the antiseptic effect is said to be pro- 
 duced without the accompaniment of the 
 odour and taste. 
 
 CREDITON. On the rise of the woollen 
 manufacture in the west of England, Cre- 
 diton became one of the most important seats 
 of that branch of industry. Little cloth is 
 now made in the town ; but hand-loom weavers 
 are employed in their own houses by manu- 
 facturers at Exeter and North Tawton. The 
 principal occupation in the town at present is 
 shoe-making, which employs several hundred 
 people. At Fordton, south of the town, is a 
 manufactory for coarse linens, dowlasses, sail- 
 cloth, &c. Early in 1848 a railway was com- 
 pleted from Exeter to Crediton, and it was 
 about to be opened in connection with the 
 Great Western Railway, when the South 
 Western Company obtained a majority in the 
 direction, and altered it from the broad to the 
 narrow guage, with a view to open it in con- 
 nection with a projected line from Exeter to 
 Yeovil and Salisbury. This led to litigation, 
 and the consequence has been that the Cre- 
 diton railway has not been opened to the pre 
 sent time (February 1851). 
 
 CREFELD, a town in Rhenish Prussia, 
 is a place of great manufacturing activity ; the 
 principal fabrics are silks and velvets, which 
 are woven chiefly by hand, and give employ- 
 ment to 6000 workpeople. The articles of 
 manufacture are calicoes, woollens, tape, 
 ribands, linen, hosiery, fjlass, refined sugar, 
 soap, iron, and cotton wares, &c. 
 
 CREMONA. The produce and industry of 
 this beautiful city and district are similar to 
 those of the country in which they are situ- 
 ated. [LOMBARDY.] 
 
 CRETA LEVIS. This name has been re- 
 cently given to a kind of drawing pencils, in- 
 termediate in character between lead pencils 
 and crayons. Being formed of very fine chalk, 
 they somewhat resemble crayons; but they 
 are put into handles or hollowed sticks like 
 pencils. The pencils can be cut to a fine 
 point ; and as they are made of every variety 
 of colour, they form a convenient means of 
 imitating, in a rough but expeditious way, the 
 
699 
 
 ORE WE. 
 
 CRONSTADT. 
 
 700 
 
 effects of a water-colour drawing. They are 
 sold at six to twelve shillings per dozen ac- 
 cording to the colours. 
 
 CREWE, in Cheshire, is one of the most 
 remarkable instances of a thriving and popu- 
 lous town springing into existence in connec- 
 tion with the system of railway communica- 
 tion. It owes its erection entirely to the for- 
 mation of the London and North Western 
 line of railway. The inhabitants consist 
 almost wholly of persons in the employment of 
 the railway company, with their families, and 
 the tradesmen and shopkeepers required to 
 supply them with the necessaries and conve- 
 niences of life. The houses and shops in 
 the town are, of course, nearly all new, and 
 they are well built ; the streets are wide, and 
 the footpaths are laid with asphalte. The 
 town is lighted with gas, and well supplied 
 with water ; a powerful steam -pump supplying 
 at once the engines in the extensive work- 
 shops of the company, the locomotive engines, 
 and the houses in the town. This pump 
 raises from 80,000 to 90,000 gallons of water 
 daily ; the portion intended to be used by the 
 inhabitants passes through two filtering pro- 
 cesses before reaching the houses. Baths are 
 also provided at a cheap rate. The town of 
 Crewe has a council for the management of 
 the affairs of the community : two-thirds of 
 the council are elected by the workmen and 
 inhabitants, and one-third by the directors of 
 the railway company. Medical attendance 
 and medicine are secured for the workmen 
 and their families on payment of a small 
 weekly rate, the highest charge (that for a 
 married man with a family) being 2d. per 
 week. A field in the neighbourhood is used 
 for cricket-playing. 
 
 The railway station at Crewe is very spacious 
 and splendid. From this place branch off five 
 lines of railway, affording ready means of 
 communication with all parts of the country. 
 The workshops and machinery of the North 
 Western Railway Company at Crewe are on a 
 very extensive scale. Railway carriages and 
 locomotive engines are manufactured and re- 
 paired. The number of carriages of all 
 kinds maintained at Crewe amounts to nearly 
 700, of which 100 at a time are usually under 
 repair. 
 
 CRIMPING MACHINE, Hughes's 
 crimping machine, patented in 1844, is in- 
 tended to produce all those varied forms in 
 woven goods called crimping, fluting, quilling, 
 and goffering, for ruffs or ranches. A female 
 worker employed at this process can goffer 
 about 288 yards of blonde in twelve hours ; 
 the new machine will do about eight times 
 that quantity in the same time. The machine 
 
 consists essentially of a series of rods, laid 
 parallel, and revolving on their axes in con- 
 tact with one another. The muslin or other 
 material is drawn between the rods, and re- 
 ceives in its passage a series of flutings or 
 other wavy forms, the precise arrangement of 
 which depends on the shape and arrangement 
 of the rods. The machine acts on a principle 
 nearly analogous to that employed in many 
 departments of the sheet-metal manufacture ; 
 such, for example, as the preparation of cor- 
 rugated sheet iron for roofs. 
 
 CRINAN CANAL, in Argyleshire, was con- 
 structed for the purpose of enabling vessels 
 of small burden to dispense with the rather 
 dangerous passage round the Mull of Can- 
 tyre, from Lochfyne to the Sound of Jura. 
 The project of forming this canal was first 
 started about 60 years back under the aus- 
 pices of the then Duke of Argyle. Sir John 
 Rennie, the civil engineer, having surveyed 
 the ground and reported favourably, an act of 
 parliament was obtained, and a company 
 formed in 1793, and the works were forthwith 
 commenced. The canal was opened in 1801. 
 Engineering difficulties in constructing the 
 works, and alterations in the original plans, 
 added considerably to the estimated expense, 
 and parliamentary grants have been more 
 than once made in aid of the company. The 
 canal, although not more than 9 miles in 
 length, has been of great service to the coast- 
 ing trade of the west of Scotland and the 
 Highlands. The number of locks in the 
 Crinan Canal is 15 ; the average breadth is 
 24 feet, and the depth of water 10 feet: if 
 found necessary, 12 feet depth of water could 
 be maintained. Since 1818 the canal has 
 been under the management of the Commis- 
 sioners of the Caledonian Canal, with the 
 navigation of which it is intimately connected ; 
 together these canals form an important por- 
 tion of the inland passage between Glasgow 
 and Inverness. In 1848 the dues on vessels 
 and merchandise were somewhat reduced, and 
 an increase of traffic is anticipated. Vessels 
 of 200 tons burden can pass through the 
 canal. 
 
 CROCKET, is an ornament of frequent use 
 in Gothic architecture. It consists of leafy 
 buds growing out of the angular sides of pin- 
 nacles and the label moulding of windows 
 and doors. 
 
 CRONSTADT, or KRONSTADT. There are 
 two important commercial towns of this name, 
 one in Transylvania and the other in Russia. 
 Cronstadt in Transylvania manufactures cloth, 
 linens, cottons, coarse woollens,hosiery,woollen 
 yarn, &c., flasks of maple wood, &c. There 
 is a paper-mill, and two grounds for bleaching 
 
701 CEOTON AQUEDUCT. 
 
 wax. Cronstadt was the first place in Tran 
 sylvauia where a printing-press was esta 
 blished. The town has a very important com 
 rnerce in manufactured goods, Austrian and 
 Turkish produce, salt, &c., which is chiefly in 
 the hands of a Greek trading company. 
 
 Cronstadt in Russia is the harbour of St. 
 Petersburg, and the principal naval station of 
 Russia. There are three harbours, one of 
 which, capable of containing 600 ships, is 
 allotted to merchantmen. The imperial naval 
 harbour is formed by a mole, and can accom 
 modate 35 ships of the line besides smaller 
 vessels. Adjacent to it are slips for building 
 ships, a powder magazine, a manufactory of 
 pitch, tar, &c. Vessels are repaired and built 
 in the large canal of Peter the Great, which 
 nins directly into the town between the middle 
 and merchant's harbour. Near it are the va- 
 rious docks for repairing ships ; the foundry, 
 which supplies annually 1200 tons of bombs, 
 balls, &c. ; the admiralty rope walk, tar works, 
 and excellent wet docks. By the Catherine 
 Canal vessels are enabled to take their stores, 
 munition, &c., directly from the store houses. 
 Large vessels load and unload at Cronstadt, 
 and the cargoes are conveyed to and from 
 St. Petersburg by lighters ; but vessels draw- 
 ing not more than 8| feet water can get over 
 the bar of the Neva. 
 
 CROTON AQUEDUCT. [AQUEDUCT.] 
 
 CROTON, is the name of a plant which is 
 largely used in medicine. Cascarilla bark is 
 yielded by the Croton cascarilla, a tree or shrub 
 growing in the vicinity of Jalapa. It occurs 
 in -pieces about a foot long. The colour ex- 
 ternally is yellowish, ash-gray, or varying to 
 reddish brown : this last colour is mostly 
 owing to the presence of lichens. The inner 
 surface is a dirty or rusty brown colour. The 
 odour is faintly aromatic : taste bitter, not un- 
 pleasant, and stimulating. One pound of 
 bark yields one drachm and a half of volatile 
 oil. This bark is sometimes mixed with cin- 
 chona barks, being called Gray Fever Bark. 
 Croton tiglium, an inhabitant of the Moluccas, 
 Ceylon, and other parts of the East Indies, is 
 a powerful drug ; every part, wood, leaves, and 
 fruit, seems to participate equally in the 
 energy. The Molucca grains, formerly used 
 in medicine, were the seeds of this species. 
 Croton lacciferum is a native of the East 
 Indies. This species is said to furnish the 
 finest of all the sorts of lac, but scarcely ever 
 to find its way to England ; it is very pure, of 
 a bright red, and furnishes a brilliant varnish 
 in Ceylon. From the Croton balsamiferum, 
 the liqueur called Ean de Mantes is distilled. 
 
 CRUCIBLE, is a chemical vessel in which 
 substances are exposed to high temperatures. 
 
 CRYSTALS. 
 
 702 
 
 Earthen crucibles are used in assaying ores : 
 for these purposes the refractory kind, called 
 Hessian or Cornish crucibles, are prepared. 
 Black lead crucibles, formed of about three 
 parts of plumbago and one of good clay, are 
 much employed, especially in melting metals. 
 Glass-makers' crucibles are usually made of 
 Stourbridge clay. Crucibles of silver and of 
 platinum are employed in various chemical 
 processes. 
 
 CRUTH, or CRWTH, a musical instru- 
 ment of the violin kind, was formerly much 
 used in Wales. It had six strings and was 
 somewhat of the lute form. 
 
 CRYO 'PHORUS. Dr. Wollaston gave this 
 name to an instrument invented for the pur- 
 pose of exhibiting the congelation of water in 
 consequence of evaporation. It consists of 
 two glass bulbs connected by a bent stem. 
 One of the bulbs, if cooled when empty, 
 causes water to freeze in the other, the stem 
 being in vacuo. 
 
 CRYPT, is the name given by architects to 
 a low-vaulted chamber, the vaulting of which 
 is supported on columns and the basement 
 walls of a church or cathedral. Some crypts 
 have become the receptacle of the monuments 
 of the dead, as at the abbey of St. Denis. 
 Crypts are far from being common to all 
 churches and cathedrals. 
 
 CRYSTALS; CRYSTALLOGRAPHY. Al- 
 though the study of crystals as a science, 
 apart from their practical applications in the 
 arts, does not belong to the present work, it 
 may be useful to explain certain terms and 
 properties, which are constantly in use when 
 crystals are spoken of. Mineralogists have 
 adopted certain groups of primary and se- 
 condary forms, as a means of classifying crys- 
 tals. The primary forms, according to one 
 system of crystallography (for there are more 
 systems than one), consist of the cube, the 
 square prism, the right rhombic prism, the 
 oblique rhombic prism, the doubly oblique prism, 
 and the rhomboid or rhombohedron. The na- 
 ture of these forms may be best explained by 
 showing the relations between them. The 
 cube has the well-known form of a die, with 
 six equal surfaces. If the lateral edges of the 
 cube be supposed to be longer or shorter than 
 the terminal edges, a square prism would be pro- 
 duced ; if two opposite lateral edges of a 
 square prism could be pressed towards each 
 other, the parallelism being kept, a right 
 rhombic prism would be formed ; if this prism 
 could be pressed in the direction of either of 
 the diagonals of its terminal plane, so as to 
 make the figure overhang the base in that 
 direction, an oblique rhombic prism would be 
 represented] and if again pressed in the di- 
 
703 
 
 CUBA. 
 
 CUBA. 
 
 704 
 
 rection of the other diagonal, so that it should 
 overhang the base in hoth directions, a doubly 
 oblique prism would be formed. If a cube be 
 made to stand on one of its angles by placing 
 the fingers on an opposite one, and if, while 
 held in this position, the two angles could be 
 pressed nearer together or drawn further 
 apart, the altered cube would become a 
 rhomboid. 
 
 The secondary forms of crystals are sup- 
 posed to be occasioned by some natural in- 
 fluence operating upon the first germ of the 
 crystal, and continuing during the period of 
 its increase in size. The number of known 
 secondary forms belonging to each system is 
 already very great ; in one mineral, carbonate 
 of lime, they amount to many hundreds. 
 Crystals occur more frequently in the se- 
 condary than the primary forms. Twin crys- 
 tals are produced by the union of two or more 
 crystals according to some regular plan, so 
 that, if any number of twin crystals of the 
 same kind of mineral should be found they 
 would be fashioned in the same manner. 
 
 The crystallisation of salts from solution in 
 fluids generally takes place when the solutions 
 are considerably evaporated, but the degree of 
 evaporation is very different for different sub- 
 stances. Some salts begin to crystallise at 
 the surface very soon after evaporation com- 
 mences ; and others (for example sugar) 
 must be evaporated to the consistence of a 
 thick syrup before any crystals will be formed. 
 Hot fluids will generally dissolve more matter 
 than cold ones, and crystals are frequently 
 produced during the cooling of the hot solu- 
 tion. Some soluble substances however can- 
 not be brought to crystallise under any cir- 
 cumstances hitherto tried; but, on the solvent 
 evaporating, a thick pasty matter is left, which 
 by further evaporation becomes a hard solid 
 mass. Camphor affords an instance of the 
 formation of crystals by volatilization. The 
 slags of furnaces will frequently be found to 
 contain crystallised matter ; and the common 
 rolls of sulphur when broken will frequently 
 present small cavities lined with thin needle- 
 like crystals. Becquerel, Crosse, Fox, and 
 others, by the electrical induction of chemical 
 action, have effected the crystallisation of 
 mineral bodies which are wholly insoluble in 
 any fluid which does not subject them to im 
 mediate chemical change. 
 
 CUBA is the largest of the islands which 
 constitute the Columbian Archipelago, in the 
 foreign West Indies. The objects raised for 
 consumption and exportation are sugar, coffee, 
 tobacco, cotton, cocoa, and indigo; but the 
 last three on a very small scale. As immense 
 tracts are not cultivated, but only used as 
 
 pasture ground, the number of cattle is very 
 great, and hides form an article of exporta- 
 tion. About 2,000,000 acres, or one-four- 
 teenth of the whole surface of the island, is 
 under cultivation. The uncultivated part con- 
 tains large prairies of great fertility, on which 
 great numbers of cattle pasture; but the 
 greatest part is overgrown with large forest- 
 trees, some of which supply excellent timber 
 for ship- building. Gold and copper have been 
 found in the Sierra del Cobre. 
 
 In few countries has commerce increased 
 so rapidly as in Cuba. About 1780 the expor- 
 tation of its own produce amounted to little 
 more than two millions of Spanish dollars in 
 value : in 1 760 the produce of sugar and 
 coffee together amounted to 5,000,000 Ibs. ; in 
 1800, to above 40,000,000 Ibs. In 1820 the 
 exports of these articles reached 100,000,000 
 Ibs. ; and in 1847 the quantity of sugar alone 
 exported had advanced to 256,800 tons, or 
 575,232,000 Ibs. In 1842 the exports of Cuba 
 amounted to 26,000,000 dollars. Havana is 
 by far the largest port for foreign trade. The 
 chief articles of importation are provisions, 
 particularly flour, rice, and maize, butter, 
 cheese, candles, tallow, jerked beef and hams, 
 and salted fish and cod. Brandy and the wines 
 of Spain, France, Portugal, and Germany, 
 also form a considerable branch of importa- 
 tion. As Cuba has no manufactures, cotton 
 stuffs, woollen goods, linens, hardwares, and 
 silk stuffs, are imported to a large amount. 
 Of the whole exports, rather more than one- 
 third are to England, and one -fifth to the 
 United States. Of the whole imports about 
 one-eighth are from England, and one -fourth 
 from the United States. The recent change 
 in the sugar duties has largely increased the 
 English consumption of Cuba sugar. 
 
 The exports from Great Britain to Cuba, 
 in 1848, amounted in value to 733,1697. The 
 chief items were : 
 
 Brass and copper manufactures 19,452 
 
 Coals 14,4!> 
 
 Cotton manufactures 228,!),% 
 
 Earthenware 24,411 
 
 Hardware and cutlery 38,078 
 
 Iron and steel goods ... }l3,2. r >0 
 
 Linen manufactures 218,121 
 
 Woollen manufactures 41,207 
 
 Among the articles imported from Cuba in 
 1848 were : 
 
 Coffee 586,2501bs. 
 
 Molasses 42,511 cwts. 
 
 Rum l. r )8,8!7gals. 
 
 Sugar 734,862 cwts. 
 
 Tobacco 512,984 Ibs. 
 
 The internal traffic, formerly impeded by 
 the badness of the roads, is much facilitated 
 by the introduction of railroads, of which there 
 were 800 miles open in 1847 ; the coasting- 
 
No. ]. 
 
705 
 
 CUDDAPAH DIAMONDS. 
 
 CUMBERLAND. 
 
 706 
 
 trade is active, 4,000 small vessels being used 
 to bring the produce of the neighbourhood to 
 Havana alone. 
 
 CUDDAPAH DIAMONDS. [DIAMOND.] 
 
 CUIRASS or CUIRASSE. The cuirass 
 in former days, was a piece of defensive ar- 
 mour, made of metal, and serving to cover 
 the body from the neck to the girdle, both be- 
 fore and behind ; the front, called the breast 
 plate, and the hinder part or back plate were 
 fastened to each other by straps, buckles, 
 hooks, or some other contrivance. The Egyp- 
 tians are said to have been the inventors of 
 such armour, but among that people it con- 
 sisted of folds of linen. Cuirasses of brass 
 or steel, and occasionally of gold or silver 
 highly ornamented, were used by the Greeks 
 and Romans. After having been long disused, 
 the cuirass was revived in Europe about the 
 middle of the fourteenth century. In the 
 Mediaeval Exhibition of 1850 many curious 
 specimens of these old cuirasses were collected. 
 In the English service the cuirass was again 
 disused after the reign of George II. Since 
 the year 1820, however, it has been revived as 
 part of the accoutrements of the life-guards. 
 
 CULTIVATOR. The names of Cultivator 
 and Scarifier are sometimes given to an agri- 
 cultural machine on three wheels, which has 
 five arms or vertical bars, the lower ends of 
 which are shaped something like ploughshares. 
 These points or rather blades project forward, 
 and act to a slight depth upon the earth as 
 the machine proceeds. They are adapted for 
 strong retentive clay soils. A Cultivator was 
 exhibited at the Smithfield Cattle Show, 1850, 
 by Mr. Smith of Uxbridge ; similar in prin- 
 ciple to some now in use at the royal farms 
 in Windsor Forest. 
 
 Harris s Annular Cultivator, registered in 
 1850, has seven shares or cutters ranged 
 round a circle, intended to ensure a more 
 equable action on the soil than when they are 
 arranged in right lines 
 
 CUMBERLAND. This county is rich in 
 minerals ; comprising silver, copper, lead, iron, 
 plumbago, limestone, and coal. The principal 
 lead mines are situated at Alston, and are al- 
 most exclusively the property of Greenwich 
 Hospital, to which institution they were appro- 
 priated by act of parliament on the attainder 
 of the Earl of Derwentwater. Silver and cop- 
 per are found in some of the mines in the 
 same veins with the lead ore. Silver and lead 
 are got in abundance at Greenside and Eagle- 
 crag in Patterdale.' Veins of lead-ore have 
 been found and worked between Sldddaw and 
 Saddleback, in Buttermere, Newlands, and 
 Thcrnthwaite. There are copper mines at 
 Alston, Caldbeck, and at Wythburn. There 
 VOL. i. 
 
 is one also below the level of Derwent-water, 
 and another in the parish of Lowes -water. A 
 very rich vein of gold is said to have been dis- 
 covered at Newlands by a German, in the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth ; but the working was 
 discontinued in consequence of a law-suit be- 
 tween that queen and the Earl of Northum- 
 berland, then the lord of the manor of Der- 
 went-fells. Iron-ore is raised in great abun- 
 dance near Egremont ; the thickness of the 
 band of ore, which is hard solid metal, is said 
 to be between twenty-four and twenty-five feet. 
 The quantity of iron ore shipped from Ulver- 
 ston and Barrow is very great : 300 carts of 
 ore are taken daily from Lindale to Barrow 
 for exportation. The ore of this county pro- 
 duces upwards of double the quantity of me- 
 tal that is got from iron ore in general ; and 
 it is often mixed in the smelting furnaces with 
 the South Wales ore to produce a particular 
 quality of iron. Coal is worked to a large 
 amount at Whitehaven, Workington, and in 
 the vicinity of Maryport, from whence it is 
 exported to Ireland and the west of Scotland. 
 The eastern part of the county also abounds 
 in coal, particularly Tindale fell, Talkin, and 
 Blenkinsop, which produce the chief supply 
 for Carlisle, Brampton, Penrith, and the inter- 
 mediate country. Some of this coal is now ex- 
 ported at Port Carlisle to Ireland and Scotland. 
 There are collieries at Gilcrux, Arkleby, Ough- 
 terside, Bolton, and Hewer-hill. Limestone 
 is very abundant in many parts of the county. 
 In some places it is burnt in great quantities 
 for exportation, particularly to the west of 
 Scotland. At Catlands the limestone is over- 
 laid by the coal measures on all sides. Plum- 
 bago, or black lead, is found, in irregular 
 masses, in a rock of gray felspar porphyry at 
 Borrowdale near Keswick. A little cobalt has 
 been got at Newlands ; and antimony near 
 Bassenthwaite ; but this is not, we believe, 
 now worked. Lapis calaminaris, small quan- 
 tities of manganese, galena, iron pyrites, and 
 spar of various kinds and of different colours 
 and forms are found in several places. Slate 
 of a pale blue colour and of the finest quality 
 is plentiful in Cumberland. 
 
 The agriculture of the county has improved 
 considerably of late years, and great quanti- 
 ties of corn and produce of various kinds are 
 now exported. The chief exports are from 
 Port Carlisle, Whitehaven, Workington, and 
 Maryport, and consist of cattle, sheep, poultry, 
 grain, potatoes, butter, bacon, &c. The land 
 being divided into small farms, the dairies are 
 necessarily on a small scale, though their pro- 
 duce is excellent, and bears a high price in the 
 market. 
 
 The cotton and woollen manufactures are 
 
707 
 
 CUMIN. 
 
 CUSTOMS-DUTIES. 
 
 708 
 
 carried on to a small extent in Cumberland, 
 and there are manufactures connected with 
 the mining products ; but it can scarcely be 
 called a manufacturing county. 
 
 CUMIN, or CUMMIN, is the fruit (mis- 
 called the seed) of a plant cultivated in the 
 East. Externally it is of a grayish yellow co- 
 lour, and is larger than that of caraway or 
 anise. The odour is strongly aromatic and 
 rather unpleasant ; the taste is warm, bitter, 
 and disagreeable. The odour and taste are 
 mainly due to a volatile oil which is more 
 abundant in this fruit than in most umbellife- 
 rous plants : one pound yields half an ounce 
 of this oil, according to some authorities ; 
 while ten pounds yield only three ounces and 
 a half, according to others. Notwithstanding 
 this large quantity of oil, the fruits are fre- 
 quently eaten by insects. 
 
 The disagreeable odour of Cumin seems to 
 have gradually discarded it from medicine 
 for man, and restricted its use to veterinary 
 medicine. Its employment in this way may 
 be a relic of its ancient repute, for the Israel- 
 ites esteemed it highly as a remedy for cattle 
 after the bites of insects. Still it is a valuable 
 drug; it enters into the composition of many 
 curry-powders, but should be introduced into 
 these in very small quantity. 
 
 CUMNOCK, in Ayrshire, affords an illus- 
 tration of the effect even of a trifling manu- 
 facture to give a sort of celebrity to a town. 
 Weaving and hand-sewing employ a portion 
 of the population ; threshing mills are made 
 here, and pottery was formerly extensively 
 made ; but the manufacture which has ren- 
 dered the village somewhat celebrated is that 
 of the well known wooden snuff-boxes, which 
 are so generally admired. 
 
 CURKANT, a well known hardy fruit, pro- 
 duced by two species of the genus Ribes. The 
 red currant is remarkable for the mixture of 
 sweet and acid in its fruit, and for the beauty 
 of its semitransparent red or yellow berries. 
 In the fruit of the black currant, a powerful 
 and agreeable aromatic principle takes the 
 place of acidity. The currants of the grocers' 
 shops are the dried berries of a small kind of 
 grape, chiefly cultivated in the Morea and the 
 Ionian Islands, Corfu, Zante, &c. Of these 
 dried currants no less than 429,729 cwts.were 
 imported in 1850. A machine has been lately 
 registered by Mr. Weatherley for cleaning 
 dried currants. In the ordinary method, 
 the currants are cleaned by rubbing them 
 in a sieve or cloth. But in Mr. Wea- 
 therley's machine, there is a hollow case 
 made of wire gauze ; within this is a cylinder 
 or axle, from which radiate bundles of split 
 whalebone. When the currants are put into 
 
 the case, and the cylinder made to rotate, the 
 whalebone brushes clean them from dirt, and 
 the dirt falls through the meshes of the wire 
 gauze. 
 
 CUSCO-CHINA. This bark comes from 
 Cuzco in Peru ; but the tree which yields it is 
 altogether unknown. The alkaloid is procured 
 by the same process as is used for cinchonia, 
 which it resembles in its physical qualities, 
 but differs from in its chemical properties. 
 The taste is more bitter, rather heating, and 
 subastringent. It is equally insoluble in water, 
 but easily so in alcohol and in sulphuric aether. 
 It forms with acids salts which resemble 
 those of cinchonia, but have a more bitter 
 taste. 
 
 CUSTOMS-DUTIES consist for the most 
 part of taxes levied upon goods and produce 
 brought for consumption from foreign coun- 
 tries ; but such duties are also sometimes col- 
 lected upon exports made to foreign countries, 
 and upon goods and produce passing from one 
 port to another of the same country. Since 
 the abolition of the export duty on coal in 
 1845, the only duties outwards consist of an 
 ad valorem duty of one-half per cent, on the 
 shipment of some articles of British produc- 
 tion. 
 
 Shortly before Sir Eobert Peel's fiscal re- 
 forms, there were customs' duties levied on 
 considerably more than a thousand different 
 articles ; he reduced this number to 813 in 
 1842, and to 382 in 1845 ; and further reduc- 
 tions have still taken place. 
 
 The net amount of duties collected in the 
 United Kingdom on imported articles, after 
 the deduction of drawbacks, repayments, <fce., 
 in the several years from 1830 to 1850 was as 
 follows : 
 
 1830 . . . 21,622,683 
 
 1831 . . . 21,272,263 
 
 1832 . . . 21,714,524 
 
 1833 . . . 20,892,902 
 
 1834 . . . 21,282,080 
 
 1835 . . . 21,873,814 
 
 1836 . . . 22,758,369 
 
 1837 . . . 21,849,109 
 
 1838 T . . 22,121,038 
 
 1839 . . . 22,958,254 
 
 1840 . . . 23,153,958 
 
 1841 ... 23,302,152 
 
 1842 . . . 22,356,324 
 
 1843 . . . 22,450,074 
 
 1844 . . . 23,864,494 
 
 1845 . . . 20,196,856 
 
 1846 ... 22,168,735 
 
 1847 . . . 21,539,775 
 
 1848 . . . 22,477,609 
 1840 . . . 22,194,600 
 1850 . 21,904,566 
 
709 CUTCH. 
 
 CUTCH, a principality in the west of India 
 is one of those in which cotton is grown. Th 
 cultivation is carried on extensively, and th 
 produce exported in return for grain, of which 
 a sufficiency is not grown for consumption 
 and which is procured from Gujerat and Sinde 
 Iron ore occurs generally throughout the 
 country, and in most parts coal is found ir 
 abundance. The wool of the Cutch sheep is 
 of long staple but coarse, answering well for 
 the manufacture of blankets and carpeting 
 the weight of the fleece averages from four 
 and a half to five pounds. Coarse woollen 
 cloths are made and used by the inhabitants, 
 Mandavee, the principal sea-port of Cutch, 
 is situated on the shore of the Indian Ocean, 
 and is the most populous place in the princi- 
 pality. The port is an open roadstead with a 
 creek ; there are 250 vessels belonging to the 
 place, by means of which a very considerable 
 trade is carried on with Zanguebar and the 
 whole east coast of Africa, with the Red Sea 
 and Arabia, with the Persian Gulf, Mekran 
 and Sinde, and with India as far as Ceylon. 
 The vessels employed in this traffic vary from 
 25 to 200 tons burden ; they carry a large la- 
 teen sail, and have two masts, but are never 
 decked ; they are navigated by native pilots, 
 who have acquired the use of the quadrant, 
 and steer by charts. The most valuable 
 branch of the trade of Mandavee is that car- 
 ried on with the eastern coast of Africa, a dis- 
 tance of 3000 miles, whence the merchants of 
 Cutch procure ivory, rhinoceros hides, and 
 other valuable articles. The principal article 
 of export is cotton. 
 
 CUTLERY. Nearly all the cutlery used 
 in this country, and a vast quantity of that 
 which is met with in other parts of the world, 
 is made at Sheffield. It is one of those curi- 
 ous examples which the history of manufac- 
 tures often presents, of the settlement of a 
 particular branch of industry in one spot, 
 where the skill of the inhabitants becomes 
 habituated to that particular manufacture. 
 
 Cutlery is generally considered to comprise 
 most steel cutting instruments, such as table 
 knives, pen and pocket knives, lancets, razors, 
 scythes, saws, scissors, shears, spades, edge 
 tools, &c. Swords would also come under 
 this classification ; but it is remarkable that 
 swords are made principally at Birmingham, 
 and not at Sheffield. The number of processes 
 to make each kind of cutting instrument de- 
 pends on various circumstances. In making 
 a table-knife, for example, a piece of bar steel 
 is cut off ; it is forged to a rough blade shape ; 
 a small piece of iron is welded to it, and 
 forged to form the tang ; the shoulder, be- 
 tween the tang and the blade, is fashioned 
 
 CUTLERY. 
 
 710 
 
 into shape by swaging or hammering it with 
 a die ; and the knife thus far finished, is tem- 
 pered, ground, sharpened, and polished. 
 
 In making a. fork, the end of a steel bar is 
 first made red hot ; it is hammered so as to 
 give a rough approximation to the shape of 
 the shank or tang ; it is again heated, and a 
 blow from a die or stamp gives the proper 
 contour ; the prongs are cut out by a powerful 
 blow from a stamp of peculiar form ; and the 
 fork is finally annealed, hardened, ground, 
 and polished. It is this process of fork-grind- 
 ing which has so often been made a subject 
 for comment ; the fork is ground dry upon a 
 stone wheel, and the particles of steel and 
 grit are constantly entering the lungs of the 
 workmen, thereby ruining the health and 
 shortening the duration of life. Many con- 
 trivances have been devised for obviating this 
 evil ; but the fork-grinders have not seconded 
 these efforts so zealously as might have been 
 anticipated. 
 
 In making pen and pocket knives, a slender 
 rod of steel is heated at the end, hammered 
 to the form of a blade, and carried through 
 many subsequent processes. But the putting 
 together of these hinged knives requires more 
 time than the making of the blades, and 
 affords a curious example of minute detail. 
 When the pieces of ivory, pearl, tortoiseshell, 
 born, bone, or other substance, which are to 
 form the outer surface of the handle, are 
 roughly cut to shape ; when the blade has 
 been forged and ground ; and when the steel 
 for the spring is procured the whole are 
 placed in the hands of a workman, who pro- 
 ceeds to build up a clasp knife from the little 
 fragments placed at his disposal. So many 
 are the details to be attended to, that a com- 
 mon two-bladed knife has to pass through his 
 lands seventy or eighty times before it is 
 finished. 
 
 In making a razor, more care is required 
 than in most kinds of knife making. A piece 
 )f steel is heated and hammered at the end ; 
 t is again hammered on a round anvil to make 
 he blade concave ; by cutting and forging it 
 s brought to the peculiar shape which a ra- 
 zor-blade often presents ; it is ground upon a 
 imall grindstone, to give the concavity with- 
 out which it could not be sharpened to the 
 equisite degree; it is tempered with very 
 ;reat care, and is finally polished. The re- 
 ently- patented Guard razors are somewhat 
 omplicated contrivances for shielding the skin 
 f a clumsy user from being cut. 
 
 The making of handles for cutlery is a very 
 arge department of Sheffield industiy. Mo- 
 her o' pearl, ivory, ebony, bone, horn, &c., 
 are purchased in large quantities ; and the 
 
711 
 
 CYANOGEN. 
 
 CYLINDRICAL LENSES. 
 
 718 
 
 making of each kind of handle or haft consti 
 tutes a distinct employment. 
 
 A method was introduced a few years ag 
 of ornamenting cutlery by* transferring th 
 impression of an engraving to the surface o 
 the steel. The engraving may he from a cop 
 per plate or from a wood cut, printed in the 
 one case hy the roller-press and in the othei 
 by the printing-press. The ink is a composi 
 tion of asphaltum and bees -wax. The im 
 pressions on paper are applied to the steel 
 and an acid liquor fixes the device. 
 
 Solingen, in Germany, is designated the 
 Sheffield of that country ; and it is expectet 
 that at the forthcoming Exhibition a trial o: 
 skill will be made in this as in other depart 
 ments of manufacture. 
 
 CYANOGEN, or bicarburet of nitrogen, is a 
 gaseous compound, discovered by Gay Lussac 
 in 1815. It is colourless, and has a peculiar 
 and pungent odour. It is inflammable, anc 
 burns with a purple flame ; but a taper im- 
 mersed in it is extinguished. It is not readily 
 decomposed by heat. It is an essential ingre- 
 dient of Prussian Blue. Combined with oxy- 
 gen it forms Cyanic Acid, a sour liquid. 
 
 CYANOMETER, is an instrument which 
 was invented by M. de Saussure for the pur- 
 pose of enabling an observer to ascertain the 
 intensity of colour in the sky. It consists of 
 a circular plate orring,of metal or pasteboard, 
 on the surface of which, about the circumfer- 
 ence, is a band divided by radii into fifty-three 
 equal compartments. One of these is white, 
 and those which follow in succession are co- 
 loured with blue of different degrees of inten- 
 sity from the most faint to the deepest which 
 can be produced ; the rest of the compart- 
 ments are coloured with mixtures of Prussian 
 Blue and Ivory Black, and gradually increase 
 in darkness to the last division, which is quite 
 black. The colours laid on are such, that at 
 equal distances from the eye the tint in each 
 compartment cannot be distinguished from 
 that of the next inferior to it, when the latter 
 is near the eye. The white space being zero, 
 the others are marked, in succession from 
 thence, with the numbers 1, 2, 3, &c. 
 
 In using the instrument, the observer, who 
 should be in the open air, holds it up between 
 himself and that part of the sky at which he 
 intends to ascertain the colour, when the com- 
 partment which, to the eye, appears to be ex- 
 actly equal to it in tint expresses by its num- 
 ber the required intensity of the blue colour 
 in that part of the sky. Such an instrument 
 is useful in meteorological observations. 
 
 CYCLOGRAPH, or ARCOGRAPH, is an 
 instrument for drawing arcs of circles without 
 centres, used in architectural and engineering 
 
 drawing when the centres are too distant to be 
 conveniently accessible. Bricklayers and ma- 
 sons when they wish to strike an arc upon the 
 face of a wall, have recourse to a very simple 
 but perfect mode of accomplishing the object, 
 by driving a nail into the wall at each extre- 
 mity of the intended arc, and then nailing two 
 straight laths or rods together at such an 
 angle, that while their external sides or edges 
 are in contact with the nails driven in the wall, 
 their apex or meeting point shall touch the 
 crown of the required arc or arch. When se- 
 cured to each other at the required angle, the 
 laths are so moved that, while they remain in 
 contact with the nails, the apex may traverse 
 the whole distance from one nail to another, 
 in doing which it will describe the required 
 curve, which may be marked on the wall by a 
 piece of chalk carried round with it. The 
 same plan may be adopted in drawing on 
 paper, substituting pins for the nails, and a 
 piece of stout cardboard, cut to the required 
 angle, for the laths. Mr. Rotch's Arcograph, 
 Mr. Alderson's Curvilinead, Mr. Warcup's Cur- 
 vograph, and Mr. Peter Nicholson's Centroll- 
 ncad, all described in the ' Transactions ' of 
 the Society of Arts, are instruments for pro- 
 ducing somewhat similar results. The centro- 
 inead may be compared to a T-rule, in which 
 he transom consists of two pieces adjustible 
 :o any required angle with each other, and 
 the centre of which, answering to the apex of 
 ihe cyclographs above described, is precisely 
 on a line with the fiducial or drawing edge of 
 ;he stem or long limb of the rule. The instru- 
 ment being once adjusted to the required an- 
 gles, and having its angular transom laid 
 against two fixed pins, just like the angle of a 
 jyclograph, any number of converging lines 
 may be drawn by it as readily as parallel lines 
 are drawn by a common T-rule. 
 
 CYLINDER. The manufacture of cylinders 
 or steam engines and other purposes is no- 
 iced under BORING and FOUNDING. 
 
 CYLINDRICAL LENSES are made by 
 Binding each of the opposite surfaces of a 
 date of glass in the form of the segment ob 
 ained on cutting a cylinder by a plane paral- 
 el to its axis. Two segments thus obtained 
 >eing placed with their plane surfaces in con- 
 act, and so disposed that straight lines paral- 
 el to the axis of the cylinder drawn on the 
 onvex surface of one may be at right angles 
 to lines similarly drawn on the other, would 
 onstitute a lens of the kind here indicated. 
 
 Lenses of this kind were devised and exe- 
 uted soon after the commencement of the 
 resent century by an optician of Paris, who 
 ntroduced them as eye-glasses in spectacles 
 n place of the usual spherical lenses. This 
 
713 
 
 CYMAMETEE. 
 
 DAIRY 
 
 714 
 
 person afterwards, conceiving that in such 
 lenses the chromatic aberration was de- 
 stroyed, attempted to employ them as sim- 
 ple object-glasses for telescopes ; but they 
 have since been found unfitted for this pur- 
 pose. 
 
 CYMAMETER. Mr.Fenn registered under 
 this title, in 1850, an ingenious contrivance 
 for making copies of the outlines of capitals, 
 cornices, mouldings, and other architectural 
 figures. It consists, essentially, of a large 
 number of very thin laths or plates, all of 
 equal length and placed one on another; when 
 one end of these laths is pressed against a 
 moulding or other device, the other end is 
 driven out, the laths which press against a 
 convex surface being driven out further than 
 those pressing against a concave surface ; so 
 that the outer extremities of all the laths 
 form collectively a type of the moulding or 
 device. 
 
 This is simply a new application of a 
 principle practised long ago for other pur- 
 poses. 
 
 CYMBALS. These musical instruments 
 are traceable to the remotest ages of anti- 
 quity, and, with no great change in form, 
 
 are still used by the moderns. They are al- 
 always in pairs, are made of brass, and are 
 nearly flat, about twelve inches in diameter, 
 the central part sunk in ; and at the back of 
 the sunken poition is a strap by which each 
 instrument is held. 
 
 CYPRUS. This fine island, which has re- 
 mained in the hands of the Turks for nearly 
 three centuries, is naturally fertile. Cotton of 
 the finest quality, excellent wine, and all kinds 
 of fruit are produced ; but agriculture is in a 
 most backward state. Besides the productions 
 already named, madder, opium, oranges, le- 
 mons, pomegranates, &c., are grown. The 
 carob-tree abounds in some districts ; its suc- 
 culent pods are exported to Egypt and Syria, 
 while the fruit called St. John's Bread is used 
 as an article of food. On the mountains are 
 forests of fine timber. Sheep and cattle thrive. 
 Copper, asbestos, talc, rock-crystal, and vari- 
 ous other minerals are found. Salt is made 
 on the sea-shore. Game and fish are plenti- 
 ful. But these natural advantages are made of 
 little account ; for under the Turkish rule the 
 inhabitants are oppressed and miserable, and 
 show little industry, either productive or com- 
 mercial. 
 
 DACCA, in Bengal, is principally known in 
 Europe for its manufactures of cotton goods. 
 The striped and figured muslins of Dacca were 
 long celebrated throughout the world. The 
 beauty and delicacy of these fabrics were once 
 unrivalled; but of late years the weavers of 
 Paisley and Manchester have so successfully 
 competed with those of Dacca, that a large 
 proportion of the families in that district, who 
 have for many generations employed them- 
 selves in their production, have been com- 
 pelled to adopt other pursuits. Another rea- 
 son for this change may be found in the al- 
 tered condition of the former lords of the 
 country, among whom the curious fabrics of 
 Dacca were held in the highest estimation, 
 and who are now unable to gratify their taste 
 for costly apparel. 
 
 DADO, a term for the die or plane face of 
 a pedestal. The dado employed in the inte- 
 riors of buildings is a continuous pedestal, 
 with a plinth and base-moulding, and a cornice 
 or dado moulding surmounting the die. This 
 
 continuous pedestal, with its moulding, is con- 
 structed of wood, and is usually about the 
 height of a chair-back, and is now used to 
 protect the stucco-work or paper of the wall. 
 Some dados are panelled. 
 
 DAIRY ; DAIRY FARMS. A dairy-house 
 should be situated on a dry spot somewhat 
 elevated, on the side of a gentle declivity, and 
 on a porous soil. It should be on the west or 
 north-west side of a hill if possible, or at least 
 sheltered from the north, east, and south, by 
 high trees. Coolness in summer, and an equa- 
 ble temperature in winter, are essential requi- 
 sites in a dairy. 
 
 The following description of a Netherland 
 cow-house and dairy under one roof combines 
 all that is useful, with considerable neatness 
 internally and externally: It is a building 
 about sixty feet long by thirty wide, with a 
 verandah running round three sides of it. The 
 dairy-room is sunk below the level of the soil, 
 and is paved with brick. The sides are covered 
 with Dutch-tiles, and the arched roof with 
 
715 
 
 DALAGOA BAY. 
 
 DAMASCENE WORK. 
 
 716 
 
 hard cement. The cow-house, like all in 
 Holland, has a broad passage in the middle, 
 and the cows stand with their heads towards 
 this passage, which is paved with clinkers, or 
 bricks set on edge. Their tails are towards 
 the wall, along which runs a broad gutter sunk 
 six or eight inches below the level of the place 
 on which the cows stand. The cows stand or 
 lie on a sloping brick floor, and have but a 
 small quantity of litter allowed them, which 
 is removed every day and carried to the dung- 
 heap or to the pig-sties. Whenever the litter 
 is removed, the bricks are swept clean ; and 
 in summer they are washed with water. In 
 Holland the cows' tails are kept up by a cord 
 tied to the end of them, which passes over a 
 pulley with a weight at the other end, as we 
 see practised with horses that have been 
 nicked ; thus they cannot hit themselves, or 
 the person who milks them. The cows are 
 fastened in a way so as to give them freedom 
 of movement without striking their neighbours 
 with their horns. The mangers or troughs 
 are of wood, or of bricks cemented together, 
 and are kept as clean as all the rest of the 
 cow-house. In Switzerland the cow-houses 
 are similar, but there is also a rack, the back 
 of which towards the passage shuts up with a 
 board on hinges. 
 
 The utensils of the dairy, such as pails, 
 churns, vats, &c., are usually made of white 
 wood, and are easily kept clean by scalding 
 and scouring. Leaden troughs are used in 
 large dairies. Brass pans have the advantage 
 of being readily warmed on a chafing-dish in 
 winter. In Devonshire tin or brass pans are 
 frequently used instead of earthenware. In 
 Holland the milk is invariably carried in brass 
 vessels. Cast-iron pans have been invented, 
 which are tinned inside. Glass and white 
 ware are used for the same purpose ; espe- 
 cially owing to the repeal of the glass duties, 
 since which time glass has become extensively 
 used in dairies. 
 
 The dairy farms of England are chiefly in 
 Gloucestershire, Devonshire, and Cheshire. 
 They require a smaller capital than arable 
 farms of the same extent. The chief outlay is 
 in the purchase of cows. 
 
 The principal duties of the dairy are noticed 
 under BUTTER ; CHEESE ; CHURN ; MILK. 
 
 DALAGO'A or DELAGOA BAY, on the 
 eastern coast of Southern Africa, is much fre- 
 quented by whalers, as the bay abounds in 
 whales. The Portuguese have a small fort 
 on the western shore of the bay. Supplies 
 are abundant and cheap; piece-goods, buttons, 
 beads, cutlery, brass wire, old clothes, iron, 
 copper pipes, spiiits, sugar, &c., are readily 
 taken for bullocks, fowls, vegetables, fish, 
 
 hippopotami teeth, gold dust, ambergris, 
 Ac. 
 
 DALMATIA. As a part of the Austrian 
 dominions, the produce and industry of Dal- 
 matia have been briefly noticed under AUS- 
 TRIA. 
 
 DAMASCENE WORK. The damask, da- 
 mascene, or damascus work, so often met with 
 in choice specimens of metal manufacture, 
 especially on the old Damascus sword-blades, 
 is a method of producing a pattern or design 
 by encrusting one metal with another. It was 
 introduced into Europe from the Levant, 
 where it was much practised hi the middle 
 ages, especially at Damascus. The metals 
 usually employed were silver or gold on iron 
 or copper, gold on silver, or silver on gold ; 
 but any other combination would equally come 
 within the principle of the art. 
 
 There were several different modes of da- 
 mascening. If the metal to be damascened 
 were hard, its surface was wrought into fine 
 lines crossing each other, and the designs were 
 afterwards traced upon it ; the design marks 
 were filled in with the metal inlay, which was 
 fixed by a strong pressure or by hammering ; 
 and the entire work was then burnished, by 
 which the lines uncovered by the incrustation 
 were erased, and a fine polish given to the 
 surface. Another method was that of hatch- 
 ing the incised lines only, and of fixing the 
 incrustation as before. In a third method, 
 when the incrusting metal was of a ductile 
 nature, the pattern was simply incised in out- 
 line, and the body of the design left on the 
 same level as the rest of the surface ; a thin 
 sheet of metal was then laid upon these de- 
 signs, and fixed by the insertion of its edges 
 into the exterior incisions ; the incrustation 
 was thus in relief, and was afterwards occasi- 
 onally engraved. A fourth kind of damascene 
 work partook of the nature of picque, or a de- 
 sign formed by small pins or studs, much in 
 vogue in England in the seventeenth century. 
 
 Various European cities had artists who 
 practised damascening; but Venice and Milan 
 were the chief. 
 
 At the Mediaeval Exhibition of 1850, seve- 
 ral beautiful specimens of damascene work 
 were collected, including candlesticks, tan- 
 kards, inkstands, shields, etuis, swords, &c. ; 
 but the most exquisite was Cellini's far-famed 
 shield, presented by Francis I. to Henry VIII., 
 and now the property of Her Majesty. It is 
 made of embossed steel, damascened with 
 gold and silver. It has represented upon it 
 in compartments, scenes from the history of 
 Julius Cfesar, each consisting of numerous 
 figures in relief of the most highly finished 
 execution. 
 
717 
 
 DAMASCUS. 
 
 DARTFORD. 
 
 718 
 
 DAMASCUS is the chief emporium of the 
 trade in European manufactures with Bagdad, 
 Bassora, Persia, and the neighbouring coun- 
 tries, whither goods are conveyed hy camels ; 
 it is also a place of great manufacturing in- 
 dustry, and contains silk factories, cotton 
 printing and dyeing establishments, tobacco 
 factories, copper and iron foundries, glass- 
 works, soaperies, &c. There are nearly 800 
 merchants engaged in the sale of damask 
 cloths alone. The manufacture of Damascus 
 blades, once so famous, no longer exists. 
 Saddles and bridles, both rich and highly 
 finished, fine cabinet-work, and rich jewellery 
 are among the articles of Damascus indus- 
 try. 
 
 DAMASK, a peculiar kind of woven cloths 
 composed both of flax and of silk, which are 
 believed to have been originally brought from 
 Damascus. Silk damask weaving was intro- 
 duced into England from Flanders in the 
 latter half of the 16th century, and linen da- 
 mask weaving in the latter half of the 18th. 
 Damask cloths are of thick texture, but fine 
 in quality, and the weaving of them puts into 
 requisition all the skill of the weaver for the 
 production of the elaborate patterns which 
 they bear. 
 
 DAMSON, or DAMASCENE, is the well- 
 known name of a kind of plums, cultivated in 
 this country for the sake of their hardiness 
 and prolific habits. They are a mere form of 
 the domestic plum, from which there are no 
 certain characters to distinguish them, except 
 the abundance of their late oval fruit, and 
 the property they possess of propagating by 
 suckers. All the varieties are used for kitchen 
 purposes principally, and are generally con- 
 fined to the gardens of cottages or farm-houses 
 where the quantity of produce is more valued 
 than its quality. Much the finest variety of 
 this sort of plum is that called the Shropshire 
 Damson, which is extensively multiplied in 
 the nurseries by grafting. . 
 
 DANUBE, called by the Germans the Do- 
 nau, and by the Hungarians the Duna, is a 
 river of the first rank, and the second of Eu- 
 ropean rivers, being inferior only to the Volga. 
 Its courseis calculated to be about 1770 miles, 
 and the surface drained by it and its nume- 
 rous tributaries probably exceeds 300,000 
 square miles. Steam navigation is established 
 on the Danube. The voyage is divided into 
 several strecke or portions Donauworth to 
 Ratisbon, Ratisbon to Linz, Linz to Vienna, 
 Vienna to Pesth, Pesth to Orsova. From Or- 
 sova, or rather from a station below it called 
 Drenkova, to Skela Gladova, a distance of 54 
 miles, the river is not navigable except for 
 light cutters, owing to the rapids, whirlpools, 
 
 and dangerous ledges that occur in this inter- 
 val. Passengers are conveyed between these 
 stations in carriages along a splendid road cut 
 in the rocks that line the river. The remain- 
 ing portions of the voyage are from Gladova 
 to Galatz, Galatz to Odessa, Odessa to Con- 
 stantinople. In consequence of the melting 
 of the snows the Danube rises from June to 
 the middle of July, and does not begin to sink 
 till the middle of August. This period is very 
 favourable to the navigation of the river from 
 the increased depth of water. 
 
 DANZIG. This important Prussian city 
 owes its commerce and prosperity to its har- 
 bour, and to the extensive inland navigation 
 afforded by the Vistula and its numerous tri- 
 butaries, by which the corn, timber, and other 
 products of Poland and the Ukraine are con- 
 veyed to Danzig. The town is traversed by 
 the Radaune and Motlau, feeders of the Vis- 
 tula. 
 
 There are yards and slips for ship-building ; 
 sugar refineries, spirit and liqueur distilleries, 
 breweries, and copperworks ; and manufacto- 
 ries of silks, woollens, linens, leathers, hats, 
 and gloves, soap and starch, earthenware, arms, 
 steel-ware, hats, tobacco, &c. The town has 
 a very considerable export trade, consisting of 
 corn, timber, flour, linseed, rapeseed, deals, 
 staves, ashes, quills, spirits, black beer, spel- 
 ter, wool, flax, hemp, &c. The imports are 
 composed of wine, brandy, rum, raw cotton, 
 coffee, herrings, iron and steel wares, indigo, 
 lime and plaster, sugar, salt, tobacco, &c. The 
 gross value of the imports is about -100,000/. 
 annually; about one-fourth of the imports in 
 value are brought from England. The gross 
 value of the exports nearly reaches two mil- 
 lions sterling annually, of which England 
 takes nearly three-fourths. 
 
 DARIEN. The projects for making a rail- 
 road or a canal over this isthmus will be better 
 noticed under PANAMA. 
 
 DARLINGTON. The trade of Darlington 
 is considerable : for a long period the princi- 
 pal manufactures were of camlets and other 
 woollens ; sixty years ago moreens and simi- 
 lar stuffs were made : the woollen manufac- 
 ture was superseded in a great degree by that 
 of linens, as huckabacks, diapers, sheetings, 
 and checks ; hut this branch of industry has 
 also declined, and the chief occupation of the 
 inhabitants now is combing wool and making 
 woollen yarn (which is used for imitation In- 
 dia shawls, Brussels carpets, <fec.), spinning 
 flax, grinding- optical glasses, and the manu- 
 facture of brass and iron. There are very ex- 
 tensive worsted mills. 
 
 DARTFORD. The first paper-mill erected 
 in this country is usually stated to have been 
 
719 
 
 DAVY SIR HUMPHRY. 
 
 DECOCTIONS. 
 
 720 
 
 at Dartford on the site of the powder-mills ; 
 but this has lately been disproved in ' Notes 
 and Queries.' The first mill established in 
 England for rolling and slitting iron is also 
 said to have been near Dartford. The trade of 
 Dartford is considerable. There are chalk- 
 pits near the town ; oil, powder, and paper 
 mills in the neighbourhood on the river Da- 
 rent ; two corn-mills on a large scale worked 
 by water-power and steam ; also a large iron 
 foundry and manufactory of machinery. At a 
 short distance from the town are a cotton-mill 
 and silk printing works. 
 
 DAVY, SIR HUMPHRY, must be re- 
 garded as one whose discoveries have afforded 
 important aid to manufacturing industry, al- 
 though relating in the first instance to scien- 
 tific chemistry. He was born at Penzance in 
 1778. His father was a carver in wood. In 
 the year 1795 he was apprenticed to Mr. Bor- 
 lase, a surgeon and apothecary of Penzance, 
 where he appears to have laid down an exten- 
 sive plan of study, not merely of the sciences 
 which related to his profession, but the learned 
 languages, mathematics, history, &c. In 1798 
 he was considered competent by Dr. Beddoes 
 to take charge of an establishment which he 
 had founded at Bristol under the'name of the 
 Pneumatic Institution. In the next two years 
 he wrote several essays on chemical subjects ; 
 and in 1801 he came to London, and on the 
 25th of April he gave his first lecture at the 
 Royal Institution. He began with the history 
 of galvanism, detailed the successive discove- 
 ries, and described the different methods of 
 accumulating it; and on the 31st of May, 1802, 
 he was appointed professor. From the year 
 1800 to 1807 a great variety of subjects at- 
 tracted his attention, especially galvanism and 
 electro chemical science; the examination of 
 astringent vegetable matter in connection 
 with the art of tanning ; and the analysis of 
 rocks and minerals with relation to geology 
 and to agricultural chemistry. In November 
 1807, his second Bakerian Lecture was read, 
 in which he announced the most important 
 and unexpected discovery of the decomposi- 
 tion of the fixed alkalies by galvanism, and of 
 the metallic nature of their bases, to which he 
 gave the names of potassium and sodium. 
 From the year 1808 to 1814, twelve papers by 
 Davy were read before the Royal Society, and 
 published in their ' Transactions,' relating to 
 various chemical and electro-chemical subjects, 
 and all containing details of original and im- 
 portant researches. He showed that the 
 earths barytes, strontian, lime, and magnesia, 
 are oxides of metals, and he laid the founda- 
 tion which has enabled other chemists to prove 
 the same thing in respect to other earths. He 1 
 
 made important additions to the existing 
 knowledge concerning sulphur, phosphorus, 
 carbon, chlorine, and alkalies, and indeed ex- 
 tended almost every department of chemical 
 science. In 1810 he published the first volume 
 of his 'Elements of Chemical Philosophy,' 
 which, although it bears marks of haste, con- 
 tains much interesting matter : no further por- 
 tion of this work was printed. His elements of 
 Agricultural Chemistry,' which appeared soon 
 after, is a work containing much useful mat- 
 ter, and replete with sound and practical views 
 of the subject. One of his greatest inventions 
 was that of the miner's safety-lamp, the first 
 paper in relation to which appeared in the 
 'Philosophical Transactions' for 1815, and 
 the last in 1817. 
 
 All Davy's discoveries have since been 
 turned to account in industrial processes, 
 especially in manufacturing chemistry. This 
 great chemist died in 1829. 
 
 DEALS are boards of fir above 7 inches in 
 width, and of various lengths exceeding 6 feet. 
 If less than 7 inches wide, they are called bat- 
 tens. The duty on deals or boards since 
 April 5, 18i8, is 11. the load, if imported from 
 a foreign country ; but if from a British pos- 
 session it is 2s. the load. 
 
 DECOCTIONS are formed by subjecting 
 the harder parts of plants, which are not easily 
 penetrated by liquids, or are insoluble in water 
 of a low temperature, to the process of boiling, 
 generally in water, but sometimes in oil. By 
 this means much of the substance is dissolved, 
 and the active principles of the plant are imbi- 
 bed by the fluid, which is then used medicinally, 
 either internally or externally. This method 
 of extracting the medicinal properties of 
 plants is inadmissible when their powers de- 
 pend upon any aromatic or volatile principle, 
 such as essential oils, which are dissipated by 
 the high temperature. In many other in- 
 stances this process is not only unnecessary, 
 but injurious, being employed when infusion 
 is sufficient, even when cold water is used for 
 the purpose of infusion. The heat is apt to 
 destroy the very principles which are desired 
 to be obtained in many cases ; and tins pro- 
 cess is most suitable to those substances which 
 are both nutritious and medicinal, such as 
 Iceland Moss. Many principles which are 
 dissolved by the water at a boiling tempera- 
 ture are deposited by it on cooling ; on which 
 account the liquid should always be strained 
 while hot, and the contents of the bottle 
 shaken up before each dose be poured out. 
 Aromatic liquids are frequently added to the 
 fluid after it is strained; or the aromatic sub- 
 stance may be placed at the bottom of the 
 vessel into which the hot decoction is strained, 
 
721 
 
 DEER SKINS. 
 
 and, after being allowing to infuse for a few 
 hours, may then be applied to the use in- 
 tended. A better method however is to add 
 some aromatic tincture after the straining, as 
 the spirit retards the tendency to decomposi- 
 tion, while it imparts the flavour and qualities 
 of the substances from which it had been pre- 
 pared. 
 
 The decoctions employed in medicine are 
 so numerous, thai a mere list of them would 
 occupy considerable space. They are pre- 
 pared from bark, berries, rind, root, stems, 
 seeds, pods, kernels, &c. 
 
 DEER SKINS, are tanned into leather for 
 various purposes. From 40,000 to 80,000 are 
 imported annually. 
 
 DELFT, a large town in the province of 
 South Holland, was formerly famous for its 
 pottery, to which it gave its name; but this 
 manufacture has been supplanted even in 
 Holland by the superior pottery of England ; 
 the earthenware of Delft is now of the coarser 
 kind, and not more than 200 persons are em- 
 ployed in the manufacture. Manufactures of 
 woollen cloths and tobacco-pipes are carried 
 on. The blue Delft ware, and carpeting from 
 the same town, will find a place in the Indus- 
 trial Exhibition of 1851. 
 
 DELHI. This once-celebrated Indian city 
 retains something of its former manufacturing 
 and trading eminence. The commerce is still 
 extensive, particularly in shawls, of which it is 
 a great mart. They are brought from Cash- 
 mere in large quantities, some plain, to have 
 borders sewn upon them, and to be embroi- 
 dered in gol.l and silk. The goldsmiths are 
 much ceieBJ ated for the elegance and delicacy 
 of the jewellery which they produce. 
 
 The following announcement in the public 
 journals is interesting, in connection with the 
 forthcoming Exhibition of Industry. " The 
 renowned Delhi seal -cutters have nearly 
 finished the seals which are being cut for the 
 Queen and Prince Albert, under the superin- 
 tendence of Budi-oo-deen Ulee Khan. The 
 seal for the Queen is described as a cornelian, 
 with the corners cut off, on which is engraved 
 an inscription in Hindostanee. Prince Albert's 
 seal is cut on a blood-stone. The inscriptions 
 are in the true grandiose style of the East. 
 Besides these, Budi-oo-deen has prepared two 
 beautiful emeralds for seal rings, to be pre- 
 sented by himself as specimens of his skill ; 
 one for the Queen, three eighths of an inch in 
 lengtn, by two-eighths in breadth." 
 
 DEMULCENTS are medicinal agents 
 which have the property of protecting sensible 
 surfaces from the action of irritating matter, 
 by hindering it from coming in direct contact 
 with them. When much water is present in 
 
 DENMARK. 722 
 
 any demulcent liquid, the action is partly that 
 of a diluent, but the chief benefit results from 
 the bland nature of the substance, or from its 
 viscidity. Demulcents are either solutions, 
 such as mucilage of gum arabic, or certain 
 substances mechanically diffused through wa- 
 ter or milk, such as wax, spermaceti, or suet. 
 
 DEMURRAGE, in shipping affairs, is the 
 term used to denote the money payable to the 
 owner of a ship on the part of the shippers or 
 consignees of goods, as compensation for- 
 detention beyond the time stipulated for her 
 loading or discharge, as the same is expressed 
 in the charter-party or bills of lading. 
 
 DENMARK is principally an agricultural 
 country. The most fertile parts are the islands 
 of Laaland and Falster, and next to them 
 Seeland and Funen ; but agriculture is most 
 skilfully carried on in the Baltic districts of 
 Holstein. The Danes however are not gene- 
 rally good agriculturalists. Of the whole area, 
 about two-thirds are appropriated to arable 
 land ; one-twelfth to pasture and meadow ; 
 and one-twentieth to woods and forests. The 
 average yearly produce is stated at about 
 8,000,000 quarters of corn ; 2,000,000 tons of 
 potatoes ; and a proportionate quantity of 
 other produce. Peas and pears, rapeseed, 
 flax, hemp, and tobacco are grown: fruits and 
 table vegetables are comparatively small in 
 produce. The fine forests once possessed by 
 Denmark have been allowed so to decay, that 
 the inhabitants are obliged to import wood 
 from other countries. The chief timber-trees 
 are pine, beech, oak, and birch. 
 
 Denmark possesses no mines or metals 
 whatever; nor any minerals of importance, 
 except coals, freestone, and salt. Amber is 
 collected on the Hitze, a sandbank on the 
 western coast of Jutland. Potters' and por- 
 celain earths are also obtained. Peat is got 
 wherever there are swamps, and every village 
 in those parts has bog lands assigned for its 
 supply. 
 
 Manufactures are but slightly developed in 
 Denmark. Aliona produces silk, woollen, and 
 cotton goods, leather, soap, refined sugar, and 
 tobacco. Lace is made on a very extensive 
 scale in and about Tondern. There are large 
 tobacco manufactures, but they are said not 
 to produce more than one-eighth of the quan- 
 tity consumed. The woollen and cotton manu- 
 factures are small in amount. There are a 
 few establishments for linen, gloves, paper, 
 and ironware. Straw hats, sail-cloth, glass, 
 soap, leather, saltpetre, gunpowder, and arms, 
 plated goods, china, and earthenware, beer and 
 spirits, thread, refined sugar, soda, and pot- 
 ashes are among the productions of Danish 
 industry. The brandy distilleries are rather 
 
728 
 
 DENSITY. 
 
 DERBY. 
 
 724 
 
 numerous. The peasants' families make tlieir 
 own woollen clothing in general, which is 
 composed of a coarse stuff termed wadmel ; 
 and indeed there are few articles of domestic 
 use, whether utensils or for apparel, which are 
 not made hy their own hands. 
 
 There is probably no country in Europe 
 better adapted or more favourably situated in 
 many respects for commerce than Denmark. 
 It is the key of the Baltic, and possesses 
 peculiar advantages for a ready and cheap in- 
 tercourse with all the maritime nations of 
 Europe. Copenhagen, the capital, is the cen- 
 tral point of the Danish foreign trade, which 
 has been greatly favoured by the neutral 
 policy which the government has endeavoured 
 to pursue during the last hundred years and 
 more. Navigation, in which about 50,000 
 hands are employed, is a great source of profit 
 to the country, for the Danes navigate their 
 vessels on cheaper terms than many of their 
 competitors, and are excellent mariners, on 
 which account they are the carriers for other 
 countries, particularly to the Mediterranean 
 and Levant. There is a brisk intercourse by 
 sea between the several ports. The chief 
 places of trade are Copenhagen, Altona, Kiel, 
 Koersoer, Helsingor, Odensee, Viborg, Ran- 
 ders, Flensberg, Schleswig, Aalborg, Rends- 
 burg, Tondern, Aarhus, Gluckstadt, Neustedt, 
 and Itzehoe. Railways have been recently 
 formed from Altona to Gluckstadt, Rendsburg, 
 and Kiel. 
 
 Denmark exports grain, butter, cheese, 
 brandy, salted and smoked meats, horned cat- 
 tle, horses, skins and hides, oil, eider-down, 
 fish, tallow, bristles, &c., and imports wines, 
 salt, silk, wool, cotton, timber, coals, colonial 
 produce, brandy, spirits, glass, drugs, &c. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures ex- 
 ported to Denmark in 1846-7-8 were of the 
 following values : 
 
 1846 .. .. 340,318 
 
 1847 .. .. 253,701 
 
 1848 .. .. 296,466 
 
 Of the articles thus exported, cotton, coals, 
 and iron manufacture comprises the largest 
 items. 
 
 The imports from Denmark into Great 
 Britain in 1848, comprised, among other items, 
 butter 8,056 cwts, corn about 1,000,000 qrs.,flax 
 9,000 cwts., flax and other seeds, 45,000 qrs., 
 seal skins, 14,000, wool 1,500,000 cwts. 
 
 The Danish vessels which left British ports 
 in 1849 amounted to 1708, and those which 
 entered were 1885. These vessels are small, 
 however, the average tonnage being under 80 
 tons. 
 
 DKNSITY, properly speaking, has no abso- 
 lute meaning, but it is a term which may be 
 
 considered as representing the number 01 
 material particles in a body. Thus gold is 
 more dense than air, because probably, under 
 equal volumes, gold contains a greater number 
 of particles than air. The measure of the 
 density of any body is called its specific gra- 
 vity. [SPECIFIC GRAVITY.] 
 
 DERBY. The principal manufactures of 
 this interesting town are of silk and cotton 
 goods, porcelain, jewellery, and ornamental 
 articles made of the various kinds of spar 
 found in the county, red and white lead, 
 lead pipe, sheet lead, cast iron, ribbed stock- 
 ings, and bobbin-net, and other lace. Silk 
 hosiery is extensively made. There is a con- 
 siderable printing and publishing establish- 
 ment, besides several printing offices. 
 
 In the early part of the 18th century the 
 art of spinning or ' throwing ' silk, which had 
 been exclusively possessed by the Italians, 
 was introduced into Derby by a Mr. Crotchet, 
 who did not succeed in business. In 1717 
 Mr. John Lombe, who had obtained access to 
 the machinery of the silk throwsters of Pied- 
 mont in Italy, agreed with the corporation of 
 Derby to rent an island or swamp in the river 
 Derwent, 500 feet long and 52 feet wide. 
 Here he erected, at a cost of 30,000/., an im- 
 mense silk-mill, now the property of the cor- 
 poration, the lease having expired. In 1718 
 Lombe took out a patent, and was proceeding 
 successfully in his business when he died. 
 He was succeeded in his mill by his brother 
 William, and afterwards by his cousin, Sir 
 Thomas Lombe. The accounts of the ma- 
 chinery of this immense mill have been much 
 exaggerated: the wheels have been said to 
 amount to 26,000; Hutton, who served an 
 apprenticeship of seven years in the mill, 
 states that the number of wheels was 13,384. 
 The whole machinery was moved by one 
 water wheel. Many throwing mills have 
 since been erected at Derby, and this branch 
 of industry may be regarded as the staple of 
 the town. The cotton manufacture is of later 
 introduction and of smaller oxtent. The 
 spars of the county, especially the fluor spar, 
 or ' blue John,' are wrought into vases and 
 other ornaments, and the black marble of Ash- 
 ford into vases, columns, chimney-pieces, &c. 
 
 The Derby Arboretum is an honour to the 
 town, both or its own beauty, and for the cir- 
 cumstances under which it was formed. This 
 Arboretum is a piece of ground of about 16 
 acres in extent, well laid out and arranged with 
 trees and shrubs, so as to combine instruc- 
 tion with ivnvniioii. The original Arboretum, 
 apiece of ground about 11 acres in extent, 
 carefully arranged by the late Mr. London, 
 was given to the town by Joseph Strutt Esq. ; 
 
725 
 
 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 726 
 
 an adjoining portion of about 5 acres has 
 since been purchased and laid out in a similar 
 manner. The inhabitants are admitted to 
 the grounds on payment of an admission fee, 
 the proceeds of which defray the expenses of 
 maintaining the establishment. 
 
 DEKBYSHIEE. This county is rich in 
 mineral strata. The coal measures underlie 
 the magnesian limestone, and crop out from 
 beneath it on the west. These coal measures 
 form part of that important coal field which 
 occupies a considerable part of the west riding 
 of Yorkshire, and extends into Nottingham- 
 shire and Derbyshire, being bounded on the 
 east by the magnesian limestone, and on the 
 south by the red marl. The strata range 
 from north to south, and dip to the east. The 
 Derbyshire portion of this coal field is east of 
 a line drawn from between Hathersage and 
 Sheffield to Little Eaton, near Derby. Every 
 variety of coal seems to be found in this field, 
 hard stone coal, cannel, peacock, and caking 
 coal. The coal-pits in Derbyshire are dis- 
 persed over the coal field, and are very nu- 
 merous, especially about Chesterfield and 
 Alfreton, and in the district south and west 
 of the Cromford and Erewash canals. The 
 beds which lie between the seams of coal are 
 worked for various purposes. The workings 
 of the ironstone are generally begun at the 
 surface, and pursued until they become dan- 
 gerous from the loose nature of the stratum 
 in which they lie. The ironstone which is 
 marked with impressions of mussel shells 
 (called the mussel band) is worked as an 
 ornamental marble. From the gritstone beds 
 are quarried grindstones for cutlers; the 
 binds, where they are hard and black, are 
 used as black chalk ; others, when decom- 
 posed, make good brick earth ; the crunch is 
 sometimes of that kind which is used for fire- 
 bricks ; where it crops out to the surface it 
 becomes soft clay. Potter's clay, of various 
 colours and qualities, occurs in this coal- 
 field. 
 
 Black marble is quarried for ornamental 
 purposes. One of the beds of limestone con- 
 tains white chert or china stone, which is ex- 
 tensively used in the Staffordshire potteries. 
 The beautiful fluor spar called 'Blue John,' 
 from which vases and other ornaments are 
 made, is found in a mountain of limestone. 
 Numerous veins of lead, zinc, iron, manga- 
 nese and copper, also occur. 
 
 A large proportion of the land of this 
 county is in permanent pastures, of which 
 some are very rich. Derbyshire cheese is 
 noted as of good quality, and the best is often 
 sold for Cheshire or Gloucester when made 
 of the shape and colour of these cheeses. 
 
 The common Derbyshire cheese is not gene- 
 rally coloured ; it resembles some kinds of 
 Dutch cheeses, and keeps well. 
 
 At Cromford, in this cotinty, the late Sir 
 Richard Arkwright erected a spacious cotton- 
 mill on the left bank of the Derwent; it is 
 now occupied by the Messrs. Arkwright, his 
 grandsons, who employ in these mills and 
 those at Masson, a little higher up the Der 
 went, several hundred persons. Lead mines 
 are worked in the neighbourhood ; lapis cala- 
 minaris is ground and prepared, and red lead 
 manufactured. At Dronfield manufactures 
 are carried on in iron goods, such as railway 
 wheels, cast iron chains and nails, axes, 
 chisels, and other edge tools, and agricultural 
 implements. At Heanor are manufactories 
 for cotton goods, hosiery, and bobbin -net lace. 
 In and near Ashford there are extensive mar- 
 ble works where the black and coloured 
 marbles which are quarried in the neighbour- 
 hood are wrought into chimney pieces, tables, 
 slabs, &c ; there are also quarries of lime 
 stone ; and lead mines. Scythes and reaping 
 hooks are largely manufactured at Beighton 
 and at Hackington. At Clay Cross and in its 
 immediate vicinity are extensive collieries and 
 iron works. At Codnor the B utterly Iron 
 Company have extensive iron works and col- 
 lieries; and iron, lead, limestone, and coal 
 are abundant. At Long Eaton, paper mills 
 and stone quarries give employment to many 
 of the inhabitants. Needles, pins, edgetools 
 and mill stones are manufactured at Hather- 
 sage. Ironville is a busy and populous dis- 
 trict; the inhabitants are employed in the 
 iron works, smelting, &c. ; a national school 
 (in which divine service is performed on Sun- 
 days) was erected in 1841, at a cost of 3000/., 
 by the Butterly Iron Company, and an infant 
 school has been since erected by the same 
 ompany ; there is also a mechanics institute. 
 At Milford, six miles from Derby, schools 
 have been founded by the Messrs Strutt, who 
 have extensive cotton and bleaching works 
 here, employing 1,000 hands ; they have also 
 an iron foundiy here, in which all their 
 machinery is cast and made, and gas works 
 at Milford which supply the town of Belper. 
 
 Many other towns and villages in Derby- 
 shire carry on some or other of the industrial 
 pursuits noticed in the above sketch. 
 
 Derbyshire has some peculiar laws and re- 
 gulations connected with the working of the 
 lead mines. These laws and regulations are 
 of very high antiquity. The principal part of 
 the county where lead ore is found in any 
 considerable quantity is called ' the King's 
 Field,' and comprehends nearly all the wapen- 
 take of "Wirksworth and a considerable part of 
 
727 
 
 DESICCATION. 
 
 DESIGNS. 
 
 m 
 
 the High Peak hundred. ' The King's Field 
 has heen from time immemorial let on lease 
 The lessees have each in his respective dis- 
 trict a steward and bar-masters. The steward 
 presides as judge in the barmote courts, and 
 with 24 jurymen, chosen every half year, deter- 
 mines all disputes which arise respecting the 
 working of the mines. Debts incurred in 
 working the mines are cognizable in these 
 courts. These courts meet twice a year, or 
 oftener if need be. The court for the High 
 Peak district meets at Monyash, that for the 
 wapentake district at the town of Wirksworth. 
 The office of the barmaster is principally to 
 put miners into the possession of veins that 
 they have discovered, and to collect the pro- 
 portion of ore to which the lessee of the crown 
 or the lord of the manor has a claim. When 
 a miner has discovered a new vein of ore in 
 ' the King's Field,' he may acquire a title to 
 the exclusive possession of it, provided it be 
 not in a garden, orchard, or high road, by a 
 proper application to the barmaster of the 
 liberty. Should the miner neglect to work 
 the vein, the barmaster may, after a certain 
 time, dispose of it to any one who is willing 
 to try it. 
 
 The cottons, the silks, the hosiery, the bob- 
 bing net, the iron, the marbles, the pottery, 
 <fec. of Derbyshire will all be represented at 
 the Great Exhibition. The quarries in 
 North Derbyshire possessed by the Dukes 
 of Devonshire and Rutland, will be repre- 
 sented in then- several products by Messrs. 
 Lomas and Oldfield, the lessees respec- 
 tively of the marble works of Bakewell and 
 Ashford- in -the -Water; while the splendid 
 amethystine fluor spar, locally designated 
 ' Blue John,' and found exclusively at Castle- 
 ^on in the Peak, will find its way to the Crystal 
 Palace in the elegant form of a colossal Gre- 
 cian vase, the finest and most important arti- 
 cle ever produced from this material. The 
 vase was manufactured at Matlock by Mr. 
 Vallance, who is preparing a number of inlaid 
 black marble tables, vases, candelabra, and 
 other articles peculiar to the county. It is 
 also the intention of Mr. Vallance to exhibit 
 such a collection as will illustrate the peculiar 
 mineralogical and geological character of Der- 
 byshire, as well as the applicability of its pro- 
 ducts to ornamental purposes. 
 
 DESICCATION is the chemical operation 
 of drying bodies. It is sometimes effected by 
 simple drying in the air; sometimes in warm 
 chambers ; at others, by paper filters, by the 
 air-pump, by the action of deliquescent salts 
 placed near the body to be drjed, and by many 
 other modes. 
 
 DESIGN. In the fine arts the word design 
 
 is employed in two very different significa- 
 tions : in the first place, it is used merely to 
 signify the act of drawing, or representing in 
 lines the form of any object; in the next 
 place it expresses that combination of inven- 
 tion and purpose which enables the artist to 
 compose a picture or a group, without refer- 
 ence to the material in which it is executed. 
 The accurate conception of form and beauty is 
 displayed in the most masterly degree in the 
 ancient Greek sculptures ; and in the inven- 
 tion of appropriate attitudes and perfection of 
 physical form the design of the best Greek 
 sculptures cannot be surpassed. But, of all 
 the existing specimens of art, the paintings of 
 the Italian masters display the most consum- 
 mate excellence in design, especially the Flo- 
 rentine and Roman schools, and among them 
 Raphael's in particular. 
 
 In architecture, the design or scheme for a 
 building is shown by means of a series of 
 diagrams or drawings, which, taken one with 
 another, convey a much more exact and com- 
 plete notion of the whole, both internally and 
 externally, than can be obtained by any other 
 mode of delineation. Such drawings consist 
 f plan, elevation, and section, besides others of 
 details, or parts at large; and their number 
 will depend, either upon the nature of the 
 building, that is, on its being more or less 
 complex, or as it is intended to show it more 
 or less fully. 
 
 DESIGNS, COPYRIGHT AND REGIS- 
 TRATION. Intermediate in character be- 
 tween the copyright of literary productions, 
 and patents for mechanical inventions, is the 
 registration of designs in which fine art is 
 more or less exhibited. An act of parliament 
 n 1735 gave a copyright for fourteen years in 
 ihe arts of designing, engraving, and etching 
 prints : enforcing the right by fine and for- 
 feiture. An act of 1767 extended this right to 
 a period of twenty-eight years, and made it to 
 nclude the designing of maps, charts, and 
 plans. An act in 1777 increased the power of 
 designers to enforce the observance of the 
 right. Three acts, passed respectively in 
 1787, ]789, and 1794, gave a copyright for 
 securing the use of new patterns in the print- 
 ng of linens, cottons, calicoes, and muslins, 
 or a period of three months. An act of 
 1798 gave a copyright for fourteen years in 
 respect to models, casts, and other sculp- 
 tures ; and another act in 1814 strengthened 
 this right. An act in 1836 extended many of 
 the above copyrights to Ireland. An act in 
 1838 secured copyright for printing designs in 
 other woven goods, in addition to cottons md 
 inens. 
 
 These were the statutes which governed the 
 
729 
 
 DESIGN. 
 
 DESIGN SCHOOLS OF. 
 
 780 
 
 copyright of designs, down to the time of I his copyright; and at any time during the 
 passing the Kegistration Act of 1839. This ' 
 Act declared the existence of copyright in 
 respect to the following productions patterns 
 
 to he painted, printed, 
 material ; modelling, 
 
 or worked upon any 
 casting, embossing, 
 
 chasing, or engraving any new design ; a new 
 shape or configuration of a manufactured 
 article. The Board of Trade was empowered 
 to appoint a registrar, deputy registrar, and 
 six clerks, to manage the registration of such 
 designs ; and any person so registered had a 
 copyright in his design for three years. 
 
 A more comprehensive act was passed in 
 1842, which gave a copyright for any new and 
 original design, whether applicable to the 
 ornamenting of any article of manufacture, or 
 to the employment of any new material for 
 manufactures. The right was made applica- 
 ble for the pattern, the shape, or the orna- 
 ment; and was equally valid whether the 
 pattern were worked by printing, painting, 
 embroidering, weaving, sewing, modelling, 
 casting, embossing, engraving, staining, or 
 dyeing. Arrangements were made for regis- 
 tering the designs, for transferring property in 
 them, and for enforcing penalties in cases of 
 infringement. All designs were classed under 
 one or other of thirteen headings ; and the 
 period of copyright was declared to be three 
 years, one year, or nine months, according to 
 the class to which the design belonged. 
 
 By another act in 1843 the copyright was 
 extended to designs which, though not actu- 
 ally ornamental, have reference to some pur- 
 pose of utility in respect to shape or form. 
 All such articles are to be stamped with the 
 word ' registered," and the copyright in them 
 exists for three years. The registrar is to 
 prepare an index of all such non-ornamental 
 designs ; and at the expiration of the copy- 
 right, the designs may be copied by any person 
 at the registrar's office, on payment of a fee. 
 
 These two acts, in conjunction, guided the 
 proceedings in respect to the copyright of de- 
 signs for several years; but a statute passed 
 in 1850 has introduced not so much a change 
 as an extension of the right. When it was 
 found that the proposal for an Exhibition 
 of the world's Industry was likely to be libe- 
 rally responded to, it was felt that something 
 ought to be done to secure the copyright of 
 any new designs which might be made public 
 at the Exhibition ; and it was mainly to secure 
 this end, that the act was passed which re- 
 ceived the royal assent in August 1850. By 
 this act any new design may be provisionally 
 registered for twelve months ; during this 
 period the proprietor may exhibit his design, 
 and describe it in catalogues, without vitiating 
 
 twelve months he, and he alone, may register 
 the design in the fuller manner set forth in 
 the former acts ; but if during this provisional 
 period he should sell any of the articles to 
 which this design is applied, he loses the 
 power of completing the registration. Several 
 other clauses are introduced, tending to secure 
 the right of Exhibitors at the Industrial Ex- 
 hibition of 1851. 
 
 The Commissioners have made arrange- 
 ments for this provisional registration, in 
 respect to new designs to be exhibited in 
 Hyde Park. Until February 1, 1851, the de- 
 signs were registered at Somerset House, on 
 payment of a small fee ; but after that date 
 they are to be registered in the ' Palace of 
 Industry,' free of charge. The Commissioners 
 have issued minute instructions to guide those 
 who are about to register their designs ; the 
 designs themselves being placed in two 
 great groups, in respect to ornamenting and to 
 and each group being divided into 
 classes. The Eegistrar of Designs has also 
 issued full instructions, explanatory of the 
 operation of the three acts of 1842, 1843, and 
 1850, and applicable to other purposes besides 
 those of the Great Exhibition. 
 
 DESIGN, SCHOOLS OF. In France and 
 in several of the German States, schools in 
 which drawing and the principles of design 
 are taught have been long established. In 
 Prussia there are many elementary schools at 
 Berlin and several provincial towns, in which 
 drawing and modelling from the antique, and 
 geometrical and architectural drawing are 
 taught at an average fee of 12s. per year. 
 From these schools the more promising of the 
 pupils are removed to the ' Gewerb Institut ' 
 (Manufacturing Institute), and the 'Ban 
 Akademie' (Architectural Academy.) In the 
 former of these two, the studies have refer- 
 ence to all the branches of science or art 
 bearing upon manufactures : in the second, 
 all matters which bear in any way on building, 
 civil engineering, or surveying : in these 
 schools the instruction is gratuitous. The 
 highest class, in which the fine arts are em- 
 braced in their widest range, is the Royal 
 Academy at Berlin. 
 
 In Bavaria, education in art is mixed up 
 with general education, but it is made to 
 occupy a prominent place. The earliest 
 stages are taught at the elementary schools ; 
 the next stage at the gymnasia, of which 
 there is one in each large town ; and the last 
 stage at the lycea, of which there are three in 
 the kingdom, at Munich, Niirnberg, and Augs- 
 burg ; that at Munich being chiefly for archi 
 tecture and the application of the fine arts to 
 
731 
 
 DESIGN, SCHOOLS OF. 
 
 DESIGNS, SCHOOLS OF. 
 
 732 
 
 manufactures, that at Niirnberg to metal cast- 
 ing and wood carving, and that at Augsburg 
 to textile manufactures. 
 
 In France there are, intermediate between 
 the elementary schools and the royal acade- 
 mies, several others which treat of art in its 
 relation either to manufactures or to science, 
 and which are either supported partly by the 
 state and partly by municipalities, or are pri- 
 vate establishments assisted by municipali- 
 ties ; and in most of them a very extensive 
 system of studies is pursued, bearing in vari- 
 ous ways on the science and the fine arts of 
 manufactures. The school of art at Lyon, in 
 particular, is an important one in connection 
 with the silk manufacture carried on in that 
 city ; and every endeavour is there made to 
 foster taste in manufactures. 
 
 The advantages which resulted to the manu- 
 factures of the countries in every department 
 requiring the display of taste was so obvious, 
 particularly as displayed in the silk manufac- 
 tures of France, that a strong desire was felt 
 by the manufacturers and merchants of Eng- 
 land to secure similar advantages for this 
 country. Accordingly, in J836, a school of 
 design was established at Somerset House in 
 connection with the Board of Trade, but under 
 the control of a council and director, with 
 masters in several departments. The school 
 continued to make progress ; but the manage- 
 ment was not on the whole satisfactory, and 
 early in 1848 the Board of Trade resumed the 
 direct control, and the director and the coun- 
 cil were dispensed with. The schools are now 
 under the management of a committee, con- 
 sisting of the principal officials of the Board 
 of Trade, assisted by three eminent artists in 
 the departments of painting, sculpture, and ar- 
 chitecture. The general business arrangements 
 and management of details are assigned to 
 the resident secretary. Admission to students 
 is granted on the recommendation of two re- 
 spectable persons, for a probationary period of 
 three months, but no instance of rejection has 
 occurred since the alteration in the manage- 
 ment of the schools. The terms and hours 
 of attendance have varied more than once 
 since the opening of the school. There are 
 two classes ; one in the morning from ten till 
 two, the other in the evening from half past 
 six till nine, on every week day except Satur- 
 day. The payment is two shillings per month 
 for morning or evening attendance. Lectures 
 are occasionally delivered by the teachers. 
 There is also a morning school for females, 
 established in 1842, to which the payment is 
 of the same amount. The instruction given 
 is of a character to enable the student to 
 apply the principles of high art to the pur- 
 
 poses of the manufacturer and the decorator. 
 The primary classes at the school are three 
 form, colour, and ornament ; and it is said to 
 be purposed to blend colour and ornament 
 into one class. Choice specimens have been 
 obtained from Italy of arabesques, mosaic 
 pavements, terra-cottas, &c. M. Guizot has 
 presented to the school casts from the cele- 
 brated gates of the Baptistery at Florence, 
 and there is also a large collection of other 
 casts from the antique, and of Gothic, and 
 other styles of ornament. Specimens of paper 
 hanging, silk, glass, porcelain, bronze, wax 
 ornaments, and other objects have been pro- 
 vided by government for the use of the 
 schools. Books, many of them expensively 
 illustrated, have been purchased, forming a 
 library of reference in matters relating to art 
 and decoration ; and some of these books are, 
 under certain regulations, lent out to the 
 students. Books, casts, and other examples 
 of art are supplied by the committee to all 
 the branch schools. 
 
 In connection with the School of Design at 
 Somerset House, there are several branch 
 schools. One is established in Spitalfields; 
 and others at Manchester, Birmingham, Co- 
 ventry, Nottingham, Sheffield, York, Leeds, 
 Huddersfield, Newcastle-on - Tyne, Norwich, 
 Stoke-upon- Trent, Hanley, Glasgow, Paisley, 
 &c. ; all of which are well attended, and have 
 been productive of much good. Some of the 
 students have already become teachers in the 
 schools, and many have successfully applied 
 their talents to the improvement of our native 
 manufactures. 
 
 There is one other school, that at Edin- 
 burgh, which is not in connection with So- 
 merset House. It was established some years 
 previous to that at Somerset House, under the 
 sanction of the Board for the Improvement of 
 Manufactures and the Herring Fishery. It has 
 been well attended, and two of the early con- 
 ductors at Somerset House were formerly 
 masters there. Its object is nearly the same; 
 the chief distinction is, that in Edinburgh it is 
 the only school of art, while in London there 
 is the Eoyal Academy for the more aspiring 
 and ambitious. 
 
 Under BELFAST, BIRMINGHAM, COVENTRY, 
 NOTTINGHAM, &c., a few details will be found 
 illustrative of the present state of the Schools 
 of Design in those towns. There are cir- 
 cumstances connected with the Belfast school 
 so interesting that we will quote a portion of 
 the Annual Report for 1850 relating to it, 
 showing how important the mere wrappers for 
 woven goods are regarded. After stating that 
 some among the 148 students in 1850 were 
 designers for sewed muslin, and others cle- 
 
733 
 
 DETONATION. 
 
 DEVONSHIEE. 
 
 734 
 
 signers for damasks, the report goes on to 
 say; 'Eleven of the pupils are entered as 
 engravers, and of these several are draughts- 
 men and designers for the paper hands and 
 envelopes used in tying up the rolls of linen. 
 The value attached to these ornaments in 
 preparing the packets of linen for the foreign 
 markets, the decoration which is lavished 
 upon them, the taste and care with which it 
 is thought necessary to get them up, and the 
 extent to which they are imported into Bel- 
 fast from London and Paris, render them no 
 unimportant article of trade. In the year 
 1847, when the establishment of the School 
 of Design at Belfast was first taken into consi- 
 deration, one stationer at Belfast had made a 
 "beginning in the manufacture of these arti- 
 cles, and had a press at work in emhossing 
 them. The same stationer has now nine 
 presses at work, and others of the trade have 
 taken up the business. Most of the bands 
 yet made are of an inferior sort, but there are 
 attempts to improve the quality; some are 
 taking the place of the more simple French 
 patterns, and the sale is increasing. The 
 establishment of the school has been happily 
 timed for the encouragement of a branch of 
 trade so favourable to the development of 
 artistic skill, and there is every prospect that 
 by the help of the school the " linen band " 
 will become a home manufacture, and secure 
 to the town of Belfast an annual expenditure 
 of 60,000/., now paid to strangers and fo- 
 reigners." 
 
 There is at the present time an active 
 movement in Belfast with respect to orna- 
 mental design. The production of specimens 
 for the Exhibition of 1851 is one stimulus, and 
 French workwomen have been engaged, not 
 to supersede, but to instruct the native em- 
 broiderers of muslin.' 
 
 DETONATION is a chemical term em- 
 ployed to express combination or decomposi- 
 tion which occurs with noise and frequently 
 with combustion. It occurs when oxygen 
 and hydrogen, in certain proportions, are 
 fired ; when hydrogen and chlorine are heated 
 by the sun's rays; when certain salts and ox- 
 ides are struck or rubbed ; and in some other 
 
 DEVONPORT DOCK YAED. [PLY 
 
 MOUTH.] 
 
 DEVONSHIRE. This fine county is rich 
 in minerals available in the manufacturing 
 arts. Slate rocks are very predominant. 
 These rocks are quarried for roofing-slates : 
 they are metalliferous, affording iron-stone, 
 and veins of tin, copper, and lead : the veins 
 or lodes which yield tin or copper, run, as in 
 Cornwall, from N. E. to S. W. (approaching 
 
 -n ore or less to E. and W.;, and those which 
 afford lead run nearly at right angles to these. 
 The strata in the mining field about Tavistock 
 which yields tin, copper, lead, and manganese, 
 are traversed by porphyritic (elvan) beds, 
 Hearing nearly east and west. A few lead and 
 copper mines are wrought in North Devon : 
 the lead is combined with silver. The lime- 
 stone is quarried for building and burnt for 
 manure : beautifully veined marble is worked 
 n different places. Imperfect coal or lignite, 
 called Bovey coal, occurs at Bovey Heathfield, 
 on the right or south west bank of the West 
 Teign or Bovey river in a plain where the 
 strata of it rise to the surface. It lies in pa- 
 rallel seams from four to sixteen feet thick, at 
 six or eight feet distance from each other, to 
 the depth of sixty feet, and exhibits a grada- 
 tion from the most perfect ligneous texture to 
 a substance nearly approaching the character 
 of pit coal. Potters' clay and pipe clay are 
 found in the same neighbourhood. The Bovey 
 coal is used for fuel in the potteries on Bovey 
 heath, and by the poorer people of the neigh- 
 bourhood : but its difficult and imperfect com- 
 bustion, and fetid gas, render it unfit for do- 
 mestic use. The Dartmoor granite is remark- 
 able for the size of the felspar crystals which 
 it contains: it is much valued for its durability, 
 fineness of texture, and the size of the blocks : 
 it is quarried and exported to a considerable 
 extent, especially to London. It is metallife- 
 rous ; containing veins of tin, even the rock 
 itself being sometimes impregnated with this 
 metal. 
 
 Grass land being far more abundant in De- 
 vonshire than arable, butter, cheese, and live 
 stock may be considered as the chief agricul- 
 tural produce for exportation. The clouted 
 or clotted cream of Devonshire is a well-known 
 delicacy; it is made by heating the milk on 
 the hearth, or by means of a stove, to a de- 
 gree a little below the boiling point, when the 
 clouted cream ries to the top like a thick scum, 
 and is taken off when cooled. This cream 
 being merely stirred briskly with the hand or 
 a stick, is converted into butter. The chief 
 beverage of the Devonshire people is cider, 
 which is here superior to any other in Eng- 
 land. The soil on the slopes of the hills is 
 peculiarly adapted to the growth of fruit trees, 
 especially on a loose rocky bottom, where the 
 roots may insinuate themselves and find mois- 
 ture at all times. The wood grown in Devon- 
 shire is chiefly oak, but beech, ash, and elder 
 are interspersed, according to the soil and si- 
 situation. 
 
 A few towns are briefly noticed in separate 
 articles ; such as EXETER, CREDITON, HCNI- 
 TON, &c. We may here state that at Prince 
 
735 
 
 DEWSBURY. 
 
 DIAMOND. 
 
 736 
 
 Town,on Dartmoor, is a building which was for- 
 merly a prisuu, but which has lately been leased 
 to a company who were engaged in extracting 
 naptha from peat. Considerable interest is 
 just now attached to this place from its being 
 the field of an important experiment on the 
 application of convict labour. In the autumn 
 of 1850, a number of convicts were sent down 
 here to be employed in the reclamation of 
 a portion of the moor and other useful works. 
 The prison is of such extent, and so well con- 
 structed, as to afford abundance of room, se- 
 curity, and facility of supervision, and the 
 situation, though bleak and dreary, is very 
 healthy, while it is sufficiently removed from 
 any populous neighbourhood, thus permitting 
 the experiment to be made under very favour- 
 able conditioni. At present the number of 
 convicts at Dartmoor is limited, but it is un- 
 derstood that it will be increased if the experi- 
 ment succeeds. 
 
 Mining, quarrying, and lace- making are the 
 chief industrial pursuits of Devonshire. Speci- 
 mens from many of the chief towns will be 
 displayed at the Great Exhibition. 
 
 DEWSBURY is one of the busy manufac- 
 turing towns of the West Hiding district. 
 Many extensive establishments are here in 
 operation for the production of woollen fabrics 
 chiefly of the heavy and useful kinds, such as 
 blankets, carpets, and inferior descriptions of 
 woollen cloth. There are also worsted yarn 
 manufactories, and wool carding establish- 
 ments ; and wool-stapling, iron-founding, tan- 
 ning, malting, and nail-making are extensively 
 carried on. Several corn mills and lime-works 
 are in the neighbourhood. 
 
 DEXTRINE, is a modification of starch 
 procured by boiling cominon starch in dilute 
 sulphuric acid and also in some other acids : 
 by this treatment the starch soon loses its 
 consistence and becomes thin and limpid, be- 
 ing converted into dextrine. When the ebul- 
 lition is continued after the formation of the 
 dextrine, this substance is converted into 
 grape sugar, and this effect is produced with 
 great readiness. 
 
 DIAGONAL SCALE. Equidistant parallel 
 lines cut all lines drawn across them into equal 
 parts. Consequently a set of equidistant pa- 
 rallels laid down upon a ruler, with oblique 
 lines of various lengths drawn across them, 
 give with the compasses the means of imme- 
 diately taking off various proportions of those 
 lines. The common diagonal scale is so 
 formed as to facilitate the laying down of the 
 hundredths of units in a scale of equal parts ; 
 and when well made it will shew ^yth of an 
 inch with tolerable accuracy. 
 
 DIAMOND. This crystalline gem, on ac- 
 
 count of its high lustre and extreme hardness 
 has always been regarded as the most valuable 
 of the precious stones. The diamond usually 
 occurs in imbedded octahedral crystals in al- 
 luvial ground, in the East Indies, Brazil, and 
 the Ural mountains. It is commonly colour- 
 less or grayish, but sometimes green, yellow, 
 red, brown, blue, and black : the two last- 
 mentioned colours are the rarest. Its lustre 
 is adamantine ; refraction single ; transparent, 
 but sometimes rendered opaque by foreign 
 matter. It is harder than any other substance, 
 and can be cut or worn down only by rubbing 
 one diamond against another ; and it is po- 
 lished by the friction of portions of the gem 
 itself reduced to powder. It is broken with- 
 out difficulty. The specific gravity of the dia- 
 mond is 3.52. When rubbed, it phosphorises 
 and becomes positively electrical. When 
 heated, without the contact of air, it suffers 
 no change ; but, if ignited in contact with it, 
 it is totally converted into carbonic acid gas. 
 
 For ornamental purposes diamonds are cut 
 into two shapes, namely, rose diamonds and 
 brilliants. The weight and consequently the 
 value of diamonds is estimated in carats, each 
 of which is equal to 3.166 grains. 
 
 It was conjectured by Newton that the dia- 
 mond is a combustible body ; but the proof of 
 its being absolute carbon in a crystalline form 
 was developed by slow degrees by the Floren- 
 tine Academicians in the seventeenth century, 
 by Lavoisier a century later, and by many 
 chemists in the present century. 
 
 The pencil diamond used in cutting glass 
 is a small fractured piece of diamond. The 
 part of the diamond used is of a trapezoidal 
 shape, weighing about the sixtieth part of a 
 carat, and is set in a wooden handle. 
 
 The diamond-mines of Cuddapah in the 
 East Indies, near Madras, instructively shew 
 the mode in which these gems are procured. 
 These mines have, it is said, been worked for 
 several hundred years with various success. 
 The places in which diamonds have hitherto 
 been found consist either of alluvial soil or of 
 rocks of the latest formation. The mines are 
 pits of small depth. The diamonds are not 
 scattered through the whole of the mine from 
 the surface to the greatest depth, but occur 
 in beds always harder than the adjacent soil, 
 and usually not exceeding one or two feet in 
 thickness. Dr. Heyne, who carefully exam- 
 hied these mines, has given in his statistical 
 tracts the following description of one : ' The 
 uppermost, or superficial stratum, consists of 
 sand or gravel, mixed with a small proportion 
 of loam. Its thickness scarcely exceeds a foot 
 and a half. Immediately under it is a bed of 
 stiff blueish or black mud, similar to what are 
 
787 
 
 DIAMOND. 
 
 DIE-SINKING. 
 
 738 
 
 seen in places that have heen inundated ; it 
 is about five feet thick, and contains no stones. 
 The diamond bed comes next, and is easily 
 distinguished from the incumbent bed by the 
 great number of large rounded stones which 
 it contains. It is about two feet or two and a 
 half feet thick, and is composed of large 
 round stones, pebbles, and gravel connected 
 together by clay.' The contents of this bed 
 are put into a cistern about eight feet square 
 and three feet deep, when water is poured into 
 it, which separates the clay and loamy parti- 
 cles, leaving the gravel and small stones at 
 the bottom. These being removed are thinly 
 spread upon a smooth surface, about twenty 
 feet square, of hardened clay, and six or seven 
 people examine the whole carefully several 
 times. At first they pick out the large stones ; 
 at the second aud subsequent examinations 
 the smaller gravel is carefully turned over by 
 hand, while they ' watch for the spark from 
 the diamond, which invariably strikes the 
 eye.' 
 
 In 1845 the public journals gave frequent 
 extracts from Brazilian correspondence relat- 
 ing to the discovery of a new diamond mine 
 in that country. The locality was the Assu- 
 ara, a desert part of the province of Bahia. 
 At this spot gold was found a few years 
 earlier ; and among the many hundreds who 
 flocked to work the gold veins, some dis- 
 covered the presence of diamonds. No sooner 
 was the discovery made, than the gold was 
 abandoned, and the more precious diamonds 
 sought for ; and the accounts seem to convey 
 the information that the store of these gems 
 was very large. One ship is said to have car- 
 ried to Europe diamonds to the value of 
 100,OOOZ. 
 
 The commercial value of diamonds is a very 
 curious feature. In the first place they are 
 estimated by weight. A weight called a carat 
 (equal to rather more than three grains troy) 
 is taken as an unit, and is divided into halves, 
 quarters, eighths, and sixteenths, to give 
 fractional parts. Then the quality and form 
 of the diamond are examined, and a price per 
 carat fixed from all these circumstances. The 
 larger the diamond the greater is the price 
 per carat given for it. Under five carats, the 
 price varies from thirty shillings to thirty 
 guineas per carat : but very large diamonds, 
 like chefs d'ceuvre among pictures, obtain a 
 price limited only by the competition of the 
 small number of persons able to purchase 
 them. The Eussian diamond, the Pitt dia- 
 mond, and the Pigott diamond, are gems 
 which have obtained notoriety on account of 
 their large size and enormous value. The 
 celebrated Koh-i-noor, or Mountain of Light, 
 
 is an Indian diamond which has lately fallen 
 into the hands of the English at Lahore, aud 
 has been brought to this country as the pro- 
 perty of Queen Victoria. It weighed 900 
 carats when rough, but this is reduced to 279 
 by cutting and polishing. As to its value, 
 guesses have varied from half a million to 
 three millions and a half sterling : shewing 
 how vague are all attempts to estimate such 
 rarities. It is said that Her Majesty intends 
 to deposit this gem at the Industrial Exhibi- 
 tion. 
 
 DIAPER, is a kind of linen or cotton cloth, 
 upon the face of which a figured pattern is 
 produced by a peculiar mode of weaving. 
 Diapers are chiefly used for table linen, fine 
 towels, &c. 
 
 In decorative painting the term diapering is 
 sometimes applied to a small pattern intro- 
 duced to diminish the appearance of baldness 
 where a considerable space is covered with 
 one colour. 
 
 DIASTASE, is a substance formed during 
 germination. It is prepared by reducing 
 freshly germinated barley into a pulp, with 
 half its weight of water, and then pressing out 
 the liquor strongly. It is afterwards treated 
 repeatedly with alcohol, purified, and precipi- 
 tated. The precipitate is at last dried in thin 
 layers upon glass at a temperature between 
 104 and 122 Fahrenheit. Diastase is solid, 
 white, not crystalline, soluble in water, but in- 
 soluble in alcohol unless it be weak. Com- 
 mon malt is stated in general not to contain 
 more than 1-5 00th of its weight of diastase ; 
 one part of it is sufficient to convert 2000 
 parts of starch, thickened with water, into a 
 mixture consisting of much dextrine and a 
 little sugar. 
 
 DIDYMIUM is a metal recently discovered 
 in cerite. Cerite eventually yields, by treat- 
 ment with sulphuric acid, large red crystals, 
 which are sulphite of didymium, from which, 
 by treatment with potash and exposure to a 
 red heat, the oxide of didymium is obtained 
 in small lumps of a brown or blackish colour ; 
 the powder is light brown. It has no alkaline 
 reaction, and is dissolved pretty readily even 
 by dilute acids, and they yield salts of an 
 amethystine red colour. By the blowpipe the 
 oxide mixed with the salt of phosphorus be- 
 comes amethystine red with a tint of violet ; 
 when heated with carbonate of soda or platina 
 foil, it melts into a grayish white mass. It 
 does not appear to have been reduced to the 
 metallic state. 
 
 DIE-SINKING. In the preparation of 
 coined money and of medals the mosMmpor- 
 tant feature is the engraving of the ' die' which 
 is to form the stamp. The piece of steel is 
 
 
739 
 
 DIEPPE, 
 
 DISTILLATION. 
 
 740 
 
 prepared vrith the utmost care, and is brought 
 to a soft state when about to be submitted to 
 the hands of the engraver. By the aid of 
 small, fine, hardened steel tools, the engraver 
 cuts away the steel until he has produced, in 
 cavity or 'intaglio,' an exact reverse of the 
 design for the medal or coin. The steel, in a 
 soft state while being engraved, requires har- 
 dening before being applied to use. When 
 further prepared so as to be rendered more 
 durable, it obtains the name of the matrix, 
 and might be used in that state to stamp coins 
 or medals ; but as such a matrix is very costly, 
 and might be spoiled by fracture, arrange- 
 ments are made for producing multiplied 
 copies of it. A small block of soft steel is 
 by immense pressure, made to receive an im- 
 press, in relief, from this matrix; and from 
 this second piece, which obtains the name of 
 the puncheon, after being hardened and re- 
 touched by the graver, dies or duplications of 
 the original matrix are produced. In the use 
 of dies by means of the stamping-press, the 
 number of blows required to transfer the de- 
 vice to a blank piece of metal depends upon 
 the depth of the intaglio. 
 
 A method sometimes adopted of producing 
 medals from a die by means of stamping upon 
 metal which is in a semi-liquid instead of a 
 cold and solid state has been already described 
 [CLICHE' MEDALLIONS]; the method is called 
 en diclie, and has been much practised in 
 France. 
 
 DIEPPE is among the busiest of the sea- 
 coast towns of France. The population of 
 the suburb of Pollet, to the east of the town, 
 are all engaged in the herring, oyster, and cod 
 fisheries. The quantity of herrings cured has 
 in some years amounted to 30,000 barrels, and 
 of mackerel to 12,000 barrels. There are su- 
 gar-refineries, rope -walks, paper-mills, and 
 ship-building yards in the town. Fine linen, 
 lace, and articles of ornament in bone, horn, 
 shellwork, and ivory, are made. Wine, brandy, 
 vinegar, salt, nails, iron, steel, millstones, co- 
 lonial produce also enter into the commerce 
 of the town. The coasting trade is active. 
 
 DIGESTION, in Chemistry, is the expo- 
 sure of any substance to partial or total solu- 
 tion in a fluid, either at common temperatures 
 or with a gentle heat, as in the preparation of 
 tinctures. It is commonly performed in a 
 glass matrass, which is half filled with the 
 fluid, and covered with a piece of wet bladder 
 at the mouth. 
 
 DIORA'MA is the name given to a mode 
 of painting and scenic exhibition invented by 
 two French artists, Daguerre and Bouton. The 
 peculiar and almost magical effect of the dio- 
 rama arises, in a considerable measure, from 
 
 the contrivance employed in exhibiting the 
 painting, which is viewed through a large 
 aperture or proscenium. Beyond this open- 
 ing the picture is placed at such a distance 
 that the light is thrown upon it, at a proper 
 angle, from the roof, which is glazed with 
 ground glass, and cannot be seen by the spec- 
 tator. The light may be diminished or in- 
 creased at pleasure, and that either gradually 
 or suddenly, so as to represent the change 
 from ordinary daylight to sunshine, and from 
 sunshine to cloudy weather, or to the obscu- 
 rity of twilight; also the difference of atmos- 
 pheric tone attending them. Some parts of 
 the painting are transparent, and on them the 
 light can occasionally be admitted from be- 
 hind, thereby producing a brilliancy far ex- 
 ceeding that of the highest lights of a picture 
 upon an opaque ground. The combination of 
 transparent, semi-transparent, and opaque 
 colouring, still further assisted by the power 
 of varying both the effects and the degree of 
 light and shade, renders the diorama the most 
 perfect scenic representation of nature. The 
 principle forms the basis of an attractive exhi- 
 bition in the Regent's Park, London ; but it 
 is also capable of being applied to the embel- 
 lishments of corridors, &c. 
 
 DISTEMPER, is an inferior kind of colour- 
 ing, used as a cheap substitute for oil colours. 
 It is composed of whitening mixed with size, 
 to which the colouring is added to form the 
 necessary tint. Coarser coloiirs are used for 
 distemper than are employed in oil-painting. 
 Scene-painting and paper-staining are exe- 
 cuted in distemper. 
 
 DISTILLATION is a chemical process for 
 applying a regulated heat to fluid substances 
 in covered vessels, in order to separate their 
 more volatile constituents in vapour : and for 
 condensing them immediately by cold into the 
 liquid state. The distillation of aromatic wa- 
 ters was kno\vn to the Greeks and Romans, 
 and to the Arabians from very remote times. 
 Arnoldus cle Villa Nova and Raymond Lully 
 both noticed in the 13th century, a mode of 
 producing intoxicating spirits by distillation. 
 The alchemists of those days imagined that 
 spirit derives its ardent qualities from the fire 
 employed to heat the vessels. 
 
 The only substances employed in this 
 country in the manufacture of ardent spirits 
 upon the great scale (which is the chief ex- 
 ample of distillation) are different kinds of 
 corn, such as barley, rye, wheat, oats, buck- 
 wheat, and maize. Peas and beans also have 
 been occasionally used in small quantity. The 
 principles in these grains from which the spi- 
 rits are indirectly produced are starch and a 
 little sweet mucilage, which, by a peculiar pro- 
 
741 
 
 DISTILLATION. 
 
 DISTILLATION. 
 
 742 
 
 cess called mashing, are converted into a spe 
 cies of sugar. It is the sugar so formed which 
 is the immediate generator of alcohol, by th 
 process of fermentation. In mashing one 01 
 more kinds of corn, a greater or smaller pro 
 portion of malt is always mixed with the raw 
 grain, and sometimes malt alone is used, as in 
 the production of malt-whiskey. 
 
 The manufacture of ardent spirits consists 
 of three distinct operations: first, mashing 
 second, fermentation ; third, distillation. 
 
 Mashing. Either malt alone, or malt mixed 
 with other grain, and coarsely ground, is put 
 into the mash-tun, along with a proper propor- 
 tion of hot water, and the mixture is subjected 
 to agitation by a mechanical revolving appa- 
 ratus. The water is applied at a temperature 
 varying from 145 to 165 Fahr. After two or 
 three hours' agitation, the whole is left to 
 repose for an hour and a half, and then the 
 worts (as the liquor is called^ are drawn off to 
 about one-third the volume of water employed, 
 the rest being entangled in a pasty state 
 among the farina. About two-thirds of the 
 first quantity of water is now let into the tun, 
 but at a temperature somewhat higher, and 
 the mashing motion is renewed for nearly half 
 an hour. A second period of infusion or re- 
 pose ensues, after which these second worts 
 are drawn off. Both infusions must be cooled 
 as quickly as possible down to about 75 Fahr.: 
 this is usually effected by exposing the wort 
 for some time in large shallow cisterns, called 
 coolers, freely exposed to aerial currents ; but 
 the liquor is sometimes cooled by being passed 
 through serpentine tubes surrounded with 
 cold water, or by the agency of ventilators 
 blowing over its surface in extensive cisterns 
 only three or four inches deep. A third mash- 
 ing is conducted with a fresh portion of water 
 in order to extract the remaining saccharine 
 matter from the grain. 
 
 The specific gravity of the first and second 
 worts, when mixed, is about 1.060; and the 
 liquor contains about 60 Ibs. of saccharine ex- 
 tract per barrel of 36 gallons. The three 
 mashings employ about 27 gallons of water to 
 every bushel of ground meal. 
 
 Fermentation. This consists in bringing 
 the worts to a fermented state. The worts are 
 drawn off into a fermenting vessel ; and yeast 
 or ferment is added, sufficient to decompose 
 the sugar in the liquor. The process is com- 
 menced at a temperature between 60 and 70 
 which soon afterwards rises to 85 or 90. The 
 first appearance of fermentation shows itself 
 by a ring of froth round the edge of the vat 
 usually within an hour after the addition of 
 the yeast ; and in the course of five hours the 
 extrication of carbonic acid from the particles 
 
 throughout the whole body of the liquor causes 
 frothy bubbles to cover its entire surface. The 
 yeasty froth begins to subside in about 36 
 hours, and, when the attenuation gets more 
 advanced, the greater port of it falls to the 
 bottom on account of its density relatively to 
 the subjacent fluid. In from forty-eight to 
 sixty hours the liquor begins to grow clear, 
 and becomes comparatively tranquil. The li- 
 quor is stirred up occasionally during the fer- 
 mentation, and the vessel is kept mostly closed 
 after the first violence of the action. The 
 specific gravity of the liquor diminishes as the 
 process advances ; the fermentation converts 
 the sugar into alcohol or spirit ; and, as the 
 alcohol is lighter than water, it diminishes 
 the specific gravity of the whole. The liquor 
 itself is now called wash. 100 gallons of this 
 wash contain about 12 gallons of proof spirit; 
 if the whole of the sugar were decomposed 
 (which it never is in practice), the produce of 
 spirit would be greater. In the great distille- 
 ries, where the quantity of liquor operated 011 
 at once is very large, the duration of the fer- 
 menting process is longer than that above 
 named. 
 
 Distillation. Great distilleries are usually 
 mounted with two stills, a larger and a smaller. 
 The former is the wash still, and serves to 
 distil from the fermented worts a weak crude 
 spirit called low-wines ; the latter is the low- 
 vine still, and rectifies by a second process 
 the product of the first distillation. In these 
 successive distillations a quantity of fetid oil, 
 derived from the corn, comes over along with 
 he first and last portions received, and con- 
 stitutes by its combination what is styled the 
 strong and weak faints. These milky faints 
 are carefully separated from the limpid spirit, 
 >y turning them as they begin to flow from 
 ,he still into distinct channels, which lead to 
 jeparate receivers. From these receivers the 
 arious qualities of spirit, low wines, and faints 
 are, for the purpose of redistillation, pumped 
 ap into charging backs, from which they are 
 run in guaged quantities into the low-wine and 
 pirit stills. 
 
 The distilling apparatus, in one of the large 
 
 stablishments near London, is thus arranged. 
 
 Che wash is conveyed through pipes from the 
 
 ermenting vessel to the wash-charger, which 
 
 s a closed iron cistern, capable of containing 
 
 30,000 gallons. From this vessel the wash 
 
 lows into the wash-still, a copper vessel hold- 
 
 ng 20,000 gallons ; it is heated by a fire be- 
 
 eath, and is terminated at the top by a cover, 
 
 which gradually decreases in diameter, and at 
 
 ength joins the worm, in another vessel. The 
 
 wash is made to boil : and as alcohol boils and 
 
 asses off in vapour at a temperature of 180 
 
743 
 
 DISTILLATION. 
 
 DIVING BELL. 
 
 744 
 
 Fahr., while water requires a temperature of 
 212, the heating is so managed as never to 
 reach 212 ; and the alcohol vapour passes off 
 with only a small portion of water vapour : if 
 the process were perfectly conducted, there 
 would be no water pass off with the spirit ; 
 but in practice there always is a small quan- 
 tity, and to this extent the spirit is weakened 
 by the mixture. The alcohol-vapour passes 
 off into the worm, which is a copper tube 
 curved spirally round the inside of a vessel 
 thirty feet high, called the worm-tub : the tube 
 is two feet in diameter at the upper part 
 of the vessel, and diminishes down to two 
 inches near the bottom. The worm-tub is 
 filled with constantly flowing cold water, which 
 keeps the copper worm at such a low tempe- 
 rature that the vapour in the worm is con- 
 densed into a liquid. This liquid, forming 
 the low-wines, flows out of the narrow end of 
 the worm into the low-wines receiver, from 
 which it again flows into the spirit-still. An- 
 other distillation occurs, and sometimes a 
 third, until so much of the water is driven off 
 as to leave the spirit of a proper strength. 
 Standard or ' proof spirit' consists of one half 
 absolute or pure alcohol and one half water : 
 if a given bulk of distilled water weighs 13 
 ounces, an equal bulk of proof spirit will weigh 
 exactly 12 ounces. This difference of specific 
 gravity gives rise to the construction and use 
 of the HYDROMETER. There are certain stages 
 or degrees of strength, ' above ' or ' below 
 proof,' according to circumstances : thus, the 
 strongest spirit produced by distillation is 70 
 above proof, spirit of wine is not less than 43 
 above proof, raw spirits sold by the distiller to 
 the rectifier are at 25 and 11 above proof, 
 gin is about 17 below proof. The rectifying, 
 or giving a modified strength and a peculiar 
 flavour to spirit, is effected in totally distinct 
 establishments from those in which the spirit 
 is produced from grain. Scotch and Irish 
 whiskey are distilled spirit without artificial 
 flavour. English gin is flavoured with juniper 
 berries, sugar, and other substances. 
 
 A larg& revenue is derived from distilled 
 spirits ; and the revenue officers exercise a 
 most rigorous supervision over all the opera- 
 tions of a distillery. 
 
 The total number of proof gallons of spirits 
 distilled and charged with excise duty, in 1849, 
 was as follow : 
 
 England . . 5,318,526 gallons 
 Scotland .. 10,444,709 
 Ireland .. 8,117,844 
 
 23,881,079 gallons. 
 
 In looking at these numbers, we cannot fail 
 to be struck with the circumstance that Ire- 
 
 land, with half the number of inhabitants, 
 manufactures 50 per cent, more spirit than 
 England: and (more striking still) that Scot- 
 land, with one-fifth of the population, manu- 
 factures twice as much spirit as England. 
 
 The Excise duty (7s. lOrf. per gallon in Eng- 
 land, 3s. Bel. in Scotland, and 2s. 8d. in Ire- 
 land) realised 4,847,217*. in 1849. 
 
 A few additional details respecting distilled 
 spirits will be found under BRANDY, RUM, &c. 
 
 DIVING BELL. Much ingenuity has been 
 devoted from an early period to the contri- 
 vance of apparatus .for enabling men to de- 
 scend beneath the surface of water, to a 
 greater depth, for a longer space of time, and 
 with less exertion and danger, than is possible 
 by the unassisted powers of the body. Ma- 
 chines which in some degree included the 
 principle of the Diving-Bell were suggested, 
 contrived, and sometimes used for the purpose 
 of obtaining property sunk in the sea or in 
 rivers. At length, in the 16th century, the 
 Diving Bell itself was invented and used ; and 
 Halley, in No. 349 of the ' Philosophical 
 Transactions,' describes its defects, and sug- 
 gests a remedy for them. In its simplest form 
 the diving bell is a strong heavy vessel of wood 
 or metal, made perfectly air and water tight at 
 the top and sides, but open at the bottom. If 
 such a vessel be gradually lowered into the 
 water, in a perfectly horizontal position, the 
 air which it contains cannot escape, and there- 
 fore the vessel cannot become full of water. 
 Where the diving-bell is used for descending 
 to a very small depth, as the pressure of the 
 water is small, it will not rise in the bell to a 
 sufficient height to be inconvenient ; but at the 
 depth of thirty-three feet the pressure is so 
 great as to compress the air into one half its 
 original volume, so that the bell will become 
 half full of water ; and at a greater depth the 
 air will be still more compressed, and the wa- 
 ter will rise proportionately higher in the bell. 
 The unpleasant pressure of the condensed air 
 on the ear, the difficulty of breathing, and the 
 confinement of space within the bell, have all 
 led to various improvements, by Dr. Halley 
 and others. 
 
 The diving-bell used by Dr. Halley was of 
 wood, in the form of a truncated cone, five feet 
 in diameter at the bottom, and three feet at 
 the top, and containing about sixty cubic feet. 
 This was coated with lead, and so weighted 
 about the lower part that it would sink while 
 empty, and would always remain in its proper 
 position ; that is, with the large open end 
 downwards, having its rim parallel with the 
 horizon. In the top of the bell was a very 
 strong glass window, and a cock, by opening 
 which the foul air might be allowed to escape. 
 
745 
 
 DIVING BELL. 
 
 DIVING BELL. 
 
 746 
 
 About a yard below the mouth of the bell was 
 suspended a stage, so weighted that it might 
 hang steadily. The apparatus for conveying 
 air to the diving-bell consisted of two barrels, 
 holding thirty-six gallons each, weighted with 
 lead to make them sink readily. Each of these 
 had an open bung -hole in the lower end, to 
 allow water to enter during their descent, so 
 as to condense the air ; there was also a hole 
 in the upper end of each, to which was fitted 
 an air-tight leathern hose, long enough to fall 
 below the bottom of the barrel, and having its 
 loose end so weighted that it would fall natu- 
 rally into that position. When the open end 
 of the hose was turned up by the attendant, 
 so as to be above the level of the water in the 
 barrels, the air rushed out with great force 
 into the bell, the barrels becoming at the same 
 time full of water. By sending down these 
 air-ban-els in rapid succession, the air in the 
 diving-bell was kept in so pure a state that 
 five persons remained in it, at a depth of nine 
 or ten fathoms, for more than an hour and a 
 half at a time, without injurious consequences. 
 When the sea was clear, and especially when 
 the sun shone, sufficient light was transmitted 
 to allow a person in the bell to write or read ; 
 and when the sea was troubled and thick, 
 which occasioned the bell to be as dark as 
 night, a candle was burnt in it. Halley some- 
 times sent up orders with the empty barrels, 
 writing them with an iron pen on plates of 
 lead. 
 
 The credit of having been the first to apply 
 the diving-bell in aid of civil engineering ope- 
 rations is usually attributed to Smeaton, who 
 used it in 1779 in repairing the foundations of 
 Hexham Bridge. The bell used on this occa- 
 sion was an oblong box of wood, four feet 
 high, two wide, and three and a half long ; 
 and it was supplied with air by a pump fixed 
 on the top. The river being shallow, the bell 
 was not covered with water. In 1788 the di- 
 ving bell was used in a much more important 
 work, Eamsgate harbour, by the same engi- 
 neer. The depth here being considerable, an 
 apparatus was employed for sending in a sup- 
 ply of air through a flexible pipe, by means of 
 a forcing-pump. The bell used was of cast- 
 iron, similar in form to that at Hexham, but 
 four feet and a half high, four and a half long, 
 and three wide. Its weight was 50 cwts., and 
 the thickness was so adjusted that it would, 
 without the addition of any weights, sink in 
 the pi-oper position. In levelling foundations 
 under water by this machine the surface of 
 the water at the bottom of the bell formed a 
 convenient and unerring level to work to ; and 
 in this, as well as in the subsequent operation 
 of building, every necessary motion was given 
 
 to the bell by the tackle by which it was sus- 
 pended ; signals being made from below by 
 striking one, two, three, or more blows upon 
 the side of the bell with a hammer. 
 
 Since the time of Smeaton the diving-bell 
 has been frequently, and with great advantage, 
 employed in submarine works ; sometime in 
 situations in which it would have been impos- 
 sible to construct a coffer-dam, or to perform 
 the required operations by any other means. 
 The diving bells used in such works are usually 
 formed on the model of that made for the 
 works of Eamsgate Harbour ; but the mode 
 of suspension differs according to circum- 
 stances. The bell may be suspended over the 
 side or end of a vessel ; or through an opening 
 in the centre of a barge ; or from frame-work 
 resting upon two barges, placed parallel with 
 each other, but at such a distance apart as to 
 allow the bell to descend between them ; or 
 from a scaffolding supported by piles. Of the 
 use of this important machine in recovering 
 property from wrecks, the operations upon 
 that of the Eoyal George afford a familiar ex- 
 ample. Smeaton's method of supplying air to 
 the bell is that most commonly employed ; 
 but that of Halley may, in some cases, have 
 the advantage. 
 
 One of the largest diving-bells ever con- 
 structed is that at the Polytechnic Institution. 
 This machine is made of cast iron, and weighs 
 three tons. It has twelve glazed openings, 
 six at the sides and six at the top : the glass 
 being half an inch thick. It is 5 feet high, 4 
 feet 8 inches diameter at the bottom, and from 
 1 to 2 inches thick. Air is supplied to the 
 bell by two air-pumps, with 8 inch barrels. 
 
 Many plans have been proposed for enab- 
 ling a man to walk beneath the surface of wa- 
 ter in such a manner as to assist in the reco- 
 very of property from wrecks, by means of 
 waterproof coverings for the head and upper 
 part of the body, or of strong vessels in which 
 every part but the arms should be encased ; a 
 supply of air being either transmitted from 
 above by a flexible pipe, or contained in the 
 cavities of the protecting armour. Dr. Halley 
 devised such an apparatus. The diver's head 
 was covered by a heavy leaden cap, supplied 
 with air by a flexible tube extending from the 
 large bell. The diver was to coil this tube 
 round his arm, and unwind it as he left the 
 bell ; and to use it as a clue to direct him to 
 the bell in returning. This pipe was formed 
 of leather soaked in oil and hot wax, and was 
 held open by a spiral coil of brass-wire ; its 
 internal diameter being about one-sixth of an 
 inch. The fi-ont of the helmet was glazed ; 
 and the diver, who was clothed in a thickwool- 
 len dress fitting close to the body, to dimmish 
 
747 
 
 DNIEPER. 
 
 the effect of the coldness of the water, was 
 enabled to walk by means of a weighted girdle 
 and weighted clogs. The invention of water- 
 proof India-rubber cloth, which has been ap- 
 plied in various ways to diving-apparatus, 
 affords great facilities for the manufacture of 
 water-tight tubes for such a purpose. Many 
 varieties of diving-dresses have been since em- 
 ployed. Mr. Thornthwaite introduced a few 
 years ago a contrivance for facilitating the de- 
 scent and ascent of a diver. It consists of a 
 hollow belt of India-rubber cloth, to which is 
 attached a small but strong copper vessel. 
 Into this vessel air is to be forced by a con- 
 densing-syringe until it has a pressure of 
 thirty or forty atmospheres. The belt is then 
 put on, in a collapsed state, so that it has no 
 buoyancy, and does not impede the descent of 
 the diver ; but when he desires to rise, he 
 opens a valve, by which the condensed air es- 
 capes from the copper vessel into the belt. As 
 it expands the belt, it affords sufficient buoy- 
 ancy to raise the diver immediately to the sur- 
 face. 
 
 A few years ago Dr. Payerne attracted a 
 good deal of public attention by his attempts 
 to dispense with an air-pump to supply air to 
 diving-bells. He made his experiments in 
 1842, first at Paris, and then at the Polytech- 
 nic Institution in London. The ordinary air- 
 tube was removed from the diving bell ; and 
 he remained under water three or four hours 
 without any connection with the external ah 1 . 
 The experimenter toolc down with him a small 
 box, containing some chemical agent which 
 will absorb carbonic acid gas as fast as it is 
 generated, and another agent which will evolve 
 pure oxygen gas rapidly ; and as he vitiatec 
 the air in the bell by his breathing, the on 
 chemical substance absorbed the carbonic acic 
 from it, while the other furnished a fresh sup 
 ply of oxygen. Many such chemical agents 
 are known ; but we believe Dr. Payerne pro 
 fessed to keep his method secret. He mad( 
 one or two descents at Spithead, near the 
 wreck of the Royal George. 
 
 DNIEPER and DNIESTER. These tw 
 rivers of European Russia are made the media 
 of conveying much merchandize and produc 
 to the Black Sea. The entire length of th 
 Dnieper, with its windings, is about 1000 miles 
 Its basin comprises fourteen of the finest pro 
 vinces of Russia, with all of which it has com 
 munication by its navigable branches an< 
 by canals. The river is navigable almost fron 
 its source to its mouth ; even the obstruction 
 presented by the cataracts have been remove< 
 by the magnificent hydraulic works of th 
 Russian government ; several of the ledges o 
 rocks having been entirely removed, and chan 
 
 DOCKS AND DOCKYARDS. 748 
 
 els formed which are protected from winds 
 y lofty dikes of granite. Produce is generally 
 onveyed down the river to the cities on the 
 Black Sea ; but fleets of large barks also pass 
 nnually by the canals to Riga and St. Peters- 
 iurg. The freights consist chiefly of timber, 
 orn, iron, linen, hemp, salt, &c. The Dniester 
 r hich is about 600 miles long, carries cargoes 
 f timber, grain, and other produce to Odessa, 
 n the Black Sea : much of which is brought 
 
 England. 
 
 DOCKS AND DOCK-YARDS. A dock is 
 
 1 place artificially formed for the reception of 
 hips, the entrance of which is generally closed 
 >y gates. There are two kinds of docks, dry- 
 docks and wet -docks. The former are used 
 
 'or receiving ships in order to their being in- 
 spected and repaired. For this purpose the 
 dock is so contrived that the water may be ad- 
 mitted or excluded at pleasure, so that a ves- 
 sel can be floated in when the tide is high, 
 and the water run out with the fall of the tide, 
 or be pumped out, the closing of the gates 
 preventing its return. Wet docks are formed 
 the purpose of keeping vessels always 
 afloat. Dock yards belonging to the govern- 
 ment usually consist of dry docks for repairing 
 ships, and of slips on which new vessels are 
 built ; besides which they comprise various 
 workshops and storehouses. 
 
 The first wet dock for commercial purposes 
 made in this kingdom was formed in the year 
 1708 at Liverpool. Since that time others 
 have been added at different periods ; and at 
 present the margin of the Mersey along the 
 whole extent of the town, for about three 
 miles, is occupied by docks. They compi-ise 
 the Northern, the Clarence, the Victoria, the 
 Waterloo, the Prince's, the George's, the Can- 
 ning, the Manchester, the Salthousc, the Dufte's, 
 the King's, the Queen's, the Albert, the Union, 
 the Brunswick, the Herculanenm, and the 
 Harrington docks. They covei more than 100 
 acres, and have an extent of quay ten or twelve 
 miles in length. 
 
 At Birkenhead are docks noticed in a for- 
 mer article [BIBKENHEAD]. Fleetwood, Hull, 
 Bristol, and other commercial towns, have 
 convenient docks. 
 
 The first commercial wet dock constructed 
 in the port of London was for the accommoda- 
 tion of vessels employed in the Greenland 
 whale fishery. This dock, which is now known 
 as the Commercial Dock, is situated at Rother- 
 hithe; it occupies altogether 49 acres, about 
 four-fifths of which are water : it is now used 
 mainly for the timber and corn trade. Ad- 
 joining it is the East Country Dock, used for 
 the timber trade. 
 
 Up to the end of the last century, nearly all 
 
COMB COLOURS 
 
 BGHfS OF TOE OF ALL 
 
 No. 19. 
 
749 DOCKS AND DOCKYARDS. 
 
 ships arriving in London discharged their car- 
 goes into lighters in the river. To remedy 
 this inconvenience, a plan was sanctioned in 
 1700 for constructing wet docks for the recep- 
 tion of ships employed in the West India trade. 
 The West India Docks extend across the Isle 
 of Dogs. The import dock is 879 yards long 
 and 166 yards wide ; the export dock is of the 
 same length and 135 yards wide ; there are 
 besides two "basins, one at each entrance, that 
 at Blackwall being 5 acres, and that at Lime- 
 house 2 acres in extent. A canal cut across 
 the Isle of Dogs has been also appropriated 
 as a dock or basin. The London Docks, situ- 
 ated in. Wapping, and finished in 1805, consist 
 of the western dock of 20 acres, the eastern 
 dock of 7 acres, and the tobacco clock, between 
 the other two, of more than 1 acre. The space 
 included within the dock walls exceeds 71 
 acres. The warehouses, especially those for 
 tobacco and wine, are of vast extent. The 
 St. Katharine's Docks, situated between the 
 London Docks and the Tower, were opened 
 in 1828 ; the outer wall encloses an area of 24 
 acres, of which 11 acres are water, the remain- 
 der being occupied by quays and warehouses. 
 There are two docks each capable of receiving 
 vessels of 800 tons burden. 
 
 The Commercial Dock Company propose, 
 in 1851, to purchase the East Country or 
 Greenland Dock, and to expend 200,000/. in 
 enlargements and improvements. 
 
 In the half year from June to November 
 1850, the laden ships which entered the Lon- 
 don Docks from foreign countries were 685, 
 measuring 186,517 tons. The stock of goods 
 in the Avarehouses, on Nov. 30 in that year, 
 amounted to 124,825 tons. A new stack of 
 warehouses has just been constructed by the 
 company on the West Quay. 
 
 At the St. Katharine's Docks the goods re- 
 ceived during the year 1850 amounted to 
 119,149 tons. The ships which entered with 
 cargoes were 703, of 152,046 tons; and those 
 which entered to load were 259. The goods 
 in warehouse on December 31, 1850, were 
 08,121 tons. 
 
 Collier docks are about to be formed oppo- 
 site Woolwich, near the North Woolwich sta- 
 tion, of the Eastern Counties Railway. A dock 
 of 70 acres is planned, available not only for 
 collier ships but for passenger steamers. 
 
 The construction of floating dry docks is now 
 engaging the attention of engineers : the prin- 
 ciple being, to adopt a means of buoying 
 up a ship on some kind of floating support, 
 so as to leave it high and dry. There are now 
 being constructed for the United States Go- 
 vernment, at Philadelphia, docks of a re- 
 markable kind on this principle. There are ten 
 
 DOLL MANUFACTUKE. 750 
 
 closed compartments, called sections, capable 
 of being exhausted of water by means of 
 pumps ; and when so exhausted, each section 
 can buoy up a weight of 800 tons. Six of them 
 together would bear up a ship of the line, while 
 four would bear a frigate. There is a stone 
 basin or dock, 350 feet long by 226 wide. When 
 a ship is to be dry- do eked, some of the sections 
 are filled with water sufficiently for the vessel 
 to be floated in on the top of them ; and when 
 brought into the basin, the water is pumped 
 out of the sections, and the vessel thus buoyed 
 up. There is a railway, also, by which the 
 vessel may be brought up completely on dry 
 land. These remarkable works are expected 
 to be finished during the year 1851. Other 
 works of a similar kind are being constructed 
 in other parts of the United States. 
 
 The largest gates ever made for docks, per- 
 haps, are those which Messrs. Rennie have 
 recently made for the Russian government, to 
 be fitted up at Sevastopol on the Black Sea. 
 On account of the peculiar locality of the town 
 with respect to the depth of the shores, three 
 locks were made so as to raise a ship of war 
 to a height of 30 feet above the sea level. 
 These locks have nine pairs of gates, varying 
 from 21 to 34 feet in height, and from 47 to 
 64 feet in width. On account of the ravages 
 of a peculiar worm, the use of wood was deter- 
 mined against, and iron substituted. The 
 gates consist of wrought iron plates in cast 
 iron frames ; and so enormous are some of 
 the masses, that the engineers had to erect 
 large and costly machinery for planing and 
 punching them. 
 
 Our Government Dock Yards are briefly 
 described under the names of the towns where 
 they are situated. [CHATHAM ; PLYMOUTH, 
 &c.] 
 
 DOLL MANUFACTURE. Let not any 
 one suppose that the making of dolls is too 
 trifling an employment to merit notice in a 
 work devoted to industrial pursuits. It affords 
 bread to numerous persons, and is subjected 
 to as many divisions and subdivisions as other 
 manufactures. A glass manufacturer of Bir- 
 mingham, some years ago, astonished a Com- 
 mittee of the House of Commons by stating 
 that he had received, at one time, an order for 
 500/. worth of dolls' eyes ! 
 
 There are two classes of dolls wooden and 
 sewed ; the former cheap, and the latter more 
 expensive. The wooden dolls make but little 
 approach to anatomical correctness ; whereas 
 the sewed dolls are the results of more ambi- 
 tious skill. The wooden doll passes through 
 few hands in the process of making ; but the 
 sewed doll is the work of many distinct classes 
 of artificers such as the doll sewer and stuf- 
 
751 
 
 DOLL MANUFACTURE. 
 
 DOME. 
 
 752 
 
 fer, the dolls' head maker, the dolls' arm and 
 leg maker, the dolls' wig maker, the dolls' eye 
 maker, and the doll dresser. 
 
 In wooden dolls the body is turned in a 
 lathe, thereby giving to the human bust a form 
 which nature never gave an equal rotundity 
 on all sides. They are carved or cut by hand to 
 impart certain improvements ; and the legs 
 are made with calves or without calves ac- 
 cording to the price. A composition is laid 
 on the face; and the painter's pencil is em- 
 ployed to supply lips, eyebro-.vs, &c. Every 
 doll, except in the humblest station of life, has 
 jointed legs, which are fixed to the body by a 
 kind of wooden hinge. Unless the doll have 
 painted ringlets, real ringlets are purchased 
 from the dolls' wig maker. The arms are 
 usually made of stuffed leather. 
 
 The sewed dolls go through a larger number 
 of processes, and employ more persons. The 
 maker cuts out the calico which is to form the 
 outer surface, and gives it together with saw- 
 dust or wool to the doll sewer and stuffer, by 
 whom the structure of the doll is built up. 
 The composition heads for these dolls are 
 usually made of papier mache ; but they have 
 a superficial coating of wax ; they are painted 
 flesh colour, and then dipped into melted wax. 
 The mould for the papier mache is made from 
 a wax model, and the substance itself is a kind 
 of sugar paper, reduced to a pulp. Tne arms 
 and legs, and the wig, are made by other per- 
 sons. 
 
 Dolls' eyes seem to form the most curious 
 department of this curious manufacture. They 
 are of two kinds, the cheap and the expensive. 
 The more cheaply constructed eyes are simply 
 small hollow glass beads or spheres, made of 
 white enamel, and coloured either black or 
 blue, but without any attempt at diverse co- 
 louring. The better kind of eyes, called by 
 the makers natural eyes, are made in the same 
 manner so far as concerns the glass or ena- 
 mel, but the iris is represented by a painted 
 or stained ring. 
 
 In one of the interesting papers recently 
 published in the Morning Chronicle, some cu- 
 rious statistical facts are given respecting the 
 doll manufacture. The commonest wooden 
 dolls were formerly sold at a penny each, but 
 now (competition having affected dolls as well 
 as more important commodities) command a 
 price of only one farthing. Some of the sewed 
 dolls are stuffed with sawdust and sewed for 
 half a crown per gross. The commonest dolls' 
 eyes sell from five to six shillings per twelve 
 dozen pairs ; while the best or natural eyes 
 obtain a price of fourpence per pair. Dolls' 
 eyes are largely exported; in Spanish Ame- 
 rica black eyes only will find a sale, while 
 
 in this country blue eyes are the favour- 
 ites. 
 
 Gutta perchais now employed as a material 
 for some dolls; and various costly novelties 
 are from time to time introduced. The speak- 
 ing doll is an object of great admiration to doll 
 buyers ; but the six guineas' price limits the 
 sale to a small number. It was the invention 
 of a London doll maker, who, after nine years 
 of experimental trial and failure, succeeded in 
 making his doll speak the two favourite nur- 
 sery words ' mama ' and ' papa.' One of these 
 was sent to St. Petersburg ; it became injiired 
 on the way, and lost its speech, which no 
 Russian doll-maker was found able to re-- 
 store. 
 
 DOLLOND, JOHN, as an eminent practi- 
 cal optician, calls for a few words of notice in 
 this place. He was descended from a French 
 refugee family, settled in Spitalfields, and was 
 born in 1706. His father was an operative 
 silk-weaver, and his own boyhood was spent 
 in the drudgery of a manufactory ; he found 
 time however to make considerable progress 
 in the study of mathematics and natural phi- 
 losophy ; besides which he cultivated anatomy, 
 and devoted his leisure moments to ecclesias- 
 tical history and to languages. About the 
 year 1755 he commenced a series of experi- 
 ments on the dispersion of light, and in 1757 
 he made the decisive experiment which showed 
 the error of Newton's conclusion respecting 
 the proportional refrangibility of light in all 
 media. In consequence of the discovery, Mr. 
 Dollorid was enabled to construct what are 
 called achromatic telescopes, or such as afford 
 images of objects almost wholly free from co- 
 loured fringes. The discovery was rewarded, 
 by the Council of the Royal Society, with the 
 Copley Medal. After this he became eminent 
 as the first optical instrument maker of his 
 day, and communicated many papers to the 
 Royal Society. 
 
 Mr. Dollond died in 1761 ; but his establish- 
 ment has ever since maintained its high cha- 
 racter, under various members of his family. 
 
 DOLOMITE. This rock, having the aspect 
 and general geological history of limestone, 
 but composed of carbonate of magnesia united 
 to carbonate of lime, usually atom to atom, 
 occurs as a part of the oolitic system of the 
 Alps and Apennines, and of the German Ju- 
 rakalk ; and it is perhaps proper to call by the 
 same name the crystallised magnesian lime- 
 stone of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, York- 
 shire, and Durham. The best example of this 
 English dolomite is at Bolsover, in Derbyshire, 
 whence the stone is taken to build the new 
 Houses of Parliament. 
 
 DOME, a term applied to a covering of the 
 
753 
 
 DOME. 
 
 DOME, 
 
 754 
 
 whole or part of a building. The word dome 
 is strictly applied to the external part of the 
 spherical or polygonal roof, and cupola to the 
 internal part. 
 
 The most magnificent dome of antiquity is 
 that of the Pantheon, supposed to be a cham- 
 ber of the great baths of Agrippa. Internally 
 it is divided into five rows of square compart- 
 ments, which are supposed to have been deco- 
 rated with plates of silver. The external part 
 of the dome appears also to have been deco- 
 rated with bands of bronze. The base of the 
 dome externally consists of a large plinth with 
 six smaller plinths or steps above it ; and in 
 the curve of the dome a flight of steps is 
 formed which leads to the opening at the top. 
 The dome is constructed of bricks and rubble. 
 The thickness is about 17 feet at the base, 5 
 feet l inches at the top of the highest step, 
 and 4 feet 7 inches at the top of the dome. 
 The circular wall which supports the dome is 
 20 feet thick. 
 
 The Thermae, or baths, of Caracalla, Titus, 
 Constantine, and Diocletian, were all sur- 
 mounted by domes. Near Pozzuoli there is a 
 very perfect circular building with a dome 96 
 feet in diameter, built of volcanic tufo and 
 pumice stone. The temple of Minerva Me- 
 dica, without the walls of Eome, had a dome 
 of ten sides built of brick and pumice stone. 
 The dome of Santa Sophia, at Constantinople, 
 built in the reign of Justinian, rests on the 
 square formed at the intersection of the arms 
 of a Greek cross. The dome is supported by 
 four corbellings placed in the angles of the 
 square, surmounted by a kind of cornice which 
 supports a circular gallery. Externally the 
 dome is divided by projecting ribs, rounded 
 and covered with lead. The top is surmounted 
 by a lantern or finishing like a baluster, on 
 which is a cross. The dome of San Yitale at 
 Eavenna, is curiously constructed. The lower 
 part of the plan is a regular octagon, which is 
 supported by eight piers placed at the angles 
 of the dome ; in the spaces between the piers 
 are seven niches, divided into two stories. The 
 wall above the niches sustains a hemispherical 
 dome, the plan being a circle described within 
 a regular octagon. The dome is built of a 
 double row of pipes, hollow at one end and 
 pointed at the other, the point of one being 
 placed in the hollow of the preceding ; it 
 is covered with mortar both within and with- 
 out. The church of San Marco at Venice, 
 built in the tenth century, is decorated with 
 five domes. One of these, placed in the centre 
 of the church, is much larger than the others. 
 Each dome is enclosed within four pieces of 
 semi-cylindrical vaulting, forming together a 
 square, in the angles of which are four corbels, 
 
 which gather in the circular base of each dome. 
 The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, at 
 Florence, built by Bruneleschi, stands upon 
 an octagon tower 175 feet high ; it is double, 
 being the first of the kind that is known. 
 The internal dome is connected only at 
 the angles to the external one, and forms 
 a species of gothic vault. The first modern 
 dome constructed in Rome was that of the 
 church of Our Lady of Loretto, built in 1507 ; 
 it is double, and circular in plan, and is con- 
 structed on double consoles. 
 
 The dome of St. Peter's at Rome, as planned 
 by Michael Angelo, and executed by himself 
 and succeeding architects, is thus constructed. 
 It stands upon four piers 62 feet high. From 
 the arches spring corbellings, which are 
 finished by an entablature ; upon this is a 
 plinth, octagonal within and circular without ; 
 upon this is a circular stylobate, 12 feet high. 
 Above the stylobate is the drum of the dome, 
 built of rubble and fragments of brick, and 
 pierced by sixteen lofty windows : the height 
 of the drum is about 52 feet. On this is placed 
 a circular attic story, 19 feet high, and then 
 comes the double dome. The space between 
 the two domes varies from three to ten feet in 
 width. The thickness of the inner dome is 
 about six feet ; the outer dome is of less thick- 
 ness : the two are joined together by sixteen 
 strong walls or spurs. Above the dome are a 
 lofty lantern and cross : the dome is about 
 102 feet high above the drum, and the lantern 
 and cross 90 feet above the dome. 
 
 The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, 
 is placed over the intersection of the four 
 naves. The ground plan is a regular octagon : 
 four of the sides are formed by the four great 
 arches of the naves ; the other four sides are 
 formed by false arches of the same size. The 
 corbellings gather in a circle, and are sur- 
 mounted by a complete entablature decorated 
 with consoles. The drum, which surmounts 
 the entablature, is 62 feet in height ; and from 
 the summit of this rises the double dome. The 
 inner dome is much less lofty than the outer : 
 the outer one is constructed of wood, covered 
 with lead. 
 
 The dome of the Invalides at Paris is raised 
 on the centre of a Greek cross, on an octa- 
 gonal base with four large and four small sides 
 A circular entablature is placed over the cor 
 bellings, and on the entablature is raised the 
 drum of the dome. The dome, which is 
 double, rises from a springing common to 
 both. The lower or internal dome, constructed 
 with masonry, is spherical ; whereas the outer 
 dome is of a spheroidal form, and constructed 
 of stone at the base, and of brick above. The 
 dome of the Pantheon at Paris is constructed 
 
755 
 
 DONEGAL. 
 
 DORSETSHIRE. 
 
 750 
 
 entirely of stone, and is placed in the centre 
 of a Greek cross. It is supported by four tri- 
 angular piers, pierced above with arched open- 
 ings, and between the piers with the openings 
 are large arches. Between these arches rise 
 the corbellings, which are gathered in to form 
 the circular plan of the drum. The arches 
 and the corbellings are crowned with a large 
 entablature about 13 feet high, and above this 
 is the circular drum, 55 feet high. There are 
 three domes one within another; one forming 
 the interior vault or roof, a second forming 
 the exterior, and a third shaped like the small 
 end of an egg, and intermediate between the 
 other two, for supporting the lantern. 
 
 The following admeasurements of most of 
 the principal domes of Europe are from Mr. 
 Ware's ' Tracts on Vaults and Bridges.' 
 
 Feet in High from 
 diameter the 
 exter- ground 
 ually. line. 
 
 Dome of the Pantheon 142 143 
 
 Minerva Medica .... 78 97 
 
 Baths of Caracalla . . 112 110 
 
 Baths of Diocletian.. 74 83 
 
 Temple of Mercury 08 
 
 Diana 98 78 
 
 Apollo 120 
 
 Proserpine and Venus 87 
 
 Santa Sophia at Constantinople 115 201 
 
 Mosque of Achmet, ditto 92 120 
 
 San Vitale at Ravenna 55 91 
 
 San Marco at Venice 44 
 
 Santa Maria del Fiore 139 310 
 
 The Chapel of the Medici ... 91 199 
 
 Baptistry at Florence 80 110 
 
 St. Peter's at Rome 139 330 
 
 Ch. of the Madonna at Venice 70 
 
 Superga at Turin .. 04 128 
 
 Invalides at Paris, 80 173 
 
 Val de Grace, Paris, 55 133 
 
 Sorbonne, Paris . . 40 110 
 
 Pantheon, Paris 07 190 
 
 St. Paul's London 112 215 
 
 DONEGAL. This Irish county is rich in 
 quarries of fine stone. The white marble of 
 Dunlewy, near the mountain Erigal, is stated 
 to be of an excellent quality, and its bed very 
 extensive ; it has been traced over a space of 
 half a mile square, and is so finely granular, 
 that it may be employed in the nicest works 
 of sculpture. Its texture and whiteness,' says 
 Mr. Griffith, ' approach more to those of the 
 Parian than of the Carrara marble. It is very 
 well known that perfect blocks of the Carrara 
 marble are procured with great difficulty, and 
 I firmly believe that the marble of Dunlewy is 
 free from mica, quartz grains, and other sub- 
 stances interfering with the chisel, which so 
 
 frequently disappoint the artists who work 
 upon the marble from Carrara.' A large sup- 
 ply of fine siliceous sand was formerly drawn 
 from the mountain of Muckish by the glass 
 houses of Belfast, and considerable quantities 
 have been exported to Dumbarton for the ma- 
 nufacture of plate and crown glass. 
 
 The linen manufacture is carried on to a 
 very considerable extent, and is increasing in 
 the cultivated country about Raphoe and Lif- 
 ford, and also in the neighbourhood of Bally- 
 shannon. Bleachgreens are numerous in the 
 neighbourhood of Stranorlai'. Strabane, in 
 the county of Tyrone, within two miles of Lif- 
 ford, is the principal linen market for the 
 southern district. Londonderry and Letter- 
 keuny are the markets for the district to the 
 north. Burning kelp continues to be a profit- 
 able occupation along the coast. About the 
 beginning of the present century private dis- 
 tillation was carried on to an immense extent 
 all over this county, particularly in the baronies 
 of Inishowen and Kilmacrenan : repeated ba- 
 ronial fines and the vigilance of the authori- 
 ties have latterly checked the practice, but it 
 still exists to some extent in the mountain 
 districts. Considerable numbers of whales 
 have from time to time been taken off this 
 coast ; but this, as well as the herring fishery, 
 is now neglected. In 1802 there were but t\vo 
 flour 'mills in this county. There Avas a few 
 years back an export of 3000 to 4000 tons of 
 corn annually from Letterkenny, and the re- 
 maining export of the county is from London- 
 derry ; but it has suffered in the recent gene- 
 ral depression of Ireland. 
 
 DORSETSHIRE. This county yields many 
 mineral substances useful in the arts. The 
 eastern parts of the county are mostly occu- 
 pied by the plastic clay. Potters' clay in beds 
 of various thickness and at different depths 
 alternates with loose sand in this formation in 
 the Trough of Poole ; it is sent to Stafford- 
 shire, where it is mixed with ground Hints, 
 and employed in the finer kinds of pottery. 
 Beneath the potters' clay lies a seam of very 
 friable earthy brown coal, somewhat like 
 Bovey coal. The Purbeck strata, belonging to 
 the upper series of the oolitic format ion, 
 consist of argillaceous limestone alternating 
 with schistose marl; they crop out from under 
 the iron-sand in the Isle of Purbeck. A 
 variety of the Purbeck stone, known as Pur- 
 beck marble, was formerly much used in 
 building. The Portland oolite, another mem- 
 ber of the same series, which succeeds th; 1 
 Purbeck stone, occupies the remainder of the 
 Isle of Purbeck and the whole of that of 
 Portland. It consists of a number of beds 
 of a yellowish white calcareons freestone, 
 
757 
 
 DOUAI. 
 
 DRACHM OR DRAM. 
 
 758 
 
 generally mixed with a small quantity of 
 siliceous sand. The varieties of this forma- 
 tion afford the greater part of the stone used 
 for architectural purposes in London. In. the 
 Portland quarries, the saleable stone occupies 
 layers of strata situated several feet beneath 
 the surface ; and the quarrymen have to exert 
 great labour in the removal of the superin- 
 cumbent rubbish, before they can reach the 
 stone. The thickness of workable stone 
 varies from 7 to 10 feet, and the works pro- 
 ceed at the rate of about an acre of good 
 stone per annnm. Almost the entire mass 
 of Portland Isle consists of the Purbeck 
 scries. 
 
 The Dorset butter is in good repute in 
 London and Portsmouth for ship provision as 
 well as domestic use : it is not so salt as the 
 Irish, and is therefore preferred, although the 
 Irish is richer when it is of the best quality. 
 Dorset salt butter, when well washed, is very 
 commonly sold in London for fresh butter. 
 The butter is made from the cream, and the 
 skimmed milk is made into cheese. The 
 Dorsetshire skim-milk cheese is preferred on 
 account of streaks of blue mould which fre- 
 quently run through it. 
 
 In 1847 an act was passed for the forma- 
 tion of a harbour of refuge off the Isle of 
 Portland by the construction of a breakwater, 
 extending northward from the north-eastern 
 point of the island for 2J miles, so as to 
 include a large part of Portland Road. Owing 
 to the facilities afforded by the presence of an 
 abundant supply of suitable stone on the 
 island, it is estimated that the cost will not 
 exceed 500,0007. The works are now steadily 
 advancing. 
 
 Dorsetshire contains very few towns of a 
 manufacturing character, and will only to a 
 limited extent take part in the Industrial 
 Exhibition. 
 
 DOUAI. The inhabitants of this ancient 
 "French city are engaged in the manufacture 
 of linen, lace, thread, gauze, cotton, soap, 
 glass, leather, beer, gin, pottery, paper, oil, 
 chemical products, and refined sugar. A con- 
 siderable trade is carried on also in corn, wine, 
 brandy, chicory, wool, hops, flax, woollen cloth, 
 said cattle. Exhibitions of the industrial pro- 
 ducts take place every two years. The com- 
 merce of the town is more active than formerly, 
 in consequence of its connection by railroads 
 with the chief towns of France and Belgium. 
 Douai has also extensive communication by 
 means of the Scarpe, which falls into the 
 Schelde, and by numerous canals that connect 
 it with the principal trading towns of Trance, 
 Belgium, and Holland. 
 
 DOUBLE-BASE, or Contm-Basso, is the 
 
 largest musical instrument of the viol kind* 
 In England, Italy, arid France, it has three 
 strings : in Germany a fourth is added. From 
 the body and firmness of its tone, it is con- 
 sidered to be the foundation of an orchestral 
 band. 
 
 DOVER HARBOUR. [HAEBOUES OF 
 REFUGE.] 
 
 DOVETAIL is the end of a piece of wood 
 fashioned into the fan-like form of a dove's tail, 
 and let into a corresponding hollow of another 
 piece of wood. 
 
 DOWN. In this Irish county the linen 
 manufacture is the staple trade, and gives 
 employment to a greater number of operatives, 
 in proportion to the population, than in any 
 other part of Ireland. It has been estimated 
 that the linen trade gives employment, in 
 various ways, to 10,000 persons in the county. 
 Much of the flax employed is grown in the 
 county ; and seed for this flax is imported 
 from Flanders. The new impetus now being- 
 given to the flax manufacture will probably 
 lead to favourable results in this county. 
 Machine-spun yam is nov. r mostly used for the 
 warp-thread of linen, but hand-spun yarn is 
 preferred for the weft. The weaving is mostly 
 done in cottages, by persons who devote a 
 part of their time to farming. There are 
 about a dozen towns in Downshire where 
 linen markets are held. The bleaching of 
 the woven linen is a large branch of manu- 
 facture, conducted in bleach fields on the 
 banks of the river Bann. The remaining 
 articles of manufacture, in the county are 
 chiefly muslin, leather, salt, glass, and vitriol. 
 The fisheries on the coast are rather extensive. 
 The chief exports of the county are shipped 
 at Belfast and Newry. 
 
 At Ardglass, Banbridge, Downpatrick, 
 Portaferry, Newtownards, &c., much manu- 
 facturing is carried on. Belfast, though the 
 principal port for this county, is in Antrim. 
 Newry ranks high in exports, and the imports 
 are very considerable. Steamers sail regularly 
 to Liverpool and Glasgow, and many vessels 
 trade to America, the Baltic, the Levant, and 
 various parts of England. Besides flour and 
 oatmeal mills, there are various manufactures 
 carried on connected with ship-building, and 
 the retail trade of the town is extensive. 
 
 DRACHM, or DRAM. There are two 
 drachms or drams remaining in our system of 
 weights. The first is the sixteenth part of the 
 ounce, which is the sixteenth part of the 
 pound avoirdupois of 7000 grains. In the 
 national standard, the troy pound of 5760 
 grains, there is no dram ; but this weight 
 occurs in that particular division of the troy 
 pound which is used by apothecaries, in which 
 
759 
 
 DRACI'NA. 
 
 DRAINING. 
 
 760 
 
 the dram is the eighth part of the ounce 
 which is the twelfth part of tne pound of 5760 
 grains. The drachma was a Greek silver coin 
 the weight of which was ahont 61 grains. 
 
 DRACI'NA, or draconin, is the colouring 
 matter of Dragon's Blood gum. It is of a fine 
 red colour, and very fusible ; it may he worked 
 between the fingers, and drawn into threads 
 It melts at about 130 
 
 DRAINING. As a certain quantity of 
 moisture is essential to vegetation, so an ex 
 cess of it is highly detrimental. In the re- 
 moval of this excess consists the art of Drain- 
 ing, which presents three principal features : 
 1. To drain land which is flooded by water 
 coming over it from a higher level, and having 
 no adequate outlet below. 2. To drain land 
 where springs rise to the surface, and where 
 there are no natural channels for the water 
 to run off. 3. To drain land which is wet from 
 its impervious nature, and where the evapora- 
 tion is not sufficient to carry off all the water. 
 
 The first branch includes all those extensive 
 operations where large tracts of land are re- 
 claimed by means of embankments, canals, 
 sluices, and tunnels. Such works are gene- 
 rally undertaken by associations under the 
 sanction of the government, or by the govern- 
 ment itself : the BEDFORD LEVEL is an exam- 
 ple of them. In Switzerland many marshes 
 have been laid dry by tunnelling through solid 
 rocky obstructions ; and in Holland vast tracts 
 are protected from flooding by embankments. 
 
 "Where the land is below the level of the sea 
 at high water, it requires a constant removal 
 of the water which percolates through the 
 banks or accumulates by rains ; and this can 
 only be effected by sluices and mills, as is the 
 case in the fens in England. The water is 
 collected in numerous ditches and canals, and 
 led to the points where it can most conve- 
 niently be discharged over the banks. In 
 hilly countries it sometimes happens that the 
 waters which run down the slopes of the hills 
 collect in the bottoms where there is no outlet, 
 and where the soil is impervious. In that 
 case, it may sometimes be laid dry by cutting 
 a sufficient channel all round, to intercept the 
 waters as they flow down, and to carry them 
 over or through the lowest part of the sur- 
 rounding barrier. In draining a great extent 
 of land, it is often necessary to widen and 
 deepen rivers, and alter their courses ; and not 
 unfrequently the water cannot be let off Avith- 
 out being carried by means of tunnels under 
 the bed of some river, the level of which is 
 above that of the land. 
 
 The draining of land which is rendered wet 
 by springs arising from under the soil is a 
 branch of more general application. The ob- 
 
 ject is to find the readiest channels by which 
 the superfluous water may be carried off; and 
 for this purpose an accurate knowledge of the 
 strata through which the springs rise is indis- 
 pensable. Abundant springs which flow con- 
 tinually generally proceed from the outbreak- 
 ing of some porous stratum in which the waters 
 were confined, or through natural crevices in 
 rocks or impervious earth ; and these, as well 
 as land-springs, are traced by geological 
 means. Wherever water springs, there must 
 be a pervious and an impervious stratum to 
 cause it, and the water either runs over the 
 impervious surface, or rises through the cre- 
 vices in it. When the line of the springs is 
 found, the obvious remedy is to cut a channel 
 with a sufficient declivity to take off the water 
 in a direction across this line, and sunk through 
 the porous soil at the surface into the lower 
 impervious earth. The place for this channel 
 is where the porous soil is the shallowest 
 above the breaking out, so as to requu-e the 
 least depth of drain ; but the solid stratum 
 must be reached, or the draining will be im- 
 perfect. When there is a great variation in 
 the soil, and it is difficult to find any main 
 line of springs, it is best to proceed experi- 
 mentally by boring in various parts ; whereby 
 it will generally be easy to ascertain whence 
 the water arises, and how it may be let off. 
 When the drains cannot be carried to a suffi- 
 ient depth to take the water out of the porous 
 stratum, it is often useful to bore numerous 
 loles with an auger in the bottom of the drain 
 through the stiffer soil, and the water will 
 either rise through these bores into the drains 
 and be carried off, or it will sink down through 
 them if it lies above. This method is often 
 advantageous in the draining of peat mosses. 
 [f the soil, whatever be its nature, can be 
 drained to a certain depth, it is of no conse- 
 quence what water may be lodged below it. 
 [t is only when it rises so as to stagnate about 
 he roots of plants that it is hurtful. 
 
 The third branch in the art of draining is 
 by far the most expensive operation, in conse- 
 quence of the number of drains required to 
 ay the surface dry, and the necessity of filling 
 them with porous substances, through which 
 he surface water can penetrate. There is 
 )ften a layer of light earth immediately over 
 a substratum of clay, and after continued rains 
 ;his soil becomes filled with water, like a 
 sponge, and no healthy vegetation can take 
 ilace. In this case numerous drains must be 
 made in the subsoil, and over the draining 
 tiles or bushes which may be laid at the bot- 
 tom of the drains loose gravel or broken stones 
 must be laid to within a foot of the surface, so 
 that the plough shall not reach them. The 
 
761 
 
 DBAINING. 
 
 DRAINING. 
 
 762 
 
 water will gradually sink into these drains, 
 and be carried off, and the loose wet soil will 
 hecome firm and dry. The slope of the field 
 and the fall which can be obtained for the 
 drains, their size and depth below the surface, 
 the angles at which they intersect each other, 
 and their number all are circumstances which 
 require the drainer's best attention. In drain- 
 ing clay land, where there is only a layer of a 
 few inches of loose soil over a solid clay which 
 the plough never stirs, the drains need not be 
 deeper than two feet in the solid clay, nor 
 wider than they can be made without the sides 
 falling in. The common draining tile, which 
 is a flat tile bent in the form of half a cylinder, 
 is the best for extensive surface draining. In 
 solid clay it requires no flat tile under it ; it is 
 merely an arch to carry the loose stones or 
 earth with which the drain is filled up. In 
 grass land the sod may be laid over the drain 
 after it has been filled up, so as to form a 
 slight ridge over it. Sometimes a drain is 
 covered with a sod, without any tile whatever ; 
 and at ether times a twisted rope of straw is 
 thrust into the drain. Draining tiles are now 
 made of various shapes and sizes. 
 
 As the draining of wet clay soils is the only 
 means by which they can be rendered profit- 
 able as arable land, and the expense is great, 
 various instruments and ploughs have been 
 contrived to diminish manual labour and ex- 
 pedite the work. Among these are the com- 
 mon mole plough, the draining-plough, Smith's 
 subsoil plough, tapering spades, and hollow 
 spades. Weir's improved draining level is 
 one of the instruments now often employed 
 in these works. 
 
 The draining of Haarlem Lake is one of 
 the greatest hydraulic enterprises ever con- 
 ducted. We have nothing in this country that 
 can give an adequate idea of this lake, or the 
 necessity of its being drained. Three centu- 
 ries ago there were several small lakes in the 
 flat district which lies between the towns of 
 Amsterdam, Leyden, and Haarlem, in Holland ; 
 but by the gradual wearing away of the soft 
 ground between them, many of these became 
 converted into one large lake ; and the shores 
 continued to be washed away so extensively, 
 that by the beginning of the 18th century a 
 lake was formed covering an area of 45,000 
 acres. As the level was 13 feet below the 
 level of the neighbouring sea, there was no 
 outlet for the water ; and although the Dutch 
 incurred heavy expenses to endeavour to arrest 
 the enlargement of the lake, they had no 
 means of diminishing it. At length, in 1836, 
 two inundations occurred of so serious a cha- 
 racter, as to determine the Dutch government 
 to drain the lake at any cost ; one inundation 
 
 covered 10,000 acres of low land near Amster- 
 dam, while another covered 19,000 acres near 
 Leyden. The first work was to dig a canal 
 entirely around the lake, 38 miles long, 120 
 feet wide, and 9 feet deep ; this canal was to 
 accommodate the immense water traffic which 
 was conducted on the lake, and to serve as a 
 receptacle for the water of the lake. The 
 next point was, to close with large earthen 
 dams all inlets into the lake, so that it should 
 have no increase, except from rain water. 
 Other hydraulic works were executed in other 
 places, to facilitate the flow of water into the 
 sea as soon as it was raised from the lake. 
 These preliminary works occupied the time 
 from the year 1840, when the enterprise was 
 determined on, till 1845, when the steam- 
 engines were set to work. These engines are 
 the largest that have ever been constructed ; 
 they were made by Cornish engineers, who 
 have acquired great skill in the manufacture 
 of steam-engines which shall perform a great 
 amount of work with a small amount of fuel. 
 Each steam engine has an enormous cylinder 
 12 feet in diameter, with an annular or ring- 
 shaped piston ; and within this piston cylinder 
 is another cylinder and piston 7 feet in di- 
 ameter. Eleven pumps, more tban 5 feet in 
 diameter of barrel, are ranged around a sort 
 of tower, on which the steam engine is placed ; 
 and all these enormous pumps are worked at 
 once by the steam engine. The water is lifted 
 by the pumps from the lake into the canal, 
 whence it flows by sluices into the sea. It 
 was calculated that about a thousand million 
 tons of water would have to be lifted from the 
 lake; and that after it was drained, there 
 would regularly be about fifty millions of tons 
 that would require to be annually removed, 
 the result of drainage and rain. It will servo 
 to convey some idea of the enormous power 
 of the engines employed, that each engine 
 raises 112 tons of water 10 feet high at one 
 stroke. 
 
 A draining operation of great magnitude is 
 about to be commenced at the aestuary called 
 the Wash. This sestuary forms a sort of bay 
 between Norfolk and Lincolnshire, and into 
 it fiow the rivers Witham, Nene, Welland, and 
 Ouse. It has become so silted up, that a 
 large area is utterly useless too shallow to be 
 available for navigation, and too wet to be 
 used for agricultural purposes. To deepen 
 the mouths of all the rivers, and to reclaim 
 many thousand acres of marshy useless land, 
 are the great objects of the Wash Drainage 
 enterprise. All the rivers will be greatly im- 
 proved by these works ; while it is estimated 
 that the reclaimed land, as an agricultural 
 estate or estates, will pay for the operation, 
 
763 
 
 DRAWING. 
 
 DRESDEN. 
 
 764 
 
 and yield ail adequate profit. The towns of 
 Lynn, Wisbeach, Spalding, and Boston, situ 
 ated respectively on the four rivers, will all be 
 benefited by the operation, as vessels of larger 
 tonnage will be enabled to reach those towns 
 than can ascend the present partially-choked 
 streams. 
 
 DRAWBRIDGE-is a bridge used in ancient 
 castles and in modern fortresses over a ditch 
 or fosse, and capable of being raised up at one 
 end, so as to cut off the means of access. Draw- 
 bridges are usually formed of boards n viled 
 to a frame constituting a platform, which is 
 furnished at one end with hinges fastened to 
 a beam placed parallel to one end of the frame. 
 The bridge is raised by means of chains 
 passed through the masonry of the gate, and 
 these chains are worked either by wheels or 
 by hand. 
 
 DRAWING-, in its strict meaning, is the 
 art of representing objects on a flat surface 
 by lines describing their forms and contours 
 alone, independently of colour or even shadow, 
 although the latter is closely allied with draw- 
 ing, both in practice and in theory. Although 
 drawing embraces all objects and then" forms, 
 in its more restricted technical sense it is 
 usually understood to imply the drawing of 
 the human figure, as that species of it which 
 is the most scientific in itself and the most 
 important in art. Perspective, which is gene- 
 rally treated of separately, and is therefore 
 ordinarily considered a distinct study, is never- 
 less a most essential part of drawing in fact, 
 its very grammar, all objects being subject to 
 its laws, although they do not admit of being 
 delineated according to the processes employed 
 for drawing buildings, furniture, and such 
 things as consist of strict geometrical forms. 
 
 There are various manipulations or modes 
 of drawing, distinguished according to the 
 materials or implements made use of, such as 
 chalk, black lead pencil, sepia or other tinted 
 drawings, which last-mentioned class are some- 
 times called washed drawings, in which some 
 indication of colouring is occasionally intro- 
 duced. But what is termed water-colour 
 drawing, as now practised, is altogether a 
 species of painting, although the process is 
 totally different from that of oil colours, or 
 even distemper. Pen and ink drawings, in 
 the style of etchings, either with or without 
 the addition of wash or shadow, are capable 
 of producing considerable effect. 
 
 The invention of Lithography has been ap- 
 plied with great success to making fac-similes 
 of such drawings ; it also enables artists to 
 make drawings at once upon stone, from 
 which impressions may afterwards be taken 
 that are equivalent to autograph delineations. 
 
 Our Schools of Design are becoming every 
 year more and more the means of diffusing a 
 knowledge of drawing among artisans and 
 pattern designers ; a knowledge, the fruits of 
 which will be shown at the forthcoming Ex- 
 hibition. 
 
 DREDGING-MACHINES are employed 
 for clearing away deposited matter from the 
 beds of rivers, canals, harbours, and basins. 
 Some machines for this purpose may be com- 
 pared to harrows or shovels, which loosen the 
 deposit preparatory to its removal either by 
 the action of the tide or by sluicing. But, for 
 the most part, they remove as well as loosen 
 the deposit. The spoon dredging machine 
 consists of a strong hoop of iron, about two 
 feet in diameter, attached to a pole thirty or 
 forty feet long, and carrying a large bag of 
 perforated bullock's hide. This apparatus is 
 connected by ropes with a barge, from the side 
 of which it is let down and manoeuvred in 
 such a manner that the edge of the hoop cuts 
 into the soft bottom, and scoops a large quan- 
 tity of silt into the bag, which is then drawn 
 up to the surface. The bucket dredging ma- 
 chine is a long massive framework with a 
 wheel at each end, over which a series of end- 
 ess chains is placed ; so that by turning one 
 of the wheels the whole chain is set in motion. 
 Attached to the chain is a series of perforated 
 ron buckets. By means of tackle the bucket- 
 ram e is let down until it reaches the bottom, 
 when, the steam-engine being set to work, 
 the chain of buckets begins to perform its cir- 
 cuit, by which every bucket is, in succession, 
 made to scoop up a quantity of silt, which it 
 carries up to the top of the oblique frame, 
 and pours out its contents into a barge. 
 
 Dredging machines are constantly in use 
 in the Thames, to deepen those parts which 
 have become too much shallowed by mud and 
 sand. 
 
 DRESDEN. However interesting the ca- 
 pital of Saxony may be as a repository of 
 works of art, it has no external trade or manu- 
 factures of much importance. It is a pl;tci> 
 of transit for colonial and other foreign pro- 
 duce from Magdeburg, Hamburg, &c., ami !;,- ; 
 six general fairs. Its mechanics have obtained 
 some note in Germany for the manufacture 
 of mathematical, mechanical, and musical in- 
 struments, engraving on steel and stone, the 
 making of gloves, carpets, turnery ware, jew- 
 ellery, straw hats, painters' colours, <fec. These 
 mechanics are incorporated into 60 fralei- 
 nities. Morocco and other leather, refined 
 sugar, tobacco, white lead, tin ware, glass, 
 stockings, cotton goods, &c., are also manu- 
 factured. 
 
 The part which Dresden will take in the 
 
765 
 
 DRILL. 
 
 DKUGS; DRUGGISTS. 
 
 766 
 
 approaching display of the world's industry, 
 will have its leading feature in the celebrated 
 Dresden China, of so great celebrity. This, 
 however, is not a Dresden manufacture ; it is 
 made at Meissen, a town several miles dis 
 tant from that metropolis. We shall notice 
 the factory and the manufacture in a later 
 article. Among the articles to be sent from 
 Dresden is a beautiful model of that city, in 
 porcelain, large enough to admit of accurate 
 models of the principal churches and buildings 
 A porcelain vase of great size and artistic 
 beauty is also said to be in preparation. These 
 works are being prepared at the Koyal Porce- 
 lain Manufactory. 
 DRILL. [BORING.] 
 
 DRILLING- is a mode of sowing by which 
 the seed is deposited in regular equidistant 
 rows, at such a depth as each kind requires 
 for its most perfect vegetation. It has been 
 practised by gardeners from time immemorial, 
 and from the garden it has gradually extended 
 to the field. The drill husbandry, by com- 
 bining the advantages of continued tillage with 
 those of manure and a judicious rotation of 
 crops, is a decided improvement on the old 
 methods of sowing all seeds broadcast. The 
 crops which are now most generally drilled are 
 potatoes, turnips, beans, peas, beet-root, cole- 
 seed, and carrots; and in general all plants 
 which require room to spread, whether above 
 or under the ground. The distance between 
 the rows in these crops is generally such as to 
 allow the use of a light plough or horse-hoe 
 to be drawn by a horse between them. The 
 most common distance is twenty-seven inches. 
 The Northumberland mode of cultivating tur- 
 nips, which is adopted by most scientific 
 farmers, consists in placing the manure in 
 rows immediately under the line in which the 
 seed is to be drilled, and keeping the intervals 
 in a mellow and pulverised state by repeated 
 stirring. 
 
 The instrument used for sowing seeds in 
 single rows is sometimes a small light wheel- 
 barrow, which a man pushes before him ; hence 
 called a drill-barrow. It has a box in which 
 the seed is put, with a slide to regulate the 
 quantity. This is allowed to fall on a wooden 
 or metal cylinder below. In the circumference 
 of this cylinder are several cavities where the 
 seed lodges, and is carried down into a tin 
 funnel below ; the remainder is prevented from 
 falling through by small brushes in which the 
 cylinder turns. The motion is communicated 
 from the wheel which runs on the ground to 
 the cylinder by means of a chain and pulleys. 
 The improved drills, of which there are many 
 patented varieties, are complex but very effi- 
 cient machines, which sow several rows at once. 
 
 At the Smithiield cattle shows, and at the 
 annual exhibitions of the Royal Agricultural 
 Society, the variety of ingenious drills dis- 
 played every year is very considerable. One 
 machine, exhibited at the Smithfield show in 
 1850, is Hensman's eight-row corn and turnip 
 drill, for wbich a prize was awarded by the 
 Agricultural Society at the York meeting in 
 1848. It is adapted for all sorts of corn and 
 seeds ; the hopper into which the grain or 
 seed is put is self-acting ; the axles slide, to 
 give a shifting movement to the drills ; and 
 there is a steering lever behind to guide the 
 action of the drills. Another useful apparatus 
 is Wedlake's corn and seed drill. Smith's 
 Uxbridge drill is another kind, which has been 
 introduced within the last few years. Some 
 drills are formed so as to deposit manure only 
 without seed or grain ; the hoppers are filled 
 with soot, lime, ground bones, or some other 
 manure brought to a fine state. 
 
 DROGHEDA, although not strictly a ma- 
 nufacturing town, contains iron foundries, 
 cotton spinning mills, flax spinning mills, 
 corn mills, salt works, tanneries, soap works, 
 and breweries. Drogheda carries on a con- 
 siderable trade, particularly in grain. Vessels 
 of 250 tons can discharge at the quay; and 
 goods are carried inland by the Boyne naviga- 
 tion, in barges of 50 tons, to Navan. There- 
 are several steamers ^Mch ply constantly be- 
 tween Drogheda and Liverpool. 
 
 DROITWICH, in Worcestershire, owes its 
 present commercial importance to the vast 
 store of salt embosomed in the earth in its 
 immediate vicinity. This, and the mode of 
 obtaining table-salt therefrom, will be noticed 
 in a later article. [SALT MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 DRUGS; DRUGGISTS. The difference 
 between drugs and chemicals is vague and 
 indeterminate; and the professions of the 
 chemist and druggist and the apothecary are 
 in like manner generally confounded together 
 in popular estimation. The rules established 
 by the medical corporations, such as the Col- 
 lege of Physicians, the College of Surgeons, 
 and the Apothecaries' Company, have had 
 much to do in producing this uncertainty. 
 The acids, alkalies, salts, and oxides, used in 
 largest quantity, are made on a scale which 
 requires complete manufacturing arrange- 
 ments, with large furnaces, stills, and other 
 apparatus. Such is the case in respect to 
 sulphuric and nitric acids, chlorides of lime 
 and of sodium, alum, &c. ; such articles are 
 made by manufacturing chemists, at the vast 
 chemical works which are met with at Glas- 
 gow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, and Bristol. 
 A retail shopkeeper who calls himself a che- 
 mist and druggist, is a chemist in so far as he 
 
767 
 
 DRUM. 
 
 DRUMMOND'S LIGHT. 
 
 68 
 
 retails, and understands the general character 
 of, the chemicals made on a large scaie by 
 others ; while he may be regarded as a drug- 
 gist to the extent that ho understands, and 
 sells by retail, the substances used in medicine. 
 If he can himself prepare, on a small scale, a 
 considerable number of the substances which 
 he sells, it is 'now customary to term him a 
 pharmaceutist or pharmaceutical chemist. 
 
 The druggists of the metropolis have agreed 
 to send a very extensive and valuable collec- 
 tion to the Exhibition of 1851, illustrative of 
 the chemical and pharmaceutical productions 
 of the country. The towns of Manchester, 
 Glasgow, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne have also 
 taken very active steps in order to secure a 
 complete representation of the chemical ma- 
 nufactures of the country. 
 
 Dr. Normandy has recently published a 
 valuable work on drugs and chemicals, under 
 the name of ' The Commercial Handbook of 
 Chemical Analysis.' It is especially designed 
 to afford aid in the detection of fraud in the 
 manufacture of food, drugs, and chemicals. 
 The list of articles of which the processes of 
 adulteration, and the means of detection, are 
 given, is very comprehensive; including not 
 only ordinary viands, as bread, porter, tea, 
 coffee, chocolate, and cocoa, spirits, liquors, 
 and wines, but the drugs used in medicine, 
 and a great variety of miscellaneous sub- 
 stances. They are alphabetically arranged, 
 for convenience of reference. 
 
 * Country druggists,' it has been remarked, 
 'form a class of persons to whom this book 
 would be very serviceable ; for, although there 
 are of course highly creditable exceptions, 
 particularly in great provincial towns, the 
 bulk of them are not distinguished for che- 
 mical or even pharmaceutical knowledge. Few 
 are capable of conducting an analysis or or- 
 ganic research, and they are frequently im- 
 posed upon by wholesale dealers, who send 
 them damaged or spurious drugs, which, if 
 administered in dangerous maladies, might 
 induce aggravation of disease, and very pro- 
 bably cause death.' 
 
 DRUM. Of this musical instrument there 
 are three kinds, the Side Drum ; the Base or 
 Turkish Drum ; and the Double Drum. The 
 first is a cylinder, made of brass, on each end 
 of which is a hoop covered with vellum or 
 parchment. The second is formed like the 
 first, but of oak, on a much larger scale. The 
 third is made of copper, nearly hemispherical, 
 covered with a strong head of calf s skin, and 
 stands on three Lion legs. The Double 
 Drums vary in dimensions, from nineteen 
 inches U, .Miree feet in diameter. They are 
 always in pairs, and are tuned by means of 
 
 many screws (or of a lever and hooks in the 
 patent drum) which tighten the head to the 
 key-note and the fourth below. 
 
 DRUMMOND'S LIGHT. The difficulty 
 of distinguishing the stations chosen for the 
 angular points of the triangles in a geodetical 
 survey, such as the Ordnance Survey of the 
 United Kingdom, when those stations are 
 many miles asunder, renders it necessary to 
 have recourse to illumination even in the 
 day-time ; and the late Captain Drummond, of 
 the Royal Engineers, invented a heliostat 
 which reflected the sun's rays in sufficient 
 abundance to render visible the station which 
 was to be observed. 
 
 This was a plane mirror of a rectangular 
 form and mounted on a stand with joints by 
 which it could be fixed at any angle with the 
 horizon. On the stand was a telescope which 
 was capable of being moved horizontally, 
 with the mirror, and directed to the distant 
 station while another telescope was directed 
 to the sun. The adjustments of the mirror 
 were such that, when the telescopes were 
 directed as has been said, the face of the 
 mirror reflected the rays of the sun on the 
 distant station, and illumined it sufficiently to 
 render a mark there visible in the telescope of 
 the theodolite by which the required angle was 
 to be taken. 
 
 In order to observe the angles subtended 
 between distant stations at night, Captain 
 Drummond employed a light which has been 
 found to exceed in brilliancy any before used. 
 This is produced by placing a ball or disk of 
 lime, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, 
 in the focus of a parabolic mirror, at the 
 station to be rendered visible, and directing 
 upon it, through a flame arising from alcohol, 
 a stream of oxygen gas. 
 
 The cistern containing the alcohol is sup- 
 ported on a stand, behind the reflector, and is 
 connected by a tube of caoutchouc with the 
 lower part of a hollow stem supporting the 
 upright wire at the top of which is fixed the 
 ball of lime on a level nearly with the cistern : 
 the spirit ascends in the stem, and afterwards 
 through three or more tubes to the ball. 
 The vessel containing the oxygen gas is con- 
 nected, by a flexible tube, with an orifice in a 
 cylindrical box on the same stem, from which 
 it ascends through three flexible caoutchouc 
 tubes to the ball, after passing with friction 
 through three small cylinders. The whole 
 apparatus is attached to a stand which carries 
 the mirror; and adjustments are provided by 
 which the ball may be placed exactly in the 
 focus of the mirror. The intensity of the 
 flame is from sixty to ninety times as great as 
 that of an argand burner, while the expense 
 
769 
 
 BUYING MACHINES. 
 
 DRY HOT. 
 
 770 
 
 is only about ten times as great. The lime 
 made from chalk is preferred to any other ; 
 and such is the brilliancy, that stations above 
 sixty miles from one another have been very 
 distinctly visible even in hazy weather. 
 
 Captain Drummond suggested that burning 
 lime should be employed for lighthouses ; and 
 he proposed that, instead of alcohol, hydrogen 
 gas should be employed with the oxygen gas. 
 The gases are to proceed from separate ves- 
 sels, or gasometers, and enter a chamber 
 through a series of small apertures : the 
 united gases are then to pass through two or 
 three pieces of wire gauze, and issue in two 
 streams against the ball or disk of lime. To 
 prevent the latter from wasting too rapidly in 
 one place, it is made to revolve once in a 
 minute ; and in order to keep up a constant 
 light, it is proposed to have an apparatus by 
 which a number of balls may be successively 
 made to fall in the focus of the mirror. 
 
 A light of this kind may also be employed 
 as a signal in determining the difference 
 between the longitudes of stations. 
 
 The Electric light, brought under public 
 notice since Captain Drummond's death, has 
 not yet, we believe, been applied to geodetical 
 purposes. 
 
 DRYING- MACHINES. A valuable im- 
 provement has been made within the last few 
 years in the mode of drying woven cloth 
 which has been bleached or otherwise wetted. 
 In the ordinary mode of drying by exposure 
 to the open air, the moisture gradually evapo- 
 rates ; in a hot room this evaporation is expe- 
 dited ; but in the drying machine the 
 mechanical principle of centrifugal force is 
 brought into use in a singular way. 
 
 A drying machine was brought into use in 
 Paris in 1839, by Messrs. Penzolt and Le- 
 vesque. It acted on the centrifugal system. It 
 consisted of two drums or cylinders, one 
 within the other ; the inner one being pierced 
 with holes. The textile goods, wetted by the 
 process of washing, scouring, or bleaching, 
 were placed within the inner cylinder, which 
 was then made to revolve with a rapidity of 
 4000 turns in a minute ; the cloth was driven 
 forcibly against the perforated surface, and 
 the Avater driven through the holes with such 
 irresistible force that the cloth became nearly 
 dry in three or four minutes. 
 
 In 1844 Messrs. Keeley and Alliot, of Not- 
 tingham, patented a very elaborate machine 
 to facilitate the scouring, bleaching, or dyeing 
 of cloth. The same inventors had before in- 
 troduced a machine very similar in principle 
 to that of Messrs. Penzolt and Levesque; 
 but in the new machine, the cloth is put into 
 a certain compartment, the bleaching or dye- 
 
 ing liquid into another compartment, and the 
 machine is made to revolve rapidly ; when the 
 centrifugal force generated by the movement 
 drives the liquid speedily and effectually 
 through every pore of the cloth leaving the 
 cloth instantly afterwards almost in a state of 
 dryness, and bleached likewise. 
 
 DRY ROT. This is the name given to a 
 disease affecting timber, and particularly the 
 oak, employed for naval purposes. When dry 
 rot is produced by the attacks of fungi, the 
 first sign of it consists in the appearance of 
 small white points, from which a filamentous 
 substance radiates parallel with the surface of 
 the timber. This is the first stage of growth 
 of the seeds of the fungus, and the filamen- 
 tous matter is their thallus, or spaAvn. As 
 the thallus gathers strength it insinuates its 
 filaments into any crevice of the wood, and 
 they, being of excessive fineness, readily pass 
 down and between the tubes from which the 
 wood is organised, forcing them asunder, and 
 completely destroying the cohesion of the 
 tissue. When the thalli of many fungi inter- 
 lace, the radiating appearance can no longer be 
 remarked ; but a thick tough leathery white 
 stratum is formed wherever there is room for 
 its development, and from this a fresh supply 
 of the destructive filamentous thallus is 
 emitted with such constantly increasing ra- 
 pidity and force, that the total ruin of timber 
 speedily ensues where circumstances are 
 favourable for the growth of the fungi. 
 
 There is reason to believe that any of the 
 fungi that are commonly found upon decaying 
 trees in woods are capable of producing dry 
 rot. The circumstances that are most favour- 
 able to the development of the dry rot fungi 
 are damp unventilated situations, and a sub- 
 acid state of the wood. Whatever other 
 causes may combine to promote the decompo- 
 sition of wood by dry-rot, or other forms of 
 decay, there can be no doubt that imperfect 
 seasoning, by leaving in the pores of the 
 timber a large portion of the fermentable 
 juices always found in recently-felled timber, 
 is one of the most important, and therefore 
 that good seasoning is as essential in promo- 
 ting the durability of wood as it is in lessening 
 the tendency to those changes of form and 
 bulk which so greatly increase the difficulties 
 of the carpenter and joiner. The process of 
 seasoning usually consists simply in the ex- 
 posure of the timber to the action of air in a 
 dry situation, in stacks or piles so constructed 
 as to allow the free circulation of air in contact 
 with as much as possible of the surface of 
 each piece of timber, until the sap or vege- 
 table juices shall have dried up so far as to 
 offer no facility for the germination of the 
 
771 
 
 DEY EOT. 
 
 DULCIMER. 
 
 772 
 
 microscopic fungi which constitute various 
 kinds of rot. In order to the success of this 
 operation it is important that the pile of 
 timber be so far elevated from the ground as 
 to allow the circulation of air beneath as well 
 as through and around it ; and also that, if ex- 
 posure to rain be not entirely avoided, care be 
 taken to prevent the lodgment of moisture in 
 any place where it would be likely to remain 
 long. 
 
 The protecting power of metallic oxides, 
 when applied to the surface of wood in the 
 form of paint, is well known ; and many 
 abortive schemes for the preservation of 
 timber have been devised to act upon the same 
 principle, which is that of excluding such ex- 
 ternal influences as might promote decay. To 
 imperfectly-seasoned timber, however, such 
 applications are worse than useless, because 
 by filling up the pores they impede the natural 
 drying of the vegetable juices, and therefore 
 rather promote than check internal decay. 
 Far more efficient than these are the numerous 
 modes of protection which involve the impreg- 
 nation of the timber with some antiseptic 
 substance, or with such matters as, by pre- 
 occupying the pores, may render the reception 
 and germination of destructive fungi mecha- 
 nically impossible. 
 
 Of plans for protecting timber by impreg- 
 nation, perhaps none has attained such 
 general celebrity as Mr. Kyan's, which was 
 patented in 1832, and has since been very 
 extensively used. The preservative agent in 
 this process is bi-chloride of mercury, com- 
 monly called corrosive sublimate, which is 
 dissolved in water, and- forced into the pores 
 of the timber, in closed tanks, by means of 
 forcing-pumps, and which combines with the 
 albumen of the wood, and converts it into a 
 compound capable of resisting the ordinary 
 chemical changes of vegetable matter. Chlo- 
 ride of zinc, creasote obtained from the dis- 
 tillation of tar, oil of tar, and other bituminous 
 matters containing creasote, and pyrolignite of 
 iron, have all been successfully used. Coal- 
 tar is stated to be very superior to vegetable 
 tar, and its efficacy in resisting the worm is 
 attributed to its containing sulphocyanic or 
 sulpho-prussic acid, which is highly destruc- 
 tive to aniraal and vegetable life. Piles pro- 
 tected with coal-oil are stated to have resisted 
 the attacks of the teredo better than those 
 protected by Kyan's process. It is necessaiy 
 however to observe that the coal must be 
 deprived of its ammonia, which would pro- 
 duce immediate decay if thrown into the 
 timber. 
 
 Another process, called Pat/nixing, from the 
 name of the inventor, consists in first filling 
 
 the pores of the wood with a solution of chlo- 
 ride of lime, and next forcing in a solution of 
 sulphate of iron, by which an insoluble sul- 
 phate of iron is formed in the body of the 
 wood, rendering the latter extremely hard. 
 Timber so prepared has been recently much 
 used. 
 
 DUBLIN. This large and populous city 
 resembles a great metropolis in this respect, 
 that its manufactures are of a general kind, 
 adapted to the varied wants of its inhabitants, 
 rather than belonging to any particular group 
 of manufactures. At the exhibition of manu- 
 factures at Dublin in 1850, noticed in the 
 Introduction, the manufactures of the citizens 
 were surprisingly varied, comprising a very 
 full collection both of the useful and the 
 ornamental, in house fittings, furniture, dress, 
 implements and machines, vessels and appa- 
 ratus, &c. 
 
 Dublin is to be the general place of collection 
 for the specimens to be forwarded to the 
 Industrial Exhibition in Hyde Park. The 
 extent of the collection will be found noticed 
 under IRELAND. It is understood that the 
 Dublin manufacturers intend to put forth all 
 their skill in certain branches of industry 
 which are largely carried on by them. 
 
 DUCTILITY is the property of bodies 
 which admits of their being drawn out in 
 length, while their diameter is diminished, 
 without any actual fracture, Gold, silver, 
 platinum, iron, copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickle, 
 are ductile in the order here given. Wire- 
 drawing depends on ductility. 
 
 DUDLEY. This is one of the great iron 
 manufacturing towns of the South Stafford- 
 shire district. It is, in truth, in one corner of 
 Worcestershire; but it lies over that valuable 
 bed of coal and iron which is independent of 
 mere topographical names, and which includes 
 within its range parts of the counties of 
 Stafford, Worcester, Warwick, and Shropshire. 
 Iron is cast and forged in large quantities at 
 Dudley ; innumerable articles are there manu- 
 factured of iron ; and the nailers, or makers of 
 nails by hand, congregate in and about Dudley 
 to the number of many thousands. Useful 
 stone is quarried near the town ; and there 
 are all the indications of a busy manufacturing 
 population. 
 
 Dudley is at present accommodated only 
 by the South Staffordshire Railway; but it 
 will shortly be connected by railway with towns 
 in various directions. 
 
 A few specimens of Dudley manufactures 
 will have a place at the Industrial Exhibition. 
 
 DULCIMER is the name of a very ancient 
 musical instrument, supposed to be the 
 psaltery of the Hebrews. In the modern 
 
773 
 
 DUMBAKTON. 
 
 form, it is a trapezium in shape, has many 
 strings, two to each note, and is struck by a 
 pair of sticks with wooden or metallic knobs. 
 
 DUMBARTON. This Scottish town has 
 some extensive manufactures in glass. In the 
 county to which it belongs, the principal 
 mineral production is coal, of which there is a 
 large field, but of inferior quality, which is 
 wrought at Langfauld, in the southern extre- 
 mity of the county. In the eastern division 
 of the county iron-stone is dug, and conveyed 
 on the Clyde and Forth Canal to the great 
 iron-foundry at Carron. Some large quarries 
 of limestone and of freestone are worked. 
 There are also several slate quarries. 
 
 On the banks of the Leven are numerous 
 and very extensive works for cotton printing, 
 and bleaching fields, the pureness of the 
 Leven water being peculiarly adapted for this 
 process. Some large iron works are esta- 
 blished at Dam otter. 
 
 DUMFKIES. The Nith, near the mouth 
 of which Dumfries is situated, has been deep- 
 ened within these few years, and vessels of a 
 good size can discharge their cargoes close to 
 the town. There is also a quay at the bend of 
 the river near Castledykes ; one for vessels of 
 greater burthen a mile and a half farther down ; 
 and another near the mouth of the river for 
 vessels of still larger size. The foreign trade is 
 in timber from America. The coasting trade 
 is with Liverpool, "Whitehaven, Maryport, -and 
 other places on the west coast of England. A 
 steam-boat plies once a week in the summer 
 months between Whitehaven and Dumfries, in 
 connection with one between Whitehaven and 
 Liverpool. 
 
 The county of Dumfries contains coals 
 only at Sanquhar and Canobie ; a great por- 
 tion of the county being supplied with coal 
 from Cumberland, and from Lanarkshire and 
 Ayrshire. At Wanlockhead, near Leaclhills, 
 are extensive lead mines. From this lead 
 silver is extracted in the proportion of six to 
 twelve ounces in the ton. Gold is occasionally 
 found in the mountains at Wanlockhead, in 
 veins of quartz, or washed down into the 
 sand of the rivulets. Gypsum occurs in thin 
 veins. 
 
 A great quantity of hams and bacon of the 
 very -best quality are cured in this county, and 
 sent off to the Liverpool, London, and New- 
 castle markets. A great number of pigs are 
 kept by the farmers and cottars, and bacon 
 may be considered a staple commodity of the 
 county. 
 
 Annan has a small import and export trade ; 
 and there are a few other places where com- 
 merce is pretty well kept up. 
 
 DUNDEE. This important town, the 
 
 DUKEETYPE. 774 
 
 third in rank among the manufacturing towns 
 of Scotland, has deep shipping-quays on the 
 Tay which accommodate a large amount of 
 export and import trade. In 1815 the reno- 
 vation and extension of the harbour gave an 
 impulse to its manufactures and commerce, 
 which has led to its present state of prosperity. 
 The harbour now consists of three wet docks, 
 two tide-harbours of large extent, a graving- 
 dock, a patent slip, yards for ship-building, 
 &c. 
 
 The chief manufactures of Dundee consist 
 of the spinning of flax, the weaving of linen, 
 and the making of cordage and ropes. Besides 
 the fine linen, a large quantity of sail-cloth is 
 woven. 
 
 Steam-vessels ply regularly between Dundee 
 and Perth, Newport, Leith, Glasgow, London, 
 and other places. About 350 vessels belong 
 to the town, some of large tonnage ; and 
 about 4000 vessels enter and leave the port 
 yearly, engaged in coasting and foreign com- 
 merce. 
 
 From a return recently laid before Parlia- 
 ment, it appears that in 1850 the following 
 were the statistics of the factories for flax and 
 linen goods in the county of Forfar, in which 
 Dundee is the chief manufacturing town. 
 There were 85 flax-spinning factories, with 
 135,311 spindles, 2559 horse-power for moving 
 machinery, and 12,365 persons employed, of 
 whom about 9000 were females ; there were 
 11 factories for flax- weaving, with 1347 power- 
 looms, 219 horse-power moving-force, and 
 1888 persons employed, of whom 1500 were 
 females : arid 5 factories both for spinning 
 and weaving flax, with 22,686 spindles, 240 
 power-looms, 345 horse-power, and 201.1 per- 
 sons employed, of whom nearly 1400 were 
 females. The cotton, woollen, and mill facto- 
 ries in Dundee are but small in number. 
 
 All the chief varieties of Dundee manufac- 
 tures in flax will be represented at the Indus- 
 trial Exhibition. 
 
 DURA'MEN is the name sometimes given 
 to the central wood or heart-wood in the trunk 
 of a tree. It is the oldest part of the wood, 
 and is filled by the secretions of the tree, so 
 that fluid can no longer ascend through its 
 tubes, which are choked up by the deposition 
 of solid matter ; otherwise it is of the same 
 nature as the alburnum. It is only where 
 plants form solid hard secretions that heart- 
 wood is distinguished from sap-wood : in the 
 poplar, willow, lirne, &c., no secretions of this 
 kind are formed ; the two parts of the wood 
 are both nearly alike, and consequently the 
 timber of such trees is uniformly perishable. 
 
 DURERTYPE. Mr. Dicks, in 1845, pro- 
 posed a new mode of copying engravings, to 
 
775 DUEHAM COLLIERIES. 
 
 DYEING. 
 
 which he gave the name of Durertypc, for the 
 somewhat insufficient reason that it enables a 
 person to copy Albert Durer's prints, and 
 others of a similar kind. To effect this, a 
 clean flat piece of glass is coated on one side 
 with a thin smooth film of pure white bees'- 
 wax : the glass being first washed with spirits 
 of turpentine, and then warmed ; and the wax 
 being applied in a melted state to one side of 
 the glass. When laid upon a print, the lines 
 can be seen through the thin film ; and those 
 lines are traced or etched on the waxen surface 
 by a pointer of ivory or steel. The design is 
 thus marked over the wax surface in a series 
 of cavities or depressions ; and a cast from this 
 is then taken in copper, by the common 
 electrotype process. 
 
 DURHAM COLLIERIES. The colliery 
 operations which form so large a part of the 
 industrial and commercial enterprises of 
 Durham are noticed in an earlier article 
 [COAL AND COAL MINING]. 
 
 DUSSELDORF is one of the most manu- 
 facturing districts in Rhenish Prussia. There 
 are extensive manufactures of woollens, silks, 
 cotton, thread, leather, steel, iron, ironware, 
 and cutlery, tobacco, soap, &c. Iron, coals, 
 and potters' clay, are among the native pro- 
 ducts. At Duisberg there is a large vitriol 
 factory, steam cloth mills, slips for building 
 steam and sailing vessels, and several other 
 industrial establishments. Lennep has im- 
 portant cloth factories, and dye-houses, and 
 trades in wines, hats, iron ware, &c. Miihl- 
 heim has large silk and cotton factories, zinc, 
 and iron works, and establishments for the 
 manufacture of steam machinery. Neuss, 
 Ronsdorf, and Ruhrort are busy manufac- 
 turing towns. Solingen, sometimes called the 
 German Sheffield, is famous for the manufac- 
 ture of sword blades, foils, cutlery, and iron 
 ware. At Wesel the inhabitants manufacture 
 woollen and cotton cloths, soap, hats, cordage, 
 leather, beer, <fec., and carry on a considerable 
 trade with Holland by the Rhine, and with 
 Westphalia by the Lippe, which has been 
 made navigable; the chief articles of com- 
 merce are corn, timber, coals, salt, wine, 
 brandy, and colonial produce. Diisseldorf, the 
 chief town of the district, has manufactories 
 of woollens, cotton, leather, hats, tobacco, 
 jewellery, mirrors, stockings, <fec., and carries 
 on a considerable trade in cotton, wool, wines 
 and spirits, colonial produce, coals, timber, 
 slates and other commodities. It has been a 
 free port since 1829. The growing import- 
 ance of Diisseldorf as a commercial port is 
 seen from the following table of the quantity 
 of merchandise imported and exported in the 
 years stated: 
 
 1836. 
 1840. 
 
 1844. 
 
 Imported. 
 Cwts. 
 
 , 855,533 
 ,1,160,952 
 1,332,465 
 1,311,310 
 
 1845 1,535,926 
 
 Exported. 
 Cwts. 
 
 113,144 
 135,825 
 219,647 
 193,773 
 206,370 
 
 The manufacturers of this part of Prussia 
 are about to take an active part in the 
 approaching great Exhibition. 
 
 DYEING is the art of staining textile sub- 
 stances with permanent colours. It was an 
 art known and practised to a considerable ex- 
 tent by the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, 
 Greeks, and Romans. The moderns have 
 obtained from the New World several dye- 
 drugs unknown to the ancients ; such as 
 cochineal, quercitron, Brazil wood, logwood, 
 arnotto ; and they have discovered the art of 
 nsing indigo as a dye, which the Romans 
 knew only as a pigment. But the vast supe- 
 riority of our dyes over those of former times 
 must be ascribed principally to the employ- 
 ment of pure alum and solution of tin as 
 mordants, either alone or mixed with other 
 bases ; substances which give to our common 
 dye stuffs remarkable depth, durability, and 
 lustre. Another improvement in dyeing of 
 more recent date is the application to textile 
 substances of metallic compounds, such as 
 Prussian bine, chrome yellow, manganese 
 brown, &c. - 
 
 Bergman appears to have been the first who 
 referred to chemical affinities the phenomena 
 of dyeing. Having plunged wool and silk 
 into two separate vessels containing solution 
 of indigo in sulphuric acid diluted with a great 
 deal of water, he observed that the wool ab- 
 stracted much of the colouring matter, and 
 took a deep blue tint, but that the silk was 
 hardly changed. He ascribed this difference 
 to the greater affinity subsisting between the 
 particles of sulphate of indigo and wool, than 
 between these and silk ; and he showed that 
 the affinity of the wool is sufficiently energetic 
 to render the solution colourless by attracting 
 the whole of the indigo, while that of the silk 
 can separate only a little of it. He thence 
 concluded that dyes owed both their perma- 
 nence and their depth to the intensity of that 
 attractive force. We have therefore to con- 
 sider in dyeing the play of affinities between 
 the liquid medium in which the dye is dis- 
 solved and the fibrous substance to be dyed. 
 By studying these differences of affinity, and 
 by varying the preparations and processes, 
 with the same or different dye-stuffs, we may 
 obtain an indefinite variety of colours of va- 
 riable solidity and depth of shade. 
 
 Dye-stuffs, whether of vegetable or animal 
 
777 
 
 DYEING. 
 
 DYEING. 
 
 778 
 
 origin, though susceptible of solution in water, 
 and, in this state, of penetrating the pores of 
 fibrous bodies, seldom possess alone the 
 power of fixing their particles so durably as 
 to be capable of resisting the action of water, 
 light, and air. For this purpose they require 
 to be aided by another class of bodies, mor- 
 dants, which bodies may not possess any 
 colour in themselves, but serve in this case 
 merely as a bond of union between the dye 
 and the substance to be dyed. Mordants may 
 be regarded in general as not only fixing but 
 also occasionally modifying the dye, by form- 
 ing with the colouring particles an insoluble 
 compound, which is deposited within the tex- 
 tile fibres. Such dyes as are capable of passing 
 from the soluble into the insoluble state, and 
 of thus becoming permanent, without the ad- 
 dition of a mordant, have been called substan- 
 tive, and all the others have been called 
 adjective colours. The first principle of dye- 
 ing fast colours consists in causing the colour- 
 ing matter to undergo such a change, when 
 deposited upon the wool or other stuffs, as to 
 become insoluble in the liquor of the dye-bath. 
 The more powerfully it resists the action of 
 other external agents, the more solid or durable 
 is the dye. 
 
 In the following details concerning the art 
 of dyeing we shall consider principally its ap- 
 plication to wool and silk, having already 
 treated, in the article COTTON OR CALICO 
 PRINTING, of what is peculiar to cotton and 
 linen. 
 
 The operations to which wool and silk are 
 subjected preparatory to being dyed are in- 
 tended, 1, to separate certain foreign matters 
 from the animal fibre ; 2, to render it more 
 apt to unite with such colouring particles as the 
 dyer wishes to fix upon it, and also to take 
 therefrom a more lively and agreeable tint, as 
 well as to be less liable to soil in use. 
 
 Silk is scoured by means of boiling in soap 
 and water, whereby it is freed from a sort of 
 varnish : if intended to be very white, it is 
 bleached by humid sulphurous acid. Wool is 
 first washed in running water to separate its 
 coarser impurities ; it is then deprived of its 
 yolk (a species of animal soap secreted from 
 the skin of the sheep) either by the action of 
 ammoniacal urine, by soap and water, or by 
 a weak lye of carbonate of soda. It receives 
 its final bleaching by the fumes of burning 
 sulphur, or by aqueous sulphurous acid. 
 
 Tinctorial colours are either simple or com- 
 pound. The simple are black, brown or dun, 
 blue, yellow, and red ; the compound are gray, 
 purple, green, orange, and others. Gall-nuts, 
 pyrolignite of iron, logwood, copperas, and 
 verdigris, are the chief materials for producing 
 
 black. Walnuts, sumach, madder, cochineal, 
 cudbear, acetate of iron, catechu, Brazil wood, 
 arnotto, are all employed in producing brown. 
 Indigo, Prussian blue, and woad, are employed 
 for blue. Fustic, Persian berries, quercitron, 
 turmeric, and weld, for yellow. Cudbear, 
 Brazil wood, cochineal, kermes, lac, logwood, 
 madder, safflower, for red ; and various com- 
 pounds for purple, green, orange, &c. 
 
 The black dye for hats is communicated by 
 logwood, copperas, and verdigris, mixed in 
 certain proportions in the bath. The ordinary 
 proportions used by the English black dyers 
 for 100 pounds of cloth, previously treated in 
 the indigo vat, are about 5 pounds of copperas, 
 as much nut-galls bruised, and 30 pounds of 
 logwood. They first gall the cloth, and then 
 pass it through the decoction of logwood in 
 which the copperas has been dissolved. A 
 finish of weld is often given after fulling. 
 
 Silk is dyed black in two methods, accord- 
 ing to the market for which it is made. When 
 sold by weight, it is an object with the dyer 
 to load it with as much colouring or other 
 matter as possible. When silk is sold by 
 superficial measure, on the other hand, it be- 
 comes the dyer's object to give it a black 
 colour with as little weight of materials as 
 possible. Hence the distinction well known 
 in trade of heavy and light silks, The silk 
 dyers keep up from year to year a black vat, 
 often of very complex composition. The es- 
 sential constituents of the vat are sulphate of 
 iron and gum ; but many vegetable matters, 
 as well as filings of iron, are usually added. 
 
 The infusion of walnuts, as used by the 
 continental dyers, affords very agreeable and 
 permanent brown tints without any mordant, 
 while it preserves the downy softness of the 
 wool, and requires but a simple and economi- 
 cal process in applying it. Sumach is usually 
 employed in this country to dye fawns, and 
 some browns ; but more beautiful browns may 
 be given to woollen stuffs by boiling them first 
 with one-fourth their weight of alum and some 
 tartar and copperas ; washing, and afterwards 
 dyeing them in a madder bath. The shade 
 of colour depends upon the proportion which 
 the copperas bears to the alum. The finest 
 browns are produced by boiling each pound of 
 the wool with two ounces of alum, dyeing it 
 in a cochineal bath, and then transferring it 
 into a bath containing a little cochineal 
 darkened with acetate of iron. 
 
 Silk may receive a ground of arnotto, and 
 then be dyed in a bath of logwood or Brazil 
 wood, whereby a fine brown tint is obtained. 
 Catechu is used for giving a bronze and 
 brown to cotton goods. 
 
 Additional details are given undei the 
 
779 DYNAM; DYNAMOMETER. 
 
 names of the colours and of the dye-materials 
 such as AKNOTTO, COCHINEAL, INDIGO, MAD 
 DER, (fee. 
 
 The dye-materials imported from foreign 
 countries which find a place among the 
 Customs Returns prepared by the Board of 
 Trade are chiefly the following: Cochineal 
 fustic, gum arabic, gum Senegal, gum animi, 
 gum copal, gum tragacanth, indigo, lac dye, 
 shell lac, logwood, madder, Nicaragua wood, 
 safflower, sumach, smalts, valonia, yellow 
 berries, and zaffre. Of these nineteen sub- 
 stances, about 4000 cwts. were imported in 
 1848. 
 
 There are few manufacturing arts in which 
 the English may more profitably study the 
 productions of the French than dyeing. The 
 French chemists have studied the production 
 of colour more than those of our own country ; 
 and the French dyers have availed them 
 selves of every aid which science has been 
 able to afford. It is one of the good features 
 in the Exhibition which is about to take place, 
 that the dyes of various nations will fairly be 
 brought into comparison. If the French are 
 really our superiors in this art, it will be just 
 to acknowledge, graceful to commend, and 
 profitable to imitate their skill. 
 
 DYNAM ; DYNAMOMETER. In estima- 
 ting the effect of mechanical labour, it is de- 
 sirable to have some idea of a simple unit 
 well fixed in the mind. All who have studied 
 know how much advantage there is in refer- 
 ring every kind of pressure to weight, and 
 measuring it by the weight which will balance 
 it. Thus if one hundred pounds weight will 
 bend a spring into a certain position, we have 
 no difficulty in substituting an opposite force 
 to the weight for the recoil of the spring at 
 the point of application. It is equally conve- 
 nient to arrive at a distinct notion of a unit 
 of useful effect in the workmanship of ma- 
 chines. We may consider any machine as 
 simply applied to raising a weight, and look 
 upon the weight raised as a dynamical equi- 
 valent for any possible effect that the machine 
 could have produced ; observing that the use^ 
 ful effect of any application of power varies 
 
 EAGLE-WOOD. 
 
 reo 
 
 jointly as the weight raised and the height to 
 which it is raised. Accordingly, the product 
 of the number of pounds raised, is a relative 
 measure of the quantity of power. 
 
 We can convert the above relative measure- 
 ment into an absolute form by assuming as a 
 unit one pound raised through one foot : let 
 this be called a dynam, or dynamical unit. 
 Thus, what is commonly called a horse power 
 is meant by our engineers to signify 550 
 dynams in a second; a steam-engine which 
 can raise one pound through 550 feet in 
 every second is said to be of one-horse 
 power. 
 
 This term was introduced by French writers, 
 who called the effect of a cubic metre of 
 water raised through one metre, a dynamic or 
 d if name. Dr. Whewell in his ' Mechanics of 
 Engineering,' has proposed to naturalise the 
 term dynam, as applied to our most conve- 
 nient units, the pound and the foot. Mr. Watt 
 was really the first who assumed, as a dyna- 
 mic unit, the simple notion of one pound 
 raised one foot : but he did not venture on a 
 name, though the now common term, the 
 duty of an engine, first used by him, has re- 
 ference to the number of such simple units 
 as may be obtained from the engine. 
 
 The name of dynamometer has been applied 
 to an instrument which measures anything to 
 which the name of power has been given, 
 whether that of an animal, (or to take a very 
 different instance) of a telescope. 
 
 A dynamometer, registered in 1849, by 
 Messrs. Elce, is used to ascertain the power 
 required to drive, or the power exerted by, 
 any machine. The ^ differential qualities of 
 oil may also, the inventors state, be detected; 
 and when a machine requires too much driving 
 lower owing to a strained shaft, or some 
 other radical defect, the loss of power may be 
 .scertained. The difference in the power re- 
 quired to drive similar descriptions of ma- 
 chines by different makers can be estimated ; 
 r when any improvement is introduced into 
 a machine by which it is proposed to gain 
 )ower, such gain, if there be any, can be as- 
 certained. 
 
 E 
 
 EAGLE-WOOD. This is a highly fragrant 
 wood, much esteemed by Asiatics for biirning 
 as incense, and known in Europe by its pre- 
 sent designation ever since the Portuguese 
 
 visited and imported the substance direct 
 from the Malayan islands and the kingdom 
 of Siam, where it has always been abundant, 
 and long established as an article of com- 
 
781 
 
 EAR-TRUMPET. 
 
 EAST INDIES. 
 
 782 
 
 merce. The Malayan name is Agila, whence 
 the wood was called Pao d Agila by the Por- 
 tuguese, and has since been converted into 
 Pao d' A guild, and Pao d'Aqnila, Bois d'Aiyle, 
 and Eaqle Wood. The term eagle wood is 
 also applied co the wood known to the ancients 
 by the name of Agallochum. 
 
 Of the two kinds of agalloclmm which are 
 most valued, and both considered genuine, 
 one is distinguished by the name of Calambac, 
 and the other as the Garo of Malacca. Ca- 
 lambac appears, as far as hitherto known, to 
 be a native of Cochin China only, growing on 
 the mountains of that country in about 13 of 
 N. lat. It has been described as a lofty tree 
 with erect stem and branches, long lanceolate 
 shining leaves, and terminal bunches of 
 flowers. The other kind, Garo, to which the 
 name of Eagle Wood is more frequently 
 applied, has long been an article of export 
 from Malacca and the" kingdom of Siam. 
 Specimens of the tree which yield this were 
 first obtained by M. Sonnerat in his second 
 voyage to India, from which probably have 
 been given the figure and description by 
 Lamarck. The fragrant nature of genuine 
 agila or eagle wood is well known, and that it 
 has from very early periods been employed 
 both by the natives of India and of China as 
 incense. Mr. Finlayson, in his visit to Siam, 
 says, that the consumption of this highly odo- 
 riferous wood is very considerable in Siam, 
 but that the greatest part is exported to 
 China. In China it is used in a very econo 
 mical manner. The wood being reduced to a 
 fine powder, and mixed with a gummy sub 
 stance, is laid over a small slip of wood, about 
 the siz3 of a bullrush, so as to form a pretty 
 thick coating. This is lighted, and gives out 
 a feeble but grateful perfume. Eagle wood 
 was burned as a perfume by Napoleon in the 
 imperial palace. 
 " EAR-TRUMPET. We may refer on this 
 subject to ACOUSTICS and SPEAKING TUBES 
 under which latter title the recent remarkable 
 applications of gutta percha are noticed. 
 
 EARTHS. The old chemists imagined 
 that all material substances were ultimately 
 resolveable into four simple bodies, viz., air 
 fire, water, and earth, which were therefore 
 called the four elements. It is now univer- 
 sally admitted that the bodies called earths 
 are compounds of oxygen and a base, and in 
 fact they are mostly metallic oxides. Th( 
 principal earths are alumina, barytes, glucina 
 lime, magnesia, silica, strontia, yttria, zirconia. 
 EARTHENWARE. [POTTERY.] 
 EAST INDIES. This immense and im 
 portant country is deeply interesting to us in 
 an industrial and commercial point of view 
 
 >oth for its natural riches, and for the influ- 
 nce which an English company has so long 
 xerted in that quarter. We shall touch briefly 
 n both these characteristics, so far as is con- 
 istent with the scope of the present volume. 
 
 The East Indies are usually considered to 
 nclude the peninsula of Hindustan lying to 
 he east of the river Indus, and thence east- 
 ward as far as the boundary of the Chinese 
 empire, by which empire, and by Tartary, 
 India is also bounded on the north. The 
 ilast Indies include also the islands of the 
 "ndian Ocean which lie between Hindustan 
 and Australia as far north as the Philippine 
 [slands, and as far east as Papua, but without 
 ncluding either the Philippines or Papua. It 
 s not in so wide a sense that the term is used 
 when speaking of the operations of the East 
 [ndia Company; but in truth the names 
 Fndia, East Indies, British India, and Hin- 
 dustan, are all vague in their geographical 
 imits. 
 
 Our power in those regions has wholly- 
 risen through the intermedium of the East 
 India Company. This association the most 
 remarkable which commerce has yet known 
 was first formed in London in 1599, when its 
 capital, amounting to 30,000/., was divided 
 into 101 shares. In 1600 the adventurers 
 obtained a charter from the crown, under 
 which they enjoyed certain privileges, and 
 were formed into a corporation for fifteen 
 years, with the title of ' The Governor and 
 Company of Merchants of London trading to 
 the East Indies.' The first adventure of the 
 association was commenced in 1601 ; and 
 this, as well as seven or eight subsequent 
 voyages, yielded a commercial profit of 100 to 
 200 per cent. The charter was renewed for 
 an indefinite period in 1609, subject to disso- 
 lution on the part of the government upon 
 giving three years notice to that effect. In 
 1611 the Company obtained permission from 
 the Mogul to establish factories at Surat, Ah- 
 medabad, Cambaya, and Goga. The capital 
 was increased by a new fund of 1,600,000/. in 
 1617. The functions of government were 
 first exercised by the Company in 1631, when 
 authority was given to it by the king to punish 
 its servants abroad either by civil or by martial 
 law, embracing even the power of taking life. 
 In 1632 a third fund of 420,700Z. was raised. 
 The king encouraged the formation of a rival 
 company in 1636, but the rivals coalesced to 
 form a joint company in 1650. 
 
 In 1652 the Company obtained from the 
 Mogul, through the^ influence of a medical 
 gentleman, Mr. Broughton, the grant of a 
 licence for carrying on an unlimited trade 
 throughout the province of Bengal, without 
 
783 
 
 EAST INDIES. 
 
 payment of duties. An increase of capital, an 
 extended charter, and a successful attempt to 
 keep down a new rival company, marked the 
 next ten years. Factories were established 
 at Bantam in 1602, Surat in 1612, Madras in 
 1639, Bengal in 1652, and Bombay in 1668. 
 
 The first occasion on which the Company 
 was brought into collision with any of the 
 native powers of India occurred in 1664, when 
 Sevajee, the founder of the Mahratta States, 
 attacked the city of Surat. The aid which 
 the Company's servants gave on this occasion 
 to the inhabitants won for them the good 
 will of the Mogul ; and the Company gradu- 
 ally obtained increased power, both from the 
 Mogul and from Parliament. In 1693 the 
 Company obtained a new charter by gross 
 bribery of the highest officers of state; but 
 the House of Commons refused to sanction 
 it. Another new company was formed about 
 the same time, and another amalgamation 
 took place, which left the United Company 
 on the footing which it maintained from 1702 
 till 1833. The capital has been gradually 
 increased to 6,000,000*., on which dividends 
 are paid. 
 
 The home government of the Company 
 consists of the Court of Proprietors, the Court 
 of Directors, and the Board of Control, be- 
 tween whom it has been sometimes difficult to 
 maintain harmonious relations. The act of 
 Queen Anne gave the Company exclusive 
 trading powers to the East, which lasted with 
 little alteration till 1813. In this year much 
 of the trade was thrown open by a new char- 
 ter for twenty years : that with China being 
 however retained as a monopoly. In 1833 
 another renewal for 20 years was granted, 
 which took away from the Company the right 
 of trading either to its own territories or the 
 dominions of any native power in India or in 
 China, and threw the whole completely open 
 to the enterprise of individual merchants. 
 The time is now rapidly approaching when 
 another charter will be applied for, and its 
 terms canvassed. 
 
 The Company's nominal profits in the 18th 
 century were very high ; but as their trade 
 was conducted in a costly way, and was bur- 
 dened with military charges, it yielded little 
 real profit. Private traders have always been 
 able to outbid the Company, when allowed to 
 compete. Thus, in the 20 years from 1813 to 
 1833, the value of goods exported by the pri- 
 vate trad* increased from about 1,000,000*. 
 sterling to 3,979,972*., while the Company's 
 trade fell from 826,558*. to 149,193*. The 
 impossibility, as thus shewn, of the Com- 
 pany's entering into competition with private 
 merchants had a powerful influence with par- 
 
 EAST INDIES. 784 
 
 liament; and in the charter of 1833 the Com- 
 pany was confined altogether to the territorial 
 and political management of its vast empire. 
 The dividend guaranteed by the act of 1833 is 
 650,000*., being 10 per cent, on a nominal 
 capital of 6,000,000*. The dividends are 
 chargeable on the revenues of India, and are 
 redeemable by parliament after 1847. 
 
 The following table is given, in the defi- 
 ciency of official returns, merely as an approxi- 
 mation, in order to afford such a general view 
 as may be useful, though not accurate, of the 
 areas and population of the territories of Hin- 
 dustan 
 
 British Possessions. 
 
 Sq. Miles. 
 
 Inhabitants. 
 
 Bengal Presidency . . 
 North West Provinces 
 Madras Presidency.. 
 Bombay Presidency 
 Sindo 
 
 220,000 
 100,000 
 140,000 
 70,000 
 70000 
 
 47,000,000 
 20,000,000 
 14,000,000 
 7,500,000 
 1 500 000 
 
 Lahore . 
 
 60000 
 
 3 000 000 
 
 
 
 
 Dependent Stales. 
 
 660,000 
 
 93,000,000 
 
 
 9!) 000 
 
 9 000 000 
 
 Berar, or Nagpoor . . 
 Mysore ... . 
 
 45,000 
 27 000 
 
 2,200,000 
 3 500 000 
 
 Gwalior and Malwa. . 
 Gujerat 
 
 34,000 
 25 000 
 
 4,000,000 
 2 000 000 
 
 Oude .... 
 
 20000 
 
 4 0000 00 
 
 Balwnlpoor 
 
 12000 
 
 500 000 
 
 Cashmere States .... 
 Sikh Hill States 
 Bundelcund States . . 
 Rewah 
 
 20,000 
 20,000 
 8,000 
 7000 
 
 1,000,000 
 1,000,000 
 1,000,000 
 600 000 
 
 Bhopal 
 
 6,000 
 
 500000 
 
 Indore 
 
 8,000 
 
 600 000 
 
 Dhar . . 
 
 500 
 
 30000 
 
 Sattara 
 
 8,000 
 
 1,000 000 
 
 
 3,000 
 
 600,000 
 
 Sawunt Warree .... 
 Bhurtpoor 
 
 1,000 
 2,000 
 
 30,000 
 500,000 
 
 Travancore 
 
 5,000 
 
 600,000 
 
 
 1,500 
 
 200,000 
 
 
 2,000 
 
 140,000 
 
 Bikaneer . ~) 
 
 14000 
 
 
 Jessulmeer .... 
 Joudpoor * 
 
 9,000 
 25,000 
 
 
 JvDOor ^3' 
 
 14 000 
 
 
 Oodipoor o 
 
 10 000 
 
 
 Cutch { w 
 
 7,000 
 
 L 12,000,000 
 
 Sirohi . * 
 
 8000 
 
 
 Kotah 8 
 
 4,000 
 
 
 Boodee 
 
 2,000! 
 
 
 Dholpoor, &c. . . 
 
 2,000 
 
 , 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 48,000,000 
 
785 
 
 EAST INDIES. 
 
 EAST INDIES. 
 
 786 
 
 Independent States. 
 
 sq. Miles. 
 45,000 
 
 Inhabitants. 
 1,500,000 
 
 
 25,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 70,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 British Possessions . . 
 Dependent States . . 
 Independent States . . 
 
 600,000 
 500,000 
 70,000 
 
 90,000,000 
 48,000,000 
 2,000,000 
 
 
 1,170,000 
 
 140,000,000 
 
 Such is the immense territory whch is 
 vaguely known to us as the East Indies. Com- 
 merce between India and the western nations 
 of Asia appears to have been carried on from 
 the earliest historical times. The spicery, 
 which the company of Ishmaelites mentioned 
 in Genesis were carrying into Egypt, must in 
 all probability have been the produce of 
 India; and in the 30th chapter of Exodus, 
 where an enumeration is made of various 
 spices and perfumes, cinnamon and cassia 
 are expressly mentioned, which must have 
 come from India or the islands in the Indian 
 Archipelago. This trade appears to have been 
 carried on by means of the Arabs. Indian 
 articles were also brought from the Persian 
 Gulf to Phosnicia, and Europe was thus sup- 
 plied with the produce of India. 
 
 The produce of India was also imported 
 into Greece by the Phoenicians in very early 
 times. Many of the Greek names of the 
 Indian articles are evidently derived from the 
 Sanskrit. The western nations of Asia appear 
 to have had no connection with India, except 
 in the way of commerce, till the time of 
 Darius Hystaspes. The expedition of Alex- 
 ander into India first gave the Greeks a cor- 
 rect idea of the western parts of India, and 
 paved the way for a further extension of 
 Indian commerce. After the foundation of 
 Alexandria in Egypt, the Indian trade was 
 almost entirely carried on by the merchants 
 of that city. We may form some idea of the 
 magnitude of the Indian trade under the em- 
 perors by the account of Pliny, who informs 
 us that the Koman world was drained every 
 year of. at least fifty millions of sesterces (up- 
 wards of 400,000/.) for the purchase of Indian 
 commodities. The articles imported by the 
 Alexandrian merchants were chiefly precious 
 stones, spices and perfumes, and silk. Alex- 
 andria supplied the nations of Europe witb 
 Indian articles till the discovery of the pas- 
 sage round the Cape of Good Hope by Vasco 
 de Gama in 1498. But the western nations 
 of Asia were principally supplied by the mer 
 chants of Basra, which was founded by th( 
 
 caliph Omar, near the mouth of the Euphrates, 
 and soon became one of the most nourishing 
 commercial cities in the East. In addition to 
 :his, a land trade, conducted by means of cara- 
 vans which passed through the central coun- 
 tries of Asia, existed from very early times 
 jetween India and the western nations of 
 A.sia. 
 
 The modern commerce of India has taken 
 many fresh directions. Nearly all that depends 
 on the East India Company is transacted at 
 the three ports of Calcutta, Madras, and Bom- 
 bay. The native merchants in the north 
 west of India carry on a large inland trade to 
 Persia, Bokhara, Siberia, and other Asiatic 
 countries. In respect to Great Britain, the 
 exports of British manufactures to India in 
 1849 amounted in value to nearly 7,000,000/. 
 In respect to the imports from India into 
 Great Britain in 1848, the following will give 
 an idea of the principal commodities and 
 quantities : 
 
 Cassia . . . . 40,000 Ibs. 
 
 Cloves .. .. 60,000 Ibs. 
 
 Coffee .. .. 33,000,000 Ibs. 
 
 Indian cottons . . 120,000 pieces 
 
 Gums . . . . 30,000 cwts. 
 
 Hemp . . . . 260,000 cwts. 
 
 Hides . . . . 70,000 cwts. 
 
 Indigo . . . . 60,000 cwts. 
 
 Mace . . . . 40,000 Ibs. 
 
 Senna . . . . 800,000 Ibs. 
 
 Silk . . . . 800,000 Ibs. 
 
 Silk goods . . . . 300,000 pieces 
 
 Skins and Furs . . 60,000 
 
 Rum .. .. 900,000 gallons. 
 
 Sugar . . . . 1,400,000 cwts. 
 Cotton has hitherto been exported from 
 India only in small quantity ; but strenuous 
 exertions are now being made to extend the 
 culture. The other chief products are noticed 
 in the above list. Other commercial and in- 
 dustrial details will be found under the names 
 of the chief countries and cities, such as BEN- 
 GAL, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, DELHI, &c. 
 
 Ceylon, although close to India, does not 
 belong to the Company. That territory is 
 about to take up a worthy position at the 
 approaching exhibition [CEYLON] ; but in 
 India the preparations do not seem to have 
 been on so complete and well-organised a 
 scale. There will however be many indi- 
 vidual specimens of great interest. For exam- 
 ple, the Maharajah Goolab Singh has arranged 
 to send a magnificent collection of shawls 
 from Cashmere, to the Great Exhibition. 
 They are said to be worth nearly 100,000 
 rupees (10,OOOZ.), and to be of the most ex- 
 quisite kind. Various other articles have been 
 forwarded to Bombay from Lahore and its 
 
787 
 
 EBONY. 
 
 EGG TRADE. 
 
 788 
 
 principal towns ; including papier mache arti- 
 cles (which it will be interesting to compare 
 Avith those now made at Birmingham), a car- 
 pet of large dimensions, a gold-inlaid suit of 
 armour, cotton and silk manufactures, fire- 
 arms, agricultural implements, and other 
 articles. 
 
 EBONY is well known as a hard black- 
 coloured wood, brought from tropical regions. 
 From its hardness, durability, susceptibility 
 of a fine polish, and colour, (which has almost 
 become another name for blackness,) ebony 
 has always been in high estimation, and in 
 the present day is much used for mosaic 
 work and ornamental inlayings, though 
 cheaper woods dyed black are frequently sub- 
 stituted. Several trees yield this kind of 
 wood, but all belong to the genus Diospyrus. 
 The species are found chiefly in the tropical 
 parts both of Asia and America, as in the 
 Malayan archipelago and peninsula, and in 
 almost every part of India. 
 
 The species called Diospyrus cbenus, the 
 true ebony, and that which is considered to 
 be of the best quality, is a large tree, a native 
 of the Mauritius, Ceylon, and Madagascar. 
 Large quantities of the ebony of this species 
 have been sometimes imported into Europe. 
 
 One of the most remarkable productions in 
 which ebony takes a part, is perhaps the 
 ebony and satinwood bridge in Ceylon. It is 
 at Paradina, about five miles from Kandy, 
 and forms part of the coach -road from Kandy 
 to Colombo. It consists of a single arch, 
 resting on stone abutments. The timbers are 
 all light and simple in form ; and it affords a 
 proof of the abundance and cheapness of 
 these kinds of wood in Ceylon, that ebony 
 and satinwood should be employed for such a 
 purpose. 
 
 ECUADOR. This South American re- 
 public has a soil and climate which yields 
 sweet potatoes, mandioca, yams, bananas, rice, 
 Indian corn, sugar, cocoa, cotton, tobacco, 
 fruits, and numerous other plants and roots. 
 Sheep and cattle are reared in great numbers ; 
 horses, asses, and mules to a smaller extent. 
 Gold, silver, lead, and quicksilver mines are 
 worked, but not so largely as in other parts 
 of South America. 
 
 The traffic between England and Ecuador 
 is not considerable, owing mainly to the cir- 
 cumstance that Guayaquil, the only port, 
 is on the Pacific shore, and therefore not 
 to be reached without a voyage round Cape 
 Horn. In 1848 the total value of our exports 
 to Ecuador amounted only to about 6000Z. 
 Cocoa is the commodity with which Ecuador 
 supplies us in largest quantity, the import in 
 1848 amounting to more than 1,100,000 Ibs. 
 
 EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE. [LIGHT- 
 HOUSES.] 
 
 EDINBURGH. Important and interesting 
 as the Scottish metropolis may be in many 
 particulars, it is not in respect to manufac- 
 tures or commerce that it appeals to our no- 
 tice. Its maritime commerce is all conducted 
 at Leith ; while its manufactures of paper, 
 types, and other commodities, are of the mis- 
 cellaneous kind which belong to a large me- 
 tropolitan city, rather than partaking of any 
 one distinctive character. The same may be 
 said of Dublin, except that Dublin has no 
 such great rival to its industry as Edinburgh 
 has in Glasgow. 
 
 It is in the aid which the educational and 
 literary talent of Edinburgh affords towards 
 the study of all sciences, and their application 
 to the arts, that we are to look for the chief 
 link which connects Edinburgh with the in- 
 dustry of the age. The Scottish Society of 
 Arts, among other institutions, has rendered 
 valuable aid in this direction. 
 
 The county to which Edinburgh belongs 
 has a few industrial towns. Dalkeith contains 
 a large iron-foundry, a gas-work, and there 
 are manufactures of felt and beaver hats, 
 straw hats, and woollen stuffs. At Mussel- 
 burgh, besides a small coasting-trade, there 
 are manufactures of sail-cloth and hair-cloth ; 
 and there are coal mines in the neighbour- 
 hood. Leith claims a word of notice elsewhere. 
 [LEITH.] 
 
 The number of parties who have come for- 
 ward at Edinburgh as exhibitors at the Great 
 Industrial Exhibition amounts to 163. Of 
 these, 14 will be in the section for raw mate- 
 rials and produce, 68- in the section for ma- 
 chinery, 62 in the section for manufactures, 
 and 19 in the section for sculpture, models, 
 and the plastic art. The entire space which 
 will be required extends to 10,143 square feet, 
 of which 3,558 is floor space, 1,039 table 
 space, 4,646 wall space. 'The articles that 
 are proposed to be exhibited are very miscel- 
 laneous. 
 
 EFFERVESCENCE is the rapid disen- 
 gagement of a gas, which lakes place in a 
 liquid in consequence of chemical action and 
 decomposition. 
 
 EFFLORESCENCE is the property by 
 which certain salts containing water of crys- 
 tallization lose it, and become opaque by ex- 
 posure to the air. 
 
 EGG TRADE. The egg trade is now one 
 of great magnitude. What the number of 
 English eggs produced and eaten may be, it 
 is impossible even to guess ; for there are no 
 returns which can apply to this subject ; but 
 of foreign eggs we find that there have been 
 
789 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 790 
 
 imported the following quantities in four 
 recent years : 
 
 1847 .. .. 77,485,487 
 
 1848 .. .. 88,012,585 
 
 1849 .. .. 97,903,151 
 
 1850 .. .. 105,761,995 
 These are principally obtained from France. 
 
 Eggs are largely employed in the leather 
 manufacture, in the preparation of kid skins 
 into leather for gloves and shoes. In one 
 process of the manufacture, yolk of egg is 
 mixed with alum, salt, and flour in a barrel, 
 and the skins are agitated with this mixture 
 for some time. Much of the softness of good 
 kid leather is due to this use of egg-yolk. 
 There is one leather-factory in Bermondsey 
 where 60,000 to 80,000 eggs are used for this 
 purpose every year ; they are imported from 
 France in the spring, and are kept good 
 throughout the year in lime-water. 
 
 EGYPT. This remarkable country is pos- 
 sessed of very little mineral treasure. It de- 
 pends more upon the alluvial subsoil left by 
 the Nile than upon the metal and stone found 
 in the rocks. On the west of the Nile how- 
 ever, above the Delta, the mountain range 
 which bounds the valley contains limestone, 
 sandstone, slate, and quartz ; while the east- 
 ern range contains the famous granite quar- 
 ries which furnished material for the great 
 works of the ancient Egyptians. In the 
 mountainous region between the Nile and the 
 Eed Sea are found mines of various metals, 
 and quarries of porphyry and other valuable 
 stone. 
 
 The agriculture of Egypt depends on the 
 annual inundation of the Nile. This inunda- 
 tion, occasioned by the periodical rains of 
 Central Africa, begins in June about the sum- 
 mer solstice, and it continues to increase till 
 September, overflowing the lowlands along its 
 course. The Delta, or Lower Egypt, then 
 looks like an immense marsh, interspersed 
 with numerous islands, with villages, towns, 
 and plantations of trees just above the water. 
 The inundations, having remained stationary 
 for a few days, begin to subside, and about the 
 end of November most of the fields are left 
 dry, and covered with a fresh layer of rich 
 brown. slime: this is the time when the lands 
 are put under culture. From thence till the 
 next inundation, the Delta goes through the 
 alternatives of a delightful spring and a fiercely 
 hot summer. 
 
 The agricultural produce of Egypt consists 
 of the following winter plants, which are sown 
 when the inundation has ceased, and reaped 
 in three or four months after : wheat, barley, 
 beans, peas, lentils, vetches, lupins, clover, 
 flax, coleseed, lettuce, hemp, cummin, cori- 
 
 ander, poppy, tobacco, watermelons, and 
 cucumbers ; and of the following summer 
 plants, which are raised by artificial irrigation 
 by means of water -wheels and other machinery : 
 doorah, Indian corn, onions, millet, henneh, 
 sugar-cane, cotton, coffee, indigo, madder. 
 Eice and numerous fruits are also cultivated. 
 Mehemet Ali pensioned off the landed pro- 
 prietors, and seized the land himself ; so that 
 the poor fellah farmers became his immediate 
 tenants, and a wretched life they seem to have 
 led. 
 
 In regard to constructive and mechanical 
 arts, Egypt is more distinguished for its 
 ancient than its modern works. The wondrous 
 pyramids, the temples, the statues, the obe- 
 lisks, the sphinxes, are among the most 
 striking antiquities of any nation. In respect 
 to modern industry, Mehemet Ali strove zeal- 
 ously to establish the cotton manufacture and 
 other branches of industry in Egypt ; and to 
 a certain extent he succeeded. 
 
 Of the towns of Egypt, there are only four 
 of commercial importance. Alexandria has 
 been already briefly noticed [ALEXANDRIA]. 
 Cairo or Kahira carries on a number of ma- 
 nufactures connected with the wants of a large 
 metropolis ; but as it is not a sea-port town, 
 and is distant a mile from the Nile, it has no 
 shipping, llosetta and Damietia are sea-ports, 
 having considerable trade. 
 
 Engineers are now, and have long been, 
 impressed with the desirability of establishing 
 some better mode of communication between 
 the Mediterranean and the Eed Sea, across 
 Egypt. The India mail, after being landed 
 at Alexandria, has to be navigated up the 
 Mahmoudieh Canal to Boulak, then carried 
 one mile to Cairo, and then transferred across 
 the desert to Suez. A ship canal across the 
 isthmus, from Pelusium to Suez, is one of 
 the schemes under discussion. Mr. Eobert 
 Stephenson, the eminent engineer, has lately 
 been to Egypt. A recent correspondent at 
 Alexandria of one of the London journals 
 says, 'He (Mr. Stephenson) seems impressed 
 with the advantages Egypt and the trade with 
 our Indian and Eastern possessions would 
 lerive from the establishment of railway com- 
 munication between the two great trading 
 cities of Alexandria and Cairo. The cumbrous 
 navigation of the Nile at the best seasons, and 
 mpracticability at others, for laden boats, 
 render the advantage of such a highway so 
 mlpable, that men of less discernment have 
 )een recently agitating the question, and 
 irging it on the viceroy's attention. Produce 
 of the value of 15,000,000 of piastres is an- 
 nually brought down the river in native craft, 
 subject to the delays of navigation, the danger 
 
791 
 
 EIDOGEAPH. 
 
 ELBERFELD. 
 
 793 
 
 and neglect of those charged with it, and the 
 uncertainty of arrival to meet the engage- 
 ments or the wants of the trader." 
 
 The exports and imports at Alexandria in 
 1849 amounted to, 
 
 Exports 1,661,000 
 
 Imports 1,474,000 
 
 The export of cotton in that year was 183,878 
 bales, valued at 515,000/. The corn ex- 
 ported was of the value of 460,000/. of which 
 Great Britain took 325,0007. worth. The 
 total exports to Great Britain were 808,000/. ; 
 and the imports thence were 607,000/. There 
 were 3200 ships sailed and arrived during the 
 year, of which 708 were English. The chief 
 articles of export, besides corn and cotton, 
 consist of gums, incense, ivory, senna, coffee, 
 tamarinds, rice,flax, flax-seed, sesame, mother- 
 of-pearl, tobacco. Those of import consist 
 of cotton, woollen, hardware, silk and glass 
 manufactures, machinery, drugs, spices, sugar, 
 oil, candles, soap, tar, timber, wines, cordage, 
 &c. 
 
 The trade formerly carried on through 
 Egypt from the Red Sea is now quite incon- 
 siderable. The imposition of heavy transit 
 duties, and the monopoly of certain articles 
 by the government, have given a new direc- 
 tion to it, and created markets elsewhere. 
 
 EIDOGRAPH, is an instrument invented 
 in the year 1821, by the late Prof ess or Wallace 
 of Edinburgh. It is a species of pantograph, 
 and, like the latter, it is used for the purpose 
 of copying plans or other drawings on the 
 same or on different scales. 
 
 EIDER DOWN. This beautiful substance 
 is obtained from one species of the duck, 
 called the eider duck, found extensively in the 
 icy seas of the north. There are two kinds of 
 eider down, the live and the dead. The live down 
 consists of the exquisitely light feathers which 
 the duck strips off from herself to keep her 
 progeny warm in the eggs. Its lightness and 
 elasticity are such that two or three pounds of 
 it, squeezed into a ball which may be held in 
 the hand, will swell out to such an extent as 
 to fill a case large enough for the foot-covering 
 of a bed. The quantity of down afforded by 
 one duck during the whole period of laying is 
 about a pound. The down-gatherers are 
 obliged to be cautious not to carry their some- 
 what cruel robbery too far, or the ducks will 
 not again return to the same spot. Any dis- 
 trict in which the eider duck is willing to 
 locate itself is regarded as a valuable property 
 in Norway and Iceland, and the landowners 
 do their best to enconrage the location. The 
 dead down is that which is taken from the 
 dead duck ; it is inferior to the live down. 
 
 ELASTICITY. When the form of a body 
 
 is affected by the pressure of another extra- 
 neous to it, the reacting force by which it sus- 
 tains or tends to remove that pressure is its 
 elasticity. Amongst bodies whose elasticity 
 is very apparent, we may enumerate glass, 
 ivory, caoutchouc, gutta percha, sponges, and 
 fibrous substances, as beams, muscles, and 
 artificial webs, some gums, steel, and all the 
 gases and vapours. In gases and vapours its 
 effects may be produced to any extent, but 
 they are limited in solids by their softness and 
 faculty of fusion, as in wax, lead, &c. ; by 
 their absorption of moisture, as in clay, 
 feathers, catgut, straw ; or by their friability, 
 as in glass, dry resins, and copper or iron 
 which have been exposed to a stream of am- 
 moniacal gas. 
 
 The elastic force of steam is found to in- 
 crease nearly in a geometrical progression 
 when the temperature is increased in an arith- 
 metical progression ; from which property 
 steam has now become a great mechanical 
 agent. 
 
 ELATERIN, a vegetable principle extracted 
 from the wild cucumber ( Momordica elaterium ) . 
 Elaterin has a bitter and somewhat styptic 
 taste. It is insoluble in water, and in diluted 
 and alkaline solutions. It melts at a few 
 degrees above 212, and at a higher tempera- 
 ture it is volatilised in very acrid white vapours. 
 It is a powerful medicinal agent. 
 
 ELBERFELD is a large manufacturing 
 town in Rhenish Prussia. The waters of the 
 Wupper river are said to possess most valuable 
 bleaching properties, and to this circumstance 
 Elberfeld is indebted for its origin and pros- 
 perity. The town is the seat of an extensive 
 cotton and silk manufacture, but is more im- 
 portant still for its dyeing, printing, and 
 bleaching establishments. The cotton printers 
 and silk-dyers consume a large quantity of 
 piece-goods that are woven by hand in the 
 surrounding districts; their patterns, which 
 are very superior, are designed on the pre- 
 mises of the large printers, who keep French 
 artists at high salaries in their employ. 
 Merinos and fancy woollen goods are also 
 manufactured here. The town has about 70 
 dyeing establishments, 10 bleaching-grounds, 
 6 cotton-spinning factories, 1 large woollen 
 mill, with machine-makers, and colour-works ; 
 it has also block-pattern cutting, printing, en- 
 graving, and lithographic printing establish- 
 ments. Tapes and ribands are an important 
 article of manufacture, with which this town 
 and Barmen (which touches Elberfeld on the 
 north extremity) supply all Germany. The 
 colour called Turkey red is produced in Elber- 
 feld more cheaply and of better hue than in 
 any other place of Europe* 
 
OF ALL M/fflONS. 
 
 No. 20. 
 
793 
 
 ELBEUF. 
 
 Elberfeld will supply a notable part of the 
 Prussian contribution to the Industrial Ex- 
 hibition. 
 
 ELBEUF, a large manufacturing town in 
 France, has had many extensive factories 
 built within the last few years. It has a conseil 
 des prud'liommes, or council of experienced 
 men, for the settlement of questions between 
 manufacturers and their workmen. The fac- 
 tories of the town and neighbourhood, which 
 exceed 200 in number, and are mostly worked 
 by steam power, produce a great quantity of 
 woollen cloths ; the descriptions are various, 
 and include double-milled and waterproof 
 cloths, zephyrs, and fancy cloths of all colours. 
 From 60,000 to 70,000 pieces of 60 yards each, 
 at from lU to 20 francs a yard, are produced 
 annually. The cloth is purchased of the ma- 
 nufacturers by large commission houses, of 
 which there are about 70 in the town, and by 
 them it is sent to various parts of France. 
 This town is also celebrated for the manufac- 
 ture of billiard-table cloth and flannel. It 
 contains several dye-houses, fulling-mills, and 
 large wool-stores, besides establishments for 
 washing wool, which lie along the Seine and 
 the Puchot, a small winding stream that tra- 
 verses the town. 
 
 ELECTRIC LIGHT. Among the nume- 
 rous practical applications of electric power, 
 not the least curious is that of maintaining a 
 steady light for public streets. The scheme 
 has not yet assumed a fully satisfactory posi- 
 tion ; but it is not improbable that it may do 
 so ere long. 
 
 In 1846 Messrs. Greener and Staite patented 
 the electric light, as a means of illuminating 
 public thoroughfares and buildings. The 
 plan described by tbe patentees involves the 
 use of small lumps of pure carbon, enclosed 
 in air-tight vessels, and rendered luminous 
 by currents of galvanic electricity ; pieces of 
 platinum are also mentioned as being fitting 
 substitutes for the carbon. The idea was not 
 new ; but the patentees claimed to have placed 
 it in a more practical form than it had before 
 assumed. During the year 1847 Mr. Staite 
 exhibited his electric light in many parts 
 of the country ; and in a lecture on the sub- 
 ject at Newcastle, he gave the following sta- 
 tistical estimate of its capabilities : ' With a 
 battery consisting of 40 small cells in series, 
 the light was equal to 380 tallow candles, 300 
 wax candles, or 64 cubic feet of gas : this being 
 effected by the consumption of little more 
 than | of a Ib. of zinc per hour. The relative 
 cost was by the electric light Id., gas Qd. or 8rf., 
 tallow candles 7s. 6d., and wax candles 12s. 6d. 
 per hour.' We may remark however that this 
 mode of comDarison is open to many fallacies. 
 
 ELECTRO-METALLURGY. 794 
 
 In 1848 the electric light was exhibited 
 very frequently in different parts of London. 
 The general arrangement is as follows : Two 
 small cylinders of carbon are placed with their 
 ends nearly in contact, being distant apart 
 some fraction of an inch, which is made to 
 depend for its amount on the size and pur- 
 pose of the apparatus. A train of wheels is 
 attached to the machine to keep these carbon- 
 points always at the same distance apart 
 during their slow combustion. There are 
 also the galvanic apparatus and the wires ; 
 and the principle of action depends on the 
 fact that the galvanic circuit is not completed 
 unless the fluid can traverse the small dis- 
 tance from one piece of carbon to the other : 
 the resistance which the carbon offers to the 
 transit occasions the evolution of a most in- 
 tense light. The mechanism by which the 
 points are kept at such a distance as to give 
 continuous instead of an intermitting light, is 
 very ingenious, and such as had not previously 
 been applied. 
 
 In the same year an electric light of some- 
 what similar character, but differing in many 
 working details, was introduced at Paris, and 
 was afterwards exhibited also in London, by 
 MM. Achereau and Fourcault. During 1849, in 
 a lecture by Mr. Grove at the Royal Institu- 
 tion, and at the meeting of the British Asso- 
 ciation in Birmingham, as well as in scientific 
 and practical papers in the public journals, 
 the merits and demerits of the electric light 
 were discussed at considerable length. 
 
 In Mr. Allman's electric light, brought 
 under public notice in 1850, the mechanism 
 differs from that of the older form in main- 
 taining the carbon points always at a proper dis- 
 tance apart. When more of the electric fluid is 
 passing than is necessary to maintain the re- 
 quired intensity of light, the mechanism so 
 adjusts itself as to bring the carbon points 
 farther apart ; whereas, when the electric fol ce 
 is below its proper limit, the points approach 
 more closely. The apparatus possesses there- 
 fore something of the self-governing or self- 
 adjusting power which is so admirably exem- 
 plified in modern steam-engines. There are 
 many circumstances which seem to indicate 
 that we are not far removed from the period 
 when light produced by electric agency will 
 be rendered practically available in manufac- 
 tures and the arts of life. 
 
 ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. The marvels 
 of this admirable contrivance will be better 
 appreciated if viewed in connection with tele- 
 graphic agency in general. [TELEGRAPH.] 
 
 ELECTRO-METALLURGY. In this beau- 
 tiful modern department of manufacture, 
 articles in gold, silver, and other metals are 
 
 u 
 
795 ELECTRO-METALLURGY. 
 
 made chiefly by galvanic agency. When a 
 galvanic current is passing through a solution 
 of metallic salt, it separates the metal from 
 the other chemical elements, and precipitates 
 it in a fine layer, which solidifies into a film 
 or sheet. When an ornament of white metal 
 is to be coated with silver by this means, the 
 metal foundation, properly prepared, is dipped 
 into a chemical solution of silver, and a gal- 
 vanic current is passed through it. The result 
 of this action is, that the solution is decom- 
 posed, and a fine film of metallic silver be- 
 comes deposited on the surface of the article 
 suspended in the liquid ; the thickness of the 
 deposited layer being determined conjointly 
 by the duration of the immersion, the strength 
 of the solution, and the strength of the cur- 
 rent. In the progress of the operation the 
 solution becomes exhausted of its silver ; and, 
 to keep up the supply, plates of pure silver 
 are suspended in it; the silver dissolves in 
 the liquid as rapidly as the deposition on the 
 articles takes place, atom for atom. If the 
 article whether a piece of table-plate, a 
 button, or a trinket, is to be coated with gold 
 instead of silver, a process generally similar 
 to the above is followed ; the nature of the 
 solution being the chief point of difference. 
 
 Articles of solid metal are sometimes wholly 
 made in a similar way. A wax model, exactly 
 representing the article to be made, after 
 being properly prepared, is suspended in a 
 tank containing a chemical solution of copper. 
 Galvanic agency is then resorted to, to de- 
 posit a layer of copper on the surface of the 
 model, and this layer is made of such a 
 thickness that when the waxen model is 
 melted from within it, the copper may be able 
 to retain its shape unsupported. The inside 
 of the copper shell represents a mould of the 
 outside of the article to be manufactured. The 
 exterior of the copper is protected by a resist- 
 ing composition, and it is then suspended in 
 a tank containg a solution of silver (or gold, 
 as the case may be) ; the galvanic current 
 causes the deposition of the gold or silver 
 on the inside of the copper mould, deposition 
 on the outside being prevented by the resisting 
 composition. When a sufficient thickness of 
 the precious metal is thus obtained, the copper 
 mould is exposed to the action of an acid 
 which gradually eats it away without injuring 
 the gold or silver beneath. The article then 
 consists solely of pure gold or silver, wholly 
 deposited by galvanic action. The atoms of 
 metal cohere so well together, that the article 
 has a sonorous vibration when struck, and is 
 capable of being hammered, burnished, &c. 
 
 Mr. Dent has coated the balance springs of 
 chronometers with gold, by the electro -metal- 
 
 ELECTRO-METALLURGY. 796 
 
 lurgic process, to protect them from damp. 
 Professor Christie has proposed the same 
 treatment for magnetic needles. Medallions 
 are sometimes coated with copper as a means 
 of preservation or of beautifying. The me- 
 dallion is first coated with black-lead, and then 
 exposed to a solution of copper (in the state 
 of sulphate or some other saltj, the metal of 
 which is precipitated on the medallion by a 
 galvanic current. Fruit, small twigs, leaves, 
 seeds, and other vegetable specimens, may 
 be similarly coated with copper; either for 
 ornament or for the purpose of illustrating 
 the size and form of the object. Insects too, 
 such as butterflies, may be thus coated with ft 
 metallic film ; and it is a striking proof of the 
 equability with which the particles of metal 
 arrange themselves, that the exquisite frame- 
 work of the insect's wings is exhibited almost 
 as distinctly as in the natural state. Orna- 
 mental baskets, whether made of wicker or of 
 wire, are coated in a similar manner. So like- 
 wise are lace and other articles made of woven 
 fibres. 
 
 Patents have been taken out for smelting 
 metallic ores by electricity; and the most 
 sanguine expectations have been entertained 
 as to the results. There can be no doubt 
 that, scientifically speaking, the method is prac- 
 ticable ; but it has not yet reached the com 
 mercial stage of being profitably applicable. 
 
 Soon after the first application of electro- 
 metallurgy to the manufacturing arts, Mr. 
 Alexander Jones took out a patent for a 
 mode of making copper tubes and vessels by 
 this means. Moulds are made of some one 
 among many different substances applicable 
 to the purpose, and coated with anon-conduct- 
 ing material. The mould is placed in a solu- 
 tion of nitrate or sulphate of copper, and 
 surrounded with a cylinder of sheet copper, 
 or of copper turnings enclosed in a wicker 
 basket. The mould is next connected by a 
 wire with the positive end of a galvanic 
 batterj', and the surrounding copper with the 
 opposite end ; and the apparatus is allowed to 
 remain in this state for four or five days. 
 During this period the electric action has 
 been going on, and copper has become de- 
 posited upon or within the mould, according 
 to the shape of the article to be made. The 
 mould or core is lastly removed, in a way* 
 which must depend partly on the substance 
 of which it is made, and the form of the 
 article. 
 
 One of the grandest applications of elec- 
 tricity to the arts is that exhibited in the 
 cathedral of St. Isaac, at St. Petersburg, 
 where the sculptures and ornamental details 
 have been formed by electro-metallurgy. The 
 
707 ELECTRO-MOTIVE POWEE. 
 
 architect was led to the adoption of this plan 
 not only because these electrotypes would be 
 cheaper than bronze castings but for reasons 
 of a more artistic character; the sculptures 
 can be copied from the models without chisel- 
 ling ; the lightness of the material enables 
 the sculptor to give bolder relief to his orna- 
 mental designs, and to suspend pieces from 
 the vaultings which would be too ponderous 
 if cast in bronze. There are seven enormous 
 doors to the cathedral, three of which are 30 
 feet high by 44 wide ; they are of bronze, and 
 all the adornments are formed by electro- 
 metallurgy; they contain 51 bas-reliefs, 63 
 statues, and 84 alto-relievo busts. All the 
 gilding on the metallic portions of the building 
 have been effected by the same process. 
 
 Electro-metallurgy has arrived at a high state 
 of excellence in England. The establishment 
 of Messrs. Elkington produces works of great 
 beauty ; and we may look forward to the ex- 
 hibition of some splendid productions at the 
 forthcoming Industrial Display. 
 
 ELECTRO-MOTIVE POWEK. Can elec- 
 tricity move machinery ? This is a question 
 that is now occupying the attention of scientific 
 and practical men. The powerful force pos- 
 sessed by an electro-magnet is a store which 
 may one day be made available for moving 
 machinery. 
 
 In 1833 Mr. Sturgeon exhibited a small 
 magnetic contrivance for moving machinery ; 
 it was capable of pumping water, sawing wood, 
 and drawing weights along the floor; it was a 
 mere toy, but it shewed the operation of the 
 principle. Since that time every year has wit- 
 nessed the bringing forward of new plans for 
 electro-motive agency. Dr. M'Connell of 
 Pennsylvania made in 1837 a small machine 
 which caused a driving wheel to rotate 70 times 
 in a minute, carrying a load of 40 Ibs. through 
 a space of 300 feet per minute. In 1842 a 
 locomotive carriage was driven on the Edin- 
 burgh and Glasgow Kailway, at the rate of 
 four miles an hour, by an electro-motive ap- 
 paratus invented by Mr. Davidson. Shortly 
 before this, Professor Jacobi of St. Petersburg 
 navigated a small vessel on the Neva by elec- 
 tric agency; the vessel was 28 feet long, 7% 
 broad, drew 3 feet of water, and carried 14 
 persons : it was impelled at a rate of three 
 miles an hour by a battery contained within 
 the boat. 
 
 Many inventors have thought that, as a 
 ' feed of coke ' now supersedes a ' feed of corn ' 
 in long journeys on land, a ' feed of zinc and 
 water' will perhaps ere long supersede a feed 
 of coke. But the system has yet many ordeals 
 to go through before its true applicability can 
 become established. 
 
 ELECTRO-MOTIVE POWER. 798 
 
 In the early part of the year 1849 M. Hjorth, 
 a Dane, succeeded in bringing the electro-mo- 
 tive engine to a greater stage of completeness 
 than it had before exhibited. He had at that 
 time an engine in course of construction in 
 London, which he supposed would possess a 
 10-horse power ; one of the electro-magnets 
 was shewn to be able to support a weight of 
 5000 Ibs. ; and even at a distance of one-eighth 
 of an inch its attractive force was equal to 1500 
 Ibs. 
 
 Professor Locke, of the United States, has 
 invented a form of instrument which he calls 
 the chronograph, and which was ordered to be 
 placed by the Government in the National 
 Observatory at Washington, in 1849. It is 
 employed to print instead of merely record the 
 dates of astronomical events, on the running 
 paper-fillet of Morse's Telegraph Register. 
 An Astronomical Clock of delicate construction 
 has an apparatus attached to the arbor of the 
 seconds' hand, so as to make and break the 
 galvanic circuit every second. By putting it 
 in connexion with Morse's Telegraph line at 
 any spot, the paper becomes graduated auto- 
 matically with the hours, minutes, and se - 
 conds ; the paper thus graduated is called the 
 automatic clock register. Each second of time 
 is represented on the paper by a line nearly 
 one inch in length. If an astronomer wish to 
 mark the transit of any heavenly body across 
 the meridian, or any similar astronomical 
 phenomenon, he touches a key at that instant, 
 which breaks the galvanic circuit and makes 
 a particular mark (or rather a particular va- 
 cancy) at a certain graduated spot on the 
 paper. There is thus produced a permanent 
 record of the event, which requires no writing 
 down to make it significant. 
 
 In Shepherd's Magnetic Striking Clock, pa- 
 tented in 1849, the vibrations of the pendulum 
 are caused by the repeated impulses of a- fine 
 spring, the attraction of the electro-magnet 
 being solely employed to relieve the pendulum 
 from the action of the spring during the re- 
 turn of vibration. Thus a variation in the 
 power of the battery does not affect the going 
 of the clock. The hands are moved by sepa- 
 rate electro-magnets, the circuit of the wires 
 being completed and broken by the pendulum 
 as it swings. The number to be struck is re- 
 gulated by a locking plate, divided as usual, 
 the hammer being moved by the direct action 
 of an electro-magnet. 
 
 A new interest is now given to the subject 
 of the Electric clock, by the adoption of this 
 remarkable contrivance at the Crystal Palace 
 in Hyde Park. The apparatus is entrusted to 
 the inventive care of Mr. Shepherd; while 
 Mr. Owen Jones has planned the decorative 
 
799 
 
 ELECTROTYPE. 
 
 ELECTROTYPE. 
 
 800 
 
 arrangements. There will be three dials, in 
 the middle of the east, west, and south front 
 respectively, all worked hy an electro-magnetic 
 apparatus. The south dial is a remarkable 
 one ; it is a semicircle, instead of a circle 
 with hours marked from 6 in the morning to 
 in the evening. There will be two hands, a 
 minute hand, 16 feet in length, and an hour 
 hand somewhat shorter; each hand will be 
 double pointed, or have the pivot in the middle 
 of its length ; and that half which happens to 
 be at any time abovo the horizontal line wil] 
 mark the hour on the semicircular dial. The 
 hour figures tend to decorate the south tran- 
 sept end of the building. 
 
 An Electric Gun was exhibited in London 
 in 1845, and described in the public journals 
 at the time. It was invented by Mr. Benning- 
 fi eld ; but as he had not secured his invention 
 by a patent, the mechanism was not made 
 known ; but it was understood that the motive 
 power was derived from a galvanic battery. 
 The gun was capable of discharging balls five- 
 eighths of an inch in diameter ; and 1000 of 
 these could be propelled in a minute. The 
 barrel was supplied with shot from two cham 
 hers ; and these chambers, as well as the gun 
 and the electro-motive apparatus, were placed 
 upon a single-horse carriage. 
 
 ELECTROTYPE. Besides the larger works 
 produced by Electro- metallurgy, many exqui- 
 site copies of delicate works of art are pro- 
 duced by a modification of the same process, 
 called Electrotype. 
 
 Let the object to be copied be a small bas- 
 relief of about six inches by four, executed in 
 a material such as marble, ivory, or plaster of 
 Paris. A wax mould is made from the bas 
 relief ; and this wax is made a conductor of 
 electricity by being brushed over with pow 
 dered plumbago. The mould and a plate of 
 copper are placed parallel, in a convenient 
 vessel containing a solution of sulphate of 
 copper. The copper plate must have a wire 
 soldered to its upper edge, for the purpose of 
 connecting it with that of the battery ; and the 
 wax mould must be similarly connected with 
 the zinc element of the battery. The mould 
 and the copper plate being thus placed in the 
 metal and connected by wires with the battery 
 and the solution being poured in, the whole 
 is left undisturbed from 24 to 30 hours ; at 
 the end of which time, the mould, being de- 
 tached from the battery and withdrawn, will 
 be found covered over with pure bright metal- 
 lic copper, rough on the outer surface ; but 
 when separated from the wax by gently heat- 
 ing, it will, if the operation has been success- 
 ful, present a perfect copy of the bas-relief, 
 every line of which, to the most delicate mark- 
 
 ings, will be found transferred to the metal 
 with more precision and delicacy than could 
 have been produced by a cast made with the 
 copper in a state of fusion. Perhaps few facts 
 connected with the laws of aggregation of homo- 
 geneous matter are more striking than this, and 
 few facts indirectly afford a more remarkable 
 instance of the chemical divisibility of matter. 
 
 The copying of coins, medals, seals, and 
 plaster casts, is extensively practised by the 
 process above described. The production of 
 copper busts, made entirely by deposition from 
 solution, is also an example of the application 
 of this process. Stiglmayer, the sculptor, de- 
 vised a mode of coating colossal plaster statues 
 with copper by the electro-process in the short 
 space of two or three hours. Daguerreotype 
 pictures are capable of being copied in electro- 
 type, by a kind of etching by galvanism ; and 
 Mr. Smee has suggested the employment of 
 a plan somewhat similar for etching in general. 
 
 The terms Electrotint and Glyphoyraphy 
 have been applied to two methods of etching 
 by electricity, in which the device is produced 
 in rather a peculiar way. The methods are 
 adapted, one for plate-printing, in which the 
 design is in intaglio : and the other for sur- 
 face printing, as in common typography. Both 
 have been partially brought into use, but not 
 to any considerable extent. 
 
 A most curious instance of the extensive 
 applicability of the art of electrotyping, is the 
 fact of calico having been printed by means 
 of it, . The linen, steeped in proper liquids, is 
 made to pass between rollers, one of which 
 lias patterns formed in it of different metals 
 inserted into its substance, and connected with 
 the zinc of a battery : the other roller is a 
 simple metallic conductor: the current between 
 these surfaces produces different colours by 
 the difference in their action on the common 
 fluid, and thus the pattern is imparted to the 
 calico. 
 
 The electrotype process has been recom- 
 mended not only for copying engravings, but 
 for making the copper-plate itself on which ;:ii 
 engraving is to he executed. The copper- 
 plates prepared for engravers generally con- 
 tain a small portion of other metals, which 
 render both the engraving and the etching 
 somewhat uncertain. By the substitution, 
 herefore, of plates produced by electro-depo- 
 sition, in which the copper is quite unconta- 
 minated with other metals, an advantage is 
 anticipated. To produce these plates, a cop- 
 ier plate is prepared in the usual way and 
 suspended in a copper solution, by which a 
 film of any desired thickness maybe produced; 
 ,nd by a previous adjustment of the plate, tho 
 lew portion may be separated from the old in 
 
801 
 
 ELEMI. 
 
 ELSINOKE. 
 
 802 
 
 the form of a distinct plate, susceptible of 
 after-preparation for the engraver. Or, the 
 copper-plate, instead of being made by depo- 
 sition upon another plate of the same material, 
 may be produced on a flat surface of wax or 
 plaster properly prepared. 
 
 ELEMI, is a resin obtained from the Amyris 
 zeylanica, Eleagnus Hortensis, and other trees, 
 in the East Indies and elsewhere. It occurs 
 in irregular- shaped small pieces, which run 
 into masses, of a yellowish colour and agree- 
 able odour. Elemi is recommended as an 
 ointment, but is chiefly used to form pastiles, 
 or to burn as incense. 
 
 ELGIN MARBLES. Among the choicest 
 treasures of the British Museum are the El- 
 gin Marbles, a collection of ancient sculptures, 
 chiefly from the Acropolis of Athens, whence 
 they were obtained by the Earl of Elgin (who 
 had been the English ambassador to Turkey) 
 between the years 1801 and 1812. This col- 
 lection was purchased in pursuance of an act 
 of the legistature, dated July 1st, 1816, for the 
 sum of 35,000/., and is now deposited hi the 
 British Museum, in a room built for its recep- 
 tion. 
 
 The Parthenon, or Temple of Minerva, at 
 Athens, whence the more important of these 
 sculptures were obtained, was built during 
 the administration of Pericles, about the year 
 B.C. 448. It was constructed entirely of white 
 marble from Mount Pentelicus ; Callicrates 
 and Ictinus were the architects : and the 
 sculptures were produced partly by the hand 
 and partly under the direction of Phidias. 
 Two models of the Parthenon have been pla- 
 ced in the Elgin Saloon at the British Museum, 
 one of which represents the building in its 
 ruined state, and the other restored to its per- 
 fect state, with the sculptures occupying their 
 proper places. 
 
 The sculptures of the Parthenon in the El- 
 gin collection contain the Metopes, most of 
 which represent the combats of the Centaurs 
 and Lapithee ; a portion of the Frieze of the 
 cella, which represents the Panathenaic pro- 
 cession ; and the Statues, or parts of them, 
 from the tympana of the pediments. 
 
 The possession of the Elgin collection has 
 established a national school of sculpture in 
 our country, founded on the noblest models 
 which human art has ever produced. A tri- 
 bute of thanks is due to the nobleman to 
 whose exertions the nation is indebted for it. 
 If Lord Elgin had not removed them the 
 greater part would long since have been totally 
 destroyed. In the last siege of Athens the 
 Parthenon suffered additional damage. 
 
 ELLIPTIC COMPASSES, the name given 
 to any machine for describing an ellipse. A 
 
 simple method of forming the curve is to fas- 
 ten a pin in the paper at each of the two foci, 
 and to attach to the pins the opposite ends of 
 a thread whose length is equal to the major 
 axis of the ellipse. Then, if a pencil move in 
 such a way as to keep the thread always 
 stretched, it will describe an ellipse. 
 
 The ordinary machine consists of two bars 
 of metal at right angles to one another, in 
 each of which is a groove : two pins in a ruler, 
 of which one extremity carries a pencil, are 
 made to travel in the grooves, when the mo- 
 tion of the ruler causes the pencil to describe 
 an Ellipse. The distances of the pencil from 
 the two pins are made equal to the semi-axes 
 of the curve. 
 
 ELM. The elm-tree frequently grows to 
 a very large size ; and the timber thus yielded 
 has a scantling sufficient to adapt it for use 
 in the keels of ships. The wood of the elm 
 is of a brownish colour, hard, and fine-grained. 
 Besides the keel, it is used for blocks, dead- 
 eyes, and other parts of a ship's fittings. It 
 is frequently used for the naves of wheels ; 
 and in London for coffins. It is used for the 
 brine pipes or tubes in salt works. Many spe- 
 cimens of elm are so beautifully grained and 
 knotted, that this wood is largely used in the 
 form of polished veneers. 
 
 As fuel and as charcoal the elm is not quite 
 equal to the beech. The ashes are rich in 
 alkali. The leaves and young shoots are em- 
 ployed in France as food for cattle, and they 
 are boiled as food for pigs. In some parts of 
 Russia the leaves are used as tea. The outer 
 bark is sometimes prepared into an astringent 
 medicine ; the inner bark is made into nets 
 and cordage ; and both are made to yield a 
 substance which serves as glue. In Norway 
 the bark is kiln-dried and ground with corn as 
 a material for bread. 
 
 Most of the above details refer to the com- 
 mon or English elm. The mountain or Scotch 
 elm is likewise useful to the ship and boat 
 builder, the pump and block maker, the cart- 
 wright, the coachmaker, the cabinet-maker, 
 and other manufacturers. Floor-timbers of 
 ships ; naves, poles, and shafts of carriages ; 
 swingle trees for gun-carriages ; dyers' and 
 printers' rollers all are frequently made of 
 Scotch elm. 
 
 ELSINORE, a seaport town in the Danish 
 island of Seeland, at the narrowest part of the 
 Sound, is remarkable for being so placed that 
 all ships entering the Baltic must pass it. 
 Ships passing the Sound pay duties to the 
 Danish government at Elsinore. The number 
 of vessels which passed che Sound during the 
 first nine months of 1847 was 17,404, which 
 was an increase of 2,843 over the same period 
 
803 
 
 ELUTRIATION. 
 
 EMBROIDERY. 
 
 804 
 
 of 1846 ; of this number 9,100 canie from the 
 North Sea, and 8,304 from the Baltic. 
 
 ELUTRIATION, the process of separating 
 suhstances reduced to powder, when of diffe- 
 rent specific gravities, hy means of water. It 
 is also employed as a method of reducing any 
 one substance to a fine powder. 
 
 EMBANKMENT. It is often necessary 
 to raise mounds or dykes along the course of 
 rivers to keep them within their channels, 
 and prevent their flooding the lands which lie 
 near them. Many parts of Holland could not 
 tie inhabited if the sea were not kept out by 
 strong embankments : and the destruction of 
 a dyke frequently desolates great tracts of 
 country. 
 
 The first thing attended to in forming em- 
 bankments is to enable them to resist the 
 pressure of the highest floods which are likely 
 to occur, and to prevent the effect of the 
 waves and currents in washing them away. 
 When it is the mere pressure of a column 
 of water which is to be withstood, a simple 
 earthen bank made of the soil immediately at 
 hand, provided it be not of a porous nature, is 
 sufficient. Its form should be a very broad 
 base with sloping sides, and with a flat top, 
 which may serve as a path or even a carriage 
 road. "When the dykes are only intended to 
 check the waters at the time when they flow 
 over their natural banks, it is best to raise 
 them at some distance from the river on each 
 side, and parallel to its course ; because, in 
 sudden floods, the water, having a greater 
 space to flow through, will not rise so high, 
 and will sooner recede. 
 
 Where embankments are made against the 
 sea, greater skill is required to resist the force 
 of the waves. If there are materials at hand 
 to lay a bank of stones imbedded in clay, with 
 a broad base, and the sides sloping very gra- 
 dually upwards, a very safe bander may be 
 opposed to the waters. It is not the direct 
 impulse which is the most destructive ; waves 
 striking against a sloping surface lose their 
 force and rise over it; but it is in returning 
 that they draw the materials with them, and 
 scoop out the foundations. In a place where 
 shingles were usually thrown up by the waves, 
 and the bottom was a strong clay, their re- 
 treat has been intercepted by rows of strong 
 piles driven in a line along and parallel to the 
 shore, and covered with boards nailed to them 
 on the land side; in one night the shingles 
 have been thrown over the piles ; and being 
 retained by the boarding, have formed a per- 
 fect wall. In other cases several rows of piles 
 are driven in, and stones thrown into the 
 spaces between them. 
 
 Where the land lies very flat for a conside- 
 
 rable distance from the shore, it is of advan- 
 tage to have two complete banks, one within 
 the other ; so that if the outer bank is broken 
 through, the second will keep back the waters 
 until the first can be repaired. The water 
 which accumulates within the banks, and is 
 collected in the internal ditch and those which 
 divide the marshes, must be let off occasionally 
 by means of channels and sluices at the time 
 when the tide is out, and the water outside 
 the bank is lower than that which is within 
 it. 
 
 EMBOSSING is the art of producing raised 
 figures upon wood or other materials, by means 
 of pressure, either applied by a sudden blow, 
 as in a stamping press, or in a more gradual 
 manner, as by an ordinary screw or hydraulic 
 press, or by revolving cylinders. The pattern 
 is usually produced by forcing the face of the 
 material against an engraved die in which the 
 design is cut ; and sometimes, when the 
 article to be embossed is in the form of a thin 
 sheet, a counterpart to the die is applied at 
 the back to aid the process. In many cases 
 heat is employed during the operation with 
 great effect. 
 
 Mr. Straker has proposed a method of em- 
 bossing, by pressing a device forcibly on a sur- 
 face of wood, planing down the rest of the 
 surface, and bringing up again into relief the 
 pressed portion, by exposing it to the action 
 of water. Leather is capable of being em- 
 bossed in a beautiful manner, by being pressed 
 into metallic moulds while in a very moist, 
 soft, and pliable state. 
 
 At the Mediaeval Exhibition in 1850, many 
 beautiful specimens of this art were exhibited, 
 in metal, in leather, and in other materials. 
 
 EMBKOIDERY, is a mode of working de- 
 vices on woven substances. In some exam- 
 ples of this kind a rich effect is produced by 
 inserting slips of parchment cut to suit the 
 devices, between the fabric upon which the 
 embroidery is executed and the threads of silk 
 or other material of which the pattern is 
 formed, so that the embroidery may be raised 
 considerably above the surface. Gold and 
 silver thread are often used in embroidery 
 with good effect, and spangles or tinsel are 
 occasionally mixed with the needlework. The 
 fabric to be embroidered is usually stretched 
 in a kind of frame or loom, and the pattern is 
 drawn either upon its surface, or upon a piece 
 of paper applied underneath it. 
 
 Although embroidery has, until within a few 
 years, been a purely handicraft employment, 
 it has latterly assumed the character of a ma- 
 nufacture, a most ingenious machine for exe- 
 cuting it having been invented by M. Heil- 
 mann of Miihlhausen, and brought into use 
 
805 
 
 EMBEOIDEKY. 
 
 EMULSION. 
 
 806 
 
 in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Eng- 
 land. Attended by one grown person and two 
 children, each machine does as much work as 
 fifteen embroiderers. The machine is figured 
 and minutely described in Ure's ' Dictionary 
 of Arts.' The embroidery of the middle ages 
 is noticed under TAPESTEY, 
 
 Embroidery has its periods of success and 
 decline, like other arts. At present there is a 
 disposition towards its revival ; and it is pleas- 
 ing to find that Ireland is doing her share to 
 wards bringing about this result. At the 
 Dublin Exhibition of Manufactures in 1850, 
 many exquisite specimens of Irish Embroidery 
 were displayed, mostly contributed by Messrs. 
 McGee of Belfast. They were principally 
 waistcoatings or vestings, of velvet, satin, and 
 other rich materials, embroidered with gold, 
 silver, silk, &c.,in a variety of tasteful designs. 
 Many of the designs or patterns were made by 
 pupils of the Belfast School of Design, and 
 all the embroidery was done by young females 
 at Belfast. Arrangements are being made to 
 teach this beautiful art to poor and industrious 
 females in Dublin. 
 
 What is now called Berlin Work, though 
 not exactly embroidery, may be briefly touched 
 on here. Miss Lambert, in her 'Handbook 
 of Needlework,' gives some interesting details 
 concerning the origin of Berlin work. The 
 kind of work itself is, of course, old enough ; 
 the only novelty consists in the care bestowed 
 on the production of patterns. About the year 
 1805 a Mr. Phillipson published some pat- 
 terns, which, being badly executed and devoid 
 of taste, did not meet with encouragement. 
 In 1810 Madame Wittich, a lady of great taste 
 and an accomplished needlewoman, justly ap- 
 preciating the advantages which the art would 
 derive from the production of superior pat- 
 terns, prevailed upon her husband, a print- 
 seller of note at Berlin, to undertake the pub- 
 lication of a series of designs. He did so ; 
 and the designs were got up in so superior a 
 manner, that many of the first patterns which 
 were issued from his establishment have had 
 a continued demand almost to the present 
 time. The designer and engraver of these 
 designs are paid as artists, in proportion to 
 their talents. The cost of the first coloured 
 design on point paper, (divided into small 
 squares) varies from three to thirty or forty 
 guineas ; but in some instances, such as the 
 large patterns of Bolton Abbey, Boccaccio's 
 Garden, &c., it is considerably more. The 
 colouring affords employment for men, women, 
 and children. A dozen or so of copies are 
 given to each person at a time, with the ori- 
 ginal design as a guide. The earnings are 
 from sixpence to three shillings a day, accord- 
 
 ing to the age and skill of the persons em- 
 ployed. 
 
 Berlin workers have had their work facili- 
 tated by an ingenious frame, registered by Mr. 
 Lisle in 1843. Erom a flat horizontal stand 
 rise two pillars, which support the frame 
 somewhat in the same way as a toilet looking- 
 glass is supported, so that the frame may be 
 placed and secured in any convenient position. 
 The canvass or otherwoven material is wound 
 on rollers, which turn easily on their axes ; all 
 the canvas is wound on one roller in the first 
 instance, and is unwound to the other roller 
 as fast as the work proceeds : the space be- 
 tween the two rollers being occupied by a 
 smooth well-stretched portion of the canvas. 
 The rollers are worked by small handles, and 
 there are crotchet wheels to prevent them from 
 slipping backwards. The side or selvage edges 
 of the canvas are kept stretched by two rods. 
 By this apparatus the Berlin worker or em- 
 broidress can work on a piece of canvas of al- 
 most any length. 
 
 Embroidery and needlework were imported 
 to the following amount in four recent years, 
 viz. 65,345*. in 1846, 82,889*. in 1847, 96,449*. 
 in 1848, and 104,699*. in 1849. 
 
 EMDEN, the principal seaport of Hanover, 
 has been a free port ever since the year 1751. 
 Ship-building is carried on to a considerable 
 extent ; the herring fishery, which is a source 
 of great profit, is carried on by four companies 
 who send out between fifty and sixty ships. 
 Emden has brandy distilleries, sawing and 
 oil crushing mills, manufactures of fustians, 
 cottons, stockings, sail-cloth, cordage, needles, 
 leather, soap, tobacco, &c. It has consi- 
 derable trade in linens, thread, grain, butter, 
 and cheese. 
 
 EMERALD. [BEKYL.] 
 
 EMEEY. The nature of emery is noticed 
 under CORUNDUM. Emery-paper consists 
 chiefly of powdered emery secured by glue or 
 some other cement to paper. In 1849 Mr. 
 Day took out a patent for a mode of making 
 emery paper or emery cloth which should re- 
 sist damp. He coats the paper or cloth on 
 one side with a composition formed of boiled 
 linseed oil, African copal, Venice turpentine, 
 Venetian red, Prussian blue, and litharge; 
 the pounded emery is sifted on this moistened 
 surface, and the other surface is afterwards 
 created in a similar way. 
 
 EMPYKEUMA, is the name given to the 
 peculiar smell and taste resulting from the 
 action of heat upon organic substances in close 
 vessels. Destructive distillation goes on so 
 as to produce an oil which has a strong em- 
 ryreumatic smell and taste. 
 
 EMULSION is a term applied to mixtures 
 
SOT ENAMELS AND ENAMELLING. 
 
 which generally have a milky appearance, and 
 which, in some cases, are partial solutions, in 
 others merely mechanical suspensions, of oily 
 or resinous substances : thus oil of almonds 
 may be for a time diffused through water by 
 trituration, but will ultimately separate and 
 float on the surface. Emulsions should be 
 used soon after being formed, as in a few 
 hours the constituent parts separate or become 
 acrid. 
 
 ENAMELS and ENAMELLING. There 
 exists evidence that the Egyptians practised 
 this beautiful art ; but this cannot be affirmed 
 of the Greeks. The Romans, however, have 
 bequeathed abundant evidence that they were 
 acquainted with the art, and practised it ex- 
 tensively, at least in the time of the Lower 
 Empire. 
 
 Enamels are vitrifiable substances, and may 
 be divided into two kinds, transparent and 
 opaque. The basis of all enamel is a white 
 transparent glass. The addition of some ot 
 those metallic oxides which merely impart 
 colour, as gold, silver, copper, cobalt, &c., con- 
 vert this into a transparent enamel; while 
 those of tin and antimony, which render it 
 opaque without imparting colour, form a white 
 opaque enamel. There is also a material, of 
 which the commercial name is glass enamel, 
 the opacity of which arises from the presence 
 of arsenic. This substance is very glassy, 
 brittle, easily scratched, readily fusible, and 
 very white : it is used for making the common 
 kinds of watch and clock dials, ornaments for 
 the mantel shelf, the toilet, &o. 
 
 Enamel is made in some of the English 
 glass houses, but the best is imported from 
 Italy. This is in the form of circular cakes, 
 measuring from about three to about seven 
 inches in diameter, and half or three quarters 
 of an inch in thickness. It is cream coloured, 
 heavy, less brittle than glass, is sufficiently 
 hard to scratch crown glass; its fracture is 
 conchoidal, and exhibits a resinous lustre, 
 and it fuses at a temperature a little below 
 that which melts gold. It is sold at from 12s. 
 to 20. per Ib. 
 
 Enamelling divides itself into two branches 
 transparent and opaque. The first is em- 
 ployed for the purpose of ornamenting gold 
 and silver snuff-boxes, watch cases, and various 
 articles of jewellery. Previously to the appli- 
 cation of the enamel, various patterns and 
 devices are bright-cut with the graver or the 
 rose-engine, when the cuts reflecting the rays 
 of light from their bright and numerous sur- 
 faces exhibit through the richly coloured 
 enamels with which they are encrusted a 
 Luautiful play of colours. Sometimes this 
 enamelled bijouterie is farther adorned with 
 
 ENAMELS AND ENAMELLING. 808 
 
 paintings in enamel executed on rich trans- 
 parent grounds. 
 
 Opaque enamelling is employed in the 
 manufacture of watch and clock dials and of 
 plates for pictures. For this purpose tho 
 enamel is first broken with a hammer into 
 small pieces, and then ground with a pestle 
 and mortar formed of agate. It is then spread 
 evenly on a plate of copper, which has been 
 prepared for its reception, and, being passed 
 through the furnace, the enamel is melted, 
 and adhering firmly to the metal, thus forms 
 an enamel plate. For the best kind of dials, 
 a second coat of enamel is laid over the first, 
 and for pictures a third is added. The figures 
 are painted on the dials in a vitrifiable colour, 
 when they are again subjected to the heat of 
 the furnace, which melting the colour and 
 softening the enamel at the same time, incor- 
 porates the two into one body, and thus per- 
 manently fixes the painting. Gold is fre- 
 quently used instead of copper for small enamel 
 pictures. When the enamel plate is prepared, 
 the artist proceeds to paint his picture in a 
 similar manner to that which is pursued by 
 the painter in oil or water colours ; a princi- 
 pal difference being, that instead of waiting 
 for the colours to dry before proceeding to lay 
 on another coat of colour, he has his work 
 passed through the fire, by which process the 
 colours are imperishably and immoveably fixed. 
 Paintings in enamel are usually subjected to 
 the furnace ten or twelve times, and in some 
 cases oftener. The colours are composed of 
 a colourless glass as a base, the colouring 
 matters being metallic oxides. Thus silica, 
 borax, and the red oxide of lead, form a base 
 or flux for some colours. The habitudes of 
 the various oxides, however, require that each 
 should be treated with reference to its pecu- 
 liar properties : for instance, the flux which, 
 employed with gold, is best adapted for the 
 production of a useful and beautiful colour, 
 
 wholly inefficient if used with cobalt. 
 
 In a lecture on Ancient and Modern Ena- 
 mels, delivered by Mr. Digby Wyatt to the 
 Society of Arts in 1848, attention was drawn 
 to six different kinds of enamel-work, which 
 marked six different periods from the time of 
 Justinian to modern dates. The Byzantine 
 process consisted in the formation of cavities 
 of gold filagree, filled with enamel. The 
 Early Limoges style, instead of having a frame- 
 work of filagree, had the enamel fixed into 
 cavities scooped from thick copper plate by 
 the graver. The Early Italian method con- 
 sisted in engraving silver after the manner of 
 medallic relief, and then floating over it with 
 variously-coloured transpai-ent pa.-d-'s. In the 
 Later Italian method, small gold or silver 
 
800 ENAMELS AND ENAMELLING. 
 
 objects were covered with glass powder mixed 
 with water in which the pips of pears had heer 
 steeped ; this held the paste in its place unti 
 vitrification took place, and was yet so deli 
 cate a cement as in no degree to interfere 
 with the purity of the enamel. The Later 
 Limoges style consisted in covering entirety 
 the surface of the metal with an opaque paste 
 and then painting with transparent colours 
 regaining the effect of a translucent ground 
 by applying silver leaf in particular situations 
 fastened with a glaze of colourless enamel 
 and then tinting over it. The sixth style is 
 the modern miniature painting on enamel. 
 
 The nature of the material and the expense 
 attendant upon attempts to produce large 
 works in enamel, have tended to restrict the 
 dimensions of enamel paintings. Until the 
 time of the late H. Bone, E. A., but few at- 
 tempts had been made to extend their size 
 beyond that adapted for trinkets. This artist, 
 with amazing perseverance and industry, over- 
 came innumerable difficulties, and exhibited 
 for a long series of years enamels of large di- 
 mensions. The largest works which have 
 been executed in enamel are, ' Bacchus and 
 Ariadne,' after Titian, by H. Bone, R. A. ; and 
 a ' Holy Family,' after Parmigiano, by Charles 
 Muss. The former measures 16 J inches by 
 18 ; and the latter 15| inches by 20$. George 
 Bowles, Esq., purchased the Bacchus and 
 Ariadne for 2200 guineas, and His Majesty 
 George IV. gave 1500 for the Holy Family. 
 This last now forms part of the collection in 
 Buckingham Palace. 
 
 The power of resisting decay renders enamel 
 a valuable medium for preserving for ages the 
 likenesses of celebrated individuals. The artists 
 who practise this durable and beautiful style of 
 painting have not at any time been numerous. 
 
 At the Mediaeval Exhibition in 1850, enamels 
 of exquisite beauty were displayed, chiefly of 
 French and Italian workmanship. 
 
 Another kind of enamelling, much humbler 
 in rank, but practically of great usefulness, is 
 that of enamelling the interior of cast-iron 
 and other hollow articles, such as saucepans 
 and other culinary and domestic utensils. The 
 superior cleanliness of such articles, and the 
 security which they afford against any metallic 
 taint, render them peculiarly valuable for 
 some delicate operations in cookery and con- 
 fectionary, and for the preparing of pharma- 
 ceutical decoctions, extracts, &c. The enamel 
 used for this purpose may be stated, in general 
 terms, to consist of silica, soda, borax, and 
 potter's clay. Until within the last few years, 
 enamelled iron saucepans were imported from 
 Germany ; but they may now be regarded as a 
 home manufacture rapidly extending. 
 
 ENDOSMOSE AND EXOSMOSE. 810 
 
 ENCAUSTIC PAINTING is a kind of 
 painting in which, by heating or burning in, 
 the colours were rendered permanent in all 
 their original splendour. It was not, how- 
 ever enamelling, but a mode of painting with 
 heated or burnt wax, which was practised by 
 the ancients. Pliny describes three modes 
 of encaustic painting. In the first mode, the 
 wax was melted, mixed with as much earth 
 colour finely powdered as it could imbibe, and 
 then this mass spread on wood, or on a wall, 
 with a hot spatula. When it became cold it 
 was the ground, in which the designer cut the 
 lines with a cold pointed tool (style, cestrum). 
 In the second mode, ivory tablets were covered 
 with red or black wax, and the design cut into 
 it with the style, the object being to use the 
 clear and smooth surface of the ivory for the 
 lines, that they might look the more beautiful. 
 The third kind was the applying the colours 
 with the pencil ; the wax Avas dissolved, the 
 colours mixed with it, and laid on with the 
 pencil, and the painting then finished by care- 
 ful approximation to the fire : for this purpose 
 a hot iron (cauterium) was used. "When 
 painting had been greatly improved by the 
 invention of the pencil, a new method of en 
 caustic was attempted. Encaustic wax paint- 
 ing had hitherto been designing on a coloured 
 ground ; it now became painting with wax 
 colours burnt in. When the artist had laid 
 on the wax ground, and traced the outlines 
 with the style, he proceeded to the colouring. 
 From the wax mixed with the colours he sepa- 
 rated with the hot style as much as he wanted 
 to cover a certain space, and spread it over 
 the ground, put a second, third, &c., colour 
 next the first, so that he had local tint, half 
 tint, and shade together, which he softened 
 into each other with the hot style. 
 
 This art, having been long lost, was revived 
 by French and German artists in the 18th 
 century, and is now occasionally practised. 
 
 ENDOSMOSE and EXOSMOSE. These 
 names are given to a remarkable filtering pro- 
 cess which takes place through membranes. 
 Endosmose is the attraction through an animal 
 or vegetable membrane of thin fluid by a den- 
 ser fluid. M. Dutrochet found that if he filled 
 the swimming bladder of a carp with thin mu- 
 cilage and placed it in water, the bladder gained 
 weight by attracting water through its sides : 
 o this phenomenon he gave the name of 
 Endosmose. He also found that if he filled 
 ,he same bladder with water and placed it 
 n thin mucilage, it lost weight, its contents 
 jeing partially attracted through its sides into 
 the surrounding mucilage : this counter-phe- 
 nomenon he named Exosmose. The same 
 circumstances occur in the transmission of 
 
811 
 
 ENGINEERING. 
 
 ENGINEERING. 
 
 812 
 
 fluids through the tissue of plants. The parts 
 of vegetables may be gorged with fluid by 
 merely placing them in water, and may be 
 emptied again by rendering the fluid in which 
 they are placed more dense than that which 
 they contain. This phenomenon takes place 
 with considerable force. Water thickened with 
 sugar in the proportion of 1 sugar to 2 water, 
 is productive of a power of endosmose capable 
 of sustaining a column of mercury of 127 
 inches, or the weight of 4 atmospheres. 
 
 Dutrochet considers endosmose to be owing 
 to what lie calls intercapillary electricity, 
 grounding his opinion partly upon the experi- 
 ment of Porret, who found that when two 
 liquids of different levels are separated by a 
 membrane, they may be brought to a level by 
 establishing an electrical current between the 
 two, thus rendering the membrane permeable ; 
 and partly upon experiments of his own. But 
 M. Poisson, on the contrary, has demon- 
 strated that endosmose may be the result of 
 capillary attraction joined to differences in the 
 affinity of heterogeneous substances. 
 
 A few applications of this principle have 
 been made in the arts ; but it still remains 
 chiefly in the domain of science. 
 
 ENGINEERING (from the French word 
 engin) is properly the art of constructing and 
 using engines or machines ; but the term is 
 also applied to that of executing such works 
 as are the objects of civil and military archi- 
 tecture, in which machinery is in general ex- 
 tensively employed. 
 
 A distinction has long been made between 
 the civil and military engineer; and since 
 every thing relating to the service of artillery 
 is now confided to a particular corps, the duty 
 of the military engineer may be said to com- 
 prehend the construction of fortifications, both 
 permanent and temporary, including the 
 trenches and batteries required in besieging 
 places ; also of barracks, magazines, and other 
 works connected with warlike affairs. 
 
 The profession of the civil engineer com- 
 prehends the design and execution of every 
 great work by which commerce and the prac- 
 tice of the useful arts may be facilitated. Thus, 
 in creating or improving the communications 
 of a country, he would be called upon to form 
 a road through hills, or over valleys or rivers, 
 or to excavate a canal in connection with the 
 waters by which it maybe supplied, and to 
 build the locks for retaining the surface at 
 different levels, in different places, when the 
 inequalities of the ground are considerable. 
 He raises embankments to resist the encroach- 
 ments of the sea or to reclaim the land which 
 it may have covered, and dams to break the 
 force of its waves at the mouths of natural 
 
 harbours. He renders rivers navigable when 
 their course is obstructed by rocks or banks ; 
 he forms docks or artificial harbours where 
 ships may remain in security ; he is required 
 to penetrate by mines to vast depths for the 
 purpose of seeking the mineral treasures con- 
 tained within the bosom of the earth; and 
 the formation of iron roads or railways is now 
 a most important branch of the profession. 
 Such are the occupations of this class of men ; 
 and it is necessary to observe that they fre- 
 quently, in addition, practise the avocation of 
 the machinist in executing the presses, mills, 
 looms, and other great machines employed in 
 the arts and manufactures; particularly in 
 constructing steam-engines and the apparatus 
 by which they are rendered available for giving 
 motion to ships, carriages, or machinery. 
 
 In France the title of engineer is extended 
 to persons who are employed for the public 
 service in trigonometrical surveying in the in- 
 terior of a country or on the coasts, and in 
 the practice of naval architecture. The French 
 have thus a corps of ingenieurs geographes, 
 of ingenieurs d'hydrographie, and of ingenieurs 
 de marine. 
 
 Of the national works executed by the an- 
 cients, and which are to be considered as pro- 
 perly falling within the province of the engi- 
 neer, one of the first of which we have any 
 ntimation is the canal uniting the Red Sea 
 and the Nile, which, according to Pliny, was 
 Degun by Sesostris, or, according to Herodotus, 
 Necos, the son of Psammetichus, and 
 inished by Darius the First. The canal of 
 Xerxes across the isthmus of the peninsula of 
 Athos is another example of works of this 
 and. The introduction of arches in works of 
 magnitude may be said to have constituted an 
 epoch in the profession of the architectural 
 engineer, since the idea of giving to blocks of 
 stone a form which would enable them to 
 sustain themselves in balanced rest by their 
 mutual pressures, the discovery of the means 
 of arranging them on a curve surface, and the 
 determination of the magnitudes of the piers 
 or abutments so that the lateral pressure of 
 the vault might be adequately resisted, imply 
 higher degree of intellectual power than is 
 exhibited in covering a space with a horizontal 
 roof. The Cloaca Maxima [CLOACAE] at Rome 
 s probably the most ancient example in Eu- 
 rope of this scientific construction. The dome 
 )f the Pantheon, and the various arches of 
 he Thermae and of other public buildings, 
 )oth at Rome and in the provinces, such as 
 aqueducts and bridges, attest the grandeur of 
 design, combined with purposes of public 
 utility, which characterised the architects who 
 ived under the early emperors. 
 
813 
 
 ENGINEERING. 
 
 Previously to the commencement of the 
 eighteenth century, the most celebrated prac- 
 tical engineers were Brunelleschi, who built 
 the dome of St. Mary at Florence ; Peruzzi, 
 San Gallo, and Michel Angelo, who executed 
 that of St. Peter at Rome ; San Micheli, the 
 supposed inventor of the bastion system of 
 fortification ; and to these may be added Sir 
 Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul's 
 Cathedral in London. 
 
 But the extension of the manufactures of 
 this country, and the consequent augmentation 
 both of its internal and foreign commerce, 
 have, in more recent times, called forth all 
 the energies of the people, who, in the works 
 performed for facilitating the means of com- 
 municating between one place and another, 
 and in the practice of the useful arts, have 
 risen to an eminence which other nations have 
 not been able to attain. Among the former 
 may be mentioned the numerous canals and 
 railways which intersect the country ; the ma- 
 jestic bridges executed in stone over the 
 Thames ; in cast iron over the Avon, the 
 Thames, &c. ; those on the suspension princi- 
 ple at the Menai Strait, and across the Thames 
 at Hammersmith and Hungerford Market; 
 and those on the tubular principle over the 
 Menai and the Conway. Among the men to 
 whose talents in this branch of engineering 
 the nation is indebted, may be named 
 Brindley, Smeaton, Jessop, Telford, the Ren- 
 nies, Walker, the Brunels, and the Ste- 
 phensons. 
 
 The course of education by which a student 
 may qualify himself to become an engineer, 
 whether civil or military, must necessarily 
 comprehend a greater extent both of the pure 
 and physical sciences than would be required 
 for a person who is to follow any other pro- 
 fession. It will be, perhaps for ever, a matter 
 of opinion how much mathematics should 
 enter a school course of engineering ; and 
 there are no doubt some persons who contend 
 that no more is required than would serve to 
 compute the cost of materials and the wages 
 of labour; this and the observation of existing 
 examples being supposed sufficient to enable 
 a man to enter upon the practice of the pro- 
 fession. It is not, however, with such know- 
 ledge only that an engineer is qualified to de- 
 sign an important work which it may be re- 
 quired to conduct under new and difficult 
 circumstances. On the other hand, mere dili- 
 gence in observing the results of practical 
 operations will never raise a man to proficiency 
 in art unless he is gifted with very extraordi- 
 nary powers. A judicious combination of 
 theory and practice is indispensable, and such 
 a combination can only be made by a man in 
 
 ENGLISH MANUFACTURES. 814 
 
 whom great natural talent is blended with all 
 the aids that the sciences can afford. 
 
 Of the military engineer it may be said that 
 a greater knowledge of the more minute de- 
 tails of construction is required than would 
 suffice in the civil practitioner ; because it may 
 happen that the former is called upon to exer- 
 cise his profession in some colony where 
 workmen adequately skilled in the mechanical 
 operations may be wanting. The accomplish- 
 ment of the work may then become impossi- 
 ble, should the officer not be qualified to give 
 the necessary instructions to those who are 
 placed under his direction. 
 
 There is now near the metropolis a college 
 for the education of young persons who are 
 destined to act as civil engineers, where the 
 science and practice of the profession are 
 effectively taught; while the military semi- 
 naries at Woolwich, Sandhurst, and Addis- 
 combe, afford corresponding advantages for 
 those who have adopted the military service. 
 
 The Institution of Civil Engineers, formed 
 at London in 1828, cannot fail, by the publi- 
 cation of its transactions, to be the means of 
 greatly assisting such persons as may here- 
 after enter the profession ; and, through them, 
 of rendering service to society itself. Even 
 established practitioners may occasionally de- 
 rive benefit from the theoretical investigations 
 and the practical details of construction which 
 are the subjects of the papers read at the 
 meetings of the members. 
 
 An Institute of Mechanical Engineers was 
 established at Birmingham in 1847, for en- 
 couraging experiments and essays relating 
 to engineering subjects. It is under the pre- 
 sidency of Mr. Robert Stephenson, and seems 
 to be a sort of miniature Institute of Civil 
 Engineers. 
 
 ENGLISH MANUFACTURES AND 
 TRADE. We retain an entry under this 
 heading, simply to explain how the subjects of 
 English manufactures and trade are treated 
 in the present volume. All the principal sub- 
 stances employed in the arts, organic or inor- 
 ganic, are briefly described under their proper 
 headings, the commercial name being retained 
 rather than the scientific name. All the prin- 
 cipal processes employed in the arts and ma 
 nufactures are set forth in simple form, with- 
 out any attempt at minute or technical de- 
 tail. All the important machines are described 
 in a similarly brief and simple way. Nearly 
 all the counties are glanced at, with a view to 
 show what productive and industrial resources 
 they exhibit. All the principal towns are si- 
 milarly noticed, in so far as they are connected 
 with manufacturing or shipping operations. 
 A few commercial principles are touched upon 
 
815 
 
 ENGRAVING. 
 
 ENGRAVING. 
 
 816 
 
 which bear closely on manufactures. Lastly, 
 a few persons are made the subjects of biogra- 
 phical sketches, in cases were they were espe- 
 cially connected with mechanical or manufac- 
 turing celebrity. 
 
 In respect to foreign countries, a smaller 
 degree of the same system is acted upon. An 
 attempt is made to show what are the chief 
 natural products of each country, what are the 
 chief manufactures of the countries and their 
 large towns, and what are the chief imports and 
 exports at their shipping ports. As such ele- 
 ments are really the elements of the 'Industry 
 of all Nations,' they form a fitting part of the 
 present work. All merely geographical detail 
 is beyond the scope of this volume. 
 
 Besides the minor statistical details scattered 
 through the work, larger illustrations of com- 
 mercial and manufacturing statistics will be 
 met with under such articles as CUSTOMS 
 DUTIES, EXCISE DUTIES, FACTORIES, IMPORTS 
 AND EXPORTS, SHIPS AND SHIPPING. 
 
 ENGRAVING. From the book of Exodus 
 we learn that when Moses had liberated the 
 Jews from Egyptian bondage, he was com- 
 manded to ' make a plate of pure gold, and 
 grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, 
 holiness to the Lord.' He was also com- 
 manded * to take two onyx stones, and grave 
 on them the names of the children of Israel 
 according to their birth, with the work of an 
 engraver on stone, like the engravings of a 
 signet.' Both these passages distinctly imply 
 the practice of gem and seal engraving, and 
 also of engraving on metal plates. From 
 Herodotus we learn that one of the earliest 
 uses to which engraving was applied among 
 the Greeks was the delineation of maps on 
 metul plates. Some of the Egyptian hiero- 
 glyphic inscriptions are evidently executed 
 with instruments similar to those now in use. 
 Some of the lines narrowing downwards have 
 clearly been cut with the lozenge-shaped 
 graver now chiefly used ; but other lines, being 
 of the same width through their whole depth, 
 must have been produced with that species of 
 graver called a scooper, still used for effecting 
 broad incisions. It is believed that some of 
 the relics of Etruscan art in the British Mu- 
 seum are of as high antiquity as any existing 
 specimens of engraving. In India, also, the 
 art of engraving on plates of copper appears 
 to have been practised long before the Chris- 
 tian sera. It would appear that it was there 
 customary to ratify grants of land by deeds of 
 transfer actually engraven on plates of copper, 
 as we now write them on skins of parchment. 
 
 In England, before the Conquest, many of 
 the buckles, clasps, rings, and military accou- 
 trements were engraved. In the museum of 
 
 Oxford is preserved a finely engraved gold 
 jewel, which belonged to Alfred the Great. 
 About the 12th century was introduced the 
 art of engraving sepulchral brasses. They 
 are executed entirely with the graver, and in 
 the same manner that a copper plate is now 
 engraved. 
 
 We now approach the period when the in- 
 vention of printing gave to engraving a new 
 direction. The first prints were obtained from 
 engraved wood blocks. The earliest print with 
 a date attached to it is one known as the St. 
 Christopher, which is from a wood block, and 
 dated 1423 ; but no impression from an en- 
 graved plate has been found with a date ante- 
 rior to 1461. The art of engraving on metal 
 plates for taking impressions on paper was 
 first practised by Tommaso Fineguerra, a 
 Florentine goldsmith, about the year 1460. 
 Some writers have claimed the invention for 
 Germany ; but it is generally considered that 
 the art was first practised in Italy, and had its 
 origin in the workshops of the goldsmiths. 
 Many of these goldsmiths were nicllatori, or 
 workers in niello a mode of ornamental en- 
 graving usually performed on silver plates 
 the design engraved on which was afterwards 
 filled in with a black composition. 
 
 An accident is said to have suggested to 
 Fineguerra the possibility of taking an im- 
 pression from the engraved design with ink 
 on moistened paper. When once established, 
 the new art was eagerly taken up by Baldini, 
 Botticelli, Pollajuoli, and Mantegna; and in 
 Germany by Martin Schoen, Israel van Mech- 
 eln, Leydenwurf, and Wolgernut. The first book 
 printed at Borne (an edition of Ptolemams's 
 Geography) was illustrated by the first plate 
 en (/ravings, twenty-seven in number, which 
 were maps, and were executed there by two 
 Germans, Sweynheym and Buckink. This 
 work is dated 1478, but was commenced in 
 1472. Another early work was an edition of 
 Dante's ' Inferno,' published at Florence in 
 1481, and embellished with engravings by 
 Baccio Baldini, after the designs of Botticelli. 
 
 One of the best engravers in Italy in the 
 early part of the Kith century was Piaimondi, 
 who studied under Francia and Raffaelle. His 
 great merit lay in the correctness and beauty 
 of his outline. He engraved many of Raf- 
 faelle's pictures, which he copied with great 
 truth, although defective in respect to light 
 and shade. He was succeeded in Italy by 
 Agostino de Musis, Marc de Ravenna, Caraglio, 
 Giulio Bonasoni, and Enea Vico, all pupils of 
 Raimondi ; Georgi Ghisi of Mantua, and his 
 relatives Diana and Adam Ghisi, Cornelius 
 Cort, &c. The principal painters who have 
 practised engraving in Italy are Agostino 
 
817 
 
 ENGRAVING. 
 
 ENGRAVING 
 
 818 
 
 Carracci, Stefano della Bella, Spagnoletto, 
 Guercino, Salvator Rosa, Claude Lorraine, 
 Swaneveldt, Canaletto, Piranesi, &c. 
 
 In Germany engraving made more rapid 
 strides towards excellence, in the mechanical 
 parts of it ; and at the commencement of the 
 Kith century appeared Albert Diirer, a man 
 whose universality of talent extended the 
 boundaries of every department of art, and 
 carried all to a degree of perfection previously 
 imLnown in that country. He had great com- 
 mand of the graver, and carried his plates to 
 a much higher degree of finish than his 
 Italian contemporaries. He is also believed 
 to have invented the art of etching by corro- 
 sion : three of his specimens are dated 1515, 
 1516, and 1518 respectively. On examining 
 the etchings of Albert Diirer, we see that they 
 have all been corroded at one biting-in ; which 
 sufficiently explains their monotonous appear- 
 ance, and proves that ' stopping out ' was not 
 then understood. The principal German en- 
 gravers, after Albert Diirer, are Aldegraver, 
 the Behams, Altdorfer, Bink, Penz, Solis, &c. 
 
 Lucas Jacobs, best known by the name of 
 Lucas van Leyden, was the father of the 
 Dutch and Flemish schools, and the contem- 
 porary and friend of Albert Diirer. After Van 
 Leyden the art was maintained in the Low 
 Countries by the Wierinxes, the Sadelers, 
 whose works are multifarious, and embrace 
 every class of subject; the elder and younger 
 Jode, Cornelius, Theodore and Philip Galle, 
 Abraham and Cornelius Bloemart, Goltzius, 
 Sprangher, Miiller, Lucas Killian, Matham, 
 Saenredam, and the two brothers Bolswert. 
 Many of these introduced improvements in 
 the art. To mention the artists of this school 
 from whose hands we have etchings, would be 
 to name nearly all the most eminent painters 
 belonging to it : Rembrandt, Berghem, Cuyp, 
 Kareldu Jardin, Paul Potter, Ruysdael, Ostade, 
 Waterloo, Adrian Vandervelde, with many 
 others. 
 
 In France engraving has been practised 
 with pre-eminent success in the departments 
 of history and portraiture. The celebrity of 
 the school dates from the time of Louis XIV. 
 The family of the Audrans produced six emi- 
 nent engravers ; but of those the most distin- 
 guished was Gerard Audran, who was the first 
 engraver who successfully united, to any ex- 
 tent, the use of the graver and the etching 
 point. Gerard Edelinck, although born at 
 Antwerp, may be fairly considered of the 
 French school, and was an engraver of the 
 highest order. In portrait Nanteuil is no 
 less celebrated than his contemporaries. The 
 Brevets, John Louis Roulett, Le Clerc, Si- 
 moneau, Chereau, Cochin, Dupuis, Beauvais, 
 
 Balechou, Le Bas, John George Wille, are 
 among the best of the French engravers. 
 
 The English school of engraving dates only 
 from about the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, previous to which those who practised 
 the art in England were chiefly foreigners. 
 
 Hogarth engraved many of his own designs. 
 Francis Vivares introduced the favourite art 
 of landscape etching ; he, Woollet, and Browne, 
 produced some of the finest landscape en- 
 gravings extant. Sir Robert Strange excelled 
 in portrait engraving. Mezzotinto engraving, 
 although not strictly born among us, has been 
 in no other country practised with a degree of 
 success at all approaching that attained by 
 M'Ardell, Earlom, Smith, Valentine Green, 
 and others. Bartolozzi, Ryland, Sharpe, Paul 
 Sandby, Middiman, Milton, Fitler, aud Raim- 
 bach, are among the most eminent of deceased 
 engravers. 
 
 A modern engraving is usually the result 
 of two processes, namely, of direct incision 
 with the graver or the dry point, and of etch- 
 ing by corrosion. The principal instrument 
 is the graver, or burin, which is usually of the 
 form of a quadrangular prism, fitted into a 
 short handle. The square graver is used in 
 cutting broad lines, and the lozenge-shaped 
 for more delicate ones. In making the inci- 
 sion, it is pushed forward in the direction of 
 the line required, being held by the handle at 
 an angle very slightly inclined to the plane of 
 the copper. An instrument called a scraper 
 is required to scrape off the barb or burr 
 which is formed by the action of the graver 
 and dry point. A roll of cloth dipped in oil, 
 called the rubber, is also used to make the 
 surface smooth. The burnisher is used to 
 polish the plate and to erase any scratches 
 which it may accidentally receive, and also to 
 make lighter any part of the work which may 
 have been made too dark. Etching-points, or 
 needles, are nearly similar in appearance to 
 sewing-needles, but fixed into handles four or 
 five inches long ; some are made of an oval 
 form, to produce broader lines. The dry point 
 does not, like the graver, cut the copper clean 
 out, but throws it up on each side of the line 
 produced by its progress through the metal. 
 
 Etc/ting is the superaddition of the chemical 
 process of corrosion to drawing, when per- 
 formed on a plate of copper over which a sub- 
 stance called etching-ground is laid. This 
 etching-ground is a substance composed of 
 wax, asphaltum, gum mastic, resin, &c., incor- 
 porated by melting over a fire, and capable of 
 resisting the action of aquafortis ; it is applied 
 by the aid of heat, so as to lie in a thin stratum 
 on the copper. To transfer the design to the 
 copper, an outline is made with a black lead 
 
819 
 
 ENHAKMONIC ORGAN. 
 
 ENVELOPES. 
 
 820 
 
 pencil on a piece of paper, and laid with the 
 face downwards on the etching-ground; the 
 whole is then passed through a rolling-press, 
 the effect of which is to transfer an impression 
 of the outline on to the prepared ground. 
 After this the design is completed with the 
 etching-needles, which remove the ground 
 from the copper wherever they pass, and ex- 
 pose it to the action of the acid during the 
 process of biting -in. The aquafortis con- 
 tinues on the plate until the fainter parts are 
 supposed to he corroded sufficiently deep ; 
 after which it is poured off, the plate washed 
 with water, and left to dry. The parts which 
 are bitten-in enough are now to be covered 
 with what is called stopping-ground, which is a 
 mixture of lamp-black and Venice turpentine ; 
 this is applied with a camel-hair pencil, and 
 allowed to dry. After this the acid is again 
 poured on, and this process of stopping-out 
 and biting-in is repeated till the darkest parts 
 are sufficiently corroded. 
 
 Engraving in stipple is performed with the 
 graver, which is so managed as to produce 
 the tints by small dots, rather than by lines, 
 as in the ordinary method. 
 
 Engraving and etching on steel are performed 
 in the same manner as on copper, for which 
 steel has of late years been often substituted 
 on account of its yielding a greater number of 
 perfect impressions, owing to its superior 
 hardness. 
 
 Medallic engraving is a species of etching 
 introduced by M. Collas and Mr. Bate. By 
 this mode veiy beautiful representations are 
 obtained of medals, &c., by means of a ma- 
 chine of peculiar constraction. 
 
 Etching on glass is performed by laying on 
 the glass a ground of bees' wax, and drawing 
 the designs thereon with the needle, as in 
 etching upon copper. Sulphuric acid is then 
 poured on, and fluor spar, or fluoric acid, 
 sprinkled on it. After four or five hours it is 
 taken off, and the work cleaned with oil of 
 turpentine. 
 
 [AQUATINTA; ELECTROTYPE; LITHOGRAPHY; 
 MEZZOTINT.] 
 
 ENHAKMONIC ORGAN. It is familiar 
 to all who have observed the construction of a 
 pianoforte or an organ, that the same black 
 key serves as the sharp of one note and the 
 flat of the note next above it. This is conve- 
 nient, but it is not strictly accurate ; the sharp 
 of one note is not in strictness the flat of the 
 note next above it ; it differs from it by some 
 small fraction of a semitone. Hence it has 
 been an object with some persons of refined 
 musical ear to increase the keys to such a de- 
 gree as to provide a series for the flats, differ- 
 ing from that which constitutes the sharps. 
 
 But there are two inconveniences attending 
 such a plan ; the keys become embarrassingly 
 numerous, and unless the instrument be 
 tuned with most delicate precision, the nicety 
 of the double system is wholly lost. An organ 
 with such an arrangement of parts is called 
 an enharmonic organ', at one time the subject 
 attracted much attention, but the plan is now 
 pretty nearly abandoned. A violin player with 
 a correct ear can produce enharmonic intervals 
 easily, as the strings can be stopped at any 
 part of their length. 
 
 ENTRE-DOURO-E-MINHO is the most 
 fertile province in Portugal. The principal 
 productions are wine, oil, flax, Indian corn, 
 wheat, oats, vegetables, and fruit of all sorts. 
 Pastures are rather scarce, yet a considerable 
 quantity of cattle, both large and small, are 
 reared. The principal article of exportation 
 is wine, which is made chiefly from the vine- 
 yards in the valley of the Douro, and is 
 shipped at Oporto under the name of port- 
 wine. There are fisheries along the coast, 
 which occupy a great number of hands. The 
 commerce is briefly noticed under OPORTO and 
 PORTUGAL. 
 
 ENTRESOL, a French term used to signify 
 a floor between other floors. The entresol 
 consists of a low apartment or apartments, 
 usually placed above the first floor. There is 
 a very good example of an entresol over the 
 shops of the Quadrant in London, just beneath 
 the terrace of the colonnade (lately removed). 
 In continental cities the entresol is frequently 
 employed. 
 
 ENVELOPES. Before the introduction of 
 the Penny Postage, the number of written 
 letters put into envelopes was comparatively 
 small ; but since that period the use of enve- 
 lopes has increased to an astonishing extent. 
 The cutting out has been for some years per- 
 formed by machinery ; but the folding, until 
 within the last three or four years, has been 
 done by hand. An ingenious machine, how- 
 ever, patented by Messrs. Hill and De la Rue, 
 now folds envelopes with great celerity. From 
 a description of this folding machine given by 
 Mr. Faraday at the Royal Institution in 1849, 
 it appears that it can fold 42 envelopes in a 
 minute. There is a flat metallic surface on 
 which the piece of paper is laid ; a sort of 
 hollow frame descends and creases the paper 
 at the four edges ; and four levers or folders 
 press down the four flaps of the envelope. 
 There are two finger-shaped projections, made 
 of caoutchouc, which, owing to their property 
 of adhering slightly to a paper surface, never 
 fail to carry off each envelope as fast as it is 
 folded. Though there are twenty-two move- 
 ments for folding each envelope, all succeed- 
 
821 
 
 EPROUVETTE. 
 
 ERECTHEIUM. 
 
 823 
 
 ing each other with great rapidity, there is no 
 blow or jar of any kind in the working of the 
 machine. 
 
 Mr. Worsdell's patent for making envelopes, 
 enrolled in 1850, relates to mechanism of a 
 very complicated construction. Under the 
 usual methods envelopes are made partly by 
 hand and partly by machinery, with certain 
 intervals of time between the several processes. 
 Mr. Worsdell has sought to carry on two or 
 more of the processes simultaneously, and to 
 make other processes succeed them uninter- 
 ruptedly. There are shaping, cutting, stamp- 
 ing, gumming, creasing, pasting, and applying 
 processes. A web of paper is unrolled, laid 
 upon a bed or plate, and a series of fine knife 
 edges descend and cut out a piece the proper 
 size and shape for an envelope ; this same 
 piece of paper, before it is removed, is creased 
 into an oblong quadrangular form, and the 
 four corners turned up. The roughly shaped 
 envelope falls out of this machine, and is 
 placed in another where the subsequent pro- 
 cesses are carried on. By one movement a 
 die is brought down, and made to stamp a de- 
 vice on the seal-flap ; by another movement 
 two bits of sponge, moistened with some kind 
 of gum or cement, and held at the ends of 
 small cylinders, are passed lightly over the 
 edges of the two end flaps ; by a third move- 
 ment the sponges are brought back again; 
 by a fourth movement another bit of sponge, 
 moistened with adhesive composition, is made 
 to touch the inside of the seal flap ; by a fifth 
 movement the three flaps are pressed down, 
 leaving the seal flap, with its adhesive compo- 
 sition, untouched ; and by a sixth movement 
 the finished envelope is thrust out of the ma- 
 chine. Considerable mechanical ingenuity is 
 displayed in this apparatus. 
 
 It is supposed that there are upwards of a 
 million envelopes manufactured daily in this 
 country. 
 
 EPROUVETTE is an apparatus consisting 
 of a gun or mortar suspended from a horizon- 
 tal axis for the purpose of determining the 
 strength of gunpowder by the recoil of the 
 piece when a charge is fired in it. Mr. Eobins 
 (' New Principles of Gunnery') first proposed 
 the employment of such a machine, but Dr. 
 Hutton, of Woolwich, afterwards considerably 
 improved its construction. 
 
 A gun suspended in the manner above 
 described has been employed, instead of the 
 ballistic pendulum, to determine, by its recoil, 
 the initial velocity of the shot fired from it 
 with a given charge of powder. 
 
 EPSOM SALTS. This valuable medicine 
 is sulphate of magnesia. It obtained its 
 common commercial name from having been 
 
 first obtained from a spring at Epsom. The 
 mode of obtaining it first adopted when it 
 became a popular medicine was by evaporating 
 and crystallising the bitter deposit remaining 
 after preparing common salt from sea-water ; 
 but the late Dr. Henry invented a much 
 superior mode of preparing it from magnesian 
 limestone. Epsom salts are not only valuable 
 as a medicine, but a source whence common 
 magnesia is largely obtained. 
 
 EQUATORIAL INSTRUMENT. This 
 name is generally given to astronomical in- 
 struments having their principal axis of rota- 
 tion in the direction of the poles of the 
 heavens. When the purpose of a machine of 
 this nature is simply to carry a telescope, it 
 has been called a machine parallactique or par- 
 allatique by the French, and sometimes Polai 
 Axis by English writers. 
 
 It results from the general form of tho 
 management, that if a telescope is fixed equa 
 torially, it always points to some spot or other 
 of the celestial equator. These instruments 
 are described with great fulness and complete- 
 ness in the PENNY CYCLOPEDIA. Some of the 
 largest telescopes in this country are equato- 
 rial. 
 
 ERBIUM, is the name given to a metal 
 discovered by Mosander associated with yttria. 
 Its properties are little known. Some of theM 
 are as follows : Its oxide becomes of a dark 
 orange colour when heated in contact with the 
 air, which colour it loses with a little weight 
 when heated in hydrogen gas. It is to the 
 presence of this oxide that yttria owes its 
 yellow colour, when prepared as hitherto di- 
 rected. The sulphate and nitrate of erbium 
 are free from colour. It does not appear to 
 have been reduced to the metallic state. 
 
 ERECTHEIUM, is the name of one ot 
 those buildings in Greece which have acquired 
 a world-wide celebrity. It is a beautiful Ionic 
 temple dedicated to Erectheus, built near the 
 western brow of the Acropolis at Athens, and 
 at the time when Stuart visited the place 
 forming part of the modern fortress of the 
 Acropolis. Connected with this building, and 
 placed on one side of it at the end of the 
 cella, is a tetrastyle Ionic portico, in the 
 same style as the portico of the Erectheium, 
 forming a small temple which was dedicated 
 to Minerva Polias ; and on the opposite side 
 is a small roofed building supported by cary- 
 atides placed on an elevated basement, forming 
 another small temple dedicated to Pandrosos, 
 and called the Pandrosium. It would appear 
 from the regularity of the plan of the Temple 
 of Erectheus, that it was constructed before 
 the other buildings, and was of that regular 
 parallelopipedal figure most commonly em- 
 
823 
 
 EREMECAUSIS. 
 
 ERGOT. 
 
 824 
 
 ployed in such edifices : and that at a later 
 period the Pandrosium was constructed, with 
 the portico on the opposite side forming the 
 entrance or vestibule to the cella of the 
 temple, which was formed from a part of the 
 cella of the Temple of Erectheus, cut of 
 from the end of that cella, which was either 
 at that time or previously lighted with win- 
 dows. 
 
 Mr. Inwood, the architect, has imitated the 
 Erectheium and Pandrosium in the external 
 design of part of new St. Pancras Church 
 London. 
 
 EREMECAUSIS is the name given by 
 Liebig and other chemists to the act of gra- 
 dual combination of the combustible elements 
 of a body with the oxygen of the air. This 
 process is constantly going on in combustible 
 bodies exposed to the atmosphere, and one of 
 the first changes which take place during the 
 decomposition of animal and vegetable sub- 
 stances, is the union of one or more of their 
 elements with oxygen, The changes in colour, 
 consistence, and other properties which vege- 
 table juices, saw-dust, leaves of trees, blood, 
 &c., undergo when exposed to the atmosphere, 
 are owing to the same cause. Eremecausis 
 differs from fermentation and putrefaction in 
 the fact that it cannot take place without the 
 access of atmospheric ah 1 , through which 
 means the oxygen is supplied to the decaying 
 body. Eremecausis must precede any de- 
 composition of an organised substance ; and 
 it is by virtue of this law that animal food 
 may be kept from putrefaction by being heated 
 to the temperature of boiling water, and then 
 secured in air-tight vessels. Food thus pre- 
 pared has been kept for fifteen years, and when 
 the vessels were opened in which it was con- 
 tained, it has been found as fresh as when first 
 secured. 
 
 ERFURT is a busy province or government 
 of Prussian Saxony. The chief products are 
 grain, flax, tobacco, hops, oil, and salt. Great 
 numbers of horses, horned cattle, Rheep, 
 goats, and swine are reared. In the circles of 
 "VVeissensee and Schleusingen there are mines 
 of iron, lead, and copper. Marble and gyp- 
 sum, as well as sulphur, are also among its 
 mineral productions. Erfurt is likewise dis- 
 tinguished for its manufactures of iron and 
 steelware, tin plates, seed-oil, woollen yarns, 
 cloths, flannels, and carpets, linens, silks, 
 cottons, stockings, paper, porcelain, glass, 
 brandy, wooden clocks, &c. 
 
 Erfurt, the chief town, has considerable 
 manufactures of cottons and woollens, besides 
 less extensive ones of linens, ribbons, leather, 
 soap, earthenware, meal, seed-oil, stockings, 
 gloves, tobacco, <fec., and it carries on a brisk 
 
 trade in fruits, seeds, grocery and drugs, 
 grain, &c. Muhlhausen, an antient walled 
 town, has manufactures of woollen cloth, 
 calicoes, beer, tobacco, spirits, leather, oil, 
 glue, starch, &c.; it has also several dyeing 
 and fulling mills. Nordhausen, an old fashioned 
 place girt with walls and towers, has very 
 large distilleries, and manufactures woollen 
 cloths, flannels, chemical products, rape-oil, 
 and leather; great numbers of oxen and 
 swine are fattened on grains and pressed 
 rapeseed. Suhl, a thriving manufacturing 
 town, produces large quantities of ticking and 
 dimity, and fire-arms, swords, bayonets, ram- 
 rods, surgical instruments, &c. ; the iron and 
 steel (7000 cwts.) for these last are furnished 
 by 9 forges in the neighbourhood. Suhl 
 stands in a district of the Thuringerwald, 
 entirely separated from the rest of the Prussian 
 territory. 
 
 ERGOT is a name bestowed upon a pecu- 
 liar state of the seed of several cereal grains, 
 but most frequently of the rye, which resem- 
 bles a spur, or horn ; hence, likewise, termed 
 Secale cormttum, or Spurred Rye. The spur is 
 of variable length, from a fraction of an inch 
 to two inches, and is from a sixth to a fourth 
 of an inch in thickness ; when large, only a 
 few grams in each ear are affected ; when 
 small, in general all of them are diseased. In 
 colour the exterior or husk is of a blueish- 
 black or violet hue, with two or three streaks 
 of dotted gray ; the interior is of a dull whi- 
 Lish or gray tint. It is specifically lighter 
 han water, which affords a criterion for dis- 
 tinguishing sound from tainted grain. When 
 fresh it is tough and flexible, but brittle 
 and easily pulverised when dry. The powder 
 s apt to attract moisture, which impairs its 
 properties ; and tune destroys them. 
 
 Spurred rye occurs more frequently in some 
 countries and districts than in others, and 
 more abundantly in some seasons than in 
 others. Rye raised in poor soil, and in a 
 lumid close air, such as that of the district of 
 Sologne in France, is most liable to be infected ; 
 but, according to the experiments of Willde- 
 now, it may be brought on at any time, by 
 sowing the rye in a rich damp soil, and 
 watering the plants freely in warm weather. 
 A very rainy season, such as was that of 1816, is 
 pt to produce it. 
 
 Bread prepared from grain which has a 
 arge admixture of the spur, occasions very 
 distressing and often fatal effects, which nre 
 hown more or less rapidly according to the 
 quantity present in the food, and the circum- 
 tances in which those who use it are placed. 
 Srgot of rye is sometimes employed in medici- 
 nal practice. The Ergot is produced by a fungus. 
 
825 
 
 EKMINE. 
 
 ESSEX. 
 
 82(5 
 
 ERMINE. This beautiful substance is tbe 
 fur of the stoat, one among many species of 
 weasel. It is a native of the northern parts of 
 Europe and Asia , and the finest furs, both as 
 to colour and quality, are brought from the 
 northernmost regions. Ermine-skins formed 
 part of the Canada exports in the time of 
 Charlevoix ; but they have since sunk so 
 much in value, that they are said not to repay 
 the Hudson Bay Company the expense of col- 
 lecting them ; and very few are now obtained 
 from that quarter. Our chief supply is 
 obtained from Norway and Siberia. In Siberia 
 ermines are taken in traps baited with flesh. 
 In Norway they are either shot with short 
 arrows, or taken in traps made of two flat 
 stones, one being propped up with a stick, to 
 which is fastened a baited string ; the animal 
 nibbles at the bait, and the stone falls and 
 captures him. In Lapland two logs of wood 
 are used for this purpose, and in the same way. 
 
 There were 183,547 ermine furs imported in 
 1848. 
 
 ERZERU'M, in Turkish Armenians im- 
 portant as a commercial town. Besides the 
 produce of its manufactures it exports corn, 
 cattle, sheep, and dried meats. But it derives 
 other commercial advantages from its being 
 situated on one of the most frequented caravan 
 roads of Western Asia, which leads from 
 Persia and Georgia to the great commercial 
 towns of Asia Minor. 
 
 ERZGEBIRGE (the Ore Mountains) is a 
 mountain-range in Germany, which derives its 
 name from the rich mineral treasures embo- 
 somed in the mountains. The surrounding 
 district abounds in mines of silver, tin, lead, 
 iron, cobalt, copper, &c., which afford employ- 
 ment to upwards of 200,000 persons. The 
 silver mines are at Schneeberg, Schwarzenberg, 
 Annaberg, and Marienberg. The most con- 
 siderable tin mines are at Altenberg, Geier, 
 and Schneeberg. The most productive iron 
 mines are those of Johann-Georgenstadt. 
 Near Aue and Bockau, to the south of Schnee- 
 berg, lie the largest cobalt mines and smalt 
 works in Germany ; of these smalts the yearly 
 produce is between 9000 and 10,000 cwts., 
 besides large quantities of arsenic, &c. The 
 white porcelain earth used in the royal china 
 manufactory at Meissen is procured and pre- 
 pared in this district. Sulphur and vitriol are 
 made at and near Beierfeld and Geier: mag- 
 nesia and porcelain earth are obtained at 
 Elterlein; and there are coal mines of im- 
 portance at Planitz, and other spots near 
 Zwickau. Gold is found in some places, but 
 no mines are worked. 
 
 Besides considerable manufactures of iron, 
 tin, steel, and copper ware, the province has 
 
 extensive manufactuaes of thread, twist, linen, 
 cotton goods, woollen cloths, flannel, woollen 
 stockings, bobbinet, tape, ribbons, &c. 
 
 ESPALIER is a trellis for training fruit 
 trees or bushes upon, instead of nailing them 
 to walls. The stakes which form the espalier 
 are made of difierent materials, some of wood, 
 others of wire and wood, and some of cast 
 iron. The first of these is by far the most 
 simple, and is composed of stakes, five or six 
 feet in height, driven into the ground from 
 one to two feet apart ; along the top a bar, 
 which is nailed to each, connects the whole 
 together. The wire and wood rail is formed 
 by strong vertical wires, strained from two 
 wooden horizontal rails, which are connected 
 and held fast by wooden posts fixed in the 
 ground. The iron rail is constructed like a 
 common street railing. 
 
 The best wood for this purpose is young 
 larch, the thinning of plantations. 
 
 ESSENCES. This name is given to a 
 large variety of pharmaceutical preparations ; 
 but there is a good deal of vagueness in the 
 designation, Concentrated infusions, decoc- 
 tions, tinctures, and liquors, are often termed 
 essences ; and it is by no means easy to dis- 
 tinguish the limits of each kind of preparation. 
 Some essences are made by digesting vege- 
 table substances for a long time in spirit. 
 The essences of lavender, of musk, of ginger, 
 and some others, are made by simply dis- 
 solving the essential oils of those substances 
 in spirit. Many of the fragrant essences pre- 
 pared by the perfumer and the druggist, in 
 which the aromatic and volatile principles are 
 alone wanted, are made by digesting the 
 ingredients in spirit for a few days, and then 
 distilling. In preparing the essences used for 
 perfuming and flavouring, spirit is employed 
 which is perfectly tasteless, scentless, and 
 colourless. 
 
 The delicate substance called Essence d' 
 Orient is made from the scales of the fish 
 called the blay or bleak, and is used as a 
 paint for the inside of glass beads, to make 
 artificial pearls. A few other essences are 
 used in the manufacturing arts, and a few in 
 medicine ; but most of them are employed 
 ither as perfumes or for flavouring food and 
 beverages. 
 
 ESSEX is almost entirely an agricultural 
 ounty. The feeding of oxen in winter is now 
 extensively practised by alt good farmers in 
 Essex, whether of strong or light loams. In 
 those farms which have marshes attached to 
 ;hem a great number of cattle is constantly 
 kept. Along the Thames the salt marshes 
 are extensive, and are profitable from the 
 number of horses which are sent to feed 
 
827 
 
 ESTHONIA. 
 
 E'TIENNE, ST. 
 
 828 
 
 thre from London. Besides the common 
 crops usually cultivated, considerable quanti- 
 ties of cole or rape-seed, caraway, coriander, 
 and teasels are raised. In that part of Essex 
 which lies within a few miles of London, the 
 cultivation of the soil partakes more of the 
 garden culture. Vegetables, especially cab- 
 bages, are raised in great quantities, and very 
 extensive fields are almost entirely devoted to 
 the raising of potatoes. The cows and horses 
 in Essex are chiefly reared in Suffolk, and 
 Scotland supplies the oxen to fatten. Many 
 calves are fatted, which are killed in the 
 county, or go to London by railway. Essex 
 is not a sheep-breeding county, although many 
 fine lambs are reared ; but they are generally 
 bought from the breeders in Wiltshire or 
 Sussex in autumn, and sold fat to the butcher 
 in the succeeding spring. 
 
 In Barking, many of the inhabitants are 
 fishermen, or employed in conveying coals 
 and other necessaries from London for the 
 supply of Barking and other places in the 
 neighbourhood. At Coggeshall manufactures 
 of silk have nearly superseded the former 
 manufactures of woollen. At Harwich, 
 Maiden, Eomford, and other towns, manufac- 
 tures are carried on to a limited extent ; but 
 Essex can by no means be considered a 
 manufacturing county. Women's stays and 
 shoes, and small wares in silk, are made to 
 some considerable extent in the neighbour- 
 hood of Stratford. 
 
 ESTHONIA one of the Baltic provinces of 
 Eussia, produces large crops of rye, barley, 
 and oats ; wheat, Indian corn, hemp, flax, 
 hops, and tobacco are also raised. The pro- 
 duce of corn exceeds the consumption; the 
 surplus is chiefly used for distillation. As 
 the harvest season is attended by heavy rains, 
 the farmers have subterranean kilns in most 
 parts, into which the moist grain is carried 
 for the purpose of being dried. Esthonia has 
 large meadows, and produces abundance of 
 hay ; it has likewise good grazing grounds. 
 The woods and forests, composed of the fir, 
 pine, elm, birch, larch, and beech, occasionally 
 intermixed with the oak, alder, linden, crab- 
 apple, &c., are abundant. Next to agriculture, 
 the rearing of cattle is the most important 
 branch of rural industry. The fisheries along 
 the coast and in lake Peipus are very produc- 
 tive. On the islands ship and boat building is 
 a source of employment. The mineral pro- 
 ducts are building stone, potter's clay, and 
 gypsum; there is abundance of peat. 
 
 The manufactures of Esthonia are extremely 
 limited; the peasantry are clothed with linen 
 and coarse woollen cloth woven in their own 
 houses, or else with sheep-skins. There are 
 
 about 400 distilleries scattered through the 
 province. 
 
 ESTREMADU'RA, a province of Spain, is 
 rich in pastures. About four millions of sheep 
 come to graze, during the winter, from the 
 other provinces on the open pastures of Estre- 
 madura. Other tracts are covered with 
 underwood and wild odoriferous herbs. There 
 are also forests of oak, beech, chestnut, and 
 pine trees, where numerous herds of swine 
 feed. Bacon and pork form the most im- 
 portant articles of commerce with the other 
 provinces of Spain. Game of every sort is 
 plentiful. The cultivated parts produce wheat, 
 oats, Indian corn, flax, hemp, and the vine, 
 olive, mulberry, and lemon trees. ExceDent 
 honey and wax are also gathered. There 
 are mines of copper, lead, iron, and silver. 
 The manufactures are few, consisting chiefly 
 of leather and hats at Badajoz, Zafra, and 
 Caceres. 
 
 There is also a province of the same name 
 in Portugal, which is fertile and salubrious. 
 The rivers, as well as the sea-coast, abound 
 with fish. The principal products of the 
 country are wine, oil, maize, fruits of every 
 sort, and cattle. Wheat and oats are also 
 raised, but in no great quantity. At Belem 
 there are iron foundries. At AJhandra lime 
 and brick kilns. At Alemquer a paper manu- 
 factory. At Thomar there is a large manufac- 
 tory for spinning cotton, and manufactories of 
 hats and worsted stuffs. Setubal exports large 
 quantities of salt made from sea-water in the 
 neighbourhood, and also wine and fruits, espe- 
 cially oranges. It is, next to Lisbon and 
 Oporto, the most commercial place in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 ETHAL is a substance separated from sper- 
 maceti. It is a solid, fusible at nearly tbe 
 same point as spermaceti, and on cooling 
 crystallises in plates. It is susceptible of union 
 with various bases, with which it forms salts 
 or soaps. 
 
 ETHEE. [^THER.] 
 
 ETHIOPS, a term now obsolete, was for- 
 merly used by the old chemists to denote 
 various dark- coloured metallic preparations; 
 as Ethiops Martialis, which is a black oxide of 
 iron : Ethiops Mineral-is, which is a black mix- 
 ture of mercury and sulphur, &c. 
 
 E'TIENNE, ST., a large manufacturing 
 town in the department of Loire, stands 
 in the centre of one of the most important 
 coal fields in France, from which about 
 500,000 tons of coal are exported annually. 
 It is especially famous for the manufacture 
 of silk ribbons and fire-arms. Its ribbons, 
 which are exported to all parts of the world, 
 arc unequalled for richness of colour and 
 
829 
 
 ETRUSCAN WAKE. 
 
 EUDIOMETEE, 
 
 830 
 
 beauty of pattern, and of the quantity manu- 
 factured an idea may be formed from the 
 statement that their value amounts annually 
 to upwards of 40,000,000 francs. Govern- 
 ment orders for fire-arms having considerably 
 fallen off since 1834, the workmen have turned 
 their attention to making fowling-pieces, of 
 which 30,000 a year are disposed of, besides a 
 great number of pistols, &c. The manufac- 
 ture next in importance is that of hardware 
 and cutlery. To these leading articles of 
 industry are to be added the manufactures of 
 scythes, nails of all kinds, saw blades, foils, 
 anvils, vices, files, silk and cotton velvets, &c., 
 &c. The town has also many dye-houses and 
 tanyards; and in the suburb of Terre-Noire 
 there are important iron-forges and furnaces. 
 
 Many manufactured products from this im- 
 portant town will have a place in the approach- 
 ing Exhibition. 
 
 ETRUSCAN WARE. The ancient Etru- 
 rians produced pottery ware, specimens of 
 which still remain to illustrate the ingenuity 
 of that very ancient people after a period of 
 twenty-five or thirty centuries. 
 
 The Etruscan vases belong to three dif- 
 ferent periods of art, each exhibiting its pecu- 
 liar style. The most ancient are those which 
 resemble the Egyptian style : indeed it has 
 been asserted that they were imported from 
 Egypt ; but it is more probable that they were 
 manufactured in Etruria, from Egyptian 
 models. They are partly coloured of black 
 and red upon a pale yellow ground ; and 
 harpies, sphynxes, griffins, &c., are depicted 
 on them. The next in order are those with 
 black figures on a red ground, in stiff and 
 ungraceful outline, while the form of the vase 
 itself is very elegant. The third and most 
 modern style exhibits a more graceful form of 
 vase, and graceful and spirited figures ; the 
 designs, in red figures, represent stories of 
 gods and heroes, as well as incidents of do- 
 mestic life. 
 
 The Etruscan Room at the British Mu- 
 seum is well worth a study ; the specimens of 
 ancient pottery are numerous and highly 
 curious. 
 
 EUDIO 'METER, an instrument invented 
 by Dr. Priestley, and originally employed by 
 him in ascertaining the goodness of atmo- 
 spheric air obtained from various places and 
 under different circumstances. The use of 
 the eudiometer, termed eudiometry, has, since 
 its original contrivance, been extended to all 
 gaseous mixtures, but especially to determin- 
 ing the quantity of oxygen which they contain 
 when resulting from the operations of ana- 
 lysis. 
 
 The principle upon which the use of the 
 
 eudiometer depends, so far as atmospheric air 
 and oxygen gas are concerned, is that of ex- 
 posing them to the action of some substance, 
 whether solid, fluid, or gaseous, which, on 
 account of its affinity for oxygen, combines 
 with it and leaves the gas with which it is 
 mixed unacted upon. 
 
 The eudiometer invented by Dr. Priestley 
 was extremely simple. He filled a phial with 
 water, and displaced the water \vith the gase- 
 ous mixture to be examined ; the volume of 
 this being noted, it was transferred into an 
 air-jar. An equal volume of nitric oxide was 
 added to it, and they remained together a few 
 minutes. When this part of the process was 
 over, the gas was transferred to a graduated 
 glass tube. After noting the volume of the 
 gas, the result was expressed in measures and 
 decimal parts ; thus, when equal volumes of 
 common air and nitric oxide were mixed, and 
 they afterwards occupied the space of one 
 volume and two-tenths, Dr. Priestley, in 
 speaking of the air so tried, said the measures 
 of the test were 1.2, or the standard of the air 
 was 1.2. 
 
 Numerous attempts have been made to 
 render the eudiometrical application exact and 
 certain by Cavendish, Fontana, Ingenhouz, 
 Sardiniani, Dalton, Gay Lussac, Henry, 
 Thomson, Davy, and others. The eudiometer 
 of Scheele was a graduated glass tube contain- 
 ing a certain volume of air, which was exposed 
 to a mixture of sulphur and iron-filings made 
 into a paste with water. De Marte, instead 
 of using sulphur and iron, employed a solu- 
 tion of sulphuret of potassium prepared by 
 dissolving sulphur in a solution of potash. 
 Guy ton employed sulphuret of potassium also 
 in his eudiometer, but he used it in a solid 
 state, and applied heat to expedite its action. 
 The eudiometer of Seguin is a glass tube, 
 filled with and inverted in mercury ; a small 
 piece of phosphorus is put under the open 
 end of the tube, and by its lightness it im- 
 mediately rises to the top of it, where it is 
 melted by the approach of red-hot iron. A 
 measured portion of the gas to be examined 
 is then passed into the tube ; the phosphorus 
 inflames on each addition of the gas, and the 
 mercury rises, owing to the condensation of 
 the oxygen. The quantity of the residual gas 
 is determined by transferring it into a gra- 
 duated tube, and the difference between the 
 quantity submitted to experiment and that 
 left after it indicates that of the oxygen ab- 
 sorbed. Berthollet also employed phosphorus 
 in his eudiometer, but instead of heating it, 
 as in the above-described method, he allowed 
 combination to take place between it and the 
 oxygen by slow combustion. Dr. Hope, Dr. 
 
831 
 
 EUPHO'RBIUM. 
 
 EURE. 
 
 832 
 
 Henry, and Mr. Pepys, employed a eudio- 
 meter, in which the test liquid was either a 
 solution of iron impregnated with nitric oxide, 
 or a solution of sulphuret of potassium. 
 Volta's method of determining the quantity of 
 oxygen contained in gaseous mixtures is hy 
 means -of combustion with a known volume 
 of hydrogen gas ; for it having been ascer- 
 tained that when a mixture of oxygen and 
 hydrogen gas is fired, one-third of the dimi- 
 nution is owing to the condensation of oxygen, 
 we have only to observe the measure of the 
 contraction of volume to ascertain that of the 
 oxygen which was present. Various modes 
 of effecting this have been devised by Volta, 
 Mitscherlich, Dr. Ure, and others. 
 
 Dobereiner has suggested a eudiometrical 
 process, founded on his curious discovery of 
 the property which spongy platinum possesses 
 of causing the combination of oxygen and 
 hydrogen gases. In this eudiometer the 
 combination occurs without explosion, and 
 yields results of great accuracy. Dobereiner 
 found that when the spongy platinum was 
 mixed with certain substances, so as to pre- 
 vent its immediate and explosive action, it 
 caused the oxygen and hydrogen to combine 
 with moderate rapidity. Dr. Henry and 
 Dr. Turner employed modifications of this 
 process. 
 
 EUPHO'RBIUM, improperly called a gum, 
 or gum-resin, since it is entirely destitute oi 
 any gum in its composition, is the concrete 
 juice of several species of Euphorbia, either 
 exuding naturally or from incisions made in 
 the bark. Much of the article found in 
 British commerce is obtained from the Eu- 
 phorbia Canariensis, while that which occurs 
 on the continent is obtained from Euphorbic 
 ojficinarum, and other African species, parti 
 cularly from an undescribed species, called b} 
 the Arabs Dergmuse, The branches of this 
 plant are used in tanning, and to it, according 
 to Mr. Jackson, the morocco leather owes its 
 peculiarities. By the most recent chemica 
 analysis, euphorbium seems to consist of resin 
 wax, and saline matter (mostly malates). The 
 resin is the active principle, and differs in 
 some respects from most other resins. 
 
 Euphorbium is a powerful acrid substance 
 causing irritation and inflammation of th( 
 parts with which it comes in contact. It is 
 less used in medicine now than formerly. 
 
 EU'PION is the name given to a liqui 
 obtained from animal tar, especially that o 
 bones or horns. It is very limpid, colourles 
 inodorous, and tasteless ; it boils at abou 
 340 Fahr. 
 
 EURE. This department is one of th 
 cider districts of France ; about 30,000,00( 
 
 allons are produced annually. The depart- 
 ment is rich in iron ore ; building stone, mill- 
 tones, and paving granite are quarried ; 
 ullers' earth and potters' clay are found. The 
 manufactures consist of fine and coarse 
 woollen cloths, linen, thread, calico, paper, 
 irinted cottons, ,cotton yarn, cutlery, tape, 
 otton hosiery, blankets, carpets, wind instru- 
 ments, horn and boxwood combs, glue, nails, 
 ins, hardware, &c. There are numerous 
 urnaces and foundries for the manufacture of 
 iron, glass-works, numerous flour and paper- 
 nills, dye-houses, fulling-mills, marble-sawing 
 works, sugar-refineries, bleaching-grounds, 
 mportant copper foundries, zinc -works, and 
 , great number of tan-yards. The factories 
 f various kinds are about eight hundred in 
 number. The exports are composed of the 
 arious agricultural and industrial products 
 named; the imports chiefly of the raw mate- 
 rial required in the numerous manufactures, 
 and of colonial produce. 
 
 Louviers, in this department, is one of the 
 chief seats of the cloth manufacture in France ; 
 t has upwards of 40 factories, in which from 
 7000 to 8000 hands are employed. It has 
 been long famous for the finest description of 
 loths (for uniforms &c.), which range from 
 30 to 65 francs an ell. Of late years coarser 
 cloths, cassimeres, fancy goods for trousers, 
 mantles, &c., are also made. There are also 
 several woollen-yarn factories, large tan-yards, 
 bleaching establishments, card factories, steam- 
 engine and mill-work factories, dye-houses, 
 brick-works, &c., and a brisk trade in corn, 
 wood, charcoal, flax, wool, teazels, &c. 
 
 This department must not be confounded 
 with that of Eure-ct-Loir, which bounds it on 
 the south. Eure-et-Loir is one of the cider 
 districts of France. Besides wheat, rye, barley, 
 oats, leguminous plants, teazels, weld, flax, 
 hemp, &c., are grown. Hops grow spon- 
 taneously in some districts of this department. 
 The number of wind and water mills for the 
 manufacture of flour is about seven hundred. 
 Along the course of the Avre or Aure thriv 
 are important paper-mills belonging to the 
 Messrs. Firmin Didot. There are also nume- 
 rous other paper-mills, tanning and fulling- 
 mills, cotton-spinning factories, iron forges 
 and furnaces (which are supplied with ore 
 partly from the mines of the department, and 
 partly from those of Eure), and from 500 to 
 600 factories and workshops of different kinds. 
 Besides the articles indicated, flannels, serges, 
 druggets, blankets, linen, sieves, and woollen 
 hosiery, are manufactured and exported. A 
 great number of caps are knitted of the fine 
 wool of Beauce or of Spain, and sent to Or- 
 leans, where they are dyed of different colours, 
 
EUEOPE. 
 
 EXCENTBIC. 
 
 834 
 
 and form an important article of export. The 
 imports are wine, brandy, timber, wool, cloth, 
 colonial produce, &c. Stone, marble, granite, 
 and gypsum are quarried. Marl is very abun- 
 dant, and is used for manure. Brick-clay and 
 potters' clay are found. 
 
 EUROPE. All the countries of Europe 
 are briefly noticed in other parts of this vo- 
 lume, in respect to their products, manufac- 
 turing industry, and commerce. We will here 
 give, therefore, simply a few statistical details, 
 covenient for reference. 
 
 Europe has an area of about 3,900,000 
 square miles. This area is drained by rivers 
 which flow into five seas, or directly into the 
 Atlantic, in the following proportion : Into 
 the Caspian 850,000 square miles ; into the 
 Baltic 900,000; into the Mediterranean 
 250,000 ; into the Atlantic direct 600,000; and 
 into the Northern Ocean and White Sea 
 400,000. The areas of the seas themselves 
 are 
 
 Mediterranean . . 
 Black Sea . . 
 Baltic . . 
 Caspian 
 White Sea 
 
 760,000 
 190,000 
 180,000 
 160,000 
 40,000 
 
 The longest straight line that can be drawn 
 through Europe is about 3000 miles, from 
 Cape St. Vincent to the river Kara on the 
 Frozen Ocean. The coast-line of Europe 
 extends about 20,000 miles. The sovereign 
 states of Europe are about 60 in number, and 
 the population about 250 millions. Nearly 
 one-half of the population profess the Roman 
 Catholic religion, nearly a quarter Protes- 
 tantism, and nearly a quarter the Greek 
 church ; the remainder comprise miscella- 
 neous sects. 
 
 In mineral produce, Europe contains a 
 supply of most of the chief kinds. In animal 
 products, applicable to the arts, Europe con- 
 tains a large number, but is deficient in many 
 others. The botany exhibits the following 
 features : The southern districts exhibit a 
 strong resemblance to the vegetation of 
 Africa and its adjacent islands. The vine, the 
 date, the pisang, the prickly pear, the castor- 
 oil plant, the American aloe, rice, the sugar- 
 cane, the cotton-plant, maize, Guinea corn, 
 the fig, the olive, the orange all are met with 
 in different parts of the south of Europe. At 
 about the parallel of the south of France, a 
 marked change occurs in vegetation : most of 
 the southern equinoctial forms of vegetation 
 either disappear or become uncommon. Still 
 more to the north, where the vine begins to 
 languish, its place is better occupied by broad 
 plains of wheat and other corn; the hardy 
 trees of England, elms, limes, oaks, ashes, 
 
 alders, beeches, birches, willows, and poplars, 
 are found everywhere, with rich pastures, and 
 verdant fields, unknown in the land of oranges 
 and myrtles. At last, in the more northern 
 districts of the continent, aspens, bird-cherries, 
 birches, lime-trees, alders, junipers, spruce- 
 firs, and pines, are the principal trees that 
 remain; barley and oats are the only corn- 
 plants, but potatoes continue to be reared in 
 the short cold summer. 
 
 EVAPORATION is the transformation of 
 a liquid into ft gaseous state by the action of 
 heat. If any liquid be placed in an open 
 vessel, it gradually diminishes in quantity by 
 evaporation, and at length disappears. The 
 quantity of vapour produced in a given time is 
 proportional to the area of the exposed sur- 
 face; but, with equal temperatures, the escape 
 of vapour from different liquids varies in 
 rapidity. Over the surface of an ocean the 
 aqueous vapour held in the atmosphere 
 amounts to an enormous quantity. The quan- 
 tity of vapour which rises from a liquid de- 
 pends mainly upon the temperature ; but it is 
 influenced by the state of the atmosphere 
 with respect to dryness or moisture, a dry and 
 warm atmosphere being favourable to it. At 
 equal temperatures, in a close vessel, the eva- 
 poration is the same in quantity whether the 
 vessel containing the liquid contain also air, 
 or have the air exhausted from it, but more 
 rapid in the latter case. 
 
 It was found by Dalton, that at 212 Fahr., 
 the evaporation of water from one square inch 
 of surface is equal to 4.244 grains per minute ; 
 and at 138 Fahr., one grain per minute. 
 Dalton and Gay Lussac have found that the 
 evaporation from ice is equal to that from 
 water at the same temperature. Dalton also 
 determined that the quantity of vapour raised 
 from a given surface of any liquid, at a given 
 temperature, is directly proportional to the 
 elastic force of the vapour at that temperature. 
 Solid substances and liquids of great specific 
 gravity have vapours of small elastic force. 
 When, by evaporation, a liquid is transformed 
 into a vapour, heat is abstracted from the 
 liquid, and a thermometer in it indicates a 
 depression of temperature. 
 
 EXCENTRIC, or ECCENTRIC, in ma- 
 chinery, is a kind of wheel in which the axis 
 or centre of motion does not coincide with 
 the geometrical centre, or in which the 
 periphery is not circular. Eeccntrics form an 
 important class of mechanical expedients for 
 converting one kind of motion into another. 
 They also furnish means for producing, from 
 the uniform speed of one revolving shaft, ro- 
 tatory motion of continually varying speed in 
 shafts placed in connection with it. 
 
835 
 
 EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 836 
 
 EXCISE DUTIES. This name is given 
 to taxes or duties levied upon articles of con- 
 sumption which are produced within the king- 
 dom ; and also upon licences to permit persons 
 to carry on certain trades, the post-horse du- 
 ties, and others of a similar kind. 
 
 Excise duties are said to have had their 
 origin in this country in the reign of Charles!., 
 when a tax was laid upon beer, cider, perry, of 
 home production, by the Long Parliament in 
 1643. This act contains also a list of foreign 
 articles upon which excise duties were im- 
 posed in addition to duties of customs already 
 chargeable. This act was adopted and en- 
 forced under the protectorate of Oliver Crom- 
 well ; and under Charles II. the duties of ex- 
 cise were granted to the crown as part of its 
 revenue. 
 
 In every highly taxed country, where con- 
 sumption duties form part of the public re- 
 venue, it would seem to be hardly possible to 
 avoid the adoption of this class of duties. In 
 England a drawback is allowed on the expor- 
 tation of domestic articles which are subject to 
 excise duty. 
 
 Excise duties are liable to this among other 
 very serious objections, that the regulations 
 under which they are collected interfere with 
 processes of manufacture, so as to prevent 
 the adoption of improvements. Upon the 
 same premises, with the same capital and the 
 same amount of labour, double the quantity 
 of cloths has been printed which could have 
 been printed previous to the repeal of the 
 duty and the consequent abolition of the ex- 
 cise regulations. The abolition of the excise 
 duty on glass in 1845 was made princi- 
 pally with the object of facilitating improve- 
 ments in the manufacture; and this result 
 has been most remarkably apparent. The 
 Crystal Palace, as it is termed, could not have 
 been built six years ago, before the glass du- 
 ties were removed ; neither the market price 
 of glass nor the manufacturing arrangements 
 would have permitted its construction. The 
 excise regulations respecting the manufacture 
 of soap have prevented our soap manufac- 
 turers from entering into competition with the 
 manufacturers of other countries. The effect 
 of the paper duty has been already adverted 
 to. [BOOK TRADE.] Another great objection 
 to excise duties is, the facilities which they 
 offer for the commission of frauds against the 
 revenue. 
 
 In 1797 the number of articles subject to 
 excise duties was 28 ; 15 in 1833 ; 10 in 1835 ; 
 and in 1845 there were only 9, including 
 sugar. The post-horse duty is under the 
 management of the Board of Excise, and in 
 Ireland the duty on game certificates. The 
 
 brick duty was repealed in 1850. The eight 
 following articles are still subject to these du- 
 ties, and with sugar made here constitute all 
 the articles on which the excise duty is now 
 collected: Hops, Licences, Malt, Pepper, 
 Soap, British Spirits, Vinegar. All such im- 
 posts as the window tax come under the desig- 
 nation of assessed taxes, and not excise duties. 
 
 In 1822 the excise duties yielded for the 
 United Kingdom more than twice as much as 
 the customs duties. In 1821 the excise duties 
 reached to 27,400,300/., which is the highest 
 sum they ever attained. In 1845 they were 
 again reduced to the amount at which they 
 stood in 1797, a little above 11, 000,000 J. 
 
 In 1835 the number of traders in the 
 United Kingdom who were surveyed periodi- 
 cally by excise officers was 588,000. The cost 
 of these surveys in England alone amounted 
 to 533,902/. ; but since 1835 several of these 
 surveys have been abolished. 
 
 The net produce of the excise duties, in the 
 year ending October 10, 1850, was 12,913,102/. 
 Under the names of the exciseable articles 
 are given in this work a few statistical details 
 concerning the duties. 
 
 Prior to 1823 there were separate and in 
 dependent Boards of Excise for England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland, and the total number 
 of the excise commissioners was twenty-one. 
 The business is now better conducted by 
 seven commissioners, and by one board in 
 London. The commissioners hold courts and 
 decide summarily in case of the infraction of 
 the excise laws. The number of persons em- 
 ployed at the chief excise office in London is 
 about five hundred, while those employed in 
 different parts of the country are about four 
 thousand 
 
 For the management of the business of the 
 excise department the whole of the United 
 Kingdom is divided into collections, and these 
 are subdivided into districts, rides, and divi- 
 sions. There are fifty five collections in Eng- 
 land and Wales, exclusive of the London col- 
 lection, and at the head of each is a collector, 
 who visits the principal towns in his circuit 
 eight times a year to receive the duties and 
 transact other business connected with the 
 department; besides which he is required to 
 have an eye generally upon the discipline and 
 efficiency of the service. The number of offi- 
 cers in a collection varies from forty to ninety. 
 The next subdivision of a collection is the 
 district, at the head of which is a supervisor. 
 Next come the subdivisions of the districts 
 into rides and divisions, or foot-walks. Where 
 the traders are scattered, the officer is obliged 
 to keep a horse, and his circuit is called a 
 ride; but, if a large number of traders reside 
 
OF ?MS 
 
 No SI. 
 
 OF ALL 
 
8:3? 
 
 EXETER. 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 838 
 
 in a smaller circuit, they are visited by the 
 officer on foot, and then each portion is 
 termed a division or footwalk. Before going 
 out each day, the officer leaves a memorandum 
 at his home which states the places he intends 
 to survey, and the order in which he will visit 
 them ; and the exact time at which he com- 
 mences each must be entered in his journal. 
 The supervisor resurveys some of the officer's 
 surveys ; but which they will be the officer is 
 of course ignorant; and if errors are disco- 
 vered they must be entered in the supervi- 
 sor's diary. These diaries are transmitted to 
 the chief office every two months, and no offi- 
 cer is promoted unless the diaries show him 
 to be efficient. The periodical removal of 
 officers from one part of the country to ano- 
 ther was Mr. Pitt's suggestion, and is still 
 acted upon : about 1100 officers change their 
 residence yearly. At the chief office in Lon- 
 don there is a department of Surveying-Gene- 
 ral Examiners, who are despatched to any 
 district without previous intimation, as a check 
 upon the accuracy and integrity of the super- 
 visors. Promotions take place in the excise 
 department after a certain fixed period in 
 each grade, and only then when the officer 
 petitions for advancement. This involves a 
 rigid examination into his qualifications, which 
 is termed ' taking out a character.' 
 
 EXETER is a sort of western metropolis.- 
 Its manufactures are very miscellaneous, and 
 such as befit the centre of a large agri- 
 cultural district. Its contributions to an ex- 
 hibition of manufactures must necessarily be 
 of the same miscellaneous character as its 
 products generally. Its importance depends 
 mainly on its being a cathedral city, and the 
 focus for a large and fruitful district of 
 country. 
 
 EXPLOSION is the sudden displacement 
 of gaseous particles, accompanied by a loud 
 report. The bursting of a bladder under the 
 air-pump, the bursting of a steam-boiler, and 
 the firing of gunpowder are examples. The 
 explosions which, in the atmosphere, accom- 
 pany a flash of lightning, are ascribed to the 
 rush of air into the vacua produced when the 
 
 aqueous vapours in large portions of space 
 become rapidly condensed. DETONATION is a 
 species of explosion. 
 
 The bursting of steam-boilers is sometimes 
 occasioned by the formation of an incrusta- 
 ion on the interior, which prevents the heat 
 irom radiating freely through the metal. 
 
 EXPORTS. [IMPOSTS AND EXPORTS.] 
 
 EXTRACTS are medicinal preparations of 
 vegetable principles, obtained in various ways. 
 Sometimes they are merely the juices ex- 
 pressed from the fresh plants, brought by 
 careful evaporation to the consistence of 
 honey, and then more properly denominated 
 inspissated juices; at other times they consist 
 of certain principles of the fresh or dried 
 plant extracted by some menstruum in which 
 they are soluble, such as water, proof spirit, 
 or vinegar, and afterwards evaporated, as in 
 the former case. According to the nature of 
 the menstruum employed the extract is called 
 aqueous, alcoholic, or acetous. 
 
 The preparation of extracts requires the 
 greatest care. The plants must be in every 
 respect of the best quality, as regards the 
 place of their growth, season when collected, 
 &c., and the evaporation must be conducted 
 rapidly, yet at a low temperature. Extracts 
 are simple or compound, according as they are 
 prepared from one plant or from several dif- 
 ferent kinds. 
 
 A well-prepared extract should possess in a 
 great degree the odour, and especially the 
 taste, of the plant from which it is obtained ; 
 it should not have either an empyreumatic 
 smell or taste, and it should have a proper 
 and uniform consistence. It is necessary to 
 preserve extracts in a dry situation. To assist 
 in keeping aqueous extracts, it is customary 
 to sprinkle a little alcohol over the surface 
 before covering them up ; but such extracts, 
 if made with cold water and with due care, 
 rarely require this precaution. It is proper to 
 examine the condition of all extracts very fre- 
 quently, both during very warm and very wet 
 weather : any portion which seems spoiled 
 should be immediately thrown out. 
 
 
 VOL. I 
 
839 
 
 FAgADE, 
 
 FACTORIES. 
 
 840 
 
 F 
 
 FACADE, is a French term of modern intro- 
 duction into the English language. It ex- 
 presses the face or front view of an edifice, 
 and is often used in speaking of architectural 
 buildings, as the fa9ade of the Louvre, or the 
 fa9ade of St. Peter's at Home. 
 
 FACTOR is a mercantile agent, who buys 
 and sells the goods of others, and transacts 
 their business on commission. He is in- 
 trusted with the management and disposal of 
 the goods, and he buys and sells in his own 
 name, in which particulars consists the main 
 difference between factors and brokers. The 
 chief part of the foreign trade of a country is 
 carried on through the medium of factors, 
 who generally reside at a distance from the 
 merchants or manufacturers who employ 
 them. The common duty of a factor is to 
 receive consignments of goods, to sell them, 
 and to make remittances either in money, 
 bills, or purchased goods, in return ; and he 
 is paid by a commission upon the money 
 which passes through his hands. It is usual 
 for a factor to make advances upon the goods 
 consigned to him, for which, and for his com- 
 mission, he has a general lien upon all the 
 property of his employer which may at any 
 time be in his hands. 
 
 It is the duty of a factor to keep the goods 
 with which he is intrusted free from injury, to 
 keep a clear account of his dealings, and at 
 proper times to transmit it to his employer, 
 with information of all the transactions and 
 liabilities which he has entered into and in- 
 curred in the course of his employment, by 
 which his principal can be affected ; also to 
 send him advice of all bills accepted or drawn 
 upon his credit, and generally to act with 
 fidelity to him. 
 
 There is another description of factor, who 
 acts under what is called a del credere com- 
 mission, where, for an additional per centage 
 he engages for the solvency of the purchasers 
 of the goods consigned to him. In this case, 
 the factor stands in the relation of a surety 
 for the persons with whom he deals on account 
 of the employer, and he is liable to his em- 
 ployer only in case of their default. 
 
 FACTORIES; FACTORY-SYSTEM. The 
 word factory has had two different meanings. 
 It formerly meant an establishment of mer- 
 chants and factors resident in foreign coun- 
 tries, who were governed by certain regula- 
 tions adopted for their mutual support and 
 
 assistance against the undue encroachments 
 or interference of the government of the coun- 
 tries in which they resided. In modern times 
 these factories have, in a great measure, 
 ceased to exist, because of the greater degree 
 of security which merchants feel as regards 
 both the justice of those governments and the 
 protection, when needed, of their own country. 
 The Venetians, Genoese, Portuguese, Dutch, 
 French, and English have all had establish- 
 ments of the nature of factories. In China 
 the Portuguese established a factory at Macao, 
 and the English at Canton. In most instances 
 factories have at first obtained the privilege of 
 trading, and afterwards procured for the pre- 
 cinct assigned to them some exemption from 
 the jurisdiction of the native courts. In this 
 state of things the supreme government of 
 the country whose subjects have established 
 the factory prepare laws for its control and 
 administration, and treat it in fact as if it 
 were its dependency, though the sovereignty 
 of the native government is undisputed. 
 
 But in its usual acceptation, the word fac- 
 tory has now a different meaning. By the 
 Factory Act of 1844, a factory means any 
 building wherein steam, water, or other me- 
 chanical power is used to work any machinery 
 employed in the manufacture of cotton, wool, 
 hair, silk, flax, hemp, jute, or tow. 
 
 What is called the Factory System owes its 
 origin to the invention and skill of Arkwright; 
 and it is probable that but for the invention 
 of spinning machinery, and the consequent 
 necessary aggregation of large numbers of 
 workmen in cotton-mills, the name would 
 never have been thus applied. It is in the 
 cotton-mills that the factory system has been 
 brought to its highest state of perfection. The 
 power of subdivision of emploj'ment accord- 
 ing to strength and skill, and that of bringing 
 to bear upon every distinct process exactly as 
 much force as is necessary, without waste, are 
 the two great and valuable advantages of the 
 factory system. 
 
 The legislature has interfered to prevent 
 children in factories being tasked beyond their 
 strength, to the permanent injury of their 
 constitutions. This abuse was the more to 
 be apprehended, because a large proportion of 
 the children engaged in cotton-spinning are 
 not directly employed by the masters, but are 
 under the control of the spinners, a highly 
 paid class of workmen, whose earnings greatly 
 
841 
 
 FACTORIES, 
 
 FACTOKIES. 
 
 812 
 
 depend upon the length of time during which 
 they can keep their young assistants at work. 
 A parliamentary committee sat for the inves- 
 tigation of this subject in 1832, and subse- 
 quently a commission was issued by the 
 crown for ascertaining, by examinations at the 
 factories themselves, the kind and degree of 
 abuses that prevailed, and for suggesting the 
 proper remedies. In consequence of these 
 inquiries, an act was passed in 1833 for regu- 
 lating factories. This act was amended by 
 that of 1844. 
 
 On January 1, 1846, a new act came into 
 operation, which brought print - works, or 
 calico-printing establishments, within the ope- 
 ration of the factory regulations. By the 
 terms of another act, passed in 1847, ' no 
 children ' or ' young persons ' are to work in 
 a factory more than 11 hours a day, from 
 July 1, 1847 ; nor more than 10 hours a day 
 from May 1, 1848. The same provisions 
 were made in respect to all women of what- 
 ever age; so that at the present time the 
 work-hours of women, boys, and girls, are 
 limited : those of men unlimited by any enact- 
 ment. By an act passed in 1850, a few minor 
 changes were made, chiefly with a view to pre- 
 vent night-work in factories. The ' Ten 
 Hours' Bill,' advocated by many persons, 
 would, if passed, limit the working hours of 
 males in factories. 
 
 The United Kingdom is divided into four 
 factory districts, presided over by four inspec- 
 tors and several sub-inspectors. Each in- 
 spector presents a report half yearly to the 
 Home Secretary, respecting the state of the 
 
 Factories. Spindles. 
 
 England and Wales 3,689 22,850,010 
 
 Scotland .. .. 550 2,256,403 
 
 Ireland 91 532,303 
 
 4,330 25,638,716 
 
 In this table, the horse-power includes both 
 steam engines and water- wheels employed in 
 working the machinery in the factories ; they 
 are nearly in the ratio of four- fifths steam 
 power to one-fifth water power. The term 
 children is applied to those at and under 13 
 years of age ; from 13 to 18 the term applied 
 is young persons. 
 
 Taking the whole of the United Kingdom 
 in one entry, and regarding only the ages and 
 sexes of the persons employed, we find the 
 following numbers : 
 
 Males. Females. 
 
 Under ]3 . 10,400 15,722=- 35,122 
 13 to 18 . 67,864 1 309577-555307 
 
 Above 18 . 157,866 1 
 
 245,130 345,299=590,429 
 
 factories within his district. These reports 
 occasionally give such information as will 
 show the number of factories and work-people. 
 In 1845, Mr. Horner, whose district is very 
 nearly coextensive with the county of Lanca- 
 shire, gave the following as the state of his 
 district in that year : 
 
 Workers Workers Power 
 Mills, under 18. 18 & above. Looms* 
 
 Cotton Mills 1,724 
 
 Woollen do. 241 
 
 Flax do. 71 
 
 Silk do. 32 
 
 69,155 
 5,456 
 2,255 
 3,121 
 
 128,305 138,717 
 
 6,485 3,237 
 
 3,336 
 
 3,324 995 
 
 2,068 79,987 141,450 142,940 
 
 The great strength of the woollen and 
 worsted trades lay in another district, con- 
 cerning which similar returns were not made. 
 In September 1848 the mills and works 
 within the limits of the town of Manchester, 
 subject to the factory laws, were as follow : 
 
 Mills. Hands. 
 
 Cotton . . 96 26,809 
 
 Silk ... 8 2,850 
 
 Worsted . . 3 169 
 
 Small Wares 17 1,752 
 
 Print Works 4 1,172 
 
 Dye Works . 23 1,847 
 
 In 1850 a return was made to the House of 
 Commons respecting factories, more detailed 
 and instructive than any before prepared. We 
 will give a few of the results, calculated to 
 illustrate diffei-ent aspects of the subject. 
 
 First, in respect to different parts of the 
 United Kingdom we have : 
 
 Power Horse Children Total 
 
 Looms. Power. Employed. Employed. 
 
 272,588 109,824 34,155 495,707 
 
 23,811 19,861 929 75,688 
 
 2,517 4,532 38 24,687 
 
 298,916 134,217 35,122 596,082 
 
 In respect to females, one entry includes 
 young persons and adults, as the same laws now 
 apply to both classes. Of 100 persons work- 
 ing in factories 58 are females and 42 males. 
 About 6 per cent of the workers are under 13 
 years old. 
 
 The next classification we shall notice is 
 that which depends on the kind of operations 
 carried on. There are four classes, as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Spinning factories 2,636 
 
 Weaving factories 454 
 
 Spinning and weaving factories . . 1,005 
 Not specified . . 505 
 
 4,600 
 Next in regard to the five principal kinds of 
 
843 
 
 FAHRENHEIT. 
 
 FALKLAND ISLANDS. 
 
 844 
 
 materials employed, we find the factories to 
 
 be distributed as follows : 
 
 Cotton factories 
 Woollen 
 Worsted 
 Flax 
 Silk 
 
 1,932 
 
 1,497 
 
 501 
 
 393 
 
 277 
 
 330,924 
 74,443 
 
 79,737 
 68,434 
 42,544 
 
 4,GOO 596,082 
 
 The number of factories here given (4,600) 
 is in excess of that given in the first table 
 (4330) ; this probably arises from some of the 
 factories being entered twice, in cases where 
 they work mixed fabrics of cotton and woollen, 
 or cotton and silk, or woollen and silk. The 
 cotton factories are rather less than half the 
 whole number, but employ more than half 
 the entire number of operatives. The average 
 number of operatives in cotton factories is 
 120 ; the average in all factories is 75. Out 
 of the 1932 cotton factories, no less than 
 1235 are in Lancashire; out of the 1998 
 woollen and worsted factories, no less than 
 1298 are in Yorkshire. It will be seen that a 
 remarkable parallelism exists in these num- 
 bers ; 64 per cent of all the cotton factories 
 are in Lancashire, and 65 per cent of all the 
 woollen and worsted factories are in York- 
 shire. 
 
 FAHRENHEIT, GABRIEL DANIEL, is 
 noticeable here on account of one particular 
 invention. He was bom at Danzig, near the 
 end of the 17th century, but the precise year 
 of his birth is unknown. His taste inclined 
 strongly to scientific pursuits, and having tra- 
 velled through different parts of Germany in 
 order to acquire information respecting the 
 subjects of his studies, he came to Holland, 
 and established himself at Amsterdam as a 
 maker of philosophical instruments. He is 
 chiefly distinguished for the invention of that 
 particular scale which he applied to thermo- 
 meters [THERMOMETER], and which has ever 
 since beeu generally in use in this country. 
 He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 
 of London in 1724, and wrote some papers in 
 the ' Philosophical Transactions ' for that 
 year. He died in 1740. 
 
 FAIR. Anciently, before any flourishing 
 towns were established, and the necessaries 
 or ornaments of life, from the convenience of 
 communication and the increase of provincial 
 towns, could be procured in various places, 
 goods and commodities of every kind were 
 chiefly sold at fairs; to which, as to one uni- 
 versal mart, the people resorted periodically, 
 and supplied most of their wants for the en- 
 suing year. Wharton, in his 'History of 
 English Poetry,' has given us a curious 
 account of that of St. Giles's hill or down, 
 
 near Winchester. It was instituted by Wil- 
 liam the Conqueror, at first for three days, 
 which were afterwards extended to sixteen. 
 Its jurisdiction extended seven miles round, 
 and comprehended even Southampton, then a 
 capital trading town ; and all merchants who 
 sold wares within that circuit, unless at the fair, 
 forfeited them to the bishop. As late as 1512, 
 as we learn from th'e Northumberland House- 
 hold-book, fairs still continued to be the prin- 
 cipal marts for purchasing necessaries in large 
 quantities, which are now supplied by the nu- 
 merous trading towns. 
 
 The fairs of Frankfort-on-the-Main and 
 Leipzig are still pre-eminent in Europe. A 
 very large part of the book-trade of Germany 
 is centered in the Easter fair at Leipzig. 
 
 The fair at Nischnei Novgorod, in Russia, 
 between the river Oka and the river Volga, is the 
 largest at the present day : 200,000 visitors 
 are said to attend it, and commodities to the 
 amount of 4,000,000/. sterling to be disposed 
 of. There is also a singular lair held at Ber- 
 bera, on the coast of Adel, in Eastern Africa. 
 Throughout nearly the whole of the year the 
 place is abandoned to the hyena and the 
 jackall, and the huts are left open ; but as the 
 period of the fair approaches, caravans of 
 camels, horses, mules, asses, and troops of 
 warriors continue to arrive, and in a short 
 time the desert is animated by the presence of 
 many thousands of persons, who, having 
 transacted their business, disperse, and the 
 place resumes its desolate solitude. The 
 great commercial fair at Beaucaire in France 
 has been already described. [BEAUCAIRE.] 
 
 FALKLAND ISLANDS. These remote 
 islands will in time acquire commercial im- 
 portance. They are situated in the South 
 Atlantic, and consist of two islands of conside- 
 rable size, and many smaller ones. East Falk- 
 land is about 90 miles long, and on an ave- 
 rage 40 miles wide ; West Falkland is about 
 80 miles long, with a mean width of about 25 
 miles. The smaller islands, about two hun- 
 dred in number, van' considerably, from 16 
 miles in length and 8 in width, to mere islets 
 of half a mile in diameter. The area of the 
 whole is about 6000 square miles. 
 
 The Falklands are moderately fertile, and 
 contain several good harbours. Small colonies 
 were formed there by the French and the 
 English in the last century, but afterwards 
 abandoned. When , h owever, it was foun d 1 1 1 at 
 the islands formed a convenient halting-place 
 for southern whalers, the Republic of Buenos 
 Ayres took possession of them in 1820. 
 land protested against this step in ]s-.".i. 
 Meanwhile the government of Buenos Ayres 
 had formed a settlement at Port Louis in 
 
845 
 
 FALLOW. 
 
 FALMOUTH. 
 
 846 
 
 1823, but Great Britain asserted its rights, 
 and the colony was given up to the English 
 in 1833. The islands have since assumed the 
 condition of a regular British colony, and in 
 1844 a new town was laid out on the southern 
 shore of Stanley Harbour, a land-locked inlet 
 sheltered from every wind. 
 
 In a recent letter from Falkland it is said : 
 ' The number of wild cattle now upon East 
 Falkland is estimated at over 150,000 head, 
 in addition to which there are herds of several 
 thousand tame stock, and about 3000 .wild 
 horses, with several troops of tamed horses, 
 some imported from South America, and some 
 of the native breed, trained to assist in cap- 
 turing and managing the cattle. This latter 
 work is chiefly performed by a class of men 
 called Guachos, natives of the Pampas of La 
 Plata, whose occupation, from childhood up- 
 Avards, is the pursuit and subjection of the 
 wild herds which, in countless numbers, cover 
 those vast plains ; but latterly several English 
 and Irish men have been initiated in the arts 
 of the Guachos, and have proved themselves 
 quite as skilful as the South American hun- 
 ters, whilst they conduct their perilous occu- 
 pation with more humanity and consequently 
 with greater profit to their employers. It is 
 found that all esculent vegetables, particularly 
 carrots, parsneps, and turnips, thrive and grow 
 to great perfection in these islands, the climate 
 of which is remarkably salubrious. As a naval 
 station, there can be no question that the 
 Falklands are, at the present juncture, more 
 than at any former period, a most important 
 possession of the crown.' 
 
 FALLOW is a portion of land in which no 
 seed is sown for a whole year, in order that 
 the soil may be left exposed to the influence 
 of the atmosphere, the weeds destroyed by re- 
 peated ploughings and harrowings, and the 
 fertility improved at a less expense of manure 
 than it would be if a crop had been raised 
 upon it. 
 
 The practice of fallowing land is as old as 
 the Ptoman Empire. It appears that, where- 
 ever the Romans extended their conquests 
 and planted colonies, they introduced this 
 mode of restoring land to a certain degree of 
 fertility when exhausted by bearing grain. 
 The attention of agriculturists has in later 
 times been turned to lessen the necessity of 
 fallows, and to substitute some other means 
 of restoring fertility. It is acknowledged by 
 all experienced farmers that manure alone is 
 not sufficient for this purpose. The ground 
 must be tilled and noxious weeds destroyed; 
 and the only efficacious mode of doing so is 
 to stir the ground at the time when their seeds 
 have vegetated, their roots have made shoots, 
 
 and before any new seed can ripen. Light 
 sandy soils require only cleansing from weeds ; 
 and if this can be done without leaving them 
 fallow for a whole summer, a great advantage 
 will be obtained. This has been effected com- 
 pletely by the cultivation of turnips and clover, 
 which was first practised in the light soils of 
 Flanders, and afterwards introduced into the 
 similar soils of Norfolk, from whence it has 
 spread all over Great Britain, and is beginning 
 to be adopted more generally in Ireland. On 
 light lands the preparation for the turnips, 
 the abundant manuring and subsequent hoe- 
 ing, are as effectual in cleansing the land and 
 bringing it into a fertile state as any complete 
 fallow could ever be ; and the clover smothers 
 and destroys the weeds which may have come 
 up amongst the barley or oats sown after the 
 turnips. On heavy soils it is often impossible 
 to keep the land clear of weeds, in wet cli- 
 mates and unfavourable seasons, without a 
 complete fallow, and when this is the case it 
 is best to do the thing effectually. Upon cold 
 wet soils, which should always first of all be 
 well underdrained, no pains should be spared 
 to get the land perfectly clean. 
 
 The advice given by the late Mr. Rham was 
 Avoid fallows if you can keep your land 
 clean ; but, when you fallow, do it effectually, 
 and improve the soil at the same time by 
 chalk, lime, or marl, according to circum- 
 stances. Do not spare either ploughs or har- 
 rows in dry weather. In short, neither plough- 
 ing nor manuring alone will keep a soil in a 
 good fertile state. There must be an occa- 
 sional fallow for some soils, and turnips or 
 similar husbandry for others. 
 
 FALMOUTH. The harbour of this Cor- 
 nish seaport is an extensive bay, well pro- 
 tected by the surrounding highlands, and so 
 conveniently situated, that vessels have fre- 
 quently been able to proceed on their voyage 
 from this port, while those from Plymouth 
 and Portsmouth have been forced back by 
 contrary winds before they could reach the 
 mouth of the Channel. The exports consist 
 principally of the produce of the tin and cop- 
 per mines. The number of sailing vessels re- 
 gistered at the port is about 120. 
 
 Unfortunately for Falmouth, the non-exist- 
 ence of a railway through Cornwall has nearly 
 deprived this town of its former importance as 
 a packet station. Southampton has risen in 
 its stead, on account of its admirable position 
 in respect to communication with the metro- 
 polis. Nothing but a complete line of railway 
 will restore Falmouth as a packet station ; and 
 even that could only occur after the expiration 
 of existing contracts between the Government 
 and the various steam-packet companies. 
 
847 
 
 FALUN. 
 
 FAN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 848 
 
 FALUN, a town in Sweden, the capital of 
 the province of Dalecarlia, is celebrated for 
 the great mine of copper, which is in the mid- 
 dle of the town, and which also yields small 
 quantities of gold, silver, and lead, besides 
 vitriol, ochre, and brimstone. There are a 
 few manufactures of tobacco, linen, cotton, 
 and wool 
 
 FAN. This name is given to an instrument 
 or machine for agitating the air by the wafting 
 or revolving motion of a broad surface for the 
 purpose of producing artificial currents. Large 
 revolving fans, driven by machinery, are fre- 
 quently used either to facilitate the cooling of 
 fluids or the process of winnowing, or as blow- 
 ing machines to urge the combustion of a 
 fire, or to assist in ventilation. Another ap- 
 plication of such an apparatus is for the pur- 
 pose of regulating or checking, by the resist- 
 ance of air to its rapid motion, the velocity of 
 light machinery. A familiar example of such 
 an use is afforded by the revolving fans of a 
 musical snuff-box. 
 
 FAN MANUFACTURE. The manufac- 
 ture of ladies' fans is a larger department of 
 industry than many persons would suppose. 
 After a considerable interval, during which 
 fans were little used, they have lately come 
 again into favour ; and the manufacture is 
 conducted in France on a considerable scale. 
 The firm of M. Duvelleroy at Paris are pre- 
 paring some magnificent specimens for the 
 Great Exhibition. From an account of that 
 establishment recently given in the ' Exposi- 
 tor,' we learn that M. Duvelleroy has prepared 
 a whole set of fans displaying the stories of 
 the ' Arabian Nights,' intended by the Grand 
 Sultan as presents for the ladies of his harem; 
 they are to be submitted to the lady of the 
 Turkish Ambassador at Paris, before being 
 -.ransmitted to Constantinople. M. Duvelleroy 
 .tianufactures fans for the courts not only of 
 European countries, but for those even of 
 Africa and Asia. It is said that we shall have 
 submitted to our inspection at the Exhibition 
 -, fan now being made for the Emperor of 
 Morocco, at a cost of more than WOOL An- 
 other is now in progress for the Empress of 
 Russia. 
 
 From the source above referred to we ga- 
 ther some curious details concerning the fan 
 manufacture. Fans were known in the East 
 from remote ages ; but they are not supposed 
 to have been introduced into western Europe 
 until the time of the crusaders. About the 
 10th century fans came into very general use ; 
 generally made by fixing peacock or ostrich 
 feathers in a handle of gold, silver, or ivory. 
 As early as 1522 the fan manufacturers formed 
 one of the industrial guilds of Paris. In the 
 
 time of Louis XIV. the Jesuits who returned 
 from China brought over specimens of the 
 Chinese folding-fan, which at once superseded 
 the former shape. When the Edict of Nantes 
 drove so many artisans out of France, fan 
 makers were among the number; they came 
 to England, where the trade became esta- 
 blished on a firm footing. Just a century after- 
 wards, the French Revolution crushed the re- 
 mains of the manufacture in France, and 
 England became the chief emporium of fans. 
 At the termination of the war the manufacture 
 revived in France; and so congenial is it to 
 the taste of that nation, that France now al- 
 most entirely monopolises the manufacture, 
 very few fans being made in England. 
 
 It is said that Duvelleroy employs 2000 
 persons a statement scarcely credible ; he 
 has made it a point to grasp the two extremes 
 of the scale in costliness as well as all inter- 
 mediate degrees, for he makes fans from one 
 halfpenny each to one thousand guineas. 
 Every halfpenny fan goes through no less 
 than fifteen hands : a proof that the factory 
 system must be thoroughly carried out in that 
 establishment. Duvelleroy's fans are sent to 
 all parts of the world, and are now competing 
 in the East with those of China. Spain is try- 
 ing to maintain a home manufacture, but all 
 the best specimens come from Paris. America 
 affords the best markets, for while the ladies 
 of North America closely imitate the fashions 
 of Paris, those of South and tropical America 
 are passionately fond of gorgeous fans, on 
 which the most exciting scenes are painted in 
 the most dazzling colours. Duvelleroy has a 
 large corps of intelligent artists, who study 
 the peculiar tastes of every nation in respect 
 to pictures and colours. 
 
 In the manufacture of fans, the chief parts 
 are called the handle, the brins, the panaches, 
 the end, and the leaf. The handle is the part 
 at which all the rest of the fan is hinged toge- 
 ther, and which is made of ivory, wood, or any 
 hard material. The brins, or radiants, from 
 twelve to twenty-four in number, radiate from 
 the handle ; they are about four inches long. 
 The ends are elastic pieces which connect the 
 brins with the handle, and which form with 
 them the skeleton of the fan ; they are made 
 of mother-o' -pearl, tortoise-shell, ivory, horn, 
 ebony, bone, citron-wood, sandal-wood, or 
 plain wood, and are rivetted with diamonds, 
 gold, pearls, or more cheap material, according 
 to the price. The panaches are the two outer- 
 most bi-ins, made wider and sti*onger than the 
 rest for security. The leaf is the surface of 
 the fan, cut into the form of the segment of a 
 circle. It is made of paper, of cabretille (very 
 delicate kid-skin), vellum, parchment, satin, 
 
849 
 
 FAEM. 
 
 FABM. 
 
 650 
 
 tulle, gauze, or crepe, according to circum 
 stances. There are as many folds or plait 
 given to this leaf as there are brins ; and th 
 brins govern the opening and closing of th 
 leaf. 
 
 It is in the painting and decorating of th< 
 leaf that the costliness of the best fans chiefl; 
 consists. Duvelleroy has a number of highlj 
 paid and accomplished artists engaged in thi 
 department. 
 
 The Chinese workmen are not permitted by 
 the Emperor, it is said, to send goods to Eng 
 land for the approaching Exhibition ; but M 
 Duvelleroy is about to send some choice speci 
 mens of Chinese fans, as well as others of his 
 own manufacture. 
 
 FAEM. In the present state of agriculture 
 a man who takes a farm of 200 acres of arabl 
 land, or land partly arable and partly gooc 
 pasture, will require from 1600/. to 2000/. 
 and it is not the interest either of the landlorc 
 or the tenant that he should take the farm un 
 less he can command that sum. The amount 
 of capital required depends in a great degree 
 also on the quality of the land ; very rich lane 
 requires less capital in proportion to the rent 
 than poor land. Besides the quality of the 
 soil, many other circumstances determine the 
 value of a farm. The roads, especially those 
 which lead to the neighbouring towns, whence 
 manure maybe obtained, are a most important 
 object ; and, if there is water-carriage, it greatly 
 enhances the value of the farm. The roads to 
 the fields, and the distance from these to the 
 farm-yard ; the convenience of having good 
 pasture, or land easily laid down in grass, near 
 the homestead ; and especially the situation 
 of the farm buildings with respect to the land, 
 and the abundance of good water are all cir- 
 cumstances which must be well considered, 
 and which will greatly influence the probable 
 profits, and consequently the rent which may 
 be fairly offered. 
 
 Large straggling farm-buildings are incon- 
 venient, and cost much in repairs. The yard 
 or yards in a large farm should be sheltered 
 on the north side by the barns, which need not 
 be so extensive as used formerly to be thought 
 necessary. Every farm which is so extensive 
 as to require more than one floor to thrash 
 the corn on ought always to have a thrashing- 
 mill attached to it. A small yard, distinct 
 from the other, with sheds for the cattle to 
 shelter themselves under in wet and stormy 
 weather, is a great advantage. The cart-sheds 
 should be in the stack-yard, which properly 
 occupies a space north of the barn. There 
 should be a sufficient number of stands with 
 proper pillars and frames to build stacks on. 
 On each side of the yard should be placed the 
 
 stables, cow-houses, and feeding-stalls, with a 
 pump of good water near the last, and conve- 
 nient places to put hay, straw, and turnips in, 
 with a machine to cut them. An under- ground 
 cistern near the cow-house and stables, into 
 which the urine and washings of the cow-house 
 may run by means of a sink or drain, is a 
 most useful appendage. Light thatched roofs 
 are sufficient for the sheds and smaller build- 
 ings, and even for the cow-houses and sta- 
 bles. 
 
 In the old system of agriculture a third of 
 the gross average produce was considered as 
 a fair rent for a farm, including all the direct 
 payments for the occupation of the land, such 
 as tithes, rates, and taxes ; another third was 
 supposed to cover the labour and expenses of 
 the farm and interest of capital ; and the re- 
 maining third was appropriated to the mainte- 
 nance of the farmer and his family, out of 
 which he had to save whatever he laid by as a 
 clear profit. But this calculation is no longer 
 applicable to the present state of agriculture. 
 The expenses are greatly increased, and the 
 produce is also greater. Eents in Scotland 
 are higher than in England, not only for small 
 occupations, but for extensive farms ; and yet 
 the tenants have complained less of the times 
 than their neighbours in the south. One cause 
 for this difference is, that the Scotch farm-la- 
 bourer is more advantageously kept as a sort of 
 in-door servant than in England ; another is 
 that the horses are better managed on a Scotch 
 farm ; and a third is that Scotch farmers are 
 generally more alive to scientific improvements 
 ;han those of England. 
 
 In the accounts of a farm there are many 
 separate items to be taken into consideration. 
 There may be a separate account kept for 
 every field. There should always be one for 
 every crop of which the rotation consists. 
 There is an account of the labour of men and 
 icrses ; of the produce of the dairy ; of the 
 tock purchased to be fatted, or sold again in 
 an improved state. In short, the divisions of 
 he general account may be increased without 
 imit. M. de Dombasle, at his celebrated 
 arm of Eoville, in France, has all his princi- 
 >al servants and his apprentices assembled 
 very evening after the day's work is over. 
 ]ach man gives an account of the work done 
 y him or under his superintendence, which 
 s written down by the clerk. The orders for 
 he next day are then given, and every one re- 
 eturns to his lodging or his home. In the 
 ourse of the next day the clerk enters all that 
 3 in the journal into a book, where every per- 
 on employed has an account : every field has 
 ne ; every servant and domestic animal has 
 ne ; and every item which can be separated 
 
851 
 
 FAT. 
 
 FELSPAK. 
 
 852 
 
 from the rest is entered, both as adding to th 
 account or taking from it. 
 
 FAT is of two different kinds, which differ 
 as to their melting point : these are tennec 
 olein (or elain) and stearin. The substances 
 to which these names are given are not how 
 ever in all cases absolutely identical : they 
 vary as to smell, taste, solubility in alcohol 
 &c. ; but all fats agree in being insoluble in 
 water, and hi not containing any nitrogen, 
 which is a common constituent of most other 
 animal matter. 
 
 Human Fat varies a little according to the 
 part of the body producing it ; that from the 
 region of the kidneys, after it has been melted, 
 is yellowish and inodorous ; it begins to con- 
 crete at 76 Fahr., and is solid at 64. The 
 Olein of human fat is a colourless, oily, sweet- 
 ish fluid, and remains so at 40. Ox Fat, when 
 melted, begins to solidify at 98, and the tem- 
 perature then rises to 102 ; it contains about 
 three-fourths of its weight of stearin, which is 
 solid, hard, colourless, not greasy, and of a 
 granular crystalline texture. The olein of ox 
 fat is colourless and nearly inodorous. Slieep's 
 Fat (or Mutton Suet), by exposure to the air 
 acquires a peculiar odour ; after fusion it con- 
 geals at a temperature varying between 98 
 and 102 ; the stearin is white, translucent, 
 and after fusion but imperfectly crystalline. 
 Hog's Fat, or Hog's Lard, is a soft colourless 
 solid, which fuses between 78 and 86 ; the 
 stearin is inodorous, solid, and granular. 
 Goat's Fat contains a peculiar fat, termed by 
 Chevreul Hircin, to the presence of which its 
 peculiar odour is owing. Goose Fat is colour- 
 less, and of a peculiar taste and smell. 
 
 The fluid fats, whether of animal or vege- 
 table origin, are usually termed oils. [OiLs.j 
 
 The olein and stearin of animal fats are 
 highly useful and important substances in the 
 manufacture of soap and candles ; for the lat- 
 ter purpose stearin has been of late very ad- 
 vantageously employed, and to a considerable 
 extent, as a substitute for wax. [CANDLE ; 
 SOAP.] 
 
 FEATHERS. The principal uses to which 
 feathers are applied are for personal decora- 
 tion, as plumes for ladies' head-dresses, or for 
 the hats of military officers ; as a soft and 
 highly elastic material for filling beds, cush- 
 ions and pillows ; or, in the case of the larger 
 quill-feathers, as writing-pens, or small tubes 
 for the manufacture of hair-pencils, or similar 
 purposes. 
 
 Of the various kinds of feathers employed 
 as plumes for head-dresses the most important 
 are those of the ostrich. They are first washed 
 in a lather of white soap and water, and sub- 
 sequently in warm clear water. They are 
 
 bleached by three successive operations : first 
 with water only, then with a little indigo, and 
 then a little sulphur. The feathers are then 
 dried by hanging upon cords, during which 
 they are shaken from time to time to separate 
 their fibres. To increase their pliancy, the 
 ribs are scraped with a bit of glass cut circu- 
 larly ; and, to impart the requisite curly form 
 to the filaments or fibres, the edge of a blunt 
 knife is drawn over them. 
 
 Feathers have long been used as a stuffing 
 for beds and pillows ; goose feathers especially. 
 Goose feathers are divided into white and 
 gray, the former being deemed the most valu- 
 able. The less valuable land of feathers, 
 known by the general name of poultry feathers, 
 are obtained from turkeys, ducks, and fowls. 
 Wild duck feathers are both soft and elastic, 
 but their value is impaired by the great diffi- 
 culty of removing the disagreeable odour of 
 the animal oil which they contain. Various 
 methods are practised of cleansing feathers 
 from their oil, principally by the use of lime 
 or lime-water ; but Mr. Herring has introdu- 
 ced a method of purifying feathers by steam, 
 which is said to be very efficacious. The soft- 
 est and finest kind of feathers employed for 
 bedding are those from the breast of the eider- 
 duck. [ElDEK-DoWN.] 
 
 Of the quills of feathers employed for pens, 
 those from the goose are most used. One 
 among many modes of preparing them is the 
 following : A workman sits before a small 
 stove fire, into which he thrusts the barrel of 
 the quill for about a second. Immediately 
 upon withdrawing it from the fire, he draws it 
 under the edge of a large blunt edged knife, 
 called a hook, by which it is forcibly compres- 
 sed against a block or plate of iron heated to 
 about 350 Fahr. By this process the barrel, 
 which is rendered soft and elastic by the heat, 
 s pressed flat, and stripped of its outer mem- 
 brane, without danger of splitting. It springs 
 jack to its natural form, and the dressing is 
 completed by scrubbing with a piece of rough 
 dog-fish skin. The principal workman em- 
 ployed in this operation can pass 2000 quills 
 ,hrough his hands in a day of ten hours. By 
 
 hatever process the external membrane is re- 
 moved, that inside the quill remains, shrivelled 
 up in the centre of the ban-el, until it is cut 
 open to convert it into a pen. 
 
 Foreign feathers were imported to the fol- 
 owing values, in four recent years, viz. : 
 >,279/. in 1846, 4,237/. in 1847, 4,G89/. in 1 848, 
 and 5,09CZ. in 1849. 
 
 FELSPAR is a mineral which occurs both 
 crystalline and massive. The primary form 
 }f the crystal is an oblique rhombic prism. 
 Both the colour and the degree cf transpa- 
 
853 
 
 FELT ; FELTING. 
 
 FENCES. 
 
 854 
 
 rency vary greatly. Felspar, which is a com- 
 ponent of all granites, consists mainly of silica 
 and alumina. 
 
 FELT ; FELTING. Under HAT MANU- 
 FACTURE will be found a description of that 
 peculiar process whereby woollen and fur 
 fibres are felted into a material fitted for 
 hats. 
 
 Woollen fibres are sometimes combined by 
 the felting instead of the weaving process for 
 carpets and various kinds of cloth. Among 
 other manufacturing firms for the purpose, 
 there is the * Patent Felted Woollen Cloth Com- 
 pany ; ' by whom is made felt carpets, embos- 
 sed and printed felt table-covers, felt polishing 
 cloth for plate and other purposes, felt for 
 veterinary purposes, felt waistcoatings, felt 
 coach-cloths and railway carriage-linings, up- 
 holsterers' felt, and felt for pianofortes. 
 
 A material called Asphalted Roofing Felt has 
 come rather extensively into use. The two 
 principal kinds are Croggon's and McNeill's. 
 The qualities of this material are stated by the 
 patentees to be impcrviousness to rain and 
 snow, non-conductibility of heat, elasticity, 
 lightness, durability, economy, and easy appli- 
 cation. It may not perhaps possess all these 
 desirable qualities, but it certainly possesses 
 many of them. It is used for roofing churches, 
 houses, cottages, verandahs, farm-buildings, 
 cattle sheds, and other buildings ; for lining 
 granaries and stores ; for protecting ceilings 
 from damp ; for lining the insides or outsides 
 of wooden buildings ; for covering conservato- 
 ries and garden-frames; for thatching corn 
 and hay ricks ; and for many other purposes. 
 The felt for the above purposes is sold in 
 largo sheets at the rate of about a penny per 
 square foot. Another kind, called Inodorous 
 Felt, is saturated with waterproof material free 
 from the smell of the ordinary felt, and is used 
 to prevent wall-paper from being injured by 
 damp. There is also a patent Felted Sheath- 
 ing, for covering ships' bottoms ; it is a felted 
 mixture of hair and vegetable fibre, and is not 
 intended as a substitute for copper sheathing, 
 but to be used as a layer beneath it. Another 
 variety, the Non-conducting Felt, is used as a 
 covering for boilers and steam-pipes, on ac- 
 count of its power of confining the heat within 
 the vessel enclosed by it ; it is used for fixed, 
 locomotive, and marine steam-engines, and in 
 breweries and distilleries : it is said also to be 
 a good protective of water pipes from frost. 
 
 The Asphalted Felt is made in long pieces, 
 32 inches wide by about 30 yards long, and is 
 sold in any smaller or larger quantities. The 
 fibrous material of which it is formed is satu- 
 rated with asphalte or bitumen. Many sheds 
 and other buildings at Devonporfc and Wool- 
 
 wich Dock Yards, Isle of Portland, and else- 
 where, are now covered with this material. 
 
 FELUCCA is the name of a vessel or small 
 craft used in the Mediterranean for coasting 
 voyages, being propelled both by oars and sails. 
 The feluccas carry two masts, main and fore, 
 with lateen sails. 
 
 FENCES. When a park is inclosed to keep 
 in deer and game, the best fence is a stone or 
 brick wall, well built with lime mortar ; but, 
 as this is expensive where stone and lime are 
 not at hand, the common park paling is more 
 frequently met with. This is composed of 
 posts and rails of oak morticed and pinned to- 
 gether, and split pales of the same material 
 nailed upon these in an upright position. 
 Sometimes the pales are nailed at a distance 
 from each other, which makes the open paled 
 fence, and the pales are then generally cut to 
 a point at top. Wood fences on the continent 
 are generally of ruder construction. 
 
 In wild mountain passes in Scotland and 
 Ireland it is usual to separate the properties 
 of different individuals or that of parishes by 
 rough stone walls put together without any 
 mortar. The materials are generally at hand, 
 and a rough and efficient fence is made with- 
 out much labour. Where stones are not at 
 hand, a high bank of earth foeed with sods of 
 grass is substituted for a wall. Furze seed is 
 often sown on it, and soon forms an excellent 
 fence, which, by proper care and clipping, will 
 last a long time. But the most common kind 
 of fence for fields is the hedge and ditch, the 
 bank being raised with the sods and earth 
 taken out of the ditch, and the hedge planted 
 in the side of the bank towards the ditch, or 
 on the top. Where they are not required as 
 drains, it is a great waste of land to have any 
 ditches, and a simple hedge planted on the 
 surface of the soil is much to be preferred. Of 
 all fences, a live hedge, which is carefully 
 planted, and kept properly cut and trimmed 
 when it is grown up, is by far the best. 
 
 When a fence is required within sight of a 
 dwelling, a deep ditch is sometimes dug, and 
 a fence placed at the bottom of it. This is 
 called a sunk fence. Sometimes a wall is built 
 against a perpendicular side of a ditch, and 
 some very light fence is placed obliquely out- 
 wards near the top of it, and level with the 
 ground. This is called a ha-ha fence, a name 
 iven to it from the surprise excited in a per- 
 son unacquainted with it, when he suddenly 
 finds himself on the top of a wall with a deep 
 ditch before him. A variety of light fences of 
 iron have been invented for the same purpose : 
 some of these are fixed, and others moveable : 
 some have upright pieces of cast iron as posts 
 let into oak blocks sunk in the ground, and 
 
855 
 
 FERMENTATION. 
 
 FE'RULA. 
 
 856 
 
 rods of wrought iron passing through holes in 
 the uprights : some have wire for the same 
 purpose. But the most common iron fence 
 is composed of separate wrought-iron hurdles, 
 which may be moved at pleasure, and are kept 
 together hy screwed pins and nuts. 
 
 FERMENTATION. This is a general 
 name for certain changes which occur in vege- 
 table and animal matters, and by which there 
 are produced new fluids and gaseous com- 
 pounds. Fermentation is of three kinds : the 
 vinous, producing alcohol ; the acetous, yielding 
 vinegar; and the putrefactive, of which the 
 products are very variable, and usually fetid. 
 
 When the expressed juice of grapes is ex- 
 posed in warm weather to the air, it soon be- 
 comes turbid ; its temperature rises a few de- 
 grees, a motion occurs in the fluid, and minute 
 bubbles of air form and break. As the process 
 goes on, a thick froth, consisting of these 
 bubbles and viscid matter, rises to the surface, 
 and, when these bubbles have burst, a viscid 
 substance falls to the bottom of the vessel : 
 this possesses the property of causing fermen- 
 tation to take place in other fluids which, with- 
 out its presence, would not undergo such a 
 change : this substance is called yest. The 
 sugar of the grape has undergone by this fer- 
 mentation a decomposition into alcohol and 
 carbonic acid. 
 
 Although sugar yields alcohol by its decom- 
 position, yet pure sugar suffers no fermenta- 
 tion. In the juice of the grape, there is some 
 accompanying matter which acts as a ferment ; 
 and when yest is thus spontaneously produced 
 it causes fermentation in sugar, without, as 
 far as appears, adding anything important. 
 
 The fermentation of malt-extract is noticed 
 under BREWING and DISTILLATION. Acetous 
 fermentation is treated under ACETIC ACID and 
 VINEGAR. The putrefactive fermentation is 
 the spontaneous decomposition of vegetable 
 and animal matter, which is unaccompanied 
 with the production of alcohol or acetic acid. 
 In vegetable putrefactive fermentation the 
 principal product is carbonic acid, and proba- 
 bly water, both derived from the absorption of 
 the oxygen of the air, which unites with the 
 hydrogen and carbon of the vegetable matter. 
 In the putrefactive fermentation of animal 
 matter ammonia is formed by the union of 
 the hydrogen and nitrogen of the substance. 
 
 FERNS. The properties and uses of the 
 ferns are numerous. Many of them deposit 
 starch in their rizomata, from which food 
 may be prepared. The roots of Nephrodium 
 cKculcntum are eaten in Nepaul; those of An- 
 yiopteris cvccfa are used in the same manner 
 in the Sandwich Islands. Diplazium csculentum, 
 Cyathca mcdullaris, Pteris esculenta, and Gleich- 
 
 cnia dichotoma, all yield starch, and are em- 
 ployed as food in different countries. The 
 Adiantum Capillus Veneris yields astringent 
 and aromatic secretions. Some of the Ameri- 
 can polypodiums are said to possess powerful 
 medicinal effects. The Angiopleris evecta 
 yields an aromatic oil, which is used in the 
 Sandwich Islands to perfume the fixed oils, 
 as cocoa-nut oil. The stems of many species 
 contain bitter principles, and have hence been 
 used as tonics. Species of Aspidium and As- 
 plcntum have been used in European medicine. 
 The Brazilian negroes form tubes for their 
 pipes from the stems of Mertensia dlclwtomu. 
 Osmunda regalis had once a great reputation 
 in medicine. 
 
 FERO'NIA. The Elephant or Wood Ap- 
 ple of the Coromandel coast, is a species of 
 the Fcronia genus of plants. The fruit is 
 fleshy, and extremely acid before it arrives at 
 maturity ; but, when ripe, it contains a dark 
 brown agreeable sub -acid pulp. In appearance 
 the fruit is large, spheroidal, rugged, and often 
 warted externally. A transparent oily fluid 
 exudes from the trunk of this tree when an 
 incision is made into it, which is used by 
 painters for mixing their colours. A clear 
 white gum may also be obtained from the tree 
 very much resembling gum arabic. The wood 
 is likewise valuable on account of its durability, 
 whiteness, and hardness. 
 
 FERROCYANIC ACID is composed of 
 hydrocyanic acid, cyanide of iron, and water. 
 It contains 23.27 per cent, of iron. This acid 
 is decomposed by long exposure to the air, 
 Prussian blue being formed and precipitated ; 
 this is also produced by adding it to a persalt 
 of iron. 
 
 FERRO'L, a seaport town of Gallicia in 
 Spain, has some manufactures of hats, and 
 carries on a considerable fishery of herrings, 
 and sardines, which are pickled and exported. 
 It also carries on some trade with America, 
 exporting wine, brandy, and corn. 
 
 FE'RULA. The drugs called Sagapenum 
 and Assafcetida are yielded by species of the 
 Ferula plant. 
 
 Assafcetida is said to be found only in two 
 districts of Persia, that is, the fields and moun- 
 tains round Herat, the capital of Khorassan, 
 and the range of mountains in the province of 
 Lar. The plant is said to arrive at as great 
 an age as man himself, and in consequence 
 its roots sometimes attain a considerable size. 
 It is from wounds in this part that the drug is 
 obtained. The roots are not wounded before 
 they are four years old ; the greater their age, 
 the better the quality of their produce. There 
 were four operations each year when Kcempfer 
 visited the country ; the first in the middle of 
 
857 
 
 FIBEE. 
 
 FIFESHIEE. 
 
 858 
 
 April, the second at the latter end of May, the 
 third ten days later, and the fourth in the be- 
 ginning of July. The gatherers on the first 
 occasion only clear the hard sandy or stony 
 soil away from the root to the depth of a span 
 or so, pulling off the leaves, replacing the earth 
 about the roots, and then heaping the leaves 
 on them, and pressing them down Avith a 
 stone. On the subsequent occasions they 
 slice the roots transversely, beginning a little 
 below the top, and collecting the juice that 
 flows from the wounds. After every operation 
 they cover the root with the old leaves, to 
 screen it from the sun. After the last gather- 
 ing the roots are left to perish. 
 
 Various useful substances are yielded by 
 other species of this genus of plants. 
 
 FIB RE, is one of the most elementary forms 
 of vegetable tissue. It consists of excessively 
 delicate threads twisted spirally in the interior 
 of a cell or tube. The fibre is solid. It is this 
 elementary fibre which, being turned spirally 
 round a long delicate tube with its spires in 
 contact, forms the elastic spiral vessel. 
 
 Without entering into minor differences, 
 fibre is a general name for the cotton, flaxen, 
 and hempen material which forms so impor- 
 tant a class of our textile manufactures. 
 
 FIBEIN, is a substance contained in the 
 bodies of animals both in a fluid and in a solid 
 state ; in the fluid state it exists in the blood, 
 and in the solid state in muscular fibre, but 
 the fibrin of venous blood differs from that of 
 arterial blood. When separated from the 
 other constituents of the blood, fibrin appears 
 in the form of long white elastic filaments ; it 
 is inodorous, tasteless, and insoluble in water 
 whether cold or hot, but by long-continued 
 boiling a portion is dissolved. When dried at 
 a gentle heat, it loses about four-fifths of its 
 weight, which loss is water, and it becomes 
 then horny and translucent, and very much 
 resembles albumen which has been coagulated. 
 Acetic acid and fresh fibrin, when kept for 
 some hours in contact, form a transparent 
 gelatinous mass which is soluble in water. 
 Solution of potash dissolves fibrin. Its com- 
 position is precisely similar to that of coagu- 
 lated albumen, and they have several proper- 
 ties in common. 
 
 That variety of fibrin which constitutes 
 muscular fibre is so interwoven with nerves, 
 vessels, and cellular and adipose tissue, that 
 its properties are probably always more or less 
 modified by foreign matters. To obtain the 
 fibrin of a muscle, it must be finely minced, 
 and washed in repeated portions of water at 
 60 or 70 till all colouring and soluble sub- 
 stances are withdrawn, and till the residue is 
 colourless, insipid and inodorous. It is then 
 
 strongly pressed between folds of linen, by 
 vhich it is rendered semitransparent and pul- 
 erulent. 
 
 There is also a substance called Vegetable 
 Fibrin, which is obtained from wheat flour by 
 ,he following process : Make the flour into a 
 paste, and wash it on a fine sieve with a small 
 stream of water. The gluten of the flour will 
 remain, and a milky liquid will pass through 
 the sieve, which when suffered to rest will in 
 a few hours become clear by depositing the 
 starch by which it was rendered turbid. If this 
 clear liquor be boiled, a flocculent precipitate 
 s formed in it, which, when washed, dried, 
 and purified by boiling asther, has the same 
 composition as animal fibrin. When heated, 
 it coagulates, and possesses the properties of 
 coagulated albumen. 
 
 FIFE, a very small flute giving acute 
 piercing sounds. It is an octave higher 
 than the flute, and in compass comprises two 
 octaves. Fifes are of three sizes, named by 
 the letters A, B, and C. The first is the 
 lowest ; the last, which is that in common 
 use, is the highest. 
 
 FIFESHIEE is one of the best cultivated 
 counties in Scotland. The soil is of various 
 kinds. In the most fertile districts it consists 
 principally of a rich loam : in the poorer tracts 
 it is mostly a wet clay, resting on a cold bed 
 of till. A level tract of deep, rich, and very 
 fertile loam extends from east to west along 
 the whole southern side, varying in width from 
 three miles to one mile from the shore of the 
 Frith of Forth ; and there are in other parts 
 ery rich tracts of land. The extensive water- 
 boundary gives the county many excellent 
 ports and small harbours, from which steam 
 communication is kept up with Edinburgh, 
 Dundee, Perth, and other places. Most of the 
 chief towns of the county will be shortly linked 
 together by railways. Coal and limestone of 
 the best description are found in abundance 
 in almost every part of the county south of 
 the Eden; but they are not found in the 
 upper division, north of this river. The col- 
 lieries are numerous, and some are very ex- 
 tensive, and employ a large number of hands. 
 Limestone quarries are numerous in various 
 parts of the southern district. Ironstone is 
 plentifully obtained in several parts of the 
 coal fields, especially near Dysart, and in the 
 parish of Balgonie. Lead mines have been 
 worked in the Lomond Hills. Freestone, 
 whinstone, and many of the primitive rocks 
 are abundantly met with. There are beds of 
 rich marl, brick-clay, and peat. Gems are 
 sometimes picked up in the beds of the 
 rivers. 
 There are a few patches of natural wood in 
 
859 
 
 FIGS. 
 
 FILE MANUFACTUEE. 
 
 Fife. The plantations are numerous, and the 
 timber in them, which is mostly aged and 
 valuable, consists of ash, elm, beech, fir of 
 different kinds, limes, chestnut, sycomore, and 
 oak. Flax is grown to a considerable extent, 
 and is used in the linen manufacture at Dun- 
 fermline and elsewhere. The county of Fife 
 has been long distinguished for the excellence 
 of its breed of black cattle ; when fat, they 
 bring a much higher price at Smithfield 
 market than any other kind. The Fife cows 
 are also of high repute in the dairy. 
 
 Small breweries and distilleries for the ma- 
 nufacture of malt liquor and malt spirits, flour 
 mills and pot-barley mills, salt-works and coal- 
 works, tan-works and soap-works, and brick and 
 tile works, are among the industrial establish- 
 ments of the county. But the linen manufacture 
 is by far the largest ; it occupies a great number 
 of hands, who spin and weave flax into damasks, 
 diapers, checks, ticks, coarse sheeting, and 
 many other kinds of linen fabrics. There are 
 fisheries of salmon, cod, turbot, haddock, &c., 
 off the coasts. There are a good many trading 
 vessels belonging to the county. 
 
 At Dunfermline fine linens are largely ma- 
 nufactured. At Kirkaldy an excellent harbour 
 has been foi'med, from which about 50,000 
 tons are annually shipped, chiefly to places on 
 the coast of Scotland. Corn, potatoes, sheep, 
 and pigs also form large items of exportation 
 to London and various other ports. There 
 are several flax-mills, extensive manufactures 
 of coarse linen fabrics, an iron-foundry, tan- 
 neries, &c. 
 
 The factory-statistics of Fifeshire in 1850 
 presented the following results : There were 
 2 factories for spinning and weaving woollens, 
 with 20 power-looms and 1480 spindles. There 
 were 40 factories for spinning flax, having 
 52,344 spindles, 1353 horse power for moving 
 machinery, and employing 3980 persons. I 
 There were 3 factories for weaving flax, 
 with 194 power -looms, and having 42 -horse 
 power. 
 
 FIGS. Figs belong to the Ficus genus of 
 plants. The number of species of ficus is very 
 considerable, perhaps as great as that of any 
 arborescent genus. They are all either tropi- 
 cal or inhabitants of warm countries. Some 
 are small plants creeping upon the surface of 
 rocks and walls, or clinging to the trunks of 
 trees like ivy ; others are among the largest 
 trees in the forest. They abound in a milky 
 juice containing caoutchouc; and there is 
 every reason to believe that the specimens of 
 this substance which come from Java are ex- 
 clusively procured by tapping different species 
 of Ficus. The best known on the continent of 
 India is yielded by Ficus dastica. 
 
 Although the fruit of Ficus carica (the com- 
 mon fig) and some others is eatable, yet the 
 whole genus abounds in an acrid, highly dan- 
 gerous principle, diffused among the milky se- 
 cretion. This is perceptible even in the com- 
 mon fig, whose milk produces a burning sen- 
 sation on the tongue and throat ; but, when 
 the fruit of that species is ripe, the acridity is 
 destroyed by the chemical elements entering 
 into new combinations. The common fig is a 
 small tree, naturally inhabiting the temperate 
 parts of Asia, and now commonly cultivated 
 in Europe for the sake of its fruit. In the 
 fertile islands of the Mediterranean, in Spain, 
 Italy, and Greece, and even so far north as 
 the south of France, the fruit is so well ripened 
 as to form a valuable article of exportation in 
 a dried state. The fruit is grown with some 
 success even in the southern and milder parts 
 of England, but it is seldom found in the 
 northern parts or in Scotland, except under 
 glass. The fig-tree is very apt to throw off its 
 fruit before it ripens, and various methods 
 have been suggested to prevent this. In 
 the Levant, to insure a crop, the process of 
 caprification is resorted to. [CAPRIFICA- 
 TION.] 
 
 The figs imported in 1849 amounted to 
 39,516 cwts. ; and in 1850, to 33,964 cwts. 
 
 FILBERT. This term was originally ap- 
 plied to those kinds of nuts which have 
 very long husks; but, owing to the numl^r 
 of varieties that have of late years been ob- 
 tained, this distinction, which was never 
 scientific, appears to be nearly disregarded, 
 and nut and filbert are almost sj'nonymous 
 terms, excepting that the wild uncultivated 
 fruit, and those varieties which most nearly 
 approach it, are never called filberts. The 
 best sorts are the Frizzled Filbert, lied 
 Filbert, White Filbert, Cob-Nut, Bond-Nut, 
 Downton, and Northamptonshire. 
 
 About Maidstone, and in other parts of 
 Kent, the management of the filbert is better 
 understood than in any other part of this 
 country ; and, as the soil and other circum- 
 stances seem to suit its growth, inn 
 quantities are grown for the London market. 
 In order to preserve filberts in a fivsli and 
 plump state, it is only necessary to prevent 
 their parting with their moisture by evapora- 
 tion. Burying them in heaps in the earth, 
 putting them in earthen jars in a wine-cellar, 
 covering them with dry sand, are all very good 
 plans, and many others equally efficient will 
 suggest themselves. 
 
 FILE MANUFACTURE. A file, as every 
 one knows, is a steel instrument having tl't 
 or curved surfaces so notched or serrated as 
 to produce a series of fine teeth or cutting 
 
861 
 
 PILE MANUFACTUEE. 
 
 FILE MANUFACTUEE. 
 
 862 
 
 edges, which are employed for the abrasion of 
 metal, ivory, wood, &c. 
 
 Steel for making files, being required to be 
 of unusual hardness, is more highly converted 
 than for other purposes, and is sometimes 
 said to be double converted. Small files are 
 mostly made of cast steel. The very large 
 files, called smiths' rubbers, are generally 
 forged immediately from the converted bars. 
 Smaller files are forged from bars which are 
 wrought to the required form and size by the 
 action of tilt-hammers, either from blistered 
 bars or from ingots of cast steel. These bars 
 are cut into pieces siiitable for making one 
 file each, which are heated in a forge fire, and 
 then wrought to the required shape on an 
 anvil by two men, one of whom superintends 
 the work, while the other acts as general 
 assistant. 
 
 The next operation upon the blanks which 
 are to be converted into files is that of soften- 
 ing or ' lightening,' to render the steel capable 
 of being cut with the toothing instruments. 
 This is effected by a gradual heating and a 
 gradual cooling. The surface is then rendered 
 flat and smooth, either by filing or by 
 grinding. 
 
 The cutting of the teeth is usually per- 
 formed by workmen sitting astride upon a 
 board or saddle-shaped seat, in front of a 
 bench, upon which is fixed a kind of small 
 anvil. Laying the blank file across the anvil, 
 the cutter secures it from moving by a strap 
 which passes over each end and under his 
 fest, like the stirrup of the shoemaker. He 
 then takes in his left hand a very carefully 
 ground chisel made of the best steel, and in 
 his right a peculiarly- shaped hammer. If the 
 file be flat, or have one or more flat surfaces, 
 the operator places the steel chisel upon it at 
 a particular angle or inclination, and with one 
 blow of the hammer cuts an indentation or 
 furrow completely across its face from side to 
 side, and then moves the chisel to the requi- 
 site positions for making other similar and 
 parallel cuts. If it be a half round file, as a 
 straight-edged chisel is still used, a number 
 of small cuts are necessary to extend across 
 the file from edge to edge. So minute are 
 these, cuts in some kinds of files, that in one 
 specimen about ten inches long, flat on one 
 side and round on the other, there are more 
 than 20,000 cuts, each made with a separate 
 blow of the hammer, and the cutting-tool 
 being shifted after each blow. The range of 
 manufactures afford few examples more 
 striking of the peculiar manual tact acquired 
 by long practice. 
 
 Several highly ingenious machines have 
 been contrived for superseding the tedious 
 
 operation of file-cutting by hand; but, suited 
 as the process may appear to be for the use 
 of machinery, it has been found to present 
 such great difficulties, that we believe no file- 
 cutting engine has been brought successfully 
 or extensively into operation. One very seri- 
 ous difficulty arises from the circumstance 
 that, if one part of the file be either a little 
 softer than the adjacent parts, or narrower, so 
 as to present less resistance to the blow of the 
 hammer, a machine would, owing to the per- 
 fect uniformity of its stroke, make a deeper 
 cut there than elsewhere. 
 
 After the files have been cut, the steel is 
 brought to a state of great hardness ; this is 
 effected in various ways, according to the pur- 
 pose to which the file is to be applied : they 
 are generally coated with a sort of temporary 
 varnish, then heated in a stove, and then sud- 
 denly quenched. .After hardening, the files 
 are scoured, washed, dried, and tested. 
 
 We mil here give, from a Sheffield news- 
 paper, a description of a file intended for the 
 Great Exhibition, the most elaborate perhaps 
 ever produced. It was wholly made by a file- 
 forger named Hiram Younge, in the employ 
 of Messrs. Carr of Sheffield. The length is 
 54 inches, breadth 3J inches, thickness of 
 an inch, weight 28 Ibs. With some small ex- 
 ceptions, the whole surface is covered with 
 ornamental designs, all cut by hand with 
 hammer and chisel. The tangs (it is a double- 
 tanged file) are sunk by filing, and are orna- 
 mented on one side with the national arms 
 and the words "God save the Queen," on a 
 shield ; a front view of the cutlers' hall on the 
 other, with the motto ' Pour parvenir a Bonne 
 foy.' The other tang represents Atlas bearing 
 the globe, with two lions couchant : beneath 
 are the Sheffield arms, and a cornucopia on 
 each side. On the reverse side appear the 
 cutlers' arms with the emblem of industry 
 beehives and bees on the wing on each side. 
 On the moulding these words appear : ; Cut, 
 designed, and executed by Hiram Younge, a 
 member of the Sheffield file trade.' The 
 centre or body of the file is ornamented on 
 one side with an accurate, full-length view of 
 the Great Palace of Industry, in perspective, 
 forming an elegant and spirited sketch. The 
 reverse side is occupied by a view of the 
 Sheffield Infirmary ; while on the ends, be- 
 tween the centre and the tangs, are four views, 
 illustrating the processes of file manufacturing. 
 1. A file-forger's shop, exhibiting bellows and 
 other appointments, and a file-forger and 
 striker in working costume. 2. The interior 
 of a wheel : grinders at work. 3. A file- 
 cutting shop : three men cutting files, and one 
 rinding his chisel. 4. A hardening shop : 
 
863 
 
 FILLET. 
 
 FINISTfcRE. 
 
 864 
 
 hardeners at work, and two women scouring 
 files. The edges of the file are occupied with 
 an inscription. The remaining space is filled 
 up with chequered work, half diamonds, &c. 
 This unique file revolves on pivots, so that 
 every part can be inspected in succession with 
 ease, and the position varied to bring out the 
 innumerable effects Avhich light produces. 
 The lighter parts possess that peculiar bright 
 richness observable on highly ornamented 
 silver plate. But the most remarkable fea- 
 ture in this elaborate ornamentation is a 
 number of trees in full foliage, luxuriant as 
 the work of the pencil. Each separate shade 
 is effected by a distinct style of perfect tooth. 
 Those practised in the delicate art of file- 
 cutting can best appreciate this wonderful 
 piece of work ; but the uninitiated may judge 
 of its merit by bearing in mind that if a single 
 tooth were cut too deep or too shallow, too 
 narrow or too broad, or the least awry, it 
 would destroy the uniformity of the shade, 
 and that nowhere is there such a defect dis- 
 cernible. 
 
 FILLET, a flat rectangular moulding, of 
 very frequent occurrence in architecture. It 
 is used to terminate or divide other mouldings, 
 as in the cavetto, which is surmounted with a 
 fillet, and in the flutings of columns, which are 
 divided by a fillet. The fillet is much used 
 in entablatures. 
 
 FILTER. The smaller kinds of filters are 
 strainers used in chemical operations for ren- 
 dering fluids transparent by separating the 
 suspended impurities which make them turbid ; 
 or for separating and washing the precipitates 
 resulting from chemical analysis. They are 
 usually made of unsized or blotting paper ; 
 and they are used either spread out upon 
 cloth stretched on a wooden frame, or folded 
 and placed in funnels, and having conse- 
 quently the form of an inverted cone. They 
 are either single or double, according to the 
 purposes to which they are to be applied. 
 
 Various forms of filter are employed for the 
 pin-pose of filtering water, either for drinking 
 or culinary purposes. These filters generally 
 depend upon passing water through sand or 
 small pebbles and charcoal. It is well known 
 that the Thames water, though it contains but 
 little saline matter in solution, is frequently 
 turbid, owing to mechanical admixture of 
 earthy matter, which the filters in question 
 are well calculated to remove, so as to render 
 the water, though not so agreeable as spring- 
 water for drinking on account of its flatness, 
 yet well adapted for other purposes. 
 
 A. considerable portion of the river-water of 
 Paris is filtered in large establishments where 
 it is employed. The filters employed are 
 
 small boxes, many in number, lined with lead, 
 open at top, and having at the bottom a layer 
 of charcoal between two layers of sand. If the 
 water is foul, the upper layer of sand requires 
 to be renewed daily. At the Hotel Dieu the 
 boxes are hermetically sealed, and the water 
 is forced through the filtering layers by arti- 
 ficial pressure. 
 
 A very simple water-filter may be made of a 
 common garden-pot, or similar vessel, with a 
 bottom pierced with holes. Fill the lower 
 part with round pebbles, then place a layer of 
 smaller pebbles, then coarse sand, and lastly 
 a layer three or four inches in depth of well- 
 made pounded charcoal. The water, in per- 
 colating through these various strata, loses 
 nearly all its mechanical impurities. 
 
 Murray's ' Self-cleansing Domestic Tubular 
 Filter,' registered in 1850, is to be soldered to 
 the end of the service-pipe. The enlarged 
 part of the pipe contains a perforated tube 
 with several folds of flannel and linen wrapped 
 round it. The smaller tap communicates 
 only with the outer casing, so that no water 
 can reach it that has not passed through the 
 filtering tube. The larger tap communicates 
 with the interior of the tube ; and by allowing 
 it to run, the filter will clean itself. 
 
 In ' Bird's Hydrostatic Syphon Water Puri- 
 fier,' also registered in 1850, the filtration, is 
 performed in two inverted cones containing 
 filtering media, situated in the cylinder. When 
 used, the instrument is immersed in the 
 water to be filtered, and the pipe uncoiled so 
 as to hang with its stop-cock below the bottom 
 of the instrument. On drawing out the air 
 from the pipe, it acts as a syphon and a stream 
 of pure water flows. 
 
 Foster's Pressure Filter, recently patented 
 at Liverpool, and recommended for use by the 
 Sanitary Board of that town, consists of a 
 porous stone, hollow in the inside, and con- 
 tained in a metal jacket. This apparatus, 
 when screwed on to the service-pipe, causes 
 the water, forced through the stone by the 
 pressure of the main, to lose all its pollutions, 
 and come out pure and clear in the extreme. 
 There are two taps, one of which draws the 
 filtered water from the interior of the stone 
 globe ; the other the unfiltered from the ex- 
 terior ; and the apparatus is so arranged that 
 the drawing of the unfiltered water cleanses 
 the stone and increases its powers of filtration. 
 
 FINISTfeRE. This department of France, 
 in Brittany or Bretagne, produces, besides the 
 usual kinds of crops, flax, hemp, tobacco, and 
 cider fruits. The cider produce is about 
 1,500,000 gallons annually. Eels, trout, sal- 
 mon, lobsters, and oysters are plentiful ; but 
 the pilchard fisheries along the coast afford 
 
865 
 
 FINLAND. 
 
 FIRE-ENGINE. 
 
 866 
 
 the most profitable occupation to the Breton 
 fishermen. In this pursuit more than 1000 
 vessels of small size, and about 4000 men, are 
 employed, and a gross annual value of 2,000,000 
 francs is obtained. This includes the value 
 of the enormous quantities of the common 
 pilchard ( 4,400,000 Ibs.), the anchovy pilchard, 
 caught off Concarneau in ForetBay (1,100,000 
 Ibs.), and a large quantity of oil pressed from 
 fish which are not cured. These fisheries 
 form an excellent nursery for the French 
 navy, -which draws its best seamen from Bre- 
 tagne. 
 
 Iron, coal, lead, bismuth, and zinc mines 
 are worked. An excellent stone, easily worked, 
 and capable of resisting the action of the 
 weather, is found at Daoulas and one or two 
 other places near the Brest Roads : it is of a 
 light green colour, and when worked presents 
 the appearance of bronze ; it is called Kcrsan- 
 ton stone, and of it several of the churches in 
 the department are built. Granite, marble, 
 building stone, and slates are quarried; 
 potters' clay, kaolin, and whetstones are found. 
 The manufactures consist of sailcloth, linen, 
 soda, soap, seed oil, candles, ropes, pottery, 
 paper, leather, refined sugar, litharge, and to- 
 bacco. Ship-building is carried on at Brest 
 and in most of the large towns on the coast. 
 The commerce of the department is composed 
 of the various products already named, and of 
 wine, brandy, beer, Dutch cheese, butter, salt, 
 and colonial produce. 
 
 FINLAND. This cold Russian province, 
 lying north-east of the Baltic, has extensive 
 forests of firs and pines in the south, inter- 
 spersed with oaks, elms, &c. In northern 
 Lapland these trees are replaced by the birch, 
 until, in the coldest districts, trees cease alto- 
 gether. The chief crops are barley, rye, oats, 
 wheat, peas, beans, hemp, flax, potatoes, 
 carrots, parsnips, onions, hops, and tobacco ; 
 but the produce is seldom large. Of fruit 
 there is scarcely any. The forests yield much 
 timber, pitch, and potash. The streams are 
 well provided with fish, which form the chief 
 food of the people. The mineral produce met 
 with is chiefly bog-iron, lead, copper, marble, 
 slate, and chalk. 
 
 Agriculture, the breeding of cattle, and in 
 some parts the fisheries constitute the prin- 
 cipal occupations of the people. There are 
 few manufactures except in the large towns, 
 and these are principally of iron- ware, sail- 
 cloth, and stockings. The navigation and 
 trade are inconsiderable. 
 
 FIR. [ABIES; PINE-THEE.] 
 
 FIRE-ENGINE. In Rome under the 
 emperors there were bands of trained firemen 
 kept. Ctesibius is believed to have invented 
 
 some engine for the extinction of fires in the 
 time of the Ptolemies; and a few indications 
 of similar inventions are met with in other 
 quarters. But the first fire-engine which has 
 been distinctly described was made by Hautsch 
 of Niirnberg about 1657. Duperrier received 
 a patent for making fire-engines for France in 
 1699. None of these earlier engines had 
 either a flexible hose or an air-chamber : the 
 first of these was introduced by Jan Vander- 
 heide in 1672 ; and the latter by Leupold in 
 1720. It was about the beginning of the same 
 century that fire-engines came generally into 
 use in England. 
 
 A fire-engine of the common construction 
 consists of an oblong wooden chest or cistern, 
 along the lower part of which runs a metallic 
 pipe, into which the water flows from a feed- 
 pipe connected at the other end with the street 
 plug. The water having entered the interior 
 pipe is elevated and forced into an upright 
 air vessel by two pumps which are worked 
 by manual power, by means of long handles 
 or levers on the outside. From the air-vessel 
 the water is forced into a pipe connected with 
 the leather hose ; and from the latter it is 
 forcibly impelled on the burning buildings. 
 If there were no air-vessel the water would not 
 flow out in an equable continuous stream, but 
 would gush forth at intervals at every suc- 
 cessive movement of the pump-handles ; but 
 by the aid of the air-vessel the stream is ren- 
 dered continuous by the elastic pressure of 
 air within the vessel. 
 
 Numerous improvements have been intro- 
 duced in almost every part of the fire-engine, 
 whereby it has been rendered much more 
 efficient than formerly. In 1830 Mr. Brailh- 
 waite introduced an ingeniously constructed 
 steam fire-engine, which has occasionally been 
 employed. The same engineer has also intro- 
 duced a steam floating fire-engine, in which 
 the power of the engine can be transferred from 
 propelling the vessel to working the pumps 
 when requisite. 
 
 Mr. Tilley, the fire engine maker, has re- 
 cently contrived a small fire-pump, calculated 
 to be useful before the larger engines arrive. 
 It is well suited for warehouses and shops, as 
 it can be worked from a single bucket of Avater. 
 It consists of a sort of double cylinder, one 
 within another, the inner one being the barrel, 
 and the outer the air-vessel. In the barrel 
 works a piston, the rod of which ends at the 
 top in a nob, which serves as a handle. The 
 loAver end of the instrument being placed in a 
 bucket of water, and the piston being worked 
 vertically, water is drawn into the barrel, and 
 is forced by the air pressure through a hose 
 screwed to one side of the air- vessel. The 
 
867 
 
 FIKE-ENGINE. 
 
 PIKE-ESCAPE. 
 
 808 
 
 pump can discharge six gallons of water per 
 minute, to a height of thirty feet. 
 
 Down to the year 1H25 all the Fire Insurance 
 Companies of London had their separate es- 
 tablishments of tire-engines ; but in that year 
 the Sun, the Union, and the Royal Exchange 
 Companies joined their fire-engine establish- 
 ments, which were placed under one superin- 
 tendence. Soon afterwards the Atlas and the 
 Phoenix Companies joined the association. 
 The advantage of this combined system of 
 action having been proved, most of the re- 
 maining companies joined in 1833, and formed 
 a new association, which was to be managed 
 by a committee, formed of one member from 
 each of the associated companies. London 
 was divided into a certain number of districts, 
 in each of which were two or more stations, 
 provided with engines. 
 
 The plan has worked well : more companies 
 have joined the association; and it is found 
 that all are benefited. The firemen are formed 
 into a corps, called the fire-brigade, which is 
 under the efficient control of Mr. Braidwood, 
 superintendent of the establishment. The 
 men are clothed in a uniform ; and a certain 
 number of them at each station are ready at 
 all hours of day or night. Each company pays 
 its quota towards the expenses of the fire- 
 engine establishment. 
 
 A fire engine of great power was made for 
 the London Docks a few years ago, with work- 
 ing barrels eight inches diameter. It would 
 throw a jet perpendicularly to a height of 
 eighty feet ; at an angle of 45 the jet would 
 reach to a distance of 130 feet. 
 
 The West India Dock Company employ a 
 steam tug to move the vessels using the docks ; 
 and their assistant engineer, Mr. P. Clark, has 
 designed a simple method of making the 
 power of the engines of the boat available in 
 case of fire. A large Downton's pump is fixed 
 on deck, and connected by gearing to the en- 
 gines, so that they can be readily disconnected 
 from the paddle-wheels, and their power ap- 
 plied to the pump. The power of the engines 
 is 30 horses, which, nominally, would be equal 
 to 240 men, or 10 of the ordinary fire-engines, 
 but in reality to a much greater number. 
 Without using the whole power of the engines, 
 a stream of water equal to COO gallons, or 3 
 tons, per minute, is projected 20 feet higher 
 than the highest warehouse in the docks. As 
 the fires in the boilers are never allowed to go 
 out entirely, this machine is always in readi- 
 ness, and in the event of a ship taking fire 
 could tow her out of danger, and extinguish 
 the fire at the same time. 
 
 In the year 1850 there were 247 premises 
 totally destroyed by fire in the metropolis, 
 
 621 partially destroyed, and 18 lives lost. 
 Nearly 100 houses were more or less injured 
 by explosions of fire-works. 
 
 The employment of saline substances for 
 extinguishing fires has been long known. Dr. 
 Clanny suggested, a few years ago, the em- 
 ployment of water for fire-engines, containing 
 five ounces of muriate of ammonia to each 
 gallon of water. Mr. Phillips's apparatus, 
 now occupying a good deal of public attention, 
 is briefly noticed under the heading of ANXI- 
 HIIATOR, FIRE. 
 
 The engines employed in gardening and 
 agriculture partake a good deal of the cha- 
 racter of fire-engines in their construction. 
 [GARDEN ENGINE.] 
 
 FIRE-ESCAPE. Numerous contrivances 
 have been brought before public notice from 
 time to time for saving the lives of persons 
 who may be in a building while it is burning. 
 Mr. Meseres devised a kind of chair of straps, 
 by which a person could lower himself from the 
 window. Mr. Davis proposed the use of three 
 ladders, which might draw out like a telescope, 
 and might reach from the ground to the upper 
 windows of a house. Mr. Young contrived a 
 sort of rope-ladder, with iron rounds of very 
 flexible construction. Mr. Braby invented a 
 sort of a long pole, down which a car or chair 
 might travel from a window to the ground. 
 Mr. Witly introduced a sort of bag or case, 
 which may be lowered from the sill of a 
 window by ropes governed by the person who 
 might be seated in the bag. Mr. Ford recom- 
 mended the use of a long pole, at the upper 
 end of which is tackle for lowering persons 
 from a window. Mr. Merryweather has con- 
 trived a series of short ladders, which fit on 
 to each other end to end, and can be elevated 
 to a considerable height quickly. 
 
 But the fire-escape which has come most 
 into use in London is a wheel- carriage sup- 
 porting a lofty canvas shoot or trunk, attached 
 to a ladder or frame ; when placed up against 
 a house, a person can get into this trunk from 
 a window, and slide safely down to the bottom, 
 with the aid of some ingenious mechanism 
 attached to the frame. Many sucli machines 
 are kept in public places in London during the 
 night, attended by men whose business it is to 
 wheel these machines to any spot where life is 
 endangered by fire. 
 
 A Report was presented to the city corpora- 
 tion in 1840 from the police commissioners, 
 descriptive of thirty plans for fire-escapes, 
 wliirli had been proposed by different parties. 
 They were of three classes: 1st. Machines 
 intended for domestic use only, to be reported 
 to by inmates of houses in cases of fire ; 2nd. 
 Machines to be used from the outside, and 
 
8C9 
 
 FIRE GREEK. 
 
 FIRE SHIP. 
 
 870 
 
 made to combine the secirrity of property with 
 the protection of persons ; 3rd. Machines 
 exclusively for the protection of life from fire, 
 to be used out of doors under the respon- 
 sible direction of the police. Among the 
 thirty were Davies's effective but rather pon- 
 derous machine; Wivell's, with the canvas 
 trunk; and Gregory's sliding ladders on a 
 carriage. Whichever may be the best form in 
 wide thoroughfares, it is thought that the 
 common fire ladders of the London Brigade 
 are the most generally useful in courts and 
 confined situations. 
 
 FIRE, GREEK, an invention of the middle 
 ages which was often employed in the wars of 
 the Christians and Saracens. According to 
 Gibbon, this combustible was used at the 
 sieges of Constantinople in the 7th and 8th 
 centuries. It was afterwards employed by the 
 caliphs against the Crusaders ; but the inven 
 tion of gunpowder changed the nature of 
 military tactics. There is much uncertainty 
 as to the nature of this Greek Fire. It is 
 supposed to have been a compound of naptha, 
 sulphur, and pitch ; and Gibbon thus describes 
 its effects : ' From this mixture, which pro- 
 duced a thick smoke and a loud explosion, 
 proceeded a fierce and obstinate flame, which 
 not only rose in perpendicular ascent, but 
 likewise burnt with equal vehemence in descent 
 or lateral progress ; instead of being extin- 
 guished, it was nourished and quickened by 
 the element of water; and sand, urine, or 
 vinegar, were the only remedies that could 
 damp the fury of this powerful agent, which 
 was justly denominated by the Greeks the 
 liquid or the Maritime Fire. For the annoy- 
 ance of the enemy it was employed with equal 
 effect by sea and by land, in battles or in 
 sieges. It was either poured from the ram- 
 parts in large boilers, or launched in red-hot 
 balls of stone and iron, or darted in arrows 
 and javelins, twisted round with flax and tow 
 which had deeply imbibed the inflammable oil : 
 sometimes it was deposited in fire-ships, the 
 victims and instruments of a more ample 
 revenge, and was most commonly blown 
 through long tubes of copper, planted on the 
 pi'ow of a galley, and fancifully shaped into 
 tha mouths of savage monsters, that seemed 
 to vomit a stream of liquid and consuming 
 fire.' 
 
 FIRE-PROOF BUILDINGS. The most 
 obvious method of rendering houses and 
 other buildings indestructible by fire is to 
 construct them entirely of incombustible ma- 
 terials, such as stone, brick, and iron. Such a 
 mode of construction, however, is of very 
 limited application. The use of iron, and 
 especially of cast iron, in buildings, has in- 
 
 deed increased very much, and many plans for 
 the construction of dwelling-houses almost 
 entirely of that material have been brought 
 forward. 
 
 Brickwork forms in this country the chief 
 material of the external walls of houses, and 
 it is occasionally employed without any admix- 
 ture of timber for the partition walls also, a 
 plan which, in conjunction with other precau- 
 tions, tends greatly to limit the damage done 
 by a fire to the apartment in which it may 
 happen to break out. Cast-iron pillars and 
 brest-summers are very extensively employed 
 in modern London shops and warehouses, 
 where the whole front on the ground floor is 
 left open for shop-windows and doors. Fire- 
 proof floors are now often adopted, not only 
 in public buildings, but also in the larger and 
 better sort of private houses ; the beams being 
 either of cast or wrought iron, and the brick 
 vaultings, which abut upon the ledges of the 
 beams, being often only half a brick thick. 
 In Farrow's patent method of fire-proof 
 building, the floors are supported upon joists 
 of wrought iron, formed with a projecting 
 flange on each side, upon which are laid, 
 stretching from joist to joist, a series of flat 
 stones the upper surfaces of which lie flush 
 with the upper edges of the joists. These 
 produce a level stone floor, interlined with 
 iron, which may either be used as such or be 
 covered with planks. Mr. Frost has invented 
 a mode of constructing floors and roofs of 
 hollow square earthenware tubes, laid in strata 
 crossing each other in direction, and united 
 with cement in such a way that the whole 
 floor becomes one solid flagstone. In one 
 mode of construction, hollow earthen pots are 
 employed to form a sort of vaulted roof. 
 
 The great use of timber in building renders 
 very important any method by which it may 
 be rendered incombustible. Solutions of 
 muriate of ammonia, muriate of soda, sal- 
 ammoniac, borax, alum, and several other 
 salts and alkalies, with which wood may be 
 impregnated, or which may be applied to its 
 surface, possess this quality in a limited 
 degree; and by Payne's wood-preserving pro- 
 cess timber is made, for all practical purposes, 
 completely incombustible. The non-conduct- 
 ing power of earth and sand, or of a layer of 
 sand placed over timber, has been the basis of 
 many plans for preventing fires. 
 
 FIRE-SHIP is a vessel laden with com- 
 bustible materials, which is sent or left in a 
 burning state among the ships of a hostile 
 fleet for the purpose of setting them on fire. 
 Such vessels have been used in various coun- 
 tries, at different times. Those now constructed 
 have between decks, on both sides, a stage 
 
871 FIRE-WOOD MANUFACTURE. 
 
 containing a groove, in which the train of 
 powder for firing the comhustibles is deposited 
 in a hose or tube. The stage is covered with 
 a tarpaulin on which is strewed loose powder ; 
 and on this are placed faggots of wood and 
 bundles of hemp steeped in a mixture of 
 resin, turpentine, saltpetre, and mealed gun- 
 powder, billets of wood dipped in saltpetre and 
 pitch, casks filled with chips of wood mixed 
 with pitch and turpentine, and loaded shells 
 and carcasses. Faggots soaked in pitch are 
 also fastened to the sides of the ship ; and 
 around the ship are grappling-irons to enable 
 it to cling to the ill-fated vessel to be destroyed. 
 When the crew has brought the fire-ship close 
 to its prey, they fire the combustibles, and 
 escape by a boat as quickly as possible. 
 
 FIRE-WOOD MANUFACTURE. The 
 manufacture of such an article as fire- wood 
 would only be thought of in a large and po- 
 pulous city, far distant from woodland and 
 copses. The neat appearance of our London 
 bundles and networks and wheels of fire- 
 wood has to this day an air of strangeness to 
 country people. 
 
 The bundles of fire-wood, largely used in 
 London, and having a cylindrical shape, are 
 made with simple apparatus. The pieces of 
 wood, well dried, are cut by saws into blocks 
 about six inches long, and these blocks are 
 chopped up to the requisite degree of thinness. 
 A sufficient number of small sticks to form 
 one bundle are placed within a kind of hoop, 
 and confined there until a piece of tarred 
 string is firmly bound round them. 
 
 The Patent fire-wood of recent times 
 assumes two forms the wheel and the gridiron. 
 In the first form a number of small pieces are 
 arranged somewhat like a wheel, and bound 
 into that form by string. In the gridiron 
 form the pieces are first notched or dove- 
 tailed, by a machine, and made to fit very 
 tightly into each other. Both forms have a 
 few fragments of shavings, and a slight coat- 
 ing of resin on one side, to facilitate their 
 ignition. 
 
 The manufacture of the cylindrical bundles 
 of fire-wood is deemed sufficiently important 
 to warrant the erection of an extensive factory 
 at Bow, where steam-power is employed to 
 work an ingenious series of machines recently 
 patented by Messrs. Thompson and Elms. 
 There are two machines, for cutting and for 
 binding. The cutting- machine has a large 
 wheel, on the periphery of which are eight 
 equi-distant cutters. An endless band pas- 
 sing over the rollers, acts as a feeder to these 
 cutters. The billets of wood are cut by the 
 saw into blocks, about six inches long ; and 
 these blocks are ranged, side by side, on 
 
 FISHERIES. 
 
 872 
 
 the feeding-band, with the grain of the wood 
 perpendicular. As the feeding band travels 
 on, these blocks are brought one by one to a 
 spot where the cutters may act upon them : 
 and they are speedily cut up into slices or flat 
 pieces. These slices are re-arranged on the 
 feeding-band, side by side, but in such a posi- 
 tion that they may be cut up into splints or 
 square sticks. These splints are much more 
 regular in form than those produced by the 
 old method of chopping. The splints are 
 next taken to the binding-machine. They 
 are placed in a kind of hopper, through which 
 they descend into a horizontal cylinder, and a 
 plunger or piston here compresses them, 
 retains them at one end while the bundle is 
 being bound with string, and then forces the 
 bundle out of the cylinder. 
 
 FIRKIN is a measure of ale, beer, and 
 some dry commodities, now disused. Eight 
 gallons of ale, soap, or herrings, made a firkin, 
 and nine gallons of beer made a firkin. 
 
 FISH. Of the varieties of fish eaten in 
 this country, those that are the whitest and 
 most fla"ky when cooked, such as whiting, cod, 
 flounders, sole, haddock, turbot, hake, &c. are 
 the most easily digestible; but those which 
 abound in oily matter, such as salmon, eels, 
 herrings, &c., contain more nourishment. 
 
 Fish may be preserved in a dry state, Mr. 
 Cooley informs us, by sugar alone. Fresh 
 fish may be thus kept for some days, so as to 
 remain as good as when first caught. The 
 sugar gives no disagreeable taste. This pro- 
 cess is very useful in making what is called 
 Kippered Salmon. A few table-spoonfuls of 
 brown sugar are sufficient for a salmon of 
 five or six pounds weight : and a little salt or 
 saltpetre may be added. Salmon kippered 
 in this way preserves its natural flavour better 
 than if salted or smoked. 
 
 FISHERIES are localities frequented at 
 certain seasons by great numbers of fish, 
 where they are taken upon a large scale. Of 
 the British fisheries, some are carried on in 
 rivers or their actuaries, and others in the 
 bays or along the coasts. Our principal cod 
 fishery is on the banks of Newfoundland : and 
 for whales our ships frequent the shores of 
 Greenland, Davis's Straits, and the South Seas. 
 Of late, whale fisheries have also been carried 
 on near the shores of Australia, New Zealand, 
 and the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 In the reign of Queen Elizabeth and after- 
 wards, various associations were formed and 
 orders in council issued, having for object the 
 encouragement of British fisheries ; but the 
 trade did not flourish under these protections. 
 Every attempt to encourage the fisheries by 
 means of bounties failed, and the impolicy of 
 
873 
 
 FISHEKIES. 
 
 FISHEKIES 
 
 874 
 
 granting these bounties was at length seen 
 and acknowledged. In 1821 the tonnage 
 bounty of 60s. per ton on fishing vessels was 
 repealed ; the bounty of 4s. per barrel, which 
 was paid up to the 5th of April, 1826, was 
 thereafter reduced Is. per barrel each sue 
 ceeding year; so that, in April 1830, the 
 bounty ceased altogether. This alteration of 
 the system was not productive of any serious 
 evil to the herring fishery. 
 
 In 1849 the white herrings cured in Great 
 Britain amounted to 770,698 barrels; the 
 number branded by the commissioners was 
 213,286 barrels ; and the number exported 
 340,256 barrels. Including those cured and 
 those sold for immediate consumption, the 
 number was 1,151,979 barrels. In the cod 
 and ling department, there were 98,903 cwt. 
 cured dried, and 6,580 barrels cured in pickle. 
 In that year there were 14,962 boats and 
 59,792 fishermen under the control of the 
 commissioners. 
 
 The removal of the bounty has been 
 attended with an improvement in the condition 
 of the fishermen generally, and in Scotland 
 the fishermen have been able, from the fair 
 profits of their business, to replace the small 
 boats they formerly used by new boats of 
 larger dimensions, and to provide themselves 
 with fishing materials of superior value. 
 
 The facilities of communication with popu- 
 lous inland districts have greatly extended 
 the market for fish, and the rapid means of 
 transport by railways enables the inhabitants 
 of Birmingham and London to consume cod 
 and other fish caught in the Atlantic by the 
 fishermen of Galway and Donegal. The 
 fishermen who supply the London market, 
 instead of returning to Gravesend or other 
 ports of the Thames and Medway, put their 
 cargoes, already packed in hampers, on board 
 the steam-boats which pass along the whole 
 eastern coast as far north as Aberdeen: or 
 they sometimes make for Hull or some other 
 port in the neighbourhood of the fishing- 
 ground, and there land their cargoes, which 
 are conveyed rapidly inland per railway. Fast- 
 sailing cutters are sometimes employed to 
 take provisions to the boats on the fishing- 
 ground, and to bring back the fish taken by 
 each. 
 
 One branch of fishing wholly different in 
 its object from all other branches is the 
 Stow-Boat Fishery. This fishery prevails 
 principally upon the Kentish, Norfolk, and 
 Essex coasts ; and the object is the catching 
 of sprats as manure for the land, for which 
 there is a constant demand. This branch of 
 fishing gives employment on the Kentish 
 coast alone to from 400 to 500 boats. 
 
 Vessels and boats employed in fishing are 
 licensed by the Commissioners of Customs ; 
 and they are required to be painted or tarred 
 entirely black, except the name and place to 
 which such vessel or boat belongs. The 
 licenses thus granted specify the limits be- 
 yond Avhich fishing vessels must not be em- 
 ployed : this distance is usually four leagues 
 from the English coast. 
 
 The Pilchard Fishery, which is carried on 
 upon parts of the Devon and Cornish coasts, 
 employs about 1000 boats, 3500 men at sea, 
 and about 5000 men and women on shore. As 
 soon as caught the pilchards are salted 01 
 pickled and exported to foreign markets, 
 chiefly to the Mediterranean : the average 
 exports amounts to 30,000 hogsheads per 
 year. 
 
 Our chief Salmon Fisheries are carried on in 
 the rivers and sestuaries of Scotland, but the 
 annual value of this fishery is not exactly 
 known. The produce of the fishings in the 
 rivers Tay, Dee, Don, Spey, Findhorn, Beauly, 
 Borriedale, Langwell, and Thurso, and of the 
 coasts adjacent, are conveyed in steam -boats 
 and small sailing-vessels to Aberdeen, where 
 they are packed with ice in boxes and sent to 
 the London market. London is the great 
 market to which Scotch salmon are sent. The 
 quantity which arrives during one season is 
 about 2500 tons, and the average price is from 
 lOd. to Is. per Ib. 
 
 Mackerel visit every part of our coasts in 
 the spring and early part of the summer, arid 
 are taken in great abundance. As mackerel 
 will not keep, it may be hawked about on 
 Sunday for Sale. 
 
 The fisheries of Ireland, by the Act of 1842 
 have been placed under the regulation of the 
 Board of Public Works, the commissioners of 
 which prepare an annual report concerning 
 them. In 1845 the commissioners registered 
 19,883 vessels and boats, and 93,073 men and 
 boys as engaged in the Irish fisheries. The 
 whole coast of Ireland is divided into 28 fishing 
 districts. 
 
 The Cod Fishery at Newfoundland was 
 carried on as early as 1500 by the Portuguese, 
 Biscayans, and French, but it was not until 
 1585 that the English ventured to interfere 
 with them. The French and English have 
 still continued to fish there. The principal 
 fisheries of Newfoundland are prosecuted on 
 the banks which nearly surround that island : 
 the object of these fisheries is solely cod-fish. 
 These fisheries may be said to be the sole 
 pursuit of the settlers in Newfoundland, and 
 of the traders who frequent the island. 
 
 In 1818 a convention was concluded between 
 the United States' government and that of 
 
875 
 
 FLA'GEOLET. 
 
 FLANDERS. 
 
 876 
 
 Great Britain for regulating the fisheries on 
 the coasts of the British American provinces. 
 Conventions are also in force relating to the 
 British and French fisheries in the English 
 Channel. 
 
 The Whale Fishery will form the subject of 
 a separate article. [WHALE FISHERY.] 
 
 The fish imported in 1848, and paying im- 
 port duty, were 
 
 Anchovies ...... 161,1001bs. 
 
 Eels .......... 76 ship loads. 
 
 Salmon ........ 1,344 cwts. 
 
 Turhots and soles 41 cwts. 
 
 of British ta <M>."Tfc. 
 
 FLA'GEOLET, a small musical instrument, 
 played on by means of a mouth-piece. Its 
 compass is two octaves, from F, the first space 
 in the treble clef, to F in altissimo. The scale 
 of the Quadrille Flageolet is rather more 
 limited ; and that of the Patent Octave Flage- 
 olet is an octave higher than the ordinary 
 instruments. The Double Flageolet consists of 
 two instruments, united by one mouth-piece, 
 and producing double notes. 
 
 FLAME is the combustion of gaseous or of 
 volatilized matter. It is attended with great 
 heat, and sometimes with the evolution of 
 much light; but the temperature may be 
 intense when the light is feeble : this is the 
 case with the flame of burning hydrogen gas, 
 it being scarcely visible by day-light, though 
 its heat is intense. 
 
 In the burning of a candle, the wax or 
 tallow being first rendered fluid by heat, rises 
 in the wick, and although the wick supplies 
 some hydrogen and carbon, by far the greater 
 portion of these is yielded by the wax or 
 tallow, which burn by the assistance of the 
 oxygen of the air. The supply of hot vapour 
 diminishes as it ascends, and eventually fails, 
 and hence the flame of a candle gradually 
 tapers to a point, and then ceases. 
 
 That flame is merely a thin film of white 
 hot vapour, and that this combustion is 
 entirely superficial, while inflammable matter 
 is contained within which cannot burn for 
 want of oxygen, is proved by inserting one end 
 of a small glass tube into the dark central 
 portion of a flame ; the inferior unburnt 
 vapour or gas will escape through it, and may 
 be lighted at the other end of the tube. For 
 various illustrations of flame, see BUDE 
 LIGHT; DRUMMOND'S LIGHT; LAMP, SAFETY. 
 
 FLANDERS. There are two provinces of 
 this name in Belgium, East and West. 
 
 East Flanders, is low and level. In many 
 parts of the province there are beds of peat. 
 The chief productions of the earth are wheat, 
 rye, bai-ley, oats, potatoes, flax, hemp, hops, 
 
 madder, and tobacco. There is but little 
 wood of large growth in the province. The 
 chief manufactures are lace, linen and woollen 
 cloths, bobbin net, silk, cordn-je, bricks, hats, 
 soap ; and there are also cotton-factories, pot- 
 teries, sugar-refineries, distilleries, and brewe- 
 ries. GHENT is the chief town. The 
 manufactures are carried on chiefly at Ghent, 
 Eecloo, Grammont, Lokeren, St. Nicholas, 
 Ninove, Oudenarde, and Renaix. 
 
 West Flanders is admirably accommodated 
 by inland navigation ; the most important of 
 these are the canals between Ghent and 
 Bruges, Bruges and Ostend, Dunkirk, Fumes, 
 and Nieuport. The production and industrial 
 occupations of the people are similar to those 
 of East Flanders. The agriculture of this 
 province, as well as that of East Flanders, is 
 of the most perfect kind. The chief manu- 
 facturing towns are BRUGES and COURTRAI ; 
 and besides these, various branches of indus- 
 try are carried on at Iseghem, Menin, Pope- 
 ringen, Roulers, Thielt, Thourout, Ypres, and 
 other towns. 
 
 The most fertile land, in both provinces of 
 Flanders, is that of the low districts which 
 have been reclaimed from the sea by emboi la- 
 ments : it is chiefly composed of a muddy 
 deposit mixed with fragments of marine shells 
 and fine sea-sand. These lands are called 
 polders, and their great natural fertility causes 
 them to be cultivated with less art and industry 
 than those lands which are much inferior. The 
 usual rotation of crops in the polders consists 
 of 1, Winter barley after a fallow ; 2, Beans ; 
 3, Wheat ; 4, Flax ; 5, Clover ; 0, Pota- 
 toes. The polder farmer seldom thinks of 
 purchasing manure ; and even the ashes made 
 by burning weeds are usually sold, to be sent 
 to the poorer sandy soils, where their effects 
 are more perceptible. In the tillage of the 
 land the Flemings use few and very simple 
 instruments. The common plough for liulit 
 lands is a small light foot plough, which hns 
 no wheels and is drawn by one or two horses. 
 In the stiffer soils the turn-wrest plough is 
 sometimes used, made much smaller and 
 lighter than the heavy Walloon plough. An 
 instrument peculiarly Flemish is the (rn'mcan ; 
 this is a wooden frame of a triangular shape, 
 covered with boards, which is drawn over the 
 ground to smooth the surface and press in the 
 seed. The mollebacrt is another Flemish 
 instrument for levelling ground. The Hainault 
 scythe and hook are generally used for reaping 
 corn. The most important instrument in 
 Flemish agriculture is the spade, which is 
 used to a much greater extent than in England, 
 and in some instances is the only instrument 
 of tillage. Flax is everywhere a most impor- 
 
877 
 
 FLANNEL. 
 
 FLAX MANUFACTURE. 
 
 878 
 
 taut crop, for it much exceeds all other crops 
 in value. In most agricultural crops, the 
 Flemish farmers contrive to do with a smaller 
 amount of seed than the English. 
 
 In respect to the Industrial Exhibition of 
 1.851, out of 509 intending exhibitors from the 
 nine provinces of Belgium, 138 are from East 
 and West Flanders. The products and manu- 
 factures to be exhibited comprise almost every 
 possible variety. 
 
 FLANNEL. [WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES.] 
 
 FLAX MANUFACTURE. Flax is an 
 annual plant, cultivated from time immemoi-ial 
 for its textile fibres, which are spun into 
 thread and woven into linen cloth. It has a 
 green stem from a foot and a half to two feet 
 high, and a blue flower, which is succeeded by 
 a capsule containing ten flat oblong seeds of 
 a brown colour, from which an oil is expressed, 
 which is extensively used in manufactures and 
 in painting. There are several varieties of 
 flax cultivated. The best seed comes from 
 Riga and from Holland. There is a very fine 
 long variety which is cultivated in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Courtrai, in Flanders. The most 
 common variety of flax is of a moderate 
 length with a stronger stem. There is a small 
 variety which does not rise above a foot, 
 grows fast, and ripens its seed sooner. Ano- 
 ther variety has a perennial root, and 
 shoots out stems to a considerable height. 
 
 The soil best adapted to the growth of flax 
 is a deep rich loam in which there is much 
 humus or vegetable mould. It thrives well in 
 the rich alluvial land of Zeeland and the 
 polders. It is also raised with great success 
 in the light sands of Flanders, but much more 
 careful tillage and manuring are required. 
 The land on which flax is sown must be very 
 free from weeds, the weeding of this crop 
 being a very important part of the expense of 
 cultivation. In southern climates flax is sown 
 before winter, because too great heat would 
 destroy it. It is then pulled before the heat 
 of summer. In northern climates the frost, 
 and especially the alternation of frost and thaw 
 in the early part of spring, would cause the 
 flax to perish ; it is consequently sown as 
 early in spring as may be, so as to avoid the 
 effect of hard frost. In Flanders the ground 
 is prepared for flax more carefully than in any 
 other country. The seed which is used is 
 generally obtained from Riga, it being found 
 that the flax raised from home-grown seed is 
 inferior after the first year. 
 
 When the flax is full grown (and this de- 
 pends on whether coarse or fine fibres or 
 seeds for oil are the chief commercial object), 
 the pulling begins, which is done carefully by 
 small handful s at a time. These are laid 
 
 upon the ground to dry, two and two obliquely 
 across each other. Soon after this, they are 
 collected in larger bundles and placed with the 
 root end on the ground, the bundles being 
 slightly tied near the seed end ; the other end 
 is spread out that the air may have access, 
 and the rain may not damage the flax. When 
 sufficiently dry, they are tied more firmly in 
 the middle, and stacked in long narrow stacks 
 on the ground. This is the method adopted 
 by those who defer the steeping till another 
 season. Some carry the flax as soon as it is 
 dry under a shed, and take off the capsules 
 with the seed by rippling, which is drawing the 
 flax through an iron comb fixed in a block of 
 Avood. The flax is then immediately steeped : 
 but the most experienced flax-steepers defer 
 this operation till the next season. In this 
 case it is put in barns, and the seed is beat out 
 at leisure in winter. 
 
 Steeping the flax is a very important pro- 
 cess. The object is to separate the bark from 
 the woody part of the stem, by dissolving a 
 glutinous matter which causes it to adhere. 
 The usual mode of steeping is to place the 
 bundles of flax horizontally in shallow pools 
 or ditches of stagnant water, keeping them 
 under water by means of poles or boards with 
 stones or weights laid upon them. The 
 method adopted by the steepers of Courtrai, 
 where steeping flax is a distinct trade, is 
 different. The bundles of flax are placed 
 alternately with the seed end of the one to the 
 root end of the other, the latter projecting a 
 few inches : as many of these are tied toge- 
 ther near both ends as form a thick bundle 
 about a foot in diameter, and these are placed 
 in an oblong wooden frame. The frame is 
 sunk in the river Lys, low enough to keep all 
 the flax under water, and is kept there till the 
 steeping is effected. The bundles are now 
 untied, and the flax is spread evenly in rows 
 slightly overlapping each other on a piece of 
 clean smooth grass which has been mown or 
 fed off close. It is occasionally turned over, 
 and is allowed to remain spread out upon the 
 grass till the woody part becomes brittle. It is 
 then taken up, and- as soon as it is quite dry it 
 is tied up again in bundles, and carried into 
 the barn. 
 
 In the domestic manufactures the flax is 
 broken or scutched at home, when the weather 
 prevents out door work. The common brake 
 consists of four wooden swords fixed in a 
 frame, and another frame with three swords, 
 which play in the interstices of the first by 
 means of a joint at one end. The flax is 
 taken in the left hand, and placed between 
 the two frames, and the upper frame is 
 pushed down briskly upon it. It breaks the 
 
879 
 
 FLAX MANUFACTUKE. 
 
 FLAX MANUFACTURE. 
 
 880 
 
 flax in four places, and hy moving the leJ 
 hand, and rapidly repeating the strokes wit] 
 the right, the whole handful is soon broken 
 It is then scutched hy means of a hoard se 
 upright in a block of wood so as to stan( 
 steady, in which is a horizontal slit abou 
 three feet from the ground, the edge of which 
 is thin. The broken flax held in handfuls in 
 the left hand is inserted in this slit, so as to 
 project to the right and a flat wooden swore 
 of a peculiar shape is held in the right hand 
 with this the flax is repeatedly struck close to 
 the upright board, while the part which lies in 
 the slit is continually changed by a motion o1 
 the left hand. This operation beats off all 
 the pieces of the wood which still adhere to 
 the fibre, without breaking it, and after a short 
 time the flax is cleared of it and fit to be 
 heckled. On a larger scale the breaking, 
 scutching, and, and subsequent heckling, are 
 effected by more efficient machines. 
 
 Flax is found in every quarter of the globe, 
 and has been cultivated for its fibrous stalk 
 from the very earliest period of which we have 
 any record. England has never grown a 
 sufficient quantity of flax for its own use, 
 although it has been attempted to give encou- 
 ragement to the cultivation by public rewards 
 or bounties. A considerable quantity of land 
 is now sown with flax seed every year in 
 Somersetshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire : it 
 is largely grown in Scotland, and still more so in 
 Ireland. 
 
 There has perhaps never been a period when 
 the flax culture and manufacture occupied a 
 larger share of public attention than at pre- 
 sent. Many circumstances have combined to 
 bring about this state of things. We will 
 briefly glance at the chief aspects which the 
 subject presents. 
 
 Cotton forms a larger item of our textile 
 manufactures than all other fibrous materials 
 combined : and the United States supply an 
 overwhelming proportion of the cotton which 
 we work up. We imported 775 million Ibs. of 
 cotton in 1849, of which four-fifths were 
 brought from the United States. Hence our 
 manufactures are almost wholly at the mercy 
 of any fluctuations of crop which may occur 
 in America ; for the market-price depends 
 chiefly in the abundance or scarcity of the 
 United States supply. 
 
 If therefore we could increase the quantity of 
 any fibrous material capable of being grown 
 in our own country, and use it as a partial 
 substitute for cotton, it would give our manu- 
 factures greater independence of America. 
 Besides this, Great Britain and Ireland would 
 be benefited if a good sale were commanded 
 for homo grown flax. Ireland and the High- 
 
 lands of Scotland since the failure of the 
 potato crops, and England since the repeal of 
 the Corn Laws, have been in a position to 
 seize eagerly on any new culture which pro- 
 mises moderate success ; and landowners in 
 all three countries are at the present time 
 encouraging their tenants to direct attention 
 to the flax culture. 
 
 Mr. Gr. E. Porter, in an able paper read at 
 the Edinburgh Meeting of the British Asso- 
 ciation in 1850, said ' Hitherto we have in 
 this country been greatly dependent upon our 
 foreign importation for supplies of flax. 
 While the law imposed restrictions upon the 
 importation of grain for human food, there ex- 
 isted a kind of impediment in the way of 
 increasing our home growth of articles for 
 any purpose not of equal primary necessity. 
 That impediment is now removed ; and there 
 can be no reason given why our fields should 
 not be henceforth used for the production of 
 any article that promises an adequate profit 
 :o the farmer.' These words have had consi- 
 derable effect in urging agriculturists to attend 
 to this matter. 
 
 It is admitted that much has yet to be 
 .earned before the English and Irish farmers 
 will equal those of Belgium in the flax cultmv. 
 reat care must be shewn in selecting the 
 seed ; and Sir Kobert Kane has lately shewn 
 low, by applying the steep-water to purposes 
 )f manure, and the woody or stalky refuse to 
 mrposes of fuel, greater profit may be realized 
 han heretofore. It is not only the flax fibre 
 which we largely import, but flax-seed for 
 owing, flax seed for making linseed oil, and 
 flax oil-cake for feeding our cattle. In addition 
 o many minor improvements recently sug- 
 gested, Mr. Donlan has introduced a mode of 
 ickling or chemically preparing the seed 
 >efore sowing ; which (unless the accounts 
 are greatly exaggerated) seems to be a very 
 mportant improvement. 
 
 But improvements in culture are not the 
 nly object of attention ; improvements in 
 lanufacture are equally undergoing enquiry, 
 "he reader will have observed, in the earlier 
 jaragraphs of this article, that whatever the 
 mode of steeping may be, cold water is always 
 mployed. Now it has occurred to Mr. Schenk 
 hat if hot water were substituted, the process 
 night be expedited. The method has been 
 ried by the Royal Flax Society of Belfast, 
 who placed the flax in long troughs, filled the 
 roughs with cold water, and heated the water 
 y steam. The experiments tried seem to 
 ear out the assertion that the process is not 
 nly more quickly conducted by the new 
 nethod than by the old, but that more flax fibre 
 an be obtained from a given weight of flax plant. 
 
ALL 
 
 No. 22. 
 
881 
 
 FLAX MANUFACTURE. 
 
 While tliis hot water process has been under 
 
 examination, Mr. Donlan has introduced a 
 dry process, by which the fibre is separated 
 from the stalk without any steeping whatever. 
 The mode of proceeding is not yet made 
 public, as it is not yet patented ; but its advo- 
 cates assert that it is as much superior to the 
 hot water process as that is to the old mode of 
 steeping in cold water. The experiments which 
 are now being earned on will speedily determine 
 the relative merits of all the three systems. 
 
 To shew how remarkably this subject is 
 calling forth the energies of different persons, 
 we need only state that the Chevalier Claussen 
 is carrying out improvements in a direction 
 differing from all those hitherto noticed. He 
 takes the flax fibre after it has been prepared to a 
 certain stage, and so modifies its substance as 
 to make it susceptible of being spun by the 
 usual cotton machinery. It is known that 
 flax or linen goods have a coldness which other 
 textile fabrics have not. M. Claussen has 
 tried to give to flax, instead of this coldness, 
 the warmth of woollens, the softness of cottons, 
 and the glossiness of silks ; and hence he has 
 prepared four kinds, which he calls flax fibre, 
 flax cotton, flax wool, and flax silk. The flax 
 fibre is fit to be spun into beautiful linen 
 thread or yarn ; the flax cotton is intended to 
 be combined with cotton, and to be spun with 
 it into a mixed yarn ; and so in hike manner 
 the flax wool with wool, and the flax silk with 
 silk. The processes comprise, among others, 
 the bursting or opening of the cylindrical tubes 
 which form the minute fibres of flax, by ex- 
 posing them to carbonic acid gas. 
 
 Application has been made to the Crown 
 for a trading charter to a Flax Company ; by 
 the terms of which, the company engage to 
 give for Irish flax a price better than can now 
 be obtained under any other arrangement; 
 which flax is to be prepared up to a certain 
 
 stage by Donlan's process, ready to be carried 
 forward to its ultimate results by Claussen's 
 process. This charter has not yet been 
 granted ; but the application is receiving the 
 favourable consideration of the government. 
 
 The reader will hence see that flax culture 
 and manufacture are now in a highly inter- 
 esting phase of their history. In Ireland 
 especially the subject is being favourably taken 
 up. Besides the culture, the spinning is there 
 on the increase. There were 41 flax mills 
 in Ireland in 1841, and 73 in 1850. 
 
 Further details will be found under LINEN 
 MANUFACTURES. The flax imported in 1850 
 amounted to 97,982 cwts., of which more than 
 two-thirds were from Russia. The flax seed 
 imported in the same year amounted to 132,343 
 quarters. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 FLEXIBILITY- FLEXURE. 882 
 
 FLEXIBILITY; FLEXURE. Flexibility 
 is a property of bodies by which they yield 
 transversely, on the application of some power : 
 this property is distinct from elasticity, as it 
 does not necessarily follow that the bodies 
 acted on recover their original figures when 
 the power is removed. [MATERIALS, STRENGTH 
 OF; ROPES.] 
 
 In intimate connection with this subject is 
 the flexure of columns, which has undergone 
 much investigation since the prevalent use of 
 iron for columns. The fibres of wooden pil- 
 lars are generally of serpentine forms, and 
 they adhere together laterally, with compara- 
 tively a small force : hence, when such a 
 pillar is compressed longitudinally by a weight, 
 the latter acts obliquely on the fibres ; and 
 thus a pillar of wood becomes bent sooner 
 than one formed of the other materials. 
 
 The valuable series of experiments carried 
 on by Mr. Hodgkinson, and of which a full 
 account is given in the Philosophical Trans - 
 actions for 1840, have thrown much light on 
 the flexure and strength of columns. In 
 these experiments the columns, which were 
 placed in vertical positions, were of various 
 lengths, from a few i nches to seven feet six 
 inches, and all were subjected to pressures 
 acting vertically ; some were cylindrical and 
 others were rectangular prisms, and the for- 
 mer were either solid or hollow : in some 
 cases the ends of the columns were planes 
 perpendicular to the lengths, in order that 
 the pressure might be diffused uniformly over 
 those ends ; and, in the others, the ends were 
 hemispherical, in order that the pressure 
 might be transmitted almost wholly in the 
 direction of the axis. From his experiments 
 Mr. Hodgkinson has obtained the following 
 conclusions : All the pillars whose lengths 
 exceeded four times their diameters became 
 bent before they broke ; and, when the pillars 
 were of uniform dimensions, both ends being 
 plane or both hemispherical, the greatest 
 flexure was near the middle of the length, 
 and the fracture was at that place ; but when 
 one end was plane and the other hemispher- 
 ical, the fracture was at a distance from the 
 rounded end equal to about one-third of the 
 whole length. Pillars of cast-iron with plane 
 ends, and having their lengths about thirty 
 times their diameters, were broken by weights 
 equal to one-third or one-fourth of those 
 which would crush them if they had been made 
 short enough to be crushed without bending. 
 In some of the experiments the cast-iron 
 columns were formed with discs at their ends, 
 the diameters of the discs being about twice 
 as great as those of the columns ; and it was 
 found that these sustained a greater pressure 
 
883 
 
 FLINT. 
 
 FLOOK-CLOTH. 
 
 884 
 
 before breaking than the simple columns 
 When the columns were thicker in the middl 
 than at either end, their strength was therebj 
 increased, if compared with cylindrical co 
 lumns, by about one-eighth. In the prismati< 
 pillars, the flexure always took place in the 
 direction of a diagonal. 
 
 In all such buildings as the Crystal Palace 
 where the entire weight is supported on iron 
 columns, the due appreciation of these various 
 properties of columns is of the highest degree 
 of importance. 
 
 FLINT. The true native place of this 
 well known mineral is the upper bed of the 
 chalk formation, where it occurs in regular 
 beds. Gravel consists principally of flints 
 which have been rounded by attrition, and, by 
 exposure to air and moisture, have acquired 
 a yellowish red colour. 
 
 Flint is usually of a gray colour. It is 
 rather harder than quartz ; thin fragments of 
 the black varieties are translucent ; it is fra- 
 gile, and, being rarely laminated, it is broken 
 with equal facility in almost every direction. 
 Specific gravity, 2.594. It is infusible, but 
 becomes opaque and white by the action of 
 heat. Flint is almost wholly pure silica. 
 
 The true origin of flint as it occurs in the 
 chalk of Europe especially has been, and 
 still is, the subject of much discussion among 
 microscopists and geologists. Mr. Bowerbank 
 believes generally in the origin of flints (and 
 some allied minerals) from sponges. Ehren- 
 berg, finding in some flints abundance of infu- 
 sorial animalculfe, suggests the origin of flint 
 from aggregations of these silicious-shielded 
 microzoaria. 
 
 Flint is an important article in many de- 
 partments of manufactures. In the making 
 of glass and porcelain it is almost indispen- 
 sable ; it is the ingredient which gives hard- 
 ness and strength to those substances. Flint 
 glass, called by the French crystal, owes its 
 English name to the large proportion of flint 
 which it always contains. 
 
 Since percussion caps have been largely 
 used in the army, gun-flints have been to the 
 same extent abandoned ; but they used in 
 former years to be an object of some import- 
 ance. The best chalk-flints were selected: 
 those which occur in nodules from 2 Ibs. to 
 20 Ibs. each. Hammers of various shapes 
 were employed in the manufacture. The 
 workman began by holding a flint on his left 
 thigh, and breaking it with a hammer into 
 several broad flattish pieces. He next held 
 one of the pieces in his left hand, and chipped 
 off the white envelope by a pointed hammer. 
 By means of other hammers and a peculiar 
 form of chisel he brought the pieces to the 
 
 requisite size and shape for gun-flints. The 
 gun-flint makers prided themselves on keep- 
 ing their modes of proceeding secret, at least 
 in France and Germany. 
 
 FLINTSHIRE. In this Welsh county, 
 coal-measures occupy the coast of the sestuary 
 of the Dee, and the coal-field, which has several 
 seams of various thickness, extends across the 
 county. Many pits are worked. Extensive 
 lead mines are worked in the limestone, espe- 
 cially in the neighbourhood of Holywell. 
 Copper, iron, zinc, and calamine are also 
 found. At the town of Flint the neighbouring 
 lead and coal mines, and the works for smelt- 
 ing the lead, give employment to a great 
 number of persons, and furnish the principal 
 articles for export. Holywell was formerly an 
 inconsiderable village, but the minerals of the 
 neighbouring country, and the manufactures 
 connected with them, have rendered it a 
 flourishing town. The mines supply lead, 
 copper, calamine, and other ores, and there 
 are smelting furnaces, copper works, brass 
 works, wire works, &c. Steam power is used 
 as well as the stream which issues from the 
 well of St. Winifrede, from which the town 
 derives its name. 
 
 FLINTY-SLATE, or Siliciom Schistus, is a 
 substance which is found of various colours, 
 gray, blueish gray, and red ; its structure is 
 rather slaty; it contains about 75 per cent, 
 of silica, the remainder being lime, magnesia, 
 and oxide of iron. It is employed, when 
 polished, for trying gold by a comparison of 
 colours, and has thence obtained the name of 
 Touchstone. 
 
 FLOOK-CLOTH MANUFACTUEE. This 
 useful production is made partly of hemp 
 and partly of flax, the former being the 
 cheaper of the two, but the latter better fitted 
 to retain the oil and paint on the surface. As 
 a means of avoiding the necessity for seams 
 or joinings in the cloth, looms are constructed 
 xpressly for the weaving of the canvas of the 
 greatest width likely to be required. As 
 wrought to the floor-cloth factories, the pieces 
 of canvas have generally one of these scales 
 f dimensions : a hundred yards long by six 
 vide, a hundred and eight yards by seven, a 
 mndred and thirteen yards by eight. The 
 lax and hemp are spun, and the canvas woven, 
 almost entirely in Scotland, chiefly at Dundee ; 
 and the degree of fineness is generally such 
 as to present about 16 threads to the inch. 
 
 The canvas is cut into pieces varying from 
 sixty to a hundred feet long : each of these 
 )ieces is stretched over a frame in a vertical 
 position ; and in most of the factories there is 
 i large number of such frames, some a hun- 
 dred feet long by eighteen or twenty high, 
 
885 FLOOK-CLOTH MANUFACTURE. 
 
 others sixty feet long by twenty -four high. 
 A wash of melted size is applied by means of 
 a brush to each surface; and, while this is 
 yet wet, the surface is well rubbed with a flat 
 piece of pumice-stone, whereby the little irre- 
 gularities of the canvas are worn down, and a 
 foundation is laid for the oil and colour after- 
 wards to be applied. The paint employed 
 consists of the same mineral colours as those 
 used in house-painting, and, like them, mixed 
 with linseed oil ; but it is much stiffer or 
 thicker in consistence, and has very little 
 turpentine added to it. The canvas receives 
 many coatings on the back as well as the front, 
 and is well dried and smoothed at intervals. 
 
 The printing of floor-cloth is conducted 
 much on the same principle as that of paper- 
 hangings for rooms, and that of ' colour-print- 
 ing,' viz., the successive application of two or 
 more blocks or engraved surfaces, each one 
 giving a different part of the device from the 
 others, and being supplied with paint of a dif- 
 ferent colour. As at present conducted, the 
 pattern is engraved or cut upon blocks of 
 wood, formed of pear-tree on one side and 
 deal on the other : they are about fifteen 
 inches square ; and each block is to give the 
 portion of the device which is to be in one 
 particular colour. 
 
 The blocks (which we will suppose to be 
 four for one pattern, red, yellow, blue, and 
 green) being ready, and the prepared canvas 
 spread out on a flat table, the printing com- 
 mences. The paint (say red) is applied with 
 a brush to the surface of a pad or cushion 
 formed of flannel covered with floor-cloth; 
 the block, held by a handle at the back, is 
 placed face downwards on this cushion, and 
 the layer of paint thus obtained is transferred 
 to the surface of the canvas by pressing the 
 block smartly down on the latter. A second 
 impression is made in a similar way by the 
 side of and close to the first; and so on 
 throughout the length and breadth of the 
 canvas ; each impression being about fifteen 
 inches squai'e. The proper junction, or 
 'register,' of the successive impressions is 
 aided by pins at the corners of the blocks. 
 When the whole surface is thus printed with 
 one colour, all the other three are similarly 
 applied in succession. Such would likewise 
 be the case if the number of colours was 
 more than four : but the greater the number 
 the greater would be the care necessary in 
 adjusting the numerous partial impressions so 
 as to insure a proper arrangement of the whole. 
 
 There will be some splendid specimens of 
 floor-cloth at the approaching Exhibition ; 
 some made on the usual commercial princi- 
 ples, and some as curiosities. 
 
 FLOUR. 
 
 886 
 
 FLORENCE. This beautiful city is more 
 distinguished in fine arts than in industrial 
 arts. In the province of Tuscany to which it 
 belongs, the valleys produce corn, wine, oil, 
 silk, and abundance of fruit ; and the moun- 
 tains are adorned with chestnut trees, and 
 timber trees. The chief manufacture is straw 
 plat. The other manufactures are pottery 
 and china-ware, cloth, paper, leather, <fec., 
 mostly for home consumption. 
 
 A few details bearing indirectly on the 
 industry of Florence, will be found under 
 LEGHOBN and TUSCANY. 
 
 FLO'RIDA. The productive and commer- 
 cial features of Florida will be briefly noticed 
 under UNITED STATES. 
 
 FLOTSAM, or FLOATSAM, in relation to 
 the laws of shipping, are barbarous terms for 
 such portion of the wreck of a ship and the 
 cargo as continues floating on the surface of 
 the water. Jetsam is goods which are cast 
 into the sea, and there sink and remain under 
 water. Ligan is goods sunk in the sea, but 
 tied to a cork or buoy, in order that they may 
 be found again. Flotsam, jetsam, and ligan 
 belong to the king, or his grantee, if no owner 
 appears to claim within a year after they are 
 taken possession of by the persons otherwise 
 entitled. They are accounted so far distinct 
 from legal wreck, that by the king's grant of 
 wreck, floatsam, jetsam, and ligan will not 
 pass. Wreck is frequently granted by the 
 king to lords of manors, as a royal franchise ; 
 but, if the king's goods are wrecked, he can 
 claim them at any time, even after a year and 
 a day. 
 
 FLOUR; FLOUR DRESSING. When 
 corn is ground to the state of a powder, it be- 
 comes meal ; and the particular kind of meal 
 which is produced from wheat constitutes 
 flour. The term flour is sometimes applied to 
 other kinds of meal, but not usually. 
 
 The mode in which wheat is ground into 
 flour by the crushing action of two circular 
 stones is explained under WINDMILL ; but we 
 may here briefly speak of the mode of dressing 
 flour by a smaller machine. Nearly all the 
 flour dressing machines used in farm houses 
 and for domestic purposes, comprise either 
 a revolving fan or a perforated cylinder ; a 
 handle protrudes through the machine ; and 
 ground corn being placed inside, the centri- 
 fugal action occasioned by the rotation sepa- 
 rates the flour from the husk or bran. 
 
 In the Board of Trade returns, wheat flour 
 is converted from cwts. into qrs. at the rate of 
 392 Ibs. per qr. In most of those returns the 
 wheat and wheat flour are entered under one 
 heading, so that we cannot separate them. 
 [CoKN TEADE.] 
 
887 
 
 FLOWERS AKTIFICIAL. 
 
 Dr. Normandy, in his recent work on adul 
 teration, tells us that 'The physical charac 
 teristics of wheat flour of good quality are th 
 following : It has a dull white colour some 
 what inclining to yellow ; it should exhibit t( 
 the eye no trace of bran, even when pressec 
 smooth, either with the hand, or with a polishec 
 surface. It should have a homogeneous ap 
 pearance, and not lose more than from 6 to 
 12 per cent, after drying it in a stove. Tbi 
 less it loses by drying the better it is. 1 But i 
 is often adulterated. The substances gene 
 rally employed in the adulteration are potato 
 starch, bean flour, Indian corn flour, and rice 
 flour. These are innocuous, and the roguery 
 consists only in selling them at wheat flour 
 price ; but wheat flour is also adulterated by 
 alum, chalk, bone dust, and plaster. Al] 
 these can be detected. The spurious sub- 
 stances introduced in making up the flour into 
 bread are even more numerous. Some, how- 
 ever, are not commonly used, and others (as 
 sulphate of copper) not resorted to in tins 
 country. 
 
 A singular mode of filling and weighing 
 barrels of flour was made the subject of a 
 patent in America a year or two ago. Jt is 
 intended that the filling and weighing should 
 both be effected by one operation. A trough 
 is suspended on an axis ; and beneath one 
 end of the trough is a pair of scales, or rather 
 the flour-pan of a pair of scales. The barrel 
 is placed on the scale pan, and flour flows 
 through the trough into the barrel. When 
 the proper quantity has thus been precipitated, 
 and the scale pan and barrel have descended 
 by their weight, a small piece of apparatus 
 catches to the trough, and tilts it into the con- 
 trary direction, so that no more flour can flow 
 through it into the barrel. 
 
 FLOWERS, ARTIFICLAL. [ARTIFICIAL 
 FLOWERS.] 
 
 FLUID, FLUIDITY, are terms applied to 
 substances of which the parts possess perfect 
 mobility amongst themselves. Fluids or 
 liquids have been generally treated as incom- 
 pressible bodies, but this is not strictly correct; 
 for it is found that all to a certain degree 
 yield to pressure. The term fluid has been 
 extended to the supposed media through which 
 the forces of electricity, galvanism, and mag- 
 netism act : but little that can be relied upon 
 has been deduced from their supposed analogy 
 with material fluids. 
 
 All ponderable matter exists either in the 
 gaseous, fluid, or solid state ; and most solids, 
 when heat is applied to them, may be ren- 
 dered fluid, or converted into liquids, under 
 which circumstances mutual repulsion of par- 
 ticles takes the place of cohesion. As most 
 
 FLUORINE. 888 
 
 solid bodies may be rendered fluid by heat, so 
 many gaseous and fluid bodies are converted 
 into solids by diminishing their temperature. 
 Those liquids which present an rcriform 
 state are often termed elastic fluid*. Among the 
 aeriform fluids, however, those which are usu- 
 ally considered as permanently elastic are 
 called gases ; and the term elastic fluid is 
 frequently confined to atmospherical air and 
 the vapoui-s which are produced from solids or 
 liquids by the action of heat. Many of the 
 gases, on being combined with one another 
 and with other substances, form solids or 
 liquids : thus, oxygen gas unites with metals 
 and becomes solid ; ammoniacal gas and mu- 
 riatic gas unite and form the solid called 
 muriate of ammonia: while oxygen and hy- 
 drogen gas unite to form water. Almost all 
 gases are invisible ; but several which are so 
 when they exist alone, become visible on being 
 mixed with one another. 
 
 The temperatures at which liquids become 
 elastic fluids by the action of heat are very 
 various ; muriatic and nitric aethers boil, under 
 ,he usual pressure of the atmosphere, at 
 about 70 (Fahr.) ; sulphuric aether boils at 
 J8, and acetic aether at 160 ; water boils at 
 212, while mercury can be made to boil only 
 at a temperature of 670. 
 
 FLUOR SPAR, Fluor, Fliiate of Lime, is a 
 luoride of calcium. It occurs colourless, and 
 f almost every colour, as gray, purple, black, 
 )ro\vn, red, yellow, green, and blue ; in Derby- 
 hire the last is the prevailing tint, and the 
 nassive fluor of that county is termed by the 
 miners Blue John. It is frequently transparent, 
 ut more commonly only translucent. The 
 massive varieties are nodular or amorphous. 
 ?he blue and variegated fluor spar of Derby- 
 hire is turned into various ornamental forms, 
 andlesticks, &c. ; that of Cornwall is used as 
 i flux in the reduction of copper ore. Some 
 ery fine specimens are being wrought into 
 he form of vases, &c., in Derbyshire for the 
 pproaching Exhibition. Pieces of fluor spar 
 f great magnitude and beauty are to be seen 
 i the British Museum. 
 FLUORIC ACID. [HYDROFLUORIC ACID.] 
 FLUORINE is a gas of a yellowish brown 
 olour ; its odour resembles that of a mixture 
 f chlorine and burnt sugar, and, like chlorine, 
 t has the power of destroying colour : it does 
 ot act upon glass. Like chlorine and oxygen, 
 t appears to have a powerful affinity for me- 
 allic bodies, and for hydrogen ; with this 
 atter it forms hydrofluoric acid. The com- 
 ounds which contain fluorine, when they do 
 ot possess acid properties, are termed fluor- 
 des. Many of the fluates and fluorides aro 
 mployed in the ails 
 
880 
 
 FLUTE. 
 
 FLYING BRIDGE. 
 
 890 
 
 FLUTE. The use of this well-known mu- 
 sical instrument under different forms and 
 names may he traced to the remotest periods 
 of antiquity. The ancient flute had some 
 sort of mouth-piece ; it was double as well as 
 single that is, was often composed of two 
 tubes, both played together. The old English 
 flute was not unfrequently called the Flute a 
 Bee; it had a mouth -piece, and was held in 
 the manner of the clarionet. It had seven 
 finger-holes, and no keys. The Flute a Bee 
 was gradually superseded by that now in use, 
 the German flute. This, at first simple in 
 construction, in length about a foot and a 
 half, and having only one key, has by dgrees 
 been extended to twenty-seven inches, and 
 has sometimes as many as a dozen keys, but 
 usually eight ; so that every kind of music 
 within its compass, and adapted to the nature 
 of a tube, may now be executed on this instru- 
 ment. It is formed of any kind of hard wood, 
 of ivory, and even of glass. The middle tones 
 of the flute are the finest. 
 
 The Octave Flute is a small instrument an 
 octave higher than the common flute. The 
 best of these are provided with four keys. 
 
 Several patents for improvements, or sup- 
 posed improvements, in the flute have been 
 taken out within the last few years. In Mr. 
 Dawson's patent, obtained in 1848, the flute 
 is described as being constructed of two tubes, 
 sliding air-tight one within the other. The 
 outer tube is furnished with small lateral cells, 
 each provided with two holes, one to be 
 stopped by a key or finger, and the other to 
 open communication with the inner tube, 
 which is perforated with corresponding holes. 
 The outer tube slides easily up and down over 
 the inner one. The object of this arrange- 
 ment is to vary the pitch or register of tone in 
 the instrument. Another proposed arrange- 
 ment by the same patentee is an elastic gutta 
 percha valve to cover a long slit in the flute ; 
 the pressure of the finger on any part of the 
 valve being equivalent to the action of a finger- 
 key or a finger-hole in a common flute. 
 
 Mr. Clinton's patent, also obtained in 1848, 
 describes a flute in which facilities are afforded 
 for acting on some of the keys ; when a key 
 is far distant from the embouchure or mouth- 
 hole, motion is given to it by means of a con- 
 necting rod, carried along the edges of some 
 of the finger-holes ; in such a way that when- 
 ever any of these holes is stopped by the 
 fingers tho rod will be depressed, and the key 
 to which it is connected acted upon. There 
 is also a new arrangement for producing the 
 notes B and C, under certain difficult com- 
 binations of notes. 
 
 Mr. Carte patented several improvements 
 
 in the construction of flutes in 1850. They 
 do not involve any change in the general 
 form of the instrument ; but relate to new ar- 
 rangements of the metallic keys, which facili- 
 tate the performance of rapid passages and 
 ' shakes,' under circumstances which are some- 
 what difficult in the ordinary flutes. 
 
 FLUTE-STOP, on the organ, is a range of 
 wooden pipes, tuned in unison with the diap- 
 ason. It generally produces a very successful 
 imitation of the instrument whence its name 
 is derived. 
 
 FLUX, in chemistry and metallurgy, is any 
 substance employed to assist the reduction of 
 ores or metallic compounds to their metallic 
 state. Limestone is employed as a flux for clay- 
 iron ore, andfluor spar for copper ore. The al- 
 kaline substance called Black Flux is doubly 
 useful in smelting ores ; the carbonate of pot 
 ash combines with the earthy parts of the ore; 
 while the charcoal unites with the oxygen of 
 the metallic oxides, and, carbonic acid being 
 formed and expelled, the metal is reduced 
 and melts. White Flux, or carbonate of pot- 
 ash, disintegrates stony matter, as alumina 
 and silica, separates acids and sulphur from 
 metals, and dissolves many metallic oxides. 
 Argol, or bitartrate of potash, is much used 
 as a flux. Charcoal, glass, wax, tar, pitch, fat, 
 oil, gum, sugar, and starch, are all occasion- 
 ally employed for this purpose. 
 
 FLYING BRIDGE. This consists usually 
 of a boat or other vessel, which, being attached 
 by a rope to a buoy moored in the middle of 
 a river, is made by the action of the current 
 to move across on an arc of a circle of which 
 the buoy is the centre. The buoy being se- 
 curely anchored in the middle of the river, a 
 rope or chain leads from thence to the mast 
 of the boat, which is at a distance from the 
 head equal to one-third of the vessel's length ; 
 then, the keel of the boat being kept at a cer- 
 tain angle with the direction of the current, a 
 resolved part of the pressure of the water 
 against one side of the boat will cause the 
 latter to describe an arc of a circle across the 
 river. In a rapid current it may be impossible 
 to make the boat move up the ascending arc 
 of its path ; in which case a boat near one 
 bank may, by means of a cable made fast at a 
 point directly opposite on the other bank, be 
 allowed to describe a descending arc quite 
 across the river. A triangular raft having its 
 front parallel to the direction of the current, 
 and being connected by a ring with a rope 
 stretched tightly across the river, may, by a 
 resolved force of the current, be impelled di- 
 rectly to the opposite bank ; and, on reversing 
 its position, the raft may be impelled across 
 in a contrary direction. A boat running by a 
 
891 
 
 FLYING MACHINES. 
 
 FORCE. 
 
 892 
 
 ring at one end on a rope may, by being kept 
 in an oblique position, in like manner be 
 sheered across the river. 
 
 On broad rivers, and when objects of great 
 bulk and weight, as horses, carriages, or ar- 
 tillery, are to be conveyed across, two boats or 
 barges placed in parallel positions, and carry- 
 ing a platform extending between their exte- 
 rior gunwales, are employed. Each vessel is 
 provided with a mast, which may be from 20 
 to 30 feet in height. 
 
 In military manoeuvres, flying bridges will 
 continue to be frequently useful; but for 
 general inland purposes steam-bridges are 
 now coming into use over broad rivers. 
 
 FLYING MACHINES. All that need be 
 said in this work on these hitherto futile con- 
 trivances, will be found under BALLOON. 
 
 FOILS. Very thin leaves of metal are often 
 called by this name ; they are placed under 
 artificial gems to heighten the brilliancy. They 
 are made of tin, copper, tinned copper, or 
 silvered copper. They are left white for imi- 
 tation diamonds, but are coloured for imita- 
 tion rubies, sapphires, &c. The coloured foils 
 are prepared by coating the white foil with 
 coloured varnish. The best white foil is 
 made by coating a plate of copper with a layer 
 of silver, and then rolling it into sheets in the 
 flatting mill. The principal colours used by 
 artists are employed, mixed with mastic 
 spirit, and drying oil, to form the coloured 
 varnishes. 
 
 FONT. The form of the font in churches 
 is usually hexagonal, similar to the form o: 
 the baptistery, in which fonts were originally 
 placed. Fonts also occur both of a circular 
 and a square form. They are usually shapec 
 like a cup, with a solid stem, or supported on 
 columns ; the top is hollowed out for the 
 water, and the sides and stem are often highly 
 enriched with ornaments, sculptured figures 
 and with colour and gilding. In many in 
 stances a flight of steps forms a base, anc 
 even the sides of these steps are carved with 
 pannels, having quatrefoils and rosettes sun] 
 within them. It was usual to cover the basin 
 of the font with a wooden lid, and there are 
 some of these remaining of a pyramidal o: 
 spire-like form, richly carved and designed 
 with a profusion of shafts, buttresses, an 
 tracery piled up to the apex. 
 
 Among the fonts especially worthy of note 
 maybe mentioned those of Porchester church 
 which is like the circular stone mouth of th 
 well in the atrium of a Roman house ; of Lin 
 coin cathedral, which is square, on five column 
 one being in the centre : of Lowestoff in Suf 
 folk, and Loddor in Norfolk, both remarkabL 
 for their richness of decoration ; of Wincheste 
 
 athedral, very curious and ancient; and of 
 ilast Dereharn in Norfolk. 
 
 FOOD. All organized bodies are nourished 
 iy the introduction into their internal struc- 
 ures of materials from without, which form 
 he numerous kinds of food so familiar to us. 
 Although man derives his food from both the 
 egetable and animal kingdoms, it is found 
 hat the animals which are consumed by man 
 lerive their nourishment from the vegetable 
 dngdom alone, so that plants are the true 
 ource of all the food both of man and the 
 ower animals. The principal constituents of 
 he human body, as well as all other animal 
 )odies, are the organic elements, carbon, hy- 
 drogen, oxygen, and nitrogen ; and it is the 
 waste of these substances which is constantly 
 going on that it is the object of food to sup 
 ?ly. Plants, however, do not supply the animal 
 with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, 
 n a simple form, but as secretions of the 
 vegetable tissues known to chemists under the 
 names of gluten, fibrin, albumen, casein, &c. 
 The plant itself does not derive its food from 
 the organic elements in a pure form, but com- 
 bined with each other : thus, carbonic acid 
 gas, consisting of carbon and oxygen ; water, 
 composed of oxygen and hydrogen ; and am- 
 monia, of hydrogen and nitrogen, are the 
 great sources of vegetable nutrition, and conse- 
 quently of the various secretions used as the 
 food of man and animals. Not only do these 
 secretions serve to build up the fabric of the 
 human body, and to supply the daily waste 
 of tissue which is going on, but they also sup- 
 ply materials for keeping up animal heat 
 within the system. 
 
 The reader will find a familiar exposition 
 of this subject, and of the relative value of 
 albumen, fibrin, casein, starch, sugar, fat, 
 oils, acids, spices, condiments, &c., in Dr. 
 Lankester's ' Food of Man.' 
 
 FORCE, in mechanical and scientific mat- 
 ters, is a term employed to denote the un- 
 known cause of any mechanical effect. Thus 
 the cause of motion and the cause of pressure 
 are both forces : again, difference of effects 
 must be attributed to difference in the pro- 
 ducing causes : thus, greater or less velocity, 
 and greater or less pressure, are both attri- 
 buted to differences in the causes of velocity 
 or pressure. But, on the other hand, effects 
 which are the same in one point of view may 
 differ in another; thus, bodies of different 
 weights, let fall from the same heights above 
 the ground, will strike the ground with the 
 same velocities, but with different degrees of 
 effect upon the substance which they strike. 
 
 When force, in the sense of pressure, is 
 considered as the cause of motion, we must 
 
893 
 
 FOBESTS. 
 
 FOEESTS. 
 
 894 
 
 take into account both the element time, and 
 also the quantity of matter which is moved. 
 The connection of pressure, velocity created 
 by pressure, and time which pressure takes 
 to create velocity, as deduced from experi- 
 ment, are contained in the following results : 
 
 1. The same pressure continually acting 
 upon a given mass for different times pro- 
 duces velocities which are proportional to the 
 times, and augments velocity by equal portions 
 in equal times. 
 
 2. The same pressure applied to different 
 masses of matter (that is to different weights 
 of matter), during the same time, produces 
 velocities which are inversely proportional to 
 those masses. 
 
 3. The velocities of falling bodies is accele- 
 rated by 32.19 feet in every second : and in 
 that proportion for all other times. 
 
 Very exact calculations and experiments on 
 all these points are of great importance to 
 machinists and engineers, who have to pro- 
 vide force adequate to the kind and quantity 
 of the work to be done. 
 
 FOKESTS; FOEEST-SGIENCE. A forest 
 is a large tract of ground overgrown with trees 
 and underwood. As civilization and population 
 advance, forests lessen in every country. It has 
 been notably so in Great Britain. Ireland has 
 few forests. In Norway the mountains are 
 covered with wood; birch, maple, pine, and 
 fir, forming immense forests. The fir some- 
 times attaining a height of 160 feet, is in 
 great estimation for masts and building tim- 
 ber. In the regions of moderate elevation are 
 aspens. The good lands have some fine forests 
 of oaks. The forests of Sweden are similar 
 to those of Norway. In Denmark the existing 
 forests cover but a small area. The timber of 
 Holland consists of beech, fir, poplar, and 
 ash ; willow grows along the canals, and the 
 coppices are of maple, ash, hornbeam, birch, 
 and beech, with a slight portion of oak-bushes. 
 In Germany the forests are estimated to cover 
 nearly one-third of the whole surface ; they 
 comprise most of the usual varieties of timber- 
 trees. Switzerland is abundantly wooded, par- 
 ticularly with the cone-bearing trees. France 
 has many fine forests, though hardly suffi- 
 cient for the consumption of a country where 
 wood is the chief combustible. Italy, Spain, 
 and Portugal, are all rather deficient in forests. 
 European Turkey has fine forests of oak, elm, 
 pine, plum, apple, pear, cherry, apricot, 
 maple, sycamore, walnut, chestnut, and beech 
 trees. 
 
 Of all the countries of Europe, Eussia is 
 the most abundantly provided with timber; 
 and her forests would be an almost inex- 
 haustible source of wealth, if it were possible 
 
 for the government effectually to protect them 
 from destruction. In 1802 regulations for the 
 preservation of the forests were established ; 
 but such is their extent and that of the 
 country, that it is next to impossible wholly 
 to prevent the waste of wood. There are 
 200,000,000 of acres exclusively covered with 
 pine and other cone-bearing trees, without 
 counting oaks, maples, beech, poplar, horn- 
 beam, and birch. Poland is, for its size, 
 nearly as well supplied with forests as 
 Eussia. 
 
 In Asia Minor, Mount Taurus is covered 
 with forests of cypress, juniper, and savines. 
 Oaks and fir abound in the forests along the 
 Black Sea. Trees of all these kinds occur in 
 the Caucasus. Persia has few forests, except 
 amongst the mountains near the Caspian. 
 Arabia has none. Central Asia is too little 
 known to yield us much information respecting 
 its forests. Siberia has some vast forests 01 
 the harder kinds of trees. China, Japan, and 
 Corea, all possess immense forests in their 
 more mountainous districts. India, both 
 within and beyond the Ganges, is rich in 
 wood. There are whole forests of the bam- 
 boo, which sometimes attain a height of 60 
 feet. Cocoa-nut and palms of all kinds cover 
 large tracts. Here are woods of oak, fir, 
 cypress, and poplar ; there of mangoes, ban- 
 yan-trees, uvarias, robinias, sandal-wood, &c. 
 Nearly all the eastern islands seem to be 
 tolerably rich in forests, Australia perhaps 
 excepted. 
 
 In Africa there are some spots in which 
 vegetation is rich beyond description. Thus 
 Senegambia, Guinea, and Congo, are covered 
 with forests, which consist of the baobab, of 
 palms, robinias, sycamores, sandal -wood, 
 tamarinds, bananas, oranges, limes, and 
 pomegranates ; there are also cocoa-nut trees 
 in great abundance. The tamarind and cedar, 
 which grow in the greatest profusion on the 
 borders of the Congo, furnish timber of the 
 finest quality. Abyssinia has abundant woods. 
 The Atlas Mountains are covered with mag- 
 nificent forests, producing a variety of oaks, 
 the mastic tree, the cypress, &c. The king- 
 dom of Bornou has immense forests, and the 
 date-palm abounds there. 
 
 America is, of all parts of the world, the 
 most thickly covered with wood. Canada con- 
 tains immense forests, as do most of the 
 British North American territories. The 
 United States are abundantly wooded, the 
 cleared land even in some of the Atlantic 
 states being inconsiderable when compared 
 with that still covered with the primitive 
 forests. Oregon, Mexico, and Texas, have 
 all splendid forests. The West India islands 
 
895 
 
 FOKFARSHIRE. 
 
 FOUNDATION. 
 
 896 
 
 are for the most part only moderately woodec 
 In South America the Caracas possesses ine 
 haustible forests ; and so indeed do most o 
 the South American states. The forest regio 
 of the river Amazon and of the upper Orinoco 
 according to Humholdt, covers an area o 
 ahout 7i ( J,000 square miles. 
 
 There are no laws respecting the forests o 
 England among the laws attributed to the 
 Conqueror; but after the Norman Conques 
 the royal forests were guarded with much 
 greater strictness. In later times these 
 forests gradually sunk in importance; anc 
 our government department of ' Woods anc 
 Forests' shews how little benefit the roya 
 forests produce to the state generally. 
 
 In Germany a distinct branch of education 
 has become established, called 'Forest Sci- 
 ence.' In the Forest Academies are taught 
 botany generally, including vegetable physio- 
 logy, mineralogy, zoology, chemistry, survey- 
 ing, mensuration, mechanics, the methods ol 
 resisting the encroachments of sands, drain- 
 ing and embanking, together with the care 
 and chase of game ; and also the laws and 
 regulations of forest administration. In 
 Prussia and other German states, in France, 
 and in Eussia, similar studies are carried on. 
 The wood from forests is applied to the 
 various purposes of house - building, ship- 
 building, mill and wheel work, turnery, orna- 
 ments, fuel, &c. ; and the study of its fitness for 
 these purposes forms a part of forest science. 
 In England, where no such schools exist, 
 knowledge has accumulated from out-door 
 experience, rather than school education. In 
 English timber plantations, as crooked pieces 
 of large oaks are of value in ship-building, 
 the side branches are not taken off higher 
 than fifteen or twenty feet from the ground, 
 and where trees have plenty of room, as in 
 hedge-rows of parks, this may be judicious, 
 but in close plantations it is of advantage 
 to have a long stem without branches. 
 In France and Germany the branches are 
 always cut off to the height of 30 or 40 feet. 
 FORFARSHIRE. The Grampian Hills, 
 in this Scottish county, are of granite, having 
 frequently topazes and rock crystal in its 
 cavities and fissures. There are also lime- 
 stone slate, porphyry, and lead ore. In the 
 Strathmore district there is a shell -marl, 
 which is procured in large quantities from 
 beneath beds of peat-moss at the bottom of 
 several ancient lochs which have been drained 
 chiefly for this purpose ; it is dragged up by 
 means of iron scoops, worked from boats, and 
 is used for manure. Iron and pipe-clay 
 occur in this district. The maritime district 
 contains beds of sandstone and extensive 
 
 quarries of limestone. Fragments of granite 
 
 from the Grampians lie strewed about the 
 
 lower ground. Coal of an inferior quality 
 lias been traced a little to the west of Aber- 
 broth wick. The poor, who cannot obtain coal 
 without difficulty, procure for fuel peat, brush- 
 wood, broom, and furze. 
 
 It may in general be stated that almost 
 every useful improvement has been adopted 
 in the modes and implements of agriculture 
 in this county. Inclosures are made chiefly 
 by stone dykes in the highlands, and by quick 
 thorn hedges in the plains of Strathmore and 
 towards the sea. The chief crops are oats, 
 barley, and wheat. Much of the oat crop is 
 consumed by horses and exported from the 
 county. Oatmeal porridge, eaten with milk 
 or beer, forms the breakfast and supper of the 
 abouring classes, among whom oat cakes are 
 still much used as bread. Considerable quan- 
 tities of wheat are annually exported to Lon- 
 don and other ports, and some American, 
 Danzig, and other foreign wheats are imported 
 ;o mix with that produced in the county. 
 Barley is much used in the county for broth, 
 Dorridge, and cakes. There are about 40,000 
 acres of natural pasture. The grazing and 
 tall feeding of cattle are prosecuted to a 
 nuch greater extent than the rearing, large 
 
 umbers being brought into the county to be 
 ed and prepared for the butcher. 
 
 The deep-sea fishing off the eastern coast is 
 ery productive, and large quantities of salmon 
 nd smaller fish are taken in the Frith of Tay, 
 ,nd at the mouths of several streams from 
 hence to the North Esk. Cod, ling, herring, 
 addocks, turbots, sole, skate, sprats, smelts, 
 obsters, crabs, mussels, and fresh water fish 
 are all abundant. The chief manufactures of 
 ae county are represented by those of its 
 usiest town. [DUNDEE.] 
 
 FORK. The manufacture of this useful 
 mplement is briefly noticed under CUTLERY. 
 
 FOSSIL COPAL occurs in irregular pieces 
 n clayey soils. Its colour is yellowish or 
 ull brown; nearly opaque; specific gravity 
 .046. When heated it yields an aromatic 
 dour, and melts into a limpid fluid. 
 
 FOSSILS. The time may arrive when fos- 
 1s or organic remains will be largely em- 
 loyed in the arts. At present they are chiefly 
 bjects of scientific geological investigation, 
 nd as such they do not come within the 
 ange of this work. 
 
 FOUNDATION, the lower part or courses 
 f the basement walls or piers of a building, 
 n foundations it is of the utmost importance 
 o prevent the settlement of the walls in an 
 nequal manner; this can only be done by 
 taking the earth on which the foundation is 
 
897 
 
 FOUNDING. 
 
 FOUNDING. 
 
 set equally solid throughout its whole extent. 
 Concrete composed of gravel or shingle and 
 hot lime is often used to form a solid bearing 
 for the footings of foundations. The greatest 
 care and judgment are required in making 
 foundations for heavy superstructures, for if 
 the piles should be of a bad quality, and 
 the ground in which they are driven of a very 
 loose and boggy nature, the same catastrophe 
 which occurred at the New Custom House in 
 London may be expected to take place. In 
 this builjing it was found necessary to remove 
 the piles and loose earth, and form a solid 
 concrete foundation. 
 
 FOUNDING. This important mechanical 
 art embraces all the operations of reducing 
 ores, and of smelting and casting metals. 
 There are various branches of the art, and 
 some difference prevails in the minor details 
 of the processes, as in iron, brass, and bronze 
 founding, in casting guns and cannon, types 
 for printing, and bell founding. The art has 
 been known and practised from the earliest 
 ages. 
 
 The preparation of the principal ores is 
 described under the names of their metals, 
 such as COPPER, IRON, &c. The furnaces are 
 described under FURNACE. 
 
 Founding is practised either in casting any 
 quantity of metal in the solid, or with a core 
 (by means of which the metal is preserved 01 
 a determined thickness or substance), or in 
 plain casting. Before any article can be cast 
 in metal it is necessary that a model of it be 
 prepared. The models must be made of 
 various substances ; clay or wax, or sand with 
 clay, are those usually employed, but they 
 may also be made of wood, stone, or any 
 other material. Upon those models moulds 
 must be made. These are commonly com- 
 posed of plaster of Paris, mixed with brick- 
 dust, sometimes sand, or sand with a mixture 
 of cow-hair. For moulds for iron and brass 
 work a yellowish sharp sand is preferred, 
 which is prepared by mixing it with water 
 and then rolling it on a flat board till it is 
 well kneaded and fit for use. If the article is 
 cylindrical, or of a form that admits of it, it is 
 moulded and cast in two pieces ; these two 
 parts are then carefully joined together, and 
 the edges or. seams carefully cleaned. For 
 the smaller class of works, instead of running 
 the metal at once from a large furnace, earthen 
 crucibles are used, into which the metal is 
 thrown in small pieces : the crucible is placed 
 in a strong heat in a close stove, and as the 
 metal is melted and sinks more is added till 
 the vessel is full. It is then lifted out by 
 means of iron instruments adapted to the 
 purpose, and the metal is poured from it into 
 
 the moulds, in which channels or ducts for 
 receiving it have been previously made. 
 
 In noticing the different ways of casting, 
 mention has been made of one in which a 
 core is used. The core, as its name denotes, 
 is a part or portion situated within the body 
 of the cast; and its purpose is to form a 
 centre to the work by which the thickness or 
 substance of the metal may be regulated. In 
 coring, the mould is first made complete ; into 
 this, clay or wax, or any other fit substance 
 or material, is then squeezed or pressed in a 
 layer of uniform thickness ; in large works it 
 is usually from half an inch to an inch thick. 
 This layer represents the metal. The mould, 
 if in parts, is then put together, the above- 
 mentioned layer being left within it, and into 
 the open space in the centre a composition 
 (usually of plaster of Paris with other sub- 
 stances mixed with it) is introduced, and 
 made to adhere to the clay or wax, or rather 
 is filled up to it. This is the core, and it is 
 often made to occupy the whole interior of the 
 mould. When this is set, or dry, the mould is 
 taken to pieces, and the material which has 
 been made to represent the metal removed. 
 The mould is then again put carefully toge- 
 ther ronnd its core or nucleus, the two por 
 tions being secured from contact by stops and 
 keys properly arranged for that purpose. The 
 mould and core are dried to dissipate mois- 
 ture ; and large moulds are strengthened with 
 iron hoops. Channels or ducts are made fur 
 the entrance of the melted metal ; and others 
 are also made for allowing the air to escape as 
 the melted metal enters the mould ; these are 
 called vents. With respect to placing the 
 mould, it is only important to secure a suffi- 
 cient inclination of plane from the mouth of 
 the furnace to the mould that the metal may 
 run easily and uninterruptedly, and not have 
 time to grow cool and therefore sluggish. 
 The usual method in bronze works of large 
 size is to bury the mould in a pit a little be- 
 low the level of the furnace, and by ramming 
 sand firmly round it to ensure its not being 
 affected by any sudden or violent shock, or by 
 the weight of the metal running into it. 
 When everything is ready and the metal found 
 to be in a state fit for running, the orifice or 
 mouth of the furnace (which is usually 
 plugged with clay and sand) is opened, when 
 the metal descends, and in a few minutes the 
 mould is filled. The metal is allowed to run 
 till it overflows the mouths of the channels 
 into the mould. The work is then left to 
 cool, after which the mould is scraped or 
 knocked off and the cast undergoes the neces- 
 sary processes (such as cleaning, chasing, &c.) 
 to render it fit for the purpose designed. 
 
899 
 
 FOUNDING. 
 
 FOURCROY. 
 
 ono 
 
 Large bells and statues are cast in the way 
 first described. Erass ordnance is always cast 
 solid. The model is made round a nucleus 
 of wood called a spindle, and the mould of 
 loam and sand made over it. When this is 
 perfectly dry, the model and spindle within 
 are removed, and the mould is well dried or 
 haked. When ready for casting, it is placed 
 upright in the pit, and the metal is allowed to 
 run into it till filled. What is called a dead 
 head is left at the upper and smaller or mouth 
 end of the gun, which presses the metal 
 down, and prevents its becoming porous as it 
 settles and cools. After a few days the mould 
 is knocked off, and the gun is ready for finish- 
 ing. The dead head is turned off, and the 
 boring, which is an operation requiring great 
 care is effected. [BORING.] 
 
 After the founding, the metal cast is often 
 finished by chasing, burnishing, lacquering, 
 plating, or gilding. 
 
 One of the largest cylinders, cast and bored 
 in iron, is that employed at the Mostyn col- 
 liery in Flintshire. It was made at the Haigh 
 Foundry at Wigan in 1848. It is 17 feet long, 
 by 8 feet 4 inches in diameter ; it weighs 22 
 tons ; and the quantity of metal brought to a 
 liquid state for the purpose of casting was 30 
 tons. 
 
 A silver statue was cast at Paris in 1850. 
 In the preceding year M. Pradier exhibited 
 at the Luxembourg a bronze statue of Sappho, 
 which was much admired for its beauty ; and 
 a silver copy of this statue was prepared in 
 1850, as a prize for a sort of Art Union lot- 
 tery. The founding was entrusted to M. 
 Simonet, who has produced many beautiful 
 specimens in this department of Art. The 
 weight of silver used was about four thousand 
 ounces. 
 
 The largest cast statue of recent times is 
 the allegorical figure of Bavaria, placed in 
 front of the Ruhmeshalle on the Theresien 
 meadow near Munich. The figure is 63 feet 
 high, and stands on a granite base 30 feet 
 high ; so that the wreath held in the uplifted 
 hand of the figure is nearly 100 feet from 
 the ground. A winding staircase leads entirely 
 up the interior of the statue. It is said that 
 no fewer than 26 musicians were placed within 
 the head of the statue, on the occasion of 
 the inauguration. The length of the fore- 
 finger, 38 inches, will give an idea of the size 
 of the statue. The statue was modelled by 
 the great sculptor Schwanthaler, who hastened 
 his death by his intense application to it. The 
 founding or casting was entrusted to Stigl- 
 mayer ; but as he also died, the work was car- 
 ried out to a successful completion by his 
 pupil Ferdinand Miller. The statue was cast 
 
 in many pieces, one of which required 380 
 cwt. of molten bronze ! 
 
 FOUNTAIN. A fountain is a jet or jets of 
 water, flowing either naturally out of the earth, 
 or from structures formed by art. Artificial 
 fountains consist of water flowing from statues, 
 vases, or architectural buildings combined 
 with sculptured figures and other ornamental 
 decorations. At Pompeii not only the streets 
 but even the private houses were decorated 
 with fountains. At Rome, the proper distri- 
 bution of the rivers which flowed through her 
 aqueducts was a matter of great importance, 
 intrusted to the care of an officer of very high 
 rank. The aqueducts were each charged with 
 a certain number of pipes of supply ; and no 
 new pipe could be inserted without a special 
 application to the emperor. Those whose 
 means of interest were insufficient to obtain 
 a private pipe, were obliged to fetch water 
 from the public fountains. 
 
 Some of the cities of Italy and the East 
 are adorned with fountains, which are no less 
 agreeable to the eye than useful to the inha- 
 bitants. Many of the fountains of Rome are 
 highly decorated, of great magnitude, and very 
 varied in their mode of ejecting the waters 
 with which they are supplied from the exist- 
 ing aqueducts. 
 
 The city of Paris is well supplied with 
 fountains, many of which are elegantly de- 
 signed. The fountains of Versailles and St. 
 Cloud in France, and the fountains at Wil- 
 helmshohe near Cassel, are the largest in 
 Europe. London has no fountains worthy of 
 notice except the two large ones in Trafalgar 
 Square, which are supplied from a very deep 
 artesian well ; and these have been severely 
 criticised as works of art. 
 
 The great fountain, planned by Mr. Paxton 
 for the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, is 
 in all probability the loftiest in the world. It 
 presents one single jet that rises to a perpen- 
 dicular height of 270 feet. The pressure is 
 derived from a previous descent of water from 
 a height of 380 feet. A reservoir has been 
 formed at that height, in some hills which 
 bound the eastern side of the park ; and more 
 than half a mile of piping is employed to 
 convey the water from the reservoir to the 
 fountain. 
 
 FOURCROY, ANTOINE-FRANCOIS DE. 
 This eminent French chemist deserves our 
 grateful notice for the aid which his disco- 
 veries afforded to many practical arts. He 
 was born in 1755, and died in 1809, after 
 having filled many important offices. Among 
 his other discoveries, Fourcroy shewed that 
 the salts of magnesia and ammonia have the 
 property of uniting together and forming 
 
901 FEAMEWOEK KNITTEES. 
 
 double salts. His dissertation on the sulphate 
 of mercury contains some good observations. 
 The same remark applies to his paper on the 
 action of ammonia 011 the sulphate, nitrate, 
 and muriate of mercury; and he first de- 
 scribed the double salts which are formed. 
 Te may mention the process of Fourcroy and 
 Vauquelin for obtaining pure barytes, by ex- 
 posing nitrate of barytes to a red heat, as a 
 good one. They discovered the existence of 
 phosphate of magnesia in the bones, of phos- 
 phorus in the brain, and in the milts of fishes, 
 and a considerable quantity of saccharine mat- 
 ter in the bulb of the common onion, which, 
 by undergoing a kind of spontaneous fermen- 
 tation, was converted into manna. 
 
 FEAMEWOEK KNITTEES. [HosiEEY 
 MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 FEANGE. This important country has a 
 varied though perhaps not very rich supply of 
 mineral wealth. Granite, sienite, porphyry, 
 variolites, and serpentine are quarried in some 
 of the departments ; lava in others ; marble, 
 limestone, and slate in others ; while various 
 parts of France yield lithographic stone, por- 
 celain clay, brick clay, pipe clay, gypsum, chalk, 
 millstones, and sandstone. Of metals, the 
 chief ores are those of iron, manganese, anti- 
 mony, lead, and copper. Minute traces of 
 gold and silver are met with. Thirty-three of 
 the departments contain excellent coal. An- 
 thracite, asphaltum, bitumen, petroleum, alum, 
 rock-salt, and lime, are also obtained. There 
 are about 500 coal-pits in France, from which 
 four to five million tons of coal are annually 
 extracted. 
 
 France has always been considered one of 
 the most agricultural countries in Europe, 
 chiefly on account of the numerous publica- 
 tions relating to this subject ; but in most parts 
 of the country, the progress towards a general 
 adoption of improved methods of cultivation 
 is very slow. The northern part of France, 
 on the confines of Belgium, and the part in 
 the immediate neighbourhood of Paris, are 
 the best cultivated. In most other parts, ex- 
 cept where maize is cultivated, the old system 
 of two or three crops of corn and a fallow is 
 generally adopted. 
 
 The arable land of France is now estimated 
 at 23,000,000 hectares, which (taking the hec- 
 tare =2.47 acres nearly) are about equal to 
 56,810,000 acres English measure. In recent 
 years there have been about 14,000,000 hec- 
 tares under corn culture, yielding 180,000,000 
 hectolitres (a hectolitre = about 22 gallons, 
 or 2 1 bushels) of wheat, oats, rye, meslim, 
 and maize; the wheat being f and oats . 
 The corn culture has not increased much 
 during the. present century; but the cultiva- 
 
 FEANCE. 
 
 902 
 
 tion of the vine, of the artificial grasses, of 
 pulse, and, above all, of potatoes, has much 
 increased. Beet-root is extensively grown for 
 the manufacture of sugar. The esculent roots 
 and table vegetables are common. Flax and 
 hemp are cultivated in various parts of the 
 country, and to a considerable extent; hops, 
 tobacco, and madder, in a small degree ; and 
 colza and* -rape, for oil, are grown in the 
 north. 
 
 The vine is one of the most important ob- 
 jects of cultivation in France. The amount 
 of land occupied by this culture is about 
 5,000,000 English acres. The average yearly 
 produce is nearly 1,000,000,000 of English 
 gallons, of which about one-sixth is converted 
 into brandy. The annual produce of the 
 vineyards is estimated at about 30,000,000/. 
 sterling, of which at least nine-tenths are con- 
 sumed in France. Of fruits and of timber- 
 trees France has a very fair supply. 
 
 The coasts abound in fish of various kinds, 
 the taking of which occupies a number of 
 hands : the oyster, the herring, the mackerel, 
 and especially the sardine or pilchard, are the 
 chief objects of attention to the fishermen of 
 the coasts of the Channel and the Atlantic : 
 the tunny and the anchovy to the fishermen of 
 the Mediterranean. 
 
 Every branch of industry in France has un- 
 dergone vast improvement since the peace of 
 1815. The energies of the nation being 
 turned from war to domestic employments, 
 speedily repaired the evils which France had 
 suffered from so long a struggle. The woollen 
 manufacture has increased materially : the 
 increased quantity of wool used is partly fur- 
 nished by the increased number of sheep 
 bred, partly by the importation of foreign 
 wool. The quality of the home-grown wool 
 has been improved by the introduction of 
 foreign breeds, and the Cashmere goat has 
 been naturalized on the slopes of the Pyre- 
 nees. The cotton manufacture has increased 
 since 1812 in a greater proportion than that 
 of wool, and the process of manufacture and 
 the fineness and excellence of the fabrics have 
 undergone great improvements. The north 
 and east of France are the chief seats of this 
 manufacture. Printed calicoes are made at 
 Eouen and Bauvais ; but especially at Colmar, 
 Miihlhausen, and other places in the depart- 
 ment of Haut Ehin, the printed cottons of 
 which are much approved in the German 
 markets for the vividness of their colours (es- 
 pecially the Turkey red), and their other qua- 
 lities. The silk manufacture is carried on 
 chiefly in the south. The brilliancy of the 
 French silks has been increased by the sub- 
 stitiition of Prussian-blue for indigo as a dye. 
 
903 
 
 FEANCE. 
 
 FEANCE. 
 
 904 
 
 A part of the raw silk required for these va 
 rious fabrics is grown in France. Linens 
 damasks, sail-cloth, and lace, are made t< 
 some considerable extent. 
 
 The working of the metals has much in 
 creased, especially iron. The quality am 
 appearance of the steel and wrought-iron 
 goods have much improved ; yet the quality 
 of the French iron is inferior, and it main 
 tains its ground against the Russian and 
 Swedish iron only by means of protecting 
 duties. In the manufacture of clocks and 
 watches France is almost equal to Switzer- 
 land ; and for chronometers and instruments 
 for scientific purposes it is not surpassed by 
 any country. The inventions of the French 
 chemists and the improvement of chemical 
 science have done much in producing with 
 economy and expedition the many chemical 
 agents employed in the various branches of 
 manufacture, and particularly dyeing. The 
 commoner sort of French earthenware has 
 much improved in beauty of design. Fine 
 porcelain is made at Sevres, Paris, and Li- 
 moges. The cut-glass is nearly equal to that 
 of England in beauty of workmanship, and it 
 is perhaps superior in elegance of form. 
 
 The means of internal communication in 
 France are much inferior to those of Great 
 Britain. The roads are divisible into those 
 maintained by the central government, and 
 designated JRoutcs Eoyales and those which 
 are kept up at the cost of the several depart- 
 ments to which they belong, and designated 
 Routes Departementalcs. Besides these there 
 are Chemins Vlcinaux, or bye-roads. The 
 Routes Royales extend about 22,000 miles. 
 Posting and the mail service along these 
 roads are under the control of the govern - 
 meni. Diligences run on all these roads. 
 The departmental roads are rather greater in 
 length than the royal, but are mostly in bad 
 condition. The inland water communication 
 is carried on by means of the great rivers and 
 by the canals which have been formed. Many 
 of the rivers have been improved for naviga- 
 tion ; and the artificial canals are rather nu- 
 merous. The canals present a united length 
 of about 1,600 miles. The railway system of 
 communication has not made considerable 
 progress in France ; but lines have been laid 
 out along most of the great travelling routes 
 in the kingdom. 
 
 The following important statistics of French 
 commerce, shipping, and manufactures have 
 recently appeared mostly referring to the 
 year 1850. There exist in France 5,607 
 manufactories of various denominations in 
 which steam machinery is employed. This 
 machinery is worked by means of boilers, the 
 
 number of which is 9,288, and of which 8,776 
 were made in French establishments. These 
 boilers represent a force of 05,120 horses' 
 power, calculating the horse power as 75 kilo- 
 grammes (180lb.) raised one metre (1 yard) 
 per second ; they represent the force that 
 would be produced by 195,361 draught horses 
 and 1,367,530 labourers. The length of rail- 
 way now open for traffic is 2,171 kilometres 
 (1,300 miles), on which are employed 725 lo- 
 comotives. The number of steam trading 
 vessels is 279 ; their tonnage amounts to 
 40,098 tons ; and they are propelled by 502 
 engines, constituting a total power of 22,893 
 horses. The merchandise transported by 
 these vessels amounted to 730,948 tons. The 
 progress of steam navigation in France is 
 indicated in the following facts : In 1835 
 there were 75 steamers, by which 1,038,916 
 passengers were carried, and 88.140 tons of 
 merchandise ; in 1840 there were 211 steamers, 
 2,547,116 passengers, and 485,539 tons; in 
 1845, there were 259 steamers, 3,461,336 pas- 
 sengers, and 696,066 tons; and in the last 
 year there were 279 steamers, 2,808,886 pas- 
 sengers, and 730,948 tons. The total number 
 of steam engines employed by land or sea in 
 France amounts to nearly 7,000, and they 
 jonstitute together a force of 110,178 steam 
 lorses, or 330,535 draught horses. 
 
 In 1850 there were 12,335 vessels engaged 
 
 n the import trade, and 11,587 in the export. 
 
 About 513 kilometres of new railway are 
 
 xpected to be opened in 1851. In 1849 
 
 he iron foundries produced 700,000 tons of 
 
 iron. 
 
 In 1848 we imported the following among 
 ther commodities from France : 
 
 Corn . . . . 390,000 qrs. 
 Flour and meal 370,000 cwts. 
 Gloves . . 3,000,000 pairs. 
 
 Madder . . 54,000 cwts. 
 
 Prunes . . 34,000 cwts. 
 
 Clover seed . . 29,000 cwts. 
 
 Silk . . . . 1,350,000 Ibs. 
 Silk goods . . 720,000 Ibs. 
 
 Skins and furs 640,000 
 
 Brandy . . 2,360,000 gallons. 
 Wine . . 660,000 gallons. 
 
 In the same year Great Britain sold to 
 France : 
 
 Brass and copper goods . . 150,OOOZ. 
 
 Coals 570,000 tons. 
 
 Hardware and cutlery . . 6l,000/. 
 
 Machinery 35,000/. 
 
 Silk goods 57,000^. 
 
 Wool and woollens . . 194,000/. 
 
 nd other goods to the aggregate value of 
 ,024,5212. The amount was more than 
 .ouble this in 1846 and 1847 ; for 1848, being 
 
905 
 
 FKANKFOET. 
 
 FKAXININ. 
 
 906 
 
 a year of revolution, presented unfavourabl 
 commercial results. 
 
 Of the important Expositions of Industry 
 which have been held in France in past years 
 a hrief account has been given in the INTRO 
 DUCTION. Everything affords ground for be 
 lieving that France will hold a distinguishec 
 position at the approaching display in Hyde 
 Park. All the goods from all the departments 
 have been collected at one spot in Paris 
 where they have been inspected by a jury 
 who would not suffer any specimens to be ex 
 hibited but such as will reflect credit on the 
 manufacturers. From Paris they have been 
 forwarded by railway to Dunkirk, and thence 
 by sea to London. The following has been 
 announced to be the number and distribution 
 of the exhibitors. Of the eighty-six depart- 
 ments of France nine only are without in 
 tended exhibitors. In the department of the 
 Seine there are 1,730 exhibitors; Ehone, 96 
 Nord, 56; Seine Inferieure, 53; Marne, 47 
 Loire Inferieure, 33; Gard, 25; Bas Ehin 
 23 ; Haut Ehin, 22 ; Ardennes, 20 ; Gironde 
 18 ; Oise, 18 ; Seine et Oise, 18 ; Haute 
 Vienne, 17; Pas de Calais, 16; Loire, 14; 
 Seine et Marne, 14 ; Ardeche, 12 ; Aube, 12 ; 
 Haute Garonne, 12 ; Herault, 12 ; Jura, 12 ; 
 Maine et Loire, 10; Sarthe, 10. The following 
 is the analysis, according to the classification 
 decided on by the English committee, of the 
 2,481 persons declaring an intention to ex- 
 hibit above mentioned : Section 1. Eaw ma- 
 terials, 485 ; 2. Machinery and tools, 554 ; 3. 
 Manufactured productions, 1,088 ; 4. Plastic 
 arts and models 354. Even Algeria will take 
 part in this industrial display. 
 
 FRANKFOET. With the exception of 
 Sachsenhausen and its 5000 inhabitants, who 
 are principally agriculturists, gardeners, and 
 day-labourers, the citizens of Frankfort-on-the 
 Main derive their subsistence from commerce, 
 money operations, and manufactures. It is a 
 place of considerable transit for German and 
 foreign produce. The chief articles of trade 
 are wines, English, French, and Italian goods, 
 Bavarian timber, German wools, colonial pro- 
 duce, and German manufactures. The chief 
 manufactures are carpets, galloon, tobacco, 
 cards, cottons, silks, printer's black, &c. 
 
 An establishment formed here for the sale 
 of Bohemian glass, contains some of the best 
 examples of that manufacture. The works 
 which supply the stock are situated at Hayda, 
 and the activity with which they are conducted 
 here and elsewhere is necessarily a means of 
 many improvements and novelties. Some of 
 the examples of verre perruche are very beau- 
 tiful ; this is a production in which glass of 
 different colours is joined together. There 
 
 are also many examples of enamel on colour- 
 less glass, presenting forms and designs of 
 much taste. There is in this city an establish- 
 ment for the extensive sale of the productions 
 of the iron-foundry of Hanau, comprehending 
 a very extensive assortment of objects of uti- 
 lity and ornament as candlesticks, branches, 
 paper-weights; vases, tazzas, and every other 
 ornamental object which the French artists 
 and manufacturers produce in bronze. The 
 finest manufacture, that in gray iron, is also 
 brought to a high degree of excellence ; this 
 class of productions comprehends every orna- 
 mental article in which iron filligree is in any- 
 wise available, and so fine is the workmanship 
 in this hair wire material, that iron, equiva- 
 lent in value to 11. sterling, may be manufac- 
 tured into a variety of articles amounting in 
 value to WOOL 
 
 Many curiosities from Frankfort will appeal* 
 at the forthcoming Exhibition. 
 
 There is another Frankfort, called Frankfort 
 on the Oder. The manufactures of the town 
 consist of wines, mustard, brandy, tobacco, 
 sugar, gloves, stockings, linen, leather, &c. : 
 its trade is extensive, and the three periodical 
 fairs, instituted in 1253, are well frequented, 
 particularly by Polish dealers. 
 
 FEANKINCENSE is the produce of the 
 Abies excelsa, Pimts abies, or common Spruce 
 Fir, from which it either exudes spontaneously 
 or more abundantly from incisions in the baric. 
 When it first flows out it is liquid, but on ex- 
 posure to the air concretes, and is collected 
 during autumn and winter. It occurs in two 
 tates, in tears, and in large irregular lumps 
 or compressed cakes. When recent, the co- 
 ^our should be white, or only inclining to yel- 
 ow, subdiaphonous, soft, tenacious, and glu- 
 inous : by the action of time it becomes hard, 
 and even friable, the colour having deepened 
 "nto an orange hue. By the heat of the hand 
 t softens, and by a higher temperature lique- 
 fies. It possesses a turpentine -like odour and 
 ,aste. It is insoluble in water, but completely 
 soluble in alcohol with the aid of heat. Frank- 
 ncense consists of two kinds of resin mixed 
 with oil of turpentine. By melting it in water, 
 ind straining it through strong cloths, it is 
 leprived of much of its oil, when it is termed 
 
 ix arida or Burgundy Pitch. 
 
 It is scarcely now used internally, but is 
 rritant and diuretic. Externally it is useful 
 n the composition of plasters. 
 
 FEAXININ is a neutral principle obtained 
 roni the bark of the Fraxinus excelsior. It is 
 btained in slender hexagonal prisms, which 
 ire unalterable in the air. Fraxinin is very 
 oluble in water and in alcohol, and only 
 lightly so in eether. It has a very bitter taste 
 
907 
 
 FREEZING MIXTURES. 
 
 FRESCO PAINTING. 
 
 908 
 
 and has neither an alkaline nor acid reac- 
 tion. 
 
 FREEZING MIXTURES. Freezing is 
 the solidification of fluid bodies by the ab- 
 straction of the heat necessary to their fluid 
 form. Freezing mixtures are such as produce 
 cold by the liquefaction of their solid ingre- 
 dient. Such mixtures reduce the temperature 
 of substances immersed in them on the prin- 
 ciple of the transfer of heat, which always 
 takes place from hotter to colder bodies when 
 exposed to each other. 
 
 The process used by confectioners for pro- 
 ducing cold is by the mixture of ice and com- 
 mon salt, both of which in liquefying absorb 
 so much heat, or, in other words, produce as 
 much cold, as will reduce the thermometer 
 from the usual temperature to zero of Fahren- 
 heit, or even rather below it. If however 
 freshly fallen snow be used instead of ice, then 
 the fluidity is more suddenly produced, and 
 the cold is more intense. It is found that ice 
 or snow, though exceedingly convenient sub- 
 stances for the production of artificial cold, 
 are by no means necessary to it. Any salts 
 which dissolve rapidly in water, finely pow- 
 dered, are powerful freezing mixtures. Mix- 
 tures of muriate of ammonia and nitrate of 
 potash, and of these with phosphate of soda, 
 act strongly in this way ; and so do various 
 other salts. 
 
 The following are useful freezing mixtures, 
 with the temperature which they produce : 
 
 Salt 1 part, snow 2 parts 5 Fahr. 
 
 Salt 2, mur. of ammonia 1, snow 5 12 
 Salt 10, snow 24, mur. of ammo- 
 nia 5, nit. of pot. 5 18 
 
 Snow 3, dilute sulph. acid 2 . . 23 
 Snow 5, concen. mur. acid 8 . . 27 
 Snow 4, concent, nit. acid 7 . . 30 
 Snow 5, chloride of calcium 4 . 40 
 Snow 2, chloride of calcium 3 . 50 
 
 Snow 3, fused potash 4 51 
 
 Snow 8, dilute sulphuric acid 10 91 
 
 These negative temperatures indicate so 
 many degrees below zero of Fahrenheit. In 
 some cases they depend on the temperature of 
 the substance before the freezing process. 
 Solid carbonic acid is an agent in producing 
 still greater degrees of cold. 
 
 In order to produce the congelation of wa- 
 ter by a rapid evaporation from its own sur- 
 face under the exhausted receiver of an air- 
 pump, Sir John Leslie introduced in the re- 
 ceiver a shallow vessel containing highly con- 
 centrated sulphuric acid, above which was 
 placed the vessel containing the water. The 
 air being extracted as quickly as possible, the 
 vapour, which, in consequence of the removal 
 of the pressure, escaped continually from the 
 
 water, was absorbed by the acid as fast as it 
 rose; and the remainder of the water was 
 speedily frozen. Dry potash, muriate of lime, 
 or powder of basalt, will do instead of sulphu- 
 ric acid. Leslie succeeded in freezing mer- 
 cury by the absorption of caloric from a coal- 
 ing of ice in which the bulb of a thermometer 
 was immersed. 
 
 FREIGHT, in commercial matters, is the 
 charge made for the carriage of merchandise 
 in a ship. The amount of the freight is gen- 
 erally specified in the bill of lading. It fre. 
 quently happens that the whole ship is hired 
 by a merchant for a voyage, and a certain 
 amount is paid without reference to the quan- 
 tity of goods put on board. In such cases the 
 mode of payment is part of the matter of 
 agreement between the shipowner and the 
 merchant, and the terms of the agreement 
 are stated in an instrument called a charter- 
 party. Where the shipper of goods does not 
 stipulate for the use of the whole ship, the 
 amount of the freight, as well as the mode of 
 payment, may be inserted in the bill of lading. 
 Where this is not done, the freight is due from 
 the merchant on the delivery of the goods, 
 and the owner or master of the ship may de- 
 mand payment of the same, package by pack-- 
 age, as the same are delivered. In London 
 where the greater part of the merchandise 
 brought from foreign countries is delivered 
 into the custody of one or other of the incor- 
 porated dock-companies, there is a custom of 
 arresting the goods in their hands, so that 
 they cannot pass away from the original im- 
 porter until the shipowner, or some person 
 acting on his behalf, has signified in writing 
 that the freight has been paid. If goods are 
 damaged on board the ship, through the care- 
 lessness or neglect of those in whose charge 
 she and her cargo are placed, so that the 
 owner of the ship is liable for the amount of 
 the damage, this cannot, without the consent 
 of the owner or master, be set off against the 
 amount of the freight, which must under all 
 circumstances be paid, and the merchant must 
 afterwards substantiate his claim to compen- 
 sation for the amount of the damage. 
 
 FRENCH BERRIES are the berries of 
 the Rhamnus infectorius, which are gathered 
 before they are ripe. They afford a pretty but 
 fugitive yellow dye. 
 
 FRESCO PAINTING. A painting is said 
 to be a fresco, or painted in fresco (sul fresco 
 Monaco, upon the fresh coat), when it is exe- 
 cuted in water-colours upon wet plaster. 
 Fresco is the most noble and imposing of all 
 methods of painting. Colouring in fresco was 
 practised by the ancients, though it has not 
 yet been shown that they painted frescoes. Vi- 
 
909 
 
 FKESCO PAINTING. 
 
 FRICTION. 
 
 910 
 
 truvius explains the mode of preparing the 
 walls for this species of colouring, and describes 
 a method of varnishing them when coloured 
 to preserve them. The earliest Italian frescoes 
 are in the church of Assissi, in the cathedrals 
 of Orvieto and Siena, in the Campo Santo at 
 Pisa, and in San Miniato and Santo Spirito at 
 Florence. These and other later frescoes are 
 painted on different lands of walls : in the old 
 Gothic buildings, on ashlar walls covered with 
 a thin coat of plaster; in more recent build- 
 ings, on brick and rubble walls ; and, in some 
 of the most recent edifices, on lath covered 
 with various thicknesses of plaster. The best 
 preserved of these frescoes are on brick. 
 There are many frescoes at Pisa, Florence, 
 and Venice, on lath, and all are in tolerable 
 preservation. 
 
 The method of plastering the walls for 
 painting has been nearly uniform inmost ages. 
 The walls of the baths of Titus at Rome are 
 covered first with a layer about half an inch 
 thick of coarse sand and lime ; above this, a 
 thick layer of lime and pozzolana with an ad- 
 mixture of sand and pounded brick ; the third 
 and upper coat is of lime and pounded marble. 
 The third loggia of the Vatican, painted by 
 Giovanni da Udine, is much the same as this. 
 Cennino Cennini, Alberti, and various other 
 Italian writers, give instruction as to the mode 
 of preparing the walls and the materials for 
 them. The selection of the limestone to be 
 employed in fresco-painting, both for the 
 ground and for the white, is a matter of great 
 importance ; it should be nearly pure carbo- 
 nate of lime, and should contain as few foreign 
 materials as possible. Modern fresco-painters 
 recommend the limp, to be kept a much longer 
 period than Cennini and other early writers 
 direct. If it is used too fresh, it blisters, and 
 sometimes turns the colours to a brownish 
 red. The lime for the intonaco in fresco paint- 
 ing must not be entirely carbonated, or it would 
 not set ; a certain degree of causticity is neces- 
 sary. The picture must be executed while 
 the intonaco is wet or soft ; no more work 
 therefore ought to be commenced than can be 
 completed within the time (a few hours) that 
 the plaster requires to harden. Numerous 
 joints are thus necessary in a large fresco ; 
 and a judicious painter contrives that these 
 joints shall be identical with the inner outlines 
 of the parts of the figures and their drape- 
 ries, or any other object, so as to be no disfi- 
 gurement to the work. Before laying on the 
 intonaco the prepared ground is repeatedly 
 wetted, until it will absorb no more ; then a 
 thin moderately rough coat of plaster of sand 
 and lime, is laid over as much of the wet sur 
 face as can be painted in one day ; as soon as 
 
 ,his coat begins to set, in about ten minutes 
 )r so, another thin coat is laid on with a 
 wooden trowel, both layers together being 
 scarcely a quarter of an inch thick. Upon 
 :his coat the fresco is painted. This intonaco 
 will be fit to paint upon in about a quarter of 
 an hour. 
 
 The colours used in fresco painting are all 
 ground and mixed in water, boiled or distilled ; 
 they are chiefly earths. Lime, ochres, siena, 
 vitriol, Verona green, cobalt, chrome, ultra 
 marine, and vermilion are the chief colouring 
 substances employed. Sufficient of each tint 
 
 kept ready for the whole picture. The 
 brushes and pencils are made of hog's hair 
 and otter's hair. 
 
 The method of fresco-secco, or dry fresco, is 
 thus practised: The plastering of the wall 
 having been completed, the whole is allowed 
 to dry thoroughly. Before painting, the sur- 
 face of the intonaco is rubbed with pumice- 
 stone, and on the evening of the day before the 
 painting is to be commenced it is thoroughly 
 washed with water mixed with a little lime ; it 
 is wetted again the next morning, and is then 
 ready for pouncing or tracing the outline, and 
 painting ; the wall must be kept constantly 
 moist by means of a syringe. 
 
 Frescoes are sometimes cleaned by dry 
 bread ; sometimes by pure water, by vinegar, 
 and by wine. Ingenious modes have been 
 devised of removing frescoes from, walls, and 
 transferring them to canvas. 
 
 FRET, in musical instruments of the 
 stringed kind, is a wire or ridge so placed as 
 to mark the exact part of the finger-board to 
 be pressed for the purpose of producing cer- 
 tain sounds. Frets are now never applied to 
 any instruments except guitars, lutes, &c. 
 
 FREYBERG, the centre of administration 
 for the Saxon mines, stands about 20 miles 
 from Dresden. The Berg Academic or Mining 
 Academy was opened in ]767, and comprises 
 class and lecture rooms, a museum, in which 
 are rich collections in mineralogy, &c., a geo- 
 graphical and a geognostic cabinet, a museum 
 of models of mining machines and philosophi- 
 cal and chemical apparatus, and an extensive 
 library. The manufactures consist principally 
 of articles in imitation of gold and silver ware, 
 brass wares, white lead, gunpowder, iron and 
 copper wares, linen, woollens, gold and silver 
 lace, ribands and tape, leather and laces. 
 
 FRICTION. All surfaces have certain de- 
 grees of roughness arising from the innume- 
 rable small asperities with which they are 
 covered ; and from these, when two surfaces 
 move upon one another, there arises a force 
 acting in a direction opposite to that in which 
 the surfaces move. This is friction, which is 
 
911 
 
 FRICTION. 
 
 FULGUK1TES. 
 
 913 
 
 therefore a retarding force capable of destroy- 
 ing but incapable of generating motion, and 
 capable of acting powerfully as a mechanical 
 force, of which the tendency is to bestow sta- 
 bility. 
 
 The following are a few of the laws which 
 govern friction, useful in all considerations 
 respecting moving machinery: 1, Friction is 
 increased by time ; thus it requires the appli- 
 cation of a greater force to move a weight 
 along a horizontal plane from its position of 
 rest than to keep it afterwards moving on the 
 same plane. 2, Between substances of the 
 same nature the friction is proportional to the 
 pressure ; thus, if a block of oak be double 
 the weight of another, and both, having equal 
 surfaces of contact, are placed on one plane of 
 uniform nature, the force necessary to move 
 the first will be double of that requisite for 
 the second. 3, The amount of friction is in- 
 dependent for one and the same body of the 
 extent of the surface of contact. 4, When 
 the fibres of two substances are parallel, fric- 
 tion lias a 1 tendency to increase ; thus, when 
 a rectangular block of oak is placed on an oak 
 table so that the fibres in both lie parallel, the 
 friction is greater than in the case where the 
 fibres of the block He transversely to those of 
 the table. 5, The friction is independent of 
 the velocity, at least when the velocity is 
 neither very small nor very great. 
 
 Mr. Ronnie made many valuable experi- 
 ments on friction a few years ago, with various 
 substances drawn on a horizontal plane. He 
 found that metals moving upon each other 
 produced friction in the following order : 
 
 Brass on wrought iron. 
 
 Steel upon steel. 
 
 Brass upon cast iron. 
 
 Brass upon steel. 
 
 Hard brass upon cast iron. 
 
 "Wrought iron upon wrought iron. 
 
 Cast iron upon cast iron. 
 
 Cast iron upon steel. 
 
 Cast iron upon wrought iron. 
 
 Brass upon brass. 
 
 Tin upon tin. 
 
 Amongst the conclusions which Mr. Rennie 
 draws, the following are perhaps the most 
 important. With fibrous substances, such as 
 cloth, &c., friction is increased by surface and 
 time, and diminished bypressure and velocity. 
 With harder substances, such as woods, me- 
 tals and stones, the amount of friction is sim- 
 ply as the pressure, without regard to surface, 
 time, or velocity. Friction is greatest witli 
 soft, and least with hard substances. The di- 
 minution of friction by unguents depends on 
 the nature of the unguents, without reference 
 to the substances moving over them. 
 
 M. Coulomb and M. Morin have made valu- 
 able experiments on the friction produced by 
 one kind of wood moving over another. 
 
 FUEL is any combustible matter employed 
 for the purpose of creating and maintaining 
 heat. In the early ages of the world, wood 
 must have constituted, as indeed in many 
 countries it does to this day, the principal fuel 
 employed. Charcoal, another kind of fuel, is 
 tnerely wood that has undergone imperfect 
 combustion, so as to expel its hydrogen and 
 oxygen, and to leave the greater part of the 
 carbon. Peat, or turf, which is a congeries of 
 vegetable matter, in which the remains of Or- 
 ganisation are more or less visible, is used in 
 many countries as fuel. In this country coal 
 furnishes the great supply of fuel. Coke bears 
 nearly the same relation to coal that charcoal 
 does to wood. In the East, dried camel's dung 
 is often used for fuel. 
 
 The number of substitutes for coal introdu- 
 ced within the last few years has been surpri- 
 singly large. Gram's patent fuel was planned 
 with a view to make use of the small coal 
 which is so extensively left to waste at the 
 mouths of the pits ; this coal to be mixed 
 with earthy substances, such as sand, marl, 
 clay, or alluvial deposit ; or with some bitu- 
 minous substance, such as mineral tar, coal 
 tar, gas tar, pitch, resin, or asphaltum ; or 
 with saw dust, coke dust, or breeze. In short 
 this was one of those vague patents which 
 defeat their own purpose by the wideness of 
 their grasp. 
 
 Mr. C. W. Williams, managing director of 
 the Dublin Steam Packet Company, has pa- 
 tented three or four inventions for artificial 
 fuel in which peat shall be one of the ingre- 
 dients. The peat, after being dried, is pres- 
 sed with great force, to expel the moisture 
 with which it is saturated ; and it is then 
 mixed with some bituminous substance. By 
 different modes of treatment Mr. Williams 
 produced a very dense brown combustible so- 
 lid, a charcoal twice as compact as hard wood 
 charcoal,an artificial coal, and an artificial coke. 
 
 All the more recent patent fuels consist of 
 various combinations of the substances noticed 
 above. Bessemer's, Buckwell's, Cowper's, 
 Snowden's, Reece's, Green's all have a cer- 
 tain family resemblance, however they may 
 differ in details. Warlich's patent fuel has 
 been found to possess certain favourable qua- 
 lities for use in steam-boats. See also CAR- 
 BON ; CHARCOAL ; COAL ; COKE ; PEAT. 
 
 FULGURITES are vitrified sand-tubo*. 
 supposed to have originated from the action 
 of lightning. These tubes are nearly all hol- 
 low, and vary in diameter from a fraction of 
 an inch to two or three inches. All the evi- 
 
913 
 
 FULLERS' EAETH. 
 
 FUMIGATION. 
 
 814 
 
 dence goes to show that they are producec 
 by the action of lightning on the silicioiis par 
 tides of sand. They serve to illustrate in a 
 pleasing manner how sand or flinty particles 
 may be converted into a kind of glass by in 
 tense heat 
 
 FULLERS' EARTH, a mineral product 
 was formerly much used in the fulling of cloth 
 It occurs massive, and is usually of a green 
 ish brown or dull gray colour ; sometimes ii 
 is nearly of a slate colour. It occurs in many 
 parts of England, between beds of sand or 
 sandstone. 
 
 FULLING. [WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE.] 
 FULTON, ROBERT, the first to establish 
 steam navigation on the American seas and 
 rivers, was born in 1705, in Pennsylvania. In 
 1780 he embarked for England, and projects 
 for the improvement of canals began to oc- 
 cupy the chief share of his attention. In 1794 
 he took out a patent for an inclined plane, 
 which was intended to set aside the use of 
 locks ; he invented a machine to facilitate ex- 
 cavation, and wrote a work on canals, in which 
 he first styled himself a civil engineer. He 
 also invented a mill for sawing marble, and 
 took out patents for spinning flax and making 
 ropes. These projects failed to enrich him ; 
 and he went to Paris, where he studied lan- 
 guages, invented a sub-marine boat, projected 
 a panorama, and made experiments in the 
 Seine with small steam-boats. After trying 
 in vain to introduce his sub-marine boat into 
 England, he went to America in 1806, and 
 soon afterwards commenced the construction 
 of a steam-vessel of considerable size, which 
 began to navigate the Hudson in 1807. He 
 afterwards built others of large dimensions, 
 one of them a frigate, which bore his name. 
 His reputa ion became established; but law- 
 suits in reference to certain patents kept him 
 poor, and anxiety and excessive application 
 shortened his days. He died in 1815. 
 
 Henry Bell in Scotland, and Robert Fulton 
 in America, both died poor ; after enriching 
 each his own country by the decisive in- 
 troduction of steam-navigation. 
 
 FUMIGATION. The vapours of hot vine- 
 gar, burning sulphur, and of aromatic vege- 
 table matters, have been long used to coun- 
 teract unpleasant or unwholesome smells : 
 this is effected chiefly by the formation of 
 such as are stronger. The most important 
 kind of fumigation is that which consists in 
 the employment of such vapours or gases as 
 do not merely destroy unhealthy odours by 
 exciting such as are more powerful, but which 
 by their chemical action prevent the de- 
 composition of animal and vegetable matters. 
 The fumigation of the first kind, that which 
 
 is intended to produce a healing effect, is now 
 much less employed than formerly. In 
 the last kind of fumigation several substances 
 liave been employed in the gaseous state; 
 such as the vapour of burning sulphur, or 
 sulphurous acid gas, muriatic acid gas, nitric 
 acid gas, and chlorine gas. Chlorine which 
 is undoubtedly preferable to any disinfectant, 
 was first recommended by Dr. Rollo, the ga$ 
 being liberated by the usual method of mixing 
 sulphuric acid, binoxide of manganese, and 
 common salt. When it is desirable to pro- 
 duce a great effect in a short time, this is 
 still unquestionably the best mode of pro- 
 ceeding. 
 
 Where unpleasant smells or effluvia are 
 produced only in small quantities, the chlo- 
 ride of lime or soda, and especially of the 
 former, has been within a few years success- 
 fully employed. The chloride of lime is a sub- 
 stance well known and extensively employed 
 under the name of bleaching powder. It is 
 used in solution, and is obtained by dissolving 
 one part of Bleaching Powder in about 100 
 times its weight of water, and allowing the so- 
 lution to become clear. This is to be exposed 
 to infected air, or, in rooms which have any 
 unpleasant odour, in flat vessels, in order that 
 a sufficient surface may be acted upon. If it 
 should be required, the operation may be 
 quickened by the addition of a little vinegar, 
 or of muriatic acid largely diluted. 
 
 Where it is necessary to diffuse a gas, va- 
 )our, or smoke over a given space, the usual 
 slan is to place some easily evaporable sub- 
 stance on or near the spot ; but in fumigating 
 slants some difficulty arises. To remove this 
 iifficulty is the object of Brown's Fumigator, 
 an ingenious apparatus patented in 1849. It 
 comprises a cylinder, a fan, a funnel, a handle, 
 a winch, and a spout. The cylinder is a me- 
 tallic chamber, across the centre of which an 
 axle extends ; and to the middle of this axle 
 a fan of several vanes is attached. The winch, 
 >utside the cylinder, affords the means of giv- 
 ng a rapid rotatory movement to the vanes ; 
 while a handle on one side of the cylinder 
 enables the apparatus to be conveniently held 
 n any desired position. The funnel is fixed 
 nto the top of the cylinder, and has a dia- 
 hragm of perforated metal about its centre. 
 Che action of the apparatus is simply as fol- 
 ows. Tobacco or other substance whose 
 umes are required, is put in the funnel and 
 gnited, and the top of the funnel closed ; the 
 winch is turned, and the draught thereby oc- 
 jasioned within the cylinder sucks in the 
 smoke, and then forces it out through the 
 pout. This spout is so formed as to act 
 easily on any part of a plant. 
 
915 
 
 FUNGIN. 
 
 FUK TRADE. 
 
 910 
 
 FUNGIN, the fleshy substance of mush 
 rooms, purified by digestion in a hot weak so 
 lution of alkali : it is whitish, soft, insipid 
 and but little elastic. It is a highly nutritious 
 substance, and in many of its properties i 
 strongly resembles lignin. 
 
 FUNICULAR MACHINE is a name given 
 by some mechanicians to a cord or chain at- 
 tached at one extremity to an immoveable 
 point, the other end passing over a fixed pul 
 ley or friction wheel, and having a weight 
 suspended from it; a weight being also sus- 
 pended from the cord or chain in some part 
 of its length between the fixed extremity and 
 the pulley. The cord or chain becomes thus 
 a mechanical agent, since unequal weights 
 applied as has been said, may be in equilibrio 
 
 FUNNEL is a hollow conical vessel with a 
 small pipe issuing from its apex, much used 
 in domestic life for conveying fluids into ves- 
 sels of small apertures, and in chemical ope- 
 rations not only for this purpose but for that 
 of filtering. 
 
 FUR TRADE ; FUR DRESSING. The 
 use of furs appears to have been introduced 
 into civilised Europe by the northern con- 
 querors. 
 
 The fur trade was taken up by the French 
 colonists of Canada ; and, through the igno- 
 rance of the Indians, the traders at first made 
 very great profits. When the hunting season 
 was over, the Indians came down the Ottawa 
 in their canoes, with the furs, and encamped 
 outside the town of Montreal, where a kind of 
 fair was held until the furs were all exchanged 
 for trinkets, &c. At a later period, European 
 settlers under the name of Coureurs des ois, 
 or wood-rangers, set out at the proper season 
 from Montreal in canoes loaded with various 
 articles, and proceeded up the river to the 
 hunting grounds, where they conducted their 
 traffic with the hunters, and returned with the 
 furs or peltries. 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Company, established 
 for the express object of procuring furs, was 
 chartered by Charles II. in 1070. This asso- 
 ciation founded several establishments. In 
 1783 a rival association, called the North West 
 Company, was established by some British 
 settlers in Canada; and from that time till 
 1821 great jealousy and enmity existed be- 
 tween the agents in the two companies. An 
 amalgamation took place in 1821 : and the 
 Company have recently added Vancouver Is- 
 land to their territories. The clerks, agents, 
 &c., of the United Company are very nume- 
 rous. All the furs collected by the Hudson's 
 Bay Company are shipped to London, some 
 from their factories of York Fort, and on 
 Moose River, in Hudson's Bay; other por- 
 
 tions from Montreal, and the remainder from 
 the Columbia River. 
 
 The fur trade is prosecuted in the north- 
 western territories of the United States by an 
 association called the North American Fur 
 Company, the principal managers of which 
 reside in New York. The Company employs 
 steam-boats for ascending the rivers, which 
 penetrate with ease to regions which could 
 formerly be explored only through the most 
 painful exertions in keel boats and barges, or 
 by small parties on horseback or on foot. 
 There is also a Russian Fur Company, in the 
 extreme north-west of America. 
 
 The following are the principal skins taken 
 for the sake of the fur : The ermine, called 
 by way of pre-eminence ' the precious ermines 
 is found almost exclusively in the cold region,' 
 of Europe and Asia. The fur of the ermine 
 is of a pure whiteness throughout, with the 
 exception of the tip of the tail, which is black ; 
 and the spotted appearance of ermine skins, 
 by which they are peculiarly known, is pro- 
 duced by fastening these black tips at inter- 
 vals on the skins. The stoat is an inferior 
 kind of ermine. The sable is a native of 
 Northern Europe and Siberia ; those of the 
 darkest colour are the most esteemed. Mar- 
 tens are found in North America as well as in 
 Northern Asia ; the American skins are gene- 
 rally the least valued, but many among them 
 are rich and of a beautiful dark brown olive 
 colour. The fiery fox, so called from its bril- 
 iant red colour, is taken near the north-east 
 coast of Asia, and its fur is much valued, both 
 for its colour and fineness, in that quarter of 
 ;he world. Nutria skins are chiefly used by 
 hat-manufacturers as a substitute for beaver. 
 Sea-Otter fur, of the young animal, is of a 
 Deautiful brown colour, but when older the 
 colour becomes jet black. The fur is exceed- 
 ngly fine, soft, and close, and bears a silky 
 gloss. Fur-Seals are found in great numbers 
 n the colder latitudes of the southern hemi- 
 sphere. Bears, foxes, beavers, racoons, bad- 
 ers, minks, lynxes, musk-rats, rabbits, hares, 
 and squirrels are procured in North America. 
 
 Furs may be classed as fclti ng furs anddrcs- 
 ed furs. The first includes all such as are 
 employed in hat-making, and are principally 
 he skins of the hare, the rabbit, the beaver, 
 and the neutria. 
 
 The mode of preparing beaver fur for the 
 latter will sufficiently illustrate the treatment 
 f furs generally. The pelt or skin is so 
 greasy, that it requires to be scoured with fill- 
 er's earth and whiting before it attains a suffi- 
 ient state of cleanness. The course hairs 
 are pulled out by the knife and thumb, and, 
 >eing of no use to the hatter, they are sold as 
 
917 
 
 FUBNACE. 
 
 FUBNACE. 
 
 918 
 
 a stuffing for cushions. Then comes the cut- 
 ting or cropping, which is at the present day, 
 and in the largest establishments, effected by 
 a very beautiful machine. There is a long 
 broad and sharp blade, so adjusted as to fall 
 rapidly with a chopping action against or near 
 the edge of another blade beneath. The fur 
 falls down in a light flocculent layer on an 
 endless apron beneath, whence it is removed 
 when the pelt has been shorn. [HAT MANU- 
 FACTURE.] 
 
 The term dressed furs is given to those furs 
 which are retained on the original pelt, and in 
 that state worn as garments or trimmings, in 
 the forms of cloaks, tippets, cuffs, collars, &c. 
 The fur-hunters, when they have captured a 
 beaver or other fur-bearing animal, strip off 
 the skin, and hang it up to dry, either in the 
 open air or in a dry and cool room. When 
 the skins are brought to England and placed 
 in the hands of the furrier, he examines them 
 minutely to see that the drying has been pro- 
 perly effected, and the pelt in a firm state. 
 He then washes the skin, to extract ah 1 greasi- 
 ness from the fur, and gives the pelt a sort of 
 slight tanning, or tawing, by means of alum or 
 other ingredients. The skins are then ready to 
 be worked up into materials for garments. In 
 order to give the surface of the fur a uniform 
 length and colour of fibre, it is often neces- 
 sary to cut up many skins, and sew them edge 
 to edge ; for it is rarely if ever the case that 
 every part of the same skin is of one uniform 
 colour. 
 
 FUENACE. The common grate is the 
 most familiar example of a furnace ; and in 
 the smaller chemical operations various con- 
 trivances are used, midway in character be- 
 tween a grate and a furnace ; but the furnaces 
 usually so called are the following : 
 
 The Wind Furnace gives a very high tem- 
 perature by the aid of a powerful draught. It 
 is from 12 to 15 inches square, and is fur- 
 nished with moveable bars and a cover. The 
 air is conveyed by pipes directly from without 
 doors to the ash-pit, and the chimney is nar- 
 row and high. Such a furnace is much em- 
 ployed in the reduction of metals, and in the 
 assaying of copper and various other ores. 
 The fuel used is either coke or a mixture of 
 coke and charcoal. 
 
 The Assay or Cupelling Furnace is a small 
 furnace made of iron, lined with refractory 
 clay, and containing a muffle ; it is used prin- 
 cipally for the cupellation of gold and silver, 
 which is placed upon a cupel in the muffle, 
 previously heated to redness. The interior of 
 the furnace contains merely the mufile resting 
 upon two bars of iron ; it is put about two- 
 thirds into the furnace, and there is conse- 
 
 quently left a space between it and the back 
 part of the furnace. Charcoal is used in this 
 furnace. 
 
 For metallurgic operations on a large scale, 
 as well as in making alkalies, red lead, &c., 
 the Reverberatory Furnace is much used. 
 There is a space furnished with a grate or 
 bars, to contain the fuel, which is either coal, 
 coke, or wood, according to circumstances. 
 Beyond and behind this is a large low vacant 
 space, so shaped that the flame may reverbe- 
 rate from the brick roof, and strike down upon 
 the substance to be heated, which is placed 
 upon a flat brick surface. There is a very high 
 chimney that produces the draught, and which 
 may be closed by a damper. 
 
 The Smelting Furnace, for iron works, is a 
 large structure of brick, having a small square 
 receptacle for the fuel beneath, a large inte- 
 rior space for the ore to be smelted, a wide- 
 mouthed chimney at the top, and air-holes at 
 the bottom to admit either the hot or cold 
 blast. Some of the South Wales furnaces have 
 an internal cavity of 5000 cubic feet. 
 
 In scarcely any department of machinery or 
 manufacturing apparatus are there more nu- 
 merous patented inventions than in the con- 
 struction of furnaces. Newton, Grist, Jukes, 
 Pollock, Burrows, Holcroft, Baker, Goad, 
 Clarke, Bramwell, Homersham, Barker, Dee- 
 ley, Williams, Newcome, Hall, Mackintosh, 
 White, Howard, Wilson, Pidding, Eobinson, 
 Lee, Knowlys, Prideaux, Bessemer, Galloway, 
 Johnson, Cliffe, Dalton all these names, and 
 many others, are connected with improvements 
 in furnaces within the last two or three years. 
 Some of these improvements relate to the 
 furnaces of locomotives, some to those of ma- 
 rine engines, some to those of stationary en- 
 gines, and some to furnaces in general. In 
 one case the patentee seeks to economize 
 space, in another fuel, in another to avoid 
 the ' smoke nuisance.' Some relate to metallic 
 furnaces, some to fire-brick furnaces. In some 
 the object is to raise steam in great quantity; 
 while in others it is to substitute rapidity for 
 quantity. 
 
 An important principle has just been put in 
 operation by the Ebbw Vale Iron Company of 
 South Wales. It is no less than the applica- 
 tion of blast-furnace gases to heating purposes. 
 After a furnace has performed the work for 
 which it is intended, various gases escape with 
 the smoke, at the upper orifice; and these 
 gases carry with them a large amount of valu- 
 able heat. If the heat could be abstracted and 
 usefully applied, without lessening the power 
 of the furnace, an economical benefit would 
 result. The above named company have 11 
 blast furnaces, five engines to produce the 
 
919 FURNITURE MANUFACTURE. 
 
 blast, and twenty-five boilers to supply the 
 engines with steam. The greater number of 
 these boilers are wholly heated by the waste 
 heat from the blast furnaces; and various 
 ovens and stoves in the Works are heated by 
 similar means. It is said that 1000 tons of 
 coal per week are saved by this admirable con- 
 trivance. The Ideated gases are arrested near 
 the top of the furnace, carried out by a hori- 
 zontal tube, mixed with atmospheric air which 
 enters in thin sheets or layers, and ignited by 
 a small fire. It forms a true gas-light ; and 
 this gas-light heats a large flue, which is sur- 
 rounded by a boiler containing water ; and 
 thus is a supply of steam obtained. 
 
 FURNITURE MANUFACTURE. It is 
 supposed that there are about 50,000 workers 
 in wood in the metropolis, and 350,000 in the 
 kingdom, of whom a very large number are 
 employed in making articles of household fur- 
 niture. There has also been a rough estimate 
 that about 160,000 average timber trees are 
 required to make the furniture for the new 
 houses built annually in England and Wales. 
 There are about 30,000 sawyers in England, 
 to cut up timber for various purposes. The 
 carpenters and joiners are about 180,000 ; car- 
 penters construct all the rough portions, and 
 ioiners all the more finished details, in the 
 timber-work of houses. The cabinet-maker 
 engages on such timber- work only as is con- 
 nected with household furniture ; but there 
 are many departments, such as the chair ma- 
 ker, the bedstead maker, the carver, the gene- 
 ral cabinet maker (who makes tables, drawers, 
 sideboards, wardrobes, &c.), the fancy cabinet 
 maker (who uses veneers of costly woods, and 
 makes workboxes, teacaddies, desks, dressing 
 cases, and other highly finished articles). 
 The upholsterer does what is called the ' soft 
 work,' that is, all that relates to curtains, 
 hangings, cushions, and so forth ; he is also 
 responsible for the due finishing and fittings 
 of carpets and beds. 
 
 The general furniture or cabinet makers 
 require tools which cost from SQL to 40/. per 
 set. A portion of the journeymen in this trade 
 in London belong to trade societies, by whom 
 the rate of wages is to a considerable extent 
 determined. Those employed at the west end 
 of London generally receive higher wages than 
 those of the east ; but a much larger number 
 are free of the trade-societies, and make their 
 own bargains with employers concerning the 
 rate of wages. There has been a large in- 
 crease, in this trade, in what are termed ' gar- 
 ret masters,' who bear in manufactures a posi- 
 tion analagous to that which ' peasant propri- 
 etors ' bear in agriculture : that is, they supply 
 both capital and labour. The garret maste 
 
 FUZE. 
 
 020 
 
 :>uys just so much wood as he can pay for at a 
 ime, works it up into tables and other articles 
 of household furniture, and takes those arti- 
 cles to furniture dealers, to whom he sells 
 them for the best prices he can obtain. A very 
 arge per-centage of the showy French-polished 
 \irniture now to be seen marked at low prices 
 n the London shops, is manufactured in this 
 way ; and on a Saturday evening, in the busy 
 Listricts, the garret masters and their appren- 
 tices may be seen carrying such commodities 
 o the shops of the dealers, or conveying them 
 n a hired vehicle. 
 
 It is one of the features attendant on any 
 ixtra demand for accommodation for visitors, 
 .hat furniture makers share in the increased 
 activity. It is known that the cabinet or fur- 
 niture makers of London, both garret masters 
 and others, are at present busily engaged in 
 making furniture for houses about to be 
 inished for our expected visitors to the Great 
 Exhibition. 
 
 FUSTIAN is a cotton fabric similar in the 
 node of manufacture to velvet, having in ad- 
 dition to the warp and weft, common to all 
 voven goods, a pile consisting of other threads 
 doubled under the weft, and ' thrown in ' at 
 ntervals so close together that when the goods 
 are finished the interlacing of the warp and 
 veft are concealed by them. While in the 
 oom, the pile forms a series of loops, which 
 are afterwards cut and sheared ; the shearing 
 s effected by very beautiful machinery. 
 
 There are different varieties of fustians, 
 mown by the names of cotton velvets, velve- 
 teens, beaverteens, moleskin, corduroy, and 
 cords. Different patterns are produced by 
 different dispositions of the pile threads. 
 
 Ingenious machines have been patented 
 within the last two or three years, for facilita- 
 ting the production of the nap in fustians. 
 
 FUSTIC is the name of two kinds of yellow 
 dye-wood. Young Fustic is the produce of 
 Minis Ooiintis, a native of Italy, France, and 
 Greece. The root and the wood of this shrub 
 are both imported, deprived of their bark, and 
 employed for dyeing a yellow colour approach- 
 ing to orange, upon wool or cottons. Old 
 Fustic, the ' bois jaune' of the French, is the 
 produce of Morns tinctoria, a native of tropical 
 America and the West India Islands. The 
 wood is yellow, hard, and strong, but easily 
 splintered, and is imported in the form of 
 large logs or blocks. The yellow colour which 
 it affords with an aluminous base, though 
 durable is not very bright. 
 
 FUZE, is a short tube made of metal or of 
 well -seasoned beech, and fixed in the bore of a 
 shell. It is filled with a composition, which 
 is fired by means of a small piece of quick- 
 
921 
 
 GABION. 
 
 GALIPEA. 
 
 922 
 
 match inserted for the purpose. The length 
 of a fuze is regulated by the intended range 
 of the shell or by the intended time of its 
 flight. 
 
 Mr. Loam, mining engineer in Cornwall, 
 patented in 1849 a new kind of fuze for blast- 
 ing. It is made of calico or some similar 
 material. In making the fuze, a strip of ca- 
 lico is unwound from a reel, and made to 
 assume the shape of a trough j it passes under 
 
 a hopper filled with gunpowder, and a train of 
 powder becomes deposited on it during the 
 passage. The calico is then drawn through a 
 hollow axis, whereby the trough-like form is 
 exchanged for that of a tube. The tube passes 
 through another piece of apparatus, by which 
 it becomes closely bound round with yarn or 
 thread. When the tube has been thus far 
 completed, it is coated with any of the usual 
 water-proofing materials. 
 
 G 
 
 GABION, a hollow cylinder of wicker-work, 
 resembling a basket, but having no bottom. 
 It is formed by planting slender stakes verti- 
 cally in the ground, at intervals from each 
 other, on the circumference of a circle, and 
 interweaving with them osiers or other flexible 
 twigs. The most usual kind of gabion is 
 about two feet in diameter, and two feet nine 
 inches in height, but the stakes, whose extrem- 
 ities are pointed, project beyond the basket 
 Avork about three or four inches at each end. 
 Such gabions are used during a siege in exe- 
 cuting trenches by the process of sapping. 
 
 GA'LBANUM. The plant usually believed 
 to yield this medicinal gum resin is Bubon 
 Galbanum, a native of the Cape of Good Hope ; 
 but there is some doubt on this point. Three 
 sorts of Galbanum are distinguished : 1, gal- 
 banuin in grains or tears ; 2, galbanum in 
 masses ; and 3, Persian galbanum. The first 
 two come from Africa, especially from Ethi- 
 opia ; the third sort from Persia. Galbanum 
 in tears is most likely the spontaneous exuda- 
 tion from the plant ; and that in masses, ob- 
 tained by incision. The first occurs in irregular 
 generally oblong grains, mostly distinct, but 
 sometimes agglutinated together, about the 
 size of a lentil or small pea, of a colour verging 
 from whitish into yellowish brown, more or 
 less diaphanous, opaque, or shining with a 
 resinous lustre. The odour is strongly bal- 
 samic and disagreeable. The taste is resinous, 
 sharp, bitter, and disagreeable. Galbanum in 
 masses consists of irregular pieces of a yellow- 
 ish or dark brown colour : the odour is stronger 
 than that of the preceding kind, which, in its 
 general characters, it much resembles, except 
 that it can be powdered only during the low 
 temperature of winter. Persian galbanum, 
 being very soft and tenacious, is sent in skins 
 or chests ; it often contains many fragments 
 of plants. 
 
 UNIVERSITY)) 
 
 if 
 
 Galbanum is largely employed JIT making 
 pills, plasters, and other medicinal prepara- 
 tions. 
 
 GALI'CIA, a province in the north-west of 
 Spain, produces wine, fruits, flax, wheat, bar- 
 ley, maize ; good pastures, which feed a vast 
 quantity of cattle; and abundance of chest- 
 nuts, which constitute a common food of the 
 peasantry. The forests supply plenty of fuel 
 and timber. The principal manufacture of 
 the country is linen. The town of Betanzos 
 has a few manufactories, and some trade in 
 wine and pickled anchovies and pilchards, 
 which are taken all along this coast. Vigo, on 
 the Bay of Vigo, which forms one of the larg- 
 est and safest natural harbours in Spain, car- 
 ries on a considerable trade with America, 
 exporting wines, sardines, linen cloth, and 
 stockings, and other articles of native indus- 
 try. 
 
 GALIPE'A is the name of the plant which 
 yields Angostura Bark. It is found in the 
 neighbourhood of Angostura. Angostura Bark 
 is obtained both from the stem and branches. 
 The specimens from the stem are flat, while 
 those from the branches are often quilled. 
 Some specimens have the surface covered 
 with a thick, fungus-like, whitish yellow or 
 clay-coloured crust, which may be more or less 
 easily scraped off, and beneath which is a 
 yellowish red smooth bark, often exhibiting 
 small cracks. Other specimens have this 
 covering much thinner and closely adhering 
 to the bark. The internal surface is generally 
 smooth, of a tawny or reddish yellow colour. 
 The bark is easily broken, and the recent 
 fracture is of a brownish red colour, smooth, 
 with a resiny shining surface. The shining 
 appearance is best seen when a transverse 
 section is made with a sharp knife. The 
 smell is disagreeable : the taste pleasantly 
 bitter, warm, aromatic, and causing a flow of 
 
923 
 
 GALIUM. 
 
 GALLS. 
 
 924 
 
 saliva. The powder has the colour of rhu 
 barb. The infusion is of an orange-yello 
 colour ; the decoction, a clear light brown. 
 
 Angostura Bark is a valuable medicina 
 agent ; but there is a spurious kind which re 
 quires to be guarded against. 
 
 GALIUM is the botanical name for a genu 
 of plants which comprises many useful species 
 One, called Wild Madder, is a native almos 
 throughout Europe and the Caucasus, and i 
 found in Britain. The roots are creeping 
 and yield a red dye like the true madder, bu 
 of a brighter colour ; they also have the pro 
 perty of colouring the bones of animals re 
 that feed upon them. This plant has been 
 extolled as an effectual cure for epilepsy. The 
 Dyer's Bedstraw is another species. From 
 the roots of a third species the Indians extrac 
 the red dye with which they colour their 
 feathers and the ornaments of their dress 
 The Cree women use the roots of the Northern 
 Bedstraw to dye red. Of the Ladies' Bedstraw 
 or cheese rennet, the stalks and flowers have 
 been used in the cheese counties for the pur- 
 pose of curdling milk, and also for colouring 
 it. Mathiolus says it produces an agreeable 
 flavour, and makes the cheese * eat sweeter. 
 The French formerly used to prescribe the 
 flowers in hysteria and epilepsy. The roots 
 afford a rich red dye, superior in colour to 
 madder. All the other species yield a red 
 dye. 
 
 GALIZIA. The produce and industry of 
 this country have been briefly glanced at in 
 connection with the empire to which it belongs. 
 [AUSTRIA.] 
 
 GALLEKY, in its most extended sense, is 
 used synonymously with corridor. In Eng- 
 land however it is understood to be either a 
 long narrow passage-way, or an open space, 
 generally longer than wide, raised above the 
 floor of a building, and usually supported by 
 columns. Such galleries are met with (among 
 other places) in English churches, in some 
 courts of justice, and in theatres. The long 
 external wooden passage-ways, formed some- 
 thing like a balcony, such as are occasionally 
 seen in old inns, are called galleries. 
 
 Gallery is also a name of distinction given 
 to a room either on account of its extent and 
 proportions, or to one or more rooms especi- 
 ally appropriated to pictures and other works 
 of art, whence the term Gallery is extended 
 to the collection itself, without any reference 
 to the building. 
 
 In mining operations, a gallery is a horizon- 
 tal passage, excavated to facilitate the progress 
 of the miners. 
 
 GALLEY; GALLEON; GALLIOT. These 
 are the nantes of three kinds of vessels. The 
 
 Galley, a large-sized long and narrow vessel 
 propelled by oars and sails, was much in use 
 in the Mediterranean until the end of the 
 18th century for coast navigation, and for 
 making the shore in shallow water. The oars 
 were a great advantage in the dead calms so 
 frequent in the Mediterranean, until the in- 
 troduction of the steamboat. The largest 
 galleys were 1C6 feet long, and about 32 wide, 
 with 52 oars. The rowers, who were generally 
 convicts or Turkish prisoners, with chains to 
 their feet, sat on benches on the deck. The ship 
 carried a 24 pounder and two 8-pounders. 
 The Venetians had a sort of large galleys, 
 with a very lofty poop, called ' Galeazza.' 
 
 The Galleon was the name given to very 
 large ships, with three or four decks, which 
 the court of Spain used to send to the coasts 
 of Mexico and Peru, to receive on board the 
 gold and silver bullion extracted from the 
 mines, and bring it to Spain. 
 
 The Galliot, is a strong-built flat-bottomed 
 vessel of a peculiar construction, used as a 
 jomb-ship to fire against forts or batteries 
 on the coast. Galliot is also a kind of smalt 
 galley or large fellucca, used chiefly in the 
 Mediterranean. The Dutch, Swedes, and 
 ther northern nations have a sort of 
 merchant ship which they call Galliot, 
 ounded both fore and aft, heavily and 
 ilumsily built, but strongly timbered, and of 
 he burthen of from 200 to 300 tons. 
 
 GALLIC ACID exists in most astringent 
 egetables, but principally in the gall-nut, and 
 ;ence its name. When obtained from the 
 lants, it appears as slender prismatic colour- 
 ess crystals. The taste is slightly sour and 
 astringent. Gallic acid, in the form of tinc- 
 ure of galls, is much employed as a chemical 
 eagent. 
 
 GALLON. Distinct gallons for wine, ale 
 nd beer, and corn and dry goods, continued 
 in use until the act of 1825. By statutes 
 f 1689 and 1697, the wine gallon was cle- 
 lared to contain 231 cubic inches. The ale 
 allon was measured in 1700 or thereabouts, 
 nd found to contain 282 cubic inches. The com 
 allon was thought, in the middle of the last 
 entury, to contain exactly 272 J cubic inches : 
 ut the statute of 1697, which declares that 
 round corn -bush el must be 8 inches deep and 
 8J inches wide, had in fact fixed the gallon 
 t 268 -^ cubic inches. The imperial gallon, 
 s settled by the Act of 1825 is to contain 10 
 ounds avoirdupois of distilled water, of which 
 
 is declared that 252.458 grains fill a cubic 
 nch ; consequently the imperial gallon con- 
 ains 277.274 cubic inches. 
 
 GALLS are the result of a morbid action 
 xcited in the leaf-buds of several species of 
 
LACE DRESSING ROOM 
 
 No. 23. 
 
025 
 
 GALVANISM. 
 
 GARD. 
 
 926 
 
 the oak, occasioned by an insect depositing its 
 ova in the hud. Such buds, instead of elon- 
 gating and becoming branches, undergo a 
 peculiar transformation, and enlarge into a 
 globular figure, so as to constitute a fit nidus 
 for the future larva. The galls of commerce 
 are chiefly those which occur on the Qncrcus 
 infectoria. They vary in size, from that of a 
 pea to that of a ntttmeg. The surface has 
 irregular elevations or lines, with the inter- 
 spaces generally smooth. The colour is white 
 or yellow in one variety ; green, gray, or black 
 in another. The white variety, which is the 
 largest, often has a hole in the substance of 
 the shell, by which the larva has escaped. 
 This kind is the least powerful and least es- 
 teemed. The best galls come from Aleppo 
 and Smyrna^ but are often mixed with those 
 from Syria and Cypress. 
 
 The infusion and other preparations of galls 
 are used in medieire. But the most exten- 
 sive use is made of them in the arts, and as a 
 chemical test. 
 
 Gall is also the name given to the bitter 
 fluid secreted by the liver. Ox-gall is largely 
 employed in scouring cloth, and in other ma- 
 nufacturing arts. Refined ox-gall is used by 
 artists to fix chalk and pencil drawings before 
 tinting them, and to remove the greasiness 
 from ivory and tracing paper. 
 
 G-ALVANISM. The chief points of in- 
 terest which connect galvanic or electric 
 agency with the arts of life are noticed under 
 ELECTRO-METALLURGY, ELECTROTYPE, &c. 
 
 GALWAY. The greater part of this Irish 
 county is comparatively flat, and much of it 
 encumbered with bogs. The whole district 
 west of Lough Corrib and Lough Mask is 
 known by the general name of Connamara, 
 and has of late years attracted much attention 
 by its capabilities of improvement. Westward 
 from the town of Galway, and round the en- 
 tire coast of lar-Connaught and Connamara 
 to the boundary of Mayo, there is a succession 
 of harbours for vessels of the largest class, 
 unequalled perhaps on any similar extent of 
 coast in Europe. These harbours are at 
 Galway, Costello Bay, Casheen Bay, Great- 
 man's Bay, Kilkerran Bay, Birterbuy Bay, 
 Roundstone Harbour, Mannin Bay, Clifden 
 Bay, Cleggan Roadstead, Ballynakill Harbour, 
 and Killeries Bay. Some of these harbours 
 have piers or jetties. On the whole, there is 
 no part of this district more than four miles 
 from existing means of navigation. The har- 
 bours fit for vessels of any burthen are up- 
 wards of twenty in number. There are twenty- 
 five navigable lakes of a mile or more in 
 length, and hundreds of smaller size. Lough 
 Corrib and Lough Mask alone have upwards 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 of seventy miles of navigable coast; and all 
 these, waters abound \vith fish. The sea-shore 
 affords a constant supply of red and black sea- 
 weed, which can be used either as manure or 
 in the manufacture of kelp. Banks of cal- 
 careous sand and beds of limestone are of fre- 
 quent occurrence, and there is an inexhaus- 
 tible supply of peat fuel and of water power. 
 
 The attempts made to improve the fisheries 
 on the coast of Galway have been beneficial 
 to the county generally ; and roads have been 
 gradually formed from the interior to the 
 coast. There is an extension of the Grand 
 Canal from Shannon Harbour to Ballinasloe. 
 A railway from Dublin to Galway is rapidly 
 approaching completion. 
 
 In respect to geology, the mountains of the 
 primitive district are highly metalliferous. 
 Copper, lead, iron, and manganese are met 
 with ; and there are also abundant quarries 
 of black, green, and variegated marbles, mill- 
 stone grit, yellow ochre, and potter's clay. In 
 1847 the land under culture was thus appro- 
 priated : Corn and beans, 141,318 acres ; po- 
 tatoes, 12,876 ; turnips, 14,788 ; meadow and 
 clover, 37,146 ; all other crops, 3460 ; total 
 under crops, 209,588 acres. The fisheries off 
 the coast yield a very considerable produce. 
 Nearly 100 million herrings have been caught 
 in one year. Besides the herring fishery, 
 there is an excellent take of cod, ling, whiting, 
 and turbot, from December to March ; and of 
 gurnet, mackerel, bream, and pollock, from 
 May to August, together with a copious supply 
 of oysters, lobsters, and crabs. The sun-fish 
 deep-sea fishery is peculiar to this coast. The 
 manufactures comprise scarcely any but a few 
 coarse friezes, linens, and hosiery. 
 
 In the chief town, Galway, there are many 
 flour-mills, and other mills driven by the 
 water-power of the river. Wheat, oats, and 
 flour are exported, and a good deal of black 
 marble from the neighbourhood. Timber, 
 iron, slates, wines, &c., are imported. The 
 retail trade is large. A wet-dock, comprising 
 9 acres, and admitting vessels drawing ] 4 feet 
 of water, has been formed on the south side 
 of the town. At Ballinasloe a very large sheep, 
 cattle, and horse fair is held annually. 
 
 The Galway merchants are making praise- 
 worthy exertions to have their port selected 
 as a mail-packet station for the American 
 route. 
 
 The beautiful black marble of Connemara 
 will, it is to be hoped, find a place in the ap- 
 proaching Exhibition. 
 
 GAMBOGE. [GAMBOGE.] 
 
 GARD. In this department of the South 
 of France, iron, coal, and silver-lead mines 
 are worked. Silver, copper, and c'aJamine are 
 
927 
 
 GARDENS. 
 
 GARNET. 
 
 928 
 
 found; but the working of the mines ha 
 been abandoned. Sulphate of iron, manga 
 nese, kaolin, antimony, fuller's and potter 
 clay, plaster of Paris, building stone, &c., ar 
 also found. The sheltered hills and th 
 plains are devoted to the cultivation of th 
 vine, the olive, the mulberry, and the almonc 
 The vine is extensively cultivated all throug 
 the department, which yields annually 25 t 
 30 million gallons of good strong wine, one 
 fourth of which is consumed at home, one 
 sixth is distilled into brandy, and the re 
 mainder is exported through Cette, chiefly fo 
 the purpose of mixing with the poorer wine 
 of more northern departments. The olive 
 too, is carefully cultivated in sheltered spots 
 and on the southern slopes of the hills ; th 
 oil of the department is in high repute. Th 
 cultivation of the mulberry, which here be 
 comes a large and beautiful tree, is very ex 
 tensive. 
 
 The industrial products of the departmen 
 are varied and important. The principal are 
 silk textures of all kinds, the chief seat o 
 which is Nimes; cashmere shawls, made o: 
 a mixture of Tibet wool, silk, and cotton; silk 
 and cotton hosiery of every description ; table 
 covers, carpets, &c. ; woollen cloth, swanskins 
 blankets, shoe and glove leather ; silk hats 
 ribbons and gloves ; iron, steam machinery 
 wine casks ; pottery, tiles, and bricks ; glass, 
 paper, cards ; nails, plaster, and lime ; cotton 
 and woollen yarn ; salt, soda. The commerce 
 of the department consists of the various pro- 
 ducts already mentioned. The number o1 
 wind-mills and water-mills amounts to nearly 
 800 ; iron forges and furnaces about 150 ; fac- 
 tories and workshops, of different kinds, 500 
 to 600. 
 
 At Calvisson a good deal of cream of tartar 
 is made, and the town gives name to a deli- 
 cious claret. Roquemaure has silk-reeling fac 
 tories, brandy distilleries, hydraulic saw-mills, 
 and a great manufacture of wine-casks, of 
 which 20,000 are made annually. 
 
 GARDENS. A garden, as distinguished 
 from a farm, is a piece of ground designed for 
 the cultivation of plants not actually indispen- 
 sable to man for food. While corn for flour, 
 various roots and herbs for the sustenance of 
 cattle, or tracts of pasture land on which ani- 
 mals destined for slaughter are maintained, 
 constitute the essential features of a farm, 
 a garden, even when exclusively occupied by 
 culinary vegetables, is still a source of objects 
 of luxury, not of first necessity ; in a more 
 extended sense, and as it usually exists at the 
 present day, it is chiefly intended to gratify 
 the senses, and to minister to the more re- 
 fined enjoyments of social life. The posses- 
 
 sion of a garden is one of the earliest indications 
 of civilization in man : it may be fairly con- 
 sidered that the taste for gardens has been at 
 all times commensurate with the wealth of 
 nations generally, their peaceful habits, and 
 advance in the social relations of life. 
 
 The first great step that was made by gar- 
 deners to advance their art beyond mere me- 
 chanical operations was the invention of glass- 
 houses, in which plants might be grown in an 
 artificial climate, and protected from the in- 
 clemency of weather. Until this was effected, 
 it is obvious that the cultivation of exotic 
 plants in Europe, especially its northern 
 kingdoms, must have been much circum- 
 scribed. Mr. Loudon, in his ' Encyclopaedia 
 of Gardening,' gives valuable descriptions of 
 all the most famous gardens in the world. 
 The repeal of the glass duties in England is 
 likely to be very beneficial to gardening, in 
 respect to the construction of green-houses, 
 hot-houses, palm-houses, &c. 
 
 A little information on the supply of London 
 with vegetables and fruit will be found under 
 MARKET GARDENING. 
 
 GARDEN ENGINES. The engines em- 
 ployed for watering plants in gardens are very 
 similar in principle to fire-engines. The water 
 s either poured into them from buckets, or 
 drawn in by a suction-pump ; while it is ex- 
 jelled in a continuous stream by a forcing - 
 jump, easily worked by one or two handles. 
 
 At the various agricultural and cattle shows, 
 garden-engines are usually exhibited among 
 other apparatus. One such, exhibited at the 
 Smithfield cattle show in 1850, is placed on 
 a light platform drawn on four low wheels ; it 
 s worked by six men, and will discharge 60 
 gallons per minute; it is therefore fitted to 
 act as a fire-engine, and as a garden-engine 
 >n a large scale. Read's patent garden-engine 
 ms two wheels and two handles ; it will con- 
 am 28 gallons, and a jet can be forced by one 
 man to a distance of 50 feet ; it is adapted for 
 atering both wall trees and standard plants. 
 \. slight modification in an instrument of this 
 and renders it workable by two men, with a 
 ower to force a large stream of water on any 
 distant object. Mr. Warner has lately regis- 
 red an ingenious spreader, by which the jet 
 rom a garden-engine can be readily spread 
 ut into a fan -like form. The same inventor 
 as introduced a 'fire-engine, force-pump, 
 rainer, and irrigator,' for farming purposes, 
 t consists of an engine supported by a kind 
 f barrow with two wheels and two handles ; 
 can be worked by one or two men ; it drawc 
 
 its own water from a tank or reservoir, and 
 forces out a stream of considerable power. 
 GARNET. There are many varieties of 
 
920 
 
 GARONNE. 
 
 GAS. 
 
 030 
 
 tins well-known precious stone. Some of 
 them are probably distinct species ; but, agree- 
 ing in form and some other properties, they 
 are classed together. This mineral occurs 
 crystallised, massive, and granular. The 
 primary form is a cube, but it occurs in the 
 form of a rhombic dodecahedron. The crys 
 talline varieties, according generally to their 
 colour, have received various names. Precious 
 garnet, Almandine ; black, Melanite ; Pyre- 
 neite ; greenish yellow, Grossularia ; yellow, 
 crystallised, Topazolite; granular, Succinite ; 
 brownish yellow, granular, Colophonite ; green- 
 ish, compact, Allochroite ; red, Pyrope, Car- 
 buncle; reddish brown, JEssonite, Cinnamon- 
 stone, Romanzovite ; magnesian, Hothoffitc. 
 ' GARONNE. The mineral treasures of this 
 French department are iron, copper, lead, an- 
 timony, bismuth, zinc, coal, rock-crystal, 
 slates, gypsum, marble, jet, and granite. 
 Gold is found in the sands of the Garonne 
 and the Salat. There is a salt-spring at Sa- 
 lies. Mineral waters are found at various 
 places ; those of Bagneres-de-Luchon are the 
 most celebrated. 
 
 The quantity of wine grown in the depart- 
 ment annually is 14 to 15 million gallons, one- 
 third of which is used for home consumption ; 
 the quality is generally inferior. The com- 
 merce of the department is composed of its 
 agricultural products and of its manufactures, 
 the chief of which are scythes, files, copper 
 utensils, mathematical instruments, porcelain, 
 pottery, tiles, coarse woollens, canvas, blankets, 
 calico, tape, brandy, tin- ware, and leather of 
 various kinds. There are about 80 iron fur- 
 naces, and about 350 factories of different 
 kinds, including glass works, copper foundries, 
 cannon foundries, gunpowder mills, tobacco 
 factories, distilleries, marble sawing works, 
 &c. ; together with more than 1000 wind and 
 water mills. The department has considerable 
 commercial intercourse with Spain, whither 
 many handicraftsmen annually emigrate to 
 exercise their callings. 
 
 The commerce and industry of the chief 
 town, TOULOUSE, are briefly noticed else- 
 where. 
 
 GAS. The main difference between vapours 
 and gases is, that vapours are reduced to solids 
 or liquids when the heat is withdrawn ; while 
 gases preserve their aeriform state at common 
 temperatures. This difference is one of de- 
 gree only, but it is usefully retained. The 
 number of gaseous bodies is great, and they 
 possess in many respects such different pro 
 perties that it would be impossible to give a 
 general description of them. 
 
 Gay-Lussac found that, when 100 volumes 
 of gas or aii are heated from 32 to .212 F., 
 
 they become 137J volumes ; or the increase 
 is f.^-Q for each degree of Fahrenheit. This 
 law has supplied a simple rule for determin- 
 ing what the known bulk of a gas at any tem- 
 perature will be at any other temperature. 
 Suppose, for example, it is desired to know 
 what the bulk of 100 cubic inches of air at 
 32 will be at 60 : subtract 32 from 480, the 
 remainder is 448 ; to which add the degrees 
 above zero indicating the temperature of the 
 air ; these are 32 and 60, making 480 and 
 508. Then say 480 : 508 : : 100 : 105.832 the 
 volume of the air at (50. 
 
 Air suffers diminution of volume in proper- 
 portion to the pressure to which it is subjected, 
 and the same law holds good with all the more 
 incondensible gases. 
 
 The solubility of gases in water is extremely 
 various. Dr. Henry ascertained that the 
 volume of each gas absorbed by water is the 
 same, whatever be the pressure to which the 
 gas is previously subjected. 100 volumes of 
 water will absorb 450 volumes of cyanogen ; 
 whereas the absorption of hydrogen is only 
 2 volumes. In general, the more easily a gas 
 is condensable by cold and pressure, the more 
 soluble it is in water. Gases are also absorbed 
 by charcoal and other porous bodies, the ab- 
 sorption being in ammonia 90 times the vo- 
 lume of the absorbent, and in hydrogen 1.75 
 times. 
 
 Some gases are more soluble in water than 
 others ; and some are more readily absorbed 
 than others by porous substances. Dr. Faraday 
 has liquefied some gases and solidified others. 
 The method which he employed consisted in 
 combining the condensing powers of mechani- 
 cal compression with that of very considerable 
 depression of temperature. The first object 
 was attained by the successive action of two 
 air-pumps. The tubes into which the air, 
 thus condensed, was made to pass were of 
 green bottle-glass, and had a curvature at one 
 portion of their length adapted to immersion 
 n a cooling mixture : they were provided with 
 suitable stopcocks, screws, connecting pieces, 
 and terminal caps, sufficiently air-tight to 
 sustain a pressure of 50 atmospheres. Cold 
 was applied to the curved portions of the tube 
 by their immersion in a bath of Thiroh'er's 
 mixture of solid carbonic acid and ether. The 
 degree of cold thus produced, when the mix- 
 ture was surrounded by the air, was 106 
 Fah., by an alcohol thermometer ; but when 
 placed in vacuo, the thermometer indicated 
 106 below zero. Without the aid of me- 
 chanical pressure, Faraday liquefied sulphur- 
 ous acid gas, cyanogen, chlorine, amnioniacal 
 gas, hydro-sulphuric acid gas, carbonic acid, 
 hydrochloric acid, and nitrous oxide. With 
 
931 
 
 GAS-LIGHTING. 
 
 the combined aid of cold -and pressure 
 he liquefied sulphuretted hydrogen, arse 
 niuretted hydrogen, hydriodic acid, hyro 
 bromic acid, nitric oxide, fluosilicon, and ole 
 fiant gas. Alcohol, ether, and chlorine have 
 not yet been solidified ; oxygen, hydrogen 
 nitrogen, and carbonic oxide have neither 
 been solidified nor liquefied. 
 
 GAS-LIGHTING. When coal, oil, wax, 
 wood, or any other organic inflammable sub- 
 stance is exposed to destructive distillation in 
 close vessels, an inflammable gas is the result. 
 This gas is some compound of hydrogen and 
 carbon : more or less brilliant when ignited, 
 according to its constitution. That the gas 
 obtainable from coal is inflammable has been 
 known for more than 200 years ; and so long 
 ago as 1691 Dr. Clayton made and used in- 
 flammable gas as a philosophical experiment. 
 In 1733 Sir James Lowther brought before 
 the notice of the Royal Society the existence 
 of inflammable gas in one of the Whitehaven 
 collieries; and some years afterwards Dr. 
 Watson further drew public attention to the 
 subject. 
 
 But, although the properties of coal gas 
 were known to so many persons, no one 
 thought of applying it to a useful object until 
 the year 1792, when Mr, Murdoch, an en- 
 gineer, residing at Redruth in Cornwall, 
 erected a little gasometer and apparatus, 
 which produced gas enough to light his own 
 house and offices. In 1797 he erected a simi- 
 lar apparatus in Ayrshire, where he then re- 
 sided. In the following year he was engaged 
 to put up a gas-work at the manufactory of 
 Boulton and Watt, at Soho. This was the 
 first application of gas in the large way ; but, 
 excepting in manufactories or among scientific 
 men, it excited little attention until the year 
 1802, when the front of the great Soho manu- 
 factory was brilliantly illuminated with it on 
 the occasion of the public rejoicings at the 
 peace. Soon after this, several manufacturers, 
 whose works required light and heat, adopted 
 the use of gas. Mr. Winsor, a German, 
 brought the subject forward in London, and 
 formed a ' National Light and Heat Company,' 
 in 1804, which failed. In 1807 however he 
 lighted up Pall Mall, and this continued for 
 some years to be the only street in London 
 in which gas was used. In a few years after- 
 wards a Gas Company was chartered ; and 
 London gradually became better lighted. The 
 business of the company steadily increased; 
 and in the year 1823 it was shown that this 
 company alone consumed annually 20,078 
 chaldrons of coals, which produced on an 
 average 680,000 cubic feet of gas every night ; 
 this was distributed by means of 122 miles of 
 
 GAS-LIGHTING, 982 
 
 pipe, which supplied more than 30,000 burners, 
 giving a light equal to as many pounds of 
 tallow candles. Several other companies were 
 established in London. The provincial towns 
 followed the example, and continental cities 
 one by one availed themselves of this useful 
 system, until at length it has become one of 
 the best known and extensively used of mo- 
 dern improvements. 
 
 Various substitutes for coal in gas-making 
 have been proposed from time to time, such 
 as resin, wood, and peat, but with little suc- 
 cess. Oil yields a brilliant gas, which is easily 
 manufactured ; but coal excels them all in 
 heapness, and is almost universally em- 
 ployed. 
 
 Although in the large way there are many 
 practical difficulties to be surmounted in the 
 manufacture of coal gas, the operation is easily 
 understood; it is merely a process of distil- 
 lation. A quantity of coal is put into a retort, 
 which is Avell closed, and placed upon the fire ; 
 the temperature is raised to redness, which 
 decomposes the coal, and drives the gas re- 
 sulting from the decomposition through a pipe 
 eading from the retort to the receptacle pre- 
 pared for it. A mass of coke remains, of 
 greater bulk though less weight, than the coal 
 irst put in. Such is the theory of gas-making ; 
 the manner of putting it into practice remains 
 x> be described. 
 
 The retorts now in use are generally long 
 last-iron vessels, semi-cylindrical in shape, 
 with the flat side placed lowermost, and each 
 lolding from two to three bushels of coals. 
 They are placed in ovens, in groups of three, 
 ive, seven, or more ; and their mouths, where 
 ,he coal is put in, stand out in front of the 
 ovens. Just behind the mouth of the retort 
 a pipe leads from it perpendicularly several 
 eet ; then, talcing a sudden turn, it descends 
 again, and enters a much larger pipe techni- 
 jally called the hydraulic main, which runs 
 hrough the whole building, and receives the 
 gas produced from all the retorts. This great 
 main is generally about half full of the tar 
 ind water which leave the coal with the heated 
 gas, and rise with it in the state of vapour, 
 are condensed by the coldness of the 
 nan. Into this mixture the end of the pipe 
 ips, and is thus closed against a return of 
 ;as, which would take place if the supply 
 hould slacken. The gas is now made ; but 
 t is very impure, being mixed with water, tar, 
 ulphuretted hydrogen, and other impurities. 
 ?he tar and water are easily got rid of, little 
 nore being required for this purpose than to 
 ool the gas and to allow the deposit to run 
 iff. The separation of the sulphuretted hy- 
 Irogen can only be effected by some substance 
 
933 
 
 GAS-LIGHTING. 
 
 GAS LIGHlfNG. 
 
 934 
 
 for which it has a chemical attraction, bu 
 which has no influence on coal gas. Such 
 substance is lime. The lime is used by bein< 
 mixed up with water into a thin pasty mass 
 which is placed in a cylindrical vessel, and i: 
 constantly stirred by machinery. The gas a: 
 it comes from the condenser passes into th< 
 lime, and comes from it partially purified ; i 
 then enters another purifier, made and fur 
 nished precisely in a similar way ; after that 
 another; and often a fourth, in large works 
 When it leaves the last vessel, it may be con- 
 sidered pure. 
 
 In the manufacture of oil gas it is only ne- 
 cessary to project a small stream of oil into a 
 red-hot retort, in which pieces of brick or coke 
 are inclosed ; the gas immediately passes off 
 through another pipe, and may be at once re- 
 ceived into the gasometer. 
 
 The gasometer employed in gas-works is a 
 very large cylindrical vessel, closed at the top 
 and open at bottom ; it is suspended by a rope 
 or chain, and weight, in a tank filled with 
 water, in which it rises and falls freely, being 
 kept in its place by guide-wheels. Two tubes 
 pass under and through the water, reaching 
 above its surface into the hollow of the gaso- 
 meter ; one of them comes from the purifiers 
 to admit the gas into the gasometer, the other 
 carries it off when wanted for use. The action 
 of this part of the apparatus is simple; when 
 the gasometer is near the top of the water, it 
 is full of gas, which has no communication 
 with the air, because the edge of the gaso- 
 meter is under water. If now it be pressed 
 downwards, which is effected by lessening the 
 counterbalancing weight, the gas will be forced 
 through the pipe which is to convey the gas 
 out, and which must be left open for the pur- 
 pose. When the gasometer reaches the bot- 
 tom, it will be full of water, and ready to re- 
 ceive gas again, which is admitted through 
 the other tube ; the gasometer then rises to 
 the top as the gas goes in, and may be pressed 
 down again. In this way it is alternately 
 filled and emptied. In most establishments 
 there are many gasometers, some filling and 
 others emptying. Some gasometers are now 
 made so large as to have a capacity of 100,000 
 cubic feet. Some of them have the telescope 
 construction ; that is, there are two gas- 
 holders, one within another, and both within 
 the tank ; the inner gas-holder is filled first, and 
 then, by an ingenious contrivance, it elevates 
 the outer one as the gas continues to enter. 
 
 Many other contrivances are used before 
 the gas is carried to its destination : a meter, 
 to measure it; a, governor, to equalise the flow ; 
 a pressure-gauge, to indicate the resistance 
 offered to its passage; and a tell-tale, to 
 
 show the quantity manufactured during every 
 hour. 
 
 The tubes which convey the gas to tho 
 streets are of course larger or smaller, accord- 
 ing to the number of burners which they 
 supply. The largest in use are about 18 
 inches in diameter, the smallest about a quar- 
 ter of an inch. The street gas-pipes are laid 
 in slightly iuclined planes, and a vessel is 
 placed at the bottom of each descent to re- 
 ceive and carry off any deposition which would 
 otherwise clog the pipes. 
 
 The burners are of many different forms, 
 and each has its technical name ; such as the 
 argand, the fan, the cock-spur, and the bat's 
 wing. The arrangement and management of 
 the burners in practical use are exceedingly 
 varied. 
 
 It was estimated in 1848 that at that time 
 there were 0,000,000 tons of coal consumed in 
 England for gas-making ; that one-twelfth of 
 this, or 500,000 tons were used in London 
 alone ; that the production in London was 
 500,000 cwts. of coke, and 4,500,000 cubic feet 
 of gas ; and that the length of the gas-mains 
 n London was upwards of 1500 miles. The 
 ength of gas mains must now be much greater, 
 owing to the operations of rival companies. 
 
 The Western Gas Light Company has re- 
 cently erected extensive works near Kensal 
 G-reen. The gas is here made from Cannel 
 joal, on a principle patented by Mr. Palmer. 
 Che retort-house is a remarkable building. 
 It is a polygon of twelve sides, 166 feet in 
 diameter, and contains 360 retorts. The pro- 
 3esses, after the making of the gas in the 
 etorts, differ in many respects from those 
 usually adopted ; principally in the mode of 
 urifying the gas. The largest gas-holder or 
 gasometer is of great magnitude; it is 135 
 eet in diameter by 25 feet deep, and will con- 
 ain more than 350,000 cubic feet of gas. 
 
 The recent agitation of the gas question in 
 Condon has led to the formation of a new 
 ompany, by whom mains have been laid 
 ^own through the principal streets, and a 
 much lower rate of charge introduced than 
 was before known. The mode of charge per 
 ubic feet, as estimated by one among the 
 nany varieties of meter, is gradually super- 
 eding the old mode of charge per burner. 
 
 There have been some singular projects 
 ately brought before public notice, relating to 
 as-lighting. One is White's Water and Resin 
 bfas ; which is proposed to be formed by heat- 
 ng small coal and fragments of iron in a re- 
 ort ; dropping water on the burning materials ; 
 nd mixing the gases thus evolved with car- 
 uretted hydrogen formed by decomposing 
 esin or fat. M. Jeannery's Soap-suds Gas was 
 
985 
 
 GAS-LIGHTING. 
 
 devised by him as an economical mode o 
 using the soap-suds or scouring water of 
 woollen -factory at Mulhausen ; the sedimen 
 from the suds is strained, mixed into a past 
 with quicksilver, dried, and distilled in a re 
 tort. A Portable Gas apparatus has been 
 recently introduced, capable of making gas on 
 a small scale for isolated buildings, workshops 
 &c. The furnace, retort, and purifying vesse 
 can all be comprised within a space of eigh 
 or nine square feet. The fuel used is anj 
 kind of fat or grease ; and on this account i 
 is conceived that such an apparatus might be 
 valuable for emigrants and other residents in 
 sheep or ox-farming countries. Anothc: 
 novelty is Holliday's Self-yenerating Gas lamp 
 which, according to the comprehensive eulogj 
 of the inventor, is ' smokeless, portable, safe 
 durable, clean, of intense light, simple, re 
 quiring no attention when once lighted ; no 
 fixings, pipes, or meters, consequent on the 
 old gas plan ; nor liable to derangement ; and 
 is applicable to every purpose.' It comprises 
 a cotton-wick through which naphtha flows 
 and this naphtha becomes converted into gas 
 or vapour before it reaches the burner : it is a 
 sort of medium between a spirit-lamp and a 
 gas-lamp. An invention, which is now at- 
 tracting much attention in America, is Payne's 
 Water-Gas ; this is a plan by which water is 
 decomposed through the agency of an electro- 
 magnet ; and the hydrogen is carbonised by 
 being passed through spirits of turpentine, 
 whereby it is converted into carburetted hy- 
 drogen 4 all this is scientifically possible ; but 
 whether it is commercially advantageous re- 
 mains to be seen. 
 
 Gas works have recently been constructed 
 in Mexico ; and as there were difficulties in 
 procuring the usual sheet-iron gasometers, 
 Mr. Hancock has ingeniously contrived a gaso- 
 meter made of canvas saturated with india- 
 rubber. These gasometers are cylindrical 
 bags, 12 feet diameter by 15 feet high, formed 
 by two thicknesses of strong canvas cemented 
 together by indai-rubber solution. Iron rings 
 are placed at intervals to keep the bags in 
 shape ; and the whole can be flattened to the 
 form of a circular disc a few inches in depth 
 for convenience of transport. The cost of 
 each of these gasometers was about 55/. 
 
 In Mr. Butter's recent Treatise on Gas- 
 Lighting, it is stated that there are 560 pro 
 prietary gas-works in England and Wales, 
 and 170 in Scotland and Ireland ; .that these 
 represent a capital of ten and a half millions 
 sterling; that they all, taking one with an- 
 other, pay a dividend of about five per cent, (a 
 remarkable approximation to that which railway 
 companies show a tendency to converge to) ; 
 
 GEARING, or GEE RING. 936 
 
 that the quantity of gas produced is about 9000 
 millions of cubic feet annually ; that the coal 
 consumed to produce this gas is about 1,125,000 
 tons ; that the cost of mould candles to pro- 
 duce a light equal to all this gas would be 
 eleven millions sterling ; that the cost of 
 sperm oil for the same purpose would be 
 thirteen millions sterling ; that the price at 
 which the gas is sold is about 1,600,000/. ; and 
 that the number of persons constantly engaged 
 in various ways in the manufacture and its 
 subsidiaries is about 20,000. 
 
 There is a constant supply of new patents 
 relating to the manufacture of gas, to the 
 forms of burners for consuming it, and to the 
 construction of meters for measuring its 
 quantity. 
 
 GASTRIC JUICE. This term is applied 
 to the fluid, secreted from the interior of the 
 stomach, which is the principal agent in diges- 
 tion. The gastric juice is a transparent 
 slightly viscid liquid, which, when obtained 
 from the stomach of an animal while fasting, 
 possesses neither acid nor alkaline reaction, 
 but has a saline taste. During the process of 
 digestion, on the contrary, it is distinctly acid. 
 Gastric juice possesses strong antiseptic pro- 
 perties, suspending putrefaction, and restoring 
 ;he freshness of the tainted meat : it also coagu- 
 ates milk, which property is independent of 
 ;he presence of any acid. But the most 
 remarkable quality of the secretion of the 
 stomach is its solvent effect, which will even 
 act on nutritive substances out of the body. 
 
 GAUGING is the method of determining 
 >y actual measurement the number of gallons 
 ;ontained in any vessel intended to hold 
 goods. 
 
 The books which relate to this subject give 
 ules and formulae, according to the shape of 
 he vessel to be gauged. 
 
 GAUZE, is a light transparent cloth made 
 f fine silken threads. The texture is dif- 
 erent from that of plain weaving, in which 
 he warp, or longitudinal threads, are always 
 >arallel to each other. The essential eha- 
 acter of gauze-weaving is, that between each 
 ast of the shuttle a crossing of the warp 
 bread shall ensue, and thus the weft (which 
 orms the cross-threads interlaced by the 
 rarp) is not brought into absolute contact 
 dth the the cross-thread immediately pre- 
 eding. The intervals left between the 
 nterlacings cause that degree of transparency 
 which, without such arrangement, coiild only 
 esult from a looseness of texture, incompa- 
 ble with beauty and utility. 
 
 GEARING, or GEERING, in machinery, 
 5 a term somewhat indefinitely applied to a 
 rain of toothed wheels, or other similar con- 
 
937 
 
 GELATINE. 
 
 GENEVA. 
 
 938 
 
 trivance, for transmitting motion. Couplings 
 [COUPLING] may in some cases be considered 
 a kind of gearing ; and the expression ' to 
 throw machinery into or out of gear' is com- 
 monly applied to the act of engaging or dis- 
 engaging such connections. 
 
 GELATINE is the jelly of animals separate 
 from the other constituents of the hody. It 
 is procured by the action of boiling water from 
 bones, tendons, ligaments, membranes, and 
 skin. Glue-size and isinglass are all varieties 
 of gelatine. In France the gelatine of bones 
 is extracted and employed as a part of the 
 diet in hospitals, with excellent effect. 
 
 The substance sold in the shops as animal 
 gelatine is obtained from bones, skins, or 
 inferior isinglass. Gelatine has even been 
 obtained from fossil bones : those of the 
 mastadon. French gelatine is done up in small 
 thin cakes and coloured with beet-juice, 
 spinack-juice, or some other vegetable juice. 
 Very pleasing specimens of gold-printing are 
 now effected on thin and carefully-prepared 
 sheets of coloured gelatine. 
 
 GEMS; JEWELS. Besides mere purpo- 
 ses of ornament, the hard and beautiful stones 
 or crystals which constitute gems are applied 
 to many useful purposes. 
 
 The application of Gems in watches is 
 noticed elsewhere [JEWELLING OF WATCHES.] 
 A well-known application of the diamond is in 
 cutting glass [DIAMOND]. Gems are occa- 
 sionally employed for the nibs of pens ; thus, 
 pens made of gold, with small rubies at the 
 nibs, have been known to bear constant use 
 for many years without any appreciable Avear- 
 ing. Many years ago Messrs. Hawkins and 
 Mordan patented a new pen, of which the 
 barrel was made of horn or tortoiseshell, and 
 the nib of a small fragment of diamond or 
 ruby, imbedded into the horn by pressure. 
 From the high refractive power of the diamond, 
 it is employed to form minute and exquisitely 
 accurate lenses for the best kinds of micros- 
 cope ; Mr. Pritchard succeeded in forming 
 such lenses', after the professed diamond 
 makers had pronounced it to be impossible ; 
 and Sir David Brewster has had similar lenses 
 made of rubies and garnets. In respect to 
 the general operations of the lapidary or 
 jewel-cutter, they could hardly be conducted 
 without the aid of diamond -dust ; for 
 the general mode of cutting and shaping 
 precious stones is to hold them against a very 
 small metallic disc or wheel, which is rotating 
 with great velocity, and to moisten the edge of 
 this disc with oil and diamond dust ; the ex- 
 ceedingly hard particles of djiamond enable the 
 disc to cut the stone or jewel. 
 
 The manufacture of factitious or artificial 
 
 gems is a very curious department of art. Any 
 one who glances round a shop containing cheap 
 jewellery, will at once see that no inconsider- 
 able portion of the glittering store is of this 
 nature. Where pence instead of shillings are 
 charged or in some cases pence instead of 
 pounds it is easy to see that such must be 
 the case. The brilliant transparency of the 
 diamond, the purple of the ruby, the blue of 
 the sapphire, the green of the emerald, the 
 orange tint of the hyacinth, the transparent 
 blood-red of the garnet, the variegated tints 
 of agate and porphyry, the delicate subdued 
 whiteness of the pearl all are imitated. 
 Most of these imitative gems are made of glass, 
 called paste in this country and strass in France ; 
 it is of this substance that most artificial 
 diamonds are formed ; and by mixing various 
 metallic oxides with the strass, the colours of 
 other gems are imitated. The strass is not 
 common glass, but is carefully made from 
 a mixture of rock-crystal, potash, borax, and 
 oxide of lead. The oxides of iron, antimony, 
 arsenic, manganese, copper, chromium, cobalt, 
 &c., are employed to give to the strass the 
 requisite colour for other gems. 
 
 Many artificial gems are doublets, and 
 deceive the eye by a curious contrivance. Two 
 little fragments of glass, previously shaped, 
 are cemented together with Venice turpentine 
 and mastich, coloured with carmine, lake, 
 Prussian blue, verdigris, or some other 
 pigment; a humble sort of imitative gem is 
 thus produced. A still humbler method, and 
 the cheapest of all, consists in simply placing 
 a bit of coloured metal foil behind the frag- 
 ment of transparent glass. 
 
 The manufacture of artificial pearls is more 
 remarkable perhaps than that of any other 
 gem. They are made of glass beads, coated 
 on the inside with a peculiar substance. A 
 fine and narrow glass tube is held in a lamp 
 at one end, while the workman blows through 
 it from the other ; the heated end is blown 
 out into a globular form : and the workman 
 breaks off the bead thus made and proceeds 
 to form another. So rapidly is this done, that 
 a workman can make 5000 or 6000 in a" day. 
 The pearl-liquor, or Essence d' Orient, is made 
 by steeping in water the scales of the bleak or 
 blay fish ; and a single drop is dexterously 
 blown into every bead by means of a little 
 tube ; the bead is shaken, to equalize the 
 contact of the liquid with the interior surface. 
 Each bead is then filled with wax, to strengthen 
 it, and a hole is made through the wax to 
 receive a string. Artificial pearls are chiefly 
 made in Paris. 
 
 GENE 'VA, the smallest of the Swiss cantons, 
 except Zug, is rendered productive by the 
 
939 
 
 GENEVA. 
 
 GEORGIA. 
 
 940 
 
 industry of the inhabitants : about one-third 
 of it is sown with corn, another third is 
 pasture land, a much smaller proportion is 
 planted with, vines, which yield an indifferent 
 sort of wine ; the rest consists of woods, 
 orchards, and gardens. The number of cattle 
 is small. Manufactures and commercial spe- 
 culations form the principal sources of wealth 
 of the Genevese. Watches and jewellery are 
 now the principal manufactures ; they are ex- 
 ported to France, Italy, the Levant, and other 
 countries. 
 
 In the chief town, also called Geneva, the 
 staple manufactures of the town are watches, 
 musical boxes, and jewellery: of watches 
 about 20,000 are made annually. All these 
 manufactures will be illustrated by specimens 
 at the approaching Exhibition. 
 
 GENEVA. This spirituous liquor is fre- 
 quently confounded with gin. It is procured 
 by the fermentation of the berries of the 
 Junlperus communis. From the quantity of 
 sugar which they contain they can easily be 
 caused to ferment and yield a spirit. Geneva 
 is a very powerfully stimulating liquor, contain- 
 ing a large proportion of alcohol : 337,042 
 gallons of proof Geneva were imported in 
 1850. 
 
 The more common English liquor, gin, for 
 which geneva is a polite but incorrect name, is 
 malt-spirit flavoured by a variety of herbs, 
 fruits, seeds, sugar, &c. 
 
 GENOA. In the province of Genoa, in the 
 Sardinian dominions, the industry of the 
 inhabitants has turned to advantage every 
 spot capable of cultivation ; but the produce 
 is not equal to the consumption. The chief 
 products a^ wine, chesnuts, oil, silk, cotton, 
 hemp, citrons, oranges, lemons, figs, pome- 
 granates, almonds, and other excellent fruits. 
 Marble, alabaster, slate, limestone, asbestos, 
 and coal are found : and a good deal of salt is 
 made along the coast. The principal occupa- 
 tions, besides those indicated above, are 
 trading by sea, fishing, and manufactures of 
 jewellery, velvet, embroidered cambrics and 
 muslins, cloth, furniture, both plain and orna- 
 mental, &c. 
 
 The town of Chiavari is famous for the 
 manufacture of light willow chairs. Borzonasca, 
 a large village inland among the Apennines, 
 is important for its cloth manufactures. 
 Lavagna has extensive slate quarries. Rapallo, 
 a flourishing town, has manufactures of lace 
 and oil. But the chief place in the province 
 is Genoa, the famous old Italian city. At 
 Genoa there is regular communication by 
 steamers with Marseille, Barcelona, Leghorn, 
 Civita Vecchia, &c. ; and Genoese vessels 
 trade to the Levant, the Black Sea, the Baltic, 
 
 to America, and even to the coasts of the 
 Pacific. The yearly importations amount to 
 nearly three millions sterling, the exports to 
 somewhat above two millions. The principal 
 articles of export are silk, rice, hemp, oil, and 
 paper. There are at Genoa manufactories of 
 silk stuffs and velvet, woollens, surgical and 
 optical instruments, jewellery and fancy arti- 
 cles, musical instruments, canvas, cordage, 
 paper, and cotton. 
 
 GENTIAN. This useful plant is one among 
 many species of Gentiana, common in the 
 mountainous and sub-alpine districts of Swit- 
 zerland, Germany, <fec. Though the whole 
 plant is bitter, yet, as this property is most 
 concentrated in the root, that part only is used 
 in medicine. This should be taken up in 
 autumn, and is best when the plant is only 
 one year old. It is generally cylindrical, often 
 an inch thick at the summit, but below rather 
 branched, of a dark or brown colour externally ; 
 internally fleshy and yellow. In commerce it 
 is met with in pieces, cut longitudinally, from 
 half a foot to a foot in length. The greater 
 portion is procured from Germany ; the spe- 
 cimens from Switzerland are generally thicker 
 and darker coloured. When fresh it has 
 some smell, which is almost entirely lost by 
 drying. The taste is at first somewhat sweet, 
 then purely and strongly bitter. Yellow 
 Gentian-Eoot is often confounded with the 
 roots of other species of this genus. Gentian- 
 Eoot is a pure and excellent bitter tonic : it 
 yields its properties to water, particularly when 
 warm, to alcohol, and to wine. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL STRATA. Geology as a 
 science is beyond the scope of the present 
 work; but the connection between geology 
 and manufactures is illustrated in such articles 
 as ALUM ; COAL ; COPPER ; GRANITE ; IRON ; 
 MINING ; SLATE ; &c. 
 
 GEOEGIA. The chief vegetable produc- 
 tions of this little-known province of the 
 Eussian dominions are grapes, cotton, madder, 
 rice and saffron. There is every reason to 
 believe that great mineral wealth is concealed 
 in the mountains, but hitherto nothing of any 
 importance has been discovered. The present 
 commerce of these countries by the Caspian 
 Sea is carried on from the ports of Derbend, 
 Baku, Shamakhi, and Lencoran, to Persia, 
 and to Astrakan. The overland trade is with 
 Russia and Persia, as well as with Asiatic 
 Turkey. The commerce by the Black Sea is 
 carried on from the mouth of the Ilion with 
 Odessa and other Eussian ports, as well as 
 with Constantinople ; and there is a small 
 traffic with the highlanders of the Cauca- 
 sus. 
 
 GEOEGIA is also the name of one of the 
 
941 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 942 
 
 United States. The cotton grown in a number 
 of islands off the coast, known by the name 
 of Sea-Island Cotton, fetches a higher price 
 in the market than any other. In the 
 southern districts of Georgia the temperature 
 is suitable to the sugar-cane, orange, olive, fig, 
 pomegranate, &c. The chief products are 
 cotton and rice, of which large quantities are 
 exported, but tobacco, as well as Indian corn, 
 wheat, and other kinds of grain are also grown. 
 The hilly region resembles, in climate as well 
 as in products, the countries of Middle Europe, 
 and much of it is covered with pines, and 
 gome of it with oak, hickory, cedar, apd other 
 trees. Iron and copper occur in several places 
 in the hilly country, and the ore is said to be 
 rich. Gold is found in the northern part of 
 the state in considerable quantity. A few 
 other industrial statistics of Georgia will be 
 found under UNITED STATES. 
 
 GERMANY. This large and Important 
 country, including the states which form the 
 ZOLLVEBEIN or German Customs Union, will 
 occupy an important position at the Exhibi- 
 tion of the Industry of all Nations. In addi- 
 tion to the brief details given under the heads 
 of the component countries, [BADEN ; Pnus- 
 SIA; SAXONY, &c.], we will give the following 
 abstract, relating chiefly to the arrangements 
 for the Exhibition. 
 
 To carry out the intentions of the English 
 commissioners it became necessary to esta- 
 blish special commissions in Berlin and the 
 leading points of the Prussian monarchy in 
 Munich, Stutgardt, Dresden, Brunswick, 
 Wiesbaden, and Frankfort, in order to digest 
 and arrange the applications for space in the 
 Crystal Palace. The results of the collective 
 labours of these several commissions have 
 been transmitted to Berlin, to be from thence 
 forwarded to London. By these it appears 
 that there have been 1,572 applications from 
 the artistic and industrial producers within the 
 Customs Union. Of this number 455 belong 
 to the eastern, and 430 to the western pro- 
 vinces of the Prussian monarchy ; 197 to the 
 southern states, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and 
 Baden; 339 to the central German States, 
 Saxony, Brunswick, the Anhalt, and Thurin- 
 gian territories ; and 151 to the states of 
 western Germany, viz., the two Hesses, 
 Frankfort, Luxemburg, Nassau, Birkenfield, 
 and the principality of Lippe. 
 
 In a long and valuable report which the 
 Prussian commission has issued a review is 
 taken of the industrial resources of Germany, 
 and of the power which she possesses to 
 occupy a distinguished place in any Exhibition 
 of produce and manufactures. Germany is 
 the great store-house for zinc; in 1849 she 
 
 produced 452,546 cwts. In the Rhenish pro- 
 vinces more than 1,800,000 cwts. of iron were 
 made in that year. Anhalt, Westphalia, and 
 the Rhenish provinces can produce specimens 
 of lead and antimony; Prussia and Saxony 
 can contribute copper; cobalt and smalt are 
 found and abundantly used in Bavaria ; coal 
 is found in various parts of the Zoilverein ; 
 salt is abundant; aluminous clays, pottery 
 clays, building stones in short almost every 
 kind of mineral produce useful in the arts is 
 to be met with in one or other of the German 
 states ; and the Prussian Commissioners have 
 striven so far as lay within their authority, to 
 have all these varieties represented at the 
 Great Exhibition. The same may be said of 
 vegetable and animal produce used in the arts. 
 In the section of manufactures Germany is in 
 a condition to produce a most varied assem- 
 blage, if her manufacturers put forth their 
 best powers ; while in machinery and in the 
 fine arts, there is no reason why she should 
 not equally maintain a high reputation. 
 
 As an example of the admirable way in 
 which a systematic arrangement enables the 
 Zoilverein to contribute from each state what 
 it can best contribute, we may take the depart 
 ment of Drugs, Perfumery, Dyeing andTannlng 
 materials and Printing materials. Here we 
 find that balsams and mountain herbs will be 
 exhibited from Hirschberg. Perfumes by 
 Farina (the elder and younger of Cologne), 
 by other houses in that city, and in Dusseldorf. 
 Specimens of woad an article which was 
 once of great commercial importance will be 
 sent from Erfurt, where the last remnant of 
 its cultivation has been still preserved. Madder 
 and madder dyes will be sent from Mul- 
 hausen ; indigo carmine from Cologne ; 
 printing ink from Markttift (in Lower Fran- 
 conia), and from Mayence ; ink for copper- 
 plate printing from Frankfort- on-the-Maine ; 
 extract of gall-nuts from Ratisbon ; alkaloid 
 and Peruvian bark from Rhenish Hessen ; 
 printing colours from Leipsic ; aquarell, 
 Indian ink, and paints from Saalfeld, in 
 Meiningen. 
 
 In respect to textile materials, fleeces will 
 he sent from Limmenaii, Dombran, Zwerbrodt, 
 Hennersdorf, and Oberberg, all hi Silesia; 
 from several places in the Grand Dukedom 
 Posen, Prussia proper, Brandenberg, and 
 Saxony. Raw silk will be exhibited from 
 Berlin and the Grand Dukedom Posen. 
 Bristles of peculiarly good quality will be sent 
 from Alach, in the neighbourhood of Erfurt, 
 And so likewise in respect to tanned leather. 
 Hides will be sent from Neckarsteinach (ex- 
 hibiting a novel and peculiar process of 
 tanning); from St. With, MuHheim, Trier, 
 
9,13 
 
 GEKMINATION. 
 
 GIBBONS, GEINLING. 
 
 944 
 
 Bingen, and Mayence. The eastern provinces, 
 Berlin, Magdeburg, Stettin, Weissenfels, 
 Miihlhausen, and Gera, will send samples 
 Lacquered leather, skins, &c., will be sent from 
 Palgorsheim in Bavaria, Bingen, Offenbach, 
 Frankfurt, Worms, and Mekenheim. Sheep 
 skins and morocco leather will be sent from 
 Waldin, on the Lahr, in Baden; parchment 
 and drumskins from Erfurt ; instrument 
 leather from Altenburg ; saddlery, harness, 
 Russian and strop-leather will be forwarded 
 from Trier, Barmen, and the Marches. String- 
 gut will be sent from Tilsit and Briiel ; animal 
 glue from Cologne, Miihlhausen, and Stral- 
 sund; grainy and fine-ground animal charcoal 
 from Tilsit; carmine, and other animal dye- 
 stuffs, from Elberfeld, Berlin, Liegnitz, and 
 Schweinfurt. 
 
 Nearly all the other departments are equally 
 rich in examples. 
 
 The shipping trade between Great Britain 
 on the one hand, and the entire of Germany 
 on the other (including both Austria and Prus- 
 sia) exhibited the following results in 1850. 
 The vessels which entered British ports were 
 3,147, of 464,770 tons ; while those which left 
 British ports were 2914, of 405,218 tons. 
 
 GERMINATION is the first growth of a 
 seed, the act by which it exchanges the con- 
 dition of an embryo for that of a young plant. 
 Attempts have been made to expedite the pro- 
 cess of germination by steeping seeds in a 
 weak solution of chlorine, but no practical 
 advantage has been derived from the experi- 
 ment. A more effectual plan has been found 
 for hard-shelled seeds, such as those of the 
 Acacia, namely, boiling the seeds for a period 
 between one and five minutes. 
 
 GERS. In this department of France, 
 wheat, maize, peas, beans, oats, and rye are 
 grown in quantity more than sufficient for the 
 consumption. Marble, building-stone, plaster- 
 of-Paris, marl, potters' clay, and a fusible spar 
 used in glass and china works are found. 
 Some mineral springs, but no metals, are 
 found in the department. Of manufacturing 
 industry there is little. Coarse woollens, 
 bricks, glass, pottery, and other articles of 
 common necessity are made for home use. 
 The quantity of leather tanned is in excess of 
 the consumption, and some of it is exported. 
 The other exports are brandy, wine, corn, 
 flour, wool, poultry, and cattle. The quantity 
 of wine produced in this department yearly is 
 about 25 millions of gallons, about one-fourth 
 of which is used for home consumption, and 
 the greater part of the remainder is distilled 
 into brandy, known by the name of Armagnac, 
 from the former name of the district. In 
 quantity of alcohol, the Armagnac brandies 
 
 bear to the Cognac the ratio of about 8 to 9* 
 Until lately, all brandies paid in France the 
 same duty, whence came the general preference 
 for Cognac, as it contained a greater quantity 
 of alcohol. But for mildness and delicacy of 
 flavour, and for a peculiarly agreeable aroma, 
 both of which qualities improve with age, 
 the Armagnac is a very superior spirit ; and it 
 has this advantage over Cognac, that it comes 
 from the still at a strength ready for con- 
 sumption, whereas Cognac requires reduction 
 of strength, which process, it need not be said, 
 endangers, and may mar, the peculiar excel- 
 lencies of that spirit. The best qualities of 
 Armagnac are distilled from two varieties of 
 white grape, called piquepoul and clairct, in the 
 cantons of Montreal, Eauze, Cazaubon, Man- 
 ciet, and Nogaro. 
 
 GHEE, is a species of butter used by the 
 natives of India. The milk, when first taken 
 from the animal, is boiled in earthen pots for 
 an hour or two ; it is then allowed to cool, 
 and a little curdled milk, called Tyre, is added 
 to promote its coagulation. By the next 
 morning the whole mass has been converted 
 into tyre, or coagulated acid milk. This milk, 
 well churned and boiled with water, produces 
 the ghee, which is rather distasteful to Euro- 
 peans. 
 
 GHENT, the capital of East Flanders, in 
 Belgium, was formerly one of the most famous 
 manufacturing and commercial cities in Eu- 
 rope. By the prosperity consequent on its 
 manufacturing industry, the city increased so 
 rapidly, that towards the end of the thirteenth 
 century it exceeded Paris in extent and popu- 
 lation. At the beginning of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, the number of its citizens employed in 
 the manufacture of woollens is said to have 
 amounted to 40,000. Ghent afterwards sank 
 in commercial importance ; but it has never- 
 theless continued to be a place of consider- 
 able note. 
 
 About 19,000 persons are employed in spin- 
 ning, weaving, bleaching, and printing cotton. 
 Sugar refining is carried on to a large extent 
 in several establishments. Among the various 
 other manufactures are those of lace, silk- 
 weaving, salt-refining, paper making, woollen 
 cloths, tanning, bleaching, soap-boiling, and 
 tin-making. 
 
 GIBBONS, GRINLING. At a time when 
 the beautiful art of carving is undergoing such 
 a judicious revival, and is about being applied 
 so largely to decorative purposes, it is right 
 to pay a tribute of admiration to Grinling 
 Gibbons, whose taste produced such exquisite 
 specimens of the art nearly two centuries ago. 
 Having been recommended by Evelyn to 
 Charles II., he was employed by that monarch 
 
945 
 
 GIIBRALTAR. 
 
 GILDING. 
 
 946 
 
 on the ornamental carving of the chapel at 
 Windsor ; he produced such emblematical 
 objects as doves, pelicans, palm-branches, &e. 
 For the choir of St. Paul's he carved much of 
 the foliage and festoons belonging to the stall 
 work, and those in lime-tree which decorate 
 the side aisles of the choir. Much of his 
 choicest work is at Chatsworth : mere orna- 
 ment, indeed, such as foliage, flowers, fea- 
 thers, &c. ; but finished with such exceeding 
 delicacy and truth, that the workmanship not 
 only confers value on the material, but also 
 on the subject. Occasionally he exerted his 
 skill on subjects altogether trivial in them- 
 selves, and merely curiosities in art ; such as 
 feathers and pens, that might be mistaken for 
 real ones. He presented to the Duke of 
 Devonshire, on completing his labours at 
 Chatsworth, a point-lace cravat, wrought up 
 in wood. At Southwick, in Hants, he carved 
 the embellishments of an entire gallery ; and 
 also those of a room at Petworth, which has 
 generally been deemed one of his chief per- 
 formances. Gibbons died in 1721. 
 
 GIBRALTAR. This celebrated rock-for- 
 tress is so much more important in a military 
 than an industrial point of view, that we need 
 say little of it in this place. The natural pro- 
 ductions are wild rabbits, woodcocks, teal, and 
 partridges. The trade of Gibraltar is not large. 
 The British produce exported thither in 1849 
 amounted to 533,48U. The principal imports 
 thence to Great Britain in the same year con- 
 sisted of bark for tanning, gum Arabic, raw 
 silk, and brandy. Mail steamers call at Gib- 
 raltar three times a month, from Southamp- 
 ton ; these steamers keep up a communication 
 between Gibraltar and Vigo, Oporto, Cadiz, 
 Malta, Alexandria, and Constantinople. In 
 fact, Gibraltar is a kind of half-way station on 
 the overland route. 
 
 GILDING. In the gilding of articles of 
 metal, pure gold is first combined or amalga- 
 mated with quicksilver, by boiling the gold in 
 five or six times its weight of quicksilver. The 
 boiling mixture is poured into cold water, by 
 which it loses a great deal of its fluidity ; and 
 it is then squeezed through chamois leather 
 The amalgam has now the consistence of a 
 stiff clay, has a greasy and gritty feel, and is 
 in the most convenient state for being weighec 
 out into portions requisite for each respective 
 quantity of work. The main object of bring 
 ing the amalgam to this consistence and these 
 proportions is to have it in a. form convenien 
 for division and apportionment, as well as foi 
 the sake of having a uniform standard b) 
 which to ascertain the quantity and value o 
 the gold employed. 
 
 On the application, however, of this amal 
 
 gam to the surfaces of metal, it is found 
 ihat, as there is no chemical affinity between 
 ;he substances thus brought into contact, the 
 direct union of them is impossible. Nor can 
 t be effected by allowing them to remain in 
 contact for any length of time. The interven 
 ion of a solution of nitrate of mercury is 
 herefore used. The solution is, by the ope- 
 ratives, termed ' quick-water.' When a piece 
 of copper or brass is immersed in or brought 
 n contact with this solution, its surface is im- 
 mediately converted into an amalgam. To this 
 amalgamated surface mercury and gold amal- 
 gam closely adheres, by means of the mole- 
 ular attraction of the particles of the fluid 
 metals for each other. 
 
 The manner in which this agent is applied 
 in practice varies according to the description 
 of articles to be gilt. If they are small, 
 strong, and to be gilt all over, as copper 
 buttons, buckles, and rings, a quantity of 
 them, three or four pounds in weight, is put 
 into a deep glazed earthen pan, or 'jowl;' 
 to these are added about three or four 
 tea-spoonfuls of the ' quick- water,' together 
 with the requisite portion of amalgam. The 
 whole is then thoroughly stirred with a brush 
 or stick, till the amalgam entirely covers the 
 surface of every article. When they are com- 
 pletely covered, they are by some gilders 
 rinsed in cold water and dried by shaking in 
 a bag of warm sawdust ; while by others this 
 part of the process is postponed to a later 
 period of the operation, and they are put in 
 their wet state, with the generated nitrate of 
 copper still hanging about them, into the 
 cage. 
 
 The ' gilding-cage' is made in a cylindrical 
 form, and is generally about 18 inches in 
 length by 9 or 10 in diameter. It is formed 
 of coarse iron-wire gauze, supported by an 
 external framework of iron, and furnished 
 with a solid iron door at one extremity. It is 
 provided with an axle, which extends to a 
 length of about three feet from the end at 
 which the door is placed, and is then termi- 
 nated by a winch, and to a distance of five or 
 six inches in the opposite direction. The 
 articles under process of gilding are placed in 
 this cage, arid the door of it securely fastened ; 
 it is then suspended by its axle on two sup- 
 ports in an iron cylinder. The cylinder being 
 previously heated by a coal fire beneath it, to 
 such a degree as to be red-hot over a large 
 proportion of its inferior surface, the cage is 
 introduced, and the doors of the cylinder 
 closed. The heated air contained within the 
 cylinder soon raises the temperature of the 
 substances immersed in it, and, as the cage is 
 kept continually revolving, they have all an 
 
947 
 
 GILDING. 
 
 GIN GEE. 
 
 948 
 
 equable share of heat, and allow of a nearly 
 equal evaporation of the mercury from al] 
 their surfaces. The hinder part of the cylinder 
 is connected with a chamber and flue so con- 
 structed as to carry off the deleterious fumes 
 of the mercury. 
 
 After the cage, with its contents, has been 
 in the cylinder for a length of time, varying, 
 according to the temperature at which it has 
 been kept, from five minutes to a quarter of 
 an hour, the mercury will be found to have 
 entirely evaporated from the gilt surfaces. 
 Another application of ; quick-water,' and 
 another heating in the cage, are sometimes 
 necessary to bring the surface to a proper 
 state. The gilt articles are then 'heightened,' 
 which is done by continuing to revolve them 
 at the same high temperature within the 
 cylinder, occasionally taking out the cage and 
 shaking them together, that they may all have 
 an equal share of the heat. The end in- 
 tended to be effected is a partial oxidation of 
 the surface of the gold. This partial oxida- 
 tion occasions a slight difference of colour, 
 which is perceptible by an experienced eye, 
 and confers on the gold a degree of that orange 
 colour which is so generally admired in golden 
 and gilt articles. 
 
 Buttons and articles of a similar description 
 are often gilt only on their tops, or on some 
 other portion of their surfaces, while the re- 
 mainder is, left uncovered with gold, and of 
 the native colour of the metal of which they 
 are manufactured. This is accomplished by 
 brushing them over the part to be gilt with a 
 hard brush wetted with 'quick-water,' or by 
 rubbing it with a piece of chamois leather 
 similarly moistened. They are afterwards 
 briskly rubbed with a dry brush. They are 
 then put into the 'gilding-cap,' which is a 
 white felt hat of a peculiar sort and shape. 
 The amalgam is put into the gilding-cap along 
 with them. The whole is then well shaken 
 together for a few minutes, when the amalgam 
 will be perceived clinging to the amalgamated 
 parts of the goods, but leaving the remainder 
 in their original state. They are then put 
 into the cage, the mercury is evaporated, and 
 they are afterwards heightened in the manner 
 already described. 
 
 For larger goods, and where considerable 
 portions of hidden surface are not required to 
 be gilt, there are two modes of preventing the 
 amalgam from adhering to those parts. One 
 is to lacquer those parts, and, after the spirit 
 of wine is thoroughly evaporated, to immerse 
 them in the quick-water, and afterwards apply 
 the amalgam. The other mode of applying 
 the gold is to distribute the quick- water over 
 the parts requiring it by a small brush or 
 
 camel's hair pencil, and these then have the 
 amalgam applied as before. If, as is some- 
 times the case, the goods are to be entirely 
 covered, they are immersed at once in the 
 quick-water. If the articles are of a kind which 
 would be injured by revolving in the cage, the 
 heating is effected by other means. Gilt 
 articles are afterwards coloured to a deeper 
 orange tint by the application of several che- 
 mical mixtures aided by heat. 
 
 Most gilt articles are burnished by a stone 
 burnisher, formed of a polished piece of black 
 haematite. This is fixed into a proper handle. 
 Small articles, as buttons, &c., are placed in a 
 lathe, and the stone applied to them as they 
 revolve ; and those that do not admit of this 
 are burnished by hand on a table or bench. 
 
 Steel and iron are gilt by being immersed 
 in a mixture of the nitro-muriate of gold with 
 sulphuric ether or alcohol. By combining 
 these liquids together, an alcoholic solution of 
 gold is formed, from which the metal is pre- 
 cipitated by the iron or steel. 
 
 Ivory may be gilt by immersing it first in a 
 solution of sulphate of iron, and afterwards in 
 one of nitro-muriate of gold. 
 
 The edges of the leaves of books are gilt by 
 applying to them, when squeezed in a press, 
 a composition of four parts Armenian bole 
 and one part sugar-candy, ground together 
 with the white of eggs. Gold leaf is then laid 
 on, and is afterwards burnished by rubbing 
 with a polished piece of agate. 
 
 The gilding of porcelain is accomplished by 
 the application of gold-leaf during the process 
 of its manufacture, which is fixed by that in- 
 tense heat which confers on this substance its 
 enamel or glaze, and is afterwards burnished 
 by a stone as above described. 
 
 Carved wood or wood-mouldings are gilt 
 by laying on a foundation of whiting and size, 
 and a further series of layers of gold-size, to 
 which leaf-gold is made to adhere by wetting 
 the surface underneath it : this is ' burnish- 
 gilding.' In ' oil-gilding,' the gold is mode 
 to adhere by using oil-gold-size, instead of 
 burnish-gold-size wetted with water. The 
 former kind of gilding admits of being bur- 
 nished with a smooth piece of agate, but not 
 the latter. 
 
 Glass may be gilt by applying leaf-gold to 
 the glass when wetted with a solution of 
 isinglass. 
 
 For the process of Electro-Plating, which is 
 now much employed as a, substitute for metal- 
 gilding, sco ELECTRO-METALLURGY. 
 
 GIN, or GYN, a machine employed instead 
 of a crane, chiefly by artillerymen, for the 
 purpose of raising guns, howitzers, &c. on 
 their carriages. It consists of three round 
 
949 GINSENG. 
 
 poles, placecj up in a pyramidal form, within 
 which a windlass and tackle afford the means 
 of raising weights. A similar contrivance is of ten 
 used in the coarser kinds of Engineering. 
 
 Gin is also the name of a machine em- 
 ployed in the United States for cleaning 
 cotton ; in which a number of revolving spikes 
 disentangle the cotton fibres. 
 
 GINGER. This useful condiment is the 
 rootstock of a plant which grows extensively 
 in the East and West Indies, and other hot 
 countries ; it is one among many species of 
 the genus Zinglbera. The ginger-plant is 
 propagated either by seeds or by cuttings of 
 the root. When the cuttings are planted out 
 in spring, which is the mode generally par- 
 sued in its cultivation, in the course of three 
 or four months the rootstocks have a mild 
 aromatic flarour; and it is in this state they 
 are used for the preparation of what is palled 
 preserved ginger. At the end of the same 
 year, or the beginning of the next, they are 
 considered fit to yield the ginger of commerce. 
 The rootstocks are then prepared in two 
 ways : either by scalding them in boiling 
 water, and drying them with artificial heat; 
 or by peeling, and drying them in sunshine. 
 The former method produces the black ginger 
 of commerce, and the latter the white ginger, 
 
 About 14,000 cwts. of Ginger were imported 
 in 1848. 
 
 GINSENG, is a root found in China, to 
 which extraordinary properties have been 
 ascribed. It is not only considered a univer- 
 sal remedy for all maladies, but is spoken of 
 in the highest terms as a specific in particular 
 circumstances. European botanists have, 
 however, some doubts concerning the identi- 
 fication of the plant. 
 
 GIRONDE, the largest department of 
 France, is rendered remarkable, in an agri- 
 cultural point of view, by the district called 
 the Landes. These landes are sandy heaths, 
 of which only a small part has been brought 
 into cultivation, and which occupy nearly half 
 of the department, extending from the sea to 
 the valley of the Garonne. The sands of the 
 downs along the sea-shore, driven inland by 
 the winds, gradually overspread a considerable 
 tract of country, encroaching yearly from 70 
 to 80^ feet along the whole extent of the coast. 
 The increasing devastation has however been 
 checked by planting broom and other shrubs, 
 by means of which the sand has in most parts 
 become fixed. 
 
 The department produces wheat, rye, maize, 
 and millet. The rye and millet are raised in 
 such parts of the Landes as have by dint of 
 manure been brought into cultivation. Ex- 
 cellent fruits and a large quantity of hemp 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE. 
 
 950 
 
 are grown. But the staple produce of the 
 department is wine, of which 40 to 50 millions 
 of gallons are produced annually. The finest 
 clarets are from this part of France, as the 
 growths of Lafitte, Latour, Chateau-Margaux, 
 (these are in the Medop district, on the left of 
 the Garonne and Gironde, between Bordeaux 
 and the sea) Haut-Brion, Sauterne, Barsac, 
 and the Vins de Grave. The extensive woods 
 which skirt the sea-coast, or pervade the 
 Landes, consist chiefly of the pine (Pinusma- 
 ritima), from which turpentine, pitch, and 
 charcoal are procured, as well as timber for 
 building and masts for vessels. The cork- 
 tree is abundant. The inhabitants of the 
 Landes make charcoal, or tend the numerous 
 flocks, which obtain scanty food amid these 
 sandy wilds. The chief manufactures of the 
 department are palico, muslin, soap, chemical 
 products, pottery, paper, vinegar, brandy, 
 sugar, beer, leather, glass, &c. Ship -building 
 is extensively carried on in Bordeaux. There 
 are several tobacco factories, dyehouses, rope- 
 walks ; and a great deal of salt is made along 
 the coast. The department contains upwards 
 of 1,600 wind-mills and water-mills, about 50 
 iron-foundries, and 350 to 400 factories of 
 different kinds. 
 
 The most important commercial town is 
 BOEDEAUX. Next to this is Blaye, which has 
 linen and woollen factories, glass-works, pot- 
 teries, ship-building yards, and a considerable 
 commerce in wines, brandies, spirits, oil, soap, 
 fruits, ship-timber, staves, &c. Vessels put 
 into the port of Blaye to complete their car- 
 goes, and to supply themselves with provi- 
 sions. St. Vivien has a great trade in salt, 
 of which 6,000,000 bushels are annually pro - 
 diiced from the neighbouring salt-works. At 
 Libourne the manufactures are of cotton yarn, 
 iron, leather, ropes, and nails ; ship-building 
 is also carried on. The trade is in wine and 
 brandy, oak staves, iron, coal, and salt. Cas- 
 tillon has cotton factories, tan yards, rope 
 yards, and cooperages, and nails are manufac- 
 tured to a considerable extent. 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE. This is the most 
 commercial and manufacturing county in 
 Wales. It has all the elements of increasing 
 greatness. Its canals, its railways, its mines, its 
 manufactures, its shipping, are all important. 
 The chief riyers, such as the Taff, the Daw, 
 the Ogmore, the Avon, the Neath, the Tawe, 
 the Loughor, and the Cynon, are all made the 
 media of bringing mining produce to the sea, 
 or have been so until canals and railways were 
 made. The Cardiff Canal extends from Mer- 
 thyr Tydvil to a point a mile and a half below 
 Cardiff; about 25 miles. The Aberdare Canal 
 runs from the Cardiff Canal to near Aberdare ; 
 
951 
 
 GLASGOW. 
 
 GLASGOW. 
 
 952 
 
 about G miles. The Neath. Canal makes a 
 short cut between two points on the Neath 
 River; about 14 miles long. The Swansea 
 Canal extends from Swansea Harbour into 
 Brecknockshire ; about 17 miles. The Pen 
 clawd Canal has a short course of 4 miles 
 into the cestuary of the Burry. There are 
 many railways for conveying minerals, among 
 which are the Duffryn, Llynvi, and Forth 
 Cawl ; the Bridgend ; the Aberdulais ; the 
 Oystermouth ; and the Aberavon railways 
 The Taf Vale Railway is both for passengers 
 and goods ; and so is the South Wales Rail- 
 way, which now traverses the county from east 
 to west. 
 
 The coal-measures occupy all the northern 
 part of the county. The miner finds coal 
 without any considerable descent ; for the 
 whole county is intersected with deep valleys 
 in a north and south direction ; and the miner, 
 taking advantage of this, drives levels into the 
 adjacent hills and obtains ironstone and coal. 
 There are however many mines in valleys and 
 low places. The coal which occurs in the 
 county is of very varied quality and applicable 
 to many different purposes. Ironstone is 
 found in the valley of the Neath, but most 
 abundantly near Aberdare and Merthyr, which 
 last may be considered as the capital of the 
 iron district of South Wales. There are some 
 lead mines in the district occupied by the car- 
 boniferous limestone, near Cowbridge and 
 Llantrisaint. Limestone is quarried in various 
 places. 
 
 A few details illustrative of the produce and 
 industry of this busy county will be met with 
 under CAKDIFF, MEBTHYR, and SWANSEA. All 
 the chief towns will contribute towards the 
 Industrial Exhibition. 
 
 GLASGOW. This city and its river are 
 among the wonders of our empire. Until 
 1775 the Clyde was only navigable by vessels 
 of very small burthen; but since that time 
 large sums have been expended in its im- 
 provement, the banks have been widened, the 
 bed deepened, and the numerous sand banks 
 and other obstructions to the navigation have 
 been removed. There are now quays on both 
 banks nearly a mile in length. Vessels draw- 
 ing 14 feet of water can come up close to the 
 lowest bridge. The revenue derived from the 
 harbour in 1847 was 54,000/. Port Glasgow, 
 situated 14 miles down the Clyde, belongs to 
 Glasgow, and is governed wholly by the Glas- 
 gow magistrates. 
 
 Prior to the union in 1707, the commerce 
 of Glasgow was limited to France and Hol- 
 land, and consisted principally in the curing 
 and exportation of salmon ; but after that 
 Glasgow entered so extensively into the trade 
 
 with Virginia and Maryland, that before the 
 commencement of the American War in 1776, 
 which suspended the tobacco trade, the an- 
 nual imports exceeded 50,000 hogsheads. At 
 the present time the trade with the United 
 States and the West Indies, and the timber 
 trade with North America, are carried on upon 
 a very large scale. There are about 80,000 
 tons of iron, and 130,000 tons of coal ex- 
 ported annually from the Clyde. The ships 
 which are owned by Glasgow houses amount 
 to about 600, with a tonnage of 150,000 tons. 
 
 Glasgow is also quite as much a manufac- 
 turing as a commercial town. With the ex- 
 ception of some large establishments near 
 Aberdeen and Stirling, almost the entire cot- 
 ton manufacture of Scotland is confined to 
 Glasgow and the country surrounding it to 
 the extent of 25 miles. The manufacture of 
 linens, cambrics, &c., was first introduced into 
 Glasgow about 1725, the power-loom in 1793, 
 and at the present time the numerous esta- 
 blishments for weaving and spinning are on 
 the most splendid scale. The School of De- 
 sign at Glasgow is rendering valuable service 
 in respect to the artistic department of textile 
 manufacture. But, although the cotton manu- 
 factures have hitherto constituted the staple 
 trade of Glasgow, those of iron become an- 
 nually of greater extent ; and from the pecu- 
 liarly advantageous position of the town, in a 
 mineralogical point of view, Glasgow is be- 
 coming more and more the centre of an iron 
 district, especially since the introduction of 
 the hot-blast in the iron manufacture. Ship- 
 ping and steam engines are among the im- 
 portant manufactures of Glasgow. 
 
 Glasgow is the centre of a very extensive 
 system of railways, which radiate from it in 
 every direction. 
 
 The population of Glasgow has increased 
 at a very rapid rate. It was only 14,000 in 
 1651 ; in 1811 it had increased to 112,330; in 
 1821 to 150,818 ; in 1831 to 207,393 ; in 1841 
 to 274,533 ; and it is supposed that the pre- 
 sent population is more than 370,000. 
 
 In a series of papers recently given in 
 Chambers' Edinburgh Journal,' and founded 
 on personal researches, are some valuable 
 statistics of the industry of Glasgow in 1850. 
 We will note down a few of the more pro- 
 minent features. 
 
 Glasgow itself was estimated in 1849 to 
 contain 367,000 inhabitants; but it is the 
 centre and metropolis of a district which now 
 sontains not less than 600,000. It is theme- 
 ropolis for Paisley and its shawls; for the 
 shipping of Greenock and Port Glasgow ; for 
 Kilmarnock and its carpets ; for Pollock- 
 haws, Ban-head, and Johnston, and their 
 
953 
 
 GLASGOW. 
 
 cotton spinning and weaving mills ; for the 
 vale of Leven aud its bleach works ; for the 
 cotton manufacturing district of Lanark, 
 Blantyre, andCampsie; and for the great iron 
 mining and smelting district of Airdrie and 
 Coatbridge. 
 
 The harbour of Glasgow is now fitted to 
 accommodate vessels of 1,000 tons burden, 
 and exhibits not less than 10,000 feet of quays. 
 The largest merchant ships, from all parts of 
 the world, can come almost into the very 
 heart of Glasgow ; and the finest mail steam- 
 ships receive their engines from the quays 
 within the limits of the town. 
 
 The following is given, by the authority 
 alluded to above, as the result of a very care- 
 ful enquiry into the textile factories, and those 
 immediately dependent on textile manufac- 
 tures, in Glasgow in 1850 ; giving the number 
 of firms, and the number of operatives em- 
 ployed : 
 
 Firms. Operatives. 
 
 Cotton and thread spinners 76 25,000 
 Power loom weavers . . 24 3,640 
 Hand loom weavers . . . . 3,200 
 
 Calico manufacturers . . 240 4,000 
 
 Gingham .. ..37 1,840 
 
 Muslin .. ..40 920 
 
 Silk .. ..22 720 
 
 Lace .. ..16 140 
 
 Carpet . . . . 5 260 
 
 Shawl .. ..10 64 
 
 Woollen and worsted . . 14 1,570 
 
 Rope and sail makers . . 45 840 
 
 Calico printers & bleachers 64 1,860 
 
 Dyers 50 .1,400 
 
 Calenders and packers . . 48 500 
 
 Designers and block cutters 35 520 
 
 Cylinder engravers . . 6 750 
 
 Miscellaneous .. ..150 700 
 
 882 47,924 
 
 These numbers, even supposing them to be 
 strictly correct, could only apply to one parti- 
 cular week ; but they afford a useful approxi- 
 mation. Besides the operatives employed by 
 these firms, there are many thousand clerks, 
 packers, and porters. These numbers refer 
 to Glasgow alone; the textile factories in 
 Paisley and the .other towns of the Glasgow 
 district form a wholly distinct series. 
 
 Vast as these textile manufactures are, they 
 only employ two-thirds of the regular opera- 
 tives of the GlasgOAv district, the other third 
 being employed chiefly in the mineral and che- 
 mical manufactures. On the east and south 
 of Glasgow the district is bristled with iron 
 furnaces. There are in this district about 
 100 firms engaged in the smelting and casting 
 operations, by whom 600,000 tons of iron are 
 
 GLASS MANUFACTURE. 954 
 
 now annually manufactured. At the Govaii 
 and Calder works alone (Messrs. Dixon's) are 
 no less than ] 3 blast furnaces ; at Gartsherrie 
 (Messrs. Baird's) 16; at Dundyvan (Messrs. 
 Wilson'sJ 10; at Tollcross (Messrs. Dunlop's) 
 9; at the Monkland works 6. 
 
 The customs' receipts at Glasgow in 1850 
 were 645,669J. ; and those of Greenock (which 
 in many respects may be deemed a second 
 port for Glasgow commerce) 383,487Z. ; making 
 a total of upwards of a million sterling for the 
 Clyde ports. 
 
 The chemical works are another mighty 
 element of Glasgow industry. At the St. Rollox 
 works of Messrs. Tennant chemical manufac- 
 tures are conducted on a scale which no other 
 establishment in the world, we believe, equals ; 
 and there are many others of considerable 
 magnitude. 
 
 Glasgow is well fitted to take a commanding 
 position in any Exhibition of the World's In- 
 dustry. 
 
 GLASS MANUFACTURE. This trans- 
 parent and beautiful substance, though ex- 
 ceedingly brittle while cold, is rendered so 
 flexible and tenacious by a high degree of 
 heat that it may with the utmost facility be 
 moulded into any form. It is so ductile while 
 heated, that it may be spun into filaments of 
 the greatest conceivable fineness, and these 
 when cold are pliant and elastic in a high 
 degree. 
 
 The time at which glass was invented 
 is very uncertain. The ancient Egyptians 
 were certainly acquainted with the art of glass 
 making. The manufacture was long carried 
 on at Alexandria, from which city the Romans 
 were supplied with that material ; but before 
 the time of Pliny the manufacture had been 
 introduced into Italy, France, and Spain. 
 Glass utensils have been found among the 
 ruins of Herculaneum. The application of 
 glass to the glazing of windows is of compa- 
 ratively modern introduction. The earliest 
 manufacture of flint glass in England was 
 begun in 1557, and that of plate glass in 1673. 
 The principal seat of the manufacture in Eng- 
 land is at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the neigh- 
 bouring town of Shields ; next in importance 
 is Stourbridge; then the works in and near 
 Liverpool, including the Plate-glass Com- 
 pany's establishment at Ravenhead; next 
 follow Bristol, Warririgtou, Birmingham. 
 Leeds, and London. There are several manu- 
 factories in Scotland and Ireland. 
 
 There are five distinct lands of glass, which 
 differ from each other in regard to some of 
 the ingredients of which they are made, and 
 in the processes of manufacture. These 
 kinds axe flint glass, or crystal; crown glass, or 
 
955 GLASS MANUFACTUKE. 
 
 Get-man sheet glass; broad glass, or common 
 vnndow glass ; bottle glass ; and plate glass. 
 
 The principal ingredients used for the pro- 
 duction of each of these kinds of glass are 
 silex, or flint, or sea sand, and an alkali. The 
 differences in the various kinds result from 
 the description of alkali employed, and from 
 the addition of certain accessory materials, 
 usually metallic oxides. The alkali employed 
 for making fine flint glass is purified pearl- 
 ash. Barilla, kelp, and wood ashes, com- 
 bined with many impurities, are used for ma- 
 king inferior kinds of glass : the impurities 
 even assist towards fusing the silex. Coarse 
 alkaline substances all contain iron in some 
 degree, and it is to the presence of this metal 
 that the green colour of common glass is owing. 
 Flint Glass, known in other countries under 
 the name of crystal, is the most generally 
 useful, the most brilliant, and the heaviest 
 description of glass. The following is one 
 among many ratios of ingredients : 
 120 parts fine clean white sand, 
 40 well purified pearlash, 
 35 litharge, or minium, 
 13 nitre ; and a small quantity of 
 the black oxide of manganese. The litharge 
 is employed to assist the sand to melt ; nitre 
 is used to dissipate carbon, and manganese to 
 dissipate colour. The ingredients are inti- 
 mately mixed together before they are put 
 into the crucibles or pots, which are previ- 
 ously placed in the furnace. A very strong 
 and long continued heat is necessary, not only 
 for the perfect fusion and amalgamation oi 
 the materials, but also for the discharge of the 
 impurities which they contain. The glass is 
 cooled down to a pasty mass, and then wrought. 
 There is perhaps no process of manufacture 
 which excites so much the surprise and admi- 
 ration of a stranger as that of fashioning 
 flint glass into all the various objects of conve- 
 nience and ornament for which it is employed. 
 To see a substance, proverbially brittle, blown 
 by the human breath, pulled, twisted, cut, 
 and then joined again with the greatest faci- 
 lity, never fails to strike with astonishment 
 those who are unaccustomed to the sight. 
 The tools with which all these operations are 
 performed are of the most inartificial descrip- 
 tion, and do not appear to have received any 
 notable improvement from the earliest records 
 of the manufacture. 
 
 Crown Glass. This is the best description 
 of window glass ; and one recipe for it is : 
 120 parts of white sand, 
 00 purified pearlash, 
 3Q saltpetre, 
 2 borax, 
 1 arsenic, 
 
 GLASS MANUFACTURE. 950 
 
 with the addition of a minute quantity of 
 manganese. Crown glass is made by blowing, 
 in the form of circular plates of 50 to 00 
 inches diameter. A quantity of glass in the 
 pasty state is collected upon the end of a hol- 
 low iron tube; and this glass is then con- 
 verted, by blowing through the tube, into a 
 hollow globe of the requisite thickness. This 
 globe is transferred to the end of the rod, and 
 after several re-heatings it is twirled round by 
 the workman somewhat in the manner that a 
 mop is twirled to drive off the moisture ; with 
 this twirling the softened material is conti- 
 nually driven off from the centre by the cen- 
 trifugal force, until at length the whole sub- 
 stance is converted into a flat disc of circular 
 form, and, except at the centre, where it is 
 attached to the rod, of a uniform thick- 
 ness. 
 
 Broad Glass is an inferior kind of window- 
 glass, made with a cheaper kind of alkali. It 
 is blown to a cylindrical form, cut open, and 
 spread into a flat plate. 
 
 Bottle Glass is still inferior in quality to 
 broad glass, the alkali employed being the 
 cheapest that can be procured, with the addi - 
 tion of a portion of lime to assist fusion. 
 Bottle glass is fashioned by blowing into 
 hollow moulds. 
 
 Plate Glass is both blown and cast. The 
 following proportions and ingredients are 
 given by Parkes : 
 
 Lynn sand, well washed and dried 720 parts. 
 Alkaline salt, containing 40 per cent. 
 
 of soda . . .450 
 
 Lime, slaked and sifted . 80 
 
 Nitre .... 25 
 Broken plate glass . . 425 
 
 1700 parts. 
 
 It requires 40 hours' exposure to the full 
 heat of the furnace to reduce the materials to 
 the proper state of fusion and vitrification. 
 When this is accomplished, the glass is trans- 
 ferred from the melting pot to a large vessel 
 called a cuvette, and from this to a large cast- 
 ing table, where it is distributed by means of 
 a roller over the whole surface of the table, 
 bars of metal being placed at each side along 
 its entire length, and across the bottom, in 
 order to prevent the glass from running upon 
 the floor. The casting of large plates of glass 
 is one of the most beautiful processes in the 
 arts: the large mass of melted glass, ren- 
 dered in a high degree luminous by heat, ex- 
 hibits changing colours in the sheet after the 
 roller has been passed over it. 
 
 When annealed, which all glass requires to 
 be before using [ANNEALING], the plates of 
 glass are ground with powdered flints, and 
 
957 GLASS MANUFACTUEE. 
 
 then with emery powder, and are afterwarc 
 polished with oxide of iron laid upon woolle 
 pads. Plate glass is silvered for lookin 
 glasses with an amalgam of mercury and tin 
 foil. 
 
 There has perhaps never "been known 
 more signal effect produced on a manufactur 
 hy fiscal arrangements, than that which ha 
 resulted from the removal of the glass duty i 
 1846. What is the amount of this effect, : 
 would he difficult to say, as there is no accoun 
 now kept hy the excise of the quantity o 
 glass manufactured. Until 1846 the excis 
 regulations were most vexatious to the glas 
 manufacturer. The annealing ovens wer 
 under lock and key, and no glass could he pu 
 in or taken out of them without the presenc 
 and sanction of the excise officers. Th 
 efforts of the manufacturers to improve thei 
 wares were paralysed ; for they could not even 
 institute experiments without paying duty fo: 
 the glass wasted in so doing. The sum rea 
 lised to the revenue in 1845 amounted tc 
 115,000/. The export has very largely in 
 creased since the remission of the excise 
 duty; in 1850 it amounted to 336,614 cwts. o. 
 flint, window, and bottle glass, besides plate 
 glass, which is estimated by measure and not 
 by weight : the value of all the four kinds was 
 308,346*. 
 
 It may be safely asserted, that without the 
 remission of the glass duty in 1846, the Palace 
 of Industry in Hyde Park could not have 
 been constructed on Mr. Paxton's plan ; what- 
 ever the building might else have been, it 
 would not have been a ' crystal ' palace. Un- 
 til the duty was removed, the successful 
 experiments in making large sheets on the 
 broad glass method would hardly have been 
 made ; and it is only on this method, and at 
 the cheap prices which now prevail, that the 
 acres of glass could have been provided for 
 this beautiful structure. The vast establish- 
 ment of Messrs. Chance at Birmingham is 
 now one of the most interesting centres of 
 industry in the country: the many hundreds 
 of men employed; the surprising skill with 
 which the workmen (Englishmen and French- 
 men working in harmony) make the cylinders 
 which afterwards become sheets of broad 
 glass ; and the rapidity with which the im- 
 mense supply for the Hyde Park building has 
 been furnished all have tended to render 
 these works lately well worthy 'of study. 
 
 Nor are there wanting examples of the 
 beneficial results of the fiscal change in other 
 directions. Dairy glass is now an important, 
 article ; and we find that in London and other 
 large towns establishments have been opened 
 for the sale of glass coarse but strong 
 
 GLASS PAINTING. 
 
 958 
 
 fashioned into an amazing variety of utensils 
 and implements. Kough plate for skylights 
 and conservatories, and rough plate for floors 
 (as much as an inch and a half in thickness) ; 
 glass tiles and slates; perforated glass for 
 ventilation ; glass milk pans, cream pots, lac- 
 tometers, preserve jars, pastry slabs, rolling 
 pins, glass syringes, leech glasses, and pill- 
 making slabs ; bee glasses, propagating glasses, 
 wasp traps, cucumber glasses, hyacinth cups, 
 flower dishes, crocus glasses, peach and grape 
 protecting glasses, and fern shades ; glass cor- 
 nice poles ; glass churns, glass syphons these 
 are some among the many articles now made 
 of this beautiful and useful substance. 
 
 An important modern application of glass 
 is as a material for pipes, in cases where iron, 
 stone, and wood would be less efficient. 
 Several hundred feet of glass pipes have been 
 recently laid down on the estate of the Earl 
 of Zetland. 
 
 A very remarkable and brilliant effect is now 
 produced in cut glass by coating parts of the 
 interior with silver, on a plan recently pa- 
 tented. A brief notice of this, and of the 
 ordinary mode of silvering looking glasses, 
 will be found under SILVERING. 
 
 The glass manufacturers of the Tyne dis-. 
 trict are expected to make a worthy display of 
 ,heir art at the approaching Exhibition. They 
 will send specimens of plate glass in all the 
 tages of progress, some of them alnost un- 
 mralleled in size; and the other kinds of 
 jlass will be fittingly illustrated. From St. 
 Helen's we are promised other specimens ; 
 and there can be little doubt that this depart- 
 ment of our national manufacture will be well 
 epresented. Our manufacturers, in return, 
 will be eager to see what Bohemia and Ba- 
 aria and France can produce, in this beauti- 
 ul branch of industry. 
 
 GLASS PAINTING, or STAINING, is 
 ractised as follows : The design having 
 een first drawn on paper, the glass is laid 
 lereon, and the outline traced with a coloured 
 usible glass. The parts intended to be yel- 
 >w, orange, or red, are then coated, either on 
 ne or both sides, according to the tint re- 
 uired, with a mixture composed of silver, 
 ntimony, and oxide of iron. The glass is 
 len exposed to a red heat, in which process 
 le tracing colour is fused, and adheres per- 
 nanently to the glass. The mixture of silver 
 nd antimony stains the glass, but does not 
 lelt, so that the oxide of iron, which is in the 
 ;ate of dry powder, may be brushed off, leav- 
 ig the glass coloured, but as transparent as 
 efore. The other colours, composed, as for 
 namel [ENAMEL], of a very fusible glass co- 
 ured with metallic oxides, are then added, 
 
959 
 
 GLAUBER SALT. 
 
 GLOBE MAKING. 
 
 960 
 
 and the glass is again fired. In subjects which 
 are too large to be executed in one piece, the 
 joinings are carefully arranged to run in the 
 outline ; - and for draperies, &c., the artist 
 avails himself of glass already coloured in the 
 manufacture (pot metal), and which requires 
 shadowing, diapering, &c. 
 
 In painting glass, the colours applied remain 
 on the surface of the glass, and interfere with 
 its transparency. In staining glass, the colour 
 sinks into the glass a very small distance, but 
 leaves it as transparent as before. The only 
 colours which modern artists are able to pro- 
 duce by staining are yellow, orange, and red. 
 There are two modifications of painting or 
 staining on glass, called melting and emboss- 
 ing, produced by special chemical means. 
 
 The glass stainers of St. Helen's, New- 
 castle, and other towns, are preparing large 
 and fine specimens of their art for the Great 
 Exhibition. 
 
 GLAUBER SALT occurs as a mineral 
 body. It is found as an efflorescence, and 
 also crystallised ; whitish, translucent, and 
 having a cool bitter taste. It is a hydrated 
 sulphate of soda. 
 
 GLAZE ; GLAZING. One of the modes 
 in which the word glazing is employed is to 
 designate the fixing of panes of glass into 
 windows. As a manipulative art, glazing is 
 very simple ; the putty with which the glass is 
 fixed is a mixture of whitiug and linseed oil ; 
 and the glass itself is cut by a diamond 
 though (see COKE) it seems as if a much less 
 costly material may be made available for this 
 purpose. The largest and most interesting 
 specimen of glazing ever yet executed is per- 
 haps the Glass Palace in Hyde Park: the 
 contrivances for enabling the workmen to 
 pursue their avocations in the most difficult 
 positions have been truly admirable for their 
 simplicity and efficiency. 
 
 In the earthenware and china-ware manu- 
 facture glaze is the name of the vitrified gloss 
 or varnish applied to the ware. The nature 
 of this kind of glazing is noticed under POT- 
 TERY and PORCELAIN. 
 
 GLIADINE, is a peculiar azotised vegetable 
 matter which exists in small quantity with the 
 gluten of wheat, and to which its adhesive 
 properties are owing. It may be separated by 
 boiling alcohol, together with a thick fluid oil 
 which is separable by ether. Gliadine is adhe- 
 sive, and is insoluble in water. When dried, 
 it is hard and translucent bike horn ; itdissolves 
 in acetic acid and solution of potash. 
 
 GLOBE -MAKING. This is in many 
 respects a remarkable branch of art. It is 
 said that there are only four globe-makers in 
 England and one in Scotland ; and that the 
 
 annual sale of globes is only about a thousand 
 pair. The price of a pair of globes varies 
 from six shillings to fifty pounds. But from 
 the smallest 2-inch, to the largest 36-inch 
 globe, a systematic process is carried on at 
 every step of its formation. The following 
 account of the manufacture is condensed from 
 Dickens' ' Household Words.' 
 
 Globes are made of paper and plaster, 
 shaped upon a model or mould. This mould 
 is turned out of a piece of wood, and has for an 
 axis a piece of iron wire at each pole. On this 
 mould a boy will in a very short time form a 
 pasteboard globe. He first covers it entirely 
 with strips of strong paper, thoroughly wet, 
 which are in a tub of water at his side. The 
 slight inequalities produced by the over-lap- 
 ping of the strips are immaterial. The satu- 
 rated paper is not suffered to dry ; but is 
 imediately covered over with a layer of pasted 
 paper, also cut in long narrow slips. A third 
 layer of similarly pasted paper brown paper 
 and white being used alternately is applied ; 
 and then a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth. Here 
 the pasting process ends for globes of mode- 
 rate size. For the large ones, it is carried 
 farther. This wet pasteboard ball has now to 
 be dried, placed upon its axis in a rack. 
 The extrication of the wooden mould from its 
 prison then takes place. The wooden ball, 
 with its solid paper covering, is placed on its 
 axis. A sharp cutting instrument, fixed on a 
 bench, is brought into contact with the surface 
 of the sphere, which is made to revolve ; and 
 the pasteboard ball is quickly cut in half. 
 Within every globe there is a piece of wood 
 we may liken it to a round ruler of the exact 
 length of the inner surface of the sphere 
 from pole to pole. A thick wire runs through 
 this wood, and originally projected some two 
 or three inches at each end. This stick is 
 placed upright in a vice. The semi-globe is 
 nailed to one end of the stick, upon which it 
 rests, when the wire is passed through its 
 centre. It is now reversed, and the edges of 
 the card rapidly covered with glue. The edges 
 of the other semi-globe are instantly brought 
 into contact, the other end of the wire passing 
 through its centre in the same way, and a 
 similar nailing to the stick taking place. We 
 have now a paper globe, with its own axis. 
 
 The paper globe is next placed on its axis 
 in a frame, of which one side is a semi-circular 
 piece of metal. The workman applies to the 
 surface of the globe a coating of whiting, glue, 
 and oil ; and this is repeated five or six times, 
 with intervening periods of drying. The globe 
 is therefore by this time a paper sphere enve- 
 loped in another sphere of plaster. If it does 
 not revolve quite equably on its axis a few shot 
 
001 
 
 GLOBE MAKING. 
 
 GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 
 
 903 
 
 are introduced into the too -buoyant por- 
 tions. 
 
 What may be called the artistical portion of 
 globe-making here commences, in which the 
 intelligent labour of females is available. The 
 workwoman takes the polished globe in her 
 lap, for the purpose of marking it with lines 
 of direction for covering it with engraved 
 strips ; which lines are those of latitudes and 
 longitudes. These lines are struck with great 
 rapidity, and with mathematical truth, by an 
 instrument called a ' beam compass.' The 
 sphere is now ready for receiving the map, 
 which is engraved in fourteen distinct pieces. 
 The arctic and antarctic poles form two circular 
 pieces, from which the lines of longitude 
 radiate. These having been fitted and pasted, 
 one of the remaining twelve pieces, containing 
 30 degrees of longitude and 133 degrees of 
 latitude, is also pasted on the sphere, in the 
 precise space where the lines of longitude 
 have been previously marked ; its lines of 
 latitude corresponding in a similar manner. 
 The paper upon which these portions of the 
 earth's surface are engraved is thin and ex- 
 tremely tough. It is rubbed down with the 
 greatest care, through all the stages of this 
 pasting process. We have at length a globe 
 covered with a plain map, so perfectly joined 
 that every line and every letter fit together as 
 if they had been engraved in one piece, 
 which, of course, would be absolutely 
 impossible for the purpose of covering a 
 ball. 
 
 The artist who thus covers the globe, called 
 a paster, is also a colourer. By long experi- 
 ence the artist knows how the various boun- 
 daries are to be defined, with pink continents, 
 and blue islands, and the green oceans, con- 
 necting the most distant regions. The globe has 
 now to be varnished with a preparation techni- 
 cally known as ' white hard,' to which some 
 softening matter is added to prevent the 
 varnish cracking. Four coats of varnish 
 complete the work. 
 
 The globe has to be mounted. The brass 
 meridian ring has been previously accurately 
 graduated ; this operation is comparatively 
 rapid ; but for the largest globes it involves 
 considerable expense. After great trouble 
 Messrs. Malby have succeeded in producing 
 cast-iron rings, with the degrees and figures 
 perfectly distinct ; and these applied to 30-inch 
 globes, instead of the engraved meridians, 
 make a difference of ten guineas in their price. 
 For furniture they are not so beautiful : for 
 use they are quite as valuable. The axis of 
 the globe revolves on the meridian ring, and 
 of course it is absolutely necessary that the 
 poles should be exactly parallel; this is 
 
 effected by a li Itle machine which drills each 
 extremity at one and the same instant ; and 
 the operation is termed poleing the meridian. 
 The mounting of the globe, the completion 
 of a pair of globes, is now handed over to 
 the cabinet-maker. 
 
 Globes have occasionally been constructed 
 of very large size. Such a one was designed in 
 1823 by an ingenious mechanician, M. Delan- 
 gard. The spectator reached a circular 
 gallery in the centre of the globe by a winding 
 stair. The sea was represented by transpa- 
 rencies coloured and varnished ; the land 
 being opaque and tinted, as in ordinary globes. 
 Another was constructed in 1844 by M. Charles 
 Guerin, who constructed another in the 
 Champs-Elys ees. It was placed within an 
 ornamental house of wood ; the globe was 
 more than 30 feet in diameter, was Adewed by 
 the spectators from a central gallery, reach'* A 
 by a double- winding stair ; an iron frameworV 
 representing the lines of latitude and longi- 
 tude, gave the outline of the globe, and sup- 
 ported the varnished calico which stretched,, 
 over the entire surface, and upon which the 
 map was painted. This exhibition was called 
 the Georama. 
 
 But Mr. Wyld, the eminent map publisher, 
 is about to eclipse all previous attempts in 
 this direction. He has paid 30002. for the 
 lease, for a definite period, of the central area 
 ha Leicester Square ; and on this area he will 
 construct a building for exhibiting an immense 
 globe, 60 feet in diameter. There will be two 
 galleries within it for spectators, at different 
 elevations. The countries, oceans, &c. will 
 not be merely coloured: they will exhibit 
 many of the features of physical geography. 
 The mountains will be in relief. The globe 
 will be formed of ribs of zinc, in the direction 
 of the meridians, and will be covered with 
 some convenient woven material, on which the 
 lines and colours will be depicted. 
 
 GLOUCESTERSHIRE. The commerce 
 of this county is greatly aided by canals. The 
 Thames and Severn Canal connects those two 
 great navigable rivers ; it commences at Lech- 
 lade, and joins the Stroudwater Canal at 
 Wallbridge, near Stroud ; its length is about 
 30 miles; it has a tunnel at Sapperton 2f 
 miles long. The Stroudwater Canal commences 
 at the Severn, near Framiload, and terminates 
 in the Thames and Severn Canal at Wall- 
 bridgo ; its length is 8 miles. The Hereford 
 and Gloucester Canal is open from Gloucester 
 to Ledbury, 18 miles. The Gloucester and 
 Berkeley Canal, by which the navigation up to 
 Gloucester is shortened 11 J miles, extends 
 from Gloucester to the Severn near Berkeley, 
 16 J miles. Portions of the Midland Railway 
 
963 
 
 GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 
 
 GLUCI'NIUM. 
 
 064 
 
 and of the Great Western Railway pass 
 through this county. 
 
 The south-west corner of the county is 
 occupied by the coal field of the Forest o1 
 Dean. Iron appears to have been wrought 
 here during the Roman occupation ; and we 
 find it recorded in the reign of Edward I. that 
 there were then 72 furnaces for smelting iron 
 in the Forest. The iron ore here is not very 
 rich in metal, and it is now therefore compa- 
 ratively little worked. Two hundred pits have 
 been opened for the coal in different parts of 
 the Forest, but the coal is not considered so 
 good as that of Staffordshire. Lead ore is found 
 in many parts of the county, but not in suffi- 
 cient quantities to defray the expense of work- 
 ing. Pyrites, or sulphuret of iron, has been 
 found in great abundance. Lapis calaminaris, 
 petrosilex, barytes, quartz crystals, gypsum, 
 limestone and freestone are met with in the 
 county. 
 
 The manufactures are numerous and im- 
 portant. The cloth manufacture is extensively 
 carried on at Wotton-under-Edge, Stroud, 
 Minchinhampton, Bisley, Uley, Norsley, Cam, 
 Painswick, Rodborough, and Bang's Stanley. 
 At Frampton, Cotterell, Winterbourn, Bitton, 
 and Westeiieigh, there are considerable hat and 
 felt manufactories, and some persons are also 
 engaged in stocking-making. The last-men- 
 tioned manufacture is extensively pursued at 
 Tewkesbury, where frame making likewise 
 gives employment to some of the inhabitants ; 
 some of them are also engaged in lace -making. 
 In Gloucester and in the suburbs of Bristol 
 there are pin manufactories. At Newland and 
 English Bicknor tin plates are made. Edge- 
 tools are made at Cooley ; and glass bottles 
 in the suburbs of Bristol. At Moreton and a 
 few other places cheese cloths and other 
 articles of linen are made. The large com- 
 mercial city of Bristol has also several manu- 
 factories, and works in brass, iron, floor-cloths, 
 lace, hats, soap, vinegar, &c. 
 
 Flax was formerly cultivated to some extent 
 in the Vale of Gloucester, but the belief that 
 it was a very scourging crop, and returned 
 nothing to the land, has led to the prohibition 
 of it in leases. Teasels are raised for the use 
 of the manufacturers of woollen cloth, but 
 not to such an extent as they were once. 
 Gloucestershire is essentially a dairy country, 
 and has been always renowned for its butter 
 and cheese. There are fine orchards in 
 different parts of the Vale and Forest districts, 
 and some very good cider and perry are made 
 in the county. Gloucester, the chief town, (if we 
 except Bristol, half of which is in this county) 
 is a flourishing commercial place, which has 
 water communication with most parts of the 
 
 kingdom. In the year 1850 there were 4.91 
 vessels arrived at the port of Gloucester, with 
 cargoes from foreign countries ; and the 
 customs revenues at the port amounted to 
 9i,032l. Cheltenham is more notable for its 
 fashion than for its manufactures. At Lech- 
 lade commences the Thames and Severn 
 Canal, and the Thames first becomes naviga- 
 ble for barges of 70 or 80 tons' burden ; in 
 consequence of these favourable circumstances, 
 the place has much traffic in the produce of 
 the country and in London goods. At Marsh- 
 field a considerable quantity of malt is made 
 for the supply of the Bath and Bristol brewers. 
 The borough of Stroud comprehends an im- 
 portant part of the west of England clothing 
 district. The peculiar features of this district 
 are, the situation of the mills on streams in 
 deep ravines, the scattered and irregular man- 
 ner in which the houses are built on the hill 
 sides, and the contrast between the high land, 
 in many cases with few inhabitants, and the 
 valleys, studded with houses and thickly 
 peopled. This district comprehends the 
 market-towns of Stroud, Minchinhampton, 
 Painswick, and several other places. The 
 site of Stroud was early chosen by clothiers 
 and dyers, and the town has been improving 
 of late years. At Tewkesbury the chief manu- 
 facture is of cotton and lambs'-wool hosiery. 
 
 There were in the county of Gloucester, in 
 1850, one cotton factory, 49 woollen spinning 
 factories, 11 woollen weaving factories, 20 
 factories for mixed woollen goods, 3 flax fac- 
 tories, and 7 silk factories the whole employ- 
 ing 8618 persons. 
 
 GLOVE-MAKING. The great seats of 
 the leather glove manufacture in England at 
 ^resent are Worcester, Woodstock, Yeovil, 
 Leominster, Ludlow, and London. The 
 number made every year in the town and im- 
 mediate neighbourhood of Worcester has been 
 estimated to exceed 6,000,000 pairs. It is 
 almost entirely a hand manufacture. Worsted 
 gloves are made chiefly in and near Leicester, 
 cotton gloves in Nottingham, and silk gloves 
 n Derby. The manufacture of these three 
 dnds is closely connected with that of stock- 
 ngs, and will be found briefly noticed uiulcr 
 HOSIERY MANUFACTURE. 
 
 In the year 1850 there were 3,201,001 pairs 
 of leather gloves imported, chiefly from France. 
 Very few English-made gloves are exported. 
 
 GLUCI'NIUM is the metallic base of an 
 earth or oxide (Glnc'ina) discovered by Vau- 
 quelin in 1798. It is a fine powder of a deep 
 gray colour, very difficult of fusion. When 
 burnished, it acquires the metallic lustre. It 
 suffers no change by exposure to air or water, 
 at common temperatures ; but when heated to 
 
065 
 
 GLUE. 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 966 
 
 redness it burns, combines with oxygen, and 
 is converted into glucina. Glucina, the only 
 known oxide of the metal, is a light white 
 poi,Yder, inodorous, tasteless, infusible, inso- 
 luble in water. Chloride of Glucinium is colour- 
 less, sweet, very fusible and volatile, and 
 sublimes readily in white brilliant needles ; it 
 deliquesces in the air. Glucinium combines 
 also with bromine, iodine, and sulphur. The 
 salts which glucina forms with acids are not 
 important. They are all colourless, except 
 the chromate, which is yellow ; the taste is 
 sweet, and hence the name of the earth, and 
 slightly astringent. This rare metal has not 
 yet been of much practical value in the arts. 
 
 GLUE. This useful substance is prepared 
 from the clippings of hides, hoofs, &c., by 
 washing in lime-water, boiling in water, 
 skimming, straining, evaporating, cooling, and 
 drying. When properly prepared, glue is of 
 a deep brown colour, translucent, and free 
 from spots and clouds. When required for 
 use, it is broken into pieces, and steeped for 
 about 24 hours in cold water, by which it swells 
 and softens ; after this it is heated in a glue- 
 pot, which is a water-bath made for the purpose. 
 
 Another variety of glue, which is much 
 softer and called size, is obtained from parch- 
 ment cuttings and several animal membranes. 
 
 Jeffery's Marine Glue, introduced within the 
 last few years, and so remarkably adhesive for 
 many purposes, is not strictly glue : it is a 
 cement. 
 
 GLYCEEIN is a nearly colourless viscid 
 liquid, obtained from olive oil ; it cannot be 
 made to crystallise. Its taste is extremely 
 sweet. It mixes with water in all proportions, 
 and is not fermentable. 
 
 GOAT -SKINS. Goat-skins, both with 
 respect to the felt which forms the foundation 
 and the hair which forms the surface, are 
 useful materials of manufactures. There 
 were 241,333 goat-skins imported in 1848 : 
 while there were foreign manufactures of 
 goat's hair imported to the value of 57,994J. 
 in 1848, and 93,30G/. in 1849. 
 
 GOLD. This costly and beautiful metal 
 has been known from the remotest antiquity, 
 and has been un versally employed as a me- 
 dium of exchange. Although the quantity of 
 gold which is found, when compared with that 
 of other metals, is small, yet it occurs in 
 greater or less abundance in almost every 
 part of the globe. It occurs in the na- 
 tive state, and combined with silver, and 
 frequently mixed with metallic sulphurets and 
 arseniurets. The greatest quantity of gold, 
 next to that recently discovered in California, 
 is the produce of South America ; the richest 
 mines of Europe are those in Hungary, and 
 
 of Asia, in Siberia ; it has been found also in 
 the sands of the Rhone, the Rhine, and the 
 Danube; small quantities are occasionally 
 found in the stream tin-works of Cornwall, in 
 Wicklow in Ireland, and in the Lead Hills in 
 Scotland. In 1826 one piece of native gold 
 was found in Siberia weighing 26 Ibs. 
 
 Native gold occurs crystallised, capillary, 
 and massive; the primary form is a cube. 
 Gold not unfrequently occurs alloyed with 
 silver, and this compound, where the quantity 
 of silver is considerable, is known by the 
 name of electrum. Gold is separated from the 
 various substances with which it is mixed by the 
 process of amalgamation ; this consists in com- 
 bining it with mercury, and heating the amal- 
 gam formed, so as to distil the mercury, which is 
 thus repeatedly used for the same purpose. 
 
 Gold is of a fine yellow colour, and is sus- 
 ceptible of a high degree of polish. It is 
 nearly as soft as lead. For its malleability, 
 see GOLD-BEATING. It is also exceedingly 
 ductile ; a single grain may be drawn out into 
 500 feet of wire. Gold suffers no change by 
 exposure to air or moisture, even when 
 heated. It melts at about 2016 of Falir., 
 according to Daniell's pyrometer; when in 
 fusion, it appears of a brilliant green colour. 
 
 Most metals are susceptible of combining 
 with gold to form alloys, of which the follow- 
 ing are the chief. Arsenic and gold form a 
 brittle gray substance. Tellurium and gold, 
 but mixed also with a considerable portion of 
 lead, occur in combination, constituting three 
 varieties known as graphic tellurium, yellow 
 tellurium, and Hack tellurium. Antimony and 
 gold form a pale yellow finely grained sub- 
 stance. Manganese and gold form a pale brittle 
 alloy. Zinc and gold yield a pale green alloy, 
 very brittle. Tin and gold form a pale yellow 
 alloy, slightly flexible. Iron and gold form 
 an alloy of a pale yellowish- gray colour ; it is 
 very ductile, and may be rolled from the 
 thickness of tbree-quarters of an inch to that 
 of a guinea. Nickel and gold form a brittle 
 yellow alloy ; as do Cobalt and gold. Copper 
 and gold combine in all proportions, with 
 little alteration of the colour of the gold ; 
 the density is diminished, but the hardness is 
 increased. Bismuth and gold form a brittle 
 yellow alloy. Silver and gold combine well ; 
 the resulting alloys are very ductile. Silver 
 and copper are both used as alloys in gold 
 coin. Lead and gold yield a very brittle alloy. 
 Mercury and gold form an amalgam much 
 used in the arts [AMALGAM ; GILDING]. Pla- 
 tinum and gold form an alloy in which the 
 colour of the gold is destroyed. 
 
 The Salts of Gold, formed by the combina- 
 tion of the metal with acids, are not much 
 
967 
 
 GOLD BEATING. 
 
 employed in the arts, and are mostly of an 
 unstable character. A compound of gold 
 with peroxide of tin forms the beautiful purple 
 powder of Cassins. 
 
 GOLD -BEATING; GOLD-BEATERS' 
 SKIN. The peculiar substance called Gold 
 Sealers' Skin is prepared from the outer or 
 peritoneal membrane of the large intestine of 
 the ox, by successive processes of soaking, scra- 
 ping, washing, alkalising, &c. The manufacture, 
 called in France (where it is chiefly carried on) 
 loyaitderic, is an exceedingly dirty and offensive 
 one ; but the resulting product is a remarkably 
 fine and beautiful kind of membrane. 
 
 Gold beating is a process whereby gold is 
 brought to the state of very fine leaves, for 
 use in various kinds of gilding. The re- 
 markable ductility of gold a quality posses- 
 sed by it to a greater degree than by any other 
 known substance is here taken advantage of 
 to the fullest extent, as a means of limiting 
 the quantity of this costly material required on 
 a given surface. 
 
 It is by a combined process of rolling and 
 hammering that the attenuation of the gold is 
 produced. An ingot of gold is milled or 
 rolled, to a thickness of about -^ of an 
 inch; and this riband is then hammered. 
 The hammering does not take place on the 
 gold itself ; biit thin membranes are interpo- 
 sed between the hammer and the gold. These 
 membranes are of three lands : an outside 
 covering of common parchment: a set of 
 leaves made of very fine and smooth calf-skin 
 vellum ; and another set made of gold-beaters' 
 skin. The riband of gold is cut up into small 
 pieces, each measuring exactly an inch square ; 
 and 150 of these are beaten or hammered at 
 once, interleaved between the membranes, 
 until they are expanded to nearly four inches 
 square. They are removed, cut into quarters, 
 replaced between new membranes of gold- 
 beaters' - skin, and beaten again ; they 
 again expand to nearly four inches square 
 and are again removed, cut into quarters, 
 and replaced between the skins. A third 
 beating expands them nearly as before. The 
 thickness of the film of gold, by this time, 
 varies from ^-^^^ to Trjn&nre of an inch, 
 according to the purpose to which it is to be 
 applied. The attenuation may be rendered 
 more intelligible by stating that 100 square 
 feet of the leaf gold weighs no more than an 
 ounce a result nearly as surprising as any- 
 thing presented in the mechanical arts. A 
 certain greasiness which comes upon the 
 interleaved membranes is removed by beating 
 them between pieces of white paper. The 
 beating of the gold is effected by hammers 
 weighing from 10 to 16 Ibs., on a smooth 
 
 GOLD WEIGHING MACHINE. 908 
 
 block of marble : 150 small squares of gold 
 form the group or bundle for the first beat- 
 ing, 600 for the second, and 800 for the third. 
 
 Two other metals, silver and copper, have 
 suflicient malleability to be brought into the 
 state of thin leaves by hammering ; and both 
 are used to a limited extent in this state in the 
 arts. But these metals would fracture long 
 before such a degree of thinness could be ob 
 tained as in the case of gold ; consequently leaf 
 silver and leaf-copper are thicker than leaf gold. 
 
 GOLD-WEIGHING MACHINE. In 1843 
 Mr. Oldham described before the Institution 
 of Civil Engineers the beautiful Gold-weighing 
 Balance, invented by Mr. Cotton, at that time 
 Governor of the Bank of England. In the 
 transactions between the Mint and the Bank 
 on the one hand, and between the Bank and 
 the public on the other, scrupulous accuracy 
 is requisite in weighing the sovereigns and 
 half-sovereigns. When there is a coinage of 
 new gold, the gold is conveyed from the Mint 
 to the Bank in parcels called 'journeys,' each, 
 journey weighing 15 Ibs., and containing 701 
 sovereigns. A group of 200 sovereigns is 
 accurately weighed, and other groups are then 
 balanced against them, so that the pieces are 
 not counted. The officers of the Mint are 
 allowed an overplus called the 'remedy,' 
 amounting to twelve grains in every Ib. weight, 
 but they generally work to within one-half of 
 this amount : that is, in two bundles of 50 
 new sovereigns each, the total weight will not 
 differ so much as six grains. 
 
 But it is in the circulation of the gold coins 
 between the bank and the public that the vari- 
 eties of weighing arise. It is computed that, 
 at a rough average, 30,000 sovereigns pass 
 over the bank counter every day ; and it is 
 necessary either as a regular system, or at 
 stated periods to ascertain how much the 
 coins have lost in weight by the friction of usage. 
 With the old bullion-scales, 4000 sovereigns 
 could be weighed in six hours, and a deficiency 
 amounting only to -^fa of a grain could be de- 
 tected ; but the agitation of the air by the 
 sudden opening of a door, the breathing of 
 persons near the apparatus, and many other 
 minute circumstances, were sufficient to dis- 
 turb this delicate instrument ; while the eyes 
 of the teller or weigher became wearied and 
 dimmed, by constantly watching the indicator 
 of the balance, after weighing three or four 
 thousand sovereigns. Mr. Cotton therefore, 
 endeavoured to plan an instrument which 
 while it should be still more accurate than tho 
 bullion-balance, might at the same time be 
 easier and more expeditious in use ; and with 
 the aid of Mr. Napier, the Engineer of Lam- 
 beth, he completely succeeded. 
 
No. 24. 
 
969 GOLD WEIGHING MACHINE. 
 
 The exterior of Mr. Cotton's apparatus pre- 
 sents a plain brass case, with a small hopper 
 tube on the top plate. About four inches from 
 the hopper there is an opening in the top 
 plate, through which is seen a platform in the 
 shape of a quadrant, suspended above one end 
 of a balanced beam. On one side of the case 
 is a till, to receive the sovereigns as they are 
 weighed ; it is partitioned so that one division 
 is left for standard coin, and the other for such 
 as are light ; and each division has a sliding 
 door, for removing the coins. The hopper 
 being filled with gold coins, a system of clock- 
 work within the machine places a sovereign on 
 the little platform; if the sovereign is of 
 standard weight, a small tongue comes rapidly 
 forward and pushes it into that side of the 
 till allotted to such coin ; if light, another 
 tongue pushes the sovereign into the other 
 side of the till. These tongues act at right 
 angles to each other. While one sovereign 
 is being thus weighed, a succeeding one is on 
 its way from the hopper to the platform ; and 
 the moment the preceding sovereign is dis- 
 posed of, another supplies its place. All that 
 the attendant has to do, when the machine is 
 wound up for action, is to keep the hopper 
 supplied with sovereigns, and to remove the 
 weighed sovereigns from the till from time to 
 time. The machine can weigh 10,000 sove- 
 reigns in six hours. It can separate into two 
 groups sovereigns which differ in weight by a 
 fraction of a grain so inconceivably small as to 
 be scarcely credible to those who are not ac- 
 quainted with the high excellence of this deli- 
 cate branch of art. 
 
 During the investigation of the Eoyal Mint 
 Commission, in 1848, it appeared by the evi- 
 dence of Mr. Miller, weighing clerk in the 
 Bank of England, that Mr. Cotton was led to 
 the invention of his machine by an injustice 
 which the bank unconsciously inflicted on the 
 public. Sovereigns which were issued from 
 one counter at the bank as being full weight, 
 were refused at another counter as being 
 light ; and when this matter was investigated 
 it was found that numerous causes rendered 
 the attainment of uniformity in the action of 
 the bank scales quite hopeless, however small 
 the actual amount of error might be in each 
 individual case. Between 1844 and 1848 there 
 were 48,000,000 gold coins weighed by Mr. 
 Cotton's machines at the Bank of England ; 
 and the bankers, who pay and receive more 
 coin at the bank than private persons, place 
 undoubting reliance on the accuracy of the 
 machines. Every sovereign now paid over the 
 counter of the bank, has been passed through 
 the machine before being so paid. The bank, 
 according to the evidence of Mr. Miller, has 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 GOLD WORKING. 
 
 970 
 
 six. of these machines in action, five for sove- 
 reigns and one for half-sovereigns ; each of 
 which will weigh 33 coins per minute ! The 
 machines require cleaning once a week an 
 easy hour's work to each machine. The ma- 
 chines cost about 20QL each, and have never 
 yet needed repair. The bank saves about 
 1000/. per annum in wages to weighers, and 
 the public is shielded from unintentional 
 wrong on the part of the bank, by the use of 
 these truly wonderful little machines. 
 
 GOLD-WORKING. We are in the habit 
 of associating our ideas of mines of gold 
 with a few favoured spots ; but in truth this 
 precious metal is very widely diffused through- 
 out the world. Spain has gold among the 
 sands of the Tagus, but in too small quan- 
 tity to be worth collecting. France, Piedmont, 
 and Tuscany, also present a few traces. In 
 the territory of Salzburg gold occurs in suffi- 
 cient quantity to attract attention. Ireland 
 has a little gold among the Wicklow moun- 
 tains. But it is in Hungary and Transyl- 
 vania that the greatest European deposit is 
 met with ; at Konigsberg, Borson, Schemnitz, 
 Felsobanya, Telkebanya, Kapink, Vorospatak, 
 OfFenbanya, Zalatua, and Nagy-ag, in those 
 countries, gold mines are worked, and gold 
 obtained to the extent of one to two thousand 
 Ibs. annually. Asia presents numerous gold 
 mines at Breezof and other places on the 
 Ural, and especially in Siberia ; in Tibet, 
 Lydia, Japan, and Ceylon. The Eastern 
 Archipelago presents traces of gold in For- 
 mosa, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philip- 
 pines. Africa presents its store of gold dust, 
 in greater or less quantity, in Kordofan, Sofala, 
 and the wide region which bounds the Sahara 
 desert on the south. America is, however, the 
 richest part of the globe for gold. In Brazil, 
 Chili, Peru, Ecuador, New Grenada, Mexico, 
 North Carolina, and last, though not least 
 California, this precious metal is found. Per- 
 haps we may name California, Siberia, and 
 Brazil, as at present the three richest gold- 
 producing countries. From all the countries 
 and districts named, the gold brought to 
 market is mostly derived from alluvial sand, 
 and is extracted by washing. 
 
 Under CALIFORNIA and RUSSIA will be 
 found a little notice of the quantities of gold 
 procured from those countries; but we may 
 here say in addition, in respect to California, 
 that it has lately been ascertained that during 
 the year 1850, gold was shipped as freight 
 from St. Francisco, to the value of nearly 30 
 million dollars ; besides an estimated amount, 
 for gold brought away by returning adven- 
 turers, and gold retained in California as a 
 circulating medium, of 18 millions more 
 
 AA 
 
971 
 
 GOLD WORKING. 
 
 GONG. 
 
 972 
 
 making 48 million dollars' worth as the pro 
 duce of one year. 
 
 The gold obtained from the sand of river 
 valleys is separated from the sandy particles 
 by repeated processes of washing; but the 
 smaller grains of gold, which cannot easily 
 be so separated, are subjected to tho process 
 of amalgamation by means of quicksilver. 
 Sometimes the gold is found mixed with sul- 
 phurets of copper, silver, arsenic, or other 
 metals; and to separate these sulphurets re- 
 quires the combined processes of washing and 
 amalgamation. The recent furor concerning 
 California has led to the invention of a num- 
 ber of new machines to facilitate the separa- 
 tion of the gold from the sands. A gold ivin- 
 nowing machine, recently introduced at Paris, 
 is intended for emigrants to California. 
 Leaving out the separate lumps of gold, it is 
 said that the auriferous sands yield about one 
 ounce of gold in 500 Ibs. of sand ; so that this 
 weight of sand must be washed, before the 
 gold can be procured. The new winnowing 
 machine is intended by its inventors to sepa- 
 rate much more gold from the sand than by 
 the ordinary washing, and to do it much more 
 quickly. The machine acts by keeping up a 
 constant agitation among the particles, with a 
 provision to allow the escape of the earthy 
 matter. The sand is put into a kind of 
 hopper, whence it descends into a receptacle 
 where a rotating fan or winnow works ; the 
 winch which works this fan at the same time 
 pumps up water from a river through a hole ; 
 the sand and water flow down a trough into 
 the river, while the gold is left in the machine. 
 It is said that one of these machines is to be 
 sent to the Great Exhibition. 
 
 The working of gold into purposes of use 
 and ornament gives rise to many important 
 and interesting branches of manufacture. 
 The coining of gold into money is noticed 
 under MINT ; and the making of thin leaves 
 under GOLD BEATING. Gold and silver plate 
 is an important branch of manufacture. By 
 mechanical means (pressure between steel 
 rollers) a thin layer of gold or silver may be 
 made to adhere to a thicker plate of some 
 cheaper metal; but true gold plate has no 
 such inferior layer. The processes of rolling, 
 casting, punching, chasing, hammering, 
 stamping, soldering, riveting, all come into 
 requisition in the manufacture of a piece of 
 gold plate. The approaching Exhibition will 
 contain many magnificent specimens of this 
 art, especially from London and Paris ; some 
 of the works from Paris will be of great value. 
 The Goldsmith's Company of London, in 
 order to encourage an art with which they are 
 so intimately connected, have offered rewards 
 
 to the amount of 1000/. for the best specimens 
 prepared for the Exhibition. The prizes are 
 to be one of 200/., three of 100/., three of 50/., 
 three of 30/., six of 25/., three of 20Z., two of 
 15/. and two of 107. The articles are to be 
 the modelling and manufacture of British 
 artists; they are to bear the London Hall- 
 mark of 1850-1 ; and they may be of silver, 
 silver-gilt, or gilt in part. The articles named 
 are groups of figures, table candelabra, shields, 
 salvers, sideboard and altar dishes, dessert 
 services, sideboard ewers, ornamental cups, 
 entree dishes, candlesticks and light-branches, 
 tea and coffee services, communion services, 
 salt cellars, claret jugs, bread or cake baskets, 
 tea or coffee salvers, tea kettles, inkstands, 
 spoons, and forks. 
 
 A considerable quantity of gold is used in 
 the manufacture of watch-cases ; but much 
 more is consumed in the numerous trifles which 
 come under the general name of jewellery. 
 Pencil cases, pen-holders, thimbles, bodkins, 
 toothpicks, tweezers, broaches, finger-rings, 
 watch-rings, ear-rings, chains, bracelets, 
 buckles, clasps, &c. these lead to a large 
 consumption of gold in London and Birming- 
 ham, and to the employment of a considerable 
 number of persons. Some of these small 
 trinkets are made of solid gold, some with a 
 thin film of gold on a substratum of silver or 
 copper. Most of these articles are made by 
 persons who receive the material from manu- 
 facturers or wholesale dealers, and who em- 
 ploy a few apprentices and assistants to make 
 up the trinkets. Lathes, vices, rollers, ham- 
 mers, punches, files, draw-plates, wire-drawing 
 apparatus all these, on generally a small 
 scale, are employed in working up the gold to 
 the required form. 
 
 GO'NDOLA is the name given to the plea- 
 sure-boats at Venice, which are very numerous, 
 and serve, on its canals, for persons of all 
 classes to proceed from one district to another. 
 The gondola is shallow, long, and narrow, 
 ooking, as Byron describes it, like a coffin 
 n a canoe, owing to the black curtains, &c., 
 of the cabin in the centre. The gondolieri 
 once formed an important corporation, several 
 .housands hi number, and distinguished for 
 ,heir wit as well as for their skill and honesty. 
 The number of gondolas has greatly decreased 
 n consequence of the decline of the prosperity 
 of Venice. 
 
 GONG, is a Chinese musical instrument of 
 percussion, made of a mixed metal of copper 
 and tin, in form much like the cover of a 
 iarge culinary chaldron, being circular, vary- 
 ing from about fifteen to twenty inches in 
 diameter, and having a rim of from two to 
 three inches in depth, It is struck by a kind 
 
973 
 
 GONIOMETER 
 
 of drum-stick, the head of which is of hare 
 leather. It is a very sonorous and powerfu 
 instrument. 
 
 GONIO 'METER is an instrument em 
 ployed to determine the angle at which the 
 planes of crystals are inclined to each other 
 The common goniometer consists of two arms 
 of metal, like the letter X, turning on a joint 
 at the intersection. Two contiguous planes 
 of the crystal are placed hetween the shorter 
 arms, and a graduated arc hetween the longer 
 arms serves to measure the inclination of the 
 planes. As this instrument is incapable oi 
 affording results sufficiently accurate to deter 
 mine the species to which a crystal belongs, 
 we proceed to describe the more perfect in- 
 strument invented by Dr. Wollaston, and 
 called the reflective goniometer. This instru- 
 ment consists of a graduated circle mounted 
 upon a horizontal axis, to one extremity of 
 which is attached a moveable pin, having a 
 slit for the purpose of receiving a small brass 
 plate. To this plate the crystal is attached by 
 means of a piece of wax, so that it may pro- 
 ject beyond the edge of the plate. The pin 
 (which is provided with a vertical and hori- 
 zontal movement) is then raised or lowered 
 until the reflection of any convenient object 
 above appears to coincide with some other ob- 
 ject beneath. The instrument being thus 
 adjusted, the graduated circle is turned until 
 a similar reflection is obtained from the con- 
 tiguous side of the crystal. The arc which 
 the circle will then have described will be 
 equal to the supplement of the inclination of 
 the crystalline planes ; but, the margin of the 
 circle being graduated in an inverted order, 
 the true inclination is given without further 
 computation, and may be read off with consi- 
 derable accuracy. In turning the crystal, the 
 direction of the edge common to its two planes 
 should not be altered, and the rays in both 
 instances should be reflected from that portion 
 of the planes which is nearest to their common 
 edge, otherwise the observation will be affected 
 by parallax. By this instrument the inclina- 
 tion of planes, whose area is less than the 
 100,000th part of a square inch, may be de- 
 termined, by means of a vernier, within a 
 minute of a degree. 
 
 GOOSE-FEATHERS. The product which 
 chiefly renders the goose valuable in the Arts, 
 is noticed under FEATHERS. 
 
 GOOSEBERRY. In the manufacturing 
 districts of .Lancashire, and the adjoining 
 counties, the cultivation of the gooseberry has 
 been brought to surprising perfection, at least 
 as regards the size of the fruit; and this 
 chiefly by the manufacturing classes, in con- 
 sequence of prizes being awarded to success - 
 
 GRADUATING INSTRUMENTS. 974 
 
 ful competitors at the gooseberry-show meet- 
 ings. Judging from the quality of the varie- 
 ties grown for competition in this way, it ap- 
 pears that weight is the only qualification 
 required. 
 
 GOTHEBORG, or GOTHENBURG, a 
 town in Sweden, is in a very thriving state. 
 Its commerce is extensive and very active, 
 especially with England. About 600 vessels 
 are engaged in its trade with foreign coun- 
 tries, and nearly as many in that with other 
 Swedish harbours. Its exports consist chiefly 
 of iron and steel, timber, tar, and pitch. Many 
 vessels are built here. The manufactures, 
 though numerous, are on a small scale. 
 
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. We can 
 only touch on this large subject in the pre- 
 sent work so far as regards brief descriptions, 
 under their several headings, of the mecha- 
 nical structure involved in the chief parts of a 
 gothic building. 
 
 GOTTINGEN, a principality of the king- 
 dom of Hanover, has large forests and good 
 pastures. The mineral products are iron, 
 salt, basalt, freestone, millstones, potter's and 
 porcelain clays, coals, and alum. The manu- 
 factures consist of linen yarn and linens, iron 
 and copper ware, deals, mirrors, glass, pottery, 
 woollens, leather, paper, &c. The chief town 
 also called Gottingen, is more famous for its 
 University than for its industry and com- 
 merce. The expenditure of those connected 
 with the university forms the principal means 
 of subsistence to the inhabitants; but they 
 iave however considerable manufactures of 
 woollens, tobacco, leather, soap and candles, 
 musical and scientific instruments, stock- 
 ngs, &c. 
 
 GOURD, a kind of fruit obtained from 
 various plants of the natural order Cucurbi- 
 acece. In countries having hot and dry sum- 
 mers the different kinds of this fruit are held 
 n high estimation, and are a valuable article 
 of consumption, acquiring a very large size, 
 abounding in nutritious matter, and being 
 noreover very wholesome. The largest is the 
 tind called Potiron Jaune by the French, 
 vhich sometimes weighs above 2 cwts. 
 
 GRADUATING INSTRUMENTS. The 
 name of graduation is given to the marking of 
 legrees and fractions of a degree, on mathe- 
 iiatical and astronomical instruments. This 
 graduation, or, as the workmen more generally 
 tyle it, dividing, is performed in two ways, by 
 naking a copy of a system of divisions already 
 xisting, or by original dividing. The straight 
 cales and rules which are in common use in 
 ases of drawing instruments, are divided 
 bus : The original pattern, and the scale on 
 which the copy is to be laid, are placed side 
 
975 GRADUATING INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 by side ; a straight edge, with a shoulder at 
 right angles, like a carpenter's square, is made 
 to slide along the original, stopping at each 
 division, when a corresponding stroke is cut 
 by the dividing knife on the copy. With care 
 and practice, this method admits of consider- 
 able accuracy. By making the straight edge 
 turn on the centre of a divided circle, the 
 divisions of that circle may be copied upon 
 any concentric circle. Common protractors 
 are thus divided, and scales upon circular 
 limbs. The original circle, which may have 
 several orders of divisions for different pur- 
 poses, is called a dividing plate. 
 
 Theodolites and ordinary circular instru- 
 ments were thus divided, previous to the in- 
 vention by Ramsden of his dividing engine. 
 The general principle of this engine may per- 
 haps be imderstood by the following descrip- 
 tion : A horizontal circle of four feet diameter 
 turns upon a vertical axis ; the outer edge is 
 ratched, or notched, by an endless screw, one 
 revolution of which carries the circle round 
 10', or one-sixth of a degree ; the pressure of 
 the foot upon a treadle turns the screw for- 
 ward, and there is a series of very ingenious 
 contrivances which enable the divider to turn 
 the screw through any portion of its revolution 
 at each descent of the treadle, and which 
 restores the position of the parts, when the 
 foot is taken off, without allowing any return 
 motion to the screw. The circle to be divided 
 is fixed upon the dividing engine, and made 
 concentric with it, and a division cut after each 
 pressure of the foot. The Board of Longitude 
 gave Ramsden a reward of 300/. for the in- 
 vention of this machine, and 315J. for the 
 machine itself, leaving it, during pleasure, in 
 his possession, on condition that he would 
 divide sextants at six shillings and octants at 
 three, for other mathematical instrument 
 makers. Machines of a similar kind, with 
 some alterations and improvements have since 
 been constructed by John Troughton, Edward 
 Troughton, and others, and these are still 
 employed in all instruments which are not 
 large enough, or not sufficiently valuable, to 
 require original dividing. 
 
 Dividing engines have been constructed 
 somewhat differently by Reichenbach and 
 others in Germany, and by Gambey in Paris. 
 Much of the German division is excellent, 
 and probably superior to any English engine- 
 dividing. It is understood to be performed 
 by copying. A large circle having been divided 
 originally with great care, the copy is placed 
 upon it, and concentric with it. A microscope 
 is fixed independently over the divided circle, 
 the divisions are brought in succession under 
 the wires of the micrometer, and a line is cut 
 
 GRAINS OF PARADISE. 976 
 
 in the copy after each bisection. This pro- 
 cess is much more tedious than the English 
 engine dividing, but it admits of the greatest 
 accuracy when the workman is careful and 
 expert. 
 
 Original dividing, by which the dividing 
 engines themselves are graduated, and which 
 is employed for the highest class of astrono- 
 mical instruments, is a process requiring all 
 the resources of delicate mechanical and 
 mathematical art. 
 
 GRAIN. In the common weights and 
 measures of this country, a grain is the smallest 
 weight now in use. It is of about the weight 
 of a seed of wheat corn, and must therefore 
 be considered rather as a theoretical aliquot 
 part of a larger weight than as itself a proper 
 standard of weight. By a statute of 1206, it 
 was enacted that 32 grains of wheat, taken 
 out of the middle of the ear, and well dried, 
 should weigh a pennyweight, of which 20 
 should make an ounce, of which 12 should 
 make a pound. Consequently the pound (troy) 
 of this period consisted of 7680 grains, whereas 
 that afterwards in use had only 5760. The 
 reason was, that it became usual to divide the 
 same pennyweight into 24. instead of 32 grains. 
 The grain lost much of its importance by the 
 introduction of the averdupois pound, of 
 which it is not a constituent aliquot part. 
 The ancient averdupois pound is variously 
 stated at from 7009 grains to less than 7000, 
 at which latter number it is now fixed by law. 
 
 The \jreight of one grain is obtained, for 
 practical purposes, without difficulty, by 
 weighing a thin plate of metal of uniform 
 thickness, and cutting out by measurement 
 such a proportion of the whole plate as should 
 give one grain. But a much better plan is to 
 draw a given weight of ductile metal into very 
 thin wire, and to cut from the wire that length 
 which is the same proportion of the whole 
 length as a grain is of the whole weight. In 
 this way pieces of wire are obtained for chemi- 
 cal purposes which weigh only the thousandth 
 part of a grain ; and even less weights might 
 be obtained, if it were necessary. 
 
 Another popular use of the word grain is as 
 a synonyme of corn; for a few statistical 
 details concerning which we may refer to 
 CORN TRADE. Adding here, however, a later 
 item, concerning the Corn Trade of 1850. In 
 that year the grain or corn imported into 
 Great Britain amounted to 7,969,435 quarters ; 
 while the various kinds of flour and meal im- 
 ported were 3,873,908 cwts. Nearly half of 
 the grain imported was wheat; and nearly all 
 the meal was wheat-meal or ilour. 
 
 GRAINS OF PARADISE are hot, acrid, 
 aromatic seeds, obtained from the coast of 
 
or: 
 
 GRANADA. 
 
 GRANITE. 
 
 978 
 
 Guinea, and used for medicinal and other 
 purposes as stomachic and cordial stimulants. 
 They are produced by the Amomum Grana- 
 Paradisi of Linnseus, and Amomum grandi- 
 florum of Smith. 
 
 GRANADA. This beautiful Spanish pro- 
 vince is covered with a luxuriant vegetation. 
 The sumach and the cork trees, the oak bearing 
 the edible fruit, and many other valuable trees 
 and shrubs, form the extensive thickets of 
 the Sierras. The soil is very productive and 
 the agriculture good. Metals are abundant in 
 the mountains. Near Cangajar alone there 
 are 117 lead mines. Copper ore lies on the 
 surface in many places ; antimony and quick- 
 silver are found near Malaga, and molybdenum 
 at Ronda. Coal is found on the margins of 
 the Beiro and of the Alfacar, near the capital. 
 Exquisite marbles, jaspers, and alabaster, are 
 abundant. 
 
 The famous city of Granada, the capital of 
 the province, has fallen from its ancient gran- 
 deur. It still has, however, a royal manufac- 
 tory for saltpetre and gunpowder, and several 
 manufactories of silk stuffs, such as velvet, 
 taffetas, satin, handkerchiefs, and ribands. 
 The sewing silk of Granada is preferred to all 
 others. 
 
 There is yet another Granada the New 
 Granada of South America, one of the lately 
 formed republics of that continent. The 
 productions of New Granada include cacao, 
 cotton, coffee, tobacco, indigo, rice, and sugar. 
 The forests furnish Nicaragua and Brasiletto 
 wood, fustic, and logwood. To these may be 
 added the Cinchona, or Peruvian bark. The 
 numerous herds which pasture on the Llanos 
 furnish hides and tasajo, or dried meat 
 horses, mules, and horned cattle are exported 
 to the YVest Indies. The mineral riches are 
 considerable, and mostly occur on the western 
 declivity of the three chains of the Andes 
 They consist of gold, silver, platinum, mer- 
 cury, copper, lead, iron, and rock-salt. The 
 produce of gold seems to be on the increase 
 but has not yet attained the quantity which 
 was got before the war of independence. Iror 
 and coal are found in the mountains border 
 ing on the table land of Bogota : some attempts 
 have been made to work the iron-mines, anc 
 the coal is used in the smithies and for th 
 steamboats. Rock salt and salt springs occur 
 The manufacturing industry is not important 
 It is limited to woollen and cotton stuffs of a 
 coarse texture, only adapted for the use of th< 
 lower classes, and mostly made by the con 
 sumers. British produce and manufactures 
 were exported to New Granada in 1848 to th< 
 value of 247,9 16/. : the chief port of debarka 
 tion being Cartagena. 
 
 GRANULATION. This term is applied to 
 a process by which metal is reduced to the 
 tate of small fragments. While the metal, 
 uch as silver or copper, is in a melted state, 
 t is forced into an iron vessel filled with holes ; 
 t passes through these holes, into a pool of 
 water, or upon a bundle of twigs soaked in 
 water, and becomes thus solidified into small 
 globular fragments like shot : indeed the 
 making of shot is thus conducted. [Snoi 
 MANUFACTURE]. Silver alloys are granulated 
 Drevious to refining; and copper is brought 
 ;o the state called bean shot, by granula- 
 tion. 
 
 GRANITE. This is one of the most abun- 
 dant rocks seen at or near the surface of the 
 earth. It underlies the stratified rocks, and 
 appears at some remote geological sera to have 
 been in a fluid state from the effect of intense 
 heat. 
 
 Granite is one of the most beautiful of rocks, 
 and viewed mineralogically its composition is 
 remarkable. Mica, felspar, and quartz, in 
 distinct crystals, or else filling interstices be- 
 tween crystals, constitute the typical varieties ; 
 but other minerals, such as hornblende, acti- 
 nolite, chlorite, talc, compact felspar, steatite, 
 garnet, zircon, &c., enter into and sometimes 
 considerably modify the aspect of granite, 
 especially in colour, which varies much. Ex- 
 cept in a few cases, granite, as its name im- 
 plies, shows the grains of its component parts ; 
 the size of these varies extremely. Granite is 
 indeed rather a name for a mode of aggrega- 
 tion than for a definite chemical or even mine- 
 ralogical structure ; and the varieties are thus 
 too numerous to be distinctly named. 
 
 Granite is largely employed in building, 
 especially in the more important engineering 
 works. New London Bridge affords a beauti- 
 ful instance of its use. It is also much em- 
 ployed in paving the London streets. When 
 polished it presents a fine appearance; but 
 the polishing is a work of great labour, on ac- 
 count of the hardness of the stone. Aber- 
 cleenshire, Devon, and Cornwall, furnish our 
 chief supplies of granite. 
 
 A very large block of granite, upwards of 20 
 feet long, and of the finest quality and colour, 
 has lately been raised by the Cheesewring 
 Granite Company, at their quarries, on the 
 Cheesewring-hill, near Liskeard, which is in- 
 tended to be sent to the Great Exhibition of 
 1851. The mass of stone, of which this formed 
 a portion of the quarry, contained by measure- 
 ment the extraordinary quantity of above 4,000 
 cubic feet, or about 300 tons in Aveight. 
 
 A fine specimen of Irish granite is also to 
 be exhibited, obtained from the Ballyholland 
 quarries near Newry. 
 
979 
 
 GRAPE SHOT. 
 
 GRAVITY, CENTRE OF 
 
 980 
 
 GRAPE-SHOT is an assemblage, in the 
 form of a column, of nine balls resting on a 
 circular plate, through which passes a pin 
 serving as an axis. The ball are contained in 
 a strong canvass bag, and are bound together 
 on the exterior of the latter by a cord disposed 
 about the column in the manner of a net. 
 
 GRAPES; GRAPE-VINE. The delicious 
 and well-known fruit of the vine is used as an 
 article of diet in several ways. Its agreeable 
 sweet acid flavour when ripe has always ren- 
 dered it a very desirable food when fresh. The 
 ancients also, there can be little doubt, were in 
 the habit of drinking the expressed juice of the 
 grape before fermentation. Grapes are also 
 dried and used under the name of Raisins. 
 The drying is generally effected by cutting 
 half through the fruit-stalk whilst they are 
 suspended on the tree. Grapes thus dried are 
 called Muscatel Raisins, and are principally 
 brought from Spain and the Levant. The 
 most extensive use of the grape is for the pur- 
 pose of making wine. [WiNE.J 
 
 Although our climate does not permit of the 
 grape attaining its greatest perfection in the 
 open air, yet in the forcing system of culti- 
 vating grapes by heat, Great Britain probably 
 produces the most delicious grapes in the 
 world. But even hi the open air in the 
 southern counties of England, if proper care 
 is taken, very good fruit may be obtained. 
 
 Grapes may be kept by packing them in 
 jars, each branch separately wrapped in paper. 
 The bunches and layers of fruit are to be 
 separated by well-dried bran; bran is also 
 laid above and below the grapes ; and there 
 are finally laid over the top a piece of paper, 
 a stretched piece of bladder, and a well fitting 
 cover to the jar. 
 
 Sugar is obtained from grapes, by saturating 
 the juice with chalk, decanting the clear liquid, 
 evaporating to a syrup, clarifying with white 
 of egg, and then evaporating. It is less 
 sweetening than al-sugar. 
 
 Grapes to the value of 30,0007. to 40,000/. 
 are annually imported. 
 
 GRASS LAND includes water-meadows, 
 upland pastures, and artificial meadows. The 
 first are briefly treated of under IRRIGATION. 
 Upland pastures are portions of land on which 
 the natural grasses grow spontaneously, vary- 
 ing in quantity and quality with the soil and 
 situation. When a pasture is naturally rich, 
 the only care required is to stock it judiciously, 
 to move the cattle frequently from one spot to 
 another, and to eradicate certain plants which 
 are useless or noxious. The urine of the cattle 
 is the manure which chiefly keeps up the fer- 
 tility of grass land. A poor arid soil is not 
 fitted for grass, nor one which is too wet from 
 
 Lhe abundance of springs and the want o out- 
 Let for the water. These defects can only be 
 remedied by expensive improvements. 
 
 When an arable field is sown with the seeds 
 of grasses and other plants which give her- 
 bage for cattle, it is caDed an artificial meadow. 
 The introduction of the artificial meadows in 
 districts where the soil seemed not well adapted 
 for pasture has greatly increased the number 
 of cattle and sheep reared and fattened, and 
 has caused greater attention to be paid to the 
 means of improving the breeds of both. In 
 the neighbourhood of large towns there are 
 many meadows, Avhich, without being irrigated, 
 are mown every year, and only fed between 
 hay harvest arid the next spring. The manage- 
 ment of this grass land is well understood in 
 Middlesex. An acre of good grazing land, 
 worth 40s. rent, is supposed to produce 200 Ibs. 
 of meat in the year. 
 
 GRASSES. There is a great difference 
 between the value of grasses for pasture ; cer- 
 tain kinds suit the meadows, others marshes, 
 others upland fields, and others bleak and 
 sterile hills, where they furnish valuable food 
 for sheep : these kinds will not grow indis- 
 criminately, or are not equally suitable for 
 different soils and situations, and it is there- 
 fore essential for the husbandman that he 
 should be capable of discriminating between 
 them. Some indicate the quantity of soil. 
 The same remarks are applicable to the grasses 
 used for various purposes in the manufac- 
 turing arts. The principal grasses useful to 
 man are described in this work under their 
 usual commercial names. 
 
 GRAVEL. This name is usually given to 
 the small fragments of rocks which have been 
 drifted by any force of water over the surface 
 of the earth. Whether the gravel observed at 
 any spot was transported along the natural 
 drainage hollows of the surface ; and whether 
 the waters descending these valleys performed 
 the effects while flowing at higher levels, under 
 the influence of dams, lakes, or other pecu- 
 liarities ; become interesting questions in con- 
 nection with the past history of the earth's 
 surface. But in relation to the industrial 
 arts, gravel is not much used except as a ma- 
 terial for roads, paths, terraces, &c. 
 
 GRAVITY, CENTRE OF. If a lever 
 were balanced by means of two solid spheres 
 of uniform density hung at the ends, the equi- 
 librium would still remain if all the matter of 
 either of the spheres could be concentrated at 
 its centre ; the centre of the sphere is then its 
 centre of gravity. When a body is suspended 
 by a string, and allowed to find its position of 
 rest, the centre of gravity is in the line of con- 
 tinuation of the string. 
 
981 
 
 GKAVITY, SPECIFIC. 
 
 GREEN. 
 
 982 
 
 In eveiy kind of machinery this important 
 law, by which the centre of gravity always 
 tends to assume the lowest place, is kept con- 
 stantly in view in arranging the weight of 
 different parts of a machine or engine. 
 
 GRAVITY, SPECIFIC. [SPECIFIC GRA- 
 VITY.] 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN. The industrial sta- 
 tistics of Great Britain are briefly glanced at 
 under the headings ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, 
 WALES, the names of counties, and the names 
 of the chief towns and rivers ; as well as under 
 such headings as CUSTOMS DUTIES, EXCISE 
 DUTIES, FACTORIES, IMPORTS AND EXPORTS, 
 SHIPPING, &c. Beyond the features which 
 illustrate produce, industry, and commerce, 
 we have nothing to do with geography in this 
 work. A few data under our present heading 
 will suffice. 
 
 Great Britain has about 84,000 square miles 
 of surface, and about 4000 miles of coast-line. 
 There are seven rivers JOO miles or more in 
 length, viz., Thames 200, Severn 190, Tay 
 150, Trent 144, Ouse 120, Wye 120, and 
 Tweed 100 ; these seven rivers, with their tri- 
 butaries, drain about 24,000 square miles of 
 surface. There were in 1827 (since which 
 year new inclosures and cultivation have gra- 
 dually increased) about 14 million acres of 
 farms and gardens, 21 million acres of meadows, 
 pastures, and marshes, 10 million acres of 
 improveable wastes, and 13 million acres of 
 unimproveable wastes. It is a useful fact to 
 bear in mind, (with sufficient accuracy for 
 general comparison) that Ireland and Scot- 
 land have about equal areas, and that Ireland 
 and Scotland united have an area about equal 
 to that of England and Wales united. In re- 
 spect to population these ratios altogether fail, 
 for England is more populous than the other 
 three combined. 
 
 GREECE. This once celebrated country 
 has little to interest us in respect to its present 
 industry and commerce. In the plains of the 
 Morea the peasantry are not proprietors, all 
 the land belonging either to the state or to the 
 wealthy families of the primates or archontes. 
 In the mountains there is a great number of 
 small proprietors, generally thrifty and indus- 
 trious husbandmen. The resources of the 
 continental part of the kingdom are derived 
 chiefly from agriculture. There are about 
 120,000 families of cultivators of the soil, of 
 which 20,000 are proprietors. The vineyards 
 are almost all private property. There are 
 also about 215,000 olive trees, chiefly in Attica, 
 Megaris, and the eparchy of Salona, a great 
 part of which is national property. Greece 
 produces about two-thirds of the corn required 
 for its consumption. Wheat, barley, and 
 
 Indian corn are the species cultivated ; oats 
 and rye are not in use. Tobacco thrives, es- 
 pecially near Argos and Calamata, and cotton 
 grows also in considerable quantity. The 
 wine made is enough for the home consump- 
 tion ; it is generally good -bodied, but for want 
 of proper management in making it, and of 
 cellars, it does not keep beyond a year or two. 
 Currants are cultivated in various districts, 
 especially in the eparchies of Patras and Yos - 
 titza, and are of excellent quality. The olives 
 are of good quality, but the art of pressing 
 and refining the oil is very imperfectly under- 
 stood, and the oil is inferior to that of Pro- 
 vence. Silk is made in Messenia and Laconica, 
 and also at Tinos, and in other islands, but is 
 inferior to the Italian silk. The almond, the 
 fig, the chestnut, the orange, and the lemon 
 thrive well. Horned cattle are not numerous, 
 nor sufficient for the labours of the field, for 
 which they are almost exclusively used, and 
 oxen are imported for that purpose from 
 Thessaly and Asia Minor. There, are, how- 
 ever, numerous flocks of sheep and goats, 
 which migrate to the mountains in the spring, 
 and return to the plains after the harvest. 
 The produce of wool is considerable, but of a 
 coarse kind, and is used chiefly for home 
 manufacture. Pigs are scarce, except in 
 Arcadia. The only milk used is that of ewes 
 and goats, and the butter and cheese made of 
 it is very inferior. The fine forests with 
 which the mountains were once clothed have 
 been sadly wasted, and for the most part en- 
 tirely destroyed. 
 
 The commerce and navigation of Greece 
 are centered in the ports of Nauplia, Mesol- 
 onghi, Patras, Galaxidi, and the islands of 
 Hydra, Spezia, and, above all, Syra. The 
 number of Greek merchant vessels is some- 
 what over 1000, exclusive of small craft, or 
 coasting boats. The extensive line of coast 
 and the numerous islands supply a multitude 
 of good sailors. The principal traffic of the 
 Greek vessels is the carrying trade between 
 the ports of the Mediterranean and the Black 
 Sea. The Exports from Great Britain to 
 Greece in 1848 amounted in value to 284,8347. 
 Among the imports from Greece in the same 
 year were 225,175 cwts. of currants, being more 
 than half of our consumption. 
 
 GREEN. In dyeing green, the usual cus- 
 tom is to impart a blue dye first, and then 
 change this to a proper tint by a yellow dye. 
 The same principle is followed in many kinds 
 of painting ; a lively green being produced by 
 a mixture of blue and yellow pigments ; and 
 a dingy green by a mixture of blue with orange 
 or with yellowish brown. There are, how- 
 ever, many green pigments produced without 
 
983 
 
 GREENHOUSE. 
 
 GRINDSTONES. 
 
 984 
 
 this admixture. Green bice is a carbonate of 
 copper. Brunswick green is a carbonate of 
 copper, mixed with chalk, white lead, alumina, 
 or magnesia. Friesland green is an oxychlo- 
 ride of copper. Scheele's green is an arsenite 
 of copper. Prussian green is a modification of 
 Prussian blue. Sap green is prepared from 
 the juice of buckthorn berries. Iris green is 
 prepared from the juice of the petals of the 
 blue flag plant. Verditer is a mixture of oxide 
 of copper with whiting. 
 
 GREENHOUSE. Structures of this kind 
 were formerly erected with slated roofs, like 
 dwelling-houses, and with large upright win- 
 dows in front, divided and supported by pillars ; 
 examples of which may yet be seen in several 
 of the royal gardens about London, and also 
 in different parts of the country. It was soon 
 found that handsome specimens of plants could 
 not be grown hi houses of this description, 
 and the only purpose to which they are now 
 applied is the growing of orange or lemon 
 trees, and protecting other plants in winter. 
 The best kinds of greenhouses are those with 
 span -roofs, which are often built in the follow- 
 ing manner : a neat wall, about three feet 
 high, is built round the front and ends ; the 
 back wall being about two-thirds of the height 
 of the roof. Along the top of the front wall a 
 row of glass sashes, eighteen inches hi height, 
 is placed upon the brickwork, which will raise 
 the front to 4J feet. The span-roof will then 
 be supported upon this in front, and its back 
 sashes will rest upon the back wall. A green- 
 house should always, if possible, front the 
 south. 
 
 To what extent the increased use of glass, 
 noticed under CONSERVATORY, will be available 
 for greenhouses, it rests with gardeners to 
 decide. 
 
 GREENOCK. This busy Clyde port has a 
 harbour which, at the beginning of the last 
 century, was only fit for the reception of fish- 
 ing boats ; but ten acres were afterwards en- 
 closed between two circular quays ; and subse- 
 quent improvements have rendered the outer 
 harbour available for ships of large burden. 
 This has been the means of raising the place 
 to an important position as a sea-port. The 
 number of vessels belonging to the port is 
 about 450. Ship building is extensively carried 
 on in and near the town ; and great commer- 
 cial activity is observable. The large Customs' 
 returns at Greenock are noticed under GLAS- 
 GOW. Greenock is, in many particulars, a 
 port for Glasgow. 
 
 GRENADE, frequently called hand-grenade, 
 is a shell or hollow ball of iron, 2 inches in 
 diameter, which, being charged with powder 
 and provided with a fuze, is thrown as a mis- 
 
 sile during sieges. As soon as the compo- 
 sition in the fuze is consumed, the fire com- 
 municates with the powder, and the ball is 
 burst in fragments. 
 
 GRENOBLE. In this ancient town, for- 
 merly the capital of Dauphine, in the south 
 of France, the chief manufactures are kid 
 gloves, of which about two million francs' 
 worth are exported to England and America 
 annually ; liqueurs, chamois and other leather. 
 The dressing of hemp gives employment to 
 about 1000 workmen. The trade of the place 
 is much promoted by the navigation of the 
 Isere; other articles of trade are wrought iron, 
 marble, and timber. 
 
 GRIMSBY. This Lincolnshire port has 
 hitherto been a place of little importance ; but 
 the extensive works now progressing under 
 Mr. Rendel, will render it a commercial em- 
 porium of considerable rank. There is already 
 a dock at Grimsby, but it is wholly above the 
 level of high water mark, and is supplied with 
 water by land streams. Between that level 
 and low water mark is an unsightly mass of 
 muddy shore ; and it is this useless expanse 
 which Mr. Rendel is bringing into requisition 
 by forming magnificent docks. About 130 
 acres are to be enclosed, of which part will 
 form a dock, and the rest will afford sites for 
 wharfs and warehouses. The water area of 
 the dock will be 27 acres ; there will be 5000 
 feet of dock wharfage, and 6000 feet of river 
 wall. There will be a basin of 11 acres, to 
 connect the dock with the Humber ; and two 
 piers of 600 feet long each will bound the 
 basin on the east and west. Such is the full 
 scope of the plan proposed by Mr. Rendel, 
 part of which is now being carried out by the 
 Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company, 
 to whom the works belong. 
 
 GRINDSTONES. The stones used for 
 sharpening cutting instruments vary greatly 
 in texture, from the roughest grindstones to 
 the smoothest hones. The sizes are equally 
 varied ; some of the stones used by the saw- 
 grinders of Sheffield are as much as seven 
 feet in diameter. The grindstones for table- 
 knives are from three to four feet in diameter, 
 and six niches thick ; they are formed of a 
 species of sandstone. In one of the large 
 grinding establishments in that town, where 
 cutlery from pen-knives to saws are ground, 
 the grindstones are of all sizes, from four 
 inches to seven feet in diameter. There are 
 many quarries in England from which stone 
 fitted for such purposes may be obtained. 
 Some grinding wheels have a surface of crocus 
 or of emery applied to them, to aid in parti- 
 cular kinds of grinding. 
 
 The grinding and sharpening stones pre- 
 
985 
 
 GRIT. 
 
 GUANO. 
 
 986 
 
 pared by Mr. Meinig, present a remarkable 
 variety. He has natural grindstones, from 
 quarries belonging to himself, of ninety-seven 
 different diameters, from 1 J to 24 inches ; and 
 of thirteen degrees of thickness, from an 
 eighth of an inch to 3 inches. The same 
 sandstone is cut into other shapes, for various 
 abrading processes. German hones are pre 
 pared for sharpening fine tools; whereas a 
 kind called green-water hones are used for 
 giving an edge to razors and lancets. Turkey 
 oil-stone presents five different degrees of 
 hardness and texture to suit different modes 
 of application. Petrified wood is employed as 
 a material for whetstones or hones ; it can he 
 cut into the form of wheels, up to three or 
 four inches in diameter. 
 
 GRIT. Hard sandstones are called grits 
 in the north of England, and indeed many 
 soft sandstones are so termed. In particular 
 districts some distinctive terms are applied, as 
 millstone grit, red grit, white grit, grindstone 
 grit, &c. Almost universally in the north of 
 England the term Freestone belongs to such 
 gritstones as will work easily and to a good 
 face. 
 
 GRITS or GROATS. This useful material 
 for gruel is made of oat seeds deprived of their 
 husks. When bruised, ready for use, they 
 are denominated Embden grits, or prepared 
 or patent groats or grits. A greater or smaller 
 quantity of these are to be used to a pint of 
 water, according to the object in view. When 
 employed for an article of nourishment, the 
 gruel may be made thick; when required as a 
 demulcent or diluent, to promote perspiration 
 at the commencement of a cold, it should be 
 thin. This is regarded as a light and diges- 
 tible article for invalids. The husks are fre- 
 quently steeped in water for a few days, and 
 then drained off. The liquid when boiled 
 stiffens into a dish called sowens in Scotland. 
 This is slightly acid, and forms with milk a 
 favourite food of the peasantry for supper. 
 
 GRODNO, a government of Russia in 
 Europe, produces quantities of barley, rye, 
 oats, hops, hemp, and flax. The crown holds 
 a great number of the forests, which abound 
 chiefly in pine. Horned cattle and sheep are 
 numerous. Much wax and honey are made. 
 The minerals consist of iron, limestone, clay, 
 chalk, and saltpetre. The manufactures of 
 the province are woollen cloths, hats, leather, 
 paper, and spirits. There is a good export 
 trade in grain, wool, cattle, and timber, with 
 Memel, Riga, and Konigsberg. 
 
 GROINS are the lines formed by the inter- 
 section of arched vaultings. Such intersec- 
 tions are called ' groinings,' and the vaultings 
 ' groined arches.' Groins, which arose in the 
 
 first instance out of the simple intersection 
 of arches, were in later times the foundation 
 of an extensive system of decoration. This 
 system is exemplified in the elaborately 
 groined ceilings of many of our ecclesiastical 
 buildings. Groined arches are constructed 
 of stone, brick, and wood and plaster. When 
 constructed with stone or brick, a centering 
 of wood is used to turn the arch and form its 
 groins. Great nicety is required in the exe- 
 cution of the groined work, and the best work- 
 men among bricklayers and masons are always 
 selected. 
 
 GUAIAGUM. This is the name of a genus 
 of small crooked trees inhabiting several of 
 the West India Islands, in low places near 
 the sea. The most remarkable species yields 
 the hard, compact, black-green wood called 
 Lignum Vita, which is so heavy that it sinks 
 in water, and from which pestles, ship-blocks, 
 rollers, castors, &c., are turned. The same 
 species also produces the gum-resin known in 
 medicine under the name of Gum Guaiacum. 
 For medicinal purposes, the wood should be 
 procured from the central part of the trunk, as 
 being the richest in the active principle. This 
 wood is very dense, heavier than water, of an 
 obscure greenish fawn colour ; but the recent 
 fracture is yellowish, exhibiting an unequal 
 cleavage, with a fatty shining appearance, if 
 the specimen be good. The wood of the cir- 
 cumference is lighter, both in colour and 
 weight, pale fawn, and opake. Genuine guaiac- 
 wood or lignum vitse is destitute of smell, but 
 if rubbed, and still more if set on fire, it 
 evolves an agreeable aromatic odour. If long 
 chewed, the taste is peculiar, guttural and 
 bitterish. The wood is less used than the 
 resin. Guaiac-resin .exudes spontaneously, 
 or in consequence of incisions, and hardens 
 on the bark. Resin obtained in this way is 
 generally in spherical or long tear-shaped 
 pieces. 
 
 Guaiac possesses the property of stimulating 
 he system generally. It is not prized now so 
 aighly as on its introduction into European 
 aractice in the sixteenth century, when it bore 
 a most extravagant price, four ducats being 
 often given for a pound of the wood. It is 
 lowever a useful medicine, and the wood is 
 applied to many purposes in the arts. 
 
 GUANO. This valuable manure is the 
 excrement of sea -fowl, and appears to 
 have been used as a manure long before 
 Peru was visited by the Spaniards. A recent 
 German traveller, Meyer, says, ' Along almost 
 the whole coast of Peru this excrementitious 
 matter covers the small islands and cliffs near 
 the coast, and on some spots lies in such 
 enormous beds as could only be produced by 
 
987 
 
 GUEENSEY. 
 
 GUM. 
 
 988 
 
 the accumulation of thousands of years.' 
 About the commencement of 1843 guano was 
 discovered on the island of Ichaboe, about 
 two miles and a half from the main land of 
 Africa, in 20 13' S. lat., and 14 15' E. long. 
 The place soon attracted notice, and by the 
 end of 1844 the whole of the guano had been 
 carried away. As many as 350 ships have 
 been anchored off the island at the same time. 
 The guano was from 35 to 38 feet in depth, 
 and the deposit extended to a length of about 
 1100 feet, with an average width of 400 feet. 
 Towards the close of 1844 another guano 
 island (Malagas) was discovered at the en- 
 trance of Saldanha Bay. The guano covers 
 an extent of about eight miles, and the thick- 
 ness is from about four yards to eight yards. 
 It has been supposed that the excrement of 
 the sea-fowl which swarm on some parts of 
 the coast of Great Britain might be used as a 
 fertiliser with the same results as Peruvian or 
 African guano ; but the quantity which could 
 be collected is comparatively small, as the 
 animal accumulation is in most cases washed 
 away by the rains, and the valuable properties 
 of that which remains are dissipated by the 
 changeable nature of our climate. 
 
 The value of guano is to be estimated ac- 
 cording to the proportions which it contains 
 of 1, ammonia; 2, phosphates; 3, organic 
 matter. African guano has the largest pro- 
 portion of soluble matter, and that from Peru 
 is remarkable for the quantity of uric acid 
 that it contains, an element which dissolves 
 very slowly. It is said that 4 cwts. of guano, 
 which is the usual quantity applied to one 
 acre, are equal in effect to fifteen tons of farm- 
 yard dung. It is usually mixed with pulverised 
 earth to prevent it from coming in contact 
 with the seeds. For small allotments or gar- 
 dens it is often most convenient to use guano 
 in a liquid state, in which case 41bs. of guano 
 may be mixed with twelve gallons of Avater, 
 and used after it has stood twelve hours, and 
 the proportion per acre may be from a half 
 to one cwt. of guano to 160 gallons of water. 
 
 The quantity of guano imported in the last 
 four years has been very considerable : 
 
 1847 .. .. 82,134 tons. 
 
 1848 .. .. 71,414 
 
 1849 .. .. 83,438 
 
 1850 .. .. 116,926 
 GUERNSEY. In this member of the Chan- 
 nel Islands group, the pursuits of agriculture 
 are carefully attended to ; as much as 54 Win- 
 chester bushels of wheat have been raised per 
 acre. The ashes of sea- weed are the manure 
 chiefly used for corn crops. Pied-wheat is the 
 chief of these crops. Neither sheep nor 
 horses are carefully reared ; but the breeding 
 
 of cattle, especially of cows, is an object of 
 great attention. The dairy is on all farms of 
 any size the principal object of attention, and 
 the chief source of the fanner's profit. The 
 butter that is made is in high repute. English 
 fruits, and fruits of more southern climates, 
 are much cultivated. The shores are abun- 
 dantly supplied with fish. The manufacturing 
 industry of Guernsey is but small ; and the 
 same may be said of the little islands near it 
 Alder/icy, Serk, Ilcrm, and Jethou. There 
 is steam communication to Guernsey from 
 Southampton, Plymouth, Torquay, St. Malo, 
 and Granville. 
 
 GUINEA. Many parts of the region of 
 West Africa, known by the name of Guinea, 
 are rich in produce winch gives rise to much 
 commerce. Thus, in the country called the 
 Grain Coast, the valleys produce rich crops of 
 rice, which is exported to a large amount. 
 Cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, poultry, rice, pepper, 
 camwood, and ivory are abundant. The Ivory 
 Coast and the Slave Coast are the names of 
 other portions of Guinea, the produce of which 
 is exported to various countries. Sierra Leone 
 will call for a word of notice elsewhere, in 
 respect to its produce and commerce. [SIERRA 
 LEONE.] 
 
 GUITAR, This musical instrument, in 
 various shapes, may be traced to the remotest 
 periods of antiquity. It was often called 
 Cittern and Gittcrn by the old English poets. 
 The English and French guitar of the last 
 century was wide and thin in body, short in 
 the neck, and strung with wire. The modern 
 guitar, which is of the Spanish kind, and dif- 
 fering little from the lute, consists of a body 
 from seventeen to eighteen inches in length, 
 four in depth, and of a neck of about sixteen 
 inches, the latter carrying a finger-board 
 divided by seventeen frets. It has six strings, 
 three being of silk covered with silvered wire, 
 and three of catgut. The compass of this 
 elegant instrument is from E below the base 
 staff to A above the treble staff, including all 
 the intermediate tones and semitones. The 
 best and cheapest guitars are made in Ger- 
 many. 
 
 GUM. This vegetable juice is of more 
 universal occurrence than any other secretion 
 by plants. It is the material generally pre- 
 pared by them for their own nourishment, 
 and is at first in a state of solution ; but 
 when it escapes to the exterior of the bark it 
 frequently becomes thickened, and even solid 
 and pulverisable. The purest gum (arabic) 
 consists of a principle termed ambtn, and is 
 soluble in water, forming with it a mucilage. 
 Other gums contain bassoriiie, either alone 
 or with arabin and other matters. The term 
 
089 
 
 GUM-KESINS. 
 
 GUN-MAKING. 
 
 090 
 
 gum is sometimes erroneously applied to gum 
 resins, such as assafoetida, &c. 
 
 Most of the commercial gums are obtain ec 
 by incisions made in the bark of severa 
 species of acacia growing in Arabia, India 
 Upper Egypt, Senegal, &c. The specimens 
 differ considerably in colour, even when ob 
 tained from the same species. Genuine gum- 
 arabic occurs in pieces from the size of a pea 
 to that of a walnut, or larger, which are irre 
 gular in shape, or roundish or angular ; either 
 white, yellowish, or dark wine-yellow ; scarcely 
 any odour; taste mawkish, glutinous. Gum. 
 when in powder, is often adulterated with 
 starch, the presence of which is detected by 
 tincture of iodine ; or, when cold water is 
 used for the solution of the gum, the starch 
 will remain undissolved. The mucilage made 
 with cold water is not only purer, but keeps 
 better, and for all purposes for which it can 
 be used is preferable to that made with warm 
 water, which is the common method. 
 
 Gum is highly nutritive, six ounces in 
 twenty-four hours being deemed sufficient to 
 sustain the life of an adult ; yet it is not very 
 easily digested when taken alone. Gum will 
 often pass through the stomach nearly un- 
 changed, if not associated with some bitter 
 or astringent principle. This property how- 
 ever renders it demulcent in affections both 
 of the throat and also of the intestines, by 
 sheathing the membrane from air or the 
 irritation of acrid secretions. Hence allowing 
 a portion to dissolve is also used to suspend 
 many insoluble matters in water. Its agglu- 
 tinating properties render it valuable in many 
 of the arts. 
 
 Of four kinds of gum which are enumerated 
 in the Board of Trade tables, the quantities 
 imported in 1848 were 
 
 Cwts. 
 
 Gum-arabic .. .. 24,022 
 Gum-Senegal .. .. 7,404 
 
 Gum-copal 2,958 
 
 Gum-tragacanth . . . . 234 
 GUM-KESINS are secretions of plants, 
 which are produced in the greatest quantity, 
 and most perfectly elaborated, in warm coun- 
 tries. They are obtained chiefly from trees 
 and shrubs of particular tribes of plants. 
 They either exude spontaneously, or are pro- 
 cured by incisions of the stem and branches. 
 When they first escape to the surface they 
 are fluid, and of a light colour, but gradually 
 harden, and become of a deeper hue, either 
 by the evaporation of some of their volatile 
 oil, or by the absorption of oxygen from the 
 air, and the con-version of the oil into a resin. 
 Some remain in a semi-liquid viscid state, 
 such as sctgapcnitm and aalbanum, which are 
 
 only pulverisable in winter. Most gum-resins 
 possess a strong odour, which in many in- 
 stances is disagreeable, such as that of assa- 
 foetida, with a warm acrid taste, and by 
 application to the skin for any considerable 
 time they cause redness and inflammation. 
 
 Gum -resins, which are largely employed in 
 medicine, should be kept in cool well-closed 
 places, to prevent the evaporation of their 
 volatile principles. 
 
 GUN-COTTON was first discovered by M. 
 Schonbein of Basel, and made known in the 
 year 1846. It is prepared with cotton wool, 
 and explodes at 400 Fahr. Gunpowder ex- 
 plodes at 600. In consequence of this, gun- 
 cotton may be fired on gunpowder without 
 igniting it. This peculiarity results from the 
 minute division of the cotton fibres ; for 
 mealed powder, or gunpowder dust, will ex- 
 plode at a much lower temperature than 
 grained powder. 
 
 Gun cotton may be prepared in various 
 ways. Mr. Taylor made it by saturating 
 cotton wool in a mixture consisting of equal 
 quantities of nitric and sulphuric acids. This 
 must be done as rapidly as possible by press- 
 ing the cotton in the mixture with a glass rod. 
 When this is done, it is taken out, and as 
 much as possible of the mixture is squeezed 
 out of it. The cotton is then washed in suc- 
 cessive portions of water until it loses all taste 
 of acid. It is then pressed in a linen cloth 
 and dried. Sawdust, wood-shavings, and any 
 body consisting principally of carbon, may be 
 rendered explosive by preparation in a similar 
 way. 
 
 The manufacture and use of these prepara- 
 tions are however dangerous, and they have 
 u consequence been prohibited generally in 
 France. Gun cotton is more powerful than 
 unpowder, i.e., with equal quantities by weight 
 a much greater effect is produced by the cot- 
 ton ; in consequence of which there is every 
 probability that it will supersede powder for 
 lie purposes of blasting, for which it possesses 
 Jie important advantage that it does not 
 generate smoke. It remains however to be 
 )rov(?d whether it will answer for military pur- 
 poses. The experiments of the French go- 
 vernment are against it, in consequence of the 
 production of an inconvenient quantity of 
 moisture by its explosion. M. Schonbein has 
 secured the patent for his preparation in Eng- 
 a,nd, and it is manufactitred on his account 
 )y agents appointed by him. So extremely 
 explosive is this material, that many serious 
 accidents have happened in connection with 
 ts manufacture. 
 
 GUN MAKING. The manufacture of mus- 
 cets and fo-.vling-pieces is carried on to a verv 
 
991 
 
 GUN-MAKING. 
 
 GUN-MAKING. 
 
 992 
 
 large extent at Birmingham. More than five 
 million pieces of fire-arms were made in that 
 town between 1804 and 1818. Yet there are 
 no gun-factories properly so called. The same 
 gun travels about from factory to factory, from 
 shop to shop, before it is finished. 
 
 The most essential part of a gun is 
 the barrel. The interior of the barrel is 
 usually a smooth cylinder, but the exterior 
 is made slightly conical by thickening the 
 metal at the breech or hinder end. The com- 
 moner barrels are formed of tenacious soft 
 iron, which is rolled into the form of flat bars, 
 called skelps, each of which is sufficient to 
 form a single barrel. The length of a skelp 
 is usually about three feet, and 'the breadth 
 about four inches at one end, and two and a 
 half at the other. In welding these skelps 
 iuto barrels, the thicker end is heated to red- 
 ness, and hammered upon a hollow cavity in 
 an anvil until the edges are turned up. A 
 mandril being then inserted in the concavity 
 between them, the edges are turned over and 
 welded together. The skelp is thus gradually 
 converted into a tube or barrel, after many 
 beatings and hammerings. This laborious 
 process of welding is now to a great extent 
 superseded by improved methods. In one of 
 these methods, the barrels, instead of being 
 formed of skelps forged to the length of the 
 barrel, are made from slabs of refined bar- 
 iron, ten or twelve inches long, and weighing 
 from 10 to 11 Ibs. Each slab, by being heated 
 and passed between rollers of a peculiar shape, 
 is bent round into a tubular form ; and re- 
 peated drawings between other rollers weld 
 the two edges firmly together, and at the same 
 time elongate the tube to the proper dimen- 
 sions, a mandril being placed inside to pre- 
 serve the bore of the barrel. The above pro- 
 cesses are for plain barrels. Twisted barrels 
 are made of long and very narrow strips of 
 iron ; one of which, being moderately heated 
 to increase its pliancy, is .wrapped spirally 
 round a cylindrical mandril, in such a way as 
 to form a tube, which may be slipped ofi' the 
 mandril at pleasure. As the rods are not 
 usually made of sufficient length for one to 
 form a barrel, several are usually joined end 
 to end, those which form the breech being 
 thicker than those at the muzzle end. By 
 heating and hammering, these pieces are 
 welded into a continuous and very strong and 
 tough tube. Partially worn or ' scrap ' iron is 
 preferred for these purposes. The twisted 
 barrels, technically termed wire -twist, are 
 formed of narrow rods of compound metal, 
 composed of alternate bars of iron and steel 
 forged into one body, and then rolled out to 
 the requisite tenuity. Damascus barrels are 
 
 composed of similar metal, but the rods are 
 twisted upon their own axes until their com- 
 ponent fibres have from twelve to fourteen 
 turns in an inch, and the rods are thereby 
 doubled in thickness and proportionately re- 
 duced in length. Two such rods are welded 
 together side by side, their respective twists 
 being reversed. The varieties in the modes 
 of making twisted barrels are very numerous. 
 
 After welding, the barrels are carefully exa- 
 mined, and, if needful, straightened by a few 
 blows of the hammer. They are then bored 
 in a machine with an angular plug of tempered 
 steel, which is caused to revolve rapidly with in 
 the barrel, a stream of cold water being directed 
 upon the outside to check the heat generated 
 by the excessive friction of the tool. The out- 
 side is brought to a smooth surface either by 
 grinding on a large grindstone or turning in 
 a lathe. The breech end of the barrel is 
 tapped with a screw-thread, to receive the 
 breech-plug, which closes it at that end. 
 
 The barrels are then ready improving, which 
 consists in firing them in a building in which 
 their explosion can do no harm, with a charge 
 four or five times as great as they will have to 
 bear when in use. A great number of barrels 
 are fired at once, by laying them upon a strong 
 framework of wood, with their touch-holes 
 downwards, and connected with a train of 
 powder which is conducted outside the build- 
 ing, within which is laid a heap of sand to re- 
 ceive the bullets. They are then carefully 
 examined, and such as show any defect are 
 returned to be reforged, after which they must 
 be proved again, while such as have stood the 
 test satisfactorily are stamped with a distin- 
 guishing mark. 
 
 Sporting guns are often made with two barrels 
 fixed side by side upon one stock. Such barrels 
 are made separately, and have their adjacent 
 sides filed flat, in order that they may lie 
 close together. They are secured together by 
 ribs running between them from end to end. 
 
 The wooden stock upon which the barrel is 
 mounted is most commonly made of walnut- 
 tree. When the shaping of the stock is com- 
 pleted, it is shod with brass, the trigger-guard 
 and other metallic fittings and ornaments urn 
 let into the wood, and every part is fitted with 
 suitable screws and fastenings, after which 
 the whole is taken to pieces ; the woodwork is 
 finished by staining and polishing, the brass- 
 work is filed and polished, and the bun-els arc 
 sent to be finished, which is done in various 
 ways. Most barrels arc now bronzed, by tlm 
 application of some chemical liquid aidel l>y 
 heat. Until a comparatively recent period all 
 military guns, and most of those used for 
 sporting purposes, were made with "flint locks, 
 
993 
 
 GUNPOWDER. 
 
 GUNPOWDER. 
 
 904: 
 
 in which the ignition of the priming-powder 
 was effected by the sudden stroke of a wedge- 
 shaped flint against a piece of steel, by which 
 a stream of sparks was directed into the pan 
 containing the priming. But percussion caps, 
 containing an explosive powder, are now 
 generally used. The fulminating substance 
 is usually placed in a small copper capsule 
 resembling a thimble in shape, which fits on 
 to the nipple of the touch-hole, and if not 
 blown to pieces by the explosion, is removed 
 previous to reloading. The hammer is pro- 
 vided with a shield to prevent any fragments 
 of the copper cap from flying against the face 
 of the shooter. 
 
 In the manufacture of common infantry 
 guns, Birmingham is beginning to feel the 
 competition of Liege, in Belgium ; but in the 
 better kinds of fowling-pieces she has no com- 
 petitor but London. 
 
 Of the hand guns used in past ages, the 
 variety was greater than many readers would 
 suppose. The following are the names of 
 most of them : Arquebus, haquebut, demi- 
 haque, musquet, wheel-lock, currier, snaphaunce, 
 caliver, carabine, esclopetta, fusil, musketoon, 
 petronel, blunderbus, dragon, hand-mortar, dag, 
 pistol, trickerlock, firelock, &c. Of those whose 
 names are best known at the present day, the 
 musquet was a Spanish invention, originally 
 very clumsy ; the carabine is a short gun, about 
 forty inches long ; the fusil, a French inven- 
 tion, was as long as the musquet, but much 
 lighter ; the blunderbus is shorter than the 
 carabine, and has a wide barrel ; the pistol was 
 invented at Pistoia in Tuscany, in the time 
 of Henry VIII. 
 
 At Vincennes in France, specimens of all 
 the fire-arms in Europe have been lately tried 
 by the government authorities, with a view to 
 determine the relative efficiency of different 
 forms and different manufactures. 
 
 GUNPOWDER. The date of invention of 
 this explosive composition is involved in ob- 
 scurity. It has been said that it was used 
 in China as early as the year A. D. 85, and that 
 the knowledge of it was conveyed to us from 
 the Arabs on the return of the Crusaders to 
 Europe ; that the Arabs made use of it at the 
 siege of Mecca in 690 ; and that they derived 
 it from the Indians. Roger Bacon has been 
 supposed to allude, in an enigmatic way, to 
 the composition of explosive force of gun- 
 powder ; and about 1336 Berthold Schwartz, 
 a monk, is said to have also discovered the 
 mode of manufacturing it. 
 
 Whatever may have been the history of its 
 origin, gunpowder at the present day consists 
 of a very intimate mixture of nitre, or nitrate 
 of potash, charcoal, and sulphur. The pro- 
 
 portions vary; but they generally consist of 
 about 6 parts of nitre to 1 of charcoal and 1 
 of sulphur. According to a comparative table 
 which has been published, gunpowder for 
 sporting contains the largest ratio of nitre, 
 gunpowder for blasting the largest ratio of 
 sulphur, and the Austrian gunpowder the 
 largest ratio of charcoal ; but the range of 
 difference is only small chiefly observable in 
 the sulphur. The ingredients must be of the 
 greatest attainable purity ; and the nitre is 
 fused before use. The charcoal, either of 
 alder, willow, or dog-wood, is prepared in iron 
 retorts ; and the sulphur is the volcanic kind 
 imported from Sicily, and is refined by melting 
 or subliming. 
 
 When the ingredients are prepared, they 
 are separately ground to a fine powder, and 
 mixed in the proper proportions. The com- 
 position is sent to the gunpowder mill, which 
 consists of two stones vertically placed, and 
 running on a bed-stone. On this bed-stone 
 the composition is spread, wetted, and ground, 
 and is then taken off and taken to the coming- 
 house to be corned or grained ; here it is first 
 pressed into a hard and firm body, broken 
 into small lumps, and the powder grained by 
 these lumps being put into sieves in each of 
 which is a flat circular piece of lignum vitse. 
 The sieves are made of parchment skins, 
 having round holes punched through them; 
 several of these sieves are fixed in a frame, 
 which by machinery has such a motion given 
 to it as to make the runner in each sieve go 
 round with velocity sufficient to break the 
 lumps of powder, and force them through the 
 sieves, forming grains of several sizes. The 
 grains are separated from the dust by proper 
 sieves and reels ; they are then hardened, and 
 the rougher edges taken off by being run a 
 sufficient length of time in a close reel, which 
 has a proper circular motion given to it. 
 
 The gunpowder, thus corned, dusted, and 
 reeled, is sent to the stove and dried, care 
 being taken not to raise the heat so as to dis- 
 sipate the sulphur. The heat is regulated by 
 a thermometer. 
 
 The theory of the action of gunpowder is 
 this : that particle on which a spark falls is 
 immediately heated to the temperature of ig- 
 nition ; the nitre is decomposed, and its oxygen 
 combines with the charcoal and sulphur, which 
 are also heated; this combination extricates 
 as much heat as is sufficient to inflame suc- 
 cessively, though rapidly, the remaining mass. 
 The cause of the expansive force of gunpowder 
 is the production of carbonic acid, carbonic 
 oxide, and nitrogen ; and, these being liberated 
 at a very high temperature, the effect is greatly 
 increased. The firing may be effected by the 
 
995 
 
 GUNTER'S SCALE. 
 
 GUTTA PERCHA. 
 
 99G 
 
 electric spark, and also under some circum 
 stances by percussion. 
 
 In ascertaining the goodness of gunpowder 
 which is done by determining its strength, an 
 eprouvette is employed to measure its projectil< 
 force. This is a small strong barrel, in which 
 a given quantity of the powder is fired, am 
 the comparative expansive force is measurec 
 by the action exerted on a spring or weight. 
 
 The principal gunpowder works near London 
 are at Waltham Abbey,Dartford, and Hounslow 
 The magazines require very cautious manage 
 ment, to obviate danger of explosion. 
 
 GUNTER'S SCALE. [SLIDING RULE.] 
 GUTTA PERCHA. This lately-discovered 
 and very useful substance exudes from a tree 
 grown in Singapore, Borneo, and other of the 
 eastern islands. The first specimen seen in 
 England was sent to the Society of Ails, 
 London, in 1843, by Dr. Montgomerie. The 
 first articles made of this substance in England 
 were a lathe-band, a short piece of pipe, and 
 a bottle case, which were presented to the 
 Society of Arts in 1844. 
 
 There seem to be three varieties of this 
 substance, named Gutta Girek, Gutta Tuban, 
 and Gutta Perc-ha. The word gutta means a 
 gum whicli exudes from a tree ; while percha 
 (pronounced pertsha) is the Malayan name 
 for the tree which principally yields this gum. 
 The trees are forest trees, and the natives ap- 
 pear to tap the bark when and how they think 
 they may obtain the largest supplies. The 
 gum is brought to England in shapeless lumps, 
 and is then wrought into the secondary forms 
 of rods, tubes, blocks, sheets, strings, &c., 
 preparatory to being manufactured for various 
 useful purposes. 
 
 The articles now made of gutta percha are 
 numerous and varied. The toughness of the 
 material (differing somewhat from the elasti- 
 city of caoutchouc), and the facility with which 
 it may be softened by heat, render it peculiarly 
 apt to receive, and maintain permanently, any 
 form that may be imparted to it. Pressure 
 in moulds, while the gutta percha is in a warm 
 and plastic state, is one of the most conve- 
 nient modes of giving it a determinate form. 
 Whether wet or dry, its uses are confined to 
 cold purposes, as it is very readily affected and 
 thrown out of shape by heat. For many pur- 
 poses, naphtha and other inflammable liquids 
 act as cements and even solvents for the gutta 
 percha. In its usual condition it is a brown 
 substance, and not much unlike very tough 
 leather, but having a peculiar odour ; its sur- 
 face is, however, capable of being prepared so 
 as to receive paint, gilding, japanning, bronz- 
 ing, and other ornamental modifications. The 
 crude substance, as brought to England, is 
 
 reduced to a pulp by macerating machines, 
 purified by water, combined with many different 
 substances according to the purpose to which 
 it is to be applied, and pressed into sheets or 
 other forms by rollers; and familiar mecha- 
 nical processes are then sufficient to work up 
 this prepared material to the required forms. 
 
 It was reasonable to expect that, after 
 gutta percha came into general use, it would 
 be employed in some of the processes of book- 
 binding. Accordingly, in 1845, Mr. Nickels 
 patented a method of using gutta percha for 
 cementing together the leaves of books, ex- 
 actly in the same way as in caoutchouc bind- 
 ing. The cement is a solution made by dis- 
 solving gutta percha in rectified naphtha, recti- 
 fied oil of turpentine, or some other essential 
 oil. The solution also is used for pasting 
 down the end-papers, attaching vellum or 
 leather to the boards, sizing the exterior for 
 narbling and gilding, and for mixing with the 
 colour for colouring and marbling edges, &c. 
 Sheets of gutta percha are used as a substitute 
 for vellum, leather, cloth, or paper, in covering 
 books ; or a covering is made by coating a 
 piece of cloth with gutta percha solution. The 
 same material is used as a substitute for paste - 
 joard for binding : the flexible boards being 
 made of a composition, in which gutta percha 
 s mixed with paper, pulp, leather dust, wool, 
 >r cotton. When for any of the above pur- 
 >oses a little more elasticity is required than 
 )elongs to gutta percha, a little caoutchouc is 
 jombined with it. 
 
 Lieut. Rouse, Superintendent of the Green- 
 vich Hospital Schools, has lately caused 800 
 mirs of boys' shoes to be soled with gutta 
 >ercha ; he states that they are more econo- 
 mical than leather, and that the waterproof 
 quality is fully determined. Gutta percha 
 vater-pipcs are being gradually substituted 
 or lead. At the Bristol Vitriol Works gutta 
 >ercha pump-buckets are used. It is em- 
 loyed as a lining for muriatic acid casks at 
 ,he Patent Candle Works. From its power of 
 esisting the most potent chemicals, it is of 
 he greatest service to the chemical manufac- 
 urer, as he is enabled to uso it in many 
 operations instead of glass or metal. The 
 nost concentrated alkalies do not affect it, 
 or any of the acids used in pharmacy or the 
 arts, with the exception of the strongest sul- 
 huric and nitric acids. Messrs. Muspratts 
 lave had carboys made and wine pipes lined 
 vith it, for the conveyance of muriatic acid by 
 ailway, instead of glass ; and so successful 
 as been the experiment, reducing the car- 
 iage, and obviating all danger of breakage, 
 hat they are now using nothing else. For 
 be convevance and stowage of water enth-ely 
 
997 
 
 GUTTA PERCH A. 
 
 GUYANA. 
 
 998 
 
 preventing the injurious effects arising from 
 drinking water contaminated with lead it is 
 peculiarly well adapted, as it is not in the 
 least acted upon by the carbonic acid and fixed 
 air which in some waters so readily attack 
 lead. Its applicability to many other chemical 
 purposes, such as funnels, syphons, &c., and 
 for strapping for diseased joints, stopping for 
 decayed teeth, balsam for cuts, catheters, 
 bougies, and stethescopes, is very important. 
 In electrical processes the insulating power 
 of gutta percha is most valuable. Gutta 
 percha was first employed as a cover to the 
 wires in damp tunnels, and its perfect success 
 there suggested the idea of laying down within 
 its protecting folds telegraphic lines between 
 England and the Continent. 
 
 The best illustration of the uses of this re- 
 markable substance is perhaps furnished by a 
 list of the articles now made by the Gutta 
 Percha Company in the City Road : Domestic, 
 &c. Soles for boots and shoes ; lining for 
 cisterns ; picture frames ; looking-glass frames ; 
 ornamental mouldings ; bowls ; drinking cups ; 
 jars ; soap dishes ; ornamental inkstands ; 
 vases ; noiseless curtain rings ; card, fruit, pin, 
 and pen trays ; tooth brush trays ; shaving 
 brush trays ; window blind cord ; clothes line ; 
 nursing aprons ; coloured material for amateur 
 modelling ; ornamental flower stands and pots ; 
 sheet for damp walls and floors ; drain and 
 soil pipes ; gutta percha domestic telegraphs ; 
 watering tubes for gardens ; lining for bonnets ; 
 jar covers ; sponge bags; watch stands ; shells ; 
 foot baths ; balsam for cuts, chilblains, &c. ; 
 lighter stands ; water and gas pipes. Sur- 
 gical Splints ; thin sheet for bandages ; steth- 
 escopes ; ear trumpets ; liquid gutta percha 
 for wounds ; bed straps. Chemical Carboys ; 
 vessels for acids, &c. ; syphons ; tubing for 
 conveying oils, acids, alkalies, &c. ; flasks ; 
 bottles ; lining for tanks ; funnels. Manufac- 
 turing Buckets ; mill bands ; pump buckets, 
 valves, clacks, &c. ; felt edging for paper 
 makers ; bosses for woollen manufacturers ; 
 flax holders ; shuttle beds for looms ; washers ; 
 bowls for goldsmiths ; bobbins ; covers for 
 rollers; round bands and cord; breasts for 
 water wheels ; oil cans. For offices, &c. 
 Wafer holders ; inkstands ; ink cups ; pen 
 trays ; cash bowls ; washing basins ; tubes for 
 conveying messages ; canvas for covering 
 books, &c. ; architects' and surveyors' plan 
 cases. Agricultural Tubing for conveying 
 liquid manure ; lining for manure tanks ; 
 driving bands for thrashing machines, &c. ; 
 traces ; whips ; buckets, bowls, &c. Electrical, 
 &c. Covering for electric telegraph wire ; in- 
 sulating stools ; battery cells ; handles for 
 discharging rods, &c. ; electrotype moulds. 
 
 Ornamental Medallions ; brackets ; cornices ; 
 console tables ; mouldings in imitation of 
 carved wood. Uses on Shipboard Sou'-wester 
 hats ; pilots' hats ; life buoys ; buckets ; pump 
 buckets ; speaking trumpets and tubes ; drink- 
 ing cups ; powder flasks ; fishing net floats ; 
 sheathing for ships ; waterproof canvas ; air- 
 tight life boat cells ; tubes for pumping water 
 from the hold to the deck ; round and twisted 
 cords ; lining for boxes ; tiller ropes. Mis- 
 cellaneous Suction pipes for fire engines; fire 
 buckets ; stable buckets ; lining for coffins ; 
 sounding boards for pulpits ; tap ferules ; 
 communion trays ; tubing for ventilation ; 
 hearing apparatus in churches and chapels for 
 deaf persons ; cricket balls ; bouncing balls ; 
 golf balls ; fencing sticks ; portmanteaus ; 
 police staves ; life preservers ; embossed book 
 backs ; embossed globes and maps for the 
 blind ; railway conversation tubes ; miners' 
 caps ; beds for paper cutting machine knives ; 
 fringe for mourning coaches ; fine and coarse 
 thread ; alarum tubes for mines, &c. ; official 
 seals, &c. ; envelope boxes ; bible backs ; 
 prayer book backs ; powder flasks ; box lids. 
 
 The great seal of Ireland, attached to pa- 
 tents and similar documents, has hitherto 
 been made of a soft, easily-melted wax ; but 
 it is now stamped in gutta percha. 
 
 An ingenious method has been devised by 
 Dr. Branson of Sheffield, of producing en- 
 graved plates of ferns, sea-weeds, &c., by 
 means of gutta percha. The ferns are pressed 
 upon a carefully prepared sheet of this ma- 
 terial, while warm ; and the delicate markings 
 are left in intaglio or cavity on the gutta percha 
 surface. A cast in brass may be taken from 
 this intaglio ; and impressions may be printed 
 from the brass. 
 
 The advance in the trade in gutta percha 
 has been astonishingly rapid, as will be shown 
 by the amount exported from Singapore to 
 Great Britain : 
 
 1844 .. .. 230 Ibs. 
 
 1845 .. .. 22,000 Ibs. 
 
 1846 .. .. 7 10,000 Ibs. 
 
 1847 .. .. 1,200,000 Ibs. 
 
 1848 .. .. 1,700,000 Ibs. 
 
 It was computed that 300,000 trees were 
 destroyed to obtain the above quantities. 
 
 GUYA'NA, GUAYA'NA, or GUIANA, is 
 the north-eastern portion of South America, 
 extending from the banks of the river Orinoco 
 southward to those of the river Amazon. Few 
 countries on the surface of the globe can be 
 compared with it for luxuriance of vegetation, 
 which shows itself especially in the great 
 number of indigenous plants and the large 
 forest trees which cover perhaps not less 
 than one-half of its surface. Timber, furni- 
 
999 
 
 HAARLEM. 
 
 HADDINGTONSHIRE. 
 
 1000 
 
 tore-wood, and dye-wood are afforded in abun- 
 dance. Indian corn, rice, mandioca, yams 
 sweet potatoes, arrowroot, bananas, pineapples 
 cocoa-nuts, sugar, coffee, cotton, tobacco 
 ginger, pepper, clover, nutmegs all are grown 
 in Guyana. Wheat does not thrive well. 
 Black cattle grow to a greater size than in 
 Europe, but their flesh is not so tender nor 
 of so fine a flavour. The wool of the sheep 
 is converted into hair. Among the ferocious 
 animals are the jaguar and couguar. Other 
 animals are the armadillo, agouti, and bear, 
 sloth, monkeys, lizards, iguana, alligators, 
 bats, and snakes. The birds and insects are 
 very numerous. 
 
 In that portion of Guyana which belongs 
 to Great Britain, an interesting commercial 
 feature has displayed itself. In the year 1846, 
 about seventy creole field labourers clubbed 
 their savings together to buy an estate on the 
 west bank of the Demerara River, for which 
 they gave 25,000 dollars : an instance which 
 Governor Light, in a despatch to Earl Grey, 
 adduces to show the rising character of many 
 of the working population. In 1838 there 
 were 308 coffee and sugar estates in cultiva- 
 tion; in 1846 the number had fallen to 251, 
 owing to the disasters attending the sugar 
 trade. In 1846 there were 641 vessels entered 
 the port of Demerara, with a tonnage of 
 
 107,820; those at the port of Berbice were 
 170, with a burthen of 2000 tons. The im- 
 ports from the United Kingdom in 1849 
 amounted in value to 326,82U. These num- 
 bers relate to British Guyana. Dutch and 
 French Guyana have commerce chiefly with 
 the mother countries. 
 
 The postal arrangements established by 
 England, France, and Holland, with the three 
 Guyanian colonies, are all managed by the 
 Royal West India Mail Packet Company, and 
 will be shortly improved by the new contract 
 entered into by that company. 
 
 GYPSUM, or sulphate of lime, is a mineral 
 which is found in a compact and crystallised 
 state, as alabaster [AIABASTER] and selenite, 
 or in the form of a soft chalky stone, which 
 in a very moderate heat gives out its water of 
 crystallisation, and becomes a very fine white 
 powder extensively used under the name of 
 Plaster of Paris. [MANURE.] 
 
 The principal demand for pure white gyp- 
 sum is by the Staffordshire potters, who form 
 their moulds with it. Fine blocks of gypsum 
 are selected for making alabaster ornaments. 
 The plaster stone of Paris, mixed with water, 
 forms an adhesive cement or mortar much 
 used in building. Coloured stuccoes for walls 
 are made of gypsum, ghee, and some colouring 
 matter. 
 
 H 
 
 HAARLEM. In the southern suburbs of 
 this fine old Dutch city are the famous nur- 
 sery flower-gardens, which formerly supplied 
 a great part of Europe with tulips, hyacinths, 
 and other flowers. There are extensive bleach- 
 ing establishments here, which formerly sup- 
 plied large quantities of linen to England, 
 whence the article came to get the name of 
 Holland, as coming from that country. Silk, 
 cotton, velvet, ribands, linen, and thread are 
 among the principal manufactures. 
 
 The lake of Haarlem, which lies south east 
 of the town, is 14 miles long, 10 broad, and 
 14 feet deep, between water and mud. The 
 mud of the lake is manufactured into valu- 
 able bricks called clinkers. The project of 
 draining this lake has been briefly adverted 
 to under DRAINING ; and we give here a few 
 additional details concerning the progress of 
 ths works. The area of the lake is between 
 400,000 and 500,000 acres, and it is intended 
 to leave not more than 700 under water. The 
 drainage is now about two-thirds completed. 
 
 The area of the lake is expected to sell for 
 above 71. per acre, subject to the land-tax of 
 about 7s. per ficre. The soil is a peaty loam, 
 and the whole is to be kept dry, after the pre- 
 sent operations are completed, by a canal 
 through the middle and smaller inlets into 
 the lake. 
 
 HADDINGTONSHIRE. Several attempts 
 have been made to introduce manufactures 
 into this Scottish county. Pot-barley mills, 
 flax mills, cotton mills, paper mills, and 
 starch works have been tried at different 
 times, but from various causes they have 
 failed ; and the manufactures at present car- 
 ried on in the county are very unimportant. 
 A good deal of fishing is carried on near the 
 coast. From Haddingtonshire the improved 
 system of agriculture has been diffused over 
 Scotland, and this county continues to hold a 
 high rank in respect of agriculture and pro- 
 duce. The smaller farms are on the most 
 productive soils. Wheat is the principal grain 
 cultivated, though large crops of beans and 
 
1001 
 
 HAGUE. 
 
 HAIR; HAIR WORKING. 
 
 1002 
 
 oats are likewise raised. The turnip crops are 
 very large. Barley is not much cultivated. 
 Since the increase of pasture land the breeding 
 of sheep and cattle has been extended ; but 
 breeding in the lowland and midland districts 
 is carried on upon a very limited scale, the 
 more usual practice being to purchase and 
 fatten for the Edinburgh market. In the 
 Lammermuir district, however, the breeding 
 of live stock is the chief business of the 
 farmer. The town of Haddington carries on 
 a considerable trade in wool, in tanning, and 
 in preparing bones and rape cake for manure. 
 It is also one of the largest wheat-markets in 
 Scotland. 
 
 HAGUE. This large and beautiful Dutch 
 city, though neither manufacturing nor com- 
 mercial in its general features, is preparing 
 for the Great Exhibition carved rosewood fur- 
 niture, silver embroidery, chased silver cups, 
 and other specimens of workmanship. 
 
 HAINAULT, is a very fertile, busy, and 
 prosperous province of Belgium. The chief 
 crops are wheat, rye, oats, barley, beans, rape, 
 flax, hops, and potatoes ; tobacco and chicory 
 are also grown. Much of the land near the 
 rivers is laid out in meadow ; in other parts 
 trefoil, lucern, and sainfoin are cultivated. 
 Horned cattle, horses and sheep of excellent 
 breed are numerous ; poultry, game, and bees 
 abound. The province is traversed by several 
 good roads and numerous canals, by which 
 communication was much facilitated, even be- 
 fore the making of railways ; and, like every 
 other part of Belgium, it is well supplied with 
 this new and rapid means of transit. The 
 commerce of the province is composed of its 
 varied industrial products glass, porcelain, 
 pottery, salt, spirits distilled from grain, beer, 
 machinery, woollen stuffs, linen, lace, Brussels 
 carpets (the great manufacture of which is 
 in TournayJ, &c. The most considerable 
 articles of export are coal, iron, and lime, 
 which are transported by canals and rail- 
 roads to France and the neighbouring coun- 
 tries. Slates, marble, and building stone are 
 quarried. 
 
 Charlerol is one of the manufacturing 
 towns ; glass, salt, sugar, leather, nails, 
 woollen yarn, &c., are among its products. 
 The town stands in a most extensive coal 
 field, which gives employment to 10,000 men, 
 and yields annually 8,000,000 tons of coal. 
 The number of smelting furnaces, iron foun- 
 dries, and nail factories in the surrounding 
 district is very great. At Chimay are numerous 
 breweries, iron works, and coal mines. Les- 
 sines is a place of much trade ; the neigh- 
 bouring quarries furnish large quantities of 
 paving and building stone. There are salt 
 
 refineries, distilleries, and chicory -factories ; 
 and there is much trade in coal, wood, and 
 oil. There are many other large manufac- 
 turing towns in the province, several of which 
 are on the list of those who will contribute to 
 the Industrial Exhibition. 
 
 HAIR; HAIR -WORKING. The hairy 
 coverings of animals are composed of long 
 delicate processes of a horny substance, 
 which grow from bulbs situated in or beneath 
 the skin. Human hair is more or less flat- 
 tened, so that a transverse section presents an 
 elliptical form, or sometimes, from one side 
 being grooved, has the shape of a bean. The 
 hair of the whiskers, beard, and mustachios, 
 and in general all short curly hair is most 
 flattened. In most instances flatness and cur- 
 liness are directly proportionate, and both 
 attain their maximum in the crisp woolly 
 hairs of the negro, which are sometimes as 
 much as two thirds broader in one direction 
 than in the other. Except at their base 
 the hairs are perfectly solid, and in most 
 animals their substance is similar through- 
 out. The hair of the head is sometimes 
 known to have attained a length of seven or 
 eight feet. 
 
 Hairs are very elastic ; they admit of being 
 stretched nearly one third of their length, 
 and regain their original length almost com- 
 pletely ; in proportion to their size they are 
 very tough and firm. In chemical properties 
 hair resembles horn, nails, &c. It is soluble 
 in water at a very high temperature, as in a 
 Papin's digester, leaving a large quantity of 
 oil mixed with sulphuret of iron, and some 
 sulphuretted hydrogen. It is this oil, with 
 the sulphuret of iron, which gives the colour 
 to the hair, and by whose absorption grayness 
 is produced. The iron is most abundant in 
 the darkest hair, and the sulphur is the in- 
 gredient on which the action of the various 
 black dyes for red or gray hair depends. 
 
 In the manufacture of hair into various 
 articles of use and ornament, the hair of 
 different animals is employed ; but the most 
 singular feature connected with the manufac- 
 ture is the hair harvest in France. Young 
 women in England, who have beautiful 
 tresses, are often urged by poverty to part 
 with them for money to the hair-workers ; but 
 in France it is a regular system. There are 
 hair merchants in Paris, who send agents in 
 the spring of each year into the country dis- 
 tricts to purchase the tresses of young women, 
 who seek to obtain an annual crop with the 
 same care as a farmer would a field crop. 
 The agents frequent fairs and markets ; and 
 have with them a stock of handkerchiefs, mus- 
 lins, ribbons, &c., which they give in exchange 
 
1003 
 
 HALEB. 
 
 HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 1004 
 
 for the hair. So sensitive a barometer is 
 commerce, of slight changes in the value o] 
 exchangeable goods, that the agents know the 
 hair of a particular district to be worth a few 
 sous more per pound than that of a district 
 thirty or forty miles away : a fact which natu- 
 ralists would have been long in finding out. 
 It is estimated that 200,000 Ibs. of hair is 
 purchased at each spring harvest. The price 
 paid is about five francs per Ib. The agents 
 send the hair to their employers, by whom it 
 is dressed and sorted, and sold to the hair 
 workers in the chief towns at about ten francs 
 perlb. That which is to be made into perukes 
 is purchased by a particular class of persons, 
 by whom it is cleaned, curled, prepared to a 
 certain stage, and sold to the peruke maker at 
 twenty to eighty francs per Ib. The peruke 
 maker gives it the form which, as is well 
 known, commands a very high price ; a peruke 
 is often sold for double its weight in silver. 
 
 In respect both to the hair itself, and to 
 perukes and other articles made of hair, 
 France supplies a considerable quantity to 
 England and the United States. The im- 
 portations of hair, and of manufactured goods 
 in which hair is the only or chief material, 
 have lately been to the value of about 20,000/. 
 annually. 
 
 Differences are observed in manufactures 
 from curly or from straight hair ; the former is 
 spun into a kind of elastic cord ; while the latter 
 is woven into cloth for sieves, or damask hair 
 chair bottoms. The hair here spoken of is 
 horse hair, obtained chiefly from the tail. It 
 may be dyed of various tints. The mode of 
 weaving horse hair cloth does not differ essen- 
 tially from other kinds of weaving : there are 
 a few minor adjustments of the loom neces- 
 sary, to accommodate the rigidity of the ma- 
 terial. In many kinds of such cloth the warp 
 is made of black linen thread or yarn. The 
 cloth is hot calendered after weaving to give 
 it a gloss. The manufacture of hair pencils 
 is noticed in a later article. [PENCILS.] 
 
 HALEB, or ALEPPO, is one of the busiest 
 cities of Syria, or of the east generally. Before 
 the earthquake of 1822 Haleb was supposed 
 to possess 12,000 artisans, and was celebrated 
 for its gold and silver lace, its manufactures 
 of silk and cotton goods, shawls, &c. It car- 
 .ries on a great caravan trade with Persia, and 
 the eastern parts of Asia. The goods destined 
 for the European market are shipped from 
 the port of Latakia. Consuls from all the 
 commercial states of Europe reside at Haleb. 
 The inhabitants of the district around Haleb 
 only cultivate the land in the mountainous 
 districts, which produce wheat and other sorts 
 of corn, melons, olives, cotton, tobacco, figs, 
 
 &c. : the level parts of the country are aban- 
 doned to the Kurds and Arabs. 
 
 HALIFAX takes a high rank among the 
 clothing towns of the West Hiding. The chief 
 articles at present manufactured at Halifax 
 are worsted stuffs, including shalloons, tam- 
 mies, calamancoes, duroys, everlastings, mo- 
 reens, shags, serges, merinos ; also baizes, 
 narrow and broad cloths, and kerseymeres. 
 Bombasins, crapes, and other fabrics, com- 
 posed of silk and worsted, are also manufac- 
 tured here, and the cotton trade is carried on 
 to a considerable extent. Halifax has joined 
 with the other West Riding towns to furnish 
 a combined series of specimens for the Great 
 Exhibition : a mode well calculated to illus- 
 trate the resources of this highly interesting 
 district. 
 
 HAMBURG-. This large city, the most 
 important centre of commerce in Germany, 
 s the main channel of communication be- 
 tween North Germany and foreign countries. 
 The number of vessels that enter from the 
 sea is about 4000 annually, with an average 
 tonnage of about 150 tons per vessel. In 
 1845 the entries from the sea were 3990 ships, 
 as follows : 
 
 435 from Transatlantic ports ; 
 1566 from British ports 
 1989 from other European ports ; 
 and these numbers will afford a tolerably cor- 
 rect ratio for later years. Of the values of the 
 commodities imported by this mass of shipping 
 we have no specific returns ; but, taking im- 
 )orts and exports together, the sea-borne trade 
 of that year was about 22 millions sterling. 
 
 The imports are composed chiefly of sugar, 
 coffee, raw and manufactured cotton, cotton 
 ?arn, tobacco, hides, dye-stuffs, wine, brandy, 
 ;ea, rum, spices, &c. The exports comprise 
 grain of all sorts, wool, seeds, bark, spelter, 
 mtter, salt provisions, rags, wooden clocks, 
 inens, all kinds of German manufactures, 
 ilhemsh wines, &c. Hamburg possesses 
 ,bout 600 ships, including a few steamers. 
 !t has regular steam communication with 
 London, Amsterdam, &c. ; steamers daily 
 iscend the Elbe to Magdeburg. 
 
 A veiy large model of St. Stephen's Church, 
 he chief church in Hamburg, is to be depo- 
 lited at the Great Exhibition ; the former 
 ;hurch was destroyed at the great Hamburg 
 fire in 1842 ; and the present structure has 
 >een built from the designs of an English 
 architect. Some beautiful specimens of ivory 
 carving are said to have been prepared at 
 Hamburg. 
 
 HAMPSHIRE. The New Forest in this 
 county has varied in area from time to time : 
 it present it includes 64,000 acres, and is the 
 
1005 
 
 HAMS. 
 
 HANSEATIC LEAGUE. 
 
 1006 
 
 property of the crown, subject to rights of 
 common and other ancient claims. Much of 
 the oak and beech timber for the navy is grown 
 here. Alice Holt Forest also contains much 
 valuable timber. The northern part of the 
 county is naturally very unproductive, and till 
 within a few years was almost entirely covered 
 with a brown heath, on which some hardy 
 forest sheep and a few miserable cattle were 
 reared, and contrived to pick up a scanty liv- 
 ing; but a good deal of heath has recently 
 been brought into cultivation. South of this 
 district the chalk prevails, better adapted for 
 pasture than for corn culture. In the valleys 
 and along the lower slopes of the chalk-hills 
 the soil is of a tough tenacious nature, very 
 difficult to cultivate ; but it can be made to 
 yield good crops of beans, wheat, and oats. 
 Hampshire, although it cannot be compared 
 with some eastern and northern counties for 
 agricultural improvements, is not far behind 
 them ; and there are some farms as well 
 managed as any in England. The farm-build- 
 ings and the agricultural implements are gra- 
 dually improving. The native hogs, which 
 live on the acorns and beech-mast of the New 
 Forest, although the flavour of their flesh may 
 be good, are coarse, raw-boned, flat-sided ani- 
 mals, and are now seldom met with. The im- 
 proved breeds produced by crosses of the 
 Berkshire, the Suffolk, Essex, and Chinese 
 pigs, are those from which the Hampshire 
 bacon is usually prepared. The excellence of 
 this bacon is mainly due to the care with which 
 the curing is effected. 
 
 Hampshire cannot be deemed a manufac- 
 turing county ; although there are several 
 bustling towns. Alton is celebrated for its ale 
 breweries, and for the hop-plantations near it. 
 At Andover the chief business consists in 
 malting, and in the manufacture of silk. The 
 malting and corn trades constitute the princi- 
 pal business of Basingstoke. At Fareham 
 considerable trade in corn and coal is carried 
 on. At Fordingbridge there are some manu- 
 factures of sail-cloth and bed-ticking. Win- 
 chester depends more on its ecclesiastical an- 
 tiquities than on its trade and commerce. 
 PORTSMOUTH and SOUTHAMPTON call for a word 
 of notice elsewhere. 
 
 HAMS. Hams are usually prepared from 
 the legs of pigs ; but those of the sheep are 
 also sometimes prepared. They are salted 
 either by immersion in the pickle, or by having 
 salt rubbed over them. A little powdered 
 saltpetre is sometimes rubbed over them be- 
 fore salting ; and moist sugar or treacle is 
 frequently employed for flavouring. About 
 three weeks are required for wet-salting, and 
 four for dry-salting ; mutton hams do not re- 
 
 quire so long. When properly salted, the 
 hams are ready for smoking. 
 
 There were 11,751 cwts. of hams imported 
 in 1849 ; and 16,268 cwts. in 1850. 
 
 HAND-GLASS is a name given by garden- 
 ers to a portable glazed cover which they place 
 over certain plants for one of two purposes ; 
 either to screen them from the effects of cold 
 and wet without depriving them of much light, 
 or to maintain around them an atmosphere of 
 uniform humidity. Bell-glasses differ from 
 hand-glasses in no respect with regard to the 
 purpose they are intended to serve, but are 
 blown from a single piece of glass instead of 
 being composed of many pieces fastened to- 
 gether. Glasses of this description are prin- 
 cipally used to assist cuttings of plants in the 
 process of striking root, or newly planted indi- 
 viduals in establishing themselves in the soil. 
 
 HANOVER. The mountains in the south- 
 ern part of this kingdom abound in mineral 
 wealth, and are covered with forests of red 
 pine and fir, with some oaks and other timber. 
 Agriculture is the chief source of subsistence 
 to the inhabitants, which is much favoured 
 by the facilities for exportation when the har- 
 vest is abundant, as well as by the transit 
 trade, and the consumption of the neighbour- 
 ing maritime towns. In the marsh-land the 
 breeding of cattle is more followed than agri- 
 culture. The county produces flax, tobacco, 
 hops, fruit, pulse, potatoes, &c. Timber is 
 abundant, and considerable quantities are ex- 
 ported. 
 
 Manufactures are not carried on to any con- 
 siderable extent. Thread, linens, woollens, 
 and calicoes are manufactured to a small ex- 
 tent. The commerce is not of large amount. 
 The principal commercial port is Embden ; and 
 Miinden, at the junction of the Werra and the 
 Fulda, has an active trade with the interior of 
 Germany. 
 
 The Hanoverian produce imported into 
 Great Britain in 1849 was valued at 185,287/.; 
 and the British produce and manufactures 
 exported to Hanover 150,927/. 
 
 It has been stated that the manufacturers 
 of Hanover have not received from their sove- 
 reign, in respect to contributions towards the 
 Industrial Exhibition, that countenance and 
 assistance which most continental sovereigns 
 have afforded in their respective countries ; 
 and that the specimens transmitted to Eng- 
 land will be limited by this circumstance. 
 
 HANSEATIC LEAGUE. This was a very 
 remarkable commercial association, which took 
 ts name from the ancient German word 
 Hanse,' signifying an association for mutual 
 support. The cities of Hamburg, Liibeck, and 
 Bremen were, in the middle ages, the deposi- 
 
1007 HARBOURS OF REFUGE. 
 
 tories of the manufactures of Italy and Ger- 
 many, with which they supplied the northern 
 countries of Europe in exchange for their raw 
 produce. The wealth which they acquired 
 excited the envy and the rapacity of the princes 
 and nobles ; the imposition of new and the 
 augmentation of old tolls were great impedi- 
 ments to trade, which was likewise rendered 
 unsafe hy numerous banditti and pirates who 
 infested the roads and the neighbouring seas 
 and rivers. Hamburg and Lubeck concluded 
 an alliance in 1241 by which they engaged to 
 maintain ships and soldiers for the purpose of 
 protecting their commerce. The city of Bruns- 
 wick joined the alliance in 1247. In course 
 of time most of the trading towns in Europe 
 joined this association, which included London, 
 Rouen, Bordeaux, St. Malo, Bayonne, Mar- 
 seille, Barcelona, Seville, Cadiz, Lisbon, Ant- 
 werp, Danzig, Dort, Amsterdam, Bruges, Rot- 
 terdam, Ostend, Dunkirk, Leghorn, Messina, 
 Naples, Bergen, Novgorod, all the towns on 
 the Baltic, the Elbe, and the Weser, Embden, 
 Cologne, and other towns, to the number of 
 eighty-five. Their principal factories were 
 Bruges, London, Novgorod, and Bergen. All 
 the towns sent deputies to a congress which 
 usually met in Lubeck. The Hanse Towns 
 became so powerful, that in 1348 they de- 
 feated the kings of Norway and Denmark, 
 deposed Magnus, king of Sweden, and gave 
 his crown to his nephew Albert ; they equipped 
 in 1428, 40 ships of war and raised 12,000 
 troops, exclusive of seamen, in a war with 
 Erick, king of Denmark ; and in the same 
 century they compelled Edward IV. to restore 
 all their privileges and property in England, 
 which he had attempted to withhold. That 
 part of the city of London called the Steelyard 
 was their exclusive property, and Bishops- 
 Gate, one of the principal entrances to London, 
 was intrusted to them to guard. But when 
 the roads and seas were no longer insecure, 
 when America was discovered, and India was 
 reached by doubling the Cape of Good Hope, 
 the Hanseatic League gradually declined, 
 and at the last general assembly at Lubeck, in 
 1630, the deputies from the several cities ap- 
 peared merely to declare their secession from 
 the League. Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen, 
 formed an association in 1641, and remained 
 free republics till December 1810, when they 
 were incorporated with the French empire, 
 but in 1813 they were again separated from 
 France, and with Frankfort-am-Main are now 
 called the Free Hanseatic Cities of the Ger- 
 manic Confederation. 
 
 HARBOURS OF REFUGE. Among the 
 engineering works now in progress, in the 
 southern half of our island, the formation of 
 
 HARDNESS. 
 
 1008 
 
 harbours of refuge is not the least important. 
 Numerous as are our ports, harbours, bays, 
 and eestuaries, fitted to receive and despatch 
 merchant shipping, there is a deficiency of 
 harbours into which fleets could go to find 
 shelter during a storm, and which would serve 
 as general places of rendezvous for shipping. 
 
 Dover is in many respects one of the most im- 
 portant harbours on the coast : chiefly from its 
 proximity to the continent. Yet is it only a 
 tidal harbour, and has a shallow entrance even 
 when the tide is in. Many a merchantman 
 would be glad to avoid the perils of the Good- 
 win Sands by a temporary anchorage in Dover 
 Harbour, if it were better suited as a refuge. 
 In 1844 a Government Commission was ap- 
 pointed to consider this subject, in relation to 
 the forming of harbours of refuge for mer- 
 chant ships, and stations for war ships. The 
 commissioners recommended extensive works 
 at Dover, Portland, Seaford, and Harwich, 
 with this object in view : to be proceeded with 
 in the order here specified if all could not be 
 advanced simultaneously. The recommenda 
 tion was adopted, in its main features, by the 
 Government. The harbour of refuge at Dover 
 is being constructed ; there is to be a harbour 
 of 520 acres up to high water mark, or 380 
 acres at low water ; there is to be an entrance 
 700 feet wide on the south side, and another 
 150 feet wide on the east. The first work will 
 ae a pier, running out from the point called 
 Cheeseman's Head into seven fathoms water; 
 it will protect the existing harbour during 
 south-west gales, and will form the first link 
 n the great wall of masonry which will en- 
 close the harbour. The eastern boundary of 
 the harbour will be far beyond the limits of 
 he present inhabited town of Dover ; the 
 aarbour will be a mile and a quarter from 
 east to west, and three quarters of a mile from 
 north to south. The existing contract for a 
 part of the works was taken in July 1847 ; 
 the works were commenced in October of the 
 same year ; in 1848 the masonry was carried 
 out 270 feet from the shore; in 1849 this 
 .ength was increased to 460 feet ; in 1850 the 
 works were proceeding steadily, until a terrific 
 storm on the night of the 7th of October, pro- 
 duced very disastrous results on the masonry 
 and scaffolding. Much of the subsequent 
 [abour has been in repair of this disaster. 
 
 The operations at Portland are briefly no- 
 ticed in another article. [DORSETSHIRE.] 
 See also the article BREAKWATER. 
 
 HARDNESS. In distributing crystals and 
 minerals into classes, an attempt is made to 
 determine their relative hardness. The fol- 
 lowing are the gradations, from soft to hard : 
 
 Talc, white or greenish ; rock salt and uu- 
 
1009 
 
 HAEP. 
 
 HAT MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1010 
 
 crystallised gypsum; calcareous spar, cleav- 
 able ; lluor spar, which cleaves perfectly ; 
 apatite, from Salzburg ; adularia ; rock crys- 
 tal, transparent ; topaz ; corundum, from 
 Bengal ; diamond. 
 
 HAEP. This is one of the most ancient 
 as well as most beautiful of all musical instru- 
 ments. The Welsh triple-stringed harp of 
 the present day extends from G an octave be- 
 low the first, line in the base, to G, or A in al - 
 tissimo on the right side ; and from G, the 
 first line in the base, to the same upper notes 
 on the left side ; the middle row consists of 
 the semitones of the outward rows. Hence, 
 if the outside rows be tuned in the diatonic 
 scale of G, each parallel note being in perfect 
 unison, the notes of the middle row are tuned 
 a semitone higher. 
 
 The harp, as a generally useful instrument, 
 may be said to date its existence from the time 
 when pedals were added to it, by the invention 
 of Sebastian Erard. With these it is possible 
 to modulate into all keys, and to execute any 
 music suited to keyed instruments. In the 
 single action, the pedals raise the tone of every 
 string half a note; in the double action, the 
 instrument is tuned in c flat ; and by fixing 
 the pedals in the first groove the instrument 
 is at once transposed into c natural : whereas 
 by fixing them in the second groove it is 
 transposed another semitone higher, into the 
 key of c sharp. The compass of the harp 
 thus improved is from double E below the 
 base to E in altissimo. 
 
 HAEPSICHOED. This keyed musical in- 
 strument, in form the same as the grand 
 pianoforte, but smaller, was strung with steel 
 and brass wires, two to each note ; these wero 
 struck by jacks armed with small pieces of 
 quill, acting as plectrurns, and thus made to 
 render a brilliant but somewhat harsh sound, 
 wholly unlike that produced by the hammers 
 of the pianoforte. Stops, swells, and double 
 rows of keys wero occasionally employed to 
 modify the power of the wires. The harpsi- 
 chord came into use in England in the seven- 
 teenth century ; but it is now entirely super- 
 seded by the PIANOFORTE. 
 
 HAEEOWS. The well-known agricultural 
 implement, the harrow, which is drawn over 
 the land when the seed has been sown after 
 the last ploughing, is a frame set full of 
 spikes. The bush-harrow, which is drawn over 
 the ground after the seed has been sown by 
 the dibble, is without spikes, but has thorns 
 or rough bushes fitted into it. 
 
 At the various agricultural and cattle shows 
 improved forms of harrow are constantly 
 making their appearance. Among those of 
 recent introduction is Uley's drag harrow, or 
 
 Scarifier and Cultivator ; it has two small 
 wheels in front, two larger behind, and five 
 or seven tines or spikes, according to the width. 
 Smith's Iron Harrow comprises three frames 
 linked together at certain spots, and having 
 about sixty tines or spikes arranged in such 
 a way that each tine leaves its scarified mark 
 or line in the ground independent of the 
 others. Crosskill's Norwegian Harrow is used 
 immediately after ploughing, and leaves three 
 or four inches depth of finely pulverised 
 mould, well prepared for sowing ; the instru- 
 ment acting by a rotatory motion given to bar- 
 rels loaded with spikes, which scratch along 
 the ground as the machine proceeds. Nume- 
 rous other forms are frequently brought be- 
 fore public notice. 
 
 HAETSHOEN. The horn of the common 
 stag contains less earthy matter, and more 
 gelatine, than other bones, and is on this ac- 
 count very useful in medicine. It is kept in 
 the form of shavings, of which a sufficient 
 quantity boiled in water yields a jelly suitable 
 to convalescents, which may be flavoured with 
 lemon-juice or wine, &c. 
 
 The liquid which is called Spirits of Harts- 
 horn, and which is obtained from hartshorn 
 and other kinds of horn, is carbonate of am- 
 monia combined with a peculiar oil. 
 
 HAETZ FOREST. The mineral treasures 
 of this district are noticed under GERMANY. 
 
 HAT MANUFACTURE . Englishliats, 
 in the present day, are mostly made of straw, 
 wool and fur. or silk. The first are noticed 
 under STEAW PLAIT. Beaver hats of the finest 
 quality are made with lamb's wool and the fur 
 of English rabbits. To form the body of the 
 hat, the wool and rabbit's fur are separately 
 bowed in the manner employed for freeing cot- 
 ton from its seeds. The two substances are 
 next bowed together until they are intimately 
 mixed ; after which the mass is spread evenly, 
 covered with an oil-cloth, and pressed to the 
 state of an imperfectly tangled felt. The next 
 process is to cover the felt with a triangular 
 piece of damp brown paper, and then to fold 
 it in a damp cloth and work it well with the 
 hand, pressing and bending, rolling and un- 
 rolling it, until the interlacing or felting is 
 much more perfect, and the mass is compact. 
 The felt thus prepared is next taken to the 
 wide brim of a boiler charged with hot water 
 and beer-grounds and a small quantity of sul- 
 phuric acid ; it is wetted, rubbed, and rolled, 
 until it no longer contracts. The felt is next 
 stiffened with shell-lac, a solution of which 
 is applied by means of a brush to one or to 
 both sides of the felt ; after which it is heated 
 in a stove, and by this means the whole sub- 
 stance becomes dulv impregnated with the 
 
1011 HATCHING APPARATUS. 
 
 resin : this renders the hat nearly waterproof. 
 To form the nap of a hat, one-half or three- 
 fourths of an ounce of beaver, and some other 
 less costly fur, are bowed together and imper- 
 fectly felted in the manner already described, 
 and shaped the same as the body to which it 
 is to be applied ; that body is then softened 
 by immersing it in the boiler, when the nap 
 is applied and worked as in felting, until the 
 required union is effected between the two 
 bodies. 
 
 The felt thus covered is brought to the pro- 
 per shape by working it on a wooden block, 
 and is then dyed black. The hat is softened 
 by steam, the crown is strengthened by placing 
 in it a disc of scale-board, and linen is pasted 
 over this. The nap is raised, and a uniform 
 direction given to its fibres by means of warm 
 irons and hah- brushes. The last processes 
 are binding and lining, when the hat is ready 
 to be worn. In the low-priced hats of the 
 present day, commoner wool and fur, and 
 smaller quantities of each, are used. 
 
 Silk hats consist of a cover or exterior part 
 made of silk plush, which is laid upon a foun- 
 'dation of chip, stiffened linen, or some other 
 light material, previously blocked into shape. 
 The so-called Velvet hats and Satin hats de- 
 serve those titles only so far as the plush re- 
 sembles those materials. The plush is mostly 
 woven in the north of England. Paris hats 
 are for the most part made in England, the 
 silk plush being imported from France, where 
 it is made better than our weavers seem able 
 to equal. 
 
 The hats exported in 1848 amounted in 
 number only to 8,768 dozens, and in value to 
 27,4552. : so little demand is there abroad for 
 English hats ; the exports. are almost entirely 
 to our own colonies. Silk-plush for covering 
 Paris hats was imported in 1850 to the extent 
 of 138,909 Ibs. 
 
 HATCHING APPARATUS. The method, 
 strange to those who do not understand it, of 
 hatching chickens by artificial means, is no- 
 thing more than a mode of applying warmth 
 to the eggs. If a hen for any reason does not 
 'sit' upon her brood, an artificial mother is 
 sometimes provided, which will rear several 
 broods at once ; it is a board or box lined with 
 soft lambskin, covered with a wicker, and 
 placed near a heated wall in such a way that 
 the young chicks may receive warmth sufficient 
 for their tender condition. These artificial 
 mothers are, however, only a sort of house 
 for chickens newly hatched : they are not 
 hatching-machines. The Egyptians have long 
 been in the habit of applying heat and mois- 
 ture artificially to the hatching of chickens. 
 Mr. Bucknell some years ago invented a hatch- 
 
 HAVANNAH. 
 
 1012 
 
 ing-machine under the somewhat learned 
 name of the Eccalcolion ; and more recently 
 Mr. Cantelo's Hydrolncubator has attracted 
 public attention. In this apparatus heat is 
 applied to the upper surface of the eggs as 
 they are ranged in layers. A current of warm 
 water flows over a waterproof cloth, beneath 
 which the eggs are placed. A tank of water 
 is kept continually at a temperature of 109 
 Fahr., with the surface so arranged that the 
 heated water may flow over the waterproof 
 cloth : a return pipe being so placed as to 
 connect the outer end of the cloth with the 
 bottom of the tank. There is thus a continual 
 flow of water over the cloth, at one uniform 
 temperature. The eggs are placed in drawers 
 having perforated bottoms, with a layer of 
 woollen cloth between; the upper surface of 
 the eggs can just touch the under surface of 
 the warmed waterproof cloth ; but the arrange- 
 ment is such that air can freely circulate 
 between the eggs and the cloth. The 
 water is heated by slowly burning charcoal 
 fires. 
 
 Although there is much ingenuity displayed 
 in this apparatus, it seems doubtful whether 
 the method will be a commercially prospe- 
 rous one. 
 
 HAVANNAH. This flourishing commer- 
 cial town, with the best harbour in the West 
 Indies, or perhaps in the world, has been al- 
 ready mentioned under CUBA. Its magnificent 
 harbour is capable of accommodating 1000 
 ships of the largest size, vessels of the greatest 
 draught coming close up to the quays. Among 
 the commercial cities of the western hemi- 
 sphere Havannah ranks inferior only to New 
 York, and for a long period it engrossed the 
 whole foreign trade of Cuba. The principal 
 articles of export are sugar, copper ore, 
 coffee, raw tobacco and cigars of the 
 best quality, molasses, and the precious 
 metals ; other exports are mahogany, cedar, 
 rum, cocoa, cotton, wax, hides, fruits and pre- 
 serves, honey, dye-stuffs, &c. In consequence 
 of the relaxation of the English tariff in 1842, 
 and of the sugar act of 1846, the exports are 
 said to have greatly increased, and this is in 
 part proved by the quantity of sugar exported 
 in 1847, which from Havannah and Matanzas 
 amounted to 1,004,496 boxes. The imports 
 are composed of flour, corn, provisions, cotton 
 goods, wine, linen, hardware and metals, silk, 
 gold and silver from Mexico, spices, leather, 
 butter, lard, cheese, fish, deals, casks, hoops, 
 &c. The trade of Havannah extends to all 
 countries of Europe and America, but chiefly 
 to Spain, the United States, and England. In 
 the nine months from January to September 
 1850, no fewer than 1262 ships entered the 
 
PRi. \JT1N B 
 
 OF TOE HHDUSTRV OF AU. 
 
 No. 25. 
 
1013 
 
 HAVRE. 
 
 HEAT. 
 
 1014 
 
 port of Havannah, with a tonnage of 418,388 
 tons. 
 
 HAVRE. The harbour of this important 
 French seaport consists of three wet docks, 
 and an outer port separated by locks, and ca- 
 pable of containing 450 ships. A fourth dock 
 is in course of formation for steamers. The 
 fine quays which border the docks are always 
 lined with vessels, and present great activity 
 of business. The trade of Havre produces in 
 ordinary years customs duties amounting to 
 about a million sterling, representing a total 
 movement of merchandise to the value of over 
 20,000,000/. Besides vast quantities of foreign 
 and colonial produce for the supply of Paris 
 and the north of France, such as coffee, sugar, 
 spices, the imports consist of raw cotton for 
 the manufacturing districts of Rouen, St. 
 Quentin, &c., of indigo, dyewoods, tobacco, 
 rice, hides, timber, iron, tin, tea, &c. The 
 principal exports are silks, broadcloth, cotton 
 manufactures, lace, gloves, shoes, trinkets, 
 plated and tin wares, perfumery, wine, brandy, 
 glass, furniture, books, &c. Above 450 vessels 
 belong to the port, including 50 of 400 to 500 
 tons engaged in the whale fishery, and 40 large 
 and small steamers. There is regular com- 
 munication by powerful steamers with Rouen, 
 London, Southampton, Bayonne, Hamburg, 
 Lisbon, &c., and by packet ships with New 
 York, Bahia, Vera Cruz, New Orleans. Small 
 steamers ply to Honfleur, Caen, Rouen, and 
 Paris. The manufactures comprise vitriol, 
 pottery, lace, paper, oil, carpenters' tools, 
 bricks and tiles, ship cordage, tobacco, furni- 
 ture, &c. There are also several sugar refine- 
 ries, and breweries. Outside the town and 
 close to the shore there are five ship-building 
 yards, which have constructed some of the 
 best sailing vessels and swiftest steamers be- 
 longing to France. 
 
 HAY-MAKING MACHINE. The grasses 
 which form the material of a field of hay are 
 of several kinds. The sweet-scented vernal 
 grass gives the delightful odour to newly mown 
 hay ; the cock's foot grass, a coarser but valu- 
 able herbage ; the fox tail grass, greatly re- 
 lished by cattle ; the meadow fox tail grass, 
 liked by sheep ; the mcadoiv fescue, and many 
 other kinds. All these are alike cut down by 
 the mower's scythe ; which is a long thin blade 
 of steel, well tempered, and having a rim of 
 iron along the back to within a few inches of 
 the point ; the handle is of wood, and is ad- 
 justed at a particular angle to the plane of the 
 blade ; two short projecting handles are fixed 
 to the principal handle, to facilitate the using. 
 
 There is no machine, AVG believe, to super- 
 sede hand labour in cutting hay ; and there- 
 fore the so-called hay -making machines must 
 
 VOL. I, 
 
 be understood as applying to a later process. 
 Under ordinary circumstances, the cut grass 
 is collected into heaps by rakes, worked by 
 hand ; but on large farms a horse rake is 
 sometimes used ; there are twenty or more 
 teeth or tines, which are drawn over the field 
 until they have collected as much as the in- 
 terstices can contain ; and then the driver, by 
 lifting up a pair of handles, raises the teeth 
 from the ground, so as to throw out the con- 
 tents of the rake. The hay making or hay ted- 
 ding machine, however, turns the hay over and 
 over in the field ; it is chiefly valuable for 
 meadow-hay, which requires more turning and 
 scattering than hay from clover or rye-grass. 
 There is a cylinder, or framework of wheels, 
 with rows of prongs projecting from the sur- 
 face ; the cylinder revolves on the same axis 
 as the driving-wheels, and with the same speed 
 as those wheels. As the cylinder revolves, 
 the hay is caught up by the prongs, and tho- 
 roughly tedded or spread abroad. Various 
 minor improvements have from time to time 
 been made in the construction of these ma- 
 chines. 
 
 HEAT. The fundamental laws of heat, so 
 far as they have yet been discovered, form a 
 very subtle and difficult department of science. 
 Only a few words respecting the action of heat 
 can be admissible in this work. 
 
 It is found that expansion, fusion, evapora- 
 tion, thermo-electric currents, and various phy- 
 siological phenomena, are effects of heat or at 
 least accompany its absorption. Besides the 
 solar rays, heat may be produced artificially 
 by any means which propagate agitations in- 
 ternally in bodies ; hence friction, hammering, 
 percussion, sudden condensation, chemical 
 combination, and electrical discharges are all 
 proper to produce or rather to develope 
 heat. 
 
 The spread of heat throughout a liquid is 
 marked by curious effects. If we place a 
 heated plate on the surface of water in a ves- 
 sel, but so as not to touch the edges, a ther- 
 mometer placed in the water will indicate little 
 or no alteration of temperature ; and, if the 
 bottom of a vessel of water be heated, the heat 
 will be distributed through the liquid only by 
 currents ascending from the heated part. 
 Liquids indeed conduct heat very slowly ; and 
 it is only by the rising of heated particles of 
 water, through their lightness, that a vessel 
 of water is quickly heated. 
 
 The agency of heat in promoting chemical 
 action is important and extensive ; in some 
 cases no combination can take place without 
 it, and in others it greatly facilitates chemical 
 combinations, while in some instances it de- 
 composes compound bodies, and resolves them 
 
1015 
 
 HEDGE. 
 
 HEMP. 
 
 1010 
 
 either into simpler or elementary forms of 
 matter. In the solution of salt in water, an 
 increase of heat, by increasing the affinity 
 between the solid and the liquid, increases 
 the solvent power. Heat has also great power 
 in modifying as well as in causing chemical 
 action, and different degrees of it produce very 
 opposite effects in some cases. The dilatation 
 of substances by heat is nearly proportional 
 to the increase of temperature, except when 
 they are about to change their physical or 
 chemical states ; thus water near the freezing 
 point expands when the temperature is dimin- 
 ished. The following table gives the relative 
 dilatation of different solids from the freezing 
 to the boiling point: 
 
 Glass tube 
 
 Crown glass 
 
 Platinum 
 
 Palladium 
 
 Cast Iron 
 
 Steel 
 
 Do. tempered 
 
 Gold 
 
 .00083 
 
 .00089 
 
 .00093 
 
 .001 
 
 .0011 
 
 .0012 
 
 .0013 
 
 .0015 
 
 Copper .0017 
 
 Brass .0018 
 
 Silver .0020 
 
 Tin .0022 
 
 Pewter .0023 
 
 Grain tin .0025 
 
 Lead .0028 
 
 Zinc .0030 
 
 Several instruments have been constructed 
 to measure heat ; the most important of which 
 are noticed under PYROMETER and THERMO- 
 METER. 
 
 HEDGE. Hedges are made of various kinds 
 of shrubs and trees, trained so as to throw 
 out numerous branches along the stem from 
 the surface of the earth upwards ; this is done 
 by judicious pruning when they are young. 
 Holly, which bears prickles on the edges of 
 the leaves, is on this account by far the best 
 shrub to form a hedge ; but yew, box, thorn, 
 hornbeam, elder, sweet briar, prickly pear, and 
 privet are all employed for hedges, each having 
 its particular excellencies, and requiring a 
 particular kind of culture. There is a method 
 of repairing hedges which is called plashing. 
 It consists in cutting half through some of 
 the stems near the ground, and then bending 
 the upper parts down in a horizontal or ob- 
 lique position, keeping them so by means of 
 hooked sticks driven into the bank. Thus a 
 live hedge is made, which fills up the gaps in 
 the same manner as a dead hedge would have 
 done, and the bent stems soon throw out 
 shoots. 
 
 HELENA, ST. This lonely island, situ- 
 ated in the Atlantic Ocean, 1200 miles west of 
 the coast of Benguela, in South Africa, has 
 one of the healthiest climates under the tro- 
 pics, and is found beneficial to invalids from 
 India and even from Europe. Viewed from 
 the sea, the island appears barren ; but the 
 interior is covered with a rich verdure, and is 
 watered by abundant springs. Horned cattle, 
 
 sheep, and goats feed on the rich pastures- 
 As an English settlement it is of little impor- 
 tance ; it is visited by ships returning from 
 India, who there take in fresh provisions and 
 water. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures ex- 
 ported to St. Helena in 1849 amounted in va- 
 lue to 18,3157. 
 
 HE'LIOSCOPE is the name given to a 
 kind of telescope adapted for making observa- 
 tions upon the sun without the eye being in- 
 jured by the intense brightness of the solar 
 rays. A coloured glass placed before the lens 
 nearest to the eye, in a telescope, has long 
 been the means used to prevent such injury. 
 
 HE'LIOSTAT is an instrument employed 
 in making experiments on light. The instru- 
 ment consists of a plain metallic mirror, from 
 the back of which projects a rod perpendicu- 
 larly to its plane. The extremity of the rod 
 is connected with the index of a clock, the 
 plane of whose face is parallel to the equator ; 
 and, as the index is turned by the wheel-work, 
 the motion of the rod causes the mirror to 
 turn about a vertical axis, and also about a 
 horizontal axis, so that a pencil of the sun's 
 light reflected from the mirror is always in the 
 same position. 
 
 HELLEBORE. White Hellebore, a valu- 
 able medicine, is prepared by triturating the 
 roots of a plant of the same name, called by 
 botanists the Veratrum Album. There are 
 also black hellebore and oriental hellebore, botli 
 used medicinally, but derived from plants of 
 different genera from that which yields the 
 white. 
 
 HEMP ; HEMP-SEED. The plant which 
 yields this most valuable fibre is the Cannabis 
 sativa, nearly allied in many of its botanical 
 features to the nettle. It is said to be a native 
 of Persia, but is now known throughout 
 northern Europe. The hemp plant possesses 
 a remarkably tough kind of woody tissue, ca- 
 pable of being manufactured into canvas and 
 cordage ; and its value in this respect has 
 given rise to manufactures and commerce 
 of great magnitude. [ROPE-MAKING ; SAIL- 
 MAKING.] 
 
 The extraction of the fibre from the plant 
 is so similar to that of flax, that we may refer 
 to FLAX for a brief description. Hemp-seed 
 is made to yield a useful oil by pi-essure ; and 
 the hemp plant is useful in many ways for 
 medicine. 
 
 Nearly all our hemp is procured from Rus 
 sia. During the war, the demand was so 
 large (for ship's cordage), and the supply so 
 precarious, that the price sometimes rose to 
 118/. per ton; in recent years the average 
 price has been about one quarter this amount. 
 
1017 
 
 HENBANE. 
 
 HERTFORDSHIRE. 
 
 1018 
 
 The quantities of hemp, imported in the last 
 four years have been as follow : 
 
 1847 . . 811,565 cwts. 
 
 1848 .. 845,771 
 
 1849 .. 1,061,89-3 
 
 1850 .. 1,048,635 
 
 Of these quantities, the supply from Kussia 
 has been nearly two thirds. 
 
 HENBANE, is one of the species of the 
 plants belonging to the hyoscyamus genus. The 
 leaves and seeds contain a powerful principle 
 called hyoscyamia, on which the deadly as well 
 as the medical effects of henbane depend. 
 
 HEKAULT, one of the departments of 
 France, produces corn in quantity more than 
 sufficient for the consumption. There is a 
 considerable breadth of artificial meadows ; 
 and large crops of lucern, sainfoin, and clover 
 are grown. For quantity of wine produced, 
 Herault stands at the head of the wine grow- 
 ing departments of France, the annual produce 
 being nearly 50 million gallons. The red 
 wines of St. Georges, St. Christol, and St. 
 Drezery, the muscadel wines of Frontignan, 
 Lunel, and Beziers, and the white wines of 
 Marseillan and Pinet, are considered the best. 
 Fruits, especially raisins, olives, almonds, figs, 
 and chestnuts, and all kinds of pulse are 
 grown. The mulberry is cultivated for the 
 production of silk ; aromatic and medicinal 
 herbs, and plants used for dye stuffs, are 
 gathered. The principal material of the 
 woods are the chestnut and green and white 
 oak. The industrial products comprise woollen 
 cloths, silks, hosiery, calico, muslin, flannel, 
 blankets, brandy, chemical products, pottery, 
 tiles, honey, perfumes, leather, oil, beer, 
 paper, &c. There are also numerous dye 
 houses, and establishments for the rearing of 
 silkworms. Ship building is carried on at 
 Cotte and other towns on the coast. Mines 
 of coal and copper, quarries of marble, build- 
 ing and mill stone, slate, gypsum, and granite 
 are worked. A vast deal of salt is made by 
 evaporation on the lagunes and on the shore 
 of the Mediterranean, this department being 
 one of the chief sources for the supply of that 
 article to France. The exports consists of 
 most of the articles enumerated, but chiefly of 
 wine, dry fruits, and brandy. The imports 
 are/wool, cotton bales, staves, colonial produce, 
 raw hides, cork, &c. 
 
 HEREFORDSHIRE. The soil of this 
 county is very favourable to the growth of 
 trees, especially the apple tree and oak. In 
 the neighbourhood of towns the land is culti- 
 vated chiefly as meadow or pasture. The high 
 lands are generally occupied by oak coppices 
 which are numerous and extensive ; these are 
 felled at periods of from 16 to 20 years, and 
 
 fetch a price of from 18/. to 20/. an acre. In 
 the lower lands, crops are raised in the fol- 
 owing succession : wheat, turnips, barley, 
 clover, and peas or vetches. Hop yards are 
 common in the middle, and eastern portions 
 of the county. Orchards are numerous, and 
 produce large quantities of cyder. 
 
 Few of our counties possess so little mine- 
 ral wealth as Herefordshire; nor are its 
 manufactures or general commerce consider- 
 able. There is an iron foundry and a little 
 manufacture of gloves, at Hereford ; and mis- 
 cellaneous manufactures at Bromyard, Led- 
 bury, Kington, Leominster, Ross, and 
 Weobly. 
 
 HERRING FISHERIES. A brief notice 
 of the herring fishery, as a department of 
 commerce, is given under FISHERIES. 
 
 HERTFORDSHIRE. This county has no 
 minerals of any value. The loams are gene- 
 rally well cultivated, but the heavy clays are 
 capable of much improvement. Wherever the 
 turnip husbandry prevails, the superiority of 
 the crops is striking. Wheat, beans, oats, and 
 fallows are the only varieties. Clover is much 
 less in quantity than might be desired. The 
 old heavy plough with four horses in a line 
 may still be seen. The county is remarkable 
 for its high banks and hedges ; in many of 
 the lanes, where two carriages could scarcely 
 pass one another, it is difficult for a man 
 standing on a waggon to see over the hedge ; 
 but wherever the old high banks have been 
 levelled, and neat quick hedges have been 
 planted in their stead, the ground which has 
 been gained has soon paid the expense. A 
 species of rough garden husbandry has been 
 introduced on the best soils nearest to Lon- 
 don for the growth of early potatoes, cab 
 bages, peas, and other culinary vegetables, 
 which are succeeded in the same year by other 
 crops, the whole being forced by an abundance 
 of manure. The plough is used, but a 
 great portion of the labour is done by the 
 spade and the hoe. There are many orchards 
 chiefly for apples and cherries, which are sold 
 in London. 
 
 Very little manufacturing is carried on in 
 the county. The country around Barnet is 
 celebrated for its hay, and a great deal of 
 business is done at the market. At Bishop's 
 Stortford a great deal of corn is accumulated, 
 and the malting trade carried on to a great 
 extent. At Hemel Hempstead the females 
 are much engaged in making straw plat, and 
 there are corn and paper mills in the neigh- 
 bourhood. At Hertford a good deal of busi - 
 ness is done in malting, and there are many 
 corn mills on the Lea, the Mimram, and the 
 Beane. At Hitchin much straw-plat is made ; 
 
1019 
 
 HESSE. 
 
 HINDOO MANUFACTURES. 1020 
 
 there are some breweries, and also a silk mill. 
 At Rickmans worth there are several paper 
 and flour mills near the town ; and some 
 straw platting and horsehair weaving is carried 
 on. There is considerable trade at Ware ; 
 the market is one of the greatest in the county 
 for corn. At Watford there are considerable 
 silk mills, and also a paper mill. 
 
 HESSE. The small German principalities 
 tinder this name do not occupy a very high 
 rank in industry or commerce. In Hesse 
 Ctissel flax and timber are the staple articles : 
 tobacco, hemp, madder, a few hops, and rape- 
 seed are also among the products. The vine 
 is cultivated only in some parts of Hanau. 
 Garden produce of excellent quality is raised 
 about Cassel and Hanau. Hesse abounds in 
 mineral wealth, producing silver, copper, lead, 
 iron, quicksilver, cobalt, salt (from saline 
 springs and in great quantities), saltpetre, 
 vitriol, and alum. There are also coals, mar- 
 ble, very fine white alabaster, porcelain, pot- 
 ter's clay, and pipe clay, &c. The manufac- 
 tures are insufficient for home consumption. 
 The principal are linen, mostly coarse, which 
 is exported to the value of 300,000/. sterling 
 annually; fine linen is made in Cassel and 
 Herzberg. Cotton spinning is pretty general. 
 Schmalkalden manufactures almost all the 
 steel and iron of the country ; Grossalmerode 
 is celebrated for its crucibles, which are ex- 
 ported to all parts of the world. 
 
 In Hesse Darmstadt the chief productions 
 are corn of all kinds, likewise maize and spelt 
 wheat and rye, flax, hemp, hops, tobacco, 
 pulse, potatoes, wines, both white and red, 
 garden vegetables and fruit, and timber. 
 Mining is not carried on to any great extent: 
 it is confined to copper, iron, coals, salt, and 
 brown coal. Cobalt, basalt, lime, sandstone, 
 marble, and slate are found in different parts 
 of the grand duchy. The chief manufactures 
 are of woollens, cottons, and linen, leather, 
 and hardware. Wine is produced chiefly in 
 Rhenish Hesse. The most considerable 
 manufacturing and trading town is Offenbach, 
 which has two annual fairs. Mainz is the 
 principal place for the transit trade. The ex- 
 ports consist of the natural productions of 
 the country and of some manufactures. 
 
 These two Hessian principalities will con- 
 tribute to the extent of the resources to the 
 Great Industrial Exhibition. There are two 
 or three other Hesses, very small and unim- 
 portant. 
 
 HEXACHORD, was a name given by the 
 ancient Greeks to a lyre of six strings ; also 
 to a scale of six sounds. The term hexachord 
 was also applied to a system of musical scales 
 now disused. 
 
 HIBISCUS. Many plants of this genus 
 yield very useful fibre for rope making and 
 imilar purposes ; this fibre is yielded by the 
 bark. The hibiscus cannabiinis is cultivated 
 everywhere in India in the rainy season for 
 this purpose ; and its fibre is often imported 
 into Europe, as a substitute for hemp. In 
 the island of Tahiti rope and string are 
 manufactured from the bark of the hibiscus 
 tiliaccoiis, which is also made into matting of 
 a white colour, and of different degrees of 
 fineness. Almost all the species possess suffi- 
 cient tenacity of fibre to be used for cordage, 
 whips, &c. They also abound in mucilage, 
 which renders them serviceable as articles of 
 diet ; the calyces are often employed in making 
 tarts, and a decoction of them, sweetened and 
 fermented, is used in the West Indies as a 
 cool and refreshing drink. The seeds of the 
 hibiscus abelmoschus are said to be added to 
 coffee in Arabia, and are in India employed as 
 a cordial medicine. 
 
 HICKORY. This tree is applied to many 
 useful pui"poses in North America. The wood 
 is coarse grained, very heavy, exceedingly 
 tough and strong, and red at the heart ; but it 
 is not very durable. It is employed for 
 the shafts and springs of carriages, for 
 large screws for presses, for bows, chair 
 backs, whip handles, wooden cogged wheels, 
 cask- hoops, and a variety of other purposes* 
 It is one of the most economical kinds of 
 wood fuel. The nuts of a species called the 
 pecan hickory, are eaten in North America; 
 and so, to some extent, are those of most of 
 the species. 
 
 HINDOO MANUFACTURES. Under 
 EAST INDIA COMPANY we have glanced at the 
 commercial relations which exist between 
 India and other countries. We have here to 
 speak of the native skill of the Hindoos. It 
 is evident from the most ancient Sanskrit 
 works, as well as from the testimony of the 
 Greeks who visited the country, that the use 
 ful and fine arts had attained a considerable 
 degree of perfection among the Hindoos in 
 very early times. The Ram ay an a (a Sanskrit 
 manuscript of great antiquity) contains nume- 
 rous proofs of the progress they had made in 
 working metals. The art of smelting iron 
 ore and of manufacturing steel is undoubtedly 
 of great antiquity ; and their skill in the manu- 
 facture of gold and silver ornaments is evi- 
 dent from the descriptions of the Ram ay an a. 
 The degree of perfection to which the Hindoos 
 carried the art of weaving in ancient as wrll 
 as modern times is well known. Their country 
 has always been distmguish&d for the number 
 and excellence of the sul.st.anfos which it 
 contains for dyeing colours, and the beauty 
 
1021 HINDOO MANUFACTUEES. 
 
 and brilliancy, as well as durability, of their 
 colours were as celebrated among the Greeks 
 and Eonians as among ourselves. Silk was 
 probably manufactured in India in very early 
 times. The art of obtaining intoxicating 
 liquors by distillation is mentioned in the 
 Eamayana and the laws of Manu. 
 
 In painting the Hindoos have not attained 
 much proficiency: their artists draw with 
 great accuracy, but they have no knowledge 
 of perspective. With regard to music their 
 instruments are numerous ; but their compo- 
 sitions are confined to a few simple melo- 
 dies. 
 
 With respect to the present state of the 
 arts among the Hindoos, Bishop Heber re- 
 marks, ' Nor is it true that in the mechanic 
 arts they are inferior to the general run of 
 European nations. Where they fall short of 
 us (which is chiefly in agricultural instru- 
 ments and the mechanics of common life) , they 
 are not, so far as I have understood of Italy 
 and the South of France, surpassed in any 
 great degree by the people of those countries. 
 Their goldsmiths and weavers produce as 
 beautiful fabrics as our own ; and it is so far 
 from true that they are obstinately wedded to 
 their old patterns, that they show an anxiety 
 to imitate our models, and do imitate them 
 very successfully. The ships built by native 
 artists at Bombay are notoriously as good as 
 any which sail from London or Liverpool. 
 The carriages and gigs which they supply at 
 Calcutta are as handsome, though not so 
 durable, as those of Long Acre. In the little 
 town of Monghyr, three hundred miles from 
 Calcutta, I had pistols, double-barrelled guns, 
 and different pieces of cabinet work brought 
 down to my boat for sale, which in outward 
 form nobody could detect to be of Hindoo ori- 
 gin; and at Delhi, in the shop of a native 
 wealthy jeweller, I found brooches, ear-rings, 
 snuff boxes, &c., of the latest models, and 
 ornamented with French devices and mot- 
 toes.' 
 
 Architecture. The architecture of the Hin- 
 doos has hitherto been little studied by pro- 
 fessional men. On examining the Hindoo 
 works of construction, or edifices erected 
 above ground, we can hardly avoid being 
 struck by the prevalence of pyramidal masses 
 and forms, as exhibited in pagodas or towers. 
 The Egyptian structures of this kind bear a 
 much closer resemblance to natural or rudely 
 constructed prototypes than do those of the 
 Hindoos. The gopuras, or pagoda towers 
 erected over the gateways leading to temples 
 are indeed pyramidal in theii general form, 
 but infinitely more complex than, not the 
 pyramidal alone, but anything else we meet 
 
 HOBAET TOWN. 
 
 1022 
 
 with in Egyptian architecture. Neither do 
 they terminate in a point or mere platform, 
 but have generally a great deal of ornament 
 bestowed on then: summit, which sometimes 
 assumes, not inelegantly, the form of a crown. 
 Besides this, they diner from the pyramid in 
 being of far loftier proportions. Of a domical 
 termination, if not exactly a dome, we have an 
 example in the great pagoda at Tanjore, 
 which is considered one of the finest speci- 
 mens of the kind in India. 
 
 HINGE. Hinges are constructed in a 
 great variety of forms ; but in most of the 
 commoner kinds the action is that of a hollow 
 cylinder working round a fixed central pin. 
 In Collinge's patent hinges, which are pecu- 
 liarly adapted for hanging large heavy doors 
 and gates, the principal rubbing action is be- 
 tween a hollow cap and an accurately turned 
 sphere, formed, as it were, upon the end of 
 the pin, a cavity being provided for the recep- 
 tion of a supply of oil to lubricate the rubbing 
 surfaces. Mr. Eedmund is the inventor of the 
 rising hinges so frequently used for hanging 
 room doors in houses of superior character. In 
 ordinary door hinges the hollow cylinder which 
 works round the axis or central pin is divided 
 transversely into two or more portions ; but 
 in the rising hinges, instead of the hollow 
 cylinder being divided transversely at right 
 angles, it is divided by spiral or rather helical 
 lines. The. result of this contrivance is, that 
 when the door is opened it is lifted up a little 
 from the floor by the sliding upon one ano- 
 ther of the inclined helical surfaces ; so that, 
 although the door may shut very close to the 
 floor, it rises, when opened, to a sufficient 
 height above the floor to allow its lower edge 
 to clear the carpet. Other forms of hinges 
 are very numerous. 
 
 HISPANIO'LA, known also under the 
 names of SAINT DOMINGO and HAITI, is 
 one of the larger islands of the West Indies, 
 and is the most fertile of the whole. At the 
 end of the last century Hispaniola was noted 
 for its extensive plantations of sugar, coffee, 
 and cotton, but they have now almost entirely 
 disappeared, except those of coffee, which are 
 much reduced. The principal commercial 
 wealth of the island is derived from the forests 
 which cover the greatest part of the moun- 
 tains. The timber consists chiefly of maho- 
 gany trees and different kinds of dye-woods. 
 The capital, Port-au-Prince, has considerable 
 commerce with the United States and with 
 Jamaica. 
 
 HOBAET TOWN. A few details concern- 
 ing the cominerce and industry of Hobart 
 Town will be found under VAN DIEMEN'S 
 LAND. 
 
J023 
 
 HOE. 
 
 HOGSHEAD. 
 
 1024: 
 
 HOE ; HORSE-HOE. The hoe is an in- 
 strument used in gardens and fields for loos- 
 ening the earth, and destroying the weeds be- 
 tween plants. It has various forms. The 
 most common hoe consists of a blade or flat 
 piece of iron, with an eye in which an handle 
 is inserted at an acute angle with the plane of 
 the blade. This hoe is used by striking the 
 edge of it down into the ground, and the earth 
 is moved by drawing the handle towards the 
 workman. Another hoe has the handle at a 
 very obtuse angle, and is used by pushing it 
 forward and cutting off the weeds an inch or 
 less under the surface of the ground. Hoes 
 are made of different sizes and shapes, accord- 
 ing to the work which is to be done. When 
 the earth is to be stirred between plants 
 which are very near each other, the hoe is 
 narrow and pointed, so that the smallest weed 
 may be taken out close to the growing plant. 
 When the distance is considerable, the hoe is 
 wide, and sometimes compounded of several 
 hoes, in order to stir a greater width of earth 
 at once. 
 
 One of the greatest improvements in prac 
 tical agriculture has been the introduction of 
 the hoe into the field for every kind of crop, 
 consequent on the sowing of seeds in parallel 
 rows. Hand-hoeing not having been found 
 sufficiently expeditious on a large scale, a hoe 
 has been invented of a larger form, to be 
 drawn by a horse. The rows have in conse- 
 quence been widened, and this has introduced 
 the horse-hoeing husbandry, which half a cen 
 tury ago was thought so important a discovery 
 as to receive the name of the New Husbandry, 
 from its great improver, Jethro Tull. The 
 simple horse-hoe is an instrument with a 
 beam like a plough, and two stilts or handles, 
 but much lighter; in this beam is inserted, 
 instead of a coulter, the end of an iron hoe, of 
 the proper breadth to stir the whole surface 
 between the rows. A small wheel is gene- 
 rally added to keep the hoe at a proper depth 
 in the soil. Many varieties of horse-hoes have 
 been invented of more or less complicated 
 forms ; but the object of them all is the same, 
 viz., to stir the ground between the rows, and 
 destroy the weeds as fast as they appear. The 
 horse -hoe is now chiefly used in the cultiva- 
 tion of peas, beans, potatoes, cabbage, turnips 
 and carrots. 
 
 One recent variety of this instrument is the 
 Uxbridge Expanding Horse-hoe, made of 
 wrought iron. There are two small wheels 
 behind, one in front, two handles, and seven 
 hoes. These hoes are arranged in a peculiar 
 manner. The frame to which the hoes are 
 fixed is expansive, that is, its outside bars are 
 moveable farther or nearer apart ; and by 
 
 adjusting these bars, the cutting edges of 
 the hoes are made . to present different an- 
 gles, according as circumstances may re- 
 quire. 
 
 HOFWYL. The name of this estate will 
 always have an industrial interest connected 
 with it, on account of the educational institu- 
 tion of Mons. de Fellenberg. It is situated 
 in a valley about three leagues from Berne, in 
 Switzerland, and consists of a number of dis- 
 tinct buildings surrounded by about 250 acres 
 of land. The founder had for his object the 
 improvement of the condition and character 
 of all classes of society by means of an educa- 
 tion adapted to their respective wants. To 
 effect this, he divided the institution into 
 classes, of which the higher, the sons of 
 wealthy parents, paid a large yearly sum ; the 
 second class, a smaller sum ; and the lowest 
 class were received without payment. All 
 were instructed in agriculture, and the trades 
 connected therewith, all of which were prac- 
 tised on the estate. All the classes also were 
 instructed in the usual branches of school 
 education, and the lower class in the sciences 
 connected with agriculture; but these were 
 carried farther in the second class, and the 
 highest class had a still wider range. The 
 upper class was commenced in 1808, the lowest 
 was added in 1810, and the middle class was 
 not introduced till 1830. Fellenberg was en- 
 thusiastic, and succeeded in imparting much 
 knowledge to his pupils, of whom he had 
 usually about 100 who paid stipends, and 100 
 who were boarded, clothed, and educated for 
 their labour. Fellenberg died in 1844, la- 
 mented and respected. The school is still 
 carried on, and has about 40 scholars of 
 the first class, and 70 of the second, many 
 scholars of these classes being English ; of 
 the third class the number is still continued 
 at 100. It was Fellenberg's wish to have his 
 institution adopted by the state, but this has 
 not been done. 
 
 HOG. The commerce and consumption 
 of these animals, and the useful purposes to 
 which they are applied, are noticed under 
 PIGS. 
 
 HOGSHEAD. This ancient measure of 
 liquids, not being mentioned in the Act of 
 1825, cannot now be considered as having any 
 legal existence, although it is familiarly used. 
 The hogshead of wine was 2 wine barrels, or 
 63 old wine gallons ; the London hogshead of 
 ale was 1$ ale barrels, or 48 ale gallons ; the 
 London hogshead of beer was 1J beer barrels, 
 or 54 beer gallons ; and the ale and beer hogs- 
 heads for the rest of England was 1J barrels, 
 or 51 gallons. All Excise measurements 
 being now made in gallons, the term hogs- 
 
1025 
 
 HOLLAND. 
 
 HONDURAS. 
 
 1026 
 
 dead remains in use only as the name of a 
 large cask. 
 
 HOLLAND. Although we are in the habit 
 of giving this name to a kingdom, it is in 
 strictness the name of one of the provinces of 
 the Netherlands. Under this restricted mean- 
 ing, Holland may be described as being flat, 
 and in many parts below the level of the sea, 
 against which it is protected by the sandy 
 downs on the west coast, and by stupendous 
 dykes built along the shores of the Zuider- 
 zee, the Haarlem-meer, and the banks of the 
 principal rivers. The country is traversed by 
 canals in all directions. A railroad passing 
 from Rotterdam through the Hague, Leyden, 
 Haarlem, Amsterdam, Utrecht, and thence to 
 Rotterdam, incloses a very important part of 
 the province. Gardens and orchards are care- 
 fully cultivated ; some barley, oats, peas, beans, 
 mustard, and other seeds are the chief crops 
 in the northern part of the province ; in the 
 southern part more corn is produced. But 
 pasturage prevails much more than arable 
 cultivation : the produce of the dairy farms, 
 butter and cheese, constituting the chief 
 wealth of the landholder. The drained dis- 
 tricts called polders have been before noticed 
 [FLANDERS] ; as well as the great drainage 
 of Haarlem Lake. [DRAINING ; HAARLEM.] 
 Flowers are cultivated in the tract between 
 Alkmaar and the Hague, but especially about 
 Haarlem. Hemp, flax, and madder are 
 grown. Wood, both for construction and for 
 fuel, is scarce. The manufactures, which are 
 chiefly carried on in the towns, are important ; 
 they are linen, paper, woollen cloths (for 
 which Leyden is famous), silk, leather, to- 
 bacco, sugar, &c. The gin distilleries of 
 Schiedam are very extensive, and have been 
 long celebrated. Large quantities of fine lime 
 are made from the shells gathered on the coast 
 of the German Ocean. The fisheries on the 
 coasts are important, and most industriously 
 plied. 
 
 Besides the two most notable commercial 
 towns [AMSTERDAM; HAARLEM] there are 
 other busy spots. From Edam the export 
 trade in sweet milk cheese is important ; the 
 chief industrial products are salt and fish oil. 
 Hdder is notable for the great Heldcr-Dyke, 
 which protects the extremity of north Holland 
 from the fury of the storms to which it is ex- 
 posed, and is one of the most astonishing 
 monuments of Dutch industry, perseverance, 
 and skill. It is nearly 6 miles in length, 40 
 feet broad on the summit, along which there 
 is a good road ; it presents to the sea a slant 
 side of 200 feet, inclined at an angle of 40, 
 the whole constructed of granite blocks 
 brought from Norway, Naarden forma the key 
 
 of all the water communication of Holland, 
 and is important for the defence of Amster- 
 dam, with which it is connected by a fine 
 canal. Zaanden has a most singular appear- 
 ance ; it seems to consist of a line of wind- 
 mills, some of which are of gigantic size, and 
 have houses attached to them, extending along 
 the Zaan, and forming a street nearly 5 miles 
 in length. The number of these mills is va- 
 riously stated, but it seems to amount to 
 about 700; they are applied to the various 
 purposes of grinding corn, draining the land, 
 sawing timber, making paper, grinding to- 
 bacco into snuff, crushing rapeseed to express 
 the oil, grinding colours for painters, grinding 
 stones into sand for the floors of the Dutch 
 housewife, and grinding the volcanic substance 
 called trass into dust in order to form a ce- 
 ment, which hardens under water and is much 
 used in Holland. Gonda has tobacco pipe 
 factories that give employment to 6000 men, 
 brickworks (the clay for the supply of which 
 is taken from the bed of the Yssel), rope 
 walks, gin distilleries, and breweries. Gonda 
 numbers also among its industrial products 
 woollen cloth and sailcloth ; it is famous as a 
 cheese market. Schiedam has glass works, 
 rope walks, white lead works, above 200 dis- 
 tilleries for the manufacture of gin, for which 
 it is universally celebrated. It has a large 
 trade in pigs, 30,000 of which are said to be 
 annually fattened on the grains from the dis- 
 tilleries. 
 
 A few of the towns of Holland will be repre- 
 sented at the Great Exhibition. 
 
 HOLLY. The common holly or Ilex aqui- 
 folium is chiefly valued as an ornamental tree, 
 but its fine-grained, heavy, compact timber is 
 used for a great number of useful purposes, 
 especially by the turner and mathematical in- 
 strument maker. The berries are poisonous. 
 
 HOLYHEAD. [MENAI BRIDGES.] 
 
 HONDURAS. British Honduras, in cen- 
 tral America, owed its origin to Mahogany 
 cutters. Mahogany trees of great size and 
 beauty grow in this colony ; and the first esta- 
 blishment of the English in this quarter was 
 made by mahogany cutters from Jamaica, in 
 the 17th century. Logwood is also largely 
 grown and cut; and the English cutters of 
 these woods had many contests with the 
 Spaniards, before they were permitted to settle 
 finally in their new colony. 
 
 Most of the mahogany and logwood trade 
 of Honduras is conducted by five or six firms, 
 established at Belize. The cutters are em- 
 ployed by these firms ; and these firms also 
 ship the wood to other countries. The colony 
 took British produce and manufactures in the 
 year 1849, to the amount of about 200,OOOJ. 
 
1027 
 
 HONEY. 
 
 HOPS. 
 
 The exports from Honduras are larger than 
 the imports ; they consist of mahogany, log- 
 wood, rosewood, hides, tortoiseshell, fustic, 
 cochineal, indigo, sarsaparilla, and cocoa-nuts. 
 In 1848 no less than eight million cubic feet 
 of mahogany were exported. 
 
 HONEY is a fluid or semi-fluid substance, 
 the materials of which arc collected by differ- 
 ent kinds of bees, in Europe chiefly by the 
 hive-bee, and solely by the neuter or working- 
 bees, from the nectariferous glands in the cup 
 or chalico of flowers. It cannot be said to be 
 a purely vegetable production, for, after being 
 collected by the proboscis of the insect, it is 
 transmitted to that distension of the esopha- 
 gus termed the crop, sucking stomach, or honey 
 bag, where it is elaborated, and again dis- 
 gorged, to be deposited in the cell of the 
 honey-comb. It undergoes less change when 
 the bees are very young, remaining nearly 
 white, and is then denominated virgin honey. 
 At all times it retains qualities derived from 
 the kind of plant whence it has been procured; 
 as is manifest not only by the peculiar odour 
 of the honey, but by the effects which follow 
 the use of honey obtained from certain plants. 
 
 Honey is sweet, faintly aromatic, granular, 
 soluble in water, and capable of undergoing 
 the vinous fermentation. 
 
 The finest honey in Europe is said to be 
 that of Narbonne, which is supposed to derive 
 its excellence from the rosemary which grows 
 in the neighbourhood. When honey is taken 
 from the honey-comb it is fluid, but gradually 
 thickens by age ; and in cold weather a firm 
 and solid mass of honey forms. 
 
 Honey is used as a substitute, sometimes 
 for sugar and sometimes for butter. Honey 
 is an ingredient in the useful medicine Oxymel 
 of Squills. Mel boracis is borate of soda 
 mixed with honey ; mcl rosce is made of honey 
 and red rose petals ; oxymel simplex consists 
 of clarified honey boiled in dilute acetic acid. 
 When fermented, honey water obtains the 
 name of mead, and is in fact honey wine, which 
 is the name given to it in Germany (honiffivein). 
 Mead was formerly drunk to a considerable 
 extent in England, and in most parts of 
 northern Europe. Keal mead or Metheglin is 
 a fermented wine ; but many drinks made 
 from honey are little else than honey water or 
 kydromel. Such is the sbitene of Eussia, 
 which consists of honey mixed with boiling 
 water and boiling milk, and seasoned with 
 pepper. 
 
 HONITON LACE. [LACE MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 HOPS. This useful plant, the HumnJits 
 lupitlus of Linnaeus, is extensively cultivated 
 for the flowers or seed-vessels, which give fla- 
 vour and permanence to beer by being boiled 
 
 with the wort in brewing. Hops were intro- 
 duced into England from Flanders about the 
 year 1524:. The most extensive plantations 
 are in Kent, Sussex, and Herefordshire ; but 
 they are also cultivated in \YonvskTshire, 
 Wiltshire, Hampshire, Glo-eesU'rsliiiv, Sur- 
 rey, and several other counties. 
 
 The hop is a slender climbing plant, which 
 requires a very rich mellow soil and careful 
 cultivation. The soil of a hop garden must 
 be rich to a considerable depth, or made so 
 artificially. The young plants are raised in 
 beds, and may be raised from seed ; but it is 
 more usual to plant the young shoots which 
 rise from the bottom of the stems of old 
 plants. The varieties most esteemed are the 
 Grape Hop, the White Vine, and the GoUU-u 
 Hop. The young plants are placed in gruiijis 
 of three each, about six inches asunder, in 
 the midst of prepared masses of soil about a 
 yard asunder. A watering with liquid manure 
 greatly assists their taking root, and they soon 
 begin to show bines. A stick three or four 
 feet long is then stuck in the middle of the 
 three plants, and the bines are tied to this 
 stick with twine or the shreds of Russia mats, 
 till they lay hold and twine round it. During 
 their growth the ground is well hood and 
 forked up around the roots, and some of the 
 fine mould is thrown around the sterns. In 
 favourable seasons a few hops may be picked 
 from these young plants in the autumn, but 
 in general there is nothing the first year. 
 Early in November the ground is carefully 
 dug with the spade, and the earth, being 
 turned towards the plants, is left so all the 
 winter. 
 
 In the second year, early in spring, the hil- 
 locks around the plants are opened and tho 
 roots examined. The last year's shoots arc 
 cut off within an inch of the main stem, and 
 all the suckers quite close to it. A pole about 
 twelve feet long is then firmly stuck into the 
 ground near the plants ; to this the bines are 
 led and tied as they shoot, till they have tnkon 
 hold of it. The ground being well hoed ;;u I 
 the earth raised round the plants, the produce 
 this year will average 4 cwt. per acre if th.^ 
 season is favourable. In September thcflow.T 
 containing the seed will be of a fine straw co- 
 lour, turning to a brown ; it is then in perfec- 
 tion. No time should now be lost in picking 
 them. The hops when picked are dried on a 
 hair cloth in a kiln. They are then laid in 
 heaps on the floor, where they undergo a \. ry 
 slight heating. As soon as this is observed, 
 they are bagged. This is done by pressing 
 them into large bags suspended below a hole 
 in the floor; when sewed close and tight, tho 
 bag is stored in a dry place till the hops aro 
 
1029 
 
 HOEN. 
 
 HOEN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1030 
 
 wanted for sale. The crop of the third year 
 will average 8 cwt. per acre, but will in some 
 cases reach 15. 
 
 The occupation of hop-picking is a remark- 
 able one. There is not available labour 
 enough in Kent and the other hop districts to 
 pick all the hops in the requisite time ; and 
 hundreds of poor persons arrive from other 
 parts of the country, to sojourn for a few days 
 or weeks in the hop districts, during which 
 time they are employed in picking the hops. 
 
 The poles are an expensive article ; those 
 of chestnut are the most durable, and also the 
 dearest. They should be put into a shed du- 
 ring winter ; or else be placed on end in the 
 form of a cone, leaning against each other. 
 
 Besides the use of hops in brewing, they 
 produce a bitter infusion and a tincture which 
 are valuable in medicine for complaints in the 
 stomach. 
 
 The number of acres of Hops in England 
 in 1849 was 42,798 ; the weight of hops 
 charged with duty was 16,650,915 Ibs., the 
 duty on which was 145,693/. In that year 
 274,811 Ibs. of hops were exported. The ex- 
 cise duty on British hops is 18s. 8d. per cwt., 
 and 5 per cent, additional ; the customs duty 
 on imported foreign hops is 45s. per cwt. The 
 produce in 1848 and in 1850 was very much 
 larger than in 1849 ; in the former year 
 the duty was 394,923/., and in the latter 
 426,1944. 
 
 HOEN. This musical wind-instrument is 
 of very ancient origin, and of various forms. 
 The French horn is a tube of about ten feet, 
 very narrow at top, widening considerably at 
 the bottom, and bent in rings for the conve- 
 nience of the performer. It is not provided 
 with holes, as the flute, &c. ; the production 
 of the various sounds depending upon the lips 
 of the player, the more or less pressure of his 
 breath, and the insertion of the hand in the 
 bell, or wide end, of the instrument. Crooks 
 and shifting pieces are provided to adjust the 
 instrument to different keys or fundamental 
 notes. The Bugle Horn is a tube of three 
 feet ten inches in length, doubled up in a 
 small compass. The Keyed Bugle^ or a Bugle 
 horn with keys, is that now in common use, 
 the scaje of which comprehends about two oc- 
 taves, with the semitones. The Cornopean and 
 the Cornet -(i-Pistons are improved mqdern 
 forms of this instrument. The Russian Horn 
 is an unbent brass tube, conical in shape, of 
 various dimensions : the deepest toned is eight 
 feet long, and nine inches in diameter at the 
 wide end, and the highest is two inches and a 
 half in length by one at the wide end. The 
 former gives A, an octave below the first space 
 in the base ; the latter gives E, the third addi- 
 
 tional line above the treble. Some of these 
 horns have keys, producing one or two semi- 
 tones, but generally every note has its separate 
 horn ; and a band of Eussian Horns counts 
 almost as many individuals as diatonic notes 
 in a scale of between four and five octaves. The 
 English Horn, or Cor no Tnglese, is a deep- 
 toned oboe, of large dimensions, somewhat 
 bent, the lower end very open, and is to the 
 oboe what the ba? set horn is to the clarinet, 
 or what the viola is to the violin. The tone 
 of this instrument is extremely pathetic, and 
 by the Italians is thought so much to resemble 
 the human voice, that they sometimes call it 
 the voce umana. 
 
 HOEN MANUFACTUEE. The horns of 
 the ox, antelope, goat, and sheep may be de- 
 scribed as a number of conical sheaths inserted 
 into one another, the innermost of which lies 
 upon the vascular membrane which covers 
 the bony core. The tip, or that portion of 
 the point of the horn which projects beyond 
 the core, is very dense, and the several layers 
 of which it is composed are scarcely distin- 
 guishable ; while towards the base the layers 
 may be readily distinguished, owing to their 
 successive terminations forming prominent 
 rings. Theye are many points of resemblance 
 between the substance of horns, nails, 
 claws, hoofs, scales, hair, feathers, and even 
 skin. 
 
 The principal kinds of horn employed in 
 manufacturing operations are those of oxen. 
 The first process is to remove the bony core 
 or pith, which is accomplished by steeping 
 the horns in water for several weeks, by 
 which operation the membrane which lies be- 
 tween the core and the horny sheath is so 
 destroyed or softened by putrefaction that the 
 cores may be easily extracted. These are ap- 
 plied to many useful purposes. The solid tip 
 of the horn is sawn otf with a frame-saw, and 
 is employed for making knife-handles, um- 
 brella-handles, the tops of whips, buttons, and 
 various other articles. The remainder of the 
 horn, which is employed for purposes for 
 which thin laminae ave reqiiired, may either 
 be left entire or sawn into two or more lengths, 
 according to the use to which it is to be ap- 
 plied. When divided, the lower part, or that 
 next the root of the horn, is frequently em- 
 ployed for making combs ; while the portion 
 which has formed the middle of the horn is 
 used for lanterns and for other ai'ticles where 
 a thin plate of horn is required. To prepare 
 the horn for use it is softened in boiling water; 
 and. while hot from this operation, it is held 
 in the flame of a fire until it acquires about 
 the temperature of melting lead, and becomes 
 so soft as to be semi-fluid. The slitting is 
 
.1031 
 
 HORSE SHOES. 
 
 HOUSE SHOES. 
 
 1032 
 
 performed while it is in the semi-fluid state, by 
 a strong pointed knife resembling a pruning- 
 knife ; and, by the application of two pairs of 
 pincers, one to each edge of the slit, the cylin- 
 der or cone of horn is opened until it is nearly 
 flat. Several such pieces are then exposed to 
 pressure between alternate plates of iron until 
 they are flattened. The thin sheets of iron 
 are then scraped, rubbed, and polished. 
 
 The various articles made of horn require 
 manufacturing processes differing in different 
 cases. The making of combs is noticed else- 
 where. [COMB-CUTTING.] Umbrella handles, 
 snuff-boxes, knife-handles, bell-pulls, drawer- 
 knobs, <fec., are made by softening the horn to 
 such a degree that it may be pressed into 
 moulds. Horn is easily dyed of various co- 
 lours ; but in this country it is usually coloured 
 of a rich reddish brown, and spotted to imitate 
 tortoiseshell, by a mixture of peaii-ash, quick- 
 lime and litharge, or red lead, with water and 
 a little pounded dragon's blood; 
 
 No part of the refuse of the horn manufac- 
 ture is without its value. When exposed to a 
 decomposing heat in close vessels, horn pro- 
 duces a large quantity of the gaseous com- 
 pound which forms the base of prussic acid, 
 on which account hoofs and horn cuttings are 
 in great request among the manufacturers of 
 Prussian blue, and of the beautiful yellow 
 prussiate of potash. The clippings of the 
 comb-maker and of the lantern maker are 
 also used as manure. 
 
 HORSE SHOES. This invaluable animal, 
 the horse, subserves many useful purposes to 
 man, after his career as a beast of burden is 
 at an end. The hair of the tail and mane is 
 much employed for weaving into a tough 
 cloth, and for other purposes. [HAIR MANU- 
 FACTURE.] The hide is tanned into a valuable 
 kind of leather ; the hoof is useful as a horny 
 material ; and various parts of the dead ani- 
 mal are employed as materials in different 
 manufactures. 
 
 Horse Slwcs are implements on which much 
 attention have been bestowed. Nature has 
 given to the foot of the horse a certain degree 
 of expansive or spreading power, which lessens 
 the shock received by placing the foot sud- 
 denly to the ground ; but the material of the 
 hoof is such that friction will gradually wear 
 it away ; and the difficulty arises, how to pro- 
 tect the hoof from wear without destroying or 
 rendering nugatory the elasticity of the hoof. 
 Various contrivances are employed in rude 
 countries to shield the hoof; a covering of 
 strong ox-leather, a wrapper of woven strips 
 of tough fibres, a wisp of straw fastened witl: 
 a cord all are used in various countries. 
 
 The ordinary English horse shoe is (01 
 
 ought to be) made of the best iron ; and small 
 pieces of steel are occasionally attached to a 
 mrt which is more than usually worn. The 
 width and thickness vary according to the 
 strength and age of the horse, the purpose for 
 which he is employed, and the particular opin- 
 ons of the person who has the direction of 
 shoeing the horse. The horse shoe is formed 
 rom a bar of iron about an inch and a quarter 
 wide and three quarters of an inch in thick- 
 ness ; and is forged into its proper form by 
 /wo men. The shoe is fastened on by eight 
 or nine nails, to receive which holes are made 
 n the iron. A sunken groove is also forged, 
 to admit the heads of the nails : this groove 
 s forged by the hammer. It has been pro- 
 posed to give the necessary grooved surface 
 by drawing the bar of iron between two rol- 
 lers whose surfaces have pins and ridges in- 
 serted, by which the groove and the nail holes 
 are made ; it has also been proposed to cast 
 the horse shoes in plaster moulds, and after- 
 wards anneal them. The shoes are fastened 
 to the foot by driving nails into the hoof , but 
 as this has a tendency to break away the sub- 
 stance of the hoof, modes have been devised 
 for fastening with sandals and straps ; none of 
 these contrivances, however, have been perma- 
 nently successful. For heavy draught horses 
 two points or projections stand out from the 
 back of the shoe and are turned downwards ; 
 these assist the animal in obtaining a sure 
 footing. Horse shoes vary from twelve ounces 
 to seven pounds weight, according to the ser- 
 vice required of them. 
 
 Within the cavity of a horse's hoof is a 
 wedge-shaped substance called the frog. Far- 
 riers used to shoe horses in such a way as to 
 shield this from the ground ; but it is now 
 believed that Nature intended this substance 
 to assist the movements of the animal, by its 
 elasticity. 
 
 The subject of the proper shoeing of the 
 horse, in relation to the anatomy of the foot, 
 has been treated with much clearness by Mr. 
 Clarendon of Dublin, in his ' Treatise on the 
 Foot of the Horse ; ' this forms a sequel to 
 another work on the ' Powers of the Horse ; ' 
 and both are intended to show the means by 
 which the structure of the horse may point 
 out the best modes of practically applying the 
 muscular power. The result of modern en- 
 quiries has been to show that the horse shoe 
 ought not to be rigid ; that it ought to allow 
 the frog of the foot to come into action. Mr. 
 Bracy Clark has invented a shoe with a joint 
 at the toe ; the design being that it should 
 open at each step, with that joint as a centre. 
 Mr. Rogers' horse shoe has a slit near the 
 front, which gives a yielding elasticity some- 
 
1033 HOSIERY MANUFACTURE. 
 
 tiling like that of a steel pen. Another horse 
 shoe has been invented with two joints, one 
 on either side. Mr. Turner has devised a 
 mode of nailing the shoe on one side only, so 
 as to leave an expansive action to the foot. 
 Mr. Clarendon has patented a shoe, in which 
 elasticity is afforded by a singular contrivance; 
 the shoe does not differ much from others in 
 shape, and is nailed near the point in the usual 
 way ; but all the other nail holes are made 
 large enough to admit of a spreading action 
 of the foot. Specimens of this horse shoe 
 will be sent to the Exhibition. 
 
 HOSIERY MANUFACTURE. The prin- 
 cipal seat of this manufacture in England is 
 in the three counties of Leicester, Nottingham, 
 and Derby. In the first of these, worsted 
 hosiery forms the principal branch of the 
 manufacture, while in Nottinghamshire the 
 material chiefly used is cotton, and in Derby- 
 shire silk goods are mostly made. 
 
 The stocking-frame, by means of which 
 this manufacture is carried on, is, next to the 
 common warp and weft loom, the oldest ma- 
 chine in existence applicable to textile fabrics. 
 It was invented about the close of the 16th 
 century by the Rev. William Lea, of St. John's 
 College, Cambridge, but a considerable time 
 elapsed before the produce of this frame took 
 the place of the trunk hose then worn by all 
 who could afford such an article of dress. For 
 this reason Mr. Lea settled at Rouen, in Nor- 
 mandy, where his manufacture was carried on 
 under the patronage of Henri IV. ; but the 
 assassination of the king and the political 
 troubles brought on by that event caused the 
 abandonment of Mr. Lea's establishment, and 
 that gentleman shortly after died in a state of 
 poverty at Paris. From the time of its first 
 invention the stocking-frame has not received 
 any considerable improvement in respect to 
 its principle ; but the details have been 
 improved by a long series of patented in- 
 ventions. 
 
 The principal seat of the cotton hosiery 
 manufacture abroad is at Chemnitz, in Saxony, 
 where, owing to the low rate of wages, goods 
 are made, with yarns imported from Lanca- 
 shire, at prices which have excluded English 
 goods from many foreign markets. 
 
 The hosiery or frame-work manufacture is 
 a peculiar kind of interlacing. Instead of 
 being a series of cross threads woven in a 
 loom, it is a series of loops or links, so con- 
 nected as to possess both strength and elasti- 
 city in a remarkable degree. It is a continuous 
 thread which is thus linked around itself; in 
 a way which bears a good deal of resemblance 
 to many kinds of ladies' netting and crochet 
 work. The article made in the stocking frame 
 
 HOT-BED; HOT-HOUSE. 1034 
 
 is not a stocking, but a piece of knitwork cloth, 
 which is afterwards sown up into the form of 
 a stocking by needle and thread. Hence, there 
 are three kinds of operatives engaged ; the 
 winders, who put the thread into or on the 
 machine ; the frame-work knitters, who work 
 the thread up into a knitted fabric ; and the 
 seamers, who make the stockings out of the 
 pieces thus produced. The winders are gene- 
 rally children, who can each wind thread 
 enough for half a dozen machines ; the knit- 
 ters are men, women, and youths, who hire 
 both the winders and the seamers ; and the 
 seamers are women. Some of the stocking- 
 frames are owned by the frame-work knitters ; 
 some are let out to the men by the owners, at 
 so much per week for each frame ; while other 
 persons are the renters of what is termed a 
 ' shop of frames,' containing eight or ten 
 frames ; these, with standing-room to work in, 
 they let to the workmen, at so much per frame 
 per week. The master manufacturer gives 
 out his thread, and the workman returns this 
 thread in the form of stockings, the work be 
 ing paid for at so much per dozen pair. 
 
 We have spoken only of hosiery, but many 
 other articles besides stockings are made of 
 this linked fabric. Gloves, waistcoat-pieces, 
 mitts, pantaloons, drawers, braces, webs, com- 
 forters, caps, jackets, leggings, and various 
 other articles are made nearly in the same 
 way, and of the same material. The processes 
 for worsted, cotton, and silk are nearly analo- 
 gous ; those for silk requiring, however, the 
 greatest care. Some progress has been made 
 towards the manufacture of hosiery by means 
 of steam-power ; but the extreme lowness of 
 wages in this department of labour has hitherto 
 kept it nearly in the position of hand-loom 
 work. 
 
 It is pleasing to find that Ireland is gra- 
 dually advancing in this as in many other 
 branches of manufacture. At Balbriggan 
 there is a hosiery manufacture, from which 
 specimens of cotton hosiery are to be, sent to 
 the Great Exhibition, of a degree of fineness 
 such as has never perhaps been equalled ; one 
 dozen pairs of ladies' full sized stockings will 
 weigh only nine ounces. Cotton stockings of 
 peculiar kind of open work are also manu- 
 factured in the same town. 
 
 The exports of stockings in 1850 amounted 
 to the following quantities : 
 
 Cotton 234,163 dozen pairs. 
 
 Silk 4,482 
 
 Worsted 119,873 
 
 HOT-BED; HOT-HOUSE. A hot-bed is 
 a heap of fresh stable litter in a state of fer- 
 mentation, upon which a glazed box is placed 
 for the cultivation of certain plants requiring 
 
1035 HOT-BED; HOT-HOUSE. 
 
 heat and moisture in greater quantity than 
 those agents exist in the external air. For the 
 growth of cucumbers and melons, raising seeds 
 of tender annuals, and of other plants, either 
 culinary or ornamental, hot-beds are advan 
 tageously employed. They may be formed 
 of various substances, such as rotting dung, 
 tan, leaves, or a mixture of these with moist 
 litter ; in short, any substance capable of pro- 
 ducing and retaining fermentation, and which 
 will admit of being built up so as to support 
 a frame with sashes. 
 
 A hot-house is a structure in which exotic 
 plants are cultivated under circumstances 
 approximating as closely as possible to those 
 under which they naturally exist; or it is used 
 for accelerating the production of flowers and 
 fruits of either indigenous or exotic plants. 
 Hot-houses appropriated to the latter pur- 
 poses are very frequently termed forcing- 
 houses. 
 
 The principles by which the construction 
 of hot houses must be governed have reference 
 to the three great agents in vegetation heat, 
 moisture and light. There must be means for 
 varying all these to a wide extent. With re- 
 gard to the means of supplying artificial heat, 
 the old system of using brick flues is now ra- 
 pidly being superseded by that of hot water. 
 The glass for admitting light to hot-houses is 
 found to be better fitted for its object if it has 
 a slight green tint. 
 
 Hot-houses may be classed under four dif- 
 ferent heads, namely, the dry stove, the damp 
 stove,t\ie lark stove, and t\ie forcing house. The 
 Dry Stove, as the name implies, is used for 
 the cultivation of plants which do not require 
 much water : such as the different species of 
 Cacti, some Euphorbias, and other succulents 
 of like habits. The temperature of sucli a 
 house during the winter months should never 
 exceed 55 of Fahr. The Damp Stove requires 
 treatment of an opposite description. Instead 
 of lic'ing kept dry like the last, its atmosphere 
 should be always excessively humid, except in 
 tin: winter season ; the temperature is made 
 to vary from 55to 70 according to the season. 
 Tin.' beautiful Palm House at Kew may be re- 
 garded as a damp stove. The Bark Stove, 
 when it is of large dimensions, consists of a 
 pit in the middle of the house, surrounded by 
 a brick wall, leaving as much room round the 
 sides as will form a passage to walk in. The 
 pit is filled with bark, and, after being allowed 
 to sink a little and ferment, the pots contain- 
 ing the plants are plunged more or less deep 
 as prudence may .suggest. The Forcing House 
 .ntrivanco of frames and pits, heated 
 with <lun-, to accelerate the growth and matu- 
 ration of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. 
 
 HOUSE. 
 
 1030 
 
 There are also hot walls, or walls with fines 
 in them, constructed in cold countries, in 
 order to afford warmth to trees placed against 
 them. One furnace is allowed for heating 
 about 40 feet of wall, that is, 2i) feet on each 
 side of the place where the fire is situated. 
 The flues on either side are made to take four 
 courses, or two returns ; the first course being 
 a little above the surface of the ground, and 
 the upper 1 or 2 feet below the coping. In- 
 stead of flues, hot -water pipes might be intro- 
 duced into the cavity of a common hollow wall, 
 a little above the level of the border. 
 
 HOUSE. The houses of this country have 
 undergone many changes of form and con- 
 struction. Three centuries ago they were 
 constructed in a very different manner from 
 the houses of the present century. The chief 
 materials were wood and plaster, and a com- 
 mon but peculiar feature was the projecting 
 upper floors. The internal arrangement was 
 adapted to the wants of that day, and the ex* 
 ternal architecture had often a picturesque 
 appearance. After the great fire of London 
 the advantage of building in cities with brick 
 or stone became so apparent, as well as the 
 adoption of some regularity, that a great 
 change took place in house-building in the 
 metropolis, which extended by degrees to the 
 houses which were from time to time rebuilt 
 throughout the country. In this gradual 
 change have almost entirely disappeared the 
 projecting floors with large bow windows, the 
 wooden galleries round the quadrangular 
 courts, the boldly projecting dripping eaves, 
 and the high-pitched roofs with their largo 
 windows. In London and other large towns, 
 the basement story is for the most part built 
 below the level of the ground, the earth being 
 excavated for that purpose ; this floor usually 
 contains the kitchen and the rooms for the 
 use of the domestics. English houses are in 
 eneral well provided with means for carrying 
 off water and all impurities which require to 
 be removed from the premises; that is, the 
 better houses in the large towns are so pro- 
 vided; but many improvements must be yet 
 introduced before the same can be said of the 
 nass of dwellings. The houses of the poorer 
 ;lasses are too often negligently constructed. 
 In their construction, economy, convenience, 
 and a wholesome ventilation, should be mainly 
 kept in view, and these may be united with as 
 much picturesque beauty as the nature of the 
 materials will admit of without increasing the 
 expense. 
 
 The English and Scotch cottages differ in 
 their external appearance ami avran^vinciit. 
 Flu- l.est English cottages of recent construc- 
 tion are built of brick and covered with slate. 
 
1037 
 
 HOWITZER. 
 
 The use of these materials has changed the 
 character of this class of dwellings. In many 
 cottages the chimney-stack forms the princi- 
 pal bearing of the floors and roof. The Scotch 
 cottage has not only a different appearance 
 when compared with the English, hut, from 
 its being so much wider, it admits of two 
 apartments heing formed on the ground floor; 
 this is also a matter of necessity, as they are 
 seldom raised more than one story. The ma- 
 terial for the walls is most commonly stone ; 
 the roof is large and heavy in appearance, 
 and has hut a small projection beyond the 
 walls ; the gable walls also run up frequently 
 above the roof, forming a parapet, which is 
 sometimes notched so as to resemble steps, or 
 has a battlement appearance. As the French 
 and Italians of the middle classes do not 
 generally live in separate houses like the Eng- 
 lish, but on floors containing a series of rooms, 
 it follows that the arrangement of their houses 
 differs from that of the English. The stair- 
 case, as in public chambers, is common to 
 each floor. The rooms communicate with 
 each other, and generally with a passage or 
 balcony on one side ; chimneys are rare, stoves 
 being most commonly used to heat the rooms. 
 French and Italian houses are mostly built of 
 rough stone and stuccoed ; the floors are sel- 
 dom boarded, being paved with glazed tiles or 
 unglazed bricks. The Spanish houses are 
 very spacious ; they have large courts in the 
 interior, and are formed with galleries round 
 the inside of the quadrangular courts : fami- 
 lies occupy the separate floors. The houses 
 in many parts of Germany approach nearer 
 to the English in their arrangement than the 
 French and Italian houses. In many places 
 the houses are a framework of wood, and the 
 interstices are filled with unbaked bricks, and 
 are plastered with clay. The city architecture 
 of Eussian houses, both 'in its effect and ar- 
 rangement, resembles the architecture of Ita- 
 lian and French houses, except that the roofs 
 are covered with sheet-iron painted with vivid 
 colours, mostly green and red. The windows 
 are double. 
 
 Many details connected with the building 
 of houses will be found scattered under vari- 
 ous headings in this work. With regard to 
 the present state of things in this country, one 
 of the most interesting' social features is the 
 attention now being made to the construction 
 of healthy dwellings (at a moderate rent) for 
 the working classes. 
 
 HOWITZEK, is a short but broad-mouthed 
 cannon. It is employed to project solid and 
 hollow shot, loaded shells, carcasses, and case 
 shot, either in the point-blank direction or at 
 angles of elevation, which hitherto have not 
 
 HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. 1038 
 
 exceeded fifteen degrees. It is used against 
 troops in the field, in the attack of redoubts 
 or villages, and both in the attack and defence 
 of regular fortresses. About the year 1820, 
 Colonel Paixhans,in France, constructed what 
 were denominated canons obusiers, for the 
 purpose of projecting solid or hollow shot of 
 great diameter: and in 1824 and 1836 the 
 late General Millar, in this country, executed 
 for the like purpose iron shell-guns, or naval 
 howitzers as they are called, whose calibres 
 are 10 inches and 8 inches respectively. 
 Besides these, 24-pounder and 12-pounder 
 howitzers are employed in the British ser- 
 vice. 
 
 HUDDERSFIELD, is one of the most 
 notable of the West Riding towns. The ma- 
 nufactures of Huddersfield and the adjacent 
 villages are principally woollens and waist- 
 coatings ; indeed fancy productions in which 
 wool is mixed with silk or cotton now form 
 a very large department of the industry of the 
 town. The cotton manufactures are also car- 
 ried on, though not to a very great extent. In 
 1765 a commodious cloth-hall was erected for 
 the buyers and sellers of the Huddersfield 
 manufactures by Sir John Ramsden. The 
 trade derives great advantages from its inland 
 navigation, by means of the Ramsden and 
 Huddersfield canals, both eastward and west- 
 ward, and by the railways which now connect 
 it with the neighbouring towns. 
 
 At the Industrial Exhibition, Huddersfield 
 will display specimens of all the leading pro- 
 ducts of the town. 
 
 HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. This re- 
 markable trading company obtains its name 
 from the great inland sea Avhieh lies westward 
 of Labrador in North America. The countries 
 which inclose Hudson's Bay on all sides con- 
 stitute by far the greatest portion of the Bri- 
 tish dominions in North America. The area 
 cannot be given, as considerable tracts of the 
 coast are still unknown, but it probably does 
 not fall much short of 3,000,000 square miles. 
 This immense country may be divided into 
 four natural regions. The most eastern is 
 the Sterile Region, which lies along the shores 
 of the sea, and extends far inland. The se- 
 cond or Wooded Region, extends on both shores 
 of James's Bay, and along the southern shores 
 of Hudson's Bay, as far westward as Cape 
 phurchill. It is generally well wooded, and 
 produces fur-bearing animals. Beyond this 
 is the Savannah Region, which extends to the 
 foot of the Rocky Mountains, and northward 
 to the Lake of Athabasca and the Peace River: 
 its surface stretches out in extensive plains, 
 intersected only by the beds of several rivers, 
 which are considerably below the plains. The 
 
1039 
 
 HULL. 
 
 HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 
 
 1040 
 
 fourth region, the Mackenzie Valley, compre- 
 hends the country between the Sterile Region 
 and the Rocky Mountains, north of Lake 
 Athabasca. 
 
 The present wealth of the country consists 
 in its animals, especially rein -deer, musk-ox, 
 moose-deer or elk, other kinds of deer, bears, 
 wolves, wolverines, foxes, beavers, otters, 
 racoons, and several smaller animals. Iron, 
 copper, and lead are known to exist, though 
 not yet worked to any extent ; and coal has 
 been found at various places, Vancouver's Is- 
 land being one. The settlements of the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company are divided into two dis- 
 tricts ; the southern comprehends the settle- 
 ments on the west coast of Labrador, together 
 with the more numerous establishments in 
 the countries inclosing James's Bay, and as 
 far as the banks of the Albany River. The 
 principal depot is at Moose Fort, near the 
 mouth of Moose River. The northern dis- 
 trict comprehends all the others as far north 
 as Fort Good Hope on the Mackenzie River, 
 north of the Polar Circle. Its chief settle- 
 ment is York, on the Hayes River. 
 
 The circumstances which led to the esta- 
 blishment of a trading company in these re- 
 gions have been noticed under FURS ; FUR 
 TRADE. Vancouver Island, on the coast of 
 the North Pacific Ocean, was granted by the 
 British government to the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany in August 1848. 
 
 HULL. This seaport is the greatest ship- 
 ping emporium on the east coast next to Lon- 
 don. The exports formerly were chiefly wool, 
 woolfells, and leather ; its imports, wine and 
 timber. At present the coasting trade is one 
 of its chief branches of profit. It has also an 
 extensive commerce with the Baltic, with the 
 north of Germany, Holland, and Denmark. 
 The Greenland fishery owed its revival, about 
 1766, and its subsequent importance, to the 
 mercantile enterprise of Hull. The facilities 
 of communication between Hull and the inte- 
 rior of the kingdom are numerous ; the Ouse, 
 Trent, Aire, and Calder, all communicate with 
 the Humber, and these means of internal 
 communication are extended by the York, New- 
 castle and Berwick Railway, the York and 
 North Midland Railway, and the Hull, Selby 
 and Leeds Railway. The prosperity of Hull 
 has been greatly increased by the progress of 
 steam-navigation, and it may be considered as 
 the second great centre of this mode of transit 
 on the eastern coast. 
 
 There are large docks and extensive quays. 
 The number of sailing vessels registered at 
 Hull in 1848, was 462 (64,951 tons). The 
 number of steam-vessels was 28 (5658 tons). 
 
 The manufactures of Hull are varied. The 
 
 expressing and refining of oil from linseed is 
 effected by wind-mills and steam-mills ; the 
 residue of the seed is prepared as food for 
 cattle. There is a large sugar-house, a soap 
 manufactory, several white-lead works, ship- 
 builders' yards, turpentine and sail-cloth ma- 
 nufactories, extensive ropewalks, and several 
 breweries. There are also two large joint- 
 stock cotton mills. 
 
 Hull is the great port of the Humber, and 
 the outlet for the vast produce of the district 
 watered by that river and its tributaries. Hull 
 is especially the port at which Baltic timber, 
 Russia hemp, and Belgium flax are imported ; 
 and at which the Lancashire and Yorkshire 
 manufactures are exported to the continent of 
 Europe. 
 
 At the ensuing Exhibition, the Hull manu- 
 factures, of oil, oil-cake, tar, turpentine, &c., 
 will be illustrated. There will also be every 
 variety of English and foreign wood in the 
 form of books, showing the grain, quality, and 
 perhaps the bark, with the name of each en- 
 graved or sculptured on the back : and a com- 
 plete series of the imports of the port, which 
 will be arranged by the local committee, and 
 will give a statistical account of the quan- 
 tity of each imported during a series of 
 years. 
 
 HUMIDITY is that property of a substame 
 by which it communicates to a body in contact 
 with it some of a liquid which it may have 
 absorbed. The humidity of the atmosphere is 
 caused in a great measure by the evaporation 
 of water from the seas, lakes, &c., of the earth ; 
 and the quantity of moisture which a volume 
 of air is capable of containing depends upon 
 the temperature. Dr. Dalton found by expe- 
 riment that a body of earth one foot in depth, 
 when saturated with moisture, contains seven 
 inches in depth of water, and that it may lose 
 one-fourth or one-half of that quantity without 
 becoming incapable of supporting vegetation. 
 The effects of humidity on the dimensions of 
 bodies are various : when a watery vapour pe- 
 netrates between the twisted fibres of cordage 
 which are vegetable materials, the cordago 
 swells out transversely, and thus becomes 
 shortened ; while cords made of animal sub- 
 stances become relaxed by humidity and in- 
 crease in length. Most salts absorb water, 
 and thereby increase in weight. 
 
 HUNGARY. The produce and manufac- 
 tures of this interesting country are briefly 
 glanced at in connection with the Empire of 
 which it forms a part [AUSTRIA]. 
 
 HUNTINGDONSHIRE. Only a small 
 portion of the county is unproductive. Peat 
 is found in many parts. The farms are mostly 
 of considerable extent. The expense of cul- 
 
1041 
 
 HUSBANDRY. 
 
 HYDRAULIC MACHINES. 1042 
 
 tivation on the fen-land, when it is once drained, 
 is small in proportion to the produce. Paring 
 and burning the surface is the general prac- 
 tice. Rape seed is sown, which is fed off with 
 sheep the first year, and left to ripen its seeds 
 the next. The straw of the rape is burned on 
 the land, after the seed has been thrashed 
 out ; and this is all the manure required to 
 produce a good crop of wheat. Oats, barley, 
 and beans are also grown. Mustard-seed is 
 grown to some extent, and in good soils gives 
 a good return. On the borders of the Ouse 
 and Nene are some very rich meadows. A 
 great part of the county is still in pasture, al- 
 though much has been broken up and con- 
 verted into arable land. In the marshy parts 
 willows grow rapidly, and are profitable, al- 
 though not ornamental. Although Stilton is 
 in this county, and it is asserted that the 
 cheese which bears that name was originally 
 made there, none of that kind is now pro- 
 duced in any of the dairies ; all such cheeses 
 are made in Leicestershire and Lincoln- 
 shire. 
 
 Huntingdon, the chief town, has a conside- 
 rable trade in wool and corn. At St. Ives, 
 brewing and malting are carried on, but there 
 are no manufactures. There are a few other 
 towns, but none of manufacturing impor- 
 tance. 
 
 HUSBANDRY. The land in England con- 
 sisted originally for the most part of woods, 
 and of extensive pastures, in which sheep and 
 cattle were bred, which constituted the chief 
 wealth. A very small proportion of the soil 
 was cultivated ; and, while the population was 
 thin, there was no difficulty in obtaining land 
 which bad never before been broken up, and 
 which with little trouble or manuring produced 
 moderate crops of corn. When the husband- 
 men began to congregate in villages for mu- 
 tual defence, the best land nearest to the habi- 
 tations was cultivated, and the common pas- 
 tures fed the cattle without much trouble or 
 expense. Manure was seldom made ; four 
 times the seed was an average corn crop ; and 
 fields were fallowed every second year. Wheat 
 was little cultivated ; barley, rye, and oats were 
 the principal produce. Many hogs were fed 
 on acorns and beech -mast in the woods. Bread 
 made of rye, barley, peas, or beans, Avas the 
 food of the labourers who were attached to the 
 soil. The immediate tenants of the lord cul- 
 tivated a portion of the lands which they held 
 for their own use, and let the remainder to 
 smaller tenants, who, although born free, were 
 little above the condition of the labourers, 
 and lived much in the same manner. The live 
 stock was frequently hired from the landlord. 
 Oxen drew the ploughs ; horses carried the 
 
 produce to mill and market ; and the imple- 
 ments were of the rudest kind. 
 
 From these beginnings various systems of 
 husbandry have brought the land of this 
 country into the state briefly noticed under 
 the names of the counties and the chief 
 crops. 
 
 HYDRACIDS are such acids as contain 
 hydrogen instead of oxygen as the acidifying 
 power : hydrobromic and hydrochloric acids 
 are examples. Their acidity is in general 
 very strongly marked. All the hydracids are 
 gaseous, and are easily combined with water, 
 forming solutions which possess the well- 
 known and strongly marked properties of 
 sourness, acting upon carbonate, and redden- 
 ing vegetable blue colours. They are all arti- 
 ficial products. They have not hitherto been 
 of much value in the arts. 
 
 HYDRATES, are compounds which con- 
 tain water in definite proportion, but which 
 do not assume the crystalline form. Thus, 
 when water is added to potash, it may form 
 with it either water of solution, water of crys- 
 tallisation, or water which constitutes it an 
 hydrate ; and it is observable that, while 
 water of solution has comparatively little affi- 
 nity for the substance with which it is com- 
 bined, water of crystallisation has more, and 
 water with which the body constitutes an hy- 
 drate has the greatest affinity of all. 
 
 HYDRAULIC MACHINES. The art of 
 constructing docks, quays, or any buildings 
 whose foundations are laid under water, is 
 denominated hydraulic architecture; and all 
 machines in which water is employed as a 
 moving power, or by which water is put in 
 motion, may be termed hydraulic machines. 
 No countries in Europe possess more advan- 
 tages with respect to naval power than Great 
 Britain and Ireland. The islands and head- 
 lands on their coasts form excellent natural 
 ports ; and these, where necessary, have been 
 converted into secure harbours by every means 
 which the science of the hydraulic engineer 
 could devise. The Breakwater at Plymouth, 
 the lighthouses which have been raised in the 
 ocean, and the vast docks at the principal 
 sea-port towns, are so many practical exam- 
 ples which render the British Isles a com- 
 plete school for the study, in detail, of 
 every subject connected with this branch of 
 art. 
 
 Hydraulic architecture chiefly now involves 
 the construction of masses of masonry whose 
 foundations are laid in the beds of rivers or 
 scstuaries,orinthatof the sea, such as the piers 
 of bridges, quays, jetties, and breakwaters ; 
 also the formation of artificial harbours and 
 docks for shipping, and locks at the falls on 
 
1043 HYDEAULIG MACHINES. 
 
 HYDRAULIC MACHINES. 1044 
 
 rivers or canals. In the articles BREAKWATER 
 BRIDGE, CANAL, DOCK, HARBOUR, &c., these 
 matters have been briefly touched upon. 
 
 Hydraulic machinery has been brought to 
 its present efficient state by many successive 
 improvements. It may be remarked however 
 that, on account of the high degree of perfec- 
 tion which, within a few years past, the steam 
 engine has attained, the employment of hy- 
 draulic machines for raising great quantities 
 of water, or as first movers with respect to 
 extensive works of any kind, has of late con- 
 siderably diminished. Yet, where the circum- 
 stances are favourable, as when a supply of 
 water for working the machine can be readily 
 obtained, the latter, from being less expensive 
 in their construction, are still preferred to the 
 former. 
 
 The principal hydraulic machines which are 
 in use for domestic or general purposes are 
 the Siphon, the Screw of Archimedes, the va- 
 rious kinds of Pumps, the Hydraulic Press, 
 and Wheels turned by water. For the first 
 two see SIPHON and SCREW PROPELLER. The 
 others will be now briefly described. 
 
 The common pump is a machine for raising 
 water by the pressure of the atmosphere. It 
 consists of a cylindrical body, or barrel, from 
 the lower part of which a tube descends into 
 the water contained in the well or reservoir. 
 In the interior of the cylinder is a moveable 
 piston, surrounded with leather, in order that 
 it may be water-tight, yet capable of moving 
 up and down with freedom. The piston is 
 perforated, and the orifice is covered above by 
 a valve which opens upwards : a similar valve 
 at the bottom of the cylinder or barrel covers 
 the upper extremity of the tube which leads 
 to the well. The piston being raised by means 
 of the handle, the air contained in the tube 
 tends by its elasticity to occupy the lower part 
 of the cylinder, which it enters by forcing up 
 the last-mentioned valve ; and its elasticity 
 diminishes in consequence of its occupying a 
 greater space than before. Hence the air 
 exerts on the surface of the water within the 
 tube a less pressure than that which the ex- 
 ternal air exerts upon the water in the well ; 
 and the water consequently rises in the tube 
 to a certain height. The valve then falls over 
 the orifice, and, the piston being depressed, 
 the air contained between it and the bottom 
 of the cylinder will be condensed ; in which 
 state it will force up the piston valve, and 
 escape at the top of the pump. The valve 
 then falls ; and, if the piston be again ele- 
 vated, the water will rise higher in the tube, 
 for the same reason as before. The operation 
 of raising and depressing the piston being re- 
 peated a few times, the water will at length 
 
 enter into the cylinder through the valves ; 
 after which it will, at each stroke of the pis- 
 ton, be forced through the spout. 
 
 The lift-ing pump is frequently similar in 
 construction to the common pump above de- 
 scribed ; but the lower valve is always below 
 the surface of the water in the reservoir, and 
 the piston is so when depressed to the bottom 
 of the cylinder or barrel. On raising the 
 piston, the water above it is lifted up, and the 
 pressure of the external atmosphere forces 
 the water of the reservoir to enter into the 
 cylinder. Then, by successive depressions 
 and elevations of the piston, the water is at 
 length raised to the top of the pump, and dis- 
 charged by the spout. 
 
 The forcing pump is one in which the 
 water, when raised in the barrel, is driven 
 through an orifice in its side by the depres- 
 sion of the piston, which is solid, or without a 
 perforation ; it is also, in general, provided 
 with an air-vessel, into which the water is 
 forced, and whence, by the elasticity of the 
 condensed air, it is made to issue through a 
 pipe inserted in the upper extremity. 
 
 In the chain pump a chain, carrying a num- 
 ber of flat circular pistons, passes round a 
 wheel at the upper, and sometimes also at the 
 lower extremity; each piston, as it goes over 
 the wheels, being in part received in the inter- 
 als between the radii. The wheel being put 
 in motion, the pistons descend in a barrel on 
 one side, and enter from below into another 
 on the ascending side, when pushing the 
 water before them, they raise it into the re- 
 ervoir, from whence it escapes by a pipe. 
 Pumps of this kind are frequently fixed in in- 
 clined positions ; and it is when the inclina- 
 tion of the barrel is about 24 degrees, the 
 distance of the pistons from one another being 
 equal to their diameter, that the greatest 
 quantity of water is raised. 
 
 The Hydraulic Press was invented by Mr. 
 Bramah, and is a machine of very great power 
 n compressing bodies or lifting weights ; or, 
 again, in drawing up trees by the roots, or 
 piles from the beds of rivers. There is an 
 ron cylinder in which a piston works. At the 
 )ottom of the former is inserted a tube, whose 
 .perture, under the piston, is covered by a 
 alve. The other end of the tube communi- 
 cates with a small forcing pump, by which 
 vater is ch'iven through the said valve into the 
 ower part of the cylinder, where its hydrosta- 
 ical action is exerted to raise up the piston. 
 Now suppose the diameter of the cylinder to 
 be 10 indies, and that of the piston in the 
 brcing pump to be one quarter of an inch, 
 hen the proportion between the surfaces of 
 he pistons will be that of 1COO to 1 ; and, on 
 
1045 HYDRAULIC MACHINES. 
 
 the principle of the equal pressure of fluids m 
 every direction, the force with which the lar 
 ger piston is raised bears the same proportion 
 to the resistance against the lower surface o" 
 that in the forcing pump. 
 
 The largest and finest hydraulic presses 
 ever constructed, were those made by Messrs 
 E as ton and Amos, and employed in raising 
 the ponderous tubes of the Britannia Bridge 
 The ram or larger piston is 22 inches in 
 diameter ; the cylinder in which it worked is 
 9 feet long by six inches thickness of metal 
 and one of the castings for making the largest 
 press required 21 tons of melted iron. 
 
 In water wheels, water is made to act as a 
 moving power against wheels by its weight, its 
 momentum, or by both combined. In the 
 first case the wheel is provided with a number 
 of buckets, or troughs, into which the water is 
 received near the level of the axle of the 
 wheel; the vessels thus filled becoming hea- 
 vier than those on the other side, the whee] 
 is made to revolve by that excess of weight 
 merely. But if the water fall into the troughs 
 from a channel on a level with the top of the 
 wheel, or at least above the axle, the wheel 
 will revolve both by the weight and by the 
 momentum which the water acquires by its 
 fall. This is called an overshot wheel. If the 
 lower part of the wheel be placed in a stream 
 of water which is made to act on float-boards 
 fixed on the circumference, the machine has 
 the name of an undershot wheel. Lastly, when 
 the wheel is placed in a sort of channel, or race, 
 as it is called, which is formed between two 
 projections of masonry below the bed of the 
 upper portion of the stream, and so as to coin- 
 cide very nearly with the lower quadrant of 
 the wheel's circumference on that side, the 
 water descending from the stream upon float- 
 boards, or troughs, and thus acting both by its 
 momentum and weight, the machine is called 
 a breast wheel. It has been determined by 
 experiment that the effect of the wheel is the 
 greatest when its velocity is about half the 
 velocity of the stream ; and it is asserted that 
 the efficacy of an overshot wheel is more than 
 double that of an undershot wheel of equal 
 magnitude. 
 
 A remarkable application of water power 
 has been recently made in the United States, 
 to work the printing press of a daily paper in 
 Boston. Through a two inch lead pipe, a 
 stream of water is introduced into a meter, 
 which only occupies twenty-four square inches. 
 The fall of water between the Boston reser 
 voir and this meter is about a hundred feet. 
 This two-inch stream will discharge eighty 
 gallons of water each minute, and in passing 
 through the meter will give a motive power 
 
 HYDROGEN. 
 
 1046 
 
 equal to what is called three -horse power. 
 This is more than sufficient for driving the 
 press. 
 
 HYDROFLUORIC ACID. The properties 
 of this acid (which is a compound of fluorine 
 and hydrogen) are, that it is fluid, clear, co- 
 lourless, and volatile ; and, when it escapes 
 into the air, which it does at about GO , it 
 forms with the moisture of it white fumes. 
 Its vapour is extremely pungent and irritating, 
 and it acts strongly on vegetable blues. It 
 acts upon and decomposes glass with great 
 facility, on account of its affinity for the silica 
 which it contains. And hence it has, to a cer- 
 tain though not to a very great extent, been 
 employed to engrave on glass. 
 
 HYDROFUGAL MACHINE. Under 
 DRYING MACHINE a description is given of 
 certain contrivances, by which drying is 
 effected through the agency of centrifugal 
 force, engendered during the rapid rotation of 
 the articles to be dried. In France much 
 progress has lately been made in applying 
 similar machines to other purposes ; and the 
 name of hydrofugal machines has been pro- 
 posed as applicable to them. Sugar has 
 been clarified by rotating in such a machine. 
 Beer has been cooled by a similar rotation. 
 Attempts have been made to produce a suffi- 
 ciently low temperature by this means to per- 
 mit the formation of ice ; but these have not 
 hitherto succeeded. In Alsace a hydrofugal 
 machine is employed in making starch ; the 
 starch particles are separated from the other 
 omponents of flour by the centrifugal action. 
 It is also conceived that this machine may be 
 advantageously employed in classifying and 
 sorting different qualities or sizes of grain, 
 seed, or ores ; since the heaviest particles are 
 driven farthest from the centre of the ma- 
 chine. 
 
 HYDROGEN. This remarkable gas is the 
 ightest of all known bodies. It may be ob- 
 tained in several modes, but it is usually pro- 
 cured by the decomposition of water, by 
 causing some substance to act upon it which 
 las affinity for its oxygen and none for the 
 lydrogen, so that this element is separated, 
 and asumes the elastic or gaseous state. 
 Sydrogen is colourless, inodorous, insipid, 
 and it has resisted all attempts which have 
 jeen made to condense it by the united agency 
 
 cold and pressure. 100 cubic inches weigh- 
 only 2.15 grains. This gas extinguishes 
 flame by itself; but when it meets with a sup- 
 oxter of combustion, as oxygen, it burns 
 *eadily, and with a continuous but feeble 
 flame, and much heat. "When mixed with 
 xygen, a taper causes immediate and loud 
 xplosion attended with the formation of 
 
1047 
 
 HYDROMETER. 
 
 HYGROMETE R. 
 
 1048 
 
 water by the combination of die gases. When 
 mixed with oxygen gas, and the mixture gra- 
 dually burned into a small jet, intense heat is 
 generated. When a very small jet is burned, 
 the flickering nature of the flame causes mu- 
 sical sounds when a tube of glass or metal or 
 even of paper is held over it. 
 
 Hydrogen unites with all other elementary 
 gaseous bodies, and forms with them com- 
 pounds of vast importance and utility : thus 
 with oxygen it forms water; with nitrogen, 
 ammonia ; with chlorine, hydrochloric or mu- 
 riatic acid ; with fluorine, hydrofluoric acid ; 
 with bromine, hydrobromic acid ; with carbon 
 it forms the fire-damp of coal mines, the 
 liquid naphtha, and the solid caoutchouc, accord- 
 ing to the proportions and the mode of com- 
 bination. 
 
 It is needless to expatiate on the utility of 
 hydrogen in the arts and manufactures, since 
 scarcely any process goes on without its pre- 
 sence and immediate action. 
 
 HYDKO'METEK. The principle of the 
 hydrometer is this: When a body is im- 
 mersed in a fluid it loses as much of its 
 weight as is equal to the weight of that por 
 tion of the fluid which it displaces. Hence, if 
 the same body be immersed successively in 
 two different fluids, the portions of weight 
 which it will thereby lose will be directly pro- 
 portional to the specific gravities of those 
 fluids. The body in this case is supposed to 
 be specifically heavier than the fluid. If it be 
 lighter it will float upon the surface, so that 
 its tendency to descend, or its weight, will 
 then be entirely counteracted by the fluid ; 
 from which it appears that, when a body floats 
 upon the surface of a fluid, the weight of the 
 portion of fluid displaced is equal to the entire 
 weight of the body. Now, since the weight of 
 the fluid displaced by a floating body is con- 
 stant (being always equal to the weight of the 
 body), whatever may be the density of that 
 fluid, it is obvious that if we can determine 
 how much of the body is immersed we may 
 immediately deduce the specific gravity of the 
 fluid ; because, when the weight is constant, 
 the specific gravity varies inversely as the 
 bulk. 
 
 Upon this principle is constructed the well- 
 known instrument called Sykes's Hydrometer, 
 which is now employed in the collection of 
 the spirit revenue of Great Britain. It con- 
 sists of a thin brass stem about six inches in 
 length, passing through and soldered to a hol- 
 low ball of the same material, and about one 
 inch and a half in diameter. To the inferior 
 extremity of the stem, from which the hollow 
 ball is about one inch distant, a permanent 
 near-shaped weight is attached ; so that, when 
 
 the instrument is placed in a fluid, the other 
 extremity may float perpendicularly to the 
 surface. There are also ten weights of dif- 
 ferent magnitudes, nine of which are circular, 
 and one in the form of a parallelepiped. By 
 the successive application of these weights the 
 instrument may be sunk so as to obtain the 
 complete range of specific gravity, from that 
 of pure alcohol to that of distilled water. 
 
 See further under ALCOHOMETER and SPE- 
 CIFIC GRAVITY. 
 
 HYDROSTATIC BED. [ARNOTT BED- 
 STEAD.] 
 
 HYDROSTATICS. The laws of hydros - 
 tatics and hydrodynamics, or the pressure and 
 motion of fluids, belong to the physical sci- 
 ences, and not to the object of the present 
 volume. The practical applications of those 
 laws are noticed under HYDRAULIC MACHINES 
 and other headings. 
 
 HYGRO 'METER. This is an instrument 
 serving to determine the quantity of aqueous 
 vapour in the atmosphere or other gas under 
 examination. M. De Luc employed for this 
 purpose a thin slip of whalebone, the con- 
 tractions of which indicated the variations of 
 moisture ; and De Saussure had recourse to a 
 human hair, by means of which he con- 
 structed a far more delicate instrument. 
 Leslie's hygrometer consists of a glass tube, 
 bent so as to form two equal branches parallel 
 to one another, and each terminating with a 
 hollow ball, in which is introduced sulphuric 
 acid coloured. One of the balls is covered 
 with cambric, which is kept constantly moist 
 by water from a neighbouring vessel ; and the 
 evaporation of the water, by cooling that ball, 
 allows the air in the other, by its superior 
 elasticity, to depress the acid in the tube be- 
 low. This depression, being measured by a 
 convenient scale, affords an indication of the 
 relative dryness of the atmosphere. 
 
 All these instruments have however been 
 nearly superseded by the hygrometer invented 
 by the late Professor Daniell. It consists of 
 two thin glass balls one inch and a quarter in 
 diameter, connected by a glass tube about 7 
 inches in length. The tube is bent in two 
 places at right angles, so as to form three 
 arms of unequal length, the longest of which 
 contains a small thermometer, whose bulb de- 
 scends into the lower of the two glass balls. 
 This ball, after being filled about two-thirds 
 with sether, is placed over a spirit-lamp until 
 the vapour of the nether has expelled the con- 
 tained air through a capillary tube which is 
 left open for the purpose, and afterwards her- 
 metically sealed. The other ball is then 
 covered with a piece of muslin, and the instru- 
 ment thus adjusted is placed upon a stand, 
 
1049 
 
 HYPONITROUS ACID. 
 
 ICE TRADE. 
 
 1050 
 
 to which is attached a small thermometer, in- 
 dicating the temperature of the external air. 
 When about to be used, a small portion of 
 [ether is poured upon the muslin, which, by 
 evaporating, lowers the temperature of the 
 glass ball, and thereby occasions a rapid con- 
 densation of the rethereal vapour contained 
 within the instrument. The condensation of 
 the vapour within the tube produces a conti- 
 nuous evaporation from the surface of the 
 ffither in the lower ball, whereby the tempe- 
 rature of the included sether is continually 
 reduced until a deposit of moisture from the 
 surrounding atmosphere is observed to take 
 place npon the exterior of the glass. At this 
 instant the inner thermometer, which always 
 
 indicates the temperature of the tether, is ob- 
 served, and thus the dew point, or that at 
 which the precipitation of atmospheric mois- 
 ture takes place, is determined with consider- 
 able accuracy. 
 
 As an illustration of the facts brought out 
 by the use of the hygrometer, we may state 
 that in Great Britain the mean evaporation 
 per minute from each square inch of the 
 surface of water, one inch deep, is 0.01155 
 grains. 
 
 HYPONITROUS ACID. This liquid at 
 common temperatures is green, but at it is 
 colourless ; it is very volatile, so that when ex- 
 posed to the air it is rapidly converted into an 
 orange vapour. 
 
 I 
 
 ICE-HOUSE. One of the simplest modes 
 of preserving ice consists in enveloping it in 
 a great quantity of straw, above the surface of 
 the ground, in such a position that moisture, 
 which is even more injurious than heat, may 
 drain off freely. But to preserve ice in larger 
 quantity and for a longer period, and to obtain 
 a cool temperature for meat and fish, an ice- 
 home is requisite. 
 
 Such an ice-house may be simply a large 
 cellar, with hollow or double walls, floor, roof, 
 and doors, and furnished with a trapped drain 
 to allow the escape of such water as may be 
 produced by a partial thaw, without admitting 
 any air. Mr. Loudon gives a ground plan and 
 section of a complete ice-house of approved 
 construction, of the inverted conical shape, 
 with an arched roof, which it is proposed to 
 cover with two or three feet of earth, or more 
 in hot climates, over which he suggests the 
 propriety of training ivy, for the sake of ex- 
 cluding solar heat. In this design a small 
 purnp is shown communicating with a well in 
 the drain of the ice-house, for the purpose of 
 raising the thaw-water for drinking or other 
 use. Dr. Ure, in his ' Dictionary of Arts,' 
 gives a section of a similar structure, but with 
 solid walls and a conical roof of timber, which 
 may be simply thatched, or covered with brick- 
 work and thatched, and which should have a 
 gutter round it to collect and conduct to a 
 distance all rain that falls upon it, that the 
 circumjacent ground may be kept dry. Many 
 other forms of ice-house have been proposed 
 by different writers. 
 
 ICE TRADE. A remarkable traffic has 
 sprung up within the last few years ; viz., 
 
 the transport of ice from America to various 
 parts of the world. In the East Indies the 
 artificial formation of ice has been long 
 carried on, as the only means of cooling be- 
 verages and food. The ground near Hoogley, 
 about 40 miles from Calcutta, is formed into 
 shallow troughs; into these troughs, on a 
 layer of straw, are placed pans of porous 
 earthenware. Shortly before midnight in the 
 winter months, and when the wind happens to 
 be blowing from the north-west, a little water 
 is poured into each vessel or pan; and if all 
 the circumstances are favourable, a film of 
 ice is found in each pan on the following 
 morning; and this ice is collected and stored 
 with the utmost care. The selling price of 
 this ice at Calcutta is about sixpence per 
 pound; but the Calcutta inhabitants were 
 surprised by the arrival, in 1833, of a ship 
 from the United States, laden entirely with 
 ice, which was offered for sale at three-pence 
 per pound, and was understood to yield a 
 good profit even after paying all the expences 
 of a long voyage. Since then the price has 
 been much lowered; and ice has become a 
 regular article of shipment from America. 
 
 This remarkable trade is in the hands of 
 the Wenham Lake Company. The company 
 purchased a lake of pure water, and the sur- 
 rounding land, at Wenham, about 18 miles 
 from Boston; they built storehouses, and 
 formed a railway from Wenham to Boston. 
 The lake is very deep, and is supplied solely 
 by springs, which issue from its bed. During 
 winter the ice which forms on it is very thick, 
 clear, and compact. When the ice is about 
 a foot thick, a number of men, horses, and 
 
1051 
 
 ICELAND. 
 
 ILLE -E T-Y IL AINE . 
 
 1052 
 
 machines are set to work. The surface is 
 first swept scrupulously clean ; an ice-plane is 
 drawn over it, to cut away a layer of loose or 
 imperfect ice ; an ice-plough is drawn over it, 
 to cut a groove across the lake; and other 
 machines are successively employed, until the 
 ice is removed from the lake, in solid blocks 
 weighing from one to two cwts. each. They 
 take two acres of lake surface into operation 
 at one time ; this will yield, at the average 
 thickness, about two thousand tons of ice; 
 and forty men, assisted by twelve horses, will 
 cut and stow four hundred tons of this in a 
 day. The company's store-house, near the 
 lake, is built of wood, and has double walls 
 two feet apart : the intervening space being 
 filled with saw-dust: twenty thousand tons of 
 ice can be stored in this building at one time. 
 The company bring the ice to Boston on 
 their own railway, and thence transmit it to 
 various parts of the world. Large store-houses 
 have been formed in many parts of the United 
 States, as well as in London and Liverpool. 
 
 Whether procured from Wenham, or from 
 our own streams and ponds, ice may be con- 
 veniently kept in portable ice-houses or refrige- 
 rators, which are now much used in England 
 and America. This consists of a box with 
 two lids, and with perforated sliding shelves ; 
 ice is placed under the shelves, meat or 
 other provisions is laid on the shelves, and 
 the box is closed; being air-tight, it allows 
 the ice to cool the other contents of the box 
 with great rapidity. A new form of apparatus 
 has been recently patented by Mr. Ling, under 
 the name of ice-safe. The ice is placed in a 
 distinct chamber, in a way that is intended to 
 economize that material. The smaller size, 
 for families, is planned so as to cool two 
 gallons of water at a time, besides meat, 
 &c. 
 
 ICELAND. The best inhabited spots on 
 this lonely island are near the fiords or 
 creeks, where establishments are kept up for 
 the sake of trade and shipping. Corn is cul- 
 tivated to a limited extent. Hay is the great 
 harvest of Iceland. Those who live on the 
 coast attend to fishing, which is very produc- 
 tive ; and those a little further inland rear 
 cattle. The common food of the people is 
 butter, milk, and fish; fresh meat and rye 
 bread are holiday fare. The exports consist 
 of cod and other dried fish, whale oil, salted 
 mutton, .eider-down and sulphur, which is 
 abundant. Turf is the common fuel of the 
 inhabitants ; fossil wood, iron, and copper are 
 found. In the northern district there is a 
 kind of town or village, called Eyafiordur, and 
 a factory called Husavik, on the Skialfianda- 
 fiord, from which sulphur from the neigh- 
 
 bouring mines is shipped. Other factories are 
 scattered about the coast, especially in the 
 west. 
 
 ICELAND MOSS. This lichen, though a 
 native of the higher mountains of the northern 
 part of Britain, is procured mostly from Nor- 
 way and Iceland, on the lava of the west coast 
 of which latter country it abounds and attains 
 a large size. It is imported through Ham- 
 burg. When dry it has scarcely any odour, 
 and the taste is bitter and unpleasant. The 
 powder or flower is of a whitish gray. When 
 the bitter principle is removed, the starchy 
 matter differs from wheat-flour in nutritive 
 properties, though some authorities assert 
 that a soup prepared with it is twice as nutri- 
 tious as one made with flour. Certain it is that 
 the inhabitants of Norway, Lapland, and, 
 above all, of Iceland, use it extensively as an 
 alimentary substance, the latter regarding it 
 as the gift of ' a bountiful Providence, which 
 sends them bread out of the very stones.' 
 Dr. Henderson ( l Tour in Iceland ') says that 
 a porridge made of this lichen flour is to a 
 foreigner not only the most wholesome but 
 the most palatable of all the articles of Ice- 
 landic diet. It is submitted to no other pre- 
 paration than repeated steepings in cold 
 water, drying, and powdering; after which it 
 is either made into cakes or boiled in milk. 
 The excellence of Iceland Moss depends upon 
 its freshness and freedom from accidental im- 
 purities, which should be carefully removed 
 before it is used. 
 
 IDOCEASE, is the name of a gem which 
 is sometimes called Pyramidal Garnet. The 
 colour exhibits various shades of brown, black, 
 gray, blue, green, and yellow. 
 
 ILLE -ET-VIL AINE. The soil of this 
 department of France is made to produce all 
 kinds of breadstuffs, in quantity more than 
 enough for the wants of the population. In 
 the rich soils, wheat of excellent quality is 
 raised ; tobacco is grown near St. Malo ; rye, 
 barley, oats, buckwheat, and mixed grain are 
 produced in the middling and poorer soils. 
 The cultivation of flax and hemp for the ma- 
 nufactures of the department is very extensive ; 
 the flax and hemp in the dressed state, as also 
 the seeds, are important objects of commerce. 
 The apple and the pear are extensively culti- 
 vated for making cider and perry, the chief 
 drinks of the population ; the cider is strong 
 enough to keep for two years, and is considered 
 the best made in France. Excellent butter 
 and cheese are made. The forests of the de- 
 partment contain fine timber : the prevailing 
 kinds are oak and beech ; next come chestnut, 
 poplar, and birch. Several iron mines are 
 worked : roofing and clay slate, white quartz 
 
1053 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 INCLINED PLANE. 
 
 .1054 
 
 for the glass factories, limestone, and granite 
 are quarried : lead and copper ore are found. 
 
 The most important manufactures are linen, 
 sailcloth of the best quality, Russia duck, can- 
 vasj and shoe and morocco leather ; felt and 
 straw hats, sewing thread, thread stockings, 
 ship cordage and ropes, fishing nets, hooks 
 and lines, pottery, cotton and woollen yarn, 
 are also made. There are besides, several 
 bleaching establishments, brandy distilleries, 
 paper mills, iron forges and smelting furnaces, 
 and flour-mills ; in the towns on the coast 
 shipbuilding is carried on to some extent. 
 Salt is made in some of the marshes on the 
 coast. The commerce is composed of the 
 various articles named, and of groats, chest- 
 nuts, salt pork, hides, oak staves, firewood, &c. 
 
 ILLINOIS. A few commercial features 
 relating to this rapidly-advancing state will be 
 found under UNITED STATES. 
 
 ILLYEIA, a kingdom and province of the 
 Austrian empire, is slightly noticed in respect 
 to its produce and manufactures, under AUS- 
 TRIA. We may here state in addition that 
 the most important town is Idria, famous for 
 its quicksilver mines. It is situated at the 
 bottom of a narrow valley surrounded by high 
 mountains, on the banks of the little river 
 Idria, and has 5000 inhabitants, who subsist 
 partly by lace making and straw platting ; but 
 the greater part are employed in the mines 
 and in the quicksilver works and cinnabar 
 factories in the neighbourhood. The entrance 
 to the mine is nearly in the middle of the 
 town, by a large iron gate, which opens to a 
 horizontal passage leading to a flight of 757 
 steps cut in the limestone rock. 
 
 IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. Until a 
 time comparatively recent, our official trade 
 accounts were not furnished in such a manner 
 as to allow of any certain deductions being 
 made from them ; but the monthly and yearly 
 accounts of the Board of Trade now furnish 
 very complete information on these points. 
 The list of our imports from foreign countries 
 and the colonies comprises almost every arti- 
 cle of use and of luxury which cannot be pro- 
 fitably produced within the kingdom ; while 
 our'expoits comprise chiefly mineral produce, 
 and manufactured goods of a very varied de- 
 scription. 
 
 We find that in the last five years, the value 
 of British arid Irish produce and manufac- 
 tures exported has been as follows : 
 
 Vear. Total Exports. 
 
 1846 57,786,876 
 
 1847 58,842,377 
 
 1848 52,849,445 
 
 1840 58,910,883 
 
 1800 65,756,032 
 
 Taking the year 1848 as an example, we find 
 that the largest customers for our manufac- 
 tures were the following : 
 
 United States 9,564,909 
 
 Germany 5,263,588 
 
 East Indies 5,077,247 
 
 Holland 2,823,258 
 
 Turkey 2,664,281 
 
 Brazil 2,067,302 
 
 British America .... 1,990,592 
 
 "West Indies 1.434,477 
 
 The Board of Trade returns respecting Im- 
 ports give quantities of each kind of commo- 
 dity, rather than values; and it is therefore 
 not easy to present an abstract of them. We 
 will however take the year 1850, and show 
 what were the most notable items, both of ex- 
 port and import. First for Export : 
 
 Candles . . 2,723,531 Ibs. 
 Coals . . . 3,347,607 tons. 
 Cotton Goods 1,358,238,837 yards. 
 Cotton Lace. . 114,095,554 yards. 
 Cotton Yarn . .131,433,168 Ibs. 
 Earthenware . 76,952,735 pieces. 
 Glass . . 336,614 cwts. 
 
 Linen . . . 122,897,457 yards. 
 Linen Yarn . 18,559,318 Ibs. 
 
 Metals and Machinery (about) 10,000,OOOZ. 
 Oil : 3,292,266 gallons. 
 
 Salt . . . 15,824,780 bushels: 
 Silk Manufactures (about) 1,300,0002. 
 Soap . . . 124,038 cwts. 
 
 Soda . . . 888,146 cwts. 
 
 Wool and Woollens (about) 11,000,000*. 
 Among the items of Import, the following 
 were the most considerable : 
 
 Brimstone 
 Coffee . 
 Corn . 
 Corn-meal 
 Cotton 
 
 664,630 cwts. 
 50,809,521 Ibs. . 
 7,969,435 quarters. 
 3,873,908 cwts. 
 5,934,793 cwts. 
 
 Cured or Salted Meat 687,199 cwts. 
 Hemp . . . 1,048,635 cwts. 
 Live Stock . . 217,247 head. 
 
 Metals . . 117,148 tons. 
 
 Rice . . . 785,692 cwts. 
 
 Saltpetre . . 529,012 cwts. 
 
 Silks (about) . 6,000,000 Ibs. 
 Spices f about) . 13,000,000 Ibs. 
 Spirits . . 7,763,279 gallons. 
 
 Sugar . . . 1,250,441 cwts. 
 Tallow . . 1,241,781 cwts. 
 Tea . . . 50,513,003 Ibs. 
 Tobacco . . 35,427,335 Ibs. 
 Wine . . . 9,267,573 gallons. 
 Wool . . . 74,326,778 Ibs. 
 INCLINED PLANE. In mechanical and 
 mathematical considerations an inclined plane 
 
1055 
 
 INCLOSURES. 
 
 INDIA RUBBER MANUFACTURES. 1056 
 
 is a plane surface making any angle with the 
 horizon. A body placed on it is capable oi 
 being moved upwards along it with more faci- 
 lity than it can be raised in a vertical direction. 
 The principle on which it constitutes a me- 
 chanical power was first introduced by Stevi- 
 nus in the sixteenth century. 
 
 Among the useful rules ascertained on this 
 subject are the following : A weight placed 
 upon an inclined plane is propelled down the 
 plane by such a fraction of the whole pressure 
 of the weight as the height of any section of 
 the plane is of its length. The velocity ac- 
 quired by a body in descending from the top 
 to the foot of a plane, whatever be its inclina- 
 tion, is the same as in falling vertically from 
 the top to a horizontal plane passing through 
 the foot. 
 
 INCLOSURES. The amount of common 
 land (land in a state of nature or waste) in 
 England is not known, but it is conjectured 
 that it may be about 8,000,000 of acres ; the 
 total area of England and Wales being sup- 
 posed to be about 37,000,000 acres. There 
 is another class called commonable lands, which 
 is commonable or open to all the parishioners 
 daring a part only of each year. As common 
 and commonable lands produce relatively lit- 
 tle on account of insufficient culture, Inclosures 
 of land have now been going on for many 
 years. It is stated that since 1800 about 2000 
 inclosure acts have passed ; and prior to that 
 tiftie about 1600 or 1700. These inclosure 
 acts (with certain exceptions) are private acts, 
 and the expense of obtaining them and the 
 trouble, attendant on the carrying their provi- 
 sions into effect have often prevented the in- 
 closure of commons. In 1836 an act was 
 passed for facilitating the inclosure of open 
 and arable fields in England and Wales. In 
 pursuance of the recommendation of a Com- 
 mittee of the House of Commons, which sat 
 in 1844, an act of parliament was passed in 
 1845, the object of which is thus stated in the 
 preamble : ' To facilitate the inclosure and 
 improvement of commons and other lands now 
 subject to the rights of property which obstruct 
 cultivation and the productive employment of 
 labour, and to facilitate such exchanges of 
 lands, and such divisions of lands intermixed 
 or divided into inconvenient parcels as may 
 be beneficial to the respective owners.' 
 
 Although the local rights of parishioners 
 are somewhat interfered with by these inclo- 
 sures, there can be little doubt that the gene- 
 ral culture of the land, and the wealth of the 
 community, are increased thereby. 
 
 INDIA. [EAST INDIA COMPANY.] 
 
 INDIA RUBBER MANUFACTURES. 
 A description of this singular substance, and 
 
 of the mode in which it is obtained in the 
 East, will be found under CAOUTCHOUC. When 
 the gum became known in England, its elasti- 
 city and its imperviousness to water pointed 
 it out as a valuable material for manufactures ; 
 and it has gradually come into very extensive 
 use. 
 
 Before Caoutchouc can be practically ap- 
 plied, it requires to be brought from its first 
 crude state to that of a cake, a thread, or a 
 liquid, according to its mode of application. 
 The crude substance is cut into shreds,washed, 
 heated, and kneaded by rollers until it assumes 
 a homogeneous consistency; it is then pressed 
 into moulds, which bring it to the form of 
 large rectangular masses. From these masses 
 sheets are cut by machinery to any required 
 thickness ; and from these sheets threads or 
 any of the other countless forms of the mate- 
 rial are prepared. By the use of petroleum, 
 naphtha, oil of turpentine, or a few other 
 liquids, caoutchouc may be dissolved ; and in 
 that dissolved state is an admirable varnish 
 for rendering porous substances water-proof. 
 
 As a solid substance, as a woven material 
 (with or without any fibrous ingredient), and 
 as a varnish, caoutchouc is now applied to 
 countless purposes, in dress, in machinery, 
 and in other ways. Every reader will be able 
 to verify this assertion. 
 
 Mr. Hancock, who has probably done more 
 than any other person to vary the modes in 
 which caoutchouc may be employed in manu- 
 factures, took out a patent in 1845 for remov- 
 ng three inconveniences which are often pre- 
 sented by this substance. These inconveniences 
 are, a clammy adhesiveness ; a tendency to 
 tiffen and harden by cold ; and a tendency to 
 become softened or even decomposed by heat 
 or by oil. To remove the clammy adhesive- 
 ness, Mr. Hancock brings the caoutchouc to 
 the state of a sheet by the pressure of iron 
 rollers, and forces into this sheet twice its 
 weight of powdered French chalk, or silicate 
 of magnesia, by repeated pressure. Other 
 processes then incorporate the two substances 
 ompletely ; and the compound is ready to be 
 applied to varied purposes. For some pur- 
 poses powdered black lead, or powdered dry 
 asphalte, are used instead of the silicate. 
 
 To enable caoutchouc to resist heat, cold, 
 air, grease, oil, and various solvents, is the 
 purport of Mr. Hancock's Vulcanized India 
 Rubber. This is a compound of caoutchouc 
 and sulphur. The sulphur is either pounded 
 and pressed into the sheets of caoutchouc in 
 the same manner as the silicate ; or the sheets 
 are steeped in melted sulphur until they bc- 
 ome thoroughly impregnated with it. The 
 compound is then made into a paste, or a so- 
 
BISCUIT KILN 
 
 BGHTS (mopftiM w TOE i 
 
 No. 20. 
 

1057 INDIA EUBBEE MANUFACTURES. 
 
 lulion, or thin sheets or threads, or any of the 
 numerous forms in which it is employed. The 
 caoutchouc loses some of its extent of elasti- 
 city, but acquires more perfect elasticity, the 
 longer it remains in the melted sulphur ; that 
 is, it becomes less easily stretched, on account 
 of its increasing toughness, but its elasticity 
 is more intense so far as it goes. Some of 
 the Vulcanised India Eubber now used is 
 wonderfully elastic. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Parkes patented many improve- 
 ments in the caoutchouc manufacture. One 
 of these is a new kind of vulcanised India 
 rubber. The change which has obtained this 
 name is produced, according to this patent, by 
 immersing thin sheets of caoutchouc in a so- 
 lution of chloride of sulphur or bisulphuret 
 of carbon, heating them to a temperature of 
 80 Fahr., boiling them in a caustic ley, and 
 drying. Vulcanising in the dry way, Mr. 
 Parkes effects by kneading or pressing fine 
 chloride of sulphur into the substance of the 
 soft caoutchouc. Another part of the patent 
 relates to the dyeing of caoutchouc. The fol- 
 lowing are the ingredients named, for forming 
 the various dyeing liquids : For black ; sul- 
 phate of copper and caustic ammonia. For 
 green ; sulphate of copper, muriate of ammo- 
 nia, and caustic li me. For purple; sulphates 
 of copper and of potash, and sulphate of in- 
 digo. For merely colouring the surface, 
 without dyeing the substance, many ingre- 
 dients may be employed, and many tints pro- 
 duced. 
 
 It would carry us beyond our limits even to 
 name the various patents which have been 
 brought out for india rubber manufactures, 
 and the improvements suggested therein. We 
 may however briefly glance at a few. 
 
 Mr. Lorimer, in 1848, among other novelties 
 patented a waterproofing material, made of 
 caoutchouc combined with oxide of copper 
 and slaked lime acidulated with oxalic acid. 
 Another patent in the same year was for im- 
 parting certain qualities to caoutchouc by com- 
 bining it with carbonate of magnesia. Mr. 
 Nickells in 1849 introduced a mode of com- 
 bining sulphur with caoutchouc. The caout- 
 chouc is placed in what is called a masticating 
 machine, flowers of sulphur are added, heat 
 is applied, and a roller passes to and fro over 
 these substances, until they are kneaded into 
 a uniform mass. Simpson and Foster's pa- 
 tent, in the same year, was for a mode of dis- 
 solving caoutchouc by the use of bisulphuret 
 of carbon combined with pentachloride of anti- 
 mony. Burke's patent, about the same time, 
 was for giving permanent elasticity to caout- 
 chouc by the application of antimony and car- 
 bonate of soda. Newton's patent, in 1850, is 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 INDEE. 
 
 1058 
 
 for combining caoutchouc with gum lac, as a 
 means of removing its odour. 
 
 Notwithstanding the large use of caoutchouc, 
 it must be admitted that Gutta Percha has 
 lately been outstripping it in public favour. 
 
 INDIANA. A few industrial statistics of 
 this State will be found under UNITED STATES. 
 
 INDIGO. This well-known and beautiful 
 blue vegetable colour is extensively employed 
 in dyeing and calico printing. The plants 
 from which it is mostly obtained belong to the 
 genus indigo/era, of which the chief species 
 grow in India. When the plant is in full 
 flower, it contains most colouring matter. After 
 being cut, it is put into vats, and covered with 
 water ; fermentation takes place, accompanied 
 with the evolution of carbonic acid and pro- 
 bably other gaseous products, and the yellow 
 liquor is covered with a froth which in a little 
 time becomes of a violet colour, and a sub- 
 stance is dissolved which is rendered blue by 
 absorbing the oxygen of the air, and being 
 then rendered insoluble it is precipitated ; and 
 this, when collected and dried, is indigo. 
 
 The usual appearance of indigo as it occurs 
 in commerce is that of nearly cubical cakes of 
 an intense blue colour and earthy fracture. 
 Indigo seldom contains more than about half 
 its Aveight of pure colouring matter, and fre- 
 quently much less. 
 
 When common indigo has been treated with 
 dilute acids, alkalis, and alcohol, the remainder 
 is indiyotin, or indigo, nearly in a state of purity. 
 
 The quantity of indigo imported into Great 
 Britain in 1850 was 70,482 cwts. 
 
 INDEE. This department of France pro- 
 duces corn in quantity more than enough for 
 the consumption ;. buck-wheat, hemp, flax, 
 chestnuts, and fruits are also grown. The 
 annual produce of wine is six to seven mil- 
 lion gallons, about one -half of which is ex- 
 ported. Sheep are a source of great profit to 
 the farmers, on account of the fineness of 
 their wool : the quality of the wool of the 
 Champagne district especially is very superior. 
 Several iron mines are worked ; marble, mill-- 
 stone, limestone, mica, flint, lithographic 
 stones, granite, quartz, spar, marl, potter's 
 clay, variegated marbles, <fcc., are found. The 
 cloth manufactures of Chateauroux and some 
 other places are important ; linen, hosiery, 
 scythes, paper, porcelain, and earthenware are 
 made. There are also numerous establish- 
 ments for the manufacture of woollen yarn, 
 leather, beer, parchment, &c. The most im- 
 portant iron-works are those of Clavieres. 
 The commerce of the department is composed 
 of the various agricultural and industrial pro- 
 ducts named. 
 
 There is another department, called Indrc- 
 c o 
 
1050 
 
 INFUSIONS. 
 
 INK. 
 
 1000 
 
 el-Loire, one of the most important products 
 of which is wine; of which 14 or 15 million 
 gallons are made yearly ; next come hemp, 
 walnuts for making oil, plums, beans, legumi- 
 nous plants, liquorice, anise, and coriander ; 
 citrons, melons, almonds, apples, pears, truf- 
 fles, &G. Bees and silkworms are carefully 
 tended. Iron mines are worked ; stone, espe- 
 cially a tufaceous sandstone, of which most of 
 the houses are built, is quarried out of the 
 hills near the Loire, and excavations thus 
 formed are occupied as dwelling places by the 
 poorer inhabitants. Millstone grit, marl, pot- 
 ter's clay, and brick-earth are found. Copper 
 ore is met with, but no mines are worked. 
 The chief industrial products are bar iron, 
 powder, and files ; woollen cloth, of which ma- 
 nufacture Tours is the centre ; silk, leather, 
 paper, and pottery, are also made, but the 
 manufacture of these articles is not so impor- 
 tant as formerly. The exports consist mostly 
 of agricultural products, the imports of colo- 
 nial produce, glass, cotton stuffs, fine linen 
 and woollen cloth, furniture, haberdashery, &c. 
 
 INFUSIONS are solutions of some of the 
 principles of vegetables, generally in water, 
 but occasionally in other vehicles. When 
 water is employed it may either be hot or cold. 
 It is customary to use warm water, but in 
 many instances cold is preferable. Sometimes 
 alcohol is added, after straining, to assist in 
 keeping the infusion, or to increase its powers. 
 Hard water should, if possible, be avoided in 
 the preparation of infusions. 
 
 INK. The writing ink of the ancients was 
 essentially different from that which is now 
 employed. Its basis was finely divided char- 
 coal, mixed with some mucilaginous or adhe- 
 sive fluid : it was much less destructible than 
 modern writing ink, and somewhat more re- 
 sembled printer's ink. Writing ink is now a 
 chemical compound, and not a mere mechan- 
 ical mixture. Its basis is proto-gallate and 
 proto-tannate of iron, which by oxidisement 
 become per-gallate and per-tannate ; and it is 
 owing to the oxygen of the air effecting this 
 change gradually that recent writing is of a 
 comparatively light colour, and that it subse- 
 quently becomes black. Many processes have 
 been given for preparing writing ink. The 
 common ingredients are galls and sulphate of 
 iron ; in fact, while printers' ink may be con- 
 sidered as a black paint, writing ink may be 
 regarded as a black dye. The following, 
 which is recommended by Mr. Brande, gives, 
 he says, an excellent ink, and it possesses the 
 merit of greater simplicity than most others : 
 Aleppo galls, bruised, 6 ounces ; sulphate 
 of iron, 4 ounces ; gum arabic, 4 ounces ; wa- 
 ter, G pints. Boil the galls in the water, then 
 
 add the other ingredients, and keep the whole 
 in a well-stopped bottle, occasionally shaking 
 it. In two months strain and pour off 
 the ink into glass bottles, to be well corked. 
 To prevent mould, add one grain of corrosive 
 sublimate, or three drops of creosote, to each 
 pint of ink. Modern writing ink, unlike the 
 ancient, is readily destroyed by chlorine, acids, 
 and alkalis. Red, blue, and other coloured 
 inks have nearly the same chemical properties 
 as black ink, and depend for their colour on 
 the kind of ingredients employed. A Magic 
 Sand has been recently introduced, to 'write 
 without ink,' and to avoid spilling and spot- 
 ting. The magic consists probably in sand 
 being saturated with ink. 
 
 Indian Ink, The cakes of this ink are 
 made of lamp-black and si/e, or animal glue, 
 with the addition of perfumes or other sub- 
 stances not essential to its quality as an ink. 
 It is used in China with a brush, both for wri- 
 ting and for painting upon paper of Chinese 
 manufacture. It is used in Europe for designs 
 in black and white, in which it possesses the 
 advantage of affording various depths of shade, 
 according to the degree of dilution with water. 
 
 Printers' Ink is of two kinds : for letter- 
 press printing and for copper plate printing. 
 Printers' ink is prepared by boiling linseed 
 or nut oil in an iron pot ; and, if it does not 
 take fire of itself, it is kindled, and suffered to 
 burn for about half an hour ; the flame is then 
 extinguished by closely covering the vessel, 
 and the oil is by this operation found to have 
 acquired the necessary drying quality, after 
 being again boiled. It is then mixed with a 
 proper quantity of lamp-black, when black ink 
 is required ; if red ink be required, the colour- 
 ing matter employed is vermillion for finer 
 works. Copper-plate printers' ink is made with 
 oil which is less boiled, and the charcoal used 
 is Frankfort black, made from vine twigs. 
 
 Marking Ink is employed for marking linen : 
 it is a solution of nitrate of silver, written with 
 a pen upon the fabric to be marked after it has 
 been moistened with an alkaline solution, as 
 potash or soda. By this process oxide of sil- 
 ver is precipitated upon and combines with 
 the cloth so as to be scarcely removeable by 
 any reagent which does not also destroy its 
 texture. There are other chemical prepara- 
 tions used for this purpose. 
 
 Sympathetic Inks are such as are invisible 
 until heat is applied, and then, by the chemi- 
 cal change induced, the writing becomes visi- 
 ble. The most remarkable of these is that 
 prepared from cobalt, called Hellot's Sympa- 
 thetic Ink, which is a chloride of the metal. 
 When the written paper is held to the fire so as 
 to evaporate the water,the letters become green. 
 
1001 
 
 INTAGLIO. 
 
 IODINE. 
 
 10G2 
 
 INTA'GLIO. This name is given to small 
 works of the gem class, in which the design is 
 indented or engraved, to distinguish them from 
 those in which the subject or device is raised, 
 called Cameos. The Greeks carried this branch 
 of the fine arts to the same perfection which 
 their genius and feeling for the beautiful ena- 
 bled them to reach in all others to which they 
 devoted their attention ; but we do not trace 
 its existence among them to a very remote 
 date. We have no information respecting the 
 process by which the ancient intagiiatori (or 
 sculptores) executed works which are now 
 justly referred to as the best examples of the 
 art. The modern practice of cutting stones 
 in intaglio is by an apparatus similar in prin- 
 ciple to the turning lathe, which gives the cut- 
 ting tool, placed horizontally, a quick rotatory 
 motion, and, the stone on which the design is 
 to be engraved being brought in contact with 
 it, the surface is ground away or indented, till 
 the effect required is produced. Instruments 
 of various sizes are used, which can easily be 
 removed and replaced, and it is usual, during 
 the process of engraving, to supply the points 
 of the tools with diamond dust mixed with a 
 little sweet oil. As the work proceeds, proofs 
 are occasionally taken in wax. 
 
 Die-Sinkinfi or the engraving of dies is an 
 important branch of the art of intaglio, and 
 requires great care and skill for its perfection. 
 The die is made of finely prepared and tem- 
 pered steel. When the first intaglio, or original 
 die, is executed, it forms a matrix (or mould), 
 into which a conically formed block of softer 
 steel is compressed, the matrix first undergoing 
 a process by which it is hardened. An impres- 
 sion taken in this way is called a puncheon. 
 When this is completed (and frequent anneal- 
 ing and restriking are necessary before it is 
 perfected), the engraver retouches the work, 
 now in relief, and gives it all the delicacy of 
 the original model; the rnetal is then har- 
 dened, and, by pressing this puncheon into 
 other steel which is soft (by almost a repeti- 
 tion indeed of the before-mentioned process), 
 it serves for the purpose of making the dies 
 for coining. 
 
 INVENTIONS. A few words on the present 
 state of the law respecting patents (or what 
 may be termed copyright) for mechanical in- 
 ventions, will be found under PATENT LAWS . 
 
 INVEKNESSHIRE. By far the greater 
 part of the surface of this Scotch county is 
 covered with heath ; but a good deal of the 
 heathy ground is arable, and a considerable 
 extent of it has been brought into cultivation 
 during the present century. Limestone is 
 found in several districts, and in some districts 
 approaches to the nature of marble. Sandstone 
 
 is also frequently met with. Some veins of 
 lead and silver have been discovered, and also 
 iron ore in small quantities. The soil is for 
 the most part light and sandy, with a subsoil 
 of gravel or clay : but in the neighbourhood of 
 the town of Inverness it is enriched by a fine 
 loam deposited by the waters which fall into 
 the adjoining firth. Formerly there were a 
 great number of small arable farms only a few 
 acres in extent; but these have much de- 
 creased since the introduction of sheep-farm- 
 ing. The attention of the farmers is chiefly 
 directed to the rearing of sheep and cattle. 
 The fir woods in Glenmore and those of Strath- 
 spey in the adjoining county of Elgin are sup- 
 posed to be more extensive than all the other 
 natural woods in Scotland together. Glen 
 Morrison, which opens into Glenmore, also 
 contains much fine timber. Those which grow 
 naturally are the oak, fir, birch, ash, mountain 
 ash, holly, elm, hazel and the Scotch poplar. 
 Those which are planted are the larch, spruce 
 fir, silver fir, beech, plane, and fruit-trees. For- 
 merly a good deal of hemp, worsted, and linen 
 yarn was made in this county ; but this has 
 greatly declined since the establishment of 
 the large manufactories of the south. 
 
 The only important town in the county, In- 
 verness, is noticeable rather in a picturesque 
 than an industrial point of view ; there is a 
 small import of hemp, timber, and tar, and an 
 export of oats. 
 
 IODINE. This remarkable non-metallic 
 elementary body was discovered by M. Cour- 
 tois in 1812. Iodine exists in the water of 
 the ocean and mineral springs, and in marine 
 molluscous animals and sea-weeds ; but it is 
 principally obtained from kelp, or sea-weed 
 which has been burnt for the purpose of ob- 
 taining alkali. It is a soft opaque solid, of a 
 blueish black colour and metallic lustre. When 
 moderately heated, it rises in vapour of a vio- 
 let colour, and hence its name from the Greek 
 word for violet. On cooling, it again crystal- 
 lises unchanged, nor is it decomposed or 
 altered by being subjected to very high tem- 
 peratures ; and it has resisted all attempts to 
 decompose it. 
 
 Iodine has a strong disagreeable odour and 
 taste ; it stains the skin of a brownish colour, 
 but not permanently. It is readily dissolved 
 by alcohol, but scarcely at all by water. It is 
 very poisonous. Its characteristic property is 
 that of giving an intense blue colour when 
 added to a solution of starch. It unites with 
 metals to form compounds, which are termed 
 Iodides; and, like chlorine and bromine, it 
 forms acids both with hydrogen and oxygen. 
 
 Iodine, though only obtained in an isolated 
 state of late years, has been long employed as 
 
1063 
 
 IONIAN ISLANDS. 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 1004 
 
 the efficient principle of other preparation 
 and therapeutic agents, namely, burnt spong< 
 and certain mineral waters. It is only sinc< 
 it has been procured as a distinct principle 
 that its action has been ascertained with pre 
 cision. ^ In the present day it is administered 
 rather in some artificial compound than a; 
 pure iodine, owing to its very sparing solubi 
 lity in water. Its value in medicine is very 
 great. In photographic processes and in other 
 processes connected with the arts, iodine is 
 also very useful. 
 
 At the Dublin Exhibition of manufactures 
 in 1850, the Messrs. Bullock, manufacturing 
 chemists of Galway, exhibited specimens ol 
 Irish iodine. It appears that iodine is found 
 in large quantities in the sea-weed which 
 covers the rocks for miles round the west coast 
 of Ireland ; it has been hitherto collected by 
 the peasatns for manure ; but Messrs. Bullock 
 have found that it will yield iodine in sufficient 
 quantity to pay for the extraction. This affords 
 one among many exemplars of the advancing 
 spirit of manufactures in Ireland. 
 
 IONIAN ISLANDS. This name is given 
 to the islands of Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, 
 Santa-Maura, Theaki, Paxo, Cerigo, and some 
 small islets, all situated in the Ionian Sea, off 
 the west coast of Albania and the coast of 
 Greece. Oil, wine, corn, cotton, the small 
 species of grape called currants, and other 
 fruits, and flax, are the chief productions ; the 
 olive is extensively cultivated in all the islands ; 
 the currant is grown in the greatest perfection 
 in Cephalonia and Zante, but of late years 
 the cultivation of this fruit is diminishing in 
 the islands and increasing on the main land 
 of Greece. Earthenware, salt, soap, and some 
 coarse woven goods, are the principal indus- 
 trial products ; ship-building and the fisheries 
 give employment to a considerable number of 
 hands. The coasting trade is important. The 
 imports, consisting of sugar, coffee, and drugs, 
 raw and manufactured cotton and silk ; wool 
 and woollen cloth, glass, hardware, staves and 
 hoops ; iron, timber, wheat, Indian com, rice, 
 cheese, flour, fish, cattle, sheep, tobacco, &c., 
 average in value about 630,000/. a year. The 
 import and export is almost entirely carried 
 on in British ships. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures 
 imported into the Ionian Islands in 1849 
 amounted in value tolG5,805/.; those from other 
 countries amounted to three or four times this 
 value, but mostly in British shipping. 
 
 Of these several islands Cephalonia depends 
 chiefly on its culture of currants, of winch 
 there are about 6000 acres planted. Corfu 
 produces oil, wine, cotton, fruit, flax, and corn; 
 oil is the chief produce, the annual produce 
 
 being about 200,000 barrels. Cerigo and all 
 the other islands produce nearly the same 
 crops, varying a little in richness. 
 
 IOWA. This member of the United States 
 confederacy, which attained to that honour 
 only so late as 1846, is too young a state to 
 present us yet with any marked industrial 
 developments. 
 
 IPECACUANHA. This emetic substance 
 is the root of several plants growing in South 
 America. All the kinds have nearly the same 
 ingredients, but differ in the amount of the 
 active principle which they respectively con- 
 tain, termed emcta. The best is the annulated, 
 yielded by the Ccj>haeJis Ipecacuanha, a small 
 shrubby plant, native of Brazil and of New 
 Granada. Of this sort there are three varie- 
 ties, namely, the brown, red, and gray, or 
 gray-white, called also greater annulated ipe 
 cacuan. As this is the only sort sent from 
 Rio Janeiro, it is sometimes called Brazilian 
 or Lisbon ipecacuanha. It is sent in bales and 
 Barrels. 
 
 IRELAND. This beautiful and naturally 
 rich portion of our Empire contains six coal 
 districts : the Leinster, or Castlecomer district; 
 ,he Slieve Arda, or Tipperary district; the 
 Minister district; the Lough Allen district, 
 round the source of the Shannon ; and the 
 Monaghan and Tyrone districts ; there is also 
 a coal district of small extent in Antrim. The 
 oal raised in the southern districts is anthra- 
 ite, or blind-coal ; that raised in the districts 
 lorth of Dublin is bituminous. In addition 
 o these the central district of Ireland contains 
 ipwards of one million acres of bog, compre- 
 lended for the most part within that portion 
 'hich would be embraced by lines drawn from 
 Vicklow to Galway, and from Howth-head to 
 >ligo. In respect to lakes and rivers, it has 
 >een estimated that the water power afforded 
 y the different rivers and natural dams of 
 reland is greater than in any equal extent of 
 ccessible country in Europe : this is a very 
 mportant feature in connection with the future 
 ndustrial progress of Ireland. 
 
 Of the 20 millions of acres of land in Ire- 
 and, it has been estimated that 5} are arable 
 nd garden ground ; OJ meadows, pastures, 
 nd marshes ; 5 improveable wastes ; and the 
 est unimproveable wastes. In 1841 there 
 rare about 350,000 acres of plantations in 
 reland. In 1847, about one-fourth of the 
 .'hole area of Ireland was under crop, corn- 
 rising about 5,000,000 acres ; of which two- 
 liirds were under corn-crops, and one-third 
 nder crops of beans, potatoes, turnips, clover, 
 ax. &c. The corn produce in that year was 
 bout 10,000,000 quarters ; comprising wheat, 
 ate, barley, bere, find rye; and giving about 
 
IOCS 
 
 IEELAND. 
 
 IRON AND ITS ORES. 
 
 1060 
 
 5 quarters average per acre. The Irish fish 
 eries are carried on upon a considerable scale, 
 under the management of the Board of Works. 
 The whole coast of Ireland has been divided 
 by the commissioners into 28 fishery districts, 
 in which are registered about 20,000 vessels 
 and boats, and about 100,000 fishermen and 
 boys. 
 
 Among the manufactures of Ireland, that of 
 linen takes the lead ; it gives a flourishing 
 character to the district around Belfast and 
 Coleraine. Cotton spinning and weaving, and 
 calico bleaching and printing, also occupy 
 many hands. The woollen and silk manufac- 
 tures, once carried on to a respectable extent, 
 have greatly declined within the last few years. 
 In grinding, malting, brewing, and distilling, 
 a considerable trade is carried on. The malt 
 made in Ireland in 1850 was 1,682,102 bushels. 
 The quantity of spirits charged with duty in 
 Ireland in the same year was 7,408,086 gallons. 
 There are numerous paper-mills, glass-works, 
 and tobacco manufactories. 
 
 The inland traffic is kept up by tolerably 
 good roads, rivers, canals, and railways. The 
 chief canals are the Grand Canal, Royal Canal, 
 Shannon Navigation, Limerick Navigation, 
 Lagan Navigation, Newry Navigation, Tyrone 
 Navigation, Boyne Navigation, Slaney Naviga- 
 tion, Barrow Navigation, and Ulster Canal, 
 giving about 620 miles of available navigation. 
 Railways will very shortly cross the island 
 from east to west and from north to south. 
 The external traffic is greatly aided by steam 
 power ; steam vessels of large size run from 
 London, Plymouth, Bristol, Holyhead, Liver- 
 pool, Fleetwood, Greenock, and Glasgow, to 
 Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Dublin, Belfast, 
 Londonderry, and other Irish ports. 
 
 Every one at all interested in the welfare of 
 Ireland is anxious to see her great industrial 
 capabilities developed. That her manufac- 
 turers can produce manifold and excellent 
 specimens of skill was sufficiently shewn at 
 the Dublin Exhibition of Manufactures in 
 1850, noticed in our ' Introduction' That Ire- 
 land is not insufficiently supplied with mineral 
 wealth is exemplified in the black and white 
 marbles of Galway, the slates of various dis- 
 tricts, the coal of her various beds, and the 
 peat which though now an incumbrance and 
 an eyesore may yet become a mine of re- 
 sources. That the Ulster cultivators and manu- 
 facturers are not blind to improvements is 
 shewn by the eagerness with which the inves- 
 tigations concerning flax are now being re- 
 garded. That the merchants of Ireland are 
 alive to the energy of commercial enterprise, 
 let Cork and Limerick, Waterford and Dublin, 
 Belfast and Derry, bear witness. The castings 
 
 for an iron bridge for the South Wales Rail- 
 way have just been made at Dublin a feature 
 which has excited well -merited attention. 
 When we find that 19 Irish counties contain 
 iron, 17 copper, 18 lead, and 16 coal, we can- 
 lot but hope that a brighter future is in store 
 for that country. 
 
 At the forthcoming Industrial Exhibition, 
 Ireland will occupy about 10,000 square feet 
 of floor and counter, and 14,000 of wall space. 
 In the section relating to manufactures there 
 are more exhibitors than in the other three 
 combined. From Cork the contributions will 
 comprise marble, pottery clay, fine sand and 
 silex for glassmaking, wool, leather, friezes, 
 blankets, ginghams, models of inventions in 
 machinery, and cabinet work. From Clonniel 
 cutlery, ivory turning, crochet and other 
 work ; woollens, models of agricultural imple- 
 ments. From Tipperary coal, copper ore, &c. 
 From Kilkenny the marbles for which it is 
 so celebrated, Kellymont flags, anthracite coal, 
 hunting breeches, and friezes, and specimens 
 of the leather used in making them ; together 
 with an interesting cabinet of the materials 
 used in the manufacture of artificial flies for 
 angling, flies and fishing tackle. From Wex- 
 ford porphyry, sand for glass, clay, the her- 
 ring nets made by the fishermen of that loca- 
 lity, models of machinery, architectural mo- 
 dels, and philosophical instruments. From 
 Limerick the beautiful Limerick lace, gloves, 
 brushes, cutlery, army clothing, fishing tackle, 
 worsted work, leather, and tobacco ; in raw 
 materials, alumina, silex, pottery clay, fire-clay 
 slates, flagstones, building stone, marbles, 
 copper and iron ore } in fancy woods, bog oak, 
 bog yew, and arbutus ; and in the mechanical 
 section, models of machinery and inventions ; 
 and from Mountmellick, the bits and stirrups 
 for which it is famous. These are from the 
 south and west of Ireland; the north and 
 east will contribute yet more largely. 
 
 IRI'DIUM. This rare metal is found com- 
 bined with platinum in the ores of the latter 
 metal, from which it may be separated by a 
 complex chemical process. A few minute 
 grains of native iridium have been found, 
 but it is rarely so met with. Iridium is brittle, 
 and when carefully polished has the appear- 
 ance of platinum. When heated to redness 
 in the air, if in a state of fine division (which 
 is obtained by precipitation), it is oxidised, but 
 not if in mass. Iridium is with difficulty acted 
 upon by acids. It combines chemically with 
 many simpler substances ; but its usefulness 
 has not yet become very great. 
 
 IRON AND ITS ORES. Of all the metals 
 iron is the most widely diffused, the most 
 abundant, and the most useful. It is found 
 
1067 
 
 IRON AND ITS ORES. 
 
 IRON MANUFACTURE. 
 
 IOCS 
 
 not only intermixed with soils, and contained 
 in rocks and minerals, but it is even met with 
 in some animal and vegetable bodies, and also 
 in mineral waters. It occurs rarely in nature 
 in the metallic state, for almost the whole of 
 it that has been found occurs as meteoric iron 
 containing nickel, or in meteoric stones. It is 
 mostly found either combined with oxygen, 
 oxygen and carbonic acid, or sulphur. The 
 best iron ores are oxides, which occur in pri- 
 mitive countries, where they generally form 
 very large beds ; such are those of Sweden : 
 but the greater part of the iron ore of Britain 
 is an impure carbonate. 
 
 When separated from its ores, the colour of 
 iron is grayish white with a tint of blue. It is 
 extremely ductile, so that it maybe drawn into 
 wire finer than the human hah*, but it cannot 
 be beaten into very thin leaves. It is of all 
 metals the most tenacious, for a wire t^th of 
 an inch in diameter is capable of supporting a 
 weight of about 550 Ibs. It is susceptible of 
 a high polish. It is combustible when minutely 
 divided, as in the state of filings. It is very 
 hard at common temperatures, and this pro- 
 perty may be increased by its being heated 
 and then suddenly cooled; it then however 
 becomes brittle. It requires a most intense 
 heat to melt it ; but when heated to redness 
 it becomes soft and pliable, and possesses the 
 valuable property of welding, that is, two pieces 
 of red-hot iron may be made to unite by ham- 
 mering. Its texture is fibrous. Its specific 
 gravity is about 7.77 ; but this varies in some 
 degree according to the extent to which it has 
 been drawn, rolled, or hammered, and it is 
 increased by fusion. Iron, or rather steel, is 
 capable of being rendered permanently mag- 
 netic. Iron has great affinity for oxygen and 
 sulphur, and some other elementary bodies, 
 and combines with them in various propor- 
 tions. 
 
 The chief ores of iron are the following : 
 Oxydulous or Magnetic ; Specular or Mica- 
 ceous ; Goethite ; Iron Froth ; Red Hematite ; 
 Brown Hematite ; Carbonate of Iron, or Spa- 
 those Iron Ore; and Clay Iron Stone. The 
 last named is the most abundant in this 
 country. 
 
 Of the valuable chemical substances in 
 which iron forms an ingredient, it is difficult 
 to give even a list : so numerous and varied 
 are they. Steel and black lead consist of iron 
 and carbon ; green vitriol is sulphate of iron. 
 The presence of phosphorus in iron is said 
 to give it what iron manufacturers call the 
 cold short quality. The acetate of iron is much 
 used in calico printing. 
 
 The Alloys of Iron are much less useful 
 than might be expected from the extreme 
 
 utility of the metal itself. Potassium and iron, 
 and sodium and iron, combine when heat is 
 applied to them : the alloys are more fusible 
 than pure iron, especially when in contact with 
 the air ; and they are decomposed by air and 
 water. Silicium and iron form an alloy which 
 is ductile or brittle according to the quantity 
 of charcoal which it contains. Arsenic and 
 iron form an alloy which has a grayish white 
 colour, does not obey the magnet, is very 
 brittle, and much more fusible than iron. 
 Chromium and iron form an alloy very little 
 known. With columlium a hard brown alloy 
 is formed. Zinc gives a white and brittle alloy 
 with iron. Tin and iron form the alloy seen 
 on tin-plate ware. Antimony and iron unite 
 when heated together in close vessels : the 
 alloy is white, hard, brittle, and its specific 
 gravity is less than that of the mean of the 
 two metals. No metal appears to deprive iron 
 more of its magnetic property than antimony. 
 Cobalt and iron form a hard magnetic alloy. 
 Nickel and iron form the meteoric alloy. Bis- 
 muth combines with difficulty with iron. Mo- 
 lybdenum forms with it a blueish gray brittle 
 alloy. The alloy of copper and iron is mag- 
 netic. Silver combines readily with iron when 
 they are fused together, but they separate on 
 solidification, and globules of silver appear on 
 the surface of the alloy. With mercury a white 
 tenacious alloy is formed. Lead and iron com- 
 bine with difficulty. Rhodium, iridinm, tung- 
 sten, and platinum may all be made to form 
 alloys with iron. Gold and iron combine with 
 facility ; a compound of eleven parts of gold 
 and one part of iron is nearly white, and very 
 ductile. 
 
 IRON MANUFACTURE. The art of 
 smelting iron was practised in this country 
 during the time of the Roman occupation, and 
 in many ancient beds of cinders, the refuse of 
 iron-works, Roman coins have been found. 
 The principal ancient seats of the iron manu- 
 facture in this country appear to have been 
 Sussex and the Forest of Dean, or Arden, as 
 it was then called. Remains of ancient iron- 
 furnaces have been noticed in Lancashire, 
 Staffordshire, and Yorkshire. The art of work- 
 ing in iron and steel was much practised in 
 this island before the Norman Conquest. At 
 the present day the chief iron manufacturing 
 districts in this country are the Lanark district 
 of Scotland, South Wales, and South Stafford- 
 shire ; the works distributed in other parts of 
 the kingdom are much less extensive, though 
 many even of these are of great import- 
 ance. 
 
 There are two distinct qualities into which 
 this metal is commonly divided, viz. pig-iron 
 and malleable or bar iron, the second being the 
 
100 
 
 IRON MANUFACTURE. 
 
 IRON MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1070 
 
 result of an extension of the processes neces- 
 sary for the production of the first kind. 
 
 The first process is that of reducing the 
 iron-stone or ore, or, as it is technically called, 
 the mine, into a metallic state hy means of 
 fusion. This operation is conducted in a 
 blast-furnace or smelting-furnacc. [FURNACE.] 
 The furnace is charged from the top with 
 certain proportions of iron ore, coke, and lime- 
 stone. The ore is previously roasted in a kiln, 
 in order to drive off the water, sulphur, and 
 arsenic, with which it is more or less comhined 
 in its native state : hy this process it loses 
 one sixth part of its weight. A furnace of the 
 size commonly used in Wales will produce 
 from 5 to 6 tons of pig-iron in twelve hours. 
 For the largest quantity the furnace is charged 
 progressively with 15 tons of roasted iron ore, 
 22 tons of coke, and ahout 6 tons of lime- 
 stone. These ingredients are supplied at 50 
 charges, and are intimately mixed together in 
 the furnace. The limestone is hroken into 
 small pieces, and is used to act as a flux to 
 the ore and promote its fusion. The heat 
 that would he produced in any furnace hy 
 merely setting fire to the fuel which is con- 
 tained in it would he altogether insufficient 
 for the fusion of the ore, if its intensity were 
 not promoted hy the forcing in of a current or 
 hlast of air. For this purpose it is necessary 
 to use a strong mechanical force, and of late 
 years the agency of steam has heen most com- 
 monly employed for this purpose. The blast 
 is carried into an intermediate chamher of a 
 spherical or cylindrical shape, called a regu- 
 lator ; and, as the air is in a state of conden- 
 sation when admitted, its effort to expand 
 itself again to its natural volume causes the 
 continuous and regular supply to the furnace 
 which is necessary. The air thus forced into 
 the furnace keeps the heat at a degree of in- 
 tenseness which is indispensable for the smelt- 
 ing of the ore. A most important improve- 
 ment was made by Mr. Neilson, some years 
 ago, in using the hot blast instead of the cold, 
 that is, drying and highly heating the air be- 
 fore it is forced into the furnace. This has 
 proved to be the most valuable and economical 
 of all modern inventions in the iron manufac- 
 ture. 
 
 The iron is run from the furnace every 
 twelve hours, by tapping the front of the fur- 
 nace on a level with the bottom of the hearth. 
 When the furnace is tapped, the metal is 
 allowed to run into channels formed in the 
 sand of the smelting-house floor. The names 
 of sow-metal and pig-metal, which were origi- 
 nal^ given by the workmen, signify in one 
 case the blocks of iron which are formed in 
 the large main channels, and in the other case 
 
 the smaller blocks which are formed in smaller 
 side channels communicating with the larger 
 ones. 
 
 The quality of pig-iron varies according 
 to the purposes for which it is intended, and 
 depends not only upon the quality of the ore, 
 but also upon that of the fuel. The principal 
 division is into foundry -iron and forge-iron, the 
 former being used for castings, the latter for 
 conversion into malleable iron. Foundry -iron 
 is further divided into three qualities, distin- 
 guished by the numbers 1, 2, and 3, and dif- 
 fering in the amount of carbon combined, the 
 fluidity when melted, and the hardness when 
 cooled. Forge iron is divided also into three 
 qualities, and is distinguished as bright iron, 
 mottled iron, and white iron, which names are 
 indicative of the appearance which each quality 
 presents to the eye ; they have less carbon, 
 less fluidity, and more hardness, than foundry 
 iron. 
 
 Forge or bar iron is pig-iron freed from car- 
 bon and oxygen. The first operation for pro- 
 ducing this change is called refining, and is 
 performed in small low furnaces, about three 
 feet square at the base, having the bottom, or 
 hearth, of fire-bricks, and the sides of cast 
 iron, made hollow to allow a stream of water 
 to pass constantly through, which prevents 
 their being quickly burnt away ; near the top 
 are holes for the insertion of blast-pipes. The 
 iron is kept in a state effusion in the refinery 
 for some time exposed to an intense heat pro- 
 duced by a strong blast, and is then run out 
 into a flat mould twenty feet long by two wide, 
 placed over a cistern of water, where it 
 speedily cools into a bright brittle state. 
 
 The first process employed for making bars 
 is called puddling, and is performed in a rcver- 
 beratory or puddling furnace. [FuKNACE.j The 
 quantity of refined metal put into this pud- 
 dling-furnace at each charge is from 3 to 4 
 cwt. In about half an hour from the charging 
 of the furnace the metal begins to melt. The 
 puddler then observes, through a small hole 
 provided for that purpose and for the intro- 
 duction of his tools, the progress of the work. 
 The business of the puddler is so to dispose 
 of the pieces of metal, moving them by means 
 of his tools, as to ensure an equable applica- 
 tion of heat to the mass. When the whole 
 quantity is fully melted, the puddler stirs the 
 metal about briskly, changing his tools contin- 
 ually, that they may not be melted. By means 
 of this agitation the metal gives off an elastic 
 fluid, and after a time becomes thick, and 
 grows increasingly so, until it loses all fluidity 
 and forms into lumps. The contents of the 
 furnace are then divided into five or six por- 
 tions by the puddler, and each is made up by 
 
1071 
 
 IRON MANUFACTUEE. 
 
 IRON MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1072 
 
 means of his tools into a spherical form. 
 These balls are technically called blooms. 
 Being taken from the puddling-furnace, they 
 are subjected each to ten or twenty blows from 
 a heavy hammer (called shingling), or to an 
 intense pressure by a machine called a squeezer, 
 which makes them more compact and gives 
 them a shape more convenient for going 
 through the rollers. These rollers consist of 
 two cylinders working in contact, and having 
 on their surfaces a series of grooves, varying 
 in size. The iron is passed through all these 
 grooves in succession, until it is reduced to the 
 requisite width and thickness. It is thus con- 
 verted from a fusible, hard, and brittle sub- 
 stance, to a tough and elastic bar which is 
 hardly fusible, and which, from its property of 
 yielding and altering its form under the ham- 
 mer, has acquired the name of malleable iron. 
 The bars, when they have been passed 
 through these rollers, and while yet hot, are 
 cut into convenient lengths and taken to the 
 balling-furnace, the shape and construction 
 of which resemble those of the puddling 
 furnace. In this balling furnace the bars 
 are piled evenly, so that one bar does 
 not project beyond another. Several of 
 these piles, each of which is composed of five 
 or six bars, are placed at once in the furnace,and 
 when sufficiently heated, so that they will weld 
 together, the piles are taken out separately, 
 and are passed again through rollers similar 
 in construction to those described above, but 
 differing from each other in the form of their 
 orifices and grooves, so that either round or 
 flat or square rods and bars may be produced 
 at the pleasure of the maker, and these, when 
 weighed and put up into bundles, are ready 
 for sale. 
 
 The progress of the Iron Manufacture in 
 this country has been astonishing. The quan- 
 tity of iron made in different years presents 
 the following results : 
 
 1740 . . 17,300 tons. 
 
 1750 .. 22,000 
 
 1788 .. 68,000 
 
 1796 .. 125,000 
 
 1806 . . 250,000 
 
 1820 . . 400,000 
 
 1830 . . 677,417 
 
 1840 . . 1,306,400 
 
 1848 . . 1,998,568 
 The quantity of nearly two million tons in 
 1848 was thus made up : 
 
 England . . 735,800 tons. 
 Walea .. 722,800 
 
 Scotland .. 539,968 
 
 1,998,568 tons. 
 The near approach of Wales to England in 
 
 produce is remarkable, and shews how rapidly 
 the iron manufacture of South Wales must 
 have been extending. 
 
 In 1796 each furnace throughout the king- 
 dom yielded an average produce of about 1000 
 tons of iron annually; in 1849 the average 
 yield was about 0000 tons : so great have been 
 the improvements in the manufacture. In 
 
 1848 the total number of furnaces, in and out 
 of blast, was 623. The price of bar iron, at 
 the close of ten successive years, was as fol- 
 lows : 1840, 8} ; '41, G& ; '42, 6 ; M;l, 
 5 ; '44, 6i ; '45, 10 ; '46, 8J ; '47, <H ; 
 '48, 5J ; '49, 5. Best iron, angle iron, 
 rail iron, sheet iron, and hoop iron, all exceed 
 the above prices by 5s. to 40s. per ton. The 
 highest price of pig iron for the last twenty 
 years has been G$ per ton ; and the lowest 
 about 2. 
 
 A few further details of the iron districts 
 will be found under GLASGOW, MERTIIYR, 
 STAFFORDSHIRE, WALES, &c. 
 
 Our Exports of iron are very large. In 
 
 1849 the quantity of Bar. Pig, Bolt, Rod, Wire, 
 Cast, and Wrought iron exported was 7?;!>(;."> 
 tons ; besides iron in the forms of steel, cut- 
 lery, hard ware and machinery, to the value 
 of 4,077,1517. ; making altogether a value of 
 about nine millions sterling. 
 
 The various manufactures in which iron or 
 steel are employed to considerable extent are 
 noticed under their proper headings in this 
 work ; such as CUTLERY, FILES, NAILS, NEED- 
 LES, SAWS, &c. ; see also STEEL MANUFACTURE. 
 We may notice here the modern and very use- 
 ful form of galvanized finned iron, as pre- 
 pared under the patent of Messrs. Morewood 
 and Rogers. The sheets are rolled in the 
 usual way, to any required degree of thinness ; 
 some are kept in the original flat state ; 
 while others are corrugated, or brought to the 
 form of alternate ridges and hollows. Both 
 surfaces fire covered with a layer of tin by the 
 galvanic process, analogous to those noticed 
 under ELECTRO-METALLURGY. This material, 
 either in the flat or the corrugated form, is 
 used for roofing, ships' bolts and sheathing, 
 carriage roofs, tunnel linings, gutters, pipes, 
 cisterns, chimney pots, cowls, baths, cans, 
 buckets, coal-boxes, stove pipes, and numerous 
 other articles. Temporary houses and stores, 
 made of corrugated iron, are sent out to the 
 colonies and California. 
 
 It is to be hoped, and reasonably expected, 
 that every department of a manufacture on 
 which so much of the prosperity of England 
 depends, will be well represented at the ap- 
 proaching Exhibition. Nor is it less t.> ! 
 desired that foreign countries should shew 
 their strength in the s.uue direction. 
 
1073 
 
 IRRIGATION. 
 
 IRRIGATION. In China and in India, as 
 well as in Egypt, ingenious modes of watering 
 lands have been adopted from the most re- 
 mote ages. No expense has "been thought too 
 great to secure a supply of water, and to dis- 
 tribute it in the most advantageous manner. 
 
 The whole art of irrigation may he deduced 
 from two simple rules : first, to give a suffi- 
 cient supply of water during all the time the 
 plants are growing ; and, secondly, never to 
 allow it to accumulate so long as to stagnate. 
 The supply of water must come from natural 
 lakes and rivers, or from artificial wells and 
 ponds, in which it is collected in sufficient 
 quantity to disperse it over a certain surface. 
 As the water must flow over the land, or in 
 channels through it, the supply must be above 
 the level of the land to be irrigated. But 
 there must also be a ready exit for the water, 
 and therefore the land must not be so low as 
 the natural level of the common receptacle of 
 the waters, whether it be a lake or the sea, to 
 which they run. 
 
 When there is a considerable fall and a 
 sufficient supply of water, a series of channels 
 may be made, so situated below each other, 
 that the second collects the water which the 
 first has supplied, and in its turn becomes a 
 feeder to irrigate the lower parts of the decli- 
 vity : a third channel receives the water and 
 distributes it lower down, until the last pours 
 it into the river. This is called catch-work, 
 because the water is caught from one channel 
 to another. When the surface to be irrigated 
 is very flat and nearly level, it is necessary to 
 form artificial slopes for the water to run over; 
 the whole of the ground is laid in broad beds, 
 undulating like the waves of the sea ; and the 
 water, carried along the ridge of each bed, is 
 allowed to flow down the slopes. When it is 
 intended to form a water-mead ow on a surface 
 which is nearly level, the whole of the land is 
 laid in beds about 20 or 30 feet wide, the mid- 
 dle or crown of these beds being on a level 
 with the main feeders, and the bottoms or 
 drains on a level with the lower exit of the 
 water, or a little above it. Grass-seed being 
 sown over these beds, the water may be let on 
 for a very short time, to make them spring. 
 As soon as the grass is two or three inches 
 above ground, a regular flooding may be given 
 and in a very short time the sward will be 
 complete. Instead of sowing seed, tufts of 
 grass cut from old sward may be spread over 
 the newly formed beds, and they will soon 
 cover the ground. 
 
 The rules for adjusting the time and mode 
 of irrigation to the growth of the plants are 
 among the studies of practical agriculture. 
 
 ISERE. This French department has a 
 
 1074 
 
 more than usually varied produce, including 
 wheat, rye, barley, maize, buckwheat, peas and 
 beans, potatoes, fruit of all kind, Avalnuts, 
 mulberries, almonds, medicinal plants, hemp, 
 &c. Vines are mostly grown in the fertile 
 valleys, trained either to greenwood supports 
 of maple or cherry-tree, or to dry tall poles of 
 chestnut wood ; vines thus grown are called 
 high vines (hautins). But on the hill slopes 
 in favourable situations and in the Rhone clis - 
 trict, the low vines, as they are called when 
 unsupported, produce a stronger better-keeping 
 wine, and more fitted for transport. The pro- 
 duce of wine in ordinary years is 5 to 6 million 
 gallons, the best of which is produced in the 
 neighbourhood of the Rhone. The mulberry 
 grounds are extensive ; the number of trees 
 exceeds a million. 
 
 In mineral wealth the department is very 
 rich. Iron, lead, copper, and coal mines are 
 worked ; gold and silver mines have been 
 worked, but are now abandoned. In the year 
 1837 a vein of platina was discovered in the 
 valley of the Brae. Marble, granite, por- 
 phyry, gypsum, slate are quarried. Antimony, 
 zinc, cobalt, rock-crystal, vitriol, sulphur are 
 found. 
 
 The industrial products consist of sailcloth, 
 table and household linen, gloves, soldiers' 
 uniforms, calicoes, printed cottons, oil, tur- 
 pentine, liqueurs, and mineral acids. There 
 are iron, copper, and lead foundries, steel 
 works, zinc and copper rolling factories, mar- 
 ble sawing mills, paper and vellum works, 
 naileries, dyehouses, glass-works, cotton yarn 
 manufactories, magnaneries, and silk throwing 
 establishments. 
 
 Of the manufacturing towns of this depart- 
 ment, Vicnnc is among the most conspicuous. 
 It is one of the principal seats of the woollen 
 manufactures in the south of France; common 
 cloth, pasteboard, soap, leather, glass bottles, 
 paper, chemical products, &c., are also made ; 
 and there are establishments for reeling and 
 throwing silk, dye-houses, iron furnaces, steel 
 works, sheet copper and lead works, copper 
 and brass foundries. 
 
 ISINGLASS. This remarkable substance, 
 one of the purest kinds of glue, or animal 
 gelatin, is made chiefly in Russia, from the 
 dense membrane which forms the air-bladder 
 of the sturgeon and other fishes of the same 
 family. 
 
 1591 cwts. of isinglass were imported in 
 1848. 
 
 ITALY. Brief sketches (for they can only 
 be brief in this work) illustrative of the pro- 
 duce, manufactures, and commerce of this 
 beautiful country, will be found under the 
 names of the chief states and cities which 
 
1075 
 
 IVORY. 
 
 JACQUARD LOOM. 
 
 1070 
 
 compose the Italian peninsula ; such as LOM- 
 BARD Y, NAPLES, VENICE, &c. 
 
 IVORY. This delicate substance, derived 
 from the tusks of elephants, is extensively 
 used for the handles of knives and forks, and 
 for making or embellishing numberless small 
 articles in general use. The principal supplies 
 of elephants' tusks to this country are from 
 the west coast of Africa and from Ceylon. The 
 remaining imports are from the coast of Bar- 
 bary, the Cape of Good Hope, Madagascar, 
 and Siarn. The quantity imported annually 
 is about 5500 cwts., of which about 4500 cwts. 
 are retained for consumption. 
 
 The demand for ivory has much increased 
 within the last few years, and the supply can 
 scarcely keep up with it. A great quantity is 
 now brought over by the Peninsular Com- 
 pany's steamers from Alexandria, sometimes 
 as much as 20,000/. worth in one cargo. This 
 portion of the trade consists chiefly of wild 
 elephants' tusks which have been shed in the 
 deserts of Arabia, and bought up by the Pacha 
 of Egypt for sale to English buyers. 
 
 The teeth and tusks of the elephant, hippo- 
 potamus, wild boar, and nanvahl, all form 
 ivory of various kinds ; though the tusk of the 
 elephant is that which usually goes by the 
 
 name. Ivory was used for some of the colos- 
 sal statues of the ancients, especially the far- 
 famed statue of Jupiter by Phidias. Among 
 the moderns, the Chinese show great skill in 
 working ivory, especially in the production of 
 elaborate carvings. Ivory is used for billiard 
 and bagatelle boards ; for veneers ; for scales 
 connected with mathematical instruments ; 
 for artificial teeth ; for miniature tablets ; for 
 combs ; for flutes ; and for numerous other 
 purposes. Ivory is worked into form by saws, 
 files, and edge-tools, used with great care and 
 delicacy. It may be etched by using an etch- 
 ing ground of nearly the same kind as that 
 employed by engravers ; and it maybe stained 
 or dyed of various colours. 
 
 Mr. Cheverton in 1850 patented a mode of 
 making what he terms artificial ivory. It con- 
 sists in giving an ivory -like surface to gypsum 
 or alabaster. The ornaments or other articles 
 made of tbis material, are exposed for forty- 
 eight hours to a temperature of 300 Fah., by 
 which the moisture is driven off. They are 
 then immersed till saturated in olive oil or in 
 white hard varnish ; and after being steeped 
 several times in warm water, they are polished 
 with whiting or putty powder, by which they 
 obtain an ivory-like surface. 
 
 JACQUARD LOOM. The Jacquard Loom, 
 or more correctly Jacquard appendage to the 
 loom, is the most beautiful of all contrivances 
 connected with weaving. We will say a few 
 words of the inventor and of the machine. 
 
 Joseph Marie Jacquard was born at Lyon 
 in .1752, of humble parents, both of whom 
 were employed in operations connected with 
 weaving. His parents died, leaving him a 
 small property, which he employed in the at- 
 tempt to establish a business in the weaving 
 of figured fabrics. The undertaking failed, 
 and he was compelled to sell his looms in 
 order to pay his debts. He subsequently mar- 
 ried, and occupied himself with ingenious 
 schemes for improvements in weaving, cutlery, 
 and type-founding, which produced nothing 
 for the support of his family. In 1792 lie 
 assisted in the defence of Lyon against the 
 army of the Convention. Being denounced 
 after the reduction of Lyon, he was compelled 
 to fly. When he was enabled to return, and 
 Lyon began to rise from its ruins, Jacquard 
 applied himself with renewed energy to the 
 perfection of the beautiful apparatus for figured 
 
 weaving which bears his name. He had con- 
 ceived the idea of sach an apparatus as early 
 as 1790, and he now succeeded, though but 
 imperfectly, in accomplishing his end. His 
 machine was presented, in September 1801, 
 to the national exposition of the products of 
 industry, the jury of which awarded him a 
 bronze medal for its invention. In the same 
 year he obtained a patent, or ' brevet d'inven- 
 tion,' for a term of ten years. About the same 
 time his attention was accidentally directed to 
 the construction of a machine for weaving nets 
 for fishing and maritime purposes. He accom- 
 plished the desired object, but, having amused 
 himself and his friends with his contrivance, 
 he threw it aside. His machine-made net 
 however fell into the hands of the prefet at 
 Lyon, and the result was that, according to 
 the arbitrary fashion of the time, he and his 
 machine were placed under arrest and con- 
 veyed to Paris, where the invention was sub- 
 mitted to inspectors, amongst whom were 
 Napoleon and Carnot, and a gold medal was 
 awarded to him in February 1804. In 1804 
 Jacquard returned to Lyon, where he was long 
 
1077 
 
 JACQUARD LOOM. 
 
 JAMAICA. 
 
 1078 
 
 engaged in superintending the introduction 
 of his inventions for figured weaving and for 
 making nets, in which he was powerfully 
 aided by Camille Pernon, a rich manufac- 
 turer. For some years Jacquard had to struggle 
 against much opposition and prejudice on the 
 part of the Lyonese weavers ; but before his 
 death, in 1834, he had the pleasure of knowing 
 that his ingenious invention had become ex- 
 tensively employed. 
 
 The apparatus which cost Jacquard so much 
 thought and anxiety is intended to facilitate 
 the weaving of figured patterns on cloth of 
 any kind. In plain weaving the weft or cross 
 threads pass alternately under and over the 
 warp threads, forming a perfectly regular in- 
 terlacing ; but in pattern or figure weaving, 
 the device is made by irregularities in these 
 alternations ; sometimes two or more threads 
 are crossed over at one time, without any in- 
 termediate under-crossing. When the shuttle 
 with the weft thread has to be thrown from 
 edge to edge of the warp or web, some of the 
 warp threads have to be lifted up to allow it to 
 pass ; and the Jacquard apparatus assists in 
 this elevation, which depends (in every throw 
 of the shuttle) on the pattern to be woven. 
 There are numerous cards (as many as 500 
 for a complicated pattern), formed of paste- 
 board, and pierced with holes. Every card has 
 a certain relation to one throw of the weft- 
 thread ; and the number and arrangement of 
 the holes determine which warp threads shall 
 be drawn up to let the weft pass. The cards 
 are linked together into an endless chain, 
 which is passed over a hollow box at the top 
 of the loom. The chain is made to rotate 
 slowly, one movement for every weft thread 
 thrown ; and each card in turn acts upon a 
 series of levers by which the warp threads are 
 raised : the blank part of each card acts upon 
 the levers ; while the perforated parts allow 
 the levers to pass into the holes without being 
 affected. 
 
 Mr. Mackenzie has recently patented a ma- 
 chine for punching the holes in the Jacquard 
 cards. Hitherto this operation has required 
 two workmen ; one to ' read the pattern,' as it 
 is termed, and one to arrange the punches ; 
 but in Mr. Mackenzie's arrangement, the per- 
 son who reads off the pattern plays at the 
 same time on a set of keys, each of which in- 
 serts a punch into its proper place. 
 
 An ingenious variation of the Jacquard ap- 
 paratus has lately been patented, in which the 
 device is marked by pins on a rotating barrel, 
 instead of by holes in a chain of cards. The 
 principle is the same as that of the barrel 
 organ and the musical snuff-box ; and there 
 would seem to be no reason why it should 
 
 not apply efficiently to the weaving appara- 
 tus. 
 
 JAGGERY. This is the name given to 
 various kinds of sugar, made and used in the 
 east. It is procured by evaporating and gra- 
 nulating cocoa-nut toddy, Palmyra toddy, 
 Malabar toddy, and Mysore toddy toddy be- 
 ing a general name for the fermented juice of 
 the palm. Ten gallons of the toddy yield 
 nearly thirty Ibs. of jaggery. 
 
 JALAP, is obtained from the Convolvulus 
 Jalappa, an American plant. It is chiefly 
 shipped from Vera Cruz, and takes its name 
 from the town of Xalapa, or Jalapa, in the in- 
 terior. The large root, which often weighs 
 50 pounds, is divided into portions, which are 
 hung in nets over a fire, and dried in ten or 
 twelve days. It occurs in commerce in irre- 
 gular round or pear-shaped masses, which, 
 when good, are dry, hard, with a brown shining 
 fracture, resinous, not light, somewhat tough. 
 It is often adulterated with portions of the 
 root of white bryony, which however are white, 
 or when old, gray, not heavy, very brittle, 
 fracture not resinous, spongy, without smell, 
 but with a very bitter taste. Dried pears are 
 also often substituted for it ; but they may be 
 detected by being laid open, when the core 
 will be seen, containing the seeds. 
 
 Jalap is a well-known and powerful medi- 
 cine ; but it is not used, so far as we are aware, 
 in other arts. 68,829 Ibs. of Jalap were im- 
 ported in 1848. 
 
 JAMAICA. The staple produce of this the 
 most important of our West India Islands, 
 are sugar, rum, and molasses, which form by 
 far the most important articles of export. The 
 sugar plantations are very numerous and ex- 
 tensive, especially in the lower and warmer 
 tracts of the island. On the hills and their 
 declivities coffee is cultivated to a great ex- 
 tent. Next to these the pimento plantations 
 supply the most important article of export. 
 Arrowroot, indigo, (which formerly was much 
 more cultivated than at present,) ginger, tur- 
 meric, and cacao are also cultivated, as also a 
 little tobacco. Indian corn is universally cul- 
 tivated, and yields an abundant produce ; two 
 and even three crops of it can be raised within 
 the year. Guinea corn is cultivated, as are 
 also yams, cassava, sweet potatoes, a few 
 grasses, and a great variety of delicious fruits. 
 The forests contain mahogany, satinwood, 
 cedar, fustic, logwood, bamboo, cocoa, and 
 various other trees. 
 
 The horned cattle are very numerous. The 
 horses are of a middle size, hardy and active, 
 but only fitted for the saddle and harness. 
 Mules are numerous, and employed on the 
 sugar estates. Sheep, goats, and hogs abound. 
 
1079 
 
 JANEIRO, RIO DE. 
 
 JAPANNING. 
 
 108(3 
 
 All kinds of poultry are raised in the greates 
 abundance, excepting geese and ducks. 
 
 The greatest pail of the produce of th 
 southern districts is sent to Kingston, the chie 
 town, and hence exported to Europe or Ame 
 rica. A railway from Kingston to Spanis] 
 Town was completed and opened in 1840. 
 
 The abolition of slavery, and (twelve year 
 afterwards) the change in the sugar duties 
 have greatly shaken the prosperity of Jamaica 
 It was so essentially a protected slave-holding 
 state, that, being now left to its own resources 
 it is found wanting in the energy which free 
 labour and free competition engender. It 
 sugar plantations have fallen away, and mucl 
 of its commerce has gone to Cuba. Attempts 
 are, however, now being made to establish, o: 
 rather to increase, the cotton culture. Speci 
 mens have been sent to England within th< 
 last twelve months, illustrating the kind o 
 cotton which Jamaica is capable of growing 
 The great experiment has, however, yet to be 
 made : can free-grown cotton be raised as 
 cheaply as slave-grown ? Almost the whole o: 
 the cotton (nine-tenths at least) used in thi5 
 country, is slave-grown : if Jamaica can raise 
 good cotton by free labour, and derive a remu 
 nerating profit therefrom, it would be a great 
 result. 
 
 The British Produce and Manufactures ex- 
 ported to Jamaica in 1849 amounted in value 
 to 624,568/. 
 
 JANEIRO, RIO DE, the capital of the 
 empire of Brazil, has perhaps the finest, 
 "safest, and most capacious harbour in the 
 world. Most of the inhabitants are engaged 
 in commerce. There are numerous sugai 
 refineries, tanneries, cotton factories, rum dis- 
 tilleries, train-oil factories, and diamond-cut- 
 ting establishments. The commerce is 
 extensive, and on the increase. The principal 
 exports are coffoe, sugar, hides, rice, tobacco, 
 ram, tapioca, ipecacuanha, manioc flour, gold, 
 diamonds, &c. The quantity of coffee exported 
 is immense : amounting in some years to nearly 
 200 million of Ibs. The imports, more than 
 one-half of which in value are derived from 
 Great Britain, include cotton, woollen, linen, 
 and silk manufactures, wines, ironmongery, 
 flour, meat, fish, butter, spirits, earthenware, 
 paper, &c. 
 
 JAPAN. This remote Asiatic Empire is 
 almost unknown to us. It is certain, however, 
 from the scanty information obtained, that 
 agriculture is carried to a high degree of per- 
 fection in Japan. Nearly all the declivities of 
 the hills are formed into terraces, and these 
 terraces are cultivated with the utmost care. 
 The produce comprises rice, wheat, barley, 
 rye, maize, millet, batatas, potatoes, cotton, 
 
 silk, hemp, and a very great variety of fruits 
 and esculent vegetables. Japan abounds in 
 mineral wealth. Gold seems to be very plen- 
 tiful in several provinces, but is only partially 
 worked. Silver, iron, and tin exist in small 
 quantities ; copper is more plentiful. Salt 
 and porcelain clay abound. The Japanese, in 
 manufacturing industry and in scientific 
 knowledge, seem to be nearly equal to the 
 Chinese, and in some articles the Japanese 
 are superior. Their manufactures in metals, 
 silk, cotton, china, glass, and paper, and their 
 cabinet-work, are highly esteemed. The 
 inland trade is very considerable. The coast- 
 ing trade is much favoured by the great num- 
 ber of small harbours, and the interior 
 communication by well-planned and well- 
 maintained roads, which are always thronged 
 with carriages and people. The foreign com- 
 merce is chiefly with the Chinese. 
 
 How many ages will elapse before Japan 
 will take part in any Exhibition of Industry, 
 where other nations (not to say all nations) 
 will be represented, it would be difficult to 
 surmise. At present the Japanese go beyond 
 even the Chinese, in rejecting intercourse'with 
 foreigners. 
 
 JAPANNING is the art of producing a 
 highly varnished surface on wood, metal, or 
 other hard substance, sometimes of one 
 colour only, but more commonly figured and 
 ornamented. The process has received its 
 name from that of the island of Japan, whence 
 articles so varnished were first brought to 
 Europe ; though the manufacture is also ex- 
 tensively practised by the Chinese, Siamese, 
 Birmese, and other nations of eastern Asia, 
 among whom it was suggested most probably 
 by the possession of a tree, which affords 
 with little preparation a beautiful varnish, 
 exceedingly w r ell adapted for the purpose, and 
 which hardens better than those prepared in 
 Europe. 
 
 The appearance of japanned work is as 
 various as the taste and fancy of the artists 
 employed in it. Sometimes it is a plain 
 Mack or red, with a gilded or painted border; 
 r it is an imitation of marble, of fine grained 
 ?r rare wood, or of tortoise-shell ; sometimes 
 a drawing, with high finish, brilliant colour, 
 nd showy patterns; and occasionally fine 
 opperplate engravings are applied to a japan- 
 icd surface with good effect. In all cases the 
 work is highly polished and varnished, 
 apanning is applied to ladies' work-boxes and 
 fork-tables, to toilet-boxes, cabinets, tca- 
 addies, fire-screens, tea-trays, bread-baskets, 
 nuffers and trays, candlesticks, and a variety 
 f other articles. 
 Three processes are usually required in 
 
1081 
 
 JASPAR. 
 
 JEW'S-HARP. 
 
 1083 
 
 japanning : laying the ground, painting, and 
 finishing. In addition to these processes, 
 whenever the article to be japanned is not 
 sufficiently smooth to receive the varnish, or 
 when it is too soft or coarse, it is sometimes 
 prepared or primed before any of the proper 
 japanning processes are applied. Almost every 
 workman has his own peculiar modes of work- 
 ing, and his own receipts for making and mix- 
 ing his varnishes. In whatever manner the 
 work has been painted or printed, or if all 
 addition to the plain colour of the ground has 
 been dispensed with, nothing now remains 
 but the finishing. This is a very simple pro- 
 cess : the workman chooses a suitable varnish, 
 and passes it over the work with a brush 
 several times, until he judges the coating to be 
 thick enough to bear the polish. 
 
 JASPAR. [QUAETZ.] 
 
 JAVA. This large and important island, in 
 the Eastern Archipelago, yields abundantly the 
 yam, the sweet potato, the Java potato, arrow- 
 root, the common potato, artichokes, cab- 
 bages, and peas. The Javanese also cultivate 
 cucumbers, onions, capsicums, cocoa-nuts, 
 ground-nuts, Areca palm, betel, tobacco, coffee, 
 sugar, pepper, cardamom, ginger, cotton, and 
 great varieties of dye-stuffs, and fruits. They 
 procure oil from many of their trees, and 
 make toddy from the palm. Few minerals are 
 known to exist in Java ; but iron, sulphur, salt, 
 and saltpetre are obtained. 
 
 Java is extremely well adapted for an exten- 
 sive commerce. The island itself is rich in 
 productions, and its northern coasts, which 
 are accessible to vessels all the year round, lie 
 opposite the richest countries of Asia. Besides 
 this, the Dutch government has made it the 
 centre of all the trade which Holland carries 
 on with its extensive settlements in the Indian 
 Archipelago. Hence the transmission of 
 native produce to other countries, and the 
 importation of foreign commodities, are both 
 very large. The exports of British produce 
 and manufactures to Java, in 1848 amounted 
 to 336,843/., of which by far the largest items 
 were cotton and linen goods. The produce of 
 the Dutch possessions in Java was in 18-48 
 coffee 144,801,372 Ibs., sugar 112,000 tons, 
 indigo 1,151,368 Ibs., cochineal 140,000 Ibs., 
 tea 988,529 Ibs., pepper 401,680 Ibs., cinna- 
 mon 250,550 Ibs., tobacco 1,500,000 Ibs. In 
 the year 1828, the island supplied Great 
 Britain with only 15,000 tons of sugar ; in 
 1847, the quantity of sugar imported from 
 Java into Great Britain amounted to 75,000 
 tons. 
 
 JERSEY. The agriculture of Jersey is 
 backward, which is partly owing to the minute 
 subdivision of property, arising from the cus- 
 
 tom of gavelkind. Wheat is the principal 
 grain crop ; barley is grown, and some oats , 
 parsnips are extensively grown and used for 
 fattening hogs and bullocks. Potatoes for 
 exportation are widely and increasingly culti- 
 vated. Lucerne is one of the most valued 
 crops. A considerable portion of the land is 
 laid out in orchards. The trade of Jersey, 
 owing to the privileges possessed by the 
 islanders, is very considerable. The agricul- 
 tural produce of the island, potatoes, apples, 
 cider, butter, cows, and other live stock, are 
 sent to England ; the articles required for the 
 consumption of the island are in a considera- 
 ble degree supplied from France. 
 
 JEWELLING OF WATCHES is the art 
 of setting diamonds, rubies, sapphires, chry- 
 solites, or other hard stones, in the frame- 
 plates and other parts of watches, in such a 
 manner that the pivots of the watch may act 
 in holes made in these stones. The province 
 of the watch -jeweller is to select the stones, 
 and (except in the case of diamonds,) to grind, 
 polish, turn, drill, and set them into the 
 frames or other parts of the watch in such a 
 manner that the holes in the stones may cor- 
 respond exactly in position with holes previ- 
 ously made by the watch -finisher or escape- 
 ment-maker. .Jewelling is an operation which, 
 when well performed, adds materially to the 
 durability, and not a little to the elegance of 
 the machine. The apparatus necessary for 
 the jeweller to carry on his business are, a 
 small lathe : small gravers for turning brass 
 and steel; a quantity of rough diamond in 
 fragments, technically termed bort; small 
 mills or circular disks of metal (usually cop- 
 per) for grinding the stones into shape ; dia- 
 mond-powder of various degrees of fineness 
 for polishing ; and turning-tools, made by 
 cementing small pieces of bort into a notch 
 made in the end of small brass wires and 
 fixed in proper handles. 
 
 JEW'S-HARP. This simple musical instru- 
 ment consists of an iron frame, resembling in 
 form the handle part of an old fashioned 
 corkscrew, in the centre of the upper and wide 
 part of which is riveted at one end an elastic 
 steel tongue. The extremity of this tongue, 
 at the free end, is bent outwards to a right 
 angle, so as to allow the finger easily to strike 
 it when the instrument is placed to the mouth 
 and firmly supported by the pressure of the 
 parallel extremities of the frame against the 
 teeth. The action of this instrument is very 
 remarkable; the elastic spring gives the 
 sound by its vibrations; but this sound under- 
 goes musical modifications by varying the 
 cavity of the mouth of the performer, which 
 he does by slight movements of the lips and 
 
1083 
 
 JOINERY. 
 
 JURA. 
 
 1084 
 
 jaws. The late M. Eulenstein produced ex- 
 quisite music from this instrument. 
 
 JOINERY. This name is given to the 
 handicraft of joining pieces of wood together, 
 for the interior fittings of buildings, for making 
 articles of furniture, and for numerous pur- 
 poses requiring greater neatness of workman- 
 ship than the operations of the carpenter. As 
 carpentry and joinery are in many cases carried 
 on in the same establishment, and even by the 
 same workmen, it would be difficult accurately 
 to define the limits of these two kindred arts. 
 The proper object of carpenter's work in a 
 building is to give firmness and stability to the 
 structure ; and within its proper range may be 
 
 quantities in the preparation of gin, and in 
 medicine. Oil of Juniper is said to be the 
 most powerful of all diuretics in doses of four 
 drops. The Junipcrus Sabina, or Sai^in, is 
 found -wild in the middle of Europe and the 
 west of Asia, inhabiting the most sterile 
 soil, and is frequently met with in this 
 country in shrubberies. The Oil of Savin, 
 and other preparations of the plant, are pow- 
 erful medicines. The Juniper us Bermudiana, 
 or Bermuda Red Cedar, is very little known in 
 Great Britain, in consequence of its not 
 bearing the climate without protection. It is 
 a native of the Bermudas, where it becomes a 
 large tree, with a soft fragrant wood, the 
 
 embraced all the rough timber -work necessary | value of which is well known from its use 
 
 for the support, division, or connection of the 
 several pails of a building. Carpentry thus 
 includes the construction of the framing of 
 
 in cabinet work and the manufacture of pencils. 
 JURA. On the more elevated parts of this 
 mountainous department of France, there is 
 
 floors, partitions, and roofs. Joinery has for abundant pasture, on which during summer, 
 
 its object the addition of all the fixed wood- 
 work necessary for convenience or ornament. 
 Cabinet-making, or that department of wood- 
 work which relates to the making of furniture, 
 has little affinity with joinery, although the 
 same materials and tools are employed in 
 both descriptions of work. The line of de- 
 marcation, however, between joinery and 
 cabinet-making seems to be even more diffi- 
 cult to define than that between carpentry and 
 joinery ; and, with the exception of such 
 matters as veneering and polishing, which 
 relate only to the use of the harder and 
 more valuable woods, the operations of the 
 cabinet-maker and the joiner are' nearly 
 identical, the same means being adopted by 
 both for the production of heat and strong 
 joints, and for evading the injurious effects of 
 shrinkage and warping in the material ope- 
 rated npon. A few details on these subjects 
 will be found under CARPENTRY ; FURNI- 
 TURE MANUFACTURE. 
 
 JUNIPE R. There are about twenty species 
 of this plant, three or four of which are valu- 
 able in the arts and in medicine. The Common 
 Juniper grows wild in all the northern parts 
 
 from June to October, great numbers of cattle 
 and horses are fed. During that season the 
 chalets, or solidly constructed huts, on the 
 heights, serve as habitations for the herds, 
 stores for the dairy produce, and as sheds for 
 the cattle ; in these the cows are milked, 
 butter and cheese are make. There is one 
 herdsman for every 20 cows, and one cheese- 
 maker for every 80. The agricultural produce of 
 the department is barely enough for the con- 
 sumption.The produce of wine amounts to about 
 8,000,000 gallons annually, the best growths 
 being those of the districts about Arbois, Cha- 
 teau-Chalon, and Lons-le-Saulnier. Several 
 iron mines are worked ; gold, copper, lead, and 
 coal are found; the peat beds are dug for 
 fuel; marble, alabaster, and lithographic 
 stone are quarried. There are important salt- 
 works at Salins and Montmorot. The manu- 
 facture of iron and iron wares, carried on in 
 about a hundred smelting furnaces, forges, and 
 foundries, is the most important object of 
 industrial activity. The other manufactures 
 are paper, watch and clock works ; turnery in 
 wood, bone, ivory, and horn ; coarse woollens, 
 linen, mineral acids, salt, casks, steel, scythes, 
 
 of Europe. The fruit is used in considerable i nails of all kinds, tiles and leather. 
 
1085 
 
 KALEIDOSCOPE. 
 
 KENT. 
 
 1080 
 
 K 
 
 KALEIDOSCOPE. This beautiful optical 
 instrument was invented by Dr. (Sir David) 
 Brewster, and made public in 1817. The es- 
 sential parts of the instrument consist of two 
 plane mirrors of glass, having their hinder 
 surfaces blackened in order to prevent any re- 
 flection of light from thence. Each mirror is 
 from six to ten inches long, and of a trapezoi- 
 dal form ; the larger end about an inch and a 
 half wide, and the shorter end about three 
 quarters of an inch ; and the two are placed 
 in contact with one another at the wide end of 
 each, so as to form a dihedral angle, the like 
 ends being placed together. The object to 
 be viewed is disposed contiguously to the 
 larger ends, and the eye should be near the 
 opposite extremity, but a little above the line 
 of contact. The effect produced by the re- 
 flections of the light from the two surfaces is 
 singularly beautiful ; the objects viewed 
 undergo multiplied reflections, and assume 
 graceful symmetrical forms. Sir David Brew- 
 ster found means to obtain multiplied images 
 of such objects as flowers, trees, and even per- 
 sons or things in motion : and thus the im- 
 portance of the instrument was greatly 
 increased. Some kaleidoscopes have been 
 executed in such a manner that the two 
 mhrors may be placed at any required angle 
 with one another ; by which means the images 
 in the visible field of view may be varied at 
 pleasure. The instrument is capable also of 
 being constructed so that the multiplied image 
 may be projected on a screen, and thus made 
 visible at one time to many spectators. Again, 
 Dr. Roget has shown that the properties of 
 the instrument may be greatly extended by 
 employing, instead of two, three and even four 
 plain mirrors, united together at their edges 
 so as to form a hollow prism, or a frustum of 
 a pyramid, the reflecting surfaces being to- 
 wards the interior. These are called poly- 
 central kaleidoscopes. 
 
 KAMTCHATKA. In this remote corner 
 of Asia there are a few spots which yield rye, 
 barley, buckwheat, potatoes, white cabbages, 
 turnips, radishes, and cucumbers, but these 
 articles are only cultivated by the Russian 
 settlers. The natives formerly lived chiefly 
 on the produce of the chase ; but since the 
 number of wild animals has considerably de- 
 creased fishing is more attended to. Fish is 
 
 very abundant on the coasts. The forests 
 contain many fine timber- trees, which are little 
 used, but might be employed in ship -building. 
 The mineral wealth is little known : in some 
 places there is iron ore, and sulphur in im- 
 mense beds is found in the vicinity of the 
 volcanoes. The manufactures and commerce 
 of such a country are of course extremely 
 limited. 
 
 KAOLIN. This is the Chinese porcelain 
 day. It occurs massive and disseminated in 
 disintegrating granite rocks, and is generally 
 supposed to be derived from the decomposition 
 of the felspar which they contain. Its colour 
 is either white, yellowish, or reddish- white. 
 Kaolin is found in China, France, Saxony, &c.; 
 and in England a large tract of this substance 
 occurs near St. Austle in Cornwall, on the 
 south side of the granite range. It contains 
 crystals of felspar, quartz, and mica. From, 
 this source the porcelain manufactory of Wor- 
 cester is supplied. 
 
 KELP. [ASHES; SODA.] 
 
 KENT. This fruitful county is well cir- 
 cumstanced in respect both to commerce and 
 its productions. It has a most abundant 
 steam traffic from Dover, Deal, Ramsgate, 
 Margate, Herne Bay, Sheerness, Gravesend, 
 Greenhithe, Erith, Woolwich, Charlton, and 
 Greenwich, to London ; from Rochester to 
 Sheerness ; from Ramsgate and Dover to 
 Ostend ; from Dover to Calais and Boulogne ; 
 and from Folkestone to Boulogne. The whole 
 of the railways of the county belong to one 
 company the South-Eastern. They comprise 
 lines from Red Hill to Ashford; Ashford 
 to Hastings ; Ashford to Dover ; Ashford to 
 Canterbury ; Canterbury to Ramsgate and 
 Margate ; Canterbury to Whitstable ; Minster 
 to Deal; Paddock Wood to Maidstone; Tun- 
 bridge to Tunbridge Wells (now being ex- 
 tended to Hastings); the Greenwich and 
 Bricklayers' Arms' Branches ; and the North 
 Kent line (London to the Medway). 
 
 Kent produces several crops which are pecu- 
 liar to it, such as canary and radish seed. 
 Other seeds are likewise raised for the London 
 seedsmen, such as spinach, cresses, and white 
 mustard. Kidney beans are cultivated to a con- 
 siderable amount in the neighbourhood of 
 Sandwich, and produce from ten to twenty 
 bushels per acre. Woad and madder were 
 
1087 
 
 KENT. 
 
 KERRY. 
 
 1088 
 
 formerly much cultivated. The marshes pro- 
 duce most of the hay consumed in -winter. 
 Eomney Marsh, which is well known for the 
 richness of its grass, contains about 44,000 
 acres ; on the borders of the Stour are 27,000 ; 
 and along the Medway, Thames, and Swale, 
 about 11,500 more. A great many sheep are 
 reared and fattened in these marshes. Hops 
 are grown to a very great extent in this 
 county, and, with the exception of those which 
 are raised at Farnham in Surrey, are the most 
 esteemed of any in England. Near London 
 there are many extensive gardens ; and about 
 Deptford hundreds of acres are laid out in 
 asparagus beds. Great quantities of peas are 
 also raised for the London market on the line 
 of road from London to Eochester. Apples, 
 pears, plums, and cherries are raised in 
 orchards, and the produce sent to London 
 markets. The cultivation of filberts is pecu- 
 liar to Kent, and well managed, especially in 
 the neighbourhood of Maidstone. The Kent- 
 ish woods are diminishing every year; and 
 the produce of bark and timber is much re- 
 duced from what it formerly was. 
 
 Ashfurd is becoming an important town in 
 this county, on account of it being the depot 
 of the South-Eastern Company. CHATHAM, 
 DARTFORD, and DOVER are briefly alluded to 
 elsewhere. Folkestone harbour, owing to the 
 accumulation of shingle, is not capable of 
 affording anchorage to many vessels, but has 
 been considerably improved by the engineers 
 of the South-E astern Railway Company, who 
 purchased it when they extended the line of 
 railway from Folkestone to Dover. Steam- 
 packets ply between Folkestone and the oppo- 
 site ports of France ; and the town is acquiring 
 commercial importance. Gravesend and Green- 
 wich are both important for their steamboat 
 traffic. Maldstone, the assize-town of the 
 county, is situated on a declivity on the west 
 bank of the Medway. A lock has been made 
 at Allington, about a mile below Maidstone, 
 to improve the navigation of the river, previ- 
 ous to the formation of which the tide ascended 
 to Maidstone. There is much traffic on the 
 river, in coals, timber, iron, groceries, <fec., 
 upwards, and in Kentish ragstone, paper, hops, 
 fruit, &c., downwards. Margate and Ramsgate 
 have much active commerce arising out of 
 their pleasure-traffic. Milton has considerable 
 trade, arising from its oyster fishery, and from 
 its being the port of communication with 
 London for the surrounding agricultural dis- 
 trict. At Shccrnesa the dockyard is sufficiently 
 capacious to receive ships of war of the largest 
 si/e. There are large storehouses, a mast- 
 house, rigging-house, sail-loft, &c. At Tun- 
 bridge Wells there ore considerable manufac- 
 
 tures in turned wood. At WhitstaUe the in- 
 habitants are engaged in the oyster fishery. 
 Woolwich derives its main importance from 
 its dockyard, from the government foundry 
 for cannon having been established there, and 
 from its having been made a great depot for 
 naval and military stores. The Royal Dock- 
 yard contains two large dry docks, a basin 
 400 feet by 300 feet, capable of receiving the 
 largest vessels, together with extensive store- 
 houses, mast-houses, &c. The foundry for 
 cannon forms one of the principal departments 
 of the Royal Arsenal. In the Rope-yard, at 
 the east end of the town, cables of the largest 
 size are made. 
 
 KENTUCKY. The produce and manufac- 
 tures of this important American state receive 
 a few illustrations under UNITED STATES. 
 
 KERMES MINERAL is a peculiar sul- 
 phuret of antimony, formerly much but now 
 little used in medicine. It is obtained in the 
 form of a brownish red powder. 
 
 KERRY. Mountain ridges, bounding val- 
 leys of greater or less width, form the distin- 
 guishing features over the greater part of this 
 Irish county. The whole coast line, from the 
 Shannon to the Kenmare, contains many good 
 harbours, of which that of Valentia might bo 
 made of high commercial value. The roads 
 in the south-western parts of Kerry up to the 
 year 1820 were scarcely passable for wheel- 
 carriages, and there are some parts of the 
 coast between Kenmare and Cahirciveen still 
 inaccessible, except on foot or horseback. 
 But great exertions have been made to esta- 
 blish good roads across the county ; and these 
 roads have been very instrumental in develop- 
 ing the resources of the district. The moun- 
 tains of Glanbehy abound with iron-ore, which 
 was formerly smelted in considerable quanti- 
 ties at Blackstones, in works erected by Sir 
 William Petty ; but, the supply of timber 
 having failed, these works were given up about 
 the year 1750. Iron has been worked in 
 other parts, and copper and lead also exist in 
 the county. The slate quarry in Valentia 
 produces flags and slates to a large amount ; 
 the flagging, which is of a very superior de- 
 scription, is transported to London. 
 
 Cider is made in the county in considerable 
 quantity. The chief trade consists in exports 
 of agricultural produce, chiefly oats and butter. 
 The manufacture of linen is carried on with 
 some activity in the neighbourhood of Dingle. 
 There is also a general manufacture of coarse 
 woollens throughout the county for home con- 
 sumption. Fishing is carried on extensively 
 on the coasts. 
 
 Situated in the south-west corner of Ireland, 
 it may yet be a long time before Kerry rises 
 
1089 
 
 KERSEYMERE. 
 
 KILKENNY. 
 
 1090 
 
 into commercial importance ; it has however 
 many of the requisite elements, when more 
 propitious days for Ireland shall arrive. 
 
 KERSEYMERE. In the woollen manu- 
 facture, broad-cloth is an example of plain 
 weaving, followed by the process of fulling ; 
 while the name of kerseymere is given to a 
 fulled cloth which is woven into the peculiar 
 twill pattern. These differences are explained 
 under WEAVING. 
 
 KETCHUP. This well-known preparation 
 from the mushroom and other plants used 
 as a condiment for flavouring, differs greatly 
 in its ingredients and manufacture, according 
 to the chief suhstance which gives it its name. 
 There are camp ketchup, cucumber ketchup, 
 sea ketchup, mushroom ketchup, Pontac 
 ketchup, Tomato ketchup, walnut ketchup, 
 wine ketchup, and two or three others. Mush- 
 room ketchup is prepared (according to one 
 among many recipes) from mushroom juice, 
 pimento, cloves, pepper, mustard, ginger, salt, 
 and shalots. 
 
 KEY. [LOCKS and KEYS.] 
 KHERSON. In this province of Asiatic 
 Russia agriculture is in a backward state ; the 
 breeding of cattle and sheep is the chief occu- 
 pation of the population. Corn, hemp, flax, 
 tobacco, liquorice, saffron, and mustard are 
 grown. The vine is cultivated, and much at- 
 tention is paid to horticulture. Oxen and 
 buffaloes are numerous, and used for draught. 
 The fisheries on the sea-coast and in the 
 rivers are important. The minerals are fine 
 potter's clay, freestone, slate, chalk, talc, salt- 
 petre, agates, and garnets. The province is 
 Avell situated for trade ; and the foreign com- 
 merce of the country is very important and 
 rapidly increasing. 
 
 KIACHTA, a town in Siberia, is commer- 
 cially very important on account of the traffic 
 of this place with Maimaitchin, the Chinese 
 emporium, which is less than a mile from the 
 town. The Russians bring to Kiachta furs oJ 
 the sable, black fox, and ermine; hides 
 woollen cloth, and other coarse woollen fabrics 
 glass, looking-glasses, and cattle. They re- 
 ceive in return from the Chinese, manufac- 
 tured silk and cottons, tobacco, china, furni- 
 ture, and several kinds of toys ; but the prin- 
 cipal commodity taken in exchange is tea. 
 
 KIDDERMINSTER CARPETS. The 
 relation which the carpets so called bear to 
 other varieties is explained under CARPET 
 MANUFACTURE. Kidderminster mostly de 
 pends on its carpet trade ; and the manufac 
 turers have sent specimens of their skill to th< 
 Great Exhibition, of carpets, tapestry, anc 
 rugs. 
 
 KILDARE. This Irish county, in th 
 
 districts near the Liffey, is in a high state of 
 mltivation, and much of it in demesne. The 
 Grand Canal, which crosses the Liffey by an 
 aqueduct near Naas, is carried through a tract 
 f bog which comprises about 40,000 statute 
 acres of peat-moss, in some places 40 feet 
 deep, reposing on limestone gravel, which 
 rises in low cultivable ridges between the prin- 
 cipal fields of morass. The north-western 
 )art of the county, extending from the Bog 
 f Allen to the Boyne, is open and chiefly in 
 pasture. Portions of the Great Southern and 
 rVestern Railway, and the Midland Great 
 iVestern Railway, pass through this county. 
 The soil of the county is generally a rich loam, 
 resting on limestone or clay-slate. There are 
 rich fattening lands in the baronies of Car- 
 aerry, Clane, and North and South Salt, which 
 occupy the north western and north eastern por- 
 ions of the county. An improved system of agri- 
 culture has been introduced by the resident pro- 
 prietors, and is practised to some extent by the 
 smaller farmers. Oxen are in general use 
 both for draught and the plough. There are 
 many corn-mills in the county. The only 
 manufactures carried on within the county 
 are of cottons and woollens, but to a very 
 Limited extent. 
 
 KILKENNY. We here have another Irish 
 county, which, like Kildare, is wholly inland. 
 The surface of Kilkenny is mostly occupied 
 by the limestone of the central plain, overlaid 
 in the hilly districts north of Kilkenny city by 
 shale and sandstone. The coal formations 
 are nearly co-extensive with the hilly districts. 
 These coal-beds would be of great commer- 
 cial value, if the natural resources of Ireland 
 were better developed. The general colour of 
 the limestone is a blueish gray. Near Kil- 
 kenny it passes into a fine black marble, con- 
 taining a great variety of shelly impressions. 
 These beds are extensively quarried, and the 
 blocks dressed on the spot by a saw-mill dri- 
 ven by the Nore. The marble, which is some- 
 times procured of a jet black, is manufactured 
 into chimney-pieces, tombstones, &c. ; it bears 
 a very high polish, and can be raised in large 
 blocks. In the coal-tract the soil is a moory 
 turf lying over a stiff whitish clay, which is the 
 poorest district out of the mountain region ; 
 but many districts have deep rich soils. Some 
 of the best wheat and meadow lands in the 
 south of Ireland are situated in the level tract 
 along the Suir. About one -third of the level 
 districts is in tillage. There are two districts 
 almost wholly occupied by dairy-farmers, the 
 Walsh Mountains and the southern part of 
 the Castlecomer tract. In the southern dairy 
 district the sour milk is used for fattening pigs 
 for the Waterford market: in the northern 
 
1091 
 
 KINIC ACID. 
 
 KONIGSBERG. 
 
 1092 
 
 district the milk is sold, there heing no conve- 
 nient market for pork. 
 
 The manufacture of carpets, diapers, and 
 tapestry was introduced into the county by 
 the Countess of Ormonde in 1359. James, 
 Duke of Ormonde, about the middle of the 
 17th century, established and encouraged, at 
 a great expense, both linen and woollen ma- 
 nufactures ; and about the close of the same 
 century the Bessborough family introduced 
 the manufacture of linen into the southern 
 parts of the county. None of these branches 
 of trade, however, nor that of blankets, intro- 
 duced about a century ago, have continued on 
 anything like an extensive scale. A coarse 
 frieze for home consumption is made among 
 the peasantry. There are many flour-mills in 
 the county. 
 
 KINIC ACID, sometimes called Cinchonic 
 Acid, is obtained from cinchona bark. It has 
 a very sour taste ; it reddens litmus paper 
 strongly, is unalterable in the air, dissolves in 
 2$ times its weight of water at 48, and is also 
 soluble in alcohol. It combines with many of 
 the alkalies and metals to form salts, which 
 are more used in medicine than in the manu- 
 facturing arts. 
 
 KINO. This astringent substance is the 
 concrete juice of one or more plants, the 
 identification of which is a matter of dispute 
 among botanists. From India, Africa, Aus- 
 tralia, and the West Indies, concrete juices 
 are brought, which, correctly or not, obtain 
 the name of Kino. These different extracts 
 differ in their chemical habitudes with re- 
 agents, but they all agree in possessing a 
 strong astringent power. Kino most com- 
 monly occurs in grains of a shining aspect 
 and rich ruby-red colour ; they are easily re- 
 duced to powder. It is neaiiy entirely soluble 
 in water and in alcohol. 
 
 KNIFE MACHINES. The manufacture 
 of knives is noticed under CUTLERY. It affords 
 a curious illustration of the extent to which 
 the saving of labour by mechanical aid has 
 been carried, that a machine has been invented 
 to perform the operation of cleaning table- 
 knives ; in which the cleaner has simply to 
 turn a handle, instead of bestowing arm-move- 
 ment in a somewhat laborious way. There 
 are two rival patented machines for this pur- 
 
 pose, Kent's and Masters' ; both relate to a 
 machine which was invented by an American, 
 and was introduced into this country, under 
 certain arrangements, by the parties above- 
 named. The machine consists of a flat cylin- 
 der, or drum, in the inside of which are 
 brushes placed in contact; holes are made 
 round the drum, in which are placed from 
 four to twelve knives, according to the size of 
 the machine. The blades of the knives pass 
 between the brushes ; and when the brushes 
 are made to rotate by a handle worked from 
 without, the blades of the knives are exposed 
 to an amount of friction sufficient to clean 
 their surfaces. The machines are sold from 
 about two guineas upwards. 
 
 KONIGSBERG, one of the two govern- 
 ments into which the province of East Prussia 
 is divided, is a place of considerable commer- 
 cial enterprise. Memel, the most northern 
 town in Prussia, is well situated for commerce : 
 the exports consist of timber, hemp, flax, corn, 
 hides, tallow, bristles, &c., most of which are 
 brought from Poland and Russia ; the im- 
 ports are chiefly salt, colonial produce, and 
 manufactured goods. The number of ships 
 that frequent the port amounts to between 
 700 and 800. In the town there are several 
 breweries, distilleries, soap factories, oil and 
 saw mills, &c. Tilsit has a trade in corn, lin- 
 seed, timber, beer, spirits, leather, &c. luster- 
 burg lias manufactures of cloth, linen, woollen 
 stockings, and spirits, and trades extensively 
 in corn and flax. Gumbinncn has woollen and 
 linen factories, distilleries, and lanyards ; the, 
 trade in corn and flax-seed is important. K'6- 
 nigsberg, the capital of the province, has com - 
 munication by the Friedrichs-Gruben Canal 
 with the Mem el, by which river, the Oginski 
 Canal, and the Dnieper, it has the advantage 
 of a complete interior navigation into Poland, 
 Lithuania, and even to the Black Sea. The 
 manufactures consist of woollen cloth, linen, 
 silk, leather, tobacco, sugar, beer, and spirits. 
 The exports are composed of corn, flax-seed, 
 flax, hemp, linen yarn, linen cloth, oil cakes, 
 bristles, feathers, and hides. The imports are 
 chiefly sugar, coffee, spices, dyewoods, tobacco, 
 salt, various raw materials and manufactured 
 goods. 
 
1093 
 
 LABORATORY. 
 
 LACE MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1004 
 
 LABORATORY. This name is given to 
 the room in which chemical operations are 
 performed. The requisites for the proper ar- 
 rangement of and the necessary instruments 
 for a laboratory maybe seen at length in Pro- 
 fessor Faraday's ' Chemical Manipulation.' 
 
 LAC, is a resinous substance, which in the 
 East Indies flows from certain trees in the 
 state of a milky fluid, on account of the punc- 
 ture made by a small insect, the Coccus fiats, 
 in their branches, in order to deposit its ova. 
 The trees are principally the PICKS indica, Fi- 
 cus reliyiosa, and Rhamnus jujuba. There are 
 three kinds of lac known in commerce, distin- 
 guished by the names of Slick Lac, Seed Lac, 
 and Shell Lac. Stick Lac is the substance in 
 its natural state ; it is of a reddish colour, and 
 incrusts small twigs ; when broken off and 
 boiled in water, it loses its red colour, and is 
 then termed Seed Lac ; and, when melted and 
 reduced to the state of thin plates, it is called 
 Shell Lac, which has a yellowish brown colour. 
 
 Several chemical substances are produced 
 from Lac. Laccin is the substance which re- 
 mains after the lac has been repeatedly di- 
 gested in alcohol and water. It is insoluble 
 in water, alcohol or ether. Lacclc Acid sepa- 
 rates from solution in water, by spontaneous 
 evaporation, in crystalline grains. With the 
 alkalies and with lime it forms salts which are 
 soluble i.i alcohol and in water, and are deli- 
 quescent. CochineUin, or the colouring mat- 
 ter of stick-lac is similar to that of cochineal, 
 is used for the same purposes, and yields a 
 scarlet colour little inferior to it. 
 
 Lac Dye and Lac Lake, two preparations of 
 lac which are manufactured in the East Indies 
 are used to a very considerable extent in scar- 
 let dyeing. 
 
 LACE MANUFACTURE. This very plea- 
 sing branch of industry exhibits instructive 
 features in respect to the application of ma- 
 chinery to what was before mere hand-labour. 
 We must glance at the subject in its two 
 aspects of pillow-lace and loblin-net. 
 
 Pillow Lace : Real lace, such as that which 
 often obtains so high a price, is mostly made 
 of flax thread, and is produced in the following 
 way. The lace-worker sits on a stool or chair, 
 and places a hard cushion on her lap. The 
 desired pattern is sketched upon a piece of 
 parchment, which is then laid clown upon the 
 
 cushion; and she inserts a number of pins 
 through the parchment into the cushion, in 
 places determined by the pattern. She is 
 also provided with a number of small bobbins, 
 on which threads are wound ; fine thread being 
 used for making the meshes or net ; and a 
 coarser land, called gymp, for working the 
 device. The work is begun at the upper part 
 of the cushion by tying together the threads in 
 pairs, and each pair is attached to one of 
 the pins. The threads are then twisted one 
 round another in various ways, according 
 to the pattern ; the bobbins serving as 
 handles as well as for a store of material, 
 and the pins serving as knots or fixed centres 
 around Avhich the threads may be twisted. 
 The pins inserted in the cushion at the com- 
 mencement are merely to hold the threads ; 
 but as fast as each little mesh is made in the 
 progress of the working, other pins are in- 
 serted, to prevent the thread from untwisting ; 
 and the device on the parchment shews where 
 these insertions are to occur. 
 
 The kinds of lace which have obtained 
 different names have certain peculiarities in 
 the character of the mesh. Brussels point 
 has a network made by the pillow and bob- 
 bins, and a pattern of sprigs worked with the 
 needle. Brussels ground has a six-sided mesh, 
 formed by twisting four flaxen threads to 
 a perpendicular line of mesh. Brussels u-ire- 
 (iroitnd is of silk; the meshes are partly 
 straight and partly arched, and the pattern is 
 wrought separately by the needle. Mechlin 
 lace has a six-sided mesh formed of three 
 flax threads twisted and plaited to a perpen- 
 dicular line : the pattern being worked in the 
 net. Valenciennes lace has a six-sided mesh 
 formed, of two threads, partly twisted and 
 plaited : the pattern being worked in the net. 
 Lisle lace has a diamond-shaped mesh, formed 
 of two threads plaited to a perpendicular 
 line. Alenr ( oii lace has a six sided mesh of 
 two threads. Alen^on point is formed of two 
 threads to a perpendicular line, with octagonal 
 and square meshes alternately. Honiton 
 lace is distinguished by the beauty of the 
 devices, worked by the needle. Buckingham 
 lace is mostly of a commoner description, and 
 somewhat resembles that of Alen^on. 
 
 Pillow lace, such as we have just described, 
 is supposed to have been first made in Saxony 
 
1095 
 
 LACE MANUFACTURE. 
 
 LAMP-BLACK. 
 
 1096 
 
 in the ICth century : the earlier Italian lac< 
 having been wrought by the needle. Fron: 
 Saxony it extended to Flanders and France 
 In Brussels alone there were 10,000 females 
 employed at lace-making at the close of th 
 last century. The art was introduced into 
 England soon after its invention in Saxony 
 and it is curious that Honiton has producec 
 the best kinds from that time to this. Through 
 out the midland counties, especially Bedford 
 Buckingham, and Northampton, almost cvevj 
 town and village exhibits this manufacture ; 
 but hand -made lace has suffered severely from 
 the invention next to be noticed. 
 
 Bobbin-net : About 1770 a stocking weaver 
 at Nottingham, named Hammond, made th( 
 first attempt to imitate lace by a slight adap 
 tation of his stocking-frame ; and many other 
 persons gradually introduced improvements 
 in the art ; but it was Mr. Heathcoat who 
 early in the present century, gave the chie: 
 impulse to the trade by the invention of his 
 bobbin frame, which gave the name of bobbin- 
 net to machine-made lace. The manufacture 
 sprang up into wonderful activity in anc 
 around Nottingham ; and though it lias suf- 
 fered many fluctuations since it still constitutes 
 a very notable department of Nottingham 
 industry. 
 
 The cotton used in making bobbin net is 
 mostly spun in Lancashire. The machines 
 are very costly and are seldom or never owned 
 by the actual worker. They are among the 
 most complicated apparatus employed in ma- 
 nufactures ; and when adapted for steam-power 
 and provided with the Jacquard apparatus for 
 the production of figured net, the machines 
 are sometimes worth 1000/. a piece. One set 
 of threads, which we may call the warp, is 
 stretched in parallel lines up and down the 
 machines; another set, equivalent to the weft, 
 is wound round small bobbins ; and the 
 meshes of the net- work are produced by these 
 bobbins twisting in and around and among 
 the vertical threads. After being woven or 
 made, the net is gassed or singed to remove 
 the little hairy filaments ; then embroidered 
 or ' run ' by females, if the better kind of net ; 
 then mended if any of the meshes have given 
 way ; then bleached ; then dyed, if it be black 
 net ; then dressed or stiffened with gum or 
 starch ; and finally rolled and pressed. 
 
 Besides the specimens from Belgium, lace 
 will form an important item in the number 
 of things sent over from France to the 
 Great Exhibition. The greatest in amount, 
 and most remarkable for beauty, will be con- 
 tributed from Nancy. Besides several pieces 
 of minor importance, one especially is intended 
 to attract great attention. It is a counterpane, 
 
 three yards long and two and a half broad. 
 In the middle is embroidered a bouquet of 
 roses and poppies, aud a garland all round of 
 the same flowers, of a large size, all embroi- 
 dered an lance with cotton of size No. 120, the 
 appearance created being that of a white 
 satin texture. The leaves are embroidered on 
 what is termed a sanded ground. The tracery 
 cost three months of labour. 
 
 LACQUEEINGr. [JAPANNING.] 
 
 LACTIC ACID. This substance exists in 
 milk, and in larger proportion when it has 
 become sour ; it also exists in various other 
 animal fluids, and in many vegetable juices. 
 Lactic Acid is colourless, inodorous, and very 
 sour ; it attracts moisture from the air, and 
 dissolves in water and alcohol in all propor- 
 tions. The combinations which it makes with 
 alkalies and oxides are not of much importance 
 in the arts. 
 
 LACTUCA'RIUM is obtained from the 
 Lactuca virosa, or Acrid Lettuce, being the 
 inspissated milky juice of the plant, and which 
 is at first white, but afterwards, by exposure to 
 the air and sun, concretes and becomes 
 brownish. The juice of the leaves only 
 should be collected before the flowering lias 
 begun ; puncturing the leaves is the best mode 
 of procuring it. The inspissated concrete 
 juice resembles opium in its action, and is 
 used in medicine. 
 
 LAKE. This is a general name for an 
 animal or vegetable colouring substance, pre- 
 cipitated in combination with oxides of tin or 
 alumina. Most persons consider a beautiful 
 crimson to be the proper colour of lake ; but 
 according to the chemical definition, it includes 
 pigments of various colours. Most of these 
 are prepared by causing alum to act in an in- 
 fusion or decoction of the substance employed. 
 Blue Lake is prepared from Indigo, and from 
 the blue flowers of some plants ; Brazil-wood 
 Lake from Brazil-wood; Florentine Lake from 
 ochineal ; M adder Lake from madder ; Green 
 Lake from a mixture of blue and yellow lakes ; 
 Orange Lake from arnotto; Red Lake from 
 ochineal, differently employed from that re- 
 quired for Florence lake ; Yellow Lake from 
 gaercitron or turmeric ; and there are a few 
 others, presenting other tints. 
 
 LAMP-BLACK, is a fine charcoal prepared 
 rom certain kinds of fir containing much 
 resin, and the refuse and residuary resin left 
 >y the distillation of turpentine. The furnace 
 jhimney is long, and the greater part of it 
 nearly horizontal, and its exit is covered with 
 Id sacking; or the smoke containing the 
 ;harcoal is earned into chambers, where it is 
 deposited on coarse cloths. The purest lamp- 
 lack is procured by the combustion of oils, 
 
1007 
 
 LAMP, SAFETY. 
 
 LAMPS. 
 
 1098 
 
 but that is much too expensive for common 
 use. Lamp-black is extensively employed as 
 a black colour, and mixed with other pig- 
 ments. 
 
 LAMP, SAFETY. It has been long known 
 that coal mines, and especially such as are 
 deep, are occasionally infested with carburet- 
 ted hydrogen, known to the miners as fire- 
 damp. Several contrivances have been pro- 
 posed for safely lighting coal mines subject to 
 the visitations of this gas ; but the safety- 
 lamp of Sir H. Davy is the only one which 
 has ever been judged safe, and been exten- 
 sively employed. 
 
 Davy found that this gas requires an ad- 
 mixture of a large quantity of atmospheric 
 air to render it explosive ; that explosions of 
 inflammable gases are incapable of being 
 passed through long narrow metallic tubes ; 
 and that this principle of security is still ob- 
 tained by diminishing their length and dia- 
 meter at the same time, and likewise dimi- 
 nishing their length and increasing their 
 number, so that a great number of small 
 apertures will not pass explosion when their 
 depth is equal to their diameter. This led to 
 trials upon sieves made of wire gauze : and he 
 found that, if a piece of wire gauze was held 
 over the flame of a lamp, or of coal gas, it 
 prevented the flame from passing; and he 
 ascertained that a flame confined in a cylinder 
 of very fine wire gauze did not explode 
 even a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, 
 but that the gases burnt in it with great 
 vivacity. 
 
 These experiments enabled Davy to deter- 
 mine the principles of a new safety-lamp. It 
 consists of a cylinder of wire gauze, formed 
 of iron wire about -$ of an inch in diameter, 
 the meshes being about fa of an inch. The 
 wire cylinder is strongly jointed, and is de- 
 fended by three upright strong wires, which 
 meet at the top, and to them a ring is fixed, 
 from which the instrument is suspended. The 
 lamp is screwed on to the bottom of the wire 
 gauze, and is supplied with oil by the pipe 
 projecting from it, when the top is unscrewed 
 and removed. A wire, bent at the upper end, 
 is passed through the bottom of the lamp for 
 raising, lowering, or trimming the wick. 
 
 When the lamp is lighted and introduced 
 into an atmosphere gradually mixed with fire- 
 damp, the first effect of the fire-damp is to 
 increase the size and length of the flame. When 
 the inflammable gas forms as much as ^ of 
 the volume of the air, the cylinder becomes 
 filled with a feeble blue flame, but the flame 
 of the wick appears burning brightly within 
 the blue flame, and the light of the wick con- 
 tinues till the fire-damp increases to one- 
 
 sixth, or one-fifth, when it is lost in the 
 flame of the fire-damp, which in this case 
 fills the cylinder with a pretty strong light ; 
 and, when the foul air constitutes one-third 
 of the atmosphere, it is no longer fit for 
 respiration. 
 
 The operation of the wire gauze in prevent 
 ing the communication of flame is thus ex- 
 plained : Flame is gaseous matter so 
 intensely heated as to be luminous, and the 
 temperature requisite for producing it exceeds 
 that of the white heat of solids. When the flame 
 comes into contact with wire gauze, it loses so 
 much heat in consequence of the conducting 
 power of the metal which conveys it to the 
 surrounding air, that it is cooled below the 
 point at which gaseous matter can remain 
 luminous, and consequently the flame of the 
 gaseous matter burning Avithin the lamp is 
 incapable of passing through it so as to 
 set fire to and explode the mixture of fire- 
 damp and air by which it is surrounded ; and 
 this cooling power is exerted, even though the 
 wire gauze, by effecting it, is rendered and re- 
 mains red-hot. 
 
 Much discussion has arisen concerning the 
 safety of this instrument ; it is admitted that 
 there are situations where it would not be dan- 
 ger-proof; but it is also admitted that no other 
 invention is yet equal to it in respect to safety. 
 A form of the instrument devised by Dr. 
 Clanny is that which is now most frequently 
 employed. 
 
 The original model of the safety lamp, 
 made by Sir Humphrey Davy's own hands, 
 has been lately placed among the collection of 
 scientific instruments belonging to the Koyal 
 Society. 
 
 LAMPS. The chief varieties of artificial 
 lights are noticed in earlier articles [ARGAND 
 LAMP; BENZOLE LIGHT; EUDE LIGHT; CAM- 
 PHINE LAMP ; CANDLE MANUFACTURE ; DRUM- 
 MOND LIGHT ; ELECTRIC LIGHT ; G-AS MANU- 
 FACTURE; LAMP, SAFETY]. Most of the oil- 
 lamps are now on the argand principle, that 
 is, having a ring- formed wick, so as to admit 
 air within and without. Some lamps have 
 been formed for burning solid instead of liquid 
 fuel; such as the Soho lamp, which is 
 adapted for burning tallow or fat. One variety 
 of lamp is the Carcel lamp, in which the oil is 
 raised through tubes by clock-work, so as con- 
 tinually to overflow at the bottom of the wick, 
 and thus keeping the wick thoroughly 
 soaked. In Parker's hot oil lamp the oil is 
 kept between two concentric tubes near the 
 flame, so as to become heated before it reaches 
 the wick. Tbe meteor lamp is intended to burn 
 rape oil. The camphine lamps are described 
 in an earlier article. In the ' Peerless Self- 
 
1099 
 
 LANARKSHIRE. 
 
 LANCASHIRE. 
 
 1100 
 
 generating Gas Lamp,' registered by Mr. 
 Holliday in 1849, the arrangement is such 
 that the oil is heated and converted into 
 vapour before it reaches the burner. 
 
 The manufacture of brass-work for lamps 
 and chandeliers forms one of the most im- 
 portant departments of Birmingham. The 
 brass tubing is drawn, and the ornaments 
 cast, on a scale of great magnitude ; and the 
 various processes of stamping, planishing, 
 lacquering, burnishing, &c., all employ a 
 large number of hands in the lamp trade. All 
 our exhibitions of manufactures contain spe- 
 cimens of Birmingham lamps. Many of those 
 which are ordinarily considered to be made in 
 London are of Birmingham manufacture, put 
 together in London. 
 
 LANARKSHIRE. The wonderful energy 
 of this iron-smelting, cotton- spinning county 
 has already engaged a little of our attention 
 [GLASGOW], In addition to the industrial 
 statistics there given, we may state that there 
 were in Lanarkshire, in 1850, 94 cotton facto- 
 ries, 9 woollen and worsted factories, 4 flax 
 factories, and 4 silk factories ; that these con- 
 tained about 930,000 spindles, and about 
 19,000 power looms; that the steam and 
 water power employed to work these factories 
 was equal to about 6,300 horse-power ; that 
 the number of persons employed in the facto- 
 ries was about 25,000; and that of these 
 persons, nearly 20,000 were females. 
 
 LANCASHIRE. To the coal-field of South 
 Lancashire this county owes its manufacturing 
 pre-eminence. It occupies a large irregular 
 tract between the Ribble and the Mersey. The 
 pits in the northern coal field are chiefly in 
 the neighbourhood of Hornby. The principal 
 mineral production of Lancashire is coal. 
 Lead and iron occur to some extent, copper 
 in small quantity, slate, flag-stones, free- 
 stone, scythe -stones, brick clay, and pipe- 
 clay are among the mineral products of the 
 county. 
 
 The county of Lancashire is richly provided 
 with those highways of commerce canals. 
 The Sankey Canal was the first executed in 
 England; it extends from St. Helens to War- 
 rington, about 12 miles. The Duke of 
 Bridgewater's Canal, one of the most celebra- 
 ted of Brindley's works, extends from Leigh 
 to Manchester, with extensive tunnels and 
 underground works at Worsley. The Leeds 
 and Liverpool Canal, one of the most exten- 
 sive in the kingdom, connects those two im- 
 portant towns, and passes near Colne, Burnley, 
 Blackburn, Wigan and Ormskirk. The Lan- 
 caster canal begins near Kendal in Westmore- 
 land, and runs to Wigan. The Ashton Canal 
 commences on the eastern side of the town of 
 
 Manchester, and runs to Fairfield, about 4 
 miles from Manchester; it has branches to 
 Stockport; to the Huddersfield Canal at 
 Dukinfield ; to the collieries at Hollingwood, 
 near Oldham ; and to the Rochdale Canal. 
 The Huddersfield and Peak Forest canals 
 belong rather to Yorkshire and to Derbyshire 
 respectively than to Lancashire. The Roch- 
 dale Canal commences in the Calder and 
 Hebble Navigation in Yorkshire, and proceeds 
 by Todmorden and Rochdale to Manchester. 
 The Manchester, Bolton, and Bury Canal 
 commences in the Mersey and Irwell Naviga- 
 tion at Manchester, and runs to Bolton, with 
 a branch to Bury. 
 
 Nor is Lancashire less richly provided with 
 railways. The first locomotive line in England 
 was the Liverpool and Manchester. Since 
 the opening of that railway in 1830, the railways 
 of Lancashire have taken the lead of those in 
 every other county. The lines open are the 
 following: Liverpool to Manchester; War 
 rington to Newton ;' Warrington to Heyton ; 
 Runcorn to St. Helens ; Runcorn to Heyton ; 
 Liverpool to Bury ; Liverpool to Preston ; 
 Manchester to Preston ; Newton to Preston ; 
 Kenyon to Bolton ; Bolton to Clitheroe ; 
 Clifton to Colne ; Manchester to Todmorden ; 
 Manchester to Stockport, to Ashton, and to 
 Oldham ; Preston to Accrington ; Preston to 
 Fleetwood ; Preston to Lancaster ; and many 
 minor branches. They form a complete net- 
 work, the proprietorship of which we need 
 not here disentangle. 
 
 From the moist nature of the climate, Lan- 
 cashire is more productive in grass than in 
 corn. Oats are more cultivated than wheat. 
 Potatoes were early cultivated in the fields in 
 Lancashire, and they retain their celebrity. 
 Meadows and pastures are very extensive. 
 Even the extent of grass which is kept for the 
 purpose of bleaching linen on is very consi - 
 derable, especially in the neighbourhood of 
 Manchester, of Bolton, and other manufac- 
 turing towns. A great quantity of new milk 
 is required in the manufacturing towns, and 
 much butter and cheese are also made in the 
 county. 
 
 Lancashire is the most important manu- 
 facturing county in England. Not only is the 
 cotton manufacture the largest branch of 
 industry, but it has probably no parallel in 
 any other country. The cotton factories aiv 
 exceedingly numerous, and are spread over 
 most parts of the county. Silk, woollen, and 
 flax manufactures are also carried on, but to a 
 much smaller extent than cotton. Engineering 
 of every description, and ship-building, are 
 other branches of Lancashire industry. Iron 
 and brass manufactures ; hat factories ; glass, 
 
No. 27 
 
 OF THE OF Hit 
 
1101 
 
 LANCASHIRE. 
 
 LANDES. 
 
 1102 
 
 bottle, and pottery works ; alkali, soap, and che- 
 mical works; pin manufactories ; watch move- 
 ment manufactories are among the numerous 
 branches of Lancashire industry. 
 
 The commerce of Lancashire consists 
 mainly in the immense trade carried on at 
 Liverpool : the shipping at Lancaster and 
 Fleetwood is of no great amount. The 
 canals and railways conduct a vast inland 
 traffic with other parts of England. 
 
 Many of the great towns occupy some of 
 our attention in separate articles, in respect 
 to their industry and produce [ACCRINGTON ; 
 ASHTON ; BLACKBURN; BOLTON; BURY; 
 CLITHEROE ; LIVERPOOL ; MANCHESTER ; 
 PRESTON]. Fleetwood stands at the mouth of 
 the sestuary of the Wyre. The town, harbour, 
 docks, warehouses, and pier were planned 
 under the auspices of Sir Hesketh Fleetwood, 
 about the year 1836, on ground which before 
 that time was little else than a rabbit-warren. 
 It was expected that this port would attract a 
 large amount of traffic to and from Belfast, 
 Londonderry, Drogheda, and other Irish ports ; 
 and to and from Glasgow and Ardrossan ; but 
 Liverpool still commands nearly all the Irish 
 traffic. The port of Lancaster formerly had a 
 considerable share of the West India trade, 
 which is now in a great degree transferred to 
 Liverpool ; but it still possesses a portion of 
 foreign commerce, and a considerable coasting 
 trade. The cotton manufacture was introduced 
 not many years ago into the town and neigh- 
 bourhood, where it has considerably increased. 
 At Leigh the townspeople are engaged in the 
 manufacture of cambrics and fustians; there 
 are collieries and stone quarries in the parish. 
 Oldham has rapidly risen in prosperity, mainly 
 owing to its being in the neighbourhood of 
 extensive coal mines, which give employment 
 to a large portion of its population, and to the 
 great increase of cotton manufactures since 
 the middle of the last century. The manu- 
 facture of fustians, cotton, and woollen and 
 silk goods is very extensive ; and there are 
 more hats produced here than in any other 
 part of England. Prescot is celebrated for its 
 manufactures of small files, and the move- 
 ments and other parts of watches. In Rochdale 
 the manufactures are very important. In the 
 time of Edward III. some Flemings intro- 
 duced the woollen manufacture into the town ; 
 it has continued to nourish, and now forms 
 its staple commodity. Calico, cotton yarn, 
 and hats are also manufactured. Coal is dug, 
 and slates, flagstone, and freestone are 
 abundantly quarried in the parish ; and 
 there are also iron-works. St. Helens has 
 risen into importance chiefly by means of the 
 large establishments of the British Plate- 
 
 VOL, I. 
 
 Glass Company at Eavenhead, in the adjacent 
 township of Sutton, and of the copper-works 
 belonging to the proprietors of the Parys 
 Mine, in Anglesea, who brought their ore 
 here to be smelted. In Todmordcn the inha- 
 bitants are engaged in the cotton and woollen 
 manufactures, both of which have greatly in- 
 creased. The principal branches of industry 
 in Warrington, are cotton-spinning, the manu- 
 facture of flint glass and glass bottles, machi- 
 nery and mill-work, and many branches of 
 iron manufactures. There are steam flour- 
 mills, tanyards, malt-houses, one or more 
 paper-mills, and several breweries. Wigan 
 from its situation on the Lancashire coal-field, 
 has increased with the development of ma- 
 nufacturing industry. The manufactures of 
 the place comprise linens, calico, checks, 
 fustians, the spinning of cotton yarn, and 
 other branches of the cotton manufacture. 
 
 In addition to the details under COTTON 
 and FACTORIES, we give the following sta- 
 tistics of Lancashire factories in 1850. In 
 that year there were in the county 1,235 cotton 
 factories, 37 woollen and worsted factories, 9 
 flax factories, and 29 silk factories. In these 
 factories were about 15,000,000 spindles, and 
 about 185,000 power looms. The machi- 
 nery was moved by steam power equiva- 
 lent to about 50,000 horse power, and by 
 water power to the extent of 4,000 horse 
 power. The persons employed at the 1,310 
 factories were about 240,000 in number, of 
 whom 130,000 were females. Of the persons 
 so employed, about 12,000 were children 
 under 13 years of age. 
 
 LANDES. This department of France 
 calls for a little notice here on account of the 
 extraordinary mode in which some of the 
 inhabitants are obliged to pursue their indus- 
 trial avocations. Much of the department 
 consists of a loose ashen-gray sandy soil. 
 Numerous flocks of wretched half-starved 
 sheep wander over this desert waste, tended 
 by shepherds who walk on high stilts to enable 
 them to pass dry-footed over the marshes that 
 occur in all directions. Clothed in sheep- 
 skins, perched on his lofty stilts, and seated 
 on a high staff with a flat broad end, the 
 shepherd of the Landes watching his sheep, 
 and knitting woollen stockings, his constant 
 occupation, presents to the stranger unpre- 
 pared for the sight an extraordinary appear- 
 ance. Not only the shepherds, but the 
 charcoal burners, and almost all the scanty 
 population of the Landes, are accustomed to 
 the use of stilts, on which they walk with 
 astonishing rapidity. The most important 
 produce of the Landes are the pine forests 
 which cover nearly one-fourth of the surface, 
 
 D D 
 
1103 
 
 LANTERNS. 
 
 LAUREL, 
 
 110-1 
 
 and which, hesides the value of the timber, 
 yield a great quantity of resin. The more 
 fertile districts of the department yield Avheat, 
 maize, millet, hemp, flax, madder, saffron, &c. 
 About 10,000,000 gallons of wine are produced 
 annually, of which about a third goes to sup- 
 ply the home consumption ; the rest is ex- 
 ported, or distilled and sold as Arniagnac 
 brandy. Mines of iron and bitumen are 
 worked ; mica, coal, marble, granite, lithogra- 
 phic stones, chalk, ochre, potters' clay of 
 superior quality, crucible earth, &c., are found. 
 Peat fuel is dug. The industrial produce is 
 composed of coarse woollens, pottery, liqueurs, 
 bar iron and ironware, resin, pitch, tar, glass, 
 paper, leather, brandy, beer, oil, &c. There 
 is also a considerable trade in timber, deals, 
 linseed oil, fruits, wool, pork, &c. 
 
 LANTERNS. It is said that we are in- 
 debted to Alfred the Great for the invention 
 of lanterns, or lanthorns. Before the inven- 
 tion of clocks, Alfred caused six tapers to be 
 made for his daily use ; each taper contained 
 twelve pennyweights of wax, and was twelve 
 inches long. The whole length was divided 
 into twelve parts or inches, of which three 
 would burn for one hour ; so that each taper 
 would be consumed in four hours, and the 
 six tapers, being lighted one after another, 
 lasted twenty four hours. But the wind, 
 blowing through the windows and doors and 
 chinks of the chapel, or through the cloth of 
 his tent, in which they were burning, wasted 
 the tapers, and caused them to burn irregularly. 
 He therefore designed a lantern, made of ox 
 or cow horn cut into thin plates, in which he 
 enclosed the tapers ; and being thus protected 
 from the wind, the period of their burning 
 became a matter of comparative certainty. 
 
 The translucent part of a lantern is made 
 of cow- born. The horn is softened and sepa- 
 rated into thin leaves, by following the natural 
 layers of the substance. The thin leaves are 
 flattened, scraped with a blunt-edged knife, 
 smoothed with a woollen rag dipped in 
 charcoal dust, and finally polished with horn 
 shavings. 
 
 LAPIDARY. The work of the lapidary is 
 the shaping, cutting, aud polishing of precious 
 stones. He uses mortars for crushing and 
 grinding diamond powder; cutting instruments 
 for reducing stones to thin layers ; instru- 
 ments for giving flat and curved surfaces to 
 gems ; lathes for turning, and drills for 
 piercing holes ; apparatus for making the 
 facets of brilliants, &c. A few details bearing 
 on this subject will be found under CAMEO ; 
 DIAMOND ; GEMS ; INTAGTJO. 
 
 LAPIS LAZULI. [ULTRAMARINE.] 
 
 LARCH. A few words have been said con- 
 
 cerning this valuable tree, in connection with 
 the genus to which it belongs [ABIES] ; and 
 we will here add a little detail concerning the 
 uses of the tree in the aits. 
 
 Larch wood seems to be more and more 
 valued as its qualities become known : and it 
 will probably supersede others which have 
 hitherto been held in greater repute. The 
 Germans find larch wood almost indestructi- 
 ble for wine-casks. In many parts of France 
 houses are built of larch, and water-pipes 
 made of the same material. In Switzerland 
 it is used for vine props. In all cases where 
 timber is exposed to alternations of wet and 
 dry, larch is particularly valuable. As naval 
 timber the larch is rising rapidly into note. 
 As sleepers for railways, axles for mill work, 
 hop poles, stakes for plants, and numerous 
 other useful articles, larch is a most valuable 
 material. It is rather too difficult to work to 
 be used much in the carpentry of English 
 houses. 
 
 The qualities which render larch so ser- 
 viceable for the above purposes are the 
 following : It is much clearer of knots than 
 fir-wood ; it is more durable than fir ; it is 
 much less liable to shrink than common deal ; 
 it will not crack with any moderate degree of 
 heat, when in the form of planks or boards ; 
 it is more tough than foreign deal ; as an or- 
 namental wood it often presents a very 
 beautiful colour, and will receive a high po- 
 lish. 
 
 LASER, was the name given by the ancients 
 to a gum-resin highly esteemed by them, and 
 which was sometimes called Silphium. It is 
 supposed to have been procured from certain 
 species of the genus Loderpitium; the root of 
 which is extremely bitter, and yields an aro- 
 matic resinous substance. The gum-resin 
 was employed medicinally by the ancients, 
 and was an article of some commercial 
 value. 
 
 LATA'NIA, is a genus of Palms. The 
 leaves, like those of other palms, are em- 
 ployed by the natives of the Isle of France 
 for covering their huts, as well as for making 
 fans and umbrellas. The leafstalks are 
 split, and employed for making baskets, sieves, 
 &c. 
 
 LATHE. [POTTERY; TURNING.] 
 
 LAUDANUM. [OnuM.J 
 
 LAUREL. The fruit of the laurel or 
 Sweet Bay is endowed with aromatic proper- 
 ties as well as the leaves, whence both, as well 
 as a fatty oil expressed from the seed, have 
 long been used in medicine as stimulants and 
 carminatives. 
 
 From the laurel is obtained laurine, an 
 acrid and bitter principle contained in the 
 
1105 
 
 LAVAL. 
 
 LEAD MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1106 
 
 berries ; its smell resembles that of laurel 
 oil. 
 
 LAVAL, the capital of the French depart- 
 ment of Mayenne, is the centre of a large 
 manufacture of table and household linen and 
 linen-yarn, for the sale of which there are 
 weekly markets ; calico, flannel, cotton hand- 
 kerchiefs, serge, soap, leather, <fcc., are also 
 made ; and there is a good business done in 
 flax, wine, brandy, clover-seed, timber, iron, 
 marble, (fee. 
 
 LA VENDEE. Lavender plants are hoary, 
 narrow-leaved, fragrant bushes, inhabiting 
 the south of Europe, the Canaries, Barbary, 
 Egypt, Persia, and the west of India, with 
 generally blue flowers. Twelve species are 
 described, of which two only are of general 
 interest, namely, the common lavender and 
 Spike Lavender, both natives of sterile hills 
 in the south of Europe and Barbary. The 
 common lavender yields the Oil of Lavender, 
 so extensively employed in the preparation of 
 perfumes ; and its flowers are employed in 
 medicine. The spike lavender yields the Oil 
 of Spike, or foreign oil of lavender ; this is 
 less fragrant than the other oil, and is used to 
 adulterate it, and also as a material in paint- 
 ing. 
 
 LEAD. This very useful metal has a 
 blueish gray colour, and considerable brilliancy 
 when fresh surfaces are formed by cutting. 
 If it has not heen cooled too rapidly, it is so 
 soft that, even when in pieces of considerable 
 thickness, it may be easily bent. It soils 
 slightly, and leaves on paper or cloth a mark 
 after friction resembling that of plumbago. 
 Its specific gravity is 11.4. Lead may be 
 reduced to thin lamina?; but its tenacity is 
 extremely slight, so that a wire about -^th of 
 an inch in diameter breaks with a weight of 
 30 pounds. It fuses at about G12, and crys- 
 tallises when slowly cooled. It is not a volatile 
 metal, for in close vessels it may be heated to 
 whiteness without subliming. When exposed 
 to the air, it absorbs oxygen and carbonic acid 
 slowly, and acquires a superficial coating of 
 carbonate of lead. If it be exposed to air and 
 water, it is oxidised and converted into carbo- 
 nate of lead with considerable rapidity ; this 
 carbonate has the appearance of minute shining 
 brilliant scales. Though at common tempe- 
 ratures lead is slowly acted upon by the oxy- 
 gen of the air, it is readily oxidised when the 
 heat is raised. 
 
 The ores of lead, strictly speaking, are few 
 in number. Indeed the only one which can 
 properly be considered as a working ore is 
 the Sulphitret, or Galena. This almost uni- 
 versally diffused ore occurs in attached crystals 
 and massive. The crystals are opaque and 
 
 leaden gray. The massive varieties have a 
 granular structure. By the blowpipe on 
 charcoal the sulphur is first dissipated, and 
 then metallic lead is obtained. In Cornwall 
 and Scotland the veins of this ore traverse 
 primary rocks; in Derbyshire it occurs in 
 veins or beds in transition rocks. It very 
 commonly contains a considerable portion of 
 silver. There are many minerals in which 
 lead forms a component ingredient, but most 
 of the lead of commerce is procured from the 
 sulphuret. 
 
 Lead forms many useful substances in com- 
 bination with other bodies. Protoxide of lead 
 is massicot, and the deutoxide is Minium, both 
 used as colours. Oxychloride of lead forms 
 patent yellow. Carbonate of lead forms White 
 Lead. Acetate of lead is Sugar of Lead. 
 Di-acetate of lead forms Goulard's Extract. 
 Chromate of lead is a beautiful yellow pig- 
 ment. The manufacture of PIED LEAD and 
 WHITE LEAD will be noticed in separate 
 articles. 
 
 Of the alloys of lead, three are of somo 
 importance. Alloyed with antimony, lead 
 forms Type-metal. Pewter consists of about 
 80 parts tin and 20 lead. Equal parts of tin 
 and lead form Plumber's Solder. 
 
 LEAD MANUFACTURE . Lead was 
 known to and used by the Greeks and Eomans 
 for various purposes. Among others it was 
 employed for pipes to convey water, just as it 
 is now. The lead-mines of this island were 
 worked by the Eomans. The chief of them 
 are in Cornwall, Devonshire, Somersetshire, 
 Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Cumberland, 
 Westmoreland, Shropshire, Flintshire, Den- 
 bighshire, Merionethshire, and Montgomery- 
 shire ; in Scotland, in Dumfriesshire, Lanark- 
 shire, Ayrshire, and Argyleshire. Lead is 
 also found in Ireland, in the counties of 
 Armagh, Wexford, Wicklow, Waterford, Clare, 
 and Down. 
 
 The ore of lead, when extracted from the 
 mine, is called Galena, and is combined with 
 various earthy matters. The first processes 
 subsequent to its extraction are those of 
 crushing or pounding and washing the ore. 
 The ore is then smelted, sometimes in a com- 
 mon smelting furnace and sometimes in a 
 reverberatory furnace ; and the melted metal 
 is allowed to run into a large iron pan, from 
 which it is ladled into cast-iron moulds. It 
 then constitutes what is called Pig-Lead. In 
 this state lead always contains more or less 
 of silver. The proportion is sometimes ex- 
 ceedingly minute, varying from 1 to 30 ounces 
 in a ton of lead. The extraction of the 
 silver is always performed when it exists in a 
 proportion sufficient to pay the expense of the 
 
1107 
 
 LEAD MANUFACTURE. 
 
 LEAD MANUFACTURE. 1108 
 
 process, which varies in different localities 
 according to the cost of fuel. The process 
 of extraction, which is called refining, depends 
 upon the well known circumstance, that lead, 
 when heated to redness, absorbs a large por- 
 tion of oxygen from the air, and is converted 
 into an oxide ; while silver does not undergo 
 any such change, hut retains its metallic form 
 at almost any temperature. Mr. Pattinson, of 
 Newcastle, has introduced an improved 
 process, in which the ciystallising properties 
 of melted lead are brought into requisition. 
 
 The most extensive use of lead is in the 
 forms of sheets and pipes. To make sheet- 
 lead, the pigs are brought to a state of fusion 
 in a large pot or cistern, near which is placed 
 the table on which the sheet is to be cast. 
 This table, which is usually from 18 to 20 
 feet long and 6 feet wide, is made either of 
 wood or cast iron. The wooden table has its 
 surface protected by a layer of fine sand, 
 which is wetted and spread evenly and firmly 
 over it before the melted lead is poured on. 
 To prevent the lead from running over the 
 sides, a ledge is provided, two or three inches 
 thick, and two inches high, which forms the 
 margin of the table. An instrument called 
 a strike is also provided to regulate the thick- 
 ness of the sheet, and to spread the melted 
 metal evenly over the table. In casting the 
 sheet the fused metal is taken from the cistern 
 with an iron ladle, and put into a triangular- 
 shaped iron shovel or peel, placed at the head 
 of the table, which peel being raised so as to 
 pour out the lead upon the table, the strike is 
 brought into use to spread it evenly over the 
 whole surface : the surplus, if any, falling into 
 a vessel placed for its reception at the foot of 
 the table. A sheet of lead weighs 9 cwts., so 
 that its length and breadth will be greater in 
 proportion to the diminution of its thickness. 
 The thickness of sheets of lead is frequently 
 reduced by means of heavy rollers worked by 
 steam power. Rolled sheet-lead is made by 
 the repeated compression, between steel rollers, 
 of a block of lead several inches in thick- 
 ness. 
 
 Lead pipes are sometimes made, when great 
 exactness of shape is not required, by bend- 
 ing a length of sheet lead of the necessary 
 width over a mandril, and soldering the edges 
 together ; but the more usual method of ma- 
 nufacture is by casting and drawing. The 
 casting-box employed is an iron cylinder made 
 in two parts, and put together longitudinally 
 with flanges ; inside of this cylinder is placed 
 an iron rod or core, which is so fixed as to be 
 concentric to the cylinder, without touching 
 it ; a space is thus left, into which the melted 
 lead is poured. When this is set, the core is 
 
 removed, and the cylinder opened, so as to 
 withdraw the pipe, which is much thicker 
 than is needed, and must be lengthened, while 
 its substance is reduced, by drawing it through 
 a succession of holes in steel plates, dimi- 
 nishing gradually in diameter. The making of 
 lead shot is described elsewhere [SHOT MANU- 
 FACTURE.] 
 
 In a purely metallic state, lead produces no 
 action on the human system except such as 
 arises from its mechanical properties ; but, as 
 soon as it becomes oxidised, it can combine 
 with the contents of the stomach, and pro- 
 duce different effects, according to the nature 
 of the substances it meets with. Painters are 
 exposed to a distressing disease from the use 
 of white lead, called Painter's Colic. The lid 
 or cover of cisterns should never be made of 
 lead, as the vapour which condenses on it pos- 
 sesses all the solvent power of distilled water. 
 It is also unsafe to use water which has flowed 
 over leaden roofs, more particularly in towns, 
 as the surface of the lead is almost invariably 
 coated with some soluble salt. No kind of 
 adulteration or impregnation with lead, from 
 accident or ignorance, is more common than 
 that of wine or cyder. Even a single shot of 
 lead left by accident in a bottle after cleaning 
 has produced severe colic ; and the more 
 extensive use of the salts of lead iofine wines, 
 as it is termed, that is, to remove their acid 
 taste and make them sweet, has occasioned 
 most serious consequences. 
 
 In the year 1848 lead ore was raised from 
 sixteen counties in England and Wales ; viz., 
 Cornwall, Devon, Cumberland, Durham, 
 Northumberland, Westmoreland, Derbyshire, 
 Shropshire, Somerset, Yorkshire, Cardigan, 
 Caernarvon, Caermarthen, Flint, Montgomery, 
 and Merioneth. The quantity of ore raised 
 in that year, and of lead smelted from the 
 ore, in the United Kingdom, was as follows : 
 Ore. Lead. 
 
 England 55,038 tons. 30,142 tons. 
 
 Wales 10,305 11,192 
 
 Scotland 2,588 1,730 
 
 Ireland 1,912 1,188 
 
 Isle of Man.. 2,521 1,005 
 
 78,964 54,853 
 
 From this we learn that three tons of ore 
 produce about two tons of metallic lead. The 
 richest English mines are in Durham. The 
 richest Welsh in Flintshire. 
 
 The pig and sheet lead imported in the 
 three years 1848, 1849, and 1850, were 3,789, 
 7,216, and 11,977 tons, respectively. The 
 quantities exported in the same three yeai*s 
 were 6,129, 170,27, and 22,083 tons, respec- 
 tively. 
 
1109 
 
 LEAGUE. 
 
 LEAGUE. In modern English a league 
 means the 20th part of a degree of latitude, 
 or three geographical miles, each of which is 
 the 00th part of a degree. The league of our 
 sailors may be described and easily remem- 
 bered as 3.456 statute miles of 1,760 yards 
 each. The same marine league is used by the 
 French and other nations : besides which, the 
 French have among their itinerary land mea- 
 sures, two distinct leagues (or lieues; in some 
 of the provinces legues), the first of 2000 
 toises, or 2.42 English miles, which is the 
 legal posting measure ; the second of 25 to 
 the degree, or 2.77 English miles. 
 
 LEATHER MANUFACTURE. This re- 
 markable substance, which is universally em- 
 ployed throughout the civilised world, is 
 prepared from the skins of animals, or, it 
 would perhaps be more correct to say, consists 
 of that substance after it has been chemically 
 changed by the process of tanning. This 
 change is effected by means of a sub- 
 stance residing in several vegetable mat- 
 ters, to which the name of tannin has been 
 given. When this tannin, which is soluble 
 in water, is applied to the hides of animals 
 from which the hair, epidermis, and any fleshy 
 or fatty parts adhering to them are removed, 
 and which hides then consist wholly of gelatin, 
 also soluble in water, these two soluble sub- 
 stances so unite chemically as to form the 
 wholly insoluble substance called leather. Of 
 the ox-hides which are converted into leather, 
 those supplied by bulls are thicker, stronger, 
 and coarser in the grain than those of cows ; 
 while the hides of bullocks are intermediate 
 between those of the bull and the cow. Such 
 leather is employed for the soles of boots and 
 shoes ; for most parts of harness and sadlery ; 
 for making leather trunks, buckets, hose for 
 fire-engines, and pump-valves ; for the thick 
 belts used in military accoutrements ; and for 
 the gloves of cavalry. The thick buff-leather, 
 formerly used as armour, and which was 
 pistol proof, and would resist the edge of a 
 sword, was made from the hide of the urus 
 or wild bull. The skins of calves, though 
 thinner than those of cows, are thicker than 
 most other kinds of skin which are converted 
 into leather. 
 
 The process necessary to convert hides 
 into tbe thick hard leather used for the soles 
 of boots and shoes is as follows : The horns 
 are removed from the hides ; and the latter 
 are scraped, steeped, and sweated, and the 
 hair removed. The hides are then immersed 
 for a few days in a liquid which opens the 
 pores and fits them for the action of the tan- 
 ning ingredients. In the old method of 
 tanning, which is not yet entirely abandoned, 
 
 LEATHER MANUFACTURE. 1110 
 
 the hides and powdered bark were laid in 
 alternate layers in the tan-pit, which was then 
 filled with water to the brim. After some 
 months the pit was emptied and re-filled with 
 fresh bark and water, and this process was 
 repeated whenever the strength of the bark 
 was exhausted. In this way the time required 
 for impregnating the hides varied, accofding 
 to their thickness and other circumstances, 
 from one to four years. The process has been 
 expedited by the use of a concentrated solu- 
 tion of bark instead of mere layers of bark in 
 water. The variations of practice among dif- 
 ferent tanners extend to the substance used 
 as an astringent, as well as to the manner of 
 applying it. Ground oak- bark, which was for- 
 merly the only material in common use, and 
 is still the most general, produces good leather 
 of a light fawn-colour. Valonia, of which 
 considerable quantities are imported for the 
 use of tanners, produces leather of great 
 solidity and weight, the colour of which is 
 inclined to gray, and which is more impervious 
 to water than that made with oak-bark. 
 Catechu, or Terra Japonica, the inspissated 
 extract of the Acacia Catechu, produces lea- 
 ther of a dark reddish fawn colour, which is 
 light, spongy, and very pervious to water. 
 Another substance which has been used of 
 late years is a kind of bean-pod called dlvi- 
 divi. These substances may be used either 
 individually or in various combinations; and 
 they are. prepared with plain water or with 
 ooze, with hot water or with cold, according to 
 the judgment of the tanner. In whichever 
 way the tanning is effected, the hide is sub- 
 jected to the action of solutions increasing 
 progressively in strength, until it is so perfectly 
 penetrated, that when cut through it presents 
 a uniform brown colour ; any appearance of a 
 light streak in the middle of its thickness 
 being an indication of imperfect tanning. 
 When the process is complete, the hides are 
 hung up in a shed, and allowed to dry slowly , 
 and, while they are drying, they are compres- 
 sed by heating or rubbing, or by passing them 
 between rollers, to give them firmness and 
 density. 
 
 Several schemes have been devised for 
 forcing a tanning solution through the pores of 
 the hide by mechanical pressure. Mr. Spils- 
 bury patented a method of forcing the tan 
 liquor into the pores of the hide by hydro- 
 static pressure, but in a mode which was found 
 to produce leather of unequal quality. Ano- 
 ther process, by Mr. Drake, consisted in 
 sewing two skins together (after they had 
 received a slight tanning in the ordinary way), 
 so as to form a water-tight bag, which was 
 filled with tan-liquor, and compressed so as to 
 
1111 LEATHER MANUFACTURE. 
 
 LEATHER MANUFACTURE. 1112 
 
 force the liquor through the skin. In another 
 plan, which has been tried under several forms, 
 the tanning liquid is applied to both sides of 
 the hides, which are placed in an air-tight 
 vessel, and is forced into their pores by hy- 
 drostatic pressure, the air being previously 
 pumped out. In the plan patented by Messrs. 
 Herapath and Cox of Bristol, a number of 
 hides are connected together by strings, so as 
 to form a continuous belt, and passed between 
 rollers turned by steam or other power; there 
 are several pairs of rollers, each pair erected 
 over a pit. The pits contain tanning liquors 
 of different degrees of strength. The hides 
 are dipped first in the weakest liquor and so 
 on to the strongest, passing between and 
 being compressed by the rollers after each 
 dipping. This process is said greatly to expe- 
 dite the conversion of hide into leather ; but 
 it is not yet settled whether the leather is of 
 quality equal to that prepared by the old 
 method. 
 
 The thinner hides or skins for the upper 
 teathers of boots and shoes are tanned with 
 the same materials as the thicker, but by a 
 quicker and less elaborate process. 
 
 Of the thin skins prepared for ornamental 
 purposes, many are tanned with a substance 
 called sumach, prepared from a plant of the 
 same name. After a preparatory cleansing, 
 &c., the goat- skins for morocco leather are 
 sewed up into the form of a bag, with the 
 grain or hair- side outwards ; they are nearly 
 filled with a solution of sumach, inflated with 
 air, the aperture tied up, and the bags then 
 thrown into a cistern of hot sumach liquor. 
 Being thus acted on, both within and without, 
 the skins are soon impregnated with sumach. 
 The bags are then opened, the liquor removed, 
 and the skins washed, rubbed, dried, dyed, and 
 wrinkled by pressure with a grooved instru- 
 ment. Cheap or imitation morocco is made of 
 sheep -skins. 
 
 Tawing is the name applied to the process 
 by which the skins of sheep, lambs, and kids, 
 are converted into soft leather by the action of 
 alum. Of this kind of leather gloves are 
 usually made. Skins intended for tawing pass 
 through a series of operations resembling 
 those by which skins are prepared for tan- 
 ning ; but the tawing materials consist of 
 alum, salt, flour, and yolk of eggs (chiefly 
 the first two), which are applied in various 
 ways. The skins require a great deal of 
 stretching and rubbing after the steeping, to 
 give them the requisite softness. 
 
 In making Chamois Leather or Shamoyed 
 Leather, of which wash-leather is a cheap 
 example, the skins of deer, goats, and sheep, 
 are impregnated with oil instead of with the 
 
 ingredients hitherto mentioned. After a 
 certain preparation, the skins are beaten for 
 many hours with heavy wooden machines, and 
 cod-oil is forced into the pores. 
 
 Sheep-skins, when simply tanned, are em- 
 ployed for inferior bookbinding, for leathering 
 bellows, and for various other purposes for 
 which a cheap leathei is required. All the 
 whit- leather, as it is termed, which is used for 
 whip-lashes, bags, aprons, c., is of sheep- 
 skin ; as are also the cheaper kinds of wash- 
 leather, of which gloves, under- waistcoats, and 
 other articles of dress, are made. Mock or 
 imitation morocco, and most of the other 
 coloured and dyed leathers used for women's 
 and children's shoes, carriage-linings, and the 
 covering of stools, chairs, sofas, writing-tables, 
 &c. are also made of sheepskin. Lamb-skins 
 are mostly dressed white or coloured for 
 gloves ; and those of goats and kids supply the 
 best qualities of light leather, the former 
 being the material of the best morocco, while 
 kid leather affords the finest material for 
 gloves and ladies' shoes. Leather from goat- 
 skins, ornamented and sometimes gilt, was 
 formerly used as a hanging or covering for 
 walls. Deer and antelope skins, shamoyed or 
 dressed in oil, are used chiefly for riding 
 breeches. Horse hides, which, considering 
 their size, are thin, are tanned and curried, 
 and are used by the harness maker, especially 
 for collars ; and occasionally, when pared thin, 
 for the upper leathers of ladies' walking shoes. 
 Dog-skins are thick and tough, and make 
 excellent leather. Seal-skins produce a leather 
 similar but inferior to that supplied by dog- 
 skins ; and hog-skins afford a thin but dense 
 leather, which is used mostly for covering the 
 seats of saddles. 
 
 Currying is the general name given to the 
 various operations of dressing leather after 
 the tanning is completed, by which the requi- 
 site smoothness, lustre, colour, and supple- 
 ness are imparted. The processes of the 
 currier are various. The first is styled dip- 
 ping the leather. It consists in moistening 
 with water, and beating upon a trellis-work of 
 wooden spars, with a mallet or mace. After 
 this beating, by which the stiffness of the hide 
 or skin is destroyed, it is laid over an inclined 
 board, and scraped and cleaned, and, where - 
 ever it is too thick, pared or shaved down on 
 the flesh side, by the careful application of 
 various two-handled knives ; and then thrown 
 again into water, and well scoured by rubbing 
 the grain or hair side with pumice-stone, or 
 with a piece of slaty grit, by which means the 
 bloom, a whitish matter which is found npon 
 the surface in tanning, is removed. The 
 leather is then rubbed with the pommel, a 
 
1113 LEATHER MANUFACTURE. 
 
 LEATHER MANUFACTURE. 1114 
 
 rectangular piece of hard wood, about twelve 
 inches long by five broad, grooved on the 
 under surface, and fastened to the hand. 
 The currier uses several of these instruments, 
 with grooves of various degrees of fineness, 
 and also, for some purposes, pommels of 
 cork which are not grooved at all. The object 
 of this rubbing is to give grain and pliancy 
 to the leather. The leather is then scraped 
 with tools applied nearly perpendicular to its 
 surface, and worked forcibly with both hands, 
 to reduce such parts as may yet be left 
 too thick to a uniforni substance. After this, 
 it is dressed with the round knife, a singular 
 instrument which pares off the coarser fleshy 
 parts of the skin. In addition to these 
 operations, the currier uses occasionally po- 
 lishers of smooth wood or glass for rubbing 
 the surface of the leather; and, when the 
 leather is intended for the nse of the shoe- 
 maker, he applies to it some kind of greasy 
 composition called dubbing or stuffing. 
 
 Leather is occasionally dressed ' black on 
 the grain,' or having the hair or grain side 
 instead of the flesh side coloured. The 
 currying operations in such a case are similar 
 to those above described, but the finishing 
 processes are somewhat modified. The leather 
 is rubbed with a gritstone, to i*emove any 
 wrinkles and smooth down the coarse grain. 
 The grain is finally raised by repeatedly 
 rubbing over the surface, in different directions, 
 with the pommel or graining board. 
 
 Japanned Leather of various kinds is used in 
 coach-making, harness-making, and for various 
 other purposes. Patent Leather is covered 
 with a coat of elastic japan, which gives a 
 surface like polished glass, impermeable to 
 water ; and hides prepared in a more perfectly 
 elastic mode of japanning, which will permit 
 folding without cracking the surface, are 
 called Enamelled Leather. Such leather has 
 the japan annealed, something in the same 
 mode as glass : the hides are laid between 
 blankets, and subjected to the heat of an oven at 
 a particular temperature during several hours. 
 
 In making Russia leather, the skins are 
 freed from the hair or fleece by steeping 
 them in an ash-lye, then rinced, fulled, fer- 
 mented, and cleaned. They are then soaked 
 for forty-eight hours in a bath composed of 
 water mixed with a paste of rye-flour. The 
 skins, when taken out of the bath, are left in 
 tubs for fifteen days, then washed, and im- 
 mersed in a boiler containing a hot decoction 
 of willow bark, in which they are handled and 
 pressed for half an hour. This manipulation 
 is repeated twice a day for a week, after 
 which the tanning infusion is renewed, and 
 the process is repeated on the same skins for 
 
 another week, after which they are exposed 
 to the air to dry, and are then dyed and 
 curried. 
 
 Shagreen, a peculiar kind of leather, or 
 rather of prepared skin, formerly much used 
 for the covers of watch-cases, mathematical- 
 instrument cases, &c., is produced by soaking, 
 scraping, rubbing, softening, salting, and dye- 
 ing. The unevenness of surface is produced 
 in a singular way. The grain side of the 
 skin is strewed with the hard round seeds of 
 the Goose-Foot (Chenopodium album). A felt 
 being laid over these, they are trodden deeply 
 into the soft-yielding skin; and when dried, 
 the seeds may be shaken out without violence, 
 leaving the skin in a hard horny state, covered 
 with deep indentations. 
 
 It has been recently stated that Dr. Burn- 
 land, of Vienna, has discovered a method of 
 making leather out of certain refuse animal 
 substances ; and that the substance is at one 
 stage of its process in a state of fluidity, and 
 can be cast into boots and shoes and other 
 articles. 
 
 Leather-splitting machines, by which even 
 very thin skins may be divided into two thick- 
 nesses, each of which is capable of being 
 dressed as a perfect skin, have called forth 
 much ingenuity of contrivance. In one ma- 
 chine of this kind, the skin is drawn between 
 two revolving rollers, and presented, as it 
 emerges from their grasp, to the edge of a 
 long and very sharp knife, which is kept con- 
 tinually moving a little backwards and forwards 
 with great velocity 
 
 As there are attempts now being made to 
 revive the beautiful art of carving, in its 
 higher artistic branches; so does the art of 
 embossing and gilding leather seem likely to 
 meet with some revival. Embossed leather, 
 ornamented in gold, silver, and colours, was 
 largely manufactured some centuries ago, 
 first in Spain, Italy, and Flanders, and then in 
 Germany, France, and England. It was much 
 used as tapestry for rooms ; and some of our 
 old English mansions still present specimens 
 of it. The Alhambra in Spain still contains 
 some very rich examples. The leathers so 
 employed were made of calf, goat, and sheep- 
 skins. Mr. Leake has recently introduced 
 machinery which bids fair to produce embossed 
 leathers in high relief, and presenting patterns 
 of great beauty. 
 
 The untanned hides imported into this 
 country in 1850 amounted to 591,920 cwts. 
 The leather manufactures imported in the 
 same year, comprised about 3,260,000 pairs ot 
 gloves, and about 780,000 pairs of boots, shoes, 
 and boot fronts. The English-tanned leather, 
 and English made leather goods exported in 
 
1115 
 
 LEECH TRADE. 
 
 LEGU'MIN. 
 
 1116 
 
 1850, comprising saddles, harness, gloves, and 
 other articles, had an aggregate value of 
 608,G56/. 
 
 LEECH TRADE. The traffic in leeches 
 is a remarkable one, alike for the gatherer and 
 the dealer. The leech is met with more abun- 
 dantly in the south than the north of Europe. 
 The country about La Brienne in France is 
 famous for its supply of leeches ; and here is 
 exhibited the wretched nature of the employ- 
 ment of a leech-gatherer. He has his arms 
 and legs bare, and walks about in the marshes 
 where the leeches abound. They attach them- 
 selves to his legs as he moves along, and he 
 picks them off from time to time ; he seeks for 
 them also about the roots of the bullrushes 
 and sea-weeds. He can on some days gather 
 a gross in three or four hours ; and he puts 
 them into a small bag suspended round his 
 neck. Such is the leech-fishery in spring; 
 but in summer it is still worse. The leeches 
 then go into deeper water ; and the gatherer 
 strips naked to go after them. These poor 
 fellows are exposed to fogs, mists, and foetid 
 vapours, and are subject to agues, catarrhs, 
 and rheumatisms ; but the trade is tolerably 
 lucrative, and thus there is no scarcity of leech 
 gatherers. 
 
 A large portion of our leeches are imported 
 from Hamburg, to which port the dealers 
 bring them from different countries. They 
 are sometimes imported in bags, but more 
 usually in small barrels containing about 2000 
 each ; the head being made of stout canvas to 
 admit the air. Some years ago it was stated 
 that four principal dealers in London imported 
 about 7,000,000 leeches annually. It is esti- 
 mated that the consumption in Paris is about 
 3,000,000 annually. 
 
 LEEDS, the principal emporium of the 
 woollen manufactures in the AVest Riding of 
 Yorkshire, is one of the most important of our 
 northern towns. Though the spinning of 
 worsted and the manufacture of worsted stuffs 
 is not extensively followed at Leeds, vast 
 quantities of these goods are brought there to 
 ba dyed and finished. The dye-houses and 
 dressing-shops at Leeds are very extensive. 
 In these establishments both the woollen and 
 worsted goods are finished, after being pur- 
 chased in the rough at the cloth-halls and 
 piece -halls of the clothing towns. The mills 
 at Leeds for the spinning of flax for canvas, 
 linen, sacking, thread, &c., are very extensive. 
 There are also large manufactories of glass, 
 earthenware, steam-engines, locomotives, and 
 all kinds of machinery. These and the other 
 operations of the district are facilitated by the 
 abundant supply of coal, produced from the 
 mines in the vicinity of the town. 
 
 The largest commercial buildings in Leeds 
 are the cloth halls. The Coloured Cloth Hall 
 was built in ] 578 ; the White-Cloth Hall in 
 1775. In the cloth-halls, the principal sales 
 of woollen cloths in their rough state from the 
 country manufacturers to the merchants are 
 effected. The cloth markets are held on Tues- 
 days and Saturdays, and last only one hour 
 and a quarter at each hall. 
 
 There is a School of Design at Leeds, to 
 improve the taste of the workmen. Some ex- 
 quisite specimens of communion cloths, made 
 of silk warp and flax weft, elaborately damasked 
 have recently been woven at Leeds. 
 
 LEGHORN. This enterprising free port 
 in Tuscany is, in the western district, inter- 
 sected with canals, by which goods are carried 
 in boats from the shipping in the harbour and 
 landed before the warehouses of the merchants. 
 Many of the private houses are handsome. 
 The outer mole is about a mile in.length. The 
 harbour is tolerably large, but not sufficiently 
 deep for large vessels, which lie in the roads, 
 where the anchorage is safe and good. The 
 Darsena, or interior harbour or dock, is only 
 fit for smaller vessels. Leghorn is rather a 
 commercial than a manufacturing town ; it 
 has however tan yards, rope -walks, soap and 
 candle factories, glass-works, establishments 
 for the manufacture of coral ornaments, wool- 
 len caps, cream of tartar, borax, and sulphur. 
 Steamers and sailing vessels are built. A rail- 
 road connects the town with Pisa, Pontedera, 
 Empoli, and Florence. 
 
 The imports into Leghorn are either for 
 consumption or for deposit. They consist of 
 corn, tissues of cotton, hemp, and wool, sugar, 
 raw and manufactured silk, bronze work and 
 jewellery, salt fish, hides, hemp and flax, cof- 
 fee, raw cotton and cotton yarn, wool, spices 
 and drugs, dye-stuffs, porcelain, gum, wine, 
 brandy, rum, spirits, tobacco, <fec., to the value 
 of about 3,000,OOOZ. annually. Many of these 
 articles of course enter into the exports, for 
 the transit trade is very extensive. Other ex 
 ported articles are oil, anchovies, paper and 
 rags, straw hats, marble and alabaster, works 
 of art, timber, cork, coral, tallow, potash, &c. 
 The total value of the exports amounts to 
 about 2,000,OOOJ. a year. The number of 
 vessels that enter the harbour annually is over 
 4000, with about 400,000 tons cargo. The 
 number of ships that clear out annually are 
 about the same in number, but the freights 
 are somewhat less. About 2000 of these ves- 
 sels are Tuscan. Steamers ply regularly to 
 Civita-Vecchia, Naples, Sicily, Genoa, Ni<-e, 
 and Marseille. 
 
 LEGU'MIN, is a peculiar vegetable pro- 
 duct obtained by Braconnot from peas, and 
 
mr 
 
 LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 LEITH. 
 
 1118 
 
 which he considers as a vegetable alkali. It 
 appeai-s to be a substance intermediate be- 
 tween gluten and vegetable albumen ; it dif- 
 fers from the first in being insoluble in alcohol, 
 and from the last in readily dissolving in the 
 alkaline carbonates. It contains some sulphur 
 and also azote, but less than animal albumen. 
 It exists in peas and beans, to the amount of 
 about 18 per cent. 
 
 LEICESTERSHIRE. This county has 
 coal-fields near Ashby, which furnish a cheap 
 supply of fuel ; and there are also procured 
 within the county coarse slate, gypsum, lime- 
 stone, freestone, and brick-clay. The county 
 is supplied with canals and railways, in amount 
 quite adequate to its traffic. In respect to 
 agriculture, the most fertile soils are almost 
 invariably kept in pasture, for which this 
 county is pre-eminent. Out of above 500,000 
 acres of surface, fully one -half is in permanent 
 grass. Grazing and breeding cattle and sheep 
 are the chief objects of the Leicestershire 
 farmers, and they have succeeded admirably 
 both with oxen and sheep. Most of the im- 
 proved modern instruments, such as scarifiers, 
 spiked rollers and drills, have been introduced 
 and are used in the larger farms, which are 
 chiefly in the hands of the proprietors. The 
 county contains many large dairies, and pro- 
 duces excellent cheese, especially the Stilton 
 cheese. 
 
 Leicestershire is the centre of the worsted 
 hosiery manufacture, nearly all of which is 
 conducted within this county. Leicester is the 
 chief town both of the county and of the ma- 
 nufacture. Most Ci' the principal manufactu- 
 rers are connected with the hosiery or wool 
 trades. Some of the larger firms employ 2000 
 to 3000 hands ; and one or two spinning mills 
 recently built would rival those of Lancashire. 
 There are worsted spinners, lambs' wool spin- 
 ners, wool staplers, &c., to supply the raw 
 material ; there are frame-smiths, needle- 
 makers, sinker makers, &c., to supply the 
 working apparatus ; and there are thousands 
 of persons to weave and sew the stockings. 
 Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Hinck- 
 ley, Market Bosworth, Loughborough, and 
 most of the villages between these towns, and 
 between them and Leicester, are inhabited by 
 the stockingers (as they are often called). See 
 farther on this subject under HOSIERY MANU- 
 FACTURE. The other departments of industry 
 in Leicestershire are not very extensive. There 
 were 85 spinning mills in this county in 
 1850. 
 
 LEIPZIG. This busy city, the second in 
 rank but the first in commerce in Saxony, has 
 extensive manufactures in oil, paper, musical 
 and optical instruments, bronzed articles, hats, 
 
 leather, hardware, &c. The town has a tri- 
 bunal of commerce, an exchange, savings' 
 bank, a discount bank, and several assurance 
 companies. There is a considerable trade in 
 American and Russian furs ; and the wool 
 fairs, especially that held in June, are very 
 important. Leipzig, though comparatively 
 small, has become one of the most important 
 cities in Europe, owing to its university, its 
 fairs, and its book trade. These fairs have 
 laid the foundation of the prosperity and 
 wealth of Leipzig. The concourse of mer- 
 chants from various countries is very great, 
 and the value of the manufactured goods of 
 all kinds sold annually is estimated at upwards 
 of three millions sterling. 
 
 The singular concentration of the German 
 book-trade in Leipzig has been a main cause 
 of the celebrity and wealth of that city. The 
 first two booksellers, who were also printers, 
 that settled in Leipzig were Steiger and Bos- 
 kopf, in 1545. There are now 110 publishing 
 establishments, and 23 great printing houses, 
 with 14 printing machines and 260 presses. 
 Above 40 millions of sheets are annually 
 printed at Leipzig, and the bales of books 
 brought thither every year amount on 
 an average to 30,000 cwt. Tor the trans- 
 action of business, and settlement of accounts, 
 there is a handsome building called the 
 Booksellers' Exchange, which was opened in 
 1836. 
 
 At the Leipzig fairs of 1850 it was remarked 
 that the attendance of great buyers had some- 
 what slackened : the increased facilities for 
 travelling having enabled merchants to visit 
 the manufacturing towns, and make some of 
 their purchases there. 
 
 LEITH. The chief manufactures of this 
 important Scotch seaport are ropes, cordage, 
 sailcloth, bottles, soap, and candles. There 
 are several breweries, ship-building yards, and 
 a distillery. 
 
 There are two commodious dry docks for 
 the repairing and building of ships, and two 
 wet docks, each of which is 300 feet wide and 
 between 700 and 800 feet long, and of sufficient 
 depth to admit vessels of from 200 to 250 tons' 
 burthen. They are surrounded by well-con- 
 structed quays, upon which are erected appro- 
 priate warehouses for the reception of mer- 
 chandise. Extensive additional wet docks are 
 now being constructed, to accommodate in- 
 creasing traffic. Steamers ply to and from 
 Leith ; but the new pier at Granton is found 
 to be more available for this kind of traffic. 
 Leith is the most important naval station on 
 the east coast of Scotland, and its commerce 
 is large. The gross customs receipts in 1848 
 were 563,4527., ranking next after London, 
 
1J19 
 
 LEMBEBG. 
 
 Liverpool, Dublin, Bristol, and Glasgow. The 
 vessels which entered the port of Leith in 1848 
 were 1028 with an aggregate tonnage of 
 122,675 tons. 386 boats, and 2064 persons, 
 were engaged in the Leith and Burntisland 
 fisheries in 1846. 
 
 LEMBERG, the capital of the kingdom of 
 Galizia, has manufactures of woollen cloth 
 and linen. Lemberg has an important com- 
 merce with Russia and Turkey. The commis- 
 sion trade is very extensive, and an immense 
 amount of business is done at the annual fair; 
 it commences on Jan. 6, and for some weeks 
 afterwards a vast concourse of strangers resort 
 to this place. 
 
 LEMNL1N EARTH is an earthy substance 
 soft, dull, opaque, yellowish white, and falls to 
 pieces when put into water. It was formerly 
 used in medicine under the name of Terra 
 Sigillala. Two thirds of its weight consist of 
 silica. 
 
 LEMON. For a few details relating to 
 this fruit, see the article ORANGE. 
 
 LENS. This name is given to a glass, or 
 other transparent medium, ground with two 
 spherical surfaces. If one side is flat and one 
 convex, it is called plano-convex; if both are 
 convex, it is double convex ; if one is flat and 
 one concave, it is plano-concave; if both are 
 concave, it is double concave ; if one is convex 
 and one concave, it is meniscus, or concavo- 
 convex. All these lenses, for optical purposes, 
 are ground to the proper curve by revolving 
 wheels. 
 
 LEVELLING-. The relative heights of a 
 series of points on the ground are obtained 
 by means of their vertical distances from others 
 which, on the supposition of the earth being 
 a sphere, are equally distant from its centre ; 
 and these, which are called level-points, must 
 be found by an instrument constructed for the 
 purpose. [SPIRIT LEVEL ; THEODOLITE.] In 
 general, a choice is made of any convenient 
 stations on the line of operation, and the dis- 
 tances between them are determined by actual 
 admeasurement. The instrument is then set 
 up at or near the middle of the interval be- 
 tween every two such points in succession. 
 When the telescope thus placed has been ren- 
 dered horizontal by means of the adjusting 
 screws, an assistant at each of the adjoining 
 stations, holding what is called a station staft 
 in a vertical position, moves a vane or index 
 along the staff, upwards or downwards accord- 
 ing to the directions of the observer at the 
 telescope, till it appears to coincide with the 
 interaction of two wires in the telescope. The 
 points thus determined on the staves are level 
 points or points equally distant from the cen- 
 tre of the earth ; and the difference between 
 
 LEVER, 
 
 the height of the index on the two staves will 
 give the relative height of the ground at the 
 two stations. 
 
 It is frequently the practice to execute a 
 sort of double -levelling ; which consists in 
 placing the instruments successively at each 
 of the stations, a staff being held up vertically 
 at the other, when, the axis of the telescope 
 being at equal heights from the ground at both 
 stations, half the difference between the heights 
 read on the staves will express the difference 
 hi the height of the stations. 
 
 The profile of the ground is usually expres- 
 sed on paper, in portions of any convenient 
 length, for the purpose of enabling the engi- 
 neer to determine the depths of his excava- 
 tions, or the heights of the masses of earth to 
 be raised, when it is proposed to execute a 
 canal or road. A right line being drawn to 
 represent one parallel to the horizon, and 
 passing through the highest or the lowest 
 point of the natural ground ; the heights and 
 depressions of the remarkable points, with 
 respect to such line, are obtained by additions 
 or subtractions from the numbers in the field- 
 book, and are, by a proper scale, set out from 
 that line on others drawn perpendicularly to 
 it at intervals equal to the horizontal distances 
 between the same points. The series of points 
 thus obtained, being joined by hand or other- 
 wise, give the figure of the required vertical 
 section of the ground. 
 
 LEVER. This simple but invaluable me- 
 chanical instrument consists merely of a bar 
 of wood or metal, by fixing one point of which 
 called the fulcrum, a pressure at the end more 
 distant from the fulcrum is made to counter- 
 balance a larger pressure at the nearer end ; 
 or, if both ends be equally distant from the 
 fulcrum, equal pressures are made to balance 
 each other. 
 
 The first explanation of the lever was given 
 by Archimedes, and in a simple and correct 
 form. It assumes two principles ; firstly, that 
 when a system is in equilibrium, the state of 
 rest will not be disturbed if additional pres- 
 sures, such as compensate each other, and 
 would by themselves produce no motion, be 
 introduced or removed ; secondly, that, when 
 a weight is made to rest by being attached to 
 an immoveable point (say it is suspended by 
 a string), the point or pivot of suspension 
 undergoes a pressure equal to the weight of 
 the system, whatever may be the form of that 
 system, or the dispositions of its parts. Thus, 
 a cylindrical or prismatic bar of uniform ma- 
 terial will necessarily rest if a pivot be passed 
 through a section in the middle of its length, 
 since there is no reason why it should pre- 
 ponderate on either side : now, divide the bar 
 
1121 
 
 LEYDEN. 
 
 LIEGE. 
 
 1123 
 
 into any two parts, and, from their middle 
 points, suspend weights equal to the weights 
 of the parts ; also apply counterpoises of equal 
 weights at the same points, by means of 
 strings passing over pulleys ; the equilibrium 
 will then be undisturbed ; take away from the 
 system the parts of the bar and the counter- 
 poises (which are equal and opposite to one 
 another), and the equilibrium will subsist be- 
 tween the remaining weights, which are those 
 first suspended. The points of suspension 
 being in the middle of the lengths of the two 
 parts are at distances from the pivot (at the 
 middle of the whole length of the bar), which 
 are inversely proportional to the suspended 
 weights. 
 
 This may be briefly illustrated thus. When 
 a straight and uniform bar is supported on a 
 central pivot, if weights on either side of the 
 pivot keep the bar exactly horizontal ; then 
 the weight on one side, multiplied by its dis- 
 tance from the pivot will be equal to the other 
 weight similarly multiplied by its distance. If 
 a weight of eight Ib. balances another of six- 
 teen, the former must be twice as far from the 
 pivot as the latter. It is on this principle 
 that the Steelyard, and other kinds of weighing 
 machines, act. 
 
 In English treatises on mechanics it is cus- 
 tomary to call one of the pressures which ba- 
 lance on a lever, the power, and the other the 
 weight. Levers are thus distinguished as of 
 the first, second, or third kind, according as 
 the fulcrum, the weight, or the power, is in 
 the middle. 
 
 LEYDEN. In this Dutch city the manu- 
 factures of linen and woollens have declined 
 considerably, but are still the most important 
 in Holland. The woollen manufacturers are 
 especially famed for the production of very 
 soft blankets with scarlet borders. A great 
 wool fair is held annually. There are likewise 
 extensive manufactories of soap and indigo, 
 tanneries, salt-works, &c. 
 
 LI'BER, the inner bark of a plant, is a layer 
 consisting of woody tissue, cellular substance, 
 and vessels, forming a compact zone imme- 
 diately applied to the wood. The woody tissue 
 of which it is composed quickly becomes thick- 
 sided, by the addition of internal ligneous 
 strata, the consequence of which is, that such 
 tissue in this part is more tough than else- 
 where. Hence it is usually from the liber 
 that are extracted the fibres employed in mak 
 ing cordage or linen thread : this at least is 
 its source in hemp, flax, the lime tree, the 
 lace-bark, and many other exogens which fur- 
 nish thread ; but in endogens, which have no 
 liber, as the cocoa nut, it is the ordinary woody 
 bundles of the leaves, stem, and husks of the 
 
 'ruit from which the fibre used for ropes is 
 jrocured. In many plants a new layer of 
 iber is formed annually, contemporaneously 
 with a new layer of wood ; but this is by no 
 means universal; on the contrary, the oak 
 and the elm increase their liber slowly and 
 irregularly. 
 
 LI'CHENS. This large and important 
 natural order of imperfectly organised plants 
 contains numerous species employed in the 
 arts as pigments, and as articles of food. It 
 s principally in the former respect that they 
 are of economical interest, in consequence of 
 Jie great consumption of orchal, or archil 
 "AKCHIL], Cudbear (Lecidca. tartarea), and 
 others by the dyer. Lichens are distributed 
 over all parts of the world, forming in the po- 
 .ar and similar regions a food for animals and 
 nan. Cladonia rangiferina supports the rein- 
 deer ; Cetraria islandica furnishes the nutritious 
 [celand moss of the druggists' shops; and 
 various species of Gryropliera, under the name 
 of Tripe de Koche, form a part of the supply 
 of food scantily furnished by nature for the 
 Canadian hunter. In warmer countries they 
 acquire a firmer consistence, and appear to 
 form secretions of a peculiar kind in much 
 reater abundance than in the northern parts 
 of the world. 
 
 LIEGE. This very important Belgian pro- 
 vince produces hops, corn, and a little wine ; 
 the pastures are good, and maintain great 
 numbers of horned cattle and sheep. The 
 mineral wealth of the country is considerable ; 
 there are mines of calamine, alum, lead, and 
 iron ore ; but more important than all these 
 together are the numerous coal mines of the 
 province. The manufactures, which are con- 
 ducted on a large scale, consist of all kinds of 
 steam -machinery for railroads and factories, 
 mil castings, fine woollens, merinoes, linen, 
 cotton stuffs, cutlery and surgical instruments, 
 fire arms, glass, hardware, &c. The number 
 of steam-engines of different kinds in the 
 province is between 400 and 500. 
 
 The manufacturing towns are numerous. 
 Glons is the centre of a great straw-hat manu- 
 facture, which gives occupation to upwards of 
 6000 people. Herstal, or Heristal, has impor- 
 tant coal mines, iron and steel works, and 
 iron-foundries. Hervc has manufactures in 
 woollen cloth, stockings, and shoes. At JTuy, 
 beer, spirits, paper, leather, linen, and cast 
 iron are manufactured. Serainghas coal-mines, 
 important iron-foundries, and glass- works. Spu, 
 famous for its mineral springs and baths, ex- 
 ports about 150,000 bottles of mineral water 
 annually from the Pouhon spring, which is 
 the strongest. Spa is famous also for the ma- 
 nufacture of elegant wooden toys, workboxes, 
 
1123 
 
 LIFE BOAT. 
 
 LIFE BOAT, 
 
 1134 
 
 writing-desks, &c. Vcrviers is famous for the 
 manufacture of fine and ordinary woollen 
 cloths and kerseymeres, giving employment to 
 40,000 hands in the town and neighbourhood ; 
 the Belgian army is clothed principally from 
 the looms of Verviers, the total produce of 
 which is estimated at 1,000,000/. sterling an- 
 nually. Flannels, serges, tickings, coverlets, 
 mouselines de laine, merino, &c., are also ma- 
 nufactured. The dyes of Venders are said 
 not to be surpassed in Europe. There are 
 also establishments for the manufacture of 
 steam machinery, ironmongery, soap, beer, 
 &c. 
 
 But the most important town in the pro- 
 vince is Liege, from which the province itself 
 has been named. The extensive coal-mines 
 near the town ; its numerous iron-works, 
 royal cannon foundry, and establishments for 
 the manufacture of fire-arms, hardware, broad- 
 cloth, glass, and leather ; its engine-factories, 
 zinc-rolling mills, and naileries ; its linen and 
 cotton factories, steel-works, and breweries; 
 together with a flourishing commerce in colo- 
 nial produce and manufactured goods, render 
 it one of the most important towns in Bel- 
 gium, and one of the most industrial spots 
 in Europe. 
 
 LIFE-BOAT; LIFE -PRE SE EVER. Many 
 ingenious plans, more or less practicable, have 
 been proposed for saving from drowning those 
 who may be in peril by shipwreck or other- 
 wise. These contrivances may be classed as 
 Life Boats, Life Buoys, and Lije Dresses. 
 
 Life Boats. A life boat is a boat constructed 
 with great strength to resist violent shocks, 
 and at the same time possessing sufficient 
 buoyancy to enable it to float, though loaded 
 with men and filled with water. Such boats 
 are maintained at most of the ports of this 
 kingdom, always ready to put to sea when 
 vessels are seen in danger of shipwreck, and 
 provided with means for being conveyed to the 
 shore, and launched as rapidly as possible. As 
 early as the year 1785, a patent was granted 
 to Mr. Lukin for a life boat with projecting 
 gunwales and hollow cases or double sides 
 under them, as Avell as air-tight lockers or in- 
 closures under the thwarts : these contrivances 
 increased the buoyancy of the boat, and the 
 air-tight cases under the gunwales, by their 
 weight when raised above the surface of the 
 sea, and their resistance when depressed be- 
 neath, greatly prevented rolling. Mr. Lukin's 
 boat was strong and buoyant, but it was liable 
 to be disabled by having the sides staved in. 
 This defect was obviated in Mr. Greathead's 
 boat, which was invented soon after ; its pre- 
 vailing feature is that the boat is lined inside 
 and outside with cork. Mr. Greathead's boat 
 
 was instrumental in saving the lives of 300 
 persons in five years, near Tynemouth. 
 
 In 18:39 Mr. Mackintosh of New York took 
 out a patent for a sort of temporary life boat. 
 It consists of canvas rendered impervious to 
 water by being saturated with a solution of 
 caoutchouc. A square piece of this canvas ia 
 so hemmed at the edges as to leave a hollow 
 tube or channel, which, when filled with air, 
 may act as a buoyant cell or air-chamber. Tho 
 opposite edges of the piece of canvas are par- 
 tially sewn together, so as to give to it the 
 semblance of a boat, the sewn edges being 
 cemented with caoutchouc to render them air 
 and water tight. Mr. Adams si i or tly afterwards 
 contrived a boat lined with cork in the inside, 
 and having air-vessels under the decks or 
 seats. Holcroft's pontoon, or safety boat, also 
 of recent origin, has some peculiarities about 
 it, on account of its portability. It is formed 
 of a skeleton frame, easily detached and folded 
 into one-sixth of the space which it occupies 
 as a boat. The frame is covered with layers 
 or folds of strong canvas saturated with India- 
 rubber ; and in various parts are cases or air- 
 cells, partitioned off" one from another. The 
 portability of the boat is brought about by 
 having the framework hinged to the keel, so 
 that the sides close together like a portfolio. 
 Captain Smith's paddle-box boats, lor steam- 
 vessels, originated from that officer having 
 observed that there is room, upon such pad- 
 dle boxes,for a life boat, without encumbering 
 the ship in anyway ; and builders of steaiM rs 
 have devised a mode of making the inverted 
 boat a covering for the paddle box. 
 
 Every year brings forward some new pro- 
 jects relating to life boats. There was a sin- 
 gular suggestion made a year or ( ,wo ago by 
 Mr, Bateman, for the construction of a womlm 
 boat, having as many vertical cylinders as 
 there were to be persons accommodated ; each 
 cylinder was to be 36 inches deep by 10 in 
 diameter. Each cylinder was to have a cover 
 when not in use ; but when the cover was re- 
 moved, a man was to get into each cylinder, and 
 thus seek for safety. The interstices were to 
 be filled up with cork, and other arrangements 
 made for lightening, strengthening, and row- 
 ing the boat. 
 
 The Duke of Northumberland has recently 
 offered a prize for the invention of the most 
 efficient form of life boat ; and this offer has 
 led to the exercise of much ingenuity on the 
 subject. One of the inventions proposed to 
 compete for the prize is that by Messrs. Rus- 
 sell and Oswald of the Isle of Man. The 
 boat is on the double or twin principle ; botli 
 boats being divided into ten air-tight compart- 
 ments, and completely decked over, by which 
 
1125 
 
 LIFE BOAT. 
 
 LIGHTHOUSES. 
 
 1126 
 
 arrangement they cannot be swamped. The 
 boats are placed three feet apart ; and upon 
 them is fixed a framing, with seats and row- 
 locks for eight rowers. The bottom of each 
 boat is a curve, rising up at both ends to a con- 
 siderable height above the water. There are 
 arrangements for masts and sails. This boat 
 is, we believe, to be exhibited at Hyde Park. 
 
 Life Buoys. Besides those life boats which 
 have been constructed for the especial pur- 
 pose, there have been several inventions for 
 converting ordinary ships' boats into life boats 
 upon a sudden emergency, which may be ap- 
 plied by the crew of a ship in distress. Mr. 
 Bremmer, about the year 1800, proposed that 
 empty casks should be strongly fixed in ships' 
 boats upon a plan described by him, which on 
 trial was found to answer perfectly. Captain 
 Gordon's life buoy consists of a series of bam- 
 boos of different lengths fastened together 
 the uppermost piece is the longest, the others 
 diminish gradually to the lowest, which is the 
 shortest of all; thus forming a triangle, which 
 is covered with pieces of sound cork, strongly 
 fixed to the bamboo rods. Two of these tri- 
 angles are intended to be fastened to a boat 
 one on each side, the long pieces being close 
 to the gunwale, the shortest near the keel 
 Well-tarred sheepskin bags, inflated with air 
 air-tight copper tubing fitted under the seats 
 of boats ; and many other contrivances have 
 been partially used. Cork mattresses hav 
 been found useful, but it was alleged that thej 
 gave sailors facilities to desert, and they were 
 discontinued; floating ropes lined with corl 
 have also been suggested, but, like fire-escapes 
 these contrivances are never at hand wher 
 most wanted. Boyce's life buoy is intended tc 
 be kept suspended at a ship's stern, to be 
 dropped into the water in case a man fall 
 overboard. It is composed of two hollow 
 wooden cylinders, either made air-tight or els 
 filled with cork, and connected by a wooden 
 grating so as to form a sort of raft. It has 
 been suggested to convert the warping buoy 
 which abound in our harbours into a sort o 
 life buoys, by fitting them up with wooden 
 battens placed lengthwise from end to en 
 upon their circumference. Cooke's life buoj 
 is formed of two hollow copper spheres, con 
 nected by a horizontal rod ; and from the 
 middle of the rod rises a vertical stem con 
 taining a fuse at the top. The fuse is lighted 
 the buoy is lowered, and the person in the 
 water, attracted towards the buoy by the ligh 
 (if at night), seeks safety by clinging to the 
 floating mass. Captain Beadon's buoy con 
 sists of a metal tube, eight feet long by one 
 foot in diameter, tapered at its after end ; it is 
 divided into water-tight compartments, an 
 
 as a keel ten or twelve inches deep. There is 
 kind of saddle across the cylinder, on which 
 a man may sit ; a staff, on which a light may 
 e kindled ; and a paddle to work the buoy, 
 r two oars hinged to it. Irvine's safety-port- 
 manteau, which will support two persons 
 Ringing to it in the water ; Henvey's cork 
 float ; and Taylor's deck chair, are among the 
 numberless modern contrivances for a similar 
 abject. 
 
 Safety Dresses. Among these contrivances 
 s the life hat. The upper part of the crown 
 of the hat is made air-tight and water-proof, 
 30 that, in the event of the wearer falling into 
 the water, its buoyancy may (according to the 
 intention of the inventor) save him from being 
 drowned. The lining of the hat is capable of 
 being loosened, and the vacant space expanded 
 by air being blown into it, so as to form a buoy 
 capable of being grasped by anyone immersed 
 in the water, instead of being worn like a hat. 
 Macintosh's life cape is a waterproof garment, 
 which is capable, by the introduction of air 
 through a stop-cock into a vacancy formed by 
 a double thickness of cloth, of being con- 
 verted into a life-buoy. Air tight jackets, belts, 
 pads, cushions, &c.,have been devised in many 
 forms. 
 
 Besides all the above contrivances, may be 
 mentioned those, such as Captain Manby's, 
 in which a rope is propelled by a cannon from 
 the shore to a ship in distress. 
 
 LIGHT-BALLS, for military purposes, are 
 hollow cases, either spherical, or in the form 
 of cylinders terminated at each extremity by 
 a hemisphere : they are filled with a combus- 
 tible composition, and being thrown, by night, 
 in a burning state from mortars, or in some 
 cases from the hand, they serve to discover 
 the working parties or troops of the enemy. 
 The composition consists of pulverised salt- 
 petre (6J Ibs.), pulverised rosin (1-g- Ibs.), 
 ground sulphur (2% Ibs.), and linseed oil (Jib.) 
 The balls are propelled from mortars varying 
 from 4-J to 10 inches calibre, and correspond 
 to the size of the mortar employed. Spherical 
 cases of pasteboard or canvas, filled with a 
 composition which while burning emits a great 
 quantity of smoke, are frequently discharged 
 from mortars in order to conceal a movement 
 of troops from the view of the enemy, or to 
 suffocate the enemy : these are called smoke- 
 balls. 
 
 LIGHTHOUSES. These important build- 
 ings are erected along the sea-shore, or upon 
 rocks, from which lights are exhibited at night 
 for the direction of mariners. Floating lights 
 perform a similar office, being shown from the 
 masts of vessels moored in certain positions, 
 generally as beacons to enable ships to avoid 
 
1127 
 
 LIGHTHOUSES. 
 
 LIGHTHOUSES. 
 
 1128 
 
 shoals or sunken rocks in the eestuaries of 
 great rivers. 
 
 The erection of lighthouses in this country 
 has not proceeded upon any systematic plan, 
 but in every instance they have heen con- 
 structed simply because of the disastrous losses 
 that had occurred for want of them. From 
 this cause it arises that our lighthouse esta- 
 blishments in the several parts of the United 
 Kingdom have until recently been conducted 
 under entirely different systems, different as 
 regards the constitution of the management, 
 the rates or amount of the light-dues, and the 
 principle on which they are levied. Under 
 the operation of recent acts of parliament, all 
 the public or general lighthouses around the 
 coast of England are under the management 
 of the Trinity House ; those around Scotland 
 under the Commissioners of Northern Lights ; 
 and those around Ireland under the Ballast 
 Board of Dublin. There is a second class of 
 lighthouses, consisting of local or harbour 
 lights, which are managed by corporations and 
 local trustees, under powers given for that 
 purpose ; but even these local lights are being 
 brought more and more under general central 
 authority. There are at the present time about 
 320 lighthouses round the several coasts of 
 the United Kingdom. These lighthouses are 
 maintained by dues levied on all vessels which 
 leave the harbours of the United Kingdom, at 
 so much per ton per vessel, according to the 
 number of lighthouses which the vessels pass. 
 These dues, which have amounted in some 
 years to nearly 400,0007., are in some instances 
 very oppressive ; but gradual improvements 
 are being introduced in the whole system. 
 
 A principal object in the establishment of 
 these buildings is to give intimation to vessels 
 approaching the coast during the night as to 
 the place in which they are. It is therefore 
 of importance that the lights exhibited on the 
 same line of coast should have some essential 
 differences, so as to be readily distinguished 
 by mariners. The different appearances thus 
 required are given by having two lights placed 
 either vertically or horizontally with respect 
 to each other, or three lights, as at the Casket 
 rocks, or by causing the lights to revolve or to 
 appear only at certain intervals, and to remain 
 in sight only for a given number of seconds 
 at each appearance ; or by the employment of 
 lamps of different colours, as in some of the 
 harbour-lights, which do not require to be seen 
 at a great distance. 
 
 The mode of lighting now generally used in 
 this country is that of placing an argand 
 burner in the focus of a parabolic reflector. 
 This instrument is made of silver strengthened 
 with copper, and is about 3 or 4 inches in focal 
 
 length, and 21 inches in diameter. The num- 
 ber and the arrangement of reflectors in each 
 lighthouse depend upon the light being fixed 
 or revolving, and upon other circumstances 
 connected with the situation and importance 
 of the lighthouse. The mode in use in the 
 lighthouses of France consists in placing a 
 large argand lamp, having four concentric 
 wicks, and giving a very powerful light, in the 
 centre of the upper part of the building, and 
 placing around the lamp a series of glass 
 lenses of a peculiar construction ; thus using 
 a refracting instead of a reflecting instrument 
 to collect the light, and only one lamp instead 
 of a greater number. The lens employed is 
 about 30 inches square, plano-convex, and 
 formed of separate rings or zones, whose com- 
 mon surfaces preserve nearly the same curva- 
 ture as if they constituted portions of one 
 complete lens, the interior and useless'part of 
 the glass being removed. 
 
 Of the fixed lights of England and Scotland, 
 in 1844, 76 were catoptric, or reflecting lights ; 
 while 18 were dioptric, or lens lights. The re- 
 flecting lights had, on an average, about 15 
 burners each; and the one burner of each 
 lens light was about equal in efficiency to 14 
 burners on the reflecting principle. The Eng- 
 lish floating lights had an average power of 
 about 12 burners each. The Irish lights are 
 powerful ; they presented an average power of 
 21 burners to each fixed light. The average 
 annual cost for keeping up the fixed public 
 lights is about 4507. per lighthouse. 
 
 In France, the lighthouses and harbour- 
 lights are all under a public board ; and the 
 expenses are paid out of the treasury, and met 
 by levying a port charge of lOrf. per ton upon 
 shipping generally. In 1845 there were 52 
 general coast lighthouses, and 101 harbour- 
 lights. In America, as in France, the light- 
 houses are maintained by the government. 
 
 We will here briefly describe the three most 
 notable lighthouses of modern times ; viz., 
 the Eddystone, the Bell-rock, and the Skerry- 
 vore. 
 
 Eddystone. The Eddystone is the name of 
 a rock which lies about 12 miles south-west of 
 Plymouth Sound, in a position peculiarly dan- 
 gerous for ships entering the Sound. A light- 
 house was built on this rock in 1696, but blown 
 down by a storm in 1703. A second was built 
 in 1706, and burned down in 1755. The pre- 
 sent lighthouse was planned by Smeaton in 
 1756, and finished a few years afterwards. It 
 is a circular tower of stone, sweeping up with 
 a gentle curve from the base, and gradually 
 diminishing to the top. The upper extremity 
 is finished with a cornice, and surmounted by 
 a gallery and lantern. The tower is furnished 
 
1129 
 
 LIGHTHOUSE. 
 
 LIGNITE. 
 
 1130 
 
 with a door and windows, and an interior stair- 
 case and ladders. The granite Eddystone 
 rock was partly wrought to form a foundation ; 
 and the dressed stones (granite at bottom and 
 limestone at top) were dovetailed to the rock 
 in a manner calculated to give immense 
 strength. These stones were generally from 
 one to two tons weight each. The base of the 
 lighthouse is about 27 feet in diameter, and 
 the entire height is about 86 feet. 
 
 Bell Rock. About twelve miles from Ar- 
 broath, on the Forfarshire coast, is a dange- 
 rous rock called the Bell or the Inchcape 
 Rock. On this rock Mr. Stevenson built a 
 beautiful lighthouse, which was finished in 
 1811. The foundation is 42 feet in diameter, 
 and is built solid to a height of nearly 40 feet, 
 every stone being dovetailed into those which 
 surround it. The higher or hollow part of 
 the building is divided into six rooms, used as 
 a fuel room, an oil room, a kitchen, a bedroom 
 a library, and the light-room. There are two 
 large bells belonging to the building, to be 
 rung when the weather is too foggy to permit 
 the lights to be seen from a distance. 
 
 Skerryvore. In the Atlantic Ocean, between 
 the Hebrides and Ireland, are many dangerous 
 half-hidden rocks, which have occasioned nu- 
 merous shipwrecks. On one of these rocks 
 called Skerryvore, a lighthouse has been buill 
 in recent years, under circumstances of im 
 mense difficulty. Mr. Alan Stevenson under 
 took the work in 1834, but it was not till 1844 
 that the lights were exhibited. The rock is 
 12 miles from a small island called Tirree 
 and Tirree is two or three days' sail from anj 
 part of the coast whence supplies could be ob 
 tained ; hence the difficulties encountered bj 
 the engineers and workmen were most haras 
 sing. It was at all times difficult to approach 
 the rock ; and when there, the number o 
 working days in a year was very small ; the 
 rock itself is excessively hard, and the difficult} 
 great of transporting stones thither. But al 
 difficulties gradually gave way to the skill am 
 perseverance of the engineer, and the structure 
 was at length completed. It is 138 feet high, 
 curving inwards from a basis of of 42 feet. It 
 contains 9 stories or apartments in height. 
 More than 4000 tons of material were used in 
 its construction. The lighting apparatus con- 
 sists of eight annular lenses revolving round a 
 lamp of four concentric wicks, and producing 
 every minute a bright blaze visible to a dis- 
 tance of 18 miles. 
 
 Among modern contrivances for lighthouses 
 is that of forming the body of the building of 
 iron. Such was the lighthouse constructed 
 by Mr. Alexander Gordon, in 1842, for Ja- 
 maica ; and many others have since been made. 
 
 ?hese structures are formed of cast-iron plates 
 r in some cases of sheet iron, riveted together 
 ,nd braced in various ways, and having pro- 
 dsion made for the contraction and expansion 
 )f the metal. Mr. Bush for many years advo- 
 ated the use of a peculiar kind of floating 
 ight or lighthouse on the Goodwin Sands, but 
 ifter the expenditure of much time, money, 
 and ingenuity, the project has failed. Another 
 cheme due to Captain Bullock, has for its 
 ibject the construction of a safety beacon on 
 he same perilous locality ; and many other 
 contrivances have been experimentally tried 
 'or the same purpose ; but we believe none of 
 these well-meant schemes have shoAvn indica- 
 tions of permanent success. One of the most 
 remarkable of modern lighthouses or beacons 
 .s the screw-pile lighthouse of Mr. Mitchell. 
 This lighthouse is constructed on spots where 
 a sandy soil would render a fixed structure 
 unavailable. It consists of a light timber edi- 
 fice, supported on eight or more very long and 
 powerful piles, which are separately screwed 
 down firmly in the sand by a screw formed at 
 their lower extremity. One such lighthouse 
 was constructed on the Maplin Sand at the 
 mouth of the Thames, another at Fleetwood, 
 and another at Carrickfergus. More recently, 
 Dr. Potts has devised a mode of forming a 
 foundation for a lighthouse on sand, by the 
 sinking of hollow cylinders, through the aid 
 of an air-pump, which pumps out the air from 
 within the cylinder, so that the cylinder is 
 forced down by atmospheric pressure. 
 
 LIGNIN, or vegetable fibre, is the sub- 
 stance which remains after a plant has had its 
 soluble matter dissolved out of it. Lignin, 
 properly speaking, constitutes the skeleton of 
 the trunk and branches of the tree. It varies 
 in different kinds, as to its colour, hardness, 
 texture, and specific gravity. The texture of 
 lignin is always porous ; these pores, when 
 fresh, contain the juices of different sub- 
 stances ; during the drying of lignin the water 
 evaporates, and leaves the matters dry which 
 it held dissolved. When dry, lignin is a non- 
 conductor of electricity. When exhausted of 
 air in its pores, it is much heavier than water. 
 When kept entirely dry, or entirely immersed 
 in water, it resists decay for centuries ; but, 
 when alternately wet and dry, it gradually de- 
 composes. The wood inclosing Egyptian 
 mummies is found in good preservation, al- 
 though some of it must be about 3000 years 
 old. When wood (or lignin) is heated in iron 
 cylinders, a great variety of important sub- 
 stances are obtained, besides charcoal, such as 
 pyroligneous acid, pyroxilic spirit, creasote, 
 and tarry matter. 
 
 LIGNITE, consists of fossil wood carbon- 
 
118) 
 
 LIGNUM VIT^E. 
 
 LIMERICK. 
 
 1132 
 
 ised to a certain degree, but retaining distinctly 
 its woody texture. A greater degree of change 
 constitutes canncl and common coal, in which 
 the original structure of the constituent plants 
 can only with difficulty be traced ; a less 
 change belongs to peat,so that lignite occupies 
 a place between coal and peat. Jet, Surlur- 
 brund, moor coal, JBovey coal, Cologne earth, 
 and basaltic coal are considered to be varieties 
 of lignite. Lignite often occurs in beds of 
 considerable thickness and extent, and sup- 
 plies to particular districts a bad substitute for 
 coal. In general, lignite is most plentiful in 
 the tertiary strata, and coal among the older 
 rocks of the secondary series. Lignite is found 
 in various parts of England, France, Italy, and 
 Switzerland. 
 
 LIGNUM VIT,E. [GUAIACUM.] 
 
 LILLE. The manufactures of this town, 
 which has been transferred from Flanders to 
 France, are very important ; they consist of 
 all kinds of cotton goods ; linen and linen 
 thread, lace, blankets, and other woollen 
 stuffs ; paper, leather, beetroot sugar ; steam 
 machinery and ironmongery ; gin, beer, and 
 great quantities of oil, which is expressed in 
 300 windmills near the town ; glass, soap, 
 tape, hats, cai-pets, chemical products, &c. 
 There are also iron and copper foundries, dye- 
 houses, bleaching establishments, and sugar 
 refineries. Tke trade in these various products 
 and in colonial produce, wool, hides, hops, 
 coal, tobacco, chicory, &c., is extensive. The 
 town is lighted with gas, and hus communica- 
 tion by railway and by canal with all parts of 
 France and Belgium. 
 
 LIME. This substance, which is an oxide 
 of Calcium, has been known from the remotest 
 antiquity, and is most abundantly diffused in 
 nature. It is never found pure, but always 
 combined with other earths or with acids. It 
 is easily obtained in a pure state, by applying 
 heat to drive off the carbonic acid from car- 
 bonate of lime, leaving pure lime or quick-lime. 
 Lime is white, opaque, and inodorous ; its 
 taste is acrid and alkaline. It cannot be 
 burned in the strongest furnace. When ex- 
 posed to the air it falls to powder. It readily 
 combines with water, to form a hydrate and 
 lime-water. A hydrate is formed when quick lime 
 is slaked by the addition of water. Lime-water 
 is prepared by dissolving the hydrate in water. 
 
 Lime is employed for a vast number of pur- 
 poses, in common life, in agriculture, and in 
 the arts and manufactures. Among its most 
 important applications are the making of mor- 
 tar, and the amelioration of certain soils. It 
 is extensively used also in soap -making, 
 leather-dressing, dyeing, and for various medi- 
 cinal purposes. 
 
 LIME TREE. The lime tree is applied to 
 many useful purposes. It is known in many 
 foreign countries as the linden tree. The wood 
 is of a pale yellow or white colour, close- 
 grained, soft, white, smooth, and not liable to 
 be attacked by insects. It is used by piano- 
 forte makers for sounding boards, and by ca- 
 binet makers for a variety of purposes. It is 
 turned into domestic utensils, and into small 
 boxes for apothecaries. It is carved into toys, 
 and is the material for some of the most ex- 
 quisite carvings in our old English mansions. 
 The blocks employed by Hollar for his wood 
 engravings were of lime tree. The wood makes 
 excellent charcoal for gunpowder. Baskets 
 and cradles were formerly made from the 
 twigs. Shoemakers and glovers use planks of 
 lime tree upon which to cut the finer kinds of 
 leather. 
 
 Lime-bark is used in making twine, ropes, 
 baskets, mats, shoes, fishing nets, roof-cover- 
 ings, and many other articles in various Euro- 
 pean countries ; and in Carniola the peasants 
 make a kind of coarse cloth from it. The 
 leaves are used as food for cattle. The sap 
 will yield sugar of very good quality. The 
 fruit and flowers have been prepared into a 
 kind of cocoa, pleasant in taste, but not fit for 
 keeping. The flowers yield very delicate honey, 
 especially in the Ukraine, where the bees who 
 feed in the lime forests produce honey of great 
 value. 
 
 LIMERICK. This Irish county has tracts 
 of great fertility; especially one called the 
 Golden Vein, which occupies the greater part 
 of the eastern plain of Limerick. The soil is 
 a rich, mellow, crumbling loam, and is equally 
 suited to grazing or tillage : it is chiefly in 
 pasture. A still richer soil is that of the ' Cor- 
 casses,' which extend for fifteen miles along 
 the southern bank of the Shannon, from a 
 little below Limerick to the embouchure of the 
 Deel. They yield the greatest wheat- crops 
 raised in Ireland; and their produce of pota 
 toes is also large. Pasture and dairy farming 
 are the staple occupations of the people. 
 Great quantities of butter are made. Pigs of 
 a very superior description are bred in great 
 numbers by the dairy farmers. 
 
 There is a small manufacture of coarse 
 woollens for home consumption, and the 
 bleaching of linen is carried 0*1, but on a con- 
 tracted scale. There are paper mills, and 
 large and powerful mills for the grinding of 
 corn. 
 
 The chief town of the county, Limerick, 
 is the fourth town in importance in Ire- 
 land, and is the capital of the western part, 
 of the island as Dublin is of the east, 
 Belfast of the north, and Cork of the smith. 
 
1133 
 
 LIMESTONE. 
 
 LINE. 
 
 1134 
 
 There are distilleries, breweries, tanneries, 
 foundries, flour-mills, and ship-yards. Vessels 
 of 1000 tons' burthen can approach within five 
 miles of the city, and those of 400 tons can 
 unload at the quays. By the inland navigation 
 of the Upper Shannon, and the Grand Canal 
 and Royal Canal, the city has communica- 
 tion with Dublin, as well as by one of the 
 branches of the Great Southern and Western 
 Eailway. The number of ships registered at 
 the port of Limerick is about 120. About a 
 thousand vessels leave the port annually; and 
 an equal number enter. 
 
 Limerick has a reputation for its lace, its 
 gloves, and its fish-hooks ; and the marble and 
 slate of the neighbouring districts have con- 
 siderable value. 
 
 LIMESTONE. In regard to the chemical 
 composition of limestones, some, as statuary 
 marble, are nearly pure carbonate of lime; 
 others, as the dolomitic rocks of the Alps, 
 contain a certain proportion of carbonate of 
 magnesia ; and some are penetrated by bitu- 
 minous matter, as the black marbles of York- 
 shire. Limestones also vary in quality, and 
 become debased by admixture with sand, clay, 
 oxide of iron, pyrites, &c. ; so that there is in 
 fact a real gradation from limestone to schist, 
 to sandstone, to shale, to ironstone, &c. 
 Limestones have a crystalline aggregation, as 
 statuary marble, and generally the limestones 
 mixed with primary systems of strata ; or they 
 are composed of small crystalline grains, as 
 the magnesian limestone of Mansfield in 
 Nottinghamshire ; full of round concretionary 
 parts, as the oolites of Portland, Bath, and 
 Oxford ; earthy, as chalk, and some magnesian 
 limestones ; or compact, as the lithographic 
 stone of Solenhofen. The beds of calcareous 
 rocks are of every thickness, from a mere 
 lamina to some yards thick. The colours of 
 limestone vary indefinitely ; and the different 
 kinds have very different degrees of value as 
 building stone. 
 
 LINCOLNSHIRE. This county is famous 
 for its fens. A general account of the great 
 fen district of England, and of the changes 
 which it has undergone, is given elsewhere. 
 [BEDFORD LEVEL.] The artificial cuts or drains 
 are very numerous ; they are called by the 
 several names of ' cuts,' ' drains,' ' learns,' 
 ' droves,' ' becks,' ' eans,' and ' dykes.' The 
 chief among them, in this county, are the Car 
 Dyke, the South Forty-Foot, the North Forty- 
 Foot, the East Fen Drain, the West Fen 
 Drain, the Old and New Hammond Becks, and 
 the Shire Drain. Of navigable canals, besides 
 the Ancholme, Louth, Horucastle, Skaford, 
 Bourn, and other navigations, there are only 
 two ; viz, the Foss Dyke, and the Stainforth 
 
 and Keadby Canal. When the works of the 
 Great Northern Company are finished, Lin- 
 colnshire will be well supplied with railways. 
 
 The grazing land in this county cannot be 
 surpassed in its capabilities for fattening 
 cattle ; and some of the drained fens and warp- 
 lands along the rivers possess a high degree 
 of fertility when cultivated. The lands which 
 have been reclaimed from the sea by banking 
 and draining are mostly laid in large farms, 
 which require a considerable capital. In other 
 parts of the county there are many small 
 properties, cultivated by the owners, and kept 
 with great neatness. Fish is much iTsed as 
 a manure. Ground bones are used very 
 abundantly on the light sands. The grass- 
 lands of Lincolnshire are some of the best 
 feeding lands in the kingdom. Some of the 
 finest pastures are fed off by horses which are 
 fatted for the markets. Several parts of Lin- 
 colnshire have been improved by warping. 
 The warping is effected by letting in the water 
 of the rivers, which have a muddy current, by 
 artificial channels and sluices, and retaining it 
 there till low water. The river Humber 
 carries off, in its course over various soils, all 
 the finer particles which are too light to be 
 immediately deposited. These consist of 
 every kind of earth and portions of vegetable 
 and animal matter, and are in such quantity 
 that a layer one-tenth of an inch in thickness 
 is often deposited between one tide and the 
 next. Thus in a very short time a new soil is 
 formed of any depth that may be desired, 
 provided the land lies below the level of the 
 river at high tides. Besides creating a soil, 
 the warping fills up all inequalities, and a 
 perfectly level surface is produced. The soil 
 thus produced is of extreme fertility. 
 
 Lincolnshire is an agricultural county ; but 
 a few manufactures are carried on in the towns. 
 At Barton a considerable trade in corn is carried 
 on ; and bricks, tiles, ropes, and sacking are 
 extensively manufactured. BOSTON and 
 GRIMSBY have been noticed in earlier articles. 
 At Bourn wool-stapling and tanning are carried 
 on, and the town has some trade in leather 
 and wool. Gainsborough has a busy trade. 
 By means of the Trent, which falls into the 
 Humber about 20 miles below the town, 
 vessels of 200 tons' burthen can came up to 
 the wharfs. Granlham has a trade in corn, 
 malt, and coals. Lincoln the county town has 
 a large trade in flour, and there are some 
 extensive breweries noted for their ale. 
 
 LINE. The French used to divide their 
 inch into twelve lines, and the line into twelve 
 points, which measures are out of date, since 
 in all scientific investigations the metrical 
 system is adopted. Sometimes, but rarely, 
 
1135 LINEN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 the line has been divided into ten points, thus 
 giving 1440 points to the foot. The French 
 line is .0888 of an English inch, and is also 
 two millimetres and a quarter. It is sometimes 
 given in English books translated from the 
 French ; and on that account its meaning i 
 worth bearing in mind. 
 
 LINEN MANUFACTURE. The woven 
 goods in which flax is the chief material com- 
 prise linens as the principal ; but also nume- 
 rous others ; such as duck, check, drabbet, 
 tick, huckaback, damask, diaper, drill, towelling, 
 shirting, sheeting, sacking, sail-cloth, dowlas, 
 canvas, Ac. Barnsley is the centre of the 
 English flax manufactures, mostly conducted 
 on the hand loom system, but partly on the 
 factory system. Dundee is the centre of the 
 Scotch flax manufacture for coarse goods, and 
 Dunfermline for fine, mostly conducted on 
 the hand-loom system. Belfast is the centre 
 of the Irish flax manufacture, one of the 
 most important for the interests of that 
 country. 
 
 The preparation of the flax for the spinners 
 and weavers has been described under FLAX 
 MANUFACTURE. We will here give a few sta- 
 tistics to illustrate the extent of the manufac- 
 ture. 
 
 The flax factories in the United Kingdom 
 in 1850 were as follows : 
 
 Steam Water 
 Factories, power. power. 
 
 England and Wales 135 3,010 871 
 
 Scotland 189 5,004 1,421 
 
 Ireland 09 2,285 1,095 
 
 393 10,905 3,387 
 
 From this we learn that the flax machinery 
 was moved by an aggregate of 14,292 horse- 
 power. These factories contained 905,031 
 spindles, and 1141 power looms. The persons 
 employed in them numbered 08,434, of whom 
 47,017 were females. The children under 13 
 years of age were 1,581. 
 
 The exports of linen manufactures in 1850 
 comprised the following entries : 
 
 Linen goods 122,397,457 yards. 
 
 Thread lace 404,104 
 
 Sewing thread 3,301,922 Ibs. 
 
 Linen yam 18,559,318 Ibs. 
 
 Miscellaneous 17,728 value. 
 
 LINSEED, the seed of Limmi vsitatissimum, 
 or flax plant, contains a mealy albumen of so 
 oleaginous a nature that it yields by pressure 
 in great abundance the oil of linseed. The 
 seed of the flax-plant is harvested, not merely 
 with a view to the reproduction of the plant, 
 but also because of the oil which it yields by 
 compression. For both these purposes, of 
 
 LIQUIDAMBAR. 
 
 1130 
 
 sowing and crushing, linseed is largely im- 
 ported into the United Kingdom. Linseed is 
 also much used as food for small birds. Some 
 of the imported seed goes to Ireland, and is 
 chiefly used for sowing. The best seed for 
 this purpose is brought from Holland. The 
 residuum of linseed from which the oil has 
 been expressed is used, under the name of 
 oil-cake, for fattening cattle. For the import 
 of linseed or flaxseed, see FLAX. 
 
 LINSEED OIL may be procured by cold 
 expression of the seeds, a process which 
 makes the oil clearer; or the bruised seeds 
 are roasted in the oil mills, in which case it is 
 brownish yellow, and easily becomes rancid, 
 probably from attracting oxygen. Linseed oil 
 is pellucid, with a faint but peculiar odour and 
 taste. By long boiling it becomes dark brown, 
 tenacious, and thickened, but dries more 
 easily, and in this state is used for printer's 
 ink; by still longer boiling it becomes black, 
 almost solid, and elastically tenacious, like 
 caoutchouc, and in this state it serves for bird- 
 lime. 
 
 Linseed-oil is used to form liniments, of 
 which the most common is that with lime- 
 water, as an application to burns. But it is 
 much more extensively used in the arts, par- 
 ticularly for painting. 
 
 LINTING MACHINE. The lint used by 
 surgeons has until lately always been made by 
 hand; but linting or lint making machines 
 have recently been invented. One such was 
 patented by Mr. Taylor in 1850. A com- 
 mittee of the Army Medical Board was 
 appointed a short time ago to report on the 
 quality of machine-made lint ; and their re-- 
 port being favourable, the substance is coming 
 extensively into use in hospitals and in private 
 practice. 
 
 In the linting machine, the cloth which is 
 to be scraped into lint is wound on a roller, 
 from which it unwinds as the operation pro- 
 ceeds. During its progress its surface comes 
 within the action of a knife or sci'aper, which 
 has a sort of chopping or vertical motion ; 
 this cuts to a small extent into the warp and 
 weft threads ; and the cloth being immediately 
 afterwards drawn forcibly beneath the edge of 
 the knife, a nap or pile is raised over the 
 whole surface of the cloth. This constitutes 
 lint. 
 
 LIQUATION, or ELIQUATION, was one 
 of the processes (now almost disused) for 
 separating silver from copper. 
 
 LIQUIDAMBAR, This is the name of 
 some fine trees which occur in Java, the 
 Levant, and North America. Liqnidnmlur 
 ?t>/r,i('i/l>ttt is the species found in Mexico and 
 the United States, in the latter of which it is 
 
1137 
 
 LISBON. 
 
 LITHOGRAPHY. 
 
 1138 
 
 called Sweet Gum, and forms a large and fine 
 tree. The wood is of a hard texture and fine 
 grain, and makes handsome furniture ; but the 
 tree is more noted for the fragrant liquid resin 
 which exudes from incisions in the stem, 
 though not very copiously. This is called 
 Liquidambar, or Oil of Liquidamhar, which 
 has a pleasant halsamic odour and an aroma- 
 tic bitter taste. This, becoming dry and 
 opaque, forms what is called Soft or White 
 Liquidambar, which, resembles very thick 
 turpentine, has a feebler odour than the 
 liquid balsam, and contains less volatile 
 oil. 
 
 LISBON. The trade of this interesting 
 city, though much diminished since the loss 
 of Brazil, is still considerable. It exports 
 wine, fruits, and oil ; and it imports corn, salt 
 fish, salt butter, cheese, timber, iron, lead, tin, 
 copper, coals, tar, and all sorts of foreign 
 manufactures, with which it supplies the 
 whole southern part of the kingdom. Lisbon 
 has some manufactories of silks, paper, soap, 
 and leather ; its goldsmiths and jewellers are 
 veiy expert ; and there are also sugar refineries 
 and potteries. 
 
 LITHARGE. [RED LEAD.] 
 
 LI'THIUM, a metal, the oxide of which is 
 one of the earths, and is called lithia : it 
 occurs in a few minerals, combined with silica. 
 When separated, the metal resembles sodium 
 in whiteness ; but it has not been much ex- 
 amined. None of the chemical compounds 
 of lithium have yet been applied to much use 
 in the arts. 
 
 LITHOGRAPHY. In printing from an 
 engraving on a copper or steel plate, the ink 
 is delivered from the incisions made therein 
 with the graver or etching needle. An engra- 
 ving on wood gives its results from the pro- 
 jecting surface of the block, or those parts 
 which are not cut away by the graver. The 
 lithographic process differs from both these 
 modes, the impressions being obtained (by 
 strict attention to chemical affinity) from a 
 level surface. 
 
 There are various styles of lithography, but 
 the principle of the art is uniformly the 
 same. 
 
 The stone best calculated for lithographic 
 purposes is a sort of calcareous slate, found in 
 large quantities on the banks of the Danube 
 in Bavaria. Stones much resembling the 
 German have been found in some parts of 
 Devonshire and Somersetshire, and also in 
 Ireland ; but they want some of the most 
 essential qualities of those brought from 
 Germany, which are therefore almost exclu- 
 sively used. Even these vary much in quality, 
 all the strata not being equally good. A good 
 
 stone is porous yet brittle, of a pale yellowish 
 drab, and sometimes of a gray neutral tint. 
 The stones split into slabs varying from l to 
 2J inches in thickness, which are then cut or 
 squared into the different sizes necessary for 
 use, and the face or upper surface of each is 
 made level. In this state the stones are sent 
 from the quarry ; but further preparation is 
 yet necessary to fit them for the immediate 
 use of the artist, and they are either grained 
 or polished, according to the nature of the 
 work they are intended to receive. Grained 
 stones are used for drawings in the chalk 
 manner, or for imitations of those produced 
 with the black-lead pencil. Writings, imita- 
 tions of etchings, pen and ink sketches, &c., 
 require the face of the stone to be polished, 
 which is effected by rubbing it with pumice- 
 stone and water, or pumice-stone dust and 
 water, applied with rags. 
 
 The two principal agents used for making 
 designs, writings, (fee., on stone, are called 
 lithographic chalk and lithographic ink. They 
 are composed of tallow, virgin-wax, soap, 
 shell-lac, and enough lamp-black to impart a 
 colour to the mass. These are incorporated 
 by a peculiar process of burning in a closely 
 covered saucepan over a fire, and the whole is 
 ultimately cast into a mould, and receives the 
 form calculated to fit it for use. The ingredi- 
 ents are the same in the chalk and the ink, 
 but the proportions are varied. The chalk is 
 used as it comes from the mould in a dry 
 state ; but the ink is dissolved by rubbing, 
 like Indian ink, in water, and is used in a pen 
 or camel-hair pencil. It is the presence of the 
 soap in this greasy mateiial which renders it 
 soluble in water. 
 
 To render the lithographic process intelligi- 
 ble, let it be stipposed that the artist completes 
 a drawing with the chemical chalk just de- 
 scribed, upon a grained stone. If, while in 
 this state, a sponge filled with water were 
 passed over the face of the stone, the drawing 
 would wash out, the chalk -with which it is 
 made being, as we have seen, soluble in water, 
 by reason of the soap which it contains. 
 Before, therefore, it is capable of yielding 
 impressions, a weak solution of nitrous acid 
 is poured over it, which unites with and neu- 
 tralises the alkali or soap contained in the 
 chalk, and renders it insoluble in water. After 
 this, the usual course is to float a solution of 
 gum over the whole face of the stone; and 
 when this is removed, if a sponge and water 
 be applied to its surface, as before supposed, 
 the drawing is found to be no longer removea- 
 ble, because the chalk with which it is executed 
 is now no longer soluble in water. In this 
 state the work is ready for the printer, who 
 
1139 
 
 LITMUS. 
 
 LIVERPOOL. 
 
 1140 
 
 obtains impressions by the following pro- 
 cess. 
 
 Having thrown with the ends of his fingers 
 a few drops of water on the stone, and spread 
 them with a sponge, so as to wet, or rather 
 damp, the whole surface equally, the printer 
 finds that the water has been imbibed by the 
 stone only on those parts not occupied by the 
 drawing, which, being greasy, repels the water 
 and remains dry. A roller properly covered 
 with printing ink is now passed over the whole 
 stone, which will not even be soiled where it is 
 wet, from the antipathy of oil and water. But 
 the parts occupied by the drawing, being, as we 
 have seen, dry and greasy, have an affinity for 
 the printing ink, which therefore passes from 
 the roller, and attaches itself to the drawing. 
 In this state it is said to be charged, or rolled 
 in. Damped paper is then put over it, and 
 the whole being passed through a press, the 
 printing ink is transferred from the stone to 
 the paper, and this constitutes the impression. 
 By repeating in this manner the operations of 
 damping the stone and rolling in the drawing, 
 an almost unlimited number of impressions 
 may be obtained. 
 
 The modes of lithography are, as we have 
 said, various, but the illustration just given 
 will explain the principle of them all. It con- 
 sists in the mutual antipathy of oil and water, 
 and the affinity which the stone has for both, 
 i. e. in its power of imbibing either with 
 equal avidity. Some of the coloured litho- 
 graphs now produced are exquisite produc- 
 tions. 
 
 To insure complete success, great nicety is 
 requisite in the preparation of all the agents 
 employed in this art. Those who wish to 
 study or practice the art in its full extent will 
 do well to consult 'A Complete Course of 
 Lithography,' by its discoverer, M. Senefelder, 
 or ' A Manual of Lithography," by M. Raucourt, 
 both translated into English. 
 
 Plates of zinc have lately been much used 
 as substitutes for the German stones, in che- 
 mical printing, and the practice is then called 
 zincography : but, excepting the difference of 
 the material on which the work is per- 
 formed, it is precisely the same art as litho- 
 graphy. 
 
 LITMUS, or LACMUS, is a fine blue but 
 fugitive colour prepared from the Lecomora 
 tartarea, a lichen which grows in the Canary 
 and Cape Verd Islands. In order to extract 
 the colouring matter, the lichen is cleaned and 
 reduced to powder ; this is then mixed with 
 urine and lime, and in a few days the blue 
 colour is developed. The litmus is imported 
 in small cubical cakes of dusky blue colour, 
 which are light and easily reducible to powder. 
 
 Litmus is used as a chemical test for de- 
 tecting the presence of acids, by which it is 
 turned red, and the blue is restored by alkalis, 
 so that when slightly reddened it may also be 
 employed to detect alkalis. It will detect the 
 presence of sulphuric acid, even when diluted 
 with 100,000 times its weight of water. 
 
 LIVE STOCK. The animals necessary for 
 the stocking and cultivation of a farm, and 
 those which are kept on it for profit, or 
 for the sake of their dung, are called the 
 live stock of the farm, in contradistinction to 
 the dead stock, which consists of the imple- 
 ments of husbandry and the produce stored 
 up for use. To have the exact number of 
 animals which will give the greatest profit is 
 one of the most important problems which a 
 farmer has to solve ; and it also requires much 
 experience and nice calculations to ascertain 
 what stock is most profitable on different kinds 
 of land and in various situations. 
 
 The following are the numbers of animals 
 comprised among live stock, imported in the 
 last two years : 
 
 1849. I860. 
 
 Oxen and Bulls 1,678 2,310 
 
 Cows 905 1,810 
 
 Calves 1,002 1,345 
 
 Sheep 9,491 16,251 
 
 Lambs 12 10 
 
 Swine and Hogs 199 675 
 
 LIVERPOOL. The advance of this most 
 important commercial town has had few 
 parallels in the world's history. In 1C50 it is 
 said there were only 15 ships belonging to the 
 port. Towards the middle of the next cen- 
 tury three docks were constructed for the 
 convenience of the shipping employed in the 
 African and West Indian trades. In 1704 
 more than half the African slave trade was 
 carried on by the merchants of Liverpool. 
 From the settlement of the cotton manufacture 
 in Lancashire, Liverpool has become the port 
 where the great bulk of the raw material of 
 the manufacture is received, and whence the 
 exports of manufactured goods are chiefly 
 made to all parts of the world. The cotton 
 imported into Liverpool is more than six- 
 sevenths of the whole quantity imported into 
 Great Britain. Still more recently, and espe- 
 cially since the employment of steam-vessels 
 for the conveyance of merchandize, this port 
 has enjoyed a very large proportion of the 
 trade between England and Ireland, for the 
 prosecution of which it is particularly well 
 situated. 
 
 The magnificent docks of Liverpool, un- 
 equalled perhaps in the world, are noticed 
 under DOCKS. The full number is now 21 
 docks, 2 half -tide docks, 8 graving docks 
 
1141 
 
 LIVERPOOL. 
 
 LOAM. 
 
 1142 
 
 and 4 basins. They are capable of containing 
 1500 sail. The annual income of the dock; 
 is about 300,000/., and the charge abou 
 280,000/. 
 
 The receipt of customs duties in 1850 was 
 3,366,284/., against 3,472,202*. in 1849. 
 
 The growth of the trade of Liverpool has 
 been very rapid. In 1816 there were 6,888 
 vessels entered the docks, of 774,243 tons 
 burden, and paying in dock dues 92,500/. 
 whereas in 1850 there were 20,457 vessels 
 entered Liverpool, of 3,500,000 tons burden 
 and paying 211,000/. dock dues. 
 
 Eight parts out of nine of all the American 
 cotton brought to this country are shipped to 
 Liverpool. There have often, in recent years 
 been 50,000 hogsheads of sugar, 20,000 barrels 
 and bags of coffee, and 10,000 puncheons o 
 rum, brought to Liverpool in one year. It has 
 been estimated that 50,000,000 cwts. of goods 
 have been shipped at the Liverpool docks in 
 one year. As one among numberless illustra- 
 tions, which might be given of the extent of 
 Liverpool commerce, it has been stated that 
 27/)OQ cubic feet of logs of cedar for pencils 
 have been in the docks at one time. 
 
 About two-fifths of the tonnage inwards and 
 outwards are engaged in the trade with the 
 United States of America. Liverpool keeps 
 up a larger intercourse with Ireland than all 
 the other English ports combined, and it has 
 benefited more than any port in the kingdom 
 (London alone excepted) from the application 
 of steam power to navigation. Besides those 
 which proceed to the United States and other 
 foreign countries, steam ships of the first class 
 proceed to and arrive from Dubiin daily ; and 
 it has communication more or less frequently 
 with Drogheda, Belfast, Waterford, Newry, 
 Londonderry, Glasgow, the Isle of Man, 
 Whitehaven, Beaumaris, Bangor, Menai 
 Bridge, and Carnarvon. Most of the Irish 
 emigrants come to Liverpool to embark. 
 
 The inland trade of Liverpool is much 
 assisted by means of canals, the most im- 
 portant of which in extent is the Leeds and 
 Liverpool Canal, 128 miles long. The Mer- 
 sey and Irwell navigation, the Duke of Bridge - 
 waters Canal, and the Ellesmere Canal also 
 connect Liverpool with the inland counties. 
 Besides the various ramifications of, the 
 London and North Western Hallway, there 
 are now also the Liverpool and Bury Eailway, 
 and the Liverpool and Preston Eailway. 
 
 One of the most interesting productions 
 intended for the Great Exhibition, is a model 
 of the commercial part of Liverpool, compri- 
 sing the whole of the docks, and the great 
 foci of trade and commerce in the town. The 
 frontage of the town is almost five miles 
 
 long, from north to south. The scale of the 
 model is eight feet to the mile. There is also, 
 associated in some respects with this model, a 
 collection formed (or forming) of all the chief 
 products imported into Liverpool ; comprising 
 a variety scarcely paralleled in any other 
 British port. These two memorials of Liver- 
 pool greatness the model and the collection 
 of imports will each occupy several hundred 
 feet of space, and are intended to form a per- 
 manent exhibition at Liverpool after the grand 
 but temporary display in London. 
 
 LIVONIA, one of the Baltic provinces of 
 Russia, is a somewhat barren country. The 
 chief occupations of the inhabitants are agri- 
 culture and the distillation of spirits. The 
 country produces rye and barley, flax, hops, 
 hemp, and linseed. The fruit, such as apples, 
 plums, and cherries, is very indifferent. There 
 are no minerals of importance nor manufac- 
 tures, except in Riga. The exports are corn, 
 hemp, flax, and linseed ; the imports are salt, 
 iron, lead, colonial produce, wine, manufac- 
 tured goods, and articles of luxury. 
 
 LLAMA. This valuable South American 
 animal was found by the Spaniards, when they 
 conquered Peru, to be employed in bringing 
 down ore from the mines among the moun- 
 tains. Its ordinary load was 80 or 100 pounds, 
 and its average rate of travelling with this 
 burden was from 12 to 15 miles a day over 
 rugged paths and through mountain passes ; 
 but, like the camel, if too heavily laden, it 
 would lie down, and obstinately refuse to pro- 
 ceed; nor would it bear to be urged beyond 
 ts accustomed pace. Gregory de Bolivar 
 estimated that in his day 300,000 were em- 
 ployed in bearing the produce of the mines of 
 Potosia alone, and 4,000,000 annually killed 
 ? or food. 
 
 As a beast of burden in its native mountains, 
 
 whether of Peru or Chili, the Llama has 
 
 ,'ielded to the mule. But it is still most 
 
 mportant on account of one of its qualities 
 
 which attracted the attention of the ancient 
 
 Peruvians ; it is a wool-bearer, and that of no 
 
 rdinary kind, the wool approximating in its 
 
 ;haracter to silk. Large quantities of this 
 
 material are imported into Europe for the ma- 
 
 ufacture of shawls and other delicate fabrics, 
 
 ind the improvement of this material has 
 
 >een made a subject of earnest consideration 
 
 and trial. The Alpaca and the Vicunu seem 
 
 o be species of Llama. 
 
 LOAM, is the name given to a soil com- 
 
 ounded of various earths, of which the chief 
 
 ire silicious sand, clay, and carbonate of lime, 
 
 r chalk. The other subst?jices which are 
 
 ccasionally found in loams, such as iron, 
 
 naguesia, and various salts, are seldom in 
 
1143 
 
 LOBSTER FISHERY. 
 
 LOCKS AND KEYS. 
 
 1144 
 
 such proportions as materially to alter their 
 nature. Decayed vegetable and animal matter, 
 in the form of humus, is often found in loams 
 in considerable quantities, and the soil is 
 fertile in proportion. 
 
 LOBSTER FISHERY. The lobster is 
 found in great abundance on the rocky coasts 
 of Great Britain, in clear water at no very great 
 depth. Pennant mentions the great quanti- 
 ties supplied to the London markets, in his 
 time, from the Orkneys and the eastern coast 
 of Scotland ; and states the number annually 
 brought in well-boats from the neighbourhood 
 of Montrose alone at sixty or seventy thousand. 
 Lobsters being very voracious, the fishery for 
 them is carried on sometimes by means of 
 traps or pots made of twigs, baited with 
 garbage, lowered into the sea, and mai'ked by 
 a buoy ; sometimes by nets baited with the 
 same materials ; and in some countries, by 
 torchlight, with the aid of a wooden instru- 
 ment which acts like a forceps or a pair of 
 tongs. 
 
 LOCKS AND KEYS. Great ingenuity is 
 shewn in the numerous modes of shooting or 
 working the bolt, in locks. In some locks the 
 bolt is projected by the action of a spring ; in 
 others there are two or more bolts, one of which 
 only is under the control of the key, the others 
 being moved by handles ; while in another 
 class of locks t \o or more bolts are shot or 
 projected by the action of the key alone. 
 Padlocks are a kind of detached lock in which 
 a curved bar of iron, pivoted to the lock at one 
 end, may be passed through a staple, and then 
 so secured by shooting the bolt into a cavity 
 in its free end, which is inserted into the lock 
 for the purpose, that it cannot be removed 
 from the staples or links through which it has 
 been passed. 
 
 By far the greater part of the almost innu- 
 merable ingenious contrivances for rendering 
 locks inviolable may be classed under one of 
 two systems of security. The first consists in 
 the insertion in the lock of fixed obstacles, 
 commonly called wards, which prevent the 
 entrance of any key which is not formed with 
 corresponding openings, so as to thread its 
 way among them, and thus render the bolt 
 inaccessible to any but the proper key. The 
 second consists in the use of moveable impe- 
 diments (which in their most general form are 
 called tumblers) to the motion of the bolt 
 itself, the security arising from the difficulty 
 of bringing these moveable impediments, by 
 the use of any but the proper key, to the actual 
 and relative positions necessary to allow free 
 motion to the bolt. In many locks both of 
 the above means of security are used. 
 
 The key of an ordinary lock consists of a 
 
 cylindrical shank with a loop-shaped handle 
 at one end, and apiece called the lit projecting 
 from it at a right angle at or near the other 
 end. The bit end of the shank is hollow or 
 solid, according as the lock may be opened 
 from one side only, or from two. The projec- 
 ting bit, after being introduced into the body 
 of the lock through the key-hole, is turned 
 round within the lock until it comes in contact 
 with a part of the bolt which is so shaped that 
 the bit of the key cannot pass it, to conplete 
 its revolution, without shooting the bolt either 
 backwards or forwards, as the case may be. 
 When thus moved, the bolt is retained in its 
 position by a spring, or some other means, 
 until it is again moved by the reverse action 
 of the key. 
 
 The varied and highly ingenious inventions 
 of Chubb, Bramah, Mordan, and other lock- 
 makers, depend on various combinations of 
 the above two contrivances, the ward and the 
 tumbler, aided by peculiarities in the form of 
 the key. 
 
 As a means of security somewhat differing 
 from any of the above, and affording certain 
 advantages peculiar to itself, we may notice 
 the permutation or combination principle, of 
 which the simplest application is in a kind of 
 padlock often termed a puzzle-lock, which 
 opens without a key, but is regarded rather as 
 an ingenious toy than as an available substi- 
 tute for locks of the more usual construction. 
 
 Some locks have been made in which the 
 action depends on the key being a powerful 
 magnet. In others the difficulty of opening 
 is increased by requiring a peculiar method of 
 applying the key; but, in addition to the cir- 
 umstance that the secret must be known to 
 several persons, these contrivances have tho 
 disadvantage of being very inconvenient in 
 use. In one invention a key with two bits, 
 and requiring eight or nine distinct movements 
 n the act of unlocking, is used with a double 
 lock, capable of shooting two distinct bolts. 
 Many contrivances have been effected for 
 attaching an alarum to locks, by which tho 
 ntroduction of a false key should ring a bell 
 or fire a pistol. But most of these contrivan- 
 ces are curiosities rather than conveniences, 
 [n the compound-locks for iron safes, which 
 often throw out two or three bolts in every 
 direction, that is to say, on each side, and 
 towards the top and bottom of the door, these 
 are usually but so many branches of four 
 massive pieces of iron, capable of being simul- 
 taneously projected by a handle in the centre 
 of the door, the actual lock being but small, 
 and merely intended to move an apparatus by 
 ,vhich the great bolts are themselves locked 
 or held fast; so that the key need not bear 
 
m THE & AU. 
 
 I No. 38. 
 
1145 
 
 LOG AND LOGLINE. 
 
 LOIEE. 
 
 1UG 
 
 any proportion to the magnitude of the bolts 
 by which the door is secured. 
 
 A most complete series of locks was con- 
 structed, some years ago, by the late Mr. Chubb, 
 for the Westminster Bridewell. It consists 
 of about eleven hundred locks, forming one 
 series, with keys for the master, sub-master, 
 and warders. At any time the governor has 
 the power of stopping out the under keys, 
 and in case of any surreptitious attempt being 
 made to open a lock, and the detector being 
 thrown, none of the under keys will regulate 
 it, but the governor must be made acquainted 
 with the circumstance, as he alone has the 
 power, with his key, to replace the lock in its 
 original state. These locks, although they 
 have been in constant wear for sixteen years, 
 are still in perfect condition. 
 
 Mr. Chubb, in an interesting work on this 
 subject, remarks, ' The manufacture of locks 
 and keys is carried on, principally, at Wolver- 
 hampton, and the adjacent towns in Stafford- 
 shire, as well as in Birmingham and in London, 
 and gives employment to thousands of 
 persons. Besides the home consumption, a 
 large export trade is also carried on ; and it 
 is gratifying to know, that the use of the best 
 locks, on which a great amount of labour is 
 expended, is increasing, whilst greater attention 
 has lately been paid to the style and character 
 of the ornamental parts of both locks and 
 keys." 
 
 Mr. Chubb has lately produced a remark- 
 able specimen of lock-making. It is a gold 
 finger-ring which instead of a stone contains 
 a perfect padlock, on Chubb's patent principle, 
 opening with its miniature key, all made of 
 gold, and capable of locking and unlocking ; 
 the lock and key only weigh ten grains. 
 
 LOG AND LOG'LINE. This is the appa- 
 ratus by which the velocity of a ship's motion 
 through the water is measured. The log is a 
 flat piece of wood, loaded with lead at one of 
 its edges to make it float upright ; and to this 
 is attached a line about 150 fathoms long, 
 divided into equal lengths by little pieces of 
 knotted twine rove into it. These divisions 
 begin about twenty or thirty yards from the 
 log, where a piece of red rag is usually fastened, 
 in order to show the place readily. From the 
 lee quarter of the vessel the log is thrown into 
 the sea, where it is supposed to remain 
 stationary during the operation, and the line 
 is veered out at least as fast as the ship sails. 
 As soon as the red rag leaves the reel, a half- 
 minute glass is turned, and, when the sand is 
 all run down, the reel is stopped. Then, by 
 measuring the quantity of line run out, the 
 distance sailed by the vessel in half a minute 
 is known, and by calculation its rate of going 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 per hour. The usual way of dividing the line 
 is to place the knots at distances of fifty feet 
 from each other. Now, as 120 times half a 
 minute make an hour, and 120 times fifty feet 
 make almost a 'geographical mile, so many 
 knots will run from the reel in one experiment 
 as the vessel sails miles in the hour j from 
 this comes the expression of a vessel's sailing 
 so many knots an hour meaning miles. 
 
 Mr. Berthon's log, patented in 1850, registers 
 the speed of ships out at sea by the height 
 of a column of water raised by the resistance. 
 There are two tubes which project beyond the 
 bottom of the vessel ; those tubes have small 
 apertures through which the water enters, the 
 height of ascent being greater as the speed of 
 the vessel increases. There are various 
 minor contrivances to measure the speed by 
 the indications obtained. 
 
 LOGWOOD, OR CAMPEACHY WOOD, 
 imported from the West Indies for the pur- 
 poses of the dyer, is the wood of a lo\v tree 
 called Haematoxylon Campechianum. The wood 
 is hard enough to take a fine polish, and is 
 very durable. Its colouring matter is dissolved 
 both by water and alcohol, and it is princi- 
 pally derived from the presence of a peculiar 
 body, to which Chevreul, who discovered it, 
 gave the name of hematin or hcematoxyline. 
 Logwood is employed by the calico-painter to 
 give a black or brown colour, the cloth being 
 always first impregnated with alum mordant, 
 and thus black is obtained. Iron mordant 
 and logwood also yield a black, but it is not 
 so good as with the alum mordant. Cloth 
 with the alum mordant, dyed in a mixture of 
 logwood and madder, has a fine brown colour 
 fixed upon it. Logwood is also employed in 
 the preparation of lake-colours. The logwood 
 imported into Great Britain in 1850 amounted 
 to 34,690 tons. 
 
 LOIRE. This important river, whose 
 length is between 500 and 600 miles, consti- 
 tutes the great outlet for the produce of 
 central and western France. The Loire is 
 connected with the Saone by the Canal du 
 Centre, with the Seine by the Canals de Briare, 
 d'Orleans, and du Loing, and with Brest 
 harbour by the canal from Nantes to Brest ; 
 and it has many important commercial towns 
 built on its banks. 
 
 The river also gives name to a department, 
 which contains extensive forests of pine, fir, 
 beech, and oak ; onMont Pilat, near St.-fetienne, 
 an immense number of deals are made, saw- 
 mills being established on every available 
 stream of water. But much of the finest pine 
 timber is made into charcoal, in consequence 
 of the great difficulty of transport from the 
 mountain-heights on which it grows. Great 
 
 EE 
 
1147 
 
 LOMBARDY. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 1148 
 
 quantities of chestnuts are grown ; these enter 
 largely into the food of the people. The 
 department contains one of the richest coal- 
 beds in France, which, besides feeding the 
 numerous factories and furnaces of St.-fetienne, 
 and other places in the department, furnishes 
 large quantities for exportation to Lyon and 
 the towns on the Rhone. The quantity of 
 coal annually furnished by the mines of Loire 
 amounts to one-third of all the coal raised in 
 France. Lead and iron mines are also worked ; 
 building stone, granite, potters' clay, &c., are 
 found ; mineral springs are numerous. The 
 manufactures of the department are of 
 the greatest variety and importance, and give 
 rise to a very extensive commerce. The chief 
 products are fire-arms, ironmongery, and 
 machinery of all kinds, silks, ribands, crape, 
 velvet, plush, laces, linen, cotton, glass, bricks, 
 steel, iron, scythes, hardware, canvas, mill- 
 castings, files and tools of all descriptions, 
 cotton and linen yarn, lace, cutlery, earthen- 
 ware, tiles, lime, &c. &c. Great numbers of 
 coal barges and canal boats are built at Roanne 
 and St.-Rambert. The great centre of manu- 
 facturing industry is St.-fetienne. 
 
 There are four other departments of France, 
 whose names bear some resemblance to that 
 of Loire ; viz. Loire-et-Cher, Loire Haute, 
 Loire Tnftrieure, and Loiret. They present 
 varied aspects in respect to produce and manu- 
 factures ; but are not so important in those 
 respects as the department of the Loire. 
 
 LOMBARDY. The administration of the 
 Austrian government in Lombardy has paid 
 peculiar attention to the material improve- 
 ments of roads, bridges, canals, dykes, and 
 other public works. Among the most useful 
 enterprises have been, constructing or repair- 
 ing the dykes in the province of Mantua; 
 completing the great canal called Naviglio ; 
 making roads in the mountainous districts of 
 Bergamo, the great commercial road of the 
 Splugen, and the road over the Stilfer Joch to 
 Como and Lecco ; and building the splendid 
 bridge at Buffalora on the Ticino. Railways 
 have also been constructed from Milan to 
 Monza, 12 miles, Milan toTrevilio, 18 miles, 
 and Venice to Vicenza, through Padua ; and 
 others are in progress. 
 
 The Lombardo-Venetian kingdom is gene- 
 rally one of the most fertile countries of Eu- 
 rope ; and the industry of the inhabitants, 
 and the extensive system of irrigation, increase 
 the natural fertility of the soil. Lombardy 
 produces in abundance every thing that is 
 necessary for the sustenance of its population 
 corn, wine, rice, fruits, cheese, and excellent 
 meat. The chief articles of export are silk, 
 rice, cheese, and hemp, Tho chief manufac- 
 
 tures are silk, glass, paper, bronze works, and 
 straw hats ; but Lombardy is essentially an 
 agricultural country, and receives most of the 
 manufactured goods which it uses from the 
 other parts of the Austrian monarchy. The 
 bookselling and publishing trade, although 
 subject to the censorship, is (in peaceable 
 times) more flourishing at Milan than in all 
 the rest of Italy put together. 
 
 A little further information concerning the 
 industrial statistics of this beautiful country 
 will be found under the names of some of the 
 provinces and cities. 
 
 LONDON. To present a few industrial sta- 
 tistics of this, the greatest commercial city in 
 the world, is of course all that can be attempted 
 in a work like the present. 
 
 In the City of London there are 89 compa- 
 nies or guilds connected with trades or em- 
 ployments, eight of which are practically ex- 
 tinct ; and one other, that of Parish Clerks, 
 is not connected with the municipal institu- 
 tions of the city. Most of the companies pos- 
 sess what is called a livery ; that is, a part of 
 their body, under the name of liverymen, if 
 they be freemen of the corporation, enjoy pri- 
 vileges which other freemen do not possess 
 such as voting for mayor, sheriffs, chamber- 
 lain, &c. Most of the guilds have long ceased 
 to be practically beneficial to the crafts to 
 which they relate. Most of them are in pos- 
 session of real property and money in the 
 public funds, both for their own use and on 
 various trusts. The Irish Society is a corpo- 
 ration connected in a peculiar manner with 
 the corporation of London ; its property is 
 chiefly in the county of Londonderry, in Ire-- 
 land. 
 
 That London is not commonly considered 
 as a manufacturing town is owing to the more 
 important aspects under which it presents it- 
 self, and not because of the absence of manu- 
 facturing industry. Manufactures of almost 
 every kind are in fact carried on in the metro- 
 polis, and upon a scale of great magnitude. 
 The largest breweries, distilleries, and sugar- 
 refineries in the kingdom are in the metropo- 
 lis. The manufacture of metals in almost 
 every branch is carried on to a vast extent. 
 Almost every kind of machinery, from the 
 smallest wheels required by the watch-maker 
 to the most powerful steam-engines, are nmde, 
 in London. The making of gold and silver 
 articles, of optical and surgical and other in- 
 struments, tools of the best quality, and mu- 
 sical instruments, gives employment to nume- 
 rous hands. Ship-building, with all its acces- 
 sories, rope-making, mast-making, block-male 
 ing, anchor-making, &c., has always been 
 actively prosecuted. There are also nume- 
 
1149 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 LONDONDERRY. 
 
 1150 
 
 rous chemical works on a large scale, tanne- 
 ries, soap-manufactories, potteries, and dye- 
 houses. Male and female clothing of all 
 descriptions is made, not merely for the use 
 of the inhabitants of the metropolis, but for 
 the supply of wealthy persons in various parts 
 of the kingdom and even in the British colo- 
 nies. There are not much fewer than 1500 
 separate trades or occupations carried on in 
 the metropolis. The metropolis is also the 
 great workshop of literature, science, and the 
 arts. The number of books printed and pub- 
 lished in all other parts of England is small 
 in comparison with what is produced in Lon- 
 don. 
 
 It is not possible to state with any preten- 
 sions to accuracy the amount of consumption 
 in London of any except a very few articles of 
 general use, because such commodities are 
 becoming less and less under Excise and 
 Customs regulations. The cattle sold in 
 Smithfield amount to nearly 200,000 annually ; 
 sheep, 1,600,000; calves, 25,000; and pigs, 
 250,000. But, besides these, a large amount 
 of slaughtered meat is now brought to the 
 metropolis by railway and steamers. There 
 are 5000 licensed publichouses, besides beer 
 retailers, and exclusive of inns, hotels, and 
 wine merchants. There are 1600 butchers' 
 shops, 2400 bakers' shops, and 2800 grocers 
 and tea dealers. The coffee shops are now 
 very numerous. Concerning the recent arri- 
 vals of COAL and CORN in London, see those 
 articles. See also MARKET- GARDENS. 
 
 The relative proportion of the foreign and 
 colonial trade enjoyed by the merchants of 
 London, as compared with those of other ports, 
 may be shown from the fact, that out of the 
 gross receipt of customs at all the ports of the 
 United Kingdom, usually about 22,000,000/. 
 sterling, that of London about equals all the 
 other ports combined. The shipping entries 
 vary ; but on the whole there is a constant 
 progressive increase. In 1848 the amount 
 was : 
 
 Vessels. Tons. 
 
 From Foreign Countries . 7,686 1,267,875 
 
 From the Colonies 1,843 546,195 
 
 Coastwise.. 22,584 3,242,572 
 
 32,113 5,056,642 
 
 The vessels which left London with cargoes 
 we may presume to be about equal in num - 
 ber. The ships which entered the port of 
 London from Foreign Countries alone, in 
 1850, amounted to 9,910, of 1,903,407 tons. 
 
 There are about 50 wharfs on the north 
 and south banks of the Thames, within the 
 limits of the metropolis, besides the canal 
 
 wharfs and the docks for the shipping destined 
 to foreign countries. 
 
 The facilities for accommodating shipping 
 are noticed under DOCKS. The railways from 
 the metropolis are mainly accommodated at 
 six large stations : viz. Euston Square, King's 
 Cross, Paddington, Waterloo Bridge, London 
 Bridge, and Shoreditch ; besides a smaller 
 station in Fenchurch Street, and separate 
 goods' stations at Camden Town, Vauxhall, 
 and Bricklayer's Arms. The chief canal of 
 London is the Regent's Canal, which curves 
 round the northern part of the metropolis 
 from Limehouse to Paddingtou (whence it 
 communicates with the northern and western 
 parts of the kingdom), and has several basins 
 and wharfs : the remaining canals are all short, 
 and comparatively unimportant. 
 
 There is no port in the kingdom which has 
 profited more than London through the appli- 
 cation of steam to navigation. A great part 
 of the steam vessels that arrive and depart 
 carry passengers only, and are therefore not 
 required to make entry at the custom house, 
 and with regard to such as carry goods no 
 distinction is made at the custom house be- 
 tween them and sailing vessels ; for which 
 reasons no accurate account of the number 
 of this class of ships that enter and leave the 
 port can be given. Steam passage -boats are 
 passing and repassing daily between London, 
 and Chelsea, Kew and Richmond, and in sum- 
 mer some go up to Hampton Court ; and 
 between London and Greenwich, Woolwich, 
 Gravesend, and other places, downwards ; 
 while, at less frequent intervals, steamers 
 start from the Thames to nearly all the prin- 
 cipal ports in the United Kingdom and 
 throughout Europe. 
 
 That such a gigantic focus of industry will 
 take up a worthy position in the Great Exhi- 
 bition of All Nations, may well be expected 
 and believed. 
 
 LONDONDERRY. In this county rail- 
 ways are in progress from Londonderry to En- 
 niskillen, and from Londonderry to Coleraine. 
 A remarkable feature of the last-named 
 scheme is, that the railway is to cross Loch 
 Foyle on an embankment 19 miles long, as a 
 means of inclosing and reclaiming 18,000 
 acres of land. The best improved portions of 
 the county are the district of Loch Neagh, the 
 valley of the Roe, the valley of the Faughan, 
 and the immediate vicinity of Londonderry on 
 both sides of the Foyle. There is a very gene- 
 ral scarcity of timber. The progress of agri- 
 culture in this county has been materially 
 forwarded by the establishment of an agricul- 
 tural school near Muff by the Company of 
 Grocers of London, who here hold large estates 
 
1151 
 
 LOOM. 
 
 LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE. 1152 
 
 under the crown. Oats and barley are the 
 principal grain crops. 
 
 The manufacture and bleaching of linens is 
 the staple trade of the county. The most ex- 
 tensive bleach-greens lie along the rivers Roe 
 and Faughan, on the latter of which there is 
 abundant water-power and numerous sites 
 admirably calculated for this branch of ma 
 nufacture. The weavers and flax- dressers are 
 numerous. The export and import trade of 
 the county is carried on at the ports of Lon- 
 donderry city and Portrush, the latter being 
 the seaport of Coleraine. 
 
 LOOM. [WEAVING.] 
 
 LOT. There are two departments of France 
 which take their names from the river Lot. 
 One, the department of Lot, is very fruitful. 
 The hill-slopes along the rivers are generally 
 laid out in vineyards, which yield annually 13 
 to 14 million gallons of wine, the best kinds 
 being those of Cahors and Grand-Constant. 
 About two - thirds of the whole produce is 
 exported or distilled into brandy. The white 
 mulberry is extensively cultivated for the pro- 
 duction of silk. A few iron and coal mines 
 are worked ; load, calamine, marble, millstone 
 grit, granite, limestone, potters' and fullers' 
 earth, &c., are found. Of manufacturing ac- 
 tivity there is little ; a little bar and cast iron, 
 coarse cotton and woollen stuffs, brandy, and 
 paper, are made. The corn-mills, which are 
 about 1000 in number, are the only important 
 manufacturing establishments in the depart- 
 ment. The commerce is composed of the 
 articles already indicated, and of hides, salt, 
 oak- staves, groceries, small wares, broad 
 cloth, <fec. 
 
 The other department, that of Lot et 
 Garonne, produces 14 to 15 million gallons of 
 wine yearly, half of which goes for the home 
 consumption ; part of the surplus is distilled 
 into brandy, and the remainder is exported to 
 Bordeaux. Immense numbers of geese are 
 reared, and form an important article of ex- 
 port. Iron mines are worked ; good building 
 stone, calcareous spar, gypsum, and marl are 
 found. The chief manufactures are cork, 
 sailcloth, linen, swanskins, pottery, linen and 
 cotton yarn, iron, glass, paper, lime, ropes, 
 leather, tobacco. The commerce is composed 
 of the various industrial and agricultural 
 articles enumerated, and of pitch and tar made 
 from the pines of the Landes. 
 
 LOUISIANA. A few industrial statistics 
 relating to this fruitful portion of America, 
 will be found under UNITED STATES and NEW 
 ORLEANS. 
 
 LOUTH, a maritime county of the province 
 of Leinster in Ireland, is not rich in minerals. 
 Iron and lead ore are the only minerals which 
 
 have been observed, but nowhere in sufficient 
 quantity to warrant mining operations. The 
 soil of the southern division of the county is 
 well calculated for every kind of grain crop. 
 Farming in general is carried on in a superior 
 manner. Green crops are grown by almost 
 all the gentlemen farmers. The fences are 
 usually of quickset, and the lands well drained. 
 The linen manufacture is carried on with some 
 activity at Ravensdale and Collon, where there 
 are large bleach greens, but chiefly in Dro- 
 gheda and its neighbourhood, where the trade 
 is generally very brisk. The fisheries off the 
 coast give occasional employment to several 
 hundred persons. 
 
 Dundalk carries on a brisk trade, chiefly in 
 the exportation of grain, cattle, and other agri- 
 cultural produce, and in the importation of 
 groceries and goods in boxes and bales for 
 the supply of the counties of Louth, Moua- 
 ghan, and Cavan. Steamers ply regularly to 
 Liverpool twice a week. Drogheda is briefly 
 noticed in respect to its commerce elsewhere. 
 [DROGHEDA.] 
 
 LUBECK. The commerce of this cele- 
 brated city is of considerable importance. 
 Liibeck has 80 ships of its own, and the arri- 
 vals are about 800 annually. The principal 
 export and import trade is with Russia, Swe- 
 den, and Denmark ; vessels of 9 feet draught 
 can come up to Liibeck, where they enter a 
 spacious basin lined with quays ; larger ships 
 discharge their cargoes by lighters at Trave- 
 miinde, which is situated at the entrance of 
 the Trave into the Baltic, and has a fine se- 
 cure harbour. Steamers ply from Travemiinde 
 to St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Hamburg, 
 Amsterdam, and Stockholm. Small steamers 
 convey passengers up the river to Liibeck. 
 Liibeck was one of the most famous of the 
 HANSE TOWNS. 
 
 LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE, is an opti- 
 cal instrument invented by Mr. Adams. It 
 consists of a hollow pyramidal box, at the 
 smaller extremity of which is a tube carrying 
 the usual system of lenses for magnifying 
 objects. At the larger end, which is towards 
 the observer, there are two lenses in frames, 
 their axes, as well as those of the small lenses 
 at the opposite extremity, being coincident 
 with the axis of the box; and between the 
 exterior of the two lenses and the eye of the 
 observer there is usually placed a plate of 
 glass, rough-ground on one side, which serves 
 as a screen to receive the rays of light pro- 
 ceeding from the object whose representation 
 s to be viewed. The object is fixed in a small 
 rame, as usual, and is placed in n groove 
 made for the purpose immediately beyond the 
 
far 
 
 1153 
 
 LUPULIN. 
 
 LYON. 
 
 1154 
 
 tube containing the system of lenses at the 
 small end of the box. Instead of the plate 
 of ground glass, a board painted white is fre- 
 quently placed, to serve as a screen, at the 
 distance of 6 or 8 feet from the instrument. 
 Such a screen should have the form of a seg- 
 ment of a hollow sphere, the light being re- 
 ceived on its concave surface. An Argand 
 lamp, or an oxy-hydrogen light, is placed be- 
 yond the object. The light, after passing 
 through a hemisphere of glass, is, when an 
 opaque object is to be viewed, made to fall in 
 a convergent state upon a small concave mirror, 
 which is so inclined as to reflect the light back 
 upon the object; and from the different points 
 on the surface of the latter the pencils of rays 
 proceed through the object-lenses and the box 
 to the glass screen. 
 
 By the refraction of the light in passing 
 through the lenses a highly magnified image 
 of the object is formed; and several persons 
 may then place themselves so as to see the 
 image on the screen at the same time ; or, by 
 placing the eye at the small aperture in the 
 produced axis of the instrument, one person 
 may, with a pencil, draw on the glass, or on 
 tracing-paper laid over it, the figure of the ob- 
 ject, it being understood that the instrument 
 is used by night or in a darkened room. 
 
 "When the object to be viewed is transparent, 
 the light is made to fall in a condensed state 
 upon it, after having been transmitted through 
 a convex lens, or two such; and from the 
 object the rays proceed as before to the screen 
 through the system of lenses which consti- 
 tute the compound object-glass of the micro- 
 scope, and through those at the opposite ex- 
 tremity of the box. 
 
 LUPULIN, is a substance extracted from 
 hops, and containing from 8 to 12 per cent 
 of the vegetable matter to which hops owe 
 their power, and to which the name of lupulit 
 has been given. Lupulite is nearly colourless, 
 but sometimes of an orange colour : in the 
 former case it is opaque, but in the latter 
 transparent ; it has no smell till it is heated, 
 and then it has the odour of hops ; its taste is 
 bitter. 
 
 LUTE, is a musical stringed instrument 
 with frets, one of the numerous varieties o: 
 the ancient Cithara. Till towards the end o 
 the 17th century its practice formed an essen 
 tial part of a good education, but it has since 
 been partially superseded by the guitar. Th 
 lute consists of three parts : the table, made 
 of fir ; the body or belly, of the same wood or 
 cedar, constructed of nine convex ribs joined 
 and the neck, on which was fixed the finger 
 board, of hard wood, having nine frets mad< 
 of catgut. To these is to be added the heac 
 
 r cross, in which the pegs or screws were 
 .laced. The lute had at first six strings, or 
 ather eleven, for the five largest were doubled ; 
 but the number was gradually increased till it 
 Beached twenty-four. 
 
 LUTES, in chemistry, are substances em- 
 ployed in various operations for closing the 
 oints of apparatus, and especially for con- 
 necting retorts and receivers so as to prevent 
 the escape either of the vapour or gases gene- 
 rated during distillation or sublimation. The 
 :erm lute is also applied to the external coat- 
 ng of clay and sand, or other substances ap- 
 alied to glass retorts, in order that they may 
 support a high temperature without fusing or 
 cracking. Common plastic clay answers sum 
 ciently well in some cases, but in some small 
 distillations, as of nitric acid, the Fat Lute is 
 used, which is prepared by mixing dried and 
 powdered pipe-clay into a paste with linseed 
 oil; and the joint is further secured, both 
 where this lute is used and in many other 
 cases, by tying it over with moistened bladder. 
 In luting common stills, in which oils or water 
 are merely distilled, linseed meal and water 
 made into a paste, form an effectual lute. 
 
 In luting, or rather coating, glass retorts, in 
 order to enable them to sustain high tem- 
 peratures, Stourbridge clay or Windsor loam 
 mixed with tow have been used ; but they 
 require long drying, and are apt to crack. 
 The simplest mode is that of brushing the re- 
 tort over with a paste of pipe-clay and water, 
 sifting sand upon it, drying it quickly in the 
 ash-pit of the sand-heat, then covering it 
 again with clay and sand, and repeating the 
 alternate applications and drying till the coat- 
 ing is judged sufficiently thick. 
 
 LYNX FUK. The lynx skins imported for 
 furriery purposes in 1847 amounted to 82,540 
 and in 1848 to 47,317. 
 
 LYON or LYONS. This most important 
 French town is very advantageously situated 
 on the line of railway from Paris to Marseille, 
 now in course of construction, and on two 
 navigable rivers the Ehone and the Saone, in 
 the fork between which the greater part of the 
 town is built. 
 
 Lyon is a flourishing manufacturing town. 
 The staple articles of industrial produce are 
 silk stuffs of all descriptions, which for solidity 
 of texture, richness and permanence of dye, 
 and beauty of design, are not equalled else- 
 where. In this manufacture about 100,000 of 
 the population are directly or indirectly con- 
 cerned. Cashmere and silk shawls, ribands, 
 cotton cloth, hosiery, hats, printed calico, 
 jewellery, liqueurs, chemical products, gold 
 1 and silver lace, crapes, tulle, glue, sheet lead, 
 musical strings, ornamental paper, &c., are 
 
1155 
 
 LYRE. 
 
 also made. There are, besides, numerous 
 printing establishments, dye-houses, metal 
 foundries, glass works, potteries, tan-yards, 
 breweries, boat building yards, &c. 
 
 Lyon is also, from its advantageous position, 
 a place of great commerce. The products 
 imported into the town, for its own consump- 
 tion, or for re-exportation, are wine, brandy, 
 oil, hemp, flax, soap, rice, chestnuts, salt, raw 
 cotton, coffee, indigo, sulphur, lead, teazels, 
 madder and other dye-stuffs, &c. Timber, 
 firewood, building stone, and asphalte are the 
 chief articles brought down the Rhone to this 
 city. Down the Saone are brought timber of 
 all kinds, oak staves, fire wood, charcoal, tan- 
 ning bark, iron and iron ore, gypsum, hay, 
 straw, corn, building stone, bricks, tiles, &c. 
 Steamers ply on the Saone to Chalon-sur- 
 Saone, and on the Rhone to Avignon and 
 Aries. The town has communication with the 
 Rhine by the Canal du-Rhone-au-Rhin 
 and with Paris by the Saone and the canals 
 
 MACHINE; MACHINERY. 1150 
 
 that join it to the Seine. A railroad, 35 
 miles in length, unites Lyon to the great 
 manufacturing town of St. Etienne and the 
 extensive coal fields of the department of 
 Loire. 
 
 LYRE. This musical instrument has been 
 known under various names, from the earliest 
 historical period. Some of the Greeks 
 ascribe its invention to Mercury, some to 
 Apollo; but it is possible they may have had 
 it from the Egyptians, and the Egyptians from 
 Asia. Of many instruments, figured or de- 
 scribed in early writings, it is difficult to 
 decide whether they should be termed lyres, 
 lutes, harps, or guitars. The most ancient 
 Grecian lyre had only three strings. That of 
 Terpander had seven. Timotheus increased 
 the number to eleven ; and others were gra- 
 dually added, till they reached sixteen, fifteen 
 of which rendered the principal sounds in the 
 Greek scale, and the sixteenth was the added 
 or supernumerary sound. 
 
 M 
 
 MACCLESFIELD, is one of the silk ma- 
 nufacturing towns of the north. The various 
 factories are situated on the Bollin. One of 
 the cotton factories cost 30,OOOZ., and some of 
 the silk factories 14,000/. The silk trade of 
 Macclosfield progressively advanced from 1808 
 to 1825, when it attained its greatest prospe- 
 rity. It has since been less prosperous, but is 
 still large. Every variety of silk article is 
 produced here, from the narrowest riband to 
 the different kinds of sarsnets, plain and 
 figured gros de Naples, satin, silk, vestings, 
 and velvets. It is likewise the chief place for 
 the manufacture of silk handkerchiefs of every 
 description. 
 
 MACE. [NUTMEG.] 
 
 MACERATION is the steeping of sub- 
 stances in cold liquids, either merely to soften 
 the parts of the substance operated on, or to 
 dissolve the aromatic parts of a substance 
 when digestion would not merely dissolve but 
 dissipate them. 
 
 MACHINE ; MACHINERY. The advan- 
 tage which any machine affords for overcoming 
 resistance consists in the reaction by which it 
 supports a certain portion of the weight pro- 
 ducing that resistance, so that the motive 
 power has only to counteract the remainder. 
 This may be immediately observed in those 
 simple machines called the mechanical powers 
 For example, in the lever, the wheel and axle, 
 
 and the pulley, any convenient portion of the 
 resistance may be made to rest on the point of 
 support, or the point of suspension. Again, 
 n the inclined plane, the wedge, and the 
 screw, the motive power, the resistance and the 
 reaction of the support, being, in the case of 
 equilibrium, represented by the three sides of 
 a triangle, the ratio of the first to either of 
 the others may be varied at pleasure by tho 
 construction of the machine. 
 
 The powers employed to give motion, 
 through machinery, to any object, are produced 
 by the muscular strength of men or animals ; 
 the actions of weights, springs, wind, water, 
 steam, or fired gunpowder ; and these powers 
 may generally be considered as pressures 
 exerted during certain portions of time. Even 
 that power which is produced by a sudden 
 impulse, as when a rammer descending by its 
 weight falls on the head of a pile, is only a 
 pressure existing during an indefinitely short 
 interval of time. The point in any machine 
 to which the moving power is applied is 
 called the impelled point, and that against 
 which the resistance acts is called the working 
 point. 
 
 In the classification proposed by Dr. Lyon 
 Playfair, and adopted by the Commissioners 
 at the Great Industrial Exhibition, machiiunj 
 forms one of the four great divisions into 
 which tho specimens exhibited are to be dis- 
 
1157 MACKEREL FISHERY. 
 
 posed; and this division is subdivided into 
 six classes ; viz. 1. Machines for direct \ise, 
 including carriages, and railway and naval 
 mechanism ; 2. Manufacturing machines and 
 tools ; 3. Mechanical, civil engineering, archi- 
 tectural and huilding contrivances ; 4. Naval 
 architecture, military engineering and struc- 
 ture, ordnance, armour, and accoutrements ; 
 5. Agricultural and horticultural machines 
 and implements ; 6. Philosophical, musical, 
 horological, acoustical, and miscellaneous in- 
 struments. . This classification is doubtless 
 convenient for the immediate object in view ; 
 but it gives to the word ' machinery ' a much 
 wider application than is ordinarily adopted. 
 
 Our exports of machinery and mill-work in 
 1850 amounted in value to 1,043,764Z. 
 
 MACKEREL FISHERY. [FISHERIES.] 
 
 MADDER. This useful dye -drug is pro- 
 cured from one of the many species of the 
 plant Rubia, a name derived from ruler (red), 
 in allusion to the red colour yielded by many 
 of the species. Amongst the numerous 
 species several are employed in medicine and 
 in the arts ; in the latter for the sake of the 
 colouring matter which is contained in the 
 roots. Rubia tinctorum, Madder, has been 
 long known, and was employed in medicine 
 even in the time of Hippocrates, but is valued 
 chiefly as a dye. It is a native of Europe and 
 Asia Minor, but is now extensively cultivated 
 in Holland and France ; the culture has like- 
 wise been attempted, and successfully, in this 
 country ; but the English madder could not 
 be sold so cheap as the foreign ; it is there- 
 fore still largely imported, chiefly from 
 Holland, France, Italy, Turkey ; though cochi- 
 neal, since it has become cheaper, is much 
 used for the same purposes. It is employed 
 by dyers and calico-printers as a red and 
 scarlet dye. It has also the singular property 
 of turning red the bones and secretions of 
 fowls and other animals fed on it. Rubia 
 cordifolia, the Mimjeet of India, a native of 
 Nepaul, &c.. possesses similar properties, and 
 is imported into England from Calcutta. 
 
 About 254,722 cwts. of madder and madder 
 root were imported in 1849, and 261,841 in 
 .1850. 
 
 MADEIRA. This beautiful and fruitful 
 island produces many tropical plants near the 
 sea-shore. Above this region, to a height of 
 from 750 to 2,500 or 2,800 feet, the fruits and 
 grain of Europe, especially wheat and maize, 
 are raised ; and in this region are also the 
 extensive vineyards, which till recently fur- 
 nished the most important article of exporta- 
 tion. Then follows a tract covered with high 
 trees, which rises to 3,200 feet and higher, 
 where many plants and trees are found which 
 
 MAGIC LANTERN. 
 
 1158 
 
 do not occur in Europe ; and above this level 
 is a region of grass, fern, and heath. The 
 commerce of Madeira is considerable. The 
 exports consist chiefly of Madeira and Mal- 
 vasia de Madera wines. Minor articles of ex- 
 port are, fruits, dragon's blood, honey, wax, 
 orchil, and tobacco, besides provisions for 
 the vessels bound to more remote places. 
 The imports consist of manufactured goods, 
 corn, fish (herrings and cod), oil, salt-beef, 
 salt, and some tropical productions. The 
 imports into Great Britain from Madeira con- 
 sist mainly of wine and nutmegs. The wine 
 imported thence in 1847 amounted to 154,701 
 gallons. 
 
 MADRAS. A few commercial statistics of 
 this city and presidency will be found under 
 EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 MADRID, has no commercial or industrial 
 features to call for notice here, further than 
 such as are described under CASTILE and 
 SPAIN. 
 
 MAGAZINE, is a strong building, con- 
 structed generally of brick or stone within a 
 fortified place, or in the neighbourhood of a 
 military or naval station, in order to contain 
 insecurity gunpowder or other warlike stores. 
 The buildings in which gunpowder is contained 
 are constructed with every precaution neces- 
 sary to insure dryness. They are generally in 
 places remote from other buildings ; they are 
 furnished with metallic conductors, in order 
 to avert danger from lightning ; and, for secu- 
 rity against the attempts of ill-disposed per- 
 sons, they are surrounded by a wall and ditch. 
 The great magazines which have been con- 
 structed in this country consist of several 
 parallel vaults, separated from each other by 
 brick partition-walls, in which are doorways 
 for affording lateral communication. Each 
 vault is about 90 feet long, 19 feet wide 
 internally, and from the floor to the crown of 
 the arch 19 feet high. The side walls are 
 from 8 to 10 feet thick, and are strengthened 
 by buttresses built at intervals against them. 
 The thickness of the brickwork forming the 
 vaulted roof is 7 or 8 feet at the crown, and 
 about 3 feet at the hances. 
 
 MAGDEBURG. The industry and com- 
 merce of this portion of the Prussian 
 dominions receive a few illustrations under 
 PRUSSIA. 
 
 MAGIC LANTERN. The object of this 
 remarkable optical instrument is to obtain an 
 enlarged representation of figures on a screen 
 in a darkened room, by means of the pencils 
 of light issuing from a lamp or candle and 
 passing through a convex lens. 
 
 The instrument consists of a lantern gene- 
 rally of tin, and of a cubical form, in the 
 
1159 
 
 MAGNESIA. 
 
 MAHOGANY. 
 
 31BO 
 
 interior of which is the light ; and at a per 
 foration in one of the sides is applied a tube 
 projecting horizontally from it, which carries 
 two glass lenses. A groove in front of the 
 lantern and parallel to that front receives a 
 rectangular frame containing the glass plates 
 on which are painted, with transparent colours, 
 the objects of which an enlarged view is to be 
 obtained. A remarkable improvement in the 
 manner of employing the magic lantern was 
 first exhibited in London in the year 1802. 
 The lantern itself is similar to but larger than 
 that which serves for more general purposes, 
 and the images are represented on a transpa- 
 rent screen, which is stretched in a vertical 
 position across a theatre or an apartment; and, 
 this being made quite dark, the spectators 
 occupy the space in front of the screen, while 
 the apparatus is disposed on the opposite side. 
 All light is excluded both before and behind 
 the screen, except that which, in proceeding 
 from the lantern, produces the image to be 
 observed ; and, the screen being itself invisible, 
 the spectators can scarcely divest themselves 
 of the idea that they are looking into a dark 
 cavern, in which the objects appear to be gra- 
 dually advancing towards or receding from 
 them. The allusions produced have caused 
 the name of Phantasmagoria to be applied to 
 the apparatus. 
 
 The magic lantern and the phantasmagoria 
 are used only for purposes of amusement ; 
 whereas the CAMERA OBSCURA has been made 
 available in photography. 
 
 MAGNESIA. This name, derived from a 
 province in Asia Minor, has been applied to 
 several useful substances which contains the 
 metal magnesium as a basis. Oxide of Mag- 
 nesium, termed also, from the mode of pro- 
 curing it, Calcined Magnesia, is an alkaline 
 earth, possessing the usual qualities of alka- 
 lies in their habitudes with acids, and likewise 
 very valuable properties as a medicine. Sul- 
 phate of Magnesia, or Epsom Salts, in the 
 ordinary form, as met with in the shops, are 
 small acicular crystals. [EPSOM SALTS], 
 Magnesia Alum, Magnesia Pharmacolite, and 
 Magnesite, are three naturally formed minerals, 
 in which magnesia is a chief element. Mag- 
 nesian limestone is a valuable building stone. 
 Magnesium, the base of all these substances, 
 is of a white colour, like silver ; its lustre is 
 metallic and brilliant; it is veiy malleable, 
 and fuses at a red heat. When heated to 
 redness in the air or in oxygen gas, it burns 
 brilliantly, and, combining with oxygen bo- 
 comes magnesia. Chloride of Magnesium 
 forms a transparent colourless mass : it is 
 inodorous, intensely bitter, very deliquescent, 
 and soluble both in water and alcohol. This 
 
 salt is one of the saline ingredients of sea- 
 water. Carbonate of magnesia constitutes 
 the Common Magnesia of the druggists. 
 
 MAGNETIC 'POWER. The combination 
 of Magnetic power- with galvanic power, in 
 several recent mechanical contrivances, are 
 briefly noticed under ELECTRO-MOTION and 
 TELEGRAPH. 
 
 MAGNOLIA. This genus of American 
 and Asiatic plants includes many species 
 which are applied to useful purposes. Of the 
 Swamp Magnolia, the bark has a bitter and 
 aromatic odour resembling sassafras. On 
 this account it has been used in America as a 
 substitute for other aromatic bitter barks, as 
 Cascarilla, Canella, etc., and, it is said with 
 great success. Although not much used in 
 Europe, very favourable reports of its efficacy 
 in chronic rheumatism, ague, and remittent 
 fever have been given. Of the Cucumber-tree, 
 another species, a tincture is made of the 
 fruit, and is used in cases of rheumatism. 
 Other species are applied to useful purposes, 
 chiefly in North America. 
 
 MAHOGANY. There are many species of 
 trees belonging to the genus Swectenia, which 
 include among them the mahogany. One of 
 the species yields the African 'Mahogany, 
 brought from Sierra Leone; the timber is 
 hard, but is liable to warp; it is employed 
 where a hard cheap timber of large scantling 
 s needed ; the negroes employ an infusion of 
 the bark in medicine. Another species yields 
 the beautiful East Indian Satin-wood, which 
 s of a deep yellow colour, close grained, heavy, 
 and durable. The most useful and well- 
 inown species, however, is the Campeachy 
 Mahogany ; the timber of which is so fami- 
 iar to us as to need no description. It appears 
 to have been first imported into this country 
 about the year 1724. From the elevated parts 
 of the country the wood is closer grained and 
 darker coloured than that grown near the 
 coast; the former is termed Spanish and the 
 atter Honduras mahogany. Spanish maho- 
 gany is imported in logs about ten feet long, 
 and from twenty to twenty-six inches square ; 
 whereas Honduras mahogany can be procured 
 n logs of larger size. When the grain of 
 mahogany is more than usually beautiful, it 
 will obtain a price for fancy cabinet-work far 
 beyond the usual market standard. On one 
 occasion Messrs. Broadwood, the eminent 
 pianoforte manufacturers, gave 8,0007. for 
 ;hree logs of mahogany, which were each 
 ,bout 15 feet long by 88 inches square ; it was 
 if exquisite beauty and closeness, and was 
 cut up into thin veneers for the more costly 
 pianofortes. 
 
 Since the abolition of the duty on maho- 
 
1161 
 
 MAILS. 
 
 gany, the import has largely increased. lii 
 18-18 the import was 32.000 tons. The atten- 
 tion of ship- builders is being attracted 
 towards the fitness of mahogany for building 
 vessels. 
 
 MAILS. A few words concerning the Post 
 Office Mails, as a remarkable commercial fea- 
 ture of our age, will be found under POST 
 OFFICE. 
 
 MAINE. The productions and industry of 
 Maine claim a little of our attention under 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 MAINE -ET-LOIKE. In this department 
 of France about 11,000,000 gallons of white 
 and red wine are made annually, some of 
 which is of good quality. Since 1838 a good 
 deal of effervescing wine, resembling the true 
 champagne, and rivalling it in quality, has 
 been manufactured. The department is 
 famous for its melons. A considerable 
 quantity of cider is also made. Iron and coal 
 mines are worked j and marble, granite, 
 building and lime-stone, slate, and potters' 
 clay are quarried. The slate quarries of the 
 department, especially those of Angers, are 
 vast and frightful excavations, worked right 
 from the surface of the ground. They give 
 employment to about 3000 men, who raise 
 about 80,000,000 slates annually. The number 
 of factories and workshops of different kinds 
 in the department is about 200, in which sail- 
 cloth, linen, cotton handkerchiefs, flannels, 
 paper, oil, cotton and woollen yarn, &c. are 
 made. There are also numerous tanyards, 
 sugar-refineries, distilleries, bleach-mills, and 
 dye-houses. 
 
 MAIZE, or Indian Corn, is a plant com- 
 monly cultivated in the warmer parts of the 
 world, where it answers a purpose similar to 
 that of wheat in more northern countries. It 
 is the Zca Mays of botanists, of vigorous 
 growth, with stems of not more than two feet 
 high in some varieties, and reaching the height 
 of eight or even ten feet in others. Each 
 grain has a long thread-like style, which pro- 
 jects beyond the enveloping sheaths ; and as 
 there are some hundreds of them upon each 
 spike, the whole form a long tassel, which 
 looks as if made of silk. A plant generally 
 bears two full ears, the grains of which vary 
 greatly in number : some of the largest ears 
 in America contain at least 800 grains. 
 
 This plant in its wild state is met with in 
 Paraguay, in Chili, and in North America. The 
 bread made from maize is not so palatable to 
 some as wheat bread, but. by mixing it in 
 certain proportions with wheat, it makes a 
 very pleasant food. In the United States of 
 North America, Indian corn forms almost the 
 only bread eaten by many of the people ; and 
 
 MALIC ACID. 
 
 in the slave states it is the only bread that the 
 negroes eat. It is not, however, in the shape 
 of baked bread that maize is most generally 
 used in Europe, but in boiled messes and 
 soups, as peas are with us. 
 
 A light, moist, and warm soil suits this plant 
 best. It thrives well on land broken up from 
 grass. The time for sowing maize in the 
 south of France is the month of April; 
 farther north, it is sown later. When the 
 maize is fully ripe, the ears are twisted off by 
 hand and laid in a dry place; they are turned 
 occasionally, that the sheath may not become 
 musty, and are then stored in a dry place. 
 The leaves are gathered for fodder a short time 
 before the ears are pulled. In America and 
 in Italy mattresses are stuffed with the dry 
 sheath, which makes a cool and elastic bed. 
 Horses, pigs, and poultry are fond of maize ; 
 it gives the flesh of the last two a peculiarly 
 fine flavour. One of the most important uses 
 of maize in Europe is to sow it thick, to be 
 cut green as food for cows, oxen, and sheep. 
 In a proper climate there is no plant which 
 gives so great a mass of green food as maize. 
 The produce is most abundant and nutri- 
 tive. 
 
 Since the repeal of the Corn Laws, maize 
 has been imported in considerable quantity 
 into this country. The importations for the 
 last three years were as follows : 
 
 1848 1,575,521 qrs. 
 
 1849 2,224,459 
 
 1850 1,286,264 
 
 About 230,000 cwts. of maize-flour were 
 
 imported in 1848; but the quantities in the 
 next two years were much smaller. 
 
 MALAGA. From the earliest agss, under 
 all the nations who have possessed it, this 
 Spanish sea-port has been renowned for its 
 commerce. Its imports are colonial produce, 
 broad cloths, cottons, laces, spices, hardware, 
 and cutlery. Its exports amount to about 
 1,000,000^. sterling annually. They consist of 
 wine, grapes, muscadel raisins, almonds, figs, 
 lemons, olive oil, brandy, anchovies, and lead. 
 The harbour is spacious enough to accommo- 
 date a large fleet ; it is protected on the 
 east by a massy stone mole, five furlongs in 
 length, and terminated by a handsome light- 
 house. 
 
 MALIC ACID was discovered in 1785 by 
 Scheele. It received its name from having 
 been first obtained from the juice of apples, 
 in which it exists in considerable quantity ; 
 but it also exists in many other fruits. Malic 
 acid is colourless, inodorous, very sour to the 
 taste, and acts strongly on vegetable blues ; in 
 a moist air it is deliquescent ; it is very soluble 
 both in water and in alcohol. Nitric acid 
 
1163 
 
 MALLEABILITY. 
 
 MALT AND MALTING. 
 
 1164 
 
 converts it into oxalic acid. Its saline com 
 pounds are called malates, some of which exist 
 in nature. They are not an important class 
 of salts. 
 
 MALLEABILITY is that property of certain 
 metals which admits of their being extended 
 by the blows of a hammer or by pressure. In 
 this quality gold exceeds all other metals i 
 thus the gold-leaf sold in books is so extremely 
 thin, that less than 5 grains cover about 270 
 square inches, and the thickness of each leaf 
 does not exceed gWoootht part of an inch. 
 Metals which are malleable are also ductile, 
 that is, they may be drawn into wire. Iron 
 which has been made hot by hammering loses 
 its malleability, and cannot be again hammered 
 till it has been annealed. 
 
 MALLOW. The common or Marsh mallow 
 belongs to the Malva genus of plants. It 
 grows in waste places and road sides ; and the 
 whole plant, but especially the root and the 
 leaves, yield by boiling a mucilage which is 
 very useful in medicine. 
 
 MALMSEY. This luscious and high- 
 flavoured wine is made in the island of Madeira 
 from grapes of a peculiar kind, which are 
 suffered to attain the last stage of ripeness 
 before they are gathered. Malmsey wine has 
 much body, and will retain its good qualities 
 for a long time. When newly made, Malmsey 
 Madeira is of the same golden hue as the 
 ordinary wine of the island, but its colour is 
 materially deepened by age. Malmsey wine 
 is also made in the island of Teneriffe, but 
 the quality is greatly inferior to that of Ma- 
 deira. 
 
 MALT AND MALTING. Malt is grain, 
 usually barley, which has become sweet and 
 more soluble in water, from the conversion of 
 its starch into sugar by artificial germination 
 to a certain extent, after which the process is 
 stopped by the application of heat. The making 
 of malt, called Malting, is conducted as follows 
 The barley is steeped in cold water for a period 
 which (as regulated by law) must not be less 
 than 40 hours ; but beyond that period the 
 steeping may be continued as long as it is 
 thought proper. Here it imbibes moisture, 
 and increases in bulk; at the same time a 
 quantity of carbonic acid is emitted, and a 
 part of the substance of the barley is dissolved 
 by the steep-water. 100 bushels of grain, 
 after being steeped, swell to the bulk of 120 
 bushels ; and the quantity of matter which the 
 steep-water holds in solution varies from -^th 
 to T&yth of the weight of barley. It consists 
 chiefly of an extractive matter of a yellow 
 colour and disagreeable bitter taste. After 
 the grain has remained a sufficient time in 
 the steep, the water is drained off, and the 
 
 barley thrown out of the cistern upon the 
 malt-floor, where it is collected into a heap 
 called the couch, about 16 inches deep. In 
 this situation it is allowed to remain about 26 
 hours. It is then turned by means of wooden 
 shovels, and is diminished a little in depth. 
 This turning is repeated twice a day or of ten er, 
 and the grain is spread thinner and thinner, 
 till at last its depth does not exceed a few 
 inches. 
 
 When placed in a couch, it begins gradually 
 to absorb oxygen from the atmosphere, and to 
 convert it into carbonic acid, at first very 
 slowly, but afterwBrds more rapidly. The 
 temperature, at first the same with that of the 
 external air, begins slowly to increase; and in 
 about 96 hours the grain is at an average 
 about 10 hotter than the surrounding atmos- 
 phere. At this time the grain, which had 
 become dry on the surface, becomes again so 
 moist that it will wet the hand, and exhales 
 at the same time an agreeable odour, not 
 unlike that of apples. At the time of this 
 moistening, which is called sweating, the roots 
 of the grains begin to appear, at first like a 
 small white prominence at the bottom of each 
 seed, which soon divides itself into three root- 
 lets, and increases in length with very great 
 rapidity, unless checked by turning the malt. 
 About a day after the sprouting of the roots, 
 the rudiments of the future stem, called 
 acrospirc, may be seen to lengthen. It rises 
 from the same extremity of the seed with the 
 root, and, advancing within the husk, at last 
 issues from the opposite end ; but the process 
 of malting is stopped before it has made such 
 progres. 
 
 As the acrospire shoots along the grain, the 
 appearance of the kernel, or mealy part of the 
 corn, undergoes a considerable change. The 
 glutinous and mucilaginous matter is taken 
 up and removed, the colour becomes white, 
 and the texture so loose that it crumbles to 
 powder between the fingers. The object of 
 malting is to produce this change : when it is 
 accomplished, which takes place when the 
 acrospire has come near to the end of the 
 seed, the process is stopped by drying the 
 malt upon a kiln. The temperature at first 
 does not exceed 90 ; but it is raised very 
 slowly up to 140 or higher, according to cir- 
 cumstances. The malt is then cleared, to 
 separate the rootlets, which are considered 
 njurious. In familiar language, malting may 
 je considered as a change of the starch of 
 jrain into sugar, preparatory to a further 
 ;hange into spirit. 
 
 The subsequent processes of BREWING and 
 DISTILLATION are described in previous arti- 
 cles. 
 
1165 
 
 MALTA. 
 
 MANCHESTER. 
 
 1166 
 
 The quantity of malt charged with excise 
 duty in the last three years was as follows : 
 
 18 4 8 37,545,912 bushels. 
 
 1849, " 38,935,460 
 
 1850 40,745,050 
 
 MALTA. The Maltese harbour is about 
 3,400 yards in length, with an entrance 450 
 yards wide, defended by a strong fort. The 
 harbour varies in width from 700 to 450 yards, 
 and is surrounded by all the requisite build- 
 ings for a naval arsenal: it is one of the 
 finest harbours and naval stations in the Me- 
 diterranean. Of the surface of Malta about 
 two thirds are cultivated, and the remaining 
 third is bare rock. There is much good 
 native earth in the valleys, which has been 
 converted into productive fields ; but a great 
 portion of the land has been brought to its 
 present state of culture by the industrious 
 native, who with great labour and expense 
 cuts away the hard surface of the rock, and 
 frequently finds a quantity of earth lying inert 
 in the crevices and interstices beneath. The 
 produce of Malta is cotton (which is its 
 staple), wheat, barley, pulse, potatoes, barilla, 
 cumminseed, and sulla, or the French honey- 
 suckle, which is used as fodder. As there is 
 no meadow-land, much barley is cut when 
 green for draught animals ; and the straw 
 (which is very fine) is a good substitute for 
 hay. The natives of Malta are hardy and 
 industrious. The great bulk of the people who 
 are not employed in field-labour are stone- 
 cutters. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures 
 exported to Malta in 1849 amounted in value 
 to 387,744?. 
 
 MANCHE, LA. In this department of 
 France, apple and pear trees are extensively 
 cultivated for making cider and perry, the 
 favourite beverages of the country. Of cider 
 above 22,000,000 gallons are made annually ; 
 some of it, especially that made near Avranches, 
 is of excellent quality. Hemp and flax are 
 grown in considerable quantity on the eastern 
 slopes of Cotentin. Fruits of various kinds 
 are sedulously cultivated in the arrondisse- 
 ment of Avranches. Excellent butter is made, 
 and large quantities of it are exported from 
 Isigny. The department is rich in minerals. 
 Iron, lead, and coal mines are worked ; granite 
 and building stone are quarried ; marble, slate, 
 potters' clay, and limestone are found. Manu- 
 facturing industry is actively exerted in the 
 making of iron, the working of zinc and 
 copper, the fabrication of plate glass, serge, 
 calico, drugget, cutlery, woollen stuffs, lace, 
 tape, hair-cloth, porcelain, oil, hardware, cotton 
 yarn, paper, leather, soda made from kelp, 
 basket-work, &c. Ship -building is actively 
 
 carried on at Cherbourg and other towns on 
 the coast. The articles enumerated, and the 
 products of the soil, support an active commerce 
 and coasting trade. The chief exports are 
 fresh and salt fish, corn, cattle, horses, poultry, 
 wax, honey, salt butter, feathers, salt, salt 
 provisions, soda, &c. 
 
 The great engineering works at CHERBOURG- 
 are noticed elsewhere. 
 
 MANCHESTER. This most important 
 town, the centre of the largest cotton-manu- 
 facturing operations in the world, is situated 
 in a district which contains some excellent 
 coal strata, a circumstance to which the place 
 is in no small degree indebted for its prospe- 
 rity. It has the credit of having given an 
 impulse to our means of internal communi- 
 cation, and has reaped an ample reward. The 
 achievements of Brindley were prompted by 
 the desire which the Duke of Bridgewater had 
 of sending his coal from Worsley to Manches- 
 ter at a small expense ; and Manchester now 
 possesses the means of water- communication 
 with almost every part of the country. In the 
 railroad enterprises Manchester has held a 
 prominent station. It furnished its full share 
 of the capital employed in the formation of 
 the Manchester and Liverpool Railway ; and 
 it is now the centre of a system of railways 
 radiating in six different directions. There 
 are two magnificent viaducts across the town, 
 for connecting the Liverpool line with the 
 Yorkshire and the London lines. 
 
 The commercial spirit dates back to a very 
 early period. At first the woollen was the only 
 branch of trade, but since the middle of the 
 last century the cotton business has nearly 
 superseded the former fabric. The series of 
 brilliant inventions and discoveries, applied, 
 improved, or originated in the district of 
 Manchester, which comprise the steam -engine, 
 the spinning- jenny, the mule jenny, the fly- 
 frame, the tube-frame, the mule, &c., have 
 proved most effective instruments in aiding 
 the development of the cotton manufactures. 
 Several hundred millions of pounds of cotton 
 are brought into Manchester from Liverpool 
 every year; and the cotton factories are by 
 far the most important buildings in the town : 
 there are more than two hundred of them 
 within the precincts of the town and parish. 
 Some of them are only spinning factories ; 
 others are both spinning and weaving. Bleach- 
 works, dye-works, and print-works, all connec- 
 ted with the cotton manufacture, exist on a 
 large scale in and near Manchester. 
 
 The processes of throwing and weaving 
 silk were extensively carried on at Maccles- 
 field several years before they reached 
 Manchester. The silk-mill of Mr. Vernon 
 
1107 
 
 MANCHESTER. 
 
 MANDIOC. 
 
 1168 
 
 Royle. erected in 1819--20, was the firs 
 brought into operation in the latter town 
 Since then the trade has rapidly inc 
 Printing is another branch of the silk business 
 chiefly, if not exclusively, carried on at 31 an 
 Chester. Dyeing of silk is also extensive!} 
 pursued, and in fact the town is becoming the 
 centre of transactions in the silk trade 
 Besides the manufactures in cottons, silks, and 
 woollens Manchester carries on large manufac- 
 tures in hats, umbrellas, and small wares 
 Machinery of the finest land is also made there 
 to a large extent. 
 
 The warehouses of Manchester are on a 
 vast scale ; they contain not only the woven 
 products of the town's factories, but the pro- 
 duce of most of the other cotton towns is 
 brought to Manchester, as a central exchange 
 for the manufacturer and the dealer. It was 
 calculated in 1837, that 700,000 tons of goods 
 were carried by canal alone from Manchester 
 to the south, yearly ; besides that which passed 
 north, east, and west, and besides the railway 
 goods' traffic. In 1851 the amount is vastly 
 greater, especially in respect to railways. 
 
 Manchester, as a centre of the calico-printing 
 trade, presents a fair field for the exercise of 
 taste in designing ; and a School of Design 
 is gradually producing important results in 
 the town. The report of the Schools of 
 Design for 1850 states: 'The Manchester 
 school is in a flourishing condition. The 
 greatest number of pupils on the books at any 
 former period was 21 7, reduced to 90 when 
 the present master undertook the re-establish- 
 ment of the school. There are now about 
 350, the average attendance being the full 
 amount which the premises can accommodate, 
 although additional space has lately been taken 
 into occupation. The students are also of a 
 better class than at any former period. There 
 is a large proportion of adults, and about 50 
 of the advanced students a're actively engaged 
 in the production of designs, principally as 
 pattern draughtsmen.' 
 
 The report proceeds: l The school is un- 
 doubtedly gaining in the estimation of the 
 manufacturers. In fact, the practical effects 
 of the school upon the manufactures of the 
 town are making themselves manifest in a way 
 which may waken the interest of the most 
 indifferent, by showing that good art possesses 
 a money value. In the case of those manu- 
 facturers who produce goods to compete with 
 the French manufactures in the American 
 markets, attention to design has at all times 
 been indispensable ; and previously to the 
 establishment of the Schools they were under 
 the necessity of employing foreigners, not 
 only to sketch their designs, but also to draw 
 
 out their patterns, at great expense, and under 
 the disadvantage of much uncertainty. Those 
 manufacturers who have had the intelligence 
 to understand the manner in which the schools 
 would become available, are now able to 
 produce with certainty better patterns, at far 
 less cost, by means of their own apprentices 
 pursuing their studies in the school ; the 
 apprentices at the same time obtaining higher 
 wages than were ever paid to artisans of the 
 same class before. Many of these young men, 
 as they acquire experience and knowledge of 
 their business, are exhibiting much talent, as 
 designers, in the strict sense of the term.' 
 
 Mr. Annerslcy, the principal of this school, 
 has lately given notice that the sum of J 101. 
 has been placed in his hands by a calico- 
 printer of Manchester, for the purpose of 
 being dieided into prizes for the best designs 
 suited for printing on calico or delaine, as 
 follows ; 201, . for the best set of six three- 
 colour patterns ; 10/. for the second ditto ; 5/. 
 for the third ditto ; and similar prizes for the 
 best, second, and third best four and five 
 colour patterns, which make up the sum thus 
 offered. 
 
 The prize patterns are sent to the Great 
 Exhibition, where about 14,000 square feet 
 of counter space is occupied by Manchester 
 contributions. 
 
 MANDIOC. The names of Mandioc, Cs- 
 ava, and Jatropha Manihot, are given to an 
 American plant, and to a wholesome food 
 >repared from it. Bread is made from a kind 
 >f meal procured from the root or tuber which 
 s somewhat parsnip shaped. The tuber is 
 lug up, washed clean, peeled, and ground or 
 grated. In Brazil where mandioc bread is 
 nade more largely than in any other country, 
 nnny persons are employed together in 
 )eeling the tubers, which are then applied to 
 ind pressed against the face of a wheel made 
 ,o revolve with great rapidity; and in this 
 ray the tubers are ground, the pulp falling 
 nto a trough beneath. The pulp is then 
 laced in bags, which are exposed to a pressure 
 uflicient to force out the juice which is of an 
 unwholesome character. The pulp is then 
 oured out upon a hot iron hearth, where it 
 ecomes baked into thin cakes. Though 
 leemed somewhat harsh flavoured by persons 
 ccustomed to corn bread, these mandioc cakes 
 are highly relished in Brazil. It is only the 
 itter cassava which requires to have the juice 
 xpelled ; that of the sweet cassava is wholes- 
 ome. When fermented with molasses, the 
 nice yields an ardent spirit. 
 
 Tapioca, which is capable of being made into 
 xcellcnt puddings, and into light food for 
 nvalids, is a kind of starch prepared from the 
 
1169 
 
 MANDOLINE. 
 
 MANNA. 
 
 1170 
 
 farina of cassava tubers. A considerable 
 quantity of tapioca is brought annually from 
 Brazil to Europe. 
 
 MANDOLINE, is a musical instrument of 
 the lute kind, but smaller, having four strings, 
 which are tuned in the same manner as those 
 of the violin. The mandoline is still met with 
 occasionally in Italy, but has fallen into disuse 
 in most other parts of Europe. 
 
 MANGANESE. This metal was first 
 discovered by Scheele and Gahn, about 1775. 
 Its natural compounds are very numerous, and 
 the metal is easily separated from them. 
 Manganese has a grayish white colour, and 
 resembles white cast iron in appearance ; it is 
 hard, brittle, and has a fasciculated crystalline 
 structure ; its specific gravity is 7.05 ; it is 
 inodorous and tasteless, but when breathed 
 upon, emits a smell somewhat resembling 
 that of hydrogen gas. By exposure to the air, 
 manganese readily tarnishes by oxidisement, 
 and even in a very short time attracts sufficient 
 oxygen to lose its metallic lustre, and falls to 
 & reddish brown powder ; hence the necessity 
 for preserving it immersed in naptha. Even 
 at common temperatures it slowly decomposes 
 water ; and at a red heat the decomposition is 
 rapidly effected, and in both cases hydrogen 
 gas is evolved, and oxide of manganese 
 formed. 
 
 The ores of manganese are chiefly oxides, 
 and are very numerous. There are no fewer 
 than five oxides of the metals, of which the 
 protoxide gives an amethystine colour to glass. 
 Manganic acid has not hitherto been obtained 
 in a separate state ; but manganate of potash 
 is easily prepared. It is of a green colour, 
 and has long been known by the name of mine- 
 ral chameleon, on account of the change of 
 colour which the solution undergoes during 
 the process. Hypermanganic acid has a fine 
 red colour, and is rapidly decomposed by 
 organic matter, as paper or linen. It bleaches 
 coloured matter. Manganese combines with 
 chloride and with sulphur. It also combines 
 with several other metals, as gold, silver, 
 copper, tin, and iron ; with the last-mentioned, 
 combination takes place readily, and the iron 
 is rendered harder, whiter, and more brittle by 
 it ; and it is stated that iron which contains 
 manganese is best adapted for making steel. 
 A small quantity of iron causes manganese to 
 obey the magnet, and renders it less oxidable. 
 The oxides of manganese, and especially the 
 binoxide, as containing most oxygen, are 
 largely employed in the preparation of chlorine, 
 for the manufacture of bleaching powder, or 
 chloride of lime. It is employed in glass- 
 making to correct the yellow colour which 
 oxide of iron is apt to impart to the glass ; it 
 
 is used also in making the black enamel of 
 pottery. Sulphuret of manganese has also 
 been used within a few years to give a brown 
 colour in calico-printing. The binoxide, the 
 sulphate, and the hydrochlorate of manganese, 
 are all employed in medicine. 
 
 MANGEL WURZEL. [BEET.] 
 
 MANGLE. [CALENDERING.] 
 
 MANGROVE. The Mangrove trees are 
 found on tropical shores, where they form 
 extensive forests. The wood of the Red 
 Mangrove is heavy, of a deep red, and takes a 
 fine polish. The bark is used in dyeing red, 
 and is used in the West Indies as a fever 
 medicine. The gyrnnorhiza species of Mangrove 
 produces yellow, hard, durable wood ; it has a 
 sulphureous smell and burns with a vivid light. 
 It is chiefly used by the natives for fire-wood, 
 and for making posts for constructing their 
 houses. The pith of the wood, boiled in palm 
 wine or with fish, is used as food. 
 
 MANIFOLD WRITER. [COPYING MA- 
 CHINE.] 
 
 MANIPULATION, in chemistry, embraces 
 every part of the subject which is of a mecha- 
 nical nature, such as the operations of weighing, 
 measuring, the application of heat and elec- 
 tricity, the various modes of effecting solution, 
 precipitation, distillation, and sublimation, and 
 in fact every step in chemical research includes 
 manipulation. The whole subject is treated 
 in Faraday's ' Chemical Manipulation.' 
 
 MANNA, is the concrete juice of the Ornus 
 Europcea, a species of ash which is a native of 
 the south of Europe, growing abundantly in 
 Sicily, Apulia, &c. The juice exudes spon- 
 taneously in warm dry weather, and concretes 
 upon the bark of the tree : the finest manna is 
 however procured by making longitudinal in- 
 cisions of about three inches long. The manna 
 flows at first in the form of a thick juice, which 
 gradually concretes. The finest kind is called 
 Calabrian or flake manna; it is in pieces of a 
 pale yellowish white colour, is light, rather 
 dry, and brittle, and it bears frequently the 
 impression of the branch on which it con- 
 cretes. It has a slight peculiar odour, and a 
 sweetish taste, mixed with a slight degree of 
 bitterness, and altogether leaves a disagreeable 
 impression. Although it has a composition 
 not unlike sugar it is not fermentable. 
 
 Besides the genuine manna above described, 
 other sweetish secretions are exuded by some 
 other plants which are usually considered to 
 be kinds of manna. These appear to be all 
 produced in warm and dry parts of the world, 
 and are the produce of various species of 
 plants. Manna belongs to the same series of 
 vegetable bodies as sugar, and like that com- 
 pound is widely distributed in the vege- 
 
1171 
 
 MANTUA. 
 
 MAP-MAKING. 
 
 1172 
 
 table kingdom. It is a mild and useful 
 medicine. 
 
 MANTUA. The territory of Mantua, one 
 of the provinces of Austrian Italy, is noted 
 for its fertility. It contains numerous fine 
 meadows well adapted for the grazing of 
 cattle, and irrigated by numerous streams and 
 canals ; vines and mulberry trees also abound. 
 Landed property is very valuable in this 
 district, which labours however under two dis- 
 advantages, namely, the danger of the inun- 
 dations of the Po, to prevent which the dykes 
 and sluices are kept in constant repair at a 
 great expense, and the unwholesomeness of 
 the air in summer. Neither in the province 
 generally, nor within the city of Mantua, are 
 much manufactures or commerce carried on ; 
 Mantua depends on its fine Arts rather than 
 on its productive industry. 
 
 MANURE. Every substance which has 
 been used to improve the natural soil, or to 
 restore to it the fertility which is diminished 
 by the crops annually carried away, has been 
 included hi the name of manure. There are 
 some substances which evidently belong to 
 both classes of manure. Of these lime, either 
 in its caustic state of quick lime, or its milder 
 form of a carbonate or chalk, is the principal. 
 Lime, being an earth less porous than sand, 
 and more so than clay, has an improving 
 effect on soils in which either sand or clay 
 prevails ; but it has also a chemical effect as 
 an alkaline earth. 
 
 Perhaps the most important class of manures 
 are the excrements of animals. From the 
 most ancient times of which there are any re- 
 cords, the dunging of a field has been an im- 
 portant part of cultivation. The preparing of 
 the dung of animals, so as to render it more 
 efficacious, is a later improvement, which 
 however has not yet attained the perfection of 
 which it is capable. A mixture of the dung 
 of all the different animals kept on a farm, 
 with all the straw that can be afforded, will 
 give a manure of an average strength, which 
 may be used upon all kinds of land. The 
 great use of liquid manure on light soils is to 
 impregnate them with soluble matter, which, 
 being diffused through their substance, sup- 
 plies nourishment to the roots of plants, 
 wherever they may shoot out. It may be ap- 
 plied to the land at any time before the seed 
 is sown, and soon after, when the blade springs 
 up or the seed begins to form. The great 
 effect of liquid manure has set farmers on 
 finding some artificial substitute for it. Such 
 substitutes are obtained by mixing all kinds 
 of refuse animal matter (such as the refuse 
 from oil mills and other manufactories) with 
 water, and inducing putrefaction. This be- 
 
 comes a branch of trade in those countries 
 where nothing will grow without manure. 
 The increase of manure by the formation of 
 composts is well known in many parts of 
 Britain, and by their means the land has in 
 many districts been rendered much more pro- 
 ductive. 
 
 BONES and GUANO are important substances 
 for manuring. The various substances which 
 are generally enumerated as occasionally used 
 for manure, are chiefly the refuse of manu- 
 factures, consisting of earths, salts, and organic 
 substances. Soapers' waste is chiefly lime 
 with a small portion of alkali. The scrapings 
 of leather, horn, bones, and the refuse of the 
 shambles, the hair or wool of animals, and 
 rags made of these, may be all classed toge- 
 ther. They must be distinguished as acting 
 in a twofold manner : they absorb and retain 
 moisture, at the same time that they afford 
 nourishment by their gradual decomposition. 
 One substance has been highly extolled as a 
 manure. This is called uratc, being a com- 
 pound of urine and plaster of Paris. It is 
 formed by mixing sand and burnt gypsum 
 with urine, and forming a hard compound, 
 which is afterwards reduced to powder. The 
 ashes of vegetable substances which have 
 been burnt in the open air contain a great 
 portion of potash, with some fine earths. The 
 refuse ashes from bleachers' and soap-boilers' 
 premises have still some portion of alkali in 
 them, and as they contain lime and other 
 earths in a very divided state, their effect on 
 the soil is very perceptible. 
 
 Mr. Blachfield took out a patent in 1849, 
 for an artificial manure, composed of the fol- 
 lowing substances : 1100 cwt. of river sand 
 saturated with sulphuric acid, 400 cwt. of 
 superphosphate of lime, 300 cwt. of sulphate 
 of ammonia, 100 cwt. of sulphate of soda, 
 100 cwt. of sulphate of potash. 
 
 MAP-MAKING. The mechanical execu- 
 tion of a map is simply an example of engrav- 
 ing on steel, copper, stone, wood, or zinc ; 
 but there are a few expressions relating to the 
 projection or planning of a map which it is 
 useful to know. 
 
 The methods adopted in the construction 
 of maps are as various as the taste and judg- 
 ment of the geographers themselves, but they 
 may all be referred to two principles, viz. 
 Projection and Development. By Projection is 
 is meant the representation of the surface of 
 a sphere on a plane, according to the laws of 
 perspective. By Development is to be under- 
 stood the unfolding or spreading out of the 
 spherical surface on a plane. This however 
 first supposes the sphere to be converted into 
 a cone or a cylinder these being the forms, 
 
1173 
 
 MAP-MAKING. 
 
 MARBLE. 
 
 1174 
 
 portions of which most resemble portions of 
 sphere, and which, at the same time, are sus 
 ceptible of the required development. 
 
 The Gnomonic or Central Projection sup 
 poses the eye to be placed in the centre o 
 the sphere, and that the various objects to be 
 delineated are transferred from a sphere to 
 plane, which is a tangent to its surface. Th( 
 Maps of the Stars, prepared by the Society 
 for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, are on 
 this projection. In the Orthographic Projec 
 tion, the eye is supposed to be at an infinite 
 distance, so that the visual rays leave the 
 sphere in parallel lines ; the representation 
 will decrease in accuracy with the increase o 
 distance from the centre ; the parts near the 
 circumference being much foreshortened and 
 distorted. In the Stereographic Projection 
 the eye is supposed to be placed at the surface 
 of the sphere, and to view the concave of the 
 opposite hemisphere through the plane oi 
 that circle, in the pole of which the eye is 
 placed. It is especially calculated for maps 
 of the world, as usually made in two hemis- 
 pheres, from the circumstance of the repre- 
 sentation being less distorted, and also on 
 account of the meridians and parallels inter- 
 secting each other at right angles, as they do 
 on the globe. In the Globular Projection, the 
 eye is supposed to be placed at a distance 
 from the sphere equal to the sine of 45 ; that 
 is, if the diameter of the sphere be equal to 
 200, the distance of the eye from the nearest 
 point of the circumference would be 70-j- 7 ^. 
 Some modification was subsequently deemed 
 desirable, in order that the meridians might 
 intersect the equator at equal distances. This 
 condition is nearly fulfilled when the distance 
 of the eye is 59, the diameter being 200. 
 This projection is also much used in maps of 
 the world. In the Conical Projection, the 
 sphere is supposed to be circumscribed by a 
 cone, which touches the sphere at the circle 
 intended to represent the middle parallel of 
 the map ; the points on the sphere being 
 projected on the cone, the latter is then con- 
 ceived to be unrolled or developed on a plane 
 surface. In the Cylindrical Projection, the 
 sphere is supposed to be circumscribed by a 
 cylinder instead of a cone. The peculiarity 
 of this method is, that the meridians, as well 
 as the latitude circles, are projected in parallel 
 straight lines. In Mercator's Projection, so 
 largely used by mariners, the degrees of lati- 
 tude on the chart are made to increase to- 
 wards the poles, in the same ratio as they 
 decrease on the globe ; by which means the 
 course which a ship steers by the mariner's 
 compass becomes on the chart a straight line ; 
 the various regions of the map, however dis- 
 
 torted, preserve their true relative bearing, 
 and the distances between them can be accu- 
 rately measured. 
 
 MAPLE. The useful purposes to which 
 the Maple-tree is applied are noticed under 
 ACER. 
 
 MARBLE. A limestone which will admit 
 of being worked equally in all directions, and 
 is capable of taking a good polish, deserves 
 the title of marble; when it is granular and 
 of a white colour, it may be useful in sta- 
 tuary. 
 
 The varieties of marble are exceedingly 
 numerous. Taking them in respect to colour, we 
 find the following among others : Black Mar- 
 bles. Most of these contain bitumen, and are 
 foetid when bruised. They include the Namur 
 marble, the marble of Ashford in Derbyshire, 
 Dent in Yorkshire, near Crickhowell, Tenby, 
 Kilkenny, &c. ; the marble anciently called 
 Marmor Luculleum, and now Nero Antico. 
 White Marbles comprise the marble of Paros ; 
 the Carrara marble, of finer grain, much used 
 in modern sculpture ; the Skye marble, that 
 of Inverary, Assynt, Blair -Athol, &c. Ash 
 and Gray Marbles include a beautiful marble, 
 of compact oolitic texture, at Oiieton, near 
 the Glee Hills in Shropshire. Brown and 
 Red Marbles comprise the Rosso Antico; a 
 marble on the estate of the Duke of Devon- 
 shire, near Buxton. The mottled brown 
 marble of Betham Fell, near Milnthorp, is of 
 good quality. Among Yellow Marbles are the 
 Giallo Antico ; Siena marble. That used in 
 ancient Rome is said to have been from Numi- 
 dia. Blue Marbles. Of these there is one ex- 
 ample near St. Pons in Languedoc. Green 
 Marbles present as an example the Marmor 
 Lacedsemonicum of Pliny, dug near Verona. 
 Black Marbles variegated with other colours ; 
 White Marbles variegated with other colours ; 
 Ash and Gray Marbles variegated with other 
 colours ; and similar variegated varieties of 
 Brown, Red, Yellow and Green Marbles, are 
 .bundant. The British Islands contain nume- 
 rous examples of marbles containing shells 
 and corals. Some of the Plymouth, Ashbur- 
 on, and other Devonian limestones are ex- 
 remely beautiful, from the abundance of fine 
 :orals exquisitely preserved in them ; the 
 rinoidal marbles of Flintshire, Derbyshire, 
 ,nd Garsdale in Yorkshire, are elegant ex- 
 imples of the carboniferous limestone; the 
 hell marbles of Buckingham, Whichwood 
 forest, Stamford, Yeovil, may be noticed, from 
 he oolitic rocks. That of Petworth and Pur- 
 )eck, from the Wealden strata, has been ex- 
 ensively used by the architects of the middle 
 ;es. 
 The mechanical working of Marble does not 
 
1175 
 
 MARBLING. 
 
 MARKET-GARDENS. 
 
 1176 
 
 differ much from that of stone. [SCULPTURE 
 STONE MASONRY.] Beautiful specimens o 
 English and Irish marble have been sent t 
 the great Exhibition. 
 
 MARBLING. There are many processe 
 in the Arts by which an attempt is made tc 
 imitate the veins and markings of marble 
 Marble itself may be stained or dyed of anj 
 required colour. Litmus or indigo for blue 
 logwood for brown ; alkanet root for crimson 
 alkanet and wax for flesh colour ; sal ammo 
 niac, verdigris, and white vitriol, for golc 
 colour; sap green or verdigris for green 
 dragon's blood or cochineal for red ; gamboge 
 turmeric, or saffron for yellow these are th< 
 colouring matters employed, used when hot. 
 
 The marbling of books or papers is effectec 
 by applying to them a coloured preparation oJ 
 the required tint. The pigments employee 
 are Prussian blue, indigo, rose pink, or any 
 of the well known colours, chiefly mineral 
 These are ground up with a little ox-gall and 
 small beer to a proper consistence. Linseed 
 and water are boiled in a copper pan to a 
 mucilaginous consistence, and are poured into 
 a trough to cool. The colours are then sue 
 cessively sprinkled on the surface of the muci- 
 lage in the trough with a brush, and are waved 
 or drawn about with a quill or stick, according 
 to taste. When the design is thus formed, 
 the book, tied tightly together between cutting 
 boards of the same size, is lightly pressed with 
 its edge on the surface of the liquid pattern, 
 and then withdrawn and dried. It will be 
 found to have taken up a thin layer of colour. 
 This illustrates one only among many ways of 
 marbling paper. Ordinary book edges are 
 simply sprinkled with colours, from a brush 
 dipped into it. 
 
 The marbling of wood is simply an attempt 
 to imitate the tints and markings of marble 
 by ordinary painters' colours. 
 
 MARGARIC ACID, is prepared from soap 
 made witk olive-oil and potash. It crystallises 
 in pearly needles ; it is insoluble in water. It 
 has an acid reaction ; and its salts, except 
 those of the alkalis, are very sparingly soluble 
 in water. Its saline compounds are termed 
 margarates. The Margaratc of Potash presents 
 the varied forms of brilliant scales, a solution, 
 and a jelly, according to its mode of prepai-a- 
 tion. A substance nearly allied to this acid, 
 and called Margarin> is a peculiar fatty matter 
 contained in vegetable oils, and also in animal 
 fats, as mutton suet and hog's lard. This sub- 
 stance is very soluble in cold aether, which 
 distinguishes it from stearin. Maryaron is a 
 solid white fatty matter whicli crystallises in 
 pearly scales, and is obtained by distilling 
 raargaric acid with excess of lime. The whole 
 
 of these substances obtain then* characteristic 
 designation from the Greek name for a 
 pearl. 
 
 MARJORAM, is an aromatic potherb used 
 in cookery, especially among the French. It 
 is a native of Barbary and the Himalaya moun- 
 tains. In gardens it is little better than an 
 annual. 
 
 MARKET GARDENS. The market gar- 
 dens near London, which chiefly supply 
 Covent Garden market, have a soil which is a 
 moist alluvial loom deposited from repeated 
 overflowings of the Thames, which are now 
 prevented by banks or dykes. The gardener's 
 year properly begins in autumn, when the 
 land is dug, or rather trenched, and well 
 manured. Various vegetables which will be 
 required in winter are now sown, and espe- 
 cially those which are to produce plants to be 
 set out in spring ; spinach, onions, radishes, 
 and winter salads are sown, and, when the 
 weather is severe, are protected by a slight 
 covering of straw or mats. In February, the 
 cauliflowers which have been raised in frames 
 or under hand-glasses are planted out. The 
 cabbage plants are pricked out. The radishes, 
 onions, ^,nd] salads go to market as soon as 
 they are of sufficient size, and sugar-loaf cab- 
 bages succeed them. As the cauliflowers are 
 taken off, they are succeeded by endive and 
 celery, and the same is the case with the cab- 
 aages. Thus there is a constant succession of 
 vegetables, without one moment's respite to 
 the ground. 
 
 The principle on which the gardens are 
 cultivated is that of forcing vegetation by 
 means of an abundant supply of dung, con- 
 stant tillage, and occasional watering. The 
 whole surface is converted into a species of 
 lotbed ; and crop succeeds crop with a rapi- 
 lity which is truly astonishing. Those vege- 
 tables which arrive at a marketable state in 
 he least timo are always the most profitable, 
 and those also for which thero is a constant 
 demand at all times of the year. With an 
 hundant supply of manure, the market-gar- 
 deners have no fear of exhausting the soil; 
 and dissimilar vegetables may grow together 
 n the same ground. Raspberries, goose- 
 erries, and currants are planted in the rows 
 >etween fruit trees ; which rows being thirty 
 T forty feet apart, leave ample room for vege- 
 ables. The market gardeners near London 
 lo not raise many peas or beans, except such 
 is are forced and require glass frames to pro- 
 pct them. The chief supply of peas in 
 he season comes from a greater distance, 
 ,nd is the produce of whole fields sown for 
 bat purpose by the fanners within a moderate 
 istance of London. An acre of the richest 
 
1177 
 
 MARL 
 
 MAKNE. 
 
 1178 
 
 garden ground near London is said to yield 
 produce valued at 220. in a year. 
 
 An abundant supply of manure is indis- 
 pensable in a market garden, and this can 
 genei-ally be obtained in large towns at a tri- 
 lling expense. The neighbourhood of a town 
 is therefore a necessary circumstance towards 
 the production of the crop, as well as its sale. 
 The pro iits of a garden near London, of the 
 extent of ten or twelve acres, are as great as 
 that of a farm of ten times the extent culti- 
 vated in the best manner, without the help of 
 purchased manure. 
 
 The Morning Chronicle has lately given 
 some interesting statistical details respecting 
 the supply of London from the market gar- 
 dens. The Green Markets are the Covent Gar- 
 den, the Borough, Spitalfields, Farringdon, 
 Portman and Hungerford Markets. Of these 
 Covent Garden is not only the largest, but is 
 said to be the largest in the world. It is 
 divided into six sections, for fruit stands, 
 flower stands, potato stands, casual cart 
 stands, yearly cart stands, and.yearly pitching 
 stands, all of which pay a rental according to 
 the kind of commodity sold, and the con- 
 veniences required for the sale. The follow- 
 ing is given as one recent year's amount of 
 sales at Covent Garden market, all of home- 
 grown produce : 
 
 Apples 360,000 bushels. 
 
 Pears 230,000 
 
 Cherries 90,000 
 
 Plums 93,000 
 
 Gooseberries 140,000 
 
 Currants 90,000 sieves. 
 
 Strawberries 638,000 pottles. 
 
 Raspberries 30.000 sieves. 
 
 Filberts ] ,000 tons. 
 
 Walnuts 25,000 bushels. 
 
 Cabbages 16,000 loads. 
 
 Turnips 10,000 
 
 Carrots 5,000 
 
 Onions 500,000 bushels. 
 
 Brocoli, Cauliflowers . . 1,000 loads. 
 
 Peas 270,000 bushels. 
 
 Beans 100,000 
 
 Celery 18 million heads. 
 
 Asparagus 60 
 
 Endive 150,000 scores. 
 
 French Beans 140,000 bushels. 
 
 Potatoes 83,000 tons. 
 
 Watercresses 28,000 cwt. 
 
 All the other vegetable markets of London 
 united, present but a small aggregate, com- 
 pared with this of Covent Garden. 
 
 MARL is an earthy substance found at 
 various depths under the soil, and extensively 
 used for the improvement of land. It con- 
 sists of calcareous and argillaceous earth in 
 
 various proportions, and as the former or the 
 latter prevails, so it is beneficially employed 
 on clays or sands. There are several distinct 
 sorts of marl clay marl, shell marl, slate marl, 
 and, stone marl. The effect of marl is the 
 same as that of clay and chalk upon sandy 
 soils ; on heavy soils its effect is proportioned 
 to the quantity of calcareous earth which it 
 contains. The peculiar advantage of marl is 
 its readily crumbling to powder by the effect 
 of air and moisture. An excellent use of marl 
 is in forming composts with dung and peat 
 earth. It is laid in layers with the dung and 
 peat, and if the heap is well soaked with urine 
 or the washings of stable-yards, it will in a 
 short time become a most valuable manure 
 for all kinds of soils. 
 
 MARMALADE. Marmalade is properly a 
 conserve made of quinces and sugar, and is 
 named from the Portuguese name for a quince. 
 Marmalades are, however, now made of 
 orange, citrons, apricot, hips, apples, pears, 
 plums, and other fruits. It is by using the 
 cheaper varieties of these fruits, that Marma- 
 lade is now sold at such a low price. Marma- 
 lade is made either by pounding the pulped 
 fruit in a mortar with white sugar ; or by mix- 
 ing them together by heat, passing them 
 through ahair sieve while hot, and then putting 
 them into pots or glasses. The fruit pulps 
 are obtained by rubbing the fruit through a 
 fine hair sieve either at once, or after it has 
 been softened by boiling. 
 
 MARNE. There are two French depart- 
 ments thus named, which present a fair 
 amount of productive and commercial indus- 
 try. 
 
 In Marne the vine for the production of 
 the famous Champagne wines is the chief ob- 
 ject of the landholder's care all through the 
 department, more especially in the arondisse- 
 ment of Reims and Epernay, wherein the 
 white wines of Sillery, A'i, Mareuil, Pierry, 
 Epernay, and Dizy ; and the pink wines of 
 Verzenay, Verzy, Bouzy, Taissy, Cumieres, 
 Ai, Hautvilliers, Mareuil, Dizy, and Pierry, 
 all of the first class. The Champagne vintage 
 is noticed under WINE MANUFACTUKE. The 
 quantity of wine of all kinds made in the de- 
 partment annually amounts to 15 or 16 mil- 
 lion gallons. In this department, chalk, flint, 
 millstone of the best quality, building-stone, 
 potters' and brick clay, and turf, are the chief 
 mineral productions. The chief manufactures 
 are woollen stuffs of all kinds, and cotton 
 hosiery, which centre chiefly at Reims. There 
 are also several tan-yards, dye-houses, paper 
 mills, glass works, potteries, rope -walks, oil 
 mills, soaperies, and establishments for the 
 making of Spanish white. The most impor- 
 
1179 
 
 MAROCCO. 
 
 MARTELLO TOWER. 
 
 1180 
 
 tant article of commerce is Champagne wine, 
 the great marts for which are Reims and 
 Epernay. Other articles of trade are corn, 
 flour, brandy, the articles previously named, 
 together with timber, hides, and firewood, of 
 which great quantities are sent for the supply 
 of Paris. 
 
 Haute Marne, the other of these two de- 
 partments, is also a wine country. The vine 
 is extensively cultivated in favourable situa- 
 tions, and about 13,000,000 gallons of wine 
 annually made, two-thirds of which are con- 
 sumed on the spot, and the rest is exported 
 to Switzerland and to the departments of 
 V.osges and Haut-Rhin. The department is 
 rich in iron ore ; several mines are worked ; 
 the metal is smelted and manufactured into 
 bars, utensils, and tools in numerous furnaces 
 and foundries, in which wood charcoal is the 
 fuel exclusively used. Building stone, marble, 
 alabaster, gypsum, <fec., are quarried. Marl, 
 brick earth, fuller's earth, and turf are dug. Be- 
 sides ironmongery and cutlery, the industrial 
 products include brandy, vinegar, cotton and 
 woollen yarn, drugget, woollen stockings, 
 leather gloves, cast-iron tubes, paper, leather, 
 beer, &c. The commerce in the products be- 
 fore named, and in timber, planks, fire-wood, 
 oak staves, oil, honey, &c., is considerable. 
 
 MAROCCO. In this large country of 
 Northern Africa are cultivated wheat, barley, 
 rice, Indian corn, and holcus sorghum, or 
 dhurra. Other objects of cultivation are cot- 
 ton, tobacco, sesamum, hemp, saffron, henna, 
 and different kinds of peas and beans. The 
 plantations of date trees, olive trees, and al- 
 mond trees are very extensive. The fruit- 
 trees of southern Europe are also common, 
 especially the fig and the pomegranate. Fo- 
 rest trees are numerous on the northern slope 
 of the Atlas. The Marocco sheep produce a 
 wool not inferior to any for softness, fineness, 
 and whiteness. Goat-skins constitute one of 
 the most important articles of export. The 
 mineral wealth of Marocco is very imperfectly 
 known, but is supposed to include gold, silver, 
 copper, lead, iron, rock salt, and fuller's earth. 
 
 As the inhabitants dress chiefly in wool, the 
 manufacture of woollen cloth is general, but 
 the material is usually coarse. In some places 
 however there are manufactories on a large 
 scale, which supply articles of export. A few 
 silk goods are also woven. The inhabitants of 
 Fez are distinguished as goldsmiths, jewellers, 
 and cutters of precious stones ; many of them 
 are also occupied in making Marocco leather, 
 and different kinds of earthenware. Tanning 
 and leather dressing are carried on exten- 
 sively ; and carpet weaving is also much 
 practised. 
 
 The Moghribins carry on a very active 
 commerce with Soudan or the interior of 
 Africa, and with Egypt and Arabia, by cara- 
 vans, and with several parts of Europe by sea. 
 From Timbuctoo, as a central point, the mer- 
 chants traverse the adjacent countries, ex- 
 changing their goods for those of Soudan. 
 The caravans which go to Mecca are chiefly 
 composed of pilgrims, and are much more 
 numerous than the trading caravans. They 
 depart only once in the year, and follow two 
 routes. 
 
 European vessels visit the harbours of Te- 
 tuan, Rabatt, Safii, and Mogadore, and ex- 
 port the produce of the empire to Italy, 
 France, Spain, England, and Holland, bring- 
 ing in return the produce of European and 
 other countries. 
 
 MARSEILLE. This influential French 
 city is the chief port of the Mediterranean ; 
 and the steam -packet station for Italy, the 
 Peninsula, and the East. It is likewise one of 
 the stations for the Anglo-Indian Overland 
 Mail ; although in this respect Trieste may pos- 
 sibly interfere with it at some future day. A 
 railway is in course of construction direct 
 from Paris, through Dijon, Lyon, and Avig- 
 non, to Marseille. 
 
 Marseille depends entirely upon its com- 
 merce, which is extensive ; and, since the 
 conquest of Algeria by the French, has been 
 rapidly on the increase. AVithin the last i'-w 
 years an artificial basin has been made in the 
 roadstead near Marseille by the construction 
 of a dyke between the small fortified islands 
 of Ratonneau and Pomegue, in which vessels 
 of the line may anchor with perfect safety, 
 and on the shores of which ship-building is 
 extensively carried on. The number of vessels 
 which enter the port of Marseille annually 
 is estimated at 5000 or 6000; the custom- 
 house and other dues collected exceed 
 1,100,000/. annually ; and the municipal re- 
 venue is about 110,000/. The French trade 
 with the Levant is entirely carried on from 
 Marseille. The chief imports are of raw cotton, 
 sugar, dye-\voods, and divers articles from the 
 Levant; exports, of wines, brandy, corn, dried 
 fruits, oil, soap, hosiery, damask, and other 
 linens, woollens, silks, leather, hides, &c. The 
 local manufactures consist of soap, morocco 
 and other leather, glass, porcelain, hats, gun- 
 powder, alum, sulphur, vitriol, and cutlery. 
 The refining of sugar and salt, calico printing, 
 the distillation of brandy, essences, and 
 liqueurs, cork- cutting, and the preparation of 
 anchovies, dried fruits, olives and wine for 
 exportation are carried on. 
 
 MARTELLO TOWER, is the name giv, n 
 to a circular building of masonry, generally 
 
118J 
 
 MARTIN SKINS. 
 
 MATCHES. 
 
 1182 
 
 two stories high. The lower story is divided 
 into chambers for the reception of stores, and 
 the upper serves as a casemate for troops. 
 The roofs are vaulted, and that of the upper 
 story is shell-proof. On the terreplein of the 
 roof are placed pieces of artillery, which rest 
 on platforms of timber traversing on pivots, so 
 that the guns are capable of being fired in any 
 direction. The whole work is generally sur- 
 rounded by a ditch and glacis. 
 
 There are several of these Martello towers 
 on the south coast, near Hastings ; but not 
 being wanted for military purposes, they are 
 occupied by the Eevenue Coast Guard. 
 
 MARTIN SKINS. The skin or fur of the 
 martin is used to a considerable extent in this 
 country for furriery and other purposes. The 
 number imported in 1847 was 259,032, and in 
 ] 848 it was 219,195. 
 
 MARYLAND. A few industrial statistics 
 of Maryland are given under UNITED STATES. 
 
 MASONRY. [STONE MASONRY.] 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. [UNITED STATES.] 
 
 MASTICH, is a resin which is extracted 
 from the trunk and branches of the Pistacia 
 lentiscus by incision. This tree grows in the 
 Levant, and particularly in the island of Chios. 
 Mastich is composed of two resins, one of 
 which is soluble in dilute alcohol, and the 
 other is not ; this last constitutes from -|th to 
 -jLth of the whole weight of the mastich, and 
 possesses very nearly the characters of copal, 
 it being soluble in absolute alcohol, aether, and 
 oil of turpentine ; these liquids also dissolve 
 mastich without leaving any residue. Mastich 
 is principally employed as an ingredient in 
 varnish, and as a temporary stopping for 
 carious teeth. 
 
 MATCH, is a material employed in firing 
 military mines or in discharging pieces of 
 ordnance. Before the invention of fire-locks, 
 hand-guns or small arms were fired by matches, 
 which the soldiers carried with them when on 
 service ; and matchlock fire-arms are still used 
 in some parts of Asia. What is called slow- 
 match is only a piece of slightly twisted hemp 
 which has been well soaked in a strong solu- 
 tion of saltpetre with boiling water. The 
 materials employed in the formation of quick - 
 match consist of a wick of cotton steeped in a 
 mixture of saltpetre and mealed gunpowder 
 with spirit of wine and rain water. 
 
 MATCHES; CONGREVES; LUCIFERS. 
 The manufacture of these humble and mar- 
 vellously cheap articles marks a curious stage 
 in the progress of civilization, where luxuries 
 become conveniences, and then become 
 necessaries. The friction of two pieces 
 of dry wood we now regard as a barbarous 
 mode of procuring light ; yet it is a scientific 
 
 one, where the materials for a quicker process 
 are wanting. The fiint and steel had a long 
 reign in this country ; the tinder box formed 
 an item in Wolverhampton manufactures ; 
 and the sulphur-tipped matches, arranged in 
 bunches spread out in fan-like manner formed 
 the stock in trade of many an itinerant dealer. 
 As mechanical ingenuity supplied the flint 
 and steel and tinder box to supersede the rub- 
 bing sticks, so has chemical ingenuity made 
 a wide step in advance, by showing how to tip 
 the little splints or matches with a composi- 
 tion which will kindle by slight friction. 
 
 Whether called Congreves, Lucifers, or In- 
 stantaneous Lights, these small but valuable 
 articles are now made in almost inconceivable 
 quantities. Hand cutting has long been un- 
 able to produce the splints in sufficient quan- 
 tity ; nothing less than steam power can do 
 this. At one among many saw mills in Lon- 
 don, these matches are made in the following 
 way. The wood employed is American yellow 
 pine. It is first sawn into blocks about 12 
 inches long, 5 or 6 wide, and 3 thick. Several 
 of these blocks are placed in a machine where 
 a number of revolving cutters, worked with 
 great rapidity, slice the blocks up into layers, 
 and cut the layers into splints. One machine 
 will cut up two million splints in a day. The 
 splints, as liberated from the machine, slide 
 down into another room, where women and 
 girls tie them up in boxes, the boxes in par- 
 cels, and the parcels in bundles. These splints 
 are sold by the hogshead to the lucifer match 
 makers, each hogshead containing perhaps 
 two million splints. At one saw mill alone, 
 it is estimated that the timber of four hun- 
 dred large pine trees is cut up yearly for luci- 
 fer matches ! 
 
 The chemical composition which gives to 
 the matches their easy-igniting power, can 
 now be bought at a very low price ; and as 
 children are chiefly employed in the manufac- 
 ture, the matches can be sold extremely 
 cheap. Whether the colour be red, yellow, 
 brown, blue, or green, the composition pos- 
 sesses the requisite quality in respect to igni- 
 tion by friction; and chemists are now ac- 
 quainted with many such. There are many 
 processes and compositions adopted. In 
 one, the matches are dipped into a mixture of 
 phosphorus, oil of turpentine, and flowers of 
 sulphur ; and afterwards into a mixture of 
 gum arabic, chlorate of potash, and soot. In 
 a second method the composition consists of 
 chlorate of potash, phosphoras, gum arabic, 
 and gelatine ; the matches being dipped into 
 melted sulphur before being dipped in this 
 composition. In a third method, the compo- 
 sition consists of gum arabic, vermilion, phos- 
 
1183 MATERIALS, STRENGTH OF 
 
 phorus, and saltpetre. What are called Mo 
 rate matches are dipped into a mixture o 
 chlorate of potash, flowers of sulphur, pow 
 dered lump sugar, gum arabic, and vermilion 
 these matches were originally lighted hy dip 
 ping their ends into sulphuric acid ; and it wa 
 in endeavouring to avoid the necessity of using 
 this dangerous acid that the manufacturer; 
 hit upon the composition requisite for lucifers 
 which in turn gave way to the equally efficien 
 and less noisy congrcves. The lucifers here 
 spoken of were dipped into a mixture of sul 
 phuret of antimony and chlorate of potash 
 made into a paste with a solution of gum. 
 
 The dipping, drying, packing in boxes, past- 
 ing, &c., are of course very simple operations 
 but they are far from being safe, for among 
 the fires of London during the last few years 
 a considerable number have occurred at the 
 premises of lucifer match makers. 
 
 MATERIALS, STRENGTH OF. The 
 strength of any material object, as a rod, bar, 
 beam, chain, or rope, is that power by which 
 the substance resists an effort to destroy the 
 cohesion of its parts. If a rod or bar be sus- 
 pended vertically, and a weight fixed to the 
 lower end, that weight would tear asunder the 
 bar, fibre from fibre, or particle from particle, 
 if increased beyond a certain limit. Supposing 
 the bar to be one inch square, the following 
 weights would suffice to tear it asunder, ac- 
 cording to the material of which it is made : 
 English oak . . 8,000 to 12,000 Ibs. 
 
 Fir 11,000 to 13,488 Ibs. 
 
 Beech .... 11,500 
 Mahogany . . . 8,000 
 
 Teak 15,000 
 
 Cast -steel . . . 184,256 
 Iron-wire . . . 93,964 
 Swedish bar-iron . 72,064 
 Cast-iron . . . 18,656 to 19,488 Ibs. 
 Wrought-copper . 33,792 
 Platinum-wire . . 52,987 
 Silver do. . . 38,257 
 Gold do. . 30,888 
 Zinc do. . 22,551 
 
 Tin do. . 7,129 
 
 Lead do. . 3,146 
 Rope, line, and cables range from 5000 to 
 12,000, according to the material and the 
 mode of twisting. 
 
 According to the experiments of Mr. Bar- 
 low it appears that a bar of malleable iron is 
 extended one ten-thousandth part of its length 
 by a direct strain equal to one ton for each 
 square inch in the area of the transverse sec- 
 tion : when stretched with ten tons per inch 
 its elasticity was injured, or the bar did not 
 return to its original state. 
 In relation to the power of bearing a crushing 
 
 MAURITIUS. 
 
 1184 
 
 pressure, various materials have been found 
 to take rank as follows : Iron, granite, lime- 
 stone, oak, Portland stone, white deal, elm, 
 red brick, and chalk. 
 
 Since the strengths of beams attached at 
 one end or supported on props, the other 
 dimensions being the same, vary as the 
 squares of the vertical depths, it follows that 
 the most advantageous position, when the 
 areas of the transverse sections are equal, is 
 that in which the broadest surface is in a ver- 
 tical position. In this manner girders and 
 joists in edifices are invariably placed. 
 
 When a beam or bar is attached at one end 
 to a wall, or when it turns upon its middle 
 point like the great lever of a steam-engine, 
 if it be required that the beam should be 
 equally strong in its whole length, it should 
 be made to taper towards its extremities. Jf 
 a weight be applied at any point in the length 
 of a beam which is supported on two props, 
 the strain produced by it will be the greatest 
 when it is placed in the middle. 
 
 Such machines as capstans and windlasses, 
 also axles which revolve with their wheels, 
 are, when in action, subject to be twisted, so 
 hat their fibres tend to become curved in ob- 
 ique directions : the strain thus produced is 
 called that of torsion, and the strength of a 
 solid cylinder to resist this kind of strain is 
 bund to be proportional to the cube of the 
 diameter. Since the strain of torsion depends 
 >n the diameter of the cylinder, it is evident 
 hat a hollow cylinder must be stronger than 
 i solid one containing the same amount of 
 material. 
 
 We may remark that in testing the stability 
 
 f the Palace of Industry in Hyde Park, a 
 
 number of ingenious contrivances have been 
 
 mployed, to determine the strength of the 
 
 materials to render the service required of 
 
 hem; especially in respect to the columns 
 
 and girders. 
 
 MATRASS, is a glass chemical vessel, em- 
 loyed for the purpose of digesting, boiling, 
 nd distillation. 
 
 MAURITIUS. This British colony, for- 
 merly called the Isle of France, was once 
 overed with woods, and even now a conside- 
 able part of the native forest is allowed to 
 emain for ornament round the plantations, 
 VTany tropical and a few European plants are 
 ultivated. The. culture of the sugar-cane has 
 pread rapidly since the English obtained pos- 
 ession of the island. The quantity of sugar 
 t supplied to England, in 1828, was 40,320,000 
 bs. ; in 1847, 133,079,952 Ibs.; but in 1848 
 entire crop of the island yielded only 
 9,234,352 Ibs. This diminution is no doubt 
 u some measure, if not entirely, owing to the 
 
1185 
 
 MAYO 
 
 MEATH. 
 
 1186 
 
 fact that a fatal disease has lately made its 
 appearance among the cane plants of the is- 
 land ; and to such an extent that, in 1848, 
 10,000 plants of a different species of cane 
 were introduced from Ceylon, but it is said 
 with little success, as the insect (a species of 
 coccus) which preyed upon the old plants 
 seeks its food on all plants of the same genus 
 as the sugar-cane. In consequence of this 
 disaster, and perhaps also of the effect of the 
 act of 1846 on the sugar trade of the island, 
 much attention is now given to extend the 
 cultivation of the mulberry for the production 
 of silk, which cultivation had been previously 
 introduced with great success in those parts 
 of the island that were least adapted for the 
 growth of the sugar cane. Coffee and pepper 
 are also cultivated to some extent. The trade 
 of the island is carried on not only with Eng- 
 land, but with the countries around the Indian 
 Ocean. There is packet communication 
 monthly between Mauritius and Ceylon. 
 
 In the three months ending Oct. 10, 1850, 
 the imports into Mauritius in British vessels, 
 amounted in value to 296,95U., and in Foreign 
 vessels to 22,3011.; being larger amounts than 
 in the corresponding period of 1848 and 1849. 
 The exports in the same three months were 
 121,2871. : being somewhat smaller than in 
 the corresponding three months of 1848 and 
 1849. The yield of sugar in Mauritius in 
 1850 has been estimated at about 55,000 tons, 
 or 120 million pounds. 
 
 MAYO. The geological structure of Mayo 
 resembles, in its general features, that of 
 Galway, exhibiting an arrangement of primary 
 and secondary rocks skirting a limestone 
 basin. As usual, the cultivated district and 
 the field of limestone are co-extensive. Indi- 
 cations of coal are said to have been observed 
 in Slieve Carnon, and deposits of manganese 
 occur near Westport, but at present there are 
 no mining operations earned on in this county 
 beyond the quarrying of slates. Marble sus- 
 ceptible of a good polish has been quarried in 
 several pails of the barony of Murrisk. 
 Generally speaking, cultivation occurs only in 
 detached patches. In 1847 out of the 
 .1*363,882 acres which Mayo contains, there 
 were only 122,567 under crops. The coast 
 fishery, which might be rendered very pro- 
 ductive, gives employment to about 4,000 fish- 
 ermen. Turbot, sole, cod, ling, hake, had- 
 dock, plaice, oysters, lobsters, and herrings, 
 are caught. 
 
 The manufacture of linens is carried on to 
 a considerable extent by the country people : 
 the cloth is generally sold in the rough state 
 by the small manufacturers, and bleached in 
 other comities. There is also throughout the 
 
 county the usual home manufacture of friezes 
 and coarse woollens. 
 
 The ' Castlebar Telegraph,' in a recent arti- 
 cle concerning the products which will be for- 
 warded to the Exhibition from Mayo, states 
 that ' It is an undoubted fact that no equal 
 extent of country in Ireland ay, in Great 
 Britain can excel Mayo in her minerals of 
 copper, lead, tin, iron, metal, marble, coal. 
 We have also seen silver and gold extracted 
 by a chemical process, by Dr. Atkinson of this 
 town, upon whose authority we state that the 
 country around us, for miles, abounds in 
 minerals sufficient to enrich thousands of our 
 population if they but possessed the knowledge 
 of acquiring it. Recently, we are informed, a 
 rich coal mine was discovered on the estate of 
 Lord Kilmaine, in the neighbourhood of 
 Castlebar.' 
 
 MEADOWS are properly low grounds on 
 the banks of rivers, which, being kept moist 
 by their situation, and also occasionaJly 
 flooded by the rise of the waters, are best 
 adapted for the growth of grass, and are 
 generally mown for hay. Some meadows of 
 great extent, belonging to a community or 
 district, in which every inhabitant has a right 
 to send his cattle to graze, under certain regu- 
 lations, are never mown. The herbage of low 
 wet meadows is generally coarser and less 
 nutritious than that of those which, lie higher ; 
 hence upland hay, as it is called, is preferred 
 for the better sort of cattle. Upland meadows 
 are very valuable wherever there is a demand 
 for good hay. Of late years the practice of 
 soiling Ta&s been extensively adopted; that is, 
 all the grass is mown and carried every day in 
 a green state, to cows or horses tied up in a 
 stable. When a natural meadow has been 
 neglected, and the grass is of an inferior 
 quality, and mixed with rank weeds and moss, 
 it requires much care to restore it to its origi- 
 nal fertility. 
 
 MEATH. This county has very few 
 mountain wastes, and the proportion of the 
 bog is small. The land is flat rich pasture- 
 land. The soil is for the most part a loam of 
 the richest character, and in many places of 
 such depth that the turning up of a fresh 
 portion of the soil by ploughing deeper than 
 usual is considered as an efficient substitute 
 for manuring. The farms are on the average 
 larger than in most other parts of Ireland; 
 the grazing farms average about 150 acres ; 
 and tillage farms 20 to 50. The mode of 
 farming, though very slovenly and defective, 
 bears some resemblance to that of England. 
 The whole quantity of land devoted to green 
 crops is small, in consequence of the abund- 
 ance of the natural pastures, which are of 
 
1187 MECHANICAL POWERS. 
 
 unequalled richness, and have led the farmers 
 to give their chief attention to grazing. The 
 quantity of cattle fattened in the pastures o 
 the county is considerable, and the breeds 
 fattened are numerous. The grazing is carriec 
 on on a large scale. Many persons fatten 
 from 300 to 500 cows in a season, besides 
 bullocks and sheep. Oxen are frequently em 
 ployed in the plough. There are large flocks 
 of sheep kept by the more extensive farmers. 
 The only home manufactures are a little 
 coarse linen, sometimes, though rarely, a 
 little coarse frieze coating, and the knitting of 
 coarse worsted stockings, which last branch of 
 industry is pretty commonly done by girls, 
 widows, and old women. Spinning and wea- 
 ving, from the cheapness of manufactured 
 goods, have almost entirely ceased. 
 
 There is another Meath, called West Meath, 
 or Westmeath, the soil of which comprises 
 heavy loam, light loam, hilly sheepwalks, and 
 a great deal of bog. The chief crops raised 
 by the farmer are oats and potatoes ; a very 
 little wheat, some barley, flax, rape, and 
 clover are grown. Dairy farming is practised 
 to some extent in this county. The manu- 
 factures of the county are not important; 
 they consist chiefly of the most necessary 
 articles, such as coarse linens, woollens, and 
 cottons. 
 
 The Shannon is navigable for steam-boats 
 conveying goods and passengers. The Royal 
 Canal crosses this county from east to north 
 west. The principal roads are good. The 
 Midland Great Western Railway passes through 
 the county. 
 
 MECHANICAL POWERS. This name is 
 given to certain simple machines or engines, 
 either of which is occasionally used by itself 
 in moving bodies or raising weights, or any of 
 which are combined together in the formation 
 of the complex constructions which are em- 
 ployed in manufactures and the arts. 
 
 The several machines to which the name of 
 mechanical powers is applied are the LEVER, 
 the WHEEL AND AXLE, the INCLINED PLANE, 
 the WEDGE, the SCREW, and the FUNICULAR 
 MACHINE. 
 
 The object proposed in every machine is to 
 transmit a force from the point at which it is 
 immediately applied to that at which some 
 resistance is to be overcome or some opera- 
 tion to be performed ; and, in the transmis- 
 sion, the intensity of the motive power is to 
 be increased so that effects may be produced 
 which could not be accomplished by that 
 power alone. The increase of the power is 
 obtained by causing part of the resistance 
 which is to be overcome to rest on the machine 
 or on the fixed points which serve for its sup- 
 
 MECONIC ACID. 
 
 1188 
 
 port, so that only the part which remains is 
 opposed to the motive force. Thus a heavy 
 body may be raised to a certain height from 
 the ground by means of an inclined plane, on 
 which part of the weight is destroyed by the 
 reaction of the plane. 
 
 This manner of overcoming a resistance 
 will serve to illustrate the fact that in every 
 application of a mechanical contrivance to 
 overcome a resistance, as much advantage is 
 lost in respect of time or space as is gained 
 in respect of power. For it is evident that, in 
 order to raise the object vertically through a 
 space equal to the height of the plane, it 
 would be necessary to move it over a space 
 equal to the length of the plane: that is, 
 through a space which bears the same ratio to 
 the vertical height as the weight of the object 
 bears to the power required to move it up the 
 plane. 
 
 All the familiar tools, implements, instru- 
 ments, machines, and engines, exhibit the 
 operation of some one or more of the mecha- 
 nical powers. 
 
 MECHLIN. The industry of this ancient 
 town is briefly adverted to under BELGIUM. 
 
 MECKLENBURG-. In this member of 
 the German confederation, agriculture forms 
 the chief employment of the inhabitants; 
 wheat, rye, barley, and oats are raised in large 
 quantities for exportation. The forests pro- 
 duce some excellent timber. The breeds of 
 horses, cattle, and sheep, are good, and the 
 Ejeese of Mecklenburg are celebrated for their 
 size and flavour. Fish abound on the coast 
 and in the lakes. The manufactures, though 
 at present inconsiderable are extending. 
 Rostock, is the principal trading port of Meck- 
 lenburg, and possesses about 150 ships. The 
 hief exports are corn and wool: imports, 
 colonial produce, wine and bay salt. There 
 are manufactories of linen, soap, &c. In 
 Schwerin there are manufactures of vinegar, 
 cloth, pottery, and tobacco. Wismar has a 
 i arbour considered to .be the safest in tbn 
 Baltic. Wismar possesses from GO to 70 
 vessels, and the entries into the harbour 
 average 300 ships annually. The exports 
 consist chiefly of corn ; the imports are 
 mostly Swedish productions. Fishing, agri- 
 culture, and the manufacture of tobacco and 
 inen employ a large portion of the population. 
 Ratzeburg is bounded on the west by the lake 
 of Ratzeburg, by means of which timber, 
 corn, pulse, flax, and cattle are sent to Liibeck 
 for exportation. The inhabitants also carry on 
 considerable fisheries. 
 
 MECONIC ACID, is a substance found 
 nly in opium, in which it exists in combina- 
 tion with the alkali Morphia. It is a crystal- 
 
No. 29. 
 
1189 
 
 MEDAL: MEDALLION. 
 
 MELTING. 
 
 1190 
 
 line substance, which acts on litmus paper, 
 and has a sour taste; it is soluble in four 
 times its weight of water, and also in alcohol. 
 The salts which contain this acid are called 
 meconates. The chief among them are com- 
 binations of the acid with Ammonia, Potash, 
 Soda, Lime, Magnesia, Barytes, and Iron: 
 the whole of these crystallise. It forms many 
 curious compounds with other substances, but 
 they are not yet of much value in the arts. 
 
 MEDAL: MEDALLION. Some account 
 of the mode of executing these works will be 
 found under CLICHE MEDAJLLIONS, and INTA- 
 GLIO. See also MINT. 
 
 MEEESCHAUM PIPES. Whether smo- 
 king be a good or an evil practice, it leads at 
 the present day to a wide system of commer- 
 cial enterprise. The meerschaum pipe is one 
 among many manufactures connected with it. 
 Meerschaum means in German sea foam; and 
 the equivalent French name of ecume de mer 
 is applied to the same substance. It is a 
 silicated magnesian mineral, found in Greece, 
 Turkey, and a few other countries. It is used 
 by the 'Tartars for washing linen, somewhat in 
 the same manner as pearl ash or fullers' earth. 
 The mineral is principally used however as a 
 material for tobacco pipes, which, when made, 
 are soaked in melted tallow, then in white wax, 
 and finally polished with shave-grass. If 
 genuine, a meerschaum pipe acquires a beau- 
 tiful brown colour after being smoked for 
 some time, the oil of the tobacco being 
 absorbed by the clay ; and this is a point to 
 which connoisseurs in smoking attach much 
 importance. 
 
 Dr. E. D. Clarke gives some interesting 
 details on this subject. In the Crimea the 
 meerschaum clay is called keff-kil, and forms 
 a stratum about two feet thick, beneath a 
 much thicker stratum of marl. 'The first 
 rude form is given to the pipes upon the spot 
 where the mineral is found; here they are 
 pressed within a mould, and laid in the sun 
 to harden ; afterwards they are baked in an oven, 
 boiled in milk, and rubbed with soft leather, 
 In this state they go to Constantinople, where 
 there is a peculiar bazaar or khan for the sale 
 of them ; they are then bought up by mer- 
 chants, and sent by caravans to Pesth in 
 Hungary. Still the form of the pipe is large 
 and rude. At Pesth a manufacturer begins to 
 fit them for the German markets. They are 
 there soaked for twenty-four hours in water 
 and then turned in a lathe. In this process 
 many of them, proving porous, are rejected 
 Sometimes only two or three out of ten are 
 deemed worthy of further labour. From Pestl 
 they are conveyed to Vienna, and frequently 
 mounted in silver. After this they are carried 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 o the fairs of Leipsic, Frankfort, Mannheim* 
 and other towns upon the Ehine, where the 
 )est sell from three to five and even seven 
 ounds sterling. When the oil of tobacco, 
 after long smoking, has given them a fine por- 
 jelain yellow, or which is more prized, a dark 
 ;ortoise-shell hue, they have been known 
 ;o sell for forty or fifty pounds of our 
 money.' 
 
 Dr. Clarke's description refers to a period 
 many years back ; but it will serve to illustrate 
 :he subject. 
 
 MEISSEN. It is in this town in Saxony, 
 about 18 miles from Dresden, that the cele- 
 Drated L>resden China is made. There is a 
 arge factory supported by the government, 
 where all the processes of the porcelain ma- 
 nufacture are conducted on a very complete 
 scale. Some specimens of a highly curious 
 character are displayed at the Great Exhibi- 
 tion. 
 
 MELON. In regions where most cooling 
 vegetables disappear on the approach of great 
 summer heat and drought, the melon, toge- 
 ther with the water-melon, become essential 
 substitutes. The antiquity of the cultivation 
 of melons being so remote, and their disper- 
 sion over large portions of Asia and Africa so 
 extensive, their indigenous locality cannot be 
 traced at the present day. So far as moisture 
 is concerned, the melon will bear a tropical 
 heat; and, generally speaking, it will not 
 succeed perfectly in the open air beyond the 
 43rd parallel of latitude. Its range of 
 atmospheric temperature may be estimated at 
 between 70 and 80. Light is so essential, 
 that unless the plants are kept near the glass, 
 no tolerable degree of flavour will be acquired. 
 A free admission of the air is also to be re- 
 commended, so far as it is consistent with the 
 maintenance of a high temperature. 
 
 MELTING. The temperatures at which 
 solids melt are also their freezing points ; 
 the freezing of water and the melting of ice, 
 for instance, both occur at 32 F. In addition 
 to the list given under FKEEZING, are the fol- 
 lowing melting points : 
 
 Tallow 92 to 127 F. 
 
 Phosphorus 108 
 
 Stearin, from hog's lard 109 
 
 Spermaceti 112 
 
 Margaric acid 134 
 
 Potassium 136 
 
 Yellow wax 142 to 149 
 
 White wax 156 
 
 Sodium 190 
 
 Sulphur 218 to 234 
 
 Tin 442 
 
 Cadmium, about 442 
 
 Bismuth 497 
 
1191 
 
 MEMBKANE. 
 
 MENAI BRIDGES. 
 
 1192 
 
 Lead 612 F. 
 
 Zinc 773 
 
 Antimony 809 
 
 Silver 1873 
 
 Copper 1996 
 
 Gold 2016 
 
 Iron, Cast 2786 
 
 MEMBRANE. The thin membranes which 
 exist so largely in animals are applied to many 
 useful purposes. The bladders used for 
 covering vessels, the thin substance called 
 goldbeaters' skin, the strings of catgut used 
 for musical instruments all are examples of 
 this kind. They are briefly noticed under 
 appropriate headings in this work. 
 
 MENAI BRIDGES. The Menai Strait is 
 the locality of two of the finest engineering 
 works of our country; .viz., the Suspension 
 Bridge of Telford, and the Tubular Bridge of 
 Stephenson. 
 
 This narrow channel, about 17 miles in 
 length, which separates the island of Anglesey 
 from the mainland of Wales, intervenes on 
 the great mail-route from England, by way of 
 Holyhead, to the eastern coast of Ireland. 
 Telford's bridge was commenced Aug. 10, 
 1819, and the mail-coaches drove over it for 
 the first time Jan. 30, 1826. The distance 
 between the supporting pyramids or points of 
 suspension is 560 feet, and the height of the 
 carriage way above high water in the Strait is 100 
 feet. The roadway of the bridge is divided 
 into two carriage ways, each 12 feet wide, with 
 a footpath 4 feet wide between them. The 
 main chains are 16 in number, with a deflec- 
 tion of 37 feet, their ends being secured in a 
 mass of masonry built over stone arches 
 between each of the supporting piers. The 
 weight of the chains, plates, screw-pins, 
 wedges, and transverse ties is 398 tons ; that 
 of the suspending rods and platforms is 246 
 tons ; making a total suspended weight of 
 644 tons. It is estimated that the bridge will 
 bear 732 tons more than its own weight. 
 
 Notwithstanding the excellence of this 
 bridge, it was deemed inadequate to bear the 
 trains of the Chester and Holyhead Railway ; 
 and hence arose Mr. Stephenson's grand pro- 
 ject for the Tubular Bridge. This unequalled 
 structure, called the Britannia Bridge, con- 
 sists of two tubes of iron placed side by side, 
 through which the up and down trains of the 
 Chester and Holyhead Railway respectively 
 pass. The entire length of each tube is 1516 
 feet, and the height above high water 102 feet. 
 Each tube consists of four pieces, the ends of 
 which rest upon and are joined together on a 
 central pier built on the Britannia Rock in the 
 middle of the Menai Strait, on two towers on the 
 shores of Anglesey and Caernarvonshire res- 
 
 pectively, and on two abutments farther inland 
 on each coast. There are therefore eight 
 tubes in all. The clear length of each tube 
 reaching from the side-towers to the central 
 tower is 460 feet, so that the entire length of 
 tube across the Strait is 920 feet, leaving 596 
 feet for the entire length of the side tubes. 
 The top of each tube forms a regular arch of 
 slight curvature ; the bottom is quite straight 
 and horizontal. The interior height is 26 feet 
 in the centre, and 18 feet 9 inches at the ends. 
 The internal width is 14 feet from side to side. 
 The tubes are formed of plates of wrought 
 iron strongly riveted together. The weight of 
 each tube is about 5000 tons, or 10,000 
 tons for the whole of the double tube of 
 iron. 
 
 The lifting of these tubes was the grandest 
 mechanical operation, perhaps, that the world 
 ever saw. The hydraulic presses with which 
 the lift was effected are displayed at tho 
 Great Exhibition ; they ought to be preserved, 
 as a memento of this great engineering work. 
 It may be interesting to add a record of the dates 
 which marked the progress of the work. On 
 June 30, 1845, the bill sanctioning the construc- 
 tion of the Britannia Bridge was passed by 
 Parliament. In July the preliminary experi- 
 ments to determine the form of structure 
 commenced ; April 13, ] 846, the first workmen 
 were engaged on the bridge ; April 21, first 
 stone of the Britannia tower was laid ; June 
 13, 1847, the first vessels arrived with iron at 
 the Strait; August 10, the first rivet was 
 inserted ; February 22, 1849, the Caernarvon 
 and Anglesey towers were completed; April, 
 1849, the pontoons were brought to bear; 
 May 4, first tube was completed and platform 
 cut away; June 20, first tube floated; June 
 22, last stone in Britannia tower laid ; No- 
 vember 9, first tube deposited in permanent 
 bed ; December 4, second tube floated; 
 February 7, 1850, second tube deposited on 
 permanent bed ; March 3, Caernarvon small 
 tube lowered ; March 5, first engine passed 
 through tube, and last rivet inserted ; March 
 18, single line of tube opened for public 
 traffic : June 10, third tube of second line 
 floated ; July 11, third tube deposited ; July 
 25, last tube floated ; October 21, second line 
 of tube opened for public traffic. 
 
 Holyhead, at which the railway terminates, 
 is a market-town with a good harbour, and is 
 situated on the northern coast of Holyhead 
 Island. Holyhead harbour is formed by a 
 pier faced with hewn limestone 900 feet in 
 length, at the head of which the water is 14 
 feet deep at low tides ; but the government 
 and the company are about to incur a large 
 expenditure in forming a magnificent harbour. 
 
1193 
 
 MENTHA. 
 
 MERTHYR TYDVIL. 
 
 1194 
 
 The direct distance across from Holyhead to 
 Kingstown Harbour in the Bay of Dublin is 
 64 miles. 
 
 MENTHA, is the name of many useful 
 species of plants. Mentha piperita is the 
 common peppermint, which, when dried, yields 
 a peculiar aromatic odour, and a pleasant 
 camphor-like taste ; the dried herb is used 
 for the preparation of a distilled water and of 
 a volatile oil; and from the oil, of which 
 there are three varieties, the essence of pep- 
 permint is prepared. Mentha pulegium is the 
 pennyroyal, which, besides being medicinal in 
 its natural state, is made to yield a distilled 
 water, a spirit, and a volatile oil. Analogous 
 products are also obtained from a third species, 
 the Mentha viridis or spearmint. 
 
 MERCATOR'S PROJECTION. The na- 
 ture of this useful variety of chart is briefly 
 noticed under MAP-MAKING. 
 
 MERCURY, or QUICKSILVER. This 
 metal, which possesses the remarkable pro- 
 perty of being fluid at usual temperatures, 
 has been known from the remotest ages. 
 Although it is met with in very large quantity, 
 yet the mines occur in comparatively few 
 places; those of Almaden in Spain, and Idria 
 in Carniola, are the most important. There 
 are however mines of this metal in Hungary, 
 Transylvania, and the district of Zweibriicken 
 in Germany. Mercury has been obtained for 
 a very long time in China and Japan, and 
 although the amount of the produce is un- 
 known, there is every reason to think it is 
 considerable ; it is also found at Huancavelica 
 in Peru. The average yearly produce is esti- 
 mated at about 2000 tons, of which about 
 two -thirds come from Almaden. The quantity 
 brought to England in 1848 was 1,562,663 Ibs. 
 and in 1849 it rose to 2,682,592 Ibs ; in 1850 
 it was very much smaller, owing to monopoly 
 arrangements. 
 
 Mercury is always obtained from cinnabar, 
 which is a bisulphuret of the metal ; it is 
 found in the red sandstone associated with 
 coal at Almaden ; sometimes, as in the district 
 of Zweibriicken, the cinnabar occurs in the 
 subordinate porphyries ; and at Idria in the 
 subordinate bituminous schist, but rarely in 
 limestone itself. 
 
 Various processes are adopted for the pur- 
 pose of separating the mercury from the ore, 
 all of which depend upon the volatility of the 
 metal, its conversion into vapour in distilling 
 vessels or retorts, and its condensation by 
 cold. In order to separate the sulphur from 
 the metal, either iron or lime may be em- 
 ployed ; the first forms sulphuret of iron, and 
 the latter of calcium, with the sulphur, and 
 the metal is thus set free, volatilised, and con- 
 
 densed. The retorts employed are made of 
 cast or sheet iron or earthenware. 
 
 Mercury is fluid at ordinary temperatures, is 
 of a silvery white colour, and possesses a high 
 degree of lustre ; it is inodorous, tasteless, 
 unacted upon or very slightly by exposure to 
 air at common temperatures, and not at all 
 by water at any temperature. The specific 
 gravity of mercury is about 13-568. It boils 
 at 670. At 40 below zero, mercury becomes 
 solid, crystallises in octahedrons, and gives a 
 dull sound like lead ; at the moment of conge- 
 lation it contracts considerably ; when in this 
 state it is malleable, and may be cut with a 
 mife. It is only on some few rare occasions 
 :hat our Arctic explorers have encountered a 
 old so intense as to freeze mercury ; in such 
 case a spirit thermometer is the only one 
 available, for spirit has never yet been frozen 
 or solidified. 
 
 The number of valuable compounds which 
 mercury forms with other substances is very 
 considerable. The binoxide is a dark red 
 crystal used in medicine. The protochloride 
 constitutes calomel, and the bichloride corrosive 
 sublimate. The bi-sulphuret yields cinnabar or 
 vermillion ; and another combination of mer- 
 cury and sulphur forms Ethiop's mineral. The 
 sulphate of mercury is Turbeth mineral. The 
 fulminate of mercury forms detonating powder. 
 All the alloys of mercury, or combinations of 
 mercury with other metals, are called amal- 
 gams, and are noticed elsewhere. [AMALGAM.] 
 
 The uses of mercury in the arts are most 
 varied and abundant. A few among them 
 will he found briefly noticed under BARO- 
 METER, BUTTON MANUFACTURE, GILDING, 
 PENDULUM, PHOTOGRAPHY, SILVERING, THER- 
 MOMETER. All these relate to mercury in 
 its liquid or metallic form ; the chemical com- 
 pounds of mercury with other substances 
 have a still more extensive range of usefulness. 
 The medical use of mercury lies beyond the 
 scope of this volume. 
 
 MERTHYR TYDVIL. This town, one of 
 the most important in Siouth Wales, is the 
 centre of the great iron smelting operations 
 of that country. The stores of iron and coal 
 in the immediate neighbourhood are most 
 abundant ; and the smelting is carried on 
 upon a larger scale than at any other spot in 
 the kingdom. In the immediate vicinity of 
 Merthyr are the Dowlais works of Sir John 
 Guest, the Cyfarthfa works of Messrs. Craw- 
 shay, the Plymouth works of Messrs. Hill, the 
 Pen-y-darren works of Messrs. Thompson, 
 and two or three of smaller rank. At no great 
 distance from Merthyr are the large iron-works 
 of Hirwain, Aberdare, Pentwain, Varteg, Blae- 
 navon, Bryn-Mawr, Nant-y- Glo, Ebbw Vale, 
 
1195 
 
 MESSINA. 
 
 METALS. 
 
 1190 
 
 Beaufort, Sirhowy, Ehimney, and many more. 
 At the Dowlais works (the largest in the world) 
 there are 18 blast furnaces, 77 puddling fur- 
 naces, 66 balling furnaces, besides a number 
 of refining furnaces. About 1000 tons of coals 
 per day are used at the works ; and in busy 
 times from 5000 to 6000 persons are employed. 
 The quantities of iron and coal sent down the 
 Taff Valley, by railway and canal, from the 
 Merthyr district to Cardiff, are immense. 
 
 MESSINA. The produce and industry of 
 Messina receive a little illustration under 
 SICILY. 
 
 MESTA. The Mesta is a very peculiar kind 
 of right of pasturage in Spain. Spain has vast 
 tracts of unclaimed pasture-land on which the 
 wealthy owners of flocks claim prescriptive 
 right to pasture their sheep at the proper 
 seasons. 
 
 The number of migratory sheep at the be- 
 ginning of the present century amounted to 
 about five millions. In the month of April 
 the flocks leave the plains of Andalucia and 
 Estremadura for the cooler pastures of Leon, 
 the two Castilles, and Aragon, whence they 
 begin to return southwards in October; for 
 the lands depastured during the winter months 
 a low price is paid, regulated by usage, and on 
 which no advance is allowed. The sheep are 
 divided into flocks of 10,000, each managed by 
 a conductor, who has under him 50 shepherds 
 and as many dogs. They pass unmolested, 
 and feed over the pastures and commons that 
 lie on their road ; they are not allowed to tra- 
 verse cultivated lands, but the proprietors of 
 such lands are obliged to leave a clear space, 
 85 yards wide on each side of the road, for the 
 passage of the flocks. At night they are penned 
 in with nettings made of the esparto rush. 
 The different routes and the length of each 
 day's journey in these migrations are fixed by 
 immemorial usage. Lambing takes place 
 during the winter sojourn in the south. The 
 sheep-shearing commences in May on the 
 northward journey, and is effected in vast 
 buildings by the roadside, called Esquileos, 
 capable of containing 50,000, and some of 
 them 60,000 sheep ; the principal of these 
 buildings are in the environs of Segovia. 
 
 The wool of the sheep belonging to the 
 Mesta is celebrated for its fineness, length of 
 fibre, and silky softness : this excellence is 
 said to be owing to the habits of the sheep, 
 whereby they are led to live in almost always 
 the same temperature. The meat of these 
 sheep is however of inferior quality. 
 
 The mesta is very unpopular in Spain, for 
 the following among other reasons the num- 
 ber of persons (40,000 or 50,000) whom it 
 takes from the cultivation of the soil; the 
 
 immense extent of valuable land kept out of 
 cultivation ; the continual trespass on the cul- 
 tivated lands near the route taken by the flocks 
 in their migration ; the scarcity of food for 
 the stationary sheep in the line of march ; the 
 loss in an agricultural point of view (in respect 
 to manure) of the sheep never being penned 
 on arable land ; and the despotic behaviour of 
 the shepherds, who are protected in then* im- 
 proper privileges and conduct by the tribunal 
 of the mesta. All attempts to abolish the 
 mesta have, however, failed. 
 
 METALS ; METALLUBGY. The metals 
 form a numerous and highly important class 
 of simple or elementary bodies. They amount 
 in number to upwards of forty. They are, 
 given alphabetically, as follows: Aluminum, 
 antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth, cadmium, 
 calcium, cerium, chromium, cobalt, columbium, 
 copper, gulcinium, gold, indium, iron, latanium, 
 lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, 
 molybden, nickel, osmium, palladium, platina, 
 potassium, rhodium, silver, sodium, strontium, 
 tellurium, thorium, tin, titanium, tungsten, ura- 
 nium, vanadium, yttrium, zinc, zirconium. Somo 
 chemists Tank selenium and silicium also among 
 the metals, and a few newly discovered metals 
 are now undergoing examination. 
 
 With the exception of mercury all metals 
 are solid at the usual temperature of the air, 
 and the colour of most of them is grayish- 
 white. The lustre of metals is great and pecu- 
 liar, and is well known by the name of the 
 metallic lustre; they differ however very con- 
 siderably in the degree in which they possess 
 this property. When reduced to a state of 
 minute division, the metallic lustre is lost but 
 the colour remains. The metals are generally 
 reckoned perfectly opaque, even when reduced 
 to thin leaves ; but it is found that gold-leaf 
 which is aooVfto P art of an inch thick, suffers 
 light to pass through it, and it has a green 
 colour; it is therefore extremely probable that 
 all metals, if they could be rendered equally 
 thin, would also be translucent. There are 
 some metals, such as lead, tin, copper, and 
 iron, which, when rubbed, emit a peculiar and 
 disagreeable smell ; and others, such as ar- 
 senic and antimony, which emit an odour 
 when heated. All the metals are heavier than 
 water, except sodium and potassium. Plati- 
 num is the heaviest. About one half of them 
 are ductile or malleable, and the other half 
 brittle. Gold is the most ductile and the most 
 malleable, iron is the most tenacious, .and 
 titanium the hardest, in their native state. 
 The elasticity and sonorousness of metals arc 
 generally associated with their degree of hard- 
 ness. There are not however any metals which 
 are by themselves either very elastic or sono- 
 
1197 
 
 METALS, 
 
 METALLURGY. 
 
 1198 
 
 rous ; but there are alloys which possess these 
 properties in a high degree, as for example 
 those of copper and tin. 
 
 Metals are sometimes lamellar, sometimes 
 granular, and frequently crystalline : indeed, 
 some of them, and more especially copper, 
 occur crystallised in the form of the cube and 
 its varieties. Bismuth is a metal which may 
 be artificially crystallised in cubes with great 
 facility. 
 
 No particular effect has been attributed to 
 the agency of light upon metals. The metals 
 are good conductors of heat; some of them 
 rank in the following order in this respect 
 gold, silver, platina, copper, iron, zinc, tin, 
 lead. Their capacity for heat ranges them 
 in a diflerent order, bismuth and lead taking 
 the lead. Immediately that heat pervades the 
 metals, and before it fuses them, it expands 
 them in all directions. This dilatation is 
 different in different metals ; it varies also in 
 the same metal with every degree of the ther- 
 mometric scale ; but from the freezing to the 
 boiling point of water it may however be re- 
 garded as nearly constant. The fusing point 
 of metals varies extremely. [FREEZING ; 
 MELTING.] 
 
 Some metala are volatilised at moderate de- 
 grees of heat : among these are mercury, 
 cadmium, arsenic, tellurium, zinc, potassium, 
 and sodium ; but there are others which may- 
 be exposed to the most intense heat of a wind 
 furnace without being at all vaporised. 
 
 The relative conducting powers of the prin- 
 cipal metals for electricity are as follow : 
 copper, gold, silver, zinc, platina, iron, tin, 
 lead, mercury, potassium. Each of the follow- 
 ing metals is positive with relation to those 
 which follow it: zinc, lead, tin, iron, anti- 
 mony, bismuth, copper, mercury, silver, gold, 
 tellurium, palladium, platina. There are two 
 metals only which are capable of being ren- 
 dered permanently magnetic, namely, iron 
 and nickel ; the former of these only is met 
 with possessing this property in nature ; it is 
 an oxide of iron, and commonly called the 
 loadstone. Most of the metals combine with 
 each other and form compounds differing very 
 materially in properties from their constituent 
 metals. [ALLOYS.] All metals unite with ox- 
 ygen, but with different degrees of facility and 
 affinity ; most of them combine with more 
 than one proportion of oxygen and some of 
 them with several proportions. A few of these 
 compounds form acids, but most of them ox- 
 ides. Hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, sulphur, 
 iodine, and phosphorus, all combine with some 
 or other of the metals. Some metals, as 
 potassium, sodium, and manganese, decom- 
 pose water even at common temperatures, 
 
 combining with its oxygen and evolving the 
 hydrogen ; others, as iron and zinc, require to 
 be strongly heated, or the presence of an acid, 
 to effect this decomposition. 
 
 Although most metals are dissolved by 
 acids, yet platina and gold are exceptions to 
 it, these and some others requiring chlorine, 
 and generally in the nascent state called aqua 
 regia. 
 
 Metallurgy, or the separation of metals from 
 their ores and from other compounds, varies 
 in its processes according to the metal ; for 
 which see COPPER, GOLD, IRON, LEAD, &c. 
 The working of metals into useful forms con- 
 stitutes the basis of such numberless mechan- 
 ical arts that we cannot here even enumerate 
 them ; the principal among them will be found 
 under their proper headings. 
 
 In relation to commerce, the metals form a 
 very important section of our Exports and 
 Imports. Among our Imports for 1849 and 
 1850 we find the following : 
 
 i849. 1850. 
 
 Copper and copper ore, 47,433 tons 45,930 
 Wrought copper . 51,808 cwts. 97,700 
 Iron in bars . . . 29,396 tons 34,066 
 Steel ..... 1,013 tons 49 
 
 Lead ..... 7,216 tons 11,977 
 Zinc ..... 15,915 tons 18,626 
 Tin ..... 35,827 cwts. 33,332 
 Mercury .... 28,952 cwts. 3,170 
 Watches .... 86,805*. 97,2452. 
 
 Our Exports of metals in the same two 
 years included the following : 
 
 1849. 1850. 
 
 ' and l 567,41 7 tons 615,150 
 
 Iron, cast . . . 
 
 Iron, wrought , 
 
 Steel, unwrought 
 
 Brass 
 
 Copper ... 
 
 Lead 
 
 Tin, unwrought 
 
 Tin plates . . 
 
 Machinery . . 
 
 Cutlery and hard- 
 
 , 16,549 tons 
 . 117,431 tons 
 . 8,097 tons 
 
 23,811 cwts. 
 . 409,603 cwts. 
 
 17,027 tons 
 . 35,292 cwts. 
 . 709,788*. 
 700,631*. 
 
 21,201 
 
 136,514 
 
 10,587 
 
 25,899 
 
 422,309 
 
 22,083 
 
 31,663 
 
 928,181*. 
 
 1,043,764*. 
 
 2,639,728*. 
 
 In respect to Exhibitions of Manufactures, 
 such as that which so largely attracts public 
 attention in 1851, the metals form by far the 
 most bulky of the specimens. 
 
 METEORIC STONES. [STONES, ME- 
 TEORIC.] 
 
 METERS. The increased use of gas for 
 lighting streets and buildings has led to the 
 invention of a number of gas-meters. In the 
 early stage of the system, gas was charged for 
 at so much per light, according to the number 
 
1199 
 
 METRONOME. 
 
 MEUSE. 
 
 1200 
 
 of holes in the ring of the burner ; but it has 
 become gradually admitted that a more equi- 
 table principle would be to charge for the 
 quantity actually consumed. This is done by 
 measure ; and a gas-meter determines the 
 number of cubic feet consumed. The meter 
 is placed at some spot between the main and 
 the burner, so that all the gas must pass 
 through the meter before reaching the burner. 
 The meter is a hollow box, and in most cases 
 contains water in some of the interior com- 
 partments ; but whether so or not, the pro- 
 gress of the gas through the meter moves a 
 system of wheel-work, by which index hands 
 shew the amount which has passed. 
 
 METRONOME. This ingenious instru- 
 ment was introduced about the year 1814, by 
 John Maelzel (civil engineer and mechanician 
 to the Emperor of Austria), for the purpose 
 of determining the movement, ?'. e. the quick- 
 ness or slowness, of musical compositions. Of 
 Maelzel's Metronome there are two kinds. The 
 one is a pendulum kept in motion by a spring 
 and wheelwork, and which ticks the vibrations : 
 the other is also a pendulum, but without 
 any machinery, and acting only so long as the 
 force of the impulse given shall last. The 
 former, therefore, it will be obvious, is com- 
 plicated and expensive ; the latter is simple 
 and cheap. 
 
 Much opposition was made to the use of 
 this excellent instrument, when first intro- 
 duced ; but it is gradually coming into exten- 
 sive use. 
 
 Mr. Greaves of Sheffield has lately regis- 
 tered a very simple and cheap metronome. 
 In size and form it resembles a small watch, 
 and can be carried in the waistcoat pocket. It 
 consists of a case containing a tape 40 inches 
 long, which can be drawn out to any required 
 length, and be there retained by a stop. The 
 extreme end of the tape being held by the 
 finger and thumb, the case forms the bob 
 of a pendulum, which may be swung to and 
 fro. Instead of holding it between the finger 
 and thumb, a small spring affords the means 
 of attaching it to a pianoforte or a music stand. 
 As all pendulums oscillate a certain number 
 of times in a minute according to the length, 
 the tape is drawn out more or less according 
 as the oscillations are to be slow or quick ; 
 and this depends upon the tune of the piece 
 of music. The tape has marks to indicate any 
 number of oscillations per minute from 60 to 
 160 ; and it is also marked with those Italian 
 words which serve to point out the quickness 
 or slowness of a piece of music : such as 
 presto, spiritoso, vivace, allegro, poco allegro, 
 moderate, allegretto, andante, andantino, lar 
 ghetto, /x<o, largo, grave, adagio. 
 
 MEURTHE. In this department of France 
 a very large quantity of wine is made ; in or- 
 dinary years the produce is 20 to 21 million 
 gallons. The surplus over the home consump- 
 tion is sold into Alsace and the department of 
 Vosges. In the arrondissement of Sarrebourg, 
 where the climate, owing to the proximity of 
 the Vosges mountains, is colder than in the 
 rest of the department, the vine is not cultiva- 
 ted at all. Rape is extensively grown, both 
 for green food and for making oil. Hay is 
 abundantly produced along all the river bot- 
 toms. Potatoes, potherbs of all kinds, and 
 fruits are largely cultivated. Iron ore is found, 
 but too poor to be worth digging for. Building 
 stone, marble, and limestone are quarried ; 
 lithographic stone, red and gray granite, grind- 
 stone grit, glass sand, potter's clay, &c., are 
 found. A mine of salt-rock at Vic, and several 
 salt-springs, are the most valuable mineral 
 treasures of the department. 
 
 The industrial activity of the department 
 has been greatly developed within the last few 
 years, and is exerted on a great variety of pro- 
 ducts, among which are woollen cloth, calico, 
 canvas, embroidered muslins and cambrics, 
 playing cards, room paper, cut and plate glass, 
 tobacco pipes, oil, mineral acids, cotton twist, 
 gloves, beet-root sugar, candles, basket and 
 wood work, &c. There are also some iron and 
 bell foundries, numerous glass-works, tari- 
 yards, paper mills, dye houses, and potteries. 
 Of the articles just enumerated and of its 
 agricultural produce the commerce of the de- 
 partment is composed. 
 
 MEUSE. This is another of the French 
 departments, deriving its name from an im- 
 portant and busy river. The lower part of the 
 basin of the Meuse includes a good deal of 
 fertile flat land, with not a few marshes and 
 peat bogs ; the upper part of it is in general 
 fertile, and presents some pretty and some 
 bold scenery. The basin of the Meuse com- 
 municates with those of the Rhine, the Seine, 
 and the Schelde, by means of canals. 
 
 In the department, hemp, flax, and oleagi- 
 nous seeds are cultivated. Cattle, swine, and 
 goats are numerous ; horses are small. Goose- 
 berries and strawberries are grown in very 
 large quantities in the neighbourhood of Bar- 
 Le-Duc and Ligny, whence they are largely 
 ixported in the preserved state. Gruyere and 
 cream cheese are made in the arondissement 
 of Commercy. About 20 to 24 million gallons 
 of wine are made annually, two-thirds of which 
 are consumed on the spot, and the remainder 
 s exported to Belgium. 
 
 Several iron mines are worked ; good build- 
 ng stone, marl, potters' clay, and slates are 
 found. Fossils of great variety, and some of 
 
1201 
 
 MEXICO. 
 
 MEXICO. 
 
 1202 
 
 large dimensions, are met with. The chief ma- 
 nufactures are iron, made in about forty forges 
 and furnaces, cotton cloth and twist, hosiery, 
 oil, glass, paper, pottery, beer, leather, inferior 
 brandy, <fec. The commerce of the department 
 is fed by the articles already enumerated, and 
 by timber, oak staves, clover seed, butter, fat 
 pork, hides, wool, confectionary, &c. 
 
 MEXICO. Humboldt asserts that within 
 these states almost all the vegetable produc- 
 tions may be grown which are found between 
 the equator and the polar circle. Any enu- 
 meration of them here would therefore be 
 unnecessary. The agriculture of the table- 
 lands does not supply any article for expor- 
 tation. Cotton is grown along the shores of 
 the Pacific, and in the valley of the Rio Nasas, 
 in a deep depression of the northern table 
 land ; and coffee on the eastern coast, west of 
 the town of Vera Cruz ; sugar is cultivated in 
 many places, and a considerable quantity is 
 exported; cocoa is collected in the low country 
 along the river Huasacualco ; and indigo 
 along the southern coast, but only for home 
 consumption. Tobacco, which in many parts 
 succeeds very well, is only permitted to be 
 grown in certain places. 
 
 The domestic animals, brought over from 
 Europe by the Spaniards, have multiplied 
 greatly in Mexico, owing to the wide tracts 
 which are not or cannot be cultivated, and 
 which afford pasture-ground for nine or ten 
 months of the year. Cattle is abundant, both 
 on the table-lands and the lower tracts. 
 Jerked beef and horns are exported. Sheep 
 are numerous on the table-lands, especially 
 on the northern, which are much drier; and 
 wool is an article of exportation. Horses 
 abound generally. Horses and mules are ex- 
 ported in great numbers to the United States. 
 On the great plains bordering on the Red 
 River and the Arkansas the American buffalo 
 abounds. Game is abundant, especially deer 
 and hares. The cochineal insect is reared 
 with great care on the table-land of Mixtecapan, 
 whence by far the greatest part is brought to 
 the markets of the world. 
 
 Mexico is noted for its mines of gold and 
 silver. The gold mines occur chiefly on the 
 western side of the Sierra Madre, north of 
 24 N. lat. : the silver mines are richest on 
 the mountains which rise on the table -lands, 
 and in those which border their margin. Be- 
 sides the precious metals, Mexico has abund- 
 ance of copper, iron, and lead, which are 
 worked. The iron mines, however, have only 
 been opened since the year 1825. A quick- 
 silver mine is worked at S. Onofre, on the 
 northern declivity of the Sierra Madre. The 
 carbonate of soda, which is necessary for the 
 
 smelting of the silver ore, is collected in several 
 lakes, where it is found crystallised on the 
 surface in great abundance. 
 
 Before the Mexican Revolution in 1810, 
 there were many nourishing manufactures in 
 Mexico, the annual produce of which amounted 
 to from eight to ten millions of Spanish 
 dollars, or about two millions of English 
 money. The most considerable were those of 
 cotton and wool in the towns of Puebla, 
 Cholula, Tlascala, Queretaro, Lagos, Guada- 
 laxara, and Tezcuco. The manufactures of 
 soap, leather, and saddlery were also con- 
 siderable. The manufacturers owed their 
 prosperity to the high price at which, under a 
 system of monopoly, European goods were 
 sold in that country. After the harbours were 
 thrown open to a free trade (in 1820) the 
 manufactures began to decline, and are now 
 much diminished. 
 
 The commercial intercourse between the 
 coast and the table-lands is difficult on account 
 of the steep ascent to the table-lands from the 
 coast. Even in those parts where there is no 
 obstacle to the use of carriages, the goods are 
 commonly carried by mules, on account of the 
 great number of these animals, and the low 
 price at which they are bought. 
 
 The maritime commerce is considerable; 
 but it is carried on chiefly in foreign vessels, 
 Mexico possessing few vessels of her own. In 
 the beginning of the present century the ex- 
 ports, according to Humboldt, amounted to 
 22,000,000 of Spanish dollars, and the im- 
 ports to 15,000,000 of dollars. Between 1820 
 and 1830, however, the exports considerably 
 diminished, on account of the comparatively 
 small produce of the mines, the precious 
 metals constituting the principal article of ex- 
 portation. The coinage of gold and silver in 
 Mexico in 1845 amounted to 15,141,816 dol- 
 lars. The amount of gold coined in Mexico 
 in the 18 months ending June, 1849, was 
 1,351,416 dollars, and of silver, 27,003,989 
 dollars ; which, with nine or ten million dol- 
 lars' worth left uncoined, present a total of 
 about 38,000,000 dollars' worth raised in 18 
 months. It is understood that, but for the 
 high price of quicksilver for smelting or amal- 
 gamating, the produce would have been larger. 
 
 The total Mexican exports are estimated al 
 about 20,000,000 dollars, of which 18,000,000 
 are in precious metals. The British and Irish 
 produce exported to Mexico in 1848 was 
 valued at 945,937/. Our imports from Mexico 
 consist chiefly of cochineal and logwood. 
 
 The aboriginal architecture of Mexico re- 
 sembles that of Egypt, not only in the vast 
 scale and massiveness of its monuments, but 
 in the application of the pyramid, or of forms 
 
1208 
 
 MEZZOTINTO. 
 
 MICROMETER. 
 
 1204 
 
 composed of it. Pyramids not inferior to 
 those of Egypt, and some of even still larger 
 dimensions in their plan or base, exist in the 
 Mexican territories ; and examples of the 
 second class occur in pyramid towers, consist- 
 ing of a series of truncated pyramids placed 
 one above another, each successive one being 
 smaller than the one on which it immediately 
 rests, so that it stands upon a platform or 
 terrace. At Teotihuacan, about eight leagues 
 to the north-east of the city of Mexico, are an 
 immense number of pyramids, several hundred 
 small ones ranged in files or lines, and two 
 larger ones consecrated to the sun and moon. 
 Besides monuments which are chiefly works 
 of magnificence, others exist which attest the 
 high degree of civilization attained by the 
 aboriginal nations of Mexico, such as Cyclo- 
 pean roads and bridges. The former of these 
 were constructed of huge blocks of stone, and 
 frequently carried on a continued level, so as 
 to be viaducts across valleys. 
 
 MEZZOTINTO is a peculiar mode of en- 
 graving designs of any description upon plates 
 of copper or steel. In this style of engraving, 
 which essentially differs from every other, the 
 surface of the plate is first indented or hacked 
 all over by the action of an instrument some- 
 thing like a chisel, with a toothed or serrated 
 edge, called a cradle, or mezzotinto grounder. 
 This tool, being rocked to and fro in many 
 directions, in dents or barbs the plate uniformly 
 over its face, and produces what is called the 
 mezzotinto grain or ground. The barb or 
 nap thus produced retains the printing-ink; 
 and if in this state of preparation au impres- 
 sion were taken from the plate upon paper, 
 it would be uniformly of a deep black colour. 
 
 The mezzotinto ground having been laid, 
 the business of the artist properly commences. 
 Having traced or drawn, with a pencil or other 
 instrument, his outline upon the paper (un- 
 less, indeed, as is sometimes the case, this 
 should have been etched by the ordinary pro- 
 cess previous to the mezzotinto ground having 
 been laid), he proceeds to cut away the nap 
 or ground, in conformity with the design, from 
 all those parts which are not intended to be 
 perfectly black in the impression. The instru- 
 ments required for this purpose are scrapers 
 and burnishers. With the former he scrapes 
 away more and more of the ground in pro- 
 portion to the brightness of the light, and the 
 burnishers are used to produce perfect white- 
 ness where it is required, as the high lights 
 on the forehead or tip of the nose, or white 
 linen in a portrait, &c. As theVork proceeds 
 it may be blackened with ink, applied with a 
 printer's ball or otherwise, to ascertain the 
 effect; after which the scraping may be again 
 
 proceeded with, the artist taking care always 
 to commence where the strongest lights are 
 intended to appear. 
 
 The great facility with which mezzotintos 
 are executed, as compared with bine engravings, 
 will be obvious, seeing that it is much easier 
 to scrape or burnish away parts of a dark 
 ground corresponding with any design sketched 
 upon it than it is to form shades upon a white 
 ground by an infinite number of strokes, 
 hatches, or points, made with the graver or 
 etching needle. Herein consists the leading 
 difference between this and all other modes 
 of engraving ; for, while the process in each 
 of these is invariably from light to dark, in 
 mezzotinto it is from dark to light; and even 
 the very deepest shades are produced, as we 
 have seen, before the design is commenced. 
 The characteristic or distinguishing excellence 
 of mezzotinto engraving would seem to con- 
 sist in the rich profundity of its shadows, and 
 its chief defect seems to be a corresponding 
 poverty in the lights. Lithography has of 
 late years, in a great degree, superseded 
 mezzotint. 
 
 MICA is a mineral which usually occurs in 
 thin plates, semi-transparent, and of a pecu- 
 liar lustre. It consists chiefly of silica and 
 alumina, with small proportions of potash, 
 lithia, and other substances. It is very useful 
 for many optical purposes, since it is easily 
 separable into very thin plates, and is in that 
 state almost transparent. 
 
 Mica gives the name of mica schist to one 
 of the earliest groups of stratified rocks known 
 to geologists, and very extensively distributed 
 throughout the mountain regions of the globe, 
 often in contact with granite, but more fre- 
 quently superposed on gneiss. It is frequently 
 interstratified with gneiss, primary limestone, 
 quartz rock, chloritic schist, and clay slate. It 
 differs from gneiss by the absence of felspar. 
 In respect of the magnitude, relative abund- 
 ance, and crystalline aspect of the ingredients 
 of mica schist, there is every possible varia- 
 tion, so that some specimens approach ob- 
 scurely to granite, others to well defined 
 gneiss, and others to clay slate. 
 
 MICHIGAN. A few industrial statistics of 
 this American state will be found under 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 MICROMER. These ingenious contri- 
 vances for measuring small spaces or angles 
 with great accuracy or convenience, present 
 many varieties. 
 
 Wire Micrometer. This frequently consists 
 of two fine wires or spider's threads, of which 
 one is fixed and the other moveable, in the 
 eye-tube of a telescope at the place where the 
 image is formed. The moveable wire is in a 
 
1205 
 
 MICROMETER. 
 
 MICROMETER. 
 
 1206 
 
 sliding plate which, by a screw, is moved parallel 
 to the other, and perpendicularly to the axis of 
 the telescope, till the object appears to be com- 
 prehended between the wires ; and a graduated 
 scale is provided for the measurement of the 
 angle. Each division is equal to the extent 
 of space moved by the wire during one revo- 
 lution of the screw, and the head of the screw 
 is graduated, in order to subdivide the scale. 
 The instrument was invented by Mr. Gas- 
 coigne in the seventeenth century, but it ap- 
 pears to have been afterwards neglected, and 
 was re-invented by M. Auzout. The micro- 
 meter microscope, for reading off the divi- 
 sions of graduated circles, is an instrument of 
 this kind. 
 
 The Position Wire Micrometer has lately 
 come very much into use for observations of 
 double stars, and is the wire micrometer 
 proper for equatorials. In this construction 
 there are two Mires parallel to each other, each 
 moveable by its own screw : the whole appa- 
 ratus can also be turned round in the plane 
 of the wires, so as to place the wires in any 
 direction, the angle round which it is turned 
 being read off by two verniers upon a small 
 circle called the position circle. The mode of 
 measuring double stars by this instrument 
 is a very refined problem in practical as- 
 tronomy. 
 
 The Divided Object-Glaaa Micrometer, If 
 an object-glass be cut across so as to form 
 two semicircles, and the semilenses be sepa- 
 rated by sliding one beyond the other, each 
 portion will form its proper image, and these 
 will retreat from each other as the semilenses 
 are moved. The semilenses are mounted on 
 slides, and the quantity of separation read off 
 upon a scale. 
 
 The Divided Eye-Glass Micrometer. This 
 consists of a convex lens bisected in the direc- 
 tion of a diameter, and placed either at the 
 end of a telescope nearest the eye, or between 
 some of the other lenses of the eye-piece ; it 
 acts as a micrometer by separating the two 
 halves of the lens, as in the former oase. 
 
 The Reticule Micrometer is employed 
 where less accurate measurement is required. 
 The reticule, or diaphragm, as it is sometimes 
 called, is any fixed arrangement of wires or 
 bars which can be applied to a telescope for 
 the purpose of measurement. Suppose, for 
 example, a cross like an X to be cut out of 
 brass plate, and inserted in the principal focus 
 of a telescope. A star, in passing through 
 the field of the instrument, is occulted at its 
 passage behind each of the bars, and the time 
 noted. The interval will show, by an easy 
 calculation, how far it passes from the vertex; 
 and tho mean of the times, the moment when 
 
 it passes the axis of the diaphragm. This 
 reticule is very convenient for mapping, it 
 placed in the meridian, or for cometary obser- 
 vation, if the telescope is mounted as an equa- 
 torial, however rudely. 
 
 The Circular Micrometer. A metal ring 
 is set in the centre of a perforated glass plate, 
 and the outer and inner edge of the ring is 
 turned true. The plate is fixed in the focus 
 of a telescope, and the observer notes the time 
 when a star disappears at the outer ring, re- 
 appears on the inner ring, disappears again, 
 and finally reappears. These data afford the 
 means for measuring small angles, 
 
 It need hardly be stated that manufacture 
 of such apparatus as the above must take a 
 high rank in philosophical instrument making. 
 
 MICROSCOPE. As the micrometer enables 
 the man of science to measure very small 
 spaces, so does the microscope afford the means 
 for seeing smaller objects than would other- 
 wise be visible. The scientific principles of 
 the microscope are beyond the present work; 
 it is only as a work of construction that it is 
 treated here. 
 
 By the term Simple Microscope is meant 
 one in which the object is viewed directly 
 through a lens or combination of lenses. 
 When, however, the magnifying power of the 
 glass is considerable, it requires to be placed 
 at the proper distance from the object with 
 great precision : it cannot therefore be held 
 with sufficient accuracy and steadiness by the 
 unassisted hand, but must be mounted in a 
 frame having a rack or screw to move it to- 
 wards or from another frame or stage which 
 holds the object. The lens is then called a 
 microscope; and it is furnished, according to 
 circumstances, with lenses and mirrors to col- 
 lect and reflect the light upon the object, and 
 with other conveniences. 
 
 The Compound Microscope has two lenses 
 which have totally different functions; the 
 first receives the rays from the object, and, 
 bringing them to new foci, forms an image, 
 which the second lens treats as an original 
 object, and magnifies it just as the single 
 microscope magnified the object itself. Each 
 of these purposes is further carried out by an 
 increase in the number of lenses. By means 
 of successive improvements, the Compound 
 Microscope now holds a very high rank among 
 philosophical implements ; while the tran- 
 scendant beauties of form, colour, and organi- 
 zation which it reveals to us in the minute 
 works of nature, render it subservient to the 
 most delightful and instructive pursuits. 
 
 The Solar Microscope consists of a conical 
 tube fixed by its base to a frame of wood, 
 which is screwed to a closed window-shutter, a 
 
1207 
 
 MIDDLESEX. 
 
 MILLET. 
 
 1208 
 
 an aperture purposely made in the shutter : 
 the tube projects into the room, which, when 
 the observations are to be made, is rendered 
 quite dark, and is sometimes lined with black 
 cloth. The magnifying power is produced by 
 a system of lenses contained in the tube, as 
 in other microscopes. On the exterior of the 
 window is a frame carrying a rectangular piece 
 of looking-glass, which, by turning on a hinge, 
 is capable of being fixed at any angle with the 
 wall of the building, while, by means of a ring 
 and a rack and pinion, it can be made to turn 
 on the horizontal axis of the instrument, so 
 as to permit the rays of the sun, whatever be 
 the position of the latter, to be reflected into 
 the tube. These rays are made to converge 
 on the object ; and from thence, after refrac- 
 tion through the system of object-glasses, they 
 proceed to a screen, on which they depict the 
 magnified image. The solar microscope is 
 now nearly superseded by the Oxyhydrogen 
 Microscope. [LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE.] 
 
 MIDDLESEX. The interest in this small 
 county is so absorbed hy that of the gigantic 
 metropolis which it contains, that we need not 
 enter upon its industrial and commercial fea- 
 tures here. It would be but a very slight 
 deviation from accuracy to say, that the whole 
 county is occupied either hy persons whose 
 daily avocations are centred in London, or by 
 persons who supply the various markets of 
 the metropolis with produce. There are malt- 
 ing, brewing, distilling, and other processes 
 carried on upon a considerable scale in the 
 extra -metropolitan parts of Middlesex, but 
 chiefly looking to London as a centre. 
 
 MILAN is a gay thriving city : its markets 
 are abundantly supplied with every luxury. 
 Numerous coffee-houses, splendid hotels, 
 abundance of handsome carriages, several 
 theatres (among which is LaScala, one of the 
 largest in Europe), well supplied with actors 
 and singers, all attest the habits of a luxu- 
 rious capital. It is also a famous seat of 
 learning and of the fine arts. But whatever 
 may be its attractions in these directions, 
 Milan can hardly be called a commercial city. 
 Its manufactures consist chiefly of silks, 
 printed cottons, plate-glass, jewellery, artificial 
 flowers, soap, and leather. 
 
 MILE. The connection hetween measures 
 of length and commercial matters renders it 
 useful to have at hand a comparison of the 
 different lengths of a mile, in different parts 
 of Europe. The English statute mile is 8 
 furlongs, each of 220 yards, or 40 poles of 5J 
 yards or 16 J feet each. It is also 80 survey- 
 ing chains of 22 yards each. It is therefore 
 1700 yards, or 5280 feet. The square mile is 
 6400 square chains, or 640 acres. 
 
 
 Yards. 
 
 Stat. miles. 
 
 Ancient Roman mile. . . . 
 Modern Roman mile 
 English statute mile .... 
 Tuscan mile 
 
 1614 
 1628 
 1760 
 
 1808 
 
 .917 
 .925 
 1.000 
 1 027 
 
 Ancient Scottish mile . . . 
 Irish mile 
 
 1984 
 2240 
 
 1.127 
 1 273 
 
 French posting league . . 
 Spanish judicial league. . 
 French league of 25 to 
 
 4263 
 4635 
 
 4860 
 
 2.422 
 2.634 
 
 2761 
 
 
 6760 
 
 3 841 
 
 German short mile .... 
 Flanders league 
 
 6859 
 6864 
 
 3.897 
 3 900 
 
 Spanish common league . 
 
 7416 
 8237 
 
 4.214 
 4 680 
 
 
 8244 
 
 4684 
 
 Danzig mile 
 
 8475 
 
 4 815 
 
 
 9113 
 
 5 178 
 
 Swiss mile 
 
 9153 
 
 5201 
 
 German long mile 
 
 10126 
 
 5 753 
 
 Hanoverian mile ... . 
 
 11559 
 
 6 568 
 
 Swedish mile . . 
 
 11700 
 
 6.648 
 
 MILK. This remarkable and valuable 
 liquid consists, in addition to the watery por- 
 tion, serum, &c., of globular particles, having 
 a diameter of about one ten-thousandth of an 
 inch. They are composed of a fatty matter 
 (butter) and a coagulable substance, which in 
 many points resembles albumen, termed 
 caseine, or the matter of cheese. Milk is a 
 compound fluid, chiefly consisting of oil, sugar, 
 and protein. 
 
 Milk may be brought to a dry state, and 
 powdered, in which condition it keeps for a 
 length of time ; and by dissolving it in tepid 
 water an artificial milk may be formed, capable 
 of being used at sea, particularly for children 
 during long voyages. Of the valuable use of 
 milk in dairy husbandry, see BUTTER ; CHEESE ; 
 DAIRY. Milk is also used as an antidote in 
 cases of poisoning by some metallic salts, such 
 as corrosive sublimate, perchloride of tin, sul- 
 phate of copper, &c. 
 
 There is too much reason to believe that 
 the milk sold in busy towns is far from pure ; 
 water is often added to increase the quantity, 
 and strange compounds (according to chemical 
 tests) are added to imitate the quality. Until 
 dealers learn to be commercially honest, there 
 is no cure but the vigilant observation of the 
 buyers ; for it is doubtful whether legislation 
 could meet the evil. 
 
 MILLET, is cultivated largely in the south- 
 ern parts of Europe in Spain, Italy, the south 
 of France, Switzerland, and southern Germany; 
 but it is grown most extensively in the East 
 Indies, China, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and 
 
1209 
 
 MILLS; MILL WORK. 
 
 MINERALS. 
 
 1210 
 
 Nubia. It has also been introduced into the 
 West Indies, where it is called Guinea Corn 
 In the East millet is used as food for man : 
 but in Europe, though it is sometimes made 
 into loaves and cakes, and frequently into 
 puddings, it is mostly used for feeding poultry 
 and domestic animals. The leaves and pani 
 cles are given, both green and dried, as fodder 
 to cattle. 
 
 MILLS ; MILL WORK. The name of mill 
 is employed rather indefinitely in machinery 
 A cotton factory is called a mill ; a windmill 
 is a mill; a coffee- grinder is a mill; and 
 many agricultural implements are called mills 
 Without extending the application too widely 
 we will notice a few of the mills connected 
 with agricultural pursuits. 
 
 All the machines for grinding corn and 
 seeds are mills, whatever may be their parti- 
 cular application. At the Smithfield Cattle 
 Show, and similar agricultural exhibitions 
 such mills are numerous. One prevalent form 
 is that of an iron machine supported on four 
 legs, having a winch handle on one side, a fly 
 wheel on another, a hopper at the top, and a 
 crushing apparatus in the centre. The grain 
 or seed is put into the hopper, the winch 
 handle is turned, the grain becomes crushed 
 to powder, and falls out at the bottom of the 
 apparatus. Sometimes the mill is made 
 chiefly of wood, but with iron wheel and 
 crushing apparatus. Lloyd's wheat mill, in 
 addition to the usual mill apparatus, has a 
 chest which acts as a flour dressing machine. 
 Some mills are adapted for crushing beans 
 rather than seeds. 
 
 CrosskilTs patent mill has a somewhat higher 
 class of action, since it is adapted either for 
 hand, horse, or steam power. In addition to 
 the grinding of corn and seed, it will hull 
 rice, coffee, and olives; crush bones and 
 metallic ores; and grind colours, drugs, 
 charcoal and various other substances. 
 
 The crushing apparatus in mills is of two 
 kinds, either one stone working round in 
 contact with another ; or two metallic surfaces 
 between which the substance is forced, but 
 between which it cannot pass except in a fine 
 state. 
 
 MILLSTONES. The millstones employed 
 in grinding corn require to be made of a 
 peculiar kind of stone. The greater proportion 
 of our millstones are procured from a par- 
 ticular spot in Western Germany. At about 
 ten miles from Coblenz is a small town called 
 \ndernach, the chief trade of which is in 
 millstones procured from the neighbouring 
 quarries of Nieder-Mendig. There are several 
 quarries, averaging about 50 feet in depth, 
 each quarry shaped like an inverted cone, down 
 
 the sides of which the quarry men descend 
 by a spiral path. The quarry men have to 
 cut away through a superincumbent layer of 
 soft porous stone, till they come to a layer of 
 hard, blackish, heavy stone, regularly porous, 
 and yielding sparks when struck with iron. 
 This is the mill-stone, and requires good and 
 well prepared tools to work it ; it is supposed 
 to be a compact lava from some extinct volcano; 
 and as there are fissures or gaps at intervals, 
 these facilitate the separation of the stone into 
 blocks suitable for millstones. All round the 
 bottom of the conical cavities, the stone has 
 been excavated in galleries or horizontal 
 passages. The stones are brought to shape 
 by means of hammers and chisels. A deep 
 socket is cut through the middle of such stones 
 as are intended for runners, or upper stones. 
 The furrows on the surfaces of the stones are 
 produced by means of a double edged hammer, 
 about 141bs. weight. 
 
 The hard volcanic stratum from whence the 
 millstones are cut, extends five miles in length 
 by three in breadth ; so that the supply may 
 for all practical purposes be deemed inex- 
 haustible. It is known that millstones have 
 been procured from this spot during a period 
 of 2,000 years. Four or five families usually 
 unite in the labour of sinking a shaft and 
 working the stone ; all assisting in the labour 
 according to their strength and ability. 
 The workers divide themselves into four groups 
 the miners, the lifters, the cutters, and the 
 loaders. When the millstones are properly 
 shaped, they are sent down the Rhine upon 
 the immense timber rafts which navigate that 
 river. When the rafts arrive at Holland, they 
 are broken up for the sale of the timber ; and 
 the millstones are distributed in various 
 quarters according to the demand. 
 
 MINARET in Turkish and Eastern archi- 
 tecture, is a very slender and lofty turret, 
 having one or more projecting balconies 
 around it, that divide it externally into two or 
 more stories. They are used in Mohammedan 
 countries for the purpose of calling the people 
 to prayers, and therefore serve the purpose of 
 belfries ; but they are also frequently added 
 merely for ornament. 
 
 MINERALS. Various methods of arrange- 
 ment of minerals have been proposed by diffe- 
 rent authors. According to Werner, minerals 
 were divided into the four classes of earthy 
 minerals, saline minerals, inflammables, and 
 metals : Karsten classed them under the heads 
 of earths, salts, combustibles, and metals : 
 Haiiy divided minerals into acidiferous earthy 
 substances, earthy substances, non-metallic 
 combustible bodies, metallic bodies, substances 
 not sufficiently known to admit of classification, 
 
inn 
 
 MINIATURE PAINTING. 
 
 rocks and volcanic products ; Phillips's classe 
 are, earthy minerals, alkaline-earthy minerals 
 acids, acidiferous earthy minerals, acidiferou 
 alkaline minerals, native metals, metalliferou 
 minerals, and combustible minerals ; Berzeliu 
 made a chemical classification. Variou 
 modes of classifying minerals have depended on 
 the relative structure, fracture, hardness, specify 
 gravity, transparency and lustre of the mine 
 rals. The study of this subject in a systematic 
 form constitutes the science of Mineralogy, 
 
 MINIATURE PAINTING. Miniature 
 painting, properly so named, is in water 
 colours, though it is not at all similar in its 
 process to that employed in water-colour 
 drawings in general. Instead of being applied 
 in washes, or by diiferent tints laid over each 
 other, the colours are entirely dotted, stippled 
 or hatched upon the surface ; though some- 
 times only the face and other flesh parts are 
 fio executed, as requiring greater finish and 
 delicacy, while the drapery and background 
 are either partially or wholly executed according 
 to the usual mode of water-colour drawing. 
 The material employed for painting upon is 
 generally ivory (the surface of which is first 
 prepared for receiving the colours), or vellum ; 
 sometimes Bristol-board, or other drawing- 
 paper of that sort. Ivory however is preferred, 
 as not only more durable, but bearing out the 
 colours with greater brilliancy. 
 
 MININ G. The use of the metals, and con- 
 sequently some process for the extraction and 
 separation of them, may be traced to the most 
 remote antiquity. In respect to our own 
 country, mines were worked in Britain by the 
 Romans ; but during the Saxon period they 
 were much neglected; and subsequently to 
 this period they were chiefly worked by Jews. 
 In the reign of Elizabeth the art of mining 
 had fallen into so much decay that an impor- 
 tation of foreign skill was found necessary to 
 revive them ; and the Germans, long and 
 justly celebrated as skilful miners, received 
 every encouragement to settle in this country 
 and turn their attention to them. In the 
 17th century the use of gunpowder in mines 
 was introduced ; and early in the next century 
 the rich copper mines of Cornwall were first 
 worked. The invention of the steam -engine 
 was early rendered applicable to mining in 
 this country, and contributed to the present 
 perfect state of tho art. After the invention 
 by Savery and Newcomon, the steam engine 
 became a most useful auxiliary in the hands 
 of the miner; and the improvements of Watt 
 were still more beneficial. The Cornish steam 
 engines are now among the most powerful in 
 the world. The use of iron pumps instead of 
 wooden in the shafts, and the laying down of 
 
 LflNING. 
 
 tramroads in the galleries of a mine, were two 
 other great improvements. Great improve- 
 ments, too, have been made in the mechanical 
 treatment of the ores after they have been 
 extracted. 
 
 There are four principal classes into which 
 mineral deposits may be divided ; veins, beds, 
 masses, and fragmentary deposits. Veins are 
 generally long, narrow, and irregular fissures, 
 traversing the rocky crust of the globe, which 
 they penetrate to an unknown depth, and at a 
 high angle of inclination. They are for the 
 most part filled with sparry and stony sub- 
 stances called the ' veinstone,' or the ' gangue,' 
 of the vein, but contain here and there 
 irregular masses or ' bunches' of the metallic 
 ores, often of immense size and value, and 
 which it is the principal business of the miner 
 to discover and extract. Most of the metals 
 are of common occurrence in veins. Bids are 
 layers of mineral substances interposed between 
 the strata of solid rock, which, except in their 
 containing valuable matter, they very much 
 resemble. Several of the metals, especially 
 lead, are occasionally found in beds; coal, 
 clay-ironstone, and rock-salt, exclusively so. 
 Masses or Pipe-Veins, are irregular branching 
 cavities descending either vertically or 
 obliquely into the rock, and filled up with 
 metalliferous matter. They usually contain 
 copper, lead, or oxides of iron. Fragmentary 
 Deposits occur associated with many of the 
 .oose superficial beds of sand and gravel which 
 occur in the valleys of mineral districts, con- 
 sisting of the detritus of the neighbouring 
 mountains, which has been washed down from 
 thence at remote geological epochs. Tin and 
 pld are the chief metals found in this form. 
 Each kind of metallic ore is found to prevail 
 n some one geological formation rather than 
 others. 
 
 Most metals are found in the state of Ores, 
 !iat is, chemically combined Avith certain 
 mineralizing substances. The most important 
 f these mineralizing bodies are oxygen and 
 ulphur ; the next in rank are chlorine, and 
 he sulphuric, carbonic, and phosphoric acids. 
 These elements require to be separated by the 
 >rocesses of metallurgy ; but there are also 
 ther mechanical impurities scarcely less im- 
 ortant, which require to be partially separated 
 n the mine, and which therefore fall entirely 
 vithin the province of the miner. It frequently 
 lappens too that ores of a worthless character 
 -re mixed up with the more valuable ones ; 
 hus copper and lead are very generally accom 
 anied by iron pyi'ites and blende, both ol 
 rhich must be regarded as impurities, and 
 herefore separated as far as possible previous 
 o any process in the furnace. 
 
MINING. 
 
 Veins or beds are seldom visible at the 
 surface of the ground, being generally con- 
 cealed by the soil. As the deposits usually 
 present no trace of their existence at the 
 surface, certain general indications must be 
 had recourse to for their discovery ; the number 
 of indications which guide the miner is con- 
 siderable, and increases as science and 
 experience advances. When a new vein or 
 mineral deposit has been by any process dis- 
 covered, the most usual step, after obtaining 
 the consent of the proprietor, is the formation 
 of a company; for companies are generally 
 found to work mines better than individuals. 
 The company agree with the proprietor as to 
 the extent of ground within which operations 
 may be carried on, the proportion of the gross 
 mineral produce or its equivalent in money 
 which the owner is to receive free of all 
 expense in raising and making it marketable, 
 and other matters. 
 
 In commencing the mining operations, the 
 usual system is, to dig down from the surface 
 vintil the vein or bed is reached. A spot is 
 selected as the site of a shaft, which is fre- 
 quently sunk in an inclined direction upon the 
 course of the vein, or if intended to be per- 
 pendicular, it is commenced upon that side 
 towards which the vein inclines or underlies, 
 and at such a distance from its ' back' or out- 
 crop, as to come down upon it at a given 
 depth, say 10, 20, or 30 fathoms, On cutting 
 the vein, the shaft is for a time suspended, 
 and two horizontal passages, often termed 
 { galleries,' but by the miner ' levels,' are 
 excavated or ' driven 1 upon the vein in both 
 directions. These passages are usually about 
 six feet in height and three or four in breadth, 
 and rather smaller above than below. They 
 are the principal means of exploring the 
 contents of veins. If the shaft is deep, ' cross- 
 cuts' and other levels are made at different 
 heights, so as to explore the vein at different 
 parts. After cutting the vein, there are two 
 modes of proceeding continuing the shaft 
 perpendicularly through the vein, or obliquely 
 upon the vein ; the choice between these two 
 plans depends on a number of practical cir- 
 cumstances. Supposing the shaft to proceed 
 perpendicularly after cutting the vein, on 
 reaching the depth of ten fathoms or there- 
 abouts below the point of intersection another 
 cross-cut will be driven to it. In this manner 
 the shaft proceeds indefinitely, cross-cuts being 
 driven at every ten fathoms or whatever 
 distance is most convenient, and levels 
 extended from each upon the course of the 
 vein, the nature and value of which are thus 
 thoroughly explored. 
 
 The mining operations are soon affected by 
 
 MINING. 
 
 12U 
 
 the impurity of the air. It is chiefly in the 
 ends of the levels that the evil of imperfect 
 ventilation begins to be felt, the air here 
 gradually becoming close and unfit for respira- 
 tion, as the levels advance farther from the 
 shaft, especially when from the hardness of 
 the ground frequent blasting is necessary. 
 As soon as this is found to be the case, a 
 remedy of a very simple nature is applied, 
 which consists in sinking a small pit, termed 
 a ' winze,' upon the vein, from the upper level 
 to the extremity of the one below it. This 
 communication having been effected, the two 
 levels became perfectly ventilated, each having 
 a double communication with the atmosphere 
 by which both an ascending and descending 
 current is produced. The winzes are generally 
 made at intervals of 20 or 30 fathoms apart, 
 and from each level to those above and below 
 it : they serve not only for ventilating the 
 galleries, but also assist the exploring and 
 working of the vein. 
 
 The various operations may proceed indefi- 
 nitely, according to the richness of the vein 
 The shaft will continue to be sunk, cross- 
 cuts driven to the vein at every ten fathoms or 
 thereabouts, levels extended in both directions 
 from them, and the ground between them 
 subdivided by winzes. The excavations will 
 now have assumed a regular form, and become 
 what is properly termed a mine. In mining 
 operations, where the vein is not very hard, 
 the ore may be broken down with the ' pick' 
 only, but it is generally necessary to blast it 
 with powder, by which process large quantities 
 are detached from the vein by every shot. 
 The ore having been detached is carried in 
 tram-waggons to the shaft, and thence raised 
 to the surface. "When the levels have been 
 extended to a considerable distance from the 
 shaft, the ventilation will again become defec- 
 tive, notwithstanding their communication by 
 winzes. The expense of the transport of ore 
 and masses of rock and rubbish to the shaft 
 also becomes considerable ; and if the pros- 
 pects of the mine continue such as to warrant 
 the expense, a new shaft must now be sunk 
 on one or both sides of the former. This 
 new shaft will be so placed as to intersect the 
 vein much deeper than the former, and this 
 point will be so arranged as to correspond 
 either with one of the deepest levels, or some 
 proposed level deeper still. By accurate 
 measurements, mining engineers are able to 
 work a second shaft from many different depths 
 at one time. At the Consolidated Mines in 
 Cornwall, a perpendicular shaft, 204 fathoms 
 n depth, was worked from fifteen different 
 points at once. Mining shafts are generally 
 about eight feet by six in area. 
 
1215 
 
 MINING. 
 
 MINING. 
 
 1216 
 
 As veins are generally found to run nearly 
 parallel, and often at no great distance from 
 each other, and as the neighbourhood of a 
 productive vein is a favourable indication of 
 the contents of others in its vicinity, transverse 
 levels or ' cross-cuts' are frequently driven 
 from mines at various depths, with a view to 
 discover side-veins or to make trial of branches 
 which diverge from the main lode. Metal- 
 liferous veins are often traversed by other 
 veins crossing them at nearly right angles, 
 which seldom contain ore, except perhaps 
 near the points of intersection: they are 
 termed ' cross-courses,' or ' cross-veins.' 
 
 Where a vein has been worked by driving a 
 level towards it from a valley or other conve- 
 nient point on the surface, the drainage to the 
 point of intersection is, of course complete ; 
 and hence in mountainous countries, where 
 deep ravines occur, levels may be made for 
 draining at a much smaller expense than 
 where engines are required to pump the water 
 up from a great depth. 
 
 The tools and processes employed by the 
 miner in the excavation of the rock or the vein 
 are simple. As his work is chiefly of two 
 kinds, siinly excavating the ground when soft, 
 and blasting it when hard, his tools are suited 
 to each process, the ' pick' and ' gad' being 
 used for the former ; the 'borer' or 'jumper,' 
 and the hammer used to propel it, for the 
 latter, with several minor accessories for firing 
 the shots, when the hole has been completed 
 t to its proper depth. The pick resembles a 
 common pickaxe, but is smaller and more 
 convenient, the iron head being sharp and 
 pointed at one end, and very short and 
 hammer-shaped at the other. The wedge or 
 ' gad' is sometimes used in conjunction with 
 the pick ; it is made of wrought iron, and 
 often with curved sides. The ' borer' or 
 jumper' is an iron rod or circular bar, usually 
 about two feet in length, steeled, and formed 
 into a flat sharp edge at the end ; it is driven 
 into the rock by one man with a heavy hammer, 
 while the other continually turns it round so 
 as to expose the cutting edge to fresh surfaces 
 of the rock. The pulverised matter is drawn 
 out from time to time by a tool called a 
 * scraper; ' and in the hole so formed are placed 
 the powder and fuse for blasting. 
 
 When the influx of water in a mine becomes 
 at all considerable, recourse must be had to 
 the power either of a water-wheel or a steam- 
 engine to discharge it to the surface. If a 
 water-wheel is used instead of horse-power, 
 pumps are in that case fixed in the shaft, pro- 
 portioned in size to the quantity of water to 
 be drawn, 10 or 12 inches in diameter being a 
 very common size where there is only a 
 
 moderate influx. The pumps used in mines 
 do not act like common household pumps ; 
 they are arranged in ' lifts' or columns, of 
 considerable height, often indeed from 20 to 
 30 fathoms, the water being discharged into 
 cisterns placed at the foot of each. The pumps 
 are now commonly made of iron. The whole 
 column of pumps in a shaft is commonly 
 worked by a single pump-rod, which goes 
 down the middle of it and communicates with 
 each column by a rod attached to its side. 
 The steam-engine has long been the great 
 auxiliary of the English miner, both for 
 drawing up the minerals and for discharging 
 the water. 
 
 The mode of support used in mines is of 
 three kinds by leaving pillars of the vein, for 
 which purpose the poorer masses are of course 
 selected ; by timbering ; and by walling either 
 with brick or stone. Timbering is a yery 
 common and convenient plan, and consists of 
 timber frame-work and boards. Shafts and 
 levels are sometimes also supported by walling. 
 
 The ventilation of mines is most generally 
 and most effectually accomplished rather by a 
 judicious arrangement of the works and fre- 
 quent communication with the surface than 
 by mechanical means, although it sometimes 
 becomes necessary to resort to the latter. The 
 general mode of working and ventilating coal- 
 mines is noticed under COAL. 
 
 The ore raised to the surface is enormous 
 in some mines. At the Consolidated Mines 
 in Cornwall it has sometimes amounted to 
 200 tons a day, of which three-fourths is earth 
 or rubbish. To remove this rubbish is the 
 object of dressing, for which purpose the lumps 
 are taken to the 'dressing floors,' near the 
 mouths of the principal shafts and levels, and 
 are there broken with hammers. The ore is 
 then picked out by boys and women, and fur- 
 ther subjected to various processes of crush- 
 ing, stamping, and washing. When the metallic 
 portions are as far separated as it is possible 
 for them to be by these processes, they are 
 roasted in furnaces, to drive off the oxygen 
 and all other chemical substances that may be 
 combined ,with them. 
 
 During the year 1850, a number of new 
 English mines were opened, and many old 
 mines were brought more prominently than 
 before into notice. As a field of investment 
 and speculation, English mines, after a long 
 period of depression, have lately revived; and 
 there are not wanting indications that some- 
 thing of the recklessness of railway speculation 
 will soon be observable in mining transac- 
 tions. There are public manias of this kind 
 which seem to supervene at intervals of a few 
 years. There were dividends, to the amount 
 
1217 
 
 MINT; COINING. 
 
 MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 1218 
 
 of 213,570/., paid in 42 Devon and Cornwall 
 mines in 1850 ; being larger in amount than 
 in the four preceding years. The Devon Great 
 Consols Mine, near Tavistock, is at the pre- 
 sent time the richest in the United Kingdom ; 
 no other mine yields so large a return for the 
 capital sunk in working it; and the value of 
 the shares, in respect to premium on the 
 original price, excels any thing that the rail- 
 way ferment has presented to us, either in 
 England or elsewhere. Most of the best 
 mines in Devon and Cornwall yield both tin 
 and copper, the copper being generally found 
 below the tin. 
 
 Various details relating to English mining 
 will be found under COPPEE ; CORNWALL ; 
 DERBYSHIRE ; IRON ; LEAD ; &c. 
 
 MINT ; COINING. The mode of coining 
 English money in early times, was rude and 
 inartificial ; the sole expedient employed being 
 to fix one die firmly in a wooden block, and to 
 hold the other in the hand as a puncheon ; 
 then, by striking the latter forcibly and re- 
 peatedly with a hammer, the impression re- 
 quired was at length worked up. Scarcely any 
 improvement was made in this method until 
 about the middle of the 16th century, when 
 the power of the screw was applied to coinage 
 at the French mint. 
 
 When bullion or ingots of gold or silver are 
 sent to the mint to be coined, the weight and 
 quality are ascertained with scrupulous exact- 
 ness, in order that an equivalent in coin may 
 be returned for it. They are melted in pots, 
 with such proportion of alloy as shall give 
 the requisite standard of quality. The melted 
 and alloyed metal is cast into bars, and these 
 bars are rolled into plates of the proper thick- 
 ness, Avhether for sovereigns, half sovereigns, 
 shillings, or any other coins. The plates or 
 sheets are cut up into circular pieces by a 
 cutting-out press, each scrupulously accurate 
 as to weight and size. 
 
 Then come the processes for impressing a 
 device on each surface of the coin. The com- 
 ing press consists of a screw, to which the 
 upper die is connected ; this is worked by a 
 fly, and forces that die which is attached to it 
 with considerable force upon the other die, 
 which is firmly fixed below. The circular 
 form of the piece admits of some addition to 
 the impression, to preserve the outer edge. 
 This was first attempted by placing a graining 
 so as to form a regular circle on the outside 
 of the legend, quite to the edge of the coin. 
 Afterwards a legend was imprinted upon the 
 edge of the larger pieces ; such an impression 
 is given to the edge of the coin by passing it 
 between two plates, so that when the coin has 
 been carried by the moveable plate to the end 
 
 of that which is fixed, it has become marked 
 upon the whole of the edge. As it is difficult 
 to impress a legend upon the rim of the 
 smaller coins, a graining has been devised for 
 the protection of their outer edge ; this, which 
 is called milling, has at different times been 
 rectangular and diagonal to the thickness of 
 the piece, according to the views entertained 
 as to the best mode of preventing coin- 
 clipping. 
 
 From the money, when finished, two pieces 
 are taken for every 15 Ib. weight of gold, and 
 two at least for every 601bs. weight of silver. 
 These selected pieces (which are presumed to 
 be an average of the whole) are subjected to 
 rigorous assayings one called the private 
 assay within the mint ; and the other the trial 
 of the pix, at which some of the great officers 
 of the government are always present. 
 
 At the London Mint the melting pots will 
 each hold 400 Ibs. of gold. The ingots into 
 which the gold is cast are 10 inches long, 7 
 broad, X 0-6 thick. The press-room has eight 
 stamping presses, which will together strike 
 nearly 20,000 coins in an hour. In standard 
 coins, the pure gold is alloyed with a little 
 silver, and the pure silver with a little copper. 
 A sovereign weighs 123-274 grains, of which 
 113-001 grains are pure gold; a shilling weighs 
 87-27 grains, of which 80-727 grains are pure 
 silver. 
 
 MIEEOE. This term is nearly equivalent 
 to looking glass, in ordinary application; it ap- 
 plies to flat silvered looking glasses, as well 
 as to the convex and concave mirrors which 
 used to form articles of ornamental furniture. 
 But it is, or ought to be, equally correct a 
 name for any polished plate of silver, steel, or 
 other substance which yields a clear optical 
 reflection. A few details concerning silvered 
 glass mirrors will be found under SILVERING. 
 
 MISSISSIPPI (or the Great Water, as the 
 term signifies in the native language), is one 
 of the largest rivers on the globe, which drains 
 with its numerous branches, a surface of about 
 1,100,000 square miles. It falls into the Gulf 
 of Mexico by six mouths, after a course of 
 more than 3200 miles ; but if we consider the 
 Missouri as the principal river, the whole 
 course is at least 4400 miles. Several of its 
 other affluents would, considered singly, be 
 deemed grand and mighty rivers, especially 
 the Ohio, the Wisconsin, and the Illinois. 
 
 The rivers Mississippi and Missouri each 
 give name to a state of America, a few indus- 
 trial statistics of which will be found under 
 UNITED STATES. Perhaps no region in the 
 world is increasing more rapidly in production 
 and commerce than the rich valley of the 
 Mississippi. Steamers now carry heavy 
 
1219 
 
 MIST. 
 
 freights for a distance of many hundred miles 
 along this great river, in the vaidst of a valley 
 of almost unparalleled productiveness. 
 
 MIST, is the vapour of water rendered vis- 
 ible by the temperature of the air being re- 
 duced below that of the vapour. When the 
 mist is very thick it is called a fog. Water, 
 in the state of vapour, is continually rising 
 into the atmosphere at all the usual tempera- 
 tures ; but in very hot weather the air is not 
 easily saturated with vapour, and in cold wea- 
 ther evaporation is slow : thus there is more 
 vapour in the air in summer than in winter, 
 and in hot countries than in temperate clim- 
 ates, in all cases where similar surfaces of 
 water are exposed to the sun's rays. Indeed, 
 it has been found that the quantity of vapour 
 in the air diminishes nearly uniformly with 
 the temperature from the equator to the 
 poles. 
 
 MODELLING. Modelling in clay requires 
 the aid of a few tools ; but no tool is more 
 useful than the finger ; indeed tools have been 
 invented as mere aids to the fingers, and are 
 designed only to do what they cannot perform. 
 Wire tools are the most useful, being fashioned 
 into loops of various shapes and sizes, round 
 and angular, and fixed into wooden handles. 
 The wooden tools are made of box and ebony, 
 of various shapes and sizes curved, straight, 
 pointed, rounded, and flat and broad ; the 
 broad tools being notched, and designed chiefly 
 for working the large convex masses, or large 
 folds in drapery. 
 
 The clay used is common potter's clay, but 
 of the best quality. It must be so wet that it 
 will not stand in a mass much higher than its 
 own width without support. The supports 
 for the clay are a most important consideration ; 
 for if not properly attended to, the finished 
 work, the fruits of months of labour, might 
 suddenly fall to pieces by its own weight. 
 Sculptors generally model figures of the ordi- 
 nary size upon a bench or stand called a 
 banker, about 30 inches high, and about 30 
 inches square, for a bust it must of course 
 be much higher ; above this a solid circular 
 plinth is fixed on a wooden bos, and is re- 
 volved upon s,ix or more wheels, or what are 
 better, short slightly conical rollers, fixed to 
 the plinth near the circumference. A revolv- 
 ing plinth is necessary to enable the sculptor 
 to see his work on all- sides in any light, and 
 it enables him to work on all parts, in one 
 spot, or in the same light. On the centre of 
 the plinth is built up a skeleton frame-work 
 of iron and wood, projecting in various direc- 
 tions to support the various parts of the figure. 
 Another essential part of modelling is pre- 
 serving the moisture of the clay, which should 
 
 MOLASSES. 
 
 be always uniform if possible ; it must never 
 be allowed to dry, and it can be kept moist 
 with very little trouble. While the modeller 
 is at work, and the figure is exposed, especially 
 in warm weather, he should repeatedly sprinkle 
 it with water. A plasterer's brush is the best 
 instrument for this purpose. When the model 
 is complete, the next process is to take the 
 cast, to work the marble from, or to make 
 other casts from. The ancient sculptors used 
 to bake their models, but this is not so good 
 a plan as making plaster casts from them, 
 though less troublesome and much cheaper. 
 
 MODILLION is an architectural ornament 
 in the Corinthian cornice, resembling a small 
 bracket placed horizontally, that is, with its 
 back against the soffit of the part it supports, 
 in which respect it differs from the Console. 
 Modillions are placed beneath the corona of 
 the cornice, and although sometimes omitted 
 out of parsimony, are indispensable to the 
 character of the order. 
 
 MOIRfe METALLIQUE. There is a sin- 
 gular and often elegant way of ornamenting 
 metallic surfaces, called by the French Moirk 
 Melallique, equivalent to clouded or watered 
 metal. The metal has a sort of crystallised 
 appearance, somewhat resembling a frosted 
 window on a winter's day, but far more 
 brilliant and diversified. It was first intro- 
 duced at Paris in 1817, by M. Allard, and was 
 much used soon afterwards as an ornamental 
 covering for Kaleidoscopes and other articles. 
 
 The moire metallique is tinned iron plate, 
 the tinned surface of which has been exposed 
 to a peculiar chemical action from acid. Tin 
 plate consists of sheet iron coated with melted 
 tin; and it is believed that the clouded or 
 watered appearance is produced by inequality 
 of action between the tin and the iron at 
 different parts ; but the results are not visible 
 through the whole thickness of the tin ; and 
 the art consists in removing so much of the 
 tin as to lay bare the thin film which exists at 
 the junction of the two metals. This is a 
 point of much nicety, for if the acid employed 
 for this purpose be allowed to penetrate too 
 deeply, it will lay bare some of the iron, and 
 there will result dark spots instead of the 
 silvery lustre and pearly appearance of the 
 moire. Dilute nitro-muriatio acid is one 
 among many acids and corroding liquids 
 employed for the purpose. The plate is ex- 
 posed to the action of the acid for a few 
 minutes, while heated ; then carefully washed, 
 and finally coated with varnish, by which the 
 moire is preserved. 
 
 MOLASSES, is the name given to the un- 
 crystallised syrup produced in the manufacture 
 of sugar and which is suffered to drain from 
 
1221 
 
 MOLYBDENUM. 
 
 MONEY. 
 
 1222 
 
 the casks into a cistern, in what is called the 
 curing-house, before the sugar is sent away 
 from the plantation. [SuGAK.] Part of the 
 molasses is fermented and distilled for rum in 
 the West Indies, and part is made to yield a 
 little sugar by crystallisation : the residue con- 
 stitutes Treacle. 
 
 The molasses imported during the last three 
 years amounted to the following quantities : 
 
 1848 517,535 cvvts. 
 
 1849 1,062,837 
 
 1850 905,054 
 
 MOLYBDE'NUM, a metal discovered by 
 Scheele, in 1778, is a mineral which resembles 
 and had been confounded with plumbago. 
 This metal is obtained as a porous mass or in 
 globules, and has not yet been procured in 
 the state of a button or bar. The grains are 
 somewhat crystalline ; sometimes they are of 
 a silver -white colour. "When obtained by the 
 reduction of the oxide, this metal has not 
 much lustre, but acquires it by burnishing. 
 When long exposed to the air at ordinary tem- 
 peratures, it appears to tarnish, but the oxida- 
 tion is superficial. Oxide of molybdenum oc- 
 curs encrusting the sulphuret of molybdenum, 
 and also between its laminss in thin layers. 
 Its structure is thin, fibrous, earthy, friable, 
 and pulverulent ; and its colour is pale yellow 
 or greenish. 
 
 Molybdenum combines with many other 
 substances ; but neither in its simple nor its 
 compound state has it yet been applied to 
 many useful purposes : it still remains in the 
 domain of scientific chemistry. 
 
 MONAGHAN. This Irish county contains 
 a valuable deposit of gypsum ; and near this 
 is a small coal-field. Limestone of great va- 
 riety and excellent quality is quarried ; also 
 fine marble, and valuable freestone for building. 
 A fine white sandstone, dug in the Slieve 
 Beagh Mountains, is extensively used for ar- 
 chitectural purposes. Ironstone, slate, and 
 lead-ore, exist in small quantities. 
 
 The soil of the county varies much. The 
 wheat grown is generally red wheat, and of 
 inferior quality ; but the flax crop is important. 
 Clover, vetches, and other green crops, are 
 more attended to than turnips or mangel 
 wurzel. A good deal of butter is made, and 
 sent to England. The population of the 
 county is very dense ; the number of labour- 
 ers has increased ; and the decline of the linen 
 manufacture, which once furnished them with 
 employment, has left the great majority with 
 little other work than that which they bestow 
 on the small spot of land which they occupy. 
 Some of the worst features of Irish poverty 
 and improvidence are to be found in Mo- 
 naghan. 
 
 MONEY. At a time when industry has 
 
 caused the assembling in London of visitors 
 
 from so many countries, it would not be an 
 
 inconsistent feature in this work to present a 
 
 Table of the values of some of the best known 
 
 European coins. Kelly's Cambist is our 
 
 authority. 
 
 Bajocchio; copper coin at Home and Bologna; 
 worth rather more than one halfpenny. 
 
 Batzen ; a Swiss coin of inferior silver about 
 \kd. 
 
 Carline; Piedmont gold coin ; about 51. 12s. 3d. 
 
 Cash ; Chinese coin of copper and lead ; about 
 120 to a penny. 
 
 Cent ; United States' copper coin ; about OJd. 
 In France a cent or centime is not a coin, 
 but a money of account, one-hundredth of a 
 franc. 
 
 Cowries ; shells used for money in the east ; 
 about 120 to a penny. 
 
 Ciown ; the crown coins in foreign countries 
 have been mostly superseded by other de- 
 nominations. 
 
 Crusado ; Portuguese coins, both gold and 
 silver ; about 2s. 6d 
 
 Dime ; United States' silver coin ; 6|rf. 
 
 Doit ; Dutch copper coin ; half a farthing. 
 
 Dollar; United States' silver coin, 4s. 4rf. Also 
 a Spanish silver coin, 4s. 3|rf. See also 
 Thaler and Eix-thalcr. 
 
 Doubloon ; Spanish gold coin ; about 3/. 6s. 
 
 Ducat ; there are gold ducats in Eussia, Swe- 
 den, Holland, and Germany, varying in 
 value from 8s. 4rf. to 9s. 5rf. There are sil- 
 ver ducats in Italy ; about 3s. 6d. 
 
 Eagle ; United States' gold coin ; about 2/. 4s. 
 
 Florin ; there are both gold and silver florins 
 in Germany ; worth respectively about 7s. 
 and Is. 8d. to 2s. 
 
 Franc ; French silver coin, 9d. Also a Swiss 
 silver coin ; Is. 2d. 
 
 Frederick ; Prussian gold coin ; 16s. 4rf. 
 
 Guilder ; another name for Florin. 
 
 Groschen; German silver coin ; Id. to l%d. 
 
 Imperial ; Russian gold coin ; 33s. 4d. 
 
 Kopeck ; Russian copper coin ; rather less 
 than Id. 
 
 Kreutzer ; German copper coin ; three to one 
 penny 
 
 Mark; Hamburg silver coin; about Is. 3d. 
 
 Milree ; Portuguese gold coin ; about 5s. 
 
 Mohur ; East Indies gold coin ; about 33s. 
 
 Napoleon; French gold coin; 15s. IQd. 
 
 Paolo or Paul; Italian silver coin; 5\d. 
 
 Pfenning ; Prussian copper coin ; ten to a 
 penny. 
 
 Piastre ; Levant silver coin ; rather over Is. 
 
 Pistole ; German gold coin ; about 21s. Also 
 an Italian gold coin, variable in value in 
 different states. 
 
1223 
 
 MONMOUTHSHIRE. 
 
 MONTREAL. 
 
 1224 
 
 Seal; Spanish silver com ; 5d. The Rea 
 
 vellon is a smaller coin ; 2|rf. 
 Mix-thaler ; German silver coin ; about 4*. 2d 
 
 The Danish Rigsbank thaler is about 2s. 3d. 
 Rouble ; Russian silver coin ; 3s. Id. There 
 
 are platinum coins of three and six roubles 
 Rupee ; East Indian silver coin ; about 2s. 
 Schilling ; German coin of inferior silver 
 
 about IJrf. 
 
 Scudo ; Italian silver coin ; about 4s. 4rf. 
 Seclisling ; Hamburg copper or base silver 
 
 coin ; rather more than OJrf. 
 Sequin ; Italian gold coin ; about 9s. 5d. The 
 
 Turkish sequin varies much in value. 
 Sou ; French copper coin, ^jyth of a franc ; 
 
 about O^rf. 
 
 Stiver ; Dutch copper coin ; about Id. 
 Thaler; the ordinary name in Germany for 
 
 the Rix-tlialer or Mix-dollar. 
 
 The weights of English gold and silver coins 
 are as follow : 
 
 Dwt. Grains. 
 
 Sovereign 5 3.274 
 
 Half sovereign . . 2 13.637 
 
 Crown 18 4.4 - elevenths. 
 
 Half crown 9 2.2 - elevenths. 
 
 Shilling 3 15.3 - elevenths. 
 
 Sixpence 1 19.7 - elevenths. 
 
 Fourpence 1 5.1 - eleventh. 
 
 MONMOUTHSHIRE. In the north-west 
 part of this county iron and coal are found in 
 considerable abundance ; and these form the 
 main elements of the wealth of Monmouth- 
 shire. In respect to agriculture, the soil is 
 various, but generally fertile. The agricul- 
 ture has been a good deal improved of late 
 years. In the north-west a little wheat is 
 grown, but oats and barley are the principal 
 crops. The southern tract bordering on the 
 Bristol Channel is an alluvial soil, which in 
 parts would be overflowed if not protected by 
 great dykes.There are numerous smallorchards, 
 
 Monmouth, the county town, has a consi 
 derable commerce with Bristol, by means of 
 the Wye. There are large iron-foundries in 
 the neighbourhood. Newport, near the mouth of 
 the Usk, is the outlet for a large amount of coal, 
 and a still larger amount of iron, which are 
 brought down the Blaenavon, the Ebbw, the 
 Sirhowy,the Rhimney, and other valleys from 
 the mountain district where the mines are 
 situated. Newport has been much improved 
 of late years. Ship building is carried on, 
 the river being so situated that vessels of great 
 burthen can be launched from the docks into 
 deep water. The docks and the river are 
 always crowded with vessels waiting for 
 cargoes of eoal and iron. At Pontypool most 
 of the inhabitants are employed in the coal 
 mines and iron works. 
 
 MONO CHORD, an instrument of one 
 string, is used by scientific musicians for the 
 purpose of ascertaining and demonstrating the 
 relative proportions of musical sounds. It is 
 composed of a board, or rule, divided and sub- 
 divided into various parts, and of a string 
 distended between two bridges, one of which 
 is placed at each end of the rule. In Dr. 
 Crotch's ' Elements of Musical Composition ' 
 will be found a simple and cheap method of 
 constructing a monochord. 
 
 Mr. Higgs's monochord, described before 
 the Society of Arts in 1843, is a single string 
 stretched over a bridge, and tuned to the 
 middle C of the pianoforte ; but it is provided 
 with other stops or bridges which enable it to 
 yield all the notes of the diatonic, chromatic 
 and enharmonic scales of the octave. It is 
 calculated to educate the ear of a singer to 
 appreciate musical intervals, and to aid in the 
 tuning of pianofortes and other instruments. 
 MONTPELLIER, capital of the French 
 department of Herault, has a very extensive 
 system of commerce and manufactures. 
 Liqueurs, perfumery, preserves, dried fruits, 
 verdigris, alum, cream of tartar, vitriol and 
 aquafortis, woollen cloth, muslins, printed 
 cottons, calicoes, table linen, blankets, hosiery, 
 hats, leather, corks, and paper, are manu- 
 "actured; these articles, with wool, wine, 
 Brandy, oranges, citrons and other fruits, and 
 he oil of the surrounding districts, furnish 
 ,he chief articles of trade. There are several 
 printing-offices, sugar refineries, potteries, 
 oil-mills, paper-mills, and saw-mills. In the 
 central prison, which receives convicts from 
 20 departments, several articles of silk and 
 cotton are manufactured. 
 
 MONTREAL, the capital of Lower Canada, 
 
 et the first example of an Exposition of 
 
 manufactures in America ; it was at Montreal 
 
 hat the Canadian Industrial Exhibition of 
 
 850 was held, an exhibition which prepared 
 
 he Canadians to take part in the far greater 
 
 Exhibition of 1851. 
 
 In respect to commerce, the harbour of 
 Montreal, which is formed by an arm of the 
 St. Lawrence, is small but secure; the diffi- 
 culty of approach, which the rapid of St. Mary 
 formerly presented to sailing vessels, has been 
 overcome by the employment of steam-tugs. 
 The shipping trade of Montreal is very active 
 whilst the navigation is open. The repeal of 
 the Navigation Laws, and the uninterrupted 
 steam navigation by the Rideau and Welland 
 Canals and the great lakes westwards, as far 
 as Chicago on the south-western shore of 
 Lake Michigan, whereby the produce of Illinois 
 and the western states will find a ready vent 
 to Europe, promises to add greatly to the 
 
1225 
 
 MOORS. 
 
 MORTAR. 
 
 1220 
 
 trade of Montreal. Steamers ply regularly 
 during the season to Quebec. 
 
 MOORS. A Moor is an extensive waste 
 covered with heath, and the soil of which 
 consists of poor light earth, mixed generally 
 with a considerable portion of peat. The 
 want of fertility in moors arises chiefly from 
 a deficiency or superabundance of moisture, 
 the subsoil being either too porous to retain 
 it, or too impervious to allow it to escape. 
 Both extremes occur in some moors, which 
 are parched up in dry weather, and converted 
 into a dark mud by any continuance of rain. 
 When the moor consists of a loose peaty 
 earth of little depth incumbent on a rock, as 
 is the case in many mountainous countries, 
 no art can fertilise it. In the valleys, where 
 the waters have brought various earths mixed 
 with decayed vegetable matter from the sur- 
 rounding hills, the substance deposited is 
 mostly peat ; this soil, by careful management, 
 may be made productive. Sometimes exten- 
 sive moors have been converted into flourish- 
 ing farms of arable and grass land, as in 
 many parts of Scotland aud the north of 
 England ; sometimes they have been most 
 advantageously planted with forest-trees, and, 
 where there is a great extent of waste and a 
 scanty population; this is generally the most 
 certain mode of improving a property, although 
 the return is slow and distant. 
 
 MORAVIA is one of the richest provinces 
 of the Austrian empire in respect to produce 
 Agriculture is in an improved condition. Large 
 quantities of very fine wheat, rye, barley, anc 
 oats are grown. Flax and hemp are very ex 
 tensively grown ; but the consumption o: 
 these articles is so great, that large quantities 
 of them are imported. Fruit is plentiful an 
 good. The vine flourishes. The forests 
 furnish vast quantities of timber. The pas 
 tures are extensive. Formerly mines of golc 
 and silver were worked. At present iron 
 sulphur, vitriol, alum, coals, marble, pipeclay 
 and precious stones, particularly topazes, are 
 the chief mineral products. 
 
 The woollen, linen, and cotton manufac 
 tures are very flourishing, and on a large scale 
 and furnish supplies for an extensive expor 
 trade. The manufacture of thread is like 
 wise considerable. Dyeing is carried on a 
 Brii'nn, which is particularly celebrated fo 
 dyeing Turkey red. Moravia enjoys also th 
 benefit of a great transit trade. The import 
 are colonial produce, wool, Vienna silks 
 Russian furs, tallow, wine, oil, porcelain, glass 
 &c. 
 
 MORDANTS. [DYEING.] 
 
 MOREA. The produce and industry o 
 
 the Morea are briefly noticed under GREECE. 
 
 MO'RPHIA, the first discovered of a nu- 
 merous and important class of vegetable pro- 
 ucts, or alkalies, sometimes termed alkaloids. 
 t was obtained in 1803 by Sertuerner, a 
 erman chemist, from opium, in which it 
 xists in combination with a peculiar vegeta- 
 le acid, the meconic acid, and probably also 
 dth sulphuric acid. Morphia is a colourless 
 rystalline substance, with a bitter taste. 
 When heated strongly, it emits a resinous 
 mell, smokes, and burns with a lively red 
 ame, and leaves charcoal. Morphia is pro- 
 ably the most active principle of opium, but 
 eing very slightly soluble in water, is never 
 used alone medicinally. Having, however, like 
 ther alkalies, affinity for acids, it readily com- 
 ines with them and forms salts, which are 
 now extensively used in medicine. The 
 acetate and hydro chlorate of morphia are 
 hose salts which are usually employed medi- 
 cinally. 
 
 The uses of morphia and the other alka- 
 oids are almost exclusively, up to the present 
 ime, medicinal. 
 
 MORTAR. Common mortar is the sub- 
 stance placed between the stones or bricks of 
 a building to cement them together. Mortar 
 s essentially composed of slacked lime and 
 siliceous sand. The hardness which mortar 
 acquires is owing to the gradual conversion of 
 the lime into carbonate of lime, which takes 
 place very slowly by the absorption of carbonic 
 acid gas from the atmosphere. In this state 
 it adheres very firmly to the particles of silica 
 diffused through it, and both are strongly 
 united with the material employed in the 
 building. When limestones contain consider- 
 able portions of silica and alumina, they form 
 what has been termed Hydraulic Lime, and 
 the mortars made with them are called 
 Hydraulic Mortars. Of these, Parker's cement 
 is a well-known kind : it will set, as it is 
 termed, or become solid, in a quarter of an 
 hour, either in the air or under water. In 
 France artificial hydraulic lime has been pre 
 pared, and appears to answer the purpose ex- 
 tremely well. 
 
 A second application of the name Mortar 
 is to a vessel in which substances are either 
 reduced to fragments, pulverised, or dissolved, 
 by beating or trituration with a pestle. Mor- 
 tars are made of cast-iron, stone-ware, glass, 
 agate, flint, or porphyry, according to the use 
 to which they are to be applied. 
 
 It is not very easy to shew why such should 
 be the case; but the same name has a third 
 and wholly different signification, as applied 
 to a gun or cannon. A mortar is a piece of 
 ordnance which, compared with guns, is very 
 short, and is employed to throw shells or 
 
1227 MORTICING MACHINE. 
 
 carcasses at considerable elevations (generally 
 at 45). Mortars are either of iron or brass ; 
 they rest upon solid beds, and the trunnions 
 or cylinders upon which they turn, in giving 
 the required elevation, are placed at the lower 
 extremity of the piece. The calibres of 
 mortars in the British service are 4f, 5|, 8 
 10, and 13 inches. All these different kinds 
 of mortars are used on land, and the two last 
 are also employed in the navy; but in this 
 latter service the pieces are about 10 inches 
 longer than the land-service pieces of the 
 same calibre. The first two are sometimes 
 called royal mortars. The Dutch engineer 
 Coehorn invented small mortars for throwing 
 grenades. They were capable of being carried 
 about and served by one man ; consequently 
 they could be readily brought up to a conve- 
 nient spot, and rapidly fired. 
 
 MORTICING MACHINE. The cutting 
 of a mortice in wood- work, for joining or 
 framing the pieces together, is under ordinary 
 circumstances performed by hand ; but in the 
 remarkable operations at the Palace of Indus- 
 try, a morticing machine has been employed, 
 patented by Messrs. Furness and Lanton. It 
 consists of an upright frame, with ledges and 
 supports suitable to retain in a proper position 
 the piece of wood to be morticed. The mor- 
 ticing chisel is fixed to the lower end of a 
 vertical rod; and its mode of adjustment is 
 such that it can be turned round in any 
 direction, and may be made to cut a deep or 
 a shallow mortice at the discretion of the 
 workman. The machine is not wholly auto- 
 matic, but may be compared to a lathe ; the 
 workman puts his foot upon a treadle, by 
 which the morticing chisel is brought down 
 to the wood ; and in that position it is retained 
 until the mortice is cut. There are many 
 ingenious minor appendages, to facilitate the 
 action of the machine. 
 
 MOSAIC. This very elegant production is a 
 species of inlaid or tessellated work, made 
 with minute pieces of coloured substances, 
 generally either marble or other coloured 
 stones, or else glass more or less opaque, and 
 of every variety of hue which the subject may 
 require. The former mode was that chiefly 
 employed by the Romans for their costly 
 tessellated pavements, many of which have at 
 various times been discovered in England. 
 Mosaics of this description, that is, for pave- 
 ments, generally consist only of a series of 
 ornamental borders inclosing one or more 
 compartments containing some figure or 
 device, or occasionally a group or subject. 
 Others consist entirely of a pattern, generally 
 in two colours, sometimes in three black, 
 white, and red. Examples of pavement 
 
 MOSAIC. 
 
 1228 
 
 mosaics in each of these modes have been 
 discovered at Pompeii. Mosaic continued to 
 be used both for pavements and ornamenting 
 walls to a late period in the middle ages, and 
 was greatly practised in Byzantine buildings, 
 and by Byzantine artists who were also em- 
 ployed in Italy. 
 
 A kind of mosaic or coloured inlaid work 
 was occasionally employed hi Italy during the 
 middle ages for external decorations also ; as 
 an instance of which the facade of the Duomo 
 at Pisa may be mentioned, where, though the 
 pattern is chiefly in black and white, brilliant 
 reds and blues are intermixed at intervals. 
 
 Although nearly similar as to their process, 
 mosaic pictures, especially some of those of 
 later times, may be considered as a distinct 
 branch of the art. Whether actually employed 
 as pavements or inserted hi walls, mosaics of 
 this class consist chiefly of ornament and 
 pattern, executed in few and simple colours, 
 with hardly any attempt at variety of tints 
 and due graduation of tones, even in the 
 figures, human or animal, occasionally intro- 
 duced in them. For a long period after the 
 decline of the arts, mosaic painting continued 
 to be employed in Italy, both externally and 
 internally, for the decoration of churches, as 
 for instance, on the facade as well as within 
 the basilica of St. Mark at Venice. Some 
 have supposed that such productions were 
 entirely the work of Byzantine or Greek 
 artists, but the contrary opinion is maintained 
 by Cicognara, who asserts that mosaic was 
 practised by native Italians, and that it was 
 well known to the earliest Venetians. 
 
 Copies of celebrated works by Raphael and 
 other masters have been executed in mosaic, 
 and have the effect of paintings produced in 
 the usual way, though they are attended with 
 infinitely greater cost, and are beyond all 
 comparison more laborious and tedious in 
 their process. As each separate piece of glass 
 s of the same colour throughout, the gradua- 
 tion of tints, the melting off of any one colour 
 from its highest light to its darkest shadow, 
 can be obtained only by an immense number of 
 small pieces, of which those contiguous to 
 each other exhibit scarcely any perceptible 
 difference to the eye. The sole advantage, in 
 any degree proportionate to the cost attending 
 t, is the extreme durability of the work when 
 once accomplished. 
 
 Similar mosaic is employed sometimes on a 
 miniature scale, for pictures on the lids of 
 snuff-boxes and articles of that kind, or 
 tablets hi chimney-pieces, which are at tho 
 3est mere curiosities and very laborious trifles. 
 Florentine Work may also be mentioned as a 
 species of mosaic, chiefly used for inlying 
 
1220 
 
 MOSCOW. 
 
 MOVING POWEES. 
 
 1230 
 
 or veneering marble slabs for tables and de- 
 corative purposes of that sort, upon a mode- 
 rate scale. 
 
 The Mediaeval Exhibition of 1850 presented 
 many beautiful specimens of mosaic, mostly 
 on a small scale. In our own day, the chieJ 
 mosaic work produced is in the form of tessel- 
 lated tiles for pavements. 
 
 MOSCOW. In this important Kussian 
 province, agriculture is the chief occupation 
 of the inhabitants, and Moscow is one of the 
 best cultivated as well as one of the most po- 
 pulous provinces of the whole empire. Flax 
 hemp, and hops are cultivated. Horticulture 
 is carried on to a great extent, and the pro- 
 duce is nearly adequate to the consumption 
 Timber and wood-fuel are plentiful. Horses, 
 cattle, calves, and poultry are reared. The 
 minerals are freestone, potters' clay, brick- 
 clay, lime, gypsum, alabaster, and bog-iron. 
 
 Manufactures of various kinds are carried 
 on to a great extent, both by the country- 
 people for their own supply as well as for sale, 
 and also in the villages and towns, and espe 
 cially in the capital. The province has an ex- 
 tensive inland trade. 
 
 Of the far-famed city of Moscow we need 
 not speak in this work; for it is rather 
 a political metropolis than an emporium of 
 manufactures. It is, however, the centre of an 
 immense inland trade, by which the produce 
 of Europe and Asia is interchanged ; for there 
 is no city in which the luxuries of the East 
 and West meet in more singular proximity 
 than Moscow. 
 
 MOSELLE. This is an interesting depart- 
 ment of France, in respect to produce and 
 commercial industry. The valleys and hill- 
 sides are covered in general with a rich soil, 
 and are carefully cultivated so as to yield 
 great quantities of wheat, rye, and oats, of 
 which a considerable surplus over the home 
 consumption is sold for exportation in the 
 great corn-market of Metz. Other crops raised 
 are vetches, millet, peas, beans, and lentils. 
 Several Champagne wine merchants, settled 
 at Metz, purchase Moselle wine, and manu- 
 facture from it what they call champagne wine 
 for the German and Eussian markets. Pears, 
 peaches, and other fruits are grown in large 
 quantities, and exported in the form of dry, 
 liquid, and crystallised conserves from Metz, 
 where preserved fruits form an important 
 article of commerce. Flax is extensively 
 grown, both for the sake of the fibre and of the 
 seed, which is pressed for oil ; rape and tur- 
 nips are also grown. The forests consist of 
 oak, beech, hazel, &c. Bees are very nume- 
 rous, and much honey is gathered. 
 
 Several iron mines are worked, and the ore 
 
 is smelted and made into malleable iron- 
 Lead and copper are found, but no mines are 
 worked. Building stone, quartz, gypsum, cru- 
 cible and pottery earth are quarried. Marl 
 is found in great masses in the north and 
 north-west of the department, and is exten- 
 sively used in manure. Plaster-of-Paris is 
 also much used as a top-dressing for meadow 
 land. The industrial products consist of sheet 
 and bar iron, block-tin, nails, glass, unbleached 
 and table-linen, embroidered muslin, canvas, 
 paper, beer, tobacco, oil, starch, room paper, 
 beet-root sugar, tiles, pipes, pottery, leather, 
 hosiery, and common woollen and cotton 
 stufts. These articles, together with timber, 
 and the products previously mentioned, sup- 
 port an active commerce. Metz, the chief 
 town of the department, is a place of consider- 
 able manufacturing and commercial enter- 
 prise. 
 
 MOTHER OF PEARL. The nature of 
 this singular and beautiful substance is illus- 
 trated under PEARLS ; SHELL. 
 
 MOULDINGS are any assemblage of nar- 
 row surfaces projecting from the face of a 
 wall or other surface, and advancing one be- 
 yond the other. They are bounded by straight 
 lines, either horizontal or vertical, according 
 to their situation, but the surfaces themselves 
 are plane or curved, and if the latter, concave 
 or convex, or else compounded of both forms ; 
 and again are either plane or curved. The 
 Fillet, Tcenia, Band, are all plane or flat mould- 
 ings. The Corona is also a mere plain band, 
 except that it is occasionally enriched in Ro- 
 man architecture. Lesser convex mouldings 
 are termed Beads, but the longer mouldings 
 of the same kind in the bases of columns are 
 termed Tori or Torusses. The Cyma Recta, 
 or Cymatium, is a compound moulding, con- 
 cave above and convex below ; while the Cyma 
 Reversa, is convex below and concave above. 
 The Cavetto is a mere hollow or sweep inter- 
 vening between and serving to connect two 
 mouldings, one of which projects beyond the 
 other. The Ovolo is a simple convex mould- 
 ing, so called because it is generally carved 
 into Ova, or ornaments in the shape of eggs, 
 within hollows. All the other mouldings may 
 be carved or enriched, except the cavetto and 
 fillet; the pattern being accommodated to the 
 surface of the moulding. Tho cyma recta, or 
 Talon, as it is sometimes called, is cut with a 
 peculiar kind of tongued or arrow-headed 
 ornament. 
 
 MOVING POWERS. The means employed 
 to give motion to machinery, (independently 
 of the cases in which the force of gravity is 
 applied directly, as in turning the cylinder of 
 a clock,) are chiefly the following : the strength 
 
1231 MOVING POWERS. 
 
 of men and animals, the pressure of the atmo- 
 spfore, the expansive force of steam, and the 
 action of wind or water. It is even probable 
 that the recently proposed actions of the gal- 
 vanic fluid and of fired gunpowder or gun- 
 cotton, will in time be numbered among mo- 
 tive forces for impelling carriages, vessels, or 
 machines. 
 
 Originally the larger kind of engines, except 
 such as were impelled by wind or water, were 
 moved by the power of horses; and when 
 other agents were employed, the gross effect 
 of the engine was estimated by the number of 
 horses to whose action it was equivalent. A 
 strong horse being able to draw 125 Ibs. at 
 the rate of 3 miles per hour during 8 hours; 
 the product of these numbers, multiplied by 
 the number of feet in a mile, and divided by 
 the number of minutes in 8 hours, gives 
 33,000 Ibs. for the weight carried or raised 1 
 foot per minute continually. This last num- 
 ber is the usual representation of the power 
 of a horse ; but the ' horse power ' of engi- 
 neers' estimates is felt to be a vague standard, 
 and will probably give way to something more 
 scientific. The force of steam-engines is esti- 
 mated according to the volume of water eva- 
 porated, the pressure of the steam, the length 
 of the stroke, &c. 
 
 Wind and water are employed as prime 
 movers by means of the momentum arising 
 from their velocity ; and the latter, occasion- 
 ally, by the pressure arising from its weight. 
 The force of wind is made to act on sails in 
 giving motion to vessels on the surface of 
 water, and also in producing the revolutions 
 of windmill sails. The velocity of a vessel 
 impelled by steam, in which paddle-wheels 
 are employed, might easily be found if it were 
 possible to determine, nearly, the number of 
 square feet of paddle which, on both sides of 
 the vessel, are at every moment acting effi- 
 ciently against the water. To determine the 
 exact amount of moving power available at 
 any given time and place, and under any given 
 circumstances, is one of the most important 
 duties of the engineer; since upon it must 
 depend the power of his machinery. 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Cottam patented an apparatus 
 for ascertaining the amount of motive power 
 employed in working machinery. It is com- 
 posed of a plate, to which a circular spring is 
 attached by one end, while the other end is 
 made fast to a lever. The lever is also at- 
 tached to a pointer which moves over a scale, 
 whereby the power exerted will be indicated. 
 The pointer also carries a pencil, which tra- 
 vels over the top of one of a pair of cylinders, 
 round which a roll of paper is wound. The 
 curve described on the roll of paper indicate 
 
 MULBERRY. 
 
 1232 
 
 the force applied. The cylinders are made to 
 revolve by toothed gearing. 
 
 MUFFLE is the name given to a vaulted 
 flat-bottomed earthen vessel in which sub- 
 stances may be strongly heated, and at the 
 same time protected from the contact of the 
 fuel. In the muffle smaller vessels are placed, 
 containing the substances to be acted upon. 
 Muffles are used in chemical operations, in 
 gi ass-staining, in enamel-painting, and in a 
 few other processes. 
 
 MUHLHAUSEN, a large manufacturing 
 town in the French department of Haut-Rhin, 
 has obtained deserved celebrity for its printed 
 cottons, for the manufacture of which there are 
 several important establishments. The other 
 manufactures are cotton and woollen yarn, 
 muslin, silk, woollen cloth, hosiery, straw hats, 
 morocco leather, soap, damask, linen thread, 
 &c. There are dye-houses, tan-yards, metal- 
 foundries, and large establishments for making 
 steam machinery. There is also a consider- 
 able commerce in corn, wine, brandy, groceries, 
 hardware, iron, &c. The canal which unites 
 the Rhone to the Rhine, passes by the town. 
 A railroad, 13 miles in length, runs westward 
 from Miihlhausen to the busy little manufac- 
 turing town of Thann. 
 
 MULBERRY. The black or common 
 mulberry is the fruit of Morus niqra. It is a 
 native of Persia, and its indigenous range ap- 
 pears to be extensive. Its introduction to this 
 country dates about the middle of the 10th 
 century. Under great vicissitudes it proves 
 very tenacious of life ; and under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances it attains, even in this climate, a 
 considerable age, for some trees planted in 
 1548 are still alive. The fruit is used in me- 
 dicine. It contains much mucilage, with an 
 astringent resin, and is sweetish and subacid, 
 owing to the presence of some malic or tartaric 
 acid. As the cooling properties depend on 
 the acid, the fruit should be gathered before 
 it is quite ripe. It may either be formed into 
 a syrup, or a vinegar may be made with it 
 similar to raspberry vinegar. 
 
 But a more important species is the Mo- 
 rus alba, or White Mulberry. This is a native 
 of China, where it forms a small tree, and 
 whence it has been gradually carried west- 
 ward, till it has become a common plant in 
 most of the temperate parts of the Old World, 
 forming in the south of Europe a pollard-tree 
 by road sides. It is on this species that the 
 silkworm is chiefly fed ; and in silk countries 
 many varieties are cultivated for the purpose, 
 some of which are said to be much better than 
 others. Some years since a mulberry was in- 
 troduced into France from Manilla, whence it 
 has gained the name of the Philippine Mul- 
 
No. 30. 
 
1233 
 
 MULE. 
 
 MURCTA. 
 
 1234 
 
 berry, the great excellence of which seems 
 universally acknowledged. It grows much 
 faster than the white mulberry, and strikes from 
 cuttings as freely as a willow, which is not the 
 case with the white mulberry. The abund- 
 ance of its leaves is much greater than in any 
 other known variety, and it is not only freely 
 eaten by the silkworms, but perfectly agrees 
 with them. Its culture is now superseding 
 that of all others in the south of Europe, and 
 it is even taken as a stock on which to graft 
 the common white mulberry, when the latter 
 is wished for. 
 
 MULE ; MULE -JENNY. The purpose of 
 this oddly-named machine is described under 
 COTTON SPINNING. 
 
 MULLION. In gothic architecture mul- 
 lions are the upright bars, or rather stone 
 shafts, dividing the general aperture of a 
 window into secondary openings, which are 
 again frequently subdivided by a similar shaft 
 crossing the mullions horizontally, and there- 
 fore called a Transom; whereby the whole 
 space beneath the head of a window (supposing 
 it to be an arched one) is formed into a series 
 of panels in which the glass is fixed, and 
 which are sometimes technically distinguished 
 as lights. For instance, the fa?ade of York 
 Cathedral is divided into eight lights or com- 
 partments by seven mullions, while that above 
 the entrance to Westminster Hall has eight 
 mullions. 
 
 MUMMY CLOTH. At one period there 
 was much discussion as to the nature of the 
 woven material in which Egyptian mummies 
 are found to be enveloped. The early history of 
 the cotton and flax manufactures is interested 
 in this question. The bandaging, to which 
 all the Egyptian mummies were subjected, 
 was one of the most remarkable parts of the 
 process of embalming. Their envelopes are 
 composed of numerous bands, each several 
 feet long, applied one over the other fifteen or 
 twenty times, and surrounding first each limb, 
 and then the whole body. They are applied 
 and interlaced so accurately, that one might 
 suppose they were intended to restore to the dry 
 shrivelled body its original form and size. The 
 only difference in the bandages of the different 
 kinds of mummies is in their greater or less 
 fineness of texture ; they are applied on all in 
 nearly the same manner. The bandages and 
 wrappings have been examined with the mi- 
 croscope within the last few years ; and in 
 every instance they are found to be made of 
 flax or linen ; this has set at rest an opinion 
 formerly held, that cotton was employed by 
 the Egyptians for such purposes. 
 
 MUNICH, the capital of the kingdom of 
 Bavaria, owes its present beauty and celebrity 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 as a seat of the fine arts, chiefly to the late 
 Ludwig I. Architecture, sculpture, and paint- 
 ing have been most munificently patronized ; 
 and the arts of painting in fresco, in encaustic, 
 and on glass, have been revived and carried 
 to their former perfection. The treasures of 
 the G-lyptothek, the Pinacothek, the Konigs- 
 bau, the Festbau, the Chapel Eoyal, and other 
 buildings in Munich, deserve the attentive 
 study of the admirers of high art; but we 
 have here only to do with the industrial fea- 
 tures of that town. The manufactures of 
 Munich are of many different kinds, chiefly 
 for the consumption of the city and neigh- 
 bourhood; the articles made are linen, woollen 
 cloth, calicoes, damask, silk, ribands, house- 
 hold furniture, piano-fortes, playing-cards, 
 articles of gold and silver, coaches, excellent 
 mathematical, surgical, optical, and astrono- 
 mical instruments. There are likewise brew- 
 eries, distilleries, tanneries, paper-mills, snuff- 
 mills, and the celebrated Fraunhofer's (now 
 Utz Schneider's) manufactory of astronomical 
 and optical instruments. 
 
 A magnificent figure of a lion, by Frederick 
 Miller, of Munich, adorns the Exhibition 
 of 1851. The lion forms one of a quadriga, 
 or group of four, to surmount a new town gate 
 at Munich. It is 14 feet long by 8 feet high. 
 Two lions of this enormous size were cast at 
 one melting among the largest casting ope- 
 rations ever known. Of the private manu- 
 facturing establishments, there are a few 
 which have sent to the Exposition works of 
 much beauty. By one establishment for the 
 manufacture of glass, has been contributed an 
 enamelled vase of large size and extraordinary 
 workmanship. The design of the vase is 
 Moresque, and made expressly for this pro- 
 duction. The articles of furniture manufac- 
 tured in inlaid work at Munich are extensively 
 known and appreciated. 
 
 MUECIA. In this province of Spain 
 sandstone, marl, lignite, and gypsum are 
 found. Porphyry, slates, fine marble, rock- 
 crystal, freestone, bole, alum, and nitre, arc 
 also met with. Near Hellin is a mine of 
 sulphur, at Villena a saltpit, and saltpetre 
 abounds in the neighbourhood of Cartagena. 
 Several argentiferous lead mines are worked ; 
 iron and copper are found. The most com- 
 monly cultivated trees are the mulberry, the 
 date-palm, and the olive ; evergreen and other 
 oaks, poplars, and carobs are in some parts 
 numerous. The sugar-cane thrives, but is 
 not cultivated to any extent. The pines on 
 the Sierra de Segura form the largest forest 
 in the south of Spain. Great quantities of 
 barilla are produced on the sea-coast; silk 
 and oil are extensively produced, and also 
 
 G G 
 
1235 
 
 MURIATIC ACID. 
 
 saffron and wine. The manufactures are few 
 and unimportant. Agriculture and mining 
 give employment to all the disposable industry 
 of Murcia. Corn and wine are exported when 
 the harvest or vintage is good, otherwise they 
 are imported from Valencia. Eaw silk, ba- 
 rilla, some cutlery, saffron, and articles made 
 of the esparto-rush, are the principal exports. 
 The imports are vegetables from Valencia, 
 beef and mutton, oil, spices, ironware, linen 
 and woollen goods, and silk stuffs ; for there is 
 not industry enough in the province to manu- 
 facture the raw silk produced. In the city of 
 Murcia there are several potteries, cloth-fac- 
 tories, tanneries, oil-mills, establishments for 
 the spinning of silk and for the manufacture 
 of soap and white lead. There are also royal 
 factories of gunpowder and saltpetre. There 
 are important glass works in the environs of 
 the town. Wine and provisions of all kinds 
 are exceedingly cheap. The manufacture of 
 the esparto-rush into baskets, cordage, sandals, 
 &c., employs many hands. 
 
 MUEIATIC ACID. Under CHLORINE the 
 chemical nature of this valuable acid has been 
 described; but it will be instructive to trace 
 the mode of manufacturing the acid, as con- 
 ducted at the great chemical works of St. 
 Rollox, near Glasgow. 
 
 The same chemical operation which pro- 
 duces soda will also produce muriatic acid. 
 Common salt is chloride of sodium ; and by a 
 certain train of operations, the chloride com- 
 bines with hydrogen to form muriatic acid, 
 while the sodium combines with oxygen to 
 form soda, and with carbonic acid to form 
 carbonate of soda. Common Cheshire salt is 
 put into a pan in a reverberatory furnace, and 
 sulphuric acid is slowly dropped upon it 
 through a leaden pipe passing through the 
 roof of the furnace. The action of the acid 
 on the heated salt generates a new product, 
 muriatic acid gas, by bringing into play the 
 various degrees of chemical affinity between 
 the substances employed. The substance 
 then remaining in the furnace is, by further 
 treatment, converted into soda. In the infancy 
 of the manufacture, when the soda was the 
 chief object of attention, the muriatic acid 
 gas was a source of infinite trouble to the 
 manufacturer. It is so deleterious, that if 
 allowed to mingle with the atmosphere near 
 the ground it would do great mischief: hence 
 we have a clue to the history of the lofty 
 chimneys which distinguish chemical works. 
 But after a time it was found that this delete- 
 rious gas might be made a valuable commer- 
 cial article, by changing it into liquid muriatic 
 acid, or spirit of salt, as it is somewhat expres- 
 sively termed, in familiar use. This change 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 1230 
 
 1ms been brought about as follows: all the 
 soda furnaces discharge their muriatic acid 
 gas into a bulky stone tower, about 40 feet 
 high, by 8 feet square ; this tower is filled 
 with coke, upon which a stream of water is 
 constantly falling from above ; and the gas, 
 ascending the tower from the flues of the 
 furnaces, meeting with an innumerable series 
 of little streams of water trickling through 
 the coke, becomes absorbed by the water, and 
 thus gives rise to the formation of liquid mu- 
 riatic acid, which falls to the bottom of the tower. 
 
 The tendency of modern chemistry has 
 been to change the name of Muriatic to 
 Hydrochloric acid, since the latter name ex- 
 presses the composition of the acid (hydrogen 
 and chlorine). In the same way the salts 
 formed by the combination of the acid with 
 gases are gradually changing then* names ; 
 instead of the muriates of soda, potash, ammo- 
 nia, tin, &c., we have the hydrochloratcs of 
 those substances. 
 
 MURRHINE (sometimes written Myrr- 
 hine) VASES, vessels used by the ancients, 
 were made of the stone or hard substance, 
 whatever it might be, termed murrha (p.vppa}. 
 They are frequently noticed by the classic 
 writers, and usually described as transparent, 
 though sometimes spotted or clouded, like 
 our cups of agate. Pliny speaks of them as 
 coming from the East, from Parthia and Car- 
 mania ; but there is very little now known 
 concerning them. 
 
 MUSHROOM. A few details concerning 
 the uses of the mushroom will be found undftr 
 AGARICUS. 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. All the 
 principal musical instruments are described 
 under then* proper headings in this work. 
 Music, as a science and a fine art, is of course 
 beyond the range of the present volume. 
 
 Musical instruments occupy from 3000 to 
 4000 feet at the Great Exhibition. There 
 are various specimens of organs from the 
 various London builders ; among the rest, 
 especially to be noticed, is a gigantic church 
 organ, containing upwards of eighty stops, 
 with an independent pedal organ upon the 
 largest scale. The cost of this instrument 
 has been several thousand pounds. There is 
 also an interesting instrument, designed by 
 Col. P. Thompson, M. P. an enharmonic 
 organ the object of which is, by minute sub- 
 division of the scale, to attain a perfect into- 
 nation ; there is also an enharmonic guitar. 
 No class of musical instruments is left un- 
 represented. As might be expected, piano- 
 fortes are most numerous. In this depart- 
 ment the most eminent manufacturers have 
 exerted their utmost powers to exemplify the 
 
1237 
 
 MUSK. 
 
 MUSTARD. 
 
 1238 
 
 superiority of native instruments. There are 
 several improvements exhibited, both as re- 
 gards tone and mechanism. 
 
 MUSK. This very powerful perfume is 
 the odorous secretion contained in a peculiar 
 abdominal sac, in the Male Musk Deer. This 
 species is a native of Tonquin, Tibet, Nepaul, 
 the mountain regions of Siberia and China, 
 <fec. By the analysis of Geizar and Eeiman 
 musk appears to consist of a peculiar volatile 
 principle, which can exist in a free state ; 
 ammonia; a peculiar fixed uncrystallisable 
 acid ; stearine and oleine ; chloresterine ; a 
 peculiar bitter resin ; osmazome, with several 
 salts ; a mouldy-like substance, in part com- 
 bined with ammonia and several salts; sand; wa- 
 ter, acid, &c., with some volatile odorous matter. 
 
 The name of pod musk is given to the bag 
 in its natural state containing the musk ; while 
 grain musk is the musk without its bag. 
 
 The musk of the shops is said to be rarely 
 pure ; it is adulterated either with dried bul- 
 lock's blood or with chocolate, under ordinary 
 circumstances ; but a multitude of other sub- 
 stances are occasionally employed. The 
 Chinese are said to be skilful adepts in this 
 
 nefarious practice. 
 Taken in the dose 
 
 of a few grains, musk 
 
 rouses the energy of the digestive organs; and 
 it soon afterwards produces sympathetic 
 phenomena, the powers of the whole animal 
 system appearing suddenly increased. 
 
 MUSLIN is a thin cloth made of cotton. 
 The name is supposed to be derived from 
 Massalia, since called Masulipatam, from 
 which place such fabrics Avere first imported 
 into Europe. Until the early part of the 
 present century all the muslin used in Europe 
 was of the manufacture of India. Some of 
 the muslins of India, and especially those of 
 Dacca, are of the most astonishing degree of 
 fineness, so as to justify their poetical descrip- 
 tion as ' webs of woven wind.' Such however 
 has been the result of the mechanical inven- 
 tions of England in this branch of industry, 
 that not only are muslins of British manufac- 
 ture now used at home, to the exclusion of 
 those woven in India, but large quantities 
 are exported to all parts of the world, and 
 find their way even far into the interior of India. 
 
 There is essentially no other difference 
 between muslin and calico than in the fineness 
 of the fabric ; but the spinning, the weaving, 
 and the dressing, are all concerned in the pro- 
 duction of this fineness. The embroidering of 
 muslin is becoming an extensively diffused 
 employment for females in Ireland [EMBROI- 
 DERY.] The ' Armagh Gazette ' lately stated : 
 
 According to the statement of a respectable 
 agent, there are in Armagh and its vicinity 
 about 1,800 girls and young women engaged 
 n this occupation. Agencies have been esta- 
 blished in Keady and other rural towns in this 
 county. The demand for the sewed or 
 embroidered muslin would appear to be un- 
 limited. In many cases, where the heads of 
 poor families are out of employment, the ave- 
 rage earnings of their daughters protect all from 
 that last refuge of poverty the workhouse.' 
 
 MUSQUASH FUE. The Musquash or 
 Musk-rat is a small North -American animal, 
 the fur of which is employed in hat-making 
 and for other purposes. The number of 
 musquash furs imported in 1847 was 420,946 ; 
 the number for 1848 increased to 766,764. 
 Some of these are re-exported to various 
 European countries, but most of them are 
 worked up in England. 
 
 MUSTAED. This name is given to tAvo 
 species of Sinapis, the black and the white. 
 The black mustard plant is most used, and is 
 extensively cultivated in Durham and York- 
 shire ; it is this which yields the pOAverful 
 condiment for the table ; Avhereas the AA'hite 
 species, when a young plant, is eaten with 
 water -cress as a salad. 
 
 The seeds of the black mustard are an 
 intricate compound of myrosine, fixed oil, a 
 fatty matter, a gummy matter, sugar, colouring 
 matter, and many other substances. By 
 bruising the seeds a fixed oil maybe obtained; 
 and by distilling the marc or refuse from this 
 process, a volatile oil results. The fixed oil 
 is very bland ; but the volatile oil is stimulant 
 and irritating. About 28 per cent of the 
 black mustard seed consists of fixed oil ; to 
 obtain it the seeds are crushed in a mill or 
 between rollers ; the skins being subjected to 
 pressure as Avell as the farina or flour. The 
 remaining cake is sifted and reduced to a fine 
 powder, which retains all the pungent qualities 
 of mustard. The fixed oil is a good fttel for 
 lamps, and it forms a firm and useful soap 
 with alkalies. 
 
 Flour of mustard, mixed Avith water, forms 
 the well-known condiment of the dinner table. 
 French mustards and patent mustards have, 
 however, usually something elso added to them 
 vinegar, parsley, cherril, celery, tarragon, 
 garlic, anchovies, sugar, ginger, salt, horse 
 radish, and cayenne, being among the list of 
 addenda so employed. 
 
 Mustard, like too many other commodities 
 at the present day, is often adulterated ; flour 
 and salt are employed to increase the bulk, 
 turmeric to colour, and cayenne to season it. 
 
1239 
 
 NAIL MANUFACTURE. 
 
 NAMUR. 
 
 1240 
 
 N 
 
 NAIL MANUFACTURE. Until a com- 
 paratively recent period almost every kind of 
 nail was produced by hand-labour: each nail, 
 however minute, was separately forged from a 
 thin rod of iron, a process which is still 
 followed in the production of what are techni- 
 cally known as wrought nails. As nails so 
 formed possess certain advantages, for parti- 
 cular lands of work, over those formed either 
 by casting, or by cutting or stamping out of 
 rolled sheet metal, there is no reason to anti- 
 cipate the total abandonment of this process, 
 notwithstanding the continual improvement of 
 nail-making machinery. 
 
 For some purposes nails formed by the 
 much cheaper process of casting have been 
 long used. Common cast nails are, however, so 
 clumsy and so brittle that they can only be 
 used for a few coarse purposes, as in plasterer's 
 work, and in the nailing \ip of fruit trees. By 
 the introduction of great improvements in the 
 manufacture, however, a very useful kind of 
 cast nail, of an exceedingly pure malleable 
 cast iron, has been successfully introduced for 
 certain descriptions of woodwork. Nails of 
 this kind are very neat and regular in their 
 appearance, being cast with great accuracy ; 
 and they are annealed to such perfection that 
 the metal will bear far more bending than 
 ordinary wrought-iron without injury. This 
 extraordinary degree of tenacity is, however, 
 obtained at the expense of rigidity, such nails 
 being often nearly as soft as copper, and 
 therefore quite unsuitable for use in hard 
 woods. 
 
 In the making of cut-nails, the nails are 
 cut from sheet-iron of suitable thickness, 
 which is fii-st reduced by cutting transversely, 
 into strips or ribands of a breadth equal to 
 the intended length of the nails. These strips 
 are then applied to a machine in which a 
 chisel-shaped cutter descends with sufficient 
 force to cut off from the end of the strip, at 
 each downward stroke, a narrow piece suffici- 
 ent to form one nail. As the nails are required 
 to be of a tapering form, the cutter must be so 
 fixed as to form a slightly oblique angle to the 
 direction in which the strip is pushed into the 
 machine, and this obliquity must be reversed 
 or varied after each stroke, by means simi- 
 lar to those adopted in comb-cutting ma- 
 chinery. 
 
 Nail making is conducted upon a very 
 extensive scale in Birmingham. Within the 
 town itself, ait a ails are made by the aid of 
 
 machinery ; whereas in the neighbouring 
 villages wrought nails are made by hand. 
 There is one particular establishment at Bir- 
 mingham, the machinery of which was, a few 
 years ago, adequate to the manufacture of two 
 thousand millions of nails annually. The 
 machines so employed are the following 
 Sheets of iron are cut up into strips, each 
 strip as wide as the length of the nail to bo 
 made ; this cutting is effected by a kind of 
 enormous shears, worked by steam power. 
 The strips are then cut up into nails. In onn 
 kind of cutting machine, the cutter or blade 
 vibrates up and down, cutting off a piece of 
 iron from the strip at each descent ; and it 
 has also a swinging motion horizontally, so as 
 to make the cuts at an acute angle with each 
 other instead of parallel ; the consequence of 
 this is that the cuts, being alternately oblique 
 in different directions, give a wedge shape to 
 the pieces of iron cut off, and these pieces 
 thereupon constitute the nails. In another 
 form of machine the blade has not a swinging 
 movement; but after each cut the strip of iron 
 is turned over, so as to present the other side 
 uppermost for the next cut ; an arrangement 
 which brings about the same wedge-shape to 
 the cut nail, but by different means. In a 
 third form of machine, the piece of iron, after 
 being cut from, the strip, is caught by a kind 
 of clasp, and exposed to a pressure which 
 gives a head to it. Spike nails are made by 
 machinery in a different way. A square rod 
 of iron, of the proper thickness, is cut into 
 lengths ; and each length or piece is exposed 
 to such powerful pressure as to squeeze it into 
 the form of a nail : this more resembles a 
 wrought than a cut nail. All cut nails are 
 annealed before being fit for use. 
 
 A newspaper paragraph has lately stated, 
 ' William Laugher, a nail-maker, of Broms 
 grove, has received orders to make a thousand 
 gold, a thousand silver, and a thousand iron 
 ' tacks,' for exhibition in the Crystal Palace, 
 the whole three thousand not to weigh more 
 than three grains. They will be the smallest 
 nails ever produced.' 
 
 NAMUR is one of the busiest provinces ot 
 
 Belgium. The iron mines which lie between 
 
 the Sambre and tho Mans, arc very produc- 
 
 ud give employment to a large portion 
 
 of the population. Lead-mines are worked 
 
 near the city of Namur. A great number of 
 
 ! coal-min"s arc worked. Marble is quarried in 
 
 I different parts of the province; it is of various 
 
1211 
 
 NANKEEN. 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 1242 
 
 colours, red, grny, blue, and black; the 
 greatest part of what is raised is exported to 
 France. Potters' clay is found. 
 
 Namitrj the capital, being situated at the 
 confluence of two navigable rivers, is favour 
 ably circumstanced in relation to commerce 
 The chief manufactures are superior cutlery, 
 surgical instruments, tin and brass ware 
 copper utensils, tools of all kinds, agricultural 
 instruments, ironmongery, and leather, The 
 iron, lead, and coal mines and marble quarries 
 of the neighbourhood give employment to a 
 large portion of the population. 
 
 NANKEEN is a kind of cotton cloth 
 usually of a yellow colour, imported from 
 China, and taking its name from the city oi 
 Nanking, in which great quantities are made. 
 The peculiar colour of these cloths is natural 
 to the cotton-wool of which they are made, 
 and not the effect of any dye. An imitation 
 of nankeen was largely manufactured in 
 England twenty or thirty years ago ; but it 
 has now almost entirely ceased. 
 
 NANKING-. This famous Chinese city has 
 a great number of manufactures, especially 
 silk, nankeen, paper, and Indian ink, and also 
 carries on a very considerable commerce, being 
 situated in the most populous part of the 
 empire, about half-way between Canton and 
 Peking. Through the ports of Soo-Cheou 
 and Shang-Hae it receives great quantities of 
 corn and other articles. They are brought by 
 water to Nanking, as there are several 
 canals which connect the town with the 
 river. 
 
 NANTES, a large seaport town in France, 
 is admirably situated for commerce, having 
 communication with the interior by railway, 
 and by steam boats up the Loire, which forms 
 the harbour of Nantes, and admits at high 
 water vessels of 200 tons up to the quays 
 which line its banks. Vessels of larger size 
 unload at Paimboe.uf. Besides these facilities 
 for traffic, Nantes has communication by canal 
 with Brest. The industrial products of Nantes 
 are, white and printed cottons, cotton twist, 
 refined sugar, ship cordage, glue, chemical 
 products, blankets, serge, flannel, ship biscuits, 
 &c. There are several ship-building yards, 
 copper foundries, tan-yards, brandy distilleries, 
 bleach-mills, and dye-houses. Vessels are 
 fitted out for the whale and cod fisheries. The 
 foreign and coasting trade is active. The 
 chief articles of export are wine, brandy, 
 woollen cloths, silk, paper, linen, gold and 
 silver lace, hardware, prepared meats, provi- 
 sions, furniture, small wares, books, &c. ; the 
 imports are composed of ship timber, planks, 
 hemp, pitch and tar, steel, copper, lead, wool, 
 raw cotton, oil, Spanish wine, cochineal, dye- 
 
 stuffs, gum, ivory, perfumes and colonial pro- 
 duce. Other articles of commerce are salt, 
 butter, coal, building stone, hoops, flour, vine- 
 gar, and agricultural implements. 
 
 NAPHTHA. This remarkable substance is a 
 volatile oil, which issues from the ground in 
 various parts of the world, and is on that 
 account called rock-oil or stone-oil. Colourless 
 naphtha issues at Baku near the Caspian Sea, 
 where the vapours which arise from it are 
 kindled, and the flame applied to domestic 
 and manufacturing purposes. In ultra- 
 Gangetic India there is a spot where no fewer 
 than 500 naphtha springs are met with ; each 
 spring yields nearly 150,000 Ibs. of naphtha 
 yearly. The city of Parma is said to be 
 lighted with naphtha. Naphtha possesses a 
 penetrating odour and generally a yellow 
 colour ; but it may be deprived of colour by 
 distillation. It boils at about 160 and is very 
 inflammable. It mixes easily with alcohol 
 and with oils, but not with water ; and it dis- 
 solves a great variety of substances. It forms 
 with caoutchouc a gelatinous varnish. Naph- 
 tha is chiefly employed for purposes of illumi- 
 nation, as a solvent for caoutchouc, and in 
 the preparation of a very superior black pig- 
 ment. 
 
 NAPLES. The productions of the soil, in 
 ibis rich region of southern Italy, are various. 
 The staple products are corn, wine, oil, wool, 
 and silk. The plains of Apulia produce vast 
 quantities of corn and wool for exportation. 
 Gallipoli is the great oil mart. Silk is made 
 n Calabria, in Abruzzo Citra, Terra di Lavoro, 
 and Principato. Cotton is produced in the 
 provinces of Bari, Principato, near Castella- 
 mare, and other places. "Wine is made all 
 over the kingdom, and in great abundance 
 and variety, but most of it is consumed in the 
 country and within the year. Some brandy is 
 made and exported to America. The country 
 >roduces most kinds of fruit, such as figs, 
 hestnuts, almonds, oranges, lemons, pome- 
 granates, melons, peaches, and apricots. 
 l?obacco is cultivated chiefly near Lecce, 
 affron in Abruzzo, and the sugar-cane in 
 Calabria. Flax, hemp, and rice are also raised 
 n considerable quantity in the low grounds, 
 ndian corn is also much cultivated. Cheese 
 s made chiefly in Abruzzo and Apulia. In 
 ome favoured spots, such as in the neigbour- 
 lood of Naples, at the foot of Mount Vesu- 
 vius, near Monteleone and B.eggioin Calabria, 
 he fertility of the soil seems inexhaustible. 
 A little coal and iron are found. The forests 
 lave been much neglected. 
 
 The city of Naples has manufactures of 
 mts, straw-hats, gloves, leather, earthenware, 
 ;oral, and jewellery ; but the kingdom gene- 
 
1243 
 
 NARCOTI'NA. 
 
 NAVIGATION LAWS. 
 
 1344 
 
 rally is far from being a manufacturing or 
 commercial one. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures ex- 
 ported to Naples and Sicily in 1848 amounted 
 in value to 695,660/. The imports thence into 
 Great Britain in 1848 comprised among the 
 larger items sulphur (625,032 cwts.), olive oil 
 (3455 tons), oranges (57,283 packages), silk 
 (54,193 Ibs.), wine (589,369 gallons), wool 
 (641,608 Ibs.). 
 
 NAKCOTI'NA is an alkaline principle 
 found in opium. It is procured in light 
 white flocks, or in pearly acicular crystals. It 
 is insoluble in cold water and very sparingly 
 soluble in hot water ; its taste is not bitter. 
 
 NARWHAL IVORY. The teeth and tusks 
 of the narwhal form one of the best kinds of 
 this beautiful substance. [!VOEY.] 
 
 NASMYTH'S HAMMER. This mighty 
 engine, one of the most remarkable inventions 
 of the last few years, is described under STEAM 
 HAMMER. 
 
 NATAL. The time is probably approach- 
 ing when this new colony will present inter- 
 esting commercial and industrial features. 
 The settlement lies eastward, and is within 
 the territorial limits, of Cape Colony ; but it 
 has many of the elements of a distinct settle- 
 ment. Mr. Christopher, a settler at Natal, 
 has lately published a description of the set- 
 tlement, in which he states that nine lands of 
 cotton have been grown there, and that all 
 kinds may probably be cultivated. There were 
 exported from the colony 1740 Ibs. of cotton 
 in 1846, 5821 Ibs. in 1847, and 13,931 Ibs. in 
 1848 ; these are small beginnings, certainly ; 
 but they are beginnings, and of an interesting 
 character. Besides cotton, the colony already 
 produces Indian corn,aloes,columbo root,castor 
 oil, gum acacia, coffee, honey, bees' wax, wild 
 olive, ivory, tallow, hides, mimosa bark for tan- 
 ning, wheat, beans, butter, tobacco, and many 
 varieties of timber and dye woods. The prin- 
 cipal towns yet established in the new settle- 
 ment are D'Urban and Pieter Maritzburg. 
 Accounts from the colony to December 1850, 
 report very favourably of its progress and 
 prosperity. The markets at D'Urban were 
 beginning to show the effects of the skill and 
 labour of the settlers by an abundant supply 
 of vegetables of all kinds. The cabbages, tur- 
 nips, lettuces, spinach, and cauliflowers are 
 said to be as fine as any Covent-garden can 
 boast of. Among the new towns which are 
 springing up the most flourishing are Rich- 
 mond, on the Illovi ; Pine Town, near New 
 Germany ; and Lady Smith, on the Klip-river. 
 Several others are in progress or projected. 
 
 NATRON LAKES. These lakes are in a 
 valley in the western desert which borders on 
 
 Lower Egypt. The Natron valley contains six 
 shallow lakes, remarkable for the great quan- 
 tity of salt which they produce. The crystal- 
 lisations are both of muriate of soda, or com- 
 mon salt, and of carbonate of soda, called 
 natron or trona. The lakes occupy a total 
 length of about 16 miles ; they vary in size 
 according to the season ; the bottom is muddy, 
 of mixed sand and clay. The lakes are sup- 
 plied by water which oozes out of ttye banks 
 chiefly on the side which is towards the Nile. 
 It appears that the water flows abundantly 
 when the Nile is high, and decreases with its 
 decrease, until some of the lakes become quite 
 dry. The natron is collected once a year, and 
 is used both in Egypt and Syria, as also in 
 Europe, for manufacturing glass and soap, 
 and for bleaching linen. 
 
 NAVARRE. In this Spanish province the 
 mountains contain jasper and marble. There 
 are many mines of iron and one of copper ; 
 one also of rock salt near Valtierra, and seve- 
 ral hot springs. Forests of pine cover the 
 slopes of the Pyrenees, and much timber is 
 cut , and sent down by the mountain streams 
 to the Ebro, by which it is floated onward to 
 Aragon and Cataluna. The other principal 
 forest trees are the oak, the olive, the chestnut, 
 the beech, and the box. Wine, cider, and 
 olive oil are among the products of the pro- 
 vince. The annual produce of sheep's wool 
 is about 1,500,000 Ibs. The manufactures are 
 coarse linen, some woollen cloth, leather, soap, 
 iron, and brandy, of which the quantity annu- 
 ally distilled averages 2,000,000 gallons. There 
 are also some potteries, a royal shot and shell 
 foundry, and some manufactories of Spanish 
 liquorice. The exports are corn, oil, wine, wool, 
 and iron ; the imports consist of cottons and 
 silks, cutlery, tobacco, sugar, spices, and other 
 uxuries, which are imported, principally from 
 France. 
 
 NAVIGATION LAWS. The recent change 
 n the Navigation Laws is already producing 
 such important results in the commerce of 
 England with foreign nations (and conse- 
 quently in the industry of all nations) that it 
 will be desirable briefly to notice the subject 
 here. 
 
 The system of the Navigation Act, as it is 
 ;ermed, had its foundation during the Protec - 
 torate ; but the act so called was that of 1672. 
 This act declared that no produce of Asia, 
 Africa, or America, should be imported into 
 Great Britain except in British ships, naviga- 
 ted by a British subject, and having at least 
 three-fourths of their crew composed of British 
 seamen. It also laid higher duties on all 
 goods imported from Europe, than if they 
 were imported in British ships. To this act 
 
1245 
 
 NAVIGATION LAWS. 
 
 many persons have attributed the great growth 
 of British shipping. When the American co- 
 lonies became independent, their ships lost 
 the advantage which they had when the States 
 were colonies, and their shipping was placed 
 on the same footing as other foreign ships. 
 The consequence was that American ships 
 sailing to Great Britain came in ballast, while 
 British ships carried merchandise both ways ; 
 and accordingly the United States placed Bri- 
 tish shipping under the same disadvantages in 
 their ports that American shipping was under 
 in British ports. The consequence of this was 
 that British ships sailed to America in ballast 
 when they Avent to the United States to get a 
 cargo, and American ships came to Great 
 Britain in ballast when they wanted a British 
 cargo. The consumer of the foreign produce 
 in both countries accordingly paid double 
 freight for it. This lasted till 1815, when it 
 was agreed by treaty between Great Britain 
 and the United States that the ships of the 
 respective countries should be placed on the 
 same footing in the ports of Great Britain and 
 the United States ; and all the discriminating 
 duties were mutually repealed. In 1822 Mr. 
 Wallace, president of the Board of Trade, in- 
 troduced five bills, which were passed into 
 laws, and which made other important altera- 
 tions ; one repealed certain statutes relating 
 to foreign commerce, which were passed before 
 the Navigation Act ; a second repealed various 
 laws that had been passed since the Naviga- 
 tion Act, and also that part of the Navigation 
 Act which enacted that goods of the growth, 
 produce, or manufacture of Asia, Africa, and 
 America should only be imported in British 
 ships, and that no goods of foreign growth, 
 production, or manufacture, should be brought 
 into Great Britain from Europe in any foreign 
 ship, except from the place of their production 
 or from the ports from which they were usu- 
 ally brought, and in ships belonging to the 
 country of production or accustomed shipment; 
 a third permitted certain goods then enume- 
 rated to be brought to Great Britain from any 
 port in Europe in ships belonging to the port 
 of shipment ; a fourth permitted the importa- 
 tion, subject to certain duties, into certain 
 ports, of various articles from any foreign 
 country in America or port in the West Indies 
 either in British vessels or in vessels belong- 
 ing to the country or place of shipment, and 
 such goods might be again imported to any 
 other colony or the United Kingdom ; and a 
 fifth permitted the exportation in British ships 
 from any West India colony to any foreign 
 port in Europe and Africa, of any goods that 
 had been legally imported into the colony, or 
 which were of its growth or manufacture ; and 
 
 NEEDLE MANUFACTUEE. ]248 
 
 it permitted the exportation of certain articles, 
 enumerated in the act, in British ships to any 
 such colony from any foreign port in Europe 
 or Africa. 
 
 In 1823 Prussia retaliated, as the United 
 States had done, which led Mr. Huskisson to 
 propose the passing of what are called the Ee- 
 ciprocity Acts, in ] 824 and 1825. These acts 
 empowered the king, by order in council, to 
 authorise the importation and exportation of 
 goods in foreign ships, from the United King- 
 dom, or from any other of his majesty's domi- 
 nions, on the same terms as in British ships, 
 provided it shall first be proved to his majesty 
 and the privy council that the foreign country 
 in whose favour such order shall be made shall 
 have placed British ships in its ports on the 
 same footing as its own ships. Since that time 
 reciprocal treaties of navigation have been 
 made with the following countries : Prussia, 
 Denmark, Hanover, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, 
 Greece, Bremen, Hamburg, Liibeck, States of 
 La Plata, Colombia, Holland, France, Sweden 
 and Norway, Mexico, Brazil, Austria, Eussia, 
 and Portugal. That with the United States 
 of North America, as already observed, dates 
 from 1815. 
 
 An act was passed in 1849, entitled ' An act 
 to amend the Laws in force for the encourage- 
 ment of British Shipping and Navigation.' 
 The full meaning of this act can only be un- 
 derstood by referring to the acts and parts of 
 acts which it repeals, and to its provisions. It 
 repeals a part of the act of 1824, and the whole 
 of that of 1825. The general purpose is to 
 diminish the restraint on the freedom of navi- 
 gation. British shipping has already derived 
 great advantages from the enactments above 
 mentioned, and the Eeciprocity Acts. 
 
 There seems every probability that as British 
 shipping is now fairly brought into competi- 
 tion with foreign, great improvements will be 
 made in ship building : indeed such improve- 
 ments have already commenced. 
 
 NEEDLE MANUFACTUEE. This is one 
 of the most remarkable industrial pursuits of 
 our country, both technically and locally. In 
 a technical point of view it is striking for tho 
 number of processes which every individual 
 needle passes through ; while it is not less 
 noteworthy on account of the grouping of the 
 manufacture in and around the town of Eed- 
 ditch in Worcestershire; where it has been 
 calculated there are 60 to 70 millions of need- 
 les made every week ! 
 
 In commencing the manufacture of a needle, 
 soft steel wire of the required thickness is 
 first cut into lengths of about five inches, and 
 these lengths being placed together in a bun- 
 dle, axe bound together by means of iron rings, 
 
1247 NEEDLE MANUFACTURE. 
 
 five inches in diameter, placed at each end oi 
 the bundle. This bundle is then placed on 
 a cast-iron table, and rolled to and fro upon it, 
 under the pressure of a flat bar of iron, by 
 which means the wires are made perfectly 
 straight. About a dozen and a half or two 
 dozens of these wires are then taken by the 
 grinder, and together are pointed on a small 
 dry grindstone. This, like the dry grinding of 
 the Sheffield cutlers, is a very deleterious em- 
 ployment, towards the amelioration of which 
 the workmen render very little assistance, un- 
 fortunately for themselves. 
 
 When the pointing is finished, the wires 
 are cut into the required lengths, and the 
 holes or eyes are perforated. This operation 
 is usually performed by females. The tools 
 employed are, a small anvil fixed on the work- 
 bench, a hammer, a finely-pointed and well- 
 tempered steel punch, a pair of pliers, a file, 
 and a block of lead. The woman first slightly 
 flattens the unpointed end by a stroke of the 
 hammer, then makes an indentation on one 
 side by means of the punch and hammer ; 
 the needle is then taken from off the anvil, 
 and being placed with the indented side down- 
 wards on the block of lead, the perforation is 
 completed by striking with the punch and 
 hammer on the opposite side of the needle. 
 Holding then the needle in the pliers, the 
 head is somewhat bent, and with the file the 
 guttering is performed, which is the forming 
 of the channel that may be seen on each side 
 where the perforation is made. The head is 
 then smoothed by passing the file over it. 
 Needles to which the name drilkd-eycd is ap- 
 plied are perforated in the manner here de 
 scribed, but the additional process is used of 
 smoothing the eye by means of a drill after it 
 is perforated. 
 
 For making the eyes and gutters in large 
 needles, machinery is employed. The wires 
 used for making these needles are pointed at 
 both ends, and the channels and eyes are 
 formed in the middle, when the two needles 
 thus made are cut asunder, and their heads 
 smoothed with a file. 
 
 These operations being performed when the 
 steel wires are in a soft state, they are more 
 or less bent, and must be straightened, which 
 is done by rolling them on one plate of metal 
 under the weight of another. The needles 
 are then placed, many thousands together, in 
 a kind of crucible, and covered over with ashes, 
 when they are put into a close furnace and 
 exposed to a cherry-red heat. When this de- 
 gree of heat has been obtained, the crucible is 
 withdrawn, and the needles are dropped into 
 cold water, from which they are taken out and 
 put upon an iron plate almost red hot, where 
 
 NETHERLANDS. 
 
 1248 
 
 they are turned about so as to cause the heat 
 to apply equally to all, and as fast as the 
 needles become of a blue colour, they are 
 removed as being of a proper temper. 
 
 Such of the needles as now appear crooked 
 are straightened on a small anvil by blows from 
 a hammer. 
 
 The needles are next ranged in parallel 
 rows upon a coarse cloth, which has been 
 smeared with a mixture of oil, soft soap, and 
 fine emery powder. In this cloth from 40,000 
 to 60,000 needles are rolled up, and several of 
 these rolls are placed together in a machine 
 like a mangle. The rolling to which they are 
 here subjected is continued, by means of 
 steam or water power, for two and sometimes 
 three days, during which time the cloth wrap- 
 pers, being worn out, require to be once or 
 twice replaced by new ones. When taken out, 
 after this rolling, the needles are perfectly 
 bright. They are finally sorted, packed, and 
 papered. 
 
 NEPAUL. This remote country of India, 
 situated close to the Himalaya Mountains, 
 yields a fair supply of vegetable produce in 
 the river valleys. It also contains several 
 metals in abundance, especially iron, lead, 
 copper, and zinc; the first three are worked 
 rather extensively. Gold is found in the sand 
 of some rivers. Of the inhabitants of the 
 country, the Newars are mostly cultivators of 
 the soil, and exercise many arts and trades. 
 They make coarse cotton-cloth, and work very 
 well in iron, copper and brass, and are parti- 
 cularly ingenious in carpentry. The trade with 
 Tibet is mostly in the hands of the tribe called 
 the Bhot, who transport their goods on the 
 backs of sheep or men over the mountain 
 passes. They bring from Tibet to Nepaul 
 sheep, musk, skins of the musk-deer, chowry- 
 tails, quicksilver, borax, sal ammoniac, Chi- 
 nese silk stuffs, paper, drugs, gold and silver; 
 and they carry back rice, wheat, oil, iron, cop- 
 per, cotton cloth, catechu, juniper boards 
 (which are used in fine cabinet-work), pepper, 
 spices, indigo, tobacco, otter-skins, sugar, and 
 some smaller articles. Nepaul exports to 
 British India elephants' teeth, timber, hides, 
 ginger, turmeric, wax, honey, oranges, long 
 pepper, ghee, bastard cinnamon, large cardu- 
 mums, and some smaller articles. It imports 
 from the British dominions in Bengal cottons 
 and muslins, silks of various sorts, raw silk, 
 gold and silver, laces, carpets, English cutlery, 
 saffron, spices, sandal-wood, quicksilver, cot- 
 ton, tin, zinc, lead, soap, camphor, tobacco, 
 pepper, and coral. 
 
 NET ; BOBBIN-NET, [LACE MANUFAC- 
 TURE.] 
 NETHERLANDS. In England the Nether- 
 
1249 
 
 NEUTRAL SALTS. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 1250 
 
 lands and Holland imply pretty nearly the 
 same thing, viz. the territory which, after the 
 separation of Belgium, in 1830, remained to 
 the King of Holland. In this remarkably flat 
 country, sufficient corn for home consumption 
 is not raised; hemp and flax are grown in 
 great abundance. There are no minerals ex- 
 cept a little bog-iron in Overyssel and Guel- 
 derland : there are brick-earth, potters' clay, 
 fullers' earth, and a little sea-salt. 
 
 The history of the commerce of the Nether- 
 lands properly begins with Bruges in Flanders, 
 in the 14th century. From Bruges the trade 
 was for the most part transferred at the end 
 of the 15th century to Antwerp, which became 
 the greatest emporium in the world. But the 
 ravages of the war with Spain and the capture 
 of the city after the memorable siege in 1 585 
 drove the wealthiest inhabitants to the northern 
 provinces, especially to Amsterdam. The 
 Dutch East India Company conquered king- 
 doms and islands in the east ; and Amsterdam 
 became the first commercial city in the world. 
 From 1796 to 1813 the trade of Holland was 
 much depressed by French domination ; but 
 since that period it has partially recovered, 
 though it has not attained its former extent. 
 The inland trade employs 6000 of the vessels 
 called trekschuytt, and 15,000 boats. 
 
 The exports from the Netherlands consist of 
 colonial produce from the East and West In- 
 dies, coffee, sugar, spices, tea, silks, and 
 other articles from China and Japan ; together 
 with the home produce of butter, cheese, flax, 
 hemp, tobacco, madder, flowers, cattle, horses, 
 and fish. The chief articles of importation are 
 corn, salt, wine, timber, stone, marble, and 
 various manufactured goods ; besides colonial 
 produce of every kind from the possessions in 
 Asia, Africa, and the West Indies. The value 
 of the Biitish and Irish produce and manu- 
 factures exported to Holland in 1848 was 
 2,823,258/. The produce imported into Great 
 Britain from Holland is chiefly butter, cheese, 
 ilax, madder, and Dutch colonial produce. 
 
 The principal manufactures are linen of the 
 best quality ; woollens, once the most celebra- 
 ted in the world ; silks, and leather. Sugar 
 refineries, tobacco-pipe manufactories, distil- 
 leries, and cotton mills, are numerous. As has 
 been noticed. in HOLLAND and other articles, 
 many of the chief towns of the Netherlands 
 take part in the Industrial Exhibition. 
 
 NEUTRAL SALTS. Formerly this term 
 included such salts as did not obviously con- 
 tain an excess either of acid or alkali ; but at 
 present the term Neutral Salt includes such 
 compounds as are composed of one equivalent 
 of each of their constituents : thus the subcar- 
 bouates of potash and of soda are now termed 
 
 carbonates, notwithstanding their alkaline re- 
 action, because they consist of one equivalent 
 of acid and one of base.. Chemists apply the 
 term Neutralization to the decomposition of 
 the alkaline carbonates, by the gradual addi- 
 tion of some acid more powerful than the car- 
 bonic, and which of course expels it, from the 
 alkaline bases with effervescence. 
 _ NEW BRUNSWICK. The great commer- 
 cial wealth of this North American colony con- 
 sists in its extensive forests, which are com- 
 posed of pine, fur, spruce, hemlock, birch, 
 beech, maple, ash, elm, and poplar. Wheat, 
 rye, oats, barley, beans, peas, buckwheat, flax. 
 Indian corn, and common vegetables are cul- 
 tivated. On the alluvial grounds which occur 
 along the banks of the numerous rivers there 
 are fine meadows and pasture-grounds. The 
 mineral riches are imperfectly known ; but 
 they comprise iron, coal, marble, and gypsum. 
 The exports of the province are almost wholly 
 confined to the produce of the forests and the 
 fisheries ; they amount to nearly a million 
 sterling annually. Ship-building forms a con- 
 siderable branch of industry in the province. 
 
 The Exports from Great Britain to New 
 Brunswick in 1849 amounted in value to 
 277,591/. 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. A few commercial 
 statistics of this American state will be found 
 under UNITED STATES. 
 
 The same may be said also in respect to 
 New Jersey. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. This American city is 
 one of those which are rising into importance 
 with a rapidity which can scarcely be under- 
 stood in Europe. Situated near the mouth of 
 the Mississippi, it is the outlet for an immense 
 amount of produce timber from the north, 
 grain from the centre, cotton and sugar from 
 the south. From New Orleans this produce 
 is diffused to every part of the globe. More 
 cotton is shipped at New Orleans for England 
 than from any other port. From New Orleans 
 the numerous, large, and powerful steamers 
 start, which navigate the great Mississippi for 
 upwards of a thousand miles. From New Or- 
 leans to St. Louis the busy traffic of the Mis- 
 sissippi is mainly concentrated ; while at St. 
 Louis, which stands at the junction of the Mis- 
 souri with the Mississippi, commences the 
 commerce of the western, prairies, and the 
 emigrant routes over the Rocky Mountains to 
 Oregon and California. At New Orleans the 
 river is too much encumbered with sand banks 
 to enable large ships to sail up to the quays ; 
 but they are drawn up by tug-boats. The ships 
 lie in tiers alongside an embankment or quay, 
 called HIQ Levee, sometimes three or four deep, 
 presenting the appearance of a forest of masts. 
 
1251 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Some years ago the exports from New Orlean 
 were estimated at twelve million dollars annu 
 ally ; but they now greatly exceed this ainoun 
 In the environs of the city are large plantation 
 of sugar, cotton, indigo, and rice, which ar 
 cultivated in a very perfect manner. 
 
 NEW YOKE. This most famous portion 
 of the United States is the name both of 
 state and of a city. In the state of New York 
 maize, wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, po 
 tatoes, turnips, peas, beans, and numerous 
 fruits, are generally cultivated. In some parts 
 flax and hemp are grown, especially in the 
 Lake Country. A considerable part of th< 
 state is still covered with forests, which con 
 sist of oak, ash, walnut, pine, maple, beech 
 chestnut, birch, poplar, elm, cedar, hemlock 
 and hickory. Several minerals occur in abun 
 dance, but only iron, salt, limestone, and mar- 
 ble are worked. Goal is imported from various 
 places, especially from Nova Scotia. The canals 
 and railroads are numerous ; the former ex- 
 tend 600 to 700 miles ; while the railways are 
 forming a complete network over the state. In 
 1840 there were 323 woollen manufactories, 
 890 fulling mills, 186 iron furnaces, 120 forges, 
 77 paper mills, 1216 tanneries, and a great 
 variety of other works ; and in the subsequent 
 eleven years these numbers must have vastly 
 increased. The commerce greatly exceeds 
 that of any other of the States. 
 
 But it is the city of New York which appeals 
 most to our notice in respect to commercial 
 and industrial features. The situation of New 
 York as a commercial port is admirable. New 
 York Bay, which is completely landlocked, is 
 about 8 miles long and from 1J to 5 miles 
 wide, and affords a perfectly safe anchorage. 
 It is easy of approach, and is very rarely closed 
 by ice. The entrance between Long Island 
 and Staten Island, by a channel called the 
 Narrows, is protected by forts, while the ap- 
 proach to it is facilitated by lighthouses. The 
 bay contains several small islands, on which 
 fortifications have been constructed. There 
 is sufficient depth of water, both in the Hud- 
 son and East Eiver, for ships of large burden 
 to load and unload at the wharfs. The com- 
 mercial intercourse with the interior and with 
 the western States of the Union is provided 
 for by means of the Hudson, and the system 
 of canals connected with it. 
 
 The most expensive and useful public work 
 undertaken by the cit} is the aqueduct called 
 the Croton Water- Works, noticed in a previous 
 article. [AQUEDUCT.] 
 
 No fewer than 3,341 vessels, of 1,247,860 
 tons burden, and manned by 46,158 seamen, 
 entered the port of New York in 1850 ; and 
 the shipping which left the port presented 
 
 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE. 1253 
 
 corresponding numbers. About one half of 
 the shipping was American, one-third British, 
 and the remainder belonging to various coun- 
 tries. The tonnage of the arrivals at four 
 nearly equidistant periods presents the follow- 
 ing remarkable differences : 
 
 1821 171,963 tons. 
 
 1830 314,716 
 
 1840 527,594 
 
 1850 1,247,860 
 
 The number of persons who arrive every 
 year at New York by sea, chiefly from Europe, 
 is immense. In the ten years, 1841 to 1850, 
 the number averaged 123,784 yearly ; m 1849 
 t reached the high figure of 221,799. A very 
 Large proportion of these are emigrants, who 
 Land at New York as a convenient point whence 
 to start farther westward. There is, perhaps, 
 no other city in the world which, at the present 
 time, equals New York as a centre of transit, 
 or as a temporary abode for thousands who 
 make it a mere resting point on a journey : 
 .his circumstance gives it a peculiar character 
 30th in its commercial and its social features. 
 In the single month of September 1850, the 
 exports from New York amounted to five mil- 
 ions and a half of dollars, considerably more 
 .ban one million sterling. Very nearly one- 
 half of this value of commodities was sent to 
 jreat Britain. Half a million went to Panama, 
 n route to California, Mith which an immense 
 iommerce is now conducted from New York, 
 n the first ume months of 1850, no fewer 
 han 37 ships were launched at New York, 
 averaging 1150 tons each ; and at the end of 
 September in that year there were 31 more 
 uilding, of about the same average tonnage. 
 Of the whole 68 vessels, 38 were steamers. 
 
 The mail steam ships which now run be- 
 ween England and New York are among the 
 inest which the world has yet seen. 
 
 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE. This busy 
 and important town is very well provided with 
 ailway accommodation. The Newcastle and 
 Carlisle Railway extends across the island 
 early from one sea to the other ; the North 
 ihields line passes through North Shields to 
 'ynemouth ; the Newcastle and Berwick Rail- 
 ay establishes a communication with Scot- 
 and ; lastly, the Durham railways, which, 
 taking their departure from Gateshead, open 
 p a communication with South Shields, Sun- 
 erland, Durham, York, and the south of Eng- 
 and generally. A station near the centre of 
 le town, which is to form a junction with all 
 lese lines by means of viaducts, has for some 
 me been in progress. The most important 
 >art of this work is a bridge acros"s the Tyne, 
 ndertaken by the railway companies, and one 
 f the finest engineering works in England. 
 
1253 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 NIAGARA BRIDGE. 
 
 1254 
 
 It is a double bridge, the lower one at an ele- 
 vation of 90 feet above the river, for carriages 
 and foot passengers, and a railway bridge at 
 a further elevation of 25 feet. The whole 
 length of the structure is nearly 1400 feet. It 
 has two piers at the margin of the river, and 
 four others in the stream itself, besides smaller 
 piers to support the land arches. The High 
 Level Bridge, as it is termed, is one of those 
 creations which will give lasting fame to 
 Robert Stephenson. 
 
 The commercial importance of Newcastle 
 arises from its situation on a river navigable 
 thus far by sea-borne vessels of 400 tons. The 
 Tyne forms the haven, and is under the care 
 of the corporation. The river side is lined 
 with warehouses and extensive quays. The 
 chief business is in the shipment of coals, the 
 produce of the surrounding coal-pits. The 
 coals were formerly brought down the river in 
 barges called keels, but vessels are now chiefly 
 loaded from staiths. Coal is exported very 
 considerably ; also lead, cast and wrought iron, 
 glass and pottery, copperas and other chemi- 
 cal productions, soap, colours, grindstones, 
 salt, and pickled salmon. The imports are 
 wine, spirituous liquors, and fruit, from the 
 south of Europe ; corn, timber, flax, tallow, 
 and hides, from the Baltic ; and tobacco and 
 various other articles from North America. 
 The number of sailing vessels registered at 
 the port is about 1500, besides about 200 
 steamers. 
 
 The chief manufactures are of glass bottles 
 and plate and crown glass, steam engines, mill 
 work, and other machinery. A number of 
 persons are engaged in ship and boat building, 
 block, mast, and sail making, flax-dressing, 
 rope making, &c. There are several malt- 
 houses, breweries, flour-mills, iron and lead 
 works, and chemical works. 
 
 Newcastle takes up a worthy position at 
 the Great Exhibition. In mineral produce, 
 in machinery, and in manufactures, the town 
 and neighbourhood are well fitted to occupy 
 a high rank. 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. Considered in its rela- 
 tion to produce, industry, and commerce, it is 
 scarcely possible to place a limit to the im- 
 portance of a newspaper. It meets us at 
 every turn, as an example either of the aid 
 which newspapers render to commerce, or of 
 that which commerce renders to newspapers. 
 As a question of paper-making, of taxation on 
 paper, of type founding, of steam-press machi- 
 nery, of rapid printing, of the advertising 
 system, of the tax on advertisements, of the 
 reporting system, of the statistical tabulating 
 system, of the postage system, of the express 
 travelling system, of the ocean mail system 
 
 in all these respects a modern London news- 
 paper is a marvel. 
 
 Under the head of PEINTING will be found 
 a little information concerning the vast scale 
 on which the great newspapers are printed in 
 London and in New York. In the present 
 article we shall take a newspaper as the repre- 
 sentative of rapid transport, showing how it 
 reaches Dublin at a period of urgent demand. 
 Let it be the Queen's speech of February, 1851, 
 as printed in the morning journals of the next 
 day ; and let us trace the mode adopted by 
 Messrs. Smith (who conduct vast operations 
 of this kind), to convey those journals and 
 that speech to Dublin, to Liverpool, and to 
 Manchester. A special engine left Euston 
 station at 6-22 A.M., and after some slight 
 detention for water, &c., amounting altogether 
 to 20 minutes, it reached Crewe at 10-8, the 
 distance of 166 miles having been performed 
 in 3f hours, or a running rate averaging 50 
 miles an hour. From Crewe an engine pro- 
 ceeded to Manchester, 32 miles, in 40 minutes, 
 and another to Liverpool, 44 miles, in 75 
 minutes. The express to Ireland started 
 from Crewe at the same moment as the Liver- 
 pool and Manchester expresses ; it proceeded 
 by Chester, where the superintendent of the 
 Chester and Holyhead Railway joined it. 
 Under his management the special engine 
 reached Holyhead at 12-45, having travelled 
 over a great portion of the distance between 
 Chester and Bangor at the rate of 60 miles 
 an hour. At Holyhead the Chester and 
 Holyhead Company's steamer Scotia, com- 
 manded by Captain Hirste, was lying ready 
 to start with the express, but in consequence 
 of the violence of the gale she was unable to 
 get clear of the harbour for some minutes. 
 Notwithstanding the delay and the heavy 
 sea, she made Kingstown Harbour by 5'30 
 P.M., and the morning papers were distributed 
 in Dublin by a little after six o'clock. The 
 mail trains carried them into the provinces 
 the same mails which conveyed the London 
 letters and papers of the previous evening. 
 It is now proved that the entire distance from 
 London vid Holyhead and Dublin to Cork 
 upwards of 500 miles can be accomplished 
 in 16 hours. The Queen's speech was for- 
 warded by Messrs. Smith on the afternoon of 
 its delivery, by telegraph to Crewe, and thence 
 by special engine to Holyhead, and by steamer 
 to Dublin. It was printed in Dublin within 
 eight hours and a half after its delivery, and 
 reached Cork, by special engine engaged by 
 Messrs. Smith, in four hours and a half from 
 Dublin. 
 
 NIAGARA BRIDGE. The suspension 
 bridge thrown over the Niagara Falls may be 
 
1255 
 
 NICHE. 
 
 NIELLO - INLAYING. 
 
 .1250 
 
 considered, under the extraordinary circum 
 
 stances of its position, as one of the raos 
 
 remarkable of its kind. The first trans 
 
 across from bank to bank was made by a lute 
 
 A kite being raised on one bank, when th 
 
 wind was in a particular position, was so ma 
 
 noeuvred as to be made to fall on the opposit 
 
 bank ; the string was secured, and was mad 
 
 the means of dragging over a larger string 
 
 then a rope, then a cable of 36 iron wires 
 
 Several persons crossed the perilous chasm 
 
 in a car suspended from this wire cable. The 
 
 bridge was next proceeded with. On each 
 
 bank is a wooden tower 50 feet high, ove 
 
 which pass 14 cables; viz., 5 of 36 wires each 
 
 5 of 72, 1 of 125, and 3 of ] 50 wires each 
 
 making 1115 wires in all. These wire cables 
 
 hanging in the usual curve, support the plat 
 
 form of the bridge, which is capable of with 
 
 standing apressure of 1000 tons,and is traversed 
 
 by passengers, teams, and droves of cattle 
 
 There is however now being constructed a far 
 
 mightier work over the Falls, to connect the 
 
 United States railways on one bank with the 
 
 Canadian railways on the other. A locomotive 
 
 defying the Falls of Niagara will picture the 
 
 grandeur of art and the grandeur of nature 
 
 in singular proximity! The railway bridge 
 
 will have 16 wire cables, each containing the 
 
 enormous number of 6000 iron wires, not 
 
 twisted round each other, but laid straight, 
 
 and bound round with smaller wire. It is 
 
 calculated that the bridge will be able to 
 
 maintain 6000 tons besides its own weight. 
 
 NICHE is a small recess, or concavity in 
 the face of a wall for the purpose of contain- 
 ing a statue. The use of niches seems to 
 have originated with the Komans, for scarcely 
 anything of the kind occurs in the architecture 
 of the Greeks. In Italian architecture niches 
 are of very frequent occurrence. They are 
 usually semicircular in plan, and round-headed, 
 that is, covered by the quarter of a hollow 
 sphere, owing to which the shadow within the 
 concavity produces a highly beautiful curve. 
 Niches exhibit great diversity in the modes 
 of decorating them ; but in this country it has 
 usually been the fashion to leave them plain. 
 NICKEL. This metal was first described 
 by Cronstadt in 1751. It is usually procured 
 from the sulphuret. It has a white colour 
 with a yellowish tint ; its lustre is considerable, 
 and it is both malleable and ductile. Like 
 iron, it is attracted by the magnet, and may, 
 like it, be rendered magnetic at common tem- 
 peratures, but it loses this power when heated 
 to 630 Fahrenheit. The specific gravity 
 varies from 8-28 to 9-0. Nickel is nearly as 
 hard as iron. It suffers little or no change 
 by exposure to the air and moisture at com- 
 
 mon temperatures. It is very difficult of 
 fusion, but melts at a lower temperature than 
 iron. At a red heat it absorbs oxygen gradu- 
 ally from the air, and also decomposes water 
 at this temperature. Nitric acid is the only 
 acid which readily acts upon nickel. Nickel 
 occurs in meteoric iron and aerolites. 
 
 The uses of nickel are very limited, and 
 until within a few years it was scarcely em- 
 ployed at all; but it is now very usefully 
 employed, and to a considerable extent, in 
 forming an alloy with copper and zinc, known 
 by the name of German silver. Its oxides 
 impart a green colour to glass and porcelain. 
 Nickel forms alloys with arsenic, potassium, 
 antimony, zinc, tin, iron, cobalt, mercury, and 
 copper. 
 
 NICOTINA is an alkali which exists in the 
 different species of tobacco. It crystallises 
 in small plates, which, by exposure to the 
 air, absorb moisture sufficient to become a 
 transparent colourless liquid. When cold it 
 s nearly inodorous, but when heated it has a 
 disagreeable odour and taste. It boils at 375 ; 
 its specific gravity is 1-048. The salts which 
 it forms with alkalies are colourless. There is 
 also a substance called Nicotianin, which is 
 concrete oil having a smell of tobacco and a 
 Ditterish taste ; it is the principle which gives 
 the characteristic odour to tobacco. 
 
 NIELLO -INLAYING. This name is 
 given by the Italians to a peculiar kind of 
 rnameiital metal-work. Niello is composed 
 of an alloy of silver and lead, or silver and 
 copper, blackened by the action of sulphur. 
 [t was first called nigcllum, but afterwards 
 liello. The use of it is occasionally mentioned 
 n documents from the 7th to the 13th cen- 
 iiiries, at which latter period it had arrived at 
 a state of great excellence. The process 
 ised in working the niello was somewhat 
 imilar to that of enamel incrustation. The 
 )bject intended to be ornamented with niello 
 lad incised or cut into its surface the required 
 design, into which niello was inlaid in small 
 rains, and afterwards fused by the action of 
 lie lire, and polished. Originally, the chan- 
 tels in the metal were cut broadly, and 
 f an equal depth; giving to the entire 
 rork, after the introduction of the niello, 
 he appearance of a rude picture, the out- 
 nes only of which were formed, some- 
 mes by the niello and sometimes by the 
 metal ; but afterwards the designs on the 
 netal were engraved with great delicacy, ami 
 ccasionally were carefully shaded by lines. 
 he origin of taking impressions on paper 
 rorn metal plates is ascribed to the practice 
 f limiguerra, a Florentine goldsmith, who, 
 i the rniddlo of the 15th century, was in the 
 
1257 
 
 NILE. 
 
 NITROGEN. 
 
 1258 
 
 habit of taking impressions from plates h 
 had engraved for the purpose of ascertainin 
 their fitness to receive the niello. Some fe 
 of these old impressions still exist, and equal! 
 with the plates themselves are called nidi 
 The metal which was engraved to receive th 
 niello was usually either gold, silver, or coppe 
 Many beautiful specimens of niello wer 
 collected at the Medieeval Exhibition in 1850 
 including a silver super-altare, a copper-gi 
 ciborium, a silver brooch, statuettes of saints 
 silver plates, and a pax. 
 
 NILE. The influence of this far-fame^ 
 river on the industry and commerce of th 
 neighbouring countries has been briefly ad 
 verted to under EGYPT. 
 
 NIMES or NISMES, the capital of th 
 French department of Gard, has long been 
 an important manufacturing town. Its im 
 portance has been lately on the increase in 
 consequence of its being the centre from whicl 
 the railways diverge that connect the town 
 with Alais, Montpellier, Cette, Aries, Avignon 
 and Marseille. The principal manufacture 
 are fancy silk goods, silk stockings and caps 
 hosiery of all kinds, velvet, small wares, printe 
 cottons, shawls, handkerchiefs, chintzes, &c 
 There are several dye-houses, potteries, brandy 
 distilleries, vinegar-works, and tan-yards ; anc 
 the town is the great market for the raw silks 
 of the surrounding district. Nimes carries on 
 considerable trade in these productions ; anc 
 in wine, spices, drugs, oleaginous seeds, me- 
 dicinal plants, and dye stuffs. 
 
 NISCHNEI-NOVGOROD FAIR. This 
 famous fair has already been, adverted to 
 [FAIRS] ; but it may be well to notice it a 
 little more in detail, as a means of shewing 
 its important influence on trade and com- 
 merce. Nischnei-Novgorod is a town in the 
 heart of the Russian empire. The inhabit- 
 ants carry on various manufactures ; but the 
 great and annually increasing importance of 
 the town arises from its fair. This fair, which 
 is opened on June 29 in each year, is one of 
 the greatest in the world. It is held in a 
 group of buildings, formed into a large oblong 
 parallelogram, surrounded with shops, before 
 an edifice adorned with three rows of columns, 
 which is the hotel of the governor, in which 
 the local authorities reside during the fair. 
 Forty-eight blocks of buildings, separated by 
 streets which intersect each other at right 
 angles, extend behind this parallelogram. 
 The number of the shops is about 2524, and 
 over each there is a small apartment, in which 
 the merchant may reside. During the fair, 
 all the streets and warehouses are filled with 
 a countless multitude, who have flocked 
 thither from the two Russian capitals, from 
 
 various other towns of Russia, from the shores 
 of the Baltic and the Caspian, from Bokhara, 
 
 Khiva, Kokand, and Taschkend, from Asia 
 Minor, from the mountains of Turkistan and 
 the frontiers of China, and, of late years, from 
 different parts of Western Europe. All these 
 magazines and booths are filled with the pro- 
 duce of the most diverse countries, and thou- 
 sands of boats are employed in landing the 
 goods, or in taking them on board to convey 
 them to the seas which wash the northern 
 and southern shores of the empire. Other 
 goods, such as wooden wares, are piled up 
 even in the open country, and farther on are 
 long lines of carts with their horses, which 
 serve both as magazines and lodgings for the 
 country-people. From 4000 to 5000 ware- 
 houses and booths are let during the fair. 
 The goods sold amount to 10,000,000^. to 
 12,000,000*. annually. 
 NITRE. [POTASSIUM.] 
 NITRIC ACID was formerly called Spirit 
 of Nitre, or Glauber's Spirit of Nitre ; and 
 when much diluted with water, it is called 
 Aquafortis. When pure, it is a colourless 
 liquid, but is usually yellowish. Its smell is 
 strong and disagreeable, and it emits white 
 fumes. It is so acrid that it cannot be safely 
 tasted without being much diluted, and is 
 even then very sour. In its concentrated 
 state it stains the skin of a yellow colour, and 
 eventually the skin is destroyed and peels off. 
 When mixed with water it gives out consi- 
 derable heat. When colourless nitric acid is 
 exposed to the action of the light, it under- 
 
 oes partial decomposition. 
 
 Nitric acid is used for numerous purposes ; 
 such as the refining of gold and silver, in 
 preparing various metallic and saline solutions 
 or medicinal purposes, and the use of the 
 dyer and calico-printer; in scientific chemical 
 esearches it is most extensively employed. 
 ;ts saline compounds are termed Nitrates ; and 
 )oth the acid itself and the nitrates are used 
 n medicine. 
 
 The gas called nitric oxide, which contains 
 
 ess oxygen than nitric acid, has not yet been 
 
 much applied to useful purposes. The same 
 
 nay be said of nitrous add and nitrous oxide, 
 
 which differ from each other and from the 
 
 wo nitric compounds chiefly in the amount 
 
 f oxygen contained. 
 
 NITROGEN, or AZOTE, one of the most 
 bundant and extensively diffused of the gases, 
 s transparent, colourless, inodorous, and in- 
 ipid. It is lighter than atmospheric air. Its 
 efractive power and its specific heat are both 
 wer than those of common air. Water dis - 
 olves but a very small quantity of this gas. 
 
 ia fatal to animals when respired by itself, 
 
1259 
 
 KOKD. 
 
 NORFOLK. 
 
 1260 
 
 as is implied by the term azote ; it extinguishe 
 flame immediately. No degree of cold an 
 pressure to which this gas has heen subjecte 
 has condensed it to a fluid form. It resem 
 bles all other elementary bodies in bein 
 destitute of acid or alkaline powers. It enter 
 into the composition of a great number o 
 important compounds. Thus it constitute 
 i% of the volume of atmospheric air. Wit 
 oxygen it forms five definite compounds, viz 
 nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, nitrous acid, hypo 
 nitrous acid, and nitric acid. With hydrogen 
 it constitutes the alkali ammonia ; with chlo 
 rine and iodine it gives rise to detonating com 
 pounds ; with carbon it forms cyanogen ; an 
 with phosphorus a plwsphuret. It enters int( 
 the composition of most animal matter excep 
 fat and bone ; and, though not a constituen 
 of the vegetable acids, it forms a part of mos 
 of the vegetable alkalies. Although by itsel 
 fatal to animals, yet it is a most importan 
 constituent of the air, as serving to moderate 
 the action of oxygen during combustion, am 
 the too great excitement which that gas, re 
 spired unmixed, would produce on the anima 
 system. It appears also from the experiments 
 of Majendie that animals will not live on foo< 
 that contains no azote. 
 
 NORD, the most northern department o 
 France, raised the following quantities of agri 
 cultural produce in 1848 : 2,124,549 quarters 
 of corn; 2,960,264 bushels of potatoes; 
 13,330 hogsheads of flax seed ; 352,429 cwt 
 of flax fibre; 142,398 tons of hay; 612,401 
 tons of straw; besides a fair average of vegi 
 table crops and fruits. Authority was given 
 to plant 2498 acres with tobacco in the year 
 1849, calculated to furnish 63,070 cwt. of leaf. 
 A good deal of the barley grown in the de- 
 partment is used for malting, beer being the 
 common beverage ; other grain and potatoes 
 are also used in the gin and other spirit dis- 
 tilleries. 
 
 The mineral wealth of the department con- 
 sists chiefly of its coal and iron mines ; of the 
 former, 19, all situated in the valley of the 
 Escaut, were worked in 1848, and of the latter, 
 3 were worked in the arrondissement of 
 Avesnes. Steam-engines are used for drain- 
 ing the mines. Marble, paving-stones, brick- 
 earth, potter's clay, peat, and fossil ashes, 
 which are used as manure, are found. There 
 are mineral waters and baths at St. Amand. 
 The industrial products are of the most varied 
 description, including all kinds of woollen, 
 cotton, and linen manufactures, ticking, duck, 
 velveteen, printed cottons, and handkerchiefs, 
 woollen, flaxen, cotton, and hempen yarn, lace, 
 tulle, cambric and lawn, soap, refined sugar 
 and salt, beer, oil, nails, glass, paper, tiles, 
 
 bricks, earthenware, ropes, leather, toys, small 
 wares, cannon, small arms, saltpetre, &c. 
 These numerous products form the items of a 
 large home and foreign commerce. The im- 
 ports are chiefly raw cotton, wool, flax, colo- 
 nial produce, wine, brandy, and timber. At 
 the principal points on the Belgian frontier, 
 custom-house officers are stationed, who are 
 under the direction of the custom-houses of 
 Dunkerque and Valenciennes. 
 
 The manufactures of this department give 
 rise to great activity in the towns of Lille, 
 Auzin, Houbaix, Tourcoing, Douai, Dunkerque, 
 Valenciennes, and Cambrai, all of which arc 
 distinguished for their industry and commerce. 
 
 NORFOLK. This agricultural county con- 
 tains little of what may be designated mineral 
 wealth. Chalk is dug for lime in many places ; 
 excellent sand for glass-making is procured 
 between Snettisham and Castle Rising ; some 
 potter's earth is found and excellent brick- 
 earth ; marl is dug in the valley of the Bure ; 
 and the Fen districts of the west furnish peat 
 for fuel and manure. The district in Avhich 
 the true Norfolk system of cultivation was first 
 adopted, and where turnips and clover were 
 ntroduced in the regular rotations, was that 
 on the north-west, where the better kinds of 
 sand prevail ; from this district it has gradually 
 spread ; and there are now few soils in Nor- 
 folk which are considered too heavy to bear 
 turnips, especially after having been well un- 
 derdrained. The crop which is raised in the 
 greatest perfection in Norfolk is barley. 
 
 Among the towns of Norfolk there are but few 
 which present a manufacturing character. At 
 <ynn t rope and sailcloth are almost the only 
 articles of manufacture in the town ; but the 
 xade of the place is considerable, owing to 
 he harbour. The exports are principally 
 orn and agricultural produce, sent coast- 
 vise, and a fine white sand ground near the 
 own, and used for making glass. A vast 
 uantity of shrimps, caught on the shores of 
 he Wash, are sent to London. The imports 
 are corn and coal; timber from America; 
 imber, deals, hemp, and tallow from the 
 Baltic ; wine from France, Spain, Portugal, 
 re. There are about 180 vessels belonging 
 o the port. Thetfvrd has few manufactures ; 
 ut there is a good deal of malting, and the 
 rade of the place is favoured by the river 
 use being navigable up to the town ; by 
 means of which an export of agricultural pro- 
 uce and an import of coal are carried on. 
 Vt North Walsham the silk manufacture is 
 rosecuted to some extent. In Norwich the 
 nost important trade consists of the manu- 
 acture of silk and worsted into shawls, crapes, 
 ombazines, damasks, camlets, and imitations 
 
1261 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 
 
 1262 
 
 of the Irish and French stuffs. A School of 
 Design has been established to aid iu the pro- 
 duction of elegant woven goods ; but the tex- 
 tile manufactures are in a declining state at 
 Norwich ; and there is a want of enterprise 
 and spirit observable in the manufacturing 
 operations. 
 
 In 1850 the county of Norfolk contained 2 
 cotton factories, and 11 worsted factories, em- 
 ploying altogether about 1700 persons. 
 
 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. Although this 
 county presents some remarkable features in 
 respect to the boot and shoe manufacture, it 
 must be regarded as an agricultural, county. 
 The soil is generally adapted to produce both 
 corn and pasture of a superior quality. The 
 pastures are both rich and sound, and the 
 cattle grazed in them in summer repay the 
 capital laid out on them with good interest. 
 The fattening of cattle is a principal object 
 of the Northamptonshire farmer. 
 
 Among the towns there are a few in which 
 manufactures are carried on. At Kcttering 
 wool-stapling and wool -combing are carried 
 on ; there is a considerable manufacture of 
 shoes ; and that of silk shag for hats has been 
 also introduced. At Northampton the prin- 
 cipal branch of trade carried on is boot and 
 shoe-making ; the articles are sent to London 
 and other parts of England, or are exported ; 
 and considerable business is also done in 
 currying leather. Stockings and lace are 
 made. There are iron foundries. The trade 
 of Wettingborough) and of other towns in this 
 county, is dependent mainly on the boot 
 and shoe manufacture. The only reasonable 
 explanation of the settlement of this branch 
 of industry in this county seems to be that 
 Northamptonshire is a grazing county, and 
 yields hides fit for tanning ; but whether this 
 be the correct explanation or not, it is a well- 
 known fact that the ready-made boots and shoes 
 of the London shops are supplied to a very 
 large extent by the county of Northampton- 
 shire. The work is done on the piece-work 
 system. There are not large factories where 
 men are employed at weekly wages ; but the 
 manufacturers give out leather cut to the 
 proper shapes to the workmen, Avho return 
 the finished or partially finished boots and 
 shoes, and receive so much per dozen pairs 
 for their labour. Competition between these 
 workmen has brought down the wages to a 
 very low average. 
 
 NORTHUMBERLAND. The south-eastern 
 part of this county, bounded by a line drawn 
 from Warkworth, at the mouth of the Coquet, 
 by the head of the river Blyth, to the Tyne, 
 and thence southward to the bank of the Der- 
 went, is included in the great coal-field of the 
 
 counties of Northumberland and Durham. 
 ;COAL-FIELDS.] This coal-field is the great 
 source of wealth to the county, and gives it a 
 aigh rank among the shires of Britain. The 
 salmon fishery of the Tweed is very important, 
 and a considerable number of boxes of that 
 fish packed in ice are sent from that river to 
 the London market, besides what is salted. 
 The county of Northumberland has been one 
 of the foremost of the English counties in 
 adopting the improved system of agriculture, 
 the chief feature of Avhich is the cultivation of 
 ,urnips for the rearing and fattening of cattle. 
 So great has been the advantage derived from 
 this change from the old triennial system, that 
 many fields now yield heavy crops of this use- 
 ful root, which in most other parts of England 
 would be considered as totally unfit for its 
 cultivation. The instruments of tillage are 
 mostly of improved make. The ploughs are 
 generally iron swing- ploughs, on the principle 
 of the old Rotherham plough, which was origi- 
 nally copied from the Belgian plough, and 
 afterwards improved. The harrows, rollers, 
 scarifiers, &c., are as in other counties. 
 Threshing-machines, moved by water, wind, 
 or horses, are thought essential on the larger 
 Northumberland farms. 
 
 The manufactures of the county are noticed 
 in connection with its chief industrial centre 
 [NEWCASTLE] ; but there are other busy towns 
 worthy of note. Allcndale lies near the lead 
 mines, and has establishments for the smelt- 
 ing of that metal. Alnmouth has a considerable 
 export of wool to the West Riding, and of corn 
 to the metropolis. Blythe has ship-building 
 yards for small vessels. North Shields has a 
 great trade in coal, and a very active shipping 
 commerce, by which it is becoming every year 
 a place of more and more importance. All 
 along the Tyne, but especially from Newcastle 
 to the German Ocean, the number of manufac- 
 turing establishments is very great. Besides 
 the enormous shipment of coals, there are 
 very extensive chemical and alkali works, soap 
 works, lead and shot works, white and red 
 lead works, potteries, plate and window glass 
 works, oil mills, starch mills, &c. 
 
 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. This county, as 
 noticed in a former article [CoAL] contains a 
 portion of one of the midland coal-fields. It 
 contains also a small supply of gypsum, build- 
 ing stone, and paving stone ; but the county 
 can hardly be deemed rich in minerals. There 
 are many hop plantations in the county, which 
 in some years give a good profit to the grower. 
 There "are excellent market gardens in the 
 neighbourhood of Newark, Nottingham, and 
 other towns, the sandy soil being very favour- 
 able to the cultivation of roots and vegetables. 
 
1203 
 
 NOYAU. 
 
 NUX VOMICA. 
 
 1204 
 
 There arc also some good orchards on the 
 heavier soils. 
 
 In respect to manufactures, Nottingham- 
 shire derives importance from being the centre 
 of the cotton hositay and bobbin-net trades. 
 [HOSIERY MANUFACTURE ; LAOE MANUFAC- 
 TURE]. Not only in the town of Nottingham 
 itself, but in all the towns and villages in the 
 southern half of the county, these manufac- 
 tures are carried on. Nottingham itself is the 
 focus of these trades, where the wholesale 
 manufacturers and dealers reside. The bob- 
 bin net is mostly made in factories ; but the 
 hosiery is made at the houses of the operatives, 
 with cotton yarn supplied by the manufactu- 
 rers : the workpeople being paid so much per 
 dozen pairs for their labour, out of which they 
 for the most part have to pay a frame-rent for 
 the machines. 
 
 In J 850 the county of Nottingham contained 
 J 9 cotton factories, 4 silk factories, and 1 wor- 
 sted factory ; these 24 factories employed 
 about 2200 persons. 
 
 A School of Design has been established at 
 Nottingham ; and it is stated in the annual 
 report of the Inspector of these schools for 
 1850, that the effect of the school in improving 
 the taste of designers in the lace trade is be- 
 coming very evident. It will be gratifying if 
 the Great Exhibition should verify this im- 
 provement. 
 
 NOYAU, or Creme de Noyau, is a favourite 
 liqueur or cordial in France. It is formed of 
 bitter almonds, proof spirits, coriander seed, 
 lump sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and mace. One 
 variety, called Cremc de Noyau de Martinique, 
 is said to consist of the following ingre- 
 dients : 
 
 Loaf sugar 24 Ibs. 
 
 Water 2 gallons. 
 
 Proof spirit 5 gallons. 
 
 Orange-flower water .... 3 pints. 
 
 Bitter almonds 1 Ib. 
 
 Essence of lemon 2 drachms. 
 
 NUMBEKING MACHINE. Different 
 forms of apparatus for recording or marking 
 numbers are described under CALCULATING 
 MACHINES ; BEGISTERING MACHINES. 
 
 NUTMEGS. The two favourite spices of 
 nutmeg and mace are derived from the same 
 plant. This plant is the Myristica Moschata, 
 a tree native of the Molucca Islands, especially 
 of Banda, but cultivated in Java, Sumatra, and 
 elsewhere in the East, and of late years in 
 Guiana and several of the West India Islands ; 
 but the best are produced in the first-men- 
 tioned islands. The fruit is of the size and 
 form of a peach, and when ripe the fleshy part 
 separates into two nearly equal halves, expos- 
 ing the kernel surrounded by an arillus, the 
 
 former being the nutmeg, the latter the mace. 
 The odour of the mace is strongly aromatic ; 
 the taste aromatic, but sharp and acrid. It 
 contains both a fixed oil (in small quantity) 
 and a volatile oil. One pound of mace yields 
 by distillation one ounce of volatile oil. The 
 fixed oil is not an article of European com- 
 merce, and what is termed the expressed oil of 
 mace is obtained from the nutmeg, and should 
 bear its name. An inferior mace is obtained 
 from various species of Myristica. The pro- 
 perties of mace are similar to those of the 
 nutmeg. 
 
 Two or three gatherings of the nutmegs are 
 made in the year, generally in July, or August, 
 in December, and in April. The third period 
 yields the best nutmegs. The collected nuts 
 are dried in the sun or by the heat of a mode- 
 rate fire till the shells split : they are then 
 sorted and dipped in lime-water, to preserve 
 them from the attack of insects. Those of good 
 quality should be heavy, each weighing OH an 
 average 90 grains. 
 
 The quantities of these spices imported in 
 the last three years were as fofiw : 
 Mace. Nutmegs. 
 
 1848 47,572 Ibs. 336,420 Ibs. 
 
 1849 45,986 224,021 
 
 1850 76,365 312,418 
 NUTS. A few words concerning the chief 
 
 varieties of nuts are given under the proper 
 names ; and an instance of the large consump- 
 tion of hazel nuts in London will be found 
 under MARKET GARDENS. In respect to the 
 commerce in nuts, the following were the 
 quantities of the three best known kinds, im- 
 ported in 1848 : 
 
 Hazel Nuts 150,022 bushels. 
 
 Chestnuts 63,033 
 
 Walnuts 29,604 
 
 Of the quantities grown in England, there are 
 no means of forming an estimate. 
 
 NUX VOMICA. This very powerful medi- 
 cine is one among many products of the plant 
 Slrychnos. Among these products is strychnia, 
 a vegetable alkali which exists in the plant 
 combined Avith strychnic acid ; it is colourless, 
 inodorous, crystalline, unalterable by exposure 
 to tho air, and extremely bitter ; it is extremely 
 poisonous ; one-eighth of a grain is sufficient 
 to kill a dog, and a quarter of a grain produces 
 a dangerous effect upon a man. The strychnof, 
 itself is a land of nightshade, of which there are 
 several species. The best known is atrychnox 
 nnx i)omica, or poison nut, or ratsbane. Tho 
 wood of this plant is very hard and durable, 
 and on that account is applied to many pur- 
 poses by the natives on the coftst of Coroman- 
 del and othcrplac.es where it grows. Tho fruit 
 
1265 
 
 NUX VOMICA. 
 
 OAK. 
 
 1266 
 
 is about the size of a St. Michael's orange, 
 with a bitter astringent pulp, and containing 
 from three to five seeds. The pulp may be 
 eaten, but the seeds are poisonous and offici- 
 nal. Another remarkable species is the strych- 
 nos toxifera, Wooraly, Urari, or poison plant 
 of Guiana, a native of Guiana. It had long 
 been suspected that the poison used by the 
 American Indians for their arrows was a spe- 
 cies of Strychnos, but such is the secrecy with 
 which they gather the plant and prepare the 
 poison, that all enquiries have been frustrated. 
 Sir IT. Schomburgk's long stay in Guiana has 
 
 enabled him to decide this point : by bribing 
 some of the natives, he induced them to guide 
 him to a spot where their famous Urari flou- 
 rished, and on arriving at the place, found it 
 to be the species of Strychnos above described. 
 In the preparation of the poison, the Urari is 
 not the only ingredient, but forms about half 
 of the bulk of the ingredient used. 
 
 As a medicinal agent, nux vomica possesses 
 valuable qualities ; but it is so extremely poi- 
 sonous except in very minute doses, and much 
 diluted, that its use is deemed dangerous ex- 
 cept under great precautions. 
 
 
 
 OAK. Tho oak is perhaps the most cele- 
 brated and the most valuable of all timber 
 trees ; no others are applied to so many useful 
 purposes. The timber is more durable than 
 any other of extensive growth in Europe. It 
 is hard, tough, tolerably flexible, strong with- 
 out being too heavy, not easily splintered, and 
 
 reign of Charles I. was 99 feet long by 3 feet 
 diameter at the lower end, and formed out of 
 one piece of oak. 
 
 The root of the oak is applied to ornamental 
 rather than useful purposes. Evelyn says that 
 of the root of the oak were formerly made 
 handles to daggers and knives, tobacco boxes, 
 
 not readily penetrated by water. When the | mathematical instruments, panels for pictures, 
 grain is twisted, no other timber is so well I and various minor articles. At the present 
 adapted for posts, piles, shingles, palings, I. day the root of oak is cut into veneers which, 
 laths, casks, and all articles exposed to the j when polished, shew exceedingly beautiful 
 
 action of moisture may fittingly be made of 
 oak. It is extensively employed for the spokes 
 of wheels, and for all kinds of poles. The 
 young tree yields slender rods, well calculated 
 for hoops, walking sticks, and whip handles. 
 Old specimens produce a very beautiful effect 
 when carved, as is well shewn in many of our 
 churches and ancient mansions. Of all other 
 modes of application, however, ship building 
 is that to which oak is most extensively devo- 
 ted in this country, and in which it renders 
 the most important services. During the 
 height of the last maritime war, it was calcu- 
 lated that the ships of the Royal Navy existing 
 at one time contained more than eleven hun- 
 dred thousand loads of oak. Fifty acres of 
 oak plantation are required to produce the 
 timber for a 74 -gun ship ; and the consump - 
 tion must therefore have been enormous 
 during the war. Specimens of oak of magni- 
 ficent dimensions are to be met with in some 
 English mansions. At Dudley Castle is (or 
 was) an oak table 75 feet long by 3 feet wide, 
 formed of one plank of oak. At Goodrich 
 Castle is a beam of oak 66 feet long by 2 feet 
 square throughout its whole length. The 
 mainmast of the Koyal Sovereign, built in the 
 
 veins and markings. 
 
 The leaves of oak, gathered green and dried, 
 furnish in some places a winter fodder for 
 sheep, goats, deer, &c. They are also used as 
 a substitute for tanners' bark in hothouses, 
 hotbeds, &c. Concerning the acorns of the 
 oak, we have spoken elsewhere [ ACORNS]. 
 
 The bark of the oak is a valuable tanning 
 ingredient, as noticed under BARK. The strip- 
 ping of the bark is effected by women in the 
 following way. The barkers are each furnished 
 with a light short handled wooden mallet, 
 sharpened at one edge like a wedge. With 
 this edge an incision is made all along the 
 bark; and cross-cuts are then made with an 
 instrument called the barking-bill, so as to 
 separate the bark into pieces two or three feet 
 long. A shovel-shaped instrument is then 
 thrust beneath the bark, so as to force it off 
 in sheets or pieces. These pieces are care- 
 fully dried for two or three weeks, and piled in 
 large stacks until sold to the tanner. 
 
 The substance called nut-galls is yielded by 
 a species called the Gall Oak. The gall is a 
 morbid excrescence, produced in it by the 
 puncture of an insect. There are two kinds 
 of gall nuts known in commerce ,* those which 
 
1267 
 
 OAKUM. 
 
 OBELISK. 
 
 1268 
 
 still contain the insect, and which are known 
 under the names of black or blue galls ; and 
 those from which the insect has escaped, called 
 white galls. Both are used extensively in 
 dyeing ; but the dark contain much more as- 
 tringent matter than the white. The English 
 oak yields galls, but not so valuable as those 
 of the east. Most of them known in com- 
 merce are from Syria and Asia Minor. 
 
 OAKUM. When the various cables, stays, 
 shrouds, ropes, &c., belonging to a ship have 
 gone through their term of service, and are no 
 longer strong enough to be used, they are cut 
 up into pieces, and then pulled asunder, all 
 the hempen threads being loosened and dis- 
 entangled one from another. In this state the 
 hempen threads are called oakum, which varies 
 in quality according to the kind of rope from 
 which it is produced. The old ropes of a ship 
 are sold to dealers ; and when picked into 
 oakum they are again sold to ship-builders. 
 The work of oakum-picking is a kind of forced 
 employment in many prisons. The oakum is 
 sold to the ship-builders in large bundles, and 
 is then spun into loose threads. These threads 
 are of a very primitive kind ; a small bundle 
 of fibres is rolled by the hand on a sloping 
 board, till it assumes the form of a loose irre- 
 gular kind of rope, from half an inch to an inch 
 in thickness. These oakum ropes are used 
 for driving into the crevices or seams in the 
 outside of a ship, to prevent the entrance of 
 sea- water. This process is called caulking, and 
 is effected by the aid of a large mallet or ham- 
 mer and a caulking chisel ; by which a dense 
 layer of oakum is forced into the crevice 
 afterwards to be well tarred. 
 
 OATS. The great use of oats, and the ease 
 with which they are raised on almost every 
 kind of soil, from the heaviest loam to the 
 lightest sand, have made them occupy a place 
 in almost every rotation of crops. The best 
 oats are raised in Scotland and in Friesland, 
 and in both countries the land is carefully cul- 
 tivated. In Scotland, oats are generally sown 
 on a grass layer which has been in that state 
 for some years, and sometimes on old pas- 
 tures, which are broken up for the purpose. 
 A heavy loam is best suited for oats : they 
 require a certain degree of moisture, and a 
 deep soil is very favourable to their growth. 
 On poor moist land oats are mojre profitable 
 than barley. Clover and grass seeds may be 
 sown among them with equal advantage, as 
 they will seldom grow so high as to be laid 
 and smother the young clover ; and barley is 
 very apt to fail on land subject to retain the 
 water. Six bushels of oats are often sown on 
 an acre ; but if they are drilled, four bushels 
 ore sufficient, and when dibbled, which is some- 
 
 times the case in Norfolk and Suffolk, much 
 less seed is used. The produce of an acre of 
 oats varies according to the soil and prepara- 
 tion, from four to eight and even ten quarters. 
 
 In respect to the use of oats, they are given 
 in some countries to horses in the straw with- 
 out thrashing them ; and where the quantity 
 can be regulated the practice is good. The 
 horses masticate the corn better in the chaff, 
 and the straw is wholesome; butwhere horses 
 do hard work, they would be too long in eating 
 a sufficient quantity, and it is better to give 
 them oats thrashed and cleaned, with clover 
 hay cut into chaff. It is estimated that a pound 
 of good oats gives as much nourishment to a 
 horse as two pounds of the best clover, or sain- 
 foin hay. A truss of hay of 56 pounds is there- 
 fore equal to 28 pounds of oats ; or a bushel 
 of tho best oats will go as far as. one truss and 
 a half of hay ; and if this quantity is worth 
 four shillings, which is at the rate of U. ICs. 
 per load of thirty-six trusses, the equivalent 
 price of oats is 32s. per quarter. 
 
 The oats and oatmeal imported in 1849 
 amounted to 1,292,707 quarters, at an average 
 price of 17s. 6rf. per quarter. The imports 
 were almost entirely from Northern Europe 
 Kussia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Prussia, 
 Hanover, and Holland. The quantity im- 
 ported in 1850 was rather less than that in 
 1849. 
 
 OBELISK. An obelisk is a lofty monu- 
 mental four-sided shaft diminishing upwards 
 with the sides gently inclined, but not so as 
 to terminate in an apex at the top. Small 
 obelisks were sometimes of sandstone or gra- 
 nite, but the larger Egyptian obelisks are all 
 of the red granite of Syene ; and it is certainly 
 astonishing how such enormous masses of 
 that material could be quarried out and after- 
 wards removed and placed in their position. 
 When the Komans became masters of Egypt, 
 they removed many of these monuments to 
 their own capital, among others that now 
 known as the Obelisk of the Lateran. This is 
 the largest obelisk now known, its shaft being 
 105 feet (although it has been reduced, a por- 
 tion at the lower part having been cut off in 
 consequence of being fractured), and two of 
 its sides 9 feet 84 inches, the other two 9 feet; 
 it weighs- about 445 tons. In the present 
 century, the labour of bringing away and re- 
 erecting an obelisk nearly equal to some of the 
 largest removed by the Koinans has been ac- 
 complished by the French. The raising of this 
 obelisk upon a granite platform prepared for 
 it in the Place de la Concorde at Paris was a 
 remarkable operation. An inclined plane lead- 
 ing from the river Seine up to a platform of 
 rough masonry level with the top of tho 
 
1269 
 
 OBOE. 
 
 OIL COLOURS. 
 
 1270 
 
 pedestal was formed, and the obelisk, having 
 been placed on a kind of timber car or sledge, 
 was dragged up by means of ropes and cap- 
 stans. One edge of its base having been 
 brought to the edge of the pedestal, it was 
 reared perpendicularly by ropes and pulleys 
 attached to the heads of ten masts, five on 
 each side ; and within about three hours the 
 operations were completed. 
 
 The largest Egyptian obelisk hitherto 
 brought over to England is that which was 
 removed from the island of Philte by Belzoni, 
 and which is now erected at Kingston Hall, 
 Dorsetshire. It is a monolith or single stone 
 of red Egyptian granite, 22 feet 1 inch in 
 length, and its larger end or base 2 feet 2 inches 
 square, the other being 1 foot 5| inches. 
 
 OBOE, is a musical instrument blown 
 through a reed, like a clarionet. It is a tube 
 of boxwood 22 inches in length, slender in the 
 upper part, but spreads out conically at the 
 lower end. It consists of three joints or 
 pieces, besides the reed. Its compass is usu- 
 ally two octaves and a fifth, from c below the 
 treble clef, to G, the fourth added line above 
 it. The instrument, which has been in use 
 since the time of Edward III., was long known 
 only by its French name of Hautlois. 
 
 OBSIDIAN, is a mineral which occurs in 
 beds, in large and rolled masses and in small 
 grains. Its structure is compact, colour green- 
 ish or grayish, and before the blow-pipe it 
 swells up strongly and fuses into a transparent 
 glass. It occurs in veins and beds traversing 
 rocks, and consists chiefly of silica and alumina. 
 
 OCHRE. This earthy substance is some- 
 what complex in its nature. It consists of 
 silica and alumina, coloured by oxide of iron 
 and occasionally by other oxides. It generally 
 occurs in beds several feet in thickness, which 
 overlie the oolite, and underlie sandstones and 
 iron sands. The ochre obtains commercially 
 the names of yellow and Irown, according to 
 its tint ; and it is used by painters and colour 
 makers. It is prepared for use by grinding 
 and washing. The yellow ochre may be red- 
 dened in tint by calcination. Native red ochre 
 is called red chalk ; it is more strongly im- 
 pregnated with oxide of iron than either of 
 the others. At Shotover Hill, near Oxford, 
 there is an ochre bed, about six inches in 
 thickness, at a depth of twenty feet below the 
 surface. Armenian lolc, obtained in a few 
 places in Greece and Italy, is a kind of ochre ; 
 the pigment called terra di Sienna is obtained 
 from it. 
 
 About 7184 cwts. of ochre were imported 
 from France in 1847. 
 
 ODESSA, is one of the most famous com- 
 mercial cities of the Russian empire. It is 
 
 on the borders of the Black Sea ; and in the 
 year 1817 it was declared a free port for thirtj 
 years. Though not situated at the mouth oi 
 any great river, Odessa, in consequence of its 
 excellent harbour and convenient situation, is 
 the emporium where the surplus produce of 
 southern Russia is collected for exportation, 
 and where foreign products required for the 
 interior are imported. The products brought 
 down the Dniester, the Bug, and the Dnieper, 
 are all exported from Odessa ; but because of 
 the difficulties of the river navigation, a vast 
 quantity of the corn brought to the town from 
 the neighbouring provinces is conveyed on 
 carts drawn by oxen. The trade of Odessa 
 extends to all parts of the Mediterranean and 
 western Europe. The chief exports are 
 corn, tallow, linseed, wool, iron, hides, copper, 
 wax, caviar, potash, beef, furs, cordage, sail- 
 cloth, tar, butter, isinglass, &c. The imports 
 consist of coffee, sugar, and other colonial 
 products ; cotton, silk, and woollen goods ; oil, 
 wine, brandy, spices, dyestuffs, tobacco, fruits, 
 raw cotton, tin, cutlery, timber, &c. In ordi- 
 nary years about 800 foreign ships enter and 
 leave the harbour ; the value of the imports 
 is close upon a million sterling, that of the 
 exports is nearly two millions annually. The 
 trade of Odessa has increased greatly within 
 the last few years a circumstance which is 
 no doubt in a great measure, but not alto- 
 gether, owing to the failure of the crops in 
 western Europe, and the consequent demand 
 for foreign supplies. In the first six months 
 of 1847, 709 foreign ships arrived with im- 
 ports worth 893,9172.; and 734 sailed with 
 1,056,493 quarters of corn, and a total value 
 of exports amounting to 2,716,969/. The ex- 
 ports are usually more important during the 
 last six months of the year. The privileges 
 of a free harbour are continued to Odessa till 
 1854, by an imperial ukase issued in 1849 ; 
 this freedom of the port has an immense in- 
 fluence on the nature and extent of the trade. 
 Odessa has considerable breweries, distilleries, 
 and manufactories of woollens, silks, tobacco, 
 soap, and candles. 
 
 OHIO. A few industrial statistics of this 
 rapidly rising state will be found under UNITED 
 STATES. 
 
 OIL COLOURS. The colours used by 
 house-painters are- chiefly mineral or vegeta- 
 ble ; seldom of animal origin. They are pur- 
 chased from the colour merchants, mostly in 
 the state of powder or of crystal ; and after 
 being ground as fine as possible, are mixed 
 to the requisite degree of liquidity with tur- 
 pentine and linseed oil. Other liquids besides 
 these are occasionally employed ; but the two 
 here named constitute the principal. 
 
1271 
 
 OIL MILL, 
 
 OILS. 
 
 1272 
 
 The oil colours for artists comprise a more 
 extensive range than those used by house 
 painters, and are prepared with more care 
 Such colours are sometimes prepared in th 
 form of cast's. To prepare these cakes, the 
 colours are ground with oil of turpentine, in 
 which has heen dissolved about one-sixth o 
 its weight of powdered mastic. The mixture 
 is left to dry, and is then exposed to the 
 action of a slow charcoal fire until the mixture 
 is softened. It is then made into a paste by 
 the addition of a warm solution of spermaceti 
 dissolved in half its weight of poppy oil. The 
 whole mass is worked up together until it is 
 stiff enough to be pressed into cake-moulds. 
 When used by artists, the cakes are ground 
 up with oil of turpentine and poppy or some 
 other oil. The oil colours which are sold in 
 bottles or bladders are prepared to a certain 
 stage like the cake colours, but they are 
 thinned with pale drying oil before being put 
 in the cases. 
 
 The principal colouring substances em 
 ployed by painters are described under their 
 proper headings. See also COLOURS. 
 
 OIL MILL. The extraction of oil from 
 seeds such as linseed, hempseed, rapeseed, 
 &c. requires considerable pressure. The 
 mode of obtaining linseed oil from lin or flax 
 seed includes many singular processes. 
 
 When the flax plants have grown to that 
 stage which imparts to the seed the greatest 
 amount of oleaginous quality, they are pulled, 
 and partially dried in the air ; and the capsules 
 which contain the seed are stripped off by a 
 kind of comb called a ripple. The capsules 
 are dried, thrashed, and winnowed, to separate 
 the seeds from the husks or capsules. The 
 seeds are exceedingly hard and smooth, and 
 require one of two kinds of press to crush 
 them ; one the wedge press, and the other the 
 hydraulic press. In the wedge press, a wedge 
 is driven very forcibly between two bags of 
 seed; and it is found that the oil is driven 
 out of the seed by this process more readily 
 than by the use of a mill-stone. But in 
 modern oil mills the hydraulic press is gra- 
 dually superseding the wedge press. In pre- 
 paring the seed for the hydraulic press, the 
 following is the routine of processes. The 
 seed is bruised by two crushing-rollers, -so 
 placed side by side that the seed, introduced 
 between them from a hopper at the top, be- 
 comes crushed by the rotation, and falls into 
 a chest beneath. The seeds are further ground 
 or crushed by ordinary edge-stones, and as- 
 sume the state of an oily pulp. The pulp is 
 heated, and put into oblong flannel bags. 
 These bags are flattened slightly by the hand, 
 and piled one on another in cast-iron cases, 
 
 which are placed in the hydraulic dresses. 
 The presses are then worked, and the oil 
 speedily begins to ooze from the pulp through 
 the bags. When as much oil has been ob- 
 tained as will flow by these means, the press 
 is loosened, the bags removed, and the pressed 
 cake of pulp taken out of eacli bag ; and this 
 cake is ground, re-heated, re-bagged, and re- 
 pressed, to yield more oil. The refuse pulp 
 now forms valuable manure, and commands 
 a good price as oil-cake. What is called cold- 
 drawn linseed oil is obtained by pressing the 
 seed immediately after it has been crushed, 
 without any intermediate heating ; it is ob- 
 tained in small quantity, but of very fine 
 quality. Flax-seed varies from 48 to 52 Ibs. 
 per bushel, or about 4001bs. per quarter ; the 
 seed yields 13 to 19 gallons (OSlbs.to 1221bs.) 
 of oil per quarter, the average being about 10 
 gallons. 
 
 No other kind of vegetable oil requires so 
 heavy a pressure as that procured from flax 
 and similar seeds. In Italy and other north- 
 ern countries where olives grow abundantly, 
 the produce is crushed beneath an edge-mill- 
 stone, and then pressed, to force out the oil, 
 in a screw -press. Oil of almonds is procured 
 by shaking the almond kernels in bags, so as 
 to separate the brown skins, and then grinding 
 and pressing them. Palm oil is procured 
 from the fruit of many species of palm, which 
 the Africans collect into a heap, and steep in 
 lot water, by which the oil is liberated and 
 made to swim on the surface of the water, 
 rom which it is afterwards removed. Nut oil 
 s procured from walnuts and hazel-nuts, 
 which in the south of Europe contain sufficient 
 oil to be worth the process of pressing. 
 
 OILS. These useful substances are ch- 
 ained from very different sources and under 
 various circumstances. First, animal fats are 
 ;o be regarded as varieties of oil. There are 
 ilso animal oils more properly so called, as 
 vliale and spermaceti oil. Secondly, there aro 
 ,he oils of vegetable origin, as those of olives 
 and Unseed, obtained by pressure, and called 
 at, fixed, or expressed oils, and those pro- 
 cured by distillation, termed volatile, essential, 
 r fetherial oils. Thirdly, there are various 
 ils produced by heat from animal, mineral, 
 and other bodies, such as Dippcl's oil and naph- 
 ha. Lastly, there are certain oils produced 
 >y chemical action, as oil of wine, &c. Most 
 ats and expressed oils consist of olein, by 
 some chemists called maranrin and stearin. 
 
 Animal Oils. One of the best known and 
 most extensively used of these is common 
 svhale or train oil, obtained by melting the 
 Rubber of the animal. As met with in com- 
 merce it is of a brownish colour, rather viscid, 
 
1273 
 
 OILS. 
 
 OINTMENTS. 
 
 1274 
 
 and has a disagreeable fishy smell and taste. 
 Like other oils, it is very combustible, and it 
 is largely employed for the purpose of giving 
 light. Spermaceti Oil is obtained from an oily 
 matter lodged in a bony cavity of the head of 
 the Spermaceti Whale. When this substance 
 is subjected to pressure in bags, a quantity of 
 pure limpid oil is expressed ; and the residue 
 after being melted, strained, and boiled with 
 a weak solution of potash, is well known by 
 the name of spermaceti. The other animal 
 oils are of less importance. 
 
 Fluid Oils. The Vegetable Expressed Oils 
 Vary in their properties. Olive Oil is yellow- 
 ish, the odour and taste but slight. Linseed 
 Oil ia expressed from the seeds of the common 
 flax. When no heat is employed in the pres- 
 sing, it is more viscid and has a greenish-yel- 
 low colour ; it is then called in commerce cold 
 drawn linseed oil. Its smell and taste are 
 stronger and more disagreeable than those of 
 olive oil . Linseed oil is largely employed in oil 
 painting and in varnish-making. Almond Oil 
 is of a light yellowish colour, more fluid than 
 olive or linseed oil; its odour and taste are 
 very slight. It is employed sometimes in 
 soap making, and also in medicine. Castor 
 Oil is the expressed oil of the seeds of the 
 Ricinus communis. When expressed without the 
 assistance of heat, it is transparent and nearly 
 colourless. It is very considerably viscid, and 
 becomes solid when exposed to about Fah. 
 
 Solid Oils. One of the chief of these is 
 Cocoa Nut Oil. It is white, has a slight plea- 
 sant smell, and its taste is rather agreeable ; 
 it melts at 122 Fahr., and of late years it has 
 been employed in soap making. Palm Oil is 
 of the consistence of butter, and of on orange 
 yellow colour ; its smell is agreeable. It melts 
 at about 103 Fahr. 
 
 Volatile or Essential Oils. These oils are 
 fluid at the usual temperature, and with few 
 exceptions are obtained by distillation. Essen- 
 tial oils are distinguished principally from the 
 expressed oils by the following properties : 
 Usually they are more perfectly fluid, more 
 combustible, have an aromatic or fragrant 
 odour, and an acrid taste ; they are volatile 
 per se without decomposition, and may be dis- 
 tilled with water at 212, although their boil 
 ing-point is mch higher. In some instances 
 the volatile oils are obtained by pressure, with- 
 out the application of heat : this is the case 
 with the oils of lemons, oranges, and berga- 
 mot. In general however they are procurable 
 only by distillation, and this is effected by 
 putting the herb or bark into a still with water, 
 when the oil and water are volatilized and 
 condensed together. Like the fixed oils they 
 appear to contain a harder and a softer prin- 
 
 ciple; the former has been called stearopten, 
 the latter cleopten. The most important oils 
 of this class are those of Turpentine, Lemons, 
 Marjoram, Cinnamon, Cloves, and Almonds. 
 
 Both volatile and fixed oils are very exten- 
 sively diffused through vegetables ; the former 
 in almost every part of a plant except the co- 
 yledons of the seed, and the latter in the 
 seeds chiefly, but also in their fleshy covering 
 as in the olive, some palms, and other plants. 
 Some families of plants abound especially in 
 fixed oil. Among the Cruet/era are mustard 
 seed, rape seed, and colza seed oils, with other 
 species especially cultivated in Europe, India, 
 and Japan, of which some have of late years 
 been imported into this country. Several of 
 the family of Composite secrete oil in quantities 
 large enough to render it desirable to culti- 
 vate them for this purpose alone, as the Sun 
 Flower and Jerusalem Artichoke ; also somo 
 species of Carthamus or Bastard Saffron, and 
 also the Vcrbesina saliva of India. Madia 
 saliva yields Madi Oil, and its seeds are said 
 to contain more oil than any plant introduced 
 into Europe. Most of the Ciicurbitaca also, as 
 the melon, gourd, cucumber, and the nume- 
 rous varieties, cultivated especially in India, 
 contain a large proportion of oil, which is ex- 
 pressed in the east as it formerly was in Eu- 
 rope. The Rosacece also store up a large pro- 
 portion of oil in the kernels of their fruit, as 
 in the almond, the apricot, as well as the Bri- 
 an^on apricot, and other species of Primus. 
 In the Himalayas oil is also expressed from 
 the apricot kernel, and has been sent to this 
 country, of a fine quality. Among the Amcn- 
 tacece several species yield oil of good quality, 
 and in sufficient quantity to repay the expense 
 of expression, as hazel-nut oil, beech-nut oil, 
 and walnut oil. Besides these poppy oil, Ben- 
 nut oil (Hyperanthera}, ground-nut oil (Ara- 
 c/tis), physic- nut oil (Jatropha), are well-known. 
 The cotton seed yields oil, and also the seeds 
 of the tea plant, especially of the species called 
 Thca oleifora, and some of the Camellias. 
 
 The imports of the principal oils and of oil 
 cake for the last two years have amounted to 
 the following quantities : 
 
 1849. 1850. 
 
 Whale Oil . . 20,001 tuns, 21,328 
 Olive Oil ... 16,064 20,783 
 Palm Oil . . . 493,331 cwts. 448,589 
 Cocoa Nut Oil . 64,452 98,040 
 Oil Cake . . . 59,462 tons. 65,055 
 The linseed, hempseed, and rapeseed oil ex- 
 ported in 1850 amounted to 3,292,266 gallons. 
 OINTMENTS. In their mechanical pre- 
 paration, ointments differ slightly in consis - 
 tency; some being very stiff, while others are 
 
1275 
 
 OLEIN. 
 
 OMNIBUS. 
 
 1270 
 
 softer in substance. They are mixed and 
 used in the same manner as cerates, but are 
 of different consistence ; in this respect cerates 
 occupy a middle place between plasters and 
 ointments. [CERATES.] Ointments have in 
 general the consistence of good butter in an 
 average temperature. The active ingredient 
 which gives name to the ointment is sometimes 
 A powder, sometimes a liquid ; if the former, 
 it is usually mixed with lard ; if the latter, it 
 is mixed with suet and lard, with occasionally 
 a little wax. Ointments may be preserved 
 from rancidity by adding to them a little gum- 
 benzoin or benjamin. 
 
 OLEIN, or ELAIN, is one of the two con- 
 stituents of most fats and expressed oils : the 
 other being Stearin. Olein has scarcely any 
 taste or smell when procured from oils which 
 possess these properties only in a slight degree. 
 It solidifies at 27 Fahr., and crystallises in 
 needles. On account of the very low tempe- 
 rature at which olein congeals, it is well 
 adapted for lubricating the wheels of watches, 
 and its value in this respect is enhanced by 
 its not readily becoming rancid by the action 
 of the air. 
 
 The very pure olein or liquid oil used by 
 watchmakers is thus prepared. Almond or 
 olive oil is mixed with eight parts its weight 
 of proof spirit, and heated nearly to boiling ; 
 it is then agitated, allowed to settle, and the 
 clear upper stratum decanted off; it is cooled, 
 filtered, and all the spirit driven off by distil- 
 lation. Oil so prepared will not thicken or 
 freeze at any ordinary temperatures, and is 
 thus well fitted for the delicate work of the 
 watchmaker. Oil prepared in this way has 
 sometimes been sold so high as Is. 6d. per 
 drachm. Watchmakers' oil of a cheaper kind 
 is prepared by placing a clean strip of lead in 
 a small white glass bottle filled with olive oil, 
 and exposing it to the sun's rays for some 
 time ; the action between the lead and the oil, 
 aided by the solar rays, throws down a curdy 
 matter, and leaves the rest of the oil limpid 
 and colourless. 
 
 OLIBANUM. It appears that the gum 
 resin called Olibanum is the frankincense that 
 was used by the ancients in their religious 
 ceremonies. The Greeks obtained their 
 frankincense fromArabia. The Arabians call oli- 
 banum both Lubdn and Cundur; but. as benzoin 
 is most used at the present day for religious 
 purposes, the Mohammedan writers of India 
 on materia medica apply only the term Cundur 
 to olibanum. This Cundur has been ascer- 
 tained by Messrs. Colebrooke, Hunter, and 
 Roxburgh to be the Boswellia thurifera, as 
 botanists call it, a large timber -tree found in 
 the mountainous parts of India, yielding a 
 
 most fragrant resin from wounds made in the 
 bark. From this Roxburgh distinguishes, as 
 a different species, Boswellia glabra, a plant 
 also yielding a resin which is used for incense, 
 and as pitch in some parts of India. A sub - 
 stance analogous to olibanum, and used in a 
 similar way in various parts of the world, is 
 procured from several different trees. Oliba- 
 num occurs in commerce of two kinds, tho 
 Arabian and East Indian : the former kind is 
 now seldom met with ; the latter is obtained 
 from the Boswellia thurifera. There are two 
 varieties of it. Olibanum is now seldom used 
 in medicine; it is principally employed as 
 incense in Roman Catholic churches. 
 
 OLIVES; OLIVE OIL. In most plants 
 which yield fixed oil, the oil is obtained from 
 the seed ; but in the olive it is yielded by the 
 pericarp. Olive trees sometimes attain a 
 great age. There is one near Nice, the lower 
 part of the trunk of which measures 38 feet in 
 circumference. 
 
 The oil which is expressed from the ripe 
 fruit immediately after being gathered is most 
 esteemed, and is called virgin oil. When the 
 oil is extracted by a stronger pressure, or by 
 the aid of heat or of slight fermentation, it 
 forms the common olive oil, the properties of 
 which vary in proportion to the mode adopted. 
 An oil of still inferior quality is obtained 
 when the husk of the olive, after the former 
 treatment, is boiled in water ; this inferior oil 
 is used in making soap. Virgin oil is a very 
 pale yellow, limpid, and inodorous ; common 
 olive oil is darker, thicker, and less pure in 
 smell. Olive oil is frequently adulterated 
 with rape oil, a cheaper product. 
 
 Olive oil is used by watchmakers ; by the 
 manufacturers of soap ; as a substitute for 
 whale oil in lamps ; as a salad oil ; and to 
 form cerates and plasters in medicine. A few 
 additional details concerning olive oil will be 
 found under OILS. 
 
 OMNIBUS AND CAB. The street tra- 
 velling of London is one of the most remark- 
 able commercial features of our age. It would 
 ae impossible to estimate the value of the 
 ime saved (and consequently money saved), 
 jy the use of these vehicles; but there can be 
 10 question that it is enormous. 
 
 In respect to coaclics or cabs, the changes 
 lave been remarkable. A few years ago every 
 vehicle on a coach stand was drawn by two 
 worses : there is now not such a thing to be 
 seen (we here speak of the Metropolis). 
 Hackney coaches first began to ply in 1625 ; 
 their number had increased to 200 in 1052, 
 to 400 in 16G1, to 800 in the beginning of 
 the following century. This number has gra- 
 lually increased to about 3000. In 1813 a 
 
THE 6P Ail 
 
 No. 31. 
 
1877 
 
 OMNIBUS. 
 
 OMNIBUS. 
 
 1378 
 
 lighter kind of vehicle, drawn hy one horse, 
 was brought into use in Paris. In 1823 
 licences were obtained in London for eight 
 cabriolets, which were started at fares one- 
 third lower than those of hackney coaches ; 
 the 'vested interest' of the old hackney coach- 
 men was made the groundwork of a strenuous 
 opposition ; but the convenience of the new 
 vehicles gradually bore down all difficulties. 
 A limit was made to the number of each kind 
 until the year 1832, when all restriction was 
 removed, and any one could obtain a licence 
 (under proper regulations), hy paying for it. 
 
 It is curious to mark the gradual improve- 
 ments in cabs, or cabriolets, as the system 
 established itself. They were at first hooded 
 chaises, in which a liveried driver sat on the 
 same seat with the person who had hired the 
 cab. Then came an alteration by which two 
 persons could be accommodated ; the driver 
 having a little seat fitted for him at the right 
 hand of the body of the vehicle. Next came 
 the boxed-up vehicle, which presented the 
 appearance of a slice off an omnibus ; it was 
 on two wheels, with a door at the hack. 
 After a few minor changes, the four-wheeled 
 cab presented itself, and has ever since re- 
 mained the type of the class generally; it is 
 well built, and will contain four persons. 
 Lastly came the dashing Hansom's patent ; a 
 two-wheeled vehicle, very low, opening in the 
 front, having a seat for the driver behind the 
 top, and having large wheels, which enable it 
 to rattle on at a great speed. 
 
 It is believed that the returns which a cab 
 brings to its proprietor average about half a 
 guinea a day, besides that portion which goes 
 to the driver for his wages. Many attempts 
 have been made to provide means for testing 
 the honesty of the drivers by some mechanical 
 arrangement connected with the vehicle ; 
 cither a sort of tell-tale, to shew how often 
 persons have entered or left the vehicle, or 
 how many miles the wheels have rotated ; hut 
 hitherto nothing of this kind has been found 
 available. A company is, we believe, in pro- 
 cess of formation, for constructing cabs which 
 shall admit of equitable arrangements for the 
 proprietors, the drivers, and the public ; there 
 is to be some kind of passenger-index, which 
 will afford means for determining the distance 
 run. 
 
 The Omnibus system is still more remarkable 
 than that of cabs. It is only about twenty or 
 twenty -five years ago that one stage coach, and 
 one only, ran from Paddington to the Bank. All 
 the villages round London had in like manner 
 their small array of slow coaches. In 1829 
 Mr. Shillibeer introduced the omnibus, a Pa- 
 risian invention, in London, under an amount 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 of opposition which nearly ruined the pro- 
 jector, while he was benefiting the public. 
 His first omnibus ran from Charing Cross to 
 Greenwich, and was drawn by three horses 
 abreast ; but the number two was soon 
 adopted ; and the stage-coach proprietors, 
 unable to beat the omnibuses off the road, 
 adopted them, and the system became firmly 
 established. It was soon found that an om- 
 nibus, with its easy means of entrance and 
 exit, is a very convenient vehicle in the public 
 streets, where passengers enter and alight at 
 various points along the route; and hence 
 omnibuses have effected what the old stage 
 coaches never did or could effect, viz., the 
 establishment of cheap routes through all the 
 principal commercial arteries of London. The 
 fares became gradually settled at sixpence 
 per passenger for any distance in and near 
 London ; but the last few years have witnessed 
 a reduction to 3d. (recently 4rf.), in respect to 
 short distances. 
 
 The principle of competition has led to an 
 instructive result in respect to metropolitan 
 omnibuses. When each proprietor had only 
 a few vehicles, he opposed, and was opposed 
 by, his neighbours on all sides ; and a scene 
 of recklessness ensued which endangered the 
 lives and limbs of passengers as well as pe- 
 destrians. But this has given way to large 
 combinations or associations, in which each 
 proprietor brings his contribution of vehicles 
 and horses to the common stock, and agrees 
 to obey certain rules laid down for the guid- 
 ance of all. The result has been admirable. 
 With a few exceptions here and there, the 
 omnibus system is now conducted with a regu- 
 larity, a precision, a civility, and a safety, 
 which was never before equalled. Through 
 the main avenues of London, especially the 
 New Koad, Holborn, and the Strand, omni- 
 buses proceed every two or three minutes 
 throughout the day. There have lately been 
 omnibus maps published, in which there ap- 
 pears a surprising number of routes. There 
 are at least two Associations or Companies, 
 each of which possesses a hundred omnibuses, 
 with considerably more than a thousand horses 
 to work them. It has been found by expe- 
 rience, that to buy good horses, and to treat 
 them well, is a more, economical practice than 
 the opposite system. Most of the horses em- 
 ployed in the Paddington and City trade (we 
 believe about three thousand in number), 
 make but one journey each a day in each 
 direction. 
 
 Mr. Pownall has lately invented a passenger- 
 index for omnibuses. It consists of an electric 
 battery placed in the bottom framing of the 
 vehicle, near the door. Every passenger on 
 
1279 
 
 ONYX. 
 
 OPIUM. 
 
 1280 
 
 entering the omnibus steps upon an elastic 
 spring, which acts upon the battery, and this 
 in its turn acts upon an index or dial. At 
 the end of a day's work, the machinery of the 
 dial will shew how many times persons have 
 entered and left the vehicle. Such is the 
 theory of the apparatus ; but there seem at 
 first sight to be many difficulties in the way 
 of its practical use. A new kind of omnibus 
 has also been recently started, in which each 
 passenger has a separate and distinct seat, 
 and in which there are increased facilities for 
 ascending to the roof of the vehicle. 
 
 ONYX. [AGATE.] 
 
 OOLITE is the characteristic rock of one 
 of the great systems of secondary strata. The 
 fine yellow freestone of Kettering, the Bath 
 freestone, and the Portland stone are good 
 examples of oolite ; and these serve to illus- 
 trate the economic uses of the strata. 
 
 OPACITY is a condition of bodies by which 
 they are incapable of transmitting light through 
 them. According to Newton, it may arise 
 from the unequal densities of the particles of 
 certain substances, in consequence of which 
 the rays of light on entering those substances 
 suffer such refractions and reflexions as cause 
 them to be finally absorbed. The scientific 
 determination of this question, however, does 
 not concern us here. As a circumstance of 
 relative opacity or transparency, the quality 
 of manufactured goods is often affected by it. 
 
 OPAL. Of this mineral, which is essen- 
 tially a hydrate of silica, there are nearly a 
 dozen varieties, named Precious Opal, Fire 
 Opal, Hydrophane, Common Opal, Semi -Opal, 
 Wood Opal, Cacholong, Opal Jasper, Menilite, 
 Hyalite or Muller's Glass, and Geyserite. The 
 varieties differ greatly in colour and trans- 
 parency. The Precious Opal exhibits a beau- 
 tiful play of colours. 
 
 OPHICLEIDE. This powerful musical 
 instrument is made of brass or copper, and 
 is intended to supersede the Serpent of which 
 it is a decided improvement in the orchestra 
 and in militaijy bands. It is a conical tube, 
 the longest nearly nine feet in length, termi- 
 nating in a bell, like the horn. It has ten 
 ventages, or holes, all of which are stopped 
 by keys, similar to those of the bassoon, only 
 of larger dimensions, and is furnished with 
 the same kind of mouth-piece as the Serpent. 
 The scale of the base Ophicleide is from B, 
 the third space below the base staff, to c, the 
 fifth added space above it, including every 
 tone and semitone within this compass of 
 three octaves and one note. The volume of 
 sound it emits is immense, but the tone is 
 rich and round, and blends well with the 
 voices in choruses. 
 
 OPISOMETEE. This name has been given 
 to a recently-invented apparatus by Mr. El- 
 liott, for measuring the length of roads, rivers, 
 walls, &c., on maps and plans. There is a hori- 
 zontal steel axle, which is cut with a screw- 
 worm from end to end. On this is placed 
 a wheel, which works along the screw like a 
 nut. The axle is fixed to a convenient handle 
 for holding. When a map or plan is laid 
 down flat on a table, and a road or river is to 
 be measured, the wheel is made to traverse 
 carefully over the whole length of the tortuous 
 line, following the windings as carefully as 
 may be. This movement causes the wheel to 
 shift its position on the screw ; if it be at one 
 end of the axle when the movement begins, 
 it will have advanced a certain distance to- 
 wards the other end by the time it is finished. 
 If the wheel be now applied to a scale of miles 
 or yards, or any other units on the map, and 
 made to rotate in a reverse direction until it 
 is brought back to its original position on the 
 axial screw, it will determine the length of the 
 road or river. The principle is strictly cor- 
 rect, and requires nothing but careful appli- 
 cation. 
 
 OPIUM. This remarkable substance, 
 which has had so much influence both on the 
 commerce and the wars between England and 
 China, is yielded by one species of plants of the 
 genus Papaver. Of the 25 species of this genus, 
 the papaver somniferum, or white poppy, which 
 produces opium, is the most important. It is a 
 native probably of Asia Minor, but, having been 
 so long cultivated, it is found wild in many 
 parts of Europe. There are two varieties of this 
 species, both of which yield opium. The juice 
 of the poppy seems to have been used on 
 account of its narcotic powers from a very 
 early period, first in the East, of which it is a 
 native, and afterwards in the West. 
 
 The mode of collecting the opium in Asia 
 Minor, is by puncturing the green capsule, 
 and allowing the juice to exude, which is then 
 scraped off, and deposited in small earthen 
 vessels, and beat up with saliva. It is after- 
 wards enveloped in dry leaves, and in this 
 state is sold. In India the juice is mixed 
 with oil obtained from the seed of the poppy, 
 to hinder the rapid drying of the juice. The 
 produce of the first incisions is of a light 
 yellow colour ; the others are fainter in odour 
 and darker coloured. In general all three 
 gatherings are mixed together, and sent to 
 market in small baskets. The quantity ob- 
 tained varies not only with the soil and mode 
 of cultivation, but also with the season and 
 the time of collecting. In wet, gloomy seasons, 
 not only is the quantity less, but it does not 
 keep well ; in such a case the proportion of 
 
1281 
 
 OPIUM. 
 
 morphia, the active principle of the opium, is 
 also less. The quantity of morphia depends 
 likewise very much on the time of gathering ; 
 if the harvest he postponed till the capsules 
 begin to turn white arid hard, it is greatly de- 
 ficient ; and by the time the capsules are ma- 
 ture and the seeds ripe, it has entirely disap- 
 peared. It is not, as in the case of many 
 of the vegetable alkaloids, transferred to the 
 seeds, as they are altogether devoid of any 
 narcotic principle, the oil which is obtained 
 from them heing hland and wholesome, and 
 abundantly used as food. 
 
 The varieties of opium met with in com- 
 merce are Smyrna or Levant opium ; Con- 
 stantinople opium; Egyptian or Alexandrian 
 opium ; Trebizond or Persian opium ; Indian 
 opium ; and English opium. The chemical 
 or organic constituents are extremely nume- 
 rous, the most important being morphia. 
 Good opium, is not perfectly soluble in water ; 
 T \th generally remains undissolved, consisting 
 of the caoutchouc and resin. Constantinople 
 opium however leaves no residuum of caout- 
 chouc. It is very inflammable, and burns 
 with a clear flame, and forms a transparent 
 alcoholic solution : opium from the bruised 
 capsules is not inflammable, and forms a 
 turbid alcoholic solution. 
 
 The poppy is cultivated in many parts of 
 Europe on account of its seeds, which yield 
 a bland oil much esteemed in France. In 
 England it is cultivated chiefly for the capsules, 
 which are used medieinally. In India the 
 cultivation takes place in the cold weather, 
 that is, during the winter of Europe. The col- 
 lecting of the opium is commenced very soon 
 after the flowers fall, as the capsules rapidly 
 enlarge. 
 
 It forms no part of our object here to trace 
 the extraordinary effects of opium on the 
 human system, nor the modes of preparation 
 by which opium is converted into a valuable 
 medicine. As an article of international com- 
 merce, there can be no question that opium 
 caused the late war between England and 
 China, however it might be disguised by other 
 circumstances. India produces large quanti- 
 ties of opium, which the Chinese are willing 
 to purchase for eating or smoking, or both ; 
 but the Chinese Government has never wil- 
 lingly sanctioned the purchase, and has often 
 strictly prohibited it. By about the year 1831 
 the purchase of opium had become so large, 
 that the sale of tea was insufficient to pay for 
 it, and Chinese silver had to be paid to settle 
 the balance. The Chinese authorities com- 
 menced a series of petty insults towards the 
 English merchants at Canton, with a view to 
 expel them altogether, if possible ; and these 
 
 OPTICAL INSTEUMENTS. 1282 
 
 insults gradually brought the attention of the 
 British Government to that quarter. So mat- 
 ters continued for some years ; the merchants 
 persisted in bringing opium, which the Chi- 
 nese people were ready to buy ; the Emperor 
 effected all he could to prevent the import; 
 and the British Consul tried to hold the 
 balance even between all parties. At length, 
 in May 1839, the European factors were ex- 
 pelled from Canton, and all the opium in the 
 ports, amounting to 20,283 chests, was seized 
 by the Chinese authorities and destroyed. 
 This gave rise to a war which lasted, on and 
 off, for three years. The Chinese Emperor 
 was compelled to pay the value of the opium 
 destroyed. There is a moral aspect in this 
 opium war, which can never be quite satisfac- 
 tory. 
 
 The consumption of opium in this country 
 is comparatively small. The imports in the 
 last three years were as follow : 
 
 1848 200,019 Ibs. 
 
 1849 105,724 
 
 1850 126,318 
 
 And of these quantities, about two-thirds were 
 re-exported to other countries. 
 
 OPOETO. The principal trade of this 
 Portuguese city is in port wine, which takes 
 its distinctive name from the town. Oil, su- 
 mach, lemons, oranges, wool, refined sugai-, 
 cream of tartar, salt, leather, cork, &c., are 
 also exported. The imports are corn, rice, 
 beef, woollen, cotton, iron, and hardware ma- 
 nufactures ; salt fish, hemp, and flax ; sugar, 
 coffee, deals, &c. There are at Oporto some 
 manufactories of hats, silks, linen stuffs, and 
 pottery, besides ropewalks and dockyards, 
 none of which however are in a thriving con- 
 dition. The wine and brandy trade is a mo- 
 nopoly of the Oporto Wine Company. The 
 export of wine is from 30,000 to 35,000 pipes 
 annually; of this quantity four-fifths go to Eng- 
 land. The customs duties of Oporto for the 
 year ending June 30, 1849, amounted to 
 1,891,347 dollars. 
 
 OPTICAL INSTEUMENTS. Optics, as 
 a science, forms no part of the subject of this 
 volume. The chief among those delicate in- 
 struments, by which the science is brought 
 within the range of practical operations, are 
 briefly noticed under their proper headings 
 [CAMERA LUCTDA; KALEIDOSCOPE; LENS; 
 MAGIC LANTERN, MICROSCOPE; TELESCOPE; 
 &c.] It is believed that one of the happy 
 consequences of the removal of the duty on 
 glass will be to enable manufacturers to pro- 
 duce glass better fitted than before for optical 
 purposes ; not that the amount of duty is of 
 much importance in an expensive lens, but 
 that the manufacturer was deterred from mak- 
 
1283 
 
 ORANGES. 
 
 ORCHIL. 
 
 1284 
 
 ing experiments by the interfei'ence of the 
 Excise with his freedom of operations. 
 
 ORANGES, LEMONS, CITRONS. There 
 are several heautiful fruits belonging to the 
 genus Citrus. Among these are the sweet 
 orange, the bitter orange, the lima, the shaddock, 
 the lemon, and the citron ; and these again are 
 divided into many varieties. Of the sweet 
 orange there are the China, the pear-shaped, 
 the Nice, the blood-red, the ribbed, the sweet- 
 skinned, the Mandarin, the St. Michael, and 
 several other kinds. Of the bitter orange 
 there are also many kinds : such as the horned, 
 the curled leaf, the purple, the double flowered, 
 the Seville, and the Bizarre orange. The 
 China orange is the common sort of our En- 
 glish markets, and of the Portuguese. The 
 sweet-skinned orange is the Pomme d' Adam, 
 or forbidden fruit, of the Paris shops. The 
 Mandarin orange, in which the ripe pulp is 
 completely loosened from the rind, is much 
 cultivated in China and in Malta. The St. 
 Michael's orange has small, round, pale yellow, 
 seedless fruit, with a thin rind and an ex- 
 tremely sweet pulp. This, when in a state of 
 perfection, is perhaps the most delicious of all 
 the oranges, and it is by far the most pro- 
 ductive. Great quantities are imported from 
 the Azores, where it appears to be exclusively 
 cultivated as an object of trade. It is said 
 that 20,000 of these oranges have been picked 
 from a single tree, exclusively of the large 
 quantity which were blown down or rejected as 
 unfit for sale. The Seville orange has an ex- 
 ceedingly bitter rind ; in England it is em- 
 ployed in the manufacture of bitter tinctures, 
 and in the preparation of candied orange peel ; 
 the bitter aromatic principle gives flavour to 
 the liqueur called Curat^oa. The bergamot 
 orange has a remarkable fragrance, and is 
 employed in making an essence of delicious 
 quality. 
 
 The lime has different varieties, according to 
 the thickness of the rind ; it is employed 
 chiefly in flavouring punch, sherbet, and other 
 drinks. The shaddock is among the largest 
 fruits which are known, and is commonly cul- 
 tivated both in the East and West Indies, for 
 the sake of the delicate subacid juicy pulp in 
 which it abounds. When shaddocks arrive at 
 their greatest size they are called pompolcons, 
 or pompelmousses. When at the smallest, they 
 form the forbidden fruit of the English markets. 
 Another small variety, with the shaddocks 
 growing in clusters, forms a larger tree than 
 any other citrus ; the fruit is about as large as 
 the fist ; it is what the West Indians call the 
 grapefruit. The lemon does not present many 
 varieties; its appearance and use are well 
 known, The citron, grown chiefly in the east, 
 
 is noticeable for the fragrance of the rind, 
 from which a delicate sweetmeat is prepared. 
 
 Of the invaluable use of lemon juice or lime 
 juice in the navy, due to the citric acid con- 
 tained in the fruit, a little has been said under 
 CITRIC ACID. In a commercial point of view, 
 the orange trade has greatly benefitted by 
 the introduction of steam-boats and railways. 
 Oranges are brought in large quantities to 
 Southampton, whence they are transmitted 
 very quickly to London. During the last three 
 years (1848, 1849, 1850) about 400,000 boxes 
 or chests of oranges and lemons have been 
 annually imported into this country. 
 
 ORCHARD. Apples, pears, and cherries 
 are the fruits principally cultivated in orchards. 
 The term orchard is likewise used to signify 
 inclosures in which filberts or walnuts are 
 grown. Orchards of apples and pears are 
 more numerous, because more productive, on 
 the old and new red sandstone formations 
 than on any other strata. A very large pro- 
 portion of all the cider and perry that is manu- 
 factured is grown upon these soils. The prin- 
 cipal orchards of England are in Devonshire, 
 Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, 
 and Worcestershire. For an orchard of apple- 
 trees, a deep unctuous soil is selected, in a 
 situation sheltered from the north and north- 
 west winds, and open to the south and south- 
 east ; and a bank is preferable to a low spot. 
 For pear orchards a lighter soil is desirable 
 than for apples ; the same rules may be ob- 
 served for their planting and preservation. 
 The principal cherry-orchards in England are 
 in Buckinghamshire and Kent ; from the latter 
 county a large supply is sent to the London 
 markets. 
 
 ORCHIL, or ORCHELLA, also written 
 Archil, is the name of a dye as well as of the 
 plant (one of the tribe of Lichens, or Rock- 
 moss) which yields it. [ARCHIL.] It is often 
 corrupted in commerce into Rochllla Weed. 
 Several kinds are employed for the same pur- 
 pose, which are distinguished according to the 
 country from whence they are imported, and 
 also by manufacturers into Weed and Moss, the 
 former name being applied to the filiform 
 lichens of botanists belonging to the genus 
 Roccella, while the terms Moss and Rock-Moss 
 are applied to the crustaceous lichens be- 
 longing to the genus Lecanora, which include 
 the Cudbear and ParMe of dyers. Dyers' Roc- 
 cella, or Orchil, and Flat-Leaved Orchil, are both 
 found on maritime rocks, as well on the coast 
 of England as of other parts of Europe, and 
 also of Asia, Africa, and America. They are 
 also found on dry stone walls exposed to the 
 influence of the sea-breeze. The more arid 
 the situation the better is the quality of the 
 
1285 
 
 ORDNANCE. 
 
 ORDNANCE. 
 
 1286 
 
 lichens. The presence of the colouring matter 
 is ascertained by steeping the weed broken up 
 in small pieces in diluted solution of ammonia, 
 in a bottle half filled v. ith liquid, which should 
 be kept corked, but frequently opened in a 
 temperature not exceeding 150 Fahrenheit. 
 
 ORDNANCE. All great guns used in war, 
 such as cannons, carronades, howitzers, and 
 mortars, are called by the general name of 
 ordnance. The materials of which ordnance is 
 formed are irola and brass, properly bronze, 
 the latter metal being composed of copper and 
 tin, in the proportion of from 8 to 13 parts of 
 tin to 100 parts of copper. Iron guns are 
 stronger than those made of brass, and conse- 
 quently they are better able to resist the effects 
 of the long-continued firing which takes place 
 at the sieges of fortresses. Brass guns, on 
 the other hand, being lighter, are more con- 
 veniently transported from place to place with 
 troops in the field. Ordnance is now cast 
 either in loam or in dry sand ; a model, or 
 pattern, of the gun being made of wood or 
 brass, about which the mould is formed. In 
 twelve hours after being cast the mould may be 
 removed and the gun may be bored. Iron 
 guns are cast from pig-metal of different 
 qualities, which are melted together in order 
 to produce a composition possessing only that 
 degree of hardness which will permit the 
 boring to be effected. Ordnance formed of 
 cast-iron and of gun-metal being apt to run at 
 the vent in consequence of the heat produced 
 by rapid firing, the vent in guns of cast-iron is 
 drilled in a bolt of WfoUght-iron, and in those 
 of gun-metal in a bolt of pure copper; the 
 bolts are then screwed into the pieces for 
 which they were intended. 
 
 The length of a cannon is divided into six 
 parts : That which is behind the base ring 
 (the ring of greatest diameter) at the larger 
 end is called the cascabte; and from the base 
 ring to the next mouldings towards the smaller 
 end, is the vent-field. The two succeeding 
 portions, separated from one another by a 
 moulding, are called the first and second rein- 
 force; and near the extremity of the latter are 
 situated the trunnions, two cylinders at right 
 angles to the axis of the giin, and by which it 
 rests on its carriage. From the second rein- 
 force moulding to another near the smaller 
 extremity of the gun is the chase, and the last 
 portion is called the .muzzle. The hollow of 
 the gun is called the bore, and the diameter of 
 the bore is designated the calibre of the piece. 
 It has of late been found practicable to di- 
 minish considerably the quantity of metal in 
 iron guns ; and for this purpose some of the 
 ordnance then existing was redmed-up (scraped 
 out), so as to bring each kind of gun to the 
 
 next highest calibre, Thus the old iron 
 6-pounders have been converted into 9 -pound- 
 ers, 18 -pounders into 24-pounders, and so on. 
 The application of locks to naval ordnance was 
 introduced by Sir Charles Douglas, and their 
 efficiency lias since been fully recognised. A 
 lock carrying two flints, invented by Lieut. - 
 Gen. Sir Howard Douglas, in 1818, was after- 
 wards introduced, and percussion locks are 
 now much used in the British service. 
 The following are the lengths and weights of 
 
 different kinds of iron and brass ordnance, 
 
 known by particular names : 
 
 Iron Ordnance. 
 
 Length. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 
 ft. in. 
 
 cwt. 
 
 13-inch mortar, sea-service 
 
 3 Oi 
 
 36 
 
 10-inch do. land-service . 
 
 2 4 
 
 16| 
 
 8-inch do. do. . . 
 
 1 10J 
 
 N 
 
 5|-inch do, do. . . 
 
 1 3 
 
 2* 
 
 4f inch do. do. . . 
 
 1 0| 
 
 H 
 
 10-inch howitzer do. i . 
 
 5 
 
 41 
 
 8-inch do. do. . . 
 
 4 9 
 
 21 
 
 Monk's 56 -pr. gun do. . 
 
 11 
 
 97 
 
 Millar's 10-inch gun do. i i 
 
 9 4 
 
 84 
 
 8-inch gun, sea-service . . 
 
 9 
 
 65 
 
 32-pr. gun, land-service . . 
 
 9 6 
 
 56 
 
 24-pr. do. do. . . 
 
 9 6 
 
 48 
 
 18-pr. do. do. . . 
 
 9 
 
 42 
 
 12-pr. do. do. . . 
 
 9 
 
 34 
 
 32-pr. carronade, sea service . 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 24-pr. do. do. . k 
 
 3 7 
 
 13 
 
 18-pr. do. do. . . 
 
 3 4 
 
 10 
 
 12-pr. do. do. . i 
 
 2 8 
 
 6| 
 
 Brass Ordnance. 
 
 
 
 9-pr. gun, land-service . . 
 
 8 
 
 13* 
 
 6-pr. do. do. i i 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 3-pr. do. mountain-service 
 
 3 
 
 2* 
 
 The carriages for ordnance are of several 
 kinds, according to the nature of the gun or 
 the manner in which it is employed. Field 
 gun-carriages consist of two cheeks, or side 
 pieces, of elm, firmly attached together by 
 transoms, and resting on the axle-tree of the 
 wheels ; the trail, consisting of a solid piece 
 of oak, is firmly attached at one end to the 
 side pieces, near the axle, and its other ex- 
 tremity rests on the ground when the gun is 
 in a state for action. The limber is a bed, 
 with shafts, mounted on two wheels, and car- 
 rying two ammunition boxes for the service of 
 the gun; the horses are harnessed to the 
 Umber, and the gun with its carriage is drawn 
 after the limber. An ammunition waggon also 
 accompanies each piece of ordnance, and there 
 are others always in reserve. Field howitzer- 
 carnages and their limbers are similar to those 
 just mentioned, but stronger, and the cheeks 
 of the carriage are farther asunder. The tra- 
 
1287 
 
 OREGRUND IRON. 
 
 ORGAN. 
 
 1288 
 
 veiling carriages for siege- ordnance are made 
 wholly of oak, and the limber carries no am 
 munition. Carriages for garrison service anc 
 for the navy consist of two short cheeks o: 
 brackets, connected by transoms, and the) 
 move on four truck-wheels. Mortars are 
 placed upon solid beds of wood or iron, which 
 are made as heavy as is consistent with the 
 power of transporting them from place to 
 place, for the sake of obtaining steadiness 
 when the piece is fired. 
 
 OREGRUND IRON. A little information 
 concerning the valuable oregrund or Swedish 
 iron will be found under STEEL MANUFACTURE 
 ORES. The ores of the principal metals 
 and the processes wherehy the extraction oi 
 the valuable constituent is managed, are de- 
 scribed under the names of the metals them- 
 selves. [COPPER, IRON, LEAD, MERCURY, &c.] 
 ORGAN. This is incontestibly the noblest 
 of musical instruments, whether considered in 
 regard to the grandeur and beauty of its 
 sounds, the variety of its powers, or the sacred 
 purposes to which it is usually dedicated. It 
 consists of a vast number of metallic and 
 wooden pipes, divided into different stops, the 
 wind being admitted into the pipes from a 
 bellows. It is played on by means of a key- 
 board. 
 
 It must have been early discovered that air 
 may be forced into a closed cavity, and then 
 distributed at will into one or more tubes; 
 and pursuing the contrivance a little further, 
 something like a modern organ was likely to 
 be produced. That an instrument similar in 
 principle, though not in details, to the modern 
 organ, was known in very early tunes, there is 
 abundant evidence to show. The period when 
 the organ was introduced into the churches of 
 Western Europe is very uncertain. Pope 
 Vitalian is supposed to have been the first to 
 admit the instrument, about the year 670; 
 but the earliest account, to be at all relied on, 
 of the introduction of this instrument in the 
 West is, that about the year 755 the Greek 
 emperor Copronymus sent one as a present to 
 Pepin, King of France. In the time of Charle- 
 magne however organs became common in 
 Europe. Before the 10th century they were not 
 only common in England, but of large size. 
 They were however very rude in construction, 
 and extremely limited in means. The keys 
 were four or five inches broad, and must have 
 been struck by the clenched hand, in the 
 manner of the camions: the pipes were of 
 brass, harsh in sound, and the compass did 
 not exceed a dozen or fifteen notes in the 
 12th century; and to accompany the plain - 
 chant no more were required. About that 
 time half notes were introduced at Venice, 
 
 where also the important addition of pedals 
 or foot- keys, was made in 1470. 
 
 Most of the early English organs were de- 
 stroyed by the Puritans. The tone of the pipes 
 of the old builders depending on what is tech - 
 nically called the voicing has never been excel- 
 led by later makers ; but in point of touch, and 
 mechanism generally, the moderns are much 
 superior to their predecessors. In mechanical 
 skill and delicate finishing the English organ- 
 builders far surpass their continental rivals, 
 while in tone they at least equal them. 
 
 The following are some of the largest foreign 
 organs : 
 
 Stops. Pipes. 
 
 Seville cathedral 100 5330 
 
 Goerlitz, in Upper Lusatia 82 3270 
 Hamburg, St. Michael's. . 67 
 Amsterdam, the old church 64 
 Weingarten,in Suabia ... 60 6666 
 Rotterdam (150 feet high) 5500 
 
 Tours cathedral 60 
 
 Haarlem 60 5000 
 
 Among the principal organs in England are 
 those of York Minster, Birmingham Town- 
 hall, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, 
 Exeter Hall, Christ's Hospital, and Mr. Willis's 
 noble organ at the Great Exhibition. See 
 also APOLLONICON. 
 
 The mechanism of the organ is complicated. 
 The principle of it is that when the finger of 
 the player presses down a key, or the foot 
 presses down a pedal, a valve opens the lower 
 end of a pipe or pipes, into which air rushes 
 from a chamber wherein it has been con- 
 densed by bellows. The length and form of 
 each pipe are so arranged that it may yield a 
 certain definite note. Each stop is a particular 
 set of pipes, differing in pitch, but all having 
 the same character of sound. Some stops 
 imitate the flute sound, some the trumpet 
 sound, and so on. It is the combination of 
 many stops with many octaves of notes that 
 gives rise to the large number of pipes in an 
 organ. 
 
 The barrel-organ is an instrument by which 
 most of the effects of a small keyed- organ are 
 produced by certain machinery. Instead of 
 ceys for the fingers, the keys, if so they may 
 called, are inside the organ, and acted on 
 3y means of a cylinder, or barrel, pinned, or 
 studded, in a particular and singularly curious 
 manner. This barrel is made to revolve by a 
 winch, and in those of an expensive kind by 
 ivheel-work, moved by a spring. 
 
 Under AUTOPHON, it is stated that Mr. 
 
 Dawson's ingenious contrivance called by that 
 
 name is an appendage to the barrel organ ; 
 
 whereas it should have mentioned that the 
 
 ,utophon is the complete instrument itself. 
 
1289 
 
 ORIEL. 
 
 ORERRY. 
 
 1290 
 
 It is a self-acting organ, in which a handle 
 regulates not the motion of a barrel with 
 pins on its surface but the admission of air 
 through holes in a perforated card. It will 
 play as many tunes as there are cards pro- 
 vided, without limit; and as the cards are sold 
 at 6d. each, a player with no more skill than is 
 required to turn a handle regularly can play 
 a range of music, either sacred or secular, to 
 which there is (or need be) no assignable 
 limit. 
 
 The organ builders of England and the Con- 
 tinent justly think that the present is a fitting 
 opportunity for showing the power of the 
 noblest of instruments in the noblest of ex- 
 hibition rooms. The east and west ends of 
 the Palace of Industry each contains one 
 of the finest specimens of modern organ- 
 building the one English and the other 
 foreign ; while the north and south transepts 
 have organs of somewhat smaller dimensions. 
 
 ORIEL. This term is applied to that par- 
 ticular kind of bay-window which is made to 
 project from the upper story of a building. 
 The distinction therefore between a bay and 
 an oriel is this : by the former is understood 
 a projecting window, or rather a projection 
 pierced with window openings in its entire 
 width, and rising immediately from the 
 ground, whether it be confined to the lower 
 part of the building or carried up through one 
 or more stories above the ground-floor ; whereas 
 an oriel is a bay which does not descend to the 
 ground, but is suspended over the face of the 
 wall beneath it. Bays generally terminate in 
 either a plain or embattled parapet ; but oriels 
 are for the most part made to show some sort 
 of roof, either rising behind or resting upon 
 the mouldings which serve as their cornice. 
 Occasionally this roof or crown is rendered an 
 ornamental part of the design, and terminated 
 by some kind of finish. 
 
 ORLEANS is one of the old manufacturing 
 towns of France. The chief manufactures 
 are hosiery for exportation to the Levant, 
 refined sugar, vinegar, bleached wax, blankets, 
 and counterpanes. To these articles of manu- 
 facture must be added cotton and woollen yarn, 
 fine woollen cloths, flannels, hats, files, rasps, 
 and other tools, glue, leather, tin ware, and 
 earthenware. There are numerous breweries 
 and dyehouses. Trade is carried on in the 
 above articles, and in wine, brandy, corn, 
 flour, wool, hides, iron, salt, hoops, dye-stuffs, 
 saffron, fire-wood, timber, oak planks, coals, 
 groceries, and spices. Its situation on the 
 Loire, which is navigated by small steamers, 
 and communicates with the Seine by means of 
 canals, and on the railway, to which the lines 
 connecting Bourdeaux, Nantes, and the centre 
 
 and South of France with Paris converge, 
 renders Orleans the centre of a very con- 
 siderable commerce and of a large transit 
 trade. 
 
 ORPIMENT is a yellow sulphuret of arsenic. 
 The finest specimens come from Persia, in 
 brilliant yellow masses, of a lamellar structure. 
 Artificial orpiment is manufactured in Saxony 
 by subliming a mixture of sulphur and white 
 arsenic ; it is a yellow compact opaque mass, 
 of a glassy aspect : it affords a pale yellow 
 powder. The finest kind of orpiment is pre- 
 pared into a yellow pigment for artists, while 
 the coarser varieties are used as a colouring 
 substance for house-painting and other pur- 
 poses. 
 
 ORRERY. This name has been applied to 
 four different kinds of machines for. repre- 
 senting the phenomena of the solar system. 
 A planetarium exhibits the orbital motion of 
 the planets about the sun; a tellurian and 
 lunarian, when combined, exhibit, respectively, 
 the motion of the earth about the sun, and of 
 the moon about the earth; and a satellite 
 machine exhibits the motion of Jupiter's satel- 
 lites about their primary. Planetary machines 
 were in use at a very remote period, and 
 appear to have consisted for many centuries of 
 moveable spheres having the earth in their 
 centre. In the 17th century Huyghens and 
 Roemer employed themselves in the construc- 
 tion of planetary machines in conformity with 
 the Copernican doctrine. Roemer also in- 
 vented a satellite maqfcine prior to the year 
 1679. In England, about the year 1700, 
 Mr. George Graham constructed a machine 
 which exhibited the motion of the earth about 
 the sun, while the moon revolved about the 
 earth ; one of these machines was made for 
 the Earl of Orrery, from which circumstance 
 the term Orrery originated. A large planeta- 
 rium was, in 1801 , made for the Royal Insti- 
 tution of London, and a more complete instru- 
 ment was constructed by Dr. Pearson in 1813. 
 
 To produce the revolution of the planetary 
 bodies about the sun, a system of vertical con-- 
 centric tubes is usually employed, which are 
 adjusted very near to each other, but yet so 
 far removed as not to influence each other's 
 motion. These tubes are of different lengths, 
 the innermost being the longest, and to the 
 superior extremity of each a radius or pro- 
 jecting wire is attached, and thereby made to 
 revolve once during each revolution of the 
 tube. The lower extremities of the tubes form 
 the arbors or axes of as many toothed-wheels, 
 which are either immediately driven by pin- 
 ions adjusted to a verticle axle called the 
 " annual arbor," or derive their motions indi- 
 rectly from those pinions by means of an 
 
1291 
 
 OSIER. 
 
 interposed train of wheels. The determin- 
 ation of the relative number of teeth which 
 must be given to the wheels and pinions, in 
 order to produce the required motion, depends 
 upon the relative Velocities of the motion to be 
 imitated; and here the machinist must depend 
 upoh the astronomer. As ail aid to astronomi- 
 cal studies, orreries are less highly estimated 
 than they formerly were. 
 
 OSIER is the name given to various 
 species of Salix or Willow, employed in basket- 
 making on account of their tough flexible 
 shoots* [BASKET-MAKING; WILLOW.] 
 
 OSMAZOME. This name has been given 
 to a spirituous extract of meat. According to 
 the experiments of Chevreul, osmazome con- 
 tains a peculiar substance, to which he has 
 given the name of crealln ; but the chemistry 
 of this subject is yet very little known. 
 
 O'SMIUM. This metal was discovered by 
 Mr. Tennant, in the year 1803, in the grains 
 of native platinum. It is white, with a bluish 
 gray tint. It may be reduced to leaves. Its' 
 specific gravity is 10. It is unalterable in the 
 air at common temperatures, but if strongly 
 heated it oxidizes. This very peculiar metal 
 forms several compounds with oxygen, chlo- 
 rine, and sulphur; but none of them ate of 
 much importance. 
 
 OSTRICH FEATHERS. There are many 
 uses which this noble bird renders to man, in 
 the hot countries which the ostrich inhabits. 
 The flesh When young is good and palatable. 
 The eggs are considtred a great delicacy, 
 especially when eaten with butter. In the 
 luxurious suppers of the wealthy Romans, in 
 the time of the Emperors, the brains of 
 Ostriches formed a favourite dish. 
 
 But it is for the feathers that these birds 
 are chiefly valued, [FEATHERS]. The Africans 
 who hunt the ostrich for the sake of the 
 feathers proceed By stem atic ally to their work. 
 They hunt on horseback, and begin the pur- 
 suit by a gentle gallop; for should they, at 
 the outset, be rashly eager, the ostrich would 
 start off at such a speed as would carry him 
 wholly beyond reach of his hunter ; but when 
 the pace is more steady, the ostrich makes no 
 particular effort to escape. It does not go in 
 a direct line, but wavers from one side to the 
 other; and this enables the hunter to save 
 distance. The chase often continues several 
 days, at the end of which time the strength of 
 the ostrich becomes exhausted, and he yields. 
 The feathers on which value is placed are 
 chiefly those of the tail ; and the hunters are 
 careful not to disfigure these in the process 
 of capture. 
 
 OTTER SKINS, are employed, but only to 
 a small extent, in this country ; or rather they 
 
 1902 
 
 are imported by the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 and re-exported to the Continent. Aboui 
 15,000 were so imported in 1848. 
 
 OVENS. The general character of ovens 
 will be found sufficiently explained under 
 BREAD, FURNACE, and STOVE?. 
 
 OXALIO ACID. This acid was discovered 
 by Scheele, in 1776, in the Wood Sorrel, Com- 
 mon Sorrel, and other plants. The crystals of 
 oxalic acid are prismatic, colourless, and trans 
 parent; the primary form is a right rhombic 
 prism. The taste is extremely sour ; and the 
 crystals are very poisonous. Oxalic acid is 
 the most highly oxygenated of all the vege- 
 table acids, and is also the most rapid and 
 certainly fatal of any which are capable of 
 being crystallised. As the crystals are not 
 unlike those of the Sulphate of Magnesia, or 
 Epsom Salts, mistakes between the two are 
 of very frequent occurrence. Being likewise 
 milch used in the arts, and commonly known 
 by the name of Add of Sugar, it is taken either 
 accidentally, or under the supposition that it 
 is akin to sugar, and therefore pleasant and 
 innocent. This acid, and the salts obtained 
 by its combination with bases, are employed 
 to a limited extent in the arts. 
 
 OXFORDSHIRE. This county may be 
 reckoned amongst the most productive agri- 
 cultural counties of England; and softie of 
 the land is of a quality which can scarcely be 
 surpassed anywhere. The red land is partly 
 in old grass, In which state it is very valuable, 
 and partly cultivated as arable land. The 
 low lands in the valleys through which the 
 rivers flow are in many places covered with 
 the finest herbage, and maintain much cattle. 
 The course of crops on the light loams is 
 based on the Norfolk rotation, but generally 
 with the addition of an extra crop or two after 
 the wheat, such as beans and oats. The cul- 
 tivation of sainfoin on the chalky loams is one 
 of the great resources of the farmers on such 
 soils, and is much appreciated in this county. 
 The meadows in this county which lie along 
 the banks of the rivers are productive of ex- 
 cellent herbage; and the hay of some of the 
 upland meadows cannot be surpassed. 
 
 Oxfordshire is not a manufacturing county. 
 In the city of Oxford itself, such manufactures 
 alone are carried on as are indispensable to 
 the daily wants of a somewhat wealthy and 
 luxurious city. Bitrford has diminish od in 
 wealth and importance from the decay of tlir 
 coarse woollen manufacture and tho malting 
 business, which once flourished there, and 
 from the diminished traffic along the line of 
 road which passes through thR town. At 
 Witvey wool-stapling 1* extensively rnrrirvl on, 
 and there is a considerable malt trade. The 
 
1293 
 
 OXYGEN. 
 
 OYSTER TRADE. 
 
 1294 
 
 manufacture of blankets for which the place 
 has heen long celebrated still continues to 
 flourish. At Woodstock the only manufacture 
 is that of gloves, which, though it has declined 
 of late years, is still carried on to a corisider- 
 able extent. 
 
 OXYGEN. The properties of this most 
 remarkable elementary body are best known 
 in its elastic or aeriform state, in which it is 
 termed Oxygen Gas. The discovery of this 
 important substance was made by Dr. Priestley 
 in 1774, and somewhat later independently by 
 Scheele. To this gas Dr. Priestley gave the 
 name of dephlogisticated air, Scheele called it 
 empyreal air, and Condorcet vital air. Lavoisier 
 gave it the name of oxygen, which it still 
 retains. Dr. Priestley first procured this 
 gaseous body by heating the binoxide of mer- 
 cury in an air-jar over mercury, by means of a 
 lens, and he afterwards obtained it from other 
 substances. It is now prepared in various 
 ways, according to the purposes to which it is 
 intended to be applied. 
 
 Oxygen possesses great power of combi- 
 nation with other elementary bodies, there 
 being scarcely one with which it is not known 
 to combine either by direct union or indirect 
 chemical action. The compounds to which it 
 gives rise by combining, for example, with 
 certain metals, and also indeed with some 
 other bodies, may be classed under the three 
 heads of Oxides, Acids, and Alkalies. There are 
 many bodies which, by a moderate degree of 
 oxidation, become first oxides, and by an in- 
 creased degree, acids ; such substances are 
 charcoal, phosphorus, chromium, &c. 
 
 Oxygen Gas is devoid of colour, taste, or 
 smell. It is transparent and invisible. It 
 possesses the mechanical properties of com- 
 mon air. It is capable of being respired, and 
 a given volume of it will support life much 
 longer than an equal bulk of common air. It 
 is heavier than atmospheric air, 100 cubic 
 inches at a medium temperature and pressure 
 weighing 34-4 grains, whereas an equal volume 
 of atmospheric air weighs 31 grains. It is 
 but slightly soluble in water, requiring about 
 27 times its bulk for solution. Light has no 
 effect upon this gas. By heat, like all gaseous 
 bodies, it is merely expanded. The most re- 
 markable property of oxygen gas is the facility 
 and splendour with Which bodies, when pre- 
 viously ignited, burn in it ; substances which 
 dc not undergo combustion in the air, will 
 readily do so, and with great brilliancy, in 
 oxygen gas. Iron, for example, burns very 
 readily in it when previously made red-hot. 
 
 Until after the discovery of oxygen nothing 
 was or could be known respecting the nature 
 of the air, of water, or of earth, all of which, 
 
 formerly reckoned as elementary bodies^ are 
 now known to be compound^ and to contain 
 oxygen as one of their constituents". It has 
 also thrown great and unexpected light on the 
 nature of combustion and respiration. 
 
 The principal compounds which oxygen 
 forms with metals and other elementary 
 bodies, are briefly treated under their re- 
 spective heads. To notice the useful purposes' 
 subserved in the arts by oxygen is neither 
 necessary nor possible ; since it takes part,- in 
 some way or other^ with every combination 
 and every process. 
 
 OYSTER TRADE. The management </f 
 the oyster fishery presents many peculiar 
 features. The best kind of oysters in this 
 country are the small variety called Natives; 
 they are found in the rivers Colne, Medway, 
 and Swale ; or rather, they are really French 
 oysters, the produce of the coast of Normandy, 
 whence the spat or spawn is gathered, and 
 laid down on the oyster beds in the Essex and 
 Kent rivers. The spawn, when first cast, 
 somewhat resembles in appearance a drop of 
 suet ; it is composed of an immense number 
 of minute oysters, each of which becomes 
 about a quarter of an inch long in three days, 
 as large as a shilling in three months, as a 
 half crown in six months , and as a crown in 
 twelve months. The oyster is found in the 
 seas of most countries, but never at any great 
 depth, and seldom far from the. mouth of a 
 river. The fishing for oysters is permitted 
 from the first of September to the end of April. 
 
 So far as regards the London supply, the 
 oysters are brought principally from the Essex 
 coast and rivers ; but the Milton oysters are 
 most highly esteemed. None are sent from 
 the north of England; but broods are sent 
 from thence to be fattened in Kent and Sussex. 
 The sale at Billingsgate is enormous ; it is 
 estimated to average, in ordinary years, about 
 300,000 bushels, of 4 pecks to a bushel, and 
 400 oysters to a peck; amounting to nearly 
 five hundred million oysters. A remarkable 
 feature is now being developed in the oyster 
 trade. At Southampton there is a wide margin 
 Of muddy shore at low water. A Company 
 has leased part of this shore as an oyster bed. 
 Oysters are brought from the Jersey fishery, 
 laid down on those beds to fatten, turned and 
 attended to every day, taken up when wanted, 
 opened, placed in tin cans, and sent up to 
 London by railway. These oysters are used 
 for pickles and sauces, and not eaten in the 
 ordinary way. A tramway extends from the 
 South -Western Railway to the oyster beach, so 
 that the dispatch of the oysters is very rapidly 
 managed. An electro -telegraphic message call 
 be sent at any hour, and a supply of filled 
 
1295 
 
 PACKING. 
 
 PAINTING. 
 
 oyster-cans transmitted to London -with a 
 rapidity which sets all former doings at de- 
 fiance. The oysters are sent without their 
 shells, to save freight; there is a corps of 
 oyster-openers in the service of the com- 
 pany. 
 
 ^ The opening of an oyster, like many other 
 simple operations, has been brought within 
 the scope of machinery. M. Picault, of Paris, 
 invented an oyster-opener in 1849. It con- 
 sists of an apparatus something like an or- 
 dinary pair of sugar nippers; but pointed 
 
 1296 
 
 together at the top of the curved part instead 
 of the bottom. One of the curved parts is 
 made hollow, or indented, to receive the front 
 edge of the oyster, which is placed therein 
 with the flat shell uppermost; while the other 
 part is fitted with a curved knife, which, when 
 the handles are brought together, enters the 
 hinge of the shells, separates them, and, severs 
 the oyster from the flat shell, which then 
 falls into the deep one. One of the sides may 
 be made a fixture, supported on a standard, if 
 deemed necessary. 
 
 PACKING. It is worthy of note, as it 
 illustrates the immensity of the manufacturing 
 operations in Lancashire and the West Riding 
 (especially the former), that the trade of a 
 packer is one for which there is constant 
 demand, and which is conducted on a large 
 scale. The packing of bales of goods for the 
 London and provincial markets, and for ship- 
 ment to foreign parts, requires great skill, to 
 enclose the greatest mass in the smallest 
 space, and to enable the bale to bear any 
 ordinary amount of rough usage without 
 yielding. The cases or wrappers are of strong 
 canvas, and the bands for binding are often 
 strips of hoop-iron instead of rope. The case, 
 the bands, and the goods are placed in their 
 proper position upon or within a peculiarly 
 shaped hydraulic press ; and when the mass 
 Las been brought by intense pressure into a 
 cubical form, the fastenings are secured be- 
 fore the pressure is removed. In the earlier 
 stages of this system, the hydraulic presses 
 were worked by hand; but on such a scale of 
 magnitude are the operations of the Manches- 
 ter packers now conducted, that this is too 
 slow a method; steam-power is applied. There 
 are perhaps few operations conducted in our 
 manufacturing districts more illustrative of 
 economy of power, than this employment of 
 hydraulic presses to supersede the old screw 
 presses; and the working of the hydraulic 
 presses by steam instead of manual power. 
 
 PADLOCK. [LOCKS AND KEYS.] 
 
 PADUA, is one of those rich provinces, the 
 produce and industry of which are briefly 
 noticed under LOMBARDY. 
 
 PAGODA is a name applied by Europeans 
 to temples in the East, from China to Hin- 
 dustan. These structures generally consist 
 of a porch, a vestibule or ante-sanctuary for 
 the priests, and an inner sanctuary, contain- 
 
 ing the principal idol. Some of the Chinese 
 pagodas are elevated upon a terrace, and con- 
 sist of two stories, the lowermost surrounded 
 by a peristyle of columns. Others are lofty 
 towers in several stories, diminishing in height 
 and width as they ascend. The Hindoo 
 pagodas are of a pyramidal form. 
 
 PAINTING. As a question of high art, of 
 genius, of expression, or even as a means of 
 copying the every day scenes of nature, paint- 
 ing is beyond the province of this volume. 
 And as a mechanical operation we have very 
 little to say concerning it. The preparation 
 of the canvas and the panels is simple ; and 
 the management of the colours and the brushes 
 is superior only in degree, not in nature, to 
 that of mere house-painting. A few words are 
 said concerning different kinds of painting, 
 in respect to technical differences, under 
 ENAMELS, ENCAUSTIC, FRESCO, and MINIA- 
 TURES; while the chief working materials are 
 adverted to under BRUSH, COLOURS, CRAYONS, 
 OIL COLOURS, PENCILS, and the names of the 
 chief colouring substances. 
 
 In respect to house -painting, it is executed 
 either in oil or distemper. In oil the principal 
 tools employed are brushes, made of hogs' 
 bristles for large surfaces, and sash tools made 
 of finer hair for small work, as mouldings, 
 window-bars, &c. White lead is used for white 
 colour; it is also the basis of all ordinary 
 colours. The colouring substances in general 
 use are earths, umber, ochre, Siena, Venetian 
 red, purple, brown, &c. The first three are 
 sometimes burnt, a process which reddens and 
 darkens them. Metallic compounds are red 
 lead, verrnillion, Prussian blue, chrome yellow, 
 erdigris, Brunswick green, verditer, <fec., &c. 
 Animal and vegetable colours are lakes, indigo, 
 ivory black, and lamp-black. The liquids in 
 use are linseed oil (sometimes boiled with 
 
1297 
 
 PAISLEY. 
 
 PALLADIUM. 
 
 1298 
 
 litharge to render it drying, and hence called [ correct and graceful style of drawing is visible 
 boiled oil), and oil or spirits of turpentine, in those executed by pupils of the school. 
 
 A few details concerning the shawl trade of 
 Paisley, now one of the most important 
 perhaps the most important in the town, will 
 be found under SHAWL MANUFACTUBE. 
 
 PALANQUIN is a kind of covered litter 
 carried, by means of poles, upon tho 
 shoulders of men, which forms the principal 
 vehical for personal transport in Hindus- 
 tan. 
 
 called turps. These are combined for use in 
 various proportions, according to circum- 
 stances : when the paint is required to bear a 
 gloss, or is intended for outside work, most oil 
 is used ; and for black, chocolate colour, green, 
 &c., outside, boiled oil alone, or with a very 
 little turps, is best. For flatting, which has no 
 gloss, turps alone is requisite. To all paint 
 a little sugar of lead, or litharge, is added to 
 make it dry quickly. 
 
 In painting in distemper, the brushes for 
 large surfaces differ from those used in oil : 
 they are wider and flatter, and are termed dis- 
 temper-brushes ; but the tools for small work 
 are similar. Whiting takes the same place in 
 this branch that white lead holds in oil ; the 
 colouring substances are similar, but ground 
 in water, and the fluids are water and melted 
 size. 
 
 PAISLEY, though far from being a hand- 
 some town, ranks the third in Scotland in 
 respect to population and commercial import- 
 ance, solely on account of its manufactures. 
 In 1707 the principal articles made in the 
 town were coarse linen, chequered cloths, and 
 Bengals, to which succeeded chequered linen 
 handkerchiefs, and goods of a lighter texture, 
 such as lawns. About 1725 the machinery 
 for making white sewing or ounce thread was 
 introduced from Holland. About 1760 the 
 manufacture of silk gauze was introduced 
 upon the plan practised by the Spitalfields 
 houses, and, during the greater part of the 
 following 30 years, was carried on upon a very 
 extensive scale. The reduction in the cost of 
 cotton goods, consequent upon the invention 
 of Arkwright's spinning machinery, lessened 
 the demand for silken fabrics, the manufacture 
 of which at Paisley has since then greatly 
 declined. 
 
 Many of the principal establishments of 
 Paisley are now exclusively engaged in the 
 various branches of the cotton manufacture, 
 among which the muslin branch may be par- 
 ticularly mentioned as that of which Paisley 
 is regarded as the chief seat. A considerable 
 portion of the yarn used in making the finer 
 qualities of muslins is imported from Lanca- 
 shire: Crape dresses and damask and em- 
 broidered shawls are also manufactured to a 
 great extent. There are also brass and iron 
 foundries, breweries, distilleries, bleach-fields, 
 &c. 
 
 In the report of the School of Design for 
 1850 it is stated that the branch school at 
 Paisley is gradually shewing beneficial results 
 in the muslin and shawl departments. In the 
 patterns for embroidered muslins a more 
 
 The system of ddk travelling in India is by 
 means of palanquins. The palanquin bearers 
 are provided by the government postmasters. 
 When Bishop Heber was travelling from 
 Calcutta to Benares he hired a set of palan- 
 quin bearers, twelve in number; his clothes 
 and writing-desk were placed in two wicker 
 boxes, which one man carried slung on a 
 bamboo across his shoulders. So cheap is 
 human labour in India, that the bishop paid 
 only twelve shillings for the services of the 
 twelve men for each stage, a distance of eight 
 or ten miles. Only four men put their 
 shoulders to a palanquin at a time ; but the 
 services of the others are often required on 
 the wretched roads of India. 
 
 PALIMPSEST MANUSCRIPTS illustrate 
 in a remarkable way the money value of paper 
 and printing, as shewn by the want of them 
 in past times. Palimpsest manuscripts are 
 manuscripts from which the original writing 
 has been erased or washed out, and which 
 have been then written on again. This 
 practice is as old as the time of Cicero, as 
 appears from a letter of his to Trebatius in 
 which he praises his friend for having been so 
 economical as to write on a palimpsest, but 
 says that he should like to know what those 
 writings could have been which were consi- 
 dered of less importance than a letter. The 
 scarcity and expense of parchment, and the 
 demand for the writings of the fathers and 
 books of devotion in the middle ages, fre- 
 quently induced the monks to erase or wash 
 out the writings of the classical authors to 
 make room for those of the fathers. In many 
 cases however they did not obliterate entirely 
 the ancient writing ; aud a careful examina- 
 tion of some of these palimpsest MSS. has 
 led to the discovery of valuable works and 
 fragments of the classical authors; among 
 the rest one of the works of Cicero. 
 
 PALLA'DIUM. This metal was discovered 
 by the late Dr. Wollaston in the grains of 
 native platinum, in the year 1803. Palladium 
 is of a grayish white colour ; it is very malle- 
 able, and slightly elastic. It is almost as 
 difficult of fusion as platinum, and does not 
 oxidize by exposure to the air. 
 
1399 
 
 PALMS j PALM OIL. 
 
 PANAMA TRANSIT. 
 
 1800 
 
 This metal forms alloys; most of which are 
 brittle^ with arsenic, iron$ bismuth, lead, tin, 
 copper^ silver, platinum and gold ; the alloy 
 with nickel is ductile. Palladium, when fused 
 with six parts of gold, destroys its colour ; and 
 this alloy was proposed by Dr. Wollaston for 
 the graduated part of the mural circle of the 
 Greenwich Observatory. Palladium 1 combines 
 with most of the simple substances ; and its 
 oxide forms salts with acids ; but dnly a few 
 of these compounds have become practically 
 useful. 
 
 PALMS : PALM OIL. There is scarcely 
 a species of palm in which some useful 
 property is not found; The cocoa-nut, the 
 date, and others are valued for their fruit ; the 
 fan-palm and many more; for their foliage, 
 Whose hardness and durability render it an 
 excellent material for thatching ; the sweet 
 juice of the palmyra when fermented yields 
 wine ; the centre of the sago-palm abounds in 
 nutritive starch ; the trunk of the Iriartea or 
 Ceroxylon exudes a valuable vegetable wax ; oil 
 is expressed in abundance from the oil-palm ; 
 an astringent matter resembling dragon's blood 
 is produced by Calamus Draco ; many of the 
 species contain within their leaves a kind of 
 fibrous matter, so hard and tough that it is 
 manufactured into cordage ; and finally, their 
 trunks are in some cases valued for their 
 strength and used as timber, or for their 
 elasticity, or their flexibility, as in the cane- 
 palm. 
 
 Of these varied products, palm-oil is that, 
 perhaps, which has of late acquired most 
 commercial importance in this country. It is 
 obtained from the oil-palm of Guinea, cultiva- 
 ted in the western part of Africa. The fruit 
 of this tree is about the size of a pigeon's egg, 
 with its outer fleshy covering of a golden 
 yellow colour. The oil is obtained by bruising 
 the fleshy part of the fruit and subjecting the 
 bruised paste to boiling water in wooden 
 mortars; an oil of an orange yellow colour 
 separates, which cools to the consistence of 
 butter, and has, when fresh, the smell of 
 violets. Africans use this oil in cooking, and 
 for anointing the body. When imported into 
 England, palm-oil is used in soap making, 
 candle making, perfumery and medicine. 
 Although liquid in the warm climate of Africa, 
 it is solid in our climate; and the mode 
 adopted for extracting it from the casks is to 
 plase the cask over a trough with the bunghole 
 downwards, and to pass a steam pipe into it, 
 by which means the palm-oil is brought to a 
 liquid state. The large imports of palm-oil 
 are noticed under Oir,s. 
 
 PANAMA TRANSIT. One of the most 
 interesting and important enquiries now in 
 
 progress, concerning the formation of a high- 
 way of nations, is the choice of a route across 
 the Isthmus of Panama from the Atlantic to 
 the Pacific. This isthmus connects North 
 with South America. Since the acquisition of 
 portions of Oregon and California by the 
 United States, it has become a matter of high 
 importance to obtain easy access to those far 
 distant regions. The only ship route is round 
 Cape Horn ; and this carries the traveller so 
 far southward, that the distance is far more 
 than double what it would be if a passage 
 across the isthmus could be made. Washing- 
 ton and San Francisco are about in the same 
 latitude ; but in the ship-route from one to 
 the other, the mariner has to go 95 degrees of 
 latitude southward along the Atlantic, and 
 then 95 degrees northward along the Pacific ; 
 whereas if the isthmus could be cut across 
 near Panama, . the southing and northing 
 would each be less than 30 degrees. Whether 
 from England, from New York, or from New 
 Orleans, the saving of distance by the Panama 
 route to Oregon and California would be 
 enormous. 
 
 But it is not simply in relation to thos~e two 
 regions that the Panama route would become 
 important. The wide spreading Pacific, with 
 its islands and coasts, would be brought 
 within easier reach of the Anglo-Saxon rare. 
 The Sandwich Islands, New Zealand, Borneo, 
 Australia, China all are becoming every yf-nr 
 more commercially important; all would be 
 nearer to the United States by the Panama 
 route than any other; and some would be 
 nearer to England than by the existing routes. 
 The same West India Mail which now renders 
 so much service would be available for the ocean 
 mail of the Pacific. 
 
 The desirability of a Panama passage being 
 conceded, it became a matter of importance to 
 decide on the best mode of effecting it. In 
 the long string of land which connects North 
 with South America, there are three or four 
 places where the land from ocean to ocean is 
 less in distance than at any other points. The 
 narrowest part is from Chagres to Panama, 
 near South America ; a little farther north is 
 a spot where the Lake of Nicaragua occupies 
 the middle of the isthmus, with a river flowing 
 from it into the Atlantic ; while still farther 
 north, at Tehuantepec, a river which flows 
 into the Atlantic springs from a point very 
 near another river which flows into the 
 Pacific. All these three have been proposed 
 as sites for canal or railway communication. 
 The Panama route is to have a railway ; it was 
 commenced in 1849, and is now in process of 
 formation. The Tehuantepec route is also to 
 have a railway ; or rather, the Mexican go- 
 
1801 
 
 PANORA'MA. 
 
 PAPEE HANGINGS. 
 
 1302 
 
 vernment is endeavouring to foster a companj 
 haying this object in view ; but there are 
 in any reasons for doubting whether this will 
 be carried out. Meanwhile the Nicaragua 
 roilte is that in Which most energy is bein 
 displayed. At the Atlantic mouth of the 
 river St. Juan de Nicaragua is Greytown, 
 held by the British a$ a sort of guardianship 
 over the black King of Mosquito ; from this 
 steamers ascend to a certain point up the St. 
 Juan ; after which a short land passage briilgs 
 the traveller ttt the Lake, whence two route 
 are marked out to the Pacific. Whether the 
 engineering and commercial difficulties will 
 ever permit a ship canal to be constructed, 
 through which a laden vessel from England or 
 the Unite'd States might pass across the 
 isthmus^ time alone can shew. Probabilities 
 seeiri to be against such a Supposition. If 
 the Panama Railway be fmished,with a tolerable 
 harbottr at each extremity, two sets of steam- 
 ers, an Atlantic line and a Pacific line, would 
 be formed, and there would be two shiftings 
 of mails and luggage (a debarkation and an 
 embarkation) at the isthmus. This great 
 enterprise would be intended, in the first 
 instance for mails and passengers : merchant 
 cargoes will long continue to use the old 
 ocean-routes. 
 
 PAXORA'MA. This flame is given to a 
 picture showing a view completely around the 
 spectator. This ingenious pictorial contri- 
 vance was first devised by an English artist, 
 Robert Barker, about the year 1794 \ and is 
 hot so much a new mode of painting the 
 process itself being similar to scene-painting 
 or in distemper as a novel application of it. 
 Contrary to the diorama [DIORAMA], the pano- 
 rama forms the surface of a hollow cylinder 
 or rotunda, in the centre of Which is a de- 
 tached circular platform for the spectators, 
 covered overhead to conceal the skylight, and 
 thereby increase the illusion and give greater 
 effect to the painting itself. The view is not 
 painted on the walls but Upon Canvas, like 
 the scenes of a theatre, and afterwards fixed 
 up, in order that the picture may be changed. 
 The subjects generally chosen are views of 
 cities,- or interesting sites, whose entire locality 
 and buildings may thus be vividly placed 
 before the eye,.in a manner no less instructive 
 than interesting. 
 
 PANTHE'ON. This celebrated monument 
 of Roman art consists of a rotunda with a 
 noble Corinthian octastyle portico attached to 
 it, and resembles in its general mass the 
 Colosseum in the Itegent's Park, London, 
 except that the body of the latter building is 
 a polygon of sixteen sides, and its portico (a 
 Grecian Doric hexastyle) is only a single 
 
 intercolumn in depth. After being robbed of 
 its rich ornaments, gilded bronze-work, and 
 statues, it was consecrated as a Christian 
 church in the seventh century. It is by far 
 the largest circular structure of ancient times, 
 the external diameter being 188 feetj and the 
 height of the summit of the upper cornice 102 
 feel, exclusive of the flat dome, which makes 
 the entire height about 148 feet. The portico, 
 103 feet wide, is octastyle, but there are in all 
 16 columns. The columns are 47 English 
 feet high, with bases and capitals of white 
 marble, and granite shafts^ each formed of a 
 single piece. The interior diameter is 142 
 feet, the thickness of the wall being 23 feet 
 through the piers, between 1 the exhedrse or 
 recesses, which, including that of the en- 
 trance, are eight in number. The dome has 
 a circular opening in the centre, 23 feet in 
 diameter, which lights the interior com- 
 pletely. 
 
 PANTOGRAPH, sometimes improperly 
 written Pentogragh) is an instrument for copy- 
 ing maps, plans, and other drawings. It is 
 formed of certain rules OT bars jointed to each 
 other, with tubes, in which may be fitted a 
 tracer and a pencil. The copy may be made 
 of the same size as the original or smaller, 
 as one fourth, one half, or in any other pro- 
 portion. There are different forms of the in- 
 strument. 
 
 PAPER HANGINGS. The word Hang- 
 ings was originally and properly applied to the 
 woven or embroidered tapestry with which the 
 walls of apartments were covered. From the 
 time necessary for their production, these 
 were too costly for any classes but the wealthy. 
 About 200 years ago, however, a mode was 
 devised of printing or painting a pattern on 
 sheets of pasper, and pasting them against the 
 walls of a room. These are Paper-Hang- 
 ings, and they have greatly contributed to the 
 comfort and cleanliness of domestic apart- 
 ments. 
 
 There are three modes of producing the 
 required device : 1. Wooden blocks are 
 carved representing in relief the outlines of 
 the figure ; an impression is taken from these 
 blocks, and the device is completed by paint- 
 ng with a pencil. 2. A sheet of paper, leather, 
 in, or copper, is cut out into the required 
 device, and laid ori the paper to be stained ; a 
 brush, dipped in a coloured pigment, and 
 worked over the surface of the perforated 
 plate, conveys the pigment through all the 
 perforations, and forms a pattern on the 
 3aper. 3. A block is carved for each of the 
 colours to be employed, and an impression 
 "rOm all the blocks in succession fills up the 
 design ofc the paper. The first of these modes 
 
1303 PAPER MANUFACTURE. 
 
 is too slow and costly for ordinary use ; th 
 second produces imperfect outlines, and i 
 now chiefly employed, under the name o 
 Stencilling, to paint a pattern on the plaste 
 walls of a room, without using paper 
 hangings ; the third is the mode almost ex 
 clusively employed at the present day. Eac 
 block is furnished with small pins at the comers 
 by the aid of which the successive impression 
 are made to correspond properly. As man 
 as seven or eight colours are sometimes em 
 ployed in one pattern, and, generally speaking 
 there must be as many blocks as there ar 
 colours. 
 
 Progress is, however, now being mad 
 towards the application of cylinder-printini 
 to paper hangings. Hitherto these papers 
 have not vied in beauty with block-prints ; bu 
 some of the London houses have recentl; 
 succeeded in producing beautiful specimen 
 by the cylinder, in which six or eight colour 
 are printed by one passage through th 
 machine. A single machine is capable o 
 printing in one hour 200 pieces of paper, each 
 12 yards long ; or 18,000 yards per day. I 
 serves to illustrate the advance both of pape: 
 making and of paper-staining, that the paper 
 upon which the patterns are printed by cylin 
 der is manufactured in lengths of 2880 feet 
 each length is, after printing, cut into 80 
 pieces of 12 yards long each. 
 
 A reduction of the duty charged on all kinds 
 of paper has had a considerable effect in ex- 
 tending the use and improving the manufac 
 ture of paper-hangings. 
 
 PAPER MANUFACTURE. In early 
 times the materials used for writing upon 
 were chiefly such as only required some little 
 mechanical fashioning to fit them for that 
 purpose. Smooth flat stones, clay afterwards 
 burnt, waxed boards, plates of iron or metal, 
 leaves and bark, skins and intestines, papyrus, 
 and parchment, were all employed. The art 
 of making paper from fibrous matter reduced 
 to a pulp in water appears to have been first 
 discovered by the Chinese about the year 95 
 A.D. In the time of Confucius they wrote 
 with a style, or bodkin, on the inner bark of 
 the bamboo. The Chinese paper is made 
 from the inner bark of the bamboo, but the 
 Chinese also make paper from cotton and 
 linen rags, and a coarse yellow sort for wrap- 
 pers is made from rice straw. 
 
 In respect to the rise of this manufacture 
 in England, a Mr. Tate is said to have had a 
 paper-mill at Hertford early in the 16th 
 century : and another mill is stated to have 
 been established in 1588 at Dartford in Kent, 
 by a German, who was knighted by Queen 
 Elizabeth. Great improvements were intro- 
 
 PAPER MANUFACTURE. 1304 
 
 duced in the manufacture by Thomas Watson, 
 in 1713 ; but it was not till recent times that 
 the manufacture reached any high degree of 
 excellence. 
 
 In the making of paper any fibrous vegeta- 
 ble substance may be used, such as bark, 
 stalks, tendrils, hop-bine, and wheat-straw. 
 Nothing however has yet been found to answer 
 so well as linen, hempen, or cotton rags. The 
 sweepings of the cotton-mills are also much 
 used. 
 
 In all kinds of paper-making, whether from 
 the bark of trees or other fibrous matter, or 
 from rags, the general process is the same. 
 The fibrous material is cut and bruised in 
 water till it is separated into fine and short 
 filaments, and becomes a sort of pulp. This 
 pulp is taken up in a thin and even layer upon 
 a mould of wire cloth, or something similar, 
 which allows the water to drain off, but re- 
 tains the fibrous matter, the filaments of 
 which are, by the process of reduction to pulp 
 and subsequent drying and pressing, so inter- 
 woven or felted together, that they cannot be 
 separated without tearing, and thus form 
 paper. The rags of our country do not con- 
 stitute a fourth part of the quantity which we 
 use in making paper: Italy and Germany 
 'urnish the principal supplies. 
 
 In every paper-mill the first business is to 
 sort the rags and cut them into small pieces. 
 This is done by women, each of whom is pro- 
 vided with a large knife to cut the rags. 
 Threads and seams are carefully put by them- 
 elves : if ground with the cloth they would 
 brm specks in the paper. The rags, when 
 ut, are thrown into five or six different com- 
 artments of a large chest, according to their 
 [ualities. Only the finest linen rags are used 
 or the best writing paper, but cotton as well 
 as linen rags are now used for printing- paper, 
 lempen rags are used for coarse paper, and 
 Id cordage and tarred ropes for brown wrap- 
 ing papers. 
 
 The rags are now to be washed, which is 
 one either with hot water in a fulling-mill, or 
 ley are subjected for some hours to the action 
 f steam. The colour is taken out of them 
 y a careful use of chlorine. The rags, after 
 eing washed, are subjected to the action of 
 revolving cylinder, the surface of which is 
 urnished with a number of sharp teeth or 
 utters, which are so placed as to act against 
 ther cutters fixed beneath the cylinder. The 
 igs are kept immersed in water, and sub- 
 cted to the action of the cutters for several 
 ours, till they are minutely divided and re- 
 uced to a thin pulp. 
 
 The pulp, or stuff, as it is technically called, 
 now ready to be made into paper, which is 
 
1305 PAPER MANUFACTURE. 
 
 done either by hand or by machine. In the 
 hand method, the stuff is put into a large vat, 
 and is kept at a proper temperature either by 
 a stove or steam-pipe, and the fibrous matter 
 is held in suspension by stirring. The paper 
 is made with a mould and decide. The mould 
 is a shallow square frame covered with wire- 
 cloth, and a little larger than the sheet 
 intended to be made upon it. The deckle 
 is a very thin frame pf wood which fits close 
 upon the mould, and is required to retain the 
 stuff on the mould, and to limit the size of 
 the sheet. The dipper, or vatman, inclining 
 the mould a little towards him, dips it into the 
 vat with the deckle upon it, and lifts it up 
 again horizontally. He shakes it to distribute 
 the stuff equally, and the water drains through 
 the wire. He lays the mould on the edge of 
 the vat, and takes off the decide, which he 
 requires to apply to another mould. After re- 
 maining two or three seconds to drain the 
 mould is taken by another workman, the 
 coucher, who, having deposited the sheet of 
 paper upon a piece of woollen cloth, returns 
 the mould to the dipper, who in the meantime 
 has made another sheet, which stands on 
 the vat ready to be couched upon another felt 
 spread over the former sheet. Thus they 
 proceed till they have made a pile of sheets, 
 called a post, consisting of six or eight quires. 
 This post, with its felts, is placed in the vat- 
 press, and subjected to a strong pressure to 
 force out the superfluous water, and to give 
 firmness and solidity to the paper. The pile 
 is then removed from the vat-press, the felts 
 taken out, and the sheets are pressed again by 
 themselves. They are then taken from the 
 press and hung up, five or six together, in the 
 drying-room. 
 
 Writing-paper is dipped, five or six sheets 
 together, into a tub of size, and afterwards 
 pressed to force out the superfluity. It is 
 then hung up again in the drying-room. 
 Printing paper is sized in the stuff. Every 
 sheet is now examined, imperfections re- 
 moved, and bad sheets taken out. A large 
 pile of paper is then made, and pressed with 
 great force, to render the sheets quite flat and 
 smooth., The pil?, is then taken down, sheet 
 by sheet, and another made, by which new 
 surfaces are brought in contact with each 
 other, and the pile again pressed strongly. 
 This operation, which is called parting, is done 
 two or three times for the best papers. The 
 paper is now counted into quires, folded, and 
 packed up into reams. 
 
 Various wire-marks, or water-marks, as 
 they are called, were formerly applied to 
 paper to distinguish it. Hand-made paper is 
 now commonly marked with the name of the 
 
 PAPER MANUFACTURE. 1306 
 
 maker, and the date of the year when it was 
 made. 
 
 The paper making machine, invented by 
 Fourdrinier, and improved by Dickinson and 
 others, is a very beautiful combination of 
 mechanism. The pulp is first made to flow 
 from the vat upon a wire frame or sifter, 
 which moves rapidly up and down so as to 
 force the fine filaments of pulp through the 
 wire whilst it retains any knots and lumps. 
 The pulp then flows over a ledge in a regular 
 and even stream, and is received upon an 
 endless web of wire gauze, which presents 
 a surface of five or six feet long. The wire 
 web moves forward with a motion so regulated 
 as to determine the thickness of the paper $ 
 at the same time a lateral motion is given 
 to the wire web, which assists to spread the 
 pulp evenly, and also to facilitate the separa- 
 tion of the water ; by which means the pulp 
 solidifies as it advances, and is at the same 
 time prevented from flowing over the sides by 
 straps which regulate the width of the paper. 
 Before the thickened pulp leaves the wire web, 
 it is pressed by a roller covered with felt, and 
 is then taken up by an endless web of felt 
 which forms an inclined plane ; the web 
 absorbs a further portion of the moisture. 
 The pulp is now seized by a pair of rollers, 
 between which it is pressed, and then it passes 
 upon another inclined plane of felt, which 
 conducts it to another pair of pressing rollers. 
 The pulp is now paper, aud only requires to 
 be made dry and smooth. To effect these 
 objects the machinery conducts it over the 
 polished surface of a large cylinder heated by 
 steam ; from this cylinder it passes to a 
 second, larger and hotter ; and then to a third, 
 which is still hotter than the second. After 
 this it is subjected to the pressure of a wool 
 [en cloth, which confines it on one side while 
 the cylinder smooths it on the other. It is 
 then conducted by another roller to a reel, on 
 which it is wound, perfectly dry and smooth, 
 and ready to be cut into sheets for use. In 
 two or three minutes the pulp, which is intro- 
 duced upon the wire web at one extremity of 
 the machine, is delivered at the other in the f 
 state of perfect paper. In many of the paper : 
 machines., a partial vacuum is produced under 
 the endless wire web by means of large air- 
 pumps or of revolving fans ; and the atmos- 
 phere is thus made to press upon the pulp, 
 whereby the moisture is forced through the 
 
 re. 
 
 Machines for cutting paper into sheets of 
 
 any required size have been invented, in many 
 
 arieties : they are separate from the paper 
 
 making machine, and are beautiful contri- 
 
 ances. One recently introduced by Messrs. 
 
1307 
 
 PAPIER-MACHE'. 
 
 PARACHUTE. 
 
 1308 
 
 Metcalf, and called the Industrial Cutting 
 Machine, has a sharp blade which works upon 
 a horizontal table. One end of the blade is 
 connected with a lever moved by wheel-work ; 
 and as the wheels revolve, the blade is brought 
 down with a cutting action. The machine 
 may be worked either by steam or by hand 
 power ; and it is calculated not only for 
 paper makers, but for all trades in which 
 papers or pasteboard have to be cut. 
 
 In respect to commercial and fiscal regula- 
 tions, the paper trade is now deservedly 
 attracting public attention, with a view to the 
 removal of a duty which is found not only to 
 be financially oppressive, but to be hurtful in 
 a literary point of view. The publisher of 
 the present work, and other publishers con- 
 cerned in the issue of low-priced but carefully 
 prepared publications, have shewn that a pre- 
 mium is paid to inferior literature, to c literary 
 garbage,' by the existing duty on paper ; and 
 that many Avell planned but not profitable 
 works would have yielded a sufficient profit 
 had not this duty exerted its repressing influ- 
 ence. 
 
 The quantity of paper charged with excise 
 duty in the United Kingdom in the last three 
 years was ; 
 
 1848 121,820,229 Ibs. 
 
 1849 132,132,600 
 
 1850 141,032,474 
 
 The quantities exported to foreign countries 
 
 were as follows : 
 
 1848 5,180,286 Ibs. 
 
 1849 5,966,319 
 
 1850 7,764,534 
 
 In other words, our exports of paper amount 
 
 to only four or five per cent of our manufac- 
 ture. 
 
 PAPIER-MACHfe, is the French term for 
 a preparation of moistened paper, of which 
 many articles are manufactured in England, 
 France, and Germany. Two modes are 
 adopted of making articles of this kind: 1, by 
 glueing or pasting different thicknesses of 
 paper together ; 2, by mixing the substance of 
 the paper into a pulp and pressing it into 
 moulds. The first mode is adopted principally 
 for those articles, such as trays, &c., in which 
 a tolerably plain and flat surface is to be pro- 
 duced. Common millboard, such as forms 
 the covers of books, may convey some idea of 
 this sort of manufacture. Sheets of strong 
 paper are glued together, and then so power- 
 fully pressed that the different strata of paper 
 become as one. Slight curvatures mfly be 
 given to such pasteboard when damp by the 
 use of presses and moulds. Papier-Mache 
 properly so called, however is that which is 
 pressed into moulds in the state of a pulp. This 
 
 pulp is either paper-maker's pulp, or is more 
 generally made of cuttings of coarse paper 
 boiled in water, and beaten in a mortar till 
 they assume the consistence of a paste, which 
 is boiled in a solution of gum-arabic or of size, 
 to give it tenacity. The moulds are carved in 
 the usual way and the pulp poured into them, 
 a counter -mould being employed to make the 
 cast nothing more than a crust or shell, as in 
 plaster casts. 
 
 Our recent Exhibitions of manufactures 
 have presented few articles more beautiful 
 than those formed of papier-mache. The 
 firm of Messrs. Jennens and Bettridge, at 
 Birmingham, is pre-eminent for productions 
 in this department of industry. 
 
 PARACHUTE. Under BALLOON a brief 
 account is given of aeronautic ascents ; we will 
 here say a few words concerning the attempts 
 to descend from a balloon. A parachute is a 
 machine attached to a balloon, and is intended 
 to convey the aeronaut gently to the earth, in 
 case of an accident happening to the balloon. 
 It is in shape like an umbrella, with ropes or 
 stays fastened to the extremities of the whale- 
 bones, and brought down to the handle, where 
 they must be fixed, so as to prevent the 
 umbrella from turning inside outwards. 
 Instead of the stick, suppose a metal tube to 
 be fixed in the centre, with a rope passing 
 through it, attached by its upper extremity to 
 the balloon and by the lower end to a tub or 
 car. This machine is a parachute. While 
 ascending it will be like a closed umbrella, but 
 it may at any moment be detached from the 
 balloon by cutting the end of the rope which 
 ties it to the car ; the resistance of the air 
 will then cause it to expand, and will at the 
 same time retard the velocity of the descent. 
 
 Machines like umbrellas, to break the fall 
 from a high place, were used in Siam two cen- 
 turies since : but the first experiment in 
 Europe with such a machine was made at 
 Paris in 1783 by M. le Norm and, who leaped 
 safely from a window of a house with a stout 
 umbrella of thirty inches in diameter in his 
 hand. M. Blanchard several times caused 
 dogs to descend from great heights by means 
 of parachutes ; and, in 1802, M. Garnerin, 
 who five years before had made a like descent 
 at Paris, repeated the experiment in London. 
 The parachute of this gentleman was 23 feet 
 in diameter ; and at the height of 8000 feet, 
 he cut the rope which attached him to the 
 balloon. The descent was at first very rapid ; 
 but, the machine at length expanding, he 
 came to the ground without serious injury. 
 Madlle. Garnerin, his daughter, descended 
 twice in 1816, from great elevations, appa- 
 rently without being in the least discomposed 
 
PAEAPET. 
 
 In 1837 Mr. Cocking descended nea 
 London, from a balloon, by a parachute cor 
 structed in the form of an umbrella turne 
 upside down. The parachute was 34 feet i 
 diameter, and it was kept open by a woode 
 hoop. As soon as it was cut away, it fell wit 
 rapidity ; its vibrations were violent, the hoo 
 broke, and the unfortunate aeronaut fel 
 dreadfully mutilated, to the ground. Othe 
 parachute descents have since been made. 
 
 PAEAPET, is alow or breast-high wall o: 
 fence, to serve as a protection on bridges, ter 
 races, platform-roofs, &c. In Italian archi 
 tecture parapets are generally balustrades 
 In gothic architecture the parapet is mereh 
 a continuation of the wall carried up above 
 the edge of the roof, and finished by a coping 
 unless machicolated, in which case it projects 
 and overhangs the walls below. In the Lom- 
 bardic buildings of Italy there is seldom any 
 parapet, the eaves of the roof finishing the 
 elevation. The same is frequently the case 
 in the Norman style. In Elizabethan build 
 ings open work parapets, forming various 
 fantastical devices, are common. In engi- 
 neering and in fortification a low wall is often, 
 in like manner, called a parapet. 
 
 PAECHMENT is the skin of the sheep, 
 lamb, goat, pig, or calf, prepared for writing 
 upon. When the skin is divested of its hair, 
 or wool, it is placed for some time in a lime- 
 pit, and then stretched on a square wooden 
 frame drawn tight by pegs. When in the 
 frame, it is first scraped on the flesh side with 
 a blunt iron, then wetted with a moist rag, 
 covered with pounded chalk, and rubbed well 
 with pumice-stone. After a short pause these 
 operations are repeated, but without chalk. 
 The skin is then turned, and scraped on the 
 hair side once only. The flesh side is scraped 
 once more, and again rubbed over with chalk. 
 All this is done by the skinner, who allows 
 the skin to dry in the frame, and then cuts it 
 out and sends it to the parchment-maker, 
 who repeats the operations with a sharper 
 tool, using a sack stuffed with flocks to lay the 
 skin upon instead of stretching it in a frame. 
 The relation which parchment-making 
 bears to tanning is noticed under LEATHER 
 MANUFACTURE. The costliness of parchment 
 in the middle ages is illustrated by the PA- 
 LIMPSEST MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 PA.EING AND BUENING, are the two 
 processes of a combined operation in agricul- 
 ture, which consists in cutting a thin slice 
 from the surface of land which is overgrown 
 with grass, heath, fern, or any other plants 
 which form a sward by the matting together 
 of their roots. The sods are allowed to dry 
 in the sun to a certain degree, after which 
 
 PAEIS, 
 
 1310 
 
 they are arranged in heaps, and burnt slowly, 
 without flame or violent heat. The result is 
 a mixture of burnt earth, charred vegetable 
 fibre, and the ashes of that part which is en- 
 tirely consumed. The object of this opera- 
 tion is two-fold: first, to kill insects and 
 destroy useless or noxious weeds completely ; 
 and secondly, to obtain a powerful manure, 
 impregnated with alkaline salts and carbona- 
 ceous matter, which experience has shown to 
 be a very powerful promoter of vegetation. 
 The instruments by which this is effected are, 
 either a common plough Avith a very flat 
 
 hare, which may be used when the surface 
 
 s very level without being encumbered with 
 
 stones or large roots, as in low moist meadows, 
 
 or in most other cases a paring-iron used by 
 
 land, the cross-bar of which is held with both 
 
 lands ; and the upper parts of the thighs, 
 
 Deing protected by two small slips of board, 
 
 ush the instrument into the ground, so as 
 
 o cut a slice of the required thickness, which 
 
 s then turned over by moving the cross 
 
 andle. The labour is severe, and a good 
 
 workman can scarcely pare more than one- 
 
 ixth of an acre in a day. 
 
 PAEIS. This most important city, besides 
 ts distinguishing features in other respects, 
 as a considerable manufacturing population ; 
 or in the variety and extent of its produc- 
 ons of industry, Paris may vie with most 
 ities of the world. The carpets of the ma- 
 ufactory of La Savonnerie and the tapestry 
 f the Gobelins are well known. Cashmere, 
 ilk, and woollen shawls ; light woollens, cot- 
 on goods, hosiery, gloves, hats, embroidery, 
 ce, and other articles of fashionable attire; 
 3wellery, gold and silver plate and trinkets, 
 .ocks and watches, bronzes, and musical, 
 athematical, and philosophical instruments ; 
 aper - hangings, houshold furniture, car- 
 ages, sadlery, leather, glue, cutlery, fire- 
 rms, liqueurs, and confectionary, are made. 
 )yeing, printing, engraving, and lithography; 
 e manufacture of salts, acids, oxides, and 
 ther chemicals ; the refining of sugar, tal- 
 iw-melting, the distillation of brandy from 
 otatoes, brewing, and the manufacture ofpota- 
 -starch, all are earned on with considerable 
 ctivity. The Seine furnishes the principal 
 eans of water- carriage : it is navigable for 
 arges and other small craft. The canals of 
 le Ourcq, St. Denis, and St. Martin, give to 
 aris water communication with many parts 
 ' the vicinity. The timber brought into 
 aris is immense. Wood is the principal 
 uel consumed at present, but the consump- 
 on of coal is gaining ground. The markets 
 r the sale of provisions are numerous and 
 enerally well arranged. 
 
1311 
 
 PARTHENON. 
 
 PASTURE LAND 
 
 1313 
 
 There are some curious industrial statistics 
 in which London and Paris are compared, 
 contained in a recently published report to 
 the French government, by M. Darcy, divi- 
 sional inspector of the Ponts et Chaussees, 
 who has been to England to obtain information 
 relative to the macadamized roads. The total 
 surface of London is said to be 210,000,000 
 square metres ; its population,! ,924,000 ; num- 
 ber of houses 260,000; length of the streets, 
 1,126,000 metres ; surface of the streets, not 
 including the foot pavement, 6,000,000 me- 
 tres ; length of the sewers, 639,000 metres. 
 The total surface of Paris is 34,379,016 square 
 metres; population, 1,053,879; number of 
 houses, 20,526 ; length of the streets, 425,000 
 metres ; surface of the streets, exclusive of 
 the foot pavement, 3,600,000 square metres ; 
 length of the sewers, 135,000 metres ; surface 
 of the foot pavement, 888,000 metres. Thus 
 in London every inhabitant corresponds to a 
 surface of more than 100 square metres ; at 
 Paris to only 34 metres ; which shews that Paris 
 is much more densely populated than London. 
 In London the average of inhabitants for 
 each house is 7 ; at Paris, 34. The Boule- 
 vards of Paris is the part where the greatest 
 traffic takes place, and the following are the 
 results of the observations of M. Darcy on 
 the subject: On the Boulevard des Capu- 
 cines there pass every 24 hours 9,070 horses 
 drawing carriages; Boulevard des Italiens, 
 10,750 ; Boulevard Poissonniere, 7,720 ; 
 Boulevard St. Denis, 9,609 ; Boulevard des 
 Filles du Calvaire, 5,859 ; general average of 
 the above, 8,600. Hue du Faubourg St. An- 
 toine, 4,300; Avenue des Champs Elysees, 
 8,959. Other items are given respecting the 
 traffic in the London streets ; but these seem 
 to be of doubtful accuracy. 
 
 The numerous Industrial Exhibitions at 
 Paris have been noticed in the Introduction. 
 
 PAR'THENON. This far-famed structure, 
 the temple of Minerva, is situated on the 
 Acropolis of Athens. It was erected in the 
 time of Pericles (about B.C. 448). This 
 temple has always been considered the most 
 refined example of the Grecian Doric style, 
 and one of the noblest monuments of anti- 
 quity. Yet its grandeur is by no means 
 owing to its extraordinary dimensions, since 
 in point of size it falls far short of many 
 other structures, modern as well as ancient, 
 its extreme length being only 228 feet, and 
 its breadth 100, and the interior of the cella 
 only 145 feet by 63 feet. This temple had 
 columns along its sides and at both ends, 
 viz., eight beneath each pediment, making in 
 all 46 columns, there being, including those 
 at the angles, 17 on each side, or 16 inter- 
 
 columns. Besides these external col-amus, 
 there was likewise a range of inner columns 
 at each end. The cella or body of the tem- 
 ple was hypsethral, that is, the central space 
 between the columns along each side was 
 open to the sky. Even in its present shat- 
 tered and mangled state, the temple is the 
 admiration of all travellers and artists who 
 have beheld it. The chief portion of the 
 sculptures of the edifice were removed by 
 Lord Elgin. [ELGIN MARBLES.] One object 
 of art that originally decorated the interior or 
 shrine was the chryselephantine (gold and 
 ivory) statue of Minerva, 39 feet high, which 
 was the work of Phidias. Since the estab- 
 lishment of King Otho's government (1833), 
 excavations have been made on the Acropolis 
 and around the Parthenon, and a great num- 
 ber of fragments of sculpture and architecture 
 have been brought to light. Some of the 
 fallen columns have also been replaced, and 
 measures taken to restore the structure as 
 far as circumstances will permit. In the 
 British Museum are two models of the Par- 
 thenon, on a large scale, one in its ruinous 
 state, and the other a restoration with the 
 sculptures in their respective situations. 
 
 PASTILES. These are used either to 
 diffuse an agreeable odour, or more usually 
 to hide some offensive odour. They are 
 made somewhat cone-shaped, so as to burn 
 slowly. Many different combinations of odi- 
 riferous substances are employed in their 
 manufacture. One kind is made of gum 
 benzoin, tolu balsam, sandal wood, charcoal, 
 tragacanth, labdanum, nitre, gum arabic, and 
 cinnamon-water. Other kinds resemble this 
 nearly in the solid ingredients, but substitute 
 rose water, essence of orange, essence of 
 vanilla, or oil of cloves, for the cinnamon 
 water. 
 
 PASTES. The pastes or verifiable mate- 
 rials which are employed to imitate gems for 
 cheap jewellery are noticed under GEMS and 
 GLASS MANUFACTURE. 
 
 PASTURE LAND. The pasturage of 
 cattle is now a part of regular husbandry. 
 The land which affords the herbage for cattle 
 forms part of private possessions, and a rent 
 is paid for its use. Pastures are now fenced 
 and protected, and pains are taken to im- 
 prove them, so as to maintain many more 
 cattle and sheep than they would in their 
 natural state. Whenever pastures arc hired, 
 the rent is always reckoned, not by the extent 
 of surface, but by the stock which can bo 
 maintained upon it. Thus, in Switzerland, 
 the mountain pastures are divided into por- 
 tions of twenty, forty or more cows. In 
 Scotland they reckon sometimes by the num- 
 
1313 
 
 PATENTS. 
 
 PATENTS. 
 
 1314 
 
 ber of bullocks which can be reared, and 
 sometimes by the number of sheep which 
 can be kept. In many places pasturing 
 has been found much more productive than 
 cultivation ; and some large proprietors have 
 converted great tracts of land from arable 
 into pasture farms. Pastures are seldom im- 
 proved with manure, which is generally re- 
 served for arable land, or grass land intended 
 to be mown for hay : but if richness is valu- 
 able in a pasture, it will well repay the expense 
 of manuring. 
 
 PATENTS; PATENT LAWS. The ob- 
 ject of patents is to encourage useful inven- 
 tions. Before applying for a patent for an 
 invention, two considerations are necessary : 
 first, what is entitled to a patent ; and next, 
 whether the invention has the requisite con- 
 ditions. In the first place, the machine, 
 operation, or substance produced, for which a 
 patent is solicited, must be new to public use, 
 either the original invention of the patentee, 
 or imported by him and first made public here. 
 A patent may be obtained for England, Ire- 
 land, or Scotland, although the subject of it 
 may have been publicly known and in use in 
 either or in both of the other two countries. 
 In the second place, the subject of the inven- 
 tion must be useful to the public, something 
 applicable to the production of a vendible 
 article. The discovery of a philosophical 
 principle is not entitled to such protection : 
 such principle must be applied, and the man- 
 ner of such application is a fit subject for a 
 patent. 
 
 An invention entitled to patent may be a 
 new combination of mechanical parts, whereby 
 a new machine is produced, although each of 
 the parts separately be old and well known ; 
 or an improvement on any machine, whereby 
 such machine is rendered capable of per- 
 forming better or more beneficially ; or when 
 the vendible substance is the thing produced 
 either by chemical or other processes, such 
 as medicines or fabrics ; or where an old 
 substance is improved by some new working, 
 the means of producing the improvement is 
 in most cases patentable. If the inventor 
 think that the machine, operation, or sub- 
 stance produced comes under any of these 
 enumerations, and that it is new, and likely 
 to be useful to the public, he must proceed 
 in the form required by law to obtain the 
 letters patent. 
 
 The chief clause in a paten4 grants the 
 sole use of the invention to the inventor for 
 fourteen years, whereby all other persons 
 are restrained from using the invention with- 
 out a licence in writing from the patentee ; 
 and persons are restricted from imitating the 
 
 invention, or making any addition thereunto 
 or subtraction therefrom, with intent to 
 make themselves appear the inventors. 
 Another clause declares that the patent shall 
 be void, if contrary to law or prejudicial and 
 inconvenient to the public in general, or not 
 the invention of the patentee, or not first in 
 troduced by him into this country. A patent 
 maybe shared among any number of persons 
 up to twelve. The specification of a patent 
 must show exactly in what the invention con- 
 sists for which a patent has been granted, 
 and it must give a detailed account of the 
 manner of effecting the object set forth in 
 the title ; it must describe exactly what is 
 new and what is old, and must claim exclu- 
 sive right to the former ; the introduction 01 
 any part that is old, or the omission of any 
 part that is new, equally vitiates the patent. 
 The patent is granted on condition that such 
 full and accurate information shall be given 
 in the specification as will enable any work- 
 man or other qualified person to make or 
 produce the object of the patent at the expi- 
 ration of that term, without any further in- 
 structions. 
 
 If a patentee finds that the time allowed 
 him by the patent is not sufficient to remu- 
 nerate him for the trouble and expense of 
 his invention and patent, he may apply for 
 an extension of the term. Any person wish- 
 ing to oppose the extension, must enter a 
 caveat at the Privy Council Office, and the 
 petitioner and enterer of the caveat are heard 
 by their counsel before the Judicial Com- 
 mittee, which reports to the crown ; and the 
 crown is authorised, if it shall think fit, to 
 grant new letters patent for the same inven- 
 tion for a term not exceeding seven years 
 after the expiration of the first term. 
 
 The assemblage in London, in 1851, of a 
 larger amount of manufactured articles than 
 were ever before collected in one place, has 
 led to anxious discussions concerning the 
 patent laws. It has been long felt that these 
 laws are clumsy, tedious, costly, and unjust : 
 a constant source of vexation to those whoso 
 ingenuity has developed new machines or 
 processes, and who wish to receive a fair 
 commercial advantage from that ingenuity. 
 Foreigners are still more anxious that any 
 new combinations or inventions which they 
 may exhibit in England should not be copied 
 by dishonest persons in this country, without 
 some recognized means of securing a right 
 and property to the real inventors. The 
 government, the legislature, the legal pro 
 fession, and the Commissioners for the Indus- 
 trial Exhibition, have all felt that changes in 
 the existing patent laws are necessary ; and 
 
1316 
 
 PEARLS. 
 
 PEARLS. 
 
 1316 
 
 committees have been appointed, by different 
 bodies, to investigate the subject. So far as 
 relates to designs rather than to inventions, 
 certain improvements have been introduced 
 which are noticed under DESIGNS. A bill is 
 now before the legislature, intended to meet 
 some of the evils of the system generally, and 
 to apply specially in some clauses to the 
 Great Exhibition ; but so much diversity of 
 opinion prevails concerning the best mode of 
 carrying out the improvements, that little can 
 be said respecting the probable character of the 
 future regulations on this important subject. 
 
 PAVEMENTS. [ROADS ; TESSELATED 
 FLOOES.] 
 
 PEARLASH. [POTASSIUM.] 
 
 PEARLS ; PEARL FISHERY. A pearl 
 is a small concretion which is formed within 
 the hard envelope of a shell-fish. The pearl 
 oyster nearly resembles in shape the common 
 English oyster, but is larger, being usually 
 about three inches in diameter. The pearls 
 are most commonly contained in the shell ; 
 but sometimes they are found in the thickest 
 and most fleshy part of the oyster. A single 
 oyster will frequently contain several pearls ; 
 and it is on record that one has been known 
 to contain a hundred and fifty. The pearl 
 itself is supposed to be the result of some 
 accidental deposit or extravasation of the 
 liquor secreted by the animal in the gradual 
 enlargement of its shell very small in the 
 first instance, but increased by successive 
 layers of pearly matter. 
 
 The beautiful substance called (somewhat 
 expressively) mother of pearl, is the hard 
 silvery, brilliant internal layer of shells, es- 
 pecially oyster shells, and more particularly 
 the pearl oyster. In English oysters this 
 substance is too thin to be workable for 
 manufacturing purposes ; but the oysters of 
 the eastern seas yield it of considerable 
 thickness. The brilliant hues which distin- 
 guish mother of pearl do not depend upon 
 the nature of the substance, but on an ex- 
 quisitely fine series of furrows upon the sur- 
 face, which shed a brilliant reflexion of colours 
 according to the angle at which the light falls 
 on them. Much care is required in working 
 this delicate substance ; but it may be cut by 
 saws, files, and drills, with the corrosive aid 
 of sulphuric or muriatic acid. It is polished 
 by colcothar of vitriol. In all those orna- 
 mental manufactures where pearl is said to 
 be used for flat surfaces, such as inlaying, 
 mosaics, buttons, knife-handles, &c., it is not 
 real pearl, but mother of pearl, that is em- 
 ployed. 
 
 The Pearl Finery, or the fishing for pearl 
 oysters, is an important employment on coasts 
 
 where this particular kind of fish abounds. The 
 chief fisheries are on the west coast of Ceylon, 
 on the Coromandel coast, on the shores of 
 the Persian Gulf, on the coast of Algiers, on 
 the shores of the Sooloo Islands, in the Bay 
 of Panama, and on the Pacific coast of some 
 of the South American States. The Ceylon 
 fishery is a monopoly of the British govern- 
 ment, and the Coromandel fishery is a mono- 
 poly of the East India Company ; but the 
 rent at which the fisheries are let out seldom 
 pays more than the expense of superintend- 
 ance. In the Persian Gulf the fishery often 
 yields nearly 100,0002. of pearls in two months. 
 The oysters are procured by diving. In the 
 Ceylon fishery about 1300 or 1400 divers are 
 usually employed. The share of profits gives 
 each individual 5s. to 6s. per day for the time 
 he is employed : the price of ordinary 
 labour being Gd. per day. But each bank 
 being available only for one period, of about 
 20 days in every 7 years, sometimes the 
 fishery is smaller, and sometimes there is 
 none at all ; and in no season does it last for 
 more than 30 or 35 days, commencing with 
 the calm weather about the 5th of March. 
 The divers, in C or 7 fathoms water, remain 
 immersed from 50 to 55 seconds, very rarely 
 longer. A reward being offered to him who 
 should remain the longest under water, it 
 was gained by one who remained 87 seconds. 
 The diver's sack is not fastened round his 
 neck, but is attached to a cord held by the 
 man in the boat above ; and it is pulled up 
 when full at the signal of the diver, who, if 
 he choose, is drawn up with it. So far from 
 the occupation being unhealthy, it is the belief 
 of the natives that divers live longer than 
 other labourers ; and its short season is held 
 as a gainful holiday by the divers themselves, 
 who at other times are engaged in ordinary 
 labour. If the oyster is taken before seven 
 years old, its pearls are imperfectly de- 
 veloped,. 
 
 When the oysters are brought to land, they 
 are thrown into a pit and allowed to rot, 
 whereby the pearls can be extracted without 
 injury to their delicate structure. The pearls 
 do not undergo much preparation to fit them 
 for ornament, as an irregularly shaped pearl 
 is regarded as being but little inferior to a 
 ymmetrical one. Various kinds of drills are 
 employed to bore holes through the pearls ; 
 and the powder of ground pearls is some- 
 times employed to polish them. 
 
 A vessel arrived at London in the early 
 part of 1851 from Panama, with no iV-\v< -i- 
 than 2,104,000 pearl shells ; to be used, wo 
 may presume, as mother of pearl. This was 
 thy largest importation ever known. 
 
1317 
 
 PEAT. 
 
 PEAT. 
 
 1318 
 
 The mode of imitating pearls is described 
 under GEMS. 
 
 PEAT is a substanee of vegetable Origin, 
 found wherever the soil has been long soaked 
 with water which has no outlet and does not 
 completely evaporate by the heat of the sun. 
 When dried peat is examined, it is found to 
 consist of roots and fibres in every stage of 
 decomposition, from the natural wood to the 
 completely black vegetable mould. From 
 the nature of its formation under the surface 
 of the water, it acquires a portion of tannin, 
 which has the property of preserving animal 
 and vegetable matter from decomposition. 
 Hence large branches and trunks of trees are 
 found imbedded in peat, which have no mark 
 of decomposition, except what may have taken 
 place before the wood was completely im- 
 inersed in the peat. Peat contains all the 
 elements of the richest manure, and may by 
 an easy process be converted into humus : for 
 this purpose the agency of alkalies is the most 
 effectual, If the tannin be decomposed, that 
 of the vegetable fibre will go on, and soluble 
 humus will be formed. When peat is newly 
 dug up, if caustic lime be added to it before it 
 is dry, the moisture of the peat slakes the 
 lime, which acts on the gallic acid in the peat 
 and neutralises it. If this mixture be then 
 excited to fermentation by the addition of 
 animal matter, such as urine or dung, oxygen 
 is absorbed and carbonic acid evolved ; and 
 the residue is converted into an excellent ma- 
 nure, containing much soluble humus. The 
 same may be effected more slowly by mixing 
 peat with clay or marl, and allowing the mix- 
 ture to remain exposed to the atmosphere for 
 a considerable time, frequently turning it. 
 But nothing accelerates this process like the 
 addition of putrescent animal matter, which 
 acts as a, ferment and greatly hastens the 
 decomposition. 
 
 The soils for which peat forms the best 
 manure are the chalky and clayey. Sand has 
 too little tenacity ; it lets the gases produced 
 by the decomposition escape, instead of 
 attracting them, as clay and chalk do, and 
 thus preventing their escape. 
 
 Coincident with the present Flax movement 
 is an enterprise for converting the peat of Ire- 
 land into charcoal. The Irish Amelioration 
 Society has already made a good beginning 
 in this work. The charcoal thus obtained 
 is not only highly valuable in the smelting of 
 iron and other metals, but comes into action 
 as a most useful ally in the sanitary and eco- 
 nomical measures that are now making such 
 progress. As a deodoriser, it is the best sub- 
 stance yet discovered, and by its agency the 
 most ofiensive matter is converted into per- 
 
 fectly inoffensive and highly nutritious ma- 
 nure. It has already been largely contracted 
 for, to purify the sewerage of the metropolis, 
 and to convert its nuisances into a source of 
 profit. As the manufacture of this charcoal 
 increases, the inducement to reclaim land 
 will be multiplied. Already round each char- 
 coal factory a rim of cottage gardens spreads, 
 and the land, relieved from the load of other- 
 wise unprofitable peat, produces the crops of 
 a virgin soil. 
 
 A British and Irish Peat Company, too, is 
 in process of formation, in which English 
 capitalists propose to assist in the work. This 
 company was suggested with reference rather 
 to Dartmoor peat than to Irish peat ; but if 
 available for one, it would also for the other. 
 The company profess to be able to obtain 
 naphtha, paraffine, fixed oil, volatile oil, 
 acetate of lime, and sulphate of ammonia, 
 from peat, at profitable prices ; but the cor- 
 rectness of the calculations requires the test 
 of experience. 
 
 PEDAL. In musical instruments pedals are 
 of two kinds : 1., those keys which are acted 
 on by the feet of the performer ; 2, the levers 
 acting on the swell of the organ, and ou the 
 stops ; and also those of the pianoforte and 
 harp. The foot pedals of the organ play cer- 
 tain keys ; the stop -pedals or levers of the 
 same instrument bring into play distinct 
 groups of pipes ; the foot pedal of the piano- 
 forte raises the dampers from certain strings ; 
 the foot pedals of the harp raise the tone of 
 the strings half a note. 
 
 PEDOMETEE. This ingenious instru- 
 ment, in the shape of a small watch, enables 
 a person to tell what space of ground he has 
 walked or ridden over. The instrument is so 
 constructed that when the body of the traveller 
 is raised, either by the spring of his foot, or 
 the motion of his horse, a lever is made to 
 act upon the wheel-work of the instrument, 
 and an index or hand on the dial-plate points 
 to the figures which denote the number of 
 miles passed over. 
 
 PE'KEA is the name of a plant inhabiting 
 Guiana, and furnishing the Saouari Nuts of 
 the shops. The shell is brownish and rugged, 
 and contains a kernel of a soft consistence, 
 and of the most delicate buttery quality. It 
 is by far the best of the South American nuts 
 that are brought to England, and much 
 superior to our own walnuts and filberts. 
 
 PEMBEOKESHIKE. In this Welsh county, 
 forming the south-west projection of the prin- 
 cipality, much useful mineral produce is found, 
 The anthracite or stone coal tract bisects the 
 county; it is a continuation of the great coal- 
 basin of South Wales, which extends over the 
 
1319 
 
 PEMBROKESHIRE. 
 
 PEN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1320 
 
 whole coast of Caermarthen Bay. Copper-ore 
 has been found in small quantities in the 
 neighbourhood of St. David's, but not sufficient 
 to repay the cost of working. Slate-quarries 
 are opened in the Precelli Mountains and near 
 St. David's ; the quality of the slates is inferior 
 to those of North Wales. Coal is the only 
 mineral besides slate which is worked in 
 Pembrokeshire : it is of that description called 
 anthracite, or stone-coal. The best coal is 
 raised at Landshipping, on the shore of Mil- 
 ford Haven. A considerable quantity of good 
 coal is also raised at Kinsmoor and Kilgetty, 
 whence it is conveyed by a railway to the sea 
 at Saundersfoot, where a dock has been built. 
 
 The soil in different quarters is very varied; 
 and the state of agriculture is as various as 
 the soil. Considerable advances have been 
 made of late years, but a general want of 
 capital among the farmers prevents any rapid 
 progress. 
 
 Pembrokeshire has not much pretensions to 
 the character of a manufacturing county. Fish- 
 guard is remarkable for little besides a fine 
 fishing ground near the bay, frequented by 
 small craft from Liverpool. The port is 
 capable of accommodating 100 sail of mer- 
 chantmen. The principal exports are corn 
 and butter; the imports, coal, culm, lime- 
 stone, &c. If, however, the South Wales 
 Railway should be carried to Fishguard as 
 originally planned, it would become a place of 
 commercial importance. Haverfordwest is 
 principally occupied by shopkeepers, mechanics, 
 and persons of moderate independent fortune, 
 for whom the cheapness of the place is an 
 attraction. The river Cleddy is navigable at 
 spring tides to Haverfordwest, for vessels of 
 100 tons burthen. Milford was a highly pro- 
 sperous town till the removal of the dock- 
 yard and packet establishment. 
 
 Pembroke Dockyard is the most important 
 establishment in the county. It is situated at 
 Pater, about two miles from Pembroke, on 
 the shores of Milford Haven. The naval 
 dockyard and arsenal were removed from 
 Milford to tins spot in 1814. The two together 
 occupy about 60 acres ; the dockyard is one of 
 the most complete in the kingdom, capable of 
 building five or six first-rates and many smaller 
 vessels at the same time. In respect to ropes, 
 anchors, machinery, it is not so celebrated as 
 some of the other royal dockyards. Steamers 
 ply regularly from Bristol to Pater ; and the 
 neighbourhood of the dockyard is gradually 
 becoming flourishing. 
 
 Milford Haven, near and beyond the dock- 
 yard, is being strongly fortified. Towers, forts, 
 and batteries are being constructed at differenl 
 spots. These works have been commenced 
 
 because it has been felt that the shipping and 
 dockyard were in a somewhat unprotected 
 state. 
 
 PEN MANUFACTURE. Among the small 
 articles of daily use, few are more important 
 than pens, and few exhibit more remarkably 
 the application of the factory system to the 
 production of cheap implements. 
 
 Under FEATHERS, the reader will find an 
 account of the mode of preparing goose-quills 
 for pens. Of the common method of making 
 pens by hand it is not necessary to speak ; we 
 shall therefore only say a few words upon the 
 manufacture of quill nibs. The barrel of the 
 quill in the first place has both ends cut off, 
 and is divided down the centre; the halves 
 are then laid on their convex side and the 
 edges shaved smooth ; after this they are 
 divided into three or four lengths each, and 
 the end of each length is made into a pen by 
 a small machine, which at one time makes the 
 slit and cuts the shoulders ; they are then 
 finished by being nibbed by hand. Pens 
 are shaped differently according to the kind 
 of writing for which they are intended. 
 
 Owing to the constant necessity for mend- 
 ng quill pens, the loss of time consequent 
 thereon, and the inequality of the writing, an 
 mmense amount of labour and ingenuity has 
 aeen employed to produce some more durable 
 substitute. The only substitute which has 
 attained to anything like general use is the 
 steel pen ; but long before their general intro- 
 duction, metallic pens of other kinds were 
 tried; sometimes silver, when intended for 
 presents ; sometimes brass, when intended to 
 accompany cheap brass inkstands that used to 
 be made some years ago. One of the first 
 attempts to combine the elasticity of quill 
 pens with increased durability consisted in 
 arming the points with metallic nibs ; but the 
 improvement was not adequate to the in- 
 creased cost. Another class of improvements, 
 or suggested improvements, was the intro- 
 duction of pens whose nibs should be formed 
 of precious stones. One land consisted of a 
 tortoiseshell tube or barrel, with small frag- 
 ments of diamond or ruby imbedded in the 
 nib. Another kind contained a nib of ruby set 
 in fine gold, and such pens have been said to 
 last six years without injury. Some have also 
 been formed of rhodium nibs set in gold. 
 Pens of gold, of silver, and of gold alloyed 
 with silver, are occasionally made. 
 
 But, as we have said, steel is the only 
 material which has successfully competed with 
 the quill. The present generation has wit- 
 nessed a descent from sixpence a piece to six- 
 pence a gross. Steel pens are now manu- 
 factured to an amount in quantity and at a 
 
F THE 
 
 No. 33. 
 
1321 
 
 PENCILS. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 1322 
 
 ' cost so small as hardly to be credible. Different 
 makers have different modes of operation, but 
 the following will give a general idea of the 
 method employed. In the first place flat 
 pieces of steel are cut out, of the shape re- 
 quired, by a stamping-press ; they are then 
 placed under another press, which pierces the 
 holes and cuts the slits ; and they are struck 
 into their convex shape by a third press. They 
 are then polished and tempered. The polish- 
 ing is managed in rather a curious manner; 
 a quantity of pens are shut up in an iron 
 cylinder, leaving a considerable space un- 
 occupied ; this cylinder is attached at each 
 end to a crank, the axes of which are con- 
 nected by a wheel and set in motion by a 
 handle or by machinery. Thus by being 
 rubbed against each other the pens come out 
 well polished, and with all the burrs or sharp 
 angles left by the cutting-presses rubbed 
 smooth. Birmingham is the great seat of the 
 steel pen manufacture ; some of the manu- 
 facturers have fine manufacturing establish- 
 ments, and make several hundred millions of 
 pens annually. Mr. Albert Smith in his 
 " Month at Constantinople," gives us a curious 
 instance of the spread of English manu- 
 factures all over the world. At Constantinople 
 he saw a Turk, seated on the wall of a 
 cemetery, and exhibiting a tray of Birmingham 
 steel pens for sale. 
 
 Fountain pens are so made as to hold a 
 reservoir of ink. Music- pens are formed so as 
 to make large dots as well as strokes. The 
 geometric-pen is an ingenious mathematical 
 instrument for drawing curves. 
 
 PENCILS. The well-known black-lead pencil 
 is made by cutting black-lead, or plumbago, 
 into thin plates with a saw, and again into 
 strips as wide as the plate is thick. These 
 strips are then laid in a groove in a piece of 
 cedar, upon which is glued another and thinner 
 piece : the whole is afterwards rounded by a 
 plane adapted to that purpose. The finest 
 plumbago is obtained from a mine in Cum- 
 berland. [PLUMBAGO.] Some pencils are filled 
 with coloured chalk instead of black-lead. 
 
 The ever-pointed pencil is an instrument for 
 using cylindrical pieces of black-lead, which 
 are forced forward in the pencil just so far as 
 to allow them to be used without breaking. 
 The leads are manufactured of different thick- 
 nesses, and the pencil-cases are marked with 
 a letter to correspond with the lead required 
 for it. 
 
 The pencils for using liquid colours or 
 paints are of course wholly different from 
 those just described. They are made of hog's 
 bristles, camel's hair, fitch, sable, &c. Those 
 of a large and common kind are described 
 
 VOL, I. 
 
 under BRUSH MAKING. The soft pencils for 
 artists are made as follows : The tail of the 
 animal (sable, badger, marten, &c.) is scoured 
 in a solution of alum; then steeped for several 
 hours in luke-warm water ; then dried in linen 
 cloths ; and finally combed out regularly. The 
 hairs are seized with pincers, and cut off near 
 the skin; and the little parcels of hair are 
 sorted into groups according to their length. 
 A few hairs are then taken enough for one 
 pencil, and placed in a little receptacle which 
 holds them while a thread is bound round 
 near the roots. The base of the pencil is 
 them trimmed flat by scissors. The hairs 
 thus prepared are fitted either into quills or 
 into tin tubes. The quills are those of swans, 
 geese, ducks, lapwings, pigeons, or larks, ac- 
 cording to the size of the pencil. Each quill 
 is softened and swelled in hot water : and the 
 bunch of hairs is introduced at the larger end, 
 and pulled forward by a simple apparatus to / 
 the smaller end, where the shrinking of the 
 quill binds the hairs closely. The great art in 
 pencil making is so to arrange the hairs that 
 their ends may be made to converge to a fine 
 point when moistened and drawn between the 
 lips; and it is said that females are more 
 successful then men in preparing the small 
 and delicate pencils. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. This is one of the 
 most busy and commercial states of the 
 American Union. It abounds in minerals. 
 From the western declivity of the Alleghany 
 Mountains the bituminous coal-fields of Penn- 
 sylvania extend into Maryland and Virginia, 
 and occupy many thousands of square miles ; 
 this coal is mostly wrought in the neighbour- 
 hood of Pittsburg, where it is used for manu - 
 faaturing purposes. The anthracite coal-field, 
 which lies to the east of the Blue Hidge, is 
 also of great extent, and is wrought to some 
 extent. Iron -ore is in abundance, and lime- 
 stone occurs in all parts of the state. 
 
 The most important manufactures of Penn- 
 sylvania are those of iron. So far back even as 
 1840 there were 213 furnaces, which produced 
 98,395 tons of cast-iron, and 109 forges, &c., 
 which produced 87,244 tons of bar iron. There 
 were 235 woollen manufactories, 337 fulling- 
 mills, and 106 cotton manufactories. The 
 quantity of bituminous coal obtained was 
 11,620,054 bushels. Steam-engines are manu- 
 factured to a large amount, chiefly at Pitts- 
 burg ; and there are numerous other manu- 
 factures. The most important canal in 
 Pennsylvania extends from Philadelphia, in- 
 cluding a railroad of 37 miles, over the 
 Alleghany Mountains, to Pittsburg, 400 miles. 
 There are several other large canals and 
 numerous small ones. The railroads are still 
 
 II 
 
1323 
 
 PEPPEB. 
 
 PERSIA. 
 
 1324 
 
 more numerous; from Columbia to Phila- 
 delphia, 81 miles ; Philadelphia to Beading, 
 95 miles ; Tamaqua to Williamsport, 106 
 miles ; and many others. Pennsylvania is, in 
 short, one of the most enterprising of the 
 states ; and Pittsburg (the largest town next 
 to Philadelphia), is a great centre of manu- 
 factures. As to the monetary credit of the 
 State, in respect to loans and bonds, we have 
 nothing to do with it here. 
 
 PEPPEB. This powerful condiment is 
 obtained from an Asiatic plant called Piper 
 Nigrum. The best comes from Malabar ; the 
 worst from Java and Sumatra. The plant is 
 allowed to grow, trained to the stems of other 
 trees, for four years before the fruit can be 
 collected. The fruit or berries are gathered 
 when yet green, before they are perfectly ripe, 
 and are quickly dried on mats, by which they 
 turn black ; and this constitutes black pepper. 
 
 White pepper is the same fruit freed from 
 the outer rind; for this purpose the ripe 
 berries are steeped in water, which allows the 
 rind to be easily removed. 
 
 Black pepper contains a great variety of 
 proximate chemical principles; such as an 
 acid resin, a volatile oil, extractive matter, 
 gum, malic and tartaric acids, piperin, bas- 
 sorin, and several salts. The white pepper 
 has a less powerful odour and taste than the 
 black. The odour of pepper is attributed to 
 the volatile oil, and the pungent taste to the 
 resin. Pepper is used to some small ex- 
 tent in medicine, but much more as a stimu- 
 lant or condiment with food. Notwithstanding 
 the large consumption in Europe, the Chinese 
 are the great consumers ; for among them it 
 appears to hold a more important place than 
 among European nations. 
 
 Cayenne pepper is obtained from CAPSICUM. 
 
 The importation of pepper into the United 
 Kingdom during the last three years amounted 
 to the following quantities : 
 
 1848 8,125,545 Ibs. 
 
 1849 4,796,042 
 
 1850 8,082,518 
 
 The smallness of the import in 1849 is not 
 
 explained in the government tables. 
 
 PEBAMBULATOB, is an instrument for 
 measuring distances on roads. It consists 
 principally of a wheel upon which it runs, and 
 an index which shows the number of turns of 
 the wheel reduced into miles, furlongs, poles, 
 and yards. The carriage or stock, which is 
 divided in order to receive the wheel, is made 
 of wood, and is about three feet long. At one 
 end is a handle for the person who uses it, 
 and the other is furnished with sockets in 
 which the. axle of the wheels turns. Upon 
 the stock and just in front of the handle is 
 
 the dial-plate, with its two hands by which the 
 distance is registered. The wheel is 84 feet, 
 or pole, in circumference; and upon one 
 end of its axis is a small pinion, which works 
 into a similar pinion at the end of a rod pass- 
 ing up the stock or carriage to the works 
 beneath the dial -plate. Motion is commu- 
 nicated by means of this rod to a worm or 
 rnicrometer-screw, which turns once round for 
 each revolution of the carriage-wheel of the 
 perambulator. This worm works into a wheel 
 of 80 teeth, which is moved forward one 
 tooth for every pole, and carries a hand or 
 index, which makes one revolution for 40 poles 
 or one furlong. On the axis of this wheel is 
 a pinion of 8 teeth, which moves a wheel of 
 160 teeth. This last wheel carries another 
 hand, which makes one revolution for 80 of 
 the former, that is for ten miles. The move- 
 ments of the two index-hands thus shew the 
 miles and furlongs passed over. 
 
 There are other instruments for the same 
 or similar purposes, bearing different names, 
 as Waywiser and Odometer ; but the con- 
 struction of all of them is very similar. Way- 
 wlser is the name generally given to that 
 form of the instrument which is applied to a 
 carriage, in which, by a slight adaptation to one 
 of the wheels of the carriage, the instrument 
 is made to register the number of turns of 
 such wheel, in the same manner as the Per- 
 ambulator. 
 
 PEBCH, or POLE. This measure, though 
 now mostly used as a square measure (a 
 perch usually meaning a square perch, or a 
 square of a perch in length and breadth), was 
 originally a measure of length, arising out of 
 the custom of measuring small portions of 
 land by a staff or pole. A perch is the quarter 
 of a chain, and a square perch contains 30$ 
 square yards. 
 
 PEBCUSSION CAPS. [CAPS, PJSBOUS- 
 
 SION.] 
 
 PEBFUMEBY. The pomatums, essential 
 oils, distilled spirits, pastes, pastilles, essences, 
 &c., which make up the fragrant store of tho 
 perfumer, require different chemical processes 
 for their manufacture. Distilling in some 
 cases, infusion in others, decoction in a third, 
 pressure in a fourth, evaporation in a fifth, 
 and so on. The reader will find a few 
 details on these subjects under ESSENCE, OIL, 
 PASTILLE, POMATUM, &c. 
 
 PEBSIA. This ancient and celebrated 
 country is neither in industry nor commerce 
 so important as nature has fitted it to be. The 
 slothful despotism of an Asiatic country is a 
 sad bar to advancement. Agriculture is, how- 
 ever, well understood and carefully attended 
 to, as is evident from the means of irrigation 
 
1825 
 
 PEESIA. 
 
 PERU* 
 
 1326 
 
 employed, and especially the subterraneou 
 aqueducts. Rice, wheat, and harley are th 
 most usual crops; but there are also mille 
 maize, tel, or sesamum, dal, a species of vetcl 
 and several kinds of beans and peas. Cotton 
 indigo, sugar, tobacco, and madder, are raise 
 in many places, but especially in Mazanderan 
 Fruit trees and garden vegetables are cult: 
 vated in great plenty. 
 
 Iron is abundant in many places, but it i 
 not much worked. Lead, copper, antimonj 
 rock-salt, and bitumen, are among the minera 
 products of the country. 
 
 Among the commercial towns of Persia 
 Tabriz has fallen from its once flourishin 
 condition. Kermanshah carries on a consi 
 derable commerce. Dorak is celebrated fo 
 its manufacture of Arabian cloaks. At Shustei 
 there is a considerable manufacture of woollen 
 stuffs. Shiraz carries on a considerable trade 
 with Yezd, Ispahan, and Bushire ; and has 
 manufactures of cotton, glass, iron, gunpowder 
 swords, and wine. It is also distinguishe 
 for the otto of roses procured from the rose 
 gardens in the neighbourhood. Lar in Laris 
 tan, is celebrated for the manufacture o: 
 swords, muskets, and cotton cloth. The bazar 
 is the noblest structure of that kind in Persia 
 At Kerman trade and manufactures are con- 
 siderable. The bazar, which is extensive and 
 well built, is abundantly supplied with articles 
 of every description ; and there are nine large 
 caravanserais within the walls, and a number 
 of inferior ones both within and without. 
 Herat and Mushed are among the most com- 
 mercial towns of Persia. Near Nishapoor are 
 the famous turquoise mines. Yezd is re- 
 markable as a commercial and manufacturing 
 town. Its commercial importance arises from 
 the caravan routes, which here cross one 
 another, and thus connect it with all parts of 
 Asia. 
 
 The manufactures of Persia, though not 
 adequate to so large an Empire, are still 
 numerous and of various kinds. In the manu- 
 facture of some articles the Persians are still 
 distinguished, as in several kinds of silk stuffs, 
 especially brocades, and sword-blades, leather, 
 carpets, felt of camel-hair, and jewellery. No 
 machinery being used in the Persian manu- 
 factures, the cotton and silk goods introduced 
 by the British have obtained a ready sale 
 owing to their cheapness. 
 
 The internal commerce of Persia is very 
 considerable, though managed in a slow and 
 clumsy manner. The different regions which 
 compose this extensive empire differ consider- 
 ably in their natural productions, and the 
 transport alone of commodities gives occu- 
 pation to a great number of merchants and 
 
 other people. To this must be added the 
 produce of the manufactures, and the numer- 
 ous articles which are brought into Persia 
 from the neighbouring countries, especially 
 from India, and are distributed all over the 
 country. This commerce is entirely carried 
 on by caravans ; which usually comprise a 
 very large number of persons and animals of 
 burden, and have regular denned routes across 
 the empire in various directions. 
 
 So completely is Persia shut out from direct 
 intercourse with European countries, that the 
 export of British commodities to that country 
 is extremely trifling; it is only through in- 
 direct channels that commercial intercourse 
 is maintained between the two countries. 
 
 PERSPECTIVE is the name given to the 
 branch of art in which the rules for correct 
 drawing are laid down. It is usually divided 
 into Linear Perspective, in which form and 
 outline alone are considered ; and Aerial Per- 
 spective, in which the effects of the atmosphere, 
 &c., on distinctness are considered. But what 
 is commonly meant by the word is that which 
 appertains to linear perspective. The rules 
 of perspective exhibit a curious combination 
 of principles derived from the science of 
 optics, with others depending on pictorial or 
 artistic principles. 
 
 PERTHSHIRE. In this Scottish county 
 he -plantations have been much extended of 
 ate years, and many districts have been co- 
 hered with them. Oak, ash, birch, beech, elm, 
 ime, alder, plane, and larch trees, are planted, 
 hough not so extensively as the fir tribe. The 
 most valuable tract is the Carse of Gowrie, the 
 district watered by the Isla and its tributaries 
 he Ericht and the Airdle, and comprehending 
 a portion both of Forfarshire and Perthshire. 
 The Carse of Gowrie, Stratheam, and the 
 valleys of the Teith and the Forth, yield good 
 rops of wheat ; but in the midland districts 
 >ats and barley are the principal grain crops, 
 turnip cultivation is carried on to a con- 
 iderable extent. The chief article of agricul- 
 ural produce is, however, the potato, of which 
 great quantities are yearly shipped for London. 
 
 The cotton and linen manufactures are very 
 xtensively carried on in this county : Stanley 
 is the principal seat of the one, Dundee of 
 ic other, Woollens and silks are also woven, 
 he latter at Perth. It was the cheapness of 
 abour which led to the establishment of the 
 otton manufacture in this part of Scotland; 
 r it is not so well suited as the Glasgow 
 istrict, in respect either to the supply of coal 
 r to convenience of shipment, to a manufac- 
 ure on the factory system. 
 
 PERU. In this once celebrated and still 
 interesting country the forests supply, besides 
 
1327 
 
 PERUVIAN BARK. 
 
 PHILIPPINES. 
 
 1328 
 
 timber, vanilla, sarsaparilla, copaiva, caout- 
 chouc, dye-woods, medicinal bark, resins and 
 gums, indigo, and a number of otber useful 
 products. The cultivated lands yield, accord- 
 ing to their latitude and elevation, olives 
 sugar, bananas, yams, mandioc, grain, and 
 many other useful plants. 
 
 The Peruvian Indians consume a very small 
 quantity of European manufactured articles. 
 Only the Creoles dress in European stuflfe. 
 There are some manufactures of cordovan 
 leather, and some tanneries and soap-houses. 
 The iron utensils, such as hatchets, scissors, 
 <fec., made in Caxamarca, are highly valued. 
 In the large towns many persons are occupied 
 with making vessels, utensils, and ornaments 
 of gold and silver, The country is too moun- 
 tainous to admit the making of carriage-roads 
 in the interior. Mules and llamas are gene- 
 rally used by travellers and for the transport 
 of merchandise. Six great roads traverse the 
 country from west to east ; and the goods im- 
 ported from foreign countries are sent by 
 these roads into the interior of Peru. The 
 goods exported are chiefly gold, sugar, and 
 saltpetre. The principal harbours from which 
 the exports are made, are Payta, Lambay- 
 eque, Callao, Pisco, Islay, Arica, and Yqnique. 
 Peru is beginning to share the advantage of 
 steam navigation on the Pacific. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures ex- 
 ported to Peru in 1849 amounted in value to 
 8?8,251/. The imports from Peru into Great 
 Britain amounted in the same year to (official 
 value) 1,037,0037. 
 
 PERUVIAN BARK. [CINCHONA.] 
 
 PESTH. This, the greatest city in Hun- 
 gary, has considerable industrial and com- 
 mercial activity. The manufactures are silk, 
 cotton, leather, jewellery, and musical instru- 
 ments ; that of tobacco is a government mono- 
 poly. Pesth has, next to Vienna, the greatest 
 trade of any city on the Danube. It has four 
 fairs, each of which lasts a fortnight. The 
 principal articles sold are manufactures, co- 
 lonial produce, cattle, wine, wool, tobacco, and 
 raw hides, honey, wax, &c. The disasters of 
 this interesting city during the lamentable 
 war of 1848- -9 form no part of our present 
 subject. The relations between Pesth and its 
 Sister town are noticed elsewhere. [BuDA.] 
 
 PETERSBURGH,ST. This celebrated city 
 is not only the capital but the greatest manufac- 
 turing city of the Russian empire. There are 
 above two hundred manufactories of different 
 descriptions, some carried on by private indi- 
 viduals, of silk, cotton, woollen, leather, glass, 
 gold and silver articles, watches, surgical in- 
 struments, paper, snuff and tobacco, sugar, 
 <Xrc. There arc others which the government 
 
 has considered it advisable to carry on upon its 
 own account ; such are the great manufactory 
 of tapestry, a large manufactory of aqua fortis, 
 an assay-office and a mint, a plate-glass manu- 
 factory, a porcelain manufactory, a great manu- 
 factory of cotton and linen, and a camion- 
 foundry and powder-mills. 
 
 The commerce of St. Petersburgh is very 
 considerable. Cronstadt is the harbour. The 
 exports are hemp, flax, tallow, leather, iron, 
 tobacco, canvas, coarse linen, bees'-wax, lin- 
 seed, linseed-oil, tar, potash, &c. The imports 
 are colonial produce of all kinds, manufactures 
 of silk, cotton, hardware, French wines, jewel- 
 lery, and all articles of luxury and fashion. 
 The trade with England is greater than with 
 any other country. A few industrial statistics 
 will be found under RUSSIA. 
 
 PETRO'LEUM is a viscid variety of bitu- 
 men, found in many parts of Europe and 
 America, but chiefly in Asia, flowing from beds 
 associated with coal strata. It has a dark 
 reddish-brown colour ; it is slightly translu- 
 cent, and its odour is bituminous. When 
 petroleum is heated to nearly 450, drops of 
 an oily fluid come over, though very slowly ; 
 this oily body has a brown colour, and is very 
 liquid. Petrolcne is the name given by Bous- 
 singault to this oil ; it has a pale yellow colour, 
 slight taste, and a bituminous smell. Asphal- 
 tcnc is the solid portion of petroleum. Its 
 colour is black, and it has a great deal of 
 lustre. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, 
 and is heavier than water. There is an inti- 
 mate chemical relation between petroleum and 
 several other inflammable substances. [Ag- 
 PHALTE ; BITUMEN ; NAPHTHA.] 
 
 PETUNTZE is the Chinese name for a 
 white earth used with kaolin in the manufac- 
 ture of porcelain. Kaolin is said to be de- 
 rived from the decomposition of the felspar of 
 granitic rocks. Petuntze is the same mineral 
 which has not suffered decomposition, and on 
 account of its fusibility is employed in gla/ing 
 the porcelain. The English manufacturers of 
 porcelain have sought for and found certain 
 varieties of stone and clay which greatly re- 
 semble petuntze and kaolin. 
 
 PEWTER is a compound metal, extensively 
 employed, especially in the manufacture of 
 those drinking vessels called pewter pots. The 
 finest pewter is said to consist of 12 parts of 
 tin, 1 part of antimony, and a very little 
 copper ; while common pewter consists of 
 about 80 parts of tin and 20 of lead. Pc\v(.-r 
 was formerly much more employed that at 
 present, especially in the manufacture of plates 
 and dishes. 
 
 PHILIPPINES. These islands, among 
 the most important in the Indian seas, are 
 
1329 
 
 PHLOGISTON. 
 
 PHOSPHORUS. 
 
 1880 
 
 rich both in produce and in commerce. The 
 staple articles for the European market are 
 sugar, indigo, rum, and tobacco ; and for the 
 Chinese market, sapan-wood, rice, edible birds' 
 nests, andtrepang. A small quantity of coffee, 
 ebony, sulphur, cotton, pearls, mother-of pearl 
 shells, tortoise shells, and cordage, are also 
 exported. Cordage is made from the fibres of 
 a species of banana. The principal food of 
 the inhabitants consists of rice and fish. They 
 also cultivate millet, and several kinds of beans 
 and other pulse. The fruit-trees include the 
 cocoa-nut, bread-fruit, mango, orange, fig, 
 areca-nut, and plantain. Gold, iron, and cop- 
 per, are said to exist in Luzon and Magin- 
 danao, but at present none of these metals are 
 worked. Salt and brimstone are procured in 
 several places. 
 
 The Malays use veiy few manufactured 
 goods exported from other countries, and they 
 have applied themselves to some branches of 
 manufacture with success, including earthen- 
 ware, cotton stuffs, straw and chip hats, mats, 
 and especially cigars and cheroots. 
 
 The commerce of the Philippines was for- 
 merly limited to the mother country and the 
 Spanish colonies in America. The most im- 
 portant and lucrative branch was the com- 
 merce with Mexico, which was conducted by 
 means of galleons that sailed once a year 
 between Acapulco, in Mexico, and Manila, in 
 the Philippines. They chiefly carried to Ame- 
 rica silk manufactures, and other goods, ob- 
 tained from the Chinese, and brought in return 
 the produce of the Mexican silver-mines. But 
 since the Spanish colonies in America have ob- 
 tained their independence, the port of Manila 
 has been thrown open to all commercial 
 nations, and the increase of the exports has 
 been very rapid. Manila now carries on com- 
 merce with a great number of nations. The 
 value of British merchandise exported to the 
 Philippines averages about 100,000^. annually. 
 
 PHLOGISTON, Before the agency of 
 oxygen in leading to the phenomena of com- 
 bustion and flame was discovered, the name of 
 phlogiston was given to an hypothetical sub- 
 stance, by supposing the existence of which 
 Stahl explained the nature of combustion. 
 He imagined that by combination with phlo- 
 giston a body was rendered combustible, and 
 that its disengagement occasioned combustion, 
 and after its evolution there remained either 
 an acid or an earth : thus sulphur was by this 
 theory supposed to be composed of phlogiston 
 and sulphuric acid ; and lead, of the calx of 
 lead and phlogiston, &c. The doctrine pro- 
 posed by Stahl maintained its ground for 
 about half a century. Soon after the dis- 
 covery of oxygen gas by Dr. Priestley, the 
 
 experiments which others had made on the 
 calcination of the metals were repeated with 
 great accuracy by Lavoisier ; the consequence 
 was, that the phlogistic theory gave way to the 
 antiphlogistic ; for the combustion, which had 
 been attributed to the extrication of phlogis- 
 ton, was known in all common cases to be 
 derived from the absorption of oxygen, and 
 tin's explained the increase of weight which 
 bodies acquired by combustion, whereas on 
 the phlogistic theory they ought to have suf- 
 fered a diminution by the process. 
 
 PHCENIX OE DATE TREE. The date 
 tree (Phoenix dactyl if era) is one of the most 
 valuable among eastern plants. A consi- 
 derable part of the inhabitants of Egypt, 
 Arabia, and Persia subsist almost entirely on 
 its fruit. They make a conserve of it with 
 sugar, and even grind the hard stones in their 
 hand-mills for their camels. In Barbary they 
 form handsome beads for paternosters of 
 these stones. From the leaves they make 
 couches, baskets, bags, mats, brashes, and 
 fly-traps ; the trunk is split and used in small 
 buildings, also for fences to gardens, and the 
 stalks of the leaves for making cages for their 
 poultry. The threads of the web-like integu- 
 ment at the bases of the leaves are twisted 
 into ropes, which are employed in rigging 
 small vessels. The sap is obtained by cutting 
 off the head of the palm and scooping out a 
 hollow in the top of the stem, where, in as- 
 cending, it lodges itself. Three or four quarts 
 of sap may be obtained daily from a single 
 palm, for ten days or a fortnight, after which 
 the quantity lessens, until at the end of six 
 weeks or two months, the stem is exhausted, 
 becomes dry, and is used for firewood. This 
 liquor is sweetish when first collected, and may 
 be drunk as a mild beverage, but fermentation 
 soon takes place, and a spirit is produced, 
 which is distilled, and forms one of the kinds 
 of arrack. Such being the importance and 
 various uses of the date-tree, it is not sur- 
 prising that in an arid and barren country it- 
 should form so prominent a subject of allusion 
 and description in the works of Arab authors, 
 and that it should be said to have 300 names 
 in their language. Many of these are, how- 
 ever, applied to different parts of the plant, as 
 well as to plants of different ages. 
 
 Another kind, called the Phoenix sijlvestrif. 
 is a species common in the arid parts of India. 
 It yields, by incision, tarri, or palm wine, com- 
 monly called toddy. Mats and baskets are 
 made of the leaves. Sugar is made from this 
 species. 
 
 PHOSPHORUS. This elementary body 
 was discovered in IfiGO, by Brandt, an al- 
 chemist of Hamburg. It is contained in many 
 
1331 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHY. 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHY 
 
 1332 
 
 substances of animal origin, "but it is usually 
 procured from bones. Phosphorus is solid, 
 translucent, and nearly colourless, but some- 
 times it has a yellow reddish tint ; it is so soft 
 that it may be indented by the nail, and it is 
 very readily cut. When heated to about 108 
 it fuses, and at 550 it is converted into vapour. 
 It has a peculiar smell when exposed to the 
 air, but this is probably derived from the action 
 of the oxygen of the air upon it. Neither 
 water nor alchohol dissolves phosphorus, but 
 it is dissolved by cether and by oils. It emits 
 light when exposed to the air in the dark. It 
 is extremely inflammable, and has been known 
 to take fire spontaneously in the atmosphere 
 when its temperature was not above 60. 
 
 Phosphorus combines with a great many 
 other substances, to form oxides, acids, phos- 
 phurets, salts, &c. ; several of which are useful 
 in the arts and in medicine. 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHY. Photographic pictures 
 are facsimile representations of objects, pro- 
 duced by the chemical action of light on a 
 prepared tablet, upon which the images of the 
 objects are thrown by a camera-obscura. Such 
 a process has been named after its inventor 
 the Daguerreotype; but other methods have 
 received the names of Calotype, Talbotype, 
 Chrysotype, &c. The process generally may 
 be termed photography (light-drawing), or 
 heliography (sun-drawing). The invention 
 was first formally communicated to the public 
 by M. Arago, who read an account of the Da- 
 guerreotype process before the Academy of 
 Sciences, January 7, 1839. From that mo- 
 ment Daguerre fwho was afterwards rewarded 
 by a pension by the government) and his in- 
 vention engrossed general attention. The dis- 
 covery was spoken of as little short of mira- 
 culous ; and though it does not realise all the 
 sanguine hopes of its early inventors, the 
 invention is unquestionably highly valuable, 
 because it not only ensures perfect fidelity of 
 likeness where it is most essential, and where 
 it is hardly attainable by the most practised 
 and patient hand and eye, but also gives us 
 the minutest details those which are imper- 
 ceptible to the naked eye, and of course cannot 
 possibly be represented upon paper, yet be- 
 come visible in a photographic drawing when 
 it is examined with a magnifying-glass. 
 
 In Daguerre's original process, the photo- 
 graphic drawings were produced upon plates 
 of copper coated over with silver. After being 
 washed with a solution of nitric acid, the plate 
 was put into a well-closed box, where it was 
 exposed to the action of iodine, a small quan- 
 tity of the latter being placed at the bottom of 
 the box with a thin gauze between it and the 
 plate. A layer of ioduret of silver was thus 
 
 formed on the surface of the plate, and mani- 
 fested itself by the yellow hue produced on 
 the silver, which shows that the process of 
 giving the plate the sensitive coating on which 
 the action of light delineates objects is com- 
 pleted. Thus prepared, the plate was next 
 placed within a camera-obscura of particular 
 construction ; and the delineation of the object 
 was then effected in a very short space of 
 time, but had to be afterwards brought out 
 and rendered distinct by another operation, 
 namely, submitting the plate to the action of 
 vapour of mercury. Even then the process 
 was not completed, for the plate had to be 
 plunged into a solution of hyposulphate of 
 soda, and afterwards washed in distilled water, 
 which being done, the impression was fixed, 
 and the plate could be exposed to light with 
 perfect safety. 
 
 Mr. Fox Talbot, and other experimenters, 
 were engaged upon somewhat similar re- 
 searches about the same time as M. Daguerre ; 
 and within the last twelve years numerous im- 
 provements have been introduced by Herschel, 
 Talbot, Hunt, Claudet, Beard, Kilburn, and 
 others. 
 
 By the experiments of these individuals 
 much has been done to render Daguerreotype 
 portraits more pleasing, by improved manage- 
 ment of the light, and by placing behind the 
 sitters painted screens, to relieve the head, 
 and to form artificial backgrounds. One of 
 the greatest difficulties in the original process 
 arose from the circumstance, that, as the image 
 produced in the camera-obscura was totally 
 invisible until brought out by a subsequent 
 exposure to the vapour of mercury, it was im- 
 possible to tell precisely at what moment the 
 action of the light should be stopped, to avoid, 
 on the one hand, an image imperfectly de- 
 veloped, and, on the other, the misty unde- 
 fined appearance occasioned by the unavoid- 
 able motion of the object to be copied ( when- 
 ever it is an animate object), and the dis- 
 oloured or burnt appearance of an image 
 which has been exposed too long to the che- 
 mical action of light. This inconvenience has 
 been remedied by many ingenious devices. 
 One important class of improvements has 
 reference to the means of fixing and securing 
 from injury by the subsequent action of light 
 or other means, the Daguerreotype image. 
 Considerable progress has been made towards 
 transferring the colours of natural objects to 
 the Daguerreotypes ; but in the ordinary co- 
 loured Daguerreotypes, some of which make 
 a tolerably near approach to the effect which 
 might be expected if colours could be fixed in 
 the camera obscura, the tinting is produced by 
 the application of finely powdered colours to 
 
1333 
 
 PHOTOMETER. 
 
 PIANO-FORTE. 
 
 1334 
 
 the surface of the photographic impression, 
 which is previously coated with an alcoholic 
 solution of copal, and nearly dried ; so that 
 the colouring, which is so delicately performed 
 as not to impair the distinctness of the im- 
 pression, is not in any degree the result of the 
 action of light. 
 
 Most of the numerous patented or proposed 
 improvements in the art depend chiefly on the 
 mode of producing the pictures. The Chro- 
 matype, Chrysotype, Calotype, Cyanotype, Am- 
 phitype, and Ferrotype, all are so many modes 
 of producing and fixing the impressions. 
 Some of the improvements, however, relate to 
 the mechanism of the camera-obscura,in which 
 the sensitive surface is placed. See further on 
 this point under AMPHITYPE ; CALOTYPE ; 
 CHKOMATYPE. 
 
 Mr. Brunei has lately registered an appa- 
 ratus called a Photographotrope, comprising all 
 the necessary materials for taking and fixing 
 a photographic picture, packed up so as to 
 stand upon a tripod or simple support. There 
 is at the top of the apparatus a camera for 
 producing the focal image of the object ; and 
 there are the proper means for impressing this 
 image upon a metal plate. Below this is a 
 spirit lamp in a tube, and a recess in which 
 the plate is to be placed to be acted on by 
 heated mercurial vapour. Below this again, 
 is a small galvanic battery, which expedites 
 the photographic prqcess. 
 
 PHOTOMETER is the name given to in- 
 struments constructed for the purpose of 
 measuring the relative illuminating powers of 
 different sources of light. Photometers have 
 been constructed by Professor Leslie, and by 
 Mr. Ritchie, late professor of natural philo- 
 sophy in London University College; but a 
 mode of comparing the illuminating powers of 
 two lights was suggested by Count Rumford, 
 which is remarkable for the facility with which 
 it may be applied, and the simplicity of the 
 requisite apparatus, nothing more being needed 
 than a smooth surface of small extent and of 
 a light uniform colour, and a blackened stick 
 for throwing a shadow. The surface is illu- 
 minated by the two lights experimented upon, 
 which are to be so placed, that when the stick 
 is interposed between them and the surface, 
 the two shadows may be nearly in contact, 
 which will enable the eye to decide whether 
 they are of equal depth, and will at the same 
 time ensure the intercepting of rays equally 
 inclined to the surface. So long as the 
 shadows are of unequal depth, one of the 
 lights must be brought nearer to or retired 
 farther from the surface till an equality of 
 depth is obtained, and then the squares of the 
 perpendicular distances of the lights from the 
 
 surface give the ratio of their intensities. If 
 an equality between the inclinations of the 
 intercepted rays to the surface cannot be 
 obtained, then, when the two shadows are of 
 the same depth, the intensities of the lights 
 will be directly proportional to the squares of 
 their perpendicular distances from the surface, 
 and inversely proportional to the sines of the 
 inclinations of the intercepted rays to the 
 surface. This method is theoretically perfect 
 when applied to lights of the same colour. 
 
 PIANO-FORTE. This musical instrument 
 is variously formed, and receives different 
 designations, such as grand, square, semi- 
 grand, cabinet, cottage, and piccolo. The first 
 notion of the square piano forte was taken 
 from the clavichord by a German mechanic of 
 the name of Viator, about a hundred years 
 ago ; but, for want of friends or funds, he 
 never became known as a maker. The in- 
 vention, however, was followed up by other 
 musical instrument makers of the same nation, 
 who all left their clavichords and harpsichords 
 for the new instrument, the piano forte. The 
 grand piano-forte is supposed to be of earlier 
 date than the square piano-forte, and is said 
 to have been the invention of a German mu- 
 sician of the name of Schroder, or, as others 
 say, of Christofali, a harpsichord-maker of 
 Padua. The first maker at all known in this 
 country was a German of the name of Backers, 
 but we are not aware that success attended his 
 exertions in comparison with the solid ad- 
 vantages which were enjoyed by his contem- 
 porary, Zumpe, who realised an ample fortune, 
 and retired. 
 
 The grand piano-forte retains the shape of 
 the instrument from which it was taken, the 
 harpsichord. Here we have two instruments 
 alike in form, but unlike in almost every other 
 circumstance ; for their action, their tones, and 
 the style in which they are played upon, are all 
 entirely different. The action of the harpsi- 
 chord was simply a key and what was called a 
 jack, which was a piece of pear-tree with a 
 small moveable tongue of holly, through which 
 a cutting of crow-quill was passed to touch 
 the string when the jack was in action ; the 
 tone produced by this contrivance was a kind 
 of scratch with a sound at the end of it. The 
 action of a grand piano forte consisted of a 
 key, a lever, a hammer, a button, a check, and a 
 damper, with rails and sockets to connect them. 
 By this combination of parts, every musical 
 effect known or desired at that time was per- 
 fectly attainable, and with admirable results 
 by Mozart, Haydn, Cramer, and others. But 
 modern music requires greater powers in the 
 instruments ; and for the last half century, 
 the Broadwaods, Erards, Collards, and other 
 
1-305 
 
 PIANO-FORTE. 
 
 PIER. 
 
 133C 
 
 celebrated makers, have introduced a succes- 
 sion of singular and most delicate contrivances, 
 to give all possible perfection to the tones and 
 the means of their production. 
 
 The square piano-forte was taken from the 
 clavichord, but it retains only its shape, with 
 
 wira throughout with about an octave in the 
 bass closely lapped with unplated copper wire. 
 The strings which are now used in piano- 
 fortes are considerably larger than those 
 which were formerly used ; the advantages of 
 which are durability and firmness. Almost all 
 
 the same disposition of the strings and keys: the wire employed for this purpose in England 
 their actions have no similarity, It may be is made by one firm near Birmingham ; it re- 
 necessary to state that the * action' of a piano- quires especial care in the manufacture. Stops 
 forte is the technical name for the whole of and pedals are used in various degrees in piano- 
 the mechanism which intervenes between the fortes; the stops are moved by hand, to alter 
 pressure on the key and the striking of the the position of the dampers used against thr 
 string. The action of the clavichord was strings; the pedals are moved by the i'eet for 
 simply a piece of brass pin-wiro, which was an analogous purpose, 
 
 placed vertically at a point where it could be The upright piano-forte was, doubtless, 
 struck or pressed against its proper string, taken from the upright harpsichord ; it was 
 the right-hand division of which was free to invented by Mr. Hancock. The next novelty 
 vibrate, whilst the left-hand was muffled by a was the invention of Mr. Hawkins, who con- 
 piece of cloth, the object of which was to damp structed an upright instrument with a de- 
 or stop tha string, which it did the instant the tached sound -board in an iron frame, and the 
 finger was taken off the key. The touch of whole was so arranged as to be able to meet 
 the clavichord was peculiar, partaking both of the atmosphere with compensating powers. In 
 the harpsichord and the organ ; in other words, the bass, it had spiral or helical strings, by 
 both struck and pressed, and the pressure could which length was gained ; and, in the treble, 
 be so varied as to produce a kind of tremblant three octaves of equal tension were accom- 
 effect. The tones were feeble, soft, and me- plished by a uniform size of wire. The cabinet 
 lancholy, and better suited to the student, the piano-forte and the piccolo piano-forte were 
 composer, or the solitary, than any purposes two other forms in which the strings were 
 of social amusement. placed vertically : the minor changes in these 
 
 The action of the square piano forte, on its two varieties have been very numerous, 
 first introduction, consisted of a key, a lifter, A laudable attempt has been made within the 
 a hammer, and a damper. The key was the last year or two to construct piano-fortes which, 
 same as that of the clavichord. The lifter was while well made and of good tune, shall bo 
 n brass wire, with a piece of hide leather as a comparatively cheap on account of being made 
 head, which was covered with a piece of soft of plain materials. No efforts, however, can 
 leather as a finish. This lifter, when in make this a cheap instrument ; the mechanism 
 motion, struck the hammer against the string, is too intricate and delicate for us to hope to 
 and thus produced the tone of the instrument, realise piano-fortes for the million," so far 
 The damper followed the performer, and stop- as price is concerned. 
 
 ped the vibrations as quickly as the finger was PIAZZA. Although in the Italian language 
 removed from the key. The tone of this piano- a piazza signifies merely an open place, it is 
 forte was thin and wiry, the hammer having employed by us to denote a covered ambula- 
 only one slight covering of sheep-skin leather tory, whether formed by columns or arches, in 
 upon it. The subsequent improvements in the the lower part of a building ; such cloistered 
 square piano-forte down to the present day walks being very common in the piazze, or 
 have consisted chiefly in the application of public squares, of Italian cities, as that of 
 sundry small pieces of mechanism, called the St. Mark's at Venice, <tc. 
 hopper, the wider-hammer, and the clwck, to PIE 11, is the general name for the solid 
 improve the tone. spaces between a series of openings in a wall, 
 
 Some piano-fortes have seven octaves; but whether windows or arches ; but in its tech- 
 the usual number in the best instruments in nioal meaning the term is more particularly 
 six and a-half ; in others six, or five and a applied to the pillar -like masses of masonry 
 half. The strings of the early piano-fortes or brickwork from which arches spring, rising 
 were partly of steel and partly of brass, the from the impost capping the pier, and which 
 treble notes of steel, and the lower notes of generally consists of a series of mouldings, 
 brass ; a few of which, in the bass, were over- although sometimes it is merely a plat-band, 
 lapped or covered, rather open, with plated and occasionally the impost is omitted alto- 
 copper wh-e, to give them more gravity, ac- gether, especially in rusticated basements. In 
 cording to the length attainable in the instru- many instances columns are substituted for 
 ment. But modern piano-fortes have steel | piers, placed either singly or in "pairs ! 
 
 and 
 
1337 
 
 PIGS. 
 
 the arches spring either immediately from 
 their capitals or from an entablature over 
 them. There are again many examples in 
 which both piers and a lesser order or sub- 
 order of columns are employed, the latter be- 
 ing insulated on each side of the pier, and 
 their entablature forming the impost from 
 which the arches spring. 
 
 The term pier is also applied to the solid 
 masses supporting the arches of a bridge ; 
 with the exception of the extreme ones, which 
 are distinguished by the name of abutments. 
 The term is also applied to a mole or jetty 
 carried out into the sea, whether intended to 
 serve as an embankment to protect vessels 
 from the open sea, or merely as a landing- 
 place ; for which latter purpose suspension 
 chain-bridges are now frequently employed. 
 
 PIGS. The commercial value of swine is 
 very considerable ; for besides the flesh con- 
 sidered as an article of food, the skin, the 
 bristles, and other parts of the animal are ap- 
 plied to many useful purposes. In ' Frazer's 
 Magazine' for October, 1850, is given a lively 
 account of the traffic which these animals oc- 
 casion in one of the newly-formed cities of 
 the United States ; the paper has the usual 
 rattling tone of a Magazine article ; but there 
 is internal evidence that the statements are 
 trustworthy respecting the varied purposes to 
 which the slaughtered animals can be applied, 
 in a district where the supply is abundant. 
 
 That Ireland depends greatly on pigs ' to 
 pay the rent ' is well known. A very large 
 proportion of the pigs reared in Ireland find 
 their way either alive or cured into the Eng- 
 lish market. This transit has increased to an 
 astonishing extent since the Union. In 1801 
 there were only 3000 pigs sent from Ireland 
 to England; in 1805 it was 6383; in 1813 it 
 was 14,521 ; in 1821 it was 104,501, In this 
 last named year steam navigation began to 
 tell in the matter, by lessening the expense 
 of freight. By the year 1837 the number rose 
 to 700,000. It is difficult now to form a judg- 
 ment of the number, for the trade between 
 the two countries is in most cases assimilated 
 to a coasting trade. The small farmers of Ire- 
 land mostly sell their pigs to jobbers or dealers 
 who go round the country, and who either 
 drive the pigs at once to the shipping ports, or 
 sell them to third parties who fatten, slaughter 
 and cure the pigs for the bacon market. The 
 year 1847 was not a good year for taking any 
 averages in Ireland ; but in that year it was 
 
 PILE ENGINE. 
 
 The swine and hogs imported into Great 
 Britain from foreign countries in the last three 
 years were :r- 
 
 Year. No. Imported. 
 
 1848 2,119 
 
 1849 S,653 
 
 3850 7,287 
 
 In fact, we are almost exclusively dependent 
 on Ireland for such of our pigs, pork, and ba- 
 con as is not the produce of our own island. 
 
 The pigs sold at Smithfield yearly average 
 about 40,000 5 the selling price presenting a 
 usual average of about 30s. The dead pigs 
 sold in Newgate Market annually give an 
 aggregate weight of about 110,000 to 120,000 
 stone of 8 Ibs., besides 15,OQO sucking pigs. 
 At Leadenhall Market the weight amounts to 
 the large quantity of 500,000 stone. The 
 Leadenhall butchers also slaughter about 
 30,000 pigs annually. 
 
 PILE ENGINE is a machine by which a 
 heavy mass of iron is raised to a considerable 
 height in the air; the mass being then allowed 
 to fall by gravity on the head of a pile, the 
 momentum acquired by the descent forces the 
 pile into the ground. 
 
 Such an engine is employed in driving piles 
 for the support qf the sleepers or horizontal 
 timbers on which are built the piers of bridges, 
 the revetments of the ramparts of fortresses, 
 or any other heavy mass of brick-work or 
 stone-work when the soil is not sufficiently 
 firm to carry the structure. Piles ai'e also 
 thus driven in order to form cofferdams in 
 rivers, preparatory to the construction of piers, 
 or the faces of quays, basins, &c, 
 
 The most important improvement in pile- 
 engines is the steam-hammer of Mr. Nasmyth. 
 The principle of this most powerful instrument 
 consists in having a small steam engine so 
 connected with the ram or hammer, that after 
 the latter has fallen by its own gravity, it is 
 raised again by the action of steam. The 
 saving of the time by the use of this machine 
 is very great, and the invention is one of sin- 
 gular importance in engineering. It is appli- 
 cable to tho forging of anchors, and other 
 works, whpre powerful blows are to be given. 
 
 A very remarkable principle has been intro- 
 duced within the last few years in pile-driving ; 
 it was invented by Dr. Potts, and has been 
 extensively applied by Steplienspn, Brunei, 
 and other engineers. In the ordinary process 
 the povver is applied to the pile ; but in Potts' 
 method the power is applied to the ground 
 
 found there were, living in all the farms of j itself. The pile is hollow, and is placed per- 
 Ireland, 022,459 pigs. Pigs are plentiful in pendicularly over the spot where it is tp be 
 Ireland in good years ; and it was well ascer- 1 sunk ; it is made air-tight on tho top },y fix. 
 tained that the number in tho calamitous 1847 ' ing a cast iron plate upon it, A tube passes 
 was far below the average. ' through this plate or cover, and connects the 
 
1339 
 
 PIMENTO. 
 
 PIN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1340 
 
 hollow of the pile with an air-pump. When 
 the air is drawn out of the hollow centre, the 
 sand or gravel is sucked up into it, by atmos- 
 pheric pressure, and the metallic pile is facili- 
 tated in its descent. In some cases this ope- 
 ration has been conducted on an enormous 
 scale. A bridge has lately been built by 
 Messrs. Fox and Henderson over the Shannon 
 for one of the Irish railways. It is supported 
 on Dr. Potts' hollow piles. Each pile is ten 
 feet hi diameter ; and these enormous masses 
 were sunk into a clay soil with astonishing 
 rapidity, by withdrawing the air from the in- 
 terior of the pile. 
 
 PIMENTO, is the produce of Eugenia Pi- 
 menta, a tree native of the West Indies, but 
 cultivated almost exclusively in Jamaica, 
 thence called Jamaica Pepper, The unripe 
 two-seeded berries, which are about the size of 
 a pea, are dried by frequent turning in the 
 sun, by which their colour is changed from 
 green to brown or grayish-brown. The shell 
 is very brittle, about the thickness of a card, 
 and encloses two seeds, which are roundish, 
 dark brown, somewhat shining, and having a 
 weak aromatic taste. The shell possesses an 
 agreeable clove-like taste and smell. Two 
 kinds are met with in commerce, English and 
 Spanish, of which the former is the better. 
 About 20,000 cwts. of Pimento are imported 
 yearly. 
 
 PIN MANUFACTURE. The first thing 
 to be done in the manufacture of pins by the 
 hand method is to reduce a quantity of brass 
 wire to the requisite size. This is generally 
 done in the pin factory, as the wire is received 
 of larger diameter than necessary. It is per- 
 formed in the usual manner of wire drawing ; 
 and the wire is then made up into coils of six 
 inches diameter, and any dirt or crust which 
 may be attached to the surface is got rid of by 
 first soaking the coils hi a diluted solution of 
 sulphuric acid and water, and then beating 
 them on stones. The next process is to 
 straighten the wire ; after which it is cut into 
 pieces, each about long enough for six pins. 
 These latter pieces are then pointed at each 
 end, in the following manner The person so 
 employed sits in front of a small machine, 
 which has two steel wheels or mills turning 
 rapidly ; of which the rims are cut somewhat 
 after the manner of a file, one coarse, for the 
 rough formation of the points, and the other 
 fine for finishing them. Several of these 
 pieces are taken in the hand, and by a dexte 
 rous movement of the thumb and fore-finger 
 are kept continually presenting a different 
 face to the mill against which they are pressed. 
 The points are then finished off by being ap- 
 plied in the Rama manner to the fine mill. 
 
 After both ends of the pieces have been 
 pointed, one pin's length is cut off from each 
 end, when they are repointed, and so on until 
 each length is converted into six pointed 
 pieces. The stems of the pins are then com- 
 plete. The next step is to form the head, 
 which is effected by a piece of wire called the 
 mould, the same size as that used for the 
 stems, being attached to a small axis or lathe 
 At the end of the wire nearest the axis is a 
 hole, in which is placed the end of a smaller 
 wire, which is to form the heading. While the 
 mould wire is turned round by one hand, the 
 head wire is guided by the other, until it is 
 wound in a spiral coil along the entire length 
 of the former. It is then cut off close to the 
 hole where it was commenced, and the coil 
 taken off the mould. When a quantity of these 
 coils are prepared, a workman takes a dozen 
 or more of them at a time in his left hand, 
 while with a pair of shears in his right he 
 cuts them up into pieces of two coils each. 
 The heads, when cutoff, are annealed by being 
 made hot and then thrown into water. When 
 annealed, they are ready to be fixed on the 
 stems. In order to do this, the operator is 
 provided with a small stake, upon which is 
 fixed a steel die, containing a hollow the exact 
 shape of half the head. Above this die, and 
 attached to a lever, is the corresponding die 
 for the other half of the head, which, when at 
 rest, remains suspended about two inches 
 above the lower one. The workman takes one 
 of the stems between his fingers, and dipping 
 the pointed end into a bowl containing a num- 
 ber of the heads, catches one upon it and 
 slides it to the other end; he then places it 
 in the lower die, and moving a treadle brings 
 down the upper one four or five times upon 
 the head, which fastens it upon the stem, and 
 also gives it the required figure. There is a 
 small channel leading from the outside to the 
 centre of the dies, to allow room for the stem. 
 The pins are now finished as regards shape, 
 and it only remains to tin or whiten them. 
 A quantity of them are boiled in a pickle, either 
 a solution of sulphuric acid or tartar, to re- 
 move any dirt or grease, and also to produce 
 a slight roughness upon their surfaces, which 
 facilitates the adhesion of the tin. After being 
 boiled for half an hour, they are washed and 
 then placed in a copper vessel with a quantity 
 of grain tin and a solution of tartar ; in about 
 two hours and a half they are taken out, and 
 after being separated from the undissolved 
 tin by sifting are again washed ; they are then 
 dried by being well shaken in a bag with a 
 quantity of bran, which is afterwards separa- 
 ted by shaking them up and down in open 
 wooden trays, when tha bran flies off and 
 
1841 
 
 PINE TREE. 
 
 PIPES 
 
 1342 
 
 leaves the pins perfectly dry and dean. The 
 pins are then papered for sale. 
 
 The drawing and cutting the "wire, the cut- 
 ting of the heads from the coils, and the tin- 
 ning, are performed by men; the other ope- 
 rations by women and children. 
 
 Machines have been invented, and partially 
 employed for some of the processes ; but most 
 pins are made by the hand method. 
 
 PINE TEEE. Under ABIES is given a 
 brief description of some among the many 
 varieties of Fir trees. We will here glance 
 at some of the more prominent uses of the 
 Pine, which has many points of similarity to 
 the fir. 
 
 In respect to food the pine and fir do not 
 render much service, at least in European 
 countries. The pine apple is a misnomer ; it 
 is the fruit of another kind of plant, and has 
 obtained its name from a certain resemblance 
 to the cone of a pine tree. The Komans used 
 the pine cones to flavour their wine ; and some 
 modern nations do the same. The Lapland- 
 ers grind the inner bark of the Scotch pine 
 into a kind of coarse flour, to make bread. 
 Pine meal and oatmeal, mixed into a dough, 
 and baked in a pan or plate, are said to make 
 tolerable cakes. The young shoots are eaten 
 in Siberia. Chips of pine have sometimes 
 been used as a substitute for hops. The ker- 
 nels of the fruit of the stone pine are pleasant 
 eating, and are dished up in various ways in 
 Trance and Italy. Of the Cembra pine, the 
 kernels yield an oil, and the shell of the ker- 
 nel yields a red dye. Spruce and spruce beer 
 are made in the following way : Twigs of the 
 spruce fir are fastened into a bundle, and 
 boiled in a copper until the bark separates. 
 While this is doing, a given weight of oats is 
 roasted on a hot plate, with sea biscuits or 
 slices of bread. These ingredients are then 
 boiled with the twigs for some time. Sugar 
 or molasses is added; and the liquid is tunned 
 off, leaving all the solid ingredients behind ; a 
 little yeast is added, and spruce beer is the 
 result. In England spruce beer is made from 
 essence of spruce, which is prepared in America 
 from the young twigs. 
 
 As a timber tree, it is scarcely possible to 
 enumerate all the uses of the pine and fir. 
 Many of them are mentioned under ABIES. 
 One species yields long straight timbers for 
 the masts of ships ; another is available for 
 part of the hull ; a third for flooring boards 
 in a house. It is of white pine that the three 
 magnificent American bridges are constructed, 
 at Philadelphia, Trenton, and Boston. 
 
 It would suffice to take the Norway spruce 
 fir as an example of the numerous uses which 
 these trees subserve, in addition to those in 
 
 which the timber is employed. When burned 
 it yields valuable fuel and charcoal ; the ashes 
 furnish potash ; the bark is used in tanning ; 
 the buds and young shoots yield spruce beer; 
 the cones, boiled in whey, are used as a re- 
 medy against the scurvy ; the young shoots 
 are used as fodder for live stock in many 
 countries ; the floors of rooms and the path- 
 ways to churchyards are strewed with the 
 young green tops in Sweden ; the inner bark 
 is made into baskets hi Sweden and Norway ; 
 the long and slender rootlets are used as 
 cords. 
 
 The pine and fir yield many remarkable 
 substances derived from the juice or sap of 
 the tree. Among these are resin, turpentine, 
 tar, pitch, lamp black, &c. Then: relation to 
 each other may be stated as follows : turpen- 
 tine is the juice of the living tree ; resin is a 
 solid residue obtained from the turpentine ; 
 spirit of turpentine is the clear liquid which 
 results when the resin is removed from tur- 
 pentine ; tar is the juice of the dead tree ; and 
 lampblack is the soot obtained by burning 
 the above. These substances are described 
 under their proper headings. 
 
 PINK. There are many varieties of pink 
 colour employed as pigments by artists and 
 painters ; but there are also some which, 
 though bearing this name, have not the tint 
 which is usually known by the name of pink. 
 Brown pink is a yellow pigment, prepared 
 from French berries, pearlash, fustic, and 
 alum. Dutch pink has a golden yellow colour ; 
 it is prepared from French berries, turmeric, 
 alum, and whiting or starch. Rose pink, which 
 has a roseate hue, is obtained by mixing whit- 
 ing with a decoction of Brazilwood and pearl- 
 ash. Pink dye, used as a cosmetic and foi 
 tinting silk stockings, is made from safflower, 
 subcarbonate of potash, spirit of wine, and 
 lemon juice. Pink saucers used by artists, 
 are small saucers on the interior surface of 
 which a layer of pink colour or paint is depo- 
 sited ; the colour is made from safflower, car- 
 bonate of soda, French chalk, and solution of 
 tartaric acid ; a red powder is produced, which 
 is applied to the saucer with gum. 
 
 PIPES. Pipes, tubes, or cylinders are 
 made in various ways, according to their size 
 and material. The large iron cylinders for 
 steam engines, hydraulic machines, and other 
 engineering works, are cast in sand moulds, 
 in the manner described in FOUNDING. Stone 
 cylinders and pipes are cut by the aid of ma- 
 chinery, as noticed under STONE WORKING. 
 Glass pipes are coming extensively into use 
 for draining and for other purposes ; they are 
 produced by a combined process of blowing 
 and drawing, something like that by which 
 
1843 
 
 PISTON. 
 
 PLANTAIN, 
 
 1314 
 
 barometer tubes are made [BAROMETER]. I quick succession, bring it to a very smooth 
 Lead pipes are made in three or four different and even surface. 
 ways [LEAD] ; and those of copper in two or Immense saving of labour, accompanied 
 three [OOPPEB MANUFACTURE], Wooden with a corresponding improvement in accuracy 
 water pipes (now almost superseded by iron) has been effected by the application of planing 
 are made by boring out the centre of a tree- machinery to the levelling of iron and other 
 trunk ; and some other kinds of tubes are metals, in lieu of the cold chisel and the file, 
 bored out of the solid [BoiUNu]. TOBACCO worked by hand. In some instances this has 
 PIPES are described in a later article. been done on the principle of Bramah's ma- 
 
 PISTON. [AiR-PuMP ; HYDRAULICS ; | chine above referred to ; but more generally 
 STEAM ENGINE.] 
 
 PITCH. [TAR.] 
 
 PIX, TEIAL OF THE. 
 
 the planing of iron is effected by a stationary 
 cutter, the iron being brought under it by n 
 As a security rectilinear motion. For this purpose it is not 
 for the integrity of the coinage, it is required usual to employ wide cutting instruments, as 
 that, before the master of the mint can receive for wood ; but a narrow tool, cutting a mere 
 his ' discharge,' or an admission that his duties line of the surface at once, is brought into 
 have been properly performed, the coins contact with all parts of the surface to bo lev- 
 should be submitted to a trial by jury. This elled in succession. 
 
 final examination is technically called the PLANISPHERE. A planisphere, as now 
 Trial of the Pix, from the box in which the usually constructed, is an instrument for find- 
 coins, which have been selected for that pur- ing the position of the heavens at any one 
 pose, are contained. They are secured by three moment, much more easily used than the ce- 
 locks, the keys of which are respectively in lestial globe, and very much less expensive. 
 the custody of the warden, master, and comp- A circular disk of pasteboard, on which the 
 troller of the Mint. Newspaper readers may stars visible in our latitude are laid down, 
 have remarked that there was a trial of the turns on a second disk, round which are the 
 pis in March, 1851. The important opera- days of the year on one circle, and the hours 
 tion of coming is briefly described under of the day on another. A third and hollow 
 MINT. disk turns upon the same pivot, tbe hollow 
 
 PLANE TREE. This Asiatic tree is most part being so cut that the portion of the 
 valued for its ornamental appearance ; but it heavens which it shows is precisely that which 
 is not without its economical uses. Its timber is visible at one time in the latitude of the 
 is fine-grained, hard, and well suited to such instrument: the points of the compass are 
 kinds of joiners' work as do not require marked round the rim of the hollow disk or 
 strength ; for which its brittleness renders it of the horizon. The effect is that by setting 
 ill suited. The occidental or western plane, as the disk which contains the stars to the da? 
 distinguished from the oriental or eastern of the year, and the hollow disk to the hour 
 plane, ia a less beautiful tree, and the timber of the day, the part of the heavens visible at 
 less valuable. that day and hour is distinctly shown. The 
 
 PLANING- MACHINERY, The first at- time at which any star rises, culminates, and 
 tempt to economise labour by means of plan- sets can be found. 
 
 ing machinery was made by General Bentham, PLANTAIN. The plantain is the fruit of 
 who obtained a patent in 1791 for a contriv- the tnusa sapientnm, and is eaten to a most re- 
 ance by which large planes, wide enough to markable extent by the inhabitants of the tor- 
 take the whole width of a plank at one stroke, rid zone. From its nutritious qualities and 
 aud supplied with apparatus for directing general use, it may, whether used in a raw or 
 their course, regulating the depth to which dressed form, be regarded rather as a neces- 
 they could cut, and, generally speaking, for sary article of food than as an occasional 
 superseding the necessity of skill and judg- luxury. In tropical countries the plantain 
 ment on the part of the operator, might be is one of the most interesting objects of cul- 
 worked either by mechanical power or by tivation for the subsistence of man. Three 
 manual labour. The improved principle, now dozen fruits will maintain a person, instead of 
 generally adopted, was introduced in Bramah's bread, for a week, and appears better suited 
 patent of 1802. In a beautiful machine which to him in warm countries than that kind of 
 he constructed for the Woolwich Arsenal, the food. Indeed the plantain is often the whole 
 wood is placed upon a carriage, and drawn by support of an Indian family. The fruit is 
 hydraulic power under the lower surface of a produced from among the immense leaves in 
 rapidly revolving disk or mill, to the face of bunches, weighing 30, 00, and 80 Ibs., of va- 
 which a series of planes or cutting instruments rious colours, and of great diversity of form. 
 are attached, which, acting upon the wood in { It usually is long and narrow, of a pale yellow 
 
1845 
 
 PLANTING. 
 
 PLASTERING-. 
 
 1340 
 
 or dark red colour, with a yellow farinaceous 
 flesh. But in form it varies to ohlong and 
 nearly spherical ; and in colour it offers all 
 the shades and variations of tints that the 
 combination of yellow and red, in different 
 proportions, can produce. Some sorts are 
 said always to be of a bright green colour. 
 In general, the character of the fruit to an 
 European palate is that of mild insipidity ; 
 some sorts are even so coarse as not to be 
 edible without preparation. The greater num- 
 ber however are used in their raw state, and 
 some varieties acquire by cultivation a very 
 exquisite flavour, even surpassing the finest 
 pear. In the better sorts the flesh has the 
 colour of the finest yellow butter, is of a deli- 
 cate taste, and melts in the mouth like mar- 
 malade. In the West Indies, plantains appear 
 to be even more extensively employed than in 
 the Eastern world. The modes of eating them 
 are various. The best sorts are served up 
 raw at table, as in the East Indies, and have 
 been compared for flavour to an excellent 
 reinette apple after its sweetness has been 
 condensed by keeping through the winter, 
 Sometimes they are baked in their skins, and 
 then they taste like the best stewed pears of 
 Europe. They are also the principal ingre- 
 dient in a variety of dishes. 
 
 The Jjlanana of hot countries is a mere va- 
 riety of the plantain, distinguished by being 
 dwarf, with a spotted stem, Botanists call it 
 Mum Paradisiaca, in allusion to an old no- 
 tion that it was the Forbidden Fruit of Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
 PLANTING and PLANTATIONS. Plant- 
 ing is the operation of placing in the soil the 
 roots of a plant which has been previously re- 
 moved. The manner of performing the ope- 
 ration may be reduced to one general principle ; 
 that of placing the roots in the soil so as to 
 imitate as closely as possible the position 
 which they occupy when growing naturally. 
 The excavation for the reception of the roots 
 of a plant should be considerably larger than 
 those roots will traverse when extended at the 
 time of planting. It should be as wide at 
 bottom as at top. The bottom should be more 
 or less convex, and the depth such as to admit 
 of the roots being covered to the extent ob- 
 served in undisturbed seedling plants of the 
 same species ; that is to say, the upper part 
 of the root should only be just covered. The 
 lower roots sv'iould be regularly disposed over 
 the convex bottom of the excavation, and care- 
 fully strewed with some of the finer portion 
 of soil, over which the other roots may be 
 spread. More soil should then be carefully 
 rather than forcibly introduced, A plentiful 
 watering should be given when the soil is 
 
 nearly all filled in ; and after the water has 
 subsided, so as not to stand above the surface, 
 the latter should be covered with the rest of 
 the soil. 
 
 Plantations are generally planted thick in 
 the fh*st instance, and with various species of 
 trees. Larch, Scotch fir or pine, mountain 
 ash, &c., are interspersed amongst the hard 
 wood for shelter, or as nurses. Too close 
 planting produces weak drawn-up timber, in 
 consequence of the tops only receiving a due 
 share of light. If, on the contrary, trees are 
 planted at too great a distance from each other 
 they are inclined to ramify into large limbs 
 and spreading tops, with a stem short but 
 much thicker than where the space admits of 
 less expansion of foliage. If therefore very 
 thick timber of no great length be required, 
 wide planting is proper ; but if tall timber be 
 the object, the plantation must be moderately 
 thick. The proper season for felling trees is 
 when the sap is most at rest ; the operation 
 ought not to be performed at any other time, 
 unless for firewood. With respect to oaks, the 
 practice of barking in the spring and felling 
 in the succeeding autumn is by no means un- 
 objectionable, and on some accounts is deci- 
 dedly inferior to felling in autumn or very 
 early in winter without previous disbarking. 
 
 PLASTER OF PARIS. [CALCIUM; LIME.] 
 
 PLASTERING, The business of the 
 plasterer, besides forming plain plastered 
 ceilings and walls, also embraces the forma- 
 tion and fixing of ornamental cornices, centre 
 pieces, and other similar ornaments. 
 
 In plastering a brick wall, the first thing- 
 observed is to secure a rough and porous sur- 
 face to which the composition may adhere 
 readily. In applying the plaster, the surface 
 is first brushed free from dust, then wetted 
 with water, and covered with a first coat of 
 fluid stucco, applied with a coarse bristle 
 brush ; after which, before it is quite dry, the 
 first ooat of coarse mortar like composition is> 
 applied. In plastering upon quarter parti- 
 tions or upon the under surface of timber 
 floors to form ceilings, a very different process 
 is adopted. In both of these cases a surface 
 is formed to receive the first coat of plaster 
 by nailing to the timber quarterings, or to the 
 joists in the case of a floor, narrow slips of 
 wood called laths. This done, the first coat 
 of plaster, consisting of what is called coarse 
 stuff, which is a mortar of lime and sand mixed 
 with ox or horse hair, to give it consistency, is 
 applied with a peculiar kind of trowel, in such 
 a way as to force the mortar through the nar- 
 row openings between the laths, behind which 
 in consequence of its .soft and wet state, it 
 swells in such a way that, as it sets or hardens, 
 
1847 
 
 PLATA, RIO DE LA. 
 
 it becomes firmly keyed to the laths, so that it 
 could only be broken away in little bits, and 
 by the appli cation of considerable violence. 
 This groundwork serves to receive any kind 
 of plastering that may afterwards be applied. 
 PLATA, EIO DE LA. This noble South 
 American river has one of the broadest aestu- 
 aries in the world. Through this aestuary the 
 commercial produce of about one-fourth of 
 South America is brought to the market of the 
 world. It is therefore a great advantage to 
 the countries from which the eestuary of the 
 Plata receives its waters, that the rivers which 
 flow into it offer less obstruction to navigation 
 than is usual in large streams. These rivers 
 are many of them large ; the chief are the 
 Parana, Uruguay, Paraguay, Pilcomayo, Ver- 
 mejo, Lavayen, Tarija, and Salado. 
 
 The same name of La Plata is given to a 
 republic which covers an immense area, and 
 the commerce of which finds an outlet at Bu- 
 enos Ayres on the south shore of the sestuary. 
 In respect to agricultural produce the republic 
 may be divided into two regions, which are 
 separated from each other by the Gran Salina. 
 On the north of it they partake of the inter- 
 tropical productions: mandioc, rice, Indian 
 corn, and the cocoa plant are cultivated in 
 most of the lower valleys ; while in the more 
 elevated tracts, tobacco and cotton succeed 
 well, and are cultivated on a large scale. South 
 of the Gran Salina the agriculture resembles 
 that of southern Europe, except that no rice 
 is raised ; wheat and Indian corn are the 
 principal crops, but barley and lucerne are 
 also extensively grown, especially near Men- 
 doza. The principal exchangeable wealth of 
 the republic is derived from the herds of cat- 
 tle. The number of heads is above 4,000,000, 
 of which the province of Buenos Ayres alone 
 is said to possess 3,000,000; they wander 
 about in the pampas nearly in a wild state. 
 The largest items in the list of exports con- 
 sist of hides, hair, horns, tallow, and jerked 
 beef. 
 
 Gold and silver occur in the Andes, and also 
 in the Sierra de Cordova. Iron and lead are 
 met with in small quantities. There is little 
 coal ; but salt is most abundant. 
 
 The most important branch of manufactures 
 is that of ponclws, or oblong square pieces of 
 woollen cloth, with a hole in the middle, to 
 pass the head through ; they are used by the 
 gauchos and other people as cloaks ; the finest 
 are made of vicuna skins, in the town of 
 Santiago del Estero. Some woollen fabrics 
 for men and women's dresses are also made, 
 as well as saddle -cloths. In some parts some 
 coarse cotton-cloth was formerly made by the 
 country-people for their own use, but this 
 
 PLA'TINA, OR PLA'TINUM. 1348 
 
 branch of domestic industry has been nearly 
 abandoned since the introduction of British 
 manufacture. 
 
 The internal commerce of the states is con- 
 siderable, as most of them have some products 
 which are either not at all or only to a small 
 amount raised in the neighbouring states. 
 The external commerce under Spain was very 
 small ; but it has greatly increased within the 
 last few years. Trade is now carried on with 
 all the principal countries of Europe, and 
 with various parts of America. The value of 
 the British and Irish produce and merchan- 
 dise exported to the Argentine States, between 
 1836 and 1846, varied from 590,OOOZ. to 
 990,0002. annually ; and in 1849 it amounted 
 to no less than 1,362,9042. The imports from 
 the republic to Great Britain in the same year 
 amounted to 1,392,4452. 
 
 The exports of the principal articles of 
 produce from January to the end of November, 
 1850, were as follows, in 402 vessels of 88,762 
 tons: Hides, ox and cow, salted, 687,367; 
 ditto, dry, 1,514,965 ; ditto horse, dry, 47,194 ; 
 ditto, salted, 127,619 ; Horns, ox and cow, 
 1,717,632 ; Tallow, 11,966 pipes, 24,738 boxes, 
 and 80 serons; Wool, 16,414 bales, 3,262 
 serons, and 180 arrobas ; Beef, jerked, 339,654 
 quintals. 
 
 PLA'TINA, or PLA'TINUM, is an important 
 metal, which was first made known ir Europe 
 by Mr. Wood, assay-master in Jamaica, who 
 met with its ore in 1741. Platinais separated 
 from the sand and other matters with which it 
 is mixed, by washing with a great quantity of 
 water, from which the heavier parts of course 
 subside, and these contain the ore in question. 
 The ore of platina is composed of irregular 
 rounded grains, which are sometimes flattened ; 
 they are of various sizes, often very small, and 
 occasionally they exhibit traces of crystallisa- 
 tion ; but these are probably derived from the 
 presence of some other metal. The ore, 
 which has a specific gravity of 17-33, contains 
 traces of six or seven other metals ; and the 
 process of separation is one of great compli- 
 cation. The pure platinum has a grayish 
 white colour, intermediate between silver and 
 tin. When it is free from iridium, it is so 
 very ductile that it may be drawn into very 
 fine wire, not exceeding the 2000th part of an 
 inch in diameter; it is also very malleable, 
 and may be beaten into thin leaves. When 
 perfectly pure, it is softer than silver, and it is 
 susceptible of receiving a fine polish. Of all 
 metals it is the least expansible. Its density 
 varies from 19 to 21 * times that of water. 
 It suffers no change by exposure to the air, 
 nor is it oxidized when heated in it. It does 
 not under any circumstances decompose water. 
 
1349 
 
 PLATING. 
 
 PLOUGH. 
 
 1350 
 
 It is infusible in the strongest heat of a smith's 
 forge, but it may be melted by voltaic electri- 
 city or by the oxyhydrogen blowpipe. Of 
 all metals, except iron and copper, it is the 
 most tenacious : a wire of the diameter of 
 -j^th of an inch, is capable of sustaining a 
 weight of 274 pounds. Like iron, platina 
 possesses the very valuable property of welding 
 at a high temperature, and this enables us to 
 form it into chemical vessels of great and 
 daily use. 
 
 The uses of platina are numerous and im- 
 portant; but it is especially employed for 
 forming vessels, not merely for chemical 
 operations on a small scale, but for the con- 
 centration of sulphuric acid by manufactures. 
 Some years ago as much as WOOL was paid 
 for a platina still for making certain acrid 
 chemicals ; the price being about a guinea an 
 ounce ; but it is now lower in value. 
 
 PLATING. [ELECTRO -METALLURGY; TIN 
 MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 PLOUGH. The oldest forms of plough of 
 which we have any description in ancient 
 authors, or which are represented on monu- 
 ments or coins, are very simple ; a mere wedge 
 with a crooked handle to guide it, and a short 
 beam by which it was drawn, form the whole 
 instrument. The light Hindoo plough, now 
 in use in many parts of India, seems to differ 
 little from the old model. 
 
 The different essential parts of a plough 
 have certain names usually given to them. 
 The Body of a plough is that part to which 
 all the other parts are attached. The bottom 
 of it is called the Sole or Slade, to the fore 
 part of which is affixed the Point or Share; 
 the hind part of the sole is called the Heel. 
 The Beam, which advances forward from the 
 body, serves to keep the plough in its proper 
 direction, and to the end of it are attached 
 the oxen or horses, which are employed to 
 draw it. Fixed in the beam in a vertical 
 position, before the point of the share, with 
 its point a little forward, is the Coulter, which 
 serves to cut a vertical section in the ground ; 
 while the point of the share, expanding into a 
 Fin, separates a slice by the horizontal cut 
 from the subsoil or solid ground under it. 
 The Mould-Board, or TnrnFurrow, is placed 
 obliquely behind the fin, to the right or left, 
 in order to push aside and turn over the slice 
 of earth which the coulter and share have cut 
 off : it thus leaves a regular furrow wherever 
 the plough has passed, which furrow is 
 intended to be filled up by the slice cut off 
 from the land by the side of it, when the 
 plough returns. The Stilts, or handles, of 
 which there may be either one or two, as is 
 thought more convenient, direct the plough 
 
 by keeping it in the line required and at a 
 regular depth in the ground. The single stilt 
 appears to be the most ancient form. 
 
 Wheels are a modern invention in compa- 
 rison with the other parts. They support the 
 end of the beam, and prevent it from going 
 too deep into the ground or rising out of it 
 while the plough is going on. The greatest 
 improvements introduced into modern ploughs 
 are in the shape of the mould-board or 
 turn-furrow, and the contrivances for regula- 
 ting the line of draught so as to make the 
 plough go at an equal depth, and cut off a 
 regular slice of equal breadth, without any 
 great force being applied by the ploughman 
 who holds the stilts. The mould board is 
 either fixed on one side, or made so as to be 
 shifted from one side to the other; in the 
 first case half the furrow-slices lie on one side 
 and half on the other, and there is of neces- 
 sity a double furrow where they join. When 
 it is desirable that the surface should be quite 
 flat, and the furrow-slices all in one direction, 
 the mould -board must be shifted at every turn, 
 and a plough which admits of this is called a 
 Turn- Wrest Plough. 
 
 Ploughs were formerly made of wood, 
 having those parts covered with iron where 
 the greatest friction takes place, the share and 
 coulter only being of iron ; but in consequence 
 of the greater facility of casting iron in mo- 
 dern times, most of the parts are now made of 
 this metal. The beam and stilts are still 
 usually of wood, but even these are now 
 sometimes made of wrought iron. The 
 advantages of iron are, its durability and the 
 smaller friction it occasions when once po- 
 lished by use. The inconveniences are the 
 additional weight of the instrument, and 
 consequent greater friction of the sole. Eecent 
 experiments have proved this to be greater 
 than was generally suspected. A great im- 
 provement has been introduced by making the 
 points of the shares of cast-iron, which, by a 
 mode of casting the lower surface on a plate 
 of metal, makes one surface much harder 
 than the other; and as the softer surface 
 wears utore rapidly, a sharp edge is always 
 preserved. The different parts of a plough 
 are now usually cast so that if any one fails 
 or wears out, it can be instantly replaced, 
 by moving a few screws or bolts. There is 
 another advantage in having the essential parts 
 of cast-iron. If any particular shape has 
 been once discovered to be the best for any 
 part, that shape is preserved without deviation 
 in every plough made on the same pattern, 
 and with respect to the turn-furrow this is of 
 great importance. The stilts of the plough 
 are mostly of wood ; one will suffice for a 
 
1351 
 
 PLOQGH. 
 
 PLUMB A'GO. 
 
 1852 
 
 light soil, but two are required for a heavy 
 soil. 
 
 The shape of a plough must vary with the 
 nature of the soil which it is to turn up. A 
 light soil must be shovelled up ; a mellow one 
 may be turned over with any kind of mould- 
 board ; a very stiff tenacious soil which 
 adheres to any surface pressed against it, will 
 be more easily turned over by a few points of 
 contact which do not allow of adhesion. 
 Hence the point and turn-furrow have been 
 made of all imaginable shapes, and while one 
 man contends for a very concave form, 
 another will admit of nothing which is not 
 very corwex. The lighter the plough is, con- 
 sistently with sufficient strength, the less 
 draught it requires, all other circumstances 
 regaining the same, 
 
 It does not fall within the province of this 
 work to trace the circumstances which call for 
 the varied modes of ploughing. They are 
 numerous, depending both on the crop and on 
 the soil. For some purposes the clod requires 
 to be turned right over; for others, to be 
 turned to a certain angle. Very little attention 
 was formerly paid to the straightness of the 
 furrows ; but it is evident that every deviation 
 from parallelism causes a defect in the contact 
 of the slices, and a loss of force by the 
 obliquity of the draught. Hence equal and 
 straight furrows are a sign of good ploughing. 
 One of the most useful operations in ploughing 
 land is to cross the former furrows, by which 
 means the whole soil is much more completely 
 stirred ; and if any part has been left solid 
 without being moved by the plough-share, 
 which is called a Balk, it is now necessarily 
 moved. 
 
 As a means to enable the fanner to save 
 hands and expedite the tillage of the land, 
 ploughs have been contrived which make two 
 or more furrows at once. When they are well 
 constructed, they are very useful on light soils. 
 If it is not required to go deep, and two horses 
 can draw a double plough, there is a decided 
 saving of power ; but if it requires four horses 
 nothing is gained. The double ploughs are 
 therefore not much in use. 
 
 Deep ploughing is generally acknowledged 
 to accord with the best husbandry, where the 
 subsoil is dry naturally, or has been artificially 
 drained; but some inconvenience may arise 
 from bringing a barren subsoil to the surface, 
 in trench-ploughing by two ploughs following 
 each other in the same furrow. It has there- 
 fore been suggested to take off the turn-furrow 
 from the plough which follows the first, so as 
 to stir the subsoil without bringing it to the 
 surface. This idea has been improved upon 
 by constructing a Subsoil-plough of great 
 
 strength, which will go very deep into the 
 ground and stir the subsoil a foot or more 
 below the bottom of the usual furrow. 
 
 The instruments which have been invented 
 to save the time and labour required by re- 
 peated ploughings are very numerous. New 
 ones are daily invented, and some are sup- 
 ported by wheels, which render them both 
 lighter and more convenient. One of the 
 most important of these instruments is the 
 Cultivator, or Scarifier. [CuLTlVATOB.] 
 
 It would be in vain to enumerate the vari- 
 ous ploughs which have been invented and 
 which are exhibited at the annual cattle and 
 agricultural shows. The Essex plough, the 
 Gold hanger plough, the Subsoil plough, the. 
 Surface plough ; as well as those which are 
 designated by the names of their makers, 
 Ransome, Crosskill, Wedlake, Garratt, &c.-* 
 all have their respective points of excellence. 
 There has recently been introduced a hill-side 
 plough. Several forms of steam plough, also, 
 have been introduced ; in which steam-power 
 takes the place of horse power. A steam 
 plough has been recently patented by Messrs. 
 Galloway and Furkis of Putney. There are 
 two ploughs attached to an endless chain 
 which passes over two wheels ; and these 
 wheels are moved whenever the locomotive 
 movement of the steam-engine takes place. 
 The ploughing is effected transversely to the 
 movement of the machine; and this move- 
 ment is only just rapid enough to enable the 
 plough to act upon new portions of ground 
 when necessary. 
 
 PLU-MBA'GO Graphite, Black Lead. This 
 substance occurs both crystallised and massive ; 
 but mostly in irregular nodules. It is found 
 in various parts of the world. That of Bor- 
 rowdale in Cumberland is of the best quality 
 for what are called black-lead pencils; while 
 the commoner sorts are used for making 
 melting-pots, for diminishing the friction of 
 machinery, and for protecting iron from 
 rusting. That which is imported from the East 
 Indies is remarkably soft. Plumbago conducts 
 electricity, is infusible, and very difficult of 
 combustion. It was at one time supposed 
 that plumbago was a carburet of iron, but, in 
 the opinion of Berzelius, it is a peculiar form 
 of carbon, and that the substances which it 
 contains are in a state of mixture merely and 
 not of chemical combination . 
 
 Plumbago is found usually in primary or 
 transition rocks. At Borrowdale it occurs in 
 nests in a greenstone rock, which constitutes 
 a bed in clay-slate. In Inverness-shire it 
 occurs in gneiss ; at Arendal in Norway, in 
 quartz rock ; and in the United states, in felspar 
 and mica -slate, but always in primary roeUn. 
 
1353 
 
 PLUMBLTNE. 
 
 The Borrowdale mine is interesting, and 
 till lately supplied most of the material for 
 English pencils. It is about six miles 
 from Keswick. It is about half way up a 
 mountain two thousand feet high, somewhat 
 difficult of access. Some of the nodules pro- 
 cured are pure plumbago; while others have 
 particles of iron ore adhering to them. From 
 the small supply of the material, and the high 
 price which it commands in the market, the 
 mining operations are conducted with much 
 precaution and even secrecy. In the last 
 century persons contrived to rob the mine of 
 much treasure with impunity ; and this led to 
 a very stringent set of rules for working. The 
 mine is now nearly exhausted. 
 
 The manufacture of black-lead pencils from 
 this substance is noticed under PENCILS. The 
 cedar of which the cases are formed is sawed 
 into long planks, and subsequently into 
 smaller rods ; grooves are cut out by means of 
 a fly-wheel, of such a size as to receive the 
 black-lead. The pieces of mineral are cut 
 into thin slabs, and then into rods ; these rods 
 are inserted in the grooves, and the two halves 
 of the case are glued together. 
 
 A material for pencils is very much used, 
 especially in France, made of plumbago mixed 
 up with very fine clay. Any required degree 
 of hardness can be given to the composition 
 by varying the proportion of the ingredients. 
 Wolffs " purified black-lead pencils," sold in 
 London, have thirteen different degrees of 
 hardness. Mr. Brockedon and other persons 
 also manufacture pencils in which the hard- 
 ness an,d the blackness vary in any desired 
 degree. 
 
 PLUMBLINE. When a heavy body sus- 
 pended by a flexible string is at rest, the line 
 passing through the point of suspension and 
 the centre of gravity of the weight is in the 
 direction in which gravity acts. The Horizon 
 is a plane perpendicular to this line, and 
 the Zenith is that point of the heavens marked 
 out by the continuation of the line upwards. 
 If the string be perfectly flexible, it will 
 coincide with the theoretical line above de- 
 scribed. 
 
 The. plumbline is used in the arts. In 
 levelling and in astronomical instruments, it 
 has in most cases been superseded by the 
 spirit level or observation by reflection. 
 
 PLUSH. This is a kind of velvet, having 
 a nap or shag on one surface. It consists of a 
 double warp and a single weft : one of the 
 warps being so thrown up to the surface as to 
 form the loose nap. Very frequently the upper 
 warp is made of goat's or camel's hair ; so that 
 when woven and cut the surface presents some- 
 thing of a fur like appearance, The mode of 
 
 PLYMOUTH DOCK YAED. 1354 
 
 N 
 
 producing fabrics of this kind, whatever may 
 be the materials employed, is noticed under 
 VELVET. 
 
 PLYMOUTH DOCK YAPtD. Plymouth 
 is one of the most important towns in the 
 west of England, in an engineering and com- 
 mercial point of view. The Breakwater, the 
 Eddystone lighthouse, and the Boyal Dock 
 Yard, all tend to give importance to the place. 
 The first two of these are briefly described 
 in earlier articles, [BBEAKWATEK ; LIGHT- 
 HOUSES.] 
 
 The dockyard is more properly at Devon- 
 port ; but the two towns form one for all 
 practical purposes. The dock yard extends 
 about half a mile from north to south, by a 
 quarter of a mile from east to west, and in it 
 are employed about 3000 persons. There are 
 six building slips for vessels of various dimen- 
 sions ; three docks for fitting and repairing 
 first-rate vessels ; and two for smaller vessels. 
 The building slips are covered with immense 
 roofs of iron, copper, or zinc. On these slips 
 27 war ships were built between 1H<J8 and 
 1848. There have been lately about 6000 
 loads of timber used annually in the dock 
 yard. A new basin is now being constructed, 
 blasted out of the solid rock, at an estimated 
 expenditure of 345,000/. There are two rope 
 houses, 1200 feet long. A chain cable store- 
 house has lately been built, at a cost of 
 40,000/. About 2000 tons of hemp are annu- 
 ally used in the dockyard, for ropes and other 
 purposes. The rigging-house is an extensive 
 building, 500 feet in length. The Smithery 
 is an extensive building, in which Nasmytli's 
 steam-hammer performs wonders in anchor- 
 forging. In the engineering or mill-wright 
 establishment, the planing, turning, punching, 
 drilling, and cutting of metal is carried on. 
 In the saw-mill timber is cut into various 
 forms and sizes by steam-power. There are 
 mast-houses, boat houses, sail lofts, store- 
 houses, and all the works of a great naval yard. 
 
 At Keyham Point, a short distance north- 
 ward of the dock yard, new steam docks are 
 now being constructed on a magnificent scale. 
 They will comprise large basins and docks for 
 the reception of steamers, and factories fpr con- 
 ducting tjvery kind of repair which the steamers 
 may require. There will be three-quarters of 
 a mile of granite quays to the basins. Up to 
 the present time the sum expended in these 
 works has been about 700,000/. ; and at least 
 half a million more will be required to finish 
 them. 
 
 There are many other government esta- 
 blishments at Plymouth and Devonport which 
 give rise to much industrial and commercial 
 activity. But there is also much trade and 
 
1855 
 
 POLAND 
 
 POMATUM. 
 
 1356 
 
 commerce independent of those establish 
 ments. Considerable trade is carried on with 
 the West Indies, the Baltic, and the Mediter 
 ranean ; and coastwise with London and othe 
 places. There is an active fishery of hake am 
 whiting. Granite, limestone, slate, and mar 
 ble, are quarried in the neighbourhood. 
 
 The Plymouth Dock Company are forming 
 basins, docks, and quays, to accommodate th 
 steamers on various mail routes which are 
 proposed to be established there. The Cape 
 mail steamers already start from Plymouth 
 The dock will be placed in immediate connec 
 tion with the broad guage railway to London 
 POLAND. Whether regarded as a king 
 dom, or as a mere province of the Eussian 
 Empire, Poland demands only a few words 
 respecting its produce and commercial in- 
 dustry. 
 
 Though Poland is not distinguished by 
 fertility, it produces more grain, hemp, flax 
 and tobacco, than are required for its con- 
 sumption, and it exports these articles to 
 other countries. Wheat is only abundant in 
 the hilly southern region : the principa] 
 species of grain which are cultivated in the 
 other parts of the kingdom are rye, oats, and 
 buckwheat ; barley is also raised, but less ex- 
 tensively. Leguminous vegetables are much 
 valued and their cultivation attended to. As a 
 considerable part of the country is still covered 
 with forests, timber constitutes an important 
 article of export. The forests consist of oak, 
 ash, lime-trees and birch, but chiefly of pine 
 and fir. Several metals and minerals are 
 abundant in the hilly region. Among the 
 metallic ores are those of silver, iron, copper, 
 lead, and zinc. Bock-salt, marble, and a little 
 coal, are met with. 
 
 In the city of Cracow there are no manu- 
 factures of any importance except a few in 
 cloth and woollens. Cracow is the chief 
 depot in Poland for Hungarian wines, salt, and 
 wax, and is the central point of commerce 
 between Poland and Hungary ; but its trade, 
 which is principally in the hands of Jews, is 
 not extensive. At Warsaw the manufactures 
 are of many different kinds, and the trade of 
 the city is considerable, the vicinity of the 
 Vistula being favourable to its developement. 
 It is felt, however, that the mouth of the 
 Vistula being in another country (Prussia), 
 is a circumstance which greatly checks the 
 commerce of Warsaw, owing to the restrictions 
 in international commerce between Kussia and 
 Prussia. All the other towns in Poland are 
 less in commercial and trading importance 
 than Cracow and Warsaw. 
 
 POLARISCOPE. The phenomena of the 
 Polarization of light are of so refined and 
 
 delicate a character, that any description of a 
 polariscope would be of little value, without 
 such a notice of the phenomena as would 
 carry us beyond the province of the pre- 
 sent work. We will therefore merely state 
 that a polarising apparatus, whether called a 
 polariscope or by any other name, is a contri- 
 vance for exposing crystals and other translu- 
 cent bodies to the action of light, with a 
 power of giving rotatory movement to one 
 or more parts of the apparatus. 
 
 POLYCHRO'MY is a modem term used to 
 express the ancient practice of colouring 
 statues and the exteriors of buildings. In 
 Egypt it was at all times a universal custom 
 to have recourse to colours in the decoration 
 of architecture. As to the practice in Greece, 
 it appears, from the remains of colour found 
 upon antient monuments, that the colouring 
 was strictly confined to the ornamental parts 
 to the friezes, the metopes, and the tympana 
 of the pediments. In later times amongst 
 the Eomans, in the times of Vitruvius and 
 Pliny, the practice seems to have degenerated 
 into a mere taste for gaudy colours, and to 
 have been very general, as we see in the ruins 
 of Pompeii, where however, occasionally, the 
 Arabesque decorations upon the walls of the 
 courts in the larger houses are very elegant. 
 
 Polychrome sculpture was quite as general 
 amongst the Greeks as polychrome architec- 
 ture. The acrolithic and the chryselephantine 
 statues both come under this head. In the 
 latter style were many of the most remarkable 
 productions of ancient art: the Jupiter at 
 Olympia, and the Minerva at Athens, by 
 Phidias; the Juno, at Argos, by Polycletus, 
 and the ^Esculapius, at Epidaurus, by Thra- 
 symedes; and others described by Pausanias. 
 In the flourishing period of Grecian art, 
 custom seems also to have defined limits to 
 this practice, for, except in the rudest ages, 
 the figure itself was never painted, although it 
 appears to have been sometimes covered with 
 an encaustic varnish. The naked marble of 
 the works of the greatest sculptors was 
 not coloured ; the colouring was confined to 
 the lips, the eyes, the hair, the drapery, and 
 the ornaments of the dress. 
 
 At the present day polychromy in architec- 
 ture is advocated by many persons of taste. 
 The encaustic painting of some of our interi- 
 ors and the gorgeous splendour of the new 
 Souse of Lords, are examples. The much 
 discussed choice of colours by Mr. Owen 
 Tones in the Palace of Industry bears on the 
 subject of polychromic decoration. 
 
 POMATUM. The pomatums or pommades 
 as they are called by the French, are so 
 named because they were originally made of 
 
1857 
 
 PONTINE MARSHES. 
 
 POPLAR TREE. 
 
 1358 
 
 apples and lard. They are now made oi 
 various ingredients, and in various ways. For 
 a considerable number of pomatums hogs' 
 lard and beef suet are brought to a very fine 
 state, melted and scented by causing odorife- 
 rous flowers to remain in the mixture for many 
 hours. In another method the pomatum is 
 spread into a layer upon which the leaves of 
 ', scented flowers are placed, and removed daily 
 until the mass is scented. Another mode is 
 by adding fragrant essences to the pomatum. 
 All these are manufactured on a very large 
 scale in France ; and the variety of flowers 
 employed is considerable. 
 
 PONTINE MARSHES is the name of a 
 low marshy plain in the Papal State, about 24 
 miles long by 10 broad. It is remarkable from 
 the attempts made to drain it; somewhat 
 analogous in character to those of the 
 BEDFORD LEVEL. There is every appearance 
 that this district, which is a basin nearly sur- 
 rounded by hills, was once a gnlf of the sea, 
 which has been gradually filled up by alluvium 
 from the mountains. Within the historical 
 period it was a fertile district, containing 
 towns, and a considerable population. Both 
 under the Republic and the Empire great 
 works were undertaken for the draining of 
 these marshes ; and the Appian Road tra- 
 versed part of them to Terracina. Something 
 has been done in modern times by the popes, 
 from Boniface VIII. to Pius VI., and by Na- 
 poleon during the French occupation of the 
 Roman States. Since that time all that has 
 been done for the Pontine Marshes has been 
 to maintain the drainage in the state in which 
 Pius VI. left it, by keeping the canals clear 
 and the dykes in repair. The greater part of 
 the plain is covered with rich pastures, in 
 which are fed numerous herds of horned 
 cattle, and other parts of it are sown with rice, 
 wheat and Indian corn, and afford rich crops. 
 In the spring, before the great heat renders 
 the atmosphere unwholesome, it has the 
 appearance of a most delightful region. But, 
 except the post stations along the high road, 
 and some scattered huts here and there, there 
 is no permanent population throughout the 
 whole of the plain. 
 
 PONTOONS are vessels used in the for- 
 mation of floating-bridges for military purposes. 
 General Pasley has constructed pontoons in 
 the form of canoes, with decks, each end being 
 shaped like the head of a boat. They consist of 
 light timber frames, covered, except the deck, 
 with sheet copper; and each vessel is formed 
 in two equal parts by transverse partitions, so 
 that the demi-pontoons may be separated from 
 each other when the bridge is to be conveyed 
 on carriages by land with the army. When 
 
 in the water, the parts are connected together 
 by a rope, which passes through two per- 
 forations in the keel, near the place of junction, 
 and by a rectangular frame of wood, which is 
 laid along the deck, and attached to it by 
 lashings. 
 
 Sir James Colleton, some years since, in- 
 vented pontoons of wood of a cylindrical form, 
 some of which have been occasionally em- 
 ployed in experimental operations ; and cylin- 
 drical pontoons of tin, which were subse- 
 quently invented by Colonel Blanchard, have 
 lately been introduced into the service. These 
 last have hemispherical or conical ends. They 
 possess the advantages of great lightness and 
 buoyancy. The diameter of one of the cylin- 
 ders is 2 ft. 6 in., and its length 22 ft. A 
 rectangular frame, rather greater in length 
 than the breadth of the intended bridge, is 
 made 'fast, by ropes, longitudinally, on the 
 surface of each of two cylinders placed parallel 
 to one another at about 10 ft. asunder; and 
 on these frames rest the baulks carrying the 
 chesses, or planks, which form the road. Two 
 pontoons, with their platform, constitute a 
 raft; which, when the bridge is to be formed, 
 are rowed to their stations in a line across 
 the river, the lengths of the pontoons being 
 parallel to the banks, and there anchored; 
 the distances between the nearest pontoons in 
 two rafts being equal to that between the two 
 pontoons hi each raft. Then each raft carry- 
 ing the materials which are to make a platform 
 over the water between itself and the next, 
 such platform is laid down in a manner similar 
 to that which is employed in laying down tha 
 platform of the raft ; and from each of the 
 extreme pontoons a like platform is extended 
 to the shore of the river. 
 
 POPLAR TREE. There are several va- 
 rieties of poplar tree, which render useful ser- 
 vice to man, though not in so great a degree as 
 many other trees. The timber of the white poplar 
 s veiy light coloured, and is used in France 
 and Germany for a variety of minor purposes, 
 [t makes excellent packing cases, because 
 nails may be driven into it without causing it 
 to split. It is used extensively by turners 
 and cabinet-makers. The boards and rollers 
 around which pieces of silk are wrapped in 
 merchant's warehouses and in shops are made 
 of this wood, which is adopted on account of 
 its lightness lessening the expense of freight. 
 It is much used for flooring-boards, for large 
 folding-doors for barns, and for other building 
 purposes. It is used as a substitute for lime- 
 tree in musical instruments. Wooden dishes 
 and casks are occasionally made of it. The 
 timber of the black poplar is used for much 
 the same purposes as the white. It is yellow, 
 
1359 
 
 1'OPLIN. 
 
 POROSITY 
 
 130 
 
 Soft, and easy to work ; and is preferred by 
 cabinet-makers for many purposes. It is used 
 for clogs, the soles of wooden shoes, bowls 
 and other turner's ware, and in cart building. 
 The Lombard]) poplar produces wood less ser- 
 viceable than that from the other varieties ; 
 but rafters, small beams, boards, &c., made of 
 this wood and afterwards coated witli tar, are 
 found to he durable. The wood of the 
 Trembling poplar or Aspen is white and tender; 
 and is employed by turners; by coopers for 
 herring casks, milk pails, &c.; by sculptors 
 and engravers; by joiners and cabinet-makers; 
 and by the makers of clogs, wooden shoes, 
 butcher's trays, pack saddles, and a number of 
 other articles. 
 
 As fuel, poplar wood is of inferior heating 
 power; but it gives out its heat very quickly; 
 the ovens of nearly all the Paris bakers are 
 heated by this wood. The bark of the black 
 poplar is employed in tanning leather ; when 
 pulverised it is eaten hy sheep; and being 
 very thick, light, and corky, it is used by 
 fishermen to support their nets, and even as 
 corks for bottles. The hark of the aspen 
 forms the principal food of the heaver ; it is 
 also usefully employed in medicine. 
 
 In Sweden the leaves of the white poplar 
 are eaten by cattle. The buds of the black 
 poplar, macerated in boiling water, and after- 
 wards bruised in a mortar and pressed, yield 
 a fat substance which burns like wax and ex- 
 hales a fine odour. The halsamic sap with 
 which the buds are covered forms the basis of 
 an ointment which was much prized informer 
 times. The young shoots may be used in 
 basket-making ; and the shoots with the leaves 
 on are sometimes used as brooms. The 
 cottony substance or flock which surrounds 
 the seed has been used in Germany and 
 France as wadding; and it has also been 
 occasionally manufactured into cloths, hats, 
 and paper. The Balsam poplar yields a 
 balsam from the buds ; it is collected from 
 the trees in spring, at which season it collects 
 into drops on the points of the buds. In 
 Siberia a medicated wine is prepared from the 
 buds. 
 
 POPLIN. Among the varieties of woven 
 goods in which silk and worsted or silk and 
 woollen are used in combination, poplin is one 
 of the best and most esteemed. TMnet is 
 one form of this material; and Ireland has 
 been distinguished for the excellence of its 
 poplins and tabincts. The demand is now 
 small, as other lands of textile fabrics have 
 lately been more in favour; hut the rich Irish 
 poplins and tabinets, though employing only a 
 small number of persons in their manufacture, 
 maintain their high character. 
 
 POPPY. [OnuM.] 
 
 PORCELAIN. [POTTEKY AND POBCE- 
 LAIN.] 
 
 PORCH is a general term for any pro- 
 jection forming a covered space immediately 
 before the entrance to a building, open in 
 front, and more or less inclosed at its sides. 
 The distinction between a porch and a portico 
 is, that, however important it may be as a 
 feature, the former appears only a subordinate 
 part of the building to which it is attached ; 
 whereas the other may be the whole of a 
 front. In Norman architecture, the porches 
 or portals are little more than a modification 
 of the similar features in Byzantine and Lom- 
 bardic architecture. Of porches, strictly so 
 called, there are few instances, either in Nor- 
 man or Gothic architecture ; there are often 
 however spacious portals, which do not ad- 
 vance beyond the general plan of the huilding 
 in front, but form entrances, deeply recessed 
 and inclosed within the lower part of the 
 structure. In ancient English domestic archi- 
 tecture, porches, properly so called, are fre- 
 quent. 
 
 POROSITY is a property common to all 
 the bodies of nature, at least we know none 
 in which the particles are contiguous to one 
 another. In some, as sponge and cork, the 
 pores are visible to the eye, and in others 
 they may be rendered so by the aid of a 
 microscope. In bodies whose pores are not 
 thus manifest, the existence of the intervals 
 between the molecules is proved by various 
 circumstances. Thus water or mercury being 
 contained in an open vessel of wood over the 
 exhausted receiver of an air-pump will, by 
 the pressure of the atmosphere, be forced 
 through the wood, and fall thence in a shower : 
 liquids also are frequently filtered by being 
 made to pass through the pores of paper ; 
 and in the Florentine experiment, for deter- 
 mining whether or not water is compressible, 
 the fluid was by pressure forced through the 
 pores of the vessel of gold in which it was 
 contained. Again, the porosity of bodies is 
 inferred from their elasticity, and the sounds 
 which are heard when the molecules are in a 
 state of vibration : also, in transparent bodies 
 (and the most dense metals are, when rendered 
 sufficiently thin, found to bo transparent), it 
 is inferred from the fact that the particles of 
 light pass through them, or that the vibrations 
 of an sethereal fluid take place among the 
 molecules. Finally, the porosity of bodies is 
 proved from the fact that they suffer con- 
 traction of volume by being exposed to cold 
 and by mechanical compression, since such 
 contractions can only take place in con- 
 sequence of the particles being forced closer 
 
1061 
 
 POEPHYKY. 
 
 together than they are in the usual states of 
 the bodies. 
 
 PORPHYRY. A large number of rocks of 
 igneous origin, both very ancient and com- 
 paratively modern, arc thus designated; but 
 properly speaking, a particular structure is 
 indicated by it, and not a definite rock or 
 family of rocks. Felspar of a granular tex- 
 ture, without crystals imbedded, is claystone ; 
 with imbedded crystals of felspar it is por- 
 phyry. Hornblende, mixed with uncrystal- 
 lised felspar, makes some greenstones ; with 
 imbedded crystals of felspar this becomes 
 greenstone porphyry. Hence, by this mode 
 of designation, we have pitchstone-porphyry, 
 greenstone-porphyry, basaltic-porphyry, fel- 
 spar-porphyry, and even so vague a term as 
 trap-porphyry ; and on the other hand, more 
 correctly, porphyritic pitchstone, porphyritic 
 claystone, porphyritic greenstone, porphyritic 
 basalt, and porphyritic granite. 
 
 PORTCULLIS is an assemblage of several 
 large pieces of wood, joined across one 
 another like a harrow, and each pointed with 
 iron at the bottom. They are sometimes hung 
 over the gateways of old fortified towns, ready 
 to let down in case of a surprise, when the 
 gates could not be shut. 
 
 PORTFIRE is a composition consisting of 
 saltpetre, sulphur, and mealed gunpowder, in 
 the proportion of 6, 2, and 1, respectively, 
 mixed together, and rammed or driven into a 
 paper case of a cylindrical or conical form, and 
 less than an inch in diameter. Portfire is 
 used for firing artillery or mines ; and a piece 
 sixteen inches long will burn from twelve to 
 fifteen minutes. 
 
 PORTICO. Originally applied without dis- 
 tinction to colonnades and covered ambu- 
 latories, this term is now limited to signify a 
 sheltered space inclosed by columns at the 
 entrance to a building; and unless otherwise 
 expressed, roofed with a pediment, like the 
 end or front of a Grecian temple. The term 
 as now restricted, answers to the P rondos of 
 such a temple. Porticos are described accord- 
 ing to the number of columns in front, viz., 
 tetrastyle, hexastyle, octastyle, <fec. They are 
 called prostyle when, as generally happens, 
 they project from, the main building. Such as 
 arc in antis, and recessed within the front of 
 the building, are technically called loggias. 
 
 PORTLAND STONE. [DORSETSHIRE ; 
 STONE ron BUILDING.] 
 
 PORTLAND VASE. This beautiM Specimen 
 of ancient art is one of the choicest treasures 
 deposited in the British Museum. The time 
 of its production is now unknown ; but it is 
 presumed to be the work of a Grecian artist. 
 The first information we have respecting it is 
 
 PORTSMOUTH DOCKYARD. 1362 
 
 that about the middle of the 16th century the 
 vase was found enclosed in a marble sarco- 
 phagus, within a sepulchral chamber, under 
 the eminence called the Monte del Grano, 
 about two miles and a half from Rome on the 
 road to Frascati. This sepulchral chamber 
 appears to have been the tomb of the Emperor 
 Alexander Severus and of his mother Julia 
 Mammaea ; and the vase was probably a 
 cinerary urn belonging to the sepulchre. The 
 elegance of form and the admirable workman- 
 ship of the vase procured for it a place in the 
 palace Of the Barberini family at Rome, where 
 it remained more than two centuries ; after 
 which it became the property of Sir William 
 Hamilton, from whom it passed to the Duchess 
 of Portland. In 1810 it was deposited in the 
 British Museum by the Duke of Portland. 
 On Feb. 7, 1845, a young man, a visitor at 
 the museum, wilfully broke the vase into 
 several pieces by throwing a stone at it. The 
 offender was secured, and punished by im- 
 prisonment. He seemed to be influenced by 
 no other motive than a morbid desire for 
 notoriety. The fragments of the vase were 
 afterwards joined together, and the work re- 
 stored far more successfully than might have 
 been anticipated. 
 
 This vase was said by Montfaucon to be 
 formed of a precious stone; but subsequent 
 examinations has shown the material to be 
 dark blue glass, relieved by figures and 
 devices in white enamel. It is about ten 
 inches in height. 
 
 PORTSMOUTH DOCKYARD. The ex- 
 cellence of Portsmouth Harbour attracted the 
 notice of the Romans, who established a 
 station at Porchester on its northern shore. 
 Portsmouth was a place of importance in the 
 time of Henry I., and there wa<> a naval 
 station there in the reign of John. The 
 dockyard is the largest in the kingdom, 
 covering from 115 to 120 acres. It includes 
 a rope-house, anchor wharfs, an anchor forge, 
 a copper-sheathing foundry and mills ; block, 
 mast, sail and rigging, and other store-houses; 
 a grand basin, in which vessels are received 
 with all their standing and running rigging to 
 be repaired ; building slips, docks for repairing 
 in a word, all that is requisite for the con 
 struction, equipment, armament, and repair of 
 vessels. There arc also residences for the 
 port-admiral, the admiral superintendent, and 
 other officers of the yard, a chapel, a school 
 for naval architecture, and other buildings. 
 The block-machinery, invented by the late 
 Sir M. Isambert Brunei, is an admirable 
 manifestation of mechanical skill ; it is im- 
 pelled by steam. [BLOCK-MACHINERY.] Ad- 
 jacent to the dockyard is the spacious and 
 
1363 
 
 PORTUGAL. 
 
 POST. 
 
 1304 
 
 well furnished gun wharf and its connected 
 buildings. It is the grand depot for cannon, 
 shot, and every description of ordnance stores. 
 
 The trade of Portsmouth, which is consider- 
 able at all times, but especially in time of 
 war, depends much upon the expenditure con- 
 nected with or caused by the naval station and 
 dockyard, and is of a very miscellaneous 
 character. There is a considerable import of 
 cattle from the Isle of Wight and from the 
 west of England. Corn and provisions are 
 brought in from Ireland, eggs from France, 
 timber from the Baltic, and wine is imported 
 direct from the Continent. Steam commu- 
 nication is kept up with the Isle of "Wight, 
 Southampton, Plymouth, and Havre. The 
 number of vessels registered at the port is 
 about 150. 
 
 PORTUGAL. The agricultural produce of 
 this country includes corn, Indian corn, rice, 
 hemp, flax, honey, wax, plenty of fruit, espe- 
 cially excellent oranges and lemons, almonds, 
 and abundance of good wine. The sea along 
 the coasts and the rivers abound with fish, 
 which is a great article of food with all 
 classes. Sea-salt is collected in various places, 
 particularly in the lagoon of Setubal. The 
 sheep supply abundance of wool, of which 
 some is equal to that of the Spanish merinos 
 in fineness. Portugal has mines of copper, 
 tin, and iron, of which only some of iron are 
 worked. The manufactured articles are coarse 
 woollen cloths in Alentejo and Beira; linens 
 in Minho, Beira, and Tras os Montes ; silks at 
 Campo Grande, near Lisbon, and also at 
 Oporto and Braganza; jewellery at Lisbon and 
 Oporto. There are glass-works at Marinha 
 Grande; paper manufactories at Alemquer, 
 Lisbon, and Guimaraens; potteries at Lisbon, 
 Oporto, Coimbra, Beja, Estremoz, and Caldes; 
 cotton manufactories at Alcobaca and Thomar ; 
 and tanneries in various parts. 
 
 The foreign trade is principally in the hands 
 of English merchants. Most of the Portu- 
 guese wines and other produce are consumed 
 in England; especially the wines, of which no 
 less than nine-tenths of the quantity sold to 
 European countries are sent to England; 
 this results from the prevalent taste for Port 
 wine in England. The quantity of wine ex- 
 ported to England in the year 1847 was 
 2,883,896 gallons. The wine-produce of 1850 
 has been lately stated to amount to : 
 
 First class wines 34,226 pipes. 
 
 Second 18,908 
 
 Third 19,864 
 
 Fourth 12,346 
 
 85,344 pipes. 
 Portugal holds a very humble position in 
 
 respect to industry and commerce. There 
 are no railways or canals ; the roads are bad ; 
 and the rivers are navigable only in certain 
 parts of the year. Yet there are not wanting 
 indications of some revival of commercial 
 spirit. The English Industrial Exhibition 
 has called forth the dormant energies of many 
 manufacturers; the articles of Portuguese 
 manufacture were exhibited at Lisbon before 
 being sent to England ; the Government 
 voted a sum to defray the expences of trans- 
 port; and a spirit of fair emulation was excited. 
 A communication from Portugal to one of the 
 London journals, if correct in its statements, 
 will shew that the last ten years have been 
 years of progress in Portuguese industry : 
 "Oporto, the depot of our best wines, has 
 likewise become the chief seat of our manu- 
 facturing industry. It is now avast workshop, 
 distinguished not only by the great power of 
 its machinery, but by the humanizing occu- 
 pation of its people. A district almost wholly 
 industrial adjoins Lisbon on the side next to the 
 entrance of the port. Cavilha,in a few years, 
 has raised twenty new factories. Portaligue 
 thrives admirably in its industry. The credit 
 of our Torres Novas linens improves un- 
 questionably. Wool, both Portuguese and 
 foreign, is woven and dyed in different man- 
 ners in our factories. The brightness of the 
 colours we use enhances the productions 
 which in this process receive their perfecting 
 finish. Our cotton printing establishments are 
 advancing rapidly to perfection. The expen- 
 sive and colossal industry of cotton spinning 
 and weaving is already founded in Portugal. 
 Our iron foundries produce machinery capable 
 of presenting in the market solid and well- 
 finished productions. The first steam boilers, 
 of Portuguese manufacture, are constructing 
 in one of the Lisbon workshops. Cabinet- 
 making, cutlery, and other applications of 
 labour to the raw material, are generally im- 
 proving very greatly, and all this progress has 
 been made within little more than ten years." 
 
 POST ; MAILS ; LETTERS. To trace 
 the influence of the postage system on the 
 industry and commerce of the country is quite 
 beyond our present bounds. Whether as re- 
 gards the internal machinery of the great 
 establishment in St. Martin's-le- Grand; the 
 wonderful effect of the penny postage rute ; 
 the rapid transit of letters by railway; the 
 establishment of ocean mails ; or the surpris- 
 ing results of money orders the subject is 
 indeed a vast one. We can give only a few 
 figures in reference to it. 
 
 The increase of letters has been at least 
 eight fold since the reduction in the rate of 
 postage. On the 5th of December, 1839, the 
 
CYCIOP&Q2A F THE iMMSTflY OF At.1 II 
 
 No. 33. 
 
1365 
 
 POST. 
 
 POTA'SSIUM. 
 
 1866 
 
 change was made from distance-rates to a four- 
 penny rate; and on the 10th of December 
 following a further change to the penny-rate 
 was made. The following are the total num- 
 bers of letters which passed through the post- 
 offices of the United Kingdom in the last 
 twelve years, beginning with the year when 
 the first partial change was made : 
 
 Year. Number of Letters. 
 
 1839 76,000,000 
 
 1840 169,000,000 
 
 1841 196,500,000 
 
 1842 208,500,000 
 
 1843 220,500,000 
 
 1844 242,000,000 
 
 1845 271,500,000 
 
 1846 299,500,000 
 
 1847 322,000,000 
 
 .1848 329,000,000 
 
 1849 337,500,000 
 
 1850 347,000,000 
 
 In the year 1851 we may take one million 
 letters per day, Sundays included, as a very- 
 near approximation to the probable number. 
 In the year before the alteration (1838) the 
 gross receipts of the post-office were 2,467,216/.; 
 the net receipts were 1,676,522/. In 1849, the 
 gross receipts were 2,213,149; and the net 
 receipts 840,787;. 
 
 The conveyance of the letters from one 
 part of the kingdom to another is effected by 
 contract between the postmaster-general and 
 the coach and railway proprietors. In the 
 year 1839 the number of miles travelled by 
 mail coaches was 7,377,851, at an average 
 speed of about nine miles an hour. At the 
 present time all the mails from London are 
 conveyed by railway, with the aid of branch 
 coaches to convey them beyond the reach of 
 the railways. Contracts are entered into with 
 the various companies and the rates deter- 
 mined partly on the probable number of letters, 
 and partly on the length of line. In 1849, 
 the General Post-Office paid to the Kailway 
 Companies for conveying letters and news- 
 papers the sum of 253,586J. The mileage per- 
 formed by the trains which conveyed the letters 
 and newspapers was upwards of 20,000,000 
 miles. 
 
 Among the many admirable contrivances for 
 facilitating the post-office business of railways, 
 is Mr. Dicker's apparatus for giving and re- 
 ceiving the bags at each station. The appa- 
 ratus is used by many of the great companies, 
 and is about being used by more. The post 
 stations are more numerous than the passenger 
 stations ; or, more correctly, the mail trains do 
 not stop at certain minor stations, which 
 must yet have their regular bags of letters ; 
 and as the throwing of the bags to or from 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 the platform during a speed of 30 miles an 
 hour would be very uncertain work, another 
 plan is adopted. The station keeper adjusts 
 the bag which is to go from the station ; and 
 the mail-guard adjusts that which is to go to 
 the station. The station has a delivery standard, 
 and the mail-carriage has a receiving net ; the 
 two bags are hung loosely, respectively, oil 
 the standard and on the edge of the net ; and 
 while the train is passing rapidly by the 
 station, the edge of the net catches against 
 the station-bag, whisks it off a kind of hook, 
 and deposits it in the net which is spread open 
 at the aide of the carriage ; at the same in- 
 stant the carriage-bag is caught against the 
 standard, and thrown down upon the platform, 
 or else enclosed in a net. 
 
 In tespect to foreign countries, there are 
 contracts in force with steam-packet com- 
 panies for the conveyance of mails from 
 England to various parts of the world. The 
 amount paid for this service in 1849 was 
 748,296J. 
 
 The principle of cheap postage has been 
 applied to the transmission of money through 
 the post-office by means of money-orders. A 
 few years ago the cost of sending 10s. to a 
 person 160 miles from London would have 
 been 2s. 2d., whereas the expense would now 
 be only 4rf., including the postage. In 
 November, 1840, the commission on money- 
 orders was reduced from Is. 6d. to 6d. for 
 sums above 21. and not exceeding 51. ; and 
 from 6d. to 3d. for sums not exceeding 21. 
 The number of offices empowered to grant 
 money-orders has been increased, and other 
 facilities have been granted. The consequence 
 of these successive changes have been as 
 follows : 
 
 Number and amount of money-orders issued 
 in England and Wales in the quarters ending 
 No Amount: 
 
 5 April, 1839 .... 28,838 49,496 
 
 5 Jan., 1840 .... 40,763 67,411 
 
 5 Jan., 1841 .... 189,984 334,652 
 
 6 Jan., 1849 4,203,727 8,151,295 
 
 5 Jan., 1850 .... 4,248,891 8,152,643 
 POTA'SSIUM; POTASH. The remark- 
 able metal Potassium was discovered by Sir 
 H. Davy in the year 1807. Its properties 
 are the following: In colour and lustre if 
 strongly resembles mercury; it is solid at the 
 usual temperature of the air : at 50 it is soft 
 and malleable, and yields like wax to moderate 
 pressure, and at 32 it becomes brittle; at 
 70 it is somewhat fluid, but not perfectly so 
 till the temperature reaches 150 ; if heated to 
 low redness, out of the contact of the air, it 
 sublimes, and condenses on cooling, un- 
 changed. Its texture when brittle is crystal- 
 
1367 
 
 POTA'SSIUM. 
 
 POTA'SSIUM. 
 
 1368 
 
 line. Its specific gravity at 60 is only 0-865, 
 thereby presenting a remarkable contrast to 
 mercury. It is opaque, and a good conductor 
 of heat and electricity. 
 
 The most remarkable chemical property of 
 potassium is its great affinity for oxygen, 
 which at common temperatures exceeds that 
 of any other body for this elementary sub- 
 stance. It tarnishes rapidly and visibly by 
 mere exposure to the air, and the more rapidly 
 as the air contains moisture, which it decom- 
 poses, and by combining with its oxygen be- 
 comes oxide of potassium, or potash. On 
 account of its powerful affinity for oxygen, it 
 must be kept either in small glass tubes her- 
 metically sealed, or in a fluid, such as naphtha, 
 which contains no oxygen. When heated in 
 the air it takes fire, burns with a purple flame, 
 the evolution of much heat, and is converted 
 either into potash or peroxide of potash, or 
 a mixture of them. It takes the oxygen from 
 any mixture of gases containing it, and indeed 
 from almost every substance with which that 
 element happens to be combined ; so that 
 when thrown upon water it decomposes it, 
 burning vividly. 
 
 Oxygen and Potassium form two compounds, 
 of which the chief is the well known substance 
 Potash. This is white, solid, extremely caustic, 
 and readily attracts moisture and carbonic 
 acid from the air ; it fuses when heated, but 
 bears a high temperature without being vola- 
 tilised or decomposed. The hydrate of potash 
 is formed whenever an aqueous solution of 
 potash is evaporated to dryness ; it is white, 
 hard, and brittle, extremely caustic, very de- 
 liquescent, and very soluble both in water and 
 in alcohol. Potash is most extensively em- 
 ployed in manufactures, and is an extremely 
 valuable alkali. From a combination of cyan- 
 ogen with potassium Prussian Blue is obtained. 
 Nitrate of Potash, Nitre, or Saltpetre, is colour- 
 less, inodorous, has a cooling, sharp saline 
 taste, and is readily soluble both in cold and 
 in hot water. At about 616 of Fahr. nitre 
 fuses, and at a high temperature it suffers 
 decomposition. Nitre possesses powerful anti- 
 septic properties. It is largely employed in 
 the manufacture of gunpowder and of nitric 
 acid, and also in numerous processes in the 
 chemical arts and manufactures. Chlorate of 
 Potash is colourless, inodorous, and has a 
 cooling austere taste. When triturated with 
 certain inflammable bodies, as sulphur and 
 phosphorus, combustion or explosion, or both, 
 are produced. This salt is employed in chemi- 
 cal investigations on account of the purity of 
 the oxygen gas which it yields ; it is also 
 employed in the manufacture of matches which 
 are fired by means of friction. [MATCHES.] 
 
 Carbonate of Potash is known in its impure 
 state by the name of Pearl Ash ; when pure, 
 it is colourless and inodorous, its taste is 
 strong and disagreeable, it does not readily 
 crystallise, and is never kept in crystals ; it is 
 largely employed in the arts, and also in 
 medicine. Bicarbonate of Potash is inodorous, 
 colourless, and crystalline ; has scarcely any 
 alkaline taste, and is largely employed in 
 medicine and in chemical investigations. Sul- 
 phate of Potash is colourless, inodorous, bitter, 
 and rather hard ; it is employed to a small 
 extent in medicine and manufactures. Bi- 
 tartrate of Potash, Cream of Tartar, or Tartar, 
 is colourless, rather hard, inodorous, and has 
 a sour taste. It is very largely employed in 
 the preparation of tartaric acid, in medicine, 
 and some chemical arts. When an equivalent 
 of potash is added to this salt, it becomes 
 neutral tartrate of potash ; this salt is used in 
 medicine, and being much more soluble in 
 water than the bitartrate, was formerly called 
 Soluble Tartar. Oxalic Add forms three 
 different compounds with potash, the oxalate, 
 quadroxalate, and binoxalate ; this last is a 
 natural product obtained from son-el, and is 
 commonly known by the name of salt of sorrel. 
 It is a colourless crystalline salt, and has a 
 sour bitterish taste. There are many other 
 valuable substances obtained from potassium. 
 
 POTATO. The potato was first brought 
 to this country from Virginia by Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, and was first planted in his garden at 
 Youghal, in Ireland. But the potato had been 
 known in Spain and Portugal at an earlier 
 period, and it is from them that we most directly 
 derive the name by which we know it. The in- 
 habitants of Quito called it by some name 
 which the Spaniards corrupted into battata, 
 to which potato is a close approximation. The 
 potato was limited to the garden for at least a 
 century and a half after it was first planted at 
 Youghal, and it was not until 1732 cultivated 
 as a field crop in Scotland. 
 
 The farina of the potato, properly granu- 
 lated and dried, is sold in our shops as tapioca, 
 to which it bears the closest resemblance both 
 in appearance and essential properties. For 
 confectionary the flour is so delicately white, 
 and it is so digestible and nutritious, that it 
 ought to be in more general use, among the 
 children of the poor especially, in the winter 
 season, when they so rarely enjoy the luxury 
 of milk; and the cost is not more than a 
 sixth or seventh of the price of tapioca or 
 arrow root, if it bo made at home. Few 
 housewives are ignorant of the method of 
 obtaining it by the use of a common hand- 
 grater and sieve ; but for yielding larger 
 supplies some machinery is necessary. 
 
1369 
 
 POTOSr MINE. 
 
 The misery of Ireland, consequent on the 
 failure of the potato crop, is too well known 
 to require notice here. In 1847, the Earl of 
 Clarendon, wishing to know the exact amount 
 of vegetable food grown in the country, caused 
 an accurate enumeration to be made. It was 
 found that there were 284,116 acres of land 
 under potato-crop in 1847 ; the produce of 
 which was estimated at 2,046,195 tons of 
 potatoes. No means are at hand for deter- 
 mining the ratio which these. numbers bear to 
 those of former years ; but it is well known 
 that the quantity was greatly diminished 
 during and immediately after the disastrous 
 year 1846 
 
 It has been lately estimated that the 
 potatoes sold in Covent Garden market an- 
 nually amount to about 6,600 tons, or about 
 14,000,000 Ibs. 
 
 POTOSI' MINE. Potosi, a town in South 
 America, in the republic of Bolivia, has near 
 it the mountain or Cerro de Potosi, 16,037 
 feet high. It contains one of the richest 
 silver mines in the world ; the mine has 
 yielded since 1556 an amount of silver worth 
 nearly 200,000,000^. sterling. Potosi con- 
 tains about 30,000 inhabitants. 
 
 POTTEKIES. The name of The Potteries 
 is given to a remarkable district in Stafford- 
 shire, in which the greater part of the English 
 pottery and porcelain is made. It is a row of 
 seven or eight towns, lying along the same 
 turnpike road, and having the intervals be- 
 tween them every year more and more filled 
 up by more than twenty hamlets and chapel- 
 ries. It may be characterised as a street eight 
 miles in length, with shorter streets branching 
 out on either side. Over the whole of this 
 space the characteristics of a pottery district 
 are observable ; especially the bulky and some- 
 what ugly Kilns which every establishment 
 possesses. The chief towns among the group 
 are Tunstall, Burslem, Longport, Hanley, 
 Shelton, Stoke, Fenton, and Lane End ; the 
 smaller places are too numerous for enumer- 
 ation here. Etruria, the celebrated establish- 
 ment where Wedgewood obtained his fame 
 and his wealth, is not so much a town as a 
 factory, with the mansion of the proprietor 
 and the houses of the workpeople. There 
 are not less than a hundred and twenty 
 pottery and porcelain establishments in the 
 district, some of which employ six or eight 
 hundred persons each. The names of Cope- 
 land, Minton, Eidgway, Davenport, and Wood 
 are among the most celebrated of the manu- 
 facturers; and it is among these we are to 
 look for those gradual improvements which 
 will leave us nothing to wish for in emulating 
 the production of China, Sevres, and Dresden 
 
 POTTEKY AND PORCELAIN. 1370 
 
 The Exhibition of 1851 will tell its own tale 
 >n this subject. 
 
 In the last annual report of the School of 
 Design, the following interesting remarks are 
 made on the progress of the branch Schools 
 n the Pottery district: r The schools at 
 Stoke and Hanley continue to be conducted 
 n the most satisfactory manner, and are 
 exercising a marked influence on the manu- 
 actures of those places. The proportion of 
 he students actually engaged in the manu- 
 actories is unusually large, amounting to 
 liree fourths of the whole number ; and 
 about thirty are established modellers and 
 painters. Several of the young pupils have 
 advanced to the study of colour, but the 
 difficulty of forming or maintaining a class, in 
 the absence of proper examples, is extreme. 
 A life class is established at Hanley. The 
 modelling classes have now assumed their 
 proper importance in the schools, with re- 
 ference not only to their numbers, but to the 
 quality of the pupils, many of whom are 
 modellers of long standing, established in 
 the manufactories, who come to the schools 
 already skilled in the handicraft of their 
 business. Their practice in the schools is to 
 study the figure, and to model after the finest 
 examples of ornament, and afterwards to 
 exercise their knowledge of form and relief 
 by reproducing specimens of the like cha- 
 racter, from the engravings of Albertolli and 
 others. Xo plan can be better adapted for 
 spreading among the modellers, who are also 
 to a great extent the designers, that in which 
 their previous education has been deficient, 
 that is to say, a knowledge of the best forms, 
 and taste to prefer them. There are also 
 several pupils in the modelling classes who 
 have begun at the beginning, and worked 
 through the elementary studies of the school. 
 One of the principal modellers in the Potteries 
 is stated to have drawn his first line in the 
 Hanley school.' 
 
 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. The 
 pottery art appears to have been practised in 
 the earliest ages, and undoubtedly has been 
 known amongst the rudest nations. The 
 most ancient records allude to the potter's 
 wheel, and we have proof that great skill had 
 been acquired in the manufacture of porce- 
 lain of a superior quality in China and in 
 Japan at a very remote date. The little 
 figures, covered with a fine deep-blue glaze, 
 which are deposited with Egyptian mummies, 
 and numerous jars, some specimens of which 
 may be seen in the British Museum, show 
 that in Egypt, likewise, the art was anciently 
 practised. Vestiges of considerable Roman 
 potteries have been discovered in many parts 
 
1371 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. 
 
 of this island. In newly-discovered countries 
 it has been found that the use of earthen 
 vessels is familiar among people otherwise 
 little acquainted with the arts of civilised life 
 
 Although Earthenware may be considerec 
 as a general term applicable to all utensils 
 composed of earthen materials, it is usual to 
 distiaguish such utensilg more particularly 
 into three different kinds, namely, Pottery 
 Eartlienware t and Porcelain. Under Pottery 
 are classed the brown stoneware made into 
 jugs, &c., red pans and pots, porous vessels 
 &o. Earthenware consists of the white, blue 
 and white, and yellow ware, which is so exten- 
 sively used in this country. Porcelain is 
 distinguished from earthenware as being 
 semi-vitrified compound, in which one portion 
 remains infusible at the greatest heat to which 
 it can be exposed, while the other portion 
 vitrifies at a certain heat, and thus intimately 
 combines with and envelopes the infusible 
 part, producing a smooth, compact, shining, 
 and semi-transparent substance, well known 
 as the characteristic of true porcelain. 
 
 Until the beginning of the 18th century, 
 the manufacture of earthenware in this 
 country was confined to a few objects of the 
 coarsest description, and till nearly the close 
 of the same century, the porcelain of China 
 was still in common use on the tables of the 
 wealthy, the home manufacture being confined 
 to articles of the commonest domestic use. 
 Earthenware was likewise largely imported 
 from Holland, and superior kinds from Ger- 
 many and France. English earthenware and 
 porcelain are now not only brought into gene- 
 ral use in this country, to the exclusion of all 
 foreign goods, but earthenware is also largely 
 exported to almost every part of the known 
 world, and even to those countries where the 
 art was previously prosecuted. England is 
 mainly indebted to Mr. Wedgwood for the 
 extraordinary improvement and rapid exten- 
 sion of this branch of industry. Before his 
 time our potteries produced only inferior 
 fabrics, easily broken or injured, and totally 
 devoid of taste as to form and ornaments. 
 Wedgwood's success was not the result of any 
 fortunate discovery accidentally made, but 
 was due to patient investigation and unre- 
 mitting efforts. He called upon a higher class 
 of men than had usually been employed in 
 this manufacture to assist in his labours, and 
 in prosecuting his experiments he was guided 
 by sound scientific principles ; and signal suc- 
 cess,which crowned his first exertions, only 
 served as an additional motive for continuing 
 his pursuit. One of the principal inventions 
 of Mr. Wedgwood was his table ware, known 
 at present as Queen's Wrc. It is charncter- 
 
 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. 1372 
 
 ised as a dense and durable substance, covered 
 with a brilliant glaze, and capable of bearing 
 uninjured sudden alternations of heat and 
 cold. Mr. Wedgwood's more beautiful inven- 
 tions were a terra cotta, which could be made 
 to resemble porphyry, granite, Egyptian peb- 
 ble, and other beautiful stones of the silicious 
 or crystalline land ; a black porcelainous bis- 
 cuit, very much resembling basalt in its pro- 
 perties, and therefore called Basaltes ; a white 
 and a cane-coloured porcelain biscuit, both 
 smooth and of a wax-like appearance ; and 
 another white porcelainous biscuit, distin- 
 guished as jasper, having in general all the 
 properties of the basaltes, with a very impor- 
 tant addition, the capability of receiving 
 through its whole substance from the admix- 
 ture of metallic oxides, the same colours as 
 those oxides communicate to glass or enamel 
 in fusion. This peculiar property renders it 
 applicable to the production of cameos and all 
 subjects required to be shown in bas-relief, as 
 the ground can be made of any colour, while 
 the raised figures are of the purest white. 
 Mr. Wedgwood likewise invented a porcelain 
 biscuit, nearly as hard as agate, which will 
 resist the action of all corrosive substances, 
 and is consequently peculiarly well adapted for 
 mortars in the chemist's laboratory. 
 
 Since porcelain is only a finer kind of pot- 
 tery, the following description, in its earlier 
 portion at least, will comprehend the mode of 
 manufacturing both kinds of ware. 
 
 The materials for earthenware are reduced 
 to the consistence of cream, in which state 
 they are called slip; this fluidity is necessary 
 to insure the perfect mixture of all the ingre- 
 dients, and their mutual chemical action in 
 the fire. The basis of the composition is a 
 clay from the plastic clay formation in Devon- 
 shire or Dorsetshire, to which is added ground 
 flint, which gives whiteness and solidity to the 
 goods. For the better kinds, a portion of 
 Uhina-clay, or decomposed felspar from Corn 
 ,vall, is added, together with a small quantity 
 of ground white granite. By this means the 
 density of the ware is increased, greater purity 
 of whiteness is obtained, and also a degree of 
 ;itrification which makes the ware sonorous 
 when struck. The flints employed are burned 
 n a kiln, slaked to destroy their coherence, 
 and ground to powder in a mill. The powder 
 s then sifted in water, until reduced to a fit 
 state for combination with the other substances. 
 The clays are thrown into their several vats 
 unk in the ground, where they are blended 
 with water, and sifted through fine silk lawns 
 nto other receptacles, and then diluted with 
 vater. The mingled flint and clay, in the 
 tate of a creamy liquid, is then pumped into 
 
1373 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. 
 
 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. 1874 
 
 a boiler, or slip-kiln, the bottom of which is 
 formed of large flat fire-bricks, under -which 
 four or five parallel flues pass from the fire 
 place to a high chimney. The water is eva- 
 porated, until the boiling mass is brought to 
 a proper consistency for working ; but the 
 steam having given it a cellular and porous 
 texture, it requires to be beaten or wedged 
 until the air is driven out, and, a section of 
 the mass, when cut, is smooth and compact. 
 
 All the various lands of ware, such as cream 
 ware, drab ware, drab body, brown body, Egyp- 
 tian black) bine body, jasper body, turquoise 
 body, cfec., are formed of different kinds and 
 proportions of flint and clay, with small addi- 
 tions of colouring materials. Round articles, 
 which may be turned upon a lathe, have their 
 form given upon the thrower's wheel, which 
 is a lathe with a vertical spindle, having a 
 small round table on the top, at which the 
 thrower sits. He receives the clay prepared 
 to the proper size by a woman, and throws it 
 upon the whirling-table between his knees, 
 which is put in motion by the wheel-woman, 
 whose eye watches every motion of the thrower, 
 and regulates the velocity of the work with 
 perfect accuracy. The thrower first draws 
 the clay up into a pillar, then depresses it into 
 a flat cake, until the whole mass has been 
 drawn into a circular arrangement of all its 
 parts. He then opens the hollow of the ves- 
 sel with his thumbs, and continues to draw 
 out the clay, or press it inwards, until the 
 desired shape is given to it. It is then cut 
 from the table by a brass wire, and placed on 
 a board, which, when full, is carried into a 
 stove-room to harden. 
 
 "When a number of vessels of the same size 
 are to be thrown, a gauge is fixed so that its 
 point just touches the top edge of the article 
 when it is revolving; this fixes both the 
 height and diameter of all that are made in 
 that pattern. 
 
 When the vessels are sufficiently hardened, 
 they are turned upon a lathe similar to that 
 used by wood-turners. The turner dexter- 
 ously shaves away the clay to the proper 
 thickness, and works the mouldings, &c., 
 polishing the whole with a steel burnisher. 
 He frequently ornaments bowls, jugs, &c., 
 with a coating of various coloured clays, which 
 are sometimes blended with each other, so as 
 to give a marbled surface; by these earthy 
 pigments he produces an infinite variety of 
 patterns. This kind is called Dipped Ware. 
 
 Such articles as require handles and spouts 
 are then passed to the handler, who makes 
 those appendages in plaster moulds, and sticks 
 them to the vessels M'ith liquid clay. Plain 
 
 hole of the proper size and form, and as the 
 clay comes through in long strings, it is cut 
 off, and bent into the desired shape for the 
 handle. 
 
 Thrown and turned goods are sometimes 
 ornamented with figures in relief, which are 
 made out of flatmoulds by children, and fixed 
 upon the ware by workmen, who, having care- 
 fully adjusted each figure to its place, run a 
 little water under it with a camel-hair pencil, 
 which unites it to the surface of the pot. 
 Goods of an oval or angular shape, which can- 
 not be turned, are made by pressing clay into 
 plaster moulds, which give the outside form 
 to the vessel : this is called Hollow- Ware 
 Pressing. Another kind, called Flat-Ware 
 Pressing, is performed by giving the shape to 
 the goods by moulds which fit the inside of 
 the vessel; plates, dishes, saucers, cups, and 
 hand-basins are made on this principle. 
 
 Casting is resorted to when a mould is so 
 intricate as to be difficult for the workmen to 
 fill by pressing. Slip clay is poured into the 
 mould, which rapidly absorbs the water ; and 
 a coating of clay is deposited upon the inside ; 
 the remaining fluid is then poured out or 
 drawn with a syringe, and a thicker mixture 
 is put in, and left rather longer than the first 
 before it is withdrawn. The mould is then 
 put into a stove to dry. 
 
 When completed by the workman, the goods 
 are placed on boards to dry, before going to 
 the biscuit-oven, in which they receive the first 
 fire. The ware to be thus burnt is placed in 
 Saggers made of crucible clay ; in shape they 
 resemble hat-boxes, and being piled in columns, 
 each sagger covers the one beneath it, and 
 protects the goods from the immediate con- 
 ;act of smoke and flame. When the baking 
 is finished and the oven cooled, the doorway 
 s opened, the saggers brought out, and their 
 contents submitted to a rigid scrutiny: all 
 cracked and crooked pieces are rejected and 
 thrown away. The ware is now called Biscuit, 
 and in this state goes to the printer or biscuit- 
 painter to be ornamented. 
 
 The printing of earthenware is effected by 
 transfer-papers from engraved copper-plates. 
 The ink used in printing is made of linseed- 
 oil boiled with litharge, rosin, balsam of 
 sulphur, or Barbadoes tar, and is tinted with 
 any of the usual mineral colours blue being 
 the principal, and formed of oxide of cobalt. 
 The colour having been ground very fine, the 
 printer blends it with his oil upon a hot stove, 
 and filling the engraved plate with it, takes 
 off the impression by the common rolling- 
 press. The tissue-paper used for this pur- 
 pose is first prepared with a solution of soap. 
 
 handles are pressed by a syringe through a | As soon as the print is taken, a girl cuts out 
 
1375 POTTEKY AND PORCELAIN. 
 
 the engraving with scissors, and hands it to 
 the transferor, who carefully places the print 
 upon thehiscuit-ware, which being absorbent, 
 holds it with great tenacity. The transferer 
 then passes it to her assistant, who with the 
 end of a cylinder of flannel, tightly rolled and 
 bound with twine, rubs the print with such 
 force as to work the ink into close contact 
 with the biscuit. The goods thus coated 
 with paper are then put into a tub of water, 
 and the paper being wiped off with a sponge, 
 every minute point of the engraving is found 
 accurately transferred to the earthenware. 
 When dry, the goods are packed close in a 
 large muffle, or kiln, round which a fire cir- 
 culates, and brings the whole to a low red 
 heat. By this means the oil is burned out 
 of the colour, which would be injurious to the 
 process of glazing which follows. Some pat- 
 terns are executed on biscuit by painters, who 
 lay on the colours in gum-water. 
 
 The biscuit-ware, thus ornamented, is car- 
 ried to the dipper, who dips each piece into 
 the tub containing the finely-ground mixture 
 which, when melted, forms the glassy coating 
 to the ware. This glaze is blended in water, 
 which, being absorbed by the biscuit, leaves a 
 thin cover of glazing-powder upon the surface ; 
 a dexterous shake of each piece in a circular 
 motion, as it emerges from the fluid, prevents 
 the glaze from setting unequally, and throws 
 off all that is superflous. The material of 
 the glaze differs according to the kind of ware : 
 white lead is a general ingredient. 
 
 When the goods have been dipped in the 
 glazing mixture, they are dried, and placed in 
 saggers, which are washed on the inside with 
 a compound of glaze with lime and clay. 
 Every piece is carefully placed so as not to 
 touch another; otherwise, when the glaze 
 melts, they would stick together. When 
 drawn from the oven, the ware is carried in 
 baskets to the glossed warehouse, where it is 
 again subjected to a close examination. 
 
 Porcelain is a finer species of pottery, in 
 which the ingredients are so selected that 
 they act chemically upon each other, and are 
 brought to a state of vitrification ; the fracture 
 has a dense or greasy surface, like that of a 
 flint stone, and is therefore not liable to be 
 acted upon by acids. When the porcelain is 
 coloured by metallic matter, it is called stone- 
 ware ; jasper and some drab-ware are of this 
 description : but when it is perfectly free from 
 colouring matter and is translucent, it is called 
 China ; of which there are two species, hard 
 and soft china. 
 
 Hard China is formed chiefly of Kaolin or 
 Cornish clay, felspar, sand, and selenite ; but 
 Soft China, which is more frequently made in 
 
 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. 1376 
 
 England, has a different composition. Bones 
 calcined and ground are largely used in the 
 manufacture of English china, combined with 
 aluminous and silicious earths in such pro- 
 portions that they will vitrify together. The 
 mode of mixing the materials, and the general 
 processes of manufacture, are nearly the same 
 as for earthenware. 
 
 The decoration of china by enamel colours 
 and gold affords employment to a great num- 
 ber of persons, some of whom attain great 
 excellence in their beautiful art. The colours 
 used are all prepared from metallic oxides, 
 which are ground with fluxes, or fusible glasses 
 of various degrees of softness, suited to the 
 peculiar colours with which they are used. 
 When painted, the goods are placed in the 
 enamel-kiln, where the fluxed colours melt, 
 and fasten to the glazed surface, forming co- 
 loured glasses. The gold, which is applied 
 in the form of an amalgam ground in turpen- 
 tine, is afterwards burnished with steel bur- 
 nishers. 
 
 Pottery, comprising the coarsest and com- 
 monest wares, involves the use of clay only, 
 and requires much less careful processes than 
 porcelain or earthenware. 
 
 The porcelain manufacture has made great 
 advances within the last few years. The 
 Exhibitions of manufactures in this country 
 have afforded room for the honourable emu- 
 lation of manufacturers from different dis- 
 tricts ; while the excellence of Sevres, Dresden, 
 and other foreign manufactures of porcelain, 
 have shewn our native artists what are the 
 points in which we are still excelled by our 
 neighbours. The production of statuettes in 
 biscuit and parian has lately reached a high 
 degree of beauty ; especially in those specimens 
 which, under the name of Art Manufactures, 
 have called forth the inventive skill of Bell, 
 Marshall, and other sculptors, and the prac- 
 tical skill of Minton, Copeland, and other 
 distinguished manufacturers. Slabs of highly 
 decorated porcelain are now much used in 
 fire-places, and in many forms of house- 
 decoration. The mode of pressing dry porce- 
 lain powder into various forms has given rise 
 to many new productions [BUTTON MANUFAC- 
 TURE] ; and the combination of parti-coloured 
 clays has enabled the manufacturers to imitate 
 many of the pavements and floors of the 
 Romans [TESSELATED FLOORS.] 
 
 In respect to the commerce in these articles, 
 it is the plain, neat, well made, and well glazed 
 earthenware, for which the greatest demand 
 exists in foreign countries ; for no where are 
 such things so excellently produced as in 
 England. The export in the last three years 
 has been 
 
1377 
 
 POULTBY 
 
 PBINTING. 
 
 1378 
 
 1848 53,286,076 pieces. 
 
 1849 61,528,196 
 
 1850 76,952,735 
 
 Two-thirds of these quantities go to the United 
 States. The more costly porcelain, and the 
 rough stone-ware, are not so largely exported 
 as earthenware. 
 
 POULTRY. The mechanical arrangements 
 for facilitating the hatching of poultry have 
 heen noticed under HATCHING. In respect to 
 the commerce in this variety of farm produce, 
 the only enumeration or estimate which we 
 have met with is that which was made in 
 Ireland in 1847. The poultry then alive in 
 all the farms in Ireland numbered as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Leinster 1,674,039 
 
 Munster ], 684,7 75 
 
 Ulster 1,567,587 
 
 Connaught 764,654 
 
 5,691,055 
 
 In one of the recent valuable papers in the 
 Morning Chronicle, it is stated that the average 
 yearly sale of tame birds, or poultry, at New- 
 gate Market, is about 900,000 ; while that of 
 wild birds, or game, is about 400,000 ; making 
 1,300,000 in all. But Leadenhall Market is 
 said to be the largest poultry and game market 
 in the world ; the numbers are given, by the 
 above authority, at 2,700,000 poultry, and 
 1,300,000 game, making together 4,000,000. 
 
 POWEB is a term applied to any cause 
 which is capable of producing motion, or of 
 resisting motion ; but the word has a merely 
 technical meaning in treatises of mechanics. 
 From among the numerous combinations 
 which occur in machinery, the Lever, Inclined 
 Plane, Wheel and Axle, Pulley, Wedge, and 
 Scrciv, have been selected, and named Mecha- 
 nical Powers, apparently because they are the 
 simplest objects by which are produced such 
 effects as could not be produced by the unas- 
 sisted or unadapted operations of a motive 
 agent, as gravitation, muscular strength, &c. 
 The word Power here may be conceived to 
 signify that which produces a mechanical 
 advantage ; but the same word may be used 
 to signify a beneficial effect, as when a thing 
 is done quicker or better at an equal expense 
 of labour or time. 
 
 The mechanical advantages of simple ma- 
 chines are shown under the words LEVER, 
 WHEEL AND AXLE, &c. ; see also MECHANICAL 
 POWERS. Beneficial effect may be produced 
 in various ways without mechanical advantage : 
 for example, in the division of labour there 
 is not only the moral benefit, namely, the 
 making a human agent fitter for his work by 
 giving him a more limited range of operations, 
 
 but the actual saving of the labour of laying 
 down one tool and taking up another. 
 
 PBAGKJE, the capital of Bohemia, is a 
 place of some industrial and commercial im- 
 portance. The manufactures consist of cot- 
 ton, hosiery, silk, leather, hats, gloves, earthen- 
 ware, jewellery, and plated goods, mathema- 
 tical and musical instruments, glass, buttons, 
 snuff and tobacco, paper and paper-hangings. 
 There are also breweries, saltpetre works, and 
 many other industrial establishments. Prague 
 has a very flourishing commerce : the transit 
 trade is considerable, and there are three 
 great annual fairs. 
 
 PBESS. [HYDRAULICS; PRINTING; SCREW- 
 PRESS.] 
 
 PBESTON. This is one of our busy Lan- 
 cashire towns. The staple trade of Preston, 
 till within the last half century, was in linens ; 
 but this trade has given place to that of cotton, 
 which is now manufactured very extensively. 
 There are several iron foundries, chiefly for 
 making the machinery used in the cotton 
 manufactures. Leather is extensively made. 
 The Bibble is navigable at spring-tides for 
 vessels of 150 tons ; but it is ill adapted for 
 trade. The Lancaster canal passes on the 
 west side of the town, and connects it with the 
 great canal system of the manufacturing dis- 
 tricts ; while the town is still better connected 
 by railways with the great centres of commerce. 
 
 PBINCE'S METAL, or Prince Ruperts 
 Metal, is an alloy of copper and zinc, which 
 contains more copper than brass does, and is 
 prepared by adding this metal to the alloy. 
 
 PBINCIPAL is the name of a stop or row 
 of metal pipes in an organ, tuned an octave 
 higher than the diapason, an octave lower 
 than the fifteenth, and serving to blend the 
 two, as well as to augment the volume of 
 sound. 
 
 PBINTING. The art of printing from 
 blocks has been known in China since the 
 middle of the 10th century, and that mode of 
 printing is still practised there. Even in 
 Europe, although writing, unlike that of the 
 Chinese, is alphabetic, printing from blocks was 
 the method first practised. Some have even 
 supposed that the knowledge of the art was 
 originally obtained from China ; but, as far 
 as we can trace, it was not till fully a century 
 after Marco Polo returned from that country 
 that even this simplest kind of printing began 
 to be practised in Europe. It appears to 
 have been first applied to the fabrication of 
 playing cards and manuals of popular devo- 
 tion. The eera of these block prints and books, 
 as they are called, may be stated to be the first 
 half of the 1 5th century : one in Lord Spen- 
 cer's collection bears the date of 1423, and 
 
1379 
 
 FEINTING. 
 
 FEINTING. 
 
 1380 
 
 there is reason to believe that other specimens 
 were executed almost as late as 1450. Of the 
 block-books of any considerable magnitude 
 the two most remarkable are the ' Biblia 
 Pauperum,' a small folio of forty leaves, each 
 containing a picture, with a text of scripture 
 or some other illustrative sentence under it, 
 which is supposed to have been produced 
 some time between 1430 and 1450 ; and the 
 'Speculum Humanae Salvationist consisting 
 of sixty-three leaves of the same small folio 
 size, containing in all fifty-eight pictures, 
 with two lines of Latin rhyme under each. 
 With regard however to this last block-book 
 there has been a great deal of disputation, 
 some denying altogether its claim to be reck- 
 oned a specimen of block-printing, in BO far 
 as the legends are concerned. The proba- 
 bility is that at first the * Speculum ' was 
 entirely a block-book, but that in subsequent 
 editions the block-printing was mixed with 
 printing from moveable types. These block- 
 books are, like the Chinese books at this day, 
 printed only on one side of the leaf; and 
 they all appear to have been produced in the 
 Low Countries. 
 
 The art of printing, in its essential princi- 
 ples the same as now practised, had certainly 
 been discovered before the middle of the 1 5th 
 century; but when, where, and by whom, 
 each successive improvement of the original 
 pigment-printing by means of engraved blocks 
 was discovered and first put in practice, is not so 
 easily settled. The employment of moveable 
 types, the production of such types by the 
 process of casting them in metal, and the 
 cutting of the punch, or stamp of hardened 
 steel, with which the face of the typo is 
 impressed in copper to be afterwards used in 
 the matrix, or mould, in casting these may 
 be considered as the three great mechanical 
 changes, by which block-printing was trans- 
 formed into the art as it now exists. 
 
 Four names have principally figured in the 
 controversy that has been raised about the 
 invention of printing: John Gutenberg (pa- 
 ternally Gensfleisch), of Strasburg ; John 
 Fust (or Faust), of Mainz ; Peter Schoeffer 
 (in Latin, Opilio), of Gernsheim ; and Law- 
 rence Coster (or Janszoon), of Haarlem. 
 The probability is, that Coster was one of the 
 early block-printers, whose art, there is every 
 reason to believe, was first practised in 
 Holland. The use of separate letters, or 
 types, at first of wood and afterwards of metal, 
 and the various improvements in the manner 
 of casting them, are all to be attributed to 
 Gutenberg, Fust, and Schooner. Gutenberg, 
 ' is now generally supposed, first began to 
 print at Strasbnrg with moveable typeg of wood 
 
 some time between 1436 and 1443. Having 
 then established himself in Mainz, which was 
 his native town, he there, in 1445, entered 
 into partnership with Fust, who seems to 
 have assisted Gutenberg in deAasing or carry- 
 ing into effect his subsequent great improve- 
 ment of the art, by casting the types of 
 metal. But to Schoeffer, who was in the 
 service of Gutenberg and Fust, and had 
 married Fust's daughter, is assigned the credit 
 of having facilitated and (as far as the prin- 
 ciple was concerned) brought to perfection 
 the process of founding by the contrivance of 
 the punch. The knowledge of the art was 
 first made public and carried into other 
 countries by the dispersion of many of the 
 workmen on the storming of Mainz by Adol- 
 phus of Nassau, in 1462. Printing was first 
 practised in Italy, in the town of Subiaco, in 
 the Eoman territory, in 1465 ; in France, at 
 Paris, in 1469 ; in England, at Westminster, 
 in 1474 ; and in Spain, at Barcelona, in 1475. 
 It is said that by the year 1530 there were 
 already about 200 printing-presses in Europe. 
 The name of William Caxton is indissolubly 
 connected with the introduction of printing 
 into England. 
 
 The date of the invention of the printing- 
 press is unknown, but some contrivance .for 
 this purpose must have been used as soon as 
 printing by blocks or types was introduced. 
 The increased force requisite to make an 
 impression, the size of the surface to be 
 printed from being increased, would soon 
 suggest recourse to some of the simple ma- 
 chines or mechanical powers for the modifi- 
 cation of the power requisite to obtain the 
 necessary pressure. The screw, as applied in 
 the common screw-press, would obviously 
 suggest itself; and accordingly, in all the 
 earlier printing-presses, the sci'ew alone is 
 used. 
 
 The operations to be performed in the 
 process of printing will point out the essential 
 parts of a printing-press. The types, being 
 set up and arranged in a chase (or iron frame) 
 of suitable dimensions, which is then called a 
 form, have to be inked ; this is effected by 
 passing across them a cylinder, or roller, 
 covered with an elastic composition of molasses 
 and glue, which has been first rolled in a 
 thick ink made of lamp black and burnt oil. 
 The paper to bo printed has to be laid on the 
 type when inked, and then the requisite pres- 
 sure for making the impression has to bo 
 applied, 
 
 Screw Press. The earliest form of printing- 
 press very closely resembled the common 
 screw-press, as the cheese or napkin-press, 
 with some contrivance for running the form 
 
1381 
 
 FEINTING. 
 
 PB1NTING. 
 
 1382 
 
 of type, when inked, under the pressure, and 
 back again when the impression was made. 
 This rude aud inconvenient form of press was 
 superseded by the invention of Blew, a printer 
 of Amsterdam. Other improvements were 
 from time to time introduced ; but they were 
 all superseded, about the commencement of 
 the present century, by an invention of Lord 
 Stanhope's. 
 
 In the Stanhope Press, as in the common 
 wooden screw-press, the form of type is laid 
 upon a table which has a horizontal traversing 
 motion. To the carriage on which the form 
 moves are attached the tympans, which are 
 light frames covered with parchment, so con- 
 structed that the inner tympan just lies within 
 the outer tympan. Some blanketing is placed 
 between the tympans, so as to equalise the 
 pressure upon the surface of the types. To 
 the outer tympan is attached a skeleton frame 
 called the frisket. The sheet of paper to be 
 printed being placed on the outer tympan, the 
 frisket is turned down upon it ; and then the 
 frisket and tympans are turned down upon 
 the form of type. The frisket is covered with 
 paper, cut out so that the sheet to be printed, 
 when placed between the tympan and frisket, 
 and folded down together on the form, may 
 be in contact with 'the surface of the type, 
 while the remainder of the frisket-sheet pre- 
 serves the margin from being soiled. The 
 form of type being inked, and the tympans 
 and frisket, with the sheet of paper between 
 them, folded down on the form, the whole is 
 made to traverse, by means of a crank-handle, 
 until it comes beneath the platten, which is a 
 massive plate of cast-iron, moveable up and 
 down perpendicularly. The principal improve- 
 ment of the Stanhope Press consists in the 
 manner in which the descending motion is 
 given to the screw. The carriage is then run 
 back, the frisket and tympans unfolded, and 
 the printed sheet being taken out, the same 
 operation is repeated. 
 
 The principle of the Stanhope press has 
 been followed out by several subsequent in- 
 ventors, and improvements of mechanical 
 detail introduced, tending to the economy of 
 time and labour, and to precision of workman- 
 ship. In the Ruthven Press, the form of type 
 remains stationary, and the platten is removed 
 to permit the type to be inked : and in this, 
 as well as the Columbian Press, the pressure 
 is produced by a combination of levers alone, 
 without the use of any portion of a screw or 
 inclined plane. 
 
 Copper Plate Press. The press for copper- 
 plate printing consists of two cylinders or 
 rollers of wood, supported in a strong wooden 
 frame, and moveable about their axes, one 
 
 placed just above and another just below the 
 level of the table upon which the plate to be 
 printed is laid. The upper roller is turned 
 round by the arms of a cross fixed to its axis. 
 The copper-plate being inked, the paper on 
 which the impression is to be taken, and two 
 or three folds of soft material, as blanketing, 
 are placed upon it. The plate so prepared is 
 moved along the table to the junction of the 
 two rollers, and the upper roller being turned 
 by the arms of the cross, the plate, with its 
 furniture, is passed through the press. The 
 rollers may be placed nearer to or farther 
 from each other, according to the amount of 
 pressure requisite for making a good impres- 
 sion, that is, according to the depth of the 
 engraving and the degree of blackness which 
 the impression is required to have. 
 
 Printing Machine. The printing-press, 
 though much improved during the last half 
 century by the ingenuity of Lord Stanhope 
 and others, is quite inadequate to a rate of 
 production equal to the present demand. The 
 attention of practical men was consequently 
 directed to some more rapid means of pro- 
 duction ; and as early as 1790, even before 
 the Stanhope Press was generally known, Mr. 
 W. Nicholson had letters-patent for a machine 
 similar in many respects to those which have 
 now come into use. Subsequently, Mr. Kb'nig, 
 a German, conceived nearly the same idea, 
 and meeting with the encouragement in this 
 country which ho failed to obtain on the Con- 
 tinent, constructed a Printing Machine. On 
 the 28th November, 1814, the readers of the 
 ' Times ' were informed that they were then 
 for the first time reading a newspaper printed 
 by machinery driven by steam-power. This 
 printing-machine, though highly ingenious, 
 was very complicated ; and the machine of 
 Konig was superseded by that of Messrs. 
 Applegath and Cowper, the novel features of 
 which were accuracy in the register, an 
 improved method of inking the type, and great 
 simplicity in parts previously very complicated. 
 
 Printing-machines are either single or 
 double ; the single being that in which only 
 one side of the sheet of paper is printed ; the 
 double that in which both sides are printed 
 before the sheet leaves the machine. The 
 single machine is used for most newspapers 
 and that kind of printing in which it is not 
 necessary for the two sides of the sheet to 
 ' register,' that is, for the printing on one side 
 to be exactly at the back of the other ; the 
 double machine for books, in which it is 
 essential that the printing on one page should 
 correspond with the printing on the other 
 when the sheets are folded. This important 
 object of the register is effected by causing 
 
1383 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 FEINTING 
 
 1384 
 
 the parts to move at precisely the same speed. 
 This being the principle of the register, its 
 success will depend on great accuracy of work- 
 manship in the mechanical parts. In the 
 double printing-machines now in use, the 
 sheet of paper is laid on the feeder, which 
 consists of girths of linen tightly stretched by 
 being passed round two cylinders. By the 
 motion of this feeder the sheet is placed 
 between two systems of tapes, which lie two 
 and two over each other on a series of cylinders 
 and rollers. The sheet of paper grasped be- 
 tween them is kept clean at the places in which 
 it is in contact with them, and by the motion 
 of the various parts is conducted under the 
 first printing- cylinder, and- receives an impres- 
 sion from the first set of types; thence by 
 means of two other cylinders to the second 
 printing-cylinder, where it receives an impres- 
 sion on the other side from the second set of 
 types. Thus printed on both sides, it is taken 
 out by an attendant. An inking apparatus is 
 placed at each end of the table which carries 
 the types, and which traverses backwards and 
 forwards under the printing-cylinders and 
 inking-rollers. The ink, received from a 
 reservoir by two rollers, is transferred from 
 them to the surface of the inking-table ; the 
 surface of the table inks two other rollers, and 
 these, in their turn, ink the types as they pass 
 backwards and forwards for each impression. 
 The excellence of the printing depends in a 
 great measure on the type being properly 
 inked. The machines commonly used for 
 printing books will print from seven hundred 
 to one thousand per hour in perfect register ; 
 and for newspapers, printed on one side only, 
 from four thousand to six thousand per hour. 
 Konig's machine printed 1,800 copies of the 
 * Times ' per hour. Messrs. Cowper and 
 Applegath's machine of 1827 printed 5000 in 
 an hour. In May, 1848, Mr. Applegath 
 erected a printing-machine for obtaining the 
 enormous number of 10,000 impressions of 
 the * Times ' in an hour. According to a 
 paper on this subject by Mr. Cowper, read 
 before the Institution of Civil Engineers, this 
 beautiful machine consists of a vertical cylin- 
 der, about 65 inches in diameter, on which 
 the type is fixed, surrounded by eight other 
 cylinders, each about thirteen inches in dia- 
 meter, covered with cloth, and round which 
 the sheets of paper are conveyed by means of 
 tapes; each paper cylinder being furnished 
 with a feeding apparatus, having one boy to 
 lay on the sheets and another to take them off. 
 The inking rollers are also placed in a vertical 
 position, against the large cylinder, upon a 
 portion of the surface of which they distribute 
 the ink. The ink is held in a vertical reser- 
 
 voir, formed of a ductor-roller, against which 
 rest two ' straight edges,' connected at the 
 back, so as to prevent the ink from running 
 out : it is conveyed from the ductor-roller by 
 one of the inking rollers, against which it is 
 occasionally pushed. The type used is of the 
 ordinary kind, and the form is placed upon a 
 portion of the large cylinder, being fixed to it 
 in a very plain but ingenious manner : a slab 
 of iron is curved on its under side, so as to 
 fit the large cylinder, whilst its upper surface 
 
 filed into facets or flat parts, corresponding 
 in width and number to the width and number 
 of the columns of the newspaper. Between each 
 column there is a strip of steel, with a thin edge, 
 to print the ' rule ' the body of it being wedge- 
 shaped, so as to fill up the angular space left 
 between the columns of type, and to press the 
 type together sideways, or in the direction of 
 the lines ; the type is pressed together in the 
 other direction by means of screws, and firmly 
 held together. The surface of the type thus 
 forms a portion of a polygon ; and the regu- 
 larity of the impression was obtained by 
 pasting slips of paper on the paper cylinders. 
 The operation of the machine is very simple : 
 the ' layer-on ' draws forward a sheet of paper 
 on the feeding-board until its edge is under 
 a roller, furnished with tapes, which drops 
 down and draws the sheet forward and down- 
 ward, into a vertical position, when other rollers 
 and tapes carry it round the paper cylinder, 
 where it meets the type, which has been inked 
 by passing in contact with the inking rollers ; 
 the sheet then continues its progress until it 
 reaches the ' taker-off.' 
 
 A few statistics, relative to the printing of 
 the ' Times,' were mentioned by Mr. Cowper, 
 from which it appears, that on the 7th of 
 May, 1850, the 'Times' and 'Supplement' 
 contained 72 columns, or 17,500 lines, made 
 up of upwards of a million pieces of type, of 
 which matter about two-fifths were written, 
 composed, and corrected, after 7 o'clock in the 
 evening. The 'Supplement' was sent to 
 press at 7 50 P.M., the first form of the paper 
 at 4 15 A.M., and the second form at 4 45 A.M. ; 
 on this occasion, 7,000 papers were published 
 before 6 15 A.M., 21,000 papers before 7 30 
 A.M., and 34,000 before 8 45 A.M., or in about 
 four hours. The greatest number of copies 
 ever printed in one day was 54,000, and the 
 greatest quantity of printing in one day's pub- 
 lication was on the 1st of March, 1848, when 
 the paper used weighed 7 tons, the weight 
 usually required being 4$ tons. The surface 
 to be printed every night, including the ' Sup- 
 plement, is 30 acres ; the weight of the fount 
 of type in constant use is 7 tons ; and 1 10 
 compositors and 25 pressmen are constantly 
 
1385 
 
 PEOGNOSTICATOE. 
 
 PKUSSIA. 
 
 1386 
 
 employed. The whole of the printing at the 
 
 * Times ' office is performed by three of Apple- 
 gath and Cowper's four-cylinder machines, 
 and two of Applegath's new vertical cylinder 
 machines. 
 
 According to recent accounts, it would ap- 
 pear that some of the New York newspapers are 
 now printed with machines still more gigantic 
 and complete than those employed on the 
 
 * Times,' and that the rapidity of printing is 
 still greater. There is not the slightest reason 
 to doubt, however, that if the sale of the 
 
 * Times ' were to largely increase, machines 
 would be invented to increase the rapidity of 
 printing to any required degree. At present, 
 the paper duty, the stamp duty, and the 
 advertisement duty, keep the price of English 
 newspapers much above that of the American, 
 and unquestionably limit the demand. 
 
 A few further details illustrative of printing 
 will be found under STEEEOTYPE, and TYPE 
 FOUNDING. 
 
 PEOGNOSTICATOE. This name has 
 been given by Dr. Merryweather to an appa- 
 ratus recently contrived by him for foretelling 
 probable changes in the weather. It is founded 
 on a curious fact, that leeches shew great sen- 
 sitiveness to approaching changes in the 
 electrical state of the air ; and the apparatus 
 is so contrived as to bring these weather-wise 
 animals in to use as meteorological instruments. 
 Twelve leeches are placed in a circle, each in 
 a separate glass bottle ; every leech tries to 
 get up to the mouth of his bottle when the 
 atmosphere is in such a state as to forewarn 
 an approaching storm; and Dr. Merryweather 
 has contrived sundry small pieces of apparatus, 
 which register any attempts of the leeches to 
 climb through the narrow necks of the bottles. 
 The whole apparatus is contained within a 
 mahogany box. In so novel a contrivance, 
 nothing less than a long course of observation 
 will test the validity of the arrangement. 
 
 PEOPOKTIONAL COMPASS. [COM- 
 PASSES.] 
 
 PEOTEIN is a substance obtained by Mul- 
 der from albumen, casein, horn, and animal 
 and vegetable fibrin. When any one of these 
 is dissolved in a solution of potash, and the 
 filtered solution is mixed with a slight excess 
 of acid, a copious grayish-white flocculent 
 precipitate is formed, and a slight smell of 
 hydrosulphuric acid is perceived. This white 
 substance is protein, so called from its occu- 
 pying the first or most important place in 
 relation to the albuminous principles. It is 
 found that all food which sustains animal life, 
 and promotes growth and strength, must con- 
 tain protein. 
 
 PEOTEACTOE. Any instrument for lay- 
 
 ing down angles is thus called; such as the 
 graduated semicircle which is found in cases 
 of instruments, the rectangular ruler with 
 graduated edges, and various other more ex- 
 pensive contrivances. But the truth is, that 
 the easiest and safest protractor is a table of 
 chords, a scale of equal parts, and a pair of 
 compasses. Even the scale of chords laid 
 down on the rulers, used in the usual manner, 
 is a better protractor than the graduated semi- 
 circle, which is worthless, except for very 
 rough work. 
 
 PEUD'HOMMES. Prudentes Homines, ex- 
 perienced men. This name relates to a re- 
 markable kind of commercial or manufacturing 
 council, well known in France, but to which 
 we have nothing exactly parallel in England. 
 In 1452, King Eene established at Marseille a 
 council of Prud'Hommes, with summary juris- 
 diction in disputes between the fishermen of 
 that port : this institution has since been fre- 
 quently confirmed, and still exists. In 1464, 
 Louis XI. granted power to the citizens of 
 Lyon to appoint a Prud'Homme to decide 
 summarily upon disputes that might arise 
 between merchants attending the fair. By a 
 decree of Napoleon, dated March 18, 1806, a 
 council of Prud'Hommes, consisting of nine 
 members (five manufacturers and four master 
 weavers), elected annually, was established in 
 Lyon to settle disputes between manufacturers 
 and their workmen, and between masters and 
 apprentices. The council acted chiefly as a 
 court of conciliation, but was also vested with 
 power to decide, without appeal or expense, 
 cases involving an amount not exceeding 
 60 francs. This institution has been recog- 
 nised and confirmed by succeeding govern- 
 ments. Councils of Prud'Hommes with in- 
 creased numbers, with powers of summons, 
 seizure, and imprisonment not exceeding three 
 days, and with summary jurisdiction to the 
 amount of 100 francs, are now established in 
 all the great manufacturing towns of France, 
 with the exception, we believe, of Paris. If 
 the amount exceeds 100 francs, an appeal lies 
 to the Tribunal of Commerce. The sittings 
 of these councils are held in the evening, 
 when the workmen have given over their labour 
 for the day. Lawyers are not suffered to plead 
 in their courts. The council of Prud'Hommes 
 is perhaps the most extensively-useful insti- 
 tution in France; in Lyon alone, the cases 
 decided annually exceed 5000; appeals are 
 rare, and a reversal of the decree of the council 
 very much rarer still. 
 
 PEUSSIA. This important kingdom does 
 not possess a great variety of natural pro- 
 ductions ; but it has all those the cultivation 
 of which has been gradually introduced into 
 
1387 
 
 PRUSSIA. 
 
 PSALTERY. 
 
 1388 
 
 central Europe ; and the most indispensable 
 of them in sufficient abundance for its own 
 consumption, and for the obtaining of foreign 
 luxuries and comforts. Agriculture is the 
 chief source of the national wealth, and is 
 carried on with great care in most of the pro- 
 vinces. Wheat, rye, oats, and barley, are 
 raised both for home consumption and ex- 
 portation; there are likewise peas, beans, 
 vetches, millet, maize, rape -seed, and Unseed. 
 Potatoes are cultivated in all the provinces. 
 Flax, hemp, hops, tobacco, succory, beet-root, 
 and garden vegetables of all kinds are raised, 
 but of the first three articles not enough for 
 home consumption. The vineyards of Rhenish 
 Prussia are extensive and valuable. There is 
 abundance of timber. The mineral products 
 are salt from salt-springs, of excellent quality, 
 and in great abundance ; amber and coals in 
 large quantities ; alum, vitriol, saltpetre, ala- 
 baster, basalt, granite, porphyry, marble, slate, 
 freestone, chalk, lime, porcelain -clay, pipe- 
 clay, &c. The metallic products are silver, 
 copper, lead, iron, zinc, cobalt, arsenic, and 
 calamine. The precious stones are the onyx, 
 agate, jasper, and carnelian. 
 
 The principal manufactures are : Linen in 
 all the provinces, but chiefly in Silesia ; woollen 
 cloths and cotton goods, especially in the pro- 
 vince of the Rhine, at Elberfield, Barmen, 
 Crefeld, &c.; silk, leather, iron, and copper 
 ware, cutlery, articles of gold and silver, suc- 
 cory, paper, china, glass, earthenware, snuff 
 and tobacco, beet-root sugar, gunpowder, &c. 
 The breweries and brandy distilleries are very 
 considerable. 
 
 The abundance of products of various kinds, 
 and the active industry of the people, give 
 occasion to an extensive commerce, which is 
 highly favoured by the advantageous position 
 of the country in the centre of Europe, the 
 great extent of coast on the Baltic, and by the 
 great rivers (the Rhine, the Elbe, the Oder, 
 and the Vistula,) which traverse the country, 
 and are connected by navigable tributary 
 streams and numerous canals. In 1831 the 
 Prussian or Commercial League (Zollverein) 
 commenced, and has since been gradually 
 joined by almost all the German states. The 
 object is to establish an entire freedom of 
 trade among the German states, and to sub- 
 ject foreign trade to such restrictions only as 
 the protection of national manufactures or the 
 financial circumstances of the state may render 
 necessary. The Prussian harbours are: 
 Memel, Pillau, Neufahrwasser near Danzig, 
 Stolperaiinde, Riigenwald, Kammin, Schwein- 
 emiinde, Peenemiinde, Grief swald, Stralsund, 
 and Barth. The most considerable commer- 
 cial towns are : Berlin, Konigsberg, Danzig, 
 
 Breslau, Stettin, Magdeburg, Cologne, Elber- 
 feld, and Aix-la-Chapelle. The great fail's are 
 those of Breslau, Frankfort on-the Oder, and 
 Magdeburg. At present there are in Prussia 
 about 1400 miles of railway open for traffic. 
 
 In the year 1849 the imports into Great 
 Britain from Prussia were valued at 2,80o,640/., 
 and the exports of British and Irish produce 
 and manufactures to Prussia were 428,748/. 
 These sums may mislead, unless accompanied 
 by a little explanation, The value of the im- 
 ports is official, that of the exports is declared. 
 Official value means a certain hypothetical 
 value which was fixed for each kind of com- 
 modity by the Custom-house authorities many 
 generations since, and has been retained to 
 this day, without any reference to present 
 prices; whereas declared value is the actual 
 marketable value at the time. Another cir- 
 cumstance is, that besides the British and 
 Irish produce, England exports largely of 
 foreign and colonial produce to Prussia. 
 
 The contributions of Prussia to the Great 
 Exhibition are very numerous, and of a high 
 degree of importance. They comprise almost 
 every variety of manufactured goods, and na- 
 tural produce to the extent of the country's 
 resources. 
 
 PRUSSIAN BLUE is a pigment of pure 
 dark-blue colour, discovered accidentally by a 
 colour-manufacturer of Berlin, in 1704. It is 
 a prussiate of iron, consisting of 52 parts of 
 red oxide of iron combined with 48 parts of 
 prussic acid, to which is added a certain pro- 
 portion of alum, in order to give more body 
 and greater brightness to the colour. 
 
 PRUSSIC ACID, or Hydrocyanic Acid. 
 This powerful acid exists ready-formed in seve- 
 ral vegetable products, as the leaves of the 
 cherry-laurel and the peach-tree ; but it is 
 generally prepared by the action of hydro- 
 chloric acid on bi-cyanide of mercury. It is a 
 colourless liquid, with a strong and peculiar 
 odour; its taste is at first cooling and after- 
 wards burning, and it is extremely poisonous. 
 It boils at about 80, becomes solid at about 
 5 Fahr., and then crystallises in fibres. As 
 an acid, its powers are but foeble. It is so 
 very volatile that, when dropped on paper, the 
 sudden evaporation of a portion of it renders 
 the remainder so cold that it solidifies ; and 
 this effect is produced even when the tem- 
 perature of the atmosphere is nearly 70. 
 
 Prussic acid is one of the most deadly of nil 
 poisons. In the hands of an experienced 
 practitioner it becomes a valuable medicine in 
 some cases. It is of little direct use in the 
 arts ; but its combinations with bases produce 
 many useful substances, of which 2'ntssian-blu* 
 is an instance. 
 
1380 
 
 PUERTO EICO. 
 
 rUTCHUK. 
 
 1390 
 
 PSALTERY was an ancient musical instru 
 ment of the harp kind, in use among the Jews, 
 and supposed to have been the nebel men- 
 tioned in several of the Psalms. Whether 
 this instrument was square or triangular, 
 whether played on by the finger or struck by a 
 plectrum, seems doubtful; the probability is 
 that it took many forms, and was played in 
 both ways. According to some authorities this 
 instrument was in shape a trapezium, and 
 similar to, if uot the same as, the dulcimer. 
 
 [DULCIMER.] 
 
 PUERTO RICO. The soil of this Spanish 
 West India island is of the richest and most 
 varied description. The produce of sugar is 
 very abundant, and tropical productions in 
 general are plentiful. The island exported in 
 the first 10 months of 1849 98,000,000 Ibs. of 
 sugar, 4,475,000 Ibs. of molasses, 6,703,161 Ibs. 
 of coffee, and 1,702,000 Ibs. of tobacco. The in- 
 dustry and commerce of the inhabitants are ex- 
 hibited chiefly in connexion with these products. 
 
 PUG-MILL. [BRICK.] 
 
 PULLEY. The pulley is one of the simple 
 machines or mechanical powers employed in 
 the construction of machinery and in the 
 transmission and modification of force. The 
 kinds of pulley in use are very numerous ; but 
 they all consist of combinations of a grooved 
 wheel, moveable on an axis, and a rope lying 
 in the groove ; and the manner in which this 
 rope passes over and under a system of these 
 wheels, so as to connect the force with the 
 resistance, or the power with the weight, de 
 termines the species or kind of pulley. The 
 following are the combinations by which the 
 principle of the pulley is made available : 
 
 The single fixed pulley possesses no me- 
 chanical advantage, the power and the weight 
 being equal to each other. The single move- 
 able pulley consists of one wheel fixed and the 
 other moveable ; the power acts at one end of 
 the rope, and the other end is fixed to an 
 immoveable obstacle ; the weight or resistance 
 is attached to the sheave, or block, of the 
 moveable wheel. In this the power is one-half 
 the resistance when there is equilibrium. The 
 first system of pulleys consists of an upper 
 and lower set of wheels, called the upper and 
 lower block ; the upper being fixed, and the 
 lower, to which the resistance or weight is 
 attached, being moveable. The power is to the 
 weight or resistance as unity to twice the num- 
 ber of wheels in the lower block. A system 
 consisting of one fixed and two moveable 
 pullies is called a Spanish Barton. Smeaton's 
 Tack, so called after the celebrated engineer of 
 that name, contains two tiers of wheels, one 
 above the other, in each block. This arrange- 
 ment is ingenious, but it is attended with 
 
 great friction and inequality of wear. White's 
 Pulley consists of a single wheel in each of the 
 two blocks. The wheel has a conical form, 
 with grooves on its convex surface; and the 
 diameters of the grooves are in arithmetical 
 progression, by which they revolve with velo- 
 cities equal to that of the line passing over them. 
 The advantage is that the friction is reduced 
 to that of the pivot and the two lateral faces. 
 
 There are two systems in which each block 
 contains a single pulley, and has a separate 
 string. In one system the string is made fast 
 at one end to the block next above it, and at 
 the other to an immoveable object. In the 
 other system each string is attached to the 
 weight. These are superior to the other 
 systems, with respect to the ratio of the re- 
 sistance to the moving power, but they are of 
 no practical use. 
 
 PULPIT. Great cost, both of material and 
 workmanship, was frequently bestowed on 
 pulpits in early times ; and some of them 
 rank among the most celebrated monuments 
 of art of their period, and for a long time 
 appear to have been treated as an architectural 
 feature of the interior, being constructed, if 
 not of marble, of the same material as the rest 
 of the building. Of stone pulpits we have few 
 early specimens remaining in this country; 
 but there is one in Bristol cathedral, and 
 another in Worcester. The pulpits of the 
 present day are for the most part, in respect 
 to design, mere carpenter's and joiner's work. 
 
 PUMICE STONE. This remarkably light 
 and porous stone is a true lava. It is vomited 
 forth by the volcanoes which are distributed 
 n different parts of the earth. That which 
 we employ is obtained from Etna and Vesuvius. 
 It is used for many purposes of rubbing and 
 smoothing. 
 
 PUMP. [ AIR PUMP; HYDRAULIC MACHINES.] 
 
 PURBECK STONE. [DORSETSHIRE ; 
 STONE FOR BUILDING.] 
 
 PUTCHUK is the name by which a fragrant 
 root is designated in the price -currents of 
 Calcutta and Bombay, whence it is exported to 
 Canton, being highly esteemed by the Chinese 
 as an incense. From the places of export this 
 would appear to be a product of India, but 
 neither the plant which yields it nor the place 
 where it grows has been discovered until very 
 recently. The discovery is interesting, as the 
 putchuk is a substance which was known to 
 ;he ancients. Dr. Royle, while in the north- 
 western provinces of India, obtained a root 
 which formed a considerable article of com- 
 merce, and which was said to be brought from 
 Lahore. It was warm and aromatic in taste, 
 Vagrant, and frequently called Orris (Iris)- 
 Uoot by Europeans in India. On comparing 
 
1391 
 
 PUTTY 
 
 PYRAMIDS. 
 
 1392 
 
 specimens of this root, which he obtained in 
 northern India, with what was called putchuk 
 in Calcutta, he found that they were identical, 
 and he was subsequently informed hy Mr. 
 Beckett, who had been long settled as a mer- 
 chant in northern India, that what he pur- 
 chased from Umritsir under the name of 
 Kooth, he sold in Calcutta by that of putchuk, 
 so that there can be no doubt of the identity 
 of the two substances ; but all that has been 
 ascertained with respect to the place where it 
 was produced, was that it seemed to be to the 
 north of the river Sutlege. 
 
 PUTTY, the useful cement used by glaziers 
 for fastening the glass in the frames of win- 
 dows, is composed of linseed oil and whiting. 
 The whiting should be well dried, and then 
 pounded and sifted till it becomes a fine 
 powder and is quite free from grit. The 
 whiting, a little warm, should be gradually 
 added to the oil, and well mixed by means of 
 a piece of stick or a spatula. When it is 
 sufficiently stiff, it should be well worked with 
 the hand on a table, and afterwards beaten on 
 a stone with a wooden mallet, till it becomes 
 a soft, smooth, tenacious mass. Putty by ex- 
 posure to the air gradually hardens till it 
 becomes almost like stone. A ball of putty, 
 when left some days, becomes somewhat hard, 
 but may be easily softened by beating. 
 
 The most extensive employment of this 
 substance for glazing has perhaps been in the 
 recent operations in the Glass Palace. 
 
 PYRAMIDS. The pyramids of Egypt, es- 
 pecially the two largest of the pyramids of 
 Jizeh, are the most stupendous masses of 
 building in stone that human labour has ever 
 been known to accomplish. The Egyptian 
 pyramids, of which, large and small, and in 
 different states of preservation, the number is 
 very considerable, are all situated on the west 
 side of the Nile, and they extend, in an irre- 
 gular line and in groups, at some distance from 
 each other, for a length between 60 and 
 70 miles. All the pyramids have square bases, 
 and their sides face the cardinal points. 
 
 Herodotus was informed by the priests of 
 Memphis that the great pyramid was built by 
 Cheops, king of Egypt, about 900 B.C., or about 
 450 years before Herodotus visited Egypt. He 
 says that 100,000 men were employed twenty 
 years in building it. Whether this were or 
 not the true origin of the great pyramid, 
 the vast structure, as at present standing, 
 consists of a series of platforms, each of which 
 is smaller than the one on which it rests, and 
 consequently presents the appearance of steps, 
 which diminish in length from the bottom to 
 the top. Of these steps there are 203, and the 
 height of them decreases, but not regularly, 
 
 from the bottom to the top ; the greatest 
 height being about 55 inches, and the least 
 about 20 inches. The horizontal lines of the 
 platforms are perfectly straight, and the stones 
 are cut and fitted to each other with the 
 greatest nicety, and joined by a cement of 
 Lime with little or no sand in it. It has been 
 ascertained that a bed, eight inches deep, has 
 been cut in the rock to receive the lowest 
 external course of stones. The vertical height, 
 measured from this base in the rock to the 
 top of the highest platform now remaining, is 
 456 feet. This platform has an area of about 
 1067 square feet, each side being 32 feet 
 8 inches. If to this were added what is neces- 
 sary to complete the apex of the pyramid, the 
 total height would be about 479 feet. Each 
 side of the base, measured round the stones 
 let into the rock, is rather more than 763 feet, 
 and the perimeter of the base is therefore 
 3053 feet. The area of the base, measured 
 along the outside of the stones let into the 
 rock, is 64,753 square yards, or about 13 acres. 
 This area is about the same as Lincoln's Inn 
 Fields, London, measured by the wall of Lin- 
 coln's Inn Garden and the sides of the houses 
 within the court-yards. The surface of each 
 face, not including the base let into the rock, 
 is 25,493 square yards ; and that of the four 
 faces is consequently 101,972 square yards, or 
 more than 21 acres. The solid content of the 
 pyramid is about 3,394,307 cubic yards, which 
 (not making any deductions for chambers and 
 passages in it) has been estimated to be six 
 times the mass of stone in the Plymouth 
 breakwater. Reckoning the total height at 
 479 feet, the pyramid would be 15 feet higher 
 than St. Peter's at Rome, and 119 higher than 
 St. Paul's, London. 
 
 These measurements, relating to the Great 
 Pyramid, will serve to convey an idea of all of 
 them; we need not notice them particularly 
 here, nor need the internal cavities and pas- 
 sages be here dwelt upon. The materials of 
 all the pyramids are limestone ; and Belzoni is 
 of opinion that part of the stone for the second 
 pyramid was procured immediately on the 
 spot, judging from the manner in which the 
 rock has been cut away round the pyramid. 
 Herodotus certainly understood that all the 
 stone was brought from the mountains near 
 Cairo, where there are indeed ancient quarries 
 of great extent; but it seems probable that 
 the greatest part of the materials came from 
 the west side of the Nile. The blocks of 
 granite were brought from Syene, which is 
 nearly 500 miles higher up the Nile. The 
 rock on which the great pyramid stands has 
 been found to project at least as high as 
 80 feet into the body of it. The stones of 
 
1393 
 
 PYRENEES, 
 
 PYROGRAPHY. 
 
 1394 
 
 which it is built rarely exceed 9 feet in length 
 and 6 in breadth; the thickness has been 
 already stated. 
 
 At Thebes there are some small pyramids 
 of sun-dried brick, in which the central cham- 
 bers have vaulted roofs. There arc numerous 
 pyramids in Nubia, perhaps eighty or more, 
 but they are generally small. Next to those 
 of Egypt the most extraordinary pyramids now 
 existing are those of Mexico. 
 
 PYRENEES. The lofty chain of the Py- 
 renees gives name to three departments of 
 France. In the mountains themselves iron, 
 copper, and lead mines are worked, and fine 
 statuary and other marble, including some of 
 the most beautiful varieties, is quarried. 
 
 In the department of Basses Pyrenees the 
 annual produce of wine is about 7,000,000 
 gallons, the best kinds being those of Juran- 
 9011 and Gan. The high mountains are to a 
 great extent covered with forests of pine, fir, 
 and oak, which afford good ship timber. The 
 growing of flax and hemp, the trade in hams 
 with Pau and Bayonne, and the traffic in 
 mules and cattle with Spain, are the most im- 
 portant sources of wealth to the agriculturist. 
 Silver, copper, iron, lead, coal, salt, cobalt, and 
 sulphur, are found. Slate, marble of all 
 colours, granite, alabaster, rotten-stone, and 
 marl, are quarried. The manufactures include 
 linen, calico, coloured handkerchiefs, flannel, 
 drugget, capes, hosiery, Bearnese caps, car- 
 pets, chocolate, liqueurs and common brandy, 
 paper, leather, pottery, and some iron. Ships 
 are built on the Adour and on the coast. The 
 commerce is composed of the various products 
 already named, and of wine, liquorice, rosin, 
 prepared skins, wool, hides, deal planks, colo- 
 nial produce, salt, &c. 
 
 In the department of Hautes Pyrenees about 
 6,000,000 gallons of good white and red wines 
 are made annually. Horned cattle and sheep 
 are very numerous ; good butter and cheese 
 are made ; mules, asses, and horses are reared, 
 and also pigs and large numbers of poultry, 
 especially geese, the legs of which are salted 
 for export. Bees are carefully tended, and 
 honey and wax are abundant. Iron, copper, 
 zinc, lead, manganese, nickel, and cobalt, are 
 found, but no mines are worked ; marble of 
 different colours, building stone, slate, granite, 
 amianth, kaolin, marl, fullers' earth, and pot- 
 ters' clay, are raised. The commerce of the 
 department is limited to cattle, corn, mules 
 and horses for Spain, timber, oak staves, 
 hoops, the agricultural products before named 
 some linen, cotton and woollen stuffs, cutlery, 
 nails, hides, &c. 
 
 In the third of these departments, Pyrenees 
 Orientates, about 7,000,000 gallons of wine are 
 
 made annually. The red wines of Roussillon are 
 in general of excellent quality, agreeable taste, 
 strong body, and well adapted for transport ; 
 they are used for giving colour and body to 
 the lighter growths of Cahors and Auvergne. 
 The wines of Collioure and Port-Vendres have 
 the highest repute ; they fine themselves and 
 become of a golden hue with age ; in this 
 state they take the name of Eancio de Eousil- 
 Ion. The sweet wines of Rivesaltes hold the 
 first rank among the dessert wines of France. 
 The mountains of the department are in many 
 parts clothed with fine forests of oak, beech, 
 pine, and fir, and abound with aromatic and 
 medicinal plants. The cork tree grows natu- 
 rally, and is also an object of careful cultiva- 
 tion. Bees and silkworms are carefully at- 
 tended. Many iron mines are worked, and 
 the ore is smelted, and converted into malle- 
 able iron at about 180 forges and furnaces, by 
 means of charcoal prepared on the spot. Cop- 
 per, lead, bismuth, and alum, are found. A 
 coal mine is worked near Estavar; marble, 
 alabaster, granite, and steatite, are quarried. 
 Besides wine and iron, the industrial products 
 include coarse woollen cloths, leather, corks, 
 knit stockings and caps, brandy, whip-handles, 
 common pottery, tiles and bricks. The fish- 
 eries on the coast are actively plied, and large 
 quantities of sardines and anchovies are pre- 
 served. The coasting trade in the leading 
 articles named, and in wool, oil, honey, &c., is 
 active. 
 
 PYRMONT WATER. Pyrmont is the 
 name of a small county belonging to the 
 Prince of Waldeck in North Germany. It 
 derives its chief revenue and importance from 
 a mineral spring in the town of Pyrmont. The 
 great bathing house which contains 140 apart- 
 ments, tastefully fitted up, and handsome 
 spacious baths, is the most important struc- 
 ture in the place. Above 300,000 bottles of 
 the water from the principal chalybeate spring 
 are exported annually. 
 
 PYROGRAPHY. This name has been re- 
 cently proposed for a peculiar kind of paint- 
 ing or rather delineation, in which heat is the 
 chief agent employed. The homely phrase of 
 poker painting is that by which it is generally 
 known ; since a red-hot poker might be the 
 substitute for the painter's brush in producing 
 the pictures ; but homely English is often 
 made to give way to learned Greek, in scien- 
 tific and artistic designations. 
 
 These pyrographs are pictures produced on 
 the surface of wood by heated irons. Some 
 curious specimens of this art were produced 
 by Dr. Griffiths, Master of University College, 
 Oxford, about thirty or forty years ago. The 
 altar piece in the college chapel, and one or 
 
1895 
 
 PYROLIGNEOUS ACID. 
 
 rYBOMETEB. 
 
 1390 
 
 two heads in the Taylor Gallery, are still ex- 
 isting ; they are said to have very much the 
 appearance of mezzo-tinto engravings, or of 
 crayon drawings ; but, from their very nature 
 are much more durable than any engravings 
 or drawings, and are considered to he well 
 fitted to ornament panels. The wood is either 
 sycamore or plane-tree ; which are not liable 
 to warp, and which present large surfaces. 
 The delineations are produced by solid pieces 
 of thick iron, shaped somewhat like the heater 
 of an Italian iron. 
 
 This art has a renewed interest imparted to 
 it, by the circumstance that the Committee of 
 the Great Exhibition has allotted 30 feet of 
 wall space to the productions of a lady, Mrs. 
 Mills, who has lately introduced many im- 
 provements in the preparation of the wood 
 and in the form of the iron implements. The 
 specimens to be exhibited are fitted by their 
 general character to adorn collegiate, corpo- 
 rate, or baronial apartments. The effect in 
 Dr. Griffiths' pictures is produced mainly by 
 broad shadows; while the more recent pro- 
 ductions have somewhat the character of 
 etchings. Eepresentations of animals, such 
 as those which almost live and breathe on the 
 canvas of Edwin Landseer, are said to be those 
 for which the art shows peculiar aptitude. 
 
 By the rules of the committee, no paintings 
 are admitted at the Exhibition ; but it 
 would appear that these curious specimens 
 partake of the durability and surface quality 
 of earnings, and are on that ground admis- 
 sible. 
 
 PYROLIGNEOUS ACID. [ACETIC 
 
 ACJD.J 
 
 PYEQ 'METER. This instrument was in- 
 vented by Musschenbroek for measuring the 
 effects produced in the dimensions of solid 
 bodies by the application of heat ; but the 
 signification of the term has since been ex- 
 tended so as to include those instruments the 
 object of which is to measure all gradations of 
 temperature above those which can be indi- 
 cated by the mercurial thermometer. We will 
 briefly describe five or six varieties. 
 
 Musschenbroek 's Pyrometer consisted of a 
 metallic bar, about six inches in length, one 
 extremity of which was fixed, while the other 
 was left free to advance as the metal elongated 
 from the effect of several spirit lamps placed 
 beneath, which, at each experiment, were 
 charged with the same quantity of highly rec- 
 tified spirit of wine. The advance of the 
 movealle extremity gave motion to a pinion 
 and wheel, the latter of which drove an index 
 over a graduated circle, each degree of which 
 corresponded to a linear expansion of some 
 determinate fraction of an inch. Desaguliers 
 
 afterwards substituted fine cords and friction 
 rollers for the wheel and pinion. 
 
 Borda's Pyrometer. The rods employed by 
 Borda in measuring the base-line of the great 
 French Survey consisted of a rule of brass laid 
 upon a somewhat longer rule of platinum and 
 attached at one extremity. The portion of 
 the platinum rule not covered by the one of 
 brass was divided into millionths of its entire 
 length, and further subdivided by means of a 
 vernier and microscope adjusted to the extre- 
 mity of the brass rule. The value of each of 
 these divisions having been previously ascer- 
 tained, by first surrounding the compound 
 rule with melting ice, and then immersing it 
 in boiling water, it was only necessary to ob- 
 serve the indications of the vernier in order 
 to apply the requisite correction for reducing 
 the length of the rod to the standard tempe- 
 rature. 
 
 Eamsden's Pyrometer. For low tempera- 
 tures, the contrivance of Ramsden was em- 
 ployed by General Roy in determining the 
 expansion of the rods used in measuring the 
 base on Hounslow Heath for the Trigonome- 
 trical Survey. The rod was immersed in a 
 trough of water, and over each extremity was 
 placed a microscope, to which a slow motion 
 could be given in the direction of the length 
 of the rod by means of a fine micrometer 
 screw. The temperature of the water was 
 then gradually raised, till a thermometer 
 placed in the trough indicated an advance of 
 10, 20, 80, or any required number of de- 
 grees. The consequent elongation of the rod 
 destroyed the coincidence of its extremities 
 with the lines of collimation of the micro- 
 scopes, which was re-established by turning 
 the micrometer screAvs, and carefully noting 
 the number of turns and fractions of a turn 
 necessary for that purpose ; when, the value 
 in parts of an inch in each turn being pre- 
 viously known, a direct measure of the expan- 
 sion was obtained, free from the errors of a 
 system of levers or of a train of wheels and 
 pinions. 
 
 Wedgwood's Pyrometer. The property of 
 alumina whereby it undergoes a diminution 
 of bulk when heated, was employed by Wedg- 
 wood as a measure of high temperatures. His 
 pyrometer consisted of cylinders of fine white 
 clay, and an apparatus for accurately measur- 
 ing their length. This apparatus consisted of 
 a metallic plate, upon which were fixed two 
 brass rules slightly inclined to each other. 
 The rules used by Wedgwood were 24 inches 
 long, and divided into 240 equal parts. The 
 distance between the rules at one extremity 
 was three-tenths and at the other five-tenths 
 of an inch ; consequently the difference be- 
 
1397 
 
 PYKOMETEE. 
 
 PYROXILIC SPIKIT. 
 
 tween their distances at any two consecutive [ pyrometric alloys, each of the size of a pin's 
 
 divisions was the 1200th part of an inch. The 
 clay cylinders were first baked at a red heat 
 (about 947 Fahr.), and then reduced to ex- 
 actly five -tenths of an inch in length, so as to 
 fit the first division of the scale. When after- 
 wards exposed to a greater heat they under- 
 went contraction, and the amount of this con- 
 traction was determined by observing the 
 division of the scale corresponding to their 
 diminished length. 
 
 Dulong and Petit' s Pyrometer was constructed 
 for measuring the cubical expansions of various 
 substances. By observing the difference of 
 altitude at which mercury of different tempe- 
 ratures stood in the two arms of an inverted 
 glass siphon, they determined the absolute 
 expansion of the mercury ; and by comparing 
 this with the apparent expansion of mercury 
 in a glass tube, they deduced the absolute ex- 
 pansion of the glass. A cylinder of the metal 
 whose expansion was sought was then placed 
 within a glass tube, closed at one extremity 
 and terminating at the other in a capillary 
 opening, and the rest of the tube occupied 
 with mercury. Upon the whole being heated 
 a portion of the mercury was expelled equal 
 to the excess of the absolute expansions of 
 the mercury and metal above that of the 
 glass ; and as the expansions of the mercury 
 and glass were previously known, the weight 
 of the expelled mercury determined the ex- 
 pansion of the metal. 
 
 Prinsep's Pyrometer. The unoxidable me- 
 tals (gold, silver, and platina) present three 
 marked temperatures, from the low melting- 
 point of silver to the high ignition of platina ; 
 and many intermediate links may be made by 
 alloying the three metals together in different 
 proportions. When such a series has been 
 once prepared, the heat of any furnace may 
 be expressed by the alloy of least fusibility 
 which it is capable of melting. As the melt- 
 ing points of silver and gold are comparatively 
 near to each other, Mr. Prinsep assumed only 
 ten intermediate gradations of heat, the lowest 
 of which corresponded to the fusing point of 
 pure silver, and the others to the fusing points 
 of silver alloyed with 10, 20, 30, &c., per cent. 
 of gold. From the melting point of gold to 
 that of platina, he assumed one hundred gra- 
 dations of heat, which were the melting points 
 of pure gold and of gold alloyed with 1, 2, 3, 
 &c., per cent, of platina. Among the advan- 
 tages of this mode of identifying temperatures 
 are : the smallness of the requisite apparatus, 
 nothing more being needed than a small 
 cupel, containing in separate cells eight or ten 
 
 head ; the indestructibility of the specimens, 
 since those melted in one experiment need 
 only to be flattened under a hammer, when 
 they will be again ready for use ; and the faci- 
 lity of notation, since two letters and the 
 decimal of alloy will express the maximum 
 heat. 
 
 Daniells Pyrometer is a complex apparatus 
 depending on the small expansibility of black 
 lead compared with that of metals. A bar of 
 black lead is bored nearly from end to end 
 like a gun ; and into this bore is placed a rod 
 of the metal to be experimented on. When 
 both are exposed to a great heat, the metal 
 expands more than the black lead, and causes 
 a small cylinder of porcelain to protrude from 
 the top of the tube or bore. This cylinder is 
 connected with an index or hand which moves 
 round a graduated arc ; and the degrees or} 
 this arc are so calculated as to indicate the 
 temperature to which the metal has been ex- 
 posed. 
 
 PYROTECHNY. The art of making fire, 
 works is essentially a chemical one. It takes 
 advantage of the chemical affinity between 
 substances, of the power of ready ignition, of 
 the rapid and slow combustion produced by 
 different proportions of the ingredients, and of 
 the production of exquisite colours by the 
 substances while burning. The revolving of 
 stars, &c., is partly a mechanical arrangement 
 arising out of the resistance or inertia of the 
 ah* when a burning material is forcing its way 
 out of a tube. The three chief ingredients 
 are nitre, sulphur, and charcoal ; the second- 
 ary ingredients are filings of iron, steel, cop- 
 per, zinc, and other materials ; while various 
 oxides, acids, alkalies, and salts, tend to pro- 
 duce varied colours by different modes of 
 combination. The coloured fires are the most 
 interesting results, and require much care in 
 the choice and preparation of the materials. 
 One familiar kind of fire-work is noticed under 
 ROCKETS. 
 
 PYROXYLIC SPIRIT, or Pyroligneous 
 obtained by distillation from wood, is 
 a colourless liquid, has a peculiar penetrating 
 smell, partaking both of alcohol and aether, 
 and its taste is pungent. It is lighter than 
 water, and boils at about 150 Fahr. It is an 
 extremely inflammable liquid, and burns 
 without residue ; and being cheaper than 
 spirit of wine, it is advantageously substituted 
 for it in many manufacturing arts. It is ca- 
 pable of combining with chlorine, iodine, and 
 other elementary bodies ; it unites also with 
 acids to form various compounds. 
 
KANT. 
 
 QUADRANT. [SEXTANT.] 
 
 QUARANTINE LAWS. Quarantine laws 
 are the result of imperfect knowledge on a 
 subject which is of great importance to com- 
 merce. They are regulations chiefly of a 
 restrictive nature, for the purpose of prevent- 
 ing the communication from one country to 
 another of contagious diseases, by means of 
 men, animals, goods, or letters. The term 
 Quarantine originally signified a period of 
 forty days, during which a person was subject 
 to the regulations in question. The regula- 
 tions consist in the interruption of intercourse 
 with the country in which a contagious dis- 
 ease is supposed to prevail, and in the em- 
 ployment of certain precautionary measures 
 respecting men, animals, goods, and letters, 
 coming from or otherwise communicating 
 with it. Men and animals are subjected to a 
 probationary confinement, and goods and 
 letters to a process of depuration, in order to 
 ascertain that the contagious poison is not 
 latent in the former ; and to expel it, if it be 
 present, in the latter. Quarantine lines may 
 either be drawn round a coast, as is the case 
 in France, Italy, and Greece, with respect to 
 the Levant ; or they may be drawn along a 
 land frontier, as on the frontier between Aus- 
 tria and Turkey. 
 
 Goods carried in ships or by land are sub- 
 ject to quarantine, according as they belong 
 to the class of susceptible or non-susceptible 
 goods. Goods which are supposed to be 
 capable of containing and transmitting the 
 poison of the plague, are called susceptible. 
 Goods which are supposed to be incapable of 
 containing and transmitting the poison of the 
 plague, are called non -susceptible. All animal 
 substances, such as wool, silk, and leather, 
 and many vegetable substances, such as cot- 
 ton, linen, and paper, are deemed susceptible. 
 On the other hand, wood, metal, and fruits, 
 are deemed non-susceptible. Every ship is 
 furnished by the consul or other sanitary 
 authority at the last port where it touched, 
 with a document styled a Bill of Health, 
 declaring the state of health in that country. 
 If the ship brings a clean bill of health, the 
 passengers and goods are not subject to any 
 quarantine. If she brings a foul bill, they 
 are subject to quarantines of different dura- 
 tions, according as the plague is known or 
 only suspected to have existed in the country 
 at the ship's departure. On account of the 
 prevalence of plague in the countries on the 
 
 QUARRYING. 
 
 1400 
 
 Levant, they are considered as permanently 
 n a state of suspicion ; and no ship sailing 
 'rom any of them is considered to bring a 
 clean bill. The periods of quarantine vary 
 from two or three to forty days ; the usual 
 periods are from ten to twenty days. The 
 building in which passengers usually perform 
 their quarantine, and in which goods are de- 
 purated, is called a Lazaretto. The most 
 spacious and best appointed lazarettoes in the 
 Mediterranean are those at Malta and Mar- 
 seille. 
 
 The laws of quarantine depend directly on 
 the contagion or non-contagion of certain dis- 
 eases ; and on the difference between suscep- 
 tible and non- susceptible commodities, if the 
 contagion-theory be true. It becomes there- 
 fore a medical question ; and the opinions of 
 medical men throughout Europe are gradually 
 tending to such a result as will either abolish 
 quarantine altogether, or greatly modify and 
 limit it : a result of very great importance to 
 the commerce and industry of Europe. 
 
 QUARRYING is the operation of extracting 
 from the ground, or detaching from the sides 
 of rocks, marble, stone, or other minerals in 
 considerable masses. When the material to 
 be excavated lies vertically below the surface 
 of the ground, the work commences by remov- 
 ing the earth to a depth sufficient to lay that 
 material bare, in order that it may be separa- 
 ted into blocks, and removed ; but when the 
 stone, &c., is in the interior, and near the side 
 of a mountain or hill, the workmen proceed 
 as in the operation of mining, running galle- 
 ries into the ground, and leaving pillars of the 
 material for the support of the mass above 
 them. 
 
 A quarry of small extent is opened by sink- 
 ing vertically in the ground a shaft, into which 
 the men descend by ladders; and the blocks 
 of stone, being separated from the inass. :uv 
 drawn up by means of cranes, which are worked 
 by a windlass or other machine. In working 
 the larger quarries, the vegetable mould form- 
 ing the upper surface is removed by the spade; 
 and the beds immediately underneath, gene- 
 rally consisting of rag, or stone of an inferior 
 quality, are broken up by gunpowder or other- 
 wise, and conveyed to a distance. The stones 
 intended for sale, and which are generally in 
 beds much below the surface, are sometimes 
 also detached from the mass by blasting; but 
 as by this process the blocks are broken irre- 
 gularly and the stone wasted, a different me- 
 
1401 
 
 QUARRYING. 
 
 QUERCITRON BARK. 
 
 1403 
 
 thod is generally employed. The large mass 
 of stone, as it exists in the quarry, consists of 
 strata contiguous to one another, and the 
 surfaces in contact form planes of cleavage ; 
 in lines parallel to which the stones heing 
 more easily divided than in any other direc- 
 tion, these lines constitute what is called the 
 cleaving grain of the material. In order there- 
 fore to separate a large block from the mass, 
 a series of iron wedges, placed in line a few 
 inches asunder, on the natural face of the 
 rock and in the direction of the cleaving grain, 
 are driven into the stone till a part is loosened : 
 a channel is then cut in the direction of the 
 length of the intended block, and at a distance 
 from the natural edge of the stone equal to 
 its required breadth ; and wedges being planted 
 in the channel, they are driven by repeated 
 strokes till the stone is split in that direction 
 also. In the hardest stones, the wedges are 
 placed not in the channels, but in what are 
 called pool holes sunk in the direction in which 
 the block is to be severed from the mass. A 
 similar operation is then performed in the 
 direction of the breadth of the block; and 
 thus a large portion is detached from the ori- 
 ginal mass. 
 
 The natural strata of the stone in different 
 quarries are in different positions ; frequently 
 they are horizontal, but generally they are 
 inclined to that plane, and sometimes they 
 are vertical : occasionally also both the first 
 and last of these positions are assumed by 
 the stone in the same quarry. It is evident 
 that the separation of the blocks from a mass 
 must be most easily effected when the natural 
 strata are in vertical positions ; cutting the 
 stone in directions perpendicular to the line 
 of the grain is always a work of difficulty, and 
 the operations are attended with some danger 
 to the quarry -men when the latter are obliged 
 to work in galleries under ground. 
 
 After the blocks have been severed from 
 the mass, they are reduced as nearly as pos- 
 sible to a rectangular form ; and this is done 
 by means of a tool called a kevel, pointed at 
 one end and flat at the other, with which the 
 irregular parts are knocked off. The blocks 
 are then usually, by means of cranes which 
 are capable of being moved from place to 
 place, raised upon trucks or low carriages ; 
 and these are drawn, generally on iron rail- 
 ways, to the quays or wharfs where the stone 
 is put on ship-board. At the slate quarries in 
 Caernarvonshire the slabs are placed on 
 sledges, which, by an engine, are drawn up 
 an inclined plane ; and, from the summit of 
 this plane, the stone is drawn by horses to 
 the Menai. 
 
 QUARTZ, is the mineralogical name of 
 
 numerous varieties of rock crystal, the native 
 oxide of silicium [SILEX], called also siliceous 
 or flint earth, and silicic acid. Quartz occurs 
 crystallised and massive, and in both states it 
 is widely diffused throughout nature, especially 
 as one of the constituents of granitic and the 
 older rocks. Quartz is hard enough to strike 
 fire with steel ; it becomes luminous and 
 electrical by friction ; it is of various colours ; 
 it is infusible ; insoluble in acids, in general, 
 but acted on by hydrofluoric acid. Homston, 
 and chert are varieties of compact quartz. 
 Cavernous quartz is termed spongiform quartz 
 or swimming stone. Among the numerous 
 varieties of quartz are brown or smoky quartz, 
 purple quartz, or amethyst, blue quartz, green 
 guartx, yellow quartz, and red quartz. Among 
 the minerals in which quartz is the chief in- 
 gredient, are agate, avanturine, flint, flinty 
 slate, opal, chalcedony, heliotrope, onyx, plasma, 
 sard, sardonyx, sad. jasper. 
 
 QUA'SSIA, is a genus of plants consisting 
 of trees inhabiting the tropical parts of South 
 America, particularly Surinam and the adjoin- 
 ing countries. 
 
 Quassia amara, the true Quassia of modern 
 botanists, is a small tree inhabiting the woods 
 of Surinam, Demerara, and probably the 
 greater part of Central America. The AVOOC! 
 of the root of this plant was formerly in great 
 repute as a stomachic and as a remedy for the 
 malignant endemic fevers of Surinam. The 
 flowers also were, and still are, in that country 
 infused in wine or spirits, and form a bitter 
 beverage ; but the wood is out of use, in con- 
 sequence partly of its being less easily pro- 
 cured than that of the next species, and partly 
 from an opinion being entertained of some 
 bad properties existing in connection with the 
 intense bitter. Quassia excelsa is a large tree 
 inhabiting Jamaica. The wood is white, and 
 scentless, but most intensely bitter ; it is one 
 of the ingredients employed by fraudulent 
 brewers in adulterating beer. Quassia Sima- 
 ruba is the plant which furnishes the bark 
 called Simarouba, which comes from Jamaica 
 in bales, and is used as a tonic, although it 
 also appears to act as an emetic. 
 
 Quassia is imported in billets, sometimes a 
 foot in diameter, and several feet long ; bufe 
 before being used for medicinal purposes, 
 they are cut into chips, which are of a light 
 gray colour, or, by long exposure to the air, 
 of a yellow or brownish hue. The active prin- 
 ciple of Quassia seems to be quassite, a neutral 
 substance, which crystallises in white prisms, 
 and is readily soluble in alcohol. 
 
 QUERCITRON BARK. This valuable 
 dye-drug is described under BAKE. Chevreul 
 has given the name Quercitrin to the colouring 
 
1403 
 
 QUERCUS. 
 
 HAGS. 
 
 1404 
 
 principle of the Quercitron Bark. It crystal 
 Uses in colourless acicular crystals, which 
 have a slightly sweet taste, and subse- 
 quently a bitter one. They are very soluble 
 in water, in alcohol, and in aether. On boiling 
 a solution of Quercitrin, it becomes turbid, 
 and deposits a quantity of small acicular crys- 
 tals of Quercitrein, less soluble in water, and 
 which forms with hydrate of lead a beautiful 
 yellow lake of lead. 
 
 QUERCUS. [BARK; CORK; OAK.] 
 QUICKSILVER. [MERCUEY.] 
 QUINA or QUINIA, is a very important 
 vegetable alkali, contained in the three well- 
 known varieties of Cinchona, or Bark, but 
 
 principally in the Yellow Bark. This alkali 
 is colourless, inodorous, and extremely bitter. 
 It fuses at about 300 Fahr., and when cold 
 is yellow, translucent, friable, and somewhat 
 like resin. When subjected to a strong heat, 
 with access of air, it is totally dissipated, with 
 the formation of the vapour of the carbonate 
 of ammonia. The only one of the salts of 
 quina extensively employed is the DisulpJiate, 
 the Quinas DisulpJias of the London Pharma- 
 copeia, and the Quinte Sulphas of the Edin- 
 burgh. The crystals of this salt are colour- 
 less, acicular, have a pearly lustre, a bitter 
 taste, and effloresce when exposed to the 
 
 RADIATION OF HEAT. There are cer- 
 tain experiments on the radiation of heat 
 which possess great practical value, in so far 
 as they show what substances should be em- 
 ployed, and what avoided, when heat is re- 
 quired to be retained in any vessel or other 
 body. In the jackets or envelopes for boilers 
 and steam pipes this matter is always attended 
 to. 
 
 Sir John Leslie placed a tin canister filled 
 with hot water in the focus of a parabolic 
 mirror of the same metal, and a differential 
 thermometer in the focus of another such 
 mirror, which was placed opposite to it. The 
 four sides of the canister were covered with 
 the substances whose radiating powers were 
 required. When three of the sides were 
 covered respectively with lamp black, paper, 
 and ground glass, and then turned so as to 
 radiate directly on one speculum, the heat 
 reflected by the other raised the thermometer 
 to 100, 98 and 90 ; but when the fourth 
 side, which was uncovered, was similarly 
 directed, the thermometer fell to 12. Thus 
 it appears that polished metallic substances 
 are bad radiators, which may be attributed to 
 the internal reflection of the heat from their 
 surfaces. A similar apparatus served to mea- 
 sure the absorptive power of different sub- 
 stances, the bulb of the thermometer being 
 covered with an envelope of the substance to 
 be examined ; and this power is thus found 
 to be nearly in proportion to that of radiation. 
 In another experiment Leslie filled a canister 
 with ice or snow, and found that the cold 
 apparently emitted from the varnished side 
 
 was the greatest, and that from the polished 
 side the least; he observed also that the cold 
 like the radiant heat, varied with changes in 
 the absorbent power of the thermometer and 
 of the surface of the mirror. 
 
 Count Rumford laid down, as a rule justified 
 by numerous experiments, that if we would 
 confine heated substances, solid or fluid, in a 
 vessel, the surface of the latter should be 
 highly polished ; on the other hand, if the 
 object be to cool the substances, the surface 
 should be painted or varnished, or be covered 
 with a soft coating which is not metallic. Also, 
 in warming apartments by steam, the intention 
 being to promote radiation as much as pos- 
 sible, the tubes conveying the steam should 
 be unpolished or painted. 
 
 The colours of bodies have some effect on 
 the velocity of radiation and on the absorption 
 of heat. Dr. Stark of Edinburgh surrounded 
 the bulb of a thermometer successively with 
 equal weights of black, red, and white wool, 
 and placed it in a glass tube, which was 
 heated to the temperature of 180 by immer- 
 sion in hot water ; the tube was then cooled 
 down to 50 by immersion in cold water, and 
 the several times of cooling were respectively 
 21, 26, and 27 minutes. 
 
 Those phenomena of radiation which are 
 still the subject of scientific enquiry, and which 
 are not yet applied in the arts, do not come 
 under our notice here. 
 
 RAGS. Paper, it is well known to most 
 persons, is made chiefly from the rags or worn 
 fragments of woven materials linen being 
 the best adapted. The rags of our country do 
 
1405 
 
 EAILWAYS. 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 1408 
 
 not constitute a fourth, perhaps not a fifth, of 
 the quantity which we use in making paper. 
 Italy and Germany furnish the principal 
 supplies ; and it is a curious illustration of 
 national habits that English rags are known 
 from all others by being cleaner, while those 
 of Italy are wretchedly dirty. The rags and 
 other materials imported for making paper in 
 1848 amounted to 7191 tons. 
 
 EAILWAYS. If cotton spinning were the 
 greatest commercial phenomenon of the first 
 quarter of the present century, railways may 
 unquestionably be said to be so for the second. 
 Nothing else has been attended by such vast 
 (and in many respects beneficial) results. 
 
 Wooden railways or tramways were intro- 
 duced in the collieries of the north of England 
 in the early part of the seventeenth century. 
 They were adopted in order to reduce the 
 labour of drawing coals from the pits to the 
 places of shipment in the neighbourhood of 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They consisted, in 
 the first instance, simply of pieces of wood 
 imbedded in the ordinary road, in such a 
 manner as to form wheel-tracks for the carts 
 or waggons employed. An improved form 
 was afterwards adopted, by laying the wooden 
 rails on transverse sleepers. The vehicles used 
 upon these wooden railways were generally 
 waggons, containing from two to three tons of 
 coal, mounted upon small wheels. The wheels 
 were provided with a flange or projecting rim, 
 which, by coming in contact with the side 
 of the rail, retained the waggon upon the 
 railroad. 
 
 About the year 1767 iron plates were laid 
 upon the wooden rails on a railway at the 
 Colebrook Dale iron works. Some time after 
 the experiment at Colebrook Dale, cast-iron 
 rails, with an upright flange, were brought into 
 use at the colliery of the Duke of Norfolk, 
 near Sheffield, in 1776. Originally they were 
 fixed upon cross sleepers of wood, like those 
 used to support wooden rails ; but about the 
 year 1793 blocks of stone were introduced 
 as supports, instead of the wooden sleepers. 
 Various inconveniences attendant on these 
 plate-railways led to the use of edge-railways, 
 which have now almost entirely superseded 
 the previous form. The first edge-railway of 
 any considerable extent was completed in 1801 
 for the conveyance of slate from the quarries 
 of Lord Penrhyn. The decided advantages of 
 edge-rails were so well appreciated by the coal 
 owners of Northumberland and Durham, that 
 they were adopted extensively by them within 
 a few years after the successful experiment at 
 Penrhyn. Many successive varieties have 
 been introduced in the form of th? rails ; but 
 the greatest improvement was w invention, 
 
 in 1820, of an efficient and cheap method of 
 rolling iron bars suitable for rails and similar 
 purposes. The fibrous texture of wrought- 
 iron makes it far less likely to break when 
 subjected to concussion than cast-iron, and 
 the sectional form used is such as to render 
 bending improbable. 
 
 The application of the steam-engine to the 
 purposes of locomotion was suggested in one 
 of the patents of Watt : but it does not appear 
 that either he or any other inventor carried 
 their ideas into practice until about 1802, 
 when Messrs. Trevithick and Vivian patented 
 a high-pressure engine, which, by its simpli- 
 city and compactness, was admirably adapted 
 for locomotive purposes. Within a few years 
 they built several carriages, one of which, at 
 least, was for use on a common road. In 1805 
 they made some interesting experiments with 
 a locomotive on a tramway near Merthyr 
 Tydvil, and thereby proved the practicability 
 of their plan. Engineers at first thought that 
 the wheels would not hold or lite on the 
 rails, without some other contrivances ; but 
 those fears have been dissipated. 
 
 Shortly before the completion of the Liver- 
 pool and Manchester railway, the directors 
 decided that horse traction would be too slow 
 for the requirements of the traffic ; and they 
 determined to try locomotives. They offered 
 a premium of 500Z. for the best to be produced 
 which would fulfil certain conditions, of which 
 some were that it should not emit smoke, 
 should draw three times its own weight at the 
 rate of ten miles per hour, should be sup- 
 ported on springs, not exceed six tons weight, 
 or four tons and a half if on only four wheels, 
 and should not cost more than 550Z. The 
 trial was fixed for October, 1829, when four 
 steam locomotives were produced, one of 
 which was withdrawn at the commencement of 
 the experiment. Of the other three, the 
 Novelty, by Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericson, 
 and the Sans Pareil, by Mr. Hackworth, failed 
 in some of the conditions. The remaining 
 engine, the Socket, was constructed by Eobert 
 Stephenson and Mr. Booth, of the Liverpool 
 and Manchester Eailway, and succeeded in 
 performing more than was stipulated for. The 
 most marked improvement in Stephenson's 
 locomotive was the use of a tubular boiler 
 instead of a large flue. 
 
 From the opening of that railway, the 
 success of the great system was at once de- 
 cided. Nothing could check the spread of so 
 vast an improvement ; and we have since seen 
 such a twenty years of commercial energy as 
 the world never saw before. 
 
 In the laying down and construction of a 
 railway, the engineer so adjusts his inclinations 
 
1407 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 1408 
 
 or gradients as to make the nearest practicable 
 approach to a level, avoiding if possible any 
 loss of power from undulations of surface, by 
 making all the inclinations on one side of the 
 summit, or highest point to be passed over, rise 
 towards it, and all on the opposite side descend 
 from it. Curves on a main line of railway being 
 objectionable, the engineer so adjusts his line 
 as to avoid them when possible, and to make 
 those which are inevitable of as large a radius 
 as circumstances will admit. The works of a 
 railway consist chiefly of tunneling, excavation, 
 embankment, arching, viaducts, bridges; concern- 
 ing each of which a few words may be said. 
 
 Tunnels are, in general, the most formidable 
 works, and the time and expense of forming 
 them can be least accurately calculated, 
 because unforeseen circumstances often arise 
 to retard their progress. Being objectionable 
 aloo on other accounts, tunnels are avoided as 
 much as possible in the more recently-designed 
 railways. Excavations of great depth and 
 extent are of frequent occurrence where the 
 railway passes through high ground, but not 
 at such a depth from the surface as to require 
 a tunnel. The depth of cuttings is frequently 
 from fifty to a hundred feet; and the slope of 
 the sides depends on the nature of the rock or 
 soil. Embankments are the artificial ridges of 
 earth formed to support the railway on a 
 higher level than the natural surface of the 
 ground. Their dimensions are often fully 
 commensurate with those of cuttings, from 
 which their materials are mostly procured. In 
 the ordinary mode of proceeding, an embank- 
 ment is formed simultaneously with a cutting, 
 the earth waggons proceeding filled from the 
 excavation along a temporary railway to the 
 embankment, where they are tipped up to dis- 
 charge their contents. Arching of almost 
 every kind is more or less required in viaducts, 
 bridges, culverts, and drains; and simpler 
 work in the retaining walls, station buildings, 
 and other necessary erections. Viaducts of 
 great magnitude are often executed for the 
 purpose of crossing valleys at an elevation 
 greater than could be conveniently obtained 
 by embankment, and also for entering or pas- 
 sing through towns. They are usually of 
 stone or brick, but sometimes of wood or iron. 
 Bridges are required occasionally for crossing 
 rivers, and very frequently at the intersection 
 of roads, and as communications between 
 severed property. They are formed of stone, 
 brick, wood, iron, or combinations of two or 
 more of these. 
 
 In order to obtain a firm dry foundation for 
 the blocks or sleepers on which the rails rest, 
 a layer or stratum of broken stone, technically 
 called ballast, is spread over the road to the 
 
 thickness of a foot or more, varying according 
 to the construction adopted and other circum- 
 stances. The rails used to be spiked down to 
 stone blocks ; but it is found better either to 
 rest them on sleepers placed at intervals, or 
 on continuous timber bearings, as on the 
 Great Western line. Mr. Barlow has recently 
 invented cast iron bearings for the rails, which 
 are found to be a valuable improvement. He 
 has also introduced a very broad wrought iron 
 rail which requires no sleepers, the broad 
 bottom of the rail being laid upon the ballast 
 itself. The rails now used vary from 70 to 90 
 Ibs. per yard. In the old colliery tramways, 
 four feet was not an uncommon width for the 
 gauge of the rails, but many lines were less. 
 Some of the colliery railways of Northumber- 
 land are four feet eight inches and a half; and 
 from these the Stockton and Darlington, 
 Liverpool and Manchester, and other lines, 
 took their gauge. The advantage of uni- 
 formity has led most companies to follow this 
 example. The ordinary width being consi- 
 dered by him inconveniently limited, Mr. 
 Brunei fixed upon seven feet as the gauge of 
 the Great Western and its tributary lines ; and 
 hence has arisen the late ' battle of the 
 gauges,' which may be truly said to have cost 
 the respective companies millions of money, 
 in law and legislation. 
 
 Wherever there is a uniform gauge, the 
 clearing-house system is acted upon by the 
 railway companies, to the obvious advantage 
 of all parties. The principle of the system is, 
 that passengers shall be booked through at all 
 principal stations, and conveyed to their desti- 
 nation without change of carriage ; that horses 
 and cattle be in like manner earned through 
 without change of conveyance, and goods 
 without being shifted or re-assorted ; that the 
 companies respectively shall pay a fixed rate 
 per mile for such carriages and waggons, not 
 their own property, as they may ase, and a 
 further sum per day by way of fine or demur- 
 rage for detention, if kept beyond a prescribed 
 length of time ; and that all traffic accounts 
 between the several companies shall pass 
 through the Clearing- House. 
 
 The carriages used on railways we need not 
 stop to describe ; every one has had more or 
 less opportunities of noticing the gradual 
 improvements introduced. The wonder- 
 working locomotive, however, must engage a 
 little of our attention. 
 
 In a modern locomotive, the tubes through 
 the boiler, for the passage of flame and heated 
 air, are now always made of brass, which is 
 found much more durable than copper. They 
 vary in number in different engines from about 
 ninety to a hundred and fifty or upwards, 
 
's cifCLOp&fljA w m m an NATIONS, 
 
 No. 84 
 
1409 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 1410 
 
 being frequently less than an inch and a half 
 in diameter. The power of generating steam, 
 which is the measure of efficiency in a loco- 
 motive engine, depends much upon judicious 
 tubing. Boilers are frequently tubed to such 
 an extent that from four to six hundred square 
 feet of heated metal is exposed to the water, 
 in addition to the area of the fire box itself. 
 An important feature in a locomotive boiler is 
 its security from bursting, because as the 
 tubes are much weaker than the external 
 casing of the boiler, they are almost certain 
 to give way first ; and the bursting of one or 
 two tubes is rarely productive of more serious 
 consequence than extinguishing the fire, and 
 thereby causing a gradual stoppage of the 
 machine. In the old engines the cylinders 
 were placed at the bottom of the smoke-box, 
 and the machinery under the boiler; but there 
 is a growing preference for those in which the 
 cylinders are fixed outside the framing, and 
 the power is conveyed to the wheels by ex- 
 ternal cranks and connecting-rods. The ' long- 
 boiler ' engines of the narrow gauge are very 
 large ; but those of the Great Western Com- 
 pany are still more so. One of the engines 
 of this company has about 1750 square feet of 
 heating surface in the boiler ; has cylinders of 
 18 inches diameter and 24 inches stroke; 
 driving-wheels of 8 feet diameter; and two 
 pair of bearing-wheels of 4 feet 6 inches in 
 diameter. The total length is 24 feet; the 
 distance between the supporting wheels 16 
 feet ; the weight of the engine alone, without 
 fuel or water 28 1 tons, and of the tender, 10 
 tons ; and the total weight of engine and 
 tender when loaded, about 56 tons. These 
 engines, in the express train between London 
 and Exeter, go at a speed, in some parts, of 
 60 miles an hour. 
 
 Small and light locomotives have been re- 
 cently introduced, fitted for the traffic of branch 
 lines. 
 
 Taking one line of railway with another, 
 main lines with branch lines, and passenger 
 traffic with goods traffic, it is found that one 
 locomotive is required for about every two 
 miles of railway ; to work all the traffic 
 effectively, and to have a sufficient reserve 
 store for contingencies. We are thus enabled 
 to form a rough estimate of the number of 
 locomotives in the United Kingdom. 
 
 Rope traction on railways is becoming gra- 
 dually abandoned; and the once highly ex- 
 tolled Atmospheric traction is only applied on 
 two miles of the Dublin and Kingstown Rail- 
 way. 
 
 We will next take a rapid glance at the 
 statistics of railways. The first railway esta- 
 blished in this country as a distinct underta- 
 
 YOL. I. 
 
 king, and intended for public use, was the 
 Surrey Iron Railway, the company for which 
 was incorporated in 1801. In the following 
 twenty years only twenty new railway compa- 
 nies were incorporated ; but the Stockton and 
 Darlington Railway, the act for which passed, 
 after much opposition, in 1821, gave an im- 
 pulse to this kind of enterprise. Between 
 1801 and 1840 there were 299 acts passed 
 relating to railways, These sanctioned tha 
 construction of about 3000 miles of railway; 
 but many of the schemes were afterwards 
 abandoned. Down to 1840 about 1100 miles 
 of railway were finished and open, and about 
 60,000,000^ had been expended on them. 
 Between 1840 and 1850, railway legislation 
 presented the following results : 
 
 Year. 
 
 1841 
 
 1842 
 
 1843 
 1844 
 1845 
 1840 
 1847 
 1848 
 1849 
 1850 
 
 Acts. 
 19 
 22 
 24 
 
 48 
 120 
 270 
 184 
 
 83 
 
 35 
 
 36 
 
 Length. 
 14 miles, 
 67 
 91 
 797 
 2883 
 4790 
 1663 
 300 
 50? 
 50? 
 
 841 10,705 
 
 Taking the earlier acts at 299, and mileage aj 
 3000, we have a total of .1 140 acts of parlia 
 ment sanctioning railways, and about 13,700 
 miles of railway so sanctioned. This in- 
 cludes the lines which have been abandoned. 
 
 At the end of 1849 the length of railway 
 open for traffic in the United Kingdom was 
 5996 miles ; at the end of 1850 it was 6621 
 miles. This last amount is made up as 
 follows : 
 
 England and Wales 5132 miles. 
 
 Scotland 951 
 
 Ireland 538 
 
 6621 
 
 The average receipts per mile in England 
 and Wales, during 1850, for passengers was 
 1218/., and for goods ILWL; this shows that 
 the goods traffic has nearly reached the level 
 of the passenger traffic. The passengers 
 conveyed in the year ending June, 1850 were 
 66,840,175 ; who paid fares amounting to 
 6,465,575/. It is a curious fact that the ave- 
 rage paid by all passengers, of all classes, for 
 all journeys, on all the railways, remains every 
 year pretty nearly equal in amount, viz. two 
 shillings per journey ; this is much smaller 
 than most persons would have expected, and 
 it shows how much the short or local traffic 
 preponderates over the long or through 
 
1411 
 
 EAIN-GAUGE. 
 
 BAISINS. 
 
 1412 
 
 traffic. The goods traffic in the same twelve 
 months brought 5,942,2 771. ; giving with the 
 passengers' receipts the astonishing sum of 
 12,407,852/. exceeding one million sterling 
 per month. There is every reason to believe 
 that the year 1851 will show a very notable 
 increase on these numbers. 
 
 Among foreign countries, America, Prussia, 
 Germany, Belgium, and France have not been 
 slow to imitate the railway proceedings of 
 England. On the first day of 1851, the 
 United States had 8797 miles of railway, 
 which cost about 60,000,OOOJ. On the conti- 
 nent of Europe the system is making rapid 
 strides, but not comparable to that of the 
 United States. 
 
 It is satisfactory to know that the Great 
 Exhibition contains specimens of the latest 
 and finest constructions relating to railway 
 machinery. 
 
 RAIN-GAUGE, or Pluviometer, is a vessel 
 for measuring the quantity of rain which falls 
 on any particular part of the earth's surface, 
 the quantity being indicated by the depth of 
 the precipitated water which would cover the 
 ground about the spot, supposing the ground 
 to be horizontal, and that the water could 
 neither flow off nor penetrate into the soil. 
 The instrument generally consists of a conical 
 funnel, open both at top and bottom, the 
 lower extremity entering into a cylinder below, 
 which thus receives the rain from the funnel. 
 A graduated rod passes through a perforation 
 in a bar fixed in the direction of a diameter 
 of the cone at its upper surface, and is 
 attached, at the lower extremity, to a circular 
 piston, which has nearly the same diameter as 
 the interior of the cylinder : the weight of the 
 piston and rod is such as to allow the former 
 to float with its upper surface on a level with 
 the surface of the water. A rim, of a cylin- 
 drical form, rises a little way above the upper 
 extremity of the conical part of the funnel, in 
 order to prevent the rain-water, which would 
 strike the interior of the latter near that ex- 
 tremity, from being thrown out in consequence 
 of the shock. 
 
 The diameter of the funnel at the top may 
 be 12 inches, and that of the cylinder inches ; 
 in which case the area of the horizontal sec- 
 tion on which the rain falls will be to that of 
 the cylinder in the ratio of four to one. Hence 
 a depth of water equal to one inch at the 
 horizontal section will be expressed by a 
 space equal to 4 inches on the length of the 
 rod ; and, each of such spaces being divided 
 into 100 parts, the depth of water at the said 
 section will be indicated in hundredths of an 
 inch. The height of the cylindrical vessel 
 below the funnel may be from 25 to 30 inches. 
 
 For the sake of diminishing the evaporation 
 and of measuring small quantities of rain 
 with greater precision, the diameter of the 
 cylinder is sometimes reduced to 2 inches, 
 and the collected water is, by means of a 
 small pipe, inserted in the bottom of the 
 cylinder, and furnished with a cock made to 
 pass into a glass tube whose interior diameter 
 is half an inch. In this case the diameter of 
 the upper extremity of the funnel being the 
 same, a shower of rain whose depth on the 
 ground might be one- hundredth part of an 
 inch, would be indicated by 5-76 inches in the 
 tube. 
 
 BAISINS. The dried fruits of several varie- 
 ties of the vine are called raisins. They are 
 named after the countries where they are pro- 
 duced, or the places whence they are im- 
 ported; as Malaga, Valencia, and Smyrna. 
 The peculiar small and generally seedless 
 grapes, formerly called Corinths, are now 
 better known as the dried or Zante Currants 
 of the shops. 
 
 There are many modes of preparing the 
 raisins. One is to dry the grapes, after being 
 cut when fully ripe, by exposure to the heat of 
 the sun on a floor of hard earth or of stone. 
 Another method is to cut the stalk half-way 
 through when the grapes are nearly ripe, and 
 leave them suspended till the watery part is 
 evaporated ; the flow of sap is in a great mea- 
 sure prevented from entering the fruit, in 
 consequence of the incision, and whilst eva- 
 poration continues to go on undiminished, 
 desiccation must take place. The currant- 
 grapes are gathered in the end of August and 
 beginning of September. Rains often spoil 
 the crop when they occur at the time of gather- 
 ing or drying. The fruit, when sufficiently 
 dry, is separated from the stalks by small 
 rakes, and afterwards stored in magazines, 
 ' seraglie,' constructed somewhat like a lime- 
 kiln, having an opening at top, where the 
 fruit is put in, and a door at bottom, opened 
 only at the time of sale. The fruit is ren- 
 dered so compact by its own weight, that con- 
 siderable force is requisite to break it up for 
 the purpose of being packed in the large casks 
 in which it is exported. 
 
 The Malaga raisins are esteemed the finest ; 
 and the muscatels from thence exceed all 
 others in price. The black Smyrna raisins 
 are those of least value. The white grape of 
 Alexandria furnishes very fine raisins. An oil 
 exists in the seeds of the grape, in the propor- 
 tion of 12 pounds of oil to 100 pounds of 
 seeds. Though it is not obtained without 
 difficulty, it is extracted in Italy in large 
 quantity. When heat is used it has a harsh 
 taste, and is mostly used for burning ; but 
 
1413 
 
 EAMPAET. 
 
 EAEEFAGTION. 
 
 1414 
 
 when cold-drawn, it may be used for food. 
 Tannin of the purest kind may be obtained 
 from the seeds of the grape. 
 
 Nearly all the raisins imported into this 
 country are from Spain and Turkey. Of the 
 total quantity imported, 99 per cent, is from 
 these countries, namely, 64 per cent, from 
 Spain, and 35 per cent, from Turkey. A small 
 supply is received from Portugal, Italy, and 
 the Cape of Good Hope. The raisins im- 
 ported in the last three years amounted to 
 
 1848 239,668 cwts. 
 
 1849 209,180 
 
 1850 276,312 
 
 EAMPAET. The ramparts of ancient 
 
 fortresses were walls of stone or brick, fre- 
 quently from 60 to 100 feet high and 20 feet 
 broad, including the galleries formed in them ; 
 and round or angular towers were constructed 
 at intervals along the walls. A modern ram- 
 part is surmounted by a parapet of earth, on 
 the interior side of which, towards the town, 
 is a nearly level space, varying in breadth 
 from 35 to 40 feet, called the terreplein ; and 
 on this the artillery is placed. The exterior 
 and interior sides of the rampart are formed 
 with slopes making angles of about 45 degrees 
 with the horizon : or they are retained by 
 revetments, or walls of brick or stone, nearly 
 upright, the exterior face of the rampart con- 
 stituting the escarp of the ditch in front. 
 
 EAMSDEN, JESSE, will always occupy a 
 distinguished position in the history of mechan - 
 ism by his beautiful optical and astronomical 
 instruments. He was bom in 1735. At the 
 age of 20 we find him engaged as a clerk in a 
 cloth warehouse in London, in which capacity 
 he continued till 1757-8, when his predilection 
 for other pursuits led him to bind himself for 
 four years to a working mathematical and 
 philosophical instrument maker. He com- 
 menced working on his own account, and his 
 skill as an engraver arid divider gradually re- 
 commended him to the employ of the leading 
 instrument-makers. Eamsden subsequently 
 married Dollond's daughter, and he received 
 with her part of Mr. Dollond's patent right in 
 achromatic telescopes. His occupation afforded 
 him frequent opportunities of observing the 
 defective construction of the sextants then in 
 use, the indications of which, as had been 
 pointed out by Lalande, could not be relied on 
 within five minutes of a degree, and might 
 therefore leave a doubt in the determination 
 of the longitude amounting to fifty nautical 
 leagues. The improvements introduced by 
 Eamsden are said by Piazzi to have reduced 
 the limits of error to thirty seconds. This 
 circumstance, added to the cheapness of his 
 instruments, which were sold for about two- 
 
 thirds the price charged by other makers, 
 soon produced a demand which, even with 
 the assistance of numerous hands, he found 
 difficulty in supplying. In his workshops the 
 principle of the division of labour was carried 
 out to a considerable extent, and a propor- 
 tionate dexterity was acquired by the workmen ; 
 but it is asserted that in none of these, even 
 the most subordinate, and least of all in the 
 higher departments did the skill of the work- 
 men surpass that of Eamsden himself. His 
 attention was incessantly directed to new im- 
 provements and further simplification, the 
 result of which was the invention of a dividing- 
 machine. From this time his fame was fully 
 established as the first instrument-maker of 
 his day. He died in 1800. 
 
 EAPE-SEED. The Brasslca naptis, the 
 plant which produces the rape-seed, and which 
 is of the cabbage tribe, is cultivated like Cole, 
 or Colza (Brassica napus sativa), for the sake 
 of its seeds, from which oil is extracted by 
 grinding and pressure. It is also extensively 
 cultivated in England for the succulent food 
 which its thick and fleshy stem and leaves 
 supply to sheep when other fodder is scarce. 
 The mode of cultivation of the colza and rape 
 for seed is nearly the same. The colza takes 
 a longer time to come to maturity, and pro- 
 duces more seed. The rape grows on less 
 fertile soils, and may be sown in spring as well 
 as in autumn. Both are hardy, and resist 
 the winter's frost. 
 
 The rape-seed imported in the last three 
 years amounted to : 
 
 1848 79,970 quarters. 
 
 1849 29,480 
 
 1850 107,029 
 
 EAEEFACTION is an augmentation of the 
 intervals between the particles of aeriform 
 fluids, so that the same number of particles 
 are made to occupy a volume greater than 
 that under which they were previously con- 
 tained. The term is used in opposition to 
 condensation, and in the same sense as dilata- 
 tion, which last is applied both to fluids and 
 solids. From the experiments of Gay-Lussac 
 and Dalton it has been ascertained that, under 
 equal external pressures, the rarefactions of 
 all dry gases and of the aeriform substances 
 produced by the evaporation of liquids are 
 equal at equal temperatures, between the 
 points of freezing and boiling water, and that 
 they vaiy in volume proportionally to the 
 increments of heat expressed by the expan- 
 sions of mercury in the thermometer. Between 
 the temperatures of freezing and of boiling 
 water, the dilatations of all metals and of the 
 fluids called non-elastic are constantly pro- 
 portional to the increments of temperature; 
 
Ui5 
 
 RATAFIA. 
 
 REAPING. 
 
 U1G 
 
 but, beyond the temperature of boiling water, 
 the dilatations increase in a higher ratio. A 
 remarkable circumstance is observed in the 
 state of water when near congelation. On 
 being cooled to a temperature within the 
 limits of 33-9 and 34-5 (Fahrenheit), its 
 volume remains stationary, and in this state 
 water seems to have attained its maximum 
 of density} for on continuing the cooling 
 process, the water begins to expand, and it 
 continues to do so until it is converted into 
 ice. 
 
 RATAFIA, is a liqueur prepared by flavouring 
 sweetened spirit with various kinds of fruit. 
 There are many varieties, generally named 
 after the fruit which is employed. Ratafia de 
 Cassio has cherries . Ratafia de Ciiracoa has 
 the peels of Portugal oranges ; Ratafia d' 
 Angelique has Angelica seeds ; Ratafia d' Anis 
 has aniseed ; and so on. There are ratafias 
 not only of fruits but of seeds, berries, flowers, 
 balsams, and other vegetable products. There 
 are ratafias, for instance, of cherries, quinces, 
 raspberry, juniper, walnuts, peach and apricot 
 kernels, coffee, cocoa, clovepinks, Seville 
 orange peel, orange flowers, violets, Tolu 
 balsam, &c. All these ratafias have spice 
 and sugar added to them. The French 
 liqueurists are the most skilled in this as in 
 most other branches of delicate distillation 
 and making of essences. 
 
 RAZOR MAKING. [CUTLERY.] 
 
 READING. The trade of this town is 
 considerable. There was anciently a large 
 manufacture of woollen cloth, but it has 
 become extinct. Silk ribands and galloons 
 are woven, and floor-cloth and sail cloth ore 
 made. There' are iron foundries, breweries, 
 and yards for boat-building. Trade is carried 
 on in corn, seeds, malt, timber, bark, hoops, 
 wool, cheese, and beer. The Kennet is navi- 
 gable to the Thames, and the Kennet and 
 Avon Canal affords a water communication 
 with the west of England. 
 
 REALEJO, a seaport on the Pacific, in the 
 republic of Nicaragua, is fast rising into com- 
 mercial importance. The inhabitants are 
 chiefly merchants and persons occupied in 
 ship-building, for which the neighbouring 
 forests supply abundance of timber. Ship- 
 building is a large branch of industry, and there 
 are docks for that purpose. The commerce 
 with the other republics of South America is 
 considerable. The principal articles of trade 
 are cacao, indigo, sugar, timber, mahogany, 
 cedar-wood, tar and pitch, sail-cloth, and 
 hides. The activity along the western coasts 
 of America, consequent upon the discovery of 
 gold in California, and the position of the 
 town at the western terminus of the projected 
 
 ship-canal between the Atlantic and the Pa- 
 cific oceans, are likely to render Realejo a 
 place of considerable importance. 
 
 REALGER. [ARSENIC.] 
 
 REAPING. The common Reaping HuoL, 
 or Sickle, with which corn is usually cut, is 
 one of the oldest instruments of husbandry. 
 In reaping with the sickle, a portion of the 
 stems is collected with the left hand, and held 
 fast, while the sickle in the right hand is 
 inserted below the left, taking the stems iu its 
 semicircular blade, and cutting them through 
 by drawing the sickle so as to act as a saw, for 
 which purpose the edge is finely serrated in a 
 direction from the point to the handle. The 
 heads of the corn, with the upper part of the 
 straw, are then laid on the ground in quanti- 
 ties which may readily be collected into a sheaf. 
 The division of labour is introduced with 
 advantage amongst a band of reapers. A 
 certain number cut the com, while others 
 follow to gather the sheaves ; some only pre- 
 paring the bands, and others tying them and 
 setting up the sheaves into stooks or shocks, 
 which usually consist of ten or twelve sheaves, 
 In many places there is a regular measure for 
 the circumference of a sheaf, which should 
 never exceed thirty inches. The bands are 
 made by taking two small handfuls of the cut 
 corn, end crossing them just below the ears 
 into a knot; the sheaf is then pressed with 
 the knee, and the band drawn tightly around 
 it ; the ends are twisted together like a rope, 
 and inserted under the band, which effectually 
 fastens it. 
 
 Wherever the sickle is used for reaping, the 
 straw is cut at a certain height from the 
 ground, and the remainder forms a stubble, 
 which is sometimes mown at leisure after 
 harvest, and carried into the farm -yard for 
 litter; but in the neighbourhood of large 
 towns, where straw is sold at a good price, or 
 exchanged for stable dung, it is important that 
 as much as possible of it should be cut with the 
 corn. This has introduced the practice called 
 fagging, or bagging. The instrument used for 
 this purpose partakes of the nature of a scythe, 
 as well as of a reaping-hook. It is shaped 
 like a sickle, but is much larger and broader; 
 and instead of being indented like a saw, it 
 has a sharp edge like a scythe, which is re- 
 newed when blunt by means of a stone or 
 bat. The Fagging-Hook cuts the straw close 
 to the ground by a stroke of the hand; and 
 its curved form is only useful in collecting 
 stray stems, and holding a certain quantity 
 of them between it and the left hand of the 
 reaper when he makes up a sheaf. The 
 Ilalnault Scythe, which lias been described in 
 most agricultural works, does the work better 
 
1-117 
 
 REBEC. 
 
 REFLECTORS. 
 
 1418 
 
 and with less fatigue : it is in fact a fagging 
 hook, but is hot quite so much curved ; the 
 handle is longer, and placed at an angle with 
 the plane of the blade. A better instrument 
 however on extensive farms is the Cradle - 
 Scythe, which, in the hands of an expert 
 mower, will do more work and more effectu- 
 ally secure all the straw than any other instru- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Whitworth, the eminent machinist of 
 Manchester, patented a new reaping machine 
 in 1849. It is a circular disc or scythe (for 
 cutting grass or" reaping corn), placed upon 
 the side of a four-wheeled machine : motion 
 being given to the disc by wheel-gearing 
 attached to one of the wheels of the machine. 
 
 REBEC was a musical instrument (now 
 disused) of the violin kind, which had three 
 strings tuned in fifths, played on by a bow. 
 It was somewhat smaller than the violin. 
 
 RECTIFYING. Under DISTILLATION it is 
 explained that raw spirit, as produced by the 
 distiller, is a very different liquid from those 
 which are retailed in the shops, and con- 
 sumed in such large quantities. Gin, British 
 brandy, spirits of wine, whiskey, (except the 
 purest Irish and Scotch, and such cordials as 
 aniseed, peppermint, &c.), are all produced 
 by the rectifier, from raw spirit made by the 
 distiller. In accordance with the Excise laws 
 of this country, rectifying must not be carried 
 on in the same building, nor at less than a 
 certain denned distance from the same building, 
 as distilling ; because the distilled spirit pays 
 duty, the rectified spirit none. Throughout 
 England there are scarcely a dozen distilleries, 
 properly so called; all the others being recti- 
 fying establishments, where the spirit is re- 
 distilled, purified, and flavoured with various 
 vegetable substances. The raw spirit is sold 
 by the distiller to the rectifier in two different 
 strengths, technically known as 25 and 1 7 
 c over proof; ' and the transfer from one estab- 
 lishment to the other must be known to and 
 sanctioned by the Excise officers. The spirit 
 is redistilled, by which a certain portion of 
 essential oil is removed from it ; and a third 
 distillation then takes place, in which the 
 spirit in the still has the addition of various 
 fruits, herbs, berries, or seeds, according to 
 the liquor to be produced. The distillation is 
 carried on until the spirit becomes very much 
 weaker than crude spirit, (except in the case 
 of spirit of wine), and until it has imbibed the 
 fragrant, the sweetening, and the flavouring 
 properties of the vegetable substances placed 
 in the still. 
 
 RED LEAD. Red lead or minium is an 
 oxide of the metal; litharge being another 
 oxide. Litharge is produced in the process 
 
 of cnpellation, or the separation of the minute 
 quantity of silver which most lead ores con- 
 tain ; it is a refuse, so far as the immediate 
 process is concerned; but it is afterwards used 
 in making flint glass, or as a material whence 
 many of the salts of lead, useful in the arts, 
 are prepared. 
 
 Red Lead, however, is purposely manu- 
 factured, and the furnaces are adapted ex- 
 pressly for this purpose. It is one of the 
 wonders of chemistry, to see this red powder 
 produced simply by the action of the common 
 air on melted metallic lead : it baffles all our 
 Usual conceptions concerning the production 
 of colour. Pigs of lead, to the weight of about 
 30 cwt, are put into a reverberating furnace, 
 and exposed to a melting heat. A man then 
 stands before the open mouth of the furnace, 
 and keeps the molten lead continually moved 
 by a sort of rake. This movement causes all 
 parts of the metal to come successively in 
 contact with the air, which enters at the open 
 mouth of the furnace. In five or six hours 
 the lead thickens, and acquires the look of a 
 grayish yellow powder ; it has become a mix- 
 ttire of oxidized lead with lead which has 
 not yet had sufficient contact of air to have 
 become oxidized. The contents of the fur- 
 nace are then raked out, and when cold are 
 ground in a mill to a fine state, and steeped 
 in water. The lead particles sink, while par- 
 ticles of yellow oxide remain diffused in the 
 water. The water is poured off, and allowed 
 to settle, and the yellow oxide precipitates. 
 This oxide, Avhen collected and dried, consti- 
 tutes Massicot, ; and by again exposing it to 
 the heat of a furnace, and allowing it to 
 absorb more oxygen, the oxide changes its 
 colour from yellow to red, and changes from 
 Massicot to Red Lead. 
 
 This manufacture is carried on, among 
 other places, at the lead works of NeAvcastle. 
 
 REFINING- is a term applied to various 
 processes in the useful arts, and especially in 
 metallurgy, whereby the substances acted upon 
 are purified by the chemical separation of 
 dross and impurities, and of such foreign 
 matters as may be in combination with them. 
 [ASSAYING ; IRON MANUFACTURE ; LEAD ; STEEL 
 MANUFACTURE ; SUGA&.] Some of the fur- 
 naces employed in these operations are called 
 refineries or refining furnaces. 
 
 REFLECTORS. The reflectors employed 
 for conveying rays of light to a focus, or for 
 throwing them into a different direction, are 
 of varied forms and application. They may 
 be flat, convex, concave, spherical, parabolic 
 or elliptic, according to the purposes required ; 
 and they may be made of glass silvered on 
 the back, or of polished silver, or of one among 
 
1419 
 
 REFRIGERATORS. 
 
 REIMS. 
 
 1420 
 
 many alloys which yield a bright white surface 
 capable of being beautifully polished. 
 
 A few details concerning the reflection 
 from silvered glass, for ornamental purposes 
 will be found under SILVERING ; the aid which 
 a small metallic reflector may render in 
 microscopic observations, is noticed under 
 MICROSCOPE ; the larger reflectors for distant 
 view, are noticed under SPECULUM and TELES- 
 COPE ; while the reflectors for lighthouses are 
 noticed under LIGHTHOUSE. 
 
 REFRIGERATORS. There are many 
 processes in what may be termed chemical 
 manufactures, in which a liquid is required 
 to be cooled with as much rapidity as possi- 
 ble. In the practical modes of effecting this, 
 the caloric of the heated liquid is carried off 
 either by a current of cold water near it, or 
 by a current of air. Exemplifications of these 
 processes will be found under BREWING ; 
 DISTILLATION ; VINEGAB MANUFACTURE. 
 
 REFUGE HARBOURS. A few details 
 on this subject will be found in the articles 
 BREAKWATER, DOVER, HARBOUR, and PORT- 
 LAND. 
 
 REGA'LIA is the name given to the costly 
 specimens of jewellery belonging to the crown. 
 In England, the regalia properly so called are 
 the crown, the sceptre royal, the virge, or rod 
 with the dove, St. Edward's staff, the orb or 
 mound, the sword of mercy, called Curtana, 
 the two swords of spiritual and temporal jus- 
 tice, the ring of alliance with the kingdom, 
 the armillffl or bracelets, the spurs of chivalry, 
 and sundry royal vestments. The regalia 
 here enumerated, all but the vestments, are 
 preserved in the Jewel-Office in the Tower of 
 London. 
 
 REGISTERING MACHINES. Under 
 CALCULATING MACHINES, is given a brief 
 description of many contrivances for register- 
 ing and numbering by automatic means. 
 Under BANK NOTE MACHINERY, and VOTING 
 MACHINE, also, other similar contrivances are 
 noticed. Some years ago, a machine was 
 invented by Mr. Walker, a cloth manufacturer 
 of Leeds, to which he gave the name of 
 Opera Meter, and of which the object was to 
 measure or register the amount of work done 
 by certain machines. The apparatus had a 
 shaft which could be connected with the gig- 
 mill, the shearing machine, or other ma- 
 chines employed in the cloth manufacture. 
 This shaft rotated as fast as the machine to 
 which it was applied ; and the shaft gave 
 motion to a train of wheel-work, with a dial 
 face and index hands to denote the number 
 of revolutions made in a given time. The 
 index hands thus became a measure and re- 
 corder of the amount of work done. 
 
 A piece of mechanism called a Counter is 
 often used in cotton factories, to count or 
 reckon how many revolutions the main shaft 
 of the machinery has made in a given time ; 
 this number becomes, under certain condi- 
 tions, a measure of the amount of work which 
 the machinery has effected. 
 
 Under OMNIBUS is noticed a recent con- 
 trivance for registering the number of persons 
 who enter a vehicle. Whether practically 
 applicable or not, the apparatus is theoretically 
 fitted for supplying a similar register at the 
 entrances of public gardens and places of 
 amusement generally. 
 
 REGISTRATION OF INVENTIONS. 
 [DESIGNS, COPYRIGHT AND REGISTRATION; 
 PATENT LAWS.] 
 
 REICHENHALL, a town in the circle of 
 the Isar in Bavaria, is a place of great im- 
 portance, as being the central point of the 
 four great salt-works of Bavaria. The salt 
 springs seem to have been turned to profit 
 ver since the eighth century. As the great 
 consumption of wood for so many years made 
 % uel too scarce to boil all the brine on the 
 spot, a very ingenious system of hydraulic 
 machinery was contrived in 1618 to carry the 
 )rine in iron pipes from Reichenhall to Traun- 
 tein, over an elevation of 828 feet perpen- 
 licular height, and extending 21 miles in 
 ength. A similar conduit, 42 miles long, to 
 Hosenheim on the Inn, where there is abund- 
 nce of wood, was made in 1809 ; so that now 
 all the springs which formerly ran to waste 
 or want of wood are turned to account. In 
 817, the salt springs of Reichenhall, Traun- 
 tein, and Rosenheim were connected by 
 lydraulic works of great power and ingenious 
 ontrivance with the salt- mines of Berchtes- 
 ;aden. The salt produced yearly is 16,000 tons. 
 REIMS, or RHEIMS, a city in the French 
 [epartment of Marne, is noticeable in a com- 
 nercial point of view, besides the attractions 
 f its famous cathedral. The manufactures 
 are extensive ; they consist of woollen cloths, 
 .erseymeres, light stuffs for summer coats 
 and trousers, swanskins, camlets, merinos, 
 ashmere shawls, flannels, blankets, carpets, 
 osiery, bolting-cloth, cordage, candles, soap, 
 nd leather. Wax and wool bleaching, dye- 
 ng, wool-combing, brewing, and the making 
 f machinery, are carried on. The spiced 
 >read and biscuits of the town are in great 
 epute. The chief trade is in the above- 
 amed articles of manufacture, corn, flour, 
 hampagne wines, brandy, spices, colonial 
 iroduce, wool, cotton-yarn, flax, hemp, raw 
 lides. A railway in course of construction 
 will join Reims to the Paris- Strasbourg line, 
 n which it abuts a little east of fepernay. 
 
1421 
 
 RENAISSANCE. 
 
 BENNIE, JOHN. 
 
 1422 
 
 RENAISSANCE. The term Renaissance 
 indicates the period of the Revival, in respect 
 to architectural and decorative matters, when 
 the classic began to he re-introduced after 
 the mediaeval styles. It is often used as sy- 
 nonymous with the term Cinque-Cento, which 
 literally means five hundred, whereas it is 
 used as equivalent to mille cinque-cento, the 
 mille being understood though not expressed, 
 therefore it stands for fifteen hundred. In 
 its technical sense among artists, the term 
 renaissance may be considered to mean the 
 style of architecture and general decoration 
 which prevailed during the 16th century, or 
 rather the earlier part of it; nor is it so 
 restricted, for without exact reference to date, 
 it is also applied to what belongs to the style 
 so denoted though it may happen to be before 
 the year 1500, which period may be taken as 
 the line of demarcation laid down by the his- 
 torians of art. 
 
 RENFREWSHIRE. The south-eastern 
 part of this Scottish county is included in the 
 great coal district of the west of Scotland. 
 The chief coal works are at Quarrelton near 
 John stone; and at Hurlet and Househill 
 near Paisley: the mines here are very pro- 
 ductive. Limestone, sandstone, ironstone, 
 granite, and secondary trap-rocks, are found 
 in considerable abundance. Good freestone for 
 building is quarried ; limestone is also wrought 
 for burning ; and the mines of coal and iron- 
 stone give employment to many persons. The 
 hilly parts of the county on the west and 
 south are chiefly devoted to pasture. Owing 
 to the demand for meat, vegetables, milk, 
 butter, &c., by the large and crowded popula- 
 tions of Greenock, Glasgow, and Paisley, a 
 large part of the cultivated land is meadow- 
 land or garden-ground. Dairy farming is 
 very extensively practised. 
 
 Renfrewshire possesses a considerable 
 amount of manufacturing and commercial 
 industry in some of the towns. Greenock has 
 been already alluded to in connection with 
 the great city of GLASGOW. At the beginning 
 of the last century, the harbour, which was 
 then only fit for the reception of fishing boats, 
 was enlarged : more than ten acres were en- 
 closed between two circular quays ; and sub- 
 sequent improvements have rendered the 
 outer harbour available for ships of large 
 burthen. This has been the means of raising 
 the place to an important position as a sea- 
 port. The Newfoundland and Nova Scotia 
 fisheries are carried on extensively. The 
 number of vessels belonging to the port is 
 nearly 500. Johnstone, near Paisley, contains 
 cotton mills and some other manufactories. 
 The parish of Neilston contains several vil- 
 
 lages ; most of the inhabitants, amounting 
 altogether to about 10,000, are employed in 
 various branches of silk and cotton manufac- 
 tures, the river Levern affording excellent 
 water power for driving machinery. There 
 is also abundance of clear water suitable for 
 bleaching. PAISLEY industry has been noticed 
 elsewhere. Pollockshaws is a tolerably large 
 place, depending almost entirely on the cotton 
 manufacture ; spinning, weaving, bleaching, 
 and printing are actively carried on. In Ren- 
 frew the manufactures are various : muslin 
 weaving is by far the most important. Many 
 females are employed in clipping, tambouring, 
 and flowering. A few small vessels carrying 
 coal, manure, &c., on the Clyde, belong to the 
 burgh ; but a considerable number of vessels, 
 chiefly laden with grain from Ireland, or 
 with dye-stuffs for Paisley, discharge their 
 cargoes here. 
 
 The following were the factory statistics of 
 Renfrewshire in 1850 : Paisley being the chief 
 town to which those statistics relate. There 
 were 51 cotton factories, being a much larger 
 number than in any other Scottish county 
 except Lanark; these factories had about 
 500,000 spindles: 2000 power looms; water 
 and steam power equal to 2742 horse-power ; 
 and 7884 factory operatives, of whom no less 
 than 5717 were females. There were 3 
 woollen factories, 1 worsted factory, 4 flax 
 factories, and 1 silk factory the whole nine 
 employing about 1500 persons. 
 
 RENNIE, JOHN, is a member of a family 
 well worthy of admiration in all that respects 
 mechanical and engineering skill. He was 
 born in 1761 in Haddingtonshire. He ap- 
 jears to have very early devoted his attention 
 ;o the subjects of machinery and architecture, 
 and he attended at Edinburgh the lectures 
 given by Dr. Robinson and Dr. Black, on 
 mechanical philosophy and chemistry. About 
 1780 he left his native place, and shortly 
 afterwards established himself as a mechanist 
 n London, where he obtained immediate 
 employment. From this period he continued 
 o be occupied in the construction of steam- 
 engines, or of the different kinds of machinery 
 jo which, as a first mover, steam is applied ; 
 and at the same time he was almost con- 
 stantly engaged in designing or superintend- 
 ng those public works which have given him 
 so just a claim to celebrity. Between 1799 
 and 1803 he constructed the stone bridge at 
 Kelso, below the junction of the Tweed and 
 Teviot. He also built stone bridges at Mus- 
 selburgh and other places in Scotland; but 
 lis masterpiece of this kind is the Waterloo 
 Bridge over the Thames. The Southwark 
 Bridge, over the same river, is an iron bridge, 
 
U23 
 
 REPULSION. 
 
 RESISTANCE. 
 
 1424 
 
 and was also constructed by him. He super- 
 intended the formation of several canals. Bui 
 his chief work in connection with inland 
 navigation is the Kennet and Avon Canal, 
 which extends from Bath to Newbury. He 
 also gave a plan for draining the fens at 
 Witham in Lincolnshire, which was executed 
 in 1812. The London Docks and the East 
 and West India Docks at Blackwall are 
 among the great works which are executed 
 from the plans and under the direction of 
 Mr. Rennie. He formed the new docks at 
 Hull (where also he constructed the first 
 dredging machine used in this country), the 
 Prince's Dock at Liverpool, and the docks of 
 Dublin, Greenock, and Leith. To these 
 must be added the Plymouth Breakwater. 
 Mr. Rennie also gave plans for improving the 
 harbours of Berwick, Newhaven, and other 
 places, and the dockyards of Portsmouth, 
 Plymouth, Pembroke, and Chatham : he also 
 built the pier at Holyhead. Before his death 
 he had given plans for improving the docks 
 at Sheerness ; which have since been exe- 
 cuted by his first and second sons, Messrs. 
 George and John (now Sir John) Rennie. 
 To Sir John Rennie was also confided the 
 charge of the construction of the present 
 London Bridge, from the design of his 
 father. 
 
 Mr. Rennie died in 1821, and was buried 
 in St. Paul's Cathedral. His sons are worthily 
 following in his steps in engineering works. 
 
 REPULSION. Both attraction and repul- 
 sion exist in all the particles of material sub- 
 stances, and seem to be properties by which 
 those particles act upon one another when 
 not in contact. The reality of a substance 
 between the particles of bodies, whether solid, 
 fluid, or gaseous, admits of no question ; for 
 the difference in the densities of these classes 
 of bodies, as well as the different contractions 
 of the bodies in the process of cooling, can 
 only be conceived to arise from the different 
 extent of the intervals between the particles. 
 It is right however to observe, that the word 
 repulsion is often applied to phenomena which 
 are in reality the results of attraction. For 
 example, a small quantity of quicksilver being 
 laid on a glass plate assumes a spherical 
 form, instead of spreading over it in a thin sur- 
 face; and this was once supposed to arise 
 from a repulsive power in the glass, whereas 
 it is owing to the attraction of the particles 
 of quicksilver for one another being greater 
 than the attraction of the glass for the quick- 
 silver. The expansions of solids and fluids 
 by heat, and the elastic powers of gas at dif- 
 ferent temperatures, are consequences of the 
 repulsions residing in the particles of caloric, 
 
 or Induced by the latter in those of the bodies 
 with which they are combined. The repul- 
 sive power existing in the air which is con- 
 densed in nitre, produces, on being combined 
 with heat, a velocity of expansion equal to 
 about TOGO feet per second ; and the force of 
 pressure resulting from it is thought to be 
 equal to 2000 times the pressure of the atmos- 
 phere. It is this which gives such force to 
 the explosion of gunpowder. 
 
 The scientific theories whereby the pheno- 
 mena of expulsion are sought to be explained, 
 and the experiments made to test the theories, 
 are beyond our present scope. 
 
 RESINS are secretions of plants, which 
 are probably all in a fluid state, but become 
 solid either by the evaporation of their more 
 volatile parts, or by the absorption of oxygen. 
 They are distinguished from true Balsams by 
 the absence of benzoic acid, and from Gum- 
 Resins by the absence of gum, their complete 
 insolubility in water, and their requiring 
 alcohol for perfect solution. Some are solu- 
 ble in cold alcohol, and these are termed 
 resins ; others are soluble only in boiling 
 alcohol, and termed sub -resins; but the two 
 are often also associated in the same sub- 
 stance. Many volatile oils, by long exposure 
 to the air, or merely by a reduction of tempe- 
 rature, deposit a substance termed stearoptcn, 
 which is analagous to resin. Where a con- 
 siderable quantity of volatile oil co-exists with 
 a resin, a honey-like consistence is preserved, 
 and the resin is termed soft resin. When a 
 very large portion of oil is present, a fluid 
 ondition exists, and turpentine is the proper 
 designation. 
 
 The manufacture of common resin is de- 
 scribed under TURPENTINE. 
 
 RESISTANCE is a power by which motion, 
 or a tendency to motion, in any body is im- 
 peded or prevented. When a weight or pres- 
 sure acts upon .a beam or bar in any direction, 
 he tenacity by which the particles of such 
 material oppose that action constitutes a re- 
 sistance of one kind. [MATERIALS, STRENGTH 
 or*.] Again, when a body is made to move 
 on another, the inequalities of the surfaces of 
 30th create a resistance of a different kind. 
 "FRICTION.] When a body moves in a fluid, 
 ;he inertia of the fluid particles displaced by 
 t produces a third kind of resistance. It is 
 computed that a 24-pounder ball experiences 
 a resistance equal to 800 Ibs. when its 
 elocity is equal to 2000 feet per second. 
 Like effects take place in the movement of 
 joats or ships ; when the velocity is great, 
 water accumulates in front, and flowing 
 off from thence obliquely, it carries away some 
 !rom the sides, and, causing the surface of 
 
1425 
 
 RESPIRATOR. 
 
 RHAMNUS. 
 
 1426 
 
 that which is near the stern to be rather 
 lower than the general level, it there produces 
 a diminution of pressure, while there is an 
 excess in front on account of the accumu- 
 lation. 
 
 From the experiments of Mr. Telford, the 
 following values of the resistances experienced 
 by loaded carriages on level roads have been 
 determined. On a good pavement the re- 
 sistance is ^5 of the weight of the carriage 
 and load ; on a broken surface of old flint, 
 3*5 ; on gravel, -^ ; and on a well-constructed 
 railway, from -fa to ^ 7y . Mr. Barlow has 
 found that, with small velocities, the force of 
 traction on canals is less than on railways ; 
 and when the velocity is equal to four miles 
 per hour, the forces are equal. Beyond this 
 velocity the advantage is in favour of the 
 railway. 
 
 All these enquiries are of great importance 
 in ship building, railway making, and other 
 engineering works, where motion is to be pro- 
 vided for. 
 
 RESPIRATOR, or breath-warmer, is a sin- 
 gular instrument invented some years ago for 
 giving warmth to the air drawn into the lungs 
 in breathing, and thereby enabling invalids to 
 whom cold air is injurious to enjoy the benefits 
 of exercise in the open air without injury or 
 inconvenience. 
 
 The apparatus usually consists of from eight 
 to twelve frames of sheet-silver or other metal, 
 about three inches and a half long, one inch 
 and a half wide, and ^^th part of an inch 
 thick ; the metal of which is pierced away by 
 machinery so as to leave merely a narrow frame 
 containing six vertical bars of -g^th and five 
 horizontal bars -^th of an inch wide. On both 
 sides of each of these frames a layer of wires 
 an inch and a half long and ^^th of an inch 
 thick is soldered, care being taken to connect 
 each wire, not only with the top and bottom 
 bars of the frame, but also with each of the 
 five horizontal bar*. The wires are laid about 
 ^(jth part of an inch apart, and are so nume- 
 rous that a large respirator of high power con- 
 tains 2000 feet of wire, divided into about 
 12,000 pieces, and soldered to the frames at 
 more than 80,000 distinct points. The frames 
 or lattices of wire-work are fixed parallel to 
 each other, and kept a short distance apart by 
 small studs of a substance which is a slow 
 conductor of heat, so that the inner layer is 
 always kept, as nearly as possible, at the tem- 
 perature of the air expelled from the lungs, 
 and each successive layer diminishes in 
 warmth, till the outer one is nearly as cold as 
 the external air. The curious and philoso- 
 phical application of a non-conducting medium 
 between the metallic screens is essential to 
 
 the perfect action of the instrument, as with- 
 out it the heat would be equally diffused, and 
 no part of the metal-work could retain more 
 than half the temperature of the breath. By 
 this arrangement the air inhaled, finding each 
 layer of wire warmer than the preceding, is 
 gradually raised, in respirators of the highest 
 power, to the greatest attainable temperature. 
 These instruments are more especially useful 
 in diseases of the lungs. 
 
 RETINASPHALTUM occurs in irregular 
 opaque masses of a pale brownish-yellow 
 colour, having a glistening lustre and imper- 
 fect conchoidal fracture. It is soft and brittle, 
 melts when placed on hot iron, smokes, and 
 afterwards burns with a bright flame, emitting 
 a fragrant odour. Partly soluble in alcohol, 
 leaving an unctuous residue. It consists 
 chiefly of resin and bitumen. 
 
 RETORT, is the name of a chemical vessel 
 in which distillation or decomposition is 
 effected by the application of heat. For diffe- 
 rent purposes retorts are made of glass, 
 earthenware, and metal ; and the form varies 
 according to the mode in which the retort is 
 to be used. In general, when the application 
 of the higher temperatures is required for dis- 
 tillation or decomposition, earthen retorts are 
 employed. In preparing hydrofluoric acid, 
 lead is used ; and in concentrating sulphuric 
 acid, platina retorts are now largely employed, 
 and would be universally so, were it not for 
 heir very high price. In the distillation of 
 coal [GAS LIGHTING] iron retorts are used; 
 and also, on the small scale, for obtaining 
 oxygen from the peroxide of manganese ; and 
 n various other chemical operations. 
 
 REVETMENT. This name was originally 
 applied to brick and stone walls used in a par- 
 ticular way in fortification ; but it is now also 
 used by civil engineers. A revetment, as con- 
 structed by the latter, is a kind of retaining 
 vail. The exterior and interior faces of the 
 revetment 'or retaining wall of a dock, have in 
 a vertical section the form of concentric arcs 
 )f circles, with their convexities towards the 
 and; and this form is given them that the 
 stones may be able to resist the hydrostatical 
 pressure of any water which, when the dock 
 s full, may get behind the wall, and which 
 nay be prevented from escaping when the dock 
 s made dry. 
 
 RHAMNUS, or Buckthorn, is the name of 
 , genus of plants, many species of which are 
 aluable in the arts. The berries of one 
 species, the Rhamnus cathartkiis, have long 
 been known for their medicinal properties, 
 and still continue to hold a place in several 
 Pharmacopoeias. This property is participated 
 n by those of other species, as well as by 
 
142T 
 
 RHENISH PRUSSIA. 
 
 RHINE. 
 
 1428 
 
 their inner bark. The berries of several 
 species of Rhamnus form articles of com- 
 merce from the Mediterranean, under the 
 name of French, Turkey, and Persian Berries, 
 Grains d' Avignon, &c., being valued on account 
 of the colouring-matter which they yield, and 
 which varies from yellow to green. This M. 
 Brongniart supposes to be owing rather to 
 different degrees of ripeness than to essential 
 differences in nature. Sap-green is a mixture 
 of the juice of these berries with those of 
 some others. Rhamnus infectorius, saxatilis, 
 amygdalinus, catharticus, and Clusii are the 
 species generally employed ; some for dyeing 
 morocco leather of a yellow colour, others for 
 dyeing wool, and the bark of some for striking 
 a black with the salts of iron. The Lycium 
 of the ancients is supposed to have been a 
 species of Rhamnus ; hence also one species 
 has been called Rhamnus Lycioides : it has a 
 hard yellow wood. 
 
 RHENISH PRUSSIA. This portion of 
 the Prussian dominions, situated near the 
 Rhine, is very important for its produce and 
 manufactures. The natural productions are 
 equally numerous and valuable Some parts 
 of the mountains are crowned with forests, 
 and the declivities are covered with vineyards 
 where the exposure is favourable. The mineral 
 kingdom yields silver, iron, copper, lead, 
 calamine, marble, slate, freestone, millstones, 
 basalt, porphyry, alum, manganese, sulphur, 
 coal, and salt. In the level parts of the north 
 there are productive corn fields and rich pas- 
 tures ; between the mountains there are fertile 
 valleys, where flax, hemp, hops, and tobacco 
 are grown, and fruit and garden produce of 
 every kind are cultivated in great abundance. 
 Game is plentiful, and all the domestic ani- 
 mals are bred in sufficient numbers. The 
 Rhine passes through this province for 180 
 miles, and is navigated by steamers. The 
 small rivers and streams are applied to turn 
 mills and to work manufacturing machinery 
 of every kind. The trade of the province is 
 very extensive. The province had, at the end 
 of 1846, 41 cotton factories with 109,547 
 spindles. When we state that the province 
 contains the important towns of Cologne, 
 Coblentz, Elberfeld,Dusseldorf, Aix-la-Chapclle 
 and Treves, it will be seen how rich a portion 
 it must constitute of the Prussian dominions, 
 in manufactures and commerce. 
 
 RHEO 'METER, is an instrument by which 
 the force of an electric or magnetic current 
 may be measured. The word was first pro- 
 posed by M. Peclet as a synonym for galva- 
 nometer; and it has since been employed by 
 Professor Wheatstone in a general sense, to- 
 gether with Ithcoscopc, denoting an instru- 
 
 ment by which the existence of an electric, 
 <fec. current maybe ascertained; and Rheo- 
 motor, expressing any apparatus, as an elec- 
 trical or galvanic battery, by which a current 
 of that kind is orignated. The Rheometer or 
 Galvanometer employed by Mr. Wheatstone is 
 a glass cylinder resting on a stand, and con- 
 taining within it a magnetised needle, which 
 is suspended from the cover. A graduated 
 circle serves to show the deviations of the 
 needle from the zero of the graduations, and 
 the amount of deviation is read by means of 
 a microscrope. For forces or resistances 
 which are considerable, there are placed below 
 the circle numerous coils of fine wire ; but for 
 small forces a thick plate of wire making but 
 one coil is used. 
 
 RHINE. The Rhine is certainly the most 
 commercial river of continental Europe. From 
 Basel to Mainz the Rhine is navigable for 
 barges of 100 tons ; from Mainz to Cologne, 
 for vessels of 200 tons ; and lower down, for 
 vessels of 300 tons. The river is connected 
 by canals with the Saone and Rhone, the 
 Schelde, the Meuse, and the Danube. A very 
 important trade in colonial produce, manu- 
 factured goods, timber, coal, iron, corn, wine, 
 and other agricultural products, is carried on 
 by the Rhine, and its chief navigable feeders, 
 the Moselle, the Main, and the Neckar. This 
 trade has been greatly increased by the policy 
 of Prussia, which has rendered most of the 
 large towns on her part of the river free ports ; 
 and the resolution of the government of the 
 Netherlands, in February, 1850, to abolish the 
 Rhine duties altogether, is likely to add a 
 great stimulus to this traffic. The river is 
 now navigated by the steam-vessels of three 
 companies those of the Cologne Company, 
 plying between Arnheim in Holland and 
 Strasbourg ; the Diisseldorf Company, be- 
 tween Rotterdam and Mannheim; and the 
 Dutch Company's boats from Rotterdam to 
 Mainz. From Basel a railroad runs along the 
 right bank of the river to Wiesbaden, and 
 another runs along the left to Strasbourg, 
 whence a line, now nearly completed, passes 
 to Paris. A short line joins Bonn with 
 Cologne, and from Deutz, a suburb of the 
 atter, a line runs through Diisseldorf 
 nto the great railway system of North Ger- 
 many. 
 
 This important river gives name to two of 
 the busiest districts of the continent; viz., 
 Hant Rhin and Bas Rhin, in France, and 
 Rhein Provinz, in Prussia ; these are de- 
 scribed, in respect to their industrial features, 
 under ALSACE, and RHENISH PRUSSIA. 
 
 RHODE ISLAND. A few details illustra- 
 tive of the produce and industry of this portion 
 
1429 
 
 KHO'DIUM. 
 
 RHUBARB. 
 
 1430 
 
 of the American Union, mil be found under 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 RHO'DIUM. This rare metal exists in 
 combination with platinum, and was discovered 
 by Dr. Wollaston. Rhodium is white, has a 
 metallic lustre, is brittle, extremely hard, and 
 its specific gravity is about 11. It suffers no 
 change by exposure to air, either dry or moist. 
 Rhodium forms very hard alloys with other 
 metals, which are sometimes used for the 
 nibs of pens ; but neither the metal nor its 
 combinations have yet been very extensively 
 applied in the arts. 
 
 RHONE. The Rhone is perhaps the most 
 commercial of the rivers of France. The river 
 is navigable downwards, from near Seyssel to 
 its mouth, a distance of 330 miles ; for some 
 miles higher up it is available for floating 
 timber. Steamers ply between Lyon and the 
 Mediterranean ; owing however to the rapidity 
 of the current, the up navigation is very slow. 
 The Rhone is a most important highway for 
 the transfer of the produce of this part of 
 France ; and it is connected by the Saone, 
 which is navigable for steamers up to Chalon, 
 and by canals with the Bay of Biscay, the 
 Rhine, the Seine, and the Loire. Its basin 
 includes the Swiss cantons of Valais, Vaud, 
 and Geneva, the duchy of Savoy, and fourteen 
 French departments, most of which are famous 
 for their corn, wine, silk, and oil. In the 
 lower part of its course its waters are turned 
 to great advantage in fertilising the land near 
 its banks by irrigation. 
 
 The Rhone gives name to one of the de- 
 partments of France, fruitful and commer- 
 cially important. In the extreme south of 
 this department are the famous chestnut 
 forests which yield the favourite large chest- 
 nuts sold in Paris by the name of marrons de 
 Lyon. The valleys, plains, and accessible 
 slopes are carefully cultivated, the products 
 comprising almost everything that grows in 
 France, except the orange and the olive. The 
 mulberry is cultivated for the production of 
 silk. The lower slopes of the hills are almost 
 everywhere planted with vines ; this is espe- 
 cially the case with the slopes along the Saone 
 and the Rhone, from the neighbourhood of 
 Belleville to Condrieu. This region, which 
 includes the Mont-d'Or,so called from its rich 
 wine products, contains some of the finest 
 vineyards in France. The annual produce is 
 about 1 7,000,000 gallons; the best sorts are 
 those called C6te-R6tie, Romaneche, Con- 
 drieu, and Sainte-Foy. The department con- 
 tains important copper-mines and works at St. 
 Bel near Arbresle, and atChessy, a small place 
 on the Azergue. Coal mines are worked. 
 Lead, gold, manganese, rock-crystal, porphyry, 
 
 granite, marble, talc, asbestos, gypsum, fuller's 
 earth, potter's-clay, excellent building-stone, 
 and various other minerals are found. The 
 Mont-d'Or contains excellent stone quarries, 
 and is noted for the great number of fossils 
 it contains. 
 
 The department is the most famous spot in 
 Europe for all kinds of silk manufactures, in- 
 cluding satins, taffeta, lutestrings, velvets, 
 gold and silver brocade, crape, gauze, shawls, 
 ribands, hosiery, &c. This trade centres at 
 LYON. There are also important manufac- 
 tures of plain and figured muslins, handker- 
 chiefs, silk hats, calicoes, cotton yarn and twist, 
 blankets, gold and silver lace, small wares, 
 straw hats, mineral acids, machinery and mill 
 work, and liqueurs. There are besides several 
 dye houses, bleach-works, type-foundries and 
 printing offices, breweries, paper-mills, glass- 
 works, potteries, and plaster-mills. The 
 various products named or indicated, toge- 
 ther with corn, wool, brandy, raw silk, broad 
 cloth, linen, lace, hardware, hides, bar and 
 sheet iron, ironmongery, timber, planks, 
 staves, &c., form items of an extensive com- 
 merce, which is still further increased by the 
 important transit trade carried on by means 
 of the navigable waters of the department, 
 and by the railway to St. fetienne. 
 
 RHUBARB. Long as this valuable medi- 
 cine has been known, it is remarkable that the 
 species of Rheum yielding it, and of which the 
 stalks and roots consist, is yet unknown ; this 
 is in consequence of the best species, Turkey 
 Rhubarb, being only obtained by the Russians 
 at Kiachta from the Chinese. The different 
 species of rhubarb are important plants, not 
 only on account of the roots being so exten- 
 sively employed, and so valuable for their 
 medicinal qualities, but also on account of 
 the stalks of the leaves being now so much 
 employed, from their agreeable acidity, in 
 making tarts, &c. As the species are all in- 
 digenous in cold parts of the world, that is, 
 in the southern parts of Russia, Siberia, 
 Tibet, the north of China, and the Himalayas, 
 so they may all be grown in the open air of 
 this country, and several are cultivated on ac- 
 count of their stalks. Some also, both in 
 England and France, are cultivated on ac- 
 count of the root, which is sold as Turkey 
 Rhubarb. 
 
 As the particular species which yields the 
 officinal rhubarb, and even the precise place 
 of its growth, are not known, we can only 
 speak of the drug as it is brought to market. 
 There are six well marked varieties, viz. 
 Russian or Turkey, Dutch Trimmed, Chinese, 
 Himalayan, English, and French. Of the 
 first sort the greater portion at present cornea 
 
U31 KIBBOtf MANUFACTURE. 
 
 from St. Petersburg, and is denominated 
 Muscovite, Bokharian, or Siberian rhubarb ; 
 While a part has always formed one of the 
 imports from China into Bokhara, whence 
 passing to Smyrna, it is known in Europe as 
 Turkey Rhubarb, which name it commonly 
 bears in the shops. This kind varies much 
 in size and appearance, the pieces being 
 cylindrical, spherical, flat, or irregular, from 
 two to three inches long, one to three broad, 
 and one to three thick. The smaller pieces 
 are picked out, being preferred, while the 
 larger pieces and the dust are employed for 
 powdering. Holes are remarked in many of 
 the pieces, of which one occasionally extends 
 entirely through, the others only partially; 
 the former having been made in order to 
 Suspend the piece in drying, the others in 
 examining the quality. This kind, and pro- 
 bably the other sorts, is frequently worm- 
 eaten, owing to the ravages of a small beetle. 
 Dutch Trimmed Rhubarb, called also by some 
 writers Persian Rhubarb, and Batavian, occurs 
 in flat or round pieces, and is not much dif- 
 ferent in appearance from the preceding, but 
 it reaches Europe through Canton and Singa- 
 pore. Chinese or East Indian Rhubarb, termed 
 in commerce half- trimmed or untrimmed rhu- 
 barb, rarely presents an angular character, 
 but occurs in rounds or flats. The best pieces 
 arc heavier and more compact than those of 
 the Russian kind, and the odour is much less 
 powerful and less aromatic. Himalayan 
 Rhubarb is not known as a commercial article 
 in this country, nor is it even an article of 
 large consumption in India, where it sells for 
 only one tenth of the best rhubarb, resemb- 
 ling in quality the Russian, and which is 
 found in India. English Rhubarb occurs in 
 two states, dressed or trimmed so as to resemble 
 the Russian kind, and stick rhubarb. The 
 first is grown at Banbury in Oxfordshire, and 
 is frequently used for the show-bottles in 
 druggists' windows, and often sold in the 
 streets of London for Turkey Rhubarb, by 
 persons dressed up as Turks. Stick Rhubarb 
 is sold in the herb shops, and is in long 
 pieces. French Rhubarb is not brought into 
 this country. 
 
 About 300,000 Ibs. of rhubarb are imported 
 annually. 
 
 RIBBON MANUFACTURE. Ribbon, or 
 Riband, is the well known name for a long 
 narrow web of silk worn for ornament and 
 use. Ribbons of linen, worsted, and gold or 
 silver thread were formerly included in the 
 term, but it is now generally confined to those 
 made of silk. Paris, Tours, Lyon, and Avig 
 non, were originally the chief seats of the 
 ribbon trade ; the two last cities were rivals 
 
 RIBBON MANUFACTURE. 1432 
 
 until the year 1723, when, partly owing to the 
 regulations which the jealous Lyonnese had 
 prevailed upon the government to make in 
 ,heir favour, and partly to a plague of two 
 years' continuance, the trade of Avignon was 
 ruined, and in great measure transferred to 
 Lyon. At Paris the master ribbon-weavers 
 were incorporated into a company, under the 
 designation of tissuticrs mbaniers of the town 
 and suburbs of Paris. Figured ribbons were 
 made chiefly at Paris. The ribbons called 
 double lisse (double warp), which were con- 
 sidered the richest and best, were made at 
 Tours. Before the revocation of the Edict of 
 Nantes, the ribbon-looms of Tours amounted 
 to 3000 ; but this measure, which banished 
 the Protestants, banished with them their 
 trade, and both Tours and Lyon suffered 
 severely from its effects ; but the trade of 
 Lyon afterwards revived. In 1831 the number 
 of ribbon manufacturers at St. fetienne and 
 St. Chamond was 200. The number of ribbon 
 looms in these towns and the surrounding 
 district, which in 1812 was 9000, had increased 
 to 23,000. Their daily produce was 350,000 
 ells. There are three kinds of looms in use 
 in that district; 1st, the old unimproved 
 single-hand loom called bassdisse, employed 
 for plain satins and sarsenets. 2nd, the single 
 hand loom called liautelisse, generally applied 
 to produce large patterns. 3rd, the a-la-bar, 
 or bar loom, employed in sarsenets, velvets, 
 sarsenet galoons, stout and light satin, and 
 striped gauzes. There are now few ribbons 
 made at Lyon, many of the ribbon- looms 
 being now employed inweaving shawls. The 
 best ribbons made in France are chiefly for 
 the English market ; the home consumption 
 being of the less costly kind. 
 
 The making of ribbons and small articles 
 in silk long preceded in England that of broad 
 silk. The trade was principally in the hands 
 of women ; and, like a sickly plant of foreign 
 growth, it appears to have constantly demanded 
 props and support, which have however been 
 removed by recent reforms of the tariff. 
 Coventry has become the principal seat of the 
 ribbon manufacture in this country. 
 
 The weaving is done on several systems. 
 We shall describe these somewhat in detail, 
 as the ribbon trade illustrates the chief points 
 in the silk manufacture generally. Tho 
 Undertaking System applies now only to the 
 single-hand trade in the country districts, 
 Bedworth, Nuneaton, Hartshill, &c. : it is tlu* 
 same that the French have employed sine. 
 the days of Colbert. According to this plan, 
 the undertaker, or mas tor- we aver, receives the 
 silk dyed in the hank from the manufacturer, 
 and returns it in finished ribbons to his order; 
 
1433 RIBBON MANUFACTURE. 
 
 all the intermediate operations "being included 
 in the price of weaving two-thirds of which 
 are paid to the journey -hand for his labour. 
 Three-fourths of the single-hand weavers are 
 women, and nearly one half of the remainder 
 are youths under 20. Boys and girls are con- 
 sidered competent weavers at 1C or 17. On 
 the Journey-Work System, by which the great 
 proportion of the engine-looms in Coventry 
 and its neighbourhood are worked, the manu- 
 facturer gives the silk, already wound and 
 warped, to the c first-hand journeyman," who 
 is also the owner of the looms. The shoot 
 silk is given in hank, for the winding of which 
 the manufacturer allows Id. per oz., besides 
 the price for weaving, in which is included 
 ' the filling,' or the winding of the shoot on the 
 small revolving pins within the shuttles. About 
 one-fourth of the hands employed on this sys- 
 tem are women. On the Hand-Factory System 
 the manufacturer is the owner of the looms. 
 The 'journey-hands work them in the 'loom- 
 shop* of the proprietor, who gets the winding 
 and warping done at his own charge, leaving 
 only the filling to the weaver, which is included 
 in the price of his Work, and is often done by 
 very young children. A modern innovation, 
 encouraged by the last system, is the employ- 
 ment of two hands to a loom, the one being 
 occupied uninterruptedly in shooting-down,' 
 or passing the shuttle and making the ribbon ; 
 the other in * picking up,' or fastening broken 
 threads, picking out knots, &c. On the Steam- 
 Factory System the manufacturer gets every 
 preparatory process done ; and by the steam- 
 power one half of the weaving process itself 
 the shooting down; all that is left to the 
 weaver being the picking up and super- 
 intendence. 
 
 The Dutch Engine-Loom, for weaving 
 ribbons, was introduced about eighty years 
 ago. In this loom, instead of one piece of 
 ribbon only, several are woven at once, four of 
 the broadest width, or as many as twenty-four 
 of the narrowest. Each warp has a separate 
 shuttle. The batten extends across the whole 
 width of the loom ; the shuttles slide within 
 grooves made in the batten; the driver is 
 worked horizontally backwards and forwards 
 by a handle. At each motion the shuttles are 
 propelled by the cross bars of the driver acros? 
 their proper warps in the corresponding direc- 
 tion. The loom is worked by the hands, and 
 with treadles for the feet, like the single-hand. 
 The h-la-bar or Bar-Loom, was invented and 
 introduced into St. fetienne by two Swis 
 brothers about seventy years ago. It is a 
 hand power-loom worked by means of a long 
 transverse handle or bar, which extends along 
 the front of the loom, and is connected with 
 
 RIBBON MANUFACTURE. 1434 
 
 wheels on each side, which communicate, the 
 motion. The shuttles are driven by means of 
 a rack and pinion across the Warps. Figures 
 on ribbons, as in other fabrics, are chiefly 
 formed by omitting the regular crossing of 
 the warp and shoot in such a manner that a 
 difference of texture shall occur in the web 
 so as to mark out any pattern. This is 
 effected in the single-hand loom by a multi- 
 plication of treadles connected with the lisses 
 ay which the different portions of warp are 
 alternately raised. Forty treadles have been 
 sometimes required to form an intricate 
 pattern. Small figures produced in this 
 manner are called Leys. To execute more 
 complicated patterns, an intricate arrangement 
 of the loom is necessary. 
 
 Ribbons are made according to a fixed 
 standard of widths designated by different 
 numbers of pence, which once no doubt 
 denoted the price of the article, but at present 
 have reference only to its breadth. The 
 French distinguish their widths by simple 
 numbers. All dressed ribbons, as satins, 
 gauzes, <fec., are made in the loom one-twelfth 
 of an inch wider than sarsenets, in order to 
 allow for the diminution of breadth which 
 results from the lengthwise stretching which 
 they receive in the operation of dressing. 
 Fine gauzes require an allowance of two- 
 twelfths. French fancy ribbons are generally 
 made and sold in garnitures, that is, a broad 
 and narrow piece taken together of the same 
 pattern. Sarsenet and Lutestring ribbons are 
 made by the simple and regular alternation of 
 the warp and shoot, as in plain cloth, called 
 technically ground. By Grogram (French gros- 
 grains} is meant a variation in the texture 
 caused by the warp threads passing over two 
 of the shoots at once, taking up one only : 
 this often finishes the edge of a ribbon. 
 
 The figures are frequently produced in a 
 different colour from the ground by the 
 mixture of colours in the warp ; the colour? 
 being warped separately. In the intervals ot 
 the figures the coloured threads are carried 
 along the under side of the ribbon ; and it is 
 said to have a double or treble figure, accord- 
 ing to the number of colours passing through 
 each dent. A change of colour in the shoot 
 is effected by the use of different shuttles. In 
 brocades the figure is made by small additional 
 shuttles, thrown in partially across the ribbon 
 as the pattern may require ; the connecting 
 threads of shoot being clipped off. By Damask 
 is meant the laying of the warp over the shoot 
 to form the figure in the manner of satin. 
 Some fancy ribbons are of plain texture, but 
 varied in colouring ; they are shot or woven 
 in shades, stripes, bars, or cheques, called in 
 
1435 
 
 E1CE. 
 
 RICE-MILL. 
 
 1430 
 
 the trade Plaids; these last, which require 
 the shuttle to be changed very frequently, are 
 still made in the single-hand loom. In Shot 
 Ribbons the warp and the shoot are of diffe- 
 rent colours. Clouding is a peculiar manage- 
 ment in the dyeing by which a change of hue 
 is produced in the same thread of silk. In 
 Chine ribbons the figures are printed or 
 painted on the warp after it is prepared for 
 the loom, and afterwards woven in by the 
 shuttle. Eibbons are watered by passing two 
 pieces together between two cylinders, one of 
 which has a heater within it. Galloons and 
 Doubles are strong thick ribbons, principally 
 black, used for bindings, shoe-strings &c. 
 The narrow widths are called Galloons ; the 
 broader, Doubles. Ferrets are coarse narrow 
 ribbons shot with cotton, used for similar 
 purposes. In gold and silver .ribbons a silk 
 thread of similar colour is wound round by a 
 flattened wire of the metal, and afterwards 
 woven. Lyon was particularly celebrated for 
 its fabrics of this kind. 
 
 The number of persons employed in ribbon- 
 making in Coventry, including winders and 
 warpers, was estimated, in 1838, at 6000 or 
 7000 ; and in the rural parishes, at 10,000 or 
 11,000. It has since varied considerably, 
 according to the fluctuations of the ribbon- 
 trade. 
 
 The ribbons imported into Great Britain in 
 1850 amounted to the following quantities : 
 
 Silk or Satin Ribbons . . 282,799 Ibs. 
 
 Gauze or Crape Ribbons . . 44,531 Ibs. 
 
 Velvet Ribbons 16,675 Ibs. 
 
 Most of these are imported from France. Very 
 few English ribbons are exported. 
 
 RICE. The important rice plant is a 
 native of India, whence it has been introduced 
 into various parts of the world. It is exten- 
 sively cultivated in India, in the south of 
 Europe, and in the southern United States ; 
 and less largely in many other countries. It 
 requires so much heat combined with moisture 
 that it cannot be profitably cultivated in 
 northern climates. The cultivation in India 
 and China depends either upon the rainy 
 seasons, or upon irrigation ; the tanks for irri 
 gation are in some cases quite enormous, being 
 bounded by embankments many miles in 
 length. The best rice-fields are never 
 manured, and yet they yield 30 to 100 fold. 
 They are usually exensive open plains through 
 which large rivers pass. They more frequently 
 depend on rain for irrigation than on tanks. 
 There are many kinds of rice, which require 
 different modes of cultivation. One of the 
 principal kinds is sown in June or July, and 
 transplanted in about forty days, when the 
 plants are from 9 to 18 inches high. The fields 
 
 are then kept, constantly wet. When the 
 grain is ripe the water is drained off, and the 
 crop is cut down with the sickle ; it is either 
 stacked or trodden out by cattle. The grain 
 is preserved in pits dug in high ground and 
 lined with the rice straw. There are usually 
 two crops in a year ; but as the produce is 
 very uncertain, the growers look chiefly to 
 the first. 
 
 Of the kinds of rice imported into England, 
 the Carolina is the best; the grains are 
 shorter, broader, and boil softer than the 
 Patna rice, which is the best Indian kind 
 brought to this country. 
 
 Rice is no doubt the grain which yields food 
 for the largest portion of the human race, but 
 even in Hindustan great numbers do not eat 
 rice. In fact in all the north-western provinces 
 wheat is the principal crop, and the natives eat 
 wheaten cakes. It abounds however in nourish- 
 ment, being composed almost entirely of fecula, 
 that is, 96 per cent., and therefore cannot be 
 baked into bread ; but it is more easily cooked. 
 It is light and wholesome, and easily digested, 
 and might form a much larger portion of the 
 diet in Europe than it does. Europeans in 
 India eat it at breakfast as well as at other 
 meals, and with fish as frequently as with 
 their curries. 
 
 About 976,196 cwts. of rice were imported 
 in 1849, and 785,692 cwts. in 1850. 
 
 RICE -MILL. When rice has been culti- 
 vated and gathered, some sort of mechanism 
 is requisite for the removal of the husk. The 
 Chinese and Hindoos beat the grain in a kind 
 of rude mortar of stone or earthenware, with 
 a conical stone attached to a lever worked by 
 the hand or foot. Sometimes several such 
 levers are moved by arms projecting from the 
 axis of a water-wheel. This process being 
 uncertain and tedious, the preference has been 
 given of late to a mill in which the stones are 
 placed at such a distance asunder as to detach 
 the shell without crushing the grain ; the 
 stones being inclosed in a case which prevents 
 the dispersion of the rice by the rapid rotation 
 of the machine. The rice is thrown out of 
 the case by an opening in its side, and con- 
 ducted over a sieve that separates the dust ; 
 after which it is made to fall in a gentle stream 
 exposed to a current of air produced by revol- 
 ving fanners, and is thereby separated from 
 the husk. After the removal of the husk, the 
 grain is exposed to the action of a whitening 
 machine, which removes the inner cuticle, 
 or red skin, remaining on the surface of the 
 grain. 
 
 One of the English methods consists in 
 breaking the husk by mill stones, and removing 
 the red cuticle by beating or titurating in 
 
1437 
 
 KICK VENTTLATOK. 
 
 RIGA. 
 
 H38 
 
 mortars ; the latter operation being aided by 
 mixing a quantity of the husks, well dried, 
 with the grain, which obviates an inconvenience 
 occasioned by the glutinous character of the 
 red coating. The refuse matter and the 
 broken grains are then separated by a peculiar 
 kind of screen, and the rice is finally cleansed 
 and polished by rotating in a machine. In 
 another method, the first operation is per- 
 formed between one millstone and a piece of 
 wood of precisely similar shape, and the sub- 
 sequent removal of the dark pellicle is effected 
 by rubbing between flat wooden surfaces 
 covered with sheepskin. In a third method, 
 the rice is allowed to enter the upper end 
 of an inclined cylinder by a hopper, and the 
 mutual attrition of the grains, as they pass 
 between bars which are revolving in the oppo- 
 site direction, causes the separation of the 
 husks, which are removed by a current of air 
 as the grain falls into a bin under the lower 
 extremity of the cylinder. 
 
 KICK VENTILATOR. The formation of 
 a rick of harvested produce is comparatively an 
 easy matter ; but the preservation of the rick 
 from injuries by heating, rotting, and spon- 
 taneous combustion, is an important and 
 difficult subject for the farmer's attention. 
 The destruction of ricks by natural heating is, 
 we believe, not covered by fire-insurance ; so 
 that the farmer is left to his own resources. 
 In the case of barley ricks, the grain is fre- 
 quently discoloured and deteriorated in value, 
 by the too great heat of the interior of the 
 rick. In the case of hay ricks, a large portion 
 is frequently cut away and destroyed or injured, 
 to prevent the rest from taking fire. 
 
 It has been lately proposed to obviate these 
 evils by ventilating the rick ; and an instru- 
 ment has been invented for effecting it, and 
 patented. The instrument makes a ventilating 
 chimney or fine in the rick in any part where 
 it is suspected of being too much heated. A 
 hole is bored from the top to the middle or 
 the bottom of the rick, forming a clear cir- 
 cular aperture, which tends to carry rapidly 
 off the heat from the surrounding hay or corn. 
 The instrument has a long shaft, with a cross 
 end for working ; and at the lower end of the 
 shaft is an apparatus somewhat like a patent 
 corkscrew, or one of the many sorts of boring 
 tools, by which a hole is bored and the loose 
 material cleared away. 
 
 RIFLE, or RIFLED, is a term applied 
 to muskets or pieces of ordnance when their 
 bores are furrowed with spiral grooves ; the 
 grooves or channels being formed by a machine 
 which scrapes away the substance of the 
 barrel interiorly in parallel and serpentine 
 directions. 
 
 The object to be attained by this grooving 
 may be thus explained. A bullet made of 
 ead cast in a spherical form, according to the 
 >ractice till lately followed, having unavoidably 
 ome irregularities on its surface, and fre- 
 quently, from unequal expansion, a cavity in 
 the interior ; it follows that, when such bullet 
 s discharged from a common musket, it devi- 
 ates continually from the direction which it 
 hould take by gravity and the impulse of the 
 fired gunpowder. The intention therefore in 
 brming spiral grooves within the barrel of a 
 musket or piece of ordnance, is, to produce a 
 rotatory motion of the shot about aa axis which 
 shall coincide with the line of its path, in 
 order that the unequal pressure of the atmos- 
 phere in its front, on account of any irregula- 
 rity in its form or density, may correct itself 
 at every half-re volution of the shot on such 
 axis. The number of spiral channels in a 
 rifle-musket is, in general, two ; and one 
 revolution of the spiral, in the whole length 
 of the barrel (=30 inches) is considered 
 sufficient. 
 
 The most general practice of late has been 
 to press the bullets (by means of the ramrod) 
 into the barrel upon a piece of greased cloth 
 or leather ( called the plaster). But, at present, 
 rifle-bullets are made with a projecting zone 
 which surrounds them on the circumference 
 of what may be called a great circle. The 
 pieces are loaded at the muzzle, and the parts 
 of the zone which are diametrically opposite 
 to one another are those which pass along 
 the two grooves in the barrel. 
 
 Bullets for common muskets, as well as for 
 rifle-barrels, are not now cast in their actual 
 forms, but are made from lead which has 
 been previously cast in cylindrical rods. The 
 bullets are then formed by compressing the 
 rods between two revolving cylinders. The 
 pressure, by forcing the particles together, 
 fills up any vacuities which may form them- 
 selves in the rods during the cooling process, 
 and probably renders the density of the ball 
 nearly uniform. Bullets and balls have occa- 
 sionally been made of other than a spherical 
 form, as experimental means of determining 
 the best form for ensuring a direct course. 
 
 RIGA is a very important commercial 
 town, one of the principal indeed in Russia. 
 The numerous ships in the river Diina, the 
 bustle in the streets, and the well- stocked 
 warehouses and shops, are indications of the 
 extensive trade of which Riga is the centre ; 
 it is in fact, next to St. Petersburg, the 
 greatest emporium of foreign commerce in 
 the empire. The exports consist of the great 
 staple articles of Russian produce, corn, 
 timber, flax, hemp, linseed, tallow, Russian 
 
1430 
 
 RIGGING-. 
 
 ROADS. 
 
 1440 
 
 implements. Much of the cordage undergoes 
 a process called serving, which consists in 
 binding a small rope very tightly round a 
 larger one, to preserve it both from rotting 
 and from any friction to which it may be 
 exposed. The substance thus bound round 
 the rope is not necessarily a made-rope, but 
 is sometimes made of old canvas, mat, plat, 
 hide, or spun-yarn, according to circumstances : 
 all these substances, when thus employed, 
 receive the name of set-vice, and the larger 
 rope is said to be served with them. 
 
 The rigging of the ship is applied in its 
 proper places at the time when each rope is 
 wanted to serve its destined purpose, Each 
 mast, each yard, the bowsprit, and various 
 other parts of the ship, requires its own parti- 
 cular ropes ; and the parts the wood and the 
 hemp are built up into form simultaneously. 
 Other matters bearing on this subject are 
 noticed under ROPE MAKING and SHIP 
 BUILDING. 
 
 RIGIDITY OF ROPES. When a stiff 
 rope is bent over the upper part of a wheel or 
 pulley, in a vertical plane for example, the 
 weights or powers applied at its extremities 
 are not always sufficient to draw the descending 
 portions into the positions of two vertical lines ; 
 and the experiments of Coulomb have shown, 
 
 is divided into two kinds the ttantting and the | that, with ropes consisting of 30 threads and 
 
 running rigging* The standing rigging com- 2$ inches in circumference, the weights requi- 
 
 prises all the Kkrotids, stngs, bach-stays, and 
 
 other ropes which are employed to maintain 
 
 the masts and bowsprit !tt their proper position, 
 
 loather, and eail-oloth. The total value of 
 the exports in 1849 was 8,730,000?. against 
 3,190,000/, in 1848. In these were included 
 44,700 tons of flax ; 16,250 tons of hemp ; 
 81)703 barrels of sowing, and 255,000 quarters 
 of crushing, linseed ; 11,500 quarters of hemp- 
 seed ; 974,200 quarters of corn, chiefly barley, 
 oats, and rye ; 85 tons of quills ; 410 cargoes 
 of timber and staves; and 1700 tons of 
 hempen and flaxen tow. The sale of linseed 
 or flax-seed for sowing in other countries 
 forms a remarkably large item in Riga com- 
 merce. Between 1841 and 1850 the quantity 
 so sold varied from 55,000 to 177,000 barrels. 
 The largest sale is to England which took 
 50,000 barrels in 1850. In the previous year 
 1840, 1729 vessels arrived, and 1677 left the 
 harbour. 
 
 The value of the 
 
 imports, consisting of 
 colonial produce, woollens, calicos, silks, wine, 
 <fce., is not above one-third of the value of 
 the exports, About two-thirds of the ships 
 that enter the port arrive in ballast. Riga 
 has now considerable manufactories of 
 woollens, cotton goods, tobacco, starch, looking- 
 glasses, and iron wares ; it has also sugar- 
 refining houses. 
 
 RIGGING. This Is the name given to the 
 whole of the ropes and cordage of a ship. It 
 
 and which remain pretty nearly in a constant 
 
 site to overcome the rigidity, when the ropes 
 passed over a pulley 4 inches diameter, and 
 were strained by weights equal to 25 Ibs., 
 195 Ibs., and 425 Ibs., were 5 Ibs., 8$ Ibs., and 
 
 state, whether the ship is in full sail or all the I 23 Ibs. respectively. White ropes when wet 
 
 sails are furled. The running rigging com- 
 prises the various ropes called braws, sheets, 
 tarks, halyards, bnnllincs, &c., which are at- 
 tached to different parts of the masts, yards, 
 sails, and shrouds; and are employed prin- 
 cipally in furling and unfurling the sails for 
 the purposes of navigation. The ropes are 
 called cables, rvpes, or lines, according to their 
 diameter ; but every rope in a ship has besides 
 this its own distinctive name. 
 
 The occupation of a Rigger is intermediate 
 between those of a rope-make? and a ship- 
 builder-, and distinct from both 5 he takes the 
 coils of rope an prepared by the former, and 
 adapts them to the various requirements of a 
 ship. A tigging -home (such as may be seen 
 in most large ship yards) is n place provided 
 with tackle for stretching the ropes, and with 
 the necessary instruments for attaching the 
 blocks, rings, A-c. The cordage empViypd for 
 :i largo East Indiaman weighs several tons, 
 an<l Home of the ropes are four inches in 
 diameter : the bending and fixing of such 
 therefore, require the aid of powerful 
 
 are more stiff than those which nro dry, and 
 the rigidity of ropes is greatly increased by 
 tarring them. In general the weights neces- 
 sary to overcome the resistance of tarred 
 ropes is proportional to the number of the 
 threads of which they are composed. This 
 rigidity has to be allowed for in the use of 
 think ropes in engineering works. 
 
 RIVETS. The rivets which fasten together 
 plates of iron and other parts of mechanism 
 are usually short thick pieces ot iron or cop- 
 per, forged or drawn into the shape of a rod, 
 and then cut off to the proper lengths. These 
 ar3 used either cold or red hot, according to 
 circumstances; and when placed in a hole, 
 the two ends of each rivet are exposed to such 
 powerful blows (or blows on one end with 
 pressure on the other) as to form a burr or 
 head which clasps the plate tightly. The two 
 millions of rivets in the Britannia Bridge 
 present perhaps the most remarkable example 
 of rivetting yet known, [MNAi BRIDGE*.] 
 
 IK) ADS. The Romans were distinguished 
 by the vast extent and solid construction of 
 
mi 
 
 ROADS. 
 
 their roads, of which several thousand miles 
 were made in Italy alone ; while every country 
 which was brought under their sway was more 
 or less intersected by these excellent highways. 
 The solidity of their construction was fully 
 equal to the boldness of their design, a fact 
 proved by the existence of many that have 
 borne the traffic of nearly two thousand years 
 without material injury. The Eomans always 
 gave a firm foundation to their roads, by ram- 
 ming down a layer of small stones and broken 
 brick ; on this layer a pavement of large stonea 
 was laid, either squared to fit closely around 
 one another, or cemented into a hard and firm 
 causeway. 
 
 In this country very little was done towards 
 a sound and scientific construction of roads 
 until the beginning of the present century. 
 The Highland roads have been made under a 
 commission issued in 1803, and have been of 
 incalculable benefit in opening districts which 
 were before placed almost beyond the reach of 
 commercial enterprise. The commissioners 
 have constructed about 1000 miles of excellent 
 road, and much more than that number of 
 bridges. The Holy head road improvements 
 were commenced in 1815, under Mr. Telford ; 
 these comprise the establishment between 
 London and Holyhead of the best coach-road 
 in England, in which principles of sound con- 
 struction have been more attended to than in 
 any other examples. The greatest angle or 
 ascent allowed in this road is 1 in 35 : a slope 
 which may be ascended at a good rate of speed, 
 and descended at twelve miles an hour without 
 risk. 
 
 The Macadamised roads, named from the in- 
 ventor, exhibit a particular mode of applying 
 small stones to the surface. Under the old 
 method, stones of irregular sizes and shapes 
 were thrown down upon the soft earth of a 
 road, and became mixed up with it in such a 
 way as to form a very irregular road. Mr. 
 M'Adam conceived that if small stones of 
 nearly uniform size were used, they would 
 tend to lock together into a hard and compact 
 mass, forming a sort of crust nearly impervious 
 to water. He objected to any kind of chalk or 
 earth being mixed with the stone ; but the 
 quantity of stone must depend on the quality 
 of the ground beneath ; in many cases a layer 
 three feet thick has been required. Mr. Tel- 
 ford employed the still more durable system of 
 placing a layer of hand-laid larger stones 
 beneath the smaller, so as to form, in fact, a 
 sort of two-fold paving. 
 
 It has been found by experiment, that a 
 layer of hard broken stone on a substratum of 
 stone affords easier draught for horses than 
 where the substratum is of earth ; and that a 
 
 110ADS, U43 
 
 gravel surface is more tiding to horses than a 
 broken stone surface. As a general rule, the 
 hardest stone such as basalt, granite, quartx, 
 sienite, or porphyry is found to be the best 
 for road-metal, or the broken stones for the 
 surface ; but this is not invariably the case, as 
 some hard stones are found to wear more 
 rapidly than softer but tougher stone. Lime- 
 stone, slaty stone, and sandstone, are all un- 
 fitted for roads. On some parts of the Holy- 
 head road small cubes of iron, about an inch 
 square, are placed at intervals of four inches 
 among the stones, and well packed round with 
 small chips of stone; they have been found to 
 produce a remarkably durable road. 
 
 Stone tramways have occasionally been ap- 
 plied to common roads with great advantage. 
 They consist of wheel-tracks formed of large 
 blocks of stone, usually granite, over which 
 the wheels roll smoothly, while there is an 
 intermediate broken stone road for the horses. 
 Iron tramways are sometimes used for a simi- 
 lar purpose. The saving of horse -labour by 
 these tramways is remarkable. Sir John Mac- 
 neill stated in 183Q ; " If a tramway were con- 
 structed of iron plates the whole way from 
 Leeds to Birmingham, a coach carrying six- 
 teen passengers might be drawn at the rate of 
 ten miles an hour with only two horses ; and 
 one horse would be able to draw a post-chaise 
 more easily than two now can." 
 
 The pavements of towns require a different 
 mode of construction from the roads of open 
 districts. They must afford the means of 
 sweeping or cleaning, and there must be pave- 
 ments besides those which are traversed by 
 vehicles. Of the granite paving, the wood 
 paving, the asphaltic paving, the inhabitants of 
 London have had abundant means of forming 
 a judgment within the last few years, for they 
 have been renewed and repaired to a weari- 
 some degree. 
 
 It is supposed by many persons, that if stone 
 or iron tramways were laid down, locomotives 
 on common roads would have had much more 
 success than has hitherto attended them. 
 Such locomotives have been constructed in 
 considerable variety within the last thirty 
 years; but although mechanically correct in 
 principle they have not come into use owing 
 partly to the imperfect state of the roads. The 
 public journals have recently noticed a new 
 road-looomotive at St. Etienne, in Prance, 
 which excited much attention on its first ap- 
 pearance. It was invented by M. Verpilleux. 
 On its first journey it went through all the 
 streets of the town with the greatest facility, 
 under the most perfect control of the man 
 sitting in front, turning it to the right or left, 
 or sending it backward or forward, as he 
 
1443 
 
 BOASTING. 
 
 ROLLERS. 
 
 1444 
 
 pleased. Two cabriolets, filled with some o 
 the friends of the inventor, were attached tc 
 the carriage, as was afterwards a heavy cart o 
 coals. The carriage weighs two tons, an< 
 is of four horse power. It runs on three 
 wheels, and its speed is 10 English miles an 
 hour. Its consumption of coke per hour is 
 from 20 to 25 kilogrammes. It had left the same 
 morning Rive-de-Gier, and arrived at St. Eti 
 enne hy the old Sorhiers road, which is badl}> 
 kept and full of ruts. The carnage, however, 
 did not suffer. A new vehicle on the same 
 principle, but of a 12-horse power, is now in 
 course of' construction : it will be able, it is 
 said, to move four coal-waggons with a weight 
 of 12,000 kilogrammes. It is intended shortly 
 to employ this mode of locomotion for carrying 
 the coals of Bessege to the Rhone, and those 
 of Firminy to the Lyon Railway. The cost 
 for doing this will not, it is calculated, be 
 more than one-half of that of the ordinary 
 mode of conveyance. 
 
 ROASTING. There is a little chemistry in 
 the art of cooking, which, while it has engaged 
 the philosophic mind of a Liebig, cannot be 
 beneath the notice of others. The familiar 
 modes of preparing animal food, for instance, 
 deserve a little study. In the process of 
 broiling meat, the heat is applied immediately 
 and suddenly to the surface, by which it is 
 hardened, so that the juices of the meat are 
 greatly retained, evaporation being thereby 
 prevented ; while in roasting, the heat is ap- 
 plied gradually, the watery portion is evapo- 
 rated, as well as the fat melted out to a con- 
 siderable extent, till the progressive browning 
 and hardening of the surface prevent the 
 further escape of the juices. The loss of 
 weight in roasting meat is much greater than 
 by boiling, much of the fat being melted out 
 and water evaporated, but the nutritious mat- 
 ter remains condensed in the cooked solid ; 
 whereas, in boiling, the gelatine is partly 
 abstracted. Roasted meat is therefore more 
 nutritive than boiled meat, and also more di- 
 gestible. 
 
 ROCKET is a cylindrical vessel or case, of 
 pasteboard or iron, attached to one end of a 
 light rod of wood, and containing a compo- 
 sition which, being fired, the vessel and rod 
 are projected through the air by a force arising 
 from the combustion. 
 
 Rockets have long been used as a means of 
 making signals for the purpose of communi- 
 cation when the parties have been invisible 
 from distance or darkness; and they have 
 occasionally served the important purpose of 
 determining the difference of longitude between 
 two places. Rockets have also been con- 
 structed for the purpose of being used in 
 
 warfare, and such missiles were so employed 
 for the first time at the battle of Copenhagen, 
 in 1807. Signal rockets are made to weigh 
 half a pound, one pound, or two pounds ; and 
 the one pound rocket is about 1C inches long. 
 The rod is generally attached near the base, 
 on one side of the rocket, and its length is 
 about 8 feet. The composition with which 
 the cylinder is filled consists generally of salt- 
 petre, sulphur, and charcoal or gunpowder, 
 and the composition which produces what are 
 culled the stars, consists of saltpetre, sulphur, 
 antimony, mealed powder, and isinglass. The 
 latter is dissolved in one quart of vinegar, after 
 which one pint of spirit of wine is added, and 
 then the mealed composition is mixed with the 
 liquid till the whole becomes like a stiff paste. 
 The burning composition acting at the head, 
 and at the opposite end of the rocket, produces 
 impulsive forces in opposite directions; but 
 sundry perforations at the lower extremity, by 
 allowing the fire to escape there, nearly de- 
 stroys the pressure against the lower end, and 
 thus the pressure at the head is almost wholly 
 effective in giving a forward motion to the 
 rocket. The rod serves to guide it in its flight, 
 the resistance of the air perpendicularly to its 
 iength checking any vibrations which may be 
 caused by inequalities in the action of the 
 ourning composition. 
 
 Rockets whose diameters vary from 1 to 2 
 nches have been found to ascend vertically to 
 the height of about 500 yards, and those whose 
 diameters vary from 2 to 3 inches have, as- 
 cended to the height of 1200 yards. The 
 distances at which rockets can be seen vary 
 rom 35 to 40 miles ; and the times of ascent, 
 rom 7 to 10 seconds. Rockets, to be employed 
 as military projectiles, were invented by Sir 
 William Congreve, and, in the British artillery 
 service, a body of men, called the Rocket 
 Troop, has been organised expressly for their 
 Management. From their form they pene- 
 trate to a considerable depth when fired against 
 imber or earth : 12-pounder rockets, after a 
 range of 1200 yards, have been found to enter 
 he ground obliquely as far as 22 feet. As 
 used in pyrotechnic exhibitions, rockets always 
 lave pasteboard cases. 
 
 ROLLERS. Cylindrical rollers are used for 
 ery many purposes in the arts, especially 
 where two are employed in contact. If one 
 'oiler is rotating on its axis, and if another bo 
 brought close to it, surface to surface, with the 
 axes parallel, the second roller will be made to 
 otate in an opposite direction from the first ; 
 his property is often made use of in trans- 
 mitting and reversing motion. In cylinder 
 muling, at the cotton print works, the pass- 
 ig of the cloth between two cylinders, one 
 
1445 
 
 ROOF. 
 
 KOOF. 
 
 1446 
 
 of which is engraved and supplied with colour 
 suffices to print the cloth. In bookbinding 
 or rather in pressing the sheets for the book 
 binders, a roller-press affords an immense 
 power : this consists, in principle, of two rollers 
 rotating nearly in contact, and pressing be 
 tween them the quire of leaves. In all kinds 
 of metal working the pressure of two rollers is 
 employed to flatten a mass of metal into slabs 
 sheets, or ribbons. If the surface of one o 
 both rollers be grooved in a direction trans 
 verse to the axis, any substance passed between 
 the rollers will assume a form corresponding 
 with those grooves. It is in this way tha 
 railway bars are made ; the iron is first passec 
 between rollers grooved so as to produce a 
 square bar, and then through other rollers so 
 grooved as to give the contour of a railway 
 bar. All such modes of compression have 
 a tendency to increase the length of bars 
 according as the width and thickness are di- 
 minished. 
 
 In agricultural matters the roller is often 
 used singly, and generally as a weight. In 
 the common garden and road roller a heavy 
 cylindrical mass is employed to press the earth 
 or gravel of a path smooth or level; it is 
 sometimes made of stone ; but sometimes a 
 hollow iron cylinder, weighted, if necessary, 
 with stones. A roller is sometimes used over 
 corn fields, whose surface is covered with teeth. 
 Such is Crosskill's Patent Serrated Eoller and 
 Clod Crusher. This roller is very heavy, and 
 requires three horses abreast to work it over a 
 newly ploughed field ; the surface of the roller 
 presents angular teeth in every part, and these 
 teeth tend to break up the clods of earth which 
 have been turned up by the plough. It also 
 tends to give solidity to loose soil, one of the 
 advantages ordinarily produced by sheep- 
 treading. 
 
 EOOF. In order to cover in a building in 
 which the space to be spanned is greater than 
 can be covered by single blocks of stone ex- 
 tending from one point of support to another, 
 it is necessary either to have recourse to the 
 principle of the arch, as in vaults and domes of 
 stone or brick, or to form a framework of tim- 
 ler to. support the covering. [AECH ; DOME.] 
 Hoofs formed of one level plane, which are ex- 
 tensively used in eastern countries, are not 
 adapted for our climate ; and a single inclined 
 plane carries up the roof to too great a height. 
 The best figure for a simple roof is that 
 formed of two inclined planes, rising from the 
 two opposite walls that approach nearest to 
 each other, and meeting over the centre of the 
 edifice, so as to form a ridge : this is called a 
 common or gable-ended roof. Frequently four 
 inclined planes are used, disposed as a hipped 
 
 roof, which takes its name from the hips, or 
 inclined ridges formed by the meeting of the 
 sides and ends. Sometimes the inclined faces 
 are not continued upwards till they meet, but 
 the roof is completed by a horizontal plane. 
 Such a roof is called a truncated, terrace, or cut 
 roof, and may have two, three, or four inclined 
 faces. A similar saving of height is frequently 
 obtained by means of a roof in which each 
 sloping face consists of two planes of different 
 degrees of inclination. This form, which is 
 denominated a curb roof (or, from its inventor, 
 a Mansarde roof), is very common in London, 
 because it affords more space for the forma- 
 tion of bed-rooms in the roof than the simpler 
 forms. These various kinds of roof require 
 many modifications to suit irregularities of 
 shape, or combinations of rectangular forms. 
 Thus, in the junction of different roofs or 
 portions of roofing at right angles with each 
 other, there are inclined lines or valleys, which, 
 at the junction of two planes, form hollows 
 the reverse of hips. When two faces of a roof 
 join, so as to form an angle similar to a valley, 
 but in an horizontal instead of an inclined 
 position, the term gutter is applied instead of 
 valley. A further distinction is that betweei 
 roofs with dripping eaves, and those in whicl 
 the water is collected in gutters. In the former 
 case the roof projects several inches, or even 
 feet, beyond the walls, and the water running 
 from the roof either drops at once on the 
 ground, or is collected in troughs fixed under 
 the margin of the eaves, and conducted by 
 them to descending pipes. In gutter roofs the 
 timbers do not extend to the outside of the 
 walls, which are carried up as parapets, of a 
 reduced thickness, to such a height as to 
 conceal the roof either wholly or partially. 
 The gutters, which are troughs of wood, co- 
 vered with lead or other metal, are laid at the 
 bottom of the slopes, just within the parapets, 
 and have a gentle inclination (usually about 
 an inch in ten feet), to cause water to run 
 freely towards the pipes. 
 
 The timbers of a roof have various names 
 ;o them, according to their position and pur- 
 pose. Thus, those which join the wall are 
 ihe wall-plates ; that at the meeting of two 
 aces, parallel to the wall -plates, is the ridge- 
 piece; and the inclined bars extending from 
 he wall-plates to the ridge-piece are rafters, 
 hose which form the salient angles in hipped 
 roofs being distinguished as hip-rafters. In a 
 lipped roof, the rafters near the ends are called 
 ack-rafters. Additional support is supplied by 
 lorizontal rectangular bars called purlins, and 
 hese are supported by a series of bars called 
 nincipals. The lower ends of the principals 
 are mortised into the ends of the tle-beam t 
 
1447 
 
 ROOF. 
 
 ROPE-MAKING. 
 
 1448 
 
 which stretches across the building, and rest 
 upon the wall-plates. The triangular from 
 formed by the two principals and a tie-beam 
 with any bars it may comprise for additiona 
 strength, is called a truss, and such frame 
 being placed at regular intervals, the timbe 
 work between any two of them is called a 
 of roofing. The lower extremities of the com 
 mon rafters, being elevated by this arrange 
 inent above the wall-plates, are supported 
 pole-plates, or pieces of timber parallel tc 
 the wail-plates, resting on the ends of tht 
 tie-beams. The supporting frame-work alto 
 gether is called a carcass-roof. The outwan 
 thrust against the wall is counteracted by j 
 horizontal tie-beam, and the sinking is pre 
 vented by a vertical bar called the king-post 
 Sometimes the king post is dispensed with 
 and its office performed by two similar posts 
 called queen-postf, at equal distance* from the 
 centre of the truss. In order to keep these in 
 their right position, a short horizontal beam 
 called a collar-beam, is inserted between their 
 upper extremities, and another, termed a 
 straining-sill, between their lower ends. Cu- 
 shion rafters aro pieces occasionally added, in 
 large roofs, to strengthen the principals. In 
 curb roofs the upper rows of rafters are called 
 curb-rafters, and the horizontal bars that re- 
 ceive the upper ends of the lower rafters, 
 and the feet of the curb-rafters, are known as 
 curb-plates. 
 
 In roofs of very large span it is often de- 
 sirable, in order to avoid running up to a great 
 height, to form two or more ridges. Roofs 
 without ties may be greatly strengthened by 
 the use of parabolic curves of iron, notched 
 into the rafters of each inclined face, and 
 abutting on the wall-plates, which in such a 
 case are firmly bolted together. Wrought iron 
 straps of various forms are very useful, when 
 judiciously applied, in strengthening the joints 
 of a roof. The Norman roof is an ingenious 
 contrivance for the construction of roofs of 
 large span with small pieces of wood ; in this 
 arrangement all the rafters abut on joggled 
 king-posts, of which there are several, their 
 relative position being maintained by diagonal 
 braces. Domes of wood, of great size, have 
 been made without trussing, simply by forming 
 the timbers into curved ribs abutting on the 
 wall-plates, which then form a circle, and are 
 kept in their proper positions by horizontal 
 circles framed with them at intervals. The 
 wooden dome formerly existing at the Halle 
 aux BUs, at Paris, was a remarkably bold 
 example of this kind, being 200 feet in dia- 
 meter, and having a large opening in the 
 centre. 
 All the different kinds of roof-coverings 
 
 require certain fitting arrangements of the 
 timber beneath, according to weight, angle of 
 slope, &c. Cast iron, wrought iron, yellow 
 fir, thatch, tiles, pantiles, plain tiles, slates, 
 shingles (thin boards shaped like slates), slabs 
 of thin stone, plaster, asphalte and other 
 cements, tarred paper, sheets of lead, copper, 
 iron, tinned iron, and galvanized zinc iron 
 all are used for roof coverings. 
 
 One of the largest roofs in existence is that 
 over the Riding-school at Moscow; it is 235 feet 
 span, with a slope of 19 ; and the external 
 dimensions of the building are 1920 feet by 319. 
 But the most remarkable roof, all things 
 considered, is that which Messrs. Fox and 
 Henderson have recently erected over the 
 Exhibition Building in Hyde Park. The 
 slender appearance of the many hundred 
 columns which support it ; the elegant light- 
 ness of the girders which brace the columns 
 together; the ridge-and -furrow principle by 
 which drainage is secured ; the matchless 
 waggon- vaulted transept, upwards of 400 feet 
 .ong by 72 in diameter ; and the acres of glass 
 ivhich form the roofing material all serve to 
 distinguish this roof from any before con- 
 structed. 
 
 The same engineers have recently con- 
 structed a magnificent iron roof at the Liver- 
 >ool terminus of the Lancashire and Yorkshire 
 Railway. It covers five lines of rails and three 
 )latforms, and a carriage road twelve yards 
 vide, in one span, having no columns nor 
 upports besides the outside walls ; the span 
 aries from 136 feet to 128 feet, and the total 
 ength is 631 feet, The total area thus covered 
 s 83,457 feet. The material used in the con- 
 truction of this roof is entirely iron. The 
 raming consists of a series of trussed princi- 
 >als, placed at intervals of eleven feet from 
 entre to centre ; and immediately over the 
 principals are fixed wrought iron purlines, 
 rhich support the covering ; this covering is 
 f corrugated sheet iron, galvanized. The 
 oof is both lighted and ventilated along the 
 idge by four continuous rows of large sky- 
 ghts, and two rows of louvres ; half the light 
 s distributed along the ridge, and the remain- 
 ng half is equally distributed at the eaves ; the 
 otal area of light admitted being equal to one- 
 urth of the entire area of the roof. 
 ROPE-MAKING, The name Hope is gene- 
 ally confined to the larger descriptions of 
 ordage, such as exceed an inch in circum- 
 erence, though the principles of formation 
 ro much the same for cordage of every size ; 
 e smaller sizes are known by various names. 
 In rope-making, whether for large or small 
 'pes, the first process consists in twisting the 
 emp into thick threads, called Rope- Yarns. 
 
1440 
 
 ROPE -MAKING. 
 
 ROPE -MAKING, 
 
 1450 
 
 This process, which resembles ordinary spin- 
 ning, is performed with various kinds of ma- 
 chinery. The common mode of spinning rope- 
 yarns by hand is performed in the rope-ground 
 or rope-walk, an inclosed slip of level ground, 
 sometimes 600 feet or more in length. At one 
 end of this ground a spinning-wheel is set up, 
 which gives motion by a band to several small 
 rollers or whirls. Each whirl had a small 
 hook formed on the end of its axis next the 
 walk. Each of the spinners is provided with 
 a bundle of dressed hemp, laid round his 
 waist, with the bight or double in front, and 
 the ends passing each other at his back, 
 from which he draws out a sufficient number 
 of fibres to form a rope-yarn of the required 
 size ; and, after slightly twisting them together 
 with his fingers, he attaches them to the hook 
 of a whirl. The whirl being now set in motion 
 by turning the wheel, the skein is twisted into 
 a rope-yarn, the spinner walking backwards 
 down the rope-walk, supporting the yarn with 
 one hand, which is protected by a wetted piece 
 of coarse cloth or flannel, while with the other 
 he regulates the quantity of fibres drawn from 
 the bundle of hemp by the revolution of the 
 yarn. The degree of twist depends on the 
 velocity with which the wheel is turned, com- 
 bined with the retrograde pace of the spinner. 
 When the spinner has traversed the whole 
 length of the rope-walk (or sooner, if the yarns 
 are not required to be so long), he calls out, 
 and another spinner detaches the yarn from 
 the whirl, and gives it to a person who carries 
 it aside to a reel, while the second spinner 
 attaches his own hemp to the whirl-hook. 
 The hemp, being dry and elastic, would in- 
 stantly untwist if the yarn were now set at 
 liberty. The first spinner, therefore, keeps 
 fast hold of it all the while that the reeler 
 winds it up, walking slowly up the walk, so as 
 to keep the yarn equally tight all the way. 
 When it is all wound up, the spinner holds it 
 till another is ready to follow it on the reel. 
 Sometimes, instead of being wound on a reel 
 as they are made, the yarns are laid together 
 in large hooks attached to posts at the side of 
 the walk, until about four hundred are col- 
 lected together, when they are coiled up in a 
 haul, or skein, in which state they are ready 
 for tailing. In some roperies machines have 
 been introduced, especially one invented by 
 Mr. Lang of Greenock, for spinning yarns. 
 
 The yarns being thus spun, they are warped 
 or stretched to a given length, in order that 
 they may, when formed into a strand, bear the 
 strain equally. When the rope is to be tarred, 
 that operation is usually performed upon the 
 yams immediately after their being warped, as 
 the application of tar to the yarns previous to 
 
 their combination is necessary to the complete 
 penetration of the whole substance of the rope. 
 The most common method of tarring the 
 yarns is to draw them in hauls or skeins 
 through the tar-kettle by a capstan ; but some- 
 times the yarns are passed singly through the 
 tar, being wound off one reel on to another, 
 and the superfluous tar being taken off by 
 passing the yarn through a hole surrounded 
 with spongy oakum. 
 
 In making large cordage, from fifteen to 
 twenty yarns are formed into a strand, and 
 three or more such strands are afterwards 
 combined into a rope. The twist of the strand 
 is in an opposite direction to that of the yarns. 
 In closing or laying the rope, three strands are 
 stretched at length along tho walk, and at- 
 tached at one end to separate but contiguous 
 hooks, and at the other to a single hook ; and 
 they are twisted together by turning the single 
 hook in a direction contrary to that of the 
 other three; a piece of wood called a top, in 
 the form of a truncated cone, being placed 
 between the strands, and kept during the whole 
 operation gently forced into the angle formed 
 by the strands, where they are united by the 
 closing or twisting of the rope. As the rope 
 shortens in closing, one end only of the appa- 
 ratus is fixed, the other being on a move able 
 sledge, whose motion up the rope-walk is 
 capable of regulation by suitable tackle at- 
 tached to it, or by loading it with weights. 
 The top also is mounted on a sledge, for closing 
 large cordage, and its rate of motion may be 
 retarded, in order to give greater firmness to 
 the twist of the rope. Ropes formed in this 
 manner are said to be shroud-laid, or hawser- 
 laid. 
 
 Those large ropes which are said to be 
 cable-laid are formed by the combination of 
 smaller ropes twisted round their common axis, 
 just as shroud-laid ropes are composed of 
 strands twisted round their common axis. As 
 cable-laid ropes are harder and more compact 
 than others, this mode of formation is adopted 
 for ropes to be exposed to the action of water, 
 even though their thickness may not be very 
 great. Originally all the yarns (from T \ to -|- 
 of an inch in thickness) composing a strand 
 were of the same length ; but Captain Huddart 
 showed that in such an arrangement the outer- 
 most yarns must be more strained than the 
 inner : he accordingly, in 1793, patented his 
 register cordage, in which the strain is equalised 
 throughout. The same gentleman invented 
 machinery for almost every department of rope- 
 making. 
 
 Ropes formed by plaiting instead of twisting 
 are made use of for some purposes in which 
 pliability is especially needed, they being more 
 
1451 
 
 ROPE-MAKING. 
 
 ROSCOMMON. 
 
 1452 
 
 supple and less liable to entanglement than 
 those of the ordinary make. Such ropes are 
 preferred for sash-lines, clock-lines, &c., an 
 generally where the rope has to pass ovei 
 pulleys of small diameter. Flat ropes, whicl 
 are much used for mining purposes, are either 
 formed of two or more small ropes placed side 
 by side, and united by sewing, lapping, or 
 interlacing with thread or smaller ropes, or ol 
 t number of strands of shroud-laid rope simi- 
 larly united. In either case it is necessary 
 that the component ropes or strands be alter- 
 nately of a right hand and left hand twist, that 
 the rope may remain in a quiescent state. 
 
 Many experiments were made by Reaumur, 
 Knowles, and others, to test the loss of strength 
 by the ordinary twist given to ropes. Duliamel 
 prepared the following statement, to show the 
 comparative strength of ropes formed of the 
 same hemp, and the same weight per fathom, 
 but twisted respectively to two-thirds, three- 
 fourths, and four-fifths of the length of their 
 component yarns : 
 
 Degree of twist. Weight borne in two experiments, 
 f 4098 Ibs. 4250 Ibs. 
 
 f 4850 6753 
 
 $ 6205 7397 
 
 The result of these experiments led Du- 
 hamel to try the practicability of making ropes 
 without any twist, the yarns being wrapped 
 round to keep them together. These had great 
 strength, but very little durability. In shroud 
 or hawser-laid ropes the usual reduction of 
 length by twisting is one -third; but cable- 
 laid ropes are further shortened, so that 200 
 fathoms of yarn are required to make 120 
 fathoms of cable. A hawser-laid rope 6 inches 
 in circumference by 120 fathoms (720 feet) 
 long, weighs about 10 cwts. A cable-laid rope 
 '.2 inches in circumference and 120 fathoms 
 /ong, weighs 36 cwts. A hawser-laid rope 
 6 inches in circumference will bear a weight of 
 140 cwts. The tarring of ropes somewhat 
 impairs their strength, but renders them more 
 durable. Oils, fats, and tallow of various kinds 
 have been occasionally used ; but tar is found 
 to be the best preservative. 
 
 Several other kinds of vegetable fibre besides 
 hemp have been made use of in the manu- 
 facture of cordage, and some appear greatly to 
 exceed hemp in strength. The fibres of the 
 aloe, long wool, hemp mixed with threads of 
 caoutchouc, thongs of ox-hide, and seveial 
 other substances, have been employed; but 
 none are found to combine so many advantages 
 as hemp. 
 
 Ropes formed of iron wire have been, within 
 the last few years, introduced to a considerable 
 extent, and have been found to effect a great 
 saving of expense from their durability and 
 
 superior lightness. Ropes of twisted iron 
 wire were used in the silver mines of the Harz 
 Mountains twenty years ago ; they were nearly 
 equal in strength to solid iron bars of equal 
 thickness, and equal to hempen ropos of four 
 times their weight. Wire ropes are now made 
 in England under many patents. They are 
 formed in various ways, according to their 
 intended use. For standing rigging straight 
 untwisted wires are employed, bound round 
 with cloth or small hempen cordage saturated 
 with a solution of caoutchouc, asphaltum, or 
 other preservative from rust. Flat ropes may 
 likewise be made of straight wires, interwoven 
 or wrapped with hempen yarn, or sewed be- 
 tween canvas, fec. Other ropes are formed 
 much in the same way as those of hemp, the 
 wires taking the place of rope-yarns, and being 
 twisted into strands, and combined into ropes, 
 both hawser-laid and cable-laid. The twisting 
 should not be so hard as in hempen cordage ; 
 and all the wires must be protected by an 
 anti-corrosive composition, or by coating with 
 tin, zinc, &c. It is sometimes the practice to 
 wist wires round a core, either of wire, hemp- 
 cord, spun yarn, or other material to form a 
 strand, and to lay such strands round a similar 
 core when there are more than three strands 
 in a -rope. 
 
 The annexed table, showing the comparative 
 size and weight per fathom for equal strength, 
 may serve to show the great superiority of 
 wire ropes over those of hemp, which they sur- 
 pass even in flexibility : 
 
 Hemp Rope. 
 Weight per 
 
 Size, fathom. 
 
 Inches. Ibs. oz. 
 324 
 4 3 15 
 560 
 690 
 
 7 12 3 
 
 8 14 3 
 
 9 19 6 
 
 10 25 
 
 11 30 
 
 12 36 8 
 
 Wire Rope. 
 
 Weight per Equal to 
 
 Size. fathom. a strain of 
 
 Inches. Ibs. oz. cwts. 
 
 1J 1 4 50 
 
 li 1 9 70 
 
 If 1 14 135 
 
 2 22 160 
 2^ 2 9 171 
 2J 4 1 198 
 
 3 54 306 
 3} 7 1 486 
 
 4 11 6 585 
 4i 15 12 704 
 
 Suspension bridges are now occasionally 
 made of wire rope of enormous dimensions 
 and strength. 
 
 ROSCOMMON. In this Irish county some 
 f the mountains are composed of shales and 
 sandstones, with three beds of coal resting on 
 beds of the millstone grit series, from which 
 good ironstone is obtained. The coal answers 
 well for smelting iron, and is used in the 
 Arigna iron -works in this county. In many 
 )laces, good limestone is quarried for building. 
 Potter's clay and pipe-clay are found in various 
 parts of the county. The Royal Canal opens 
 
OF THE OF 
 
 RJWCHT'S 
 
 No. 35. 
 
1453 
 
 ROSE ESSENCE. 
 
 
 into the Shannon opposite Tarmonbarry in 
 this county ; the Grand Canal just below the 
 junction of the Suck. The traffic on the canals 
 consists chiefly of corn and butter sent to 
 Dublin, and English manufactures and general 
 goods sent in return. The navigation of the 
 Suck commences at Ballinasloe (county ol 
 Gal way) for light flat-bottomed boats; smal] 
 row-boats ascend higher. But a canal is cut 
 parallel to it on the Galway side of the river, 
 from Ballinasloe to the Shannon. The soil in 
 the limestone district is commonly fertile ; 
 there is, however, a large extent of bog or 
 other wastes. The amount of pasture land is 
 considerable : the natural pastures, which are 
 esteemed to be some of the best ground in the 
 county, are in the limestone districts. The 
 extent oi the unimproved mountains and bogs 
 has been estimated at above 130,000 acres ; 
 several of those on the uplands are compara- 
 tively dry, and afford in their natural state 
 coarse pasturage for young and hardy cattle. 
 
 Roscommon has little to boast of in respect 
 to manufactures ; its towns are small, and very 
 little is produced there beyond a supply for the 
 immediate wants of the inhabitants. 
 
 ROSE ESSENCE. The rose is more fre- 
 quently cultivated as an ornament than for its 
 applications to medicine or the arts. It has, 
 however, astringent and tonic properties which 
 render it useful in medicine. In the East 
 it is extensively grown for the purpose of 
 procuring, in a variety of ways, the volatile 
 oil which gives it its delicious fragrance. For 
 these purposes the species that are mostly 
 cultivated are the Musk, the Damask, the 
 Centifolia, from all of which the attar, otto, 
 essence, or oil of roses may be procured in 
 considerable quantities. The attar of roses 
 forms an object of considerable commercial 
 importance on the coast of Barbary, in Syria, 
 Persia, India, and various parts of the East. 
 [ATTAR OF ROSES.] Many other perfumes 
 are made from roses, and are consumed in 
 large quantities, as rose-water, vinegar of roses, 
 spirit of roses, honey of roses, <fec. 
 
 ROSEMARY. Besides the beauty of this 
 plant from its variegated leaves, it is used in 
 medicine and perfumery. The Oil of Rose- 
 mary is chiefly prepared in Spain and the 
 south of France, by distillation of the leaves 
 and flowers. At first it is nearly transparent 
 and very limpid, but by time it becomes both 
 yellowish and thicker. It possesses the strong 
 penetrating odour of rosemary, with a camphor- 
 like intermixture, and a burning taste. Rose- 
 mary possesses valuable stimulant and carmi- 
 native properties ; but it is chiefly employed 
 
 HOTATION OF CROPS. 1454, 
 
 vinegar. It is also said to promote the growth 
 of hair and prevent baldness. 
 
 ROSIN. [RESINS.] 
 
 ROTATION OF CROPS. As we touch 
 
 as a perfume, entering into the composition of 
 Hungary Water ^ Eau de Cologne^ and aromatic 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 upon Agricultural subjects in this work only 
 so far as relates to the mechanical appliances 
 of the art, and to the economical uses of the 
 crops produced, we will notice the Eolation of 
 Crops simply as a means of shewing what the 
 expression means, and how it bears upon 
 practical agriculture. A further developement 
 of the subject must be sought for in other 
 works. 
 
 It has been found from experience that a 
 repetition of the same crops in succession has 
 a peculiar effect on the soil, so that if grain of 
 the same nature be sown year after year in 
 the same ground, it will not produce the 
 same return of the seed, even when abundantly 
 manured. It is the formation of the seed 
 which principally causes the deterioration of 
 the soil ; for if the crops be fed off in a green 
 state, or mown before the seed is formed, the 
 same may be safely repeated, and no diminu- 
 tion of the plant is apparent. However judi- 
 ciously the land may be manured, it is not 
 practicable to raise a crop of wheat or clover, 
 or of many other plants, on a soil which has 
 shown that, as the farmers say, it is tired of 
 that crop ; but clover grows well after wheat, 
 and wheat after clover, so that the same effect 
 is not produced in the soil by these two crops. 
 In all countries where peculiar attention has 
 been paid to agriculture, the most advantage- 
 ous succession of crops is generally known ; 
 and certain general principles are commonly 
 admitted as fully established. 
 
 In order to find the crops which may advan- 
 :ageously succeed each other in rotation, many 
 circumstances must be taken into consideration. 
 First of all the quality of the soil, and its 
 itness for particular crops ; next the wants of 
 the farmer and his family, and the maintenance 
 f the stock required to produce a sufficient 
 supply of manure; and next the particular 
 market which lies open to him. That which 
 forms the food of man is always the principal 
 object in the cultivation; and, excepting rice, 
 which only grows in warm climates, there is 
 no food more universally used than that which 
 is made from wheat. Rye, barley, oats, and 
 pulse, are only substitutes where wheat cannot 
 be raised in sufficient quantities. Next to 
 grain comes meat, chiefly beef, mutton, and 
 pork, of which the consumption increases with 
 the wealth of a nation and the advance of its 
 agriculture. Wheat and fat cattle are there- 
 fore primary objects with every good farmer ; 
 and he who can raise most wheat and fatten 
 most oxen or sheep or pigs will realise the 
 
 M M 
 
1455 
 
 ROTE. 
 
 ROUEN 
 
 1456 
 
 greatest profit. The rotation adopted depend 
 on all these circumstances combined , and tin 
 farmer follows different systems according t< 
 the balance of advantages, such as the three 
 year rotation (a year of fallow, a year of wheat 
 and a year of barley or oats); or the four 
 year course (turnips, barley, clover, wheat,) &c 
 
 KOTE,was a musical instrument mentionec 
 by the early French and English writers ; i 
 seems to have been similar to what the French 
 call a virile, and the English a Hurdy-Gurdy 
 
 EOTTEN STONE, is amineral,of a grayish 
 red, or dark brown colour, soft and earthy 
 consisting chiefly of alumina. It is employee 
 in polishing metals. 
 
 ROTTERDAM, the capital of the Dutch 
 province of South Holland, is intersected by 
 numerous canals connected with the river 
 Rotte, on wliich the largest merchantmen can 
 come up and unload at the very doors of the 
 warehouses. Along the Maas are many fine 
 quays, the handsomest of which is called the 
 Boomtjes, from the rows of trees with Avhich 
 it is planted. Rotterdam is connected by 
 canals and by railway with the principal towns 
 in Holland. The commerce of Rotterdam 
 extends to all parts of the world, and embraces 
 almost every kind of produce and manufacture. 
 The imports and exports are similar to those of 
 AMSTERDAM, but greater in quantity. The total 
 value of the imports is about 10,000,0002. ster- 
 ling annually ; of the exports about 7,000,0002. 
 Rotterdam is pre-eminently a commercial town, 
 and is said now far to surpass Amsterdam 
 in trading importance. Steamers ply regu- 
 larly to Amsterdam, London, Cologne, Ant- 
 werp, <fec. 
 
 ROTUNDA, is a term applied to buildings 
 which are circular in their plan both exter- 
 nally and internally, or else to halls and other 
 apartments of that shape, included within and 
 forming merely a portion of the edifice con- 
 taining them. The technical application of 
 the term is however restricted to circular 
 buildings whose height does not much exceed 
 their diameter, for we should not describe a 
 lofty cylindrical edifice, such as a round tower, 
 by the term. The Colosseum in the Regent's 
 Park, London, might without any great im- 
 propriety be classed among rotundas. The 
 shape is now very seldom adopted, being un- 
 suited to buildings in general, whatever their 
 particular purpose may be, unless it be one 
 for which nothing more than a single spacious 
 hall or area is required internally. In eccle- 
 siastical architecture circular and polygonal 
 structures were by no means uncommon 
 among the early Christians, especially for 
 baptisteries and sepulchral chapels. The ro- 
 tunda, became afterwards in a manner incor- 
 
 porated with or added to the cruciform plan, 
 being raised aloft and placed over that part of 
 it where the transepts intersect the body of 
 the edifice. Nearly all modern cupolas may 
 be described as rotundas elevated above the 
 rest of the building and viewed by looking up 
 into them from below. 
 
 ROUEN. This important French city is 
 situated at a point of the Seme where two 
 small islands convert the river into a good 
 harbour for sea-borne vessels of 300 tons. 
 Above the stone bridge on the eastern side of 
 La-Croix islet lie the large river craft and 
 small steamers that ply up the Seine to Paris ; 
 between it and the suspension-bridge, and 
 also below the latter, sea-borne vessels load 
 and unload close to spacious well-built quays, 
 extending all along the right bank of the 
 river, and backed by lofty warehouses. The 
 suburbs generally are inhabited by the manu- 
 facturing population ; they contain numerous 
 cotton factories. But though Rouen resembles 
 many old towns on the continent in pre- 
 senting a labyrinth of streets, composed of 
 old picturesque timber framed gable-fronted 
 houses, it is not, like most of them, aban- 
 doned by trade, but still swarms with a popu- 
 lation engaged in all the bustling activity of 
 commerce and manufacturing industry. 
 
 The important manufactures of Rouen com- 
 prise striped and checked cottons for women's 
 dresses, called rouenncries, calicos, woollen 
 loth, nankins, muslin, handkerchiefs, shawls, 
 velvet, hosiery, swanskin, flannel, hats, lace, 
 ropes, blankets, combs, preserved meats and 
 confectionary, liqueurs, glue, soap, mineral 
 acids and chemical products of all kinds, 
 porcelain, pottery, room paper, haberdashery 
 and small wares, steam machinery and mill- 
 work, shot and sheet-lead, tin-ware, cotton 
 and woollen yarns, &c. There are numerous 
 cotton-mills, driven by steam and by water 
 >ower ; hand-loom weaving also prevails to a 
 xmsiderable extent. The other industrial 
 establishments include dye-houses, sugar-re- 
 ineries, bleach-works, tan-yards, breweries, 
 .hip-building docks, saw-mills, mills for grind- 
 ng dye-woods, copper and iron foundries, 
 ulling and pressing-mills. 
 
 Advantageously situated for commerce, with 
 i good harbour, in which the influence of the 
 ide is felt, and in rapid communication by 
 ailway with Paris, Havre, and Dieppe, Rouen 
 las a very considerable import and export 
 rade in its various industrial products, colonial 
 .nd foreign produce, corn, flour, wine, brandy, 
 ish, oil, salt provisions, hides, groceries, drugs, 
 aw cotton, hemp, wool, iron, slates, pitch and 
 ar, timber, &c. About 100 vessels, including 
 teamers, belong to the port. The annual 
 
1457 
 
 EOUGE. 
 
 KULEK, PARALLEL. 
 
 1458 
 
 value of exports from the city exceeds a 
 million sterling; the imports do not exceed 
 half the amount; this is exclusive of the 
 transit trade. Kouen is a special entrepot for 
 colonial and foreign produce, and has one of 
 the most important corn-markets in France. 
 
 The Kouen journals announce that a good- 
 sized brig, called the Athalie, has lately sailed 
 from that port for Constantinople, and that 
 another is ahout to follow. They add that it 
 is hoped that a regular service, by means of 
 sailing-vessels, will be established between 
 the two places, and that eventually steamers 
 will be employed; as the improvements re- 
 cently made in the bed of the river Seine now 
 enables steamers of large burthen to come up 
 to Eouen. Goods from Paris sent to the 
 Levant via Marseilles cost 130 fr. to 150 fr. 
 the ton, but from Eouen the expense will 
 rarely exceed 60 fr. 
 
 EOUGE. The rouge employed as a cos- 
 metic is made in the following way. Safflower 
 is washed in pure water, dried, reduced to 
 powder, and steeped in a weak solution of 
 soda, which thereby assumes a yellow colour, 
 Lemon juice is added ; a little cotton wool is 
 steeped in the liquid ; and in a short time the 
 yellow colouring matter becomes precipitated 
 upon the cotton. By a curious train of 
 subsequent processes, the yellow precipitate 
 assumes the delicate rose tint which cha- 
 racterises rouge. 
 
 The above is said to be the only rouge 
 which does not injure the skin ; but many 
 other kinds are occasionally employed. Eoitge 
 Indienne is the Indian or Persian red im- 
 ported from Ormuz. Liquid Rouge is the red 
 liquid left from the preparation of carmine. 
 Rouge de Prusse is burnt yellow ochre. Vert 
 Rouge d'Athencs is obtained from Safflower ; 
 but by a process different from that above 
 noticed. Spanish Lady's Rouge is cotton wool 
 repeatedly wetted with ammoniacal solution 
 of carmine, and dried. 
 
 EOXBUEGHSHIEE. This Scottish county, 
 though containing no large town, numbers 
 several in which manufactures are carried on. 
 At Haivick the manufactures are chiefly oi 
 woollen yarns, flannels, and other woollen 
 under- clothing, plaiding, shawls, tartans, drug- 
 gets, woollen- cloths of various descriptions 
 blankets, and lamb's-wool hosiery. At Jedburgh 
 similar manufactures are carried on ; and there 
 are quarries of red and white sandstone in the 
 parish. The manufactures of Kelso are not 
 important; they consist of leather, linens 
 stockings, hats, woollen cloth, and tobacco 
 The industry of the county, however, is mostlj 
 exhibited in grazing operations, the sheep 
 walks being numerous and extensive. 
 
 EUDDEE. The rudder of a ship is too 
 well known to require detailed description. 
 When it is in a right line with the keel, its 
 movement suffers no resistance from the water, 
 and the direction of the ship's motion is not 
 affected by it ; but when the rudder is forced 
 :o assume a position oblique to the keel, the 
 surface becomes subjected to a resistance 
 rom the water, which affects the position of 
 the stern of the vessel, and gives a new 
 direction to the keel, and to the vessel's move- 
 ment. Patents are occasionally taken out for 
 mprovements in the form or action of rudders ; 
 but there is a pretty general adherence to the 
 old kind of rudder. Some rudders are worked 
 by a tiller or lever; others by a wheel. 
 
 EUE. This useful plant is a native of the 
 south of Europe. Every part of it is marked 
 by transparent dots, filled with volatile oil. 
 The leaves and immature fruits are medicinal, 
 and owe their virtue to the volatile oil and a 
 bitter extractive. The odour is peculiar, strong, 
 and penetrating; the taste intensely bitter, 
 aromatic, aud stimulating. Eue possesses 
 powerful stimulant, antispasmodic, and tonic 
 properties. Eue is sometimes called Herb of 
 Grace, and in some parts of England, Ave 
 Grace. This name is said to have been given 
 to it on account of its use in exorcisms. In 
 company with rosemary it has been used from 
 time immemorial as an emblem of remem- 
 brance on account of its evergreen foliage. 
 
 EULEE, PAEALLEL. In its usual form, 
 this instrument consists of two rectangular 
 rulers connected by two cross-bars of equal 
 lengths, which move on pivots in the rulers 
 in such manner that the four pivots, two in 
 each ruler, shall be the four points of a 
 parallelogram. One ruler being held fixed, 
 and a line drawn with the edge of the other 
 ruler in any position, then any motion given 
 to the other ruler by the rotation of the cross- 
 bars gives, on the edge of the moving ruler, a 
 line parallel to the first line. To give the 
 instrument more extent, three rulers are 
 sometimes put together, each connected with 
 the next by cross-bars in such manner that 
 the cross-bars connecting the first and second 
 have an opposite revolution to those connect- 
 ing the second and third. 
 
 The rolling parallel ruler consists of an 
 ordinary ruler of rectangular form, both edges 
 of which are bevelled and divided into inches 
 and tenths, or otherwise. Two short rollers of 
 equal diameters, and connected by an axis of 
 nearly the same length as the ruler, are let 
 into perforations made in the latter, so that 
 when the instrument is moved perpendicularly 
 to its length on the paper, lines drawn along 
 either of its bevelled sides are parallel to one 
 
1459 
 
 RUM. 
 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 UCO 
 
 another. Perpendiculars to a given line are 
 drawn by adjusting the ruler so that any 
 division on a bevelled edge may travel on the 
 given line. 
 
 RUM. This well known spirit is distilled 
 from cane-juice, or the scummings of the 
 juice from the sugar-boiling-house, or from 
 treacle, or molasses, or from dander, the lees 
 of former distillations. As the entire juice of 
 the cane is not necessary for making rum, the 
 distillation is carried on hi conjunction with 
 the manufacture of sugar. The best rum is 
 made from the uncrystallised syrup called 
 molasses. [MOLASSES.] The proportion of 
 molasses made in crystallising a cwt. of sugar 
 varies from 50 to 90 gallons, and depends 
 both upon the climate and the season, being 
 lowest in the Leeward Islands, which have a 
 dry climate, and highest in Demerara and 
 Trinidad, and it is in the latter that in fine 
 seasons the proportion reaches 90 gallons per 
 cwt. Nearly one gallon of proof rum may be 
 made from one gallon of molasses. The best 
 rum is from Jamaica; the worst from the 
 Leeward Islands. The consumption of rum 
 in England is diminishing; its place being 
 filled by gin and British brandy. In the 
 finer qualities of Jamaica rum, slices of pine- 
 apple are put into the hogsheads; and the 
 liquor then obtains the name of pine apple 
 rum. 
 
 A few statistics relating to Rum will be 
 found under SPIRIT TRADE. 
 
 RUSH ; DUTCH RUSH. This material, 
 which is used to some small extent in the 
 arts, is the Equisetum kyemale. The stem is 
 very rough, with from fourteen to twenty 
 slender furrows. It is a native of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland, as well as the continent 
 of Europe; but is almost unknown in the 
 middle and southern English counties, and 
 is only sparingly distributed anywhere. It 
 appears to possess tannin, and to act as an 
 astringent. It is supposed to be injurious to 
 cows, and is said to cause their teeth to drop 
 out, but horses eat it with impunity. This 
 plant, more than any other species, is used for 
 the purposes of polishing. Lightfoot says, 
 that in Northumberland the milk-maids scour 
 their pails with it. It is also used for the 
 purposes of polishing wood, bone, ivory, and 
 various metals, particularly brass, and is 
 brought into this country from Holland, where 
 it grows abundantly, and is sold in the shops 
 of London under the name of Dutch Rush. 
 
 There are several other specimens of rush 
 or Equisetum, but none so usefully applied as 
 the species just noticed. 
 
 RUSHES. The well-known rushes of country 
 places belong to a different genus of plants 
 
 from the Dutch rush. They belong to the 
 Genus Juncus; of which one species, the 
 common soft rush, is to be found in most 
 moist pastures, by the sides of streams, and 
 under hedges. In some districts these rushes 
 are used by the poor as a substitute for candles. 
 They are gathered in summer and autumn ; 
 the largest and longest being deemed the 
 best. They are kept in water until they are 
 to be peeled ; which process consists in divest- 
 ing the rush of its peel or rind, so as to leave 
 one regular narrow rib from top to bottom, to 
 support the pith. The rushes are then bleached 
 on the dewy grass, and dried in the sun. 
 These rush-piths are finally dipped into any 
 kind of fat or grease, until they acquire a coat- 
 ing analogous to that of a candle. In the 
 bacon districts of Hampshire, hog's fat is em- 
 ployed for this purpose. When White wrote 
 his well-known Natural History of Selbourne, 
 he strongly recommended this feature in 
 domestic economy ; but it is possible that the ' 
 cheapening of candles has lessened the 
 relative advantage of the more primitive 
 system. 
 
 Rushes are, however, more ordinarily used 
 for plaiting into mats and chair-bottoms, and 
 for constructing small toy baskets. The wicks 
 of rushlights are made of the pith. 
 
 RUSSIA. This vast Empire ranks low in 
 respect to produce, manufactures, and com- 
 merce, relatively to the vast area which it 
 covers ; but still it cannot fail to be important 
 and even mighty when we consider at how 
 many points it comes into near approach to 
 fertile and prosperous lands. The 1,700,000 
 square miles of area in European Russia are 
 far richer and more populous than the 4,800,000 
 square miles in Asiatic and American Russia, 
 with the exception, perhaps, of the gold region 
 of Siberia. Its great rivers (Volga, Dwina, 
 Dniester, Don, &c.) place the heart of the 
 Empire in communication with the White, 
 the Black, the Caspian, and the Baltic seas ; 
 and as Russia is for the most part a level 
 country, the extent of navigable rivers is 
 most remarkable. The energetic Czars of the 
 Empire have striven to make these water 
 communications still more complete, by cutting 
 canals from river to river at certain points. 
 One such canal, for instance, connects tho 
 Volga with the Neva; another connects the 
 Volga with Lake Ladoga; a third connects 
 Lake Onega with the Neva; and a fourth con- 
 nects the Volga with the Moskwa. The result 
 las been that there is now continuous water 
 communication from the Baltic and White 
 seas in the North, to the Caspian and Blark 
 seas in the South ; and an immense extension 
 of mercantile traffic has taken place, by which 
 
1461 
 
 EUSSIA. 
 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 the corn produce of the empire is conveyed t 
 whichever sea will lead to the best market. 
 
 In respect to agricultural produce, Russi 
 produces much more grain than is require 
 for the home consumption ; and considerabl 
 quantities are exported, especially rye. Whea 
 is the principal object of agriculture in th 
 fertile tracts along the rivers in the southern 
 districts, but especially in the Ukraine. Barley 
 oats, millet, and maize, are all cultivated 
 Flax and hemp are more extensively grown 
 than perhaps in any other country in Europe 
 both the climate and the soil being very favour 
 able to their cultivation. Tobacco is much 
 cultivated in the Ukraine, whence it is ex 
 ported to the neighbouring countries. The 
 climate is not favourable to the cultivation ol 
 fruit-trees ; but in the most southern districts 
 there are peaches, apricots, quinces, mulberries 
 and walnuts ; and in the numerous and ex- 
 tensive orchards of the Crimea there are 
 also almonds and pomegranates. Grapes are 
 grown in a few spots. Potatoes, cabbages, 
 turnips, and carrots, are extensively grown; 
 and in some places cucumbers, pumpkins, 
 and radishes. Melons, asparagus, hops, and 
 liquorice, are among the vegetable produce. 
 
 The forests constitute one of the principal 
 sources of wealth to Russia; and their pro- 
 duce, consisting of timber, fire-wood, tar, 
 pitch, pearl-ash, and potash, is exported to a 
 large amount. About three-fourths of the 
 countries between 65 N. lat., and the course 
 of the Volga as far east as its great bend near 
 Casan, are covered with forests. In all these 
 countries only pine, fir, larch, alder, and birch 
 are found, with a few lime trees; ash -trees are 
 rare. From these countries is derived the 
 greatest part of the produce of the forests 
 which goes to foreign markets. The central 
 provinces have in most cases no more timber 
 than is required for their own use. West of 
 the Dnieper several extensive forests occur on 
 the banks of the Niemen and in the swamps 
 of Pinsk and Ratnor. South of the swamps 
 there are some forests of beech. The oak 
 forests of Casan, Nischnei-Novgorod, Pensa, 
 and Saratov, have engaged the attention of 
 government, on account of their great im- 
 portance for the navy. The southern provinces 
 of Russia are almost without trees. 
 
 Russia contains minerals in great abundance. 
 Gold is found chiefly in the Ural Mountains, 
 partly on the European side, but mostly on 
 the Siberian side. The produce in 1846 was 
 as follows : 
 
 Private Mining 1490 poods. 
 
 Public Mining 187 
 
 3677 poods. 
 
 The total quantity obtained in 1847 was 
 1779 poods. The produce in the ten years 
 1837-46 was 8,387 poods of fine gold, which 
 (at 36 Ibs. avoirdupois = 1 pood) amounts 
 to 366,931$ Ibs. troy, value nearly 19,000,000/. 
 The produce seems, however, to be gradually 
 diminishing; for the gold produce of 1848 
 was 1726 poods, and that of 1849 was 1587. 
 Platinum was discovered in the Ural in 1823, 
 and has been worked ever since ; the produce 
 in 1848 was 213 poods = 7668 Ibs. Silver is 
 met with only in the Asiatic governments. 
 The quantity obtained in 1847 was 1190 poods. 
 Copper and iron are extensively worked in 
 the Ural, and in other places. Mercury, 
 arsenic, nickel, cobalt, antimony, and bismuth, 
 are met with, but are not much worked. Salt 
 s found in various lakes, and a salt formation 
 extends along the western declivity of the 
 Ural Mountains, to the source of the Kama, 
 and thence westward on both sides of the 
 Jwalli. In all these districts salt is made 
 rom the salt -springs, which are numerous. 
 Coal exists in a few places, but not in large 
 [uantities. Other minerals are not much 
 worked, with the exception of marble and 
 granite. 
 
 The manufactures of Russia commenced, as 
 n other countries, with the beginning of its 
 olitical importance, but have been chiefly 
 ndebted for then* encouragement and progress 
 o the efforts of the government. The czars 
 van I. and II., who in the 15th and 16th 
 enturies had restored Russia to independence, 
 nvited artisans and workmen from Germany, 
 
 Netherlands, and Italy, and established at 
 VEoscow, Yaroslaw, Smolensk, and Kiev manu- 
 actures of woollen cloth, linen, arms, &c. But 
 le civil wars before the accession of the 
 ouse of Romanoff, and the interference of 
 weden and Poland, which led to the deso- 
 ation of the country, checked the infant 
 nanufactures, so that in fact nothing was done 
 11 the reign of Peter the Great, who in this, 
 s in many other respects, was the founder of 
 le prosperity of Russia. 
 During the reign of the present Emperor 
 le manufactures of Russia have increased 
 
 a remarkable extent. Smelting works, 
 ngineering works, cotton factories, woollen 
 actories, tallow-melting works, tanneries, soap 
 actories all have increased most rapidly. 
 The central part of the empire is the chief 
 leatre of manufacturing industry. Moscow 
 as become the focus of it; in the lesser towns 
 f the government of which it is the capital, 
 
 number of manufactories continues to in- 
 rease. Next to Moscow, in industry, are the 
 overnments of Vladimir, Nischnei-Novgorod, 
 aratov, and St. Petersburg. 
 
1403 
 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 EYE 
 
 1404 
 
 The inland trade is carried on in a very 
 great measure by means of annual fairs, the 
 most remarkable of which is that of Nischnei- 
 Novgorod. [FATRS.] The number of these 
 great commercial fairs is somewhat over 
 twenty; but there is a still larger number of 
 minor fairs and markets. The inland trade, 
 as before remarked, is greatly promoted by the 
 extensive system of inland navigation. The 
 vessels which have arrived from the interior 
 at the ports of Archangel, St. Petersburg, and 
 Riga, have frequently amounted in the year 
 from 2,500 to 3,500 barks. Goods destined 
 for Odessa from the interior are carried down 
 the Dniester or the Dnieper, and from the 
 mouths of those rivers to Odessa by coasting 
 vessels. Kherson, Astrakhan, Taganrog, Nak- 
 hitschevan, and Rostow, are the other chief 
 ports. 
 
 The ships which enter and clear at the 
 various Russian ports annually have an average 
 tonnage of about 2,000,000 tons; of which 
 those to and from Great Britain amount 
 generally to nearly one half. The British trade 
 at Russian ports in 1848 involved the use of 
 Inwards, 2,562 vessels ; outwards, 1,916 
 vessels ; together 969,572 tonnage, 41,61 3 men. 
 The declared value of the British and Irish pro- 
 duce and manufactures transmitted to Russia 
 in 1847 was 1,844,543/.; the following were 
 the chief items : Coals, 108,378 tons ; woven 
 cottons, 1,541,112 yards ; cotton twist and 
 yarn, 12,853,754 Ibs.; earthenware, 345,421 
 pieces; hardware and cutlery, 7,676 cwts.; iron 
 and steel goods, 15,732 tons; lead and shot, 
 1,764 tons ; machinery and mill- work, 226,636/.; 
 salt, 2,318,584 bushels; tin, 6,268 cwts.; 
 woollens and worsteds, 57,720Z.; ditto yarn, 
 1,727,850 Ibs., = 189,014J. The value in 1849 
 was somewhat lower. The nature of the trade 
 between Russia and Great Britain is indicated 
 by the chief exports from the former to the 
 latter in 1847, namely Bristles, 1,278,570 
 Ibs.; corn, 2,000,000 quarters; flax and tow, 
 681,167 cwts.; hemp, 542,857 cwts. ; linseed, 
 853,900 quarters; tallow, 939,946 cwts; tar, 
 9,656 casks; timber, 220,000 loads; wool, 
 2,949,776 Ibs. 
 
 The St. Petersburgh and Moscow Railway 
 exhibits some remarkable commercial features. 
 It was at first intended to order all the 
 locomotives and machinery from England, as 
 being the cheapest in the end ; but an enter- 
 prizing American firm made such offers as 
 induced the Emperor to enter into a contract 
 with them. They were to have the use of 
 certain machine works at Alexandroffsky, 
 which were to be adapted for their purposes ; 
 they were to employ their own hands, on their 
 own terms ; but they were also to employ 500 
 
 serfs belonging to the Alexandroffsky Estate* 
 whose services were to be paid for at a certain 
 stipulated rate: they were to construct, at 
 those works, 200 locomotives, 5,800 trucks, 70 
 passenger carriages, and other rolling stock, 
 for which they were to be paid at stipulated 
 prices; they had the privilege of importing 
 coal and iron duty free ; and they were to be 
 paid once a month till all the works were 
 finished. The whole was finished long be- 
 fore the railway itself was finished; and the 
 Emperor expressed his satisfaction by a dis- 
 tribution of some of those orders and medals 
 which form such a remarkable feature in the 
 imperial proceedings. The Alexandroffsky 
 works covered 160 acres, and at some periods 
 employed nearly 3,000 persons nearly all of 
 whom were semi-serfs, who worked well if well 
 directed. At the same establishment steam- 
 engines have been made for the Siberian 
 mines. 
 
 It is fitting that Russia should shew, at tho 
 World's Exhibition, to what point her pro- 
 ducing and manufacturing skill has now 
 attained. 
 
 RUST, in the common acceptation of the 
 term, is the red pulverulent substance which 
 is formed on the surface of iron when exposed 
 to air and moisture. It is an oxide of iron. 
 
 RUSTICATED WORK, in Architecture, is 
 a species of decoration for walls, wherein the 
 joints between the courses, and between the 
 separate stones in each course, are strongly 
 defined by sunk channels or grooves. Rusti- 
 cation gives an appearance of solidity to the 
 surface, and was frequently employed by the 
 Romans. Italian architecture presents many 
 examples of rusticated work, and there are 
 several specimens among the public buildings 
 of London. 
 
 RYE. This valuable plant bears naked 
 seeds on a flat ear furnished with awns like 
 barley. The straw is solid, the internal part 
 being filled with a pith, which makes it valu- 
 able for litter, and still more so for thatching. 
 The value of the straw is often nearly equal 
 to that of the grain. Rye grows on poor light 
 soils which are altogether unfit for wheat. It 
 was formerly raised in considerable quantities 
 in England, either alone or mixed with wheat, 
 and was then called Meslin, from the old 
 French word mcsle, which means mixed. The 
 meslin when ground produced a very whole 
 some and palatable household bread. Rye is 
 at present raised in very small quantities in 
 England. 
 
 In England rye is mostly sown as a green 
 crop, and when fed off early in spring with 
 sheep, the land is invigorated, and will bear 
 excellent potatoes or turnips the same year. 
 
U65 
 
 SACBUT. 
 
 The preparation of the land for rye is the 
 same as for wheat, except that in very light 
 soils no more ploughings are required than 
 will clear the ground of weeds. If rye is 
 sown after harvest, one ploughing only is 
 usually given. It will thrive upon rich wheat 
 soils, as well as upon lighter, and, as it throws 
 out numerous stems in rich land, it is the 
 more profitable as fodder, although the crop 
 
 SAFFLOWER. 
 
 1466 
 
 of grain might not he so ahundant when the 
 plants are too much crowded. 
 
 The Eye and Eye-Meal imported in the 
 last three years amounted to the following 
 quantities : 
 
 Rye. Rye-Meal. 
 
 1848 62,635 qrs. 35,984 cwts. 
 
 1849 240,556 18,468 
 
 1850 94,078 966 
 
 S 
 
 SACBUT, is the name which was formerly 
 given in England to the TROMBONE. 
 
 SACCHAEOMETEE, is an instrument 
 used principally in the operations of brewing 
 and making sugar. It serves to indicate the 
 density of the liquid extracted from malt, or 
 the degree to which the juice expressed from 
 the sugar-cane is concentrated previously to 
 undergoing the process of crystallisation; in 
 other words it is a measurer of the sweetness 
 of, or the amount of saccharine matter con- 
 tained in, a liquid. 
 
 The saccharometer which is most commonly 
 employed is made of copper, and differs in 
 form from the hydrometer in common use 
 only in its stem, which is six inches long, 
 having four equal faces, each less than a 
 quarter of an inch in breadth. Three of these 
 faces are graduated, and the volume and 
 weight of the whole are such that when the 
 instrument is immersed in water it sinks till 
 the top of the stem is but little above the 
 surface. The line at which the surface of the 
 water cuts the stem is marked as the zero of 
 the scale ; and the graduations are such that, 
 when the instrument is immersed and floats 
 upright in a vessel containing the saccharine 
 matter, the number of the division at the 
 surface expresses the density of the liquid by 
 the number of pounds avoirdupois which 
 ought to be added to the weight of a barrel of 
 water, in order to show the weight of an equal 
 volume of the liquid. 
 
 For the general purpose of determining the 
 specific gravity of fluids, on the principle of 
 the hydrometer and saccharometer, the best 
 instrument is one which consists of a glass 
 cylinder about seven inches long and three- 
 quarters of an inch in diameter. It has at its 
 lower extremity a stirrup, carrying a small 
 cup in the form of an inverted cone, and its 
 opposite part is drawn out so as to form a 
 slender stem or tube, which is terminated at 
 the upper extremity by a small cup. About 
 
 the middle of the stem a mark is made, and, 
 in order that the instrument may be enabled 
 to float vertically in a vessel containing the 
 liquid whose specific gravity is to be determined, 
 a constant weight, which may be a ball of glass 
 containing mercury, is placed in the lower cup. 
 
 SACK, is a Spanish wine of the dry kind ; 
 in French, Tin sec ; and in some old English 
 works it is called seek. There is a general 
 opinion that sack was the same wine which is 
 now named Sherry. 
 
 SAFETY LAMP. [LAMP, SAFETY.] 
 
 SAFFLOWEE, or Bastard Saffron, is ob- 
 tained from the Carthamm tinctorius. This 
 plant has been cultivated in eastern countries 
 from the earliest times, both on account of the 
 oil expressed from its seed and for the colour- 
 ing matter procurable from its flowers, which 
 in their dry state form the Safliower of com- 
 merce. It is largely used to adulterate saffron. 
 The oil of the seeds of Carthamus was valued 
 by the ancients as a laxative medicine, and is 
 still employed by the Asiatics for the same 
 purpose, as well as for external application. 
 It is most extensively used as a lamp-oil. The 
 plant is however chiefly cultivated on account 
 of its flowers, not only in China, India, and 
 Egypt, but also in the south of Europe. The 
 Safflower brought from China is the most 
 valued, and fetches a much higher price than 
 that from Bengal. The quantity imported 
 into Great Britain in 1847 was 1,128 cwts. 
 
 SAFFEON consists of the dried stigmas of 
 the Crocus sativus, a plant native of Greece 
 and Asia Minor, but extensively cultivated in 
 Austria, France, Spain, and also formerly in 
 England. The Sicilian saffron is said to be 
 the produce of the Crocus odonts, but both in 
 ancient and modern times this sort has been 
 little esteemed. England is chiefly supplied 
 from France and Spain ; that of Spain being 
 preferred. In Germany however Spanish 
 saffron is not in such repute as the Austrian, 
 great pains being taken in the cultivation of 
 
U67 
 
 SAGAPE'NUM 
 
 the plant in that country. When the flowers 
 expand, and are thoroughly open under the 
 influence of the sun, the stigmas, of which 
 there are three, are plucked out, a portion of 
 one style remaining attached to them, and 
 spread upon paper, to he dried either by means 
 of portable kilns over which a hair-cloth or 
 fine sieve is stretched, or in a room by the 
 sun. The stigmas have a penetrating, aro- 
 matic, and, when in large quantity, stupifying 
 odour, and a bitter aromatic taste ; by masti- 
 cation the mouth and saliva are rendered 
 yellow. By long internal use of them many 
 of the secretions acquire a yellow colour. 
 According to Mr. Pereira, one grain of good 
 saffron contains the stigmata and styles of 
 nine flowers ; hence 4320 flowers are required 
 to yield one ounce of saffron. Saffron was 
 formerly met with in two forms, Hay Saffron 
 and Cake Saffron ; the former is now alone in 
 demand, the latter being entirely an artificial 
 compound of the florets of the safflower, gum, 
 and some other materials. About 10,000 Ibs. 
 of saffron were imported from France in 1 847. 
 SAGAPE'NUM, is a medicinal substance 
 yielded by Ferula Persica, which grows in 
 Persia and other regions of the East. It is 
 procured in the same way as assafoetida. It 
 
 SAILS ; SAIL MAKING. 1468 
 
 mixed with water, and beaten with a piece of 
 wood ; the fibres, being then separated from 
 the pulp, float at the top, and the flour sub- 
 sides. After being cleared in this manner 
 by several waters, the pulp is put into cylin- 
 drical baskets made of the leaves of the tree ; 
 and, if it is to be kept some time, those 
 baskets are generally sunk in fresh water to 
 keep it moist, for the pulp will keep long if 
 preserved from the air, but if exposed it 
 presently turns sour. 
 
 The quantity yielded by one tree is prodi- 
 gious. Five or six hundred pounds are not 
 an unusual produce for one tree ; and as tho 
 vegetation still remains after being felled, a 
 stem again springs up, which goes through the 
 different stages of growth till it is fit for the axe. 
 
 The flour or powder is rarely imported, 
 granulated sago being the state in which it is 
 commonly brought to Europe. To bring it 
 into this state from the flour, it must be 
 moistened and passed through a sieve into 
 an iron pot (very shallow) held over a fire, 
 which enables it to assume a globular form. 
 Thus all our grained sago is half baked, and 
 will keep long. Of this granulated sago there 
 are two varieties, the common or broivn sago, 
 and pearl sago. The latter is in small hard 
 
 occurs either in tears or irregular masses, of horny or semi-transparent grains, about the 
 a dirty brownish colour, containing in the | size of a pin's head ; the former are in larger 
 - yellowish grains. It is grains, about the size of the grains of pearl 
 barley. Both are inodorous, and with an in- 
 
 interior white or yellowish grains. It is 
 difficult to break (unless when very old), is 
 tenacious, and not easily powdered, except in 
 winter. It has a similar odour to assafoetida, 
 but less powerful, with a nauseously bitter 
 and acrid taste. It consists chiefly of resin, 
 gum, and volatile oil. Its action on the 
 human system is the same as that of assafoa- 
 tida and other fetid gum-resins. 
 
 SAGO. This word signifies, in the lan- 
 guage of the Papuas, bread, since it constitutes 
 the staple article of food of the inhabitants 
 of the Eastern Archipelago and other parts 
 where the plants which yield it grow. It is 
 not a seed, but the farina from the stem of 
 several palms and palm-like vegetables. Sago 
 is a variety of starch, prepared by the plant 
 for the use of the flowers and fruit, and is 
 most abundant just before the evolution or 
 appearance of the flower-bud, which is known 
 by a whitish dust transuding through and 
 covering the leaves. At this time the stem 
 is cut down near the base, and then divided 
 into pieces of five or six feet in length. A 
 part of the outer hard wood is then sliced off, 
 and the workman, coming to the pith, cuts 
 across the longitudinal fibres and the pith 
 together, leaving a part at each end uncut, so 
 that when it is excavated there remains a 
 trough, into which the pulp is again put, 
 
 sipid taste. They swell in cold water, and 
 are almost entirely soluble in boiling 
 water, so as to form a thick starch -like solu- 
 tion, which may be used as a pudding, or 
 prepared in other ways as an article of diet 
 for children and invalids, if a farinaceous 
 diet is required. 65,000 cwts. of sago were 
 imported in .1848. 
 
 SAILS; SAIL MAKING. The principal 
 sails of large vessels can be placed at right 
 angles to the direction of the keel of the ship, 
 and this position is given to them when the 
 vessel goes before the wind ; in other cases 
 the same sails may, by means of the braces, 
 be placed obliquely to the keel. The sails 
 which are attached to the ship's stays, and 
 the sails of boats or small vessels, are when 
 supine in a vertical plane passing through 
 the keel ; a certain degree of obliquity to that 
 plane may, however, be given to them at their 
 lower extremities, if necessary. 
 
 When a vessel is in still water, the pressure 
 of the wind against the sails overcomes its 
 inertia, and motion takes place in some direc- 
 tion. The motion goes on increasing by tho 
 accelcrative power of the wind, as the motion 
 of a descending body is accelerated by the 
 force of gravity ; but at the end of a certain 
 
1409 SAILS ; SAIL MAKING. 
 
 time the resistance in an opposite direction, 
 both of the air against the sails and hull of 
 the ship, and of the water against the latter, 
 becoming equal to the accelerative power of 
 the wind, the ship acquires a terminal or 
 uniform velocity, and in this state (neglecting 
 the resistance of the air) there may he said 
 to he an equilibrium between the pressure of 
 the wind against the sails and of the water 
 against the vessel. 
 
 The management of a sail in a ship be- 
 longs to seamanship ; but the manufacture of 
 the sail itself is simply an industrial employ- 
 ment. The canvas used for sails is a very 
 stout material, woven in England or Scotland 
 from Russian hemp, and purchased in the 
 form of rolls called bolts, each bolt containing 
 about 40 yards of canvas 24 inches wide. 
 There are six or seven different qualities of 
 this canvas, according to the size and position 
 of the sail to be made ; and each quality has 
 a particular number attached to it, and must 
 have a certain weight per square foot. Thus, in 
 the Royal Navy, a bolt of No. 1 canvas, contain- 
 ing 38 yards, must weigh 44 Ibs. jwhereas No. 7 
 weighs only about half as much : the inter- 
 mediate numbers having intermediate weights. 
 
 As the canvas is only two feet wide, many 
 breadths are required to form a large sail. 
 The mainsail of an East Indiaman contains 
 nearly 700 yards of canvas : while the whole 
 suit of sails for such a ship requires as much 
 as 9000 yards. As the sails vary much in 
 shape, considerable tact is required in cutting 
 up the canvas so as to avoid waste. The art 
 of the sail maker consists not only in seaming 
 up the numerous breadths, so as to give the 
 requisite dimensions to the sail, but also in 
 strengthening the sail by sewing rope to its 
 edges. The seaming and sewing are effected 
 with large three-sided needles, of seven or 
 eight different kinds, which are threaded with 
 sewing twine having from 200 to 400 fathoms 
 to the Ib. The skeins of twine previous to 
 being used are dipped into a trough, contain- 
 ing melted tar, grease, and oil, which is after- 
 wards dried. The sail-maker has a thumb - 
 stall and a palm-thimble, for protecting his 
 right hand. His stitches have a regulated 
 degree of closeness, on which his rate of pay- 
 ment in part depends ; there are usually about 
 100 stitches in a yard. The overlapping of 
 the breadths is an inch or an inch and a half. 
 Besides the seaming, 'sun dry small pieces of 
 canvas are stitched to the -sail to strengthen 
 it in various directions ; and the edge rope or 
 bolt rope is sewn on with great firmness. So 
 skilfully is the canvas marked out and cut up 
 by a master sail-maker, that in the 9000 yards 
 fis* the forty sails of a large ship, there will not 
 
 SALINOMETEB. 
 
 1470 
 
 be more than three or four yards actually 
 wasted. 
 
 The Storm Sails patented in 1844 by Mr. 
 Archibald Trail are made in the usual man- 
 ner, but are subsequently strengthened by 
 sewing to their surface a number of canvas 
 bands about an inch broad, with cords woven 
 in them, such bands being secured at their 
 ends into the bolt-ropes, or cords forming the 
 boundaries of the sail, and carried diagonally 
 across the surface of the sail at an angle of 
 45 with the seams, and at a distance of about 
 three feet from each other. Two sets of 
 bands are used, crossing the sail in opposite 
 directions, one set being attached on each 
 side of the canvas. By this simple contrivance 
 the strain is so equalised as to render tearing 
 less probable than with an ordinary sail ; 
 while, if any injury be inflicted, the rent is 
 confined within the narrow limits of one of 
 the diamond-shaped compartments into which 
 the sail is divided by the protecting bands. 
 
 SAL AMMONIAC. [AMMONIA.] 
 
 SALEP, Salap, or Saloop, is a nutritious 
 article of diet, much valued in the East for 
 its supposed general stimulant properties, but 
 which is justly esteemed bland and nutritious, 
 and well suited to children and convalescents. 
 Salep consists of the tubers of different species 
 of Orchidea, which have been known in medi- 
 cine from very early times by the name 
 Orchis. All these plants have two tubers, 
 charged with nutritious matter, and while one 
 is nourishing the flower-stem and seeds of 
 the current year, by which it is robbed of its 
 store, the other serves as a reservoir for th 
 flower-stern of the succeeding year. This last 
 alone is fit for use. Both are dug up to- 
 gether, but the solid one only is retained. 
 It is dipped in warm water, after which the 
 fine brown skin is easily removed by means 
 of a coarse cloth or brush. The tubers, being 
 thus cleaned and peeled, are to be arranged 
 on a tin plate, and then placed within an oven 
 heated to the same degree as is necessary for 
 baking bread ; here they are to remain for 
 seven or ten minutes, in which time they will 
 exchange their opaque and milky whiteness 
 for a semi-transparent horn-like appearance, 
 and a yellowish colour, retaining their original 
 bulk. Being then withdrawn from the oven, 
 they are exposed during some days to dry and 
 harden in the air ; or by the employment of a 
 very gentle heat, they may be brought to th 
 same state in the course of a few hours : all 
 that is then required to adapt the salep for 
 food is to boil it in water (or milk) to the 
 required consistency. 
 
 SALINOMETER. An instrument has 
 been patented by Mr. How under this name, 
 
1471 
 
 SALMON FISHERY. 
 
 for measuring the degree of saltness in the 
 water contained in the boilers of marine 
 steam engines. When this saltness gets be- 
 yond a certain limit, it impedes the proper 
 action of the boiler, and the salt water re- 
 quires to be removed. Mr. How's apparatus 
 consists of a small cylinder, open at the top, 
 and having a stop-cock at the bottom. By 
 means of this stop-cock water from the boiler 
 can be admitted into the cylinder. An instru- 
 ment on the principle of the hydrometer and 
 saccharometer, but adapted to this especial 
 purpose, is immersed in the saline water; 
 and the degree to which its graduated stem 
 will sink suffices to measure the saltness. 
 
 SALMON FISHERY AND TRADE. A 
 few commercial statistics concerning salmon 
 will be found under FISHERIES ; and we will 
 here append one or two more. 
 
 The London market receives its supply of 
 salmon chiefly from Scotland three-fourths 
 from the river Tay. The Tay salmon sold at 
 Billingsgate in recent years has been about 
 15,000/. annual value. A small quantity of 
 Irish salmon reaches Billingsgate from Li- 
 merick and Cork ; and a much smaller quan- 
 tity of Severn and Wye salmon. A small 
 quantity is also brought over from Holland. 
 There seem to be indications that the salmon 
 fisheries generally are declining, and the sup- 
 ply less than it was formerly owing, as some 
 persons think, to a somewhat reckless mode 
 of fishing, by which the fish are not allowed 
 time to arrive at maturity. Salmon is brought 
 to Billingsgate in boxes. Of late years there 
 have been sold annually at Billingsgate about 
 30,000 boxes, each containing seven salmon ; 
 or about 200,000 salmon. This is inde- 
 pendent of the pickled salmon, brought to 
 London in kits. 
 
 SALT; SALT TRADE. The chemical 
 nature of this invaluable substance is noticed 
 under SODIUM. We will here speak of its 
 extraction and trade. 
 
 The principal part of the salt of England 
 is made in the valley of the Weaver in Cheshire. 
 When the salt duty was repealed in 1824, 
 there were 75 works where salt was raised in 
 a fossil state : 34 were at Northwich, 26 at 
 Winsford, 3 at Middlewich, and 2 at Nantwich, 
 all in Cheshire ; 2 were at Shirley Wich in 
 Staffordshire ; 6 at Droitwich in Gloucester- 
 shire ; and 2 in Durham. There were at the 
 same time 35 works at which salt was made 
 by evaporation from sea-water, 29 of which 
 were in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. 
 In Scotland, at the same time, there were 15 
 saltworks, and in all of them salt was made 
 from sea water. At Droitwich alone 260,000 
 tons of salt are made annually from the brine 
 
 SALT; SALT TRADE. 
 
 springs of that town. A singular feud has 
 recently existed in the town, owing to attempts 
 made to prevent the brine from flowing to 
 certain salt works. Nearly the whole of the 
 salt exported is made in Cheshire, and is sent 
 down the river Weaver, which communicates 
 with the Mersey, to Liverpool. The Stafford- 
 shire rock-salt is chiefly exported from Hull, 
 and that of Gloucestershire from the port of 
 Gloucester. 
 
 The rock-salt of Cheshire was first dis- 
 covered near Northwich, while searching for 
 coal. It is found from 28 to 48 yards be- 
 neath the surface ; the first stratum is from 
 15 to 25 yards in thickness, extremely solid 
 and hard, and resembling brown sugar candy. 
 Many tons at a time are loosened by blasting 
 with gunpowder. Beneath this comes a stra- 
 tum of hard stone, 25 to 35 yards in thickness ; 
 and then is encountered a bed of perfectly 
 white and pure salt, 40 yards thick. There 
 are also brine springs, which appear to have 
 been formed by springs flowing over the beds 
 of rock-salt, and becoming saturated with the 
 saline particles ; this brine is pumped up to 
 the surface. The brine springs are from 20 
 to 40 yards in depth. The English table salt 
 is almost entirely produced by evaporating 
 this brine ; but a considerable portion of that 
 which is exported is rock salt. The evapora- 
 tion was in former times effected by the heat 
 of the sun, but artificial heat is now employed. 
 So far as observation has yet gone, the English 
 supply is practically inexhaustible : no limit 
 is known to the extent of the beds or the 
 springs ; and it ought to be regarded as one 
 of the blessings which we owe to the mineral 
 wealth of our country that the beautiful table 
 salt of England may be obtained at such an 
 extremely low price as that now charged for 
 it. One specimen of Northwich rock salt, 
 weighing two tons, has been forwarded to 
 the Great Exhibition. 
 
 About 70,000 tons of Cheshire salt are 
 annually used by the alkali makers on the 
 banks of the Tyne. It used to be conveyed 
 round the Land's End and the south coast by 
 ships ; but it is now sent by canal and river 
 to Liverpool, from thence to Maryport by sea, 
 and from thence to Newcastle- by railway. 
 
 A duty of 10s. per bushel was laid on salt 
 in 1798, which in 1805 was increased to 15s. 
 In 1823 this duty was reduced to 2s. ; and 
 in 1825 was wholly repealed. Salt used in 
 the fisheries, in bleaching, or in agriculture, 
 was nearly duty-free. The salt exported in 
 1849 amounted to 18,539,865 bushels. 
 
 The British government in India monopo- 
 lises both the manufacture and sale of salt. 
 In the ten years 1836-45, tho net receipts 
 
1473 
 
 SALTPETRE. 
 
 SAND ABAC. 
 
 1474 
 
 from this monopoly of home salt, and duty 
 on imported salt, varied from 989,3897. to 
 1,707,287/. annually. It is believed that a 
 moderate duty on British salt would yield as 
 large a revenue in the course of a few years, 
 if the monopoly were abolished, while com- 
 merce would he benefitted by the interchange 
 of East India sugar and other native commo- 
 dities for British salt; smuggling in salt, 
 which is extensively carried on, would cease ; 
 and in place of arbitrary and harsh restric- 
 tions, the consumer would obtain a better 
 article at a cheaper rate. 
 
 SALTPETRE. The chemical nature of 
 this valuable substance is explained under 
 POTASSIUM. About 14,000 tons of saltpetre 
 were imported in 1850. 
 
 SALTS. The term Salt, originally re- 
 stricted in its application to common salt, 
 which it still means when used merely by 
 itself, is now applied to a vast number of sub- 
 stances which have in many cases few proper- 
 ties in common. Common salt is the princi- 
 pal of a class composed of a metal and such 
 bodies as chlorine, iodine, bromine, and fluo- 
 rine, and the radicals of the hydracids. It 
 was formerly believed that common salt was 
 a compound of muriatic acid and of soda; 
 and hence it was very commonly called mu- 
 riate of soda. But it has been shown by 
 Davy that salt is really chloride of sodium. 
 The Oxy-Salts form another numerous and 
 important class of compounds : these are 
 formed when an oxacid is made to combine 
 with an oxidised base ; as, for example, when 
 sulphuric acid unites with soda, the result 
 being sulphate of soda. The sulphate of pot- 
 ash, lime, magnesia, &c., are similarly con- 
 stituted. 
 
 In general properties the various classes 
 of salts, and indeed the individuals of the 
 same class, differ as widely as possible ; some 
 are crystallisable, others un cry stallis able ; 
 they are colourless, and of various colours ; 
 sapid and insipid; soluble and insoluble in 
 water, alcohol, and other menstrua; volatile 
 and fixed in the fire ; decomposeable or un- 
 decomposeable by the same re-agent. 
 
 SALVADOR, SAN, or BAHIA, formerly 
 the capital of Brazil, is still one of the greatest 
 commercial ports of that empire. The bay 
 presents a capacious basin with several islands 
 and harbours, a depth of water varying from 
 8 to 40 fathoms, and ample room and shelter 
 for all the fleets in the world. Three roads 
 lead from Bahia to the interior of Brazil, by 
 which the foreign goods reach the places of 
 consumption, and the produce of the country 
 is brought to market. The exports consist of 
 sugar, cotton, coffee, tobacco, cigars, rice, rum, 
 
 molasses, tallow, hides, horns, cocoa-nuts, 
 fancy woods, bullion, &c. For the year end- 
 ing September 30, 1849, Bahia exported 
 62,000 cases and 9925 bags of sugar; 19,500 
 bales of cotton ; 20,238 bags of coffee ; 82,866 
 hides ; 9554 pipes of rum ; and 10,901 bales 
 of tobacco. The imports consist of different 
 kinds of cotton fabrics, woollen stuffs and 
 cloth, linen, iron and tin ware, provisions, 
 flour, salt, fish, soap, wines, codfish, leather, 
 furniture, &c. 
 
 SAMPHIRE, is a herb in much request 
 in some parts of the country as a salad and 
 pickle. The true samphire is the Crithmum 
 maritimum, a plant belonging to the natural 
 order Umbellifera:. It grows on rocks by the 
 sea-side. The species of Salicornia are often 
 called samphire, and are used in the same 
 manner, but they are very much inferior to 
 the Crithmum as an article of diet. 
 
 SANDAL WOOD. This wood, yielded by 
 one or more species of Santalum, is well 
 known both in commerce and the arts as a 
 fragrant-smelling wood. It is used as incense, 
 and is also employed in the manufacture of 
 necklaces, fans, elegant boxes, and cabinets. 
 There are three kinds known, the white, the 
 yellow, and the red. The last is the Sanders' 
 wood (as it is often called) of commerce, 
 which is used only as a dye wood and as a 
 slight astringent in medicine. The white 
 sandal tree, when felled, is barked, cut into 
 billets, and buried in a dry place ; the deeper 
 the colour and the nearer the root, the more 
 fragrant it is. As seen in commerce it is in 
 compact pieces of a white colour and agree- 
 able odour, but with little taste. The Chinese 
 manufacture various articles with the yellow 
 sandal wood, which is the most fragrant; they 
 also burn it in their temples and private 
 houses as an incense, and especially in the 
 form of long slender candles, which are 
 formed by covering the ends of sticks with 
 the sawdust of sandal wood mixed with rice 
 paste. 
 
 About 200 tons of sandal wood are annually 
 imported into Calcutta from the Malabar 
 coast, and about twice as much into Canton 
 from the islands of the Indian Archipelago. 
 The red sandal or sanders wood is imported 
 in large billets, which, when fresh, are of a 
 brilliant red colour, but which gradually 
 deepens by exposure to air; it takes a very 
 fine polish, and somewhat resembles Brazil 
 wood. 
 
 SANDARAC. Although usually called a 
 gum, sandarac does not possess the requisite 
 characteristics; it consists of a mixture of 
 two different kinds of resin and a little volatile 
 oil. It exudes spontaneously from the bark 
 
1475 
 
 SANDIVER. 
 
 SAPINDUS. 
 
 of certain large trees which grow in Morocco ; I The chief industrial product is iron, in the 
 it concretes in irregular drops or masses on various forms of pig, bar, sheet, tin plates, 
 the surface, of a yellowish colour, and semi- steel, wire, or articles of ironmongery. This 
 transparent. A powder forms on the surface, manufacture is carried on in about 60 forges, 
 which constitutes pounce. The sandarac easily furnaces, and foundries. The other indus- 
 melts and ignites, and emits a somewhat trial establishments include glass-works, pot- 
 powerful odour. It is used for the preparation teries and brickfields, distilleries, tan-yards, 
 of Tarnishes ; also occasionally for incense or cotton mills, paper-mills, dyehouses, oil mills, 
 pastiles, plasters, and ointments. Sandarac &c. Straw and felt hats, hosiery, drugget, 
 is sometimes used to adulterate mastic; and and hempen cloth are also made; and there 
 it is itself occasionally adulterated with a is good trade in corn, flour, hay, timber, oak 
 cheaper substance. staves, deals, butter, cheese, salt and cattle. 
 
 SANDIVEE. This name is given to the There is one remarkable establishment in 
 saline scum that swims on molten glass when this department which deserves notice. It is 
 the ingredients first combine into a homo- the corn mill belonging to M. Tramoy, at 
 geneous mass. It is called by the French Gray. This mill, which is of elegant con- 
 sel de verre, or glass salt. It is occasionally I struction, and the finest establishment of the 
 used as a tooth powder. kind in France, is driven by a current drawn 
 
 SAONE. The river Saone in France gives from the Saone. It contains eleven water 
 name to two departments, each of which pre- wheels, which drive eleven pairs of stones and 
 sonts a few interesting features connected a saw mill ; and by ingenious mechanical 
 with industry. contrivances, all the various processes in the 
 
 In Sa6ne-et-Loire about 18,000,000 gallons grinding, sifting, and lifting of the greater 
 of wine are made annually; the best kinds are part of the surplus corn of five adjacent de- 
 those grown near Komaneche in the arron- partments ground in this vast establishment, 
 clissement of Macon, near which there is also are performed with the help of only fifteen 
 the richest manganese mine in France. The workmen. The flour from these mills enters 
 department contains one of the richest coal largely into the supply of Lyon and Marseille, 
 fields in France. Fifteen mines are worked ; whither it is conveyed by barges down the 
 and in their neighbourhood are numerous Saone and Rhone. 
 
 iron works, the ore used in which is partly SAPAN-WOOD. This dye-wood is yielded 
 mined in this district, but most of it is the by a species of Ccesalpinia, which grows in 
 produce of distant mines. At Creuzot, where India and the Indian Archipelago. The wood 
 iron and coal mines are worked, is one of the has been used as a dye-wood from very early 
 most important iron works in France, and times in India, and is described as a medicine 
 great foundries in which cannon, anchors, in Persian works. It found its way into 
 steam machinery, mill castings, &c., are manu- Europe some time before the discovery of 
 factured. There are large forests of oak, elm, America, and it still continues to be imported, 
 beech, and fir, in the Morvan and Cevennes Its colouring matter diifers little from that 
 ranges, and in several other districts; in the of Brazil Wood; but the best Sapan Wood 
 eastern division of the department the forests does not yield more than half the quantity 
 contain also maple and poplar. To the in- that may be obtained from an equal weight of 
 dustrial products of the department already Brazil Wood, and the colour is not so bright, 
 mentioned are to be added steel and steel SAPINDUS, or Indian soap, is a plant, the 
 ware, glass bottles, copper ware, paper, beet- berri.es of which are used for soap in many 
 root, sugar, pottery, bricks, cotton cloth and parts of Asia. In the East Indies several 
 yarn, linen, leather, felt hats, drugget, plaids, I species yield berries which in their dried state 
 wine casks, oil, flour, <fec. may be bought in every bazaar, as they are 
 
 In Haute Sadne the mountainous regions everywhere employed as a substitute for soap. 
 abound in forests of oak, fir, beech, ash, &c., The fleshy part of these berries is viscid, and 
 and are covered in many parts with good in drying assumes a shining semi-transparent 
 summer pasture. Minerals are abundant, in- appearance. When rubbed with water, they 
 eluding red and gray granite, green and violet form a lather like soap. This is owing to the 
 porphyry, freestone, lithographic stone, grind- presence of a principle called by chemists 
 stone, gypsum, white sand used in glass fac- Saponine, which is often united with an acrid 
 tones, limestone, marble, and iron. Several I principle,whence these berries are said to injure 
 iron and coal mines are worked. Vast quan- cloth which has been much washed with them, 
 tities of cherries for making kirschwasser are The bark and root have similar properties, 
 cultivated. About 8,000,000 gallons of in- and have been employed for the same pur- 
 ferior Burgundy wine, are made annually, j pose, as well as medicinally, in the countries 
 
1477 
 
 SAPPHIRE. 
 
 SARDINIA. 
 
 U78 
 
 where they are indigenous. The berries, which 
 are about the size of cherries, enclose black 
 shining nuts. The kernel of these nuts con- 
 tains an edible oil, which is sometimes em- 
 ployed for burning. The fruits of some species 
 are eaten, and the wood of others, which is 
 close grained and hard, forms valuable 
 timber. 
 
 SAPPHIRE. [COEUNDUM.] 
 
 SARCO'PHAGUS is the name given to 
 the Egyptian stone coffins. These coffins 
 consist of two parts, a case formed of one 
 piece, and open at the top, hi which the mummy 
 was to be deposited, and a lid to cover the 
 top. As these sarcophagi are generally of 
 hard stone, and often extremely hard, the 
 working of them must have been very expen- 
 sive, and they could only have been made for 
 kings and very rich persons. There are some 
 fine specimens in the British Museum. 
 
 SARDINIA. This large Mediterranean 
 island is well provided with forests ; the best 
 timber is hi the mountainous districts. The 
 cork tree grows very large and in great quan- 
 tity in the northern part of the island. Timber 
 is very scarce in the plains, and the want of 
 roads prevents the people from making use 
 of that of the mountain forests. Dwarf 
 mulberry-trees grow in abundance. The vine 
 is extensively cultivated, both soil and climate 
 being highly favourable to it ; and though the 
 process of making wine is still very imperfect, 
 Sardinia produces some excellent wines. 
 Malvasia, or Malmsey, and Muscat are both 
 Sardinian wines. There are several extensive 
 olive-grounds, but the oil has not yet been 
 largely exported, although this branch of 
 commerce is on the increase. Cheese is a 
 great object of rural economy; it is made 
 chiefly from sheep and goats' milk, and being 
 steeped in brine it has a salt bitter taste. 
 Little butter is made, as the treatment of cows 
 is not well understood, and fodder is scarce. 
 Tobacco is grown in some districts, and is a 
 royal monopoly. Salt is a monopoly of the 
 government, and a profitable branch of the 
 royal revenue. The salterns are round the 
 gulf of Gagliari, at Oristano, Terranova, and 
 on the northern coast west of Porto Torres ; 
 tbey are worked by convicts sentenced to the 
 galleys, but the excavation of the mounds and 
 the carriage of the salt is a labour forced on 
 the adjacent villagers, for which they receive 
 a small compensation. Flax is cultivated to 
 a small extent, and is woven into linen. Wool 
 is coarse, owing to the flocks being neglected, 
 and it is manufactured into coarse cloth for 
 the peasantry. A better quality of cloth and 
 fine flannel are made of lambs' wool. 
 
 The fisheries of Sardinia are very produc- 
 
 tive, especially the establishments for taking 
 the tunny fish, which are on various parts of 
 the coast. The fishery lasts from April \? 
 July. Most of the tunnies weigh from 100 til 
 300 Ibs.; and all the parts of the fish are 
 turned to account, most of them being 
 salted. Most of the tunneries are let to 
 foreigners, who ship oft the produce to various 
 ports of the Mediterranean, and a compara- 
 tively small proportion is used in the island. 
 There are fisheries of anchovies, sardines, 
 coral, and pearls off the coast. The coral is 
 polished and worked into necklaces, earrings, 
 and other ornaments, at Genoa, Leghorn, 
 Marseille, and Naples. The pearls are of in- 
 ferior quality. 
 
 Sardinia was noted in ancient times for its 
 mines, which were worked to a great extent, 
 as is attested by vast excavations and remains; 
 of foundries. Gold and silver mines were at 
 one time worked. Mercury, iron, and lead 
 are met with in various parts. In the eastern 
 mountains are found porphyry, basalt, ala- 
 baster, and marble. Chalcedonies, jaspers, 
 carnelians, sardonyx, turquoises, and rock 
 crystal, are found in the mountains of the 
 west. 
 
 When we speak, in England, of the king of 
 Sardinia, we allude to a kingdom which in- 
 cludes much more than the island of that 
 name ; it includes Sardinia, Savoy, Piedmont, 
 Genoa and Nice, all of which are now unde - i 
 one king. The Continental States of the 
 king of Sardinia have several fine carriage 
 roads across the Alps and Apennines, which 
 intersect their Territory. The plains of Pied- 
 mont are well supplied with canals, chiefly for 
 the purpose of irrigation. The staple pro- 
 ducts for exportation are silk, rice, hemp, 
 wine, and oil. The principal manufactures 
 consist of paper, silks, woollens, linen, glass, 
 and cotton yarn. The importation of colonial 
 articles and English manufactures takes place 
 chiefly through the port of Genoa. A con- 
 siderable trade is carried on with Switzerland 
 and Germany by the Lago Maggiore and tho 
 road of Mount St. Bernard leading to the 
 Grisons. The commerce of the three prin- 
 cipal ports of the Sardinian States, Nice, 
 Genoa, and Cagliari, is illustrated by the fol- 
 lowing statement for 1846 : 
 
 Ships which entered and declared at 
 
 Vesse.s. Tons. Crews. 
 
 Genoa 4692 576,705 39,743 
 
 Nice 5193 309,399 32,270 
 
 Cagliari 724 79,918 6,711 
 
 10,608 966,022 78,724 
 The exports of British produce and manu- 
 factures to the Sardinian States in 1848, 
 
1479 
 
 SARDONYX. 
 
 amounted in value to 611,992J. ; besides tli 
 produce and manufactures of other countrie 
 The imports from those states into Englan 
 consist chiefly, (and indeed almost entirely) 
 silk. 
 
 SARDONYX. [AGATE.] 
 SASSAFRAS. The species of this genu 
 of plants most known is the Sassafras Laure 
 an inhabitant of the woods of North Ame 
 rica, from Canada to Florida. It is mostly 
 small tree or bush, but sometimes attains th 
 height of forty or fifty feet. In America the 
 Sassafras is divided into two varieties, the rec 
 and white. Its great use is for medicina 
 purposes. It is however employed in America 
 for making bedsteads and other articles o 
 furniture, which are not liable to the attacks 
 of insects, and give out a very agreeable odour 
 The root of the Sassafras Laurel is the offici 
 nal part in the London Pharmacopoeia ; bui 
 the whole plant possesses the aromatic odour 
 common to the Laurels ; and some assert tha 
 the bark of the stem and branches is stronger 
 than that of the root ; but this seems to be 
 an error. The taste is sharp, acrid, aromatic, 
 and, as well as the odour, resembles fennel, 
 A kind of chocolate, called Sassafras Chocolate, 
 is made from the nuts of the sassafras tree, to 
 form a beverage for invalids. 
 SATIN. [SILK.] 
 SATIN SPAR is a whitish, fibrous, trans- 
 lucent mineral, which occurs at Alston Moor 
 in Cumberland, and in North America, in 
 tabular masses of an inch or two in thickness, 
 in veins in slaty clay and shale. It consists 
 chiefly, if not altogether, of carbonate of lime. 
 SATINWOOD. This beautiful wood is 
 obtained from an East Indian tree called the 
 Chloroxylon Swietenia, It is of a deep yellow 
 colour, remarkably close grained, heavy, and 
 durable, and comes nearer to box wood than 
 the produce of any other tree. An essential 
 oil, called wood oil, is obtained from the satin- 
 wood tree. 
 
 SATURATION. When common salt, or 
 indeed most other saline and many vegetable 
 bodies, are added to water until it ceases to 
 dissolve them, the solution so obtained is 
 termed a saturated solution of the substance 
 dissolved. Saturation may exist with regard 
 to one body and not to another. Thus water 
 saturated with common salt will still dissolve 
 sulphate of soda, and vice versa ; so also a 
 saturated solution of common salt will dissolve 
 sugar. There are many other cases in which 
 the point of saturation may be determined by 
 the cessation of solution; while there is a 
 third class in which saturation cannot be de- 
 termined by insolubility ; as when both bodies 
 are employed in ? fluid state, or when the 
 
 SAW MANUFACTURE. U80 
 
 excess of a solid body is soluble in the water 
 which holds the saturated salt in solution. 
 The saturating power of bodies is in many 
 cases greatly influenced by heat, while in 
 others variation of temperature produces but 
 little effect; thus cold water will take up 
 nearly as much common salt as hot water ; 
 but sulphate of soda is more soluble in hot 
 water than in cold. 
 
 SAW MANUFACTURE. Saws were used 
 by the ancient Egyptians ; a specimen, found 
 among the tombs of Thebes, is deposited in 
 the British Museum. There is a picture 
 among the remains discovered in the ruins of 
 Herculaneum, representing the interior of a 
 carpenter's workshop, with two genii cutting a 
 piece of wood with a frame-saw; and on an 
 altar preserved in the Capitoline Museum at 
 Rome there is a perfect representation of a 
 Dow-saw, exactly resembling, in the form of 
 the frame, and the twisted cord for tightening 
 t, those used by modern carpenters. 
 
 Saws are of various forms and sixes, accord - 
 
 ng to the purposes to which they are to be 
 
 ipplied. The Cross Cut Saw is used for 
 
 dividing logs transversely. The Pit Saw, a 
 
 ong blade of steel with large teeth, and a 
 
 ransverse handle at each end, is used for 
 
 awing logs into planks or scantlings. The 
 
 'ramc Saw is a blade from five to seven feet 
 
 ong, used in a similar manner to the pit saw, 
 
 ut it causes less waste, because the blade, 
 
 eing stretched in a frame, may be made much 
 
 hinner. The Hipping Saw, Half Ripper, 
 
 Hand Saw, and Panncl Saw, are saws for the 
 
 se of one person, the blades tapering in width 
 
 rom the handle. Tenon Saws, Sash Saws, 
 
 Dovetail Saws, &c., are made of very thin 
 
 lades of steel, of equal width throughout 
 
 leir whole length, and stiffened with stout 
 
 ieces of iron or brass fixed on their back 
 
 dges. Compass Saws and Key Hole Saws 
 
 re long narrow saws, tapering from about an 
 
 nch to an eighth of an inch in width, used for 
 
 aking curved cuts. Small Frame Saws and 
 
 3oiv Saws, in which very thin narrow blades 
 
 re tightly stretched, are occasionally used for 
 
 utting both wood and metal. Saws are made 
 
 r cutting bone, iron, brass, and many other 
 
 ard substances. 
 
 The very commonest kind of saws are muclo 
 F iron -plates, hammer-hardened, and planish- 
 1 upon an anvil, to give them some degree 
 f stiffness and elasticity. The more useful 
 aws are made either of shear or cast steel, 
 he steel, reduced to thin sheets, is cut into 
 ieces of suitable size and shape. The edges 
 re perfected by filing, and holding the flat 
 des of the plates against largo grindstones, 
 hich process prepares, them for the cutting 
 
1481 SAW MANUFACTUKE. 
 
 of the teeth. This operation is usually per- 
 formed by a die-cutter in a fly-press, the 
 motion of the saw-plate being duly regulated, 
 so that the teeth shall be uniform ; the larger 
 teeth being cut one at a time ; and the smaller, 
 two, three, or more at a time, according to 
 circumstances. The wire edges left on the 
 teeth by the cutting- out press are removed by 
 filing, after which the plates undergo the pro- 
 cesses of hardening and tempering. The next 
 operation is planishing by hammers, to make 
 them more even and equally elastic; after 
 which the saws are ground on large grind- 
 stones. The plate is held against the circular 
 face of the stone by an interposing board, 
 against which the grinder presses with all his 
 force, in order to grind it as evenly as possible. 
 He stands on tip -toes, stretching over the 
 stone, which revolves with great rapidity ; his 
 hands, arms, breast, and knees being all 
 brought into action to produce the desired 
 effect. As this grinding impairs the flatness 
 and elasticity of the saw-plates, they are sub- 
 mitted to a second hammering by the pla- 
 nishers, and their elasticity is restored by 
 heating them over a coke fire until they attain 
 a faint straw colour. The marks of the ham- 
 mer are removed by again passing the saws 
 lightly over a grindstone, after which the final 
 polish is given by a fine hard stone, a glazing 
 wheel covered with buff-leather and emery, or 
 a wooden wheel, called the Hard Head. After 
 being cleaned by women, the saws are handed 
 to the Setter, who lays each alternate tooth 
 over the edge of a small anvil, and strikes 
 them so as to bend each uniformly into a 
 slight deviation from the plane of the saw, and 
 then, turning the saw-plate, he sets the re- 
 maining teeth in like manner, but in the oppo- 
 site direction : sometimes peculiar tools are 
 used for this setting. After being set, the 
 saw is placed between two plates of lead, in a 
 vice, and the teeth are sharpened with a tri- 
 angular file. The size, form, and sharpness 
 of the teeth, vary according to the purpose to 
 which the saw is to be applied. The handles 
 are then fixed on by nuts and screws, and the 
 saws cleaned off, oiled, and packed in brown 
 paper for sale. 
 
 Saws for cutting stone are without teeth, 
 although they are sometimes slightly notched 
 upon the cutting edge, that they may collect 
 and retain the particles of sand that are con- 
 ducted into the cut by a small current of water, 
 and by the attrition of which the effect is 
 mainly produced. The saw plate is tightly 
 stretched in a kind of rectangular frame, of 
 which it forms the lower side ; and the frame, 
 being suspended by ropes, is moved backwards 
 and forwards by one or two men. 
 
 SAW MILLS. 
 
 1483 
 
 The saw manufacture is one of the most in- 
 teresting departments of the industry at Shef- 
 field. Saws are made in that town to an im- 
 mense extent. 
 
 SAW MILLS. Although saw mills have 
 not been very generally introduced till within 
 a few years, they are by no means of recent 
 origin. They were used in England in the 
 17th century, but not without great opposition. 
 Many of the earlier saw mills were driven by 
 water, and those of North America are still 
 generally worked by that power. 
 
 The earliest kind of sawing-machinery was, 
 in its essential features, the same as that still 
 used for sawing logs of timber into planks. 
 In this machine the saws are stretched in a 
 frame which slides up and down on vertical 
 guides; the reciprocating motion being im- 
 parted to the frame by a crank upon an axle 
 turned by a connection with the water-wheel 
 or other prime mover. The log is supported 
 on a carriage resting upon rollers, and is made 
 to advance a little at each stroke of the saws, 
 which cut during their descent only. The 
 saws are usually either six or eight in num- 
 ber. Attempts have been made to introduce 
 sawing machines with two sets of saws, one of 
 which should cut upwards ; but they do not 
 appear to have succeeded. A similar effect 
 is sometimes produced by connecting two 
 machines with one axle ; the cranks being so 
 adjusted that one saw-frame descends while 
 the other rises. 
 
 The balks of timber to be divided into 
 planks, of which two are generally operated 
 upon simultaneously, are supported by rollers, 
 and secured at the ends by suitable fastenings 
 to a long iron carriage. This carriage is so 
 connected to the saw frame by wheel and 
 pinion work, that the carriage and balks of 
 timber are propelled forward as fast as the 
 wood is cut. In order to keep the balks of 
 timber steady during the cut, their inner sides 
 slide against polished steel plates fixed to the 
 framework of the machine, against which they 
 are pressed by rollers. 
 
 The loss of power occasioned by the reci- 
 procating motion of a long saw, has led to the 
 adoption of Circular Saws, which, by revolv- 
 ing constantly in one direction, require less 
 power, and may be driven with far greater 
 speed than reciprocating saws ; while their 
 continuous action not only expedites the ope- 
 ration of sawing, but also makes the motion 
 of the machinery more uniform. Perhaps the 
 most interesting kind of circular saw is that 
 used for cutting logs of hard wood into veneers. 
 The late Sir M. I. Brunei, to whom England 
 is indebted for many valuable improvements 
 in this class of machinery, took out a patent 
 
U83 
 
 SAXE; SAXONY. 
 
 SAXE j SAXONY. 
 
 U81 
 
 in 1806 for a method of constructing very 
 large circular saws, by attaching several pieces 
 of steel-plate to a flanch of iron turned per 
 fectly true. In this way saws have been mad 
 of as much as 18 feet diameter; but such larg 
 saws can only be used for cutting veneers or 
 very thin boards, which will easily bend so as 
 to pass the flanch of the saw, which is neces 
 sarily of considerable thickness. In the prin 
 cipal room for cutting veneers at the City Saw 
 Mills, London, there are eight saws varying 
 from 8 to 17 feet diameter, and revolving from 
 70 to 90 times in a minute. By the larges 
 saws logs of mahogany 3 feet square can be 
 cut up into unbroken sheets of veneer, at 
 the rate of about 10 to an inch, and so beau- 
 tifully smooth as to require scarcely any 
 dressing. 
 
 For cutting thinner boards, the circular saw 
 is usually mounted in a bench or table, under 
 which the axle passes, and having a slit or 
 opening through which the upper part of the 
 saw projects. The piece of wood to be cut ii 
 laid on the smooth surface of the table, and 
 pushed towards the saw by hand. Small 
 circular saws, so mounted, are often moved by 
 means of a treadle and crank, and by a variety 
 of ingenious modifications may be applied to 
 many useful purposes. 
 
 In the beautiful and ingenious block machi- 
 nery erected at Portsmouth, by Brunei, cir- 
 cular saws are extensively applied. [BLOCK 
 MACHINERY. 
 
 Mr. Eastman, of the United States, patented 
 some curious modifications of sawing machi- 
 nery about 1 824. He found that when a cir- 
 cular saw is propelled with great velocity, it 
 will cut much more smoothly and easily if it 
 have only a few teeth placed at equal distances 
 round its circumference than if, as usual, its 
 periphery be full of teeth. He made a saw 
 which had four cutting instruments called 
 section teeth, each consisting of two teeth re- 
 sembling a hawk's bill in form. The saving 
 of labour as compared with a common saw is 
 estimated at full three-fourths, and it is stated 
 that, when driven at a proper speed (which is 
 from a thousand to twelve hundred revolu- 
 tions per minute), it will cut nine or ten inches 
 in depth into the hardest white oak timber 
 with the greatest ease. Mr. Eastman contrived 
 these saws for cutting up timber in an ususual 
 way, not through the log, but from the cir- 
 cumference to the centre ; so that the cuts 
 form the radii of a circle, and the planks or 
 boards produced are thicker at the outer than 
 the inner edge. The boards cut by this 
 machinery are much used for covering build- 
 ings. 
 
 states thus designated, present various degrees 
 of industrial and commercial developement. 
 We will rapidly glance at them in relation to 
 these features. 
 
 Saxe Altenburg is hilly, richly wooded, and 
 fertile. Agriculture and grazing are skilfully 
 conducted. There are few minerals ; but 
 there are iron-mines in the vicinity of Ronno- 
 burg, and the extensive peat-fields near Alten- 
 burg yield abundance of fuel. A fine porce- 
 lain earth is found in the neighbourhood of 
 Altenburg, which supplies the porcelain ma- 
 nufactory at Gotha. Manufacturing industry 
 is chiefly confined to woollen cloths, stockings, 
 and wooden wares. There are considerable 
 tanneries at Altenburg, Kahla, Eisenberg, and 
 Lukau. The articles of export are corn, cattle, 
 wool, butter, and timber. 
 
 Saxe Coburg Gotha is chiefly an agricul- 
 tural duchy. The forests yield timber, potash, 
 and pitch. The rearing of live-stock is pro- 
 secuted with much activity. Iron is found 
 near Friederichsstadt ; there are also coals, 
 sandstone, millstones, marble, alabaster, gyp- 
 sum, lime, potters' clay, porcelain earth, and 
 salt. There is considerable manufacturing 
 industry in Gotha, but little in the other dis- 
 tricts. Besides a fair amount of export trade, 
 the duchy has a considerable transit trade, as 
 the high road from Leipzig to Frankfort passes 
 through it. 
 
 Saxe Mein'mgen has salt springs near Fried- 
 richshall and Neusulza. The productions are 
 similar to those of central Germany; the 
 minerals are various and abundant. Agricul- 
 ture and grazing are the chief employments. 
 In some districts there are many furnaces, 
 mills, and glass-houses. The ordinary manu- 
 factures are coarse linens, sail-cloth, woollens, 
 and cottons ; there are also distilleries, 
 breweries, and tan-yards. The wooden toys 
 made in this duchy are largely sold in Eng- 
 and. 
 
 In Saxe Weimar the mineral and vegetable 
 productions are similar to those in the other 
 Saxon duchies. The rearing of cattle forms 
 an important branch of industry. Manufac- 
 tures have made little progress. 
 
 Saxony, being a kingdom and of much 
 arger size, has more manufacturing and com- 
 mercial importance than the duchies just 
 aamed. The vegetable produce, besides 
 corn, includes rape-seed, hops, flax, hemp, 
 ihicory, tobacco, madder, wood, saffron, 
 nedicinal herbs, anise, coriander, poppy, &c. 
 Vegetables and fruit are very abundant. A 
 considerable quantity of wine is made. 
 Almost a fourth part of the country is 
 overed with forests, consisting chiefly of 
 
 SAXE ; SAXONY. The numerous German pine and fir ; other trees are less abundant. 
 
1485 
 
 SCAFFOLDING. 
 
 SCAFFOLDING. 
 
 U8G 
 
 The breed of cattle has been very much im- 
 proved within the last century ; but the most 
 important animal is the Merino sheep, which 
 has since 1705 yielded a supply of the finest 
 wool. The mineral riches consist of gold, 
 copper, iron, lead, tin, cobalt, arsenic, vitriol, 
 bismuth, nickel, zinc, antimony, quicksilver, 
 calamine, rock crystal, various precious stones, 
 potters'-earth, the finest porcelain clay in 
 Europe, basalt, serpentine, granite, marble, 
 alabaster, fluor spar, sandstone, limestone, 
 slate, porphyry, black amber, brimstone, alum, 
 saltpetre, and coals. 
 
 Next to England and the Netherlands, 
 Saxony has, in proportion to its population, 
 the most extensive manufactures in Europe. 
 It produces damasks and other linens, lace of 
 great beauty, woollen, cotton, and silk manu- 
 factures ; and there are paper-mills, tanneries, 
 breweries, distilleries, foundries, and the 
 celebrated porcelain works at Meissen. The 
 centre of the commerce of the country is 
 Leipzig. The inland trade is mostly conduc- 
 ted by the merchants of Leipzig, of which the 
 book fairs are the most remarkable. The 
 principal exports are fine woollen manufac- 
 tures to England, Spain, Turkey, and Eussia; 
 linen, lace, &c. to Italy, England, Spain, and 
 France ; thread, wool, worsted, smalts, por- 
 celain, straw-manufactures, wooden-wares, 
 glass, fruit, timber, and mineral products. 
 The imports are salt, cotton, silk, flax, hemp, 
 colonial produce, salt and dried fish, fancy 
 goods, <tc. Saxony is one of the members of 
 the Zollverein or German Customs' Union. 
 
 Prussian Saxony, another member of the 
 remarkable Saxe territories, is an active and 
 busy province. The fine wool of the improved 
 breed of sheep supplies not only the extensive 
 woollen mannfactures of the province, but 
 furnishes a large overplus for exportation. 
 The mineral products are chiefly copper, anti- 
 mony, cobalt, and iron. The manufactures 
 are woollens, leather, calico, and linen. There 
 are several sugar-refineries, brandy-distilleries, 
 tobacco-manufactories, and porcelain works. 
 The exports are wool, corn, woollen and 
 cotton manufactures, brandy, copper, iron and 
 steel wares, and salt. 
 
 SCAFFOLDING. In ordinary buildings 
 the ' scaffolding requires very little notice. 
 Poles are erected in a vertical position a few 
 feet from the walls, their lower ends being 
 inserted in the ground. Wherever a platform 
 is required for the workmen, a horizontal pole 
 is tied to the uprights, parallel with the wall ; 
 and from this horizontal pole cross-pieces 
 extend to the wall, into which their ends are 
 received, to support a flooring of planks. As 
 the building rises, the scaffold is strengthened 
 
 by diagonal poles ; and the several poles are 
 fastened by ropes. 
 
 In the erection of important buildings of 
 stone, a very convenient kind of scaffold has 
 been recently adopted, consisting of large 
 squared timbers well framed together, and 
 terminating at the top in horizontal beams. 
 Such a framing is erected on each side of the 
 wall, unconnected with it, and rails are laid on 
 the top beams, on which runs a carriage, ca- 
 pable of being moved by means of a winch- 
 handle connected with the wheels. The 
 carriage itself consists of a frame supporting 
 another railway at right angles with that on 
 which it runs ; and on the upper railway is a 
 smaller carriage, which supports tackle suita- 
 ble for raising the stones. By this arrange- 
 ment a stone may be lifted up, ar.d moved, by 
 the combined action of the two railways, to 
 any point required on the wall. 
 
 In bridge building and similar works, the 
 centering of arches is a peculiar kind of scaf- 
 folding ; it is the wooden support or mould on 
 which the arch rests while building. A cen- 
 tering usually consists of a number of distinct 
 frames, resembling the trusses of a roof, 
 placed equidistant from each other in vertical 
 planes, and covered with a series of planks or 
 beams of timber called bridging joists, laid at 
 right angles with the frames or trusses. This 
 boarding or covering of bridgings forms a con- 
 vexity coinciding with the internal concavity 
 of the intended arch. For small arches the 
 centering is usually covered witn planks ; but 
 in large works bridging-joists, one laid for 
 each course of arch-stones, are preferred, these 
 being kept at the proper distance apart by 
 blocks placed between them. The whole 
 structure is stiffened by crossbars to keep the 
 trusses equidistant and parallel to each other. 
 
 Mr. Hughes has invented a scaffolding, 
 which he used for repairing the interior of a 
 dome at Manchester. It consists of a vertical 
 pole erected in the centre of the dome, to 
 
 hich is connected a framework, supporting 
 a kind of ladder, corresponding with the form 
 of the interior of the dome, and mounted on 
 wheels, so that it may be moved round to any 
 part of it, the vertical pole serving as an axis. 
 Mr. Slacks, a mason, has invented a scaffolding 
 for building an obelisk without scaffolding of 
 the ordinary description. This simple and 
 ingenious machinery was used in erecting an 
 obelisk of sandstone, 100 feet high, not inclu- 
 ding the foundation, on the summit of a 
 mountain called Whitaw, in Dumfriesshire, in 
 honour of the late Major-General Sir John 
 Malcolm. The Society of Arts rewarded the 
 inventor with their gold Isis medal in 1837. 
 
 The finest scaffolding eyer inrented, per- 
 
1487 
 
 SCAGLIOLA. 
 
 SCENE-PAINTING-. 
 
 1488 
 
 haps, is that which now surmounts th 
 Victoria tower at the New Houses of Parlia 
 ment. It is made to travel upwards as th 
 work progresses ; and it revolves on a centra 
 axis, so that four extended arms of scaffoldin 
 may be brought over every part of the towe 
 in turn. 
 
 If the scaffolding just mentioned is th 
 most complete, perhaps that by which Messrs 
 Fox and Henderson have built the Crysta 
 Palace is the most simple so simple, indeed 
 that it can hardly he called a scaffolding ; i 
 is rather a system of ropes and pulleys. 
 
 SCAGLIO'LA, is an incrustation of artificia 
 composition which is applied to columns, an 
 produces the most perfect imitation of marble 
 from which it can hardly he distinguish^ 
 either by the eye or the touch, as it takes an 
 equally high polish and feels equally hard am 
 cold. Scagliola has long been in use in Italy 
 but it was not introduced into this country 
 before the latter half of the last century 
 The earliest application of it was in the 
 columns of the Pantheon, in Oxford street 
 London, built by James Wyatt. The compo- 
 sition or cement itself is prepared from the 
 purest gypsum, which is first broken into 
 small pieces, and after being calcined is 
 reduced to powder. It is then passed througl 
 a fine sieve, and mixed with Flanders glue, 
 isinglass, <fec. In this state it is mixed up 
 with colouring matter of the hue required. 
 
 SCANTLING, is a term used to express 
 the transverse dimensions of a piece of tim- 
 ber; and also, in some cases, as a general 
 name for small timbers, such as the quartering 
 for a partition, rafters, purlins, or pole-plates 
 in a roof, &c. All quartering or squared 
 timber under five inches square is designated 
 scantling. In masonry the same word is 
 used to express the size of stones in length, 
 breadth, and thickness. 
 
 SCARFING, is the name which carpenters 
 give to the mode of joining two pieces of 
 timber end to end, in such a manner that 
 they may appear but one, and cannot be 
 pulled asunder by a force applied in the direc- 
 tion of their length, without breaking off part 
 of the wood at the joint. The scarfed pieces 
 are usually bolted together; but there are 
 various modes of forming the junction. 
 
 SCARIFIER. There are instruments used 
 in agriculture, to which the names scarifier, 
 scaffler, and cultivator are applied ; and indeed 
 other names have been also applied to them, 
 according to slight modifications of form and 
 action. All these instruments have a number 
 of teeth or tines which, when the instrument 
 is drawn forward, furrows and loosens the 
 8oiJ. One such 13 called the Thirtcen-hoed 
 
 scarifier, in which there are two large wheels 
 for the movement of the machine, two handles 
 behind to guide it, and thirteen hoes or tines 
 to enter the soil. Another kind, Williams' 
 wrought iron scarifier, has one small wheel in 
 front, two small wheels behind, two handles 
 for guidance, and seven tines. 
 
 SCARLET DYE. The finest scarlet aye 
 is obtained from cochineal. [COCHINEAL.] 
 According to Berthollet the dyeing of scarlet 
 is performed at two operations ; the first is 
 called the boiling (bouillon), and the second 
 the reddening. 
 
 For a boiling intended to dye about 100 
 pounds of cloth, six pounds of bitartrato of 
 potash (cream of tartar) are first thrown into 
 water a little more than lukewarm ; after the 
 bath has been well stirred, and become a 
 little hotter, half a pound of powdered coch- 
 ineal is thrown in and well mixed. Immedi- 
 ately afterwards five pounds of clear solution 
 of chloride (muriate J of tin are poured in and 
 carefully mixed. As soon as the bath begins 
 to boil, the cloth is introduced, and made to 
 circulate rapidly two or three times ; when it 
 lias been subjected to a boiling heat for two 
 lours, it is removed and well washed. 
 
 For preparing the second bath, which is the 
 reddening, five pounds and a half of powdered 
 cochineal are put into a boiler, as soon as the 
 water which it contains is about to boil, and 
 after being properly mixed, fourteen pounds 
 )f solution of chloride of tin are added, and 
 he cloth is thrown in, rapidly whirled for a 
 hort time, then boiled for an hour, taken out, 
 ooled, and washed and dried. 
 
 SCENE-PAINTING, for the theatre, is 
 xecuted in distemper, that is, with colours 
 mixed up with size, the design being first 
 ketched, and accurately laid down to scale, 
 rom which the perspective outlines are trans - 
 erred to the larger surface. Instead of be- 
 ;inning with dead colouring and then gradu- 
 Hy working up his picture, the artist puts in 
 all his effects at once (as in fresco-painting) 
 the full tone of the lights and shadows 
 nishing as he proceeds, and merely retouch- 
 ng those parts afterwards which require addi- 
 onal depth or brilliancy. It is important 
 tiat the scene-painter should not only be 
 well skilled in architectural delineation, but 
 Iso well informed as to the styles of different 
 ountries and periods. 
 
 Much of the effect of scenery depends upon 
 skilful mode of lighting it ; in which respect 
 onsiderable improvements have taken place 
 f late years, and the light is now occasion - 
 lly thrown from above, as well as from the 
 ides and the foot-lights. A variety of me- 
 tianical contrivances have also been, brought 
 
1489 
 
 SCHLESWIG-. 
 
 SCHEEN. 
 
 1490 
 
 to great perfection so as to imitate particular 
 effects in the most deceptive manner, such as 
 those of moonlight, where the moon breaks 
 through the clouds and gleams upon water, 
 &c. ; changes of the sky from clear to stormy, 
 or the contrary ; the sudden glare of fire^ &c. 
 
 With the exception of the Drop-Scene, 
 which is let down between the acts, and is a 
 single picture, the scenes of a theatre gene- 
 rally consist of several parts : of narrow up- 
 right pieces called Side-Scenes, or Wings ; of 
 Hanging- Scenes, painted to imitate a sky or 
 ceiling; and of the Back-Scenes, which are 
 either rolling scenes, let down from above, or 
 Flats, which are pushed on from the sides, 
 and meet in the centre. There are various 
 other smaller portions of scenery used occa- 
 sionally for balconies, &c., and many other 
 contrivances and arrangements in order to 
 produce pictorial effect. 
 
 SCHLESWIG and HOLSTEIN. These 
 Danish provinces, which have for the last 
 three years been a scene of so much political 
 contention, present but moderate attractions 
 in respect to industry and commerce. 
 
 Schleswig produces corn, pulse, flax, hemp, 
 rape-seed, hay, clover, garden vegetables, and 
 potatoes ; and exports much agricultural pro- 
 duce, live stock, and fish. Wood is scarce, 
 both for building and fuel. The country con- 
 tains limestone, chalk, and slate, but no 
 metallic minerals. The chief occupations of 
 the inhabitants are agriculture, the breeding 
 of cattle, and the fisheries. The manufactures, 
 though varied, are not of large extent. In the 
 town of Schleswig there are manufactures of 
 china, earthenware, lace, cambrics, thread, 
 leather, sailcloth, woollens, starch, and re- 
 fined sugar. 
 
 Hohteiii is on the whole fertile, especially 
 in the marsh-lands which border on the Ger- 
 man Ocean and the Elbe. The mineral pro- 
 ducts are, in the vicinity of Oldeslohe, salt, 
 lime, and plaster of Paris, and near the 
 Baltic, amber; but there are no metals. The 
 surface is in many parts strewed with boulder 
 stones. The agricultural products are corn, 
 pulse, potatoes, some hops, flax, and hemp. 
 There are no manufactures that need any 
 particular notice. . The exports consist of corn, 
 timber, horses, cattle, butter, and turf; the 
 imports, of colonial produce, wines, and 
 manufactures. The herring fishery, and the 
 Greenland whale and sea fishery, are a source 
 of considerable profit. Trade is greatly faci- 
 litated by the Holstein or Kiel Canal, made 
 in the years 1777-1784, at the expense of 
 above two millions and a half of dollars, to 
 form a communication between the German 
 Ocean and the Baltic. 
 
 SCOTLAND. Under various headings, 
 such as GLASGOW, LANARK, &c., a few indus- 
 trial statistics relating to Scotland will be 
 found; and we here append a few others 
 which relate to the country as a whole. 
 
 The factory statistics of Scotland in 1850 
 presented the following features. There were 
 168 cotton factories, in 10 counties ; they had 
 1,683,093 spindles, 23,564 power looms, 7,712 
 horse power (steam), 2,842 horse power (wa- 
 ter wheels), and 36,325 factory operatives, of 
 whom no less than 27,528 were females. There 
 were 182 woollen factories, 6 worsted factories, 
 189 flax factories, and 5 silk factories. The 
 total numbers for all these five kinds of textile 
 materials, in the whole of Scotland, presented 
 the following results : 
 
 Factories 550 
 
 Spindles 2,256,403 
 
 Power looms 23,811 
 
 Moving power 
 
 Steam . 13,857) - no _. , 
 
 Water . 6,004 } 19,861 horse power. 
 
 Operatives 
 
 Male . 22,140 \ 
 Female. 53,548 J 
 
 The Iron manufacture in Scotland in 1848 
 amounted in quantity to 539,962 tons, at 130 
 blast furnaces. The largest number of fur- 
 naces at one establishment was 16, at Messrs. 
 Baird's iron works at Gartsherrie. 
 
 The quantities of exciseable articles made 
 in Scotland in 1850 were as follow: 
 
 Bricks 2,679,533 number. 
 
 Malt 4,639,159 bushels. 
 
 Paper 28,600,019 Ibs. 
 
 Soap 22,996,251 Ibs. 
 
 Spirits 7,132,556 gallons. 
 
 In 1848 the gross receipt of customs in 
 Scotland was 2,040,840Z. rather less than in 
 Ireland. Considerably more than half the 
 amount was taken at the Clyde ports. 
 
 SCREEN. Screens are exceedingly beau- 
 tiful internal features in the Gothic or pointed 
 style of architecture ; in which they were em- 
 ployed for a variety of purposes, not in 
 churches alone, but in halls and other build- 
 ings. Great diversity is displayed in them as 
 regards both design and material; for we 
 meet with them sometimes solid or nearly so, 
 at others almost entirely of open work; of 
 stone or of timber, and occasionally composed 
 of both ; but agreeing in being more or less 
 elaborately decorated. The Organ Screens, 
 Altar Screens, Tomb Screens, &c. in some of 
 our cathedrals and churches, are exquisite 
 specimens of taste and workmanship. Screens 
 of a different character were employed in the 
 halls oi domestic and collegiate buildings, for 
 the purpose of cutting off a passage leading 
 
1491 
 
 SCREW. 
 
 to the butteries and offices. Such screens 
 were almost invariably of oak or other wood, 
 and the space over them and the passage 
 behind served as a music gallery. As a revi- 
 val of mediaeval taste, many beautiful examples 
 of screen work have been sent to the Great 
 Exhibition. 
 
 SCREW. This mechanical power gene- 
 rally consists of two parts, one of which is a 
 solid cylinder of wood or metal, on whose 
 convex surface is formed a projecting rib or 
 fillet, frequently called a thread, which passes 
 spirally round in such a manner as constantly 
 to make equal angles with lines parallel to 
 the axis of the cylinder. The other is a 
 cylindrical perforation through a block of 
 some material, the surface of the perforation 
 having on it a spiral groove corresponding to 
 the projecting rib or fillet on the solid cylin- 
 der. The first of these parts is called a con- 
 vex screw, and the other a concave screw. 
 When the two parts are in action, the convex 
 screw, being turned round in the other by a 
 power applied at its surface, moves at the 
 same time rectilinearly in the direction of its 
 axis : occasionally however the convex screw 
 is fixed, and then the other being turned 
 about, it acquires at the same time a like rec- 
 tilinear motion. 
 
 As a mechanical power, the screw possesses 
 the property of an inclined plane. In practice, 
 a lever or wheel is always fixed perpendicu- 
 larly to the axis, and the moving or sustaining 
 power is applied near the outer extremity of 
 the lever, or at the circumference of the wheel. 
 
 An Endless Screw consists of two or more 
 spiral fillets or threads on a rod which is 
 capable of being turned on its axis by a power 
 applied to the handle of a winch, or to a string 
 passing over the circumference of a pulley 
 attached to the rod. The threads work 
 between teeth on the circumference of a wheel, 
 so that, while the revolution of the rod con 
 tinues, the wheel turns on its axis. A 
 Double-Threaded Screw is one in which a 
 fillet is formed upon each of two continuous 
 spiral lines on the surface of the cylinder ; 
 the two making equal angles with lines 
 parallel to the axis. With apparently an 
 equal distance between the threads on both 
 screws, the power of the single-threaded screw 
 is double that of the other. From the high 
 ratio which the resistance bears to the moving 
 power in the screw, the use of this machine 
 for moving or compressing bodies is very 
 great ; it is also extensively employed in the 
 construction of philosophical instruments for 
 measuring small angles or distances. [MiCRO- 
 ltETER.] 
 
 A Differential Screw consists of one convex 
 
 SCREW MANUFACTURE. 1492 
 
 screw which works in the interior of another 
 convex screw. The latter works in a concave 
 screw, which is fixed ; and the former is 
 capable of moving in a rectilinear direction 
 only, being prevented from turning on its 
 axis with the rotation of the exterior screw. 
 Also the number of threads in an inch on the 
 convex surface of this last is less by one than 
 the number in an inch on the convex surface 
 of the other. Thus, if the exterior screw have 
 
 100 threads in an inch, and the interior screw 
 
 101 threads, then one turn of the machine 
 will cause the latter to move through the very 
 minute extent of retire inch, and this space 
 may be further subdivided by means of a 
 micrometer head applied to the exterior 
 screw. 
 
 SCREW-JACK, is a portable machine for 
 raising great weights by the agency of a screw. 
 The apparatus introduced under the name of 
 the Universal Screw Jack is particularly use- 
 ful on railways, where it affords a simple 
 means of lifting a carriage or engine that may 
 have run off the rails, and then moving it 
 laterally until the wheels are in their proper 
 position over the rails. 
 
 SCREW MANUFACTURE. In the in- 
 fancy of screw making the thread was formed 
 with a file ; but this process has long been 
 superseded by the use of dies and cutters, 
 which are applied in various ways. The 
 cutting of the worm is sometimes performed 
 in a lathe, the blank being fixed in a chuck, 
 and projecting during its revolution between 
 a pair of stationary cutters ; the longitudinal 
 motion of the blank, and consequently the 
 size or inclination of the thread, being deter- 
 mined by a regulating or pattern screw 
 attached to the mandril, which must therefore 
 be changed for every different degree of fine- 
 ness ; while the shape of the thread or worm 
 depends on the form and position of the 
 cutters. Small screws are frequently wormed 
 by a similar apparatus turned by a winch- 
 handle attached to the mandril; and some- 
 times by means of a steel tap-plate. Many 
 patented improvements have been introduced 
 in this manufacture, chiefly in relation to the 
 cutting of the worm. Several attempts have 
 been made to produce screws by casting ; but 
 not with much success. 
 
 Screw-Bolts and other screws for working 
 in metal are manufactured in a similar man- 
 ner to common screws when the number re- 
 quired is sufficient to justify the expense of 
 adjusting the machinery. When this is not 
 the case, they are, if small, often cut by hand, 
 without the aid of a lathe. In the screwing 
 of metal work, there are required two portions, 
 the external and the internal screw: these 
 
1493 
 
 SCREW-JACK. 
 
 SCREW PROPELLER. 
 
 require contrary processes in their manufac- 1 that a peculiar resistance to the motion of a 
 ture. j solid in a liquid results from the revolution of 
 
 In cutting screws in wood, an internal I a screw. A most important application of 
 wooden screw is cut by an external screw of this principle has been made within the last 
 iron or steel, and an external wooden screw few years to steam navigation ; the screw steam 
 by an internal screw of iron or steel : the ships wholly depend upon it. 
 cutter or tap being shaped according to the The first vessel fitted with a screw pro- 
 kind of screw to be produced. pellor was a yacht, in which the screw was 
 The large iron screws used in vices, presses, fitted into the dead-wood, between the keel 
 waggon-jacks, &c., are sometimes formed by and the stern-post ; the screw consisted of a 
 means of dies, turned with immense power by I helix, making but one revolution around a 
 very long levers ; the thread being made horizontal axis passing longitudinally through 
 without cutting, by indenting and squeezing the ship ; and it was put in motion by a steam 
 up the metal. The very best scrap-iron is engine. The absence of the ponderous 
 required for the screws formed in this manner, paddle wheels and paddle boxes of an ordinary 
 on account of the twisting force to which they steamer greatly improves the sailing qualities 
 are subjected. of a screw-propelled vessel ; while the ar- 
 In the ordinary method of cutting screws rangement of the machinery may be such as 
 in a lathe, the size of the worm, or the dis- to render the vessel far more commodious, 
 tance between the threads, is regulated by a and, if desired, to leave the upper decks open 
 pattern screw, and cannot be varied from it ; from end to end. The usual position of the 
 but an ingenious machine is used in the screw propeller, immediately before the stern 
 Woolwich dockyard for cutting a great variety post, does not appear either to be disadvan- 
 of different screws from one pattern. tageous to the application of the propelling 
 Birmingham is the great seat of the screw- power, or to interfere with the action of the 
 manufacture ; millions of dozens are made in rudder. An important use to which screw 
 that town yearly. propellers have been advantageously applied, 
 SCREW PILES. [LIGHTHOUSES], is as an auxiliary power, for occasional use 
 SCREW-PRESS. In the common Screw- during calms and contrary winds for vessels 
 Press the articles to be subjected to compres- which are ordinarily moved by sails alone ; 
 sion are laid upon a horizontal bed, forming such auxiliary screws have been supplied to 
 the base of a strong frame, in the upper some of the Arctic ships, 
 cross-bar or head of which a nut is firmly The most notable screw steamer ever con- 
 secured. The screw works up and down in structed was the Great Britain. It was 320 
 this nut, and to its lower end is attached the feet long by 50 broad. The burthen was 
 follower^ or moving piece which presses on about 3000 tons ; and the engines, consisting 
 the upper surface of the substance operated of four cylinders of 88 inches diameter by 72 
 upon. The connection between the screw inches stroke, were of 1000 horse power. It 
 and this piece is such that the follower rises had a screw propeller 15J feet in diameter, 
 and falls, but does not turn round with the with six arms, mounted in the stern, and ca- 
 point of the screw ; and the steady motion of pable of being turned with great rapidity by 
 the follower is provided for by making it fit the engine. After making four passages 
 closely to the side-pieces or cheeks of the across the Atlantic, she was fitted with a new 
 press, which therefore act as guides. The and much stronger propeller, weighing seven 
 screw is turned by a long iron lever. The tons, of the same diameter as before, but 
 screws of presses were formerly made of consisting of only four arms or vanes. The 
 wood, but they are now almost uniformly subsequent disasters of this noble vessel are 
 made of iron. well known to most newspaper readers. 
 
 While the diminution of the size of the After varied experiments and trials a corn- 
 thread affords the means of increasing the mercial company took up the subject of Screw 
 power of a screw-press, by reducing the dis- Steam Navigation ; and important results seem 
 tance traversed by the point of the screw likely to follow. The company, formed in 
 during each revolution, it is attended with 1846, built two screw steamers, of 272 tons 
 the serious disadvantage of diminishing its each for the Holyhead and Dublin trade. 
 strength. This difficulty may be avoided by the Two other vessels of 320 tons were afterwards 
 use of a double or differential screw. [SCRE^W.] added. In 1848 the company was remodelled, 
 SCREW PROPELLER. From the time and commenced operations on a larger scale, 
 of Archimedes it has been known that a Four screw steamers, from 450 to 560 tons, 
 revolving screw may be made the means of were built for the trade between England and 
 raising water ; and it has also been known | Constantinople, and performed the service 
 
1495 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 1496 
 
 very satisfactorily. In 1850 the company 
 entered upon a contract with the admiralty 
 for a monthly mail to the Cape of Good Hope 
 the first screw steamer started on this service 
 on Dec. 18, 1850, and returned to Plymouth 
 on March 12, 1851 ; and in respect to tim 
 and accommodation, the sendee is consideret 
 to have heen amply performed. The com 
 pany are now organizing arrangements for an 
 extension of the system to Mauritius, Ceylon 
 Madras, and Calcutta ; and should this he 
 carried out, it is next contemplated to make a 
 farther extension to the Australian colonies 
 It is calculated that screw steamers of 1700 
 tons burden and 300 horse power would reach 
 Sydney from England in G4 days ; and such 
 vessels are now being built. There seems 
 much probability that the recent perplexities 
 concerning an Australian mail will be solved 
 by the success of the screw steamers. 
 ' There are also screw steamers in the Royal 
 Navy. Screw steamers have just been started 
 from Glasgow to London a distance of about 
 800 miles, whether taken north or south. In 
 April of the present year the first screw 
 steamer started from Glasgow to New York, 
 an entirely new steam route. An American 
 Company are building screw steamers of very 
 large burden, expressly for the emigrant traffic 
 from Liverpool to New York. Such are the 
 energetic proceedings which the success of 
 the Screw Propeller has engendered. 
 
 See further in respect to steam navigation 
 under STEAM VESSEL. 
 
 We may here mention that attempts have 
 been made to propel vessels by ejecting water 
 from the stern. A propeller of this curious 
 kind was patented by Mr. Purkis in 1849, and 
 \vas tried on a boat of large size in the 
 Thames. 
 
 SCULPTURE, in its strict sense, is the art 
 of carving or cutting any material into a pro- 
 posed form or shape. In its more general 
 acceptation it is the art of representing objects 
 by form; and is thus applied to carving, mo- 
 delling (or the plastic art), casting, whether 
 in metal or other materials, and to gem-en- 
 graving. Sculpture is practised in various 
 ways ; namely, in forming entire or insulated 
 figures, as statues or groups, called, in tech- 
 nical language, the round ; ' or in represent- 
 ing objects more or less raised without their 
 being entirely detached from a background. 
 This latter is termed ' relief, 1 and the degrees 
 of relief are defined by modem writers and 
 artists by the expression alto-rilievo, when 
 the object is so salient as to be nearly round; 
 lasso -rilievo, when it is slightly raised from 
 the background; and mezzo-rilievo, when a 
 medium is preserved between the extremely j 
 
 high and the very flat relief. There is another 
 variety of this manner of working basso -rilievo, 
 which is only or chiefly found in Egyptian 
 sculpture ; the outline is sunk into the plane 
 or ground, and the parts are then formed and 
 rounded on the principle of basso-rilievo. By 
 this mode of working there is usually no pro- 
 jection beyond the profile or face of the ori- 
 ginal ground ; to gain effect therefore in this 
 kind of relieved intaglio, the Egyptian artists 
 frequently painted the sculpture. 
 
 The materials for modelling used by the 
 ancients, were clay, wax, and plaster. The 
 clay model was usually baked, by which it 
 acquired a hardness scarcely inferior to stone. 
 These terra cotta works were generally painted. 
 The materials used for carved works comprised 
 every substance, hard or soft, that could by 
 any possibility be employed for the purpose. 
 The Egyptians, whose great objects were to 
 render their works durable, chiefly employed 
 porphyry, basalt, and granite. For casting 
 gold, silver, copper, lead (and their compounds) 
 wax, and plaster, were all used. [BRONZE ; 
 FOUNDING.] Polylithic Sculpture was the name 
 given to the combination of different marbles 
 in the same work. When painting or colour- 
 ng was resorted to it was called Polychromic 
 Sculpture. 
 
 The consideration of the various schools 
 and far-famed works of sculpture, as produc- 
 tions of genius and high art, lies beyond the 
 range of the presentvolume ; but the median- 
 cal operations of sculpture conie fittingly 
 under notice here. 
 
 The technical or mechanical processes of 
 sculpture are for the most part extremely 
 imple. The sculptor usually begins by mak- 
 ng a slight sketch of his subject, either draw- 
 ng it on paper or at once modelling it on a 
 mall scale, in clay or wax. He next proceeds 
 o build up his statue of the desired size. The 
 irst thing necessary is to construct a sort of 
 ucleus, or skeleton, by which the clay may 
 >e supported. This is made of wood or iron, 
 iccording to the strength required, and tlio 
 imbs are usually made moveable by attaching 
 he skeleton parts to the main support, or 
 runk, by wire joints. The figure is then 
 iuilt up in clay ; and whether it is ultimately 
 o be draped or not, it should always be mo- 
 elled naked, in order that the true forms may 
 >e easily distinguished, and the drapery mado 
 o fall naturally. In modelling in relief, a 
 lane, or ground as it is called, is prepared, 
 ipon which the sculptor carefully draws his 
 esign. The clay is then laid and pressed 
 .pon this, the outline of the figures being 
 ouncled by the lines of the drawing. When 
 he work is completed it is cast in plaster 
 
ttCLOraiA OF THE 0F ail 
 
 No. 36. 
 
1497 
 
 SEA WATEE. 
 
 SEDLITZ. 
 
 1498 
 
 of paris, by means of a mould taken in that 
 material. 
 
 In copying a model in marble, the first step 
 is to prepare two stones of the same size, or 
 at least with an exactly corresponding gradu- 
 ated scale marked on the front of each, on 
 which the block of marble and the model are 
 respectively to be placed. The fronts of the 
 two scales are so constructed or fitted up, 
 that a ' pointing instrument ' can be applied 
 to them. This instrument is usually com- 
 posed of a pole or standard, to which a long 
 brass or steel needle, capable of being extended 
 and withdrawn, loosened or fixed, and moved 
 in every direction by means of ball and socket 
 joints, is attached. This is made to touch a 
 particular part of the model. The whole in- 
 strument is then removed to the scale stone 
 on which the rough block is placed, and the 
 marble is cut away till the needle reaches as 
 far into the block as it had been fixed at upon 
 the model. A pencil mark is then made upon 
 the two corresponding parts of the model and 
 block, and thus what is technically called ' a 
 point ' is taken. This process is repeated till 
 the numerous points at fixed depths, corre- 
 sponding throughout with the surface of the 
 model, are attained, and a rough copy of the 
 sculptor's original work is thus mechanically 
 made. The practice of different sculptors has 
 suggested various changes in detail ; but the 
 principle seems to be exactly similar in all. 
 The statue being rudely blocked out or 
 pointed, the marble is in this state put into 
 the hands of a superior workman called a 
 carver, who copies the minuter portions of the 
 work by means of chisels of various sizes, 
 rasps, and files ; the pencil marks or points 
 showing him the limits beyond which he is 
 not to penetrate into the marble. When the 
 carver has carried the work as far as the 
 sculptor desires, he proceeds himself to give it 
 the finishing strokes, by retouching and im- 
 proving the details of form and expression, by 
 producing varieties of texture and surface, and 
 by giving that general quality or appearance 
 to the whole which constitutes That is termed 
 harmony of effect. 
 
 SEA WATEK. [WATER.] 
 
 SEA WEEDS. A few details concerning 
 the uses of various kinds of sea weeds will be 
 found under ALGJE; ARCHIL; ICELAND Moss ; 
 KELP ; LICHENS. 
 
 SEAL ENGKAVING. The cutting of the 
 very hard stones or gems used for seals is 
 effected chiefly by the use of small rapidly re- 
 volving wheels, the edges of which wear away 
 the substance of the stone applied to them. 
 Under the articles CAMEO ; DIAMOND ; GEM ; 
 INTAGLIO ; LAPIDARY will be found details 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 sufficient to illustrate the general character of 
 seal engraving. 
 
 SEALS ; SEAL SKINS. These singular 
 animals are captured eagerly, in seas and on 
 coasts where they abound, for the sake of 
 various useful services which they render. 
 The species called the Elephant Seal, which 
 is principally met with in the southern hemi- 
 sphere, is the object of an extensive fishery, 
 maintained for the sake of its skin and oil ; 
 and vast numbers are annually destroyed. 
 The skin, though not valued for its fur, is 
 extensively used for carriage and horse har- 
 ness on account of its thickness and strength. 
 The oil obtained is clear and inodorous, and 
 is said never to become rancid, nor to give 
 out any disagreeable savour in cooking. The 
 quantity afforded by a large seal amounts 
 to 1400 or 1500 Ibs., for the blubber is often 
 a foot deep. It is prepared like that of 
 whales, excepting that the operation is per- 
 formed on shore. This oil is employed in 
 England chiefly in the manufacture of cloth ; 
 it is used to a considerable extent in China. 
 
 Many other species are valued for the skin, 
 which has a beautiful fur when the animal is 
 young. The Walrus, which is a species of 
 seal, is highly valued; the tusks, the skin, 
 and the oil are all commercially valuable; and 
 the flesh is esteemed by the natives of Arctic 
 regions. 
 
 Salted seal skins have recently been im- 
 ported from Northern Europe, under circum- 
 stances which could not have occurred before 
 the repeal of the Navigation Laws. Upwards 
 of 45,000 were recently imported in one vessel 
 from Denmark. 
 
 There were 753,141 seal skins imported in 
 1847; and 706,267 in 1848 chiefly from the 
 Hudson's Bay Territories. They are used in 
 making caps, and for various other purposes. 
 
 SECTOK (Drawing Instrument), is an 
 apparatus which has the appearance of a small 
 carpenter's rule marked with scales in every 
 part ; the greater number of these scales not 
 being laid down parallel to the edges of the 
 rule, but converging towards the pivot on which 
 the moving arm of the rule turns while the 
 instrument is opened. These converging scales 
 only properly belong to the sector ; the others 
 are merely laid down for convenience on such 
 blank spaces as are left by the converging or 
 sectorial scales. The sector is, in principle, 
 an aggregate of a large number of pairs of 
 compasses packed up into one ; each piece of 
 the ruler being marked with the same scales. 
 
 The scales are so graduated as to facilitate 
 many kinds of measurement and calculation, 
 in geometrical and trigonometrical enquiries. 
 
 SEDLITZ. This is the name of a village 
 
 NN 
 
1499 
 
 SEEDS. 
 
 SEINE. 
 
 1500 
 
 in the circle of Saaz in Bohemia, containing 
 two bitter salt springs, from which the well- 
 known salts called Sedlitz Powders are ob- 
 tained. There are several such springs in the 
 neighbourhood, including those at Seidschuz, 
 in the circle of Leitmeritz. Above half a 
 million of bottles of the water of Sedlitz and 
 Seidschuz are annually sent to all parts of 
 Germany. 
 
 SEEDS. Of those foreign seeds which are 
 of sufficient importance to find a place in tbe 
 Board of Trade tables, the following quanti- 
 ties were imported in 1848 : 
 
 Can-away 7,266 Cwts. 
 
 Clover 99,813 
 
 Flax and Linseed .. . 709,650 Qrs. 
 
 Onion 1,385 Cwts. 
 
 Eape 79,970 Qrs. 
 
 Tares 48,929 
 
 Of most of these, the importation in 1850 
 was smaller than in 1848. 
 
 The economical uses of these seeds are de- 
 scribed in other articles. 
 
 SEGAR MANUFACTURE. [CiOAB.] 
 SEINE. This important river of France 
 connects Paris with the sea at Havre. By 
 means of a lateral canal between Marcilly and 
 Troyes, and locks to avoid the fall at Nogent, 
 the river is navigable from Troyes to its mouth, 
 a distance of 370 miles. From Paris to Rouen 
 it is navigated by small steamers and by barges 
 150 to 180 feet in length, 30 feet wide, and 
 with a draft of 6 feet. The tide ascends the 
 Seine as far as Rouen, which city is accessible 
 for vessels of 300 tons. Between Caudebec 
 where the Seine begins to widen, and Quille- 
 beuf, the navigation is dangerous, owing to 
 the shoals and shifting sandbanks in the bed 
 of the river. This has led to the undertaking 
 of important works between Villequier and 
 Quillebeuf, the object of which is to confine 
 the river to a narrower bed by means of em- 
 bankments ; a portion of this undertaking, 
 completed in 1849, gave the satisfactory result 
 of a deepened current, which soon swept its 
 bed clear of sands. The importance of the 
 navigation of the Seine may be inferred from 
 the fact that about 3500 sea-going ships enter 
 and leave the ports of Havre and Rouen annu- 
 ally, besides a large number of coasters and 
 small craft. Owing to the windings of the 
 river its navigation is tedious. Steamers ply 
 regularly between Havre, Rouen, and several 
 other towns on the lower Seine. The articles 
 of traffic on the river include almost every 
 description of agricultural, mineral, and in- 
 dustrial products, home, foreign, and colonial. 
 The river gives name to four of the depart- 
 ments of France; viz. Seine, Seine Infcricurc, 
 Seine et Marne, and Seine et Oisc. 
 
 In the department of Seine, a large portion 
 of the surface of the department is laid out 
 in gardens, for the growth of kitchen vegeta- 
 bles, fruits, and flowers ; wheat, barley, oats, 
 and potatoes are grown in large quantities, 
 considering the smallness of the area of the 
 department ; but little wine is made, and that 
 little is all bad. Montmartre and most of the 
 hills consist of accumulations of gypsum ; 
 excellent building stone is quarried under the 
 southern quarters of Paris, and at various 
 other points of the department ; fine clays for 
 porcelain and pottery, chalk, sand for glass 
 foundries, &c., are raised. The manufactures 
 comprise almost every woven fabric in wool, 
 flax, cotton, and silk ; metallic articles ; jewel- 
 lery, watches, and clocks ; glass, porcelain, 
 furniture, hats, gloves, ribands, and small 
 wares of all kinds ; scientific instruments, and 
 chemical products of every description, &c. 
 The commerce in these various products, and 
 in agricultural produce, coal, timber, and fire- 
 wood, raw materials of manufactures, cheese, 
 metals, salt, drugs, colonial produce, building 
 materials, &c., is most extensive. 
 
 In the department of Seine Inferieure, hemp 
 and flax are grown, especially along the coast 
 between Fecamp and Havre ; the hemp is al- 
 most exclusively used for making ropes and 
 fishing nets. The department is remarkable 
 for the vast number of its apple and pear 
 trees. Great attention is paid to the rearing 
 of horses, fat cattle, milch cows, and to the 
 making of butter and cheese, both important 
 articles of export. The Seine is valuable to 
 fishermen for its abundance of salmon, stur- 
 geon, sole, eels, &c. Large fleets of barks of 30 
 to 90 tons, and with crews varying from 15 to 
 30 in number, are employed in the mackerel, 
 oyster, and herring fisheries. The minerals 
 comprise marble, building and paving stone, 
 chalk, flint, brickearth, potters' clay, sand 
 used in glass factories, and marl. Iron mines 
 were formerly worked near Forges. Peat is 
 found. The department is famous for its in- 
 dustrial energy, which is exerted upon the 
 spinning, dyeing, and weaving of cotton, wool, 
 and flax ; the manufacture of ginghams, cot- 
 ton cloths,and calicoes of all kinds, broadcloth, 
 flannel, serge, linen, and mixed cloths of wool 
 and cotton. The cotton manufactures had a 
 great development previous to the revolution 
 of 1848; since then it is said they have re- 
 ceived some check. Hand-loom weaving is 
 carried on in almost every hamlet and cottage, 
 and frequently on a pressure of orders tho 
 raw material is sent into the neighbouring 
 department to be worked up. The depart- 
 ment is famous for its bleach works, which 
 are conducted on the most modern principles, 
 
1501 
 
 SEINE. 
 
 and turn out linen of a purer whiteness than 
 those bleached in any other part of France. 
 The linen woven about Fecamp is of the best 
 quality. Cotton printing has had a great ex- 
 tension during the last thirty years. Among 
 the other manufactured products maybe men- 
 tioned lace, watch and clock movements, arti- 
 cles of ivory, pottery, window glass, bricks, &c. 
 There are also numerous sugar refineries, 
 silk-mills, manufactories of chemical products, 
 metal foundries, tan - yards, ship-building 
 yards, and other establishments in which 
 industrial and commercial enterprise mani- 
 fests itself on a large and important scale. 
 The commerce carried on with the interior of 
 France, with its colonies, with the whole of 
 Europe, the West Indies, and America, is 
 most extensive, and includes almost every 
 article of French import and export. Of the 
 manufacturing industry and important com- 
 merce of the department other details are 
 given under DIEPPE, HAVRE, and EOUEN. 
 
 In the department of Seine et Marne, the 
 wine produced is bad, although some of the 
 finest grapes grown in the north of France 
 are gathered in the neighbourhood of Fon- 
 tainebleau. The forests, which cover more 
 than one-sixth of the whole surface of the de- 
 partment, contain chiefly oak, beech, maple, 
 and birch. Milch cows are numerous ; veal 
 calves are fed for the supply of Paris ; cheese, 
 known in Paris as fromage de Brie, is made 
 in considerable quantity. The quarries of 
 Chateau-Landon and Nemours furnish very 
 beautiful building stone, of which a very large 
 quantity is raised. Other mineral products 
 are millstone grit, paving flints, alabaster, 
 limestone, gypsum, potters' clay, and white 
 sand. The industrial products include writing 
 and printing paper, pottery and porcelain, cot- 
 ton yarn and printed calicos, leather, window 
 glass, &c. Glass globes and cylinders of the 
 largest size are made at Bagneaux, near Ne- 
 mours, and also optical and common glass ; 
 in the central prison at Melun various articles 
 are manufactured by the prisoners. The com- 
 merce of the department is confined chiefly 
 to agricultural produce, wool, cattle, wood, 
 and charcoal for the supply of Paris. 
 
 In the department of Seine et Oise, great 
 numbers of milch cows, chiefly house-fed, are 
 kept for the supply of Paris and Versailles 
 with milk. Market gardening is a profitable 
 occupation, and is carried on extensively. Fil- 
 berts, walnuts, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, 
 apples, and other common fruits are abun- 
 dantly grown. About 17,000,000 gallons of 
 poor wine are made annually. In the north- 
 west of the department, where the vine does 
 not flourish, apples and pears are grown for 
 
 SENEFELDEE, ALOIS. 1503 
 
 making cider and perry, the common drinks 
 of the inhabitants of that district. The most 
 important forests are those of St. Germain, 
 Eambouillet, Dourdan, Senart, and Montmo- 
 rency; they contain chiefly oak, birch, and 
 maple, with some beech, chestnut, and hazel. 
 The minerals include only building stone, 
 gypsum, limestone, paving flints, millstone- 
 grit, chalk, marl, and potters' and porcelain 
 clay. The industrial energy of the depart- 
 ment has been greatly developed since 1789, 
 when the gunpowder works of Essonne (now 
 established at Bouchet), and the porcelain 
 and glass works of Sevres, were the only im- 
 portant establishments it possessed. There 
 are now numerous mills and factories at 
 various points of the department, producing 
 cotton, flaxen, silk, and woollen threads, ca- 
 lico, cotton and woollen hosiery, paper, che- 
 mical products, woollen cloth, soap, oil, refined 
 sugar, porcelain, glass, saltpetre, beer, toys, 
 crinoline, &c. ; besides metal foundries, brick 
 works, and above 800 wind and water mills, 
 the greater number of which are scattered 
 over the arondissemeuts of Corbeil, Etampes, 
 andPontoise. In the prison of Poissy, various 
 articles of jewellery, cutlery, and furniture are 
 made by the prisoners. The commerce of 
 the department is carried on chiefly with 
 Paris, and consists of the agricultural and 
 industrial products above mentioned. 
 
 SELE'NIUM. This non-metallic, solid, 
 elementary body was discovered in 1818 by 
 Berzelius in iron pyrites. It has a metallic 
 lustre, and the appearance of lead when in 
 mass ; when reduced to powder it is of a deep 
 brown colour. It is inodorous, moderately 
 hard, may be readily scratched with a knife, 
 is brittle as glass, and easily reduced to pow- 
 der. Its fracture is conchoidal, and perfectly 
 metallic. Its specific gravity is about 4-30. 
 It is a bad conductor of heat, and a non-con- 
 ductor of electricity. It softens at 212, and 
 may be drawn out into fine threads, which are 
 transparent, and of a red colour by transmitted 
 light. "When heated above 212 it becomes 
 fluid, and boils at 650. Selenium is soluble 
 in hot oils and melted wax. It combines with 
 many of the elementary bodies ; but none of 
 the compounds have yet been of much use in 
 the arts. 
 
 SENEFELDEE, ALOIS, deserves to be 
 remembered as the inventor of lithography. 
 He was born at Prague in 1771 ; and having 
 written two or three plays while yet a youth, 
 he became desirous of procuring the necessary 
 apparatus for printing his own works. Being 
 too poor to gratify this desire, he endeavoured 
 to discover some other mode of printing, but 
 was defeated in several plans by want of 
 
1503 SENEGAL SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 means. The result of a variety of exper 
 ments, persevered in in spite of every difl 
 culty, was his discovery, through an acciden 
 of the art known as Lithography. [LiTH 
 ORAPHY.] In order to raise money to carr 
 but his idea, Senefelder enlisted as a privat 
 in the artillery, as a substitute for a frien 
 who promised him a premium of two hundre 
 florins ; but this plan was frustrated. Whil 
 at Ingoldstadt, he was led to conceive the pe 
 culiar fitness of his new process for printin 
 music. He continued struggling until 1799 
 when he obtained an exclusive privilege fo 
 Bavaria for fifteen years, and carried on 
 considerable business, employing his t 
 brothers and two apprentices. Mr. Andre o 
 Offenbach, now became his partner, and the} 
 commenced arrangements for obtaining pa 
 tents and establishing presses in Vienna, 
 London, Paris, and Berlin. While engagec 
 in this project, he visited London, butwithou 
 succeeding in his object. Unfortunate cir 
 cumstances led to a hasty dissolution of this 
 promising partnership in 1800 ; and political 
 events also contributed to his embarrassments 
 In 1806 however an extensive lithographic 
 establishment was formed at Munich, by Sen- 
 efelder, in connection with Baron Aretin and 
 others. This partnership lasted about four 
 years, during which period a great nnmber oi 
 works were executed ; some of them for the 
 government. Several other lithographic esta- 
 blishments were also in successful operation 
 in 1809, when Senefelder obtained an engage- 
 ment which rewarded him for the vicissitudes 
 Of the early part of his career. A royal litho- 
 graphic office was formed about that time for 
 printing the plans of a new survey of the 
 kingdom, of which a great number were re- 
 quired. In 1809, he was appointed to the 
 office of inspector, with a salary of fifteen 
 hundred florins per annum, and permission 
 to carry on his private business also. The 
 subsequent improvements effected by Sene- 
 felder, such as the printing in colours, and 
 upon linen, were attributed by himself to the 
 ease and independence which this honourable 
 engagement afforded. 
 
 SENEGAL SETTLEMENTS. On the 
 banks of the Senegal and Gambia rivers in 
 West Africa, different European governments 
 have established settlements. These settle- 
 ments in Senegambia ( as the country is called) 
 differ materially from those in other parts of 
 the world. They are strictly commercial. 
 The settlers have not acquired the property 
 of any land, except the place on which they 
 have settled, and no cultivation is carried on 
 by them or their people, except at a few spots 
 which are rather gardens than plantations. 
 
 SENEGAL SETTLEMENTS. 1504 
 
 These settlements were originally established 
 for the purpose of procuring negro slaves for 
 the colonies in North America. The country 
 however had other productions which were 
 valued in Europe ; and the natives of the in- 
 terior were desirous of obtaining several arti- 
 cles of European manufacture, partly for their 
 own consumption, and partly to sell them to 
 the nations of Soodan. Accordingly these 
 settlements were not abandoned on the aboli- 
 tion of the slave trade, like those on the coast 
 of Guinea, and they continue in a thriving 
 state. Each of the three European nations 
 which have formed settlements has taken 
 possession as it were of one of the three large 
 rivers ; the French of the Senegal, the English 
 of the Gambia, and the Portuguese of the Eio 
 Grande. Each has built a fortress on an is- 
 [and not far from the mouth of the river, 
 which serves as a safe place of deposit for the 
 goods imported, and thence the productions 
 of the country are shipped. The merchants 
 set out from these places in large river boats 
 with their goods at certain seasons of the 
 rear, and ascend the rivers as far as they are 
 navigable. They stop at certain points to 
 which the natives bring their productions to 
 exchange for European manufactures. In a 
 ew positions on the banks of the rivers small 
 ortresses or blockhouses are erected, in which 
 ome black soldiers with two or three Euro- 
 )ean officers are kept for the protection of 
 ommerce. Some merchants, particularly 
 nglish and Portuguese, have formed com- 
 nercial establishments not far from these 
 ortresses in those villages which are advan- 
 ageously situated for commerce. The French 
 ettlements are chiefly at St. Louis, Podhor, 
 Jakel, and Goree. The English settlements 
 re at Bathurst, Macarthy Island, and Fort 
 t. James. The Portuguese settlements are 
 t Bissao, Jeba, Bolula, Cacheo, and smaller 
 nes in the interior. St. Louis, Bathurst, and 
 Jissao, are flourishing towns. 
 
 Nearly all the articles of commerce which 
 re exported from the European settlements 
 n Senegambia are brought from the interior 
 y small caravans or cafilas, which generally 
 top at certain places where commercial esta- 
 ishments are found, and take European 
 lerchandise in exchange for their goods. A 
 onsiderable commerce is also carried on 
 etween Senegambia and the countries further 
 ast. 
 
 To such of the Senegambia settlements 
 long to Great Britain, our exports in 1849 
 mounted in value to 35,770/. ; consisting 
 rincipally of clothing and firearms. Thes 
 rearms were exchanged with the natives fc 
 he produce of the country. 
 
1605 
 
 SENNA, 
 
 SEWEBS. 
 
 1506 
 
 SENNA. [CASSIA.] 
 
 SENNAAR. In this little-known African 
 country, situated between Egypt and Abys- 
 sinia, more industrial activity is displayed 
 than might be expected. The branch of in- 
 dustry in which the Sennaarese are most 
 distinguished is leather, which is of the best 
 quality, and much superior to that made in 
 Egypt or Syria; many useful articles are made 
 of it by the natives. Where dates grow, cords 
 and ropes are made of the fibrous interior 
 bark of the palm date -tree, and in some places 
 of reeds. Cotton cloth is made by the women 
 for domestic use, but it constitutes also a con- 
 siderable article of trade in Northern Africa, 
 under the name of damour. The workers in 
 gold, silver, and iron, are very skilful, and 
 execute their work neatly with very simple 
 tools. Pottery is made to a considerable ex- 
 tent; and also carved wooden vessels. In 
 some places coloured straw hats are made 
 with great neatness, and they are sent to 
 different countries in the neighbourhood. An 
 extensive foreign commerce is maintained at 
 Sennaar. There is one caravan route to Cairo, 
 two to the Eed Sea, one south-westward to 
 Begharmi, and another south east to Alymuir. 
 Few of the articles imported into Sennaar are 
 brought from European markets ; the imports 
 are chiefly from various parts of Africa and 
 Asia. The principal articles of export are 
 slaves, the damour or cotton-stuff of Sennaar 
 and Begharmi, gold, ivory, and ostrich feathers. 
 The inland trade of Sennaar is very active, 
 partly in consequence of the great number 
 of caravans which continually traverse the 
 country, and create a great demand for camels, 
 which are brought to those places through 
 which the caravans pass, and partly on account 
 of the different productions of the several 
 parts of the province. 
 
 SEEAI is the name for a large building for 
 the accommodation of travellers, common in 
 Eastern countries. The word is Persian, and 
 means 'a palace, the king's court, a large 
 edifice ; ' hence karavan-serai, a place of rest 
 for caravans. In Turkey these buildings are 
 generally called khans, from khan, another 
 Persian word, which has a similar meaning. 
 
 SERAPHINE is a musical instrument of 
 the keyed kind, in which very short, thin, and 
 narrow steel bars, or springs, put into vibra- 
 tory motion by means of a bellows acted on 
 by the foot, are used instead of pipes. The 
 principle on which the sounds are elicited is 
 the same as in the ACCOBDION and the CON- 
 CEETINA. The Seraphine is in the form of a 
 chiffonier, about thirty- seven inches high, forty 
 wide, and twenty -two deep. Its compass is 
 five octaves, including all the semitones, and 
 
 it is played on in the same manner as an 
 organ. In small churches, a Seraphine is often 
 a welcome substitute for a more costly and 
 bulky instrument. 
 
 SERPENT. This musical instrument 
 consists of a long conical tube of wood covered 
 with leather, having a mouth-piece, ventages, 
 and keys, and bent in a serpentine form. The 
 compass of the serpent is from B flat below 
 the base staff, to G, the treble clef line, inclu- 
 ding every tone and semitone between these 
 extremes. Its use is now nearly superseded 
 by the OPHICLEIDE. 
 
 SE'SAMUM. This genus of plants is 
 valuable for the oil which it yields. Simpsea 
 is the Egyptian and Arabian name of one of 
 the species, remarkable for the quantity and 
 quality of the oil expressed from its seeds. 
 The oil is employed as an article of diet in 
 Eastern nations, on which account the seeds 
 form an article of commerce from India and 
 Egypt in the present day. The oil is bland, 
 of a fine quality, and will keep many years 
 without becoming rancid ; it is often used in 
 India as a salad oil. The leaves of the plant 
 are mucilaginous, and are employed for 
 poultices. 
 
 SEWERS. Covered drains or sewers of 
 great size, and of very solid construction, still 
 exist under the streets of some ancient Roman 
 cities, and especially of Rome itself. In 
 modern times the sewers of London stand 
 unrivalled for extent and excellent construc- 
 tion, although much yet remains to be done 
 to render them adequate to the necessities of 
 an immense and constantly-increasing popu- 
 lation. Full one-third of the sewers in the 
 City of London were made in the ten years 
 preceding 1834. Until 1847 there were seven 
 Boards of Commissioners of Sewers in the 
 metropolis, each having control over a par- 
 ticular district. It was often found that great 
 inconvenience and expense resulted from the 
 want of agreement between these boards ; and 
 at length a Metropolitan Commission of 
 Sewers was appointed by Act of Parliament. 
 The Commission commenced its labours in 
 1847. It has control over the whole of the 
 metropolis except the City ; but the City 
 Comission has agreed to act as far as possible 
 in conjunction with it. 
 
 All the sewers constructed by the Metro- 
 politan Commissions of late years are of such 
 dimensions as to allow a man to pass through 
 them, for the purpose of inspecting or cleansing 
 them. The smallest sewers in the City of 
 London division are about four feet three 
 inches high by two feet three inches wide, the 
 dimensions being increased according to cir- 
 cumstances, up to ten feet by eight feet. The 
 
1507 
 
 SEWERS. 
 
 SEWERS. 
 
 1508 
 
 water brought down by the Tleet River is 
 conducted from Holborn Bridge by two sewers, 
 from twelve to fourteen feet high, and six 
 feet six inches wide, one on each side of 
 Farringdon Street. These sewers unite, 
 towards the mouth, into one passage about 
 eighteen feet by twelve. 
 
 The bricks and cement in the London 
 sewers are of the best quality ; but the form 
 of the sewers varies greatly ; some engineers 
 preferring one form, some another. Nearly 
 all the modern sewers however, have an 
 inverted arch at the bottom ; and curved forms 
 are also generally given to the sides and the 
 top. In the metropolitan sewers the inclina- 
 tion varies from a quarter of an inch to an 
 inch and a quarter in ten feet. In some 
 cases it is very difficult to obtain sufficient 
 inclination in a sewer, and still to make it 
 deep enough to drain the basement story of 
 neighbouring houses ; which may be readily 
 conceived from the fact that some parts of 
 London are below the level of high water. 
 Wherever it is practicable, new sewers are 
 built at a considerable depth from the surface. 
 
 The depth of that in Watling Street, in the 
 City of London, which is an extraordinary 
 case, is from thirty-three to thirty-five feet. 
 In many cases however there is a space of 
 not more than three feet between the surface 
 of the roadway and the crown of the arch of 
 the sewer. Where private drains are to be 
 laid into a sewer for the purpose of draining 
 houses, it is necessary that the lowest pave- 
 ment of the floor of the building be at least 
 four feet above the level of the sewer ; because 
 the house would otherwise be liable to be flooded 
 with water from the sewer, when unusually 
 full. Drains leading from private houses are 
 usually of a circular form, and nine inches in 
 diameter, though some are of greater size. 
 
 The construction of gulley -holes and shoots 
 for conducting the surface drainage of the 
 streets into the sewers varies considerably in 
 different parts of the metropolis. It has been 
 usual, until very recently, to make apertures, 
 called Man-Holes, at convenient distances, to 
 enable persons, when necessary, to enter and 
 cleanse the sewers, ; these apertures in some 
 instances, are built in the form of oblong 
 shafts of brickwork, up to within about 
 eighteen inches of the surface of the road, 
 and covered with cast-iron plates, over which 
 the roadway is made good. A later and better 
 plan is that of side entrances. These are 
 passages extending from the side of the sewer 
 to the foot pavement, through which they may 
 at any time be entered by unlocking and 
 opening a cover or trap-door consisting of pieces 
 of flag-stone mounted in an iron frame. When 
 
 a person enters the sewer by one of these 
 openings the cover is held open by a self- 
 acting catch, and an iron grating which 
 admits light and air rises into its place, and 
 serves to prevent any passenger from acciden- 
 tally falling in. These entrances greatly 
 facilitate the operation of flushing or cleansing 
 the sewers. The necessary body of water for 
 flushing is produced by simply accumulating 
 the ordinary contents of the sewer, which may 
 be done either by a cast-iron grate, fitting 
 closely to a frame-work built into the sewer, and 
 rising to the height that the head is required 
 to be, or by a drop plank or gate of the same 
 material, sliding up and down in nearly 
 vertical grooves. In either case the apparatus 
 may be managed, by means of the side 
 entrances, with the greatest facility. The 
 ordinary run of water in the sewers has 
 hitherto been found sufficient for the purpose ; 
 but in case of its proving otherwise, a supply 
 of water for flushing might be readily procured 
 from the water companies. 
 
 The subject of the application of sewage 
 refuse to the purposes of manure has recently 
 attracted much attention. Two companies 
 obtained acts of parliament, the one in 1816, 
 and the other in 1847, under the designations 
 of the 'Metropolitan Sewage Manure Com- 
 pany,' and the 'London Sewage Chemical 
 Manure Company.' The plan of the former 
 company was to collect the contents of some 
 of the sewers of Westminster and Pimlico, 
 and convey them by a deep underground 
 channel to Hammersmith, where a steam- 
 engine and other apparatus would distribute 
 the manure in a liquid state to the market- 
 gardens of that neighbourhood. The plan of 
 the second company was to collect the contents 
 of three sewers which now fall into the 
 Thames between Vauxhall Bridge and West- 
 minster Bridge, and, after allowing the liquid 
 part to flow into the Thames, to deprive the 
 refuse of its offensive smell, and sell it as 
 manure in a solid state, Very little has been 
 done, however, towards carrying out either of 
 these plans. 
 
 Since the Metropolitan Commissioners of 
 Sewers commenced their operations in 1847 
 many steps have been taken towards a com- 
 prehensive sewerage for the whole of the 
 metropolis. A survey of the metropolis is 
 now being made for the Commissioners by the 
 officers belonging to the Ordnance Survey. 
 The survey will extend to a distance of 8 
 miles in every direction from St. Paul's, com- 
 prising an area of about 201 square miles. 
 On a scale of five feet to a mile, the results of 
 this survey would fill 900 large sheets, and 
 would form a magnificent map of London 
 
1509 
 
 SEWERS. 
 
 SEXTANT. 
 
 1510 
 
 eighty feet in diameter. While the survey and 
 map are in progress, the Commissioners have 
 invited tenders of plans for a comprehensive 
 sewerage of the metropolis. A very large 
 number of such plans were sent in to the 
 commissioners in the early part of the year 
 1850 ; many of these embracing an application 
 of sewage refuse to the purposes of manure. 
 
 The Metropolitan Commissioners have not 
 yet begun to develope their great system for 
 the drainage of London ; but they executed 
 in 1850 many important works which will be 
 made compatible with their larger scheme. 
 They expended 70,0001. during the year in 
 forming 6 miles of brick sewers, 16 miles of 
 pipe sewers, 40 side entrances, 304 air shafts, 
 565 gullies, 1137 drain mouths, and various 
 repairs. Besides the 21 miles of new sewers 
 executed at the expense of the Commissioners, 
 there were 13 miles constructed for, and paid 
 for by, private parties. About 18,000/. had 
 been expended by the end of the year in the 
 survey of London. Of the 900 sheets about 
 400 are to be engraved, and the rest (the 
 marginal or country district) left simply as 
 drawn plans. Nearly all the 400 are now 
 (April 1851) engraved; they are printed on 
 sheets of double elephant paper, and are sold 
 singly at two shillings each. 
 
 The Commissioners determined on the 
 adoption of two comprehensive schemes of 
 drainage for the Metropolis ; they directed 
 their engineers to prepare plans , and reports 
 were made in August 1850 and January 1851, 
 respecting the south and north drainages 
 respectively. The general principle of these 
 schemes is understood to be accepted by the 
 Commissioners : the southern to be com- 
 menced before the northern, as being more 
 urgently wanted. Without entering into 
 details, it may suffice to say, that the object 
 both of the north and the south drainage is to 
 keep the Thames clear of sewage from 
 Galleon's Eeach upwards ; to carry the sewers 
 as much as possible under the public streets 
 and places ; to make them of dimensions and 
 at gradiants ensuring an unintermittent flow ; 
 to secure good house-drainage, and self- 
 cleansing street drainage ; to dispense, as far 
 as possible, with periodical flushing ; and to 
 provide means for the eventual removal of all 
 open sewers, ditches, and cesspools. A portion 
 of the great scheme for the southern side of 
 the Thames has been already commenced 
 between Kennington and the Old Kent Road. 
 To give some idea of the magnitude of the 
 operations which the Commissioners have 
 under their control, it will suffice to say that 
 700 miles of existing sewer have been 
 examined north of the Thames, and accurate 
 
 plans and sections taken of every part of every 
 sewer. It will farther illustrate the scale of 
 these operations to bear in mind that the esti- 
 mate of expense for the northern drainage 
 alone is nearly a million and a quarter sterling. 
 
 SEXTANT. The Sextant is a valuable 
 instrument for measuring angles in navigation 
 and surveying. There were various earlier 
 instruments by Davis, Hooke, Newton, 
 Godfrey and others; but Hadley's Sextant, 
 invented in 1730, superseded all previous con- 
 trivances. 
 
 The Sextant has a plane glass, called the 
 Index Glass, silvered behind, and perpen- 
 dicular to the face of the instrument. It is 
 fixed on a centre perpendicular to the instru- 
 ment, and moves with the Index-Bar, the end 
 of which slides over a graduated arc. There 
 is another plane glass, the lower half of which, 
 next the instrument, is silvered, and the 
 upper half left clear. It is called the Horizon 
 Glass and should be parallel to the index glass 
 when the index points to at the beginning 
 of the arc. The Sextant also has a telescope 
 for viewing the objects observed ; whereas in 
 the common quadrants there is merely a plate 
 with a small hole for directing the sight. 
 Suppose a ray of light to proceed from the 
 eye, it will proceed in the direction of the 
 telescope, and if it falls on the upper or 
 unsilvered part of the horizon glass, it will 
 pass forward in a continued straight line 
 until it falls upon some exterior object. But 
 if the ray falls upon the silvered part of the 
 horizon glass, it will be reflected to the index 
 glass (the horizon glass is so placed as to 
 make equal angles with lines from the eye 
 and index glass), and again reflected from the 
 index glass outwards (i.e. from the observer), 
 until it meets some external object. Now 
 instead of supposing the rays to pass from the 
 eye, suppose them to come from external 
 objects to the eye; then there will be two 
 images presented at the same time, one formed 
 by the rays which pass through the unsilvered 
 part of the horizon glass, and another formed 
 by the rays which have been previously 
 reflected by the two glasses ; and the graduated 
 arc measures the angle between the glasses, 
 and also the angle between the objects 
 observed. The Sextant furnishes the means 
 of measuring the angle between any two well- 
 defined objects, in whatever direction they 
 may be placed (so that the angle does not 
 exceed 140), and without requiring more 
 steadiness than is necessary for seeing the 
 objects distinctly. There are sets of dark 
 glasses of varying intensity, which may be 
 turned before either the index or horizon 
 glass when the sun's light is too intense. 
 
1511 
 
 SHAGREEN. 
 
 SHEEP. 
 
 1512 
 
 SHAGREEN, is a sort of leather grained 
 BO as to be covered with small round pimples 
 or projections. It is made chiefly of the skin 
 of horses, asses and mules. The skin is 
 soaked in water, scraped, and stretched on 
 frames. While soft, small seeds, such as 
 mustard seeds, are pressed into it, and it is 
 then dried with the seeds in it. The seeds 
 are afterwards beaten out, and the skin has 
 then that pimpled graining which is peculiar 
 to the leather. It is afterwards polished, 
 soaked in a ley, and died of various colours. 
 
 SHANG-HAE. By the treaty of Nankin, 
 in 1842, the port of Shang-hae (in the same 
 manner as those of Canton, Amoy, Foochoo, 
 and Ningpo^) was thrown open to British 
 merchants ; a British consul resides there ; 
 and tariffs of imports and exports, as well as 
 inland and transit duties, have been estab- 
 lished. The result has been the formation 
 of a large British trade at Shang-hae. In 
 1846 the vessels which entered and left the 
 port amounted to 148, with an aggregate 
 bui'den of 42,608 tons. The goods imported 
 in that year were valued at 810,200*., and 
 those exported at 1,352,530/. The cottons 
 and woollens imported, and the tea and silk 
 exported, in the three years 1844-5-6, were as 
 follow : 
 
 Cottons . . 3,001,794 pieces . . 1,872,7851. 
 
 Woollens. 2,359,868 yards . . 424,020*. 
 
 Tea 21,020,633 Ibs 967,230*. 
 
 Silk 30,834 bales . .2,132,690*. 
 
 The magnitude of this foreign trade at 
 Shang-hae is accounted for by the circum- 
 stance that there is no harbour on the Chinese 
 coast between 30 and 35 N. lat. The Woo- 
 sung is the first river south of these limits 
 which is deep enough for the purposes of 
 navigation; and hence the whole maritime 
 commerce of this tract is concentrated at 
 Shang-hae, at the mouth of the river. The 
 country which lies at the back of the coast is 
 the most populous part of China, and con- 
 tains many very large towns. A steamer 
 plies regularly between Shang-hae and Hong- 
 kong. 
 
 SHAWL MANUFACTURE. The Hin- 
 doos have been the instructors of our manu- 
 facturers in the production of shawls. There 
 are two modes of working the pattern in an 
 Indian shawl; the one by embroidering it 
 upon the material, and the other by working 
 it into the web during the process of weaving. 
 The first mode is a sort of needlework, and 
 forms the less valuable kind of Indian shawl. 
 In the production of the most costly kind, a 
 number of skewers made of ivory, and some- 
 times of wood, about the size of a common 
 packing needle, are used ; they aro sharpened 
 
 at both ends, and each skewer is covered with 
 a different coloured wool; and with these 
 simple aids, the pattern is worked stitch by 
 stitch into the web. The backs of these 
 shawls show the effect of this minute and 
 laborious handicraft, and present a totally 
 different appearance from the European 
 shawls, the patterns of which are woven en- 
 tirely on the loom. 
 
 Paisley excels all other towns in the United 
 Kingdom in the manufacture of shawls, in 
 quantity and perhaps in quality. The com- 
 mon kinds are woven in the power loom ; 
 while the finer kinds require the more de- 
 tailed aid of the hand loom weaver. In the 
 common shawls cotton is mixed with the 
 wool ; but for the finer articles the best wool 
 of Germany, of Australia, and even of Cash- 
 mere, is employed. Some of the finest of 
 these shawls are equal to anything produced 
 in any other country. The Paisley weavers 
 are mainly dependent on French patterns, 
 which they modify in details ; but the School 
 of Design in that town is gradually training 
 up a corps of designers whose taste may 
 shortly influence in an important degree the 
 shawl manufacture. 
 
 It might seem strange that the paper duty 
 should press injuriously on the shawl manu- 
 facture of Paisley ; but such is the case. In 
 weaving elaborate patterns it is necessary to 
 employ the Jacquard loom ; and in using this 
 loom many hundred perforated pasteboard 
 cards are employed for each pattern. Now 
 the French weavers pay no duty for the paper 
 used in these cards ; whereas the English 
 weavers are subject to an impost, the effect of 
 which maybe illustrated by one circumstance. 
 In an elaborate Paisley shawl, woven for the 
 Great Exhibition, the preparation of the loom 
 for the intricate design cost 470*., of which 
 the mere duty on the card-board comes to 
 93Z. A Jacquard loom, when once set up, 
 will weave any number of the same pattern ; 
 but as the commercial success of any one 
 pattern is always very precarious, the oppres- 
 sive duty on the card-board employed may be 
 a serious item even in every individual shawl 
 woven of that pattern. 
 
 SHEEP. We shall give in this work a few 
 details on such points, only, of the history of 
 the sheep as relate to industrial uses. 
 
 When the Romans had conquered Britain, 
 they turned their attention to the improve- 
 ment of the country, and among other things 
 they established a woollen manufactory at 
 Winchester. So well did this succeed, that 
 the woollen cloths of Britain soon began to 
 vie with the productions of every other part 
 of the Roman empire. The sheep employed 
 
1513 
 
 SHEEP. 
 
 SHEEP. 
 
 1614 
 
 in furnishing the material of these produc- 
 tions were the Short-woolled Breed, Winches- 
 ter was situated in the centre of a country 
 which then, as now, could support short- 
 woolled sheep alone. It would appear to 
 have been some centuries after this that the 
 Long-woolled Sheep was introduced. The 
 manufactures of the Winchester mills con- 
 tinued, however, to be duly estimated ; and, 
 in point of fact, the cultivation of the various 
 breeds of sheep, and the manufacture of the 
 fleece into many different kinds of cloth, had 
 begun to constitute the chief employment and 
 wealth of the country. 
 
 The covering of the original sheep con- 
 sisted of a mixture of hair and wool; the 
 wool being short and fine, and forming an 
 inner coat, and the hair of greater length, pro- 
 jecting through the wool, and constituting an 
 external covering. When the sheep are neg- 
 lected or exposed to a considerable degree of 
 cold, this degeneracy is easily traced; it is 
 only by diligent cultivation that the quantity 
 of hair or kemps, has been generally dimi- 
 nished, and that of wool increased in our best 
 breeds. The filaments of wool taken from a 
 healthy sheep present a beautifully polished 
 and even glittering appearance. That of the 
 neglected or half-starved animal exhibits a 
 paler hue. This is one valuable indication 
 by which the wool-stapler is enabled to form 
 an accurate opinion of the value of the fleece. 
 Among the qualities which influence the value 
 of the wool, are fineness, and the uniformity 
 of that fineness in the single fibre and in the 
 collected fleece. This fineness, however, dif- 
 fers materially in different parts of the fleece. 
 It is finest on the shoulders, the ribs, and the 
 back ; it is less fine on the legs, thighs, and 
 haunch : and is still coarser on the neck, the 
 breast, the belly, and the lower part of the 
 legs. Sheep in a hot climate yield a compa- 
 ratively coarse wool ; in a cold climate they 
 carry a closer and a warmer fleece. The fine- 
 ness of the fleece is also much influenced by 
 the kind of food. The woolly fibre consists 
 of a central stem or stalk, from which there 
 spring at different distances circlets of leaf- 
 shaped projections, possessing a certain de- 
 gree of resistance or of entanglement with 
 other fibres, in proportion as these circlets are 
 multiplied and they project from the stalk. 
 They are sharper and more numerous in the 
 felting wools, and in proportion as the felting 
 property exists. They give to the wool the 
 power of felting, and regulate the degree in 
 which that power is possessed. 
 
 The South Down sheep supported the first 
 manufactory at Winchester. The South Downs, 
 and the Hampshire and Wiltshire breeds, 
 
 were formerly of a very small size, and far 
 from possessing a good shape, but the size 
 and shape have been of late years greatly im- 
 proved, and the wool is short, close, curled, 
 and free from spiry projecting hairs. Mr. 
 Luccock calculated that within a certain dis- 
 tance from the Downs there were 864,000 
 sheep of this breed, a number which is only 
 to be accounted for by the great quantity of 
 artificial food that is raised on the arable part 
 of every farm. The average dead weight of 
 the South Down wether varies from 8 to 11 
 stones. The average weight of the fleece used 
 to be 2 Ibs. ; but from the altered system of 
 management, it is now at least 3 Ibs. in the 
 hill sheep, and nearly 4 Ibs. in the lowland 
 sheep. This wool has likewise changed its 
 character. It has become a combing instead 
 of a carding wool. Formerly devoted to the 
 manufacture of servants' and army clothing, 
 and being sparingly mixed with other wool, it 
 is now used for flannels and baizes, and 
 worsted goods of almost every description, 
 thus becoming of considerably increased value. 
 
 In the 13th century certain Florentine mer- 
 chants were permitted to export from England 
 to Flanders more than 1000 sacks of combing 
 or long wool. In the 14th century the 1000 
 had extended to 100,000, and that continued 
 during many years ; and in the 15th century 
 Edward IV. permitted his sister Margaret to 
 export annually during her life 2000 rams to 
 Flanders and Holland. There has been a 
 very great improvement in the long-woolled 
 sheep within the last half century, especially 
 that kind called the New Leicester. The de- 
 ficiency of the fleece was formerly objected to 
 in this breed ; but the truth seems to be that, 
 with the early breeders, the fleece was a per- 
 fectly secondary consideration, and compara- 
 tively disregarded. There is now little cause 
 for complaint on this head. The wool has con- 
 siderably increased in length, and it has im- 
 proved both in fineness and strength of fibre. 
 It averages from 6 to 7 Ibs. the fleece, and 
 the fibre varies from 5 to more than 12 inches 
 in length. Like all other British wools, it is 
 applied to a purpose different from that to 
 which it was formerly devoted, and is mostly 
 used in the manufacture of serges and car- 
 pets. 
 
 The English wool being, from the increased 
 coarseness of the fibre, rejected by the manu- 
 facturer in the construction of fine cloths, 
 recourse was had to foreign wools, and to 
 those chiefly that were derived from the Merino 
 sheep. As early as the commencement of the 
 Christian cera, the wool of the Spanish sheep 
 was in great request for the production of the 
 most costly dresses. In less than half a cen 
 
1315 
 
 SHEERS. 
 
 SHELL. 
 
 3516 
 
 ttlry afterwards we find Colmnella busily em- 
 ployed in improving the Spanish sheep, and 
 the effect of his labours remained during the 
 long dark ages that succeeded. The present 
 Merino flocks seem to have been produced by 
 a cross of the native breed with a flock sent 
 from England. [MESTA.] By degrees the 
 Merino sheep found its way to almost every 
 part of the European Continent, and by care- 
 ful management its fleece rapidly increased in 
 fineness and in usefulness. In Australia the 
 cultivation of the Merino sheep and its fleece 
 has proceeded most rapidly and prosperously. 
 
 We may here refer to WOOL for further de- 
 tails concerning the application of the fleece. 
 
 In relation to the supply of sheep from 
 foreign countries, the following have been the 
 imports during the last three years : 
 
 1848 128,406. 
 
 1849 126,248. 
 
 1850 137,646. 
 
 The sheep sold at Smithfield during the last 
 len or twelve years have varied from 1,500,000 
 to 1,800,000 annually. 
 
 SHEERS, or SHEARS. The shears used 
 in masting ships consist of two large poles, 
 the lower ends of which rest upon thick planks 
 laid along the sides of the deck, while their 
 upper ends are lashed together so as to cross 
 each other exactly over the hole in the deck 
 through which the mast is to be dropped, they 
 being sustained in this position by ropes ra- 
 diating from the top to various parts of the 
 vessel. To this apparatus is attached the 
 tackle necessary for lifting the masts out of 
 the water, when they have been floated to the 
 side of the ship, and lowering them gently 
 into their places. Some 1 ships are masted by 
 the aid of tackle attached to old worn out 
 ships of war called sheer hulks, while others 
 are drawn up to the side of a masting house on 
 a quay or pier. 
 
 SHEFFIELD, in the beginning of the 
 17th century, was still only a large village. 
 It now displays all the features of a manu- 
 facturing town of the first importance. The 
 principal manufacture is that of cutlery in all 
 its branches, indeed of everything that can be 
 fabricated of iron or of steel. The vast build- 
 ings used for the grinding of all kinds of tools 
 and implements by steam power form one of 
 the curiosities of Sheffield. Silver plate and 
 plated goods form also one of the staple 
 manufactures. Brass-foundries are numerous. 
 Articles in Britannia metal and German silver 
 are also manufactured. Brushes, buttons, 
 combs, and optical instruments, are also made 
 here to a considerable extent; and various 
 workmen are employed on manufactures which 
 are connected with the staple commodities of 
 
 the town, such as cabinet-case makers, haft 
 and scale presssers and cutters, powder-flask 
 and shot-belt makers, silver refiners, wood 
 turners, &c. There are also many mercantile 
 houses, some of which confine themselves to 
 the home markets, while others export to the 
 Continent, to Brazil, the Cape of Good Hope, 
 but especially to the United States of North 
 America. The spring knife makers and table 
 knife makers are the largest classes of ar- 
 tisans. The fork makers are an unfortunate 
 class, owing to the injurious effects of what is 
 called dry grinding : the dust of the stone and 
 metal rises in clouds, and is necessarily in- 
 haled by the workmen, the average duration 
 of whose lives is thus very much shortened. 
 It is to the immense coal bed occupying the 
 surrounding district that Sheffield owes its 
 prosperity ; for much of the iron which is 
 there converted into steel comes from Sweden. 
 
 It would be difficult to enumerate all the 
 kinds of articles manufactured in this busy 
 town, made principally of steel. They com- 
 prise pen, pocket, pallet, table, and other 
 knives, anvils, vices, augurs, gimblets, awls, 
 axletrees, traces and bits, Britannia metal 
 goods, coach springs, razors, edge tools, 
 fenders and fire-irons, files, German silver 
 goods, mathematical instruments, machinery, 
 saws, scales, shears, scissors, scythes, sickles, 
 silver and plated goods, skates, snuffers, 
 spoons, steel plates, steel ornaments, musical 
 instruments, &c. all of which are represented 
 at the Great Exhibition. Some of the curi- 
 osities of Sheffield industry are mentioned 
 under CUTLERY, and FILE ; and we may here 
 notice a contribution to the Exhibition, con- 
 sisting of a clasp knife only three-eighths of 
 an inch in length when open, and so small 
 as to go within the stem of a tobacco pipe. 
 It is not by these trifles, however, tbat the 
 commercial importance of Sheffield industry 
 is shown ; it is in those larger and useful pro- 
 ducts which are known in every part of the 
 world where English goods penetrate. 
 
 There is a School of Design at Sheffield, 
 which is gradually infusing a taste into those 
 who have to determine the patterns to which 
 goods shall be wrought. 
 
 SHELL. For various applications of shells 
 to useful and ornamental purposes, see CAMEO ; 
 MOTHER OF PEARL; TORTOISE SHELL. 
 
 SHELL, is also the name of a hollow globe 
 of iron, containing gunpowder, which is intro- 
 duced at an orifice formed in the ball. In 
 this orifice is driven or screwed the fuze or 
 tube containing the composition by which the 
 powder in the shell is ignited [FUZE] ; and 
 the shell, after being discharged from a gun, 
 howitzer, or mortar, is consequently made *o 
 
1517 
 
 SHELLAC. 
 
 SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 1518 
 
 burst In pieces when it falls upon or near the 
 object to be destroyed. 
 
 SHELLAC. [LAC.] 
 
 SHEKBET, in Persia, Turkey, and other 
 eastern countries where it is chiefly used, is 
 a beverage composed chiefly of water, lemon- 
 juice, and sugar, with the addition of other 
 ingredients to render it more pleasant to the 
 taste, as the pulp of fruits, perfumed cakes, 
 rose water, &c. 
 
 SHIP BUILDING-. The most essential con- 
 ditions in the construction of a ship are, that it 
 be capable of carrying its stores and its artillery 
 or lading ; that it be moved by wind or steam 
 with great velocity, and that it readily obey 
 the motion of the rudder ; that it have the 
 necessary stability, so as not to be overturned 
 when acted upon by the wind or waves ; and 
 finally, that its rolling or pitching be attended 
 with as little strain as possible on the timbers. 
 In merchant ships an ample capacity is fre- 
 quently of more importance than a great 
 velocity in sailing. In ships of war the num- 
 ber and weight of the guns constitute the 
 basis of the design ; for from these the weight 
 of the whole ship, or the volume of the water 
 which it will displace, may be estimated. The 
 draught of water (the depth to which the ship 
 is immersed) may depend on the depth of 
 water in the harbours and roadsteads ; but it 
 must also be determined from experience, so 
 that the ship may be prevented as much as 
 possible from making leeway. Finally, the 
 form of the body must be that which is most 
 favourable for velocity, by causing the least 
 possible resistance of the water at the bows 
 and along the sides ; which allows the greatest 
 lateral resistance, and which will permit the 
 rudder to act with most effect in causing the 
 ship to be turned about a vertical axis. Ex- 
 periments have shown that when the quantity 
 of sail is the same, the velocity of a ship is 
 increased by increasing the ratio between its 
 length and breadth. 
 
 It has been found that ships having the 
 same proportions possess unequal sailing 
 properties ; it may be perceived indeed that a 
 small ship built according to the proportions 
 of a large one which is know to sail well, will 
 not possess the .like good quality ; so that the 
 sailing qualities depend on something more 
 than mere form. . That a ship whose hull has 
 been constructed -according to the best rules 
 of art does not always fulfil the conditions re- 
 quired, may depend on several causes. The 
 blocks, ropes, &c., may be too heavy, and the 
 sails may be badly formed; or the burden of 
 the vessel may be unskilfully distributed. 
 
 In building an ordinary ship the draughts- 
 man draws a plan ? analogous to that of an 
 
 architect in building a house ; the drawings re- 
 present the intended vessel in many points of 
 view not only as a whole, but in respect also 
 to the curvatures of the various timbers. 
 Thin pieces of lath are cut and marked so as 
 to assist in determining the proper sizes and 
 shapes of the timbers. For a large East India- 
 man there are upwards of 100 of these mould- 
 ing pieces (as they are called) prepared. The 
 oak and elm trunks are then cut up to the 
 proper forms for the timbers, by sawing, the 
 moulding pieces serving as guides. All being 
 cut and prepared, the building of the ship 
 commences. The keel, which is formed of 
 elm, is scarfed together very strongly. The 
 stem and stern-posts, of oak, are raised and 
 fixed at the two ends of the keel; and various 
 pieces called transoms, fashion -pieces, &c., help 
 to give form to the two ends of the ship. Stout 
 timbers, called floor timbers, are laid athwart 
 the keel ; and around them solid wood, called 
 dead wood, is packed in, to form a solid foun- 
 dation. Then come the ribs of the ship, which 
 are the curved oak timbers bending upwards 
 and outwards from the keel to the top ; these 
 are formed of several pieces called futtocks or 
 foothooks, which are securely bolted together. 
 These various timbers are strengthened with 
 inner timbers, called the keelson, stemson, 
 sternson, riders, &c. All the outside is covered 
 with oak planking, varying from three to six 
 inches in thickness, and arranged in parallel 
 rows called strakes. The filling up the inter- 
 stices between these planks has been noticed 
 under RIGGING. The beams are timbers of 
 great strength, to support the deck, and to 
 bind the sides of the vessel together ; while 
 the knees are immense brackets which support 
 the ends of the beams. The decks are formed 
 of Dantzig fir or yellow pine, laid in boards 
 from six to ten inches in width, and from two 
 t6 four in thickness. The treenails are the 
 oak pins or bolts by which the planks are 
 fastened to the timbers of a ship. [TREENAILS.] 
 The sheathing of ships at first consisted of 
 a second covering of planks applied on the 
 exterior of the first, over the bottom and sides 
 as far as they were under water; but this 
 being found to impede the motion of the ship, 
 a sheathing of milled lead (the invention of 
 Sir Philip Howard) was subsequently em- 
 ployed. The application of plates of copper 
 as a covering on the exterior of ships was first 
 tried in 1760; and in 1783 all those belonging 
 to the royal navy were ordered to be covered 
 or sheathed with that metal. By this practice 
 shells and sea-weeds are prevented from ad- 
 hering to the sides and bottoms ; the friction 
 of the water against them is diminished, and 
 the damage which would be caused by worms 
 
1519 
 
 SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 1520 
 
 is avoided. Owing to the great expense o 
 copper sheathing, which has the effect o 
 limiting its use in mercantile shipping, man 
 attempts have heen made to substitute for i 
 either other metals, or alloys in which it i 
 mixed with cheaper metals, such as lead, o 
 with such as might increase its durability, a 
 zinc. Iron, protected by the galvanic action 
 of zinc, has been used. Sheathing of brown 
 paper, coated with tar, and a kind of felt, int 
 the composition of which a considerabl 
 quantity of cow-hair enters, have also been 
 tried. Copper sheathing is usually applied in 
 sheets about 4 feet long and 14 inches wide 
 the thickness being such that a square foo 
 weighs from 16 to 32 ounces, but most com 
 monly from 20 to 28 ounces ; and the mod< 
 of application does not vary materially whether 
 the copper be laid upon the bare planking or 
 upon an interposed layer of tarred paper, felt 
 or thin boarding. The sheets are pierced with 
 holes, not only round the edges, but also al 
 intervals of 3 or 4 inches over the whole sur 
 face ; they are laid so as to overlap each other 
 about an inch, and are secured to the ship 
 with flat-headed copper nails. An East India 
 man requires re -coppering after two voyages 
 and the old copper is found to have lost three 
 or four ounces of its weight in the square 
 foot, by the action of sea-water, friction, and 
 otber causes. 
 
 The masts of ships are built of several pieces 
 selected from the strongest parts of trees, and 
 attached together both in the fore-and-aft and 
 in the athwart-ship directions, the whole being 
 bound together by hoops at intervals. Usually 
 the central piece consists of one log of timber 
 reduced to a many-sided form, and to the 
 sides of this are applied other pieces, which 
 are connected with it either by a longitudinal 
 projection in each, which is let into a corres- 
 ponding channel made in the central piece, or 
 by blocks of hard wood which are let into 
 both the central and attached pieces. 
 
 Vessels of iron are now very frequently con- 
 structed both for rivers and for navigation in 
 the open seas, and they have many advan- 
 tages over ships of wood. They are much 
 lighter, or more buoyant. They are less liable 
 to become arched, and are better able to with- 
 stand the effects of striking upon a rock. In 
 the latter case a ship of wood would have its 
 bottom pierced, or it might go to pieces, while 
 the iron one would merely become indented. 
 They are formed with rib frames at intervals, 
 and with longitudinal hoops of iron ; and they 
 are coreredwith iron plates, which are fastened 
 to the ribs by bolts or rivets. The lower part 
 of the interior may be divided into compart- 
 ments, which can be rendered air-tight j and 
 
 thus, in the event of the bottom being perfo- 
 rated in any place, the water would be con- 
 fined within that compartment till the damaged 
 plate could be repaired or replaced. 
 
 Ships have different designations, according 
 to the number of their masts or the disposi- 
 tion of their sails. The word ship is more 
 particularly applied to those vessels which 
 have a fore, a main, and a mizen mast, with 
 a top-mast and top-gallant-mast to each ; and 
 in which the yards, in sailing before the wind, 
 are braced square, that is, in vertical posi- 
 tions perpendicularly to the length of the ship . 
 the mLzen-sail alone being usually in a fore- 
 and-aft position, that is, in a vertical plane 
 passing through the keel. A bark is a vessel 
 with masts and sails like those of a ship, ex- 
 cept that the mizen-mast carries no top-sail 
 or top-gallant sail. A brig has a fore and a 
 main mast, with top and top-gallant masts 
 and sails, like those of a ship ; but it has no 
 mizen-mast, and the main-sail has a position 
 corresponding to that of the mizen-sail in a 
 ship with three masts. A snow is rigged in 
 the same manner as a brig, except that the 
 main-sail is attached to a small mast abaft of 
 and very near the main-mast. A schooner has 
 two masts, and the sails attached to them are, 
 n their usual position, in vertical planes pass- 
 ng through the keel : it has small or no top- 
 sails. Lastly, a sloop (shaloop) has only one 
 mast, with a main-sail, whose plane is usually 
 n a fore-and-aft position. Each of the dif- 
 ferent kinds of ships has a bowsprit which 
 carries a fore-stay-sail and a jib-sail. 
 
 In the British navy, ships which carry 70 
 >r a greater number of guns are called linc-of- 
 attle ships. Frigate is a term which is sup- 
 posed to have been first applied to a light 
 jalley moved by sails or oars ; but it is now 
 pplied to ships of war, generally with two 
 decks, and carrying from 36 to GO guns. These 
 are built narrower than line-of-battle ships in 
 roportion to their length, and sail swiftly. 
 They accompany fleets in order to watch at 
 a distance the movements of the enemy, and 
 hey act singly against ships of a like kind. 
 >hips of war of a lower class than frigates 
 lave the denominations of sloops, corvettes, 
 rigs, cutters, brigantines, ketches, schooners, and 
 arks. The sloops of war and corvettes carry 
 rom 4 to 20 guns, and some brigs carry 16 
 uns. The number of guns in a vessel of 
 ither of the remaining classes does not ex- 
 eed 10. 
 
 The tonnage of a ship is, properly, an 
 xpression for the interior capacity by the 
 umber of tons of sea-water which it could 
 ontain ; therefore, if the interior volume were 
 ound in cubic feet, on dividing that volume 
 
1521 
 
 SHOE TRADE. 
 
 35 (the number of cubic feet of sea-water 
 which are equal in weight to one ton), the 
 quotient would be the tonnage required. There 
 have, however, been various modes of esti- 
 mating ships' tonnage. 
 
 There are now employed in the yearly 
 transit of Great Britain with the world and 
 with her own shores, about 33,700 sailing 
 vessels, and 1150 steam vessels, employing 
 240,000 seamen. Calculating the value of 
 each ship and cargo, as the value has been 
 estimated before parliament, at 5000/., we 
 have an aggregate value sailing vessels, 
 steamers, and their cargoes included of about 
 174,000,0002. Further, supposing that the 
 yearly wages of the seamen, including officers, 
 was 201. per head, the amount paid in wages 
 would be 4,800,000*. 
 
 Various details bearing more or less closely 
 on the subject of ship-building will be found 
 under ANCHOR; BLOCKS; RIGGING; ROPE 
 MANUFACTURE; SAIL MAKING; SCREW PRO- 
 PELLER ; SHEERS ; STEAM VESSEL ; &o. 
 
 SHOE TRADE. In addition to the few 
 details given under BOOT AND SHOE MANUFAC- 
 TURE, the following may not be out of place. 
 
 In the old statutes a shoemaker is called a 
 cordwainer, apparently a corruption of the 
 French Cordonnier, which means a worker of 
 Cordova leather. The companies of shoe- 
 makers in our ancient towns were incorporated 
 under this name ; and where some of these 
 companies still exist, they still go by the same 
 name. As a legal term, cordwainer is yet in 
 use. 
 
 The trade, as now followed in London and 
 other principal places, is subdivided into about 
 twenty branches. The following may be set 
 clown as the chief : the shoeman, or maker of 
 the sole part of the shoe ; the bootman, or 
 maker of the sole part of the boot ; and the 
 boot closer, or joiner together of the leg, vamp, 
 &c. The labour of these is especially directed 
 to what is called the men's line; whilst others 
 make the ladies' shoes or boots. There are 
 many women, too, who get a livelihood by 
 closing the shoe ; while others again follow 
 the various sorts of binding. 
 
 The mechanical processes, after marking 
 and cutting out the leather, consist chiefly in 
 various kinds of strong needlework, such as 
 the lasting or tacking of the upper leather to 
 the in -sole, the sewing in of the welt, the 
 stitching to this welt of the out or top sole, 
 the building and sewing down of the heel, and 
 the sewing or closing of boot legs. The boot 
 closer is the most skilful of the persons em- 
 ployed, and receives the highest wages. 
 
 No other common handicraft is exercised 
 by so large a number of persons as that of 
 
 SHOT MANUFACTURE. 1522 
 
 the shoemaker. In the metropolis and hi many 
 parts of the country, women are extensively 
 employed in the lighter parts of the business. 
 The government contracts for the army and 
 navy, the police, &c., are executed in London 
 and at Northampton and Stafford; and the 
 export market is almost entirely supplied from 
 these quarters. The boots and shoes exported 
 (chiefly to the East and West Indies and the 
 colonies) are included in the general entry of 
 ' leather wrought and unwrought,' in the par- 
 liamentary returns; but it is supposed that 
 the value is about a quarter of a million 
 sterling annually. 
 
 In 1850 there were imported, almost en- 
 tirely from France : 
 Women's boots and calashes 22,346 pairs. 
 
 Women's shoes 119,420 
 
 Men's boots and shoes .... 31,178 ,. 
 Children's boots and shoes . 1,698 
 
 Boot fronts 603,302 
 
 SHOT are the balls (generally solid) of iron 
 which are discharged from guns, howitzers, or 
 carronades. Solid shot vary in diameter from 
 about two inches, which is that of a one pound 
 ball, to about eight, which is the diameter of 
 a 68-pound ball. For the naval service it has 
 been proposed to discharge from howitzers 
 hollow shot, or unloaded shells, which, having 
 greater diameters than solid shot with equal 
 weights, are capable of producing more de- 
 structive effects against shipping. 
 
 SHOT MANUFACTURE. The larger 
 kinds of shot, such as pistol bullets and rifle 
 balls, are generally cast in a mould, one at a 
 time. Shot of the next smaller size, such as 
 swan shot, are often produced by casting 
 several at a time ; there is a double mould 
 formed something like a pair of nut- crackers, 
 which, when closed, exhibits a range of little 
 moulds into which the melted lead can be 
 poured ; and, when open, allows the shot so 
 made to be removed from the mould. A ruder 
 kind is sometimes made by shaking a number 
 of small fragments of lead together in a bag 
 or box, by which the corners or rough edges 
 are worn away. In another mode of manu- 
 facture, a piece of thin lead is cut up into 
 litle cubes, and these are placed between two 
 flat stones, the upper of which works over the 
 lower ; so that by the combined pressure and 
 movement the cubical fragments are .worn to 
 a cubical shape. 
 
 But the most remarkable mode of making 
 shot is by granulation, which is the plan now 
 adopted for the larger portion of shot now 
 used. The shot are made either over the 
 mouth of a deep well or shaft, or at the top of 
 a lofty tower, so as to provide a vertical descent 
 of one or two hundred feet. The elegant 
 
1523 
 
 SHROPSHIRE. 
 
 SUM 
 
 1524 
 
 tower (intended originally as a shot-tower, 
 but now applied to other purposes) near the 
 foot of "Waterloo Bridge, illustrates the latter 
 of the two methods. In some of the shot 
 works on the banks of the Tyne, an abandoned 
 coal shaft is employed. There are about fifteen 
 sizes of shot made by the granulation method, 
 varying from to - of an inch in diameter. 
 
 The lead has a little arsenic added to it, 
 and is melted in a furnace or pot. Over the 
 vertical shaft is placed a tripod or stand, and 
 upon this a kind of colander, pierced with 
 holes suitable in size to the shot to be made. 
 A layer of dross from the surface of the 
 melted lead is laid over the holes in the 
 colander, to act as a kind of sieve or strainer, 
 and to separate the liquid lead into small 
 trickling streams before it reaches the 
 holes. The melted lead is poured into the 
 colander by a ladle ; and it speedily falls as a 
 sort of silvery rain down the shaft, into a 
 vessel of cold water at the bottom ; the lead 
 is found to separate into almost perfectly 
 spherical drops or shots ; and these shots 
 when cold, are brought up from the vessel 
 below, dried on steam heated plates, and 
 separated into sizes by sifting. The irregular 
 or ill-shaped shot are separated from the 
 others by a beautiful contrivance ; they are 
 made to roll down an inclined plane of smooth 
 iron ; and when they get to the bottom, the 
 well-shaped shot have acquired an impetus 
 which sends them into a box or cell, several 
 inches distant ; whereas the ill-shaped shot, 
 having descended the inclined plane in an 
 irregular way, have acquired very little velo- 
 city, and fall into a cell or box not so far dis- 
 tant as the other. By carefully adjusting the 
 slope of the inclined plane, this separation of 
 good from bad shot is effected with surprising 
 accuracy. The shot are then placed in a kind 
 of churn or revolving barrel, into which a 
 little black lead is also placed : and they are 
 revolved in the churn until they become po- 
 lished and black leaded. They are lastly tied 
 up in bags containing 28 Ibs. each. 
 
 SHROPSHIRE. The coal-field of Coal- 
 brook-Dale is the most extensive and most 
 productive part of the carboniferous system 
 of this county. It extends from near Wen- 
 lock, on the right bank of the Severn, across 
 that river to Wellington on the N.W., and is 
 prolongated in a N.E. direction to Lilleshall. 
 The most productive portion of this field 
 includes Broseley on the south, and stretches 
 north of the Severn in a large triangular- 
 shaped mass, having Lilleshall for its apex. 
 In several places the seams of coal are nume- 
 rous and of considerable thickness. At Hadley 
 the number of seams is 10, and the total 
 
 thickness of coal 15 yards ; at Madeley, the 
 seams are 2i, and the thickness of coal ]() 
 yards. The ironstone of this field is both 
 concretionary and flat-bedded, and the various 
 courses of it are known under various local 
 names. The ores of iron are peroxides in 
 sandstone, argillaceous carbonates in shale, 
 and sulphurets in the coal. The sulphuret of 
 iron is the most abundant mineral, and next 
 to it is the sulphuret of zinc, or blende. 
 Petroleum occurs in great abundance in both 
 the upper and lower measures, and some of 
 the beds of shale of the latter atFord excellent 
 fire-clay, which is used in the manufacture of 
 pipes and pottery. The Shrewsbury coal-field 
 extends from the Severn at the Breidden Hills 
 on the west, to Shrewsbury on the east. The 
 strata of this coal-field belong to the upper or 
 youngest series of coal-measures. It varies 
 in thickness from three to eight feet. The 
 coal-field of Oswestry is situated on the 
 western verge of the county, and is quite 
 distinct. It contains only two seams of coal 
 worthy of extraction, the upper being four 
 feet thick ; the lower, which is six feet thick, 
 is a very inferior coal. The other coal-fields 
 of Shropshire are situated on the south side 
 of the county. 
 
 The farms in Shropshire are for the most 
 part arable, but some are for grazing, for hay, 
 for the dairy, and for rearing and feeding. 
 The crops in general cultivation are wheat, 
 barley, oats, peas, vetches, turnips, potatoes, 
 and beans. The meadows adjoining the 
 Severn, and other rivers and streams, are rich, 
 and are often overflowed, and the water lies on 
 them, especially near the Severn, for a consi- 
 derable time. The rich coal formations of 
 this county and the iron-stone associated with 
 them give employment to several thousand 
 persons. The greater portion of these are 
 engaged in raising coal, ironstone, and lime, 
 and in the manufacture of iron, and a few 
 in the lead mines on the western side of the 
 county. Near Coalport china of every descrip- 
 tion and of exquisite workmanship is made ; 
 and at Caughley, in the neighbourhood of 
 Broseley, there is another china manufactory, 
 which is chiefly confined to the blue and white, 
 and blue, white, and gold sorts. At Coalport 
 there is a manufactory of earthenware, similar 
 to the Etrurian or Wedgwood ware. There 
 are flannel manufactories at Shrewsbury, 
 Oswestry, Church Stretton, and Worthen. 
 Carpets are made at Bridgnorth. Gloves are 
 made at Ludlow, but not in such quantities as 
 formerly. There are mills for dyeing woollen 
 cloth at Le Botwood, <fec., and there are paper- 
 mills at Ludlow, Bridgnorth, Cleobury-Morli- 
 mer, Drayton, &c. 
 
3525 
 
 SIAM. 
 
 SIBERIA. 
 
 1526 
 
 SIAM. This portion of south-eastern Asia 
 is rich in natural productions. Eice is mos 
 extensively cultivated. On the alluvial soil o: 
 the Men am it generally yields forty fold. Maize 
 several leguminous plants, sweet potatoes 
 cocoa, and areca palms, are cultivated. Siam 
 is noted for a great variety and ahundance 
 of fruit-trees, and their produce surpasses 
 that of all other parts of India in flavour, 
 Several plants are cultivated as articles oi 
 foreign trade. The most important is the 
 sugar-cane, which indeed has been grown in 
 Siam from time immemorial ; hut its culture 
 for the foreign market has now hecome very 
 large. Tobacco, cotton, and black pepper, are 
 also exported. The forests, which cover nearly 
 all the mountain ranges of this country, yield 
 several articles of trade ; among which are 
 cardamums, gamboge,aquila-wood, sapan-wood, 
 gum trees, and a great variety of timber trees. 
 The elephant exists in the greatest perfection, 
 and the ivory, hides, and bones are largely ex- 
 ported to China. 
 
 Gold is found in the mountains of the 
 Malay peninsula, and at the southern extre- 
 mity of those of Siam, and is worked in some 
 places. Tin, iron, copper, lead, zinc, and 
 antimony are met with in many places. The 
 only precious stones which are known to 
 exist in Siam are the sapphire, the oriental 
 ruby, and the oriental topaz. Salt is made in 
 the low wooded and uninhabited country 
 which extends between the mouths of the 
 Menam along the sea. 
 
 The Siamese do not distinguish themselves 
 in any of the useful arts, and are much be- 
 hind the Hindoos and Chinese. Even their 
 vessels and trinkets of gold and silver are im- 
 ported from China. Considerable manufac- 
 tures are earned on : but they are mostly in 
 the hands of Chinese who have settled in Siam. 
 Siam in a commercial point of view is 
 considered the most important of the three 
 empires which divide among them the coun- 
 tries between the Gulf of Bengal and China. 
 As all the provinces of the empire produce 
 some articles which are in demand in foreign 
 countries, and nearly all the foreign commerce 
 is at present concentrated in the town of 
 Bangkok, the inland and coasting trade is very 
 considerable. Large quantities of produce are 
 brought down to Bangkok from the inland 
 districts, by the rivers, especially the Menam. 
 The most important branch of the foreign 
 trade is that with China. It is partly carried 
 on by Chinese vessels, but mostly in vessels 
 built in Siam and navigated by Chinese. Very 
 little if any commercial intercourse exists 
 between Siam and the Birmaii empire. With 
 Cochin-China there is much commerce. The 
 
 most important trade, next to that with China, 
 is with the European establishments on the 
 Malay peninsula, and the Sunda Islands, 
 especially with the British colonies of Singa- 
 pore, Malacca, and Pulo Penang, and with the 
 Dutch establishments of Batavia, Cheribon, 
 and Samarang in Java, Pontianac in Borneo, 
 and Eio in Bintang. Formerly the commodi- 
 ties of Hindustan and Europe reached the 
 capital of Siam by being transported across 
 the isthmus of Kraw and the Malay penin- 
 sula ; but at the present day Singapore is a 
 better emporium for procuring the goods, and 
 the conveyance by this route is less expensive. 
 SIBEKIA. This vast but little known 
 region is very rich in metals. There are three 
 extensive mining districts. The most western 
 comprehends the mines of the Ural Moun- 
 tains; which are rich in gold, silver, and 
 copper ; and they contain also iron, silver, and 
 platinum in smaller quantities. The second 
 mining-district is that of Bernaul, which yields 
 much silver and copper, but less gold and 
 lead. The mines from which these metals are 
 obtained lie mostly in the Altai Mountains 
 and in those valleys which open to the Irtish 
 River. The third mining-district is that of 
 Nertshinsk, which is situated on the east of 
 the Yablonoi Khrebet, in the basin of the river 
 Amur. These mines contain gold, lead, silver, 
 iron, antimony, and arsenic. The western 
 Darts of Siberia get the salt which is required 
 "or their consumption from the salt lakes in 
 ;he steppes of Ishim and Barabinsk, in some 
 of which the salt crystallises spontaneously. 
 The countries bordering on the river Lena 
 btain salt partly from some salt-springs 
 which occur in the vicinity of the town of Ust 
 utsk, and partly from the river Vilui. Da- 
 Uria obtains its salt from one of the lakes of 
 he Gobi, called Dabassune'i Lake, not far 
 rom that of Khara. Several kinds of precious 
 itones occur in Siberia, and diamonds have 
 >een found along the eastern declivity of tho 
 LTralian range. The amethysts, topazes, 
 emeralds, and red tourmalines, are of great 
 eauty ; zircons of extraordinary size have 
 een found near Miask, south of Ekatarin- 
 urg. Lapis lazuli and talc of fine quality are 
 met with. The tusks of the fossil elephant 
 onstitute an article of commerce, and many 
 )ersons make the discovery of them the busi- 
 ness of their life. 
 
 Siberia possesses tanneries, iron foundries, 
 
 glass works, and manufactures of coarse 
 
 woollens and linens ; but their number is in- 
 
 onsiderable. There are smelting and refining 
 
 vorks connected with the mines. 
 
 Siberia carries on an extensive commerce 
 with Russia, Bokhara, Tashkend, and China,. 
 
1527 
 
 SICILY. 
 
 SILESIA. 
 
 1528 
 
 The most important is the trade with Russia. 
 The transport of the goods is effected by a 
 road which leads from Perm in Eussia to 
 Ekatarinburg and Tobolsk. The commerce 
 which is carried on at Kiachta with the Chi- 
 nese has been noticed under KIACHTA. The 
 goods from Irkutsk to Kiachta, and from 
 Kiachta to Irkutsk, are conveyed from May to 
 November, by large vessels which navigate 
 the Lake of Baikal and the river Selenga, and 
 in November and December by carts on a 
 mountain road. The inhabitants of Siberia 
 have also some commerce with Tartary. 
 
 SICILY. The mineral productions of 
 this island consist of copper, silver, cinnabar, 
 and sulphur, of which last a large quantity is 
 exported to Great Britain, marble, alabaster, 
 and rock salt. A great deal of wine is 
 made in Sicily of which the Marsala is best 
 known in England. Dried raisins are exported 
 from Messina. Messina is also the depot for 
 the currants of the Lipari Islands, of which 
 about 12,000 barrels are yearly sold and ex- 
 ported to Trieste, England, and America. 
 Oranges and lemons are fine and plentiful. 
 Olive oil and linseed oil, lemon juice, as well 
 as essences of lemon and other fruits, are 
 made for exportation. A little silk is produced. 
 Liquorice-juice is made in large quantities. 
 Manna, almonds, pistachio nuts, sumach, and 
 figs, are among the produce exported. Kid 
 and lamb skins are dressed for exporta- 
 tion. The cattle, sheep, and horses, are mostly 
 of inferior breeds, and not in good condition. 
 
 The manufactories of Sicily are neither 
 numerous nor on a large scale. Cotton -cloth 
 is manufactured at Messina, Catania, Palermo, 
 and Caltagirone; silks at Palermo, Catania, 
 and Nicolosi; leather at Messina; gloves, 
 soap, artificial flowers, and paper at Palermo ; 
 coral from the coast of Africa is wrought at 
 Trapani. 
 
 Concerning the chief commerce of Sicily, a 
 few details will be found under SULPHUR. 
 
 SIERKA LEONE. This British colony 
 was established in 1787, by some philanthro- 
 pists, who intended to show that colonial pro- 
 ductions could be obtained without the labour 
 of slaves. In that year 470 negroes, then 
 living in a state of destitution in London, were 
 removed to it, and in 1790 their number was 
 increased by 1196 individuals of the same 
 race, who had been settled in Nova Scotia, but 
 could not bear the severity of that climate. 
 Ten years later 550 Maroons were transported 
 from Jamaica to Sierra Leone; and in 1819, 
 when a black regiment in the West Indies was 
 disbanded, 1222 black soldiers and their fami- 
 lies were settled there likewise. In 1820 the 
 population amounted to 12,000 individuals. 
 
 Since the abolition of the slave-trade (1807), 
 the slaves captured by the British cruisers 
 have been settled in the colony ; and the po- 
 pulation has increased so that in 1848 it 
 amounted to 46,511. The towns, or rather 
 villages in the settlement, besides Freetown, 
 the capital (which has nearly 20,000 inhabi- 
 tants), are Kent, York, Calmont, Waterloo, 
 Hastings, and Wellington. About 20,000 of 
 the inhabitants are liberated Africans, and 
 about an equal number are descendants of 
 liberated Africans, born in the colony. The 
 number of Europeans is very small. The 
 chief article of export is ground nuts, from 
 which is expressed an oil largely used in 
 lubricating machinery : in 1846 the quantity 
 amounted to 8697 tons, valued at 92,049/. The 
 other chief articles of export are ginger, 
 teak timber, hides, palm oil, and camwood. 
 Nearly one-third of the imports consist of 
 British cotton goods. The vessels which 
 arrived at Freetown in 1847 were 185. There 
 are about 120 fishing boats belonging to the 
 settlement. 
 
 Sierra Leone, like our other colonies, is 
 gradually reaping the benefits attendant on 
 steam navigation. The new mail screw 
 steamers, which have lately begun to ply 
 between Plymouth and the Cape of Good 
 Hope, call at Sierra Leone going and return- 
 ing ; thereby placing the colony in advanta- 
 geous connexion both with the mother country 
 and with another colony. 
 
 The imports in 1848 amounted in value to 
 89,174/. ; and the exports to 95,617/. In 1849 
 the imports from Great Britain were 60,290/. 
 
 SIGGAR, SEGGAR, or SAGGER. This 
 name, the origin of which does not seem to 
 be well known, is given to the oval vessels in 
 which articles of pottery or porcelain are 
 placed, to protect thsm from flame and smoko 
 while exposed to the heat of the kiln. 
 [POTTERY.] 
 
 SIGNALS. [TELEGRAPH.] 
 
 SIGNATURE, in Printing, is the name 
 given to the letters or figures which are 
 placed at the bottom of certain pages in each 
 sheet of a book, to facilitate the gathering, 
 folding, collating, and binding of it. [BOOK- 
 BINDING.] 
 
 SILESIA. This important Prussian pro- 
 vince produces flax, tobacco, hops, madder, 
 woad, teazle, and timber. The minerals are 
 copper, lead, cobalt, arsenic, iron, zinc, sulphur, 
 marble, alum, lime and coal. The linen ma- 
 nufacture of Silesia is of great importance ; 
 it is carried on with little aid from machinery, 
 and chiefly by the country people, though 
 this branch of industry affords them but a 
 scanty subsistence; it is however their chief 
 
1529 
 
 SILHOUETTE. 
 
 SILK MANUFACTURE. 
 
 3530 
 
 occupation. Woollen cloths are manufacture 
 in some towns, and cottons at Reichenbacl 
 There are sugar refineries in several places 
 woollen-cloth factories, tanneries, breweries 
 and brandy distilleries in most of the towns 
 The cotton manufactures are extending 
 steam machinery has been introduced int 
 the manufactories ; at the end of 18-4 
 the province had three large and eight smalle 
 cotton factories, with 35,524 spindles, ant 
 1749 workpeople. 
 
 SILHOUETTE. This name is frequently 
 applied to the black profile portraits commonly 
 known simply as Profiles, or Shades. The 
 latter name indicates the origin of this simpl 
 class of pictorial representations, they having 
 been probably suggested by the shadow 
 thrown upon a wall. Silhouettes are executec 
 in various ways. One of the simplest is tha 1 
 of tracing the outlines of a shadow thrown 
 on a sheet of paper, and then reducing them 
 to the required size, either by the eye or by 
 means of a pantograph. [PANTOGRAPH/ 
 Another mode is tracing the outline upon a 
 glass supported in a suitable position, and 
 either coated with a solution of gum-arabic 
 in water, in order to enable a lead pencil to 
 mark upon it, or covered with a sheet of very 
 thin tracing-paper. 
 
 SILEX or FLINT. This valuable sub- 
 stance is an oxide of Sillcium or Silicon, 
 which is regarded by some chemists as a 
 metal, and hence the termination of its name 
 in um; while others consider it as non- 
 metallic, and more allied to boron, and these 
 adopt the term Silicon. Sir H. Davy was 
 the first to separate this substance from Silica. 
 Silicium is of a dark brown colour, has no 
 lustre, and is a non-conductor of electricity. 
 It is insoluble in water, and incombustible in 
 air or in oxygen gas; it neither fuses nor 
 undergoes any other change when heated in 
 the flame of the blow-pipe. 
 
 Oxygen and Silicon form only one com- 
 pound, namely, silex or silica. Silica exists 
 very largely in nature : it is indeed probably 
 the most abundant of all substances whatever. 
 Many of the forms under which it occurs are 
 mentioned elsewhere. [FLINT ; QUARTZ.] 
 Rock-crystal is silica nearly or quite pure ; 
 and flints, or white sand, are but slightly 
 intermixed with other bodies. Pure dry silica 
 is an opaque white powder, inodorous, insipid, 
 and gritty. It is infusible by the heat of 
 ordinary furnaces, but by the oxy-hydrogen 
 blowpipe it is more readily fused than lime 
 or magnesia. Silica is a substance of the 
 utmost importance in many respects ; it enters 
 largely into the constitution of minerals, rocks, 
 *nd fossils, and is employed in the manufac- 
 
 ture of glass, porcelain, pottery, bricks, tiles, 
 and mortar. 
 
 SILK MANUFACTURE. China was 
 undoubtedly the country in which men first 
 availed themselves of the labours of the silk 
 worm. Aristotle was tho first Greek author 
 who mentions the silk-worm ; and he states 
 that silk was first spun in the island of Cos, 
 but the raw material was still an oriental 
 product. For many centuries it was not known 
 in Europe from what source silk was pro- 
 duced. It was not indeed until the sixth 
 century that the obscurity which enveloped 
 this subject was cleared up, by the successful 
 result of a journey made by two Nestorian 
 monks to China to unravel the mystery. The 
 areeding of silk-worms in Europe was for six 
 centuries confined to the Greeks of the Lower 
 Empire. In the 12th century the art was 
 transferred to Sicily; in the 13th century the 
 rearing of silk-worms and the manufacture of 
 ilk were introduced into Italy, whence it was 
 successively introduced into Spain and France, 
 and in the 15th century the manufacture was 
 stablished in England. 
 
 James I. was extremely solicitous to promote 
 he breeding and rearing of silk worms in 
 
 ngland ; but all attempts of this kind have 
 ailed both here and in the United States, 
 artly from the unfitness of the climate, and 
 mrtly from the high- rate of wages, which 
 enders this employment better adapted to 
 he social condition of China, Italy, the south 
 f France, and Malta, where the wages of 
 abour have nearly reached their minimum, 
 ilrs. Whitby, a lady who has made praise- 
 worthy attempts to foster the growth of silk 
 n England, communicated the results of her 
 artially successful labours to the Royal 
 Agricultural Society, in 1844, and to the 
 Jirmingham meeting of the British Associa- 
 on in 1849. The production of raw silk is 
 ast extending in British India, and the 
 uality has been for some years gradually im- 
 roving. The countries in which silk is pro- 
 uced are now very numerous. 
 
 But although English silk-culture has been 
 itherto a commercial failure, there are from 
 me to time attempts made which merit 
 ttention. To the Great Exhibition has been 
 ontributed a scarf woven by the wife of a 
 .ergyman, from silk reared by herself ; and 
 .though such a production is a family curio - 
 ty rather than a commercial result, it may be 
 iteresting to read her own account of it. 
 Saving resided for about three years in a 
 carage in Hertfordshire, the garden of which 
 ossessed a remarkably fine mulberry tree, 
 wished to give my family an idea of the 
 abits and natural history of the silkworm, 
 
1531 SILK MANUFACTUKE. 
 
 and the method by which silk is produced 
 "With this view I procured a quantity of eggs 
 early in the spring of 1847, which were 
 hatched about May, and I placed the worms 
 2000 or rather more in number, in an out- 
 house in the garden. There they were 
 attended and fed by myself and some of the 
 juvenile members of my family, and in due 
 time they spun; and much wishing to turn 
 the produce of their industry to some use, I 
 directed my attention towards making the 
 scarf which I have the pleasure to lay before 
 you. The silk was wound from the cocoons 
 by my daughter and myself on a winding 
 machine, and afterwards I wove it into its 
 present form. It has consequently never been 
 in the hands of any manufacturer, and pre- 
 sents the same colour and quality as when 
 taken from the cocoon. I may add, that the 
 outhouse in which the worms lived had no 
 windows to protect them from the weather, 
 which was unusually cold for the season of 
 the year ; as I think this point may illustrate 
 the fact that our English climate presents no 
 insuperable obstacle to the cultivation of 
 silk. The mulberry tree was the common 
 land.' 
 
 The silk is produced from that species of 
 silkworm which, when in the moth state, is 
 called the Eombyx Mori. This species, which 
 was originally from China, is of a white or 
 cream colour, with a brown fascia and two or 
 more waved lines of a deeper colour crossing 
 the upper wings. In this country the eggs of 
 this moth are hatched early in May. The 
 caterpillar, or silkworm, is at first of a dark 
 colour, but soon becomes light, and in its tints 
 much resembles the perfect insect, a circum- 
 stance common in caterpillars. Its proper 
 food is the mulberry, though it will likewise 
 eat the lettuce and some few other plants; 
 on these plants, however, it does not thrive 
 equally well, and the silk yielded is of a poor 
 quality. The silkworm is about eight weeks 
 in arriving at maturity, during which period 
 it changes its skin four or five times. When 
 about to cast its skin it ceases to eat, raises 
 the fore-part of the body slightly, and remains 
 in perfect repose. In this state it is neces- 
 sary that it should continue for some little 
 time , in order that the new skin, which is at 
 this time forming, may become sufficiently 
 mature to enable the caterpillar to burst 
 through the old one. This operation, which 
 is apparently one of considerable difficulty, is 
 performed thus : The fore part of the old 
 skin is burst ; the silkworm then by continu- 
 ally writhing its body (but not moving from 
 the spot) contrives to thrust the skin back to 
 the tail, and ultimately to disengage itself 
 
 SILK MANUFACTUKE. 1532 
 
 altogether: this last part of the operation 
 however is the most difficult, since it is no 
 uncommon occurrence for them to die, from 
 not being able to disengage the last segment 
 of the body from the old skin. 
 
 When full grown the silkworm commences 
 spinning its web in some convenient spot; 
 and as it does not change the position of the 
 hinder portion of its body much, but conti- 
 nues drawing its thread from various points 
 and attaching it to others, it follows that after 
 a time its body becomes in a great measure 
 inclosed by the thread. The work is then 
 continued from one thread to another, the 
 silkworm moving its head and spinning in a 
 zigzag way, bending the fore part of the body 
 back to spin in all directions within reach, 
 and shifting the body only, to cover with silk 
 the part which was beneath it. As the silk- 
 worm spins its web by thus bending the fore 
 part of the body back, and moves the hinder 
 part of the body in such a way only as to en- 
 able it to reach the farther back with the fore 
 part, it follows that it incloses itself in a 
 cocoon much shorter than its own body ; for 
 soon after the beginning the whole is con- 
 tinued with the body in a bent position. From 
 the foregoing account it appears that with the 
 most simple instinctive principles all the ends 
 necessary aro gained. If the silkworm were 
 gifted with a desire for shifting its position 
 much at the beginning of the work it could 
 never inclose itself hi a cocoon ; but by its mode 
 of proceeding, as above explained, it incloses 
 itself in a cocoon which only consumes as 
 much silk as is necessary to hold the chrysa- 
 is. During the time of spinning the cocoon, 
 the silkworm decreases in length very consi- 
 derably, and after it is completed it is not 
 lalf its original length ; at this time it becomes 
 quite torpid, soon changes its skin, and 
 appears in the form of a chrysalis. The time 
 required to complete the cocoon is about five 
 days. In the chrysalis state the animal 
 remains from a fortnight to three weeks ; it 
 then bursts its case, and comes forth in the 
 mago state, the moth having previously dis- 
 solved a portion of the cocoon by means of a 
 fluid which it ejects. 
 
 Silk is obtained also from the spider ; not 
 rom the cobweb, but the silky thread which 
 ,he female spider spins round her eggs. The 
 silken fibres of the pinna form a strong and 
 >eautiful fabric ; and some species of moths 
 brm cocoons which may be spun for curiosity, 
 )ut not with a view to commercial profit. 
 
 Keeling from the cocoons is only performed 
 n countries where the silk is produced. Silk 
 reaches the weaver in three diiferent states, in 
 which it is called single, tram, and organzine t 
 
1533 SILK MANUFACTURE. 
 
 |jhe preparation of which is the business of 
 he throwster. In plain silk-weaving the pro- 
 cess is much the same as in weaving woollen 
 or linen; but the weaver is assisted by a 
 machine for the even distribution of the warp, 
 which frequently consists of eight thousand 
 separate threads in a breadth of twenty inches. 
 The Jacquard-Loom has been the means of 
 facilitating and cheapening the production of 
 fancy or figured silks to an extraordinary ex- 
 tent. Patterns which required the greatest 
 degree of skill and the most painful labour 
 are produced by this machine by weavers of 
 ordinary skill, and with but little more labour 
 than that required in weaving plain silks, 
 f JACQUAED]. The power-loom has been only 
 partially employed in the silk manufacture; 
 and excepting for the commonest goods, it 
 does not possess any great advantage over 
 the hand-loom, as the delicacy of the mater- 
 rial to be worked, and the attention which 
 must be given to the process of the weft, 
 frequently render it necessary to stop the 
 ma.chine. 
 
 The general processes of the silk manufac- 
 ture have been treated at some length under 
 RIBAND ; and some other articles of silk 
 manufacture are noticed under their proper 
 names. Brocade and damask, the most sump- 
 tuous articles of silk manufacture a century 
 ago, are now comparatively unknown. Per- 
 sian, sarsnet, gros- de-Naples, ducapes, satin, 
 and levanlincs, are the names given to plain 
 silks, which vary from one another only in 
 texture, quality, or softness. Satin derives 
 its lustre from the great proportion of the 
 threads of the warp being left visible, and the 
 piece being afterwards passed over heated 
 cylinders. Other varieties of silk goods are 
 produced by mechanical arrangements of the 
 loom, such as using different shuttles with 
 threads of various substances, &c. The pile 
 which constitutes the peculiarity of velvet is, 
 produced by the insertion of short pieces of 
 silk thread, which cover the surface so entirely 
 as to conceal the interlacings of the warp and 
 woof. The process of weaving velvet is slow, 
 and it is paid for at five times the rate of 
 plain silks. There are several sorts of goods 
 in which silk is employed with woollen mate- 
 rials, as poplins and bombazines. 
 
 A few of the circumstances which have 
 marked the progress of the silk manufacture 
 in England are noticed under SPITALFIELDS. 
 Ten or twelve years ago, one half of the silk 
 manufactories were in Cheshire, next to which 
 stood Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Stafford- 
 shire ; but Lancashire has recently advanced 
 more than the other counties in this de- 
 partment of industry. The following were 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 1534 
 
 the statistics of silk factories in the year 
 1850: 
 
 Factories in England 272 
 
 Spindles 1,188,908 
 
 Power looms .... 6,092 
 
 3,571h 01 ,epowe, 
 
 Male operatives . . .12,513 
 
 Female operatives 29,190 
 Of the 272 silk factories, 97 were in Cheshire 
 (chiefly at Macclesfield and Congleton). 
 There were only five silk factories in Scotland, 
 employing 841 persons. There was no silk 
 factory either in Ireland or in Wales. 
 
 The silk imported in 1850 amounted to : 
 
 Raw 4,942,417 Ibs. 
 
 Waste and husks 14,600 cwts. 
 
 Thrown 469,526 Ibs. 
 
 The manufactured silk goods imported in 
 1850, including broad silk, satin, ribbons, 
 gauze, crape, velvet, and plush, amounted in 
 weight to 826,650 Ibs. ; together with 715,739 
 pieces of Bandanna and other silk handker- 
 chiefs. Our exports were 260,085 Ibs., toge- 
 ther with 410,473 pieces of silk handkerchiefs 
 mostly to the colonies. 
 
 SILVER. This beautiful metal has been 
 well known and highly valued from the re- 
 motest period circumstances which are 
 readily explained by the facts of its occurring 
 frequently native, and possessing great lustre 
 and fitness for immediate use without being 
 subjected to any metallurgic process. 
 
 Ores of silver. The ores of silver are ex- 
 tremely numerous. Besides the Native silver % 
 the chief ores are the following: Antimonial 
 silver, telluric silver, native amalgam, aurife- 
 rous native silver, arsenical antimonial silve* f 
 horn silver, earthy corneous silver, silver glance s 
 earthy silver glance, light red silver, ruby silver, 
 miargyrite, biegsamer silberglanz, flexible sul- 
 phuret, brittle sulphuret, silberkupferqlanz, 
 romelite, brittle silver, selensilver, cukairite. 
 selbite, and ganzekothig-erz. Most of these 
 are known by two or three names each ; some 
 occur only in irregular masses, the rest in 
 crystals. The ores which yield silver most 
 readily and most abundantly are native silver, 
 horn silver (chloride), and silver glance 
 (sulphuret). Silver is also procured by cupel- 
 lation. [LEAD.] 
 
 Silver has a purer white colour than any 
 other metal ; it has great brilliancy ; and is 
 susceptible of a high polish. Its specific 
 gravity is about 10 J. It is sufficiently soft to 
 be cut with a knife ; and is very malleable and 
 ductile, so that it may be beaten into leaves 
 about 1 10,000ih of an inch in thickness, 
 and drawn into wire much finer than a human 
 hair. It does not rust or oxidise by exposure 
 
1535 
 
 SILVER, 
 
 SILVER, 
 
 1536 
 
 to the air, but when the air contains sulphu- 
 reous vapours it tarnishes, becoming first 
 yellowish and afterwards black. Three metals 
 only, viz. iron, copper, and platinum, exceed 
 silver in tenacity ; a wire -^ of an inch in 
 diameter supports rather more than 187 
 pounds without brealdng. "When exposed to 
 a bright red heat silver melts ; on fusion its 
 appearance is extremely brilliant, and during 
 this it absorbs oxygen from the ah* to the 
 amount of about twenty-two times its volume, 
 and this it gives out either by cooling or 
 being poured into water. When leaf-silver, or 
 fine silver wire, is heated by voltaic electricity, 
 it burns with a fine green flame ; if intensely 
 heated in the open fire it boils, and a portion 
 is vapourised. 
 
 Oxide of silver gives a yellow colour to 
 glass and porcelain, and is the oxide which is 
 the basis of all the common salts of silver. 
 The chloride of silver is perfectly white, but 
 by exposure to daylight it becomes slowly 
 blueish-white, and eventually almost black. 
 The direct rays of the sun produce this effect 
 almost instantaneously. On this property is 
 founded its use in photogenic drawing. By 
 mere heat it undergoes no change except 
 fusion, and when it has solidified on cooling 
 it has the appearance of horn ; hence the 
 name of horn silver for the native chloride. 
 It is largely and advantageously used in expe- 
 rimental chemistry. The protoxide forms 
 with ammonia a compound called fulminating 
 silver, on account of the facility and violence 
 with which it explodes ; in exploding it forms 
 water, sets free nitrogen, and metallic silver 
 remains. A very gentle heat or slight friction 
 causes it to explode sometimes even before it 
 is dry. Nitrate of silver, when moderately 
 heated, fuses, and being then cast hi a mould 
 in small cylindrical sticks, it constitutes the 
 Argenti Nitras of the Pharmacopoeias, com- 
 monly called lunar caustic. When sulphur, 
 phosphorus, or charcoal, is mixed with nitrate 
 of silver, and struck on an anvil, detonation 
 ensues, and metallic silver is obtained. Nitrate 
 of silver is employed by precipitation with 
 carbonate of soda, &c., for writing on linen : 
 it is commonly called Indelible Ink. 
 
 Iron and silver combine with difficulty; 
 they separate on cooling, the iron retaining 
 about one-eightieth of silver, and the silver 
 about one-thirtieth of iron. According to 
 Faraday and Stodart, steel containing about 
 one five-hundredth of silver forms a good 
 alloy for cutting instruments. Iron and silver 
 form a blueish-white granular alloy ; tin and 
 silver a white, hard, brittle alloy. When 
 cobalt and silver are fused together, they 
 separate during cooling, each retaining a por- 
 
 tion of the other. Lead and silver give a dull 
 brittle alloy; antimony and silver a white 
 brittle alloy ; arsenic and silver form a gray, 
 brittle granular compound, containing about 
 14 percent, of the former metal. Bismuth and 
 silver give a yellowish-white, brittle, lamellar 
 alloy ; molybdenum forms a compact, brittle, 
 gray, granular compound with silver ; and 
 tungsten a brown, slightly malleable button : 
 copper and silver readily combine, and the 
 silver is rendered harder by it without much 
 deterioration of colour; the standard silver of 
 this country is composed of 11-10 silver and 
 0-90 copper. Mercury and silver amalgamate 
 readily, and this compound is sometimes 
 employed for plating, but this operation is 
 now most advantageously carried on by pre- 
 cipitation by means of voltaic electricity. 
 
 Silver ores are found chiefly in veins which 
 traverse the primary and the older of the 
 secondary stratified rocks, but especially the 
 former ; and also the unstratified rocks, such 
 as granite and porphyry, which are associated 
 with the above. In some of the mines in 
 Peru, and in those of Kongsberg in Norway 
 and Freiburg in Saxony, silver has been dis- 
 covered in masses weighing from 100 to 800 
 Ibs. In the mines of Europe the veins are 
 numerous and slender. In some of the 
 mines in the Har/ Mountains and in the 
 Hungarian mines the veins occur in a small 
 number of spots, and are of considerable 
 dimensions. In three of the richest districts 
 of Mexico there is only one principal vein, 
 which is worked in different places. One of 
 these veins, in the district of Guanaxuato, is 
 from 130 to 148 feet wide, and it has been 
 traced and worked to an extent of nearly eight 
 miles. 
 
 In Mexico there were 500 mining establish- 
 ments, called Meales, at the time of Hum- 
 boldt's visit, and from 3000 to 4000 veins 
 or masses were worked. The average richness 
 of all the ores in Mexico is from 3 to 4 
 ounces per quintal of 102 Ibs. In one of the 
 Mexican mines a working of one hundred 
 feet in length yielded in six months 432,274 
 Ibs. troy of silver, equal in value to about 
 1,000,000?. In Chili some of the mines yield 
 only 8 ounces in 5000 Ibs. of ore ; but in the 
 rich mine of Copiapo, discovered in 1832, the 
 ore frequently contains CO or 70 per cent, of 
 silver. The average produce of the mines of 
 Saxony is from 3 to 4 ounces in the quintal. 
 The lead mines of Craven in Yorkshire con- 
 tained 230 ounces per ton ; and those of 
 Cardiganshire, worked in the reign of Charles 
 I., yielded 80 ounces. The average propor- 
 tion of the lead mines of the north of Eng- 
 land is 12 ounces per ton. Even when the 
 
1537 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 SILVERING. 
 
 1538 
 
 proportion of silver is so low as 8 ounces, or 
 one grain per lb., it has been found profit- 
 able to separate it. The produce of the 
 Mexican mines averaged annually 4,800,OOOJ. 
 from 1793 to 1803, of which nineteen- 
 twentieths were silver. In the first ten years 
 of the present century the average annual 
 value was about 5,000,000;., the quantity of 
 pure silver annually produced in that time 
 being 1,440,650 troy Ibs. The mines of Potosi 
 in Peru are the most famous in South Ame- 
 rica. [POTOSI.] The produce of the Chilian 
 mines in 1832 was about 1,000,000 ounces. 
 At the commencement of the present century 
 Humboldt estimated the annual produce of 
 the silver-mines of Chili, Peru, Buenos Ayres, 
 and New Grenada, at nearly 700,000 Ibs. troy, 
 valued at 2,074,476/. sterling. The proportion 
 of silver to goldprodiiced from all the American 
 mines was, early in the present century, as 62 
 to 1 ; and from the mines of all countries as 
 52 to 1. 
 
 The most productive mines in Europe are 
 those in Saxony, Austria, Hungary, Norway, 
 Russia and Spain ; but nearly all of these are 
 less productive than they have been in former 
 ages. The quantity found in Great Britain is 
 extremely small. Silver has ceased to be 
 abundant in Asia, except perhaps in China. 
 In Africa none is met with. 
 
 The silver mines of Copiapo are those 
 which are now attracting the most attention. 
 In 1824 they produced only 310 Ibs. of silver; 
 about 1830 the yearly produce was 3000 Ibs. ; 
 after the discovery of new veins in 1832 the 
 production rose to 16,000 Ibs.; and during 
 the last eight years the following results have 
 been exhibited: 
 
 1843 39,599 Ibs. 
 
 1844 61,497 
 
 1845 76,723 
 
 1846 80,397 
 
 1847 102,052 ,. 
 
 1848 330,552 
 
 1849 171,119 
 
 1850 (about) 200,000 
 
 The proportional value of gold to silver was 
 12 and 10 to 1 from the Anglo-Saxon times to 
 the discovery of America; it is at present 
 14-28 to 1. In ancient Greece the proportion 
 varied from 15 and 10 to 1, and in Rome from 
 12 and 7 to 1. Herodotus estimates it at 13 
 to 1. Since the discovery of America the 
 proportion throughout the world has been 
 between 17 and 14 to 1. The English silver 
 coinage from 1600 to 1800 amounted to about 
 26,000,000/. ; from 1800 to 1840 about 
 11,000,000/. 
 
 There are nine mints in Mexico, at which 
 the coinage was as follows in the years named. 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 1842 984,427 196,885 
 
 1843 620,532 124,106 
 
 1844 726,762 145,352 
 
 1845 783,930 156,782 
 
 1846 915,752 183,150 
 
 When silver is issued for coin, it is always 
 alloyed with copper : the maximum of hard- 
 ness is produced by one-fifth of copper. One 
 lb. of standard silver of the English coinage 
 contains 11 oz. 2 dwts. of silver and 18 dwts. 
 alloy, or 925 parts of pure silver in 1000 
 parts of standard silver. For purposes con- 
 nected with the manufacture of various 
 articles of use and ornament, the alloy is 
 greater. At Birmingham rolled sheets are 
 made which do not contain more than 3 or 
 4 dwts. of silver to each lb. of the inferior 
 metal. 
 
 Mr. Jacob estimates the annual consump- 
 tion of silver in the United Kingdom at 
 3,282,046 oz., valued at 820,61U He distri- 
 butes it as follows : 
 
 That paying duty 1,375,316 oz. 
 
 That used in watch-cases 506,730 
 That used in plating .... 900,000 
 That for other minor purposes 500,000 
 
 3,282,046 
 
 The value of the stock of silver in the 
 hands of the manufacturers and dealers is 
 estimated by the same authority at 3,280,0002. 
 The value of ornaments and utensils of the 
 precious metals in Europe and America, if 
 brought to the crucible, Mr. Jacob values at 
 400,000,0002., one fourth more than the value 
 of the coined metals ; but Mr. M'Culloch 
 thinks these estimates too high ; and as they 
 were made before the recent discovery of gold 
 at California, some of them are likely to be 
 modified by the abundance of gold. 
 
 SILVERING. A few illustrations of the 
 mechanical working of silver will be found 
 under BIRMINGHAM, ELECTRO-METALLUKGY, 
 and GOLD-WOEKING ; but we are here speak- 
 ing of the singular operation of silvering 
 one surface of glass. 
 
 In an ordinary looking-glass, the reflexion 
 is derived from a film of mercury or quick- 
 silver, in contact with the hinder surface of 
 the glass, and rendered fixed by amalgama- 
 ting with a sheet of tin foil. Silvering is here 
 not a correct term, for there is no silver em- 
 ployed ; the process is nevertheless a highly 
 curious one. In the first place a large sheet 
 of tin foil is unrolled, and laid down on a 
 perfectly flat and very smooth stone table. 
 Liquid mercury is poured on the foil, from 
 the iron bottles in which it is imported, and 
 made to float over the entire surface. The 
 
1539 
 
 SILVERING. 
 
 SINGAPORE. 
 
 1510 
 
 glass, brought perfectly clean, is laid upon the 
 mercury with a peculiar sliding movement, 
 which suffices to remove the slight film of 
 oxide which soon forms upon the surface. 
 The glass is then entirely covered with heavy 
 leaden weights, which could not be done with 
 safety unless the glass and the stone were 
 perfectly flat. After remaining a day or two 
 in this state, with the stone slightly inclined, 
 it is found that all the superfluous mercury 
 has been pressed out from between the glass 
 and the foil ; and moreover the mercury has 
 chemically combined with the foil, in such a 
 way that both adhere firmly to the back of the 
 glass. So great is the tact shewn in this 
 process that in a well silvered glass there will 
 not be found the smallest spot which has not 
 its due share of reflective amalgam behind it. 
 
 Mr. Drayton patented a new mode of 
 silvering glass, a few years ago. It is not 
 only nominally but really silvering. Nitrate 
 of silver is combined with spirit and certain 
 liquids, and is poured on the clean surface of 
 the glass ; a border of putty or some other 
 substance being laid round the glass to retain 
 the liquid. After remaining thus a few hours, 
 the liquid is poured off, and a sediment of 
 silver is found to be left adhering to the glass. 
 This sediment or film is secured in its place 
 by a varnish of bees' wax and tallow. 
 
 A recent novelty is Kidd's Embroidered 
 Glass, by which any pattern or device can be 
 embroidered on glass, and thus fixed and 
 rendered conspicuous by a subsequent silver- 
 ing. The peculiarity of the process is that 
 the patterns have the appearance of being in 
 relief, or embossed on the exterior surface, 
 and illuminated in frosted and burnished 
 silver; whereas the whole of the processes 
 are effected on the under surface. The en- 
 graving or embroidering is effected by pecu- 
 liar tools ; a peculiar composition is laid on 
 the embroidered glass before the silver is 
 applied ; and the silver itself is applied in a 
 way different from that adopted in any other 
 process. 
 
 Another new production is Mr. Thomson's 
 silvered vessels, which display wonderful 
 brilliancy and beauty. Glass vessels of any 
 shape, and made of glass of any colour, are 
 silvered within in such a way as to yield a 
 reflexion of great lustre. Some of the speci- 
 mens in which green and ruby glass are thus 
 silvered produce an effect which for gorge- 
 ousness can hardly be paralleled in any other 
 manufacture. The surface is often richly 
 cut and diversified ; and the silvering may be 
 made to appear at any spots selected by the 
 workman. The silvering agent is one of the 
 salts or compounds of silver, as in Drayton's 
 
 process; but arrangements of a novel and 
 intricate kind are requisite to the due pro- 
 duction of the required effects. 
 
 These graceful novelties in the glass manu- 
 facture appropriately find a place in the Great 
 Exhibition. 
 
 SINDE. This portion of India is rich in 
 productions. Though its botanical wealth is 
 not great, the agricultural products are nume- 
 rous ; all the grains and pulse common to 
 India are grown. Rice is the staple in the 
 delta and in the country between the Western 
 Narra and the Indus, but in the other parts 
 wheat and maize are most extensively cultivated. 
 Barley is grown in some districts. Indigo is 
 largely grown in the north-eastern districts, 
 but it is inferior to that of Bengal. Opium is 
 cultivated near Shikarpoor, and in some other 
 districts. The sugar-cane is pretty generally 
 grown throughout the whole of the province, 
 but its produce is inferior to that of Northern 
 Hindustan and the Panjab. Cotton is culti- 
 vated everywhere, but the best is grown in 
 the northern districts. Tobacco of good qua- 
 lity is grown in the vicinity of Khyrpoor. 
 Hemp, cucumbers, water-melons, and musk- 
 melons, are extensively cultivated. The gar- 
 dens produce carrots, turnips, radishes, onions, 
 and several kinds of pumpkins. Among the 
 fruits are the date, mango, pomegranate, apple, 
 grape, lime, citron, fig, and a variety of other 
 fruits. Ghee and hides constitute important 
 articles of export. Sheep and goats are met 
 with almost everywhere in upper Sinde, and 
 wool is exported from that tract which lies 
 west of the Indus and north of Shikarpoor. 
 
 The manufactures of Sinde are not nume- 
 rous ; but they may be considered extensive, 
 when the scantiness of the population is con- 
 sidered. Cotton-cloth of a coarse description 
 is manufactured in the principal towns and 
 villages, chiefly for home consumption, and a 
 little is exported to Afghanistan and Persia. 
 Among the silk manufactures those of Tatta 
 have acquired a repute in India, especially a 
 rich fabric of silk, cotton, and gold, variegated 
 in pattern and of close texture. 
 
 SINGAPORE. The commercial history of 
 Singapore is remarkable. Singapore is the 
 name of a town, of an island in which that 
 town is situated, and of a settlement, in which 
 the town is the chief feature. It occupies the 
 extreme south of the Malayan peninsula, and 
 is the most southern point in Asia. If the 
 commerce of Singapore were limited to the 
 produce of the place, it would hardly give 
 employment to more than two or three vessels. 
 But Singapore has become the London of 
 southern Asia in the Indian Archipelago. All 
 the nations that inhabit the countries border- 
 
1541 
 
 SIPHON. 
 
 SKEW-BRIDGE. 
 
 1512 
 
 ing on the Indian Ocean resort to it -with th 
 produce of their agriculture and manufacturing 
 industry, and take in exchange such goods 
 are not grown or produced in their own 
 countries. All of them find there a readj 
 market, which at the same time is well stockec 
 with European goods. This effect has partly 
 been produced hy the wise policy of declaring 
 the harbour of Singapore a free port, in which 
 no export or import duties, nor any anchorage, 
 harbour, nor lighthouse fees, are levied. 
 
 The commerce of Singapore may be divided 
 into the eastern trade, the Straits trade, and 
 the western trade. The eastern trade, or 
 that which is carried on with the countries 
 east and south-east of Singapore, comprehends 
 the commerce with China, the Spanish settle- 
 ment of Manilla, the independent tribes of the 
 Indian Archipelago, the Dutch settlements on 
 the island of Java and at Ehio, the new 
 settlements at Sarawak and Labuan, the Aus- 
 tralian and New Zealand colonies, and the 
 countries of the Peninsula beyond the Ganges 
 which lie east of the Malay Peninsula. The 
 most important branches of this commerce 
 are those with China, Java, and Siam. 
 
 The commerce of the Straits is carried on 
 with the Malay Peninsula and with the island 
 of Sumatra. The harbours on the eastern 
 jside of the peninsula, which trade with Singa- 
 pore, are Pahang, Tringanu, and Calantan, 
 and this trade is rather active. The trade 
 with the western coast of the peninsula is not 
 important, and is almost entirely limited to 
 the harbour of Salangore. The commerce 
 between Singapore and the island of Sumatra 
 is almost entirely limited to the ports along 
 the eastern coast of the island. There is 
 hardly any commercial intercourse with the 
 Dutch settlements of Bencoolen, Padang, and 
 Tappanuli, which are on the western coast. 
 The commerce of the eastern coast is divided 
 between Singapore and Penang. 
 
 The western trade of Singapore comprehends 
 that with Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, the island 
 of Ceylon, and Arabia, with the Cape of Good 
 Hope, Mauritius, and Australia, and with 
 Europe and America. To enumerate the 
 articles which constitute the materials of these 
 three great streams of commerce would be 
 to name almost all that Europe sells to Asia 
 or Asia to Europe ; or which are interchanged 
 among the nations of eastern Asia 
 
 It is estimated that 300,000 tons of shipping 
 now enter Singapore annually. The British 
 and Irish produce and manufactures exported 
 to Singapore in 1849 amounted in value to 
 494,088*. 
 
 SIPHON is a bent tube whose arms are of 
 unequal length, The shorter of these arms 
 VOL, I. 
 
 being immersed in a liquid which is to be 
 drawn from a vessel or a reservoir, and the 
 air being removed by suction, or by means of 
 a syringe, the liquid immediately rises in the 
 immersed arm in consequence of the pressure 
 of the atmosphere on that which surrounds 
 the tube ; it then passes over the bend and 
 flows through the open orifice at the lower 
 extremity of the other arm. The length of 
 the column of fluid in this arm being greater 
 than in the other, its superior weight causes 
 the flow to be continuous. 
 
 The phenomena presented by springs of 
 water are explained by supposing that the rain 
 which is absorbed in the earth occasionally 
 finds its way by small channels to some interior 
 cavity, and from thence by other channels, 
 which may be considered as natural siphons, 
 to an orifice on a lower level at the surface of 
 the ground. At this orifice it issues in a 
 stream of water, which continues to flow till 
 the surface of the water in the cavity has 
 descended below the tops of the vertical bends 
 in the channels. 
 
 The siphon is used in many operations in 
 which it is required to draw liquids from one 
 vessel to another. 
 
 SISTEUM. This ancient musical instru- 
 ment was constructed of brass, and shaped 
 Like the frame and handle of a racket, the 
 aead part of which had either three or four 
 lorizontal bars placed loosely on it, which 
 were tuned, most probably, by some scale, and 
 allowed to play freely, so that when the instru- 
 ment was shaken, piercing ringing sounds 
 must have been produced. 
 
 SKEW-BRIDGE is a bridge in which the 
 sassages over and under the arch intersect 
 each other obliquely. Where space and neat- 
 ness do not require to : be considered, an 
 oblique arch may be avoided, either by building 
 bridge square with the upper passage, 
 and making the span so wide as to allow the 
 tream to pass under it without being diverted ; 
 r by building the arch square with the stream, 
 and of sufficient length to allow the upper 
 >assage to take aii oblique course over it; but 
 either of these is a clumsy (expedient, although 
 well adapted for some situations. 
 
 The skew-bridges built by George Stephen- 
 on on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway 
 vere the first in which the scientific principles 
 f the method were properly applied. On 
 hat railway, out of rather more than sixty 
 >ridges, about one-fourth Were built on the 
 kew ; one, built of stone, conducting the 
 urnpike ro.ad across the line at Rainhill, 
 >eing at an angle of only 34 degrees, by which 
 he width of span is increased from 30 feet, 
 he width of the railway from wall to wall, to 
 
 oo 
 
1543 
 
 SKINS AND FUBS. 
 
 SKYLIGHT. 
 
 1544 
 
 54 feet, the width on the oblique face of the 
 arch. In the skew-bridge at Boxmoor, the 
 angle is 32, the square span 21 feet, and the 
 oblique span 39 feet. The difficulty of build- 
 ing skew-bridges increases with the obliquity 
 of the angle from 90 to 45, which is supposed 
 to be the most hazardous angle for a semi- 
 circular arch ; but beyond that point, instead 
 of increasing, it rather diminishes to about 
 25, which appears to be about the natural 
 limit for a semi-cylindrical arch. Elliptical 
 oblique arches are deficient in stability, more 
 difficult to execute, and more expensive, than 
 semicircular or segmental arches. 
 
 The construction of skew-bridges of iron or 
 timber is comparatively simple, the ribs or 
 girders of which such bridges are composed 
 being of the usual construction, laid parallel 
 with each other, but the end of each being in 
 advance of that next preceding it. The extra- 
 ordinary iron bridge by which the Manchester 
 and Birmingham Railway is conducted over 
 Fairfield Street, Manchester, at an angle of 
 only 24 J, is a fine example of this kind of 
 skew-bridge. It consists of six ribs, of rather 
 more than 128 feet span, although the width 
 of the street is only 48 feet, resting upon very 
 massive abutments of masonry. 
 
 SKINS AND FURS. Under Ftms is 
 given a brief account of the fur-trade, and of 
 the uses of furs in manufacture. We will 
 here glance at the extent of the trade in these 
 products, so far as Great Britain is concerned. 
 The skins and furs imported into Great 
 Britain in 1848 were the following : 
 
 Bear 9,712 
 
 Beaver 41,132 
 
 Cat 7,752 
 
 Coney 61,599 
 
 Deer 37,737 
 
 Ermine 183,547 
 
 Fitch 82,140 
 
 Fox 72,939 
 
 Goat 241,333 
 
 Kid 601,119 
 
 Lamb 1,381,524 
 
 Lynx 47,317 
 
 Marten 219,195 
 
 Mink 223,254 
 
 Musquash 706,764 
 
 Nutria 18,546 
 
 Otter 14,684 
 
 Racoon 387,313 
 
 Seal 706,207 
 
 Sheep 259,223 
 
 Squirrel 2,674,602 
 
 Some portions of these were re-exported , 
 but by far the greater part were worked up in 
 England. 
 SKY, For the description of an instrument 
 
 invented in order 1o measure the intensity of 
 the blue colour of the sky, see CYANOMETER. 
 
 SKYLIGHT. Including under this term 
 every mode of admitting light into an apart- 
 ment through its roof or ceiling, we may here 
 briefly notice that particular fashion of sky- 
 light distinguished in gothic architecture by 
 the name of Lantern, though lanterns in 
 gothic buildings were not so much intended 
 to admit light as to supply ventilation and 
 the means of escape to smoke. But the term 
 lantern is also applied to the lower part of a 
 tower placed at the intersection of the tran- 
 septs with the body of a church, which, being 
 open below, forms a loftier portion of the 
 interior, lighted by windows on each side; 
 and again to an upper open story, that is, one 
 entirely filled with windows, on the summit of 
 a tower, and frequently forming a superstruc- 
 ture different in plan from the rest, as in 
 Fotheringay Church, and that at Boston, Lin- 
 colnshire, in both which examples the lantern 
 forms an octagon placed upon a square. The 
 upper portion of the tower of St. Dunstan's, 
 Fleet Street, London, may also be described 
 as a lantern. 
 
 Of skylights, however, properly so called 
 (that is, which are nearly in the same plane 
 as the general surface of the ceiling), no ex- 
 amples are to be met with in our ancient 
 architecture ; nor does anything of the kind 
 occur in Italian architecture, except it be in 
 the form of a cupola over a central saloon. 
 An example of a church lighted entirely from 
 above, without lateral windows, is furnished 
 by that of St. Peter-le-Poor, Broad Street, 
 London, which is a rotunda, covered by a cove, 
 and a large circular lantern, whose tambour 
 forms a sort of clerestory, consisting of a 
 continuous series of arched windows, while 
 the ceiling makes a very flat or slightly con- 
 cave dome. Sir John Soane was one of the 
 first who attempted to give importance and 
 decorative character to skylights and ceiling 
 windows, or windowed ceilings, as they may 
 be termed, making them ornamental features 
 in his interiors, varied in their design, and 
 producing great diversity of striking effects, 
 occasionally heightened by the light being 
 transmitted through tinted glass, so as to 
 diffuse a warm sunny glow over the apartment. 
 The offices at the Bank of England afford 
 many studies of the kind, while his own house, 
 in Lincoln's Inn Fields, shows what he accom- 
 plished by a similar mode of treatment, upon 
 a very limited scale. 
 
 The form of skylights more generally used 
 for picture galleries, libraries, and other apart- 
 ments of that class, is of the simplest kind, 
 being lanterns, not like those in gothic archi- 
 
1545 
 
 SLATE. 
 
 SLATE, 
 
 1546 
 
 lecture, of narrow and straight proportions 
 but spacious and low, and occupying a consi 
 derable surface of the ceiling. The light is 
 admitted through the sides of the lantern 
 which are mostly filled in with panes of glass 
 so as to form a window continued on every 
 side, without other divisions than the bars in 
 its framework. Of other forms of lanterns 
 and skylights in picture-galleries and sculpture- 
 galleries, examples are furnished by those at 
 the British Museum and the National Gallery, 
 London, and the Fitzwilliam Museum at 
 Cambridge, some of which are double skylights, 
 a smaller skylight being raised over the first 
 one. 
 
 There are a variety of other modes of light- 
 ing rooms from their ceilings, depending in a 
 groat measure on the taste and skill of the 
 architect, and the necessities frequently im- 
 posed by the situation or purpose of the 
 building. 
 
 The ridge and furrow skylights (if we may 
 thus term them) of the Exhibition Building 
 in Hyde Park, afford the largest and simplest 
 example ever yet constructed ; as the roof and 
 the skylight are identical. 
 
 SLATE. The slaty cleavage or structure 
 in stone appears to be the result of a general 
 cause acting subsequently to the deposition 
 and disturbance of the strata, capable of per- 
 vading and re-arranging the particles so as to 
 systematise their mutual attractions, but not to 
 fuse them together, destroy their original 
 distinctness, or obliterate the evidence of their 
 original condition. This force was so general, 
 that along many miles of country, as, for 
 example, in the whole Snowdonian chain, one 
 particular direction (north -north east), in 
 North Devon and Pembrokeshire another 
 (neai'ly east and west), is found to prevail 
 more or less distinctly in all the rocks. This 
 dependence of the slaty structure on the 
 nature of the rock is sometimes very positively 
 pronounced, as in some classes of rock the 
 cleavage does change and even reverse its 
 inclination where contortions prevail. Pres- 
 sure, in some peculiar application seems to 
 be the grand agent in the production of slaty 
 cleavage. 
 
 For economical purposes there appears little 
 chance of obtaining in the British Islands 
 good Slate ( properly so called) from any 
 but the ancient argillaceous strata superposed 
 on mica schist and gneiss, and covered by old 
 red-sandstone or mountain limestone. From 
 these strata in Scotland, Cumberland, West- 
 moreland, Yorkshire, Charnwood Forest, North 
 Wales abundantly, South Wales, Devonshire. 
 Cornwall, the north and south of Ireland, 
 slates of various value are dug. The thin 
 
 flagstone of the coal formation in many parts 
 of England and Wales, the laminated sandy 
 limestone of Stonesfield, Collywiston, &c., 
 which are often called slates, and are exten- 
 sively used in roofing, are all obtained by 
 natural partings parallel to the stratification. 
 True slate is split by wedges from the appa- 
 rently solid rock along planes often no more 
 discoverable than those of a real crystal. In 
 colour it is purple, blue, green, yellowish, or 
 almost white, or striped across the planes. In 
 some slates (west of Scotland, Ingleton, &c.) 
 crystals of cubical iron pyrites are scattered. 
 Much of the Cumberland slate (Borrowdale) 
 appears full of fragments. 
 
 Some slate quarries are remarkably situated, 
 and are wrought under circumstances of diffi- 
 culty. At Honister Crag, between Borrowdale 
 and Buttermere, there is a quarry near the 
 top of a mountain whose sides are so steep, 
 that the quarrymen take up a week's provision 
 with them, to avoid the necessity of ascending 
 and descending every day. The slates are 
 lowered by sledges in a mode which would be 
 perilous to any not accustomed to it. In all 
 slate quarries the slate is extracted in large 
 blocks ; and the lamellar structure of the slate 
 enables the blocks to be easily separated into 
 thin layers by the use of a chisel and mallet. 
 All the slates in ordinary use, both for roofing 
 and for writing on, are brought to the thin 
 slate so familiar to us by these simple means. 
 
 A considerable increase has taken place 
 during the last half of 1850 in the export of 
 slate from the various quarries in North 
 Wales ; a circumstance attributed to the repeal 
 of the brick duty causing an impetus to the 
 erection of houses. From the port of Caer- 
 narvon alone, the exports for the half year 
 were 61,400 tons, being an increase of 11,000 
 tons over the prior half year, and for the 
 month of February, 1851, the shipment has 
 been to the extent of 6,200 tons. In other 
 ports a large increase is apparent. 
 
 Slate is now used for a variety of purposes 
 as a substitute for stone in some cases, and 
 'or lead in others. Pavements, cisterns, walls, 
 partitions, &c., are constructed. A superior 
 production called enamelled slate is used for 
 ornamental table- tops, slabs for consoles and 
 pier- tables, wash- stand tops, columns, pilasters, 
 door furniture, mural tables, monuments, &c. 
 
 Slate pencils are simply narrow slips of a 
 > 7 ery soft kind of slate. An ingenious kind of 
 slate pencil has been lately devised, in which 
 ;he material, brought to a very small thickness, 
 s slid into a groove in a wooden stem, through 
 vhich it is propelled by a spiral apparatus, 
 somewhat on the principle of the ever-pointed 
 ead pencils. In 1849 Mr. Cohen patented a 
 
1547 
 
 SLAVONIA. 
 
 SMEATON, JOHN. 
 
 1548 
 
 new kind of slate pencil, made from a mixture j and sometimes furnished with a slit or socket 
 
 for the purpose of holding it ; and the sling 
 is then whirled round to gain an impetus. In 
 the hands of an expert slinger, this instru- 
 ment may be made to project missiles to a 
 great distance, and with surprising accuracy. 
 
 The sling was long used, hoth as an offen- 
 sive weapon and otherwise, in England. Strutt 
 observes, that * it is altogether uncertain 
 whether the ancient inhabitants of Britain 
 were acquainted with the use of the sling or 
 not ; ' but that ' our Saxon ancestors certainly 
 used it, and seem to have been skilful in its 
 management.' Stingers formed a part also of 
 the Anglo-Norman soldiery. 
 
 SLUICE is any kind of flood-gate or trap 
 to retain water for a given time, or in a given 
 direction. Sluices are extensively used in 
 most hydraulic works, and vary much in their 
 construction, according to the purposes for 
 which they are required. In mill streams they 
 serve to keep back the water when the mill is 
 at rest, and to regulate the supply when it is 
 going. They also act as ' wasters,' to allow 
 the surplus water of a reservoir to escape. 
 For these purposes many self-acting sluices 
 have been contrived, to avoid the incon- 
 venience and even danger which might aviso 
 from neglect, as well as to save the expense 
 of a sluice-keeper. For canal-locks it is ne- 
 cessary to make the large gates meet in an 
 angle in the middle of the stream, in order 
 that they may be able to resist the pressure 
 of the water ; and as this pressure would ren- 
 der it impossible to open them against any 
 considerable head of water, small sluices are 
 provided either in the gates or in the masonry 
 of the lock, by which the water may be let in 
 or out at pleasure. 
 
 SMALT is a glass coloured of a fine blue, 
 by means of oxide of 'cobalt. [COBALT.] 
 When reduced to an impalpable powder it is 
 employed to give a blue tint to writing paper 
 and linen. Upwards of 150,000 Ibs. of smalt 
 were imported in 1848. 
 
 SMEATON, JOHN. Smeaton's name will 
 always be held in respect as long as engineer- 
 ing skill calls forth admiration. He was born 
 near Leeds in 1724 ; he came to London about 
 1742, and established himself as a mathema- 
 tical instrument maker in Great Turnstile, 
 Holborn. In 1751 he constructed a machine 
 for measuring a ship's way at sea; and in 
 1753 was engaged in a course of experiments 
 ' concerning the natural powers of water and 
 wind to turn mills and other machines depend- 
 ing on circular motion.' The results of these 
 experiments were published in 1750, and ob- 
 tained for him the Copley gold medal of the 
 Royal Society in that year, Smeatoa had in 
 
 of alumina, French chalk, soap-stone, and 
 water. 
 
 SLAVONIA. The produce and industry 
 of the Slavonian provinces are briefly noticed 
 under AUSTRIA. 
 
 SLIDE (or SLIDING; RULE. The siia- 
 
 ing-rule is an instrument for the mechanical 
 performance of addition and subtraction, 
 which is converted into an instrument for the 
 mechanical performance of multiplication and 
 division by the use of logarithmic scales, in- 
 stead of scales of equal parts. This instru- 
 ment was invented by Oughtred, about 1630, 
 and is very little known on the Continent. 
 
 The following are the principal lands of 
 sliding rule now in use. The common cin/i- 
 neer's rule or carpenter's rule in its best form, 
 is a double 12-inch rule, a slide of two radii 
 with the same scale on one side, and a scale 
 of one radius of double length on the other, 
 with divisors. Bevan's engineer's rule, 12 
 inches, has slides on both faces (which may 
 be exchanged), and serves for squares, cubes, 
 square roots of cubes, &c. There are scales 
 on the backs of the slides and in the grooves, 
 for sines, tangents, inverted numbers, com- 
 pound interest and annuities at five per cent. 
 Henderson's double-slide ride, 12 inches, has 
 two parallel contiguous slides, with scales of 
 numbers fixed above and below, and solves at 
 one operation most sets of multiplications and 
 divisions not exceeding five operations ; at the 
 back are tables of divisors for solids. In Wooll- 
 
 gar's Pocket Calculator, 8 niches, the 
 slides work in either of the grooves : 
 
 two 
 the 
 
 backs and the grooves have scales of sines, 
 tangents, areas of polygons, circular segments ; 
 interest, annuities, certain and for lives, at 
 several rates of interest. An addition maybe 
 made by a metal slip, giving the solution of 
 the same questions as the last rule. Woollgar's 
 Pocket- Book Rule, 6 and 8 inches, has two 
 radii, one under the other, a line for sines, and 
 duplicate proportions at the back of the slide. 
 At the bottom of the groove are sometimes 
 inserted lines for finding the relations of right- 
 angled triangles, for cask gauging, and for cut- 
 lings and embankments. The Excise-officer's 
 sliding rule, is an instrument of which the 
 graduations are adapted to the calculation 
 required by those officers. 
 
 SLING is an instrument with which stones 
 or other missiles may be thrown to a great 
 distance. In its simplest form the sting con- 
 sists of a thong of leather, or a piece of cord 
 or some woven fabric, both ends of which arc 
 held in the hand of the slinger. The stone 
 or missile is placed in the fold or double of 
 the thong, which is made wide at that part, 
 
1549 
 
 SMELTING. 
 
 SMOKE. 
 
 1550 
 
 1753 been made a member of the Royal So 
 ciety ; and had contributed to the Transac 
 tions ' even before that date. In 1754 he 
 visited Holland and the Netherlands. In 1766 
 he commenced the great work which, more 
 than any other, may be looked upon as a 
 monument of his skill the Eddystone Light 
 house. [LIGHTHOUSES.] 
 
 In 1764 Smeaton was the successful candi 
 date for the office of receiver of the Derwent 
 water estate, the funds of which were, after 
 its forfeiture in 1715, appropriated to Green 
 wich Hospital. "While holding this office he 
 greatly improved the estate, the mines anc 
 mills of which required the superintendence 
 of such a man to make them of their ful] 
 value. Increasing business induced him, in 
 1777, to relinquish this engagement. Of the 
 many useful works executed by Smeaton 
 Eamsgate harbour perhaps holds, next the 
 Eddystone Lighthouse, the most prominent 
 place. This work was commenced in 1749, 
 and was placed under his superintendence in 
 1774 ; but was completed by the two Kennies, 
 father and son. Smeaton laid out the line of 
 the great canal connecting the western and 
 eastern shores of Scotland, from the Forth 
 to the Clyde, and superintended the execution 
 of great part of it. The Spurn Lighthouse at 
 the mouth of the Humber, some important 
 bridges in Scotland, and many other works of 
 like character were executed by him. 
 
 About 1783 Smeaton's declining health 
 rendered it necessary for him to avoid entering 
 upon many new undertakings. He then de- 
 voted much attention to the publication of an 
 account of the Eddystone Lighthouse, which 
 was to have been followed by a ' Treatise on 
 Mills,' and other works embodying his valu- 
 able experience as an engineer. He died Oct. 
 28, 1792 ; and his numerous professional 
 reports were published after his death by a 
 society of his friends engaged in kindred pur- 
 suits, in three quarto volumes, to which a 
 fourth was subsequently added, consisting of 
 his miscellaneous papers communicated to 
 the Koyal Society, &c. Besides the works 
 already mentioned, Smeaton introduced many 
 improvements in mathematical apparatus, and 
 had an ardent love for science. 
 
 SMELTING. [IRON MANUFACTURE.] 
 SMOKE. The action of an ordinary chim- 
 ney in conveying the smoke from a fire situ- 
 ated at its lower extremity is very simple. 
 The air in the chimney, being rarefied by the 
 heat, becomes lighter in proportion to its bulk 
 than the surrounding atmosphere, and there- 
 fore rises, its place being supplied by fresh 
 air forced in at the lower end by the pressure 
 of the comparatively heavy cold air outside 
 
 the chimney. A constant rising current is 
 thus created, the force of which is sufficient 
 to carry up with it any light bodies, such as 
 the particles of soot which escape from the 
 fire. The higher the chimney, and the warmer 
 the air within it, the better will the smoke 
 ascend. Franklin enumerated nine causes 
 for the smoking (as it is termed) of ordinary 
 chimneys : the want of a free supply of air 
 to the bottom of the chimney ; the opening 
 at the lower end of the chimney being too 
 large ; the chimney being too short ; different 
 chimneys in the same house having different 
 degrees of draught, whereby one overpowers 
 another ; the situation of the house near a 
 higher house or a hill ; the lower level of a 
 chimney than those which surround it ; the 
 injudicious arrangement of the doors of a 
 room ; the descent of smoke in a chimney out 
 of use ; and the occasional effects of high or 
 contrary winds. He treated all these causes 
 in succession, and proposed such measures as 
 he thought likely to meet the exigencies of 
 each. 
 
 The nuisance occasioned by the smoke of 
 coal fires has formed a subject of complaint 
 from the earliest times in which mineral fuel 
 was extensively used ; and the great increase 
 of steam-engine and other furnaces, conse- 
 quent on the extension of manufactures, has 
 afforded, of late years, additional grounds for 
 attempts to abate the nuisance. Such attempts 
 are important, not only for the purification of 
 the air but also for the economy of fuel ; since 
 the matter which gives smoke objectionable 
 density and colour is unconsumed fuel in a 
 finely-divided state. It appears therefore that 
 f a supply of air could be thrown into a fire 
 n such a way as to occasion the combustion 
 of the carbonaceous matter, the result would 
 je that a greater amount of heat would be 
 obtained from a given quantity of fuel, at tho 
 same time that the nuisance of smoke would 
 >e abated. 
 
 The quantity of smoke emitted from furnace 
 chimneys varies much with the state of the 
 ire ; being greatest when a mass of fresh fuel 
 s thrown on, and least when the fire has 
 >urned clear, or the fuel is fully ignited. At- 
 ,ention to this circumstance, on the part of 
 he stoker, will greatly diminish the nuisance; 
 >ecause if he throw on the fresh fuel in a thin 
 ayer, it will the sooner become perfectly 
 gnited ; and, by laying it in the fore part of 
 he furnace, the dense smoke arising from it 
 las to pass over that part of the fire which is 
 n a state of more perfect combustion, and is 
 hereby in a great measure consumed. Many 
 >f the contrivances introduced or suggested 
 smoke-consuming furnaces act on these 
 
1551 
 
 SMOKE -JACK. 
 
 SNUFF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1553 
 
 principles ; arrangements being adopted to 
 insure the right feeding of the fire withou 
 much attention on the part of the firemen 
 The first important attempt made in this 
 country for the combustion of smoke was that 
 of Watt, who obtained a patent in 1785 for a 
 method of constructing furnaces in such a way 
 as to cause ' the smoke or flame of the fresh 
 fuel, in its way to the flues, or chimney, to 
 pass, together with a current of fresh air, 
 through, over, or among fuel which has al- 
 ready ceased to smoke, or which is converted 
 into coke, charcoal, or cinders, and which is 
 intensely hot; by which means the smoke 
 and grosser parts of the flame, by coming into 
 close contact with, or by being brought near 
 unto, the said intensely hot fuel, and by being 
 mixed with the current of fresh or unburned 
 air, are consumed or converted into heat, or into 
 pure flame, free from smoke.' Since that time 
 innumerable plans have been brought forward 
 for introducing the necessary supply of air to 
 the furnace ; but while many of them accom- 
 plish the purification of the smoke as com- 
 pletely as could be desired, they are generally 
 found either to increase the consumption of 
 fuel, or to weaken the draught of the furnace. 
 A singular plan has been introduced by Mr. 
 Iveson, of injecting steam into the furnace ; 
 the steam being thrown into the fire in several 
 minute jets, from a fan-shaped distributor in 
 the fore part of the furnace. The steam not 
 only destroys the smoke, but also greatly in- 
 creases the intensity of the fire ; so much so, 
 indeed, as to sanction the supposition that the 
 steam is decomposed, and that its component 
 gases are consumed. One drawback to the 
 scheme is the great consumption of steam. A 
 patent was obtained in 1838, by Mr. Chappe, 
 for the use of a stream or shower of hot water 
 thrown into the furnace in the same way. 
 
 Besides the numerous plans for the com- 
 bustion of smoke, various methods have been 
 tried on a limited scale for conducting it to a 
 distance from the buildings in which it is 
 formed, by means of subterraneous channels; 
 and for condensing it by means of a shower 
 of water, so that the sooty matter might be 
 conveyed away by the sewers. 
 
 SMOKE-JACK, is an apparatus believed to 
 be of German origin, and as old as the 14th 
 century, by which the rising current in a chim- 
 ney, acting upon the inclined vanes of a wheel 
 fixed in the funnel, gives motion, through a 
 train of wheels to any matter which is hung 
 before the fire to roast. This contrivance is 
 now almost superseded by jacks impelled by 
 the descent of a weight or the uncoiling of a 
 spring. 
 
 SMYRNA. This is one of the most impor- 
 
 tant commercial cities in Asiatic Turkey. The 
 port is frequented by ships from all nations, 
 freighted with valuable cargoes both outward 
 and inward. The chief imports are coffee, 
 sugar, indigo, tin, iron, lead, cotton twist, 
 manufactured goods, rum and brandy, spices, 
 cochineal, and a variety of other articles. The 
 principal exports are silk, opium, drugs and 
 gums, galls, cotton, wool, valonia, and fruit. 
 Besides these exports there are various kinds 
 of skins, goats' wool, olive oil, wax, and a 
 variety of other articles. This large commerce 
 has obviously arisen, not only from the advan- 
 tageous situation of the port, but from the 
 liberal policy of the Turkish government, which 
 has imposed hardly any restrictive enactments 
 with few duties, and those extremely low. 
 Many of the European states have their con- 
 suls at Smyrna, such as England, Sweden, 
 Prussia, France, Venice, &c. 
 
 SNUFF MANUFACTURE. Snuff is made 
 from the tobacco stalk alone, from the leaf 
 alone, and from the stalk and leaf mixed, ac- 
 cording to the kind to be produced. The 
 purest kind of snuff is that which is Imown 
 by the name of Scotch ; it is either made en- 
 tirely of stalks, or of stalks mixed with a very 
 small proportion of leaf. There are many 
 kinds of snuff called high dried, such as Welch 
 and Lundyfoot (the latter being named after 
 a celebrated maker) ; these owe their qualities 
 chiefly to the circumstance that they are dried 
 so much as to acquire a slight flavour of 
 scorching. The snuff called rappee is made 
 chiefly from leaf, to which is added the smalls 
 or broken fibre of tobacco, which are too small . 
 to be smoked conveniently in a pipe. The 
 dark colour is principally produced by wetting 
 the powdered tobacco in a box, and allowing 
 t to remain a considerable time, turned occa- 
 sionally with a shovel ; it undergoes a slight 
 fermentation, the degree of which gives rise 
 to the distinction between brown and black 
 rappee. 
 
 The original quality of the leaf is as much 
 attended to as the subsequent processes. 
 Scotch snuff is made from the stalks of light 
 dry leaves; whereas rappee and the darker 
 muffs are made from the darker and ranker 
 eaves. A process of scenting has great influ- 
 ence also on the flavour of the snuff; since 
 ,he manufacturer can introduce any kind of 
 )crfume which may please his customers. 
 Thus prince's mixture, and many snuffs of 
 ligher price, owe no small part of their flavour 
 ;o the kinds of scent introduced. 
 
 A curious example of division of labour is 
 >resented by the Snuff Manufacture. The 
 maker does not grind his own snuff, although 
 ic may do all else that pertains to the mauu- 
 
1553 
 
 SOAP MANUFACTURE. 
 
 SOCIETY OF ARTS. 
 
 1554 
 
 facturo. Nearly all the snuff made in London 
 is ground in and near Mitcham, by the aid of 
 the water power furnished by the river Wandle. 
 The explanation seems to he this that no 
 manufacturer makes enough snuff to keep a 
 snuff mill going ; but that the mill owner, by 
 grinding for many manufacturers, can afford 
 to do it at a price which renders it prudent 
 for them to adopt this system. The mills are 
 provided with two lands of grinding machines ; 
 in one of these a vertical stone rolls in a circle 
 over the surface of a horizontal stone, and 
 grinds the snuff between them : in the other 
 there is a kind of large pestle and mortar, in 
 which the pestle has a rolling motion given 
 to it instead of a series of blows. The pro- 
 prietor sends the snuff to the mill after a 
 certain stage of preparation ; and after it is 
 returned from the mill in a ground state, it 
 undergoes certain finishing operations. Many 
 of the London manufacturers have small mills 
 011 their own establishments, for grinding 
 small quantities of snuff, or for passing through 
 any particular process the various kinds of 
 fancy snuff; but the main bulk of the snuff is 
 ground under the arrangements just described. 
 
 SOAP MANUFACTURE. The principal 
 kinds of soap manufactured in England are 
 white or curd soap, made chiefly from tallow 
 and soda, but for some particular purposes 
 olive-oil and soda ; yellow soap, composed of 
 tallow, resin, and soda, to which some palm- 
 oil is occasionally added ; and mottled soap, 
 made from tallow, kitchen stuff, and soda; 
 the mottled appearance is given to this soap 
 by dispersing the lees through it towards the 
 end of the operation. There is also a broivn 
 soap, made from palm oil and resin. Soft 
 soap is generally prepared from fish-oil and 
 potash. 
 
 The harder or soda soaps are prepared by 
 boiling the fatty matter with an aqueous 
 solution of caustic soda ; when combination 
 has taken place, or in other words, when the 
 soap is formed, a quantity of common salt is 
 added, which, dissolving in the lees, increases 
 their density, and the soap then floats on the 
 surface of the liquid. The fire being then 
 extinguished, the semifluid soap, after a proper 
 interval, but while yet hot, is removed from 
 the lees and put into frames of wood or iron, 
 where it remains until it has become cold and 
 hard, when it is cut into bars for sale. In 
 making soft soap no lees are separated, the 
 whole of the solution of potash, which is 
 made strong on that account, being combined 
 witli the oily matter used. 
 
 The soaps which have the alkalies for their 
 bases are soluble in water, though the solu- 
 tion is in general milky; they are also 
 
 soluble in alcohol, and the solution is used 
 frequently as a test of what is called the 
 hardness of water; acids also decompose soaps. 
 
 Fancy soaps or scented soaps are made in 
 great variety, and have generally French 
 names attached to them ; for the French are 
 the leading manufacturers of such articles. 
 Among soft toilet soaps are Naples soap, savon 
 nacre, and creme d'amandes. Among hard toilet 
 soaps are Windsor soap, Savon a la rose, Savon 
 au bouquet, cinnamon soap, orange-flower soap, 
 musk soap, bitter almond soap, and many others. 
 Most of these are scented by the substances 
 which give them their characteristic names. 
 
 The soap manufacture is one of considerable 
 importance. The principal seats in England 
 are Liverpool and Runcorn, London, Brent- 
 ford, Bristol, and Hull ; there are also soap- 
 works of considerable extent at Bromsgrove, 
 Newcastle, Gateshead, Warrington, and 
 Plymouth. In Scotland two-thirds of the 
 total quantity of soap are made at Glasgow 
 and Leith. In Ireland soap is chiefly made 
 at Belfast, Londonderry, Limerick, and Cork. 
 
 In 1711 an excise duty of Id. per Ib. was 
 first imposed on all soap made in Great 
 Britain, which was raised in 1713 to l%d. per 
 Ib. In 1782 the duty was again increased, 
 and a distinction was for the first time made 
 between hard and soft soap, the duty on the 
 former being 2\d., and on the latter Ifrf. per 
 Ib. In ]816 another increase of duty took 
 place, and hard soap was subjected to a duty 
 of 3rf. per Ib. In 1833 the duty was reduced 
 to l^d. per Ib. on hard soap, and Id. per Ib. 
 on soft. The present duty is l$d. per Ib. and 
 5 per cent, on hard soap; Id. per Ib. and 5 
 per cent, on soft soap. Notwithstanding the 
 strenuous exertions made for its removal, 
 the soap duty still remains a blot on the 
 excise relations of this country. 
 
 The quantity of soap charged with excise duty 
 during the last three years has been as follows : 
 
 1848 189,669,263 Ibs. 
 
 1849 197,632,281 
 
 1850 204,410,826 
 
 The quantity exported to foreign countries 
 
 during the same three years amounted to 
 
 1848 10,462,069 Ibs. 
 
 1849 10,728,342 
 
 1850 12,555,493 
 
 SOCIETY OF ARTS. This society has 
 been for so long a period connected with the 
 progress of manufactures in this country, that 
 it will be right to trace briefly its history. The 
 object of this Society is ' to promote the arts 
 manufactures, and commerce of this kingdom, 
 by giving honorary or pecuniar}' rewards, as 
 may be best adapted to the case, for the com- 
 munication to the Society, and through the 
 
1555 
 
 SOCIETY OF ARTS. 
 
 SOCIETY OF AETS. 
 
 1556 
 
 Society to the public, of all such useful inven 
 lions, discoveries, and improvements as tenc 
 to that purpose.' It was projected in th 
 year 1753 ; but the first public meeting took 
 place in March, 1754. The plan was formec 
 by Mr. William Shipley, a drawing-master, who 
 acted for some time as secretary to the Society 
 and it was carried into effect by a few noble 
 men and gentlemen, among whom appear 
 the names of Lord Folkstone, Lord Romney, 
 and Dr. Stephen Hales. The services of Mr, 
 Shipley were acknowledged by the Society 
 voting to him, in 1758, a gold medal, ' for his 
 public spirit, which gave rise to the Society ; 
 and subsequently by the publication of his 
 portrait as a frontispiece to the fourth volume 
 of their ' Transactions.' The Society began, 
 immediately after its formation, to advertise 
 premiums for the encouragement of young 
 persons of both sexes in the various depart- 
 ments of the fine aits ; for improvements in 
 agriculture and manufactures ; for mechanical 
 inventions ; and for promoting the cultivation 
 of valuable plants in British colonies. 
 
 For several years after the formation of the 
 Society of Arts, there was no authorised publi- 
 cation of the papers communicated to the 
 committees, or for making known the results 
 of its labours. The publication of such infor- 
 mation in an annual volume of ' Transactions' 
 was contemplated soon after the commence- 
 ment of the Society's operations ; but the first 
 volume did not appear until the year 1783. 
 Many of the papers however, which would 
 otherwise have appeared in such a work, were 
 published, with the sanction of the Society, 
 in Dossie's * Memoirs of Agriculture and 
 (Economical Arts,' of which the first volume 
 appeared in 1768, and the third and last in 
 1782. Some further particulars respecting 
 the early proceedings of the Society are 
 supplied by a * Register of the Premiums and 
 Bounties given by the Society instituted in 
 London for the Encouragement of Arts, 
 Manufactures, and Commerce, from the origi- 
 nal institution in the year 1754 to the year 1776 
 inclusive.' This register, which was prepared 
 by a committee of the Society, and is arranged 
 in a tabular form, was printed in folio, in 1778. 
 The total amount of pecuniary rewards be- 
 stowed by the Society down to 1776 was, 
 according to the c Register' above referred to, 
 23,551/. 18*. 2d.; or, including the cost of 
 medals, and pallets, 24,616/. 4s. 8rf. This 
 register was continued by manuscript additions 
 to the end of 1813 ; and from these it appears 
 that the pecuniary rewards bestowed from 
 1777 to 1813 amounted to about 2757/. 10s., 
 and that the medals and pallets distributed 
 were 188 in gold and 464 in silver. Later 
 
 than this there does not appear to be any con- 
 densed statement of the operations of the 
 Society ; but it has been stated for some years 
 past, in their advertisement to the public, 
 that upwards of 100,000/., derived from volun- 
 tary subscriptions and legacies, h been 
 expended in pursuance of their plan. It may 
 be briefly remarked, in the words of the secre- 
 tary's address at the distribution of prizes in 
 1841, that ' at a time when it stood alone in 
 offering encouragement to the fine arts, it 
 effected much good in that department ; and 
 that it can now point with proud satisfaction 
 to the names of Bacon, Nollekens, and 
 Flaxman, Cosway and Lawrence, Sharp and 
 Sherwin, Pingo, Marchant, and Wyon, with 
 many other eminent artists, the early manifes- 
 tations of whose genius were noticed by the 
 Society in a manner which, there can be no 
 doubt, assisted very materially in its develope- 
 ment.' Still more important perhaps have 
 been the effects of the Society's encouragement 
 of poor operatives, in improving the processes 
 with which they are practically acquainted. 
 The history of those inventions connected with 
 weaving, which have been the objects of their 
 ncouragement within the last forty years, was 
 adverted to in the address just quoted, as an 
 llustration of what the Society have effected ; 
 about twenty pecuniary rewards having been 
 given, chiefly to Bethnal Green and Spital- 
 fields weavers, for inventions of great utility. 
 
 As before stated, the first volume of the 
 Society's ' Transactions' was published in 1783. 
 For forty -seven years from that time a volume 
 appeared annually; but since 1829 the 
 volumes have been biennial. An index to the 
 first twenty-five volumes was published in 1808, 
 and two others, embracing respectively from 
 lie twenty-sixth to the fortieth, and from 
 the forty-first to the fiftieth, have since 
 appeared. In 1774 the Society removed from 
 ,heir original premises, opposite Beaufort 
 Buildings, Strand, to their present house in 
 ;he Adelphi, which was erected purposely for 
 ,hem; and in the years 1777-83 Barry deco- 
 rated their great room with a series of pictures. 
 
 The Society of Arts has taken an active part 
 in encouraging the Great Exhibition of 1851 ; 
 nany of the officers and influential members 
 f the Society are also members of the 
 Commissions and Committees relating to the 
 Exhibition ; and there can be no doubt that 
 we are in part indebted for this admirable 
 and honourable display to the proceedings of 
 he Society. It would have been pleasant if 
 his Exhibition had formed a centenary com- 
 memoration of the Society, in addition to its 
 ther attractions ; in 1854 such a centenary 
 eridd will actually occur. 
 
1557 
 
 SODA MANUFACTUBE. 
 
 SOILS. 
 
 1558 
 
 SODA MANUFACTURE. This branch of 
 manufacturing chemistry is a very interestin 
 one as exemplifying the important advantages 
 winch we derive from our inexhaustible stores 
 of salt, and from the numerous useful substan- 
 ces which this salt is made to yield. 
 
 What is usually called soda is not strictly 
 such; it is Carbonate of Soda; but both are 
 produced from common salt. Sulphuric acid 
 is the agent which enables salt to yield these 
 valuable products. In some of the chemical 
 works at Glasgow and Newcastle, sulphuric 
 acid is made by the aid of sulphur ; and this 
 acid and salt are used for further processes. 
 When a high excise duty was laid upon 
 common salt, soda was made from kelp and 
 barilla ; but now that salt is purchaseable at 
 so low a price, all our soda is obtained from 
 this source, for employment in soap making, 
 alum making, bleaching, washing, &c. 
 
 In manufacturing soda a given weight of 
 salt is placed in a reverberatory furnace, in a 
 leaden pan, and sulphuric acid is dropped 
 down upon it through a leaden pipe brought 
 through the roof of the furnace. The salt 
 liquifies in the acid, and a gaseous vapour 
 ascends ; this vapour is Muriatic add gas, 
 which takes away the chlorine from the salt, 
 and which is condensed into a liquid in the 
 way described in a former article [MURIATIC 
 ACID.] The sulphuric acid forms a pasty mass 
 of sulphate of soda, with the remaining ingre 
 clients in the furnace. The sulphate is taken 
 from the furnace, mixed with fine lime and 
 "fire coal, put into another furnace, and heated. 
 The coal kindles, and melts the sulphate and 
 lime into a viscid mass, which after being 
 repeatedly raked and stirred, is removed from 
 the furnace into iron trays. The mass, 
 which is called ball soda, crude soda, or British 
 barilla, is a mixture of carbonate of soda with 
 sulphuret of calcium. The carbonate is sepa- 
 rated from the sulphuret by steeping in water, 
 which dissolves the former but not the latter ; 
 there is formed, in fact, a solution of carbonate 
 of soda, which, in being evaporated, yields the 
 solid carbonate almost entirely from sulphur. 
 This is a yellowish earthy substance, called 
 soda ash or soda salt, largely used in manu- 
 factures. But. a more pure and crystallised 
 carbonate is required for some purposes ; this 
 is produced by dissolving, settling, evaporating, 
 and crystallising, whereby beautiful crystals of 
 carbonate of soda are produced. By a further 
 chemical process the carbonic acid is driven 
 off, and pure or caustic soda results. 
 
 SODA WATER MANUFACTURE. A 
 *w details on this subject will be found under 
 AERATED WATERS. 
 
 SODIUM. This metal is the base of the 
 
 alkalies soda, natron, and the fossil alkali, in 
 which substances it is combined with oxygen, 
 forming the protoxide of the metal. It was 
 discovered by Sir H. Davy in 1807. The 
 properties of sodium are such as to prevent its 
 occurrence in nature, except in combination, 
 on account of its intense affinity for oxygen. 
 Immense quantities occur combined with 
 chlorine, forming common salt; and a con- 
 siderable quantity is met with in the state of 
 oxide, or soda, combined with carbonic acid ; 
 these are its principal sources. [Sodium] 
 has a colour and lustre resembling those of 
 silver. It remains a soft solid at 32, so that 
 small portions may be welded together by 
 pressure; it becomes much softer at 122, fuses 
 at about 190, and by a white heat is volatilised. 
 Like potassium, it speedily tarnishes by ex- 
 posure to the air, owing to its great affinity 
 for oxygen, and this occurs more rapidly when 
 the air is moist. When thrown on water it 
 decomposes it with a hissing noise, the results 
 being hydrogen and oxide of sodium, or soda. 
 When however it is placed on a moistened 
 bad conductor of heat, as charcoal, it decom- 
 poses water with a vivid combustion. Its 
 specific gravity is 0.972, so that although it is 
 considerably more dense than potassium, it is 
 yet less so than water. It is a good conductor 
 of electricity and heat; but if too strongly 
 heated in the air, it burns with a yellow flame. 
 
 Sodium and oxygen combine to form pure 
 soda, which is a gray solid, resembling potash 
 in appearance, but it is less fusible and volatile. 
 It is extremely acrid to the taste, and is very 
 caustic. It has a great affinity for water, dis- 
 solving readily in it, and in large quantity, 
 and the solution has strongly marked alkaline 
 properties. Sodium and chlorine form the 
 valuable substance common salt, formerly 
 ailed Muriate of Soda, and now Chloride of 
 Sodium. Of all natural soluble salts this 
 occurs in the greatest quantity. It is met 
 with solid, constituting rock-salt, in solution in 
 salt springs and in the ocean, and in small 
 quantity in almost all spring and river water. 
 [SALT.] Nitrate of Soda is used largely in 
 making nitric acid and sulphuric acid. The 
 Carbonate of Soda is noticed under SODA 
 MANUFACTURE. The Sulphate of Soda, formerly 
 called Glauber's Salt, is readily soluble in 
 water, and the solution by evaporation yields 
 colourless transparent prismatic crystals. It 
 has a very bitter taste; it effloresces when 
 exposed to the air, by losing water of crystal- 
 lisation. 
 
 Borax, Rochclle Salt and many other useful 
 substances, as well as soda alum, are prepared 
 from some of the compounds of Sodium. 
 
 SOILS. The agricultural soils which have 
 
1559 
 
 SOILS. 
 
 SOLDERING. 
 
 15GO 
 
 been formed fu m the disintegration and de 
 composition of the primitive rocks, such a 
 granite, basalt, t late or limestone, and especial! 
 those . which contain all these mineral 
 minutely divided and intimately mixed, ar< 
 always naturally fertile, and soon enriched bj 
 cultivation ; the hard particles of quartz main 
 tain a certain porosity in the soil, wlncl 
 allows air and moisture to circulate, while the 
 alumina prevents its too rapid evaporation o: 
 filtration. The soils which have been evident!) 
 formed from the rocks which are supposed tc 
 be of secondary formation, are fertile accor 
 ding to the proportion of the earths of thes 
 rocks which they contain. 
 
 Each distinct formation gives rise to a great 
 variety with respect to fertility, even where tin 
 basis remains the same ; but it is of grea 
 importance to the farmer to ascertain the 
 general nature of the rocks and strata on which 
 his farm is incumbent, and no chemical 
 analysis can determine the exact value of the 
 land unless the geological situation of it is 
 distinctly known. 
 
 The alluvial soils formed by the deposit oJ 
 a variety of earths in a state of great division 
 and mixed with a considerable portion of 
 organic matter, form by far the most productive 
 lands. They will bear crop after crop with 
 little or no additional manure, and with a very 
 slight cultivation. These soils are found along 
 the course of rivers which traverse extensive 
 plains, and which have such a current as to 
 keep very fine earth suspended by a gentle but 
 constant agitation, but not sufficiently rapid to 
 carry along with it coarse gravel or sand. 
 
 The simplest process of ascertaining the 
 mechanical texture of soils is by washing with 
 pure water. For this purpose nothing is 
 required but a few flat plates and large cups. 
 Some of the soil is formed into a very thin 
 mud by stirring it in a cup nearly full of water. 
 The finer particles are successively poured off 
 from the sand or grit, which at last remains 
 pure, so that the water added to it is no longer 
 discoloured. This being dried and weighed, 
 gives the coarse sand. The water and earth 
 poured off are allowed to settle. A common 
 soup-plate is found a very convenient vessel 
 for this purpose. On the surface of the 
 deposited earth will be found all the unde- 
 composed vegetable matter, which with a 
 little care is easily taken off, dried, and weighed. 
 The finer portions of the earth can be poured 
 off successively by shaking the whole mode- 
 rately, till nothing but very fine sand remains. 
 The alumina and impalpable silica will re- 
 main long suspended in the water, and allow 
 any sand yet remaining to be deposited. They 
 may be rapidly separated from the water by 
 
 filtration through stout blotting-paper ; but it 
 is preferable to pour them into a glass tube 
 about one inch in internal diameter, with a 
 cork fitted in the lower end. In this tube the 
 earths slowly fall to the bottom, arid any 
 variety in the size of the particles causes a lino 
 more or less distinct, Avhich can be observed 
 through the glass ; and thus a very good idea 
 may be obtained of the proportion of the dif- 
 ferent earths, as far as regards the size of their 
 particles. In order to ascertain their chemical 
 differences, they should be taken to a chemist 
 and analysed. 
 
 The chemical and mechanical modes of 
 treating various kinds of soil are briefly noticed 
 under the names of the soils [CHALK ; CLAY ; 
 LOAM ; MARL ; <fcc.,] ; also under MANURE, &c. 
 
 SOLDERING is the union of the surfaces 
 of two metals, generally by the intervention of 
 a third. In the ordinary mode of soldering, 
 the alloy used as a solder must be more fusible 
 than the metal or metals which are to be 
 united, and must have a strong affinity for 
 them. The solder usually contains a largo 
 proportion of the metal to which it is to be 
 applied, in combination with some more easily 
 fusible metals. To insure perfect metallic 
 union between the solder and the surfaces to 
 which it is applied, it is essential that they be 
 made perfectly clean and free from oxide, and 
 that the atmosphere be excluded during the 
 operation, in order to prevent the formation of 
 any oxide while the process is going on. This 
 is effected in various ways, but most commonly 
 by the use of borax, sal ammoniac, or rosin, 
 either mixed with the solder or applied to the 
 surfaces to be joined. 
 
 Various kinds of solders or alloys are used, 
 according to the metal which is to be soldered. 
 Platinum is soldered with gold. Gold is 
 soldered with an alloy of fine gold, silver, and 
 copper. Silver solders usually consist of silver 
 mixed with brass, and sometimes with zinc. 
 Brass, copper, and iron are soldered with an 
 alloy of zinc with copper or brass. Articles of 
 Brought iron, and some qualities of steel also, 
 may be soldered with cast-iron ; the cast-iron 
 )eing repeatedly heated and quenched in water, 
 >y which it becomes sufficiently friable to be 
 eaten to a coarse powder with an iron pestle 
 md mortar. Common plumbers' solder is made 
 f two parts lead and one part block tin ; or of 
 he same metals mixed in nearly equal quant- 
 ities ; bismuth is added when it is desired to 
 nake the alloy more fusible. Soft solder has 
 wo parts tin to one lead; and other alloys of 
 in, lead, and bismuth, are used for uniting 
 arious articles of lead, tin, pewter, and other 
 oft compounds. Such highly fusible solders 
 are usually cast in ingots or strips, and melted 
 
1501 
 
 SOLVENT. 
 
 SOMME, 
 
 1562 
 
 as they are used by means of an instrumeni 
 called a soldering-iron, which is tipped with 
 copper that metal being preferred for its 
 greater affinity for tin. In soldering tin plates 
 together, their edges are made to overlap ; bul 
 in almost every other case, the edges to be 
 joined are made only to meet, the solder being 
 run between their abutting edges. 
 
 A kind of soldering, called burning-to t has 
 been long practised in some cases with sheet- 
 lead, where it has been desirable to make a 
 vessel- entirely of that material; the junction 
 being effected by pouring melted lead on to 
 the edges to be united, until they fuse together. 
 Somewhat similar to this is the process intro- 
 duced some years ago under the name of 
 autogenous soldering. This process, which is 
 the invention of a French gentleman, M. de 
 Eichemont, consists of the union of two pieces 
 of metal without the interposition of any solder, 
 by fusing them at the point of junction by jets 
 of flame from a gas blowpipe. The apparatus 
 used for the purpose contains a hydrogen gas 
 generator, bellows for atmospheric air, and 
 valves for regulating the proportion in which 
 the gas and air are to be mixed. 
 
 SOLVENT is that which has the power of 
 rendering other bodies liquid ; and chemically, 
 a menstruum. Of all the solvents, water is 
 the most universal and useful ; it dissolves a 
 great number of neutral vegetable products, as 
 gum, sugar ; and of saline bodies, as common 
 salt, sulphate of soda, &c. The solvent of 
 resinous bodies is alcohol, and of some simi- 
 larly constituted substances ; while caoutchouc 
 is insoluble in it, but is dissolved by naphtha, 
 oil of turpentine, and aether. The metals are 
 insoluble in any solvent until they have suf- 
 fered some change by its action, or by a similar 
 change otherwise produced. 
 
 Heat has great power in altering the solvent 
 power of bodies ; in most cases it increases it, 
 and hence, when it is required to crystallise 
 certain salts, they are dissolved in hot water, 
 and the solvent power of the water diminishing 
 as the solution cools, the salt is deposited in 
 crystals. In some cases, however, heat di- 
 minishes the solvent power. When any solvent 
 has taken up as much of any particular sub- 
 stance as it is capable of taking up, the solution 
 obtained is termed a Saturated Solution. That 
 the change of form from solid to fluid is the 
 result of chemical affinity, is shown by the fact 
 that water which is saturated with one sub- 
 stance will take up another ; thus a saturated 
 solution of common salt will still dissolve sul- 
 phate of soda, and vice versa. 
 
 The different solvent powers possessed by 
 different substances are of the utmost con- 
 sequence in many manufactures, especi- 
 
 ally those connected with manufacturing 
 chemistry. 
 
 SOMEKSETSHIKE. The geology of this 
 fine county is rich in products valuable in the 
 arts and manufactures. The great oolitic 
 formation, which furnishes the fine-grained 
 freestone commonly known as Bath Stone, has 
 a thickness probably of 130 to 150 feet. 
 Masses of this rock are found scattered on the 
 slopes of the hills which it crowns, covering 
 the subjacent clays and fullers' earth. The 
 inferior oolite is extensively quarried in Dun- 
 dry Hill, where it yields a good freestone. 
 The coal-measures, mountain limestone, and 
 old red sandstone belong to the carboniferous 
 group of the Somersetshire and South Glouces- 
 tershire coal-field, and occupy the northern 
 part of the county extending to the Mendip 
 Hills, though covered in most places by more 
 recent formations ; in this field are numerous 
 coal-pits. The mineral treasures of the Men- 
 dip Hills are important ; zinc is obtained 
 abundantly in the central and western parts 
 of the range. There are numerous coal-pits 
 in the villages which lie north-west of Frome ; 
 the coal seams are all thin ; hardly any exceed 
 three feet. 
 
 Somersetshire possesses a soil and climate 
 well suited to the growth of wheat and all the 
 agricultural produce usually raised in any part 
 of England. In some of the vales, such as the 
 extensive vale of Taunton, the soil is of a rich 
 nature, and the wheat which is produced there 
 is of superior quality. Excellent butter and 
 cheese are made where the land is better 
 adapted to pasture. The Cheddar cheese, 
 which, from its superior quality, gives its name 
 to a great portion of the cheese made in the 
 county, is reckoned by many to be the best 
 cheese made in England from pure milk, 
 without any addition of cream : the real Ched- 
 dar cheese is consequently scarce, and bought 
 up as soon as it is made. There are a few 
 hops grown in the county, but no very ex- 
 tensive hop-gardens ; nor is there much cider 
 made, although there are some good orchards. 
 
 In respect to the external commerce of 
 Somersetshire, a little has been said under 
 BRISTOL and BRIDGEWATER. Considerable 
 manufactures are carried on, especially the 
 lothing trade at Frome and its vicinity, the 
 glove trade at Yeovil, &c. 
 
 SOMME. This department of France pro- 
 duces oleaginous seeds, beetroot, pot-herbs, 
 lops, dyeing and medicinal plants, grass- 
 seeds, and apples for making cider and beer, 
 which are the chief beverages of the inha- 
 bitants. A great deal of hemp and flax is 
 grown in the north of the department. The 
 minerals are building stone, paving flints, 
 
15G3 
 
 SONOMETER. 
 
 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 
 
 J5G4 
 
 marble, chalk, vitriolic earth, potters' clay, and 
 gypsum ; coal has been found near Doullens 
 but no mines are worked. The manufactures 
 are important, comprising fine and coarse 
 woollen cloths, cotton fabrics of every descrip- 
 tion ; also silks, linen, lawn, cambric, gauze 
 cashmere shawls, canvas, furniture, cotton 
 carpets, muslins, hosiery, ropes ; locks, hard- 
 ware, nails, leather, paper, oil, soap, glue, 
 glass, pottery, mineral acids and other chemi- 
 cal products. The department has several 
 bleach works, large cotton mills driven by 
 steam machinery, beet-root sugar refineries, 
 dye-houses, oil and tan mills. The commerce 
 in the agricultural and industrial products 
 named above, and in salt, colonial provisions, 
 wine, brandy, coals, raw cotton, sheep and 
 goats' wool, fish, &c., is very considerable. 
 
 SONOMETER. Mr. T. Wakley introduced, 
 in 1849, an ingenious acoustic instrument, 
 not for enabling partially deaf persons to hear, 
 but to measure the extent of their power of 
 hearing, so as to enable the aurist to adapt 
 his curative means to the circumstances of 
 each case. The instrument, which is called a 
 sonometer, consists of a bell fixed to a table 
 with its mouth uppermost. The hammer or 
 clapper which is to strike the bell is attached 
 to a spring, which catches into notches in a 
 steel bar ; and according as the spring is de- 
 tained in a notch near the end or the middle 
 of the bar, so does the hammer make a small 
 or a considerable movement when released, 
 and so does it elicit a soft or a loud sound 
 from the bell. The aurist determines by ex- 
 periment which of these sounds can be heard 
 by the patient, and the instrument thus be- 
 comes a meter or measure of the auditive power. 
 
 SOOT is that portion of fuel which escapes 
 combustion, and which is mechanically carried 
 up and deposited in chimneys. The soot of 
 coal contains sulphate and hydrochlorate of 
 ammonia, a brown bitter extract, and an em- 
 pyreumatic oil ; but its great basis is charcoal 
 in a state in which it is capable of being ren- 
 dered soluble by the action of oxygen and 
 moisture, and hence, combined with the action 
 of the ammoniacal salts, it is used as a 
 manure, and acts very powerfully as such. 
 The soot of wood contains a greater variety of 
 substances than that of coal, but much less 
 both of carbonaceous matter and of ammoni- 
 acal salts. 
 
 It is in every way desirable that the form- 
 ation of soot (unburnt fuel) should be pre- 
 vented as much as possible, since it both 
 wastes valuable material and contaminates the 
 air. [SMOKE.] 
 
 SOUND BOARD,or SOUNDING-BOARD, 
 is a board placed over a pulpit or other place 
 
 occupied by a public speaker, to reflect tho 
 sound of his voice, and thereby render it more 
 audible. Sounding-boards are usually flat, 
 and placed horizontally over the head of the 
 speaker; but a different form and position, 
 contrived by the Rev. J. Blackburn, of Atter- 
 cliffe-cum-Darnell, near Sheffield, has been 
 adopted in some cases with great advantage. 
 In this arrangement the soimding-board is a 
 concave parabola, which extends partly over 
 and partly behind the speaker. The gutta 
 percha tubes for the use of partially deaf 
 persons in churches are noticed under SPEAK- 
 ING TUBES. 
 
 SOUNDINGS are properly the depths of 
 water in rivers, harbours, along shores, and 
 even in the open seas ; but the term is also 
 applied to the nature of tho ground at the 
 bottom of the water. If the depth of the 
 water is comparatively small, a man who is 
 stationed for the purpose in the main or 
 mizen chains, on the windward side, throws 
 out a mass of lead, usually in the form of a 
 frustum of a cone, and weighing 8 or 9 Ibs., 
 which is attached to one end of a line between 
 20 and 30 fathoms in length. On this line are 
 fixed, at intervals of two or three fathoms, 
 pieces of leather or cloth of different colours ; 
 and the mark which is next above the surface 
 of the water when the lead strikes the bottom 
 affords an indication of the depth. That 
 which is called the deep-sea lead weighs from 
 25 to 30 Ibs., and is attached to a line of great 
 ength, on which, at intervals, are knots indi 
 eating the depths. The bottom of the lead is 
 covered with a coating of tallow for the purpose 
 of ascertaining, by the sand, shells, or other 
 matter which may adhere to it, the nature of 
 the ground. 
 
 When soundings are to be taken in the 
 survey of a coast, a harbour, or the mouth of 
 a river, the surveying ship and its boats are 
 disposed at convenient distances from each 
 ther f suppose from two to five miles) ; their 
 listances with respect to each other and to 
 remarkable objects on the shore being deter- 
 mined by the usual trigonometrical observa- 
 lons. The boats then row or sail along the 
 directions of the lines joining each other, 
 sounding as they proceed at equal intervals, 
 uppose ten minutes, of time ; and thus the 
 outline of the shoal, reef, coast, or river, will 
 be determined, as well as the depth of the 
 water. All the soundings must be afterwards 
 educed to the depths below the surface of the 
 lea at the level of low water. 
 
 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Afewcommorcial 
 letails respecting this colony will be found 
 under ADELAIDE and AUSTRALIA. We will 
 here add, that the imports of the colony in 
 
1565 
 
 SOUTHAMPTON. 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 1500 
 
 1850 amounted in value to 632,689/. ; the ex- 
 ports, 483,475*. The tallow exported was 
 5571 cwt. ; the wool, 2,841,131 Ibs. ; the wheat, 
 ] 4,498 qrs. ; and the meal and flour, 1924 tons. 
 SOUTHAMPTON. This rising town de- 
 pends for its importance on its connexion with 
 the sea, and its easy communication with the 
 metropolis. The harbour, which is secure, 
 affords good anchorage. Ship-building is ex- 
 tensively carried on, though the vessels built 
 'are chiefly small. Southampton has a large 
 coasting-trade, and a considerable trade to 
 foreign ports and the colonies. The customs 
 generally produce about 60,000/. a year, gross 
 receipt. In 1849 the specie imported into 
 Southampton amounted to 6,788,655/. The 
 number of sailing-vessels registered Dec. 31, 
 1850, was 208 (12,843 tons). The number o 
 steam-vessels was 10 under 50 tons, and 1 
 above 50 tons. Very large and convenien 
 docks have been constructed on the easter 
 side of the town, chiefly for the service c 
 steam navigation. In Dec., 1841, the mail 
 packet steam-ships to the West Indies com 
 menced running. Passengers to the Eas 
 embark here, there being a direct communi 
 cation to India once a fortnight, as well 
 weekly, hy steamers, to Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon 
 Cadiz, and Gibraltar, and daily to the Isle 
 Wight, France, and the Channel Islands. The 
 South Western Kailway runs to the very edge o 
 the docks, and the trade of Southampton is alsc 
 promoted by the Andover Canal, which follows 
 the valley of the Anton, and by the navigation 
 of the Itchen, which extends to Winchester. 
 
 The trade of the docks is annually increas- 
 ing. In 1850, the tonnage of sailing vessels 
 entered inwards at Southampton amounted to 
 
 187,435 tons, that of steam vessels to 155,566 
 tons. The dock and railway authorities have 
 recently attempted to make Southampton the 
 depot for the new Cape Screw-steamers ; but 
 in this instance Plymouth has forestalled 
 Southampton. 
 
 One of the largest coach factories in Eng- 
 land is at Southampton, whence coaches of 
 the finest build are procured. A sugar factory 
 has lately been built near the docks, at an 
 expenditure of 8,OOOZ. 
 
 SOWING-. The most common mode of 
 sowing seed is hy scattering it as evenly as 
 possible over the ploughed surface, as it lies 
 in ridges from the plough. The harrows 
 follow, and crumbling down the ridges, cover 
 the seed which has fallen in the hollows be- 
 tween them. It requires an experienced sower 
 to scatter the exact quantity over a given sur- 
 face, -without crowding the seed in one spot, 
 and allowing too great intervals in another. 
 Hence the farmer who does not himself sow 
 
 the seed, invariably chooses the most experi- 
 enced and skilful labourer to perform this 
 work. Notwithstanding every care and at- 
 tention on the part of the farmer or master, 
 the labourer will often relax and become care- 
 less, and the result appears only when it is 
 too late to remedy it. This has given rise to 
 various attempts which have been made to 
 invent machines for sowing the seed, such as 
 should insure perfect regularity. [DRILLING.] 
 SOY. This favourite Indian sauce is pre- 
 pared from a plant called Soja hispida. The 
 seeds arc about the size of those of kidney 
 beans, and the soy is made from them in the 
 following way: The seeds are boiled until 
 nearly all the water has evaporated, when they 
 are taken from the fire and placed in wide- 
 mouthed jars, exposed to the sun and air; 
 water and molasses or brown sugar are added. 
 The mixture is stirred well every day, and 
 allowed to ferment ; it is then strained, salted, 
 boiled, and skimmed until clarified. The 
 shopkeepers at Canton who sell soy have large 
 platforms on the roofs of their houses, where 
 the jars for preparing soy are arranged and 
 exposed to the sun. The use of soy is enor- 
 mously large in China; it is used as a sauce 
 at almost all meals. The sauce made by the 
 Japanese is said to be the best. The use of 
 soy in England is hut limited. 
 
 SPAIN. If the inhabitants would do as 
 much with their country as nature has done 
 for it, Spain would he rich and prosperous ; 
 since in climate, in minerals, and in vegetable 
 produce, it has many of the elements of com- 
 mercial greatness. 
 
 The most common kinds of grain which are 
 cultivated in Spain are wheat, maize, barley, 
 
 and rice. Other objects of agriculture are 
 lemp and flax, especially in the basin of the 
 
 bro, and madder and saffron on the table- 
 and of Cuenca. In the southern districts the 
 ugar-cane and cotton are cultivated. The 
 most common vegetables are onions, garlic, 
 mmpkins, cucumbers, melons, water-melons, 
 otatoes, beans, and peas. Many fruit-trees 
 re cultivated, as almonds, figs, pomegranates, 
 emons, oranges, pistachia nuts, carobas, dates 
 
 the southern districts, walnuts, hazel-nuts, 
 nd especially chestnut trees, which in some 
 f the northern districts cover large tracts. 
 
 live- trees occur in all parts, except the 
 orthern mountain tracts, and the vineyards 
 ire extensive, except on the most elevated 
 egions. Several of the Spanish wines are 
 onsiderable articles of commerce, as Xeres 
 Sherry), Malaga, Alicante, Malvasia, Tinto, 
 nd Val de Pefias. Brandy and raisins also 
 re articles of export. Among the wild trees 
 re the sweet- acorn oak, the cork-tree, the 
 
1507 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 SPEAKING TUBES. 
 
 J5G8 
 
 kermes oak, and the sumach-tree. On th 
 Montaiias de Asturias and Aralar, and also on 
 the western offsets of the Pyrenees, there an 
 large forests of fine timber-trees. The li 
 quorice-plant is abundant in the vicinity o 
 Sevilla and near the mouth of the Ebro, an 
 the prepared juice is sent to allparts of Europe 
 
 The sheep are noted for their fine wool 
 which forms an important article of export 
 [MESTA.] In no country of Europe, excepl 
 Italy, is so much silk obtained as in the 
 eastern and southern parts of Spain. The 
 cochineal insect has been reared of late years 
 in Andalusia, Granada, and Estremadura, and 
 thrives well. Bees are very abundant, and 
 much honey and wax are obtained. 
 
 Spain abounds in minerals. Gold and silver 
 are known to exist in several places. Platinum 
 and copper are met with. A rich mine of 
 quicksilver is worked near Almaden. [ALMA- 
 DEN.] Lead is very abundant, especially in 
 the Sierra de Gador. Iron ore is very abun- 
 dant in the Sierra de Aralar and other places. 
 There are also tin, calamine, bismuth, cobalt, 
 alum, vitriol, and sulphur. In some parts 
 large quantities of saltpetre are collected. 
 Coal occurs in the Montaiias de Asturias and 
 in the Sierra Morena, but it is not much 
 worked. Many kinds of marble are got in 
 Catalonia. Several precious stones are found, 
 as rubies, topazes, amethysts, turquoises, and 
 garnets. Saltis gotnear Cardonain Catalonia, 
 from the lagune called the Albufera de Va- 
 lencia, and from the sea-water along the coast 
 between Cape Trafalgar and the boundary of 
 Portugal. 
 
 Few countries of Europe equal Spain in 
 natural commercial advantages, whether we 
 consider its situation or its products. The 
 coasts are extensive, and the ports numerous 
 and commodious ; the inhabitants, inured to a 
 warm climate, visit the tropical regions with 
 comparative safety ; yet it is far behind most 
 other countries of Europe in commercial im- 
 portance. During the 17th century most of 
 the Spanish trade with America was carried 
 on in Dutch or English vessels ; and, with the 
 exception of wine, wool, and oil, few if any of 
 the productions of the Peninsula found their 
 way to that market. About the close of the 
 last century, under the enlightened administra- 
 tion of Count Florida Blanca, Spanish com- 
 merce revived, and several manufactures were 
 established throughout the country. These, 
 however, were all destroyed during the Penin- 
 sular war, and the subsequent separation of 
 the American colonies from the mother 
 country has completely annihilated the mari- 
 time trade of Spain. At present Catalonia is 
 almost the only province of Spain where manu- 
 
 facturing is earned on to any extent. The 
 chief exports of Spain consist of wines, dried 
 fruits, corn, oil, wool, quicksilver, lead, and 
 some iron. The silk of Valencia, which is 
 equal to that of Italy, is bought by the French 
 manufacturers. 
 
 Cadiz is the chief port in Spain; about 
 3000 vessels arrived there in 1840. The next 
 in rank are Barcelona, Carthagena, Corunna, 
 and Tarragona. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures ex- 
 ported to Spain in 1840 amounted in value to 
 623,126/. 
 
 SPAR. This name is given in mineralogy 
 to a great number of crystallised earthy and 
 some metallic substances, but chiefly the 
 former. Thus calcareous spar is crystallised 
 arbonate of lime ; fluor-spar, fluoride of cal- 
 cium ; heavy spar, sulphate of barytes, &c. 
 By miners the term is frequently used alone, 
 to express any bright crystalline substance; 
 but in mineralogy, strictly speaking, it is 
 never so employed. 
 
 SPEAKING TUBES. Instruments for 
 enabling the human voice to be heard at a 
 great distance appear to have been known to 
 'he ancient Chinese. The modern speaking- 
 trumpet appears to have been an invention of 
 Sir Samuel Morland, in the year 1070. This 
 irst trumpet was of glass, 2 feet 8 inches long ; 
 and he afterwards made one of copper, re- 
 curved in the form of a common trumpet. Its 
 otal length was 16 feet 8 inches, the largo 
 snd 10 inches, and the small end 2 inches in 
 diameter. With this the voice was heard about 
 i mile and a half. Morland made another of 
 he same form, still larger, and two others of 
 lie straight form, and 5 feet and a half long. 
 With the latter a man could make himself 
 leard a mile and a half; and with one of the 
 argest trumpets, tried at Deal Castle, the 
 oice was conducted a distance of between two 
 and three miles over the sea. 
 
 The efficiency of the speaking trumpet is 
 generally ascribed to the repeated reflection of 
 he sound from side to side in passing through 
 t, and its ultimate reflection from the mouth 
 f the trumpet, in such a way as either to 
 ollect the rays of sound into a focus at a clis- 
 ance, or to project them forward in parallel 
 nes, instead of allowing them to diverge in all 
 irections. But Sir John Leslie accounts for 
 ts effect in the following manner: 'The tube, 
 y its length and narrowness, detains the efflux 
 f air, and has the same effect as if it di- 
 minished the volubility of that fluid, or in- 
 reased its density.' The organs of articula- 
 on,' he continues, ' strike with concentrated 
 brce ; and the pulses, thus vigorously excited, 
 are from the reflected form of the aperture, 
 
1569 
 
 SPECIFIC GEAVITY. 
 
 SPECIFIC GEAYITY. 
 
 1570 
 
 finally enabled to escape, and to spread them- 
 selves along the atmosphere.' The effect of a 
 speaking-trumpet is the same, whether the 
 metal tube be used simply, or wrapped round 
 in such a way as to prevent vibration. It is 
 also heard at the same distance when the inner 
 surface is lined with linen or woollen cloth to di- 
 minish reflection ; and the range of a cylindri- 
 cal trumpet is the same as that of a conical one. 
 
 The most valuable speaking tubes, how- 
 ever, are not those which are intended to 
 convey sound to a great distance, but those 
 intended to aid persons whose sense of hear- 
 ing is defective. Something has been said 
 on this subject under ACOUSTICS. The prin- 
 ciple of the SONIFERON, described in that 
 article, pervades all instruments of this kind ; 
 they collect and concentrate the waves of 
 sound, so as to make them impinge upon the 
 tympanum of the ear with greater force. They 
 are in principle the reverse of the speaking 
 trumpet ; for in this the sound proceeds from 
 the small end to the larger, whereas in speak- 
 ing tubes or ear trumpets it proceeds from the 
 large end to the small. Many varieties are 
 made, under the names of auricles, car-cornets, 
 car-conches, conversation-tubes, talle-sonifcras, 
 &G., adapted to different requirements of par- 
 tially deaf persons. See also SONOMETER. 
 
 It has lately been found that gutta percha 
 so invaluable for many other purposes is the 
 best of all materials for speaking tubes, since 
 it conveys the pulses of sound with surprisingly 
 little diminution of intensity. In churches, 
 in ships, in warehouses and factories, and in 
 various other buildings and places, guttapercha 
 speaking tubes are now used to a considerable 
 extent. The mode of applying these tubes to 
 the assistance of partially deaf persons in a 
 church is curious. A funnel of the material 
 is placed either inside the pulpit, quite out of 
 sight, or, if ornamented, in front of the pulpit, 
 so as to come immediately beneath the desk. 
 A tube from this funnel then passes down- 
 wards beneath the floor, and is earned along 
 the aisles, with branches off on each side to 
 the pews occupied by people of defective 
 hearing. The termination of the tube is all 
 that appears in sight, and the ivory ear-piece 
 being applied to the ear, the slightest whisper 
 of the preacher is clearly heard. 
 
 SPECIFIC GKAVITY, or more properly 
 Specific Weight, is the weight of any gas, 
 liquid, or solid, under some given volume, as a 
 cubic foot, a cubic inch, &c. Distilled water 
 is the substance usually employed for the 
 purpose of comparing together the weights oi 
 all substances except the gases ; and because 
 the volume of any substance varies with its 
 temperature, in determining from experiment 
 
 the specific gravity of any substance, the 
 weight under a given volume is reduced to 
 hat which it would become at one constant 
 temperature. 
 
 In the Parliamentary Kegulations, which 
 were made in 1825, a cubic inch of water is 
 stated to weigh 252.459 troy grains, the tem- 
 perature being 62 Fahrenheit, and the height 
 of the barometrical column 30 inches; and 
 7000 troy grains are made equivalent to one 
 pound avoirdupois ; hence it follows that a cubic 
 foot of water should weigh 097.136 ounces. 
 This number is sufficiently near 1000 to make 
 it very proper that it should be adopted for the 
 specific gravity of water, since a change in the 
 value of the avoirdupois ounce, which would 
 be scarcely appreciable in the ordinary trans 
 actions of commerce, would render the ounce 
 an accurate and convenient unit of weight, 
 while the cubic foot constitutes the unit of 
 volume. 
 
 On the Continent, since the employment of 
 the decimal scale of weights and measures has 
 become general, the cubic centimetre (.001028 
 cubic inches English) is the unit of volume, 
 and the gramme (15.407 troy grains) is the 
 unit of weight ; the gramme having been de- 
 termined by the weight of a cubic centimetre 
 of distilled water of the temperature at which 
 its density is a maximum (38.25 Fahrenheit). 
 
 The hydrostatic balance which is employed 
 in determining the specific gravities of bodies 
 is constructed similarly to an ordinary balance, 
 but with as much delicacy as possible ; and a 
 particular contrivance is adopted in order to 
 ascertain the weight of any substance within, 
 for example, one-hundredth part of a grain. 
 Thus, from the lower part of the scale con- 
 taining the substance to be weighed, there is 
 suspended a brass wire, whose volume and 
 weight have been previously determined, and 
 part of its length enters into water which is 
 contained in a vessel underneath the scale. 
 The scales with this wire thus attached to one 
 of them being previously put in equilibrio 
 when the surface of the water is at a certain 
 mark on the wire, the substance to be weighed 
 is introduced into the scale above the wire, 
 and weights are placed in the opposite scale 
 till one grain more would be found too great : 
 then gently raising the whole balance till, by 
 the increase of the weight on the side of the 
 scale containing the substance, in consequence 
 of a greater portion of the wire being out of 
 the water, an equilibrium takes place. The 
 wire being graduated so that 100 divisions cor- 
 respond to a weight equal to one grain, the 
 number of graduations on it between the sur- 
 face of the water and the fixed mark before 
 mentioned will enable the experimenter to 
 
1571 
 
 SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 
 
 SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 
 
 1572 
 
 determine the number of hunclredths of a 
 grain by which the weight of the substance in 
 the scale exceeds the number of grains already 
 placed in the opposite scale. 
 
 The weighing process varies in its details 
 according to the kind of substance to be 
 weighed. Thus a solid which is heavier than 
 water, a solid which is lighter than water, a 
 solid which is soluble in water, a solid which 
 will imbibe water without being dissolved, a 
 solid in the form of sand or powder, a liquid, 
 a gas or vapour all require peculiar methods 
 for determining their specific gravity ; methods 
 which are fully described in treatises on Hydro- 
 statics, but which we need not dwell upon here. 
 
 The following are the specific gravities of 
 several airs and gases, at a temperature of 
 
 00 Fahr., and a barometrical pressure of 
 30 inches : atmospheric air being taken as a 
 standard, or = 1-000 : 
 
 Hydrogen 0-070 
 
 Ammoniacal gas 0-590 
 
 Aqueous vapour 0-025 
 
 Do. (in contact with water 
 
 at 212 Fahrenheit) 0-484 
 
 Nitrogen 0-909 
 
 Atmospherical air 1-000 
 
 Oxygen 1-111 
 
 Muriatic acid gas 1-284 
 
 Carbonic acid gas 1-519 
 
 Nitrous oxide gas ) 1-527 
 
 (laughing gas) j to 1-014 
 
 Chlorine 2-508 
 
 Iodine, vapour of 8-078 
 
 The following are the specific gravities of various liquids and solids, at a temperature of 
 Fahr., a pressure of 90 inches, and water being =: 1-000: 
 
 Naphtha 0-708 
 
 JEther, muriatic 0-730 
 
 Do., nitric 0-909 
 
 Alcohol, pure 0-790 
 
 Water, at 212 Fahr. . . 0-950 
 
 Do., at 00 1-000 
 
 Sea-water 1-020 
 
 Beer 1-023 
 
 Port Wine 0-997 
 
 Oil of turpentine 0-870 
 
 Whale oil 0-923 
 
 Muriatic acid 1-194 
 
 Nitric acid 1-217 
 
 Sulphuric acid (pure) . 1-848 
 Gums, Animal Substances, &c. 
 
 Indigo 0-709 
 
 Butter 0-942 
 
 Bees-wax 0-905 
 
 Camphor 0-989 
 
 Blood 1-028 
 
 Milk 1-032 
 
 Copal 1-000 
 
 Mastic 1-074 
 
 Gamboge 1-222 
 
 Opium 1-330 
 
 Honey 1-450 
 
 Gum arabic 1-452 
 
 White sugar 1-000 
 
 Ivory 1-820 
 
 Woods. 
 
 Cork 0-240 
 
 Poplar 0-383 
 
 Yellow Pine 0-440 
 
 Spruce Fir 0-518 
 
 Larch 0-530 
 
 Willow 0-585 
 
 Elm 0-588 to 0-800 
 
 Lime or Linden-tree . . 0-004 
 Cedar, from Palestine . 0-013 
 
 Mahogany 0-037 to 1-063 
 
 Teak ,. o-OOG 
 
 Walnut-tree 0-071 
 
 Elder 0-095 
 
 Oak, English . . . 0-743 to 0-700 
 
 Beech 0-853 
 
 Box, French 0-912 
 
 Olive 0-927 
 
 Logwood 0-931 
 
 Heart of Oak,GO years old 1-170 
 
 Ebony 1-177 
 
 Vine 1-327 
 
 Box, Dutch 1-328 
 
 Lignum Vitae 1-333 
 
 Eartlis, Stones, <tc. 
 
 Pumice-stone 0-915 
 
 Gunpowder (closely 
 
 shaken) 0-932 
 
 Amber 1-078 
 
 CannelCoal 1-270 
 
 Slate coal, English . . . 1-250 
 to 1-370 
 
 Phosphorus 1-714 
 
 Nitre 1-900 
 
 Brick 2-000 
 
 Sulphur (native) 2-033 
 
 Gypsum (opaque) 2-108 
 
 Porcelain (china) 2-385 
 
 Stone (paving).. 2-410 to 2-400 
 
 Flint 2-590 
 
 Carnelian 2-000 
 
 Glass 2-042 to 2.-S92 
 
 Marble 2-049 to 2-838 
 
 Brazil Pebbles 2-053 
 
 Granite (red Egyptian) 2.054 
 Quartz (crystallised) . . 2-055 
 
 Agate 2-007 
 
 Slate (common) 2.072 
 
 Alabaster 2-702 
 
 Emerald (from Peru) .. 2-775 
 Chalk (British) 2-057 to 2-784 
 
 Talc (Muscovy) 2-792 
 
 Basalt. . , . 2-804 
 
 Hone (white), razor. . . 2-870 
 Lapis-lazuli . . .2-707 to 3-054 
 Limestone (white fluor) 3-150 
 
 Diamond 3-444 to 5-531 
 
 Beryl 3-649 
 
 Adamantine Spar 3-873 
 
 Sapphire 3-994 
 
 Garnet 4-000 
 
 Topaz 4-011 
 
 Vermilion 4-230 
 
 Ruby 4-283 
 
 Metals. 
 
 Sodium 0-805 
 
 Potassium 0-972 
 
 Antimony 4-004 
 
 Molybdena 4-738 
 
 Manganese 4-750 
 
 Copper (from Cornwall,) 5-452 
 
 Tungsten 0-000 
 
 Uranium 0-440 
 
 Zinc 0-802 to 7-191 
 
 Iron (cast) 7-157 to 7-248 
 
 Tin (pure) 7-291 
 
 Iron (forged) . . 7-000 to 7-788 
 Copper (native) 7-000 to 7-800 
 
 Nickel (molten) 7-807 
 
 Cobalt (molten) 7-812 
 
 Steel 7-818 to 7-833 
 
 Brass 7-824 to 8-544 
 
 Mercury(precipitate,red)8-399 
 Copper (wire-drawn) . . 8-878 
 
 Bismuth (native) 9-020 
 
 Mercury (brown cinna- 
 bar) 10-218 
 
 Silver (hammered) .... 10-511 
 
 Lead (molten) 11-352 
 
 Mercury (fluent) 13-508 
 
 Do. (congealed) 15-030 
 
 Gold 15-709 to 49-500 
 
 Platinum (purified). ..19-500 
 to 22.009 
 
J573 
 
 SPECTACLES. 
 
 SPE'CULUM. 
 
 3574 
 
 The most convenient method of obtaining 
 the specific gravities of fluids is by means of 
 what chemists call a ' thousand-grain bottle.' 
 This is a bottle of a globular form, with a 
 ground glass stopper, so adjusted as to contain 
 exactly 1000 grains of distilled water, at the 
 temperature of 60 Fahr., and accompanied 
 by a weight, which is an exact counterpoise 
 for the bottle when thus filled. In order to 
 determine the specific gravity of a fluid by 
 this means, it is simply necessary to fill the 
 bottle with that fluid at the temperature of 
 60, and place it, together with the adjusted 
 weight, in the opposite scales of a delicate 
 balance ; then the number of grains which it 
 will be found necessary to add to one of the 
 scales, in order to produce equilibrium, will be 
 the difference between the specific gravity of 
 the fluid and that of water, taken at 1000. 
 
 SPECTACLES. The mention of magni- 
 fying-glasses by Koger Bacon, who died about 
 1292. justifies the supposition that something 
 like what are now called spectacles were in use 
 at least several years earlier. Extensively as 
 these useful instruments are employed, there 
 can be no doubt that, were the subject more 
 generally understood, the amount of advantage 
 obtained from them would be greatly aug- 
 mented. The eyes of an individual whose 
 sight is much tried often receive the most 
 serious injury from improper delay in the use 
 of spectacles ; while the sight of many persons 
 is prematurely worn out by the use of glasses 
 of too high a power, or too short a focal 
 length. The use of a single reading-glass in- 
 stead of spectacles is very injurious ; since, by 
 occasioning one eye to be more used than the 
 other, the focal lengths of the two are rendered 
 unequal. The unsteadiness of the glass is 
 also a disadvantage. Varieties in the con- 
 formation of the eyes, and in the manner and 
 degree in which they are affected by use, 
 render it impossible to lay down any rule for 
 the focal length of convex glasses for persons 
 of a given age. 
 
 It is very essential that the frame of the 
 spectacles should fit comfortably to the head, 
 and be of such a form as to bring the centre of 
 each lens exactly opposite the centre of the eye 
 it is intended to serve. The endless variations 
 met with in the width between the eyes, the 
 total width of the head, and the form of the 
 nose, render it frequently difficult to suit an 
 individual out of ev^n a very large stock. 
 Convex spectacles, being used for viewing 
 near objects, may generally be placed lower 
 down upon the wearer's nose than those used 
 by short-sighted persons. The oval form is 
 usually preferred for the lenses, because it 
 allows most room for the motion of the eye in 
 
 a lateral direction, without giving unnecessary 
 weight. i 
 
 The Periscopic Spectacles of Dr. Wollaston 
 were contrived in order to allow considerable 
 latitude of motion to the eyes without fatigue, 
 by conforming the shape of the glasses to that 
 of the eyes. This is effected by the use of 
 lenses either of a meniscus or a concavo-con- 
 vex form, the concave side being in both cases 
 turned towards the eye. Divided spectacles, 
 each glass consisting of two half-lenses, are 
 sometimes used, the upper half of each glass 
 being occupied by a concave lens, or one of 
 very slight convexity, for seeing distant ob- 
 ects, while the lower half has a strong mag- 
 nifier, for examining things near the eye. 
 The present Astronomer Eoyal finds that one 
 of his eyes refracts the rays of light to a nearer 
 'ocus in the vertical than in the horizontal 
 jlane; and this defect he has succeeded in 
 remedying by using a double concave lens, 
 one surface of which is spherical and the other 
 cylindrical. 
 
 As an article of manufacture, the best spec- 
 :acles are made by the leading opticians of 
 London; but the medium and inferior kind 
 ire made on a large scale in Birmingham. 
 
 SPE'CULJJM. This name is frequently 
 given to a mirror used for any scientific pur- 
 pose, as in a reflecting telescope. If a pencil 
 of rays diverge from a radiant point in the 
 axis of a concave speculum of a spherical form, 
 all the rays will, after reflexion, converge nearly 
 to a certain point in the same axis, at which 
 the image of the radiant point is said to be 
 formed. This point is called the Focus. None 
 of the rays are, in strictness, reflected to the 
 focus, but all those which are reflected from 
 the mirror at points very near its intersection 
 with the axis fall extremely near it. The 
 image in a convex mirror is always upright, 
 and in a concave one always inverted, except 
 when the object falls between the principal 
 focus (or middle point of the radius) and the 
 mirror. 
 
 The best composition for the metal of re- 
 flecting telescopes is a subject which has been 
 much investigated. About 70 different mix- 
 tures were tried by the Ptev. John Edwards, 
 the particulars of which are stated in the 
 'Nautical Almanac' for the year 1787; he 
 found copper 32, tin 15, brass 1, silver 1, white 
 oxide of arsenic 1, to form an alloy which was 
 the whitest, hardest, most reflective, and took 
 the highest polish. 
 
 In the 'Philosophical Transactions' for 
 1840, Lord Rosse, then Lord Oxmantown, 
 published an account of a speculum 3 feet 
 diameter which he had then executed; and 
 from this we learn that after many trials to 
 
1575 
 
 SPELTER. 
 
 SPINNING. 
 
 1570 
 
 determine what combination of metals were 
 most useful for the purpose, with respect to 
 whiteness, porosity, and hardness, one of cop- 
 per and tin (the materials employed by New- 
 ton in the first reflecting telescope) united in 
 the proportion of 1264 parts of copper to 
 5S-9 parts of tin, was found the best. It is 
 stated that the compound is of admirable lustre 
 and hardness, and has a specific gravity of 
 8-8, that of water being 1. Lord Eosse has 
 subsequently cast specula 6 feet in diameter, of 
 the like composition, and each in one piece, with 
 complete success. One of these is mounted 
 at Parsonstown, in Ireland, in a telescope 
 50 feet long, with which important discoveries 
 have been made in the heavens. These specula 
 were cast in moulds made by binding together 
 layers of hoop-iron ; and both the grinding 
 and the polishing were executed by machinery 
 which, was put in motion by a small steam- 
 engine. The speculum of the largest tele- 
 scope, when mounted, rests on a bed consisting 
 of twenty-seven triangular pieces of iron, sup- 
 ported at their centres of gravity on the 
 corners of nine other triangular pieces, which 
 are also supported at their centres of gravity. 
 By tins contrivance any change in the form of 
 the box or tube, by warping or otherwise, pro- 
 duces no effect on the speculum. 
 
 SPELTER. [ZINC.] 
 
 SPERMACETI, is a fatty material which 
 is obtained from the Physctcr macrocephalus, a 
 species of whale, generally met with in the 
 South Seas, but occasionally also on the coast 
 of Greenland. The spermaceti occurs chiefly 
 in the head. During the life of the animal 
 the spermaceti is in a fluid state ; and on the 
 head being opened, has the appearance of an 
 oily clear white liquid. On exposure to the 
 air the spermaceti concretes and deposits from 
 the oil. They are then separated, and put 
 into different barrels. The head of a whale 
 sixty-four feet in length has been found 'to 
 yield twenty four barrels of spermaceti, and 
 from seventy to one hundred barrels of oil. 
 When brought to England, the spermaceti 
 lias not a white shining silky appearance, but 
 a yellowish colour, owing to the presence of 
 some oil. To separate this it is filtered, 
 pressed, and subjected to various operations. 
 When perfectly pure, it becomes cetine. 
 
 Spci'maceti possesses the properties com- 
 mon to fatty matters. It is bland and demul- 
 cent, with considerable nutritive qualities, 
 when taken internally. It was formerly much 
 used in medicine ; but it is now chiefly em- 
 ployed externally as an ingredient in oint- 
 ments and cerates. It is also largely used in 
 the making of candles. 4,712 tons of sper- 
 maceti were imported in 1848. 
 
 SPHERE LATA. Sphcrelata, or hammered 
 metal-work, has been found in great profusion 
 among the Etruscan monuments of antiquity. 
 Statues, busts, bronzes, tripods, vases, am- 
 phorse, basins, incense vessels, shields, cande- 
 labra all these have been met with, fashioned 
 out of pieces of metal chiefly by the aid of 
 the hammer. This art is supposed to have 
 long preceded metal-casting, as a mode of 
 manufacture. In the works of the earliest 
 Greek poets, these hammered metal pro- 
 ductions are repeatedly referred to. Large sur- 
 faces of metal were hammered, thin plates were 
 twisted, ornaments were chased, and separate 
 pieces were fastened together by nails or rivets 
 all without the aid of casting or soldering. 
 SPICES. The following quantities of the 
 principal spices were imported into Great 
 Britain during 1849 and 1850 : 
 
 1849. Ift.V). 
 
 Cassia Lignea 472,693 Ibs. 988,017 Ibs. 
 Cinnamon .. 759,088 700,101 
 
 Cloves 274,713 749,025 
 
 Mace 45,978 70,305 
 
 Nutmegs.... 224,021 312,418 
 
 Pepper 4,790,042 8,082,518 
 
 Pimento 2,884,144 2,290,170 
 
 SPINET, was a musical instrument of the 
 harpsichord kind, formerly much in use. 
 The Spinet had but one string to each note, 
 which was struck by a quilled jack, the latter 
 being acted on in the usual manner by a key. 
 It was smaller than the harpsichord. 
 
 SPINNING. Whatever be the substance 
 operated upon by the spinner, whether cotton, 
 wool, flax, or silk, it is necessary in the first 
 place to lay the fibres or filaments parallel 
 with each other, so as to form them into a 
 soft continuous ribbon or cord, sometimes 
 called a sliver. Excepting in the case of flax, 
 this is done by a carding or combing process, 
 the object of which is to disentangle and 
 straighten the tangled filaments. If such a 
 sliver or cord be firmly griped or compressed 
 at two points rather farther apart than the 
 average length of its component filaments, it 
 may be extended or drawn out to a greater 
 length ; the filaments sliding upon each other. 
 When two or more such cords have been ex- 
 tended in this way, until they will stretch no 
 longer without separating or being pulled 
 asunder, they may be laid parallel to each 
 other, and combined by being slightly twisted 
 together. The compound cord thus formed 
 may be again extended by stretching or draw- 
 ing; and the repetition of the processes of 
 doubling, twisting, and stretching will enable 
 the spinner to extend the length and diminish 
 the thickness of the cord until it becomes u 
 fine compact thread or yarn. 
 
3577 
 
 SPINNING. 
 
 SPIRIT-LEVEL. 
 
 1578 
 
 The primitive modes of spinning by th( 
 spindle and distaff, and by the spinning-wheel 
 which are still extensively practised in the 
 East, and not entirely superseded in some 
 remote districts of Scotland, only enable the 
 spinner to produce a single thread ; but with 
 the almost automatic spinning-machinery 
 which has been called into existence by the 
 cotton manufacture, one individual may pro 
 duce nearly two thousand threads at the same 
 time. The history of the series of inventions 
 by which this result has been gradually 
 attained is briefly noticed in the articles ARK- 
 WRIGHT and COTTON SPINNING. In respect to 
 flax, the preliminary processes are described 
 under FLAX. As the fibres of flax have not 
 the same tendency to mutual entanglement 
 as those of wool and cotton, it is necessary to 
 moisten them with water to make them 
 adhere to each other during the process of 
 spinning, and also to render them more 
 pliable and easy to twist. Until recently, cold 
 water was used for moistening the flax for 
 machine spinning ; but the substitution of hot 
 water for that purpose has been found a great 
 improvement. We must refer to the same 
 article [FLAX] for an account of the present 
 efforts to improve and extend this important 
 manufacture. 
 
 The manufacture of yarns or threads of 
 silk is a process essentially different from the 
 spinning of cotton, wool, or flax. Instead of 
 combining a number of short fibres into a 
 long thread, the silk-throwster receives the 
 silk in the form of very long and exceedingly 
 fine filaments, which merely need cleansing 
 and twisting together until th^e requisite 
 strength is attained. The twisting process is, 
 in this case, called spinning. There is how- 
 ever besides the best portion of the silk, 
 which is wound off from the cocoon, a quan- 
 tity of loose or floss silk, which forms a soft 
 tangled mass enveloping it. This, with the 
 refuse of the superior part of the silk, under 
 the general name of waste, is converted into 
 yams for coarse or inferior articles, by a pro 
 cess very similar to that of spinning other 
 fibrous substances. This waste silk was for- 
 merly cut by a machine, to reduce its filaments 
 into short lengths, and then treated much in 
 the same way as cotton wool; but the process 
 of manufacturing it into yarns has been re- 
 cently much improved by the adoption of 
 contrivances similar to those used in flax- 
 spinning, by which the filaments are heckled 
 or drawn out into a sliver without being cut. 
 The spinning of hempen fibres into cordage 
 is described under ROPE MANUFACTURE. In 
 many of the smaller kinds of ornamental 
 spun-work, caoutchouc or India rubber is 
 
 now largely used. [INDIA RUBBER MANU- 
 FACTURE.] 
 
 SPIRIT, in Chemistry. This word, espe- 
 cially when employed by itself, is now almost 
 exclusively applied to spirit of wine, or alcohol. 
 Formerly however the word spirit was given 
 to most substances capable of being vaporised 
 and condensed by distillation, and to some not 
 obtained by distillation. It will be requisite 
 merely to name a few of those compounds to 
 show how extensively it was used, and mis- 
 applied to substances of very different origin 
 and composition. Thus nitric acid was called 
 Spirit of Nitre ; hydrochloric acid, Spirit of 
 Salt ; Sulphuric acid, Spirit of Sulphur ; chlo- 
 ride of tin, Spirit of Libavius ; solution of am- 
 monia, Spirit of Sal-Ammoniac, and so forth. 
 
 SPIRIT-LEVEL, is a tube of glass nearly 
 filled with spirit of wine or distilled water, 
 and hermetically sealed at both ends, so that 
 when held with its axis in a horizontal posi- 
 tion, the air which occupies the part not filled 
 with the spirit or water places itself con- 
 tiguously to the upper surface. The tube 
 being supposed to be perfectly cylindrical, the 
 exact horizontally of its axis is ascertained 
 by the extremities of the air bubble being at 
 equal distances from the middle point in the 
 length of the glass. The spirit-tube is placed 
 within a brass case having a long opening on 
 the side which is to be uppermost, and is 
 attached to a telescope; the telescope and 
 iube are then fitted to a frame, or cradle, of 
 orass, which is supported on three legs. 
 
 The use of the spirit-level in accurate sur- 
 veying requires great care in the adjustment 
 of the tube and the attached telescope. 
 
 The Levelling -Staff till lately in general use 
 for finding the relative heights of ground is a 
 rod consisting of two parts, each six feet 
 ong, which, by being made to slide on . one 
 another, will indicate differences of level nearly 
 as great as twelve feet. The face of the rod 
 s divided into feet, inches, and tenths, or 
 nto feet with centesimal subdivisions ; and 
 a vane, or cross-piece of wood, perforated 
 through the middle, is moved up or down 
 upon the rod by an assistant till a chamfered 
 edge at the perforation is seen by the ob- 
 server at the spirit-level to coincide with the 
 lorizontal wire in the telescope. The rod 
 >roposed by Mr. Gravat is divided into hun- 
 dredths of a foot by stripes which are alter- 
 nately black and white, and are numbered at 
 every foot in the usual way with figures large 
 enough to be seen on looking through th. 
 ,elescope ; the tenths of a foot are indicated 
 >y lines longer than the others. A similar 
 taff has been proposed by Mr. Sopwith and 
 Mr, W. P. Barlow. 
 
1579 
 
 SPIRIT TRADE. 
 
 SPONGE. 
 
 1580 
 
 SPIRIT TRADE. The manufacture of 
 different kinds of spirits is noticed under 
 .BUANDY, DISTILLATION, GIN, RUM, &c. 
 
 The duty on foreign spirits is 15s. per 
 gallon ; on colonial spirits 8s. 2d. for England, 
 4s. for Scotland, and 3s. for Ireland. On 
 British spirits distilled in England the duty is 
 7s. lOrf., in Scotland, 3s. &d., and in Ireland, 
 2s. 8d. per gallon all estimated at proof 
 strength. 
 
 The quantities of Rum, Brandy, and Geneva, 
 imported into Great Britain in 1849 and 
 1850 were : 
 
 1849. 1850. 
 
 Rum .... 5,306,827 galls, 4,188,639 galls. 
 
 Brandy.. 4,479,549 3,237,598 
 
 Geneva 471,236 337,042 
 
 The home-made spirits charged with excise 
 duty in the same two years amounted to the 
 following quantities : 
 
 1849. 1850. 
 
 England . .9,102,472 galls. 9,378,790 galls. 
 Scotland.... 6,935,003 7,132,556 
 Ireland ....6,973,333 7,408,086 
 
 The English spirit is made from mixtures 
 of malt with gram, molasses, and sugar ; in 
 Scotland more than half is made from pure 
 malt; in Ireland nearly all is made from 
 malt and grain mixed. 
 
 SPITALFIELDS. No part of London is 
 more remarkably connected with a particular 
 manufacture than Spitalfields is with that of 
 silk. For many generations nearly all the 
 silk-weavers of the metropolis have resided 
 in or near this district. 
 
 When the Edict of Nantes was revoked by 
 Louis XIV., in 1685, many thousand silk- 
 weavers were expelled from France, and 
 sought refuge in England. Stow writes : 
 " Spittlefields and parts adjacent became a 
 great harbour for poor Protestant strangers, 
 Walloons and French ; who, as in former 
 days, so of late, have been forced to become 
 exiles from their own country for their religion, 
 and for the avoiding gruel persecution. . . . 
 Great advantage hath accrued to the whole 
 nation by the rich manufacture of weaving 
 silks, and stuffs, and camlets, which art they 
 brought along with them." The refugees in- 
 troduced the various silk fabrics known by the 
 name of lustrings, alamodes, brocades, satins, 
 mantuas, paduasoys, ducapes, and tabbies; and 
 the silk manufacture of Spitalfields speedily 
 became important. 
 
 From that time to the present, the Spital- 
 fields weavers have been unfavourably dis- 
 tinguished for their perpetual attempts to 
 secure 'protection' for their trade in every 
 possible way, reasonable or not; and the 
 statute book contains numerous enactments 
 
 bearing more or less closely on this point. 
 Their wages have at most periods been small, 
 and the weavers have been poor; but there 
 is no proof that matters were otherwise when 
 protective measures were resorted to; and 
 there is not wanting evidence that renewed 
 energy is shewn by the Spitalfields manu- 
 facturers, now that all hopes of a protective 
 system are abandoned. 
 
 All the silk spun or thrown in this country 
 is spun in large establishments called silk- 
 mills, situated in different parts of the country, 
 none is spun in Spitalfields : it is only the 
 weaving which is here conducted. The tram 
 for the weft or cross-threads is spun in 
 England; but a good deal of the organzine 
 for the warp or long threads is imported from 
 Italy. The manufacturer gives out the organ- 
 zine and tram to the hand-loom weaver, who 
 takes it to his humble abode, weaves it into 
 one of the many kinds of silk goods, and 
 takes it back to the manufacturer, who pays 
 him a certain stipulated price for his labour. 
 There are supposed to be about 16,000 silk- 
 looms in the Spitalfields and Bethnal Green 
 district ; and it is further estimated that not 
 less than 60,000 persons are wholly dependent 
 for their daily food on the employment of 
 these looms. 
 
 A School of Design has been established 
 at Spitalfields, which, if fostered by the manu- 
 facturers, may render much service by im- 
 proving the taste of the designers employed 
 in preparing patterns for the weavers. 
 
 SPONGE. The organic origin of sponge 
 is a matter which lies beyond the scope of the 
 present work to treat ; nor do the simple uses 
 of sponge squire much comment. The use 
 of sponge by surgeons, in its natural state, to 
 absorb fluids, needs no notice, but it is also 
 employed by them under the name of Sponge 
 Tent, when prepared in a particular manner. 
 This consists in dipping the sponge in melted 
 wax, and compressing it between iron plates 
 till it hardens on cooling; it is then cut into 
 cylindrical or other forms. The pieces arc 
 introduced into sinuses and other narrow 
 canals, with the intention of dilating them by 
 the expansion of the sponge, when the wax 
 melts by the heat of the part. Sponge 
 Tents are however little used by modern sur- 
 eons. 
 
 When sponge has been cut into pieces, 
 beaten in order to free it from little stones 
 and shells, and burnt in a closed iron vessel 
 till it is black and friable, it is then called 
 Burnt Spunge, and contains a quantity of 
 Iodine. It has been almost completely super- 
 seded in the treatment of Bronchocele and 
 Scrophula by Iodine and its preparations. 
 
1581 
 
 SPRING. 
 
 SPRING, in Mechanics, is an elastic plate 
 or rod, which is employed as a moving-power, 
 or a regulator of the motions of wheel- work ; 
 also to ascertain the weights of bodies, or to 
 diminish the effects of concussion. The use 
 of a spring as a moving-power may he best 
 exemplified in its application to watch-work. 
 The main -spring of a watch is a thin and 
 narrow plate of well-tempered steel, which is 
 coiled in a spiral form : one of its extremities 
 is attached to a pivot or axle, and the other to 
 the interior circumference of the cylindrical 
 box in which it is contained. In being wound, 
 the spring closes round the axle, and after- 
 wards, in the effort by its elasticity to recover 
 its former position, it turns the cylinder in a 
 contrary direction: thus the chain which is 
 attached to the exterior circumference of the 
 cylinder and to the fusee causes the latter to 
 revolve. 
 
 A slender and highly-elastic spring of a like 
 form is employed to produce a vibratory 
 motion in the balance ring of a watch. One 
 extremity of the spring is attached to the axle 
 of the balance, and the other to some part of 
 its circumference. The elastic power of the 
 spring varies with the tension, and is directly 
 proportional to the angle through which the 
 spring is wound about the axle ; and thus the 
 vibrations of a spring, like those of a pen- 
 dulum in a cycloidai arc, are isochronous. 
 The length of the spring and the diameter of 
 the balance are increased by heat and di- 
 minished by cold ; consequently, without some 
 compensating power, the times of vibration 
 will vary according to the changes of tem- 
 perature. 
 
 SPRING -BALANCE, is a machine in 
 which the elasticity of a spring of tempered 
 steel is employed as a means of measuring 
 .weight or force. One of the simplest kinds 
 of spring-balance is the Spring Steelyard, or 
 Pocket Steelyard. This instrument consists 
 of a helical spring placed in the interior of a 
 tube of brass or iron, closed at both ends; 
 one end of the spring abutting against the 
 plate which closes the lower end of the tube. 
 A rod, having a hook or loop at its lower ex- 
 tremity, passes through a hole in the bottom 
 of the tube, and up the inside of the spring. 
 At the upper end of this rod is a small plate, 
 which slides up and down like a piston in the 
 tube, and rests upon the upper or free end of 
 the spring; thereby causing it to collapse 
 when a heavy body is attached to the hook at 
 the bottom of the sliding rod. The extent of 
 the motion of the spring, and consequently 
 the weight of the body suspended from it, 
 are indicated by the degree to which the rod 
 is drawn out .of the tube; for which purpose 
 
 SPRING, CARRIAGE. 1582 
 
 a graduated scale is engraved upon the 
 rod. 
 
 Many improved varieties of spring-balance 
 are now manufactured; and similar instru- 
 ments are applied to many useful purposes 
 besides weighing. Marriott's Patent Weighing 
 Machine has a spring which is a perfect 
 ellipsis, with its longer axis laid horizontally. 
 The stem to which the ring for holding the 
 apparatus is attached is fastened by a nut and 
 screw to the middle of the upper side of the 
 spring ; and the rack, with the hook which 
 holds the article to be weighed, to the corres- 
 ponding point on the lower side of the spring. 
 The spring, rack, and pinion are inclosed in 
 a circular box at the back of the dial-plate, 
 the periphery of which serves as a stop to 
 prevent the spring from being overstrained. 
 A similar apparatus, contrived by M. Regnier, 
 has been used as a dynamometer, as well as 
 a weighing-machine. 
 
 SPRING, CARRIAGE. Various methods 
 are adopted for lessening the concussion 
 occasioned by the rolling of a wheeled carriage 
 over a rough road. One of the simplest 
 means is that often adopted in light carts, of 
 suspending the seat from the sides of the 
 body by leather straps or lashings. Next to 
 this is the use of straps to suspend the body 
 itself, an expedient which seems to have been 
 occasionally resorted to from a very early 
 period. To remedy the defects of the primi- 
 tive slung carriage, it was desirable to render 
 the pillars from which the straps were sus- 
 pended somewhat elastic. This could not be- 
 readily effected with wood, because the pillars 
 were necessarily short, and therefore stiff. 
 Hence arose the use of elastic steel supports, 
 which have gradually assumed the form now 
 well known as C -Springs. These were for-, 
 rnerly used for almost all kinds of carriage- 
 springs; but the great improvement of our 
 roads has made way for the introduction, in all 
 stage coaches, and in many private carriages, 
 of the more compact straight and elliptic 
 springs. 
 
 Carnage-springs are usually formed of se- 
 veral thin plates of steel, of various lengths, 
 so laid and fastened together that the spring 
 shall be thick in the centre, or at the end by 
 which it is fixed, and thin, or consisting of 
 only a single plate, at the end or ends where 
 the greatest play is required. The steel used 
 is of coarse quality, and has little carbon in 
 its composition. 
 
 Coach-makers apply distinct names to a 
 great many varieties of springs. The straight 
 spring, if single, or acting only on one side of 
 the point at which it is fixed, is technically 
 named the Single-Elbow Spring. The X>oubk- 
 
1583 
 
 SPRUCE BEER. 
 
 STAIRCASE. 
 
 1584 
 
 Elbow-Spring is a straight spring, acting on 
 both sides of the fixed point. Elliptic Springs, 
 which are usually but little curved, are used 
 single in some carnages, between the axle 
 and the framework. Elliptic springs are often 
 used in pairs under the name of Nut-Cracker 
 Springs, the two springs being hinged together 
 at each end, so as to form a long pointed 
 ellipsis. C- Springs, which are chiefly used in 
 private carriages, usually consist of two-thirds 
 of a circle, lengthened out into a tangent ; 
 the tangent being laid horizontally, and bolted 
 down to the framework of the carriage. Tele- 
 graph Springs are combinations of straight 
 springs in sets of four. Tilbury-Springs are 
 another combination of straight springs used 
 for the two-wheeled carriage called a tilbury. 
 Dennet-Springs are a combination of three 
 straight springs, two of them placed across 
 the axle, and attached at their fore ends to 
 the shafts or the framing of the body, and 
 the third placed transversely, suspended by 
 shackles from their hinder extremities, and 
 fastened to the body at its centre. To meet 
 the deficiencies of the springs in common 
 use, Mr. Adams contrived one on the prin- 
 ciple of the bow, which will yield in any 
 direction, and may be made capable of adjust- 
 ment, by means of screws, to a light or heavy 
 load. 
 
 SPRUCE BEER, This fermented liquor 
 is made from the leaves and small branches 
 of the spruce -fir, with sugar or treacle. There 
 are two kinds of spruce beer the brown and 
 the white of'which the latter is considered 
 the best. In the manufacture, essence of 
 spruce is fermented much in the same way 
 as grape-juice in wine-making. In places 
 where spruce-firs abound, a simple decoction 
 of the leaves and small branches is used 
 instead of the essence of spruce. This agree- 
 able and wholesome beverage is useful as an 
 anti-scorbutic. 
 
 STAFFORDSHIRE. This county is rich 
 in coal. [COAL.] Gypsum is quarried in 
 Needwood Forest and in the adjacent part of 
 the valley of the Dove ; the pure white gypsum, 
 or that slightly streaked with red, yields 
 plaster of Paris, which is much used in the 
 potteries for moulds. Near Dudley is a mass 
 of basalt, locally termed Rowley Rag ; it is 
 quarried for mending the roads and paving 
 the streets of Birmingham. The coal-works 
 of the county are very numerous and impor- 
 tant ; in the south they supply the iron and 
 other hardware manufactures of Birmingham, 
 Dudley, Wolverhampton, Wednesbury, Bilston 
 Walsall, &c. ; and in the north they supply 
 the fuel to the Pottery district. Perhaps the 
 neighbourhood of Birmingham is the cheapest 
 
 district for coals in England, and the con- 
 sumption is prodigious. Ironstone is abundant 
 in the Dudley coal-field. 
 
 The canals of this county are numerous. 
 The most important is the Trent and Mersey 
 Canal, or, as it is sometimes called, the Grand 
 Trunk Canal, which crosses the county. The 
 Birmingham Canal and the Birmingham and 
 Liverpool Junction Canal may be regarded as 
 forming another important line, entering the 
 county near Birmingham, and passing through 
 the iron and coal district, by Dudley and 
 Wolverhampton, and then running into 
 Shropshire. There are several smaller lines 
 which belong to the coal and iron districts of 
 South Staffordshire. The county is also well 
 supplied with railways. 
 
 The manufacturing towns of Staffordshire 
 are numerous and important. The pottery 
 towns are noticed under POTTERIES. The 
 
 n and coal works of BILSTON and 
 BROMWICH are noticed under those headings. 
 Cheadle has manufactures of copper in its 
 vicinity. Leek is one of the silk manufacturing 
 towns. Lichjield is rather an agricultural 
 centre than a seat of manufactures ; and the 
 same may be said of Tamworth. Newcastle- 
 imder-Lyne has a considerable manufacture 
 of hats. Stafford is one of the depots of the 
 shoe manufacture. Tipton is situated in the 
 centre of the South Staffordshire iron and 
 coal district, and its present size and import- 
 ance are quite modern, and have arisen from 
 the rapid extension of the iron manufactures. 
 In Walsall the inhabitants are employed 
 largely in manufactures of iron and brass ; 
 and there are coal-mines and freestone and 
 limestone quarries in the neighbourhood. 
 Wednesbury is also in the heart of the South 
 Staffordshire coal and iron district, and it 
 has considerable manufactures of fire-arms, 
 machinery, edge-tools, files, screws, &c. Wol- 
 verhampton produces largely manufactures of 
 fire-irons, tinned and japanned iron-ware, 
 locks, guns, files, screws, and a variety of 
 other articles. 
 
 STAINED GLASS. [GiASS PAINTING.] 
 
 STAIRCASE. It was not till about the 
 time of Elizabeth that staircases began to be 
 planned commodiously in this country, and 
 made a decorative feature in the interior of a 
 mansion. At a later period, staircases in 
 mansions of a superior class were made dis- 
 proportionably spacious, being upon a scale 
 as to size with which the apartments them- 
 selves were not at all in keeping. One of the 
 most simple and effective, yet least common 
 arrangements of a staircase, is that which may 
 be described by the term Avenue Staircase, 
 the stairs being continued in a straight line. 
 
1585 STAMPING PRESS. 
 
 though broken by spaces into a succession of 
 flights, within what would else be a level 
 corridor or gallery ; and occupying its entire 
 width. Simple as such plan is in itself, it is 
 by no means adapted to general application, 
 because, although it requires only moderate 
 width, it requires considerable length, short 
 nights, and ample spaces between them, and 
 stairs with low risers and broad treads. In 
 public edifices or large mansions, whatever be 
 the plan of the principal staircase, it is gene- 
 rally branched, that is, there is first a wide 
 central flight, and then two other narrower 
 flights branching off from it on each side, 
 either at right angles to it, or as return flights 
 parallel to it; and it is hardly necessary to 
 observe that in all such staircases the foot- 
 spaces are large and there are no winders. 
 The staircase at Goldsmiths' Hall, which is 
 parted off from the vestibule by a glazed 
 screen, is an example of more than ordinary 
 splendour, being lighted by a dome. The 
 new staircase at the British Museum is also 
 of this kind. 
 
 The grand staircase of the Reform Club 
 House, London, is an example, somewhat 
 unusual in this country, though common 
 enough in Italy, of what may be called an 
 Enclosed Staircase. The flights are shut up 
 between walls, and consequently there is no 
 open well, nor can. the whole be seen at one 
 view. 
 
 The architectural effect of a staircase will 
 greatly depend upon the mode of lighting it. 
 Where it is carried up only one floor, the best 
 mode is to light it entirely from above, either 
 through a dome or lantern in the ceiling, or by 
 making the upper part of the walls, just 
 beneath the ceiling, a continued lantern. 
 
 STAMPING PRESS. Many articles of 
 metal manufacture receive their form by 
 stamping. One half of the impress is on the 
 lower surface of the hammer or falling weight ; 
 the other half is on the upper surface of the 
 anvil or bed ; and a piece of metal being 
 placed between the two, it receives an impress 
 on both sides. In making spoons, ladles, and 
 forks, the impress is given to the handles and 
 to the bowls or prongs by distinct operations 
 of different dies ; and the pattern being thus 
 partially produced, the articles are finished by 
 filing and hammering. There is, however, a 
 patented method of stamping spoons with one 
 pair of dies, which produce the handle and 
 the bowl at one time. 
 
 Various illustrations of the stamping of 
 metals will be met with under BUTTON MANU- 
 FACTURE, CHASING OF METALS, and MINT. 
 
 STANDARD MEASURES AND 
 WEIGHTS. Measures are wanted for two 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 STANDARD MEASURES. ]586 
 
 distinct objects, the commercial and the scien- 
 tific. The wants of natural philhsophy have 
 grown up within the last two centuries ; while 
 so early as Magna Charta it was one of the 
 concessions to the grievances of the subject, 
 that there should be one weight and one 
 measure throughout the land. But though a 
 few acts of Parliament were sufficient, in pro- 
 cess of time, substantially to establish the po- 
 litical rights which that charter was intended 
 to grant, hundreds of them, down to the pre- 
 sent time, have been ineffectual in producing 
 the use of one weight and one measure. This 
 unity was for commercial not scientific pur- 
 poses ; and the resemblance of natural objects 
 was supposed to be a sufficient reliance for 
 obtaining it. Some of the old statutes ex- 
 pressly make the inch to be the length of 
 three barleycorns, placed end to end, round 
 and dry, from the middle of the ear. Stand- 
 ards were made no doubt from this definition ; 
 or at least it was supposed that if the existing 
 standard should be lost, the barleycorns would 
 enable its restoration to be effected. The 
 average length of three barleycorns, whether 
 we call that length an inch or by any other 
 name, among many thousands, would doubt- 
 less always be the same under similar condi- 
 tions of growth. 
 
 A commercial standard might be easily 
 recovered from many different modes of pro- 
 ceeding : for example, the average height of 
 the barometer at a given place throughout 
 any period of five years is so nearly the same 
 from one five years to another, that a com- 
 mercial standard might be sufficiently well 
 obtained from it. It would be of little conse- 
 quence if the yard were wrongly recovered by 
 one-hundredth or even one-tenth of an inch, 
 in any matter of buying and selling. 
 
 It is the scientific standard at which the 
 government has been aiming during the last 
 century. The object here is, first, to measure 
 the old standards to the utmost accuracy of 
 which our senses, assisted by microscopes, 
 are capable ; secondly, to discover the means 
 of reconstructing a lost standard. In the 
 more delicate operations of natural philosophy 
 and astronomy, our knowledge cannot go 
 down to posterity unless they know within 
 the thousandth of an inch what it is that we 
 call a yard. The public at large has never 
 understood the reason why so much trouble 
 has been taken ; and perhaps the members 
 of different administrations, while trusting 
 such investigations to men of science, and 
 relying on them for the whole conduct of the 
 matter, may have wondered at the great diffi- 
 ulty which there seemed to be in the way of 
 furnishing the shopkeepers of all generations 
 
 P P 
 
 No. 38. 
 
1587 STANDARD WEIGHTS. 
 
 with yard measures and pound weights of the 
 same values. 
 
 The following is the existing legal definition 
 of standards according to the act of 1825 : 
 
 1. The straight line or distance between 
 the centres of the two points in the gold studs 
 in the straight brass rod now in the custody 
 of the clerk in the House of Commons, whereon 
 the words and figures 'Standard yard, 1760' 
 are engraved, shall be the original and genuine 
 standard of that measure of length or lineal 
 extension called a yard . . . the brass 
 being at the temperature of sixty-two degrees 
 of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The act goes 
 on in many words to say that the pendulum 
 vibrating seconds of mean time in the latitude 
 of London in a vacuum at the level of the sea 
 is 39.1393 inches of the said standard. 
 
 2. The standard brass weight of one pound 
 troy weight, made in the year 1758, now in 
 the custody of the clerk of the House of 
 Commons, shall be the original and genuine 
 
 standard measure of weight 
 
 The act goes on to say that the cubic 
 inch of distilled water, weighed in air by 
 brass weights, at 02 of Fahrenheit, the 
 barometer being at 30 inches, is equal to 
 252-458 grains. 
 
 The last event in the history of this subject 
 was the report (in 1841) of a commission of 
 men of science appointed in 1838. After 
 reciting that the standard yard was rendered 
 absolutely useless by the fire at the House of 
 Commons, and that the standard troy pound 
 was altogether missing, the commissioners 
 begin by recommending the total disuse of 
 all attempts to procure a natural standard, and 
 the return to the old plan of standards manu- 
 factured in metal ; that four copies of the 
 best existing representations of the old stand- 
 ards should be made, and carefully compared ; 
 that one of these copies should be hermeti- 
 cally sealed, and imbedded in the masonry of 
 some public building, marked by an inscrip- 
 tion, and only to be opened by Act of Parlia- 
 ment ; that the standard of capacity be defined 
 by that of weight, not by that of length ; that 
 various precautions, minutely named, be taken 
 for the preservation and safe custody of the 
 others; that the avoirdupois pound, and not 
 the troy, be the standard ; that the govern- 
 ment purchase all the known copies of the old 
 standards which have been noted in scientific 
 operations ; that no circumstance would con- 
 tribute so much to the introduction of a 
 decimal scale in weights and measures as the 
 establishment of a decimal coinage, which is 
 strongly recommended ; that the old Gunter's 
 Chain be preserved in the measurement of 
 land ; that a measure of 1,000 or 2,000 yards 
 
 STANNARY. 
 
 1588 
 
 receive a name, and be used co-ordinately 
 with the mile, with a view to the gradual dis- 
 use of the latter ; &c. Steps have been taken 
 to recover a standard yard, by comparison of 
 the existing scales which had been compared 
 with the last standard. 
 
 Although not directly of great importance 
 to manufacturing and trading affairs, the 
 determination of these standards is indirectly 
 advantageous ; and the subject is at any rate 
 worthy of more general public attention than 
 it usually receives. 
 
 STANNARY. This term sometimes de- 
 notes a tin-mine, sometimes the tin-mines of 
 a district, sometimes the royal rights in respect 
 of tin-mines within such district. But it is 
 more commonly used as including the tin- 
 mines within a particular district, the tinners 
 employed in working them, and the customs 
 and privileges attached to the mines, and to 
 those employed in digging and purifying the ore. 
 
 The great stannaries of England are those 
 of Devon and Cornwall, of which the stannary 
 of Cornwall is the more important. The 
 stannaries of Cornwall and Devon were granted 
 by Edward III. to the Black Prince, upon the 
 creation of the duchy of Cornwall, and are 
 perpetually incorporated with that duchy. Til 
 general both stannaries are under one duchy- 
 officer, called the lord -warden of the stan- 
 naries, with a separate vice-warden for each 
 county. The stannary of Cornwall is subdi- 
 vided into the stannary of Blackmore, in the 
 eastern parts of the county, and the stannaries 
 of Tywarnhaile, Penwith, and Helston, in the 
 west. 
 
 All tin in Cornwall and Devon $ whoever 
 might be the owner of the land, appears to 
 have formerly belonged to the king, by a usage 
 peculiar to these counties. King John, in 
 1201, granted a charter to his tinners in 
 Cornwall and Devonshire, authorising them 
 to dig tin and turves to melt the tin anywhere 
 in the moors and in the fees of bishops, 
 abbots, and earls, as they had been used and 
 accustomed. This charter was confirmed by 
 Edward I., Richard II., and Henry IV. In 
 Cornwall the right of digging in other men's 
 land is now regulated by a peculiar usage, 
 called the custom of bound in;/. This custom 
 attaches only to such land as now is or 
 anciently was irastrel, that is, land open or 
 uninclosed. 
 
 As part of the stannary rights, the Duke of 
 Cornwall, as guarantee of the crown, has or 
 had the pre-emption of tin throughout the 
 county, a privilege supposed to have been 
 reserved to the crown out of an original right 
 of property in tin mines, but in modern times 
 it is never exercised. 
 
1589 
 
 STAPLE. 
 
 STARCH. 
 
 1500 
 
 The duties payable to the Duke of Cornwall 
 on the stamping or coinage of tin were abo- 
 lished by an Act passed in 1838 ; and the 
 stannary courts were remodelled by other Acts 
 in 1836 and 1839. By that of 1839 a stannary 
 courts' duty of one farthing in the pound ster- 
 ling was imposed on tin and tin ore. 
 
 STAPLE. A staple, or market, was the 
 term applied in the middle ages to indicate 
 those marts both in this country and at Bruges, 
 Antwerp, Calais, &c., on the Continent, where 
 the principal products of a country were sold. 
 The staples were confirmed or appointed in 
 England by the king. All merchandise sold 
 for the purpose of exportation was compelled 
 either to be sold at the staple, or afterwards 
 brought there before exportation. This was 
 done with the double view of accommodating 
 the foreign merchants, and also enabling the 
 duties on exportation to be more conveniently 
 and certainly collected. Afterwards the word 
 staple was applied to the merchandise itself 
 which was sold at the staple. The staple 
 merchandise of England at these early times, 
 when little manufacture was carried on here, 
 is said by Lord Coke to have been wool, wool- 
 fells or sheepskins, leather, lead, and tin. 
 Incident to the staple was a court called ' the 
 court of the mayor of the staple.' This court 
 was held for the convenience of the merchants, 
 both native and foreign, attending the staple. 
 Many early enactments exist regulating the 
 proceedings at the staple and the court held 
 thei-e ; most of these were passed during the 
 reigns of Edward 1. and Edward III. A 
 variety of other statutes were passed in the 
 same and succeeding reigns, in some respects 
 confirming, in others altering, the provisions 
 of the leading statute. As commerce became 
 more extended, the staples appear to have 
 fallen into disuse. 
 
 STARCH (called also Farina and Faculnni) 
 is a proximate principle of plants, chiefly 
 found in the seeds of corn and pulse, in many 
 kinds of tubers, and sometimes in wood, bark, 
 and leaves. In all these instances it is asso- 
 ciated with other principles, which are either 
 employed with it, or separated by different 
 processes, according to the use intended to be 
 made of it. In wheat it is associated with 
 variable proportions of gluten, sugar, and 
 gum ; in potatoes chiefly with gum and sugar. 
 It is mostly lodged in the cells of the cellular 
 tissue, and consists of granules, always white, 
 generally of a roundish and seldom of an 
 angular figure. The granules differ in size, 
 often in the same seed, being generally smallest 
 near the circumference. They differ also in 
 different plants. The granules are lodged 
 mostly in the cells or compartments of the 
 
 cellular tissue ; and each granule consists of 
 a membrane, containing a transparent colour- 
 less material resembling guui. 
 
 The insolubility of the membrane in cold 
 water affords a means of separating the starch 
 from the gluten in wheat -flour, and from the 
 fibrous matter in potatoes and other tubers. 
 Wheat-flour is formed into a paste with water, 
 and then kneaded under a stream of water so 
 long as the water runs off of a milky appear- 
 ance ; what remains behind is chiefly gluten, 
 while the water has carried off the starch sus- 
 pended in it; and gum, sugar, and some 
 phosphatic salts, either dissolved or suspended 
 in it. The water charged with these matters 
 is permitted to stand for a few days in summer, 
 but for a week or two in winter, to allow the 
 acetous fermentation to occur, by which the 
 sugar and other principles are got rid of. The 
 acid liquor termed sours is drawn off, and the 
 starch thrown upon sieves, and washed ; the 
 bran and other impurities are retained on the 
 sieves, while the starch is carried forward into 
 large vessels called frames. In these the 
 starch subsides, and the water, which has 
 become perceptibly sour, drawn off, and the 
 slimes removed. The starch is then washed, 
 passed through a sieve, and finally allowed to 
 subside. Thus purified it is put into boxes 
 lined with canvas and perforated with holes, 
 by which the superfluous water escapes. After- 
 wards it is cut into squares, put on bricks, and 
 exposed to the heat of an oven, where it splits 
 Into irregular prisms. "When free from any 
 artificial admixture, it is perfectly white, and 
 termed white Starch or French Starch : but 
 in general, azure (smalt) or indigo is added, 
 when it is employed for stiffening linen, to 
 which it imparts a more agreeable hue than 
 the dull white of that material. 
 
 Starch, when pure, is nearly devoid of odour 
 and taste. The best bread is formed by flour 
 which contains the greatest proportion of 
 gluteiio The relative proportions of starch 
 and gluten differ not only in the different 
 cereal grains, but in the same species or 
 variety, according to the season when they are 
 sown, or the manure which has been applied 
 to the land. Starch exists in larger propor- 
 tion in Carolina rice than in any other grain. 
 Potatoes 'yield the purest starch, variable in 
 quantity with the kind of potato used, the 
 node of cultivation, the time of setting, and, 
 above all, the time of year when the process 
 is applied. 
 
 Starch is most extensively used in the arts, 
 but it is little employed in medicine, except 
 for its denvulcent properties, and as a vehicle 
 for opiate injections. Some of the calico 
 printers use a kind of stiffening material or 
 
1591 
 
 STATUARY. 
 
 STEAM-CARRIAGE. 
 
 1592 
 
 starch, which they call British gum, and which 
 was brought into use on account of the high 
 price of gum senega! ; it is prepared from 
 wheat flour, and is midway in quality between 
 common starch and common flour-paste. 
 
 STATUARY. [SCULPIUKE ; STONE MA- 
 SONRY.] 
 
 STEAM. Water converted into steam oc- 
 cupies more than 1700 times its former space. 
 Steam will be produced at a proportionally 
 lower temperature if we diminish the pressure 
 of the atmosphere on the water, which may 
 be done either by ascending a mountain or by 
 drawing away a portion of the air by means of 
 an air-pump. "When we continue to apply 
 heat to ordinary steam, under a constant bulk, 
 its elasticity rapidly increases, and it is then 
 termed high-pressure ; steam of the ordinary 
 temperature being termed low-pressure. 
 
 The following table gives the temperature 
 of boiling water and the corresponding pres- 
 sures of the air, measured in inches of baro- 
 metrical pressure. 
 
 Heat of boiling 
 water. 
 215 
 212 
 209 
 200 
 180 
 160 
 120 
 100 
 10 
 
 Corresponding 
 pressure of air. 
 
 31.8 
 
 30. 
 
 28.2 
 
 22.8 
 
 15.2 
 9.45 
 3.27 
 1.97 
 1.03 
 
 Calling 30 inches of pressure one atmosphere, 
 we have the following pressures for high tem- 
 peratures : 
 Atmospheres. Barometer. Temperatures. 
 
 1 . 29.8 . 212 
 
 2 . 59.6 . 250.3 
 4 . 119.2 . 293.4 
 8 . 238.4 . 343.6 
 
 The following table shews the elastic force 
 of the vapour of water in mercurial inches, 
 with the corresponding temperatures. 
 
 Temp. 
 
 32 
 
 55 
 
 65 
 
 75 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 100 
 
 120 
 
 140 
 
 160 
 
 180 
 
 Steam 
 
 siderable 
 
 effective 
 
 Elasticity. 
 0.20 
 0.42 
 0.63 
 0.86 
 1.01 
 1.36 
 1.86 
 3.30 
 5.77 
 9.60 
 15.16 
 
 Temp. 
 200 
 212 
 220 
 240 
 250 
 260 
 280 
 290 
 300 
 305 
 310 
 
 Elasticity. 
 
 . 23.60 
 
 30.00 
 
 35.54 
 
 51.70 
 
 61.90 
 
 72.30 
 
 101.90 
 
 120.15 
 
 139.70 
 
 150.56 
 
 161.30 
 
 has lately been employed in a con- 
 number of novel modes, as an 
 agent in the arts, A remarkable 
 
 employment of steam in charcoal making is 
 noticed under CHARCOAL. M. Yiolette, in a 
 paper communicated to the Academy of Sci- 
 ences in 1848, states that bread and biscuits 
 may be well baked by means of a current of 
 steam at a temperature of about 400 Fahren- 
 heit. He also thinks that the cooking of meat 
 may be effected by the same agent. The 
 extraction of wood vinegar (pyroligneous acid) 
 is another process which seems to come within 
 the same range ; and as the temperature of 
 the steam, and consequently the heat of the 
 whole process, may be regulated at pleasure, 
 it is thought that the acid may be extracted 
 without the empyreumatic oil which usually 
 accompanies it in the ordinary process. The 
 extraction of wood alcohol (pyroxylic spirit j 
 is attainable by the same means. The drying 
 of wood by highly -heated steam adds another 
 to the list of proposed uses. 
 
 STEAM-CARRIAGE. The application of 
 the steam-engine to the purpose of locomotion 
 upon railways, has been noticed elsewhere. 
 [RAILWAY.] In a steam-carriage for use upon 
 a common road, provision must be made for 
 passing over rough, soft, and constantly- 
 varying surfaces, and for surmounting accli- 
 vities of considerable steepness ; the machine 
 must be provided with a steering apparatus, 
 by which it may be guided with ease and cer- 
 tainty along the sinuosities of a common road 
 or street, among other vehicles, and round 
 sharp corners; the weight must be kept 
 within the smallest possible limits ; and the 
 machinery must be compacted within a small 
 space. 
 
 There were various attempts to construct 
 such machines in the last century ; but the 
 first invention which claims notice is that 
 patented in 1802 by Messrs. Trevithick and 
 Vivian, and shortly afterwards brought into 
 operation. Their carriage was mounted upon 
 four wheels ; the principal weight resting upon 
 the hind wheels, which were of large diameter, 
 while the fore wheels, which were used for guid- 
 ing the carriage, were small, and nearer together 
 than the others. The boiler and the steam - 
 cylinder were placed at the back of the hind 
 axle, and the cylinder was horizontal. The 
 carriage, shortly after the date of this patent, 
 was exhibited in London with sufficient suc- 
 cess to prove the practicability of the invention. 
 The inventors, however, soon gave up their 
 experiments on common-road locomotion, and 
 adapted their machinery to use upon a rail- 
 way. 
 
 For about twenty years after the experiments 
 of Trevithick, no steam carriages for common 
 roads were constructed; but when the im- 
 proved state of the turnpike-roads rendered 
 
1593 
 
 STEAM-CARRIAGE, 
 
 STEAM-ENGINE. 
 
 1594 
 
 steam-locomotion more practicable upon them, 
 steam- carriage projectors arose in rapid suc- 
 cession. Mr. Griffith's steam-carriage, pa- 
 tented in 1821, had the hoiler and machinery 
 suspended from the framework hy chains and 
 helical springs. Mr. David Gordon's machine, 
 patented in 1822, had its wheels surrounded 
 by cogs or projecting teeth. Another machine, 
 by the same inventor, had two long propellers 
 or legs, intended to obviate the supposed ten- 
 dency of wheels to slip, when ascending a 
 slope. Of others who have invented and 
 built steam- carriages between .1824 and the 
 present time, the names of Goldsworthy Gur- 
 ney, Burstall and Hill, W. H. James, Walter 
 Hancock, Summers and Ogle, Messrs. Heaton, 
 Dr. Church, Dance and Field, Squire and 
 Macerone, Scott Russell, Hills, and Sir James 
 Anderson, are the most prominent, although 
 many others have appeared upon the field. 
 Several of these inventors have produced 
 carriages capable of maintaining an average 
 speed of from ten to twelve miles per hour for 
 considerable distances, and a much more rapid 
 rate of motion for a short time ; and some 
 have succeeded in performing extensive jour- 
 neys with their steam-carriages. The greatest 
 amount of success yet attained was in a steam- 
 carriage constructed by Mr. Gurney, and 
 brought forward by Mr. Charles Dance, who 
 established a regular steam-conveyance be- 
 tween Gloucester and Cheltenham ; but com- 
 mercial failure has hitherto attended all these 
 attempts. 
 
 The forms of apparatus in these carriages 
 are of course various. As to the boiler, the 
 essential requisites are the power of generating 
 steam very rapidly; strength, to secure it 
 from explosion ; lightness ; and compactness. 
 A great number of contrivances have been 
 tried with the hope of accomplishing the 
 desired union of these qualities ; all of them 
 consisting either of small tubes, or of separate 
 chambers. The means adapted for producing 
 a strong draft in the fire are of two kinds ; 
 viz., by an air chamber, and by air-fans. 
 Many different arrangements have been 
 adopted for communicating the power of the 
 pistons to the wheels of the carriage; as 
 indeed is also the case in respect to railway 
 locomotives. The operation of steering is 
 usually performed by a hand wheel in the 
 fore-part of the carriage, giving motion, by 
 means of a rack and pinion, or a chain and 
 pulley, to the fore-axle. The Brake, by which 
 the motion of the steam-carriage may be 
 arrested when necessary, usually consists of 
 metallic bands, capable of being pressed 
 against either the nave or the periphery of 
 one or both of the hind- wheels. 
 
 STEAM-ENGINE. The earlier steam- 
 engines, even Captain Savery's, which was 
 long employed in this country, were only 
 pmnps for raising water; a partial vacuum 
 was formed in close vessels by the condensa- 
 tion of steam within them, and the atmospheric 
 pressure raised the water to a certain height, 
 whence it was forced higher by the elasticity 
 of the steam admitted to act on its surface. 
 
 The first steam-engine which formed the 
 connecting link between the steam-pumps and 
 the modern steam engines, was invented by 
 Newcomen (1705). It contained a cylinder 
 open at the upper end, fitted with a piston ; 
 and the upward movement of the piston was 
 occasioned by the pressure of steam beneath 
 it ; whereas the downward movement was 
 caused by the pressure of the air. Newcomen's 
 engine was successively improved upon by 
 Smeaton, Brindley, and other engineers, pre- 
 vious to Watt's time ; and from its intrinsic 
 merits it remained in general use under the 
 appropriate name of the Atmospheric Engine 
 during the greater part of the last century, 
 but was only used for pumping water. Its 
 guiding principle was, that the steam was 
 solely employed to produce a partial vacuum 
 by its condensation, its elastic force at high 
 temperatures not being made use of. 
 
 The first and most important of Watt's 
 improvements on the steam-engine consisted 
 in effecting the condensation in a separate 
 vessel, termed the Condenser, which commu- 
 nicated with the cylinder; whereas Newcomen 
 condensed his steam by a jet of cold water in 
 the cylinder itself. This condenser being 
 filled with steam from the boiler at the same 
 time with the cylinder, the jet of cold water, 
 admitted into the former only, effected the 
 condensation of the whole volume of steam, 
 both of that in the cylinder as well as of that 
 in the condenser. As the cylinder was thus 
 not coooled by a jet, a vast economy of heat 
 resulted. The second of Watt's improvements 
 consisted in closing the cylinder at top, the 
 piston-rod being made to pass steam-tight 
 through a cylindrical neck in that top, termed 
 a Stuffing-Box. The object of this alteration 
 was to admit of the elastic force of the steam 
 being employed to impel the piston downwards, 
 instead of simple atmospheric pressure. For 
 this purpose the steam was admitted from the 
 boiler above the piston at the same moment 
 the condensation took place in the condenser; 
 the steam-passage being made double for me 
 purpose, so that the communication with the 
 condenser could be cut off when that with the 
 cylinder was opened, alternately. Such is 
 the general principle of Watt's Single-Acting 
 Engine, which hence became a Steam-Engine, 
 
1595 
 
 STEAM-ENGINE. 
 
 STEAM-ENGINE. 
 
 1596 
 
 and was no longer an Atmospheric Engine ; 
 it became a Double-Acting Engine by removing 
 the counterpoise, and producing the upward 
 motion of the piston by admitting steam below 
 as well as above it. 
 
 The changes in the engine introduced by 
 Watt created the necessity for two pumps, 
 and commonly three, which are worked by 
 rods attached to the beam. The first of these 
 is the Hot-Water or Air-Pump, intended to 
 remove the air, condensed water, and steam 
 from the condenser, in which they Would 
 otherwise accumulate, and finally stop the 
 action ; the second is a Force-Pump, required 
 to return the water, drawn from the condenser 
 by the first, back to the boiler ; and the third, 
 termed the Cold-Water Pump, supplies the 
 cold-water cistern which contains the con- 
 denser. 
 
 In the mechanism of a steam-engine, the 
 Piston is one of the most important parts, as 
 it must be steam-tight, and yet work easily in 
 the cylinder. The better class of engines 
 have now usually what are called Metallic 
 Pistons, of which there are different lands, 
 invented by Cartwright, Jessop, Barton, and 
 others. The body of these pistons is metal, 
 made in pieces or segments, acted on by 
 springs radiating from a centre ; so that while 
 the friction is diminished by both surfaces 
 being metallic, the piston, owing to its con- 
 struction, can adapt itself to the irregularities 
 of the cylinder. The steam is admitted to the 
 cylinder by various ingenious contrivances, 
 among which the four-passage cock, the conical 
 valve, and the slide valve are the chief. For 
 the opening and shutting of the valves, an 
 Exccntric is now generally used; this is a 
 peculiar contrivance, worked from .the fly 
 wheel. This fly-wheel is necessary when the 
 engine is employed to drive machinery of any 
 kind ; it is a heavy wheel, whose weight tends 
 to equalize the motion of the beam and 
 piston. 
 
 When Watt substituted the elastic force of 
 steam for the pressure of the atmosphere, he 
 introduced a source of power which might be 
 increased to an indefinite extent, provided it 
 were found advantageous to employ it. Gene- 
 rally it is more advantageous to employ steam 
 of a comparatively high elastic force ; accord- 
 ingly the pressure was increased, in engines 
 constructed by Watt, from 4 to 8, or even 
 12 Ibs. on the inch. Modern boilers are so 
 skilfully made, that steam of 100 Ibs, on the 
 inch may frequently be safely used. In the 
 common engine, if the pressure on the piston 
 continue uniform during the stroke, as it 
 would do if the communication with the boiler 
 remained open, the piston would move with 
 
 an accelerating velocity till it arrived at: the 
 end of the cylinder, by which it would produce 
 mischief; hence the steam is cut off at a 
 particular stage in the descent; and when 
 the steam possesses considerable elastic force, 
 the communication with the boiler is cut off 
 sooner, and the piston is urged forward by 
 the expansive force of the steam, which, 
 although decreasing as the space increases, 
 is yet sufficient to carry the piston to the end 
 of the stroke. 
 
 Although the Condensing Engine is very 
 perfect and economises fuel, it is necessarily 
 heavy, and occupies considerable room. For 
 cases where the two last-named particulars 
 are of importance, the Non-Condensing Engine 
 was invented. A locomotive for railways is 
 the most important form of non-condensing 
 engine; but such engines are frequently 
 valuable for other purposes. Since the pumps 
 of the condensing-engine are dispensed with 
 in the non-condensing engine, the beam may 
 be so likewise ; and a still further simplification 
 results from an oscillating movement given 
 to the cylinder. Such engines are termed 
 Vibratory Engines, and are successfully used 
 where space must be economised, as with 
 marine engines. Non-Condensing Engines 
 are frequently termed High-Pressure Engines, 
 in contradistinction to Low-Pressure or Con- 
 densing Engines. 
 
 Marine Engines, cr those used for propelling 
 vessels, are in this country generally con- 
 densing engines, their situation admitting the 
 abundant use of cold water. The principal 
 peculiarity in the arrangement of the marine 
 engine is the position of the beam, which, for 
 the purpose of economising room, is placed 
 lower than the cylinder, and is double, there 
 being one on each side. In all vessels of any 
 magnitude, there are two engines complete, 
 so arranged, that while the rod and crank of 
 one are in their neutral position, those of the 
 other are in that of greatest effect. In steam- 
 vessels of smaller size, the direct action is 
 often used ; that is, the piston-rod turns the 
 shaft without the intervention of any beam. 
 In American steam-vessels the engines arc 
 frequently high-pressure. 
 
 Engineers have always been induced, by 
 the obvious advantage of a continuous over 
 an alternating motion, to aim at contriving a 
 steam-engine in which the steam should act 
 directly to produce such a motion. Watt 
 accordingly patented more than one of such 
 Rotatory Engines, and many others since have 
 from time to time brought forward arrange- 
 ments for the purpose ; but none have come 
 into permanent and general use. The fact is, 
 that the employment of steam in this way is 
 
15Q7 
 
 STEAM-HAMMEE. 
 
 STEAM VESSEL. 
 
 1598 
 
 productive of a greater waste of power, with a 
 greater increase of friction, than, can be com- 
 pensated by any real advantages. 
 
 The peculiarities of the Locomotive Enyine 
 are noticed under EAILWAY. 
 
 No part of a steam-engine exhibits more 
 variety, according to the purpose to which it 
 is to be applied, than the Boiler. Rapid gene- 
 ration of steam, security, compactness, and 
 lightness, must be aimed at in boilers for 
 marine or locomotive engines, even at the cost 
 of a comparative waste of fuel ; while for 
 those intended for pumping or driving machi- 
 nery, economy of fuel must be the paramount 
 object, the weight, form, and space occupied 
 by the boiler being secondary considerations. 
 As very large boilers are unsafe, it is custo- 
 mary to use two or more small boilers instead 
 of one large one ; and the principle, carried 
 to its limit, constitutes that of the Tubular 
 Boiler, in which, the steam is generated }n a 
 series of independent metal pipes of small 
 diameter, all communicating with a common 
 steam-chamber, or reservoir, itself small, and 
 strong enough to resist great pressures. The 
 safety valve is a contrivance for letting off 
 some of the steam from the boiler when the 
 elasticity is dangerously high, Gauges are 
 employed to measure the quantity of the 
 water, and the pressure of the steam in the 
 boiler. 
 
 Whenever the steam-engine is employed to 
 execute any work which is variable in its 
 quantity or intensity, there must be some 
 means of adjusting the force of the engine to 
 this varying resistance it has to overcome. 
 The object of that beautiful piece of mecha- 
 nism termed the Grovernor is to enable the 
 engine to regulate the supply of steam 
 admitted to the cylinder, or in other words to 
 adapt the force it has to transmit to the 
 resistance it has to overcome. In this appa- 
 ratus, two balls rotate round a common axis, 
 with a velocity depending on that of the fly- 
 wheel; if this velocity is great, the balls 
 diverge by virtue of the centrifugal force, and 
 this divergence is a means of partially closing 
 a valve, and lessening the amount of steani 
 which enters the cylinder. From different 
 causes the marine engine and the locomotive 
 do not require governors. 
 
 A museum of steam-engines would display 
 some of the highest results of human inge- 
 nuity ever manifested. Among the toys or 
 curiosities of such a museum might be placed 
 the tiny steam-engine, made by a mechanic of 
 Saddleworth, for the Great Exhibition, and 
 weighing only three-quarters of an ounce. 
 
 STEAM-HAMMEE. The steam-hammer 
 introduced by Mr. Nasmyth, economises 
 
 time and labour in a remarkable degree. It 
 is the most efficient and practical machine yet 
 invented for dealing heavy blows rapidly and 
 steadily. In anchor-making, in iron-forging, 
 and in pile-driving, its application is particu- 
 larly valuable. The mode of applying this 
 powerful machine to the purposes here in- 
 dicated, is briefly adverted to under ANCHOR, 
 IEON M4KTJFACTUE, and PILE ENGINE. An 
 American patent has more recently been ob- 
 tained by Mr. Kirk for another steam hammer, 
 in which the hammer has a long handle some- 
 thing like the beam of a steam engine, with a 
 fulcrum at the centre, and the hammer bead at 
 one end ; but we do not know whether this 
 invention has been practically worked. 
 
 A medium between a steam hammer and a 
 sledge hammer has been devised for the use 
 of blacksmiths, and called by the fanciful name 
 of the Blacksmith's Apprentice. The foot of the 
 blacksmith y>-orks the sledge hammer instead 
 of the apprentice or subordinate who assists 
 him. The foot presses on a treadle, the other 
 end of which has a chain which coils round a 
 horizontal barrel, to which barrel the sledge 
 hammer is attached ; the sizes of the different 
 parts are so regulated, that when the foot 
 presses dpwn the treadle, ihe hammer is 
 whirled round with considerable force upon 
 the anvil, leaving the hands of the workman free 
 to conduct subsidiary operations. 
 
 STEAM YES.SEL. Papin propose^ 4 
 kind of steam-boat, but made no attem.pt {,q 
 construct one ; and after his time several plans 
 for propelling boats by other means than oars 
 or sails were proposed and tried. At length, 
 in 1774, the Comte d'Auxiron, a French noble- 
 man of scientific attainments, constructed a 
 steam-boat, and tried it on the Seine, near 
 Paris. It appears that the engine had not 
 sufficient power to move the wheels efficiently ; 
 an error which was also observable in con- 
 trivances brought forward shortly afterwards 
 by Pei^er and, others. The Marquis de Jouf- 
 froy tried a steam-boat of considerable dimen- 
 sions on the Saone, in 1782: }t had a single 
 paddle-wheel on each side, and the machinery 
 appears to have been constructed with sorne 
 skill, though it was not sufficiently strong. M. 
 des Blancs in 179C formed a boat whicli was 
 propelled by means of paddles or float-boards 
 attached to an endless chain stretched over 
 two wheels projecting from each side of the 
 vessel. In America an inventor named Fitch 
 succeeded as early as 1783 in moving a boat 
 on the Delaware by means of paddles (not 
 paddle-wheels) set in motion by a steam- 
 engine. In 1787 Eumsey made some short 
 voyages on the Potomac, with a boat about 
 fifty feet long, propelled by the reaction of a 
 
1599 
 
 STEAM VESSEL. 
 
 STEAM VESSEL. 
 
 1600 
 
 stream of water drawn in at the bow and force 
 out at the stern by means of a pump worke 
 by a steam-engine. 
 
 While Fitch and Rumsey were making their 
 experiments in America, other experiment 
 were in progress in Scotland, which tendec 
 more than any previous trials, to the usefu 
 application of steam to the purpose of pro 
 pelling vessels. Mr. Miller, of Dalswinton 
 Mr. James Taylor, and Mr. Symington, were 
 the three persons who had most to do with 
 this important improvement. A very smal 
 steam-boat was constructed -by them in 1788 
 and one constructed larger in 1789. In 1801 
 Symington commenced a satisfactory series o: 
 experiments on steam navigation, under the 
 auspices of Lord Dundas. The object imme 
 diately aimed at was the introduction of tug 
 boats instead of horses for drawing boats upon 
 canals. After several minor trials, one of the 
 boats built on this occasion by Symington 
 drew, on the Forth and Clyde Canal, in 1802 
 two loaded vessels, each of seventy tons 
 burden. 
 
 Among the numerous individuals who in- 
 spected Symington's vessel with interest was 
 Fulton. After various minor attempts, Fulton 
 procured, in conjunction with Mr. Livingstone, 
 a patent in America for steam navigation, 
 about the year 1805. He built a steam-vessel 
 at New York, and launched it in the spring of 
 1807. It made its first voyage from New York 
 to Albany, 145 miles, at the rate of five miles 
 an hour. The dimensions of the boat, which 
 was of 160 tons burden, were 133 feet long, 
 18 feet wide, and 7 feet deep. Her cylinder was 
 two feet in diameter, and of four feet stroke ; 
 and the paddle-wheels were fifteen feet in 
 diameter, with paddles four feet long, dipping 
 two feet into the water. Meanwhile Mr. 
 Stevens, of Hoboken, near New York, intro- 
 duced steam-boats on the Delaware, and made 
 such improvements in the form of the vessels 
 as to enable him to obtain a speed of thirteen 
 miles an hour. Steam navigation thus be- 
 came finally established in America. 
 
 Henry Bell, of Helensburgh, on the Clyde, 
 was the individual by whom steam-vessels 
 were first used in Britain for commercial 
 purposes. He built a small steam-vessel 
 called the Comet, of forty feet keel and ten and 
 a half feet beam ; and of about twenty-five 
 tons burden, and three-horse power. The 
 boiler was placed on one side of the vessel, 
 and the funnel or chimney, was bent so as to 
 rise in the centre of the vessel, where it served 
 the purpose of a mast for carrying sail. A 
 single cylinder was used impelling a cranked 
 axle which carried a large toothed wheel; and 
 this wheel, working into two others fixed upon 
 
 the axles of the paddles, caused them to re- 
 volve. Two paddle-wheels, or rather two sets 
 of revolving paddles, each consisting of four 
 paddles of a form resembling malt-shovels, 
 were used on each side of the vessel. The 
 Comet began to run regularly between Glasgow 
 and Helensburgh, in January, 1812, and con- 
 tinued to ply successfully during the following 
 summer ; her rate of motion was about five 
 miles an hour. Improvements were soon 
 found advisable, and Bell soon abandoned 
 the peculiar arrangement of paddles by which 
 his first experiment was distinguished, and 
 adopted complete paddle-wheels. This in- 
 teresting little steamer is further noticed under 
 CLYDE. From that time to the present nume- 
 rous experiments and an uninterrupted suc- 
 cession of improvements have brought steam- 
 navigation to its present high state of per- 
 fection. 
 
 The proportions of steam- vessels were, 
 originally, like those of sailing-vessels, short 
 and full, their length being only about three 
 or four times their breadth; while now the 
 3roportion of six breadths to the length is 
 common in the best sea-going steam-vessels, 
 and many of the fast river boats are still longer, 
 
 ranging in length from seven to ten times 
 heir width. In America the proportion of 
 ength to breadth is sometimes made even 
 greater than as ten to one ; and boats have 
 een built, the length of which is twelve times 
 heir breadth. In larger steamers, the depth 
 >f the hull bears a greater ratio to the width 
 ban in smaller vessels. Different steam- 
 essel builders adopt very different forms, ac- 
 ording as they wish to obtain a roomy, a safe, 
 >r a swift boat ; at the present day swiftness is 
 egarded as almost an indispensable quality. 
 
 One of the important questions which has 
 f late years attracted much attention in con- 
 Lection with steam navigation, is that of the 
 omparative advantages of iron and wood as 
 
 materials for steam-vessels. Small vessels of 
 ron have for many years past been used for 
 
 river and canal navigation ; and recently steam 
 essels of considerable size have been built of 
 tie same material. Although different opi- 
 ions prevail as to the relative advantages of 
 tie two materials, it is certain that, owing to 
 le superior strength of iron, and its power of 
 earing strain in any direction, an iron vessel 
 
 may be made much lighter than one of wood 
 f equal strength ; the saving of weight being 
 ometimes estimated at one half. Another 
 reat advantage of iron consists in the facility 
 
 with which it may be formed into any shape. 
 
 In iron hull is also superior to one of wood 
 
 n its security from fire and its greater cleanli- 
 ess. Steam-vessels may be greatly strengthened 
 
1601 
 
 STEAM VESSEL. 
 
 STEEL ENGRAVING. 
 
 1602 
 
 by means of water tight bulk heads or trans- 
 verse partitions in the hull, the adoption of 
 which is becoming very general in large 
 steamers. 
 
 As an ample supply of cold water can al- 
 ways be commanded for the purpose of con- 
 densation, there is not much inducement for 
 the use of high-pressure steam in marine en- 
 gines ; and this circumstance, with the unfa- 
 vourable opinion generally entertained as to 
 the safety of high pressure boilers, has led to 
 the almost universal adoption of low-pressure, 
 or condensing engines, in European steam- 
 vessels ; although many of the steamers of 
 North America are worked at a pressure of 
 140 Ibs. to an inch, or even more. The kind 
 of marine engine most commonly used in this 
 country, is the sde-lever engine, where two 
 distinct engines work separate cranks upon 
 the same axle; but the steeple-engine, and 
 other forms, are occasionally employed. The 
 means adopted for condensing the steam is a 
 matter of great importance in sea-going 
 steamers. The most effectual method of con- 
 densation is by the injection of cold water into 
 the condenser, or by causing it to fall in a thin 
 sheet, to which the steam is exposed. "When 
 sea water is used for this purpose, an incrus- 
 tation of salt forms inside the boiler, produc- 
 tive of much mischief. This evil can only be 
 avoided by the use of fresh water in the boilers 
 and condenser, and allowing the salt water to 
 act only on the outside of the condenser. 
 Hall's Condenser and Howard's Vapour- 
 Engine are two methods of attaining this ob- 
 ject ; but neither of them has fully realised its 
 intended purpose. 
 
 Notwithstanding the defects commonly im- 
 puted to it, and the great number of contri- 
 vances which have been devised for avoiding 
 them, the common Paddle Wheel continues to 
 be the chief means of propulsion used. It 
 consists of a number of flat boards, called 
 Soat-boards or paddles, bolted to the radii or 
 arms of a light but strong iron wheel, which 
 is fixed securely upon the crank axis of the 
 engine ; and it should be so placed that the 
 lowest float-board is entirely immersed in the 
 water. Several improvements upon the com- 
 mon paddle-wheel have been introduced, 
 which tend to diminish the defects attributed 
 to it. 
 
 The substitution of the screw for the paddle 
 tvhecl, is noticed under SCEEW PROPELLER. 
 
 Sub-marine Steam Navigation has more 
 than once attracted the attention of inventors. 
 Dr. Payerne, whose contrivances in relation 
 to sub-marine descent, are noticed under 
 DIVING BELL, has lately (1851) formed a 
 screw steamer which (according to the account 
 
 given) will work at any depth down to 150 
 feet below the surface of the water ; while the 
 contained air is rendered respirable by chemi- 
 cal means. The invention is said to be under 
 examination by some of the savans of France ; 
 if there is anything important or valuable in 
 it, we shall soon hear more concerning it in 
 England. 
 
 The steam ships of Great Britain now 
 amount to a formidable number. Those 
 which were registered at all the ports in the 
 United Kingdom on Dec. 31, 1850, were : 
 
 Vessels. Tons. 
 
 Under 50 tons 520 . . 12,885 
 
 50 tons and above .658 . . 154,327 
 The steam vessels that left and entered Brit- 
 ish ports, to and from foreign ports, in 1850, 
 were as follow : 
 
 Inwards. Outwards. 
 
 England 10,782 .. 10,447 
 
 Scotland 4,467 .. 4,603 
 
 Ireland 4,340 .. 4,534 
 
 Isle of Man... 225 .. 172 
 
 19,814 19,756 
 
 These numbers include the repeated voyages 
 of each vessel. Besides the above, 399 steam- 
 ers arrived from, and 369 started for, the 
 British colonies in the same year. Eighteen 
 timber steamers, and fifty iron steamers, were 
 built and registered at British ports during 
 the same year. 
 
 STEAEIG ACID ; STEAEIN. Stearic 
 acid is procured from stearin by the action of 
 potash and hydrochloric acid. It has the 
 form of brilliant white scaly crystals ; it is in- 
 odorous, tasteless, insoluble in water. It melts 
 at about 158 of Fahrenheit, and on cooling 
 it forms a crystalline mass. It is volatile, and 
 may be distilled unaltered in close vessels. In 
 the air it burns like wax. Stearic Acid, be- 
 sides its use in the manufacture of soap, is 
 now very largely employed in the making of 
 candles. Stearin is the harder portion of 
 animal fats ; Olein, or Elain, being the softer 
 part. Stearin has a pearly lustre, is soft to 
 the touch, but not greasy ; it melts at about 
 140 to 145 Fahrenheit ; and, on cooling, 
 solidifies into a mass like wax, which is not 
 crystalline in its texture, and is reducible to 
 powder. Stearin is the chief and most impor- 
 tant ingredient of the harder kinds of fat, and 
 the harder they are the more they contain. 
 It is separable into two different principles, 
 namely, stearic acid and glycerin. 
 
 STEEL ENGKAVING-, The comparative 
 softness of copper occasions copper plates to 
 wear so rapidly in the process of printing, that 
 the beauty of the engraving is very soon im- 
 paired, and it is impossible to produce from a 
 
1603 
 
 STEEL ENGRAVING. 
 
 single plate, a sufficient number of impres- 
 sions for the illustration of books of large 
 circulation. The use of steel plates for dimin- 
 ishing this inconvenience, although not exten- 
 sively resorted to until within the last thirty 
 years, is a measure of which the possibility 
 was conceived at an early period, but which 
 was first put into practice about thirty years 
 ago, in the attempts to protect the Bank of 
 England notes from forgery. 
 
 In Messrs. Perkins and Heath's method of 
 steel engraving (which has been the basis of 
 all recent modes of producing large numbers 
 of copies), the engraving is executed upon a 
 plate or block of cast steel, the surface of 
 which has been decarbonised or softened by 
 a careful application of heat. On the plate 
 thus softened the engraving is effected with 
 facility ; and, when it is completed, the hard- 
 ness of the surface is restored by exposing 
 the pla.te for some hours to a red heat, the 
 surface being thickly covered with animal 
 charcoal, formed of burnt leather or bones, 
 and the whole being, a.s before, enclosed in a 
 cast iron box. The plate is afterwards cooled 
 and retempered in a veiy careful manner. 
 From this hardened plate the engraving is 
 transferred to a softened steel roller, of small 
 diameter, which is pressed against the plate 
 with such, force that its surface becomes em- 
 bossed w^th a perfect transfer or impression 
 of the engraved device. The roller or cylinder 
 is then hardened in a similar manner to the 
 original plate, and is afterwards made to 
 transfer the devices from its surface to any 
 required number of softened or decarbonised 
 plates, which are then hardened for printing 
 from. This beautiful process is not only ap- 
 plicable to transferring engravings from one 
 plate to another ; but, in cases where one 
 ornament has to be repeated several times on 
 one plate, the device niay, by being once en- 
 graved, be impressed as often as necessary 
 upon different parts of the same plate. The 
 power of multiplication is, for all practical 
 purposes, unlimited. It is by such a process 
 th$t the postage stamps are produced, millions 
 of impressions being obtained from only one 
 originally engraved plate. The perfection 
 which has been reached is almost beyond con- 
 ception ; the finest writing, and the most 
 minute and intricate patterns, being trans- 
 ferred from plate to plate with such precision 
 that the keenest scrutiny cannot detect a dif- 
 ference between the original and the transfer. 
 The. plan has been, much used fpr country 
 bank-notes and similar purposes. 
 
 The application of steel engraving to works 
 of fine art is, in a great measure, due to the 
 late Mr. Charles Warren. In this method, 
 
 STEEL MANUFACTURE. 1604 
 
 the steel is, softened to receive the graver, 
 and is printed from in this softened state. 
 The surface of a steel plate is not polished 
 very highly, and in applying etching ground 
 to it, the plate is not heated quite so much as 
 is usual with copper. In the application of 
 steel engraving to matters of fine art, the ac- 
 complishment of mezzotinting upon steel 
 plates is one of the most important points, 
 as the wear of copper plates engraved in this 
 manner is very rapid. 
 
 The cost of engraving upon steel is consi- 
 derably greater than that of engraving upon 
 copper ; yet, as steel plates afford so many 
 more impressions than copper, they enable 
 the publisher, by calculating his returns upon 
 a large instead of a small number, to issue 
 works of art at so low $ price as to ensure a 
 very wide circulation. 
 
 STEEL MANUFACTURE. Iron possesses 
 many qualities which render it applicable to 
 innumerable purposes in the arts ; but there 
 are some uses for which it is not sufficiently 
 hard, and this defect is supplied by converting 
 it into steel. Steel is an intimate compound 
 of iron and charcoal or carbon. There is car- 
 bon in soft iron, but in steel it appears to be 
 in more intimate union with the metal. 
 
 Hitherto Swedish and Russian bar-iron 
 have been exclusively employed in the manu- 
 facture of the best steel. The preference given 
 to this iron is decided, though from what 
 cause it arises has not been satisfactorily 
 made out. We may however remark, that the 
 foreign iron used is made from magnetic iron 
 ore with charcoal ; while British iron is ob- 
 tained mostly from the impure carbonate of 
 iron, or from peroxide of iron, and both of 
 these are reduced by employing coal or coke. 
 Bar -steel is made, with few exceptions, from 
 the Swedish and Russian iron, the bars of 
 which are marked Hoop L, G L, and Double 
 Bullet, which are the best kinds. Iron of 
 lower quality is also used, both Russian and 
 Swedish, each kind having its peculiar mark. 
 These steel irons are imported almost exclu- 
 sively by English merchants residing in Hull. 
 The limited quantity of the fine iron allowed 
 to be produced from the mines of Danemora 
 in Sweden accounts in some degree for the 
 high price at which they are sold. The quan- 
 tity of iron imported into this country for the 
 manufacture of steel is estimated at 12,000 to 
 15,000 tons annually, of which at least 0000 
 come from Sweden. 
 
 The usual operation in manufacturing stceJ 
 is first to cut the bar iron into certain lengths; 
 leaving room in the vessels for the expansion 
 of the iron. The closed vessels in which the 
 bars are heated are usually twelve feet in 
 
1005 STEEL MANUFACTURE. 
 
 length, and divided into two pots or troughs, 
 on the hottom of which the workman strews 
 charcoal to the thickness of about an inch, 
 and upon this he places on their flat side a 
 layer of bars ; then about three fourths of an 
 inch more of charcoal is added, and upoij. this 
 he places another layer of bars, and so on till 
 the troughs are filled ; these are then covered 
 with a ferruginous earth coming from the 
 Sheffield grinding stones, called wheelswharf^ 
 to the thickness of about eight inches. All 
 the apertures of the furnace are closed with 
 loose bricks and plastered over with fire-clay. 
 The fire is then lighted, and in four days and 
 nights the furnace is at its full heat, at which 
 it is kept for several days, according to the 
 degree of hardness required. In order to be 
 able to test the progress of the carbonisation, 
 a hole is left in one of the pots near the cen- 
 tre, and three or four bars are placed in the 
 furnace in such a manner, that the ends come 
 through this opening, and after the sixth day 
 one is pulled out. If the iron be then not 
 sufficiently carbonised, the heating is con- 
 tinued from two to four days longer ; a bar is 
 drawn every two days, and when the iron is 
 completely converted, the fire is heaped up 
 with small coal, and the furnace is left to burn 
 out and it requires from this period fourteen 
 days' time to cool sufficiently tp allow a per 
 son to go in and discharge the steel. A con- 
 verting furnace, as it is called, contains gene- 
 rally fifteen tons of iron ; and there ^,re some 
 large enough to hold eighteen to twenty tons 
 The bar -steel, when discharged from the fur 
 nace, is partially covered with small raisec 
 portions of the metal ; and from the resem 
 blance of these to blisters, the steel is callec 
 blistered steel. The degree of conversion pro 
 duced depends upon the purpose to which the 
 steel is to be applied. 
 
 Bar steel as it comes from the converting 
 furnace is used for various purposes withou 
 refining. Those parts which are free from 
 flaws and blisters are broken out and ham 
 mered or rolled to the sizes required by tli 
 manufacturer for files, edge tools, table knive 
 and forks, coach-springs, and a great variet; 
 of common agricultural implements. It i 
 also manufactured into what is called shee 
 steel, which is more homogeneous, tougher 
 and capable of receiving a finer edge, thanba 
 steel, which is converted into sheer steel b 
 repeated heating, hammering, and welding. 
 
 The cast steel is comparatively a recent in 
 vention ; but it is gradually superseding th 
 use of bar and sheer steel, on account of th 
 equality of its temper, and the superior qus 
 lity as well as beauty of the articles which ar 
 made of it. The process adopted is that 
 
 STEEL MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1000 
 
 iking bar steel converted to a certain degree 
 f hardness, and breaking it into pieces of 
 bout a pound each ; a crucible charged, with 
 ese is placed in a melting-furnace, similar 
 Q those which are used by brass founders. 
 he furnaces are 20 inches long by 16 inches 
 wide, and 3 feet deep. The most intense heat 
 kept up for two or three hours, coke being 
 sed as fuel. When the furnace requires 
 ceding, the workman takes the opportunity of 
 fting the lid of each crucible and judging how 
 ng the charge of each will be before it is 
 ompletely melted. All the crucibles are 
 sually ready about the same time. They are 
 ,aken out of the furpace, and the liquid steel 
 > poured into ingots of the shape and size 
 equired. This is considered, we believe, the 
 nost fearful process which British manufac- 
 tures present, in respect to the fierce heat to 
 rhich the workmen are exposed : the steel is 
 n a perfectly liquid state in the crucibles, 
 'he crucibles are immediately returned into 
 le furnace ; and when the contents of all have 
 een poured into the moulds, the crucibles 
 are again charged. They are used three times, 
 and then rejected as useless. The ingots are 
 aken to the forge tilt or rolling mill, and 
 lammered into bars or rolled into sheets as 
 nay be required. The celebrated Wootz, or 
 Indian steel, is cast steel ; but it is frequently 
 o imperfect as to resemble cast iron rather 
 ban cast steel. It is however made of iron 
 >btained, as the Swedish is, from the magnetic 
 re. Wootz is made by the natives from mal- 
 eable iron, packed in small bits with wood in 
 crucibles, which are then covered with some 
 green leaves and clay : about two dozen of 
 these crucibles are packed in one furnace ; 
 hey are covered with fuel, and a blast given 
 for about two hours and a half, which termi- 
 nates the operation. When the crucibles are 
 cold, they are broken, and small cakes of steel 
 are obtained in the form in which it is brought 
 to England. 
 
 Steel is of a lighter gray colour than iron, 
 so characteristic as to be described as a steel- 
 gray. It is susceptible of receiving a very high 
 polish, and this is greater as the grain is finer. 
 Steel is about eight times as heavy as water. 
 When steel is heated to redness and slowly 
 cooled, it is scarcely harder than iron ; but by 
 very rapid cooling it becomes hard, and so 
 brittle as to be readily broken. The fracture 
 of steel is usually fine grained ; in ductility 
 and malleability it is much inferior to iron, 
 but exceeds it greatly in elasticity and sono- 
 rousness. It may be subjected to a full red 
 heat, or 2786 Fahr., without melting, and is 
 therefore less fusible than cast iron, but much 
 more so than wrought iron. Pieces of steel 
 
1607 
 
 STEELYARD. 
 
 STEREOTYPE. 
 
 1608 
 
 which have not been cast may be readily 
 welded together or with iron : but after cast- 
 ing the operation is more difficult. Steel does 
 not acquire magnetic polarity so readily as 
 iron, but retains it much longer ; by exposure 
 however to a moderate degree of heat this 
 power is lost. ' 
 
 In order to give to steel the different degrees 
 of hardness required for the various purposes 
 to which it is applied, it is subjected to the 
 process of what is called Tempering. It is 
 found that the higher the temperature to which 
 it is raised, and the more sudden the cooling, 
 the greater is the hardness produced. The 
 steel is usually immersed in a bath of mer- 
 cury or of oil, having a temperature varying 
 from 430 to 600. .Captain Kater found that 
 212, or the heat of boiling water, was the 
 exact point at which the knife edges attached 
 to a pendulum were properly tempered. Case- 
 hardening is the operation by which articles 
 made of malleable iron or cast iron are super- 
 ficially converted into steel by heating them 
 with charcoal in a crucible. 
 
 With respect to the composition of steel 
 and the nature of the admixture requisite to 
 constitute it, differences of opinion have long 
 existed, and the question even now is consi- 
 dered 7 some as hardly decided, whether 
 carbon is indispensably necessary to its for- 
 mation, and whether certain substances or 
 metals, especially silicon, may not give rise *^ 
 it. All steel contains a little silicon and ph(^ 
 phorus as well as carbon. Mr. Faraday anJ 
 Mr. Stodart published in the * Phil. Trans.' 
 for 1822 a valuable series of experiments on 
 alloys of steel, from which it appears that by 
 combining steel with other metals its quality 
 is unproved. A very minute addition was 
 found sufficient to produce a good effect : thus 
 one 500th of silver gave an alloy harder than 
 cast steel ; one 100th of nickel gave a very 
 hard alloy, susceptible of a fine polish : alloys 
 of rhodium and platinum were also formed ; 
 and these, with the alloys of iridium, osmium, 
 and palladium, formed the most valuable com- 
 pounds. 
 
 STEELYARD. The most common kind 
 of steelyard, which is often called the Roman 
 Balance, is used by suspending the article to 
 be weighed from the end of the shorter arm, 
 or placing it in a scale-dish from thence sus- 
 pended, and sliding a determinate weight 
 along the longer arm until the instrument 
 remains in equlibrium in an horizontal posi- 
 tion ; the weight of the substance attached to 
 the short arm of the lever being indicated by 
 observing the position of the moveable balance 
 weight with respect to a graduated scale marked 
 upon the long arm of the steelyard. Many 
 
 steelyards are supplied with a second fulcrum, 
 the two being placed at different distances 
 from the point to which the hook or scale is 
 attached, and having then: respective pointers 
 and suspending hooks on opposite sides of 
 the lever ; one is used for light weights and 
 one for heavy. 
 
 Various modifications of the steelyard have 
 been contrived for delicate scientific purposes, 
 or for adapting it to the purpose of weighing 
 very heavy bodies. Several ingenious bent- 
 lever balances have been contrived, some of 
 whichj from the circumstance of the levers 
 being of unequal arms, resemble the steelyard 
 in principle. These, and the steelyard weigh- 
 ing machines for ascertaining the weight of 
 loaded carriages, are noticed under WEIGHING 
 MACHINE. The balance known as the Danish 
 or Swedish steelyard differs from that above 
 described in having the weight fixed at one 
 extremity of the lever, while the fulcrum it- 
 self is moveable. The portable weighing ma- 
 chine, called the spring or pocket steelyard is 
 noticed under SPRING BALANCE. 
 
 STENCILLING. [PAPER HANGING.] 
 STEREOTYPE. Stereotype Printing is 
 printing from cast plates of type-metal instead 
 of moveable letters or types. It was first 
 adopted by William Ged, a goldsmith of Edin- 
 burgh, about 1725 ; but his method fell into 
 disuse. About the year 1780, Mr. Tilloch and 
 Mr. Foulis introduced further improvements. 
 Towards the latter end of the ] 8th century, 
 many projects were brought forward in France 
 'or multiplying engraved blocks or forms of 
 ;ype by processes more or less resembling 
 that of stereotyping, under the names of poly- 
 ype, stereotype, &c. In some of these the 
 brm was imitated by striking upon a mass of 
 soft metal, in the way described under CLICHEE. 
 Some of the early experiments of Senefelcler, 
 the inventor of lithography, were directed to 
 the discovery of a means of stereotyping by 
 which he might be enabled to print his own 
 works with a very small stock of type. He 
 formed a composition of clay, fine sand, flour, 
 and pulverised charcoal, mixed with a little 
 water, and kneaded as stiff as possible ; and 
 with this paste he made a mould from a page 
 of type, which became, in a quarter of an hour, 
 so hard that he could take a very perfect cast 
 from it in melted sealing-wax, by means of 
 a hand-press. He states that, by mixing a 
 little pulverised plaster of paris with the seal- 
 ing wax, the stereotype plates thus produced 
 were much harder than the common type 
 metal of lead and antimony. Professor Wil- 
 son, of Glasgow, in 1797, devised a method of 
 multiplying engraved blocks or plates by 
 stereotype or rather polytype impressions in 
 
1609 
 
 STEREOTYPE. 
 
 STEREOTYPE. 
 
 1610 
 
 glass or enamel, which, it was anticipated 
 would prove very durable, and might be ap- 
 plied with advantage to the prevention of 
 forgery. The revival and introduction into 
 common use of the stereotyping process is 
 in a great measure, due to the exertions of the 
 late Earl Stanhope, about the commencement 
 of the present century; the earl assisted with 
 his counsel and purse many of those Avho were 
 at that time engaged on the subject; and 
 stereotype printing became firmly established 
 about 1809. 
 
 In setting up a form intended for stereo- 
 typing from, the spaces, or short pieces of 
 metal by which the words are separated from 
 each other, and the quadrats, or larger spaces 
 by which blank lines are filled up, are cast 
 higher than usual. The types are set up and 
 formed into pages in the usual manner, with 
 the illustrative wood cuts, if there be any ; but 
 instead of these pages being arranged into a 
 form of sufficient size to print a whole sheet, 
 each page, if large, or every two or four pages, 
 if small, is separately locked up in a small 
 frame or chase; the pages being surrounded 
 by fillets of wood or metal, which serve in the 
 cast to form a border for attaching the plate 
 to its mount. The face of the types is then 
 moistened with oil, to prevent the mould from 
 adhering to them. A. brass frame rather 
 larger than the page is laid upon the chase, in 
 order to retain the plaster while in a fluid 
 state, and to regulate the thickness of the 
 mould. The plaster is then poured on the 
 types, and it soon sets into a solid mass, which 
 must be removed from the types with great 
 care, and trimmed on the edges with a knife. 
 The plaster moulds are, in the next place, 
 baked in an oven heated to about 400 Fahr., 
 until they are thoroughly dry and hard. They 
 are placed upright in a rack, and are usually 
 dried in about two hours. Great care is re- 
 quired in this process, especially when the 
 moulds are large, to prevent them from warp- 
 ing. 
 
 After being baked, the mould is placed, with 
 its face downwards, upon a smooth plate of 
 iron, called a floating plate, which lies at the 
 bottom of a cast-iron box rather larger than 
 the mould. The box is then covered in by a 
 lid, the under surface of which is made per- 
 fectly flat, and which has the corners cut off 
 to allow the melted metal to enter the box. 
 The cover is firmly held down by a screw, 
 which is attached to an apparatus by which 
 the box is suspended from a crane. It should 
 be observed that the casting box and plate 
 are heated to the same temperature as the 
 mould before, it is inserted. The box is then 
 swung by the crane over the metal pit, which 
 
 is an open iron vessel containing a large 
 quantity of melted metal, resembling in its 
 composition that used for casting types ; and 
 it is lowered into the metal in a nearly hori- 
 zontal position, being a very little inclined, to 
 facilitate the escape of air from the mould 
 and box. The melted metal runs in at the 
 corners of the box ; and by its greater specific 
 gravity, floats up the plate with the mould, 
 forcing the latter tightly against the lid of the 
 box. By this contrivance the metal is forced 
 by hydrostatic pressure into every part of the 
 mould, in the margin of which notches are. 
 cut to allow free passage for the metal between 
 it and the floating plate. After remaining 
 immersed in the metal for about ten minutes, 
 the box is gently raised, and removed by the 
 crane to a trough in which its lower part is 
 rapidly cooled by contact with cold water. 
 While the box is cooling, the caster pours in 
 a little metal at the corners, to fill the space 
 left by the contraction of the metal, and so to 
 keep up the necessary pressure upon the cast. 
 When cold, the contents of the box are re- 
 moved in a mass, from which the superfluous 
 metal is broken off by blows from a mallet. 
 The plaster mould is then broken away from 
 the cast, the face of which is a fac-simile of 
 the types and engravings from which the 
 mould was taken. As the mould is destroyed 
 by this process, it is necessary, when several 
 stereotype plates of the same page are re- 
 quired, to take a distinct plaster mould for 
 ach. 
 
 The above is the mode of casting usually 
 practised in England ; but various modifica- 
 tions of the processes have been brought into 
 use in Edinburgh and elsewhere. 
 
 Stereotype plates need careful examination 
 and. picking, to remove the imperfections in 
 the casting. Small hollows, such as the loops 
 of an a, an e, or an o, are liable to be filled up 
 with metal, owing to blebs of air in the mould, 
 and the fine white lines in wood-engravings 
 are sometimes filled up. Such matters should 
 >e corrected by the picker, who should also 
 ;ut down, with suitable tools, such blank 
 spaces as might be liable to soil in printing. 
 Before printing also, defective letters or words 
 which cannot be corrected by the picker should 
 e cut away, and types inserted in their place. 
 These types are soldered into holes drilled 
 hrough the plate ; their stems being sawn off 
 lush with the back. 
 
 Although the plates are cast of as equal a 
 .hickness as possible, they require, before 
 orinting from, to be accurately flattened at 
 ;he back by means of a peculiar kind of lathe, 
 n which a steel cutter, or knife, mounted in 
 a slide-rest, shaves off the metal from the 
 
10] 1 
 
 STILL. 
 
 STOCKHOLM. 
 
 10.12 
 
 back of the plate in concentric circles, unti] 
 it 13 made perfectly even. They are then 
 mounted upon blocks of wood or metal, to 
 raise them to the same height as cpmrnon 
 types. The tendency of wood to warp when 
 exposed to changes of temperature, or to oc- 
 casional wetting, has led to many projects for 
 mounting stereotype plates upon blocks of 
 cement or upon metallic mounts which might 
 be applicable to plates of various sizes. When 
 wooden blocks are, used, the plates are usually 
 secured to them by clips at the edges, and 
 sometimes by screws. 
 
 The process of stereotyping is one of the 
 most important means by which the produc- 
 tion of cheap books has been facilitated of 
 late years. For a work of limited and tempo- 
 rary demand it is unnecessary ; but where the 
 demand is very great, and likely to last for 
 several years, it is all-important, since it enables 
 the publisher not only to provide for the regu- 
 lar sales, but also to meet, on short notice, ex- 
 traordinary demands for the work caused by 
 peculiar circumstances, without the expense of 
 having a very large edition printed at once. In 
 most cases where the demand is uncertain, and 
 in almost all where the demand is sure to be 
 large, it is desirable to resort to stereotyping, 
 because, although it increases the first cost of 
 production, it enables the publisher to avoid, on 
 the one hand, the risk of printing a great num- 
 ber of copies which may prove unsaleable, and, 
 on the other, the outlay necessary for the re- 
 composition of the types, in case the demand 
 should exceed the number of copies first 
 printed. 
 
 STILL. [DISTILLATION.] 
 
 STIRLINGSHIRE. That part of this 
 county which skirts the Lennox Hills to the 
 south and east, belongs to the coal district of 
 Central Scotland, and yields coal, ironstone, 
 freestone, and limestone, in considerable 
 quantity. The Great Canal, which connects 
 the Forth and the Clyde, has part of its course 
 in this county ; by this canal the manufactures 
 of Glasgow are conveyed to the eastern parts 
 of the island, and goods of various kinds 
 conveyed back. The Edinburgh and Glasgow 
 Union Canal, the Edinburgh and Glasgow 
 Railway, and the Scottish Central Railway 
 cross the county, giving access to it from all 
 sides. 
 
 In the highland district there are above 
 4000 acres of natural woods or plantations, 
 the latter being "chiefly of oak and larch. The 
 eastern part of the county is the most fertile, 
 and, in an agricultural point of view, the most 
 important. It comprehends the carse or val- 
 ley of the Forth below Stirling, the soil of 
 which consists principally of a bluish clay 
 
 mixed with. sand. There is here comparatively 
 little waste land; the soil is almost wholly 
 occupied in tillage or in plantations ; and the 
 greater facility for obtaining manure which the 
 navigation of the Forth affords has tended to 
 the improvement of agriculture. 
 
 Stirlingshire contains several manufacturing 
 towns. Alva has manufactures of tartans and 
 blankets. Near BalJ'ron is a large cotton-ma- 
 nufactory. Carronshore is near the Carron 
 Iron Works, which are among the largest in 
 Europe. There are 4 or 5 blast ov smelting 
 furnaces, 4 or 5 cupola furnaces, and about 
 20 air furnaces ; besides mills for grinding 
 fire-clay, boring cylinders, grinding and polish- 
 ing the metal, &c. The goods manufactured 
 are machinery, agricultural instruments, and 
 warlike implements, as cannon, carrouades 
 (which take their name from this placej, mor- 
 tars, shot, and shells. There is abundance of 
 coal in the neighbourhood, but the ironstone 
 and limestone are chiefly brought from a dis- 
 tance. Vessels of 150 tons burthen come up 
 to the village. About 2000 persons are em- 
 ployed at the iron works. Falklrk is chiefly 
 indebted for its prosperity to an extensive in- 
 land trade, and to the iron works, canals, and 
 collieries, in the neighbourhood. At Grc.><(/e- 
 mouth the Grand Canal terminates, in a basin 
 and harbour, and two extensive wood ponds. 
 The basin and harbour admit large vessels, and 
 smaller vessels can proceed by the canal, the 
 traffic on which is considerable. Great efforts 
 have been made of late years to improve the 
 port by the construction of a vast sea-loch, 
 the formation of a wet dock, and the deepen- 
 ing of the river Carron. At Kilsytk the ma- 
 nufactures consist almost entirely of hand- 
 oom weaving to supply orders from Glasgow. 
 St. Ninians has manufactures of tartans, 
 shawls, leather, and nails. The county town, 
 Slirlhiy, has manufactures of tartan and tar- 
 tan shawls, yarns, cotton goods, malt, leather, 
 soap, and candles. There are dye-houses for 
 yarns, home-made cloths, and silks, rope yards 
 and breweries. Considerable trade is carried 
 on in corn, wood, coals, bricks, tiles, lime, and 
 wool. About 100 vessels are engaged in the 
 trade up the Forth to Stirling ; and there is 
 constant communication by steam with New- 
 haven, near Edinburgh, and the intermediate 
 places on the Forth. 
 
 STOCKHOLM, the capital of Sweden, is 
 the most industrious and commercial town ol 
 that country. There are manufactures of cloth, 
 cotton, calico, silk, ribands, sugar, tobacco, 
 leather, cast iron, and soap. Nearly the whole 
 of the superfluous produce of the countries 
 north and west of Stockholm is brought here 
 to be exported to foreign countries ; it is 
 
1813 
 
 STOCKINGS. 
 
 STONE WORKING 
 
 16U 
 
 mostly shipped in Swedish vessels. The value 
 of the iron exported is as great or greater than 
 the total amount of the other exports, of which 
 the chief are timber, tar, pitch, copper, cobalt, 
 ready built vessels, linseed oil and oil cakes, 
 tobacco, steel, bricks, and a few manufactured 
 articles. The most active commerce is carried 
 on with England, the United States of North 
 America. Denmark, France, Prussia, Portugal, 
 the Netherlands, and Italy. The most impor- 
 tant articles of import are sugar, coffee, wine 
 and brandy, rum, woollen and cotton manu 
 factored goods, silk, linens, china and crockery, 
 hemp, cotton, cheese, potash, hides and skins, 
 tallow and candles, train oil, dyeing woods, 
 raisins, almonds, pepper, cinnamon and cas- 
 sia, tea, butter, and wool. 
 
 STOCKINGS. [HosiEKY MANUFACTOBE.] 
 
 STOCKPOBT is one of the principal seats 
 of the cotton manufacture. Orrell's cotton 
 mill, in this town, is one of the finest and 
 largest in the kingdom. The building is 
 nearly 300 feet long, and has about 600 win- 
 dows. There are six ranges or stories, the 
 lowest of which is 230 feet from front to back. 
 There are four steam engines for working the 
 machines, which consume twenty tons of coal 
 per day. Besides the spinning machinery 
 there are 1,300 power looms. 
 
 To the cotton manufacture, which is the 
 staple trade of the town, may be added the ma- 
 nufacture of silk goqds, thread, hats, brushes, 
 spindles, and shuttles. There are several iron 
 and brass foundries in the town, and bricks are 
 extensively made in the neighbourhood, 
 
 STONE FOR BUILDING. Stone fit for 
 building must in general be freestone firm 
 enough to sustain great pressure, and yet so 
 aggregated as to admit of being worked with 
 facility by ordinary tools, and of receiving 
 correct surfaces in any direction. It must in 
 general yield masses of great dimensions. In 
 the great variety of limestones and sandstones 
 which are adapted for building purposes, we 
 remark, by the aid of the microscope, three 
 principal modes of molecular aggregation : 
 mixtures of grains ; segregated concretions of 
 grains ; and compacted crystallisations. Mix- 
 tures of very unequal or very dissimilar parts, 
 as millstone -grit ; concretions which have 
 earthy textures in their interstices, as some 
 oolitic limestones ; crystallisations which do 
 not produce compactness, as in some magne- 
 sian limestones, are not in general durable. 
 
 The commissioners (Mr. Barry, Sir H. de 
 la Beche, and Dr. W. Smith) who reported on 
 the choice of stone for the construction of the 
 New Houses of Parliament, made valuable ex- 
 periments as to the hardness, closeness, den- 
 sity, colour, and durability of many varieties of 
 
 stone. The strength of several sorts of stone, as 
 measured by the weight necessary to be applied 
 for breaking and crushing them,appears below: 
 
 Resistance Resistance Name of 
 
 to fracture, to crushing. Stone. 
 
 r6Q 111 Craigleith. 
 
 | 88 106 Barley Dale. 
 
 Sandstones -< 56 107 Park Spring. 
 
 | 48 70 Kenton. 
 
 L38 71 Binnie. 
 
 f 50 137 Ketton Rag. 
 
 I 30 55 Portland. 
 
 j 22 57 Hamhill. 
 
 Oolites -\ ctA 
 
 \ 16 
 118 
 (70 
 I 36 
 
 Limestones^ 34 
 24 
 1 20 
 
 33 
 25 
 21 
 117 
 74 
 61 
 55 
 23 
 
 Ancaster. 
 
 Barnack. 
 
 Box. 
 
 Bolsover. 
 
 Mansfield. 
 
 Huddlestone. 
 
 Roche. 
 
 Cadeby. 
 
 Of sixteen specimens selected, the stone 
 most absorbent of water was proved to be the 
 Bath oolite from Box ; that most injured by 
 Brard's artificial process of disintegration was 
 the Barnack stone : an.d that which was most 
 easily crushed was the Bath oolite from Box. 
 Generally speaking, sandstones were least 
 absorbent, magnesian limestones least disin- 
 tegrating ; sandstones Appeared to be strongest, 
 though choice magnesian limestones (as that 
 of Bolsover, finally recommended by the Com- 
 missioners) were fully equal in this respect, 
 and were almost as little absorbent. 
 
 Stones of uniform texture commonly decay 
 by disintegration at the surface, losing grain 
 by grain in proportion to time and exposure. 
 Stones composed of parts unequally mixed 
 suffer unequal waste in different parts. Shells, 
 corals, concretions, and crystallised masses, 
 thus appear prominent from earthy limestones, 
 and indicate the general fact that, in propor- 
 tion to the force of molecular aggregation in 
 the stone, is the resistance which it offers to 
 decay. It is not the amount but the kind of 
 exposure which governs the decay of stone : 
 the southern and western parts of our cathe- 
 drals give way more than the northern and 
 eastern. 
 
 STONE WORKING. There are three 
 aspects under which the working in stone 
 presents itself to our notice quarrying, shap- 
 ing and preparing the stones, and masonry 
 properly so called. 
 
 All statuary marble and all building stone 
 are extracted from the rocks by quarrying. 
 Egypt, Greece, and Italy possessed the quar- 
 ries from which the great works of the ancients 
 in sculpture and architecture were produced ; 
 and nearly every country possesses quarries 
 
1615 
 
 STONE WORKING. 
 
 STOVES. 
 
 1616 
 
 more or less extensive. The British isles 
 abound with stone of nearly every different 
 kind that can be employed with advantage in 
 architecture and engineering. The granites of 
 Aberdeenshire, of Devon and Cornwall, and of 
 Ireland; the sandstones of Yorkshire, Lan- 
 cashire, Derbyshire, and other counties ; the 
 millstone grit of Yorkshire ; the slate-stones of 
 Wales, Cumberland, Cornwall, and Ireland ; 
 the limestones of Portland, Purbeck, Bath, and 
 other counties ; the clay stones of Gloucester- 
 shire and Yorkshire ; the ragstone of Kent 
 all are plentiful. 
 
 In quarrying stone the works are chiefly 
 horizontal or vertical, according as the stone 
 is far below or near the surface. Stone of 
 inferior kind has generally to be removed 
 before the good stone can be reached. The 
 huge masses are often loosened by blasting 
 with gunpowder; but as this shatters the 
 blocks, a slower but less wasteful plan is 
 usually adopted. Most stones present natural 
 layers or places of cleavage, which enable it to 
 separate into parallel strata ; and the quarry- 
 men employ their picks and jumper-chisels 
 in such a way as to take advantage of this 
 cleavage. After the blocks have been severed 
 from the mass, they are reduced as nearly as 
 possible to a rectangular form ; this is done 
 by means of a tool called a kevel, pointed at 
 one end and flat at the other, with which the 
 irregular parts are knocked off. The blocks 
 are then usually raised upon low carriages, 
 and drawn on iron railways to the quays or 
 wharfs where the stone is put on shipboard. 
 
 The working of stone is similar in principle 
 to that of marble, but does not necessitate so 
 much care. In the common mode of sawing 
 a stone, a man works to and fro a framed saw 
 or cutter, which gradually cuts its way through 
 the stone ; the instrument is not really a saw, 
 for it has no teeth ; but by the use of sand and 
 water an abrading action is produced which 
 wears a cut in the stone. In the large marble 
 and stone works, of which a fine example has 
 been established at Pimlico, several stone- 
 saws are framed together in parallel array, and 
 worked by a steam-engine ; a block of marble 
 or stone is thus quickly cut up into slabs. 
 Slabs are cut up into smaller pieces by hand- 
 saws, or more expeditiously by circular saws 
 fixed upon a revolving axis the saws, as in 
 the former case, being in fact blunt knives. 
 By bending these blunt knives into a circular 
 or cylindrical form, and fixing them at the 
 bottom of a vertical revolving shaft, circular 
 pieces of stone are cut. Pillars and hollow 
 cylinders or pipes of stone are shaped by 
 similar means. If, instead of a saw, the hori- 
 zontal axis be furnished with iron wheels 
 
 shaped with mouldings on their edges, the 
 forms of architectural mouldings may be 
 wrought on long slabs of stone. 
 
 The smoothing and polishing of stone and 
 marble are effected by the friction either of a 
 smooth iron surface, or of another piece of 
 stone, plentifully wetted during the process. 
 
 Masonry is a most important branch of art, 
 as connected both with architecture and with 
 common building, but especially the former. 
 Owing to its expense, masonry is comparatively 
 rarely employed in England, except for 
 public or other buildings of the highest class : 
 the mason's work being in other cases re- 
 stricted to such parts as door-steps, string 
 courses, facias, plain cornices, pavements, and 
 stairs. Walls which are not of solid masonry 
 throughout, but are built either of brick or 
 inferior stone and rubble, with only an external 
 facing of squared stone laid in courses, are 
 termed ashler or ashlerlng. 
 
 STONES, METEORIC. If the materials of 
 which these remarkable precipitated bodies con- 
 sist had become applicable to any useful end, 
 or if their fall illustrated any practical subject, 
 we would touch upon the phenomena here ; 
 but they still remain exclusively within the 
 domain of science. The aerolites are chiefly 
 composed of iron, nickel, silica, magnesia, and 
 sulphur, with smaller portions of alumina, 
 lime, manganese, chrome, cobalt, carbon, and 
 soda. It is remarkable that no new substance, 
 nothing with which we were not already ac- 
 quainted, has evor been discovered in their 
 composition. 
 
 STOP. [ORGAN.] 
 
 STOP-COCK. [CocK.] 
 
 STOVES. Several kinds of fire-places or 
 stoves give out heat by conduction, chiefly, 
 others do so mainly by radiation. Open fire- 
 places are of the latter kind, and a consider- 
 able loss of heating-power results from the 
 arrangement. The burning coals radiate heat 
 into the room, and another portion of heat is 
 reflected from the metallic portions of the 
 grate ; but the heated air, which ought to 
 contribute to the desired effect, is mainly 
 allowed to escape up the chimney with the 
 smoke and other results of combustion. Dr. 
 Arnott, in his " Treatise on Warming and 
 Ventilation," enumerates about a dozen evils 
 which are more or less inseparable from 
 open fires. Among these are waste of fuel, 
 unequal heating, a stratum of cold air near 
 the floor, the production of smoke and dust, 
 loss of time in attendance, danger to person 
 and property. Many contrivances have been 
 brought forward to obviate one or other 
 of these inconveniences. Count Rumford 
 suggested the " register-stove," the peculiarity 
 
1617 
 
 STOVES. 
 
 STRASBOURG. 
 
 1618 
 
 of which consists in narrowing the throat of 
 the chimney by a plate which can be moved 
 to vary the size of the aperture; by this 
 means, particularly if the opening be near 
 the fire, the very hot air directly from the 
 fire enters before it can mix with much colder 
 air from the room, and thus the draught is 
 increased so as to lessen the chance of 
 smoking. But there is a great waste of heat 
 in this as in all other open fire-places. 
 
 The common Dutch stove is one of the 
 simplest examples of a close stove. It gene- 
 rally consists of a cylindrical case of sheet- 
 iron, within and near the bottom of which is a 
 grating for containing the fuel. There is an 
 ash-pit beneath the grating, and three open- 
 ings to 1;he interior one to the ash-pit, one 
 for introducing the fuel above, and one lead- 
 ing to a flue or chimney. In this form of 
 stove the heated iron case warms the air, which 
 thus becomes much more nearly equalised in 
 temperature than it is by a common fire. 
 There is also great economy of fuel, and an 
 absence of smoke and dust; but the air of 
 the room acquires a dry, sulphureous, and un- 
 healthy condition. In Russian stoves, earthen- 
 ware and brickwork are largely used, instead 
 of metal, as a means of making the heat less 
 intense near the stove, and of keeping up a 
 reservoir of heat after the fire is extinguished. 
 The stove is built in a massive style, and 
 consists of a series of chambers, of which the 
 lowest serves as the fire-place, and the upper 
 ones as flues, and being composed almost 
 entirely of brick and porcelain, the outer 
 surface remains at a moderate temperature 
 for a very long period. 
 
 Dr. Arnott has the merit of having devised 
 means to prevent the too intense heating of 
 the air near close metallic stoves, by the 
 use of the stove which bears his name. [An- 
 KOTT'S STOVE.] Numerous varieties of the 
 close stove, bearing more or less on the above 
 construction, have been brought forward since 
 the publication of Dr. Arnott's book. Each 
 professes to possess some peculiar merit; 
 but all present these features in common 
 that the air-hole by which the combustion is 
 fed is very small, and capable of adjustment; 
 that there is a body of air to be warmed, 
 external to the grate or fire-box itself, but 
 confined within an outer case ; that the con- 
 sumption of fuel is much smaller than in any 
 variety of open fire-places ; and that the flue 
 for carrying off the smoke and gases is small 
 in diameter, and capable of being carried in 
 any direction. In the different forms of 
 " kitchen-ranges " the open fire-place is com- 
 bined with what may be deemed a close stove ; 
 for the "oven" and "hot-closet" are repre- 
 
 sentatives of the heated space within the 
 outer case of a close stove. The " gas-stoves " 
 and "steam-kitchens" of modern inventors 
 may in like manner be included in the same 
 category, for they are in effect close stoves 
 heated by agents different from common 
 coal. 
 
 In the arrangements above described, the 
 stove is in the room which is to be warmed, 
 and its heating effects are calculated with re- 
 spect to that room alone ; but in many 
 factories and other large establishments the 
 fire is in an outer or lower apartment, and 
 the heated air is conveyed thence in a pipe to 
 the apartment to be heated. 
 
 In Cundy's patent stove, recently intro- 
 duced, the air is warmed by passing through 
 channels made of artificial stone ; it is in- 
 tended for use in churches, schools, and other 
 large rooms, and is charged for according to 
 the number of cubic feet of air which it will 
 warm in a given time. 
 
 One of the greatest improvements in stoves 
 of recent manufacture is the adoption of such 
 a form in the iron or steel work immediately 
 contiguous to the fire as to reflect out into 
 the room as much as possible of the heat, 
 instead of allowing it to waste by ascending 
 the chimney. In one of these forms, Jobson's 
 patent stove-grate, the reflecting surface en- 
 tirely surrounds the fire, not only above and 
 at the sides, but also beneath ; the ash-pit 
 being so ingeniously arranged as not to inter- 
 fere with the lower part of the reflector. 
 
 Other details relating to heating by stoves, 
 by gas, and by other means, will be found 
 under COOKING APPARATUS, and WAKMING- 
 and VENTILATION. 
 
 STRASBOURG. This large and important 
 city derives so much fame from its exquisite 
 Cathedral, that its industrial features are almost 
 eclipsed thereby. Yet it is a busy place. The 
 trade of the town is very considerable : its 
 manufactures include jewellery, metal buttons, 
 starch, alum, soap, watches and clocks, che- 
 mical products, steel, cutlery, pins, combs, cast- 
 iron goods, earthenware, porcelain, enamel, 
 oil from seeds, morocco and other leather, 
 hats, woollen and cotton stuffs, cotton yarn, 
 hosiery, printed flannels, sail-cloth, oil-cloth, 
 thread, carpeting, furs, paper-hangings, play- 
 ing-cards, &c. There are bleach-grounds, 
 dye-houses, rope-walks, tan-yards, breweries ; 
 chicory, mustard, and madder-mills ; printing- 
 offices, plaster- kilns, tile-yards, an iron-forge, 
 a type-foundry, sugar-refineries, a snuff-manu- 
 factory, <fec. There is a considerable trade 
 carried on with Holland, Germany, Switzer- 
 land, and Italy ; and much business is done 
 in the produce of the surrounding territory, 
 
1619 STRAW-PLAT MANUFACTURE. 
 
 which includes corn, wine, tobacco, madder, 
 hemp, hops, saffron, &c. 
 
 STRAW- PLAT MANUFACTURE. It is 
 not known when the manufacture of hats or 
 bonnets of platted straw first became im- 
 porta.nt in Italy, where it has long formed one 
 of the leading pursuits of the agricultural 
 population j but it does not appear to have 
 been followed in England more than seventy 
 or eighty years. 
 
 The large size of the wheat-straw used in 
 this country for platting prevented the home 
 jnanufacture from entering into competition 
 vrith that of Italy in articles of fine quality ; 
 the straw grown for the purpose in Tuscany 
 being much smaller, as well as superior in 
 colour. This difficulty was in some degree 
 overcome by the expedient adopted in England 
 towards the end of the last century, of split- 
 ting the straw, and using the narrow Splints, 
 or slips of straw, in lieu of whole straws. The 
 operation of splitting is performed by small 
 cutting instruments calle4 machines, which 
 have a number of sharp edges so fixed as to 
 divide the straw, by a motion in the direction 
 of its length, into four, five, six, or more equal 
 parts. Before machines were invented, straws 
 were occasionally split with knives by hand. 
 But greatly as the British straw-plat manu- 
 facture had been encouraged by the use of 
 split straw, by improvements in bleaching, 
 and by increased care in the selection of 
 straws of uniform size and colour, it was 
 found, when the re-establishment of peace 
 allowed the free importation of Italian straw 
 bonnets, that the home manufacture was un- 
 able to compete with the foreign, notwith- 
 standing the heavy protecting duty levied 
 upon hats or bonnets of straw imported from 
 other countries. The Society of Arts there- 
 fore, for a long series of years, offered en- 
 couragement to attempts for the improvement 
 of the British straw manufacture, which called 
 forth inany interesting communications, and 
 led to great improvement. 
 
 In plat made of split straw, unless two 
 splints are laid together, with their inside 
 surfaces towards each other, a,s in the plat 
 called Patent Dunstable, it necessarily happens 
 that the face of the plat exhibits alternately 
 the. outer and inner surfaces of the straw, 
 which differ from each other in colour and 
 gloss. Articles made of split straw are also 
 inferior to those of whole straw of equal 
 fineness, in pliability and durability. Another 
 circumstance which greatly increases the 
 beauty of Leghorn plat is the mode of joining 
 it, so as to form, by the combination of several 
 narrow strips, an extended sheet of platted 
 work. British plat is usually joined by making 
 
 STRAW-PLAT MANUFACTURE. 162C 
 
 the several rows of plat overlap each other a 
 little, and then stitching through the over- 
 lapping with a needle and thread. The sur- 
 face of a hat or bonnet formed in this manner 
 consists of a series of ridges ; and part of each 
 row of plat is concealed by that next above 
 it, so that an unnecessarily large quantity of 
 plat is required to form a given extent of sur- 
 face. Leghorn plat is formed in such a 
 manner that it may be joined without tin's 
 loss ; the edge of one row of plat being, as it 
 were, knitted into the edge of the other, in 
 such a way that the patterns may appeal- un- 
 interrupted, and the line of junction may be 
 almost invisible. 
 
 The Society of Arts has encouraged the 
 growing of straw similar to that of Leghom, 
 the platting of the Leghorn straw in England, 
 and every other device which might seem 
 likely to increase the home manufacture. Mr. 
 Parry in 1822 received the Society's large 
 silver medal for his method of manufacturing 
 Leghorn plat from straw imported from Italy. 
 In this method the ears are cut off with a 
 knife, and the straws are then carefully sorted 
 to obtain uniformity in length, thickness, and 
 colour. Thirteen straws are tied together at 
 one end, and then divided into two portions ; 
 six straws being towards the left side, and 
 seven to the right, so that the two portions of 
 straw may form a right angle. These are 
 platted over and under each other, so as to 
 form a platted band, about three-eighths of an 
 inch in width. Several of these bands are 
 adjusted in spiral coijs, with their adjacent 
 edges knitted together, so as to form the 
 large circular pieces of plat which, under the 
 name of hats, or fiats, are so extensively ex- 
 ported from the north of Italy. 
 
 The straw used in Tuscany is that of 
 Triticum titrgidum, a variety of bearded wheat, 
 which seems to differ in no respect from the 
 pring wheat grown in the vale of Evesham 
 and in other parts of England. It is grown 
 in Tuscany solely for the straw, and not loa- 
 the grain ; and the upper joint of the straw 
 is that chiefly used for platting. The straw 
 is pulled while the ear is in a soft milky state ; 
 the corn having been sown very close, and 
 consequently produced in a thin, short, and 
 dwindling condition. It is then dried by 
 spreading it thinly upon the ground in fine 
 hot weather, and afterwards tied up in bundles 
 and stacked, for the purpose of enabling the 
 heat of the mow to drive off any remaining 
 moisture. After remaining in the mow for 
 about a month, it is spread out in a meadow, 
 and exposed to the action of dew, sun, and 
 air, in order to bleach it. The straw is 
 frequently turned during this operation ; and 
 
A621 
 
 STEIN G--COUESE. 
 
 STUCCO. 
 
 1022 
 
 after it is completed, the lower joint of the 
 straw is pulled off, leaving the upper joint, 
 with the ear attached to it, for use. This part 
 is then subjected to the action of steam, and 
 to fumigation with sulphur, in order to com 
 plete the bleaching, after which it is ready for 
 use. It is tied up in bundles, and imported 
 td England in this state. 
 
 Bleaching the straw with sulphur fumes is 
 commonly practised in this country, and Dr. 
 Ure states that a solution of chloride of lime 
 may be used for the purpose. Straw may 
 be dyed, for ornamental purposes, of many 
 different colours. 
 
 The splints, or pieces of split straw, being 
 curved in a way which Would impede the 
 operation of platting, require to be flattened 
 between rollers. These, as well as the whole 
 straws used in other lands of plat, are 
 moistened with water to render them easy to 
 work. It heed hardly be observed that 
 cleanliness is indispensable to the beauty of 
 the plat. 
 
 In the kind of straw-platting above de- 
 scribed, the plat is formed into a narrow strip 
 or riband, which must be formed into a spiral 
 coil, or united edge to edge, to form a hat or 
 bonnet; but in 1834 Mr. T. B. Smith, of St. 
 Alban's, devised a mode of applying Brazilian 
 plat to the manufacture of hats and bonnets 
 of split straw. This kind of plat is not formed 
 in strips, but is at once platted or woven into 
 the required form and size. One advantage 
 claimed for the method is that either the 
 glossy or the dull surface of the split straw 
 may be placed entirely on one side of the plat. 
 The British straw plat district comprises 
 Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Bucking- 
 hamshire ; these counties being the most 
 favourable for the production of the wheat- 
 straw commonly used for English plat. The 
 manufacture is also followed in a few places 
 in Essex and Suffolk ; but very little in other 
 counties. The principal markets are Luton, 
 Dunstable, and St. Albans. 
 
 In 1847, 1,370 Ibs. weight of chip hats were 
 imported, and 7,1 17 Ibs. of straw hats ; together 
 with 35,530 Ibs. of chip-plat, and 13,420 Ibs. 
 of straw-plat, for making hats and bonnets; 
 and 802 cwts. of straw-platting. 
 
 STEING-COUESE, is a projecting course 
 of masonry forming a string or horizontal 
 line on the face of a wall, and consisting of a 
 series of mouldings, as in Gothic, or a flat 
 surface (either plain or enriched), as in 
 Italian architecture. The string-course itself 
 consists sometimes of only a few narrow and 
 plain mouldings, at others of a variety of them 
 separated by one or more considerable hollows. 
 In Italian architecture, the string-course is 
 
 either quite plain, or more or less decorated 
 according to the character of the floor to 
 which it belongs. 
 
 STEO'NTIUM. This peculiar metal was 
 formerly supposed to be identical with Baryies, 
 but Dr. Hope in 1792 proved them to be 
 distinct bodies. It has not a very high lustre, 
 is fusible with difficulty, and is not volatile. 
 When exposed to the air it attracts oxygen, 
 and becomes converted into Strontia. When 
 thrown into water, it decomposes it with great 
 violence, producing hydrogen gas, and form- 
 ing with the water a solution of strontia. 
 
 The salts of strontia are occasionally used 
 in chemical investigations, and in giving a 
 purple flame to fire-works. 
 
 STUCCO, is a plaster of any kind used as 
 a coating for walls, and to give them a 
 finished surface. Stuccatura, or stucco-work, 
 is the term employed for all interior orna- 
 mental plaster work in imitation of carved 
 stone, such as the cornices and mouldings 
 of rooms, and the enrichments of ceilings. 
 Stucco was very much employed by the 
 ancients, and not merely for coating columns, 
 (fee., constructed of brick^ but in many in- 
 stances for covering stone, or even marble; 
 for which last purpose it was applied so 
 sparingly as to be no more than a very thin 
 ncrustation, for the purpose, it is now sup- 
 posed, of being painted upon. 
 
 The stucco used for internal decorative 
 purposes, such as those above mentioned, is 
 a composition of very fine sand, pulverised 
 marble, and gypsum, mixed with water till it 
 s of a proper consistency. Within a short 
 ;ime after being first applied, it begins to set, 
 or gradually harden, in which state it is 
 moulded, and may at length be finished up 
 with rnetal tools. 
 
 The stucco employed for external work ia 
 of a coarser kind, and variously prepared, 
 )eing now manufactured wholesale as an 
 article of commerce, ready for use ; and of 
 which the different sorts are generally dis- 
 inguished by the name of cements. Adam's 
 or Liardet's Cement is an oil-cement, of which 
 the chief ingredients are fine whiting and 
 calcined oyster- shells, well mixed and ground 
 up in a mill with oil. Parkers or Roman 
 Cement, that now most in use, consists chiefly 
 of a preparation of argillaceous limestone 
 found on the coast of Essex and Kent, and 
 n the Isle of Sheppey. Of Bailey's Cement 
 ime and sharp sand are the principal ingre- 
 dients. Mastic Cement, or Hamelin's Cement, 
 is composed of peroxide of lead and oil. 
 Keene's Cement is one of recent invention, and 
 of very superior quality, taking a surface and 
 polish almost equal to that of the finest 
 
1623 
 
 STUTTGART. 
 
 SUFFOLK. 
 
 1624 
 
 marble; it is in fact a species of scagliola 
 consequently it is employed, like that, onlj 
 for interior decoration. Almost every year 
 produces some new kind of stucco. 
 
 If perfectly well executed, stucco will be 
 nearly equal in appearance to stone, and even 
 superior to that of stone of inferior quality 
 There are some who protest against the us< 
 of stucco externally, as a spurious and mere 
 tricious mode of building with sham material 
 but it is certain that most of Palladio's edifices 
 and of what are spoken of as the ' marble 
 palaces' of Venice and Rome, are merel} 
 faced with stucco. 
 
 STUTTGART, the capital of the kingdom 
 of Wiirtemberg, has manufactures of linen 
 and woollen cloths, silk, cotton, gloves, carpets 
 shawls, <fcc., and is noted for its beautiful 
 works in gold, silver, and bronze; mathema 
 tical, philosophical, optical, and musical instru- 
 ments ; cabinet furniture, lackered ware, anc 
 carriages. The bark trade is extremely 
 flourishing. The navigation of the Neckar 
 gives Stuttgart water-communication with the 
 Rhine. Lines of railway, partially in operation 
 and rapidly approaching completion, connect 
 it with the Bavarian and Rhine railroads. 
 
 STYRIA. The great wealth of this pro- 
 vince of Austria consists in its mines, which 
 are confined to the mountainous portion of 
 the country. The most important minerals 
 are silver, copper, lead, iron (540,000 cwt. a 
 year), alum, cobalt, sulphur, salt, marble, and 
 coal. The most important manufacture is 
 iron. The iron-mines in the Erzberg, in the 
 north of Styria, were well known to the 
 Romans ; this mountain does not contain the 
 ore in veins or strata, but presents a solid 
 mass of iron-ore, which has been worked 
 without interruption for eleven centuries. 
 There are a few manufactories of linen, cotton, 
 woollens, and silk, but none of considerable 
 importance. There is a very brisk trade be- 
 tween Upper and Lower Styria : the latter 
 supplies the former with corn, wine, and 
 tobacco, and receives in return iron, timber, 
 and salt. The exports consist of the metals 
 above-named, and of scythes, sickles, steel 
 and iron wares, including razors, and several 
 millions of Jews'-harps. The imports consist 
 of fine cloths, linens, cottons, silks, and jewel- 
 lery, and colonial produce. The transit trade 
 between Italy and Germany, from Vienna to 
 Trieste, is very important. This trade is 
 greatly facilitated by good common roads, and 
 by the Vienna-Trieste railway now open from 
 Vienna to Laybach. 
 
 SUBMARINE DESCENT. A few details 
 on this subject will be found under DIVING 
 BELL. 
 
 SU'CCINUM is a bituminous substance of 
 a peculiar kind, procured from amber. It is 
 not now used in the crude state in medicine, 
 but is employed to yield the Oleum Succini, or 
 Oil of Amber. Volatile oil of amber probably 
 contains a large portion of creasote. One 
 part of rectified oil of amber, and three parts 
 of moderately strong nitric acid, form Artificial 
 Musk. 
 
 SUET. There are several kinds of suet, 
 according to the species of animal from which 
 it is procured, such as that of the hart, the 
 goat, the ox, and the sheep. When recent, it 
 is white, easily broken, translucent if thin, and 
 almost without smell ; it soon becomes yellow 
 and rancid by exposure to the air. The pre- 
 ponderance of stearin renders suet the most 
 solid of animal fats. It liquifies with a gentle 
 heat, and the prepared suet of the Pharma- 
 copoeia is obtained by melting it over a slow 
 fire, and straining it to separate the membra- 
 neous portion. It is used as an ingredient in 
 cerates, plasters, and ointments. By pouring 
 it when melted over various articles, such as 
 potted char, from which it thoroughly ex- 
 cludes the air, it assists greatly in preserving 
 them. 
 
 SUFFOLK produces scarcely any minerals 
 of value. Chalk and Shell-Marl from the 
 crag formation are dug from manures. This 
 county forms one of the best cultivated districts 
 n the southern part of Great Britain. The 
 greater part of the land is under the plough ; 
 Jiere being now scarcely such a thing to be 
 seen as a common field. There is no part of 
 
 ngland where the implements of husbandry 
 are more perfect than in Suffolk, or where new 
 mplements are tried with more readiness and 
 with less prejudice ; nowhere is so great a 
 variety of farm-machines used for saving 
 abour. 
 
 Suffolk is far from being a manufacturing 
 :ounty ; yet it has a few busy and flourishing 
 owns. At Bun gay a considerable trade is 
 carried on in grain and other articles of provi- 
 ion by means of the Waveney, which is navi- 
 gable up to Bungay for small barges. At 
 r pswich the manufactures of the town consist 
 hiefly in the spinning of woollen yarn, ship- 
 luilding, sail-making, &c. Its commerce 
 arises from the exportation of corn, malt, and 
 ither produce of the surrounding country. 
 ?here is, however, one notable establishment, 
 bat of Messrs. Ransomes and May, where 
 machinery and agricultural implements are 
 nanufactured on a large scale. Lowcstoft has 
 ately risen into importance on account of the 
 xcellent harbour formed there, in connection 
 with the Norfolk railway. Mail steamers have 
 ust commenced (April 1851) to run from 
 
1625 
 
 SUGAE. 
 
 SUGAR. 
 
 1G2(> 
 
 Lowestoft to Denmark, under circumstances 
 which promise to be very beneficial to the 
 town. From Stowmarket a considerable quan- 
 tity of corn and malt are sent in river-craft 
 down to Ips \vich to be shipped there : timber 
 and deals, coals and slate, are brought up from 
 Ipswich for the supply of the neighbourhood. 
 
 SUGAE. Although this valuable commo- 
 dity is obtainable from various sources, the 
 sugar cane is that which yields by far the 
 largest supply. This cane grows in the warm 
 districts both of the old and the new world. 
 
 Culture. The stems vary in height from 
 eight feet up even to twenty feet, and are 
 divided by prominent annular joints into short 
 lengths. The outer part of the cane is hard 
 and brittle ; but the inner consists of a soft 
 pith, which contains the sweet juice, and this 
 juice is elaborated separately in each joint. 
 The canes are usually propagated by slips or 
 cuttings, which are planted either in holes dug 
 by hand, or in trenches formed by a plough, 
 about eight to twelve inches deep. The 
 planting usually takes place from August to 
 November, and the cutting in March or April. 
 The maturity of the cane is indicated by the 
 skin becoming dry, smooth and brittle; by the 
 cane becoming heavy ; the pith gray, approach- 
 ing to brown ; and the juice sweet and gluti- 
 nous. The canes which grow immediately 
 from the planted slips are called plant-canes ; 
 but it is usual, in the West Indies, to raise 
 several crops in successive years from the 
 same roots ; the canes which sprout up from 
 the old roots, or stoles, being called rattoons. 
 The rattoons are not so vigorous as the origi- 
 nal plant-canes ; but they afford better sugar, 
 and that with less trouble in clarifying and 
 concentrating the juice. The canes are cut as 
 near the ground as possible, because the richest 
 juice is found in the lower joints ; and, after 
 cutting them, it is considered well to cut the 
 stumps down a few inches below the surface 
 of the ground, and to cover them up with 
 mould. One or two of the top joints of 
 the cane are cut off, and the remainder is 
 divided into pieces about a yard long, tied up 
 in bundles, and carried immediately to the 
 sugar-mill. The upper branches of the cane 
 are used, as food for cattle ; and the remainder 
 of the waste forms a valuable manure, for 
 which purpose the trash, or waste from the 
 mill, is admirably suited, though much of it is 
 usually consumed as fuel. 
 
 Manufacture. The manufacture of sugar is 
 that train of operations by which the juice is 
 extracted from the canes, and brought to a 
 granulated state. In the West India sugar- 
 mi Us employed for crushing the canes, a 
 negro applies the canes in a regular layer or 
 
 sheet to the interval between two rollers, 
 which seize and compress them violently as 
 they pass between them. The ends of the 
 canes are then turned, either by another negro 
 on the opposite side to the feeder, or by a 
 framework of wood called a dumb returner, 
 so that they may pass back again between two 
 other rollers placed closer together. Channels 
 are made to receive the liquor expressed from 
 the canes, and to conduct it to the vessels in 
 which it is to undergo the succeeding opera- 
 tions. Improved sugar mills have been lately 
 brought into use. 
 
 Cane-juice as expressed by the mill, is an 
 opaque slightly viscid fluid, of a dull gray, 
 olive, or olive-green colour, and of a sweet 
 balmy taste. The juice is so exceedingly 
 fermentable that in the climate of the West 
 Indies it would often run into the acetous 
 fermentation in twenty minutes after leaving 
 the mill, if the process of clarifying were not 
 immediately commenced. 
 
 The processes followed in the West Indies 
 for separating the sugar from the juice are as 
 follows. The juice is conducted by channels 
 from the mill to large flat bottomed clarifiers, 
 which contain from three hundred to a thousand 
 gallons each. When the clarifier is filled with 
 juice, a little slaked lime is added to it ; and 
 when the liquor in the clarifier becomes hot 
 by a fire underneath, the solid portions of the 
 cane-juice coagulate, and are thrown up in the 
 form of scum. The clarified juice, which is 
 bright, clear, and of a yellow wine-colour, is 
 transferred to the largest of a series of evapo- 
 rating coppers, or pans, three or more in 
 number, in which it is reduced in bulk by 
 boiling ; it is transferred from one pan to 
 another, and heated until the sugar is brought 
 to the state of a soft mass of crystals, imbedded 
 in molasses, a thick, viscid, and uncrystallisable 
 fluid. The soft concrete sugar is removed 
 from the coolers into a range of casks, in 
 which the molasses gradually drains from the 
 crystalline portion, percolating through spongy 
 plantain-stalks placed in a hole at the bottom 
 of each cask, which act as so many drains to 
 convey the liquid to a large cistern beneath. 
 With sugar of average quality three or four 
 weeks is sufficient for this purpose. The 
 iquid portion constitutes molasses, which is 
 employed to make rum. The crystallised 
 portion is packed in hogsheads for shipment 
 as Maw, Brown, or Muscovado Sugar ; and in 
 this state it is commonly exported from our 
 West Indian colonies. The sugar loses usually 
 about 12 per cent, in weight by the drainage 
 of the remaining molasses from it while on 
 ship-board. 
 Refining, The refining of sugar is mainly 
 
1627 
 
 SUGAR. 
 
 SUGAR. 
 
 1628 
 
 a bleaching process, conducted on a large 
 scale in England. There are two varieties 
 produced by this bleaching, viz. clayed and loaf 
 sugar. For clayed sugar, the sugar is removed 
 from the coolers into conical earthen moulds 
 called fornies, each of which has A small hole 
 at the apex. These holes being stopped up 
 the formes are placed, apex downwards, in 
 other earthen vessels. The syrup, after 
 being stirred round, is left for from fifteen to 
 twenty hours to crystallise. The plugs are 
 then withdrawn, to let out the uncrystallised 
 syrup ; and, the base of the crystallised loaf 
 being removed, the forme is filled up with 
 pulverised white sugar. This is well pressed 
 down, and then a quantity of clay, mixed with 
 water is placed upon the sUgar, the formes 
 being put into fresh empty pots. The mois- 
 ture from the clay, filtering through the 
 sugar, carries with it a portion of the colouring 
 matter, which is more soluble than the crystals 
 themselves. By a repetition of this process 
 the sugar attains nearly a white colour, and is 
 then dried and crushed for sale. 
 
 But loaf sugar is the kind most usually 
 produced by the refining processes. The 
 brown sugar is dissolved with hot water, and 
 then filtered through canvas bags,from which it 
 exudes as a clear, transparent though reddish 
 syrup. The removal of this red tinge is 
 effected by filtering the syrup through a mass 
 of powdered charcoal ; and we have then a 
 perfectly transparent and colourless liquid. 
 In the evaporation or concentration of the 
 clarified syrup, which forms the next part of 
 the refining process, the boiling is effected 
 (under the admirable system introduced by 
 Mr. Howard) in a vacuum, at a temperature 
 of about 140 Fahr. The sugar-pan is a large 
 copper vessel, with arrangements for extracting 
 the air, admitting the syrup, admitting steam 
 pipes, and draining off the sugar when concen- 
 trated. In using the pan, a quantity of syrup 
 is admitted ; and an air-pump is set td work, to 
 extract all the air from the pan, in order that 
 the contents may boil at a low temperature. 
 The evaporation proceeds ; and, when com- 
 pleted, the evaporated syrup flows out of the 
 pan through a pipe into an open vessel 
 beneath, called the granulating vessel, around 
 which steam circulates, and within which the 
 syrup is brought to a partially crystallised state. 
 From the granulators the syrup or sugar is 
 transferred into moulds of a conical form, 
 which were formerly made of coarse pottery, 
 but are now usually of iron ; in these moulds 
 the sugar crystallises and whitens, the remain- 
 ing uncrystallised syrup flowing nut at an 
 t opening at the bottom of the moulds. This 
 syrup is re-boiled with raw sugar, so as to 
 
 yield an inferior quality cf sugar; and when 
 all the crystallisable matter has been extracted 
 from it, the remainder is scld as treacle. The 
 loaves of sugar, after a few finishing processes, 
 are ready for sale. 
 
 The improvements introduced into the pro- 
 cesses of sugar-refining allow loaf sugar to be 
 now sold at a price so little exceeding that of 
 raw sugar, that the manufacture has lately 
 vastly increased. 
 
 Sugar-Candy is a land of crystallised sugar 
 made in China and India. The crystals are 
 formed around small strings or twigs, from 
 which they are afterwards broken off. When 
 heated to 365 Fahr. sugar melts into a viscid 
 colourless liquid which when cooled suddenly, 
 becomes barley-sugar. 
 
 Beet Root Sugar is briefly described under 
 BEET. The manufacture is not in a flourishing 
 state, as it canilot well compete commercially 
 with that from the sugar-cane. There is a pro- 
 ject at present on foot for establishing the beet- 
 sugar manufacture in Ireland. It is proposed 
 to establish a Company with a capital of half n, 
 million sterling ; and to buy Irish beet root 
 with a view of extracting sugar from it by 
 processes which have recently been patented, 
 and the patents for which are to be held by 
 the Company. The projectors start upon the 
 basis that the climate, soil, and labour-supply 
 of Ireland are highly favourable to the culture ; 
 and that the patent processes are calculated 
 to peiform the extraction of sugar well and 
 cheaply. It remains to be shewn how far 
 these anticipations are capable of being borne 
 out; if commercially advantageous at all, 
 Ireland must unquestionably be benefited by 
 it. The Company's calculations give 400 tons 
 of sugar and 100 tons of molasses for 00(10 
 tons of beet-root ; and shadow forth a flatter- 
 ing rate of prospective dividend. So do the 
 calculations of the Irish Peat Company ; and 
 we can only at present express a wish that the 
 anticipations may be realised. (April 1851.J 
 
 It has just been announced that thc-ro are 
 now 303 Beet-Sugar Manufactories in France ; 
 and that the produce of French Beet Sugar in 
 1850 was 74,028,007 kilogrammes about 
 100,017,900 Ib. 
 
 Sncfar Trade. Before the discovery of 
 America, sugar was a costly luxury used only 
 on rare occasioils. About 1459 Margaret 
 Paston, writing to her husband, who was a 
 gentleman and land-owner in Norfolk, begs 
 that he will ' vouchsafe' to buy her a pound of 
 sugar. The consumption has gradually but 
 steadily increased throughout the world. 
 
 The" sugar trade of 1840 and 1850 exhibited 
 the following results. The importation of 
 sugar amounted to the quantities here stated: 
 
1629 
 
 SULPHUR 
 
 SULPHUE. 
 
 1630 
 
 FromWesfclndies 2,889,912 cwts. 
 From Mauritius 897,814 
 From East Indies 1,474,474 
 
 Foreign 1,725,149 
 
 Eefined 304,392 
 
 Molasses 1,311,435 
 
 1850 
 
 2,584,162 
 1,003,312 
 1,346,081 
 1,352,476 
 355,387 
 1,249,796 
 
 8j553,176 cwts. 7,891,214 
 
 The total quantities of all lands of sugar and 
 
 molasses re-exported in the same two years, 
 
 together with the exports of sugar refined in 
 
 England, were 
 
 1849 1850 
 
 Ee-exports 761,286 cwts. 466,219 
 
 British refined 223,273 209,235 
 
 1 
 
 984,559 cwts. 675,454 
 The gross amount of duty received on the 
 imported sugar was 4,139,999/. in 1849, and 
 4,130,8197. in 1850. 
 
 The duties on the importation of sugar into 
 this country have varied very considerably. 
 Between the years 1661 and 1815 the duty 
 was gradually raised from Is. Qd. to 30s. per 
 cwt. on British plantation sugar. From 1815 
 to 1844 it varied from 24s. to 30s. East India 
 sugar paid a higher duty than West India 
 until 1836, when the two were assimilated. 
 Foreign sugar paid a duty of 60s. to 63s. per 
 cwt. until the recent legislative changes. In 
 1844 a change was made, whereby sugar from 
 certain foreign countries, under certain defined 
 circumstances, might be admitted at 34s. 
 instead of 63s. duty. In 1845 another act 
 fixed the duty on sugar, from either the East 
 Indies or West Indies, at sums varying from 
 14.s. to 21s., according to the quality. By an 
 act passed in 1846, there was to be a gradual 
 reduction of duties from 1846 to 1851, at the 
 expiration of which period the duty on foreign 
 sugar was to be the same as that on East or 
 West India sugar. By another act passed in 
 1848 this principle of gradual reduction is to 
 extend until July, 1854, after which time 
 sugars from all countries will be placed on 
 the same footing. They will all pay at that 
 time the following import duties per cwt. ; 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Eefined sugar 13 4 
 
 White clayed 11 8 
 
 Brown clayed 10 
 
 Brown raw 10 
 
 Molasses 39 
 
 SULPHUE, or Brimstone, is a solid ele- 
 mentary non-metallic body, which has been 
 known from the remotest antiquity. It is met 
 with pure, and in various states of combina- 
 tion. Sulphur, both crystallised and massive, 
 occurs in beds and veins in Swabia, Hungary, 
 
 and Switzerland. Volcanic sulphur is found 
 in immense quantities in Italy and Sicily. 
 The volcanic sulphur brought to this country 
 is purified for use. What is called refined 
 sulphur is purified by distillation in a large 
 cast-iron still, and it is condensed in an iron 
 receiver kept cool by water ; when melted and 
 cast into wooden moulds, it is called roll or 
 stick sulphur; and when the vaporised sulphur is 
 condensed in a large chamber, it has the form 
 of powder, and is called sublimed sulphur, or 
 flowers of sulphur. 
 
 Sulphur is of a bright yellow colour, resin- 
 ous lustre, slight odour, and nearly opaque. 
 It is insoluble in water, but dissolves in alcohol 
 and in boiling oil of turpentine. It is very 
 volatile. When sulphur is heated it begins 
 to vaporise before it fuses : at 555 to 600 it 
 is rapidly volatilised, and in close vessels is 
 condensed without change. Some metals 
 when heated in it burn vividly. The fusing- 
 point of sulphur is 232, and between this 
 and 280 it possesses the highest degree of 
 fluidity : at 320 it begins to thicken, and at 
 482 is so tenacious that it will not flow from 
 an inverted vessel : from this to 600, which 
 is its boiling point, it again becomes liquid, 
 blit not so perfectly so as at 280 ; when boiled 
 in close vessels, an orange -coloured vapour is 
 formed. When poured into water in a fluid 
 state, at about the temperature of 428, it be- 
 comes a brown pasty mass, which readily 
 receives and retains any form given to it, and 
 hence it is employed in taking casts. 
 
 The compounds of sulphur with othf 
 bodies are of almost incalculable importance 
 With oxygen it forms sulphurous add gas, 
 which has powerful bleaching properties. With 
 a further portion of oxygen, it forms sulphuric 
 acid, so largely employed in the manufacturiiig 
 arts. With hydrogen it forms sulphuretted 
 hydrogen gas, the powerful constituent of Har- 
 rogate and other mineral waters. When sul- 
 phur has been brought to the state of sul- 
 phuric acid by combining with oxygen, it 
 becomes still more valuable than in any of 
 the above named forms ; for it then consti- 
 tutes the well-known sulphates, by combining 
 with various oxides ; we thus have the 
 sulphates of soda, potash, ammonia, iron, 
 copper, barytes, lime, magnesia, &c., the 
 practical uses of which are so numerous. 
 
 Sulphur Trade. Although sulphur exists 
 in Iceland, TeneriiTe, St. Vincent's, and some 
 other places, the expense of obtaining it is so 
 great, that Sicily alone has furnished the sup- 
 ply required. From 1833 to 1838 England 
 took 49 per cent, of the whole quantity of sul- 
 phur exported from Sicily, and France 43 per 
 cent., leaving only 8 per cent, for all othei 
 
1031 
 
 SULPHURATION. 
 
 SUMACH. 
 
 1032 
 
 countries ; and part of this was shipped for 
 Malta, and eventually reached England. The 
 Sicilian sulphur mines are the property of 
 individuals, and from fifteen to twenty English 
 firms settled in Sicily are engaged in the 
 trade. In 1836 M. Taix, a Frenchman, laid 
 before the Sicilian government a project for 
 establishing a company which was to have the 
 exclusive right during ten years of purchasing 
 Sicilian sulphur at fixed prices, on condition 
 of spending 10,000/. a year in constructing 
 roads, and exporting one-third of the quantity 
 produced in Sicilian vessels. The British 
 merchants becoming alarmed, the Sicilian 
 government, in reply to the British ambas- 
 sador, stated that no such project would be 
 adopted. It would have been in direct con- 
 travention to certain commercial treaties be- 
 tween the two governments. The Sicilian 
 government did, however, enter into a con- 
 tract with M. Taix, and on the 4th of July, 
 1838, notice was given at Palermo that the 
 monopoly would come into operation on the 
 1st of August ensuing. The negociations 
 respecting this monopoly were conducted with 
 great secrecy, and it came into operation so 
 suddenly, that twenty-four vessels lost their 
 cargoes. The British lessees of mines, and 
 all others, were compelled to produce only a 
 fixed quantity of sulphur ; prices rose more 
 than twofold, contracts could not be completed, 
 the supply became inadequate to the English 
 demand, and other quarters were looked to 
 for a supply. At length the British govern- 
 ment took very decided steps to put an end 
 to a monopoly established in the face of com- 
 mercial treaties ; and the trade was then 
 restored to its former footing. 
 
 The imports of sulphur during the last 
 three years have been as follows : 
 
 j 848 068,392 cwts. 
 
 1849 845,388 
 
 1850 664,630 
 
 SULPHURATION, or SULPHURING, is 
 the process of bleaching employed to give 
 whiteness to silk and woollens by exposing 
 them to the fumes of burning sulphur. For 
 this process a detached chamber, without a 
 chimney, is made use of, so constructed, 
 that, when required, a current of air may be 
 passed through it. Straw-plat work is also 
 bleached by sulphuring. 
 
 SULPHURIC ACID MANUFACTURE. 
 The manufacture of this important acid in- 
 volves arrangements of great magnitude and 
 interest. At the chemical works of Glasgow, 
 Newcastle, and a few other large towns, the 
 production of sulphuric acid is carried on 
 upon a vast scale. The process consists 
 mainly in bringing sulphur in contact with 
 
 the air and combining tho fumes thus pro 
 duced with water. As the fumes are very 
 deleterious to the workmen, and as both tho 
 fumes and the liquid exert a corrosive action 
 on the vessels which contain them, the 
 apparatus requires to be of a very peculiar 
 kind. 
 
 In the first place the Sicilian sulphur is 
 placed in a series of close-fitting iron furnaces, 
 where it is kindled ; it combines with oxygen 
 in the act of burning, and produces sulphurous 
 acid gas, which gas finds an exit into a hollow 
 wall behind the row of furnaces. The gas 
 passes from thence into vessels which are 
 among the largest known in any department 
 of manufactures. At the Felling chemical 
 works near Newcastle, there are two sulphur- 
 ous acid chambers, each 200 feet long, 20 
 wide, and 20 high ; and four others about 
 half this length ; they are formed of sheet 
 lead, framed strongly together. 
 
 In the leaden chambers a conversion takes 
 place of sulphurous acid into sulphuric acid, 
 and from a gas to a liquid. While the sul- 
 phur has been burning in the furnaces, such 
 other ingredients as will yield a little nitrous 
 acid vapour are also heated in the furnace ; the 
 nitrous acid vapour accompanies the sulphu- 
 rous acid gas into the chamber : steam is also 
 admitted into the chamber, and a curious 
 chemical result follows. The acid gas, moist- 
 ened by the steam, abstracts oxygen from the 
 nitrous acid vapour, and becomes thereby 
 changed from sulphuroi/s into sulphuric acid; 
 and this sulphuric acid, combining with the 
 water of the condensed steam in the bottom of 
 the chamber, becomes a liquid, and then con- 
 stitutes the sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol of 
 the shops. In order to concentrate the acid for 
 some purposes, it requires to be distilled ; but 
 such is its corroding nature, that few mate- 
 rials will resist its action ; and hence the 
 costly metal platinum is used for the stills for 
 distilling this acid. At the Felling works a 
 platinum still was provided some years ago, 
 which cost one thousand guineas, its weight 
 being about one thousand ounces ; it there- 
 fore cost about four times its weight in pure 
 silver ! Platinum has, however, become less 
 costly in recent years. 
 
 SUMACH, or SHUMAC, is a tanning and 
 dye drug procured from the genus of Rhus 
 plants. The chief species, Rhus cotinus, grows 
 extensively in warm climates. It is made 
 use of, like many other species, for tanning 
 in Italy, where it is called scotino ; the wood 
 is used by the modern Greeks for dyeing 
 wool of a beautiful rich yellow colour. The 
 Rhus coriaria is extensively used for tanning ; 
 and it is said that all the leather made in 
 
1633 
 
 SUMATRA. 
 
 SUNDEKLAND. 
 
 1634 
 
 Turkey is tanned with the bark of this 
 species. 
 
 Besides the dye and tan ingredient, many 
 species of sumach tree yield a varnish or 
 japan. The well-known gum-copal of com- 
 merce, from which copal varnish is made, is 
 believed to be procured from the Ehus copal- 
 Una. The celebrated japan varnish is pro- 
 duced from the Ehus vernicifera, or varnish- 
 bearing sumach. The varnish is obtained from 
 those branches of the plant which are about 
 two or three years old, by incision ; it is at 
 first white, and of the consistence of cream, 
 but it thickens and blackens after a little ex- 
 posure ; it is exceedingly transparent, and 
 when used a dark surface of finely powdered 
 charcoal is placed underneath it. The Ja- 
 panese use this varnish, which is very hard, 
 on their doorposts, windows, household furni- 
 ture, and nearly all their wood -work. 
 
 The sumach used by the tanners of Ber- 
 mondsey, is the powder of the leaves and 
 young branches of the Ehus coriaria; it has 
 a fine yellow colour, and is imported from 
 Sicily in cloth bags containing about one cwt. 
 each. For the mode of using it in tanning 
 goat-skins, see LEATHER MANUFACTURE. No 
 less than 12,929 tons of sumach were im- 
 ported in 1850. 
 
 SUMATRA. This is one of the most fer- 
 tile and important islands in the eastern 
 hemisphere. Pace is cultivated in the lowest 
 plains and in the elevated valleys of the 
 mountain range. The most common es- 
 culent vegetables are different kinds of 
 yams, both red and white; the St. Helena 
 yam ; sweet potatoes, common potatoes only 
 in the more elevated districts ; bredy, a kind 
 of spinach ; lobuck, or the Spanish radish ; 
 the large purple brinjall, or egg-plant; and 
 many different sorts of beans, with white and 
 green peas, and onions. The peas and onions 
 are articles of export from the north-eastern 
 coast to Penang and Singapore. Chili or 
 capsicum, turmeric, ginger, coriander, and 
 cummin seed, are raised, especially on the 
 western coast. Hemp is extensively culti- 
 vated, but only for smoking with tobacco. 
 Tobacco is also grown, and is an article 
 of export from the harbours on the north- 
 eastern coast. Melons are raised on the 
 plains, and sometimes attain an extraordinary 
 size. Sesamum is cultivated for its oil ; and 
 the Palma Christi, from which castor-oil is 
 obtained, grows wild. The sugar-cane is only 
 cultivated for chewing ; no sugar is manufac- 
 tured, but it is imported from Java. The 
 plantations of betel-vines are extensive. In- 
 digo and cotton are raised for domestic use 
 only. The fruits are abundant, and include 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 the cocoa-nut, plantains, banana, the bread- 
 fruit tree, jack tree, mangusteens, durians, 
 mango, different lands of orange and lemon 
 trees, especially the shaddock: the pine- apple, 
 the jambo, the guava, the papaya, the custard- 
 apple, the pomegranate, and the tamarind 
 The pepper- plant is more abundant in Sumatra 
 than in any other part of the globe. Coffee, 
 sago, cloves, and nutmegs are grown. The 
 forests supply an inexhaustible variety of 
 timber. 
 
 Sumatra was once noted for its gold, and a 
 considerable quantity is still exported. Tin 
 occurs in several places on the great plain, 
 but is very little worked, as large quantities 
 are obtained in the Island of Banca, where it 
 is got with less labour. Copper is found be- 
 tween 2 and 3 N. lat., where it occurs in 
 great abundance in an extensive tract. Sumatra 
 contains gold, but it is not much worked. Iron, 
 sulphur, saltpetre, coal, and salt, occur in 
 small quantities. 
 
 Nothing perhaps shows more clearly the 
 advanced state of civilization of the inhabitants 
 of Sumatra than their manufacturing industry. 
 The most important manufactures are those 
 of iron and steel, which are carried to a con- 
 siderable degree of perfection in Menangcabau, 
 where iron has been worked from time imme- 
 morial. Silk and cotton fabrics, earthenware, 
 and various works in metal, are among the 
 best of the manufactures. 
 
 SUN-DIAL. Up to a comparatively recent 
 period the science of constructing sun-dials, 
 under the name of gnomonics, was an impor- 
 tant part of practical science. As long as 
 watches were scarce, and clocks not very com- 
 mon, the dial, which is now only a toy, was in 
 actual use as a timekeeper. Of the mathe - 
 rnatical works of the 17th century which are 
 found on book-stalls, none are so common as 
 those on dialling. A sun -dial consists of two 
 parts : the style, usually supplied by the edge 
 of a plate of metal, always made parallel to 
 the earth's axis, and therefore pointing to- 
 wards the north ; and the dial, which is another 
 plate of metal, horizontal or not, on which 
 are marked the directions of the shadow for 
 the several hours, their halves and quarters, 
 and sometimes smaller subdivisions. 
 
 The varieties of sun-dial are numerous ; 
 but as the instrument is now little in use, it 
 is unnecessary to describe them. 
 
 SUNDERLAND, with its northern suburb 
 of Monk Wearmouth, constitutes the busy 
 commercial mouth of the Wear. This river 
 is crossed by an iron bridge of one arch, 
 erected near the close of the last century. 
 The abutments are piers of nearly solid ma- 
 sonry, 24 feet in thickness. The arch is of 
 
 QQ 
 
 No. 39 
 
1635 
 
 SUNDE ELAND. 
 
 SURREY. 
 
 1636 
 
 iron, and forms the segment of a large circle, 
 having a span of 236 feet ; the height above 
 low water is 60 feet to the spring, and 94 feet 
 to the centre of the arch, so that ships of 
 300 tons pass under it very readily by lower- 
 ing their top-gallant masts. The superstruc- 
 ture is of timber planked over, with flagged 
 footpaths and iron balustrades. This was for 
 many years the most remarkable iron bridge 
 in England. 
 
 The preservation and improvement of the 
 port and harbour of Sunderland are entirely 
 owing to the exertions of commissioners who 
 have been appointed under successive acts of 
 parliament for levying certain dues and ap- 
 plying them to the cleansing and improving 
 of the harbour. J These works, and particularly 
 the construction of piers on both sides of the 
 mouth of the river, have had so great an 
 effect in improving the port, that ships draw- 
 ing from 15 to 18 feet of water can now enter 
 and depart from the harbour with great safety. 
 There is a wet-dock comprising nearly 8 acres, 
 with a tidal basin attached to it, on the north 
 side of the river near the entrance of the har- 
 bour. In July, 1850, a very large wet-dock 
 was opened on the south side of the river. 
 The works extend from the river to Hendon 
 Bay. First is the tidal harbour of 2% acres 
 opening from the river; next the half-tide 
 basin (2 acres), leading from it to the great 
 dock of 20 acres, near the south end of which 
 are the two jetties, one already occupied by 
 four staiths for the shipment of coals, the 
 rest of the accommodation being intended for 
 general traffic. The widths of the entrances 
 between the tidal harbour and the half-tide 
 basin are respectively 45 and 60 feet, and that 
 between the half- tide basin and the great dock 
 60 feet. In the great dock the depth in the 
 middle at high water of ordinary spring tides is 
 24 feet, and at neap tides 20 feet 6 inches. Be- 
 sides the site recovered from the sea, now form- 
 ing the dock, an area of upwards of 25 acres 
 of land has in like manner been gained from 
 the sea to the eastward of the dock, which wil 
 be found exceedingly valuable and available 
 for many useful purposes. The coal traffi< 
 is brought by the branch railway to the staiths 
 on the jetties. The access to the dock for 
 other traffic is from the foot of the High 
 Street along the western side of the docks 
 and to the eastern side by moveable pontoons 
 over the two entrances from the tidal harbour 
 to the half- tide basin. The dock is considered 
 to be the cheapest, as well as one of the best 
 that has ever been constructed. 
 
 The principal manufactures of Sunderland 
 are of bottle and flint glass, anchors, chain 
 cables, and other iron goods for ships, and 
 
 cordage. Ship- building is carried on to a 
 greater extent than in any other seaport of 
 the British empire. On December 3] , 1849, 
 here were 90 ships building, the aggregate 
 iurthen of which was 29,21 tons. 5000 tons 
 f shipping more were built in 1849 than in 
 848, and 10,000 more in 1850 than in 1849. 
 The number of ships belonging to the port in 
 849 was 155 (44,333 tons). About 140 firms 
 are engaged in business in connection with 
 hip-building, as chain-cable manufacturers, 
 ;ail-cloth manufacturers, anchor and ship- 
 imiths, rope, sail, mast, block, or pump 
 nakers ; besides ship-owners, brokers, and 
 chandlers. Some of the ropewalks are on a 
 very large scale. Brick-making, coal-mining, 
 and the quarrying of grindstones, are carried 
 011 in the neighbourhood ; and there are cop- 
 )eras-works, brass-foundries, potteries, hat- 
 manufactories, lime-works, timber-yards, saw- 
 Tiills, flour-mills, tan-yards, and breweries. 
 The town is, however, more important from 
 ts commerce than its manufactures. In 
 shipping coal it is exceeded only by the p&rt 
 of Newcastle, and recently perhaps by Stock- 
 ton. 
 
 The export of lime is another principal 
 branch of trade ; also the export of glass and 
 grindstones. The imports are timber and 
 iron from the Baltic ; butter, cheese, and flax 
 from Holland ; and a variety of goods brought 
 oastwise. A considerable fishery is carried 
 on. 
 
 SUREEY. The agriculture of this county 
 has immediate reference to the wants of the 
 vast metropolis. The soil varies greatly in 
 different districts ; the richest is that which 
 lies along the banks of the rivers, consisting 
 chiefly of a deep alluvial loam. On this soil, 
 in the neighbourhood of London, are some of 
 those extremely productive and highly culti- 
 vated market-gardens which supply the metro- 
 polis with fruit and vegetables. The immense 
 quantity of manure which is annually laid on 
 the land so occupied, and the deep trenching 
 and digging which are repeated at short 
 intervals, have converted the whole surface, 
 to the depth of three feet or more, into a rich 
 black vegetable mould. On this soil are 
 raised the best and earliest culinary vegeta- 
 bles, which so rapidly succeed each other that 
 five or six different crops are sometimes 
 gathered from the same ground in one year. 
 The well-known hop-grounds in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Farnham are mostly on a mixed 
 soil of loam and calcareous earth. The 
 greater value of Farnham hops in the market 
 is probably owing partly to the soil being pe- 
 culiarly suited to this plant, and partly to the 
 greater care with which it is cultivated. 
 
1637 
 
 SURVEYING. 
 
 Numerous and attractive as are the towns 
 and villages in Surrey, they owe their im 
 portance either to the villa residences which 
 stud them, or to the agricultural markets of 
 which they are the centres ; very few of them 
 present a manufacturing character. 
 
 SURVEYING is the art of determining the 
 form and dimensions of tracts of ground, the 
 plans of towns and single houses, the courses 
 of roads and rivers, with the boundaries of 
 estates, fields, &c. 
 
 Since the measurement of the distance 
 between two objects by means of a rod or 
 chain is very laborious and inaccurate when 
 that distance is considerable, particularly if 
 the ground has many inequalities of level, 
 and is much intersected by walls, hedges, and 
 streams of water, it will seldom be possible to 
 execute even an ordinary survey by such 
 means alone, and instruments for taking 
 angles must be employed, together with the 
 chain, in every operation of importance. A 
 base line of moderate length is measured, 
 and angular observations taken from its two 
 extremities, to determine the relative position 
 of objects. 
 
 The surveying instruments are few in num- 
 ber ; and the processes are of too mathema- 
 tical a character to call for description here. 
 
 SUSPENSION BRIDGE is a bridge in 
 which the weight of the roadway, instead of 
 resting upon arches of masonry, or on a rigid 
 framework of wood or iron, is supported by 
 the tension of ropes, chains, or rods. 
 
 We have no account of the existence of 
 iron suspension- bridges in Europe before the 
 middle of the last century. The earliest 
 appears to have been a small one built across 
 the river Tees, at an elevation of about 60 
 feet, two miles above Middleton, for foot pas- 
 sengers only. The first iron suspension 
 bridge built in America was that constructed 
 in 1796, by Mr. Finlay, across Jacob's Creek, 
 on the road between Union Town and Green- 
 burgh, the length of which was about 70 .feet. 
 Mr. Finlay subsequently, in 1801, obtained a 
 patent for the construction of such bridges, 
 and built several in the United States ; one of 
 which, over the Schuylkill, was 306 feet long. 
 In 1807 a scheme was proposed by M. Belu, 
 a French engineer, for crossing the Rhine, 
 between Wesel and Ruderich, by a bridge 
 about 820 feet long, to be supported by a net- 
 work of wrought-iron chains. In 1814 a 
 bridge of similar construction was proposed 
 for crossing the Mersey at Runcorn Gap, so 
 as to form a direct communication between 
 Runcorn in Cheshire and Liverpool. In 1816 
 a suspension-bridge was built across Gala 
 Water, made of thin wires, at a cost of only 
 
 SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 1638 
 
 about 402., although its span was about 111 
 feet. Another wire bridge of about the same 
 length was built in 1817 across the Tweed, at 
 King's Meadows, at an expense of 160/. Sir 
 Samuel Brown soon afterwards introduced an 
 improved method of constructing chains for 
 suspending the roadway. Chains of the ordi- 
 nary form, with short links, are very defective 
 in strength ; and several difficulties, among 
 which is the great extent of surface exposed 
 to oxidation, attend the use of cables con- 
 sisting of small rods or wires. The plan 
 adopted by Sir S. Brown was to form chains 
 of round or flat bars of iron, several feet 
 long, having either welded eyes or drilled 
 holes at each end, and being connected toge- 
 ther by short links and bolt-pins. The first 
 extensive bridge erected upon this plan was 
 the Union Bridge across the Tweed, near 
 Berwick, opened for use in 1820. The length 
 is 449 feet, and the deflection is about 30 feet. 
 There are twelve suspending chains, arranged 
 in pairs side by side, and in three tiers, one 
 above the other ; each chain being formed of 
 round rods, 15 feet long, and 2 inches in 
 diameter. The suspension-rods are round, 
 an inch in diameter, and are attached alter- 
 nately to each of the three tiers of chains. 
 In 1821 Brown commenced the Trinity sus- 
 pension -pier at Newhaven, near Edinburgh, 
 which consists of three spans of 209 feet 
 each, with 14 feet deflection. In 1818 the 
 Hctyhead Road Commissioners applied to 
 Telfbrd for his opinion respecting the erection 
 of an iron suspension-bridge at the Menai. 
 A brief account of this beautiful bridge, and 
 of the yet more extraordinary Britannia 
 Tubular Bridge, recently erected near it by 
 Mr. Robert Stephenson, will be found under 
 MENAI BRIDGES. 
 
 While the Meuai Bridge was in progress 
 Sir S. Brown constructed the suspension-pier 
 at Brighton, which consists of four openings 
 of 255 feet each, with a deflection of 18 feet ; 
 and Mr. W. Tierney Clark commenced in 1 824 
 the Hammersmith suspension-bridge, the 
 first erected in the vicinity of London. The 
 central opening of the Hammersmith Bridge 
 aas a chord-line of 422 feet, with a deflection 
 of about 30 feet. The width of the bridge is 
 about 30 feet, there being a carriage-way ot 
 20 feet, and two side foot-paths of 5 feet each. 
 There are eight chains, arranged in four 
 double lines, or in two vertical tiers. The 
 Hungerford suspension-bridge, opened April 
 L8th, 1845, is for foot passengers only; the 
 chains are borne by two towers in the river, 
 22 feet square and 80 feet high, the height of 
 lie roadway above high-water mark being 32 
 'eet, The span of the centre between the two 
 
1639 SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 
 
 SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 1640 
 
 towers is 676 feet 6 inches, of each of the 
 side arches 333 feet. The roadway is supported 
 by single suspension rods 12 feet apart on 
 each side. It was built under the direction of 
 Mr. I. K. Brunei. 
 
 Some suspension-bridges have been erected 
 in which the main chains, instead of passing 
 over a pier or tower at or near each end of the 
 platform, are supported by a single tower in 
 the centre of the bridge, and form what may 
 be called two semi-catenaries. A bridge of 
 this kind was built in 1823 by Sir M. I. Brunei, 
 in the Isle of Bourbon. The bridge consists 
 of two openings of 122 feet each. A few 
 suspension-bridges have been built in which 
 the chains are suspended below the platform, 
 which is supported by framework built upon 
 instead of hanging from them. 
 
 Some small bridges of wire have been 
 alluded to already, and Drewry describes 
 several of large dimensions which were 
 erected on the Continent soon after the intro- 
 duction of suspension-bridges upon an exten- 
 sive scale in Great Britain. The first large 
 one erected in France was that of Tournon, 
 across the Rhone, between Tain and Tournon, 
 in 1824-5; it consists of two openings of 278 
 feet each. Another remarkable wire-bridge is 
 that over the Sarine, at Fribourg in Switzer- 
 land, which was completed in 1834, by M. 
 Challey. It has a span, from pier to pier, of 
 870 feet, and is 167 feet above the level of the 
 river, being much longer and higher than the 
 Menai Bridge. The platform is suspended 
 from four cables, arranged in pairs at the 
 sides of the bridge, with a deflection of 55 
 feet. The wire of which the bridge is com- 
 posed is about one-twelfth of an inch in dia- 
 meter, and each cable consists of fifteen 
 bundles of eighty wires each, packed together 
 in a cylindrical form, and bound round at 
 intervals of two or three feet with annealed 
 wire. The wires are not twisted together 
 like the strands of a rope, but each of them 
 extends straight from end to end of the cable. 
 The two pairs of cables are suspended at a 
 distance of 30 feet from each other, but the 
 width between the lower ends of the suspen- 
 sion rods is only 24 feet, so that their position 
 is not quite vertical. These rods are small 
 cables, consisting of thirty wires similar to 
 those of which the cables are composed. The 
 roadway is formed of fir planks, supported 
 by transverse beams, and stiffened by a strong 
 oak railing, or diagonal truss. The bridge was 
 completed at a eost of 24,OOOZ., and was 
 publicly opened in 1834. 
 
 The use of wire instead of bar-chains in 
 the construction of suspension-bridges is 
 favoured by the simplicity of the apparatus 
 
 necessary for their erection, and the superior 
 strength, bulk for bulk, of small wires o\er 
 bars of considerable dimensions. In some 
 instances the chain system and the wire 
 system have been combined. There is a chain 
 bridge at Geneva, in which both the long and 
 short links may be called skeins of wire, 
 bound round into a cylindrical form in the 
 centre, and spread out into broad loops at the 
 ends, where they embrace the hollow bolts. 
 The structure is in fact a chain bridge, of 
 which the chain-bars and linking-plates 
 consist of bundles of wire instead of solid 
 bars. 
 
 Several suspension-bridges of small span 
 have been constructed upon an ingenious plan 
 which combines the advantages of the oppo- 
 site principles of tension and compression. 
 The first of these was the Monk Bridge, 
 across the river Aire at Leeds, which was 
 erected in 1827, by Mr. George Leather, of 
 that place. The platform is supported by 
 vertical suspension-rods, the upper ends of 
 which, instead of being attached to catenarian 
 chains, are supported by rigid arches of cast- 
 iron, which rising between the carriage-way 
 and the footpaths, are elevated above the level 
 of the platform. The suspending rods are of 
 malleable iron, and they sustain transverse 
 cast-iron beams upon which the roadway is 
 laid. Timber bridges have been constructed 
 on a similar principle to the above. Drewry 
 mentions one at Eglisau, near Zurich, in 
 Switzerland, consisting of two arches formed 
 of beams 15 feet long, 10 inches broad, and 1 
 foot deep, with their abutting ends secured by 
 iron straps. The ends of the arches are tied 
 together by horizontal braces, and the weight 
 of the platform is suspended by vertical 
 bars arranged in pairs, which embrace the 
 wooden arch or rib, and are bolted together 
 above it. 
 
 Much attention has been excited by the 
 principle of constructing suspension-bridges 
 introduced by Mr. Dredge of Bath, who ob- 
 tained a patent for his invention in 1836. The 
 leading features of his plan are the adaptation 
 of every part of the chain to the precise 
 amount of strain to which it is exposed, by 
 diminishing the number of plates, and conse- 
 quently the weight and strength of the chains, 
 from the points of suspension to the lowest 
 or central point of the catenary ; and the 
 position of the suspending rods, which, 
 instead of being vertical, are arranged in 
 oblique lines from their points of attachment 
 to the main chains towards the centre of the 
 catenary. The Victoria Bridge over the Avon, 
 at Bath, which was built on this plan in 1836, 
 contains only twenty-one tons of iron, although 
 
10-41 
 
 SUSSEX. 
 
 SWEDEN. 
 
 1642 
 
 it is of 150 feet span. The number of bridges 
 since built on this plan is very considerable. 
 An example of them on a very small scale 
 may be seen in the Kegent's Park. In 1827 8 
 a suspension-bridge of steel was erected over 
 the Danube at Vienna, by an engineer named 
 Von Mitis; the bridge alluded to at Vienna 
 has a chord-line of 334 English feet, with a 
 deflection of nearly 21 1 feet. 
 
 Perhaps the finest suspension bridge ever 
 constructed is that built by Mr. Tierney Clark 
 over the Danube at Pesth. In magnitude 
 and in cost it exceeds all others. It was 
 finished in 1849, and was shortly afterwards 
 traversed by the Austrian and Hungarian 
 armies. 
 
 Suspension-bridges are well adapted for 
 many situations in which, from the limited 
 traffic, the expense of ordinary stone bridges 
 would prevent their adoption, and also for 
 places in which, from the great span required, 
 the great elevation, the unfavourable nature 
 of the bottom, or the rapidity of the current 
 to be crossed, the erection of any other kind 
 of bridge would be difficult; but they are not 
 applicable to situations of great and constant 
 traffic, since they are much weaker than arch- 
 bridges, and very liable to injury from the 
 vibration occasioned by what might appear 
 slight force?. 
 
 SUSSEX. Few persons are now aware that 
 Sussex was once an iron smelting county. 
 It was in the wealden strata of Sussex, when 
 wood was abundant and when charcoal was 
 employed in smelting iron, that the chief 
 iron-works of Sussex were situated, the iron- 
 ore being extracted from the ironstone of the 
 argillaceous beds. Up to the year 1720 Sussex 
 was the principal seat of the iron manufac 
 ture in England ; but by degrees the furnaces 
 were disused and the manufacture transferred 
 to districts where coal was abundant. The last 
 furnace, at Ashburnham, was blown out in 
 1827. 
 
 The rich marsh-lands, of which there are 
 about 30,000 acres in the county, make an 
 excellent pasture-ground, on which many oxen 
 and sheep are reared and fatted for market. 
 There are also about 50,000 acres of down- 
 land, which produce excellent pasture for the 
 small sheep known as Southdown sheep. 
 Hops are cultivated to a considerable extent 
 in the eastern part of the county ; they have 
 been introduced from Kent, and have gradu- 
 ally extended themselves westward. Upwards 
 of 8000 acres are now under cultivation ; the 
 produce however is not so much esteemed in 
 the market as that of Kent. 
 
 Sussex, like Surrey, has but few of the 
 characteristics of a manufacturing county; its 
 
 towns are pleasure towns and agricultural 
 towns, rather than manufacturing towns. Of 
 the former class are Bognor, Brighton, East- 
 bourne, Hastings, and Worthing. There is, 
 however, a small amount of sea and river 
 traffic at Arundel, Newhaven, Eye, and Shore- 
 ham. 
 
 SWANSEA. This important Welch town 
 contains groups of furnaces and other works 
 connected with the smelting of copper, for 
 which Swansea is celebrated. The ore is im- 
 ported from Cornwall, Devonshire, and other 
 parts of Great Britain, and also from various 
 foreign places besides Australia. Besides the 
 works for smelting copper, there are iron- 
 works, zinc-works, tin-plate-works, yards for 
 building and repairing ships, roperies, tanne- 
 ries, and potteries. The traffic with the 
 country is facilitated by several canals and 
 tram-roads. A canal about 17 miles in length 
 runs along the valley of the Tawe into Breck- 
 nockshire ; another connects the Neath river 
 and canal with Swansea harbour ; and a third 
 communicates with collieries on the N.E. of 
 the town. In 1849 the trade of Swansea was 
 as follows : Foreign vessels entered inwards 
 with cargoes, 205, bringing 48,000 tons ; out- 
 wards, with cargoes, 438, taking 50,000 tons ; 
 inwards, with ballast, 112; 9000 tons; out- 
 wards, with ballast, 16 ; 3600 tons. Coasting 
 vessels entered inwards with cargoes, 4000, 
 bringing 263,000 tons ; outwards, with car- 
 goes, 6000, taking 355,000 tons. In addition 
 to the above, about 100 vessels arrived in 
 ballast, and about 200 cleared out in ballast. 
 Eighteen out of the 205 (of a burthen of 
 600 tons each) entering inwards from foreign 
 parts brought copper ore and wool from South 
 Australia. 
 
 The copper ore bought at Swansea by the 
 smelters during the last few years has varied 
 from 600,0002. to 900,OOOZ. annually in value. 
 It is all purchased by about eight or ten 
 large firms, whose smelting works form the 
 most distinguishing features in the neighbour- 
 hood of Swansea. When smelted and reduced 
 to the forms of ingot, bar, sheet, &c., it is 
 distributed throughout every part of the 
 United Kingdom, and indeed throughout the 
 known world. Almost all the copper ore 
 smelted in this country is smelted in and 
 near Swansea. For further details on this 
 subject, see COPPEE. 
 
 SWEDEN. The climate and soil are less 
 favourable to the growth of grain in Sweden 
 than in most other parts of Europe. The 
 principal objects of cultivation are rye, barley, 
 oats, peas and wheat. The produce of pota- 
 toes increased from about 200,000 qrs. in 
 1805 to about 2,000,000 qrs. in 1840. Other 
 
1643 
 
 SWEDEN. 
 
 SWEDEN. 
 
 1644 
 
 objects of cultivation are hemp, flax, and 
 tobacco ; buckwheat, carraway seed, hops and 
 madder. Cherries, apples, and pears, are 
 abundant only in the southern districts ; 
 cranberries and other berries abound in the 
 northern districts. The forests are very large, 
 covering altogether more than one-fourth of 
 the whole of the surface of Sweden. The 
 export of timber, though considerable, is not 
 in proportion to the immense extent of the 
 woods. The forests supply fire- wood, of which 
 a great quantity is consumed, as Sweden has 
 no useful coal. Large quantities of charcoal 
 are also used in the mines and factories. Tar 
 and pitch are extracted chiefly from the roots 
 of pine trees, and are minor articles of export. 
 Several kinds of coniferous trees and birch 
 compose the greater part of these forests. 
 Oak and beech grow only in the southern dis- 
 tricts. The seas of Sweden contain abundance 
 of fish. Salmon abounds in almost all the 
 rivers and lakes. 
 
 Sweden is rich in minerals. Gold is found 
 on the table-land of Smaland, at Adelforss, 
 but no mines are worked. Silver mines are 
 worked at Sala, in Westeras Lan, and at some 
 other places, and in Falu Lan. The annual 
 produce of the copper-mines amounts to 
 nearly 1000 tons ; the richest mines are those 
 at Falun in Falu Lan and at Otvidaberg in 
 Linkb'ping Lan. Lead mines are worked in 
 Westeras and in Falu. Iron-ore is found in 
 nearly every district of Sweden, and there is 
 no part where it is not worked more or less, 
 with the exception of the plain of Scania, 
 where it seems that no iron ore exists ; the 
 best iron is obtained from the mines of Dan- 
 nemora in Upsala Lan. The annual produce 
 of all the iron mines of Sweden amounts to 
 more than 67,000 tons of bar iron. In Orebro 
 Lan are rich mines of cobalt, which yield 
 annually more than 600 tons ; this metal is 
 found in several other parts of Sweden. At 
 some places alum and vitriol are obtained, 
 but only in small quantities. Some bad 
 brown coal is raised near Cape Kullen in 
 Scania. Porphyry is got at Elfvedal, in the 
 upper valley of the Dai-Elf, and marble in 
 the mountains north of Norrkoping. 
 
 Manufactures have been fostered in Sweden 
 by a system of prohibitions and severe 
 restrictions. The most important industrial 
 establishments are confined to the large towns. 
 Stockholm has large sugar-refineries, cotton 
 and silk factories, tanyards, woollen- cloth 
 mills, &c. Norrkoping is the chief centre of 
 the woollen manufactures. Steam machinery 
 and mill-work are manufactured in Motala, 
 Stockholm, and Nykoping, which last has also 
 large iron-foundries. Tobacco is extensively 
 
 manufactured in most of the large towns. 
 Other products are paper, cotton-yarn, glass, 
 morocco leather, printed cottons and linens, 
 seed-oils, pottery and chinaware, linen, soap, 
 sail-cloth, silk ribands, &c. Gbteborg has 
 important breweries, sugar-refineries, and 
 sail-cloth factories. Very few of the articles 
 named are exported from Sweden, and none to 
 any considerable amount; nor of many of 
 the most important items is the supply suffi- 
 cient for the demand. The Swedish peasant 
 is of necessity himself a handicraftsman and 
 manufacturer ; and very few persons, compa- 
 ratively speaking, are exclusively devoted to 
 technical trades. The most important articles 
 of peasant industry are the coarse woollen 
 stuffs of Dalecarlia and West Gothland in 
 which the country people are clad ; the linen 
 of West Gothland and Helsingland, and the 
 damasks and fine linens of Angermanland ; 
 the stockings, pottery, turnery, and woodwork 
 of West Gothland and Schonen ; and the 
 wooden clocks of Dalecarlia; all of which 
 enter largely into the internal trade of the 
 country. Breweries and distilleries are to be 
 found in most of the towns; and most of 
 the towns on the coast have ship-building 
 yards. 
 
 The internal commerce, which is consider- 
 able, in corn, salt, fish, whisky, bricks and 
 tiles, linens, and other manufactured goods is 
 facilitated by good roads and navigable rivers, 
 and in winter by the whole country being 
 covered with snow a circumstance which 
 renders the conveyance of goods in sledges 
 easy and expeditious. The Swedes are much 
 given to a seafaring life. Their vessels visit 
 most of the countries contiguous to the 
 Atlantic, and they are also employed in the 
 carrying trade between other countries, espe- 
 cially in the Mediterranean, and on the coasts 
 of South America. The imports consist of 
 fish from Norway ; butter, tallow, and provi- 
 sions from Finland ; hemp, flax and hemp 
 seed, linseed oil, hides, tallow, and peltry from 
 Russia ; corn, wool, cattle, and provisions from 
 Denmark ; colonial produce, dye-stuffs, spices, 
 and manufactured goods, from England and 
 the Hanse towns ; fruit, cattle, corn, and 
 manufactured articles from Mecklenburg and 
 Prussia ; wine, fruits, oil, and silk from France ; 
 tropical fruits and salt '(an important article, 
 which Sweden does not produce) from Por- 
 tugal and Spain ; colonial produce and dye- 
 stuffs, drugs, hides, tobacco, and rum, from 
 America and the East Indies. 
 
 The principal articles of export are bar 
 and pig iron, nails and other wrought iron ; 
 boards, planks, logs and spars, slaves, tar ; 
 some copper, brass, alum, manganese, paper, 
 
1645 SWEEPING MACHINE. 
 
 and linen and hempen fabrics. The value of 
 the imports in 1844 amounted to 17,487,000 
 Swedish rix-dollars ; the value of the exports 
 in the same year was 21,680,000 rix-dollars. 
 In that year 5445 vessels entered Swedish 
 harbours, 3677 of which were Swedish, and 
 839 Norwegian ; the mercantile marine of 
 Sweden numbered 940 vessels, 738 of which, 
 with 139,990 tons burthen, were engaged in 
 the foreign trade. 
 
 In 1850, of Swedish and Norwegian 
 vessels, 1674 entered ports of Great Bri- 
 tain, with an aggregate burthen of 283,061 
 tons. 
 
 The value of the British and Irish produce 
 and manufactures exported to Sweden and 
 Norway in 1849 was 367,363*. 
 
 SWEEPING MACHINES. Mr. Whit- 
 worth's street-sweeping machine deserves to 
 be more extensively adopted than it has yet 
 been ; for its operations are more expeditious 
 and more effective than those ordinarily 
 adopted. It was introduced about eight or 
 nine years ago at Manchester. There had 
 before been invented road-scraping machines ; 
 but the sweeping machine superseded them. 
 The machine consists of a cart, to the hinder 
 part of which is an endless chain of brushes 
 or brooms, inclining downwards to the ground. 
 The motion of the wheels causes other wheels 
 within the machine to rotate; and these 
 minor wheels act upon the brushes, causing 
 each brush in turn to sweep over the surface 
 of the ground, and to carry up its portion of 
 dirt into the cart. Sloping boards are so 
 adjusted as to facilitate the transfer of the 
 dirt into the cart. The sweepings from 800 
 to 4000 square yards of street or road suffice 
 to fill the cart, according to the previous state 
 of the ground as to cleanliness. It has been 
 calculated that one of these machines, drawn 
 by two horses, can sweep 24,000 square yards, 
 on on average, per day a quantity equal to 
 that which twenty men could cleanse in the 
 same time. 
 
 Mr. Whitworth patented, in 1849, a new 
 arrangement of the brushes ; they are attached 
 to the lower surface of a horizontal disc, 
 which has a revolving motion given to it. 
 round a vertical axis, by machinery connected 
 with the ordinary wheels of the cart. 
 
 Another street -sweeping machine was 
 patented by Mr. Walker, in 1849. It consists 
 of a cart on four wheels, the front pair of 
 which give motion to two channel brushes, 
 one on each side ; while the hinder pair give 
 motion to a large roller brush, as long as the 
 width of the machine. The action of these 
 three brushes is such as to collect the dirt of 
 the street into parallel ridges ; and another 
 
 SWITZEELAND, 
 
 1646 
 
 apparatus then comes into work. This appa- 
 ratus is something like Whitworth's in re- 
 spect to sweeping the dirt up a sloping board 
 into a receptacle ; but there is also an 
 endless chain of buckets which lifts the dirt 
 from the receptacle into a cart temporarily 
 attached to the machine. The whole contri- 
 vance is much more complicated than Whit- 
 worth's. 
 
 SWITZERLAND. This interesting country 
 does not produce corn enough for its consump- 
 tion. Flax and hemp are extensively grown ; 
 but the chief territorial wealth of the highlands, 
 and indeed of the greater part of Switzerland, 
 consists in its pastures and its cattle. The vine 
 is extensively cultivated in the cantons of Vaud, 
 Geneva, Neufchatel, Zurich, Schaffhausen, Va- 
 lais, Ticino, and parts of Aargau, Thurgau, St. 
 Gall, and Basel ; but the wine is generally infe- 
 rior. In the highland cantons cider is made. 
 Kirschwasser is distilled. Mulberry-trees 
 are planted and silk-worms reared in the 
 canton of Ticino and the valleys on the Italian 
 side of the Alps. Chestnut-trees are found in 
 sheltered situations ; walnut-trees are more 
 generally diffused; olive-trees grow only in 
 some favoured spots of the canton of Ticino, 
 where also the fig and peach-trees bear abun- 
 dantly, as well as in some parts of the lower 
 Valais. The highlands abound with timber- 
 trees, especially firs of various kinds, maple, 
 beech, larch, birch, and oak trees. Most of the 
 cottages and farm-houses are built of wood, 
 and the same material is used for fuel, the 
 annual consumption of which is enormous : a 
 great quantity of timber is also exported to 
 France and other countries. Coal-mines are 
 worked in the cantons of Freyberg, Vaud, Basel, 
 and Thurgau, but the coal is mostly of inferior 
 quality. Iron is found in the Jura ; and there 
 are furnaces and iron-works of some import- 
 ance in the cantons of Vaud, Bern, Soleure, 
 Basel, Aargau, and Grisons. In the Grisons 
 there are mines of lead, zinc, and galena. 
 Salt-springs abound, but they are generally 
 neglected, except those of Bex in the canton 
 of Vaud. Switzerland has been a manufac- 
 turing country for centuries. In the canton 
 of Zurich the manufacture of silks, taffeta, 
 serges, silk handkerchiefs, and ribands, gives 
 employment to between 12,000 and 13,000 
 people. The cotton-manufactures of Zurich 
 employ about 12,000 weavers, 5000 spinners, 
 besides 4000 persons engaged in other trades 
 connected with the cotton manufacture. The 
 cantons of St. Gall and Appenzall have im- 
 portant manufactures of cotton cloths, fine 
 muslins, cotton prints, leather, linen, glass, 
 and jewellery. The city of Basel forms another 
 emporium of trade and manufactures, princi- 
 
1647 SWORD MANUFACTURE. 
 
 pally of silk ribands, silk thread, taffeta, and 
 satins. Schaffhauseii has a manufactory of 
 steel and files, which is in great repute ; one 
 of cotton- spinning, and one of cotton prints. 
 It has also a good transit trade with Germany. 
 At the opposite extremity of Switzerland, 
 Geneva is a great mart of trade and industry. 
 The manufactures of Geneva consist chiefly 
 of watches, jewellery, and musical boxes ; but 
 include also cabinet work, saddlery, litho- 
 graphy and engraving, cutlery, fire-arms, ena- 
 mels, &c. The chief industrial occupations in 
 the canton of Neufchatel are cotton printing, 
 lace-making, and more especially watch-mak- 
 ing, which prevails greatly among the highlands 
 of the Jura, giving employment to about 
 20,000 persons, who manufacture and export 
 yearly above 120,000 gold and silver watches. 
 The cantons of Thurgau, Glarus, and Aargau 
 manufacture cotton cloth, prints, and muslins 
 of all descriptions, hosiery, silks, and ribands ; 
 in Aargau linen and cutlery are also made. 
 The rest of the cantons of Switzerland manu- 
 facture merely what is required to supply their 
 own wants. The manufactures find a vent 
 in distant countries by passing through Ger- 
 many and the Sardinian States to the harbours 
 of Holland and the Mediterranean. 
 
 The Great Exhibition affords gratifying 
 proof that the industrial products of Switzer- 
 land are varied, ingenious, and valuable. 
 
 SWORD MANUFACTURE. Several 
 countries have been celebrated for the excel- 
 lence of the swords manufactured by the inha- 
 bitants. The swords of Toledo were famed 
 even as far back as the time of the Romans. 
 The Milan swords have likewise had a high 
 reputation. But the Damascus swords have 
 had the widest celebrity ; though no such 
 manufacture is now carried on in that city, as 
 the Damascus swords now existing are of 
 old date. 
 
 About the year 1689 an attempt was made 
 to improve and extend the sword manufacture 
 of England by the incorporation of a company 
 of sword-cutlers for making hollow sword- 
 blades in Cumberland and the adjacent 
 counties. The company was empowered to 
 purchase lands, to erect mills, and to employ 
 a great number of German artificers ; yet the 
 project failed. Owing apparently to the parsi- 
 mony of the manufacturers, which led them to 
 use inferior materials, and to employ unskilful 
 workmen, English sword-blades fell into very 
 ill repute during the 18th century ; so much 
 so, indeed, that an English officer would not 
 trust his life to the hazard of the probable 
 failure of a sword of native manufacture. 
 Attention having been drawn to this subject, 
 the late Mr, Gill, of Birmingham, entered into 
 
 SWORD MANUFACTURE. 1648 
 
 competition with the German sword-cutlers, 
 and produced swords even superior to those of 
 the German makers. The tendency of recent 
 years has been to bring the chief European 
 nations nearly to a level in this manufacture. 
 
 The process of manufacturing swords at 
 Birmingham is as follows : The material of 
 which the blade is wrought should be cast- 
 steel of the very best quality, and wrought 
 with the greatest care. Of this material, be- 
 sides the quantity prepared at Birmingham, 
 much is obtained from Sheffield in the form of 
 bars, called sword-moulds. These bars are 
 heated in the fire, and drawn out upon an 
 anvil by two workmen with hammers, giving 
 alternate strokes. When the blade is required 
 to be concave upon the sides, or to have a 
 reeded back, or some similar ornament, it is 
 hammered between steel bosses or swages. 
 The blade is then hardened by heating it in 
 the fire until it becomes worm-red, and is then 
 dipped, point downwards, in a tub of cold 
 water. It is tempered by drawing it through 
 the fire several times until the surface exhibits 
 a bluish oxidation, which takes place at a 
 temperature of about 550 Fahr. The sword 
 is then set to the required shape by placing it 
 on a sort of fork upon the anvil, and wrenching 
 it by means of tongs in the direction required 
 to correct any degree of warping which it may 
 have contracted during the hardening. The 
 grinding is performed upon a stone with either 
 a flat or fluted surface, according to the kind 
 of blade ; and as the uniformity of the temper 
 is impaired by this process, it is subsequently 
 restored by a slight heating, after which the 
 blade is glazed with emery, and, if the instru- 
 ment be a fine one, with crocus martis, after 
 the manner of a razor -blade. The sword is 
 then ready for the hilt or handle, the variety 
 of which it is needless to enumerate. 
 
 Among the tests to which sword-blades are 
 subjected in order to prove their flexibility and 
 elasticity, is that of bending them into a curve 
 by pressing the side of the blade against six 
 or eight pegs or stout nails driven into a 
 board, in such a manner that, when in contact 
 with all the pegs, the middle of the blade may 
 be bent six or seven inches from a straight 
 line drawn between the point and the hilt. A 
 further test is applied by an apparatus con- 
 sisting of a vertical pillar rising from a board. 
 The point of the sabre is placed upon the 
 board at the foot of the upright pillar, and the 
 hilt is then pressed down until the middle of 
 the blade bends away from the upright piece 
 to the required degree ; the amount of curva- 
 ture being shown by a peg which projects 
 horizontally from the pillar, about midway be- 
 tween the top and the bottom. The temper 
 
1649 
 
 SYEIA. 
 
 SYEIA. 
 
 1650 
 
 is also proved by striking the blade smartly 
 upon a table on both sides, and by severe 
 strokes with the back and edge upon a block. 
 Mr. Inglis, in his ' Spain in 1830,' describes 
 the trials to which sword-blades are subjected 
 at the celebrated manufactory of Toledo. 
 Each sword is there thrust against a plate in 
 the wall, and so bent into an arc forming at 
 least three parts of a circle, and then struck 
 edgeways upon a leaden table with all the 
 force which can be given by a powerful man 
 holding it with both hands. The polishing, 
 according to the same authority, is performed 
 upon a wheel of walnut wood. 
 
 The ancient Damascus sword- blades have a 
 peculiar wavy appearance on the surface, which 
 is called damascene or damasking. [DAMA- 
 SCENE WORK.] Various modes have been 
 adopted for imitating this appearance ; but it 
 is not known whether any of them are iden- 
 tical with the original practice. 
 
 SYRIA. In this important region oJ 
 Western Asia the ordinary farming produce 
 is raised in fair variety and quantity. Cotton, 
 hemp, flax, madder, indigo, and tobacco, are to 
 some extent cultivated. Almost all the fruits 
 both of temperate and of tropical climates are 
 met with in Syria. The forests on the moun 
 tains consist of cedars, firs, and pines ; *those 
 of the table-lands include the oak, walnut, 
 laurel, juniper, scammony, and sumach. 
 
 There are no metals found in Syria except 
 iron, which is worked in the Kesrouan in Mar 
 Hanna, west of Beirout, where also coal has 
 been discovered of late years. In the Tyh 
 Beni Israel, and at the southern extremity of 
 the Dead Sea, there are mountains almost 
 entirely composed of rock salt. Bitumen is 
 collected on the western shores of the Dead 
 Sea. In the northern Grhaur pieces of native 
 sulphur are found at a small depth beneath 
 ihe surface. 
 
 Syria is the most manufacturing country in 
 Western Asia. With the exception of hard- 
 ware and cutlery, there is hardly any manu- 
 factured article imported into Syria ; but a 
 great variety of goods which are made in 
 Syria are exported to Egypt and Anatolia, and 
 still, greater quantities go to the countries 
 farther east, arid find their way into Persia, 
 where they meet the articles brought from 
 Hindustan. The most manufacturing town is 
 Damascus. The Phoenicians were probablv 
 supplied from Damascus with a great number 
 of manufactured articles for the market of the 
 countries that surround the Mediterranean, and 
 they supplied the manufactures of Damascus 
 with some of the materials used in them. The 
 extent of the manufacturing industry of this 
 town may be conceived from the statement of 
 
 Schubert, that above 40,000 persons are em- 
 ployed in making silk stuffs, especially satin 
 and silk damasks and brocades ; and that cara- 
 vans frequently go from Damascus to Haleb, 
 which take no other goods but articles of this 
 description. The varieties of manufactures at 
 Damascus are almost countless. Those of 
 Aleppo are considerably smaller, and are 
 mostly limited to cotton and silk stuffs, and 
 gold and silver lace. Some branches of manu- 
 facturing industry are carried on in most of 
 the small towns, and even in some villages, 
 such as cotton stuffs for gowns and shirts, the 
 dyeing of cotton, mostly blue and red, tanning 
 leather, and making soap. Such places, how- 
 ever, supply only the neighbourhood, and the 
 Beduins who resort to them for such articles, 
 and they rarely if ever work for a distant 
 market. 
 
 The commercial intercourse between Syria 
 and Europe is very small. None of the agri- 
 cultural products of Europe are in demand in 
 Syria ; no kind of grain is imported, with the 
 exception of rice, with which Syria is supplied 
 from Egypt. The manufactured goods of 
 Europe are not in demand, not being adapted 
 to the taste and customs of the East. The 
 only article which is imported to a certain 
 extent is hardware, which is almost exclusively 
 supplied by England : some French cloth is 
 also imported. The chief articles sent from 
 Europe to Syria are supplied by the East and 
 West Indies, and consist of indigo, cochineal, 
 and coffee. The chief exports from Syria to 
 Europe are silk, galls, olive-oil, sponges, fruit, 
 and tobacco. The commerce between Syria 
 and the countries to the east and north of it 
 is very extensive, and is concentrated at 
 Aleppo. Two well-frequented roads lead from 
 Aleppo to Constantinople through Anatolia; 
 and two likewise extend from Aleppo to Persia, 
 which divide at Orfa in Mesopotamia. But 
 the most frequented caravan road between 
 Aleppo and Bagdad lies to the west of the 
 Euphrates, passing by Annah and Hit. 
 
 The objects sent from Syria to the Great 
 Exhibition consist of specimens of the manu- 
 facture of silk, gold, silver lace and embroidery, 
 native jewellery, Lebanon horns, petrifactions, 
 oils, different sorts of woods, seeds, the apples 
 of Sodom, &c. The Pacha of Jerusalem sends 
 a few specimens of the Bethlehem work in 
 mother-of-pearl, which is brought by the Hadj 
 rom Mecca, such as the crucifixion, and other 
 religious subjects. Mr. Consul Finn sends Pa 
 estine flowers arranged in a box of olive wood, 
 and some specimens of Jerusalem marbles 
 contained in a box made of one of the stones 
 of Jerusalem. Colonel Rose, her Majesty's 
 consul-general in Syria, sends with the Syrian 
 
1651 
 
 SYRINGE. 
 
 TALLOW. 
 
 1652 
 
 specimens a few gold antiquities. One of 
 them is a gold mask found in a Greek sarco- 
 phagus near Gebal, which was placed on the 
 face of a female corpse, and still retains her 
 features. 
 
 SYRINGE, a portable hydraulic instrument 
 of the pump kind, commonly employed for 
 the forcible ejection of fluids. In its simplest 
 form it consists of a cylindrical tube, with a 
 perforated nozzle at one end, and a piston or 
 plunger, to the rod of which a ring or other 
 convenient handle is attached. The tube 
 being held in the left hand, with its nozzle 
 immersed in water, the piston is drawn to the 
 upper end of the tube by the right hand. 
 The pressure of the atmosphere upon the sur- 
 face of the water causes it to follow the piston, 
 so that the syringe becomes filled with water. 
 The instrument is then removed from the 
 vessel of water, and, by pushing the piston 
 back towards the nozzle, its contents may be 
 ejected with a force proportionate to the power 
 applied to the piston. Syringes of various 
 sorts are extensively used for surgical, horti- 
 cultural, and other purposes. The fire-engine, 
 
 the garden-engine, the air- pump, the stomach- 
 pump, and the school-boy's squirt, are all ex- 
 amples of syringes. 
 
 SYRUPS are medicinal solutions of sugar, 
 either in water alone, as in simple syrup, or in 
 liquids charged with some peculiar principle 
 of an active kind, such as senna or buckthorn, 
 or merely grateful from its colour or fragrance, 
 or both, such as syrup of violets. These must 
 be of a proper consistence, either by having 
 a suitable quantity of sugar added to the water 
 first, or by subsequent evaporation of the 
 superfluous water. The former is the pre- 
 ferable mode, as the syrup keeps better. The 
 purest and most thoroughly refined sugar 
 should be employed, and generally in the 
 proportion of two parts of sugar to one of 
 fluid. 
 
 The variety of syrups is very considerable. 
 Syrups of buckthorn, cochineal, coltsfoot, gum, 
 ginger, horehound, ipecacuanha, lemon, 
 marshmallow, mulberry, orange peel, poppy, 
 rhubarb, rose, rue, saffron, sarsaparilla, senna, 
 squills, tolu, violets these are some of the 
 many kinds of syrups prepared by dniggists. 
 
 TACHOMETER. This is the name of an 
 apparatus patented by Messrs. Napier, in 1848, 
 for ascertaining the speed with which vessels 
 pass through the water. It consists of a hori- 
 zontal spindle, moving freely on pivots attached 
 to the side of the vessel beneath the water 
 line, and enclosed in a case open at both ends. 
 The spindle is fitted with vanes, the pitch or 
 angle of which is so regulated, that ten revo- 
 lutions of the spindle shall equal one fathom. 
 Other wheel- work connects this spindle with a 
 dial and index, so as to measure the number 
 of nautical miles which the apparatus, and con- 
 sequently the ship itself, has passed through 
 the water. 
 
 Messrs. Penn, the engineers of Greenwich, 
 patented in the same year a tachometer of a 
 very ingenious and peculiar kind. It is to be 
 attached to an auxiliary steam ship ; that is, 
 a ship which sails only under ordinary circum- 
 stances, but which has also facilities for 
 steaming in ordinary weather. (Such an aux- 
 iliary moving power is described under SCREW 
 PROPELLER.) Messrs. Penn's apparatus is 
 intended, not only to measure the speed of 
 such a vessel through the water, but to 
 strengthen or weaken the steam force ac- 
 cording as the sailing force is waak or strong. 
 
 It is self-acting, like the governor and valve of 
 a steam engine: it feeds itself with steam 
 power, according to its wants. There is a 
 small horizontal paddle-wheel attached to the 
 side of the ship, and the shaft of this wheel is 
 connected, by intervening apparatus, with the 
 steam pipe ; as the vessel advances this little 
 wheel rotates, and according as the rotation is 
 fast or slow (depending on the greater or less 
 speed), the steam pipe becomes opened less 
 or more widely. 
 
 TALBOTYPE. [CALOTYPE; PHOTO- 
 GRAPHY.] 
 
 TALC. This remarkable mineral, which 
 consists chiefly of silica and magnesia, presents 
 itself in various forms. It is sometimes crys- 
 talline, sometimes laminated in thin plates, 
 and sometimes in greenish gray masses of 
 talc-slate. It is found in beds of clay slato 
 and mica slate, in various parts of Scotland 
 and the Alps. It is used as an ingredient in 
 rouge, as a polisher for soft alabaster, as an 
 ingredient in porcelain paste, and in the manu- 
 facture of crayons. 
 
 TALLOW is animal fat melted and sepa- 
 rated from the membranous matter which is 
 naturally mixed with it. When pure, tallow 
 is white, and nearly tasteless ; but the tal- 
 
1653 
 
 TALLOW. 
 
 TANKS. 
 
 1654 
 
 low of commerce usually has a yellow 
 tinge. 
 
 A very large proportion of the tallow used 
 for making soap and candles in this country 
 is of home production, and is fitted for use by 
 the Tenderer, who chops into pieces the fat and 
 suet received from the butchers, and boils it 
 in water, by which operation the greater part 
 of the fat is melted out from the membranes, 
 and floats to the top, whence it is removed by 
 skimming. The remaining fat is subsequently 
 squeezed from the membranes by a powerful 
 press, leaving the membranous matter in the 
 form of a cake or block, of a dark colour, 
 which is called graves, and which, when ma- 
 cerated in warm water, softens and swells, 
 and becomes a wholesome and palatable article 
 of food for poultry, dogs, and other domestic 
 animals. It ia extensively used in fattening 
 poultry for the market. 
 
 Almost all our imported tallow is brought 
 from Russia, where this article is produced in 
 enormous quantities. 250,000,000 Ibs. are 
 annually exported from Eussia to various 
 countries, mostly furnished from the steppes 
 of Southern Russia. The cattle are bought 
 by thousands, driven to the Salgans, or tallow 
 factories, aud there fattened and slaughtered. 
 After the animals are slaughtered and skinned, 
 a little of the flesh and the intestines are 
 removed, and the rest of the carcass, cut into 
 pieces, is thrown into the boilers, of which 
 there are from four to six in every salgan, 
 each large enough to contain the flesh of 
 ten or fifteen oxen. During the boiling, the 
 fat, as it collects at the top, is skimmed off 
 with large ladles, and before it is quite cold 
 it is poured into the casks in which it is 
 afterwards shipped. The first fat which comes 
 off is the best, and is quite white, while that 
 which follows has a yellowish tinge ; and a 
 still coarser tallow is obtained by squeezing 
 the bones and flesh in presses. 
 
 An ox in good condition will yield from 
 seven to eight poods (250 to 290 Ibs.) of 
 tallow, which is generally worth from eleven to 
 fifteen rubles a pood about l%d. to 2rf. per Ib. 
 The merchants of St. Petersburg divide the 
 tallow which they receive from the interior 
 into -white and yellow candle tallow, and com- 
 mon and Siberian soap-tallow ; the latter, 
 which is considered the best tallow for soap- 
 making, being brought by water transit from 
 Siberia. Yellow candle-tallow, when good, 
 should be clean, dry, hard when broken, and 
 of a fine yellow colour throughout. The white 
 candle-tallow, when good, is white, brittle, 
 hard, dry, and clean. The best white tallow 
 is brought from Woronesch. 
 
 The chief uses of tallow are noticed under 
 
 CANDLE and SOAP. Palm-oil has recently 
 come extensively into use as a substitute for 
 tallow in candle-making. 
 
 The tallow imported during the last three 
 years amounted to the following quantities : 
 
 1848 1,498,359 cwts. 
 
 1849 1,465,629 
 
 1850 1,241,781 
 
 Russia, as has been stated, is the great 
 source whence the supply is obtained; but 
 Australia now sends large cargoes of tallow to 
 the mother country. 
 
 TAMARINDS. Of the two species of the 
 genus Tamarindus the fruit is much larger in 
 the East Indian than the West Indian. The 
 shell being removed, there remains the flat 
 square hard seed, imbedded hi a pulp, with 
 membranous fibres running through it. In 
 the East Indies the pulp is either dried in 
 the sun, and used for home consumption, or 
 with salt added it is dried in copper ovens ; 
 this kind is sent to Europe. This sort, 
 called natural tamarinds, is much darker 
 and drier than the West Indian, which are 
 called prepared tamarinds. 
 
 The West Indian Tamarinds reach matu- 
 rity in June, July, and August, when they are 
 collected, and the shell being removed, they 
 are put into jars, either with layers of sugar 
 put between them, or boiling syrup poured 
 over them, which penetrates to the bottom. 
 Prepared tamarinds therefore contain much 
 more saccharine matter than the others. 
 
 The timber of the East Indian tamarind 
 tree is very firm, hard, and heavy, and is 
 applied to many useful purposes in build- 
 ing. 
 
 TAMPING-. In mining operations, where 
 the process of blasting with gunpowder is 
 necessary for loosening masses of rock or 
 ore, the powder is pressed in a cavity pre- 
 pared for its reception by a careful process of 
 ramming; this is called tamping. [MINING.] 
 
 TANKS. The importance of collecting 
 rain-water for domestic purposes, especially 
 in districts where springs are deficient or lie 
 at a great depth, has been much overlooked 
 in this country. Mr. Waistell urges the im- 
 portance of placing spouts round all the 
 buildings of a farm to collect the rain-water 
 which falls upon them into a tank or tanks ; 
 observing that, besides the value of the supply 
 of water thus obtained, the buildings will be 
 benefited by the walls and foundations being 
 kept drier than when the water from the roof 
 is suffered to fall upon them. He states that 
 the quantity of water that falls annually upon 
 every hundred superficial feet or square of 
 building (in Great Britain) is about 1400 
 imperial gallons. If, therefore the external 
 
1655 
 
 TAPESTBY. 
 
 TAPESTRY 
 
 1656 
 
 surfaces of roofs were adapted to the collec- 
 tion of the rain water which falls upon them, 
 and means were provided for conveying it to 
 covered tanks, in which it might he preserved 
 from evaporation, and kept free from any ad- 
 mixture of impurities, almost every house 
 might be readily and cheaply supplied with a 
 quantity of wholesome water sufficient for the 
 ordinary wants of its inhabitants. The ex- 
 tensive roofs of churches and other public 
 buildings might be employed in like way to 
 collect water for the supply of ponds or tanks 
 for public use. In some cases even the 
 drainage of lands might also be made avail- 
 able, as the water may be submitted to any 
 required process of nitration before it is 
 allowed to enter the tank. 
 
 Tanks or cisterns to hold water for domestic 
 purposes may be conveniently situated be- 
 neath the surface of the ground, so that, being 
 paved over, they occupy no valuable space. 
 They are formed of stone slabs grooved into 
 each other and set in cement; of Welsh 
 slate; of large paving -tiles bedded in cement; 
 of brick- work; of plates of cast iron; or of 
 thick wooden planks, protected by charring 
 and pitching, or lined with sheet lead. The 
 brick tanks described by Waistell are circular, 
 the sides being built like a well, with bottoms 
 of an inverted dome-shape, of very slight con- 
 vexity. The top is also dome-shaped, and 
 has an opening in the centre large enough to 
 receive a man, in order that the tank may be 
 thoroughly cleaned out when necessary. This 
 opening which may be upon the surface of the 
 ground, or n little above it, should be covered 
 with an oak flap pierced with a number of 
 holes, or with an iron grating. 
 
 TAPESTEY. This name is commonly 
 applied to the textile fabrics usually composed 
 of wool or silk, and sometimes enriched with 
 gold and silver, woven or embroidered with 
 figures, landscapes, or ornamental devices, 
 And used as a lining or covering for the walls 
 of apartments. It is probable that many of 
 the early tapestries were embroidered by hand 
 or worked with the needle. This kind of 
 work, of which the Bayeux tapestry is a cele- 
 brated example, was continued long after the 
 practice of weaving tapestry in the loom had 
 become common 
 
 The 16th century, which was an age of 
 general improvement in France, gave a new 
 impulse to the production of tapestry. Fran- 
 cis I. founded the manufactures of Fontairie- 
 bleau, in which threads of gold and silver 
 were skilfully introduced into the work. It 
 was, we are informed, with this new impulse 
 that the practice was commenced of weaving 
 tapestry in a single piece, instead of composing 
 
 it, as before, of several small pieces joined 
 together. Francis spared no pains in the 
 encouragement of this department of the fine 
 arts. He engaged Flemish workmen, whom 
 he supplied with silk, wool, and other mate- 
 rials, and paid liberally for their labour ; and 
 documents exist to prove that he also patron- 
 ized the tapestry-makers of Paris. Henry II., 
 the son and successor of Francis, continued 
 to encourage the manufactory at Fontaine- 
 bleau, and established a manufacture of 
 tapestry on the premises of the Hopital de la 
 Trinite, which attained its highest celebrity 
 in the reign of Henry IV., and produced many 
 fine tapestries. In 1594 Du Eourg, the most 
 eminent artist connected with this establish- 
 ment, mada there the celebrated tapestries of 
 St. Meri, which were in existence until a 
 recent period ; and these pleased Henry IV. 
 so much, that he determined to re-establish 
 the manufacture of tapestry at Paris, where 
 it had been interrupted by the disorders of 
 the preceding reigns. This he did in 1597, 
 bringing Italian workers in gold and silk to 
 assist in the work. In 1605 were laid the 
 foundations of new edifices for the tapestry- 
 weavers, in the horse-market at Paris ; and 
 at that time, or a little later, Flemish work- 
 men were engaged to superintend the manu- 
 facture. The establishment languished, if it 
 did not become quite extinct, after the death 
 of Henry IV. ; but when the royal palaces, 
 especially the Louvre and the Tuilerics, were 
 receiving their rich decorations, in the reign 
 of Louis XIV., his minister Colbert revived it, 
 and from that time the celebrated royal 
 tapestry manufactory of the Gobelins dates 
 its origin. Foreign artists and workmen were 
 engaged, laws were drawn up for the protec- 
 tion and government of the manufactory, and 
 everything was done to render it, what it has 
 continued, to be, the finest establishment 
 of the kind in the world. Le Brun, when 
 chief director of the establishment, made 
 many designs for working after ; and M. de 
 Louvois caused tapestry to be made from 
 some of the finest designs of Raphael, Julio 
 Romano, and other Italian painters. The 
 manufacture declined greatly at the Revolu- 
 tion, but was revived under the government 
 of Napoleon, and has ever since been carried 
 on successfully, though by no means to the 
 same extent as formerly. 
 
 The introduction of tapestry-weaving into 
 England is usually attributed to a gentleman 
 named Sheldon, late in the reign of Henry 
 VIII. At Burcheston were worked in tapestry, 
 on a large scale, maps of Oxfordshire, Wor- 
 cestershire, Warwickshire, and Gloucester- 
 shire, some fragments of which were, it is 
 
1657 
 
 TAPESTRY. 
 
 TAR. 
 
 1658 
 
 stated, in Walpole's collection at Strawberry 
 Hill. Little more is known of this establish- 
 ment. James I. endeavoured to revive the 
 manufacture of tapestry by encouraging and 
 assisting in the formation of an establish- 
 ment at Mortlake, about 1619, under the 
 management of Sir Francis Crane. James I. 
 gave 2000/. towards the formation of this 
 establishment. After the Eestoration, Charles 
 II. endeavoured to revive the manufacture, 
 and employed Verrio to make designs for it, 
 but the attempt was unsuccessful. During 
 its period of prosperity, this manufacture pro- 
 duced the most superb hangings, after the 
 designs of celebrated painters, with which the 
 palaces of Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, 
 Whitehall, St. James's, Nonsuch, Greenwich, 
 &c., and many of the mansions of the nobility, 
 were adorned. 
 
 In the primitive method of working tapestry 
 with the needle, the wool was usually applied 
 to a kind of canvas, and the effect produced 
 was coarse and very defective ; but some finer 
 kinds of tapestry were embroidered upon a 
 silken fabric. The process of weaving by the 
 loom, after the manner known as the haute 
 lisse, or high warp, was practised in the tapes- 
 tries of Flanders as early as the 14th and 15th 
 centuries; the only essential difference be- 
 tween these and the productions of modern 
 times being that previously noticed, the com- 
 parative size of the pieces woven in the loom. 
 The weaving of tapestry, both by the 'haute 
 lisse ' and the ' basse lisse,' appears to be of 
 Oriental invention ; and the difference between 
 the two methods may be briefly described. In 
 the ' haute lisse' the loom, or rather the frame 
 with the warp threads, is placed in a perpen- 
 dicular position, and the weaver works stand- 
 ing ; while in the ' basse lisse ' the frame with 
 the warp is laid horizontally, and the weaver 
 works in a sitting position. In weaving with 
 the ' basse lisse,' which is now relinquished, the 
 painting to be copied is laid beneath the threads 
 of the warp, which are stretched in a manner 
 resembling that of common weaving, the pat- 
 tern being supported by a number of transverse 
 threads stretched beneath it. The weaver, 
 sitting before the loom, and leaning over the 
 beam, carefully separates the threads of the 
 warp with his fingers, so that he may see his 
 pattern between them. He then takes in his 
 other hand a kind of shuttle, called a flute, 
 charged with silk or wool of the "colour re- 
 quired, and passes it between the threads, 
 after separating them in the usual way by 
 means of treddles worked by the feet. The 
 thread of woof or shoot thus inserted is finally 
 driven close up to the finished portion of the 
 work by means of a reed or comb formed of 
 
 box- wood or ivory, the teeth of which are in- 
 serted between the threads of the warp. In 
 this process the face of the tapestry is down- 
 wards, so that the weaver cannot examine his 
 work until the piece is completed and removed 
 from the loom. The frame of the ' haute 
 lisse ' loom consists of two upright side -pieces, 
 with large rollers placed horizontally between 
 them. The threads of the warp, which usually 
 consist of twisted wool, are wound round the 
 upper roller, and the finished web is coiled 
 round the lower one. The cartoon, or design 
 to be copied, is placed perpendicularly behind 
 the back or wrong side of the warp, and then 
 the principal outlines of the pattern are 
 drawn upon the front of the warp, the threads 
 of which are sufficiently open to allow the 
 artist to see the design between them. The 
 cartoon is then removed so far back from the 
 warp that the weaver may place himself be- 
 tween them with his back towards the former, 
 so that he must turn round whenever he 
 wishes to look at it. Attached to the upright 
 side-pieces of the frame are contrivances for 
 separating the threads of the warp, so as to 
 allow the flute or broach, which carries the 
 woof, to pass between them. Like the weaver 
 with the 'basse lisse,' the operator works, as 
 it were, blindfolded ; but by walking round to 
 the front of the loom he may see the progress 
 of his work, and may adjust any threads 
 which have not been forced into their right 
 position by the reed or comb, with a large 
 needle, called an aiguille a presser. The pro- 
 cess of working with the ' haute lisse ' is 
 much slower than the other, and is indeed 
 almost as slow as that of worldng with the 
 needle. Lady Wilton, in describing the pro- 
 ductions of the Hotel Eoyal des Gobelins, 
 observes that 'not the least interesting part 
 of the process was that performed by the 
 rentrayeurs, or fine-drawers, who so unite the 
 breadths of the tapestry into one picture, that 
 no seam is discernible, but the whole appears 
 like one design.' Now, however, the pieces 
 are woven so wide that joining is very seldom 
 resorted to, even for the largest pieces. 
 
 TAPIOCA. [MANDIOC.] 
 
 TAR is obtained from wood or coal by dis- 
 tillation in close vessels, or in piles from which 
 the air is excluded. Pitch is obtained by 
 boiling tar until all the volatile matters are 
 driven off. Tar is a viscid brown semi-fluid 
 mass, which long preserves its softness. If 
 it be mixed with water, the water acquires a 
 yellow colour and the taste of tar, with slightly 
 acid properties. This solution is well known 
 by the name of tar-water, and has been used 
 in medicine. Tar is soluble in alcohol, in 
 aether, and in the fixed and volatile oils. Oil 
 
1559 
 
 TARTARIC ACID. 
 
 TEA. 
 
 1660 
 
 of tar, creosote, and many other valuable sub- 
 stances, are obtained from tar. 
 
 Tar is extensively manufactured from the 
 roots and branches of pines and firs in Norway, 
 Sweden, Germany, Kussia, North America 
 and other countries in which those trees 
 abound ; but that made in the north oi 
 Europe is considered far superior to what is 
 produced in the United States. A conical 
 cavity is made in the ground (generally in 
 the side of a bank or sloping hill), and the 
 roots of the fir, together with logs and billets 
 of the same, being neatly trussed in a stack 
 of the same conical shape, are let into this 
 cavity. The whole is then covered with turf, 
 which is well beaten down. The stack of bil- 
 lets is kindled, and a slow combustion of the 
 fir takes place, without flame, as in making 
 charcoal. During this combustion the tar 
 exudes ; and a cast-iron pan being at the 
 bottom of the funnel, with a spoufe which pro- 
 jects through the side of the bank, barrels 
 are placed beneath this spout to collect the 
 fluid as it comes away. As fast as the barrels 
 are filled, they are bunged, and made ready 
 for exportation. 
 
 In some parts of France and Switzerland 
 tar is extracted in a kind of oven or kiln, built 
 of stone or brick in the form of an egg, with 
 its smaller end downwards. 
 
 As England requires a large quantity of tar 
 for the navy, the supply from foreign coun- 
 tries is an important matter. At different 
 periods the high price of Swedish tar has led 
 to the encouragement by government of the 
 making of tar. in the British American colo- 
 nies. During the American war, attention 
 was paid to the establishment of the manu- 
 facture of tar from pitcoal, an object which 
 had been previously attempted ; but the ma- 
 nufacture of coal-tar has not proved so im- 
 portant as was at one time anticipated, 
 although for some purposes it is deemed 
 superior to that made from wood. Tar is 
 produced in large quantities in the manufac- 
 ture of coal-gas; but in some districts its 
 value is considered so trifling that it is mixed 
 with the fuel by which the retorts are heated. 
 It is usually separated from the gas by con- 
 densation. 
 
 The tar imported in the last three years 
 amounted to the following quantities : 
 
 1848 12,609 lasts. 
 
 1849 15,206 
 
 1850 12,096 
 
 This last named quantity is equivalent to 
 about 5,000,000 gallons. Tar is free from 
 import duty. 
 
 TARTARIC ACID was first obtained in a 
 separate state by Scheele ; it exists in several 
 
 vegetable products, but principally in Di- 
 tartrate of potash, which is usually called 
 cream of tartar, a salt which is deposited from 
 wine. 
 
 Tartaric acid is colourless, inodorous, and 
 very sour ; it occurs in crystals of a consider- 
 able size, the primary form of which is an 
 oblique, rhombic prism; it suffers no change 
 by exposure to the air ; water at 60 dissolves 
 about one-fifth of its weight, and at 212 
 twice its weight. It combines readily with 
 alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides ; and 
 these salts are called tartrates : many of them 
 are usefully applied in the arts. 
 
 Tartario acid is largely employed as a dis- 
 charge in calico-printing, and for making 
 what are called sodaic powders, which are 
 imitations of soda-water. 
 
 Tartaric acid is entirely confined to the 
 vegetable kingdom, and is found free or un- 
 combined in tamarinds, in the unripe grape, 
 and in pepper ; and in combination in tama- 
 rinds, ripe grapes, gooseberries, mulberries, 
 squill, dandelion, chenopodium vulvaria, in 
 various species of pines, and as tartrate of 
 lime in the fruit of the Rhns typhina. 
 
 TEA. Though now so extensively employed, 
 the introduction of tea into Europe is of com- 
 paratively recent origin. Pepys in his ' Diary,' 
 writes, Sept., 25, 1661, c I sent for a cup of 
 tea (a Chinese drink), of which I had never 
 drank before.' The Dutch East India Com- 
 pany probably first introduced it into Europe, 
 and from Amsterdam it was brought to 
 London. 
 
 The species of the genus T/iea are few in 
 number. Some botanists are of opinion that 
 even these are varieties of a single species 
 called Thea C 'kinesis ; but there are usually 
 said to be two species yielding green and black 
 tea respectively. The Asam tea-plant, which 
 has lately attracted so much attention, seems 
 to partake of the characters of both of the 
 foregoing, and is regarded by some botanists 
 as a distinct species. Tea is cultivated in 
 China over a great extent of territory. Dr. 
 Wallich mentions it as being cultivated in 
 Cochin- China, in 17 N. lat. We know it is 
 cultivated in the southern provinces of Yunnan 
 and of Canton. If we proceed north we find 
 the principal cultivation of teas for the foreign 
 trade is between 27 and 31 N. Lat. ; but tea 
 is said to be produced in several places to the 
 northward of 31 ; even in 36, and also in the 
 Japanese Islands, which extend from 30 to 
 41 N. lat. 
 
 The culture of the tea-plant in China seems 
 simple enough. The plants are raised from 
 seeds, sown in the places where they are to 
 remain. Several are dropped into holes four 
 
1061 
 
 TEA. 
 
 TEA. 
 
 1662 
 
 or five inches deep and three or four feet 
 apart, shortly after they ripen ; or in Novem- 
 ber and December, as they do not preserve 
 well, from their oiliness. The plants rise up 
 in a cluster when the rain comes on, and 
 require little further care, except that of 
 removing weeds, till they are three years old, 
 when they yield their first crop of leaves. 
 They are seldom transplanted, but sometimes 
 four to six plants are put close together, so as 
 to form a fine bush. After growing seven or 
 ten years they are cut down in order that the 
 numerous young shoots which then spring 
 out may afford a more abundant supply of 
 leaves. In some districts the bushes grow 
 unrestrained, in others they are regularly 
 pruned, to keep them low. The gathering of 
 the leaves is performed with great care : they 
 are usually gathered singly, first in March or 
 May (according to the district), when the 
 young leaves are scarcely expanded ; the 
 second about two months later, or May and 
 June ; and the third in August, or about six 
 weeks after the second ; but the times neces- 
 sarily differ in different districts, as well as 
 the number of crops which are obtained 
 some avoiding the third for fear of injuring 
 the bushes. When the leaves are gathered 
 they are dried in houses which contain smal 
 furnaces, on each of which there is a flat iron 
 pan, and upon this, when heated, the leaves 
 partially dried by exposure to the sun, are 
 thrown ; the leaves require frequent shifting 
 and turning. When all are properly dried 
 they are quickly removed either by the hand 
 or with a shovel, and either thrown upon a 
 mat or into baskets which are kept ready to 
 receive them. They are then removed to a 
 table where they are rolled and cooled, anc 
 the process is repeated ; after which they are 
 sifted and sorted into several varieties. 
 
 The most difficult part of this question is t 
 determine whether the green and black teas 
 are produced by one or two distinct species o 
 plants, as the statements of apparently equall) 
 well qualified judges are not only contradic 
 tory, but directly the reverse of each other 
 The Chinese tea-makers in Asam and those ir 
 Java alike state that the black and green trees 
 may be prepared from the same plant. 
 
 Tea having become so extensive an article 
 of commerce, and a source of co;; sylla 
 revenue, various attempts have been made to 
 introduce it into other countries ; but the 
 climates are very different in which the severa 
 experiments have been made, as in Rio 
 Janeiro and the warm part of Brazil, ant 
 latterly in the hilly parts of Java and Brazil 
 in Penang, Asam, and the Himalayas. Favour 
 able reports are given of the teas grown in th< 
 
 ast Indies, but as yet only small quantities 
 are brought into the European markets. [ ASAM.] 
 
 The first importation by the English East 
 India Company took place in 1669 from the 
 Oompany's factory at Bantam. The directors 
 ordered their servants to ' send home by their 
 ships one hundred pounds weight of the best 
 Tcy they could get.' In .1678 were imported 
 4713 Ibs., but in the six following years the 
 entire imports amounted to no more than 
 410 Ibs. According to Milburn ( Oriental 
 Commerce'), the consumption in 1711 was 
 141,995 Ibs.; 120,695 Ibs. in 1715; and 
 237,904 Ibs. in 1720. In 1745 the amount 
 was 730,729 Ibs. In 1844 it was 41,363,770 Ibs. 
 The tea consumed in the United Kingdom, 
 and the revenue which it yielded, in 1848, 
 1849, and 1850, were as follows : 
 
 1848 .... 48,347,789 Ibs 5,329,992*. 
 
 1849 .... 50,021,576 Ibs 5,471,4227. 
 
 1850 .... 51,178,215 Ibs 5,597,707*. 
 
 There have been great changes in the taxes 
 
 levied on tea. In 1835 the excise duty on 
 tea was repealed from and after July 1, 1836, 
 when a customs' duty of 2s. Id. per Ib. was 
 levied on all sorts of tea, which, with 5 per 
 cent, added in 1845, makes the duty now 
 paid 2s. 2$d. per Ib. 
 
 For above a century and a half the sole 
 object of the East India Company's trade with 
 China was to provide tea for the consumption 
 of the United Kingdom. The Company had 
 an exclusive trade, and were bound to send 
 orders for tea, and to provide ships to import 
 the same, and always to have a year's con- 
 sumption in their warehouses. The teas were 
 disposed of in London, where only they could 
 be imported, at quarterly sales. The act of 
 1834 opened the trade to China. The impor- 
 tation of tea is no longer confined to the port 
 of London, and the trade has increased both in 
 the quantity and variety of the exports to China. 
 
 The tea-duty produces about one- twelfth of 
 the total revenue. In 1801 it was 1,423,6607., 
 in 1844, 4,524,1937. The amount in later 
 years is stated above. As it was foreseen that 
 on the opening of the tea trade there would 
 be a considerable reduction in price, so that 
 an ad valorem duty would not, even with the 
 increased consumption, be so productive as 
 formerly, a fixed duty was imposed. Up to 
 1836, each of the hundred thousand tea- 
 dealers in the United Kingdom was visited 
 once a month by the officers of excise, who 
 took an account of his stock ; and no quantity 
 exceeding 6 Ibs. could be sent from his premises 
 without a permit, of which above 800,000 were 
 required in a year. Tea is now sold by the 
 importing merchants by public auction and 
 private sales. 
 
1863 
 
 TEA, PARAGUAY. 
 
 TEAZLE. 
 
 1664 
 
 The duty on tea is still too high, and it is 
 certain that an increased consumption would 
 follow a diminution of the duty. 
 
 Russia is supplied with about 7,000,000 Ibs. 
 of tea annually through Kiakhta ; France re- 
 quires about 2,000,000 Ibs.; and Holland 
 about 3,000,000 Ibs. With the exception of 
 China no other country consumes so much tea 
 as England. The tea-trade of the United 
 States is, however, rapidly increasing. In 1 850 
 there were 173,317 chests of green tea and 
 91,017 of black tea exported from Canton to 
 America; these quantities with a further 
 portion purchased from England, made a total 
 of about 23,000,000 Ibs. of tea which crossed 
 the Atlantic in 1850. 
 
 Tea, like many other commodities is too 
 frequently adulterated with various substances, 
 tests for detecting which are pointed out by 
 Dr. Normandy. The same authority tells us 
 that the much advertised veno beno, for 
 * improving' the flavour of tea, is nothing more 
 than a mixture of catechu with broken tea 
 leaves. 
 
 TEA, PARAGUAY, or MATfe, is the pro- 
 duce of a plant belonging to the family Aqui- 
 foliaceee, which is a shrub attaining the size of 
 the orange tree. The leaves of this shrub are 
 in great repute amongst the inhabitants of 
 South America, and are used in infusion in a 
 similar manner to the tea of China. Upwards 
 of 5,000,000 Ibs. of the leaves of this tree are 
 annually collected in Paraguay, and are sent 
 to Chili and Buenos Ayres. After the branches 
 have been cut away, the ground is heated by 
 means of a fire, and the leaves, being laid 
 upon the heated ground, are dried, and after- 
 wards they are beaten and pressed into bags, in 
 which state they come into the market. The 
 plant when used is steeped in boib'ng water, 
 to which a little sugar and sometimes lemon- 
 juice is added. It is drunk out of a vessel 
 called Mate, which has a spout perforated 
 with holes for the purpose of preventing the 
 powdered herb from passing out with the fluid. 
 The Creoles are passionately fond of this 
 infusion, and rarely partake of a meal without 
 it. The properties of this plant are sedative 
 and stimulant. 
 
 TEAK. The teak-tree is a native of diffe- 
 rent parts of India, as well as of Birma, chiefly 
 along the banks of the Irawaddy, and of the 
 islands from Ceylon to the Moluccas. The 
 teak tree grows to an immense size, and is 
 remarkable for its very large leaves, which are 
 from 12 to 24 inches long and from 8 to 16 
 broad, and are compared by Oriental writers 
 to the ears of the elephant. 
 
 From extensive experience teak timber has 
 been found the most valuable timber for ship- 
 
 building, and has been called the oak of the 
 East. The wood is light, brownish-coloured, 
 easily worked, but at the same time strong 
 and durable. It is soon seasoned, and, from 
 containing a resinous oil, resists the action of 
 water, as well as insects of all kinds. 
 
 Some interesting details have lately been 
 published concerning the export of teak-timber 
 from Moulmein in India. Teak is tbe prin- 
 cipal article of export from that province, both 
 in quantity and value. During the year 1849 
 upwards of 25,000 tons were shipped to various 
 parts of the world, all properly converted, by 
 hand or machinery, of a value estimated in the 
 rough at 100,000/. The teak of these provin- 
 ces and the surrounding foreign states, which 
 finds its way into Moulmein, is of a very 
 superior quality, and unequalled for ship- 
 building purposes by any other wood in the 
 world. The annual supply is more than the 
 demand, in consequence of this port being but 
 little known to tbe English ship-owners and 
 builders. There is almost an unlimited extent 
 of teak forests in the neighbouring states, of 
 superior quality, and easily worked. The 
 price of first-rate converted squares and planks 
 is 3/. per ton of 50 cubic feet, of lengths 
 ranging from 25 feet to 50 feet, and from 
 10X10 to 24X24 inches square. A vessel 
 arriving here at any time of the year can 
 always procure a cargo, provided she is supplied 
 with funds, or a credit on a good Calcutta 
 house. The time calculated for loading is ten 
 working days for every 100 tons, although a 
 vessel of a large size generally loads much 
 quicker on account of the stowage being 
 easier. In consequence of the abundance 
 of teak to be had at this port, it is likely to 
 become the first building port in India. It 
 has already turned out some of the finest 
 ships now afloat, and as strength and durabi- 
 lity are much sought after, this place is most 
 advantageously situated for building good 
 vessels. 
 
 TEAZLE (Dipsacus Fullonum) is a plant 
 which grows wild in the hedges, but an im- 
 proved variety is carefully cultivated in those 
 districts of England where cloth is manufac- 
 tured. It is used for the purpose of forming 
 a species of brush with which the finer hairs 
 of the woollen fabric are drawn to the surface, 
 where they produce what is usually called the 
 nap of the cloth. The teazle has a fine 
 hooked awn, which very readily insinuates 
 itself into the woollen web, and draws out 
 with it some of the fine fibres of the wool ; 
 these are afterwards shorn smooth, and leave 
 the cloth with the fine velvet-like nap which is 
 its peculiar appearance. 
 
 Teazles will grow in any soil ; but they grow 
 
1665 
 
 TELEGKAPH. 
 
 TELEGRAPH. 
 
 1666 
 
 strongest and best in a stiff loam. The wild 
 teazle which grows in hedges appears at first 
 sight to be the same as the cultivated variety ; 
 but it is of no use to the cloth- worker, from 
 the weakness of the awns, which break off, 
 instead of drawing the wool out of the surface 
 of the web. The growing of teazles is a 
 peculiar trade, and a kind of speculation, for 
 the crop is very precarious. The teazle-grower 
 hires a piece of ground suited to his purpose 
 from the farmer for two years, and pays a 
 considerable rent. 
 
 The dressing of a piece of cloth consumes 
 a great number of teazles ; as many as 1,500 
 to 2,000 being required to do the work properly. 
 The teazles are made up in bundles for sale 
 to the clothiers, containing 9,000 or 10,000 
 each. The price is affected by so many 
 circumstances, that it varies from 4d. to 201. 
 per pack or bundle ; but when the home price 
 exceeds about 8/. the clothier can import more 
 cheaply from abroad. 
 
 TELEGRAPH. We may class these 
 iiseful contrivances in two groups the Mecha- 
 nical and the Electro -Mechanical Telegraplis: 
 Most of the older telegraphs consisted of 
 boards or wooden arms, which according to 
 the positions assumed, signified the letters of 
 the alphabet. The kind generally used in 
 France at the end of the last century was the 
 T telegraph of M. Chappe. Four arms 
 shaped something like a T were moved on 
 three joints at the upper angles. M. Chappe 
 communicated his intelligence letter by letter, 
 and simplified the movements by using an 
 alphabet of only sixteen letters. Such tele- 
 graphs were first erected on a line commencing 
 at the Louvre, in Paris, and proceeding by 
 Montmartre and other elevated points to 
 Lisle, in order to communicate between the 
 Committee of Public Safety and the combined 
 armies in the low countries. 
 
 The advantages of such extraordinary cele- 
 rity of communication were so obvious that, in 
 England and other countries, many plans were 
 immediately brought forward, some of which 
 differed materially from that which had been 
 successfully put in practice in France. These 
 plans are mostly separable into two classes : 
 shutters which open or close certain apertures 
 made to receive them ; or arms moveable on 
 pivots. A shutter-apparatus, submitted to the 
 Admiralty in 1795, by Lord George Murray, 
 was adopted in the first government line of 
 telegraphs established in England, in 1796, 
 between London and Dover. It was employed 
 by the Admiralty until 1816. 
 
 In 1816 it was determined to change the 
 Admiralty telegraphs into semaphores con- 
 structed on the principle of those used in 
 
 France, with the improvements suggested by 
 Sir Home Popham. These semaphores had 
 been introduced on the French coast in 1803. 
 They consisted of upright posts with two or 
 three moveable arms. Sir Home Popham's 
 telegraph had two arms on one post ; but as 
 they were mounted upon separate pivots, each 
 of them could assume six different positions, 
 and the two together were capable of affording 
 48 signals. This kind of telegraph continued 
 to be used at the government stations till the 
 introduction of the electric telegraph. 
 
 Several modes of telegraphic communication, 
 without machinery, or with something which 
 may be held in the hands, have been devised, 
 especially for the purpose of directing military 
 operations, or of conveying speedy intelligence 
 in time of war, where no line of ordinary tele- 
 graphs can be established. One such method 
 was by circular discs of wood held by men in 
 particular positions ; another by a white 
 handkerchief varied in position ; another by 
 two small flags ; and another by stationing a 
 few men in pre-arranged positions, &c. 
 
 Marine telegraphic communication is an 
 object of even greater importance than that on 
 land, since there are many circumstances 
 which render communication between vessels 
 at sea impracticable by any other means than 
 by signals, and that sometimes in cases of 
 the greatest emergency. But, although naval 
 signals have been necessarily long used, and 
 flags of various forms and colours have been 
 extensively employed for the purpose of 
 making them, it was not till within a compa- 
 ratively recent period that they were reduced 
 to anything like an efficient telegraphic system. 
 Lord Howe proposed a system of numbering 
 the flags used as signals, and also prepared a 
 signal-book which was long used by the 
 Admiralty. An improved code of signals, 
 suggested by Sir Home Popham, was after- 
 wards adopted. A very useful system of flag 
 telegraphing was introduced a few years ago 
 by Mr. Watson, for the use of commercial 
 shipping, and for maintaining communication 
 between a vessel at sea and any of the stations 
 on the coasts of the British islands, whence 
 communication might be made by telegraph 
 inland. 
 
 Electric Telegraphs. It is chiefly to the 
 joint labours of Messrs. W. F. Cooke and 
 Professor Wheatstone that electric telegraphs 
 owe their practical application. Their tele- 
 graph, which was patented in 1837, acted upon 
 principles founded on Oersted's celebrated 
 discovery, that a magnetic or compass needle 
 may, through the agency of a voltaic current, 
 be invested with an artificial polarity. The 
 first lino was laid down upon the London and 
 
1G67 
 
 TELEGRAPH. 
 
 TELEGRAPH. 
 
 3668 
 
 Rlackwall Railway ; the second from London I paper moved onwards ; but on momentarily 
 to West Drayton ; and the third (in 1849) making the circuit with the battery, the arma- 
 from London to Gosport. ture was drawn to the electro-magnet, and the 
 
 In Messrs. Cooke and Wheatstone's first pencil, carried by the arm of the lever upwards, 
 apparatus there were five needles, arranged made an angular mark, like the letter V ra- 
 with their axes in a horizontal line. The versed, on the paper. These angles might 
 needles when at rest hung vertically, by either be joined in groups, by rapidly suc- 
 reason of a slight preponderance given to their ceeding completions of the circuit, or they 
 lower ends. Each electro-magnetic coil was might be separated by longer or shorter spaces 
 connected with one of the long conducting of straight line. In the telegraph constructed 
 wires at one end, and was united at the other by Morse in 1844, between Baltimore and 
 with a common rod of metal, which joined Washington, a different mode of recording the 
 together the similar ends of all the coils, signals was adopted. The use of the pencil 
 The current was transmitted from the oppo- was found objectionable, from its so frequently 
 site end of the wires (where an appropriate requiring fresh pointing, and from the risk of 
 set of five pairs of finger-keys, for making the breakage. The same arrangements were 
 connections with the battery, was placed) retained in regard to the paper, but it was 
 through two of the wires at once. In accor- made in its course to pass under a roller 
 dance with the keys which were pressed down, having a groove around it. The long arm of 
 the needles assumed various positions with the lever carried a blunt steel point, standing 
 respect to each other ; and these were made out from its upper surface, vertically under 
 to indicate signals according to the entries in the groove in the roller. When therefore the 
 a signal book. The instruments at the two arm of the lever was elevated, by the attraction 
 stations were always rendered reciprocating ; of the magnet upon the armature, the steel 
 that is, at each end of the line were placed an point pressed the paper into the groove and 
 instrument, a set of finger-keys, and a voltaic produced an indentation. If the attraction 
 battery, so that either station could transmit were momentary, a depressed point was 
 or receive a signal. By a beautiful arrange- produced ; but if the action were continued 
 ment, a bell or alarum could be rung, when for a longer time, a lengthened depression 
 the attention of the clerk at the distant was the result, as the paper was drawn on. 
 terminus was required. In 1838 Mr. Cooke The combinations of these two kinds of marks 
 obtained a patent for some further improve- denoted the various letters and figures, 
 ments of this apparatus. In the year 1837 Mr. Davy of London 
 
 Dr. Steinheil constructed an electric telegraph obtained a patent for an electric telegraph, the 
 between Munich and Bogenhausen in 1837. chief peculiarity of which consisted in the 
 In his telegraph he availed himself of the method of registering or recording the various 
 conducting power of the earth, whereby he was communications, by causing the current of a 
 enabled to reduce the cost of erection. The supplementary battery to pass through a 
 earth in fact occupied the place of the return riband steeped in a solution of iodide of potas- 
 wire. All that is necessary to enable this to sium and starch. The salt being decomposed 
 be effected, is that the wire which connects by the current, a blue spot was produced by 
 the two ends of the metallic conductor with the combination of the iodide with the starch, 
 the earth, shall be carried to a sufficient depth and the position of one or more of these spots 
 below the surface to be always in contact with across the breadth of the riband determined 
 moist earth or with water ; and that it shall the nature of the signal transmitted, 
 be at this point attached to a plate or piece In 1840 Professor Wheatstone patented his 
 of metal, of about two or three feet superficial, electro-magnetic telegraph, in which the indi- 
 The electric telegraph invented by Professor eating power was the magnetisation of soft 
 Morse, of America, in 1837, was essentially a iron by the electric current, instead of the 
 registering instrument, the various signals employment of a real or permanent magnet, 
 being traced on a strip of paper. An electro- One part of the apparatus is the Communi- 
 magnetwas so placed as to be within attracting cator, a wheel or disc, on the edge of which 
 distance of an armature fixed to the shorter are alternately arranged pieces of iron and of 
 arm of a lever, of which the longer end carried ivory, the one a condiictor and the other a 
 a pencil projecting sideways from it, and non-conductor of electricity. A metal spring 
 pressed lightly against a sheet of paper. This presses on this edge while the wheel revolves, 
 paper was madeto travel slowly beneath the and is connected also with the galvanic appa- 
 pencil. So long as no attractive power was ratus, in such a way that when the spring is 
 exerted by the electro-magnet, tho pencil in contact with the iron, a galvanic circuit is 
 would continue to trace a straight line as the j completed, but when in contact with the ivory 
 
1669 
 
 TELEGRAPH. 
 
 TELEGRAPH. 
 
 1670 
 
 the circuit becomes broken. Thus alterna- 
 tions of action are produced, which by 
 ingenious mechanism are made the means of 
 transmitting impulses or symbols through the 
 telegraphic wire. This telegraph requires only 
 a single wire for its use, the return of the 
 current being provided by the earth. One 
 application to which Professor Wheatstone 
 found his invention suitable was that of an 
 Electric Clock, by adapting his wheel and 
 galvanic apparatus to the action of the escape- 
 ment wheel of a common clock. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Bain, in conjunction with Mr. 
 Barwise, patented a clock which was to be set 
 in motion by electricity; and in the next 
 following year he brought forward a new 
 electric printing telegraph. The essential 
 principles of this telegraph are two. First, 
 the employment of type, mounted on the 
 periphery of a disc or wheel, capable of revol- 
 ving with its edge carrying the type very near 
 to a cylinder covered with white paper, between 
 which and the type-wheel a piece of trans- 
 ferring paper or riband is placed ; the cylinder 
 has a small movement in a spiral direction 
 communicated to it, after each impression of 
 a signal. The second principle is that of the 
 use of two clocks at the two communicating 
 stations, to rotate the type-wheels with a uni- 
 form motion. These clocks, having heen ad- 
 justed to exactly the same rate, and being 
 started from the same signal, would bring 
 continually, at each station, similar type oppo- 
 site to the paper cylinders at the same mo- 
 ment. A hand or index revolving on a dial in 
 front of the machine, at the same rate as the 
 type-wheel, indicates to the operator the sig- 
 nals which are successively in a position ready 
 for printing in his own instrument, and there- 
 fore, if the clocks go accurately together, in a 
 similar position in his correspondent's instru- 
 ment. 
 
 In 1842 Mr. Bain patented his proposed 
 plan for working an electric telegraph with a 
 peculiar form of battery. At one end of the 
 line he buried in moist earth a large plate of 
 zinc, and at the other end a plate of copper, 
 iron, or other substance, such as coke or char- 
 coal, which might act the part of a negative 
 plate to the zinc. Then on connecting these 
 distant plates with a wire insulated from the 
 earth, a current of electricity would constantly 
 pass from the one plate to the other. This 
 system has been found insufficient at long 
 distances. 
 
 In 1843 Mr. Cooke specified his patent for 
 the mode of insulating the wires by suspend- 
 ing them in the air upon posts or standards of 
 wood or iron ; the wires not coming in actual 
 contact with any part of the standard, but 
 
 passing through rings of porcelain or earthen- 
 ware. The standards are usually fixed at 
 from forty to sixty yards asunder, and at each 
 quarter of a mile a stouter post is placed, to 
 bear the winding or straining apparatus. The 
 intermediate posts within each quarter of a 
 mile merely supported the wire, without re- 
 ference to its tension, which depended solely 
 on the winding posts. Instead of the copper 
 wires hitherto employed, iron wires of a larger 
 size were then used. Before this period the 
 wires had been placed in iron tubes buried 
 beneath the ground; but this new form of 
 arrangement was deemed an improvement, 
 and has since been generally acted on in this 
 country. 
 
 Since the year last named, the progress of 
 the electro-telegraphic system has been ex- 
 ceedingly rapid. In 1846 an Electric Tele- 
 graph Company was formed, by whom the 
 patent rights of Messrs. Cooke and Wheat- 
 stone, and some of those of Mr. Bain, were 
 purchased. It is this company which has 
 carried out the greatest part of what has been 
 recently effected in Great Britain. Nearly 
 all the principal railways, except the Great 
 Western, have had lines of telegraphic wire 
 laid by it. A modification of Cooke and Wheat- 
 stone's arrangements is generally employed; 
 but the company also possesses a remarkable 
 printing or rather registering telegraph in- 
 vented by Mr. Bain. A long strip of paper 
 has small holes stamped in it by means of a 
 machine, each hole or group of holes repre- 
 senting a particular letter. This paper is 
 coiled on a, wooden roller, from whence it 
 passes to a metal roller, where metallic points 
 act upon it. The arrangement of the me- 
 chanism is such, that when the metallic points 
 touch the metal of the roller, through the 
 holes in the paper, a galvanic circuit is com- 
 pleted ; but when the points touch the paper 
 itself, the circuit is stopped ; and this rapid 
 alternation is made to indicate signals. There 
 is also a recipient apparatus, in which the strip 
 of paper employed has been first soaked in 
 diluted sulphuric acid, and then in a solution 
 of prussiate of potash. Two metallic points 
 press on this paper; and when a galvanic 
 current is passing through these points, they 
 discolour the chemically-prepared paper, and 
 leave a number of dark spots upon it; but 
 when no current is passing, no discolouration 
 is produced. By an ingenious arrangment of 
 mechanism, the recipient apparatus at the 
 end of the telegraphic wire marks with its 
 dark spots the signals which are conveyed by 
 the transmitting apparatus at the other end. 
 
 In the form which the English telegraphic 
 system has now assumed, all the stations ore 
 
1671 
 
 TELEGRAPH. 
 
 TELESCOPE. 
 
 placed in connection with the central office i 
 Lothbury. At this office are departments fo 
 transmitting messages to and receiving mes 
 sages from almost all parts of the kingdom 
 There are several rooms, each of which ha 
 its own electric clock, showing Greenwic 
 time, and its own electro-telegraphic machine 
 Wires pass from the machines to the grea 
 hall, and from the hall to the outside of th 
 building, whence they pass under the pave 
 ments of the London streets to the great rail 
 way termini at Euston Square, Shoreditch 
 London Bridge, Waterloo Eoad, &c., as well a 
 to the Admiralty and one or two other Govern 
 ment establishments. Along the lines of rail 
 way the telegraphic wires and apparatus are 
 so arranged as to be available both for th 
 railway company's own purposes, and foi 
 commercial purposes in general ; and a sys 
 tern has been formed whereby information o: 
 a commercial character is regularly transmit- 
 ted to and from the great centres of industry 
 and commerce. 
 
 Mr. Whishaw, in a paper communicated to 
 the British Association in 1849, gave an ac- 
 count of the telegraphic systems followed in 
 three countries, Great Britain, Prussia, and 
 the United States. In Great Britain the 
 wires are suspended on poles. The length of 
 railway to which the system had been applied 
 down to July 1849, was about 2000 miles ; and 
 the cost was about 150/. per mile. In Prussia 
 the telegraphic wires wore suspended on the 
 English system until the year 1844, since 
 which date a new plan has been followed. The 
 wires are coated with gutta percha, and laid 
 along under ground, at a distance of about 
 two feet beneath the surface, not only under 
 railways, but under turnpike roads and towing 
 paths. There are at each principal station 
 two telegraphic machines, one colloquial and 
 oneprinting. The length of Prussian telegraph 
 to July 1849, was about 1500 miles, at a cost 
 of about 401. per mile. In the United States 
 the telegraphic line is formed by a single iron 
 wire supported from post to post. It is car- 
 ried not only along railways, but across the 
 open country. There were in July 1849, about 
 10,500 miles of American telegraph, at a cost 
 of about 201. per mile. 
 
 Various improvements in electro-telegraphic 
 machines have been patented from time to 
 time by Messrs. Brett and Little, and other 
 inventors ; but those which seem most likely 
 to be attended with important results relate 
 to Submarine Telegraphs. It has been proved 
 that wires may be so coated with gutta percha 
 and other materials as to act under water. A 
 tube so constructed has been carried under 
 the sea between Dover and Calais ; and the 
 
 first communication by electric telegraph was 
 made from Cape Grisnez to Dover on August 
 28, 1850. The length from Dover to Cape 
 Grisnez is 21 miles. The copper wire was -j^tk 
 of an inch in thickness, and was enclosed in a 
 solid cylinder of gutta percha, i of an inch in 
 diameter. The entire length of wire was 25 
 miles, and its weight was 1 ton 2 cwt. 1 quarter 
 10i Ibs. The weight of the gutta percha was 
 4 tons 7 cwts. 1 quarter 9 Ibs. 
 
 Wherever the railway system has extended, 
 there does the electro -telegraphic system find 
 more or less of encouragement; and in the 
 United States the telegraphic wires extend 
 also over vast tracts of country where no rail- 
 ways are yet laid down. In respect to our own 
 country, the contrivances of Messrs. Cooke 
 and Wheatstone have hitherto been those 
 most generally adopted ; but there is at the 
 present time (May 1851) an attempt being 
 made to form a new telegraphic company ; and 
 if this attempt succeed, we shall probably see 
 many new and efficient mechanical arrange- 
 ments adopted. 
 
 One of the most recent electro-magnetic in- 
 struments, partaking of the nature of the 
 electric telegraph in some of its features, is 
 VIr. Shepherd's ingenious clock at the Indus- 
 trial Palace. 
 
 The experiments made in the British Chan - 
 nel have shewn that the submarine Telegraph 
 s practicable ; and we shall probably see, ere 
 ong, the adoption of the system between Eng- 
 and and France, and between England and 
 Ireland. The proposed oceanic telegraph be- 
 ween England and America may well afford 
 o wait till the fruition of the less gigantic 
 chemes. 
 
 TELESCOPE. Such telescopes as are 
 instructed with glass lenses only are called 
 tioptric, or refracting telescopes ; whereas 
 hose which have a reflecting speculum are 
 he catoptric, or reflecting telescopes. By these 
 nstruments objects even in the remotest 
 .epths of space are rendered accessible to 
 uman vision ; and terrestrial objects faintly 
 risible in the distance are brought as it were 
 lose to the eye. There is evidence to show 
 bat Roger Bacon, who died in 1292, knew 
 hat lenses might be so combined as to make 
 bjects seen through them appear to be mag- 
 ified. No further indications of telescopes 
 re met with till after the middle of the 16th 
 entury, when Dr. Dee suggested that the 
 ommander of an army, who wants to dis- 
 over the number and arrangement of an 
 nemy's troops, 'may wonderfully help him- 
 elf by perspective glasses.' In 1009 Galileo 
 onstructed a telescope, with which he dis- 
 overed the four satellites of the planet 
 
 
1673 
 
 TELESCOPE. 
 
 Jupitei'. Huygens, Dr. James Gregory, Sir 
 Isaac Newton, Dr. Hooke, Dr. Bradley, Sir 
 Win. Herschel, Mr. Dollond, and Lord Eosse 
 have since been the persons most dis- 
 tinguished for the improvements which they 
 have respectively made in the construction of 
 telescopes. 
 
 To explain the optical principles whicl 
 govern the action of telescopes would be 
 beyond the scope of the present volume ; bu 
 we may briefly explain differences of con- 
 struction. 
 
 The telescope invented by Galileo consisted 
 of one convex lens and one concave lens ; the 
 distance between them being equal to the 
 difference between the focal lengths of the 
 two lenses. This is the construction of what 
 is called an Opera Glass; and the Galilean 
 telescope is now used chiefly for viewing 
 objects within a theatre, or an apartment ; 
 since if considerable magnifying power were 
 given to it the extent of the field of view 
 would be very small. 
 
 A simple telescope may also be constructed 
 by means of two convex lenses, which are 
 placed at a distance from one another equal 
 to the sum of their focal lengths. 
 
 In order to afford a view of objects in the 
 same position as they appear to have when 
 seen by the naked eye, Mr. Dollond employed 
 an eye-tube containing four lenses ; whereas 
 in the eye-piece invented by Huyghens, which 
 is used in most astronomical telescopes, there 
 are only two lenses, and objects are seen 
 inverted. 
 
 In reflecting telescopes, a speculum at one 
 extremity of the tube serves the purpose of 
 the object-glass in refracting telescopes by 
 forming an image at its focus ; and the image 
 so formed is viewed by the eye through inter- 
 mediate reflectors. The Newtonian reflecting 
 telescopes have one concave speculum at the 
 bottom of the tube; and the rays reflected 
 from it fall in a convergent state upon a small 
 plane mirror placed so as to make an angle of 
 45 with the axis of the telescope : after the 
 second reflection the rays unite and form an 
 image which is viewed through a Huygenian 
 eye -piece fixed in the side of the tube, oppo- 
 site the plane mirror ; that is, near the open 
 end of the tube. In the Gregorian reflecting 
 telescope the 'second reflection is given by a 
 second concave mirror, the face of which is 
 towards the observer. 
 
 The telescope constructed by the late Sir 
 Wm. Herschel differed from the Newtonian 
 telescope only in having no small mirror. The 
 surface of the great speculum, which was 
 4 feet in diameter, had a small obliquity to 
 the axis, so that the image formed by re- 
 
 TELFOED, THOMAS. 1674 
 
 flection from it fell near the lower side of the 
 tube at its open end : at this place there was 
 a sliding apparatus which carried a tube con- 
 taining the eye-glasses. The observer in 
 viewing was situated at the open end of the 
 tube, with his back to the object, and he 
 looked directly towards the centre of the 
 speculum. The reflecting telescope executed 
 by Lord Eosse in 1842 is 56 feet long, and 
 its speculum is 6 feet in diameter. It is 
 capable of being directed from the zenith to 
 the horizon towards the south, and from the 
 zenith to a position parallel to the earth's 
 axis towards the north ; it has also a move- 
 ment in azimuth of about 8 degrees on each 
 side of the meridian. 
 
 The Great Exhibition contains a noble 
 telescope by Mr. Eoss, which is, we believe, 
 the largest ever constructed on the refractive 
 principle. 
 
 TELFOED, THOMAS, was one of those 
 invaluable men whose engineering labours 
 form the best memento of their personal 
 history. He was the son of a shepherd in 
 Eskdale, Dumfriesshire, where he was born 
 in 1757. At the age of fourteen he was 
 apprenticed to a stone-mason in the town of 
 Langholm. In 1780, being then about twenty- 
 three, he went to Edinburgh, where he seems 
 to have devoted much attention both to 
 architecture and drawing. After remaining 
 there about two years, he removed to London, 
 and obtained employment at Somerset House, 
 then erecting by Sir William Chambers. He 
 was employed upon various buildings at Ports- 
 mouth dockyard for three years subsequent to 
 1784; and in 1787 he was employed by Sir 
 William Puiteney to make some alterations 
 at Shrewsbury Castle. He thereupon re- 
 moved to Shrewsbury, where he was also 
 employed to erect a new gaol, and was sub- 
 sequently appointed county surveyor, in whio-h 
 )fiice he had to furnish plans for and oversee 
 he construction of bridges and similar works. 
 3e erected the iron bridge over the Severn 
 ,t Buildwas, besides about forty smaller 
 midges in the same county. 
 
 The Ellesmere Canal was the first great 
 vork upon which Telford was engaged ; and 
 rom 1793, in which year the act of parliament 
 or its construction was obtained, his attention 
 vas directed almost solely to civil engineering. 
 Che aqueduct-bridge over the valley of the 
 Dee, called the Pont-y-Cysylte, is a remark- 
 able work. It consists of a trough of cast- 
 ron plates, securely flanged together, and 
 upported by eighteen piers or pillars of 
 masonry, the elevation of which is 131 feet 
 above the water. These gigantic works were 
 executed between 1795 and 1805. The Calo- 
 
1675 
 
 TELFOED, THOMAS. 
 
 TENACITY. 
 
 1676 
 
 donian Canal, which was opened throughout 
 in 1823, is another of Telford's principal works. 
 The locks were the largest ever constructed 
 at that time, being 40 feet wide, and from 170 
 to 180 feet long. Of other canals constructed 
 wholly or partially under Telford's super- 
 intendence it is sufficient to mention the 
 Glasgow, Paisley, and Ardrossan ; the Mac- 
 clesfield ; the Birmingham and Liverpool 
 Junction; the Gloucester and Berkeley (com- 
 pleted under his direction) ; the Birmingham, 
 which was completely remodelled, and adapted 
 to the conduct of a very extensive traffic, by 
 hun ; and the Weaver navigation, in Cheshire. 
 He also constructed a new tunnel, 2,926 
 yards long, 16 feet high, and 14 feet wide, at 
 Harecastle, on the Trent and Mersey Canal. 
 He also executed many important works 
 connected with the drainage of the fen country, 
 especially of Bedford Level. On the Continent 
 he superintended the construction of the 
 Gotha Canal, in Sweden, a navigation of about 
 120 miles, of which 55 are artificial canals. 
 For this work a Swedish order of knighthood 
 and other honours were conferred upon 
 him. 
 
 The works executed by Telford under the 
 Commissioners of Highland Eoads and 
 Bridges were of great importance; and in the 
 improvements of the great road from London 
 to Holyhead, under another parliamentary 
 commission, appointed in 1815, Telford had a 
 further opportunity of carrying into effect his 
 system of road-making. The Menai suspen- 
 sion bridge especially is a noble example of 
 his boldness in designing and practical skill. 
 [MENAI BRIDGES.] 
 
 Among other works of Telford are many 
 bridges of considerable size, in which he 
 adopted the important principle of making 
 the spandrils hollow, and supporting the 
 roadway upon slabs laid upon longitudinal 
 walls, instead of filling up the haunches with 
 a mass of loose rubbish, which often proves 
 of serious inconvenience when the masonry 
 of the bridge needs repair. 
 
 Telford executed some important harbour 
 works at Aberdeen and Dundee ; but his most 
 striking performance of this class is the St. 
 Katherine Docks, London. 
 
 In addition to the works which he executed 
 himself, Telford was frequently applied to for 
 his judgment upon important schemes, and 
 in this way he made many reports to parlia- 
 ment. The Eussian government frequently 
 applied to him for advice respecting the 
 construction of roads and canals ; and the 
 Emperor Alexander acknowledged his sense 
 of his services, in 1808, by sending him a 
 diamond ring with a suitable inscription. He 
 
 closed bis useful life in 1834, and was buried 
 in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 TELLU'RIUM, is a metal discovered in 
 1782 by Muller of Keichenstein. Its colour 
 is silver- white, and it is very brilliant ; it is 
 crystalline and brittle, of a lamellar fracture, 
 easily pulverised. Its specific gravity is about 
 6-13. It is nearly as fusible as antimony, 
 and at a high temperature it boils, and may 
 be distilled. When strongly heated in contact 
 with ah-, it burns with a lively blue flame, 
 green at the borders, and forms a white vapour, 
 which has an acid odour. 
 
 The principal ores of tellurium are Native 
 Tellurium, both crystalline and massive, Gra- 
 phic or Auro -Argentiferous Tellurium, Yellow 
 Tellurium, Black Tellurium,Bismuthic Tellurium 
 or Tetturet of Bismuth. But neither the ores 
 nor the various chemical combinations of the 
 metal have yet been applied to many useful 
 purposes. 
 
 TEMPEEING. [STEEL MANUFACTUEE.] 
 
 TENACITY. This property is a result of 
 the attractions and repulsions which act within 
 the insensible spaces supposed to exist be- 
 tween the particles of bodies: it is con- 
 sequently different in different materials, and 
 in the same material it varies with the state 
 of the body with respect to temperature and 
 other circumstances. The particles of liquids 
 adhere to one another, and generally to those 
 of solid bodies, by attractive forces which 
 decrease very rapidly ; and, at insensible 
 distances from the supposed places of contact, 
 the adhesion entirely disappears. It is on 
 account of the small distance to which the 
 attraction of the fluid molecules extend, and 
 to the freedom with which the particles move 
 on one another, that fluids appear to have so 
 little tenacity ; but from the weight which it 
 supports in glass tubes, Dr. Eobison has 
 estimated that the mutual attractions of the 
 particles of water on a surface equal to one 
 square inch must far exceed .190 Ibs. 
 
 Though, when a piece of metal is fractured, 
 the parts will not by simple adjunction adhere 
 together; jet, in some cases, by hammering 
 them upon one another, so many points on 
 their surfaces may be brought within the 
 limits to which the force of cohesion extends, 
 that they will acquire a tenacity eqtial to that 
 which the metal had in its natural state. 
 
 The tenacity of wood is much greater in 
 the direction of the length of its fibres than 
 in the transverse direction, the fibres being 
 united by a substance having little cohesive 
 power. With respect to metals, the processes 
 of forging and wire drawing increase their 
 tenacity in the longitudinal direction ; the 
 augmentation of friction and lateral cohesion. 
 
1677 
 
 TENNESSEE. 
 
 TE'SSEEA. 
 
 1678 
 
 arising from the particles being forced to- 
 gether in the transverse direction, more than 
 compensates for the diminution of the attrac- 
 tion which may result from the particles being 
 forced or drawn farther asunder longitudinally. 
 Copper and iron have their tenacity more 
 than doubled ; while gold, silver, brass, and 
 lead have it more than tripled, by those metals 
 being drawn into wire. 
 
 TENNESSEE. The industry and com- 
 merce of this portion of the American 
 Union are briefly adverted to under UNITED 
 STATES. 
 
 TERRA COTTA. This is the Italian for 
 baked earth, and is the name applied to the 
 material with which many of the coarser 
 varieties of Italian pottery are made. The 
 Etruscan Vases, whatever may be the devices 
 on the surface, are made of Terra Cotta. 
 [ETEUSCAN WAEE.] At the Mediaeval Ex- 
 hibition of 1850 there were many fine speci- 
 mens of terra cotta ware ; and in the Etruscan 
 room at 'the British Museum the collection is 
 especially fine. There is a church near Bolton, 
 in Lancashire, in which the chief material 
 employed, at least in the ornamental parts, is 
 terra cotta ; and terra cotta ware finds a fitting 
 place among the articles of pottery at the 
 Great Exhibition. 
 
 TESSELLATED FLOORS. Mr. Ward, 
 in the Introductory Essay to Mr. Owen Jones's 
 beautiful work on Mosaic Pavements, says : 
 " The materials of the best and costliest 
 pavements at Rome (such, for example, as 
 those still remaining in the Baths of Cara- 
 calla) are coloured marbles of various kinds, 
 differing considerably from each other in 
 hardness and durability. The inferior pave- 
 ments, found scattered through Britain,France, 
 and other parts of' Europe, and along the 
 western coast of Africa, are usually made of 
 such coloured stones as the neighbourhood 
 happened to supply ; with the exception only 
 of the red tesserae, which are almost invariably 
 of burnt clay. Thus, in the celebrated Roman 
 pavement which was discovered in 1793, at 
 Woodchester in Gloucestershire, the gray 
 tesserae are of blue lias, found in the vale of 
 Gloucester ; the ash-coloured tesserae of a 
 similar kind of stone, often found in the same 
 masses with the former ; the dark brown of a 
 gritty stone, met with near Bristol, and in the 
 Forest of Dean; the light brown of a hard 
 calcareous stone, occurring at Lypiat (two 
 miles from the site of the pavement) ; and the 
 red tesserae (as usual) of burnt brick." 
 
 The tesserae, or small cubic pieces of the 
 Roman pavements, are by no means uniform 
 in shape and size ; the fissures between them 
 are wide and irregular; and as these fissures 
 
 are filled up with cement, a muddy hue is 
 given to the general tints. 
 
 In the beginning of the present century, 
 Mr. Wyatt introduced the plan of inlaying 
 stone tesserae with coloured cements. In 
 later methods, terra cotta tesserae have been 
 inlaid in a similar way. Mr. Blashfield 
 adopted the plan of forming the tesserae of 
 cements coloured with metallic oxides. Bitu- 
 men, coloured with metallic oxides, is another 
 material employed. Mr. Singer introduced a 
 plan of forming tesserae by cutting pieces of 
 the required form out of thin layers of clay; 
 which pieces are afterwards dried and baked, 
 and united by a peculiar cement. In another 
 plan, adopted at the Worcester porcelain 
 works, tiles of two colours are formed by 
 pressing a device on slabs of clay, and pouring 
 liquid clay of another colour into a sunk 
 device on the surface of the former. 
 
 In Mr. Prosser's method, small tesserae are 
 formed by compressing porcelain powder into 
 moulds with great force, in the manner de- 
 scribed under BUTTON MANUFACTURE. The 
 tesserae may be of any colour white, black, 
 red, blue, yellow, brown ; and of any definite 
 form triangular, quadrilateral, rhomboidal, 
 hexagonal, &c. In the formation of a floor 
 or pavement with such tesserae, the pieces ara 
 first put together in their proper order, placed 
 downward on a smooth surface ; and as soon 
 as a sufficient portion of the design is finished, 
 it is backed with fine Roman cement, which is 
 worked in to fill the crevices between the 
 tesserae. The pavement is thus formed into 
 smooth flat slabs of convenient size, which 
 are laid down on any properly prepared foun- 
 dation. 
 
 Although it belongs more to inlaying or 
 marquetry than to tessellated pavements, we 
 may say a word or two concerning the beautiful 
 floor of the new Coal Exchange. It is a cir- 
 cular floor 60 feet in diameter, and is formed 
 of 4,000 pieces of wood, arranged into a star- 
 like pattern of great beauty, bearing some 
 resemblance to a mariner's compass. All the 
 wood formed portions of living trees within a 
 short period pefore the floor was made ; the 
 pieces having been prepared by the Drying or 
 Dessicating process of Messrs. Davison and 
 Symington. In this respect the floor is an 
 exemplar of a highly useful and important 
 manufacturing invention. The kinds of wood 
 employed are ebony, black oak, red oak, com- 
 mon oak, white holly, mahogany, elm, red 
 walnut, white walnut, and mulberry. 
 
 TE'SSERA. The Roman tessera were 
 small cubes or squares resembling our dice, 
 which were used by the ancients for various 
 purposes, and formed of different materials, 
 
1679 
 
 TESTS, CHEMICAL. 
 
 THAMES. 
 
 1680 
 
 as marble, precious stones, ivory, glass, wood, 
 or inother-of-pearl. Such small tesserae of 
 different colours were used to form the mosaic 
 floors, or pavements in houses, which were 
 hence called tessclata pavimenta. (See the 
 preceding article.) The same kinds of cubes 
 were used by the ancients as dice in the games 
 of hazard, just as in our times. 
 
 TESTS, CHEMICAL, or Chemical Re- 
 agents, are those substances which are em- 
 ployed to detect the presence of other bodies, 
 by admixture with which they are known to 
 produce certain changes in appearance and 
 properties. 
 
 TEXAS. This region once a portion of 
 Spanish America, then a state of republican 
 Mexico, then an independent republic, and 
 now one of the United States is still in the 
 infancy of its industrial development. Bitu- 
 minous coal is said to be abundant in the 
 interior, and iron ore is also plentifully distri- 
 buted. Building stone is abundant in all 
 parts except the sea coast region. Gold, silver, 
 copper, and lead, have been found in the 
 mountainous parts of the State. Oak, pine, 
 and other large timber trees, are abundant 
 along the courses of the rivers and upon the 
 slopes of the mountains. Texas is stated to 
 have climates and soils suitable for maize, 
 wheat, oats, barley, and rice ; for apples, pears, 
 figs, melons, and oranges; for the vine, olives, 
 and mulberries ; for the sugar- cane and the 
 cotton plant; and in fact for almost every 
 kind of grain, fruit, and vegetable. 
 
 The rise of a great commercial community 
 from these elements has yet to take place. 
 
 TEXTILE MANUFACTURES. The 
 spinning and weaving of fibres into a web are 
 the general type or representative of textile 
 manufactures. It is difficult to say whether 
 these or metallic manufactures are the most 
 important; but the textile take the lead in 
 respect to our exports. The amount of these 
 exports, and the nature of the processes, are 
 noticed under the names of the respective 
 goods such as COTTON, FLAX, FUSTIAN 
 GAUZE, LACE, LINEN, MUSLIN, RIBBON, SHAWL 
 SILK, VELVET, WOOLLENS, &c. ; while the 
 manufacturing statistics are glanced at undei 
 FACTORIES, and under the names of the chie" 
 textile manufacturing towns and counties. 
 
 THAMES. The navigation of this mos 
 busy of English rivers commences at Lech 
 lade, where the river is about 258 feet above 
 low-water mark at London Bridge. Th 
 Thames and Severn Canal, which follows th 
 valley of the Churn and the Thames from 
 near Cirencester, opens into the Thames a 
 Lechlade, thus connecting it with the Severn 
 and the western coast of the island. At Ox 
 
 3rd the Oxford Canal joins the Thames, and 
 'pens a communication with the great canal 
 ystem of the central counties. At Abingdon 
 he Wilts and Berks Canal joins the Thames 
 .nd, as well as the Kennet and Avon Canal, 
 which joins the Kennet at Newbury (where 
 he navigation of that river commences, 20 
 miles' above its junction with. the Thames), 
 pens a communication with the Somerset- 
 hire Avon and by it with the Severn. The 
 Thame is navigable from the town of Tbame, 
 about 17 miles above its junction with the 
 Chames. The Wey is navigable from Godal- 
 ning, about 17 miles from its junction; and 
 s connected with the Wey and Arun Canal, 
 and the Basingstoke Canal, the former of 
 vhich opens a communication with the river 
 Arun and the Sussex coast. The Grand 
 unction Canal, which unites with the Oxford 
 Canal at Braunston in Northamptonshire 
 pens into the Thames by the mouth of the 
 Brent, the lower part of which is incorporated 
 with the Canal. Below London Bridge the 
 Lea, which is navigable, chiefly by artificial 
 cuts, for 25 miles, opens into the Thames ; 
 and just above the Lea, the Regent's Canal, 
 which encircles the north and east side of the 
 metropolis, and communicates with the Pad- 
 lington Canal, and so with the Grand June- 
 ion Canal, also opens into the river. 
 
 The Medway is navigable below Rochester 
 Bridge for sea-borne vessels, and from Pens- 
 aurst, above 43 miles from its mouth, for 
 river craft. 
 
 The navigation of the Thames, in its upper 
 part, is kept up by locks and wears, the lowest 
 of which is at Teddington, which is conse- 
 quently the limit of the tide. Teddington is 
 about 18 or 19 miles above London Bridge. 
 High-water mark at Teddington is about 1| 
 feet higher than at London Bridge, and the 
 time of high water is about two hours later. 
 Low-water surface at Teddington is about 
 16| feet higher than at London Bridge. At 
 ebb tide there is a depth of from 12 to 13 feet 
 water nearly or quite up to London Bridge, 
 and the rise of the tide is about 17 feet, or at 
 the extreme springs about 22 feet. 
 
 Vessels of 800 tons get up to the St. Cathe- 
 rine's Docks, and those of 1400 tons to Black- 
 wall, about 6 miles below bridge. No other 
 river in the world equals the Thames in its 
 commercial importance. The river for some 
 2 miles or more below London Bridge is 
 crowded with vessels, chiefly coasters, steam 
 vessels, and colliers, which moor alongside the 
 quays or in tiers in the stream ; others are 
 moored lower down, though not in such num- 
 bers ; and for larger vessels there are several 
 docks excavated on the banks of the river. 
 
1681 
 
 THATCM. 
 
 THATCH. 
 
 1682 
 
 There is a dockyard for the navy (now littl 
 used) at Deptford, about 4 miles below Lon 
 don Bridge ; one at Woolwich, 9 miles below 
 one at Sheerness, in the Isle of Sheppy, a 
 the junction of the Thames and Medway ; an 
 one at Chatham, the most important of th< 
 four, on the Medway. The fortifications a 
 Sheerness defend the entrance to both rivers 
 the passage of the Thames is further protectec 
 by Tilbury Fort, and that of the Medway by 
 Gillingham Fort. 
 
 Among many engineering schemes for im 
 proving the banks of the Thames within the 
 limits of the metropolis, is the following by 
 Mr. W. H. Smith : It is proposed that a ter- 
 race, about 12 feet above high- water mark 
 designed exclusively for the public, and with- 
 out any landing places except for passengers 
 should be carried along the banks of the 
 Thames. The width of the esplanade is to 
 be 60 feet, having a parapet and open railing 
 on the side next the river ; thus offering a 
 clear view of the general traffic, but at the same 
 time, by means of the parapet, securing the 
 operations of commerce beneath. This espla- 
 nade is connected immediately by carriage 
 approaches with the bridges and main tho- 
 roughfares. Where the width of the river is 
 sufficient to admit the space required, it is 
 proposed there should be lines or colonnades 
 of handsome shops, dwellings, or warehouses, 
 according as the situation might require. The 
 goods' traffic of the river is conveyed by trans- 
 verse arches beneath, descending to within a 
 foot of high water, which are connected with 
 the property of the wharfs and warehouses on 
 the inner side, the river traffic being thus 
 carried on unimpeded and almost invisibly. 
 Immediately beneath is a railway tunnel, in 
 the base of which the required culverts for 
 pure water, gas, rain water, and sewage, would 
 be formed at about low-water mark. It is 
 proposed that the sewage should be entirely 
 cut off from the river, passed longitudinally 
 under the embankment by means of an iron 
 culvert, and carried into the marshes on the 
 southern side of the river beyond the influence 
 of the tide. The probable expense of this 
 great undertaking, extending from Vauxhall 
 to the West India Docks on the north, and 
 from Vauxhall to Deptford on the south, Mr. 
 Smith estimates at about 3,000,000^. 
 
 THATCH is a covering of straw, rushes, or 
 reeds, as a substitute for tiles or slates for 
 houses, barns, ricks, stacks, and sheds. We 
 will first describe the mode of thatching hay 
 ricks and corn stacks, as the simplest. 
 
 The rick or stack having been formed into 
 a proper shape, either with a roof slanting 
 from a ridge, or conical, ending in a central 
 
 point, the straw is prepared by moistening it, 
 that it may more easily bend without break- 
 ing. It is then forked up in a loose heap, 
 the straws lying in every direction, and some- 
 what matted. Portions are now drawn out 
 from this heap in handfuls, which lays the 
 straws again in a more parallel order: these 
 are placed in a forked stick, which will hold 
 several of these bundles or handfuls, and are 
 thus carried to the thatcher on the top of the 
 rick or stack. He seizes a handful, and bend- 
 ing one end into a kind of a noose, he inserts 
 this into the hay or straw near the bottom of 
 the roof, at one end if it be a square roof, or 
 at any convenient part if it be a round one. 
 He presses down the straw which he has thus 
 inserted to about half its length, in order to 
 form the eaves, which extend a little beyond 
 the lower part of the roof. When he has thus 
 laid several handfuls side by side so as to cover 
 about a yard in width, that is as far as he can 
 conveniently reach without moving his ladder, 
 he begins another row a little above the place 
 where he began, so that the lower end of the 
 straw now inserted may cover the upper part 
 of the first row, as tiles do each other. Thus 
 proceeds upwards till he comes to the upper 
 ridge of the roof, or to the point of the cone 
 n a round stack. In the latter case the cover- 
 ng diminishes to a point so as to form a tri- 
 angle. The ladder is now shifted a yard to 
 ne side, and the same operation is performed, 
 care being taken that each fresh handful put 
 on shall be interwoven with that which lies 
 >eside it, so that no water can possibly pass 
 "jetween them. Thus the work proceeds until 
 .he roof is completed, and it only remains to 
 secure the upper ridge in a square stack, or 
 lie point of the cone in a round one. In the 
 first case the highest layer of straw is made 
 o extend beyond the ridge on both sides, and 
 .he ends are brought together and stand up 
 ike the bristles on a hog. A rope of straw 
 las been prepared, and many small rods, 
 about two feet long, and cut sharp at the 
 oint : these are inserted just below the ridge, 
 n a line with it, and about a foot apart ; one 
 :nd of the straw rope is inserted into the 
 tack, and twisted firmly round the projecting 
 nd of the first rod ; it is then wound once 
 ound the next rod, and so on the whole- v 
 ngth of the ridge : this is done on both 
 ides. The straws which form, the ridge are 
 now cut with shears horizontally, to give it a 
 eat finish, and at each end a kind of orna- 
 ment is usually made by win ding a straw rope 
 ound a handful of the projecting straw, form- 
 ng a kind of knot or bow, according to the 
 aste of the thatcher. Kods and straw ropes 
 ;wisted round them are inserted near the edge 
 
 No. 40. 
 
1683 
 
 THEIN. 
 
 THERMO 'METEK. 
 
 1684 
 
 of the slanting side and all along the eaves, which 
 prevent the wind from blowing off the thatch. 
 
 The only difference in the thatch of a round 
 rick is, that it is brought to one point, where 
 it is tied with straw rope wound round it, and 
 formed into a kind of bow ; the rods are in- 
 serted a little below in a circle, and a straw 
 rope twisted round them, and likewise around 
 the circular eaves. Barley is generally put 
 into square stacks, and wheat in round ones. 
 When the outside is neatly trimmed and cut 
 smooth, so that no birds can lodge in it, wheat 
 may be kept for years without danger of in- 
 jury or loss, much better than in a barn, or 
 even in a granary. 
 
 In thatching sheds and buildings which are 
 to last many years, the straw is prepared in 
 the same manner, but the ends of the hand- 
 fuls, as they are put on a lathed roof, are kept 
 down by means of long rods, which are tied 
 to the laths of the roof by means of strong tar 
 twine. A much thicker coat of straw is put 
 on ; and rye-straw, which has a solid stem, is 
 preferred, as more lasting, and less liable to 
 be filled with water than hollow straw. In- 
 stead of straw ropes, split willow is used, and 
 the rods which are inserted are much nearer 
 each other and more carefully secured. As 
 this kind of thatching is a peculiar trade, it 
 requires a regular apprenticeship to be master 
 of it. 
 
 THEIN is the neutral vegetable principle 
 obtained from common tea, aud supposed to 
 be identical in its nature with cajfein, the 
 peculiar principle of coffee. It forms tufts of 
 white delicate silky needles, which have a 
 bitter taste, melt and lose water when heated, 
 and sublime without decomposition. 
 
 THEOBROMA. For the best known pro- 
 ducts of the theobroma plants, see COCOA and 
 CHOCOLATE. 
 
 THEODOLITE is the name generally 
 given to the instrument used for measuring 
 horizontal angles. In its simplest form the 
 theodolite consists of a divided circle, which 
 is to be set parallel with the horizon, and a 
 telescope which has so much motion in a 
 vertical plane as to enable the observer to 
 view any object which he may require above 
 or below the horizon. 
 
 THEORBO is a musical instrument of the 
 lute kind, which has long fallen into disuse. 
 The upper and middle strings were attached 
 to the lower head or nut; the lower, or base 
 strings, to an upper or additional one. [LuTE.] 
 
 THERMO'METER is an instrument by 
 which the temperatures of bodies arc ascer- 
 tained. It consists of a glass tube with a capil- 
 lary bore containing in general alcohol or mer- 
 cury. When the liquid expands or contracts by 
 
 variations in the temperature of the atmo- 
 sphere, or by the instrument being immersed 
 in the liquid or gas which is to be examined, 
 the state of the atmosphere, liquid, or gas, 
 with respect to caloric, is indicated by a scale 
 which is either applied to the tube or engraven 
 on its exterior surface. 
 
 The end proposed by a thermometer is the 
 measurement of the temperature of any body 
 with relation to the temperature of some other 
 substance, as of water at the point of freezing ; 
 but the measure so obtained must not be 
 understood to express the absolute quantity 
 or density of caloric in any body, it being 
 well known that different substances, though 
 exhibiting the same apparent temperature, 
 contain very different quantities of caloric 
 according to their capacities for that element. 
 
 The thermometer was in use in the begin- 
 ning of the 17th century, but it is not known 
 precisely to whom the honour of the invention 
 is clue. A physician of Padua named Santorio, 
 in his 'Commentaries on Avicenna' (1626), 
 claims it for himself. It may however have 
 happened with this, as with other scientific 
 discoveries, that the idea of the instrument 
 occurred to two persons or more about the 
 same time. 
 
 The earliest kind of thermometer consisted 
 of a long glass tube containing air, which was 
 hermetically sealed at the upper end, while 
 the lower was made to enter into a vessel of 
 coloured spirit. By the pressure of the atmo- 
 sphere the spirit was made to occupy part of 
 the tube ; and the variations in the tempera- 
 ture of the atmosphere causing the column of 
 spirit to ascend or descend in the tube, allowed 
 the degree of temperature to bo measured by 
 a scale applied to the latter. The defects 
 inseparable from such thermometers are, that 
 the dilatations of the air are not proportional 
 to the increments of heat, and that the length 
 of the column of spirit varies with the tempe- 
 rature of the atmosphere. Thus the indica- 
 tions afforded by the thermometer are ren- 
 dered erroneous, or require corrections which 
 it is difficult to apply. 
 
 About the middle of the 17th century the 
 members of the Academia del Cimento caused 
 thermometers to be constructed in which, 
 instead of air, alcohol, or spirit of wine, was 
 employed. Alcohol dilates and contract* 
 considerably with the variations of temperature 
 to which it may be subject, though not in so 
 great a degree as air. It is also capable of 
 measuring very low temperatures but; as it is 
 brought to a boiling state sooner than any 
 other liquid, it cannot be employed to ascer- 
 tain a high degree of heat. 
 
 The idea of employing mercury for the 
 
 
1685 
 
 THEEMO'METEE. 
 
 THEEMO'METEE, 
 
 1686 
 
 purpose of measuring degrees of heat by its 
 expansion is supposed to have first occurred 
 to Dr. Halley. The invention is ascribed to 
 Homer, but it was not till 1724 that such a 
 thermometer was known in this country. The 
 advantages of mercury over alcohol and air, as 
 a measure of temperature, are, that its expan- 
 sions are more nearly proportional to the 
 increments of caloric than those which take 
 place in either of the other fluids ; it is easily 
 deprived of air; and its power to conduct 
 heat being considerable, the changes of its 
 volume by changes of temperature in the 
 surrounding medium take place more rapidly 
 than those of any other fluid except the gases. 
 
 The scale which has been in general use in 
 this country since the year 1724, is supposed 
 to have been invented by Fahrenheit. It is 
 quite unknown on what ground he made 
 choice of the fixed points on his scale, or the 
 number of graduations between them ; but it 
 is thought that one of the fixed points was 
 that of boiling water, and that the other, which 
 is the zero of the scale, was that at which the 
 top of the column stood when the instrument 
 was exposed to an intense cold in Iceland, in 
 1709. The extent of the scale between this 
 last point and that of boiling water is divided 
 into 212 parts, and the point of freezing water 
 is at the thirty-second division from the zero 
 point. That which is called Keaumur's scale 
 has the interval between the points of freezing 
 and boiling water determined by experiment, 
 and the distance between them is divided into 
 eighty parts, the zero of the scale being at the 
 freezing point. A third scale, called ' Centi- 
 grade,' has been much in use among the 
 philosophers of the Continent within the last 
 fifty years. It was invented by Celsius, a 
 Swede, and it differs from that of Eeaumur 
 only in the distance between the points of 
 freezing and boiling water being divided into 
 100 parts. The length of each degree in this 
 thermometer, as well as in that of Eeaumur, 
 is greater than in the scale of Fahrenheit. 
 
 According to the experiments of Mr. Dal ton, 
 mercury does not boil till it has acquired a 
 temperature equal to 660 of Fahrenheit's 
 scale; and it does not freeze till it is subject 
 to a degree of cold expressed by 39 divisions 
 below the zero of that scale, or 71 below the 
 freezing-point of water. Pure alcohol, on the 
 other hand, has never been frozen, though 
 it has been exposed to a degree of cold exceed- 
 ing that which is expressed by 91 below the 
 zero of Fahrenheit; and therefore a spirit 
 thermometer is to be preferred to one of 
 mercury when it is intended to ascertain the 
 temperature of the air in high northern or 
 southern latitudes : but since the spirit boils 
 
 in air with a degree of heat expressed by 175 
 of Fahrenheit, it is unfit for many of the pur- 
 poses for which a thermometer is required. 
 For instruments capable of measuring very 
 high temperatures, see PYBOMETEK. 
 
 Register Thermometers. It is of great im- 
 portance in meteorology that the observer 
 should be able to ascertain the highest or 
 lowest point of a thermometer scale at which 
 the column of mercury may have stood during 
 his absence; and several contrivances have 
 been adopted by artists in order to obtain this 
 end. Of these, one, which is still preferred, 
 was invented by Mr. Six, whose name the 
 instrument bears ; it is described in the 
 'Philosophical Transactions' for 1782. It 
 consists of a long tube bent so as to form three 
 parallel branches, of which the central branch 
 is an elongated bulb, and the rest of the tube 
 has a capillary bore. The lower portion of 
 the bent tube contains mercury, which rises 
 in the two side branches to certain points, 
 and the bulb is filled with spirit of wine, 
 which passing over a bend at the top descends 
 to the upper extremity of the mercury in one 
 of the branches ; the upper end of the other 
 branch is also filled with spirit, and this is 
 hermetically sealed. Two small indices of 
 steel, coated with glass, are introduced in the 
 branches, and are capable of being forced 
 upwards by the rising of the column of 
 mercury in either tube, and they have about 
 them a fine wire or a thread of glass ; so that 
 they will remain stationary where they happen 
 to be when the heads of the columns recede 
 from them. Their lower extremities conse- 
 quently indicate the points at which the ends of 
 the columns may have stood before such recess. 
 
 Differential Thermometer. This instrument, 
 which was invented by M. Sturmius, of Altdorf, 
 before the year 1676, and was revived by 
 Professor Leslie in 1804, consists of two 
 thermometer tubes, terminating, at one extre- 
 mity of each, in a hollow glass ball, and con- 
 taining coloured sulphuric acid : the opposite 
 extremities are united by the flame af a blow- 
 pipe, and an enlargement of the bore is made, 
 at the place of junction. The tube is then 
 bent so as to form three sides of a rectangle, 
 the two balls, which are of equal diameter 
 forming the upper extremities of two sides ; 
 and the instrument is on a stand with the 
 branches of the tube in vertical positions. 
 When the temperature of the ah- in the two 
 balls is the same, the acid occupies one side 
 and the base, and rises a little way up the 
 other side of the rectangle. To the latter 
 side is attached a graduated scale, with the 
 zero of Which the upper extremity of the acid 
 in that branch should coincide. In the event 
 
1687 
 
 THERMOSTAT. 
 
 of this adjustment being deranged, it may be 
 restored by causing a small quantity of air to 
 pass from one ball to the other, which is done 
 simply by the warmth of a hand applied to 
 that ball from whence the air is to be driven. 
 Radiating Thermometer. [AciiNOMETER.] 
 THEEMOSTAT. This name has been 
 given by Dr. Ure to an apparatus invented by 
 him, for regulating temperature in vaporiza- 
 tion, distillation, heating baths or hothouses, 
 ventilating apartments, and other applications 
 of heat. It operates upon this physical prin- 
 ciple, that when two thin metallic bars of 
 different expansibilities are riveted or soldered 
 facewise together, any change of temperature 
 in them will cause a sensible movement of 
 flexure in the compound bar, to one side or 
 other; which movement may be made to 
 operate, by the intervention of levers, &c., in 
 any desired degree, upon valves, stop-cocks, 
 stove-registers, air-ventilators, &c. In this 
 way the temperature of the space in which 
 the compound bar is placed may be regulated. 
 Two long rulers, one of steel, and one of 
 hammered brass, answer very well. There 
 are many forms which the apparatus may 
 present, according to the purpose to which it 
 is to be applied. 
 
 THIBET. [TIBET.] 
 THIMBLE. Thimbles are usually formed 
 by means of a stamping machine ; but the 
 following method is sometimes practised in 
 France : Sheet-iron, one twenty-fourth part 
 of an inch thick, after being cut into strips of 
 convenient size, is passed under a punch- 
 press, by which it is cut into circular discs oi 
 about two inches diameter. These discs are 
 then made red-hot, and laid in succession 
 upon a series of mandrils, with hollows oJ 
 successively increasing depth, into which the 
 softened discs are forced by striking them 
 with a round-faced punch, about the size oJ 
 the finger. After being thus brought to the 
 required shape, the thimble is placed in a 
 lathe, when the inside is polished and the 
 outside is turned and ornamentally finished 
 Iron rings used in the rigging of ships are 
 in some instances called thimbles. 
 
 THRASHING MACHINE. The separa 
 tion of the grain from the ear in corn is 
 effected in different ways. The finest and 
 ripest grains for seed are extracted by simply 
 beating the corn on a table or flat board. The 
 most usual method is by means of theyZaiZ, an 
 instrument so formed as to strike a larg 
 extent of corn at one time. The flail, bj 
 means of its long handle, is swung round th 
 head ; and the beating part of it is made t( 
 fall horizontally on the straw which is spreac 
 on the thrashing floor ; and by inserting thi 
 
 THREAD MANUFACTURE. 1688 
 
 art occasionally under the straw, the latter is 
 urned over, and a fresh portion is brought 
 p to be beaten. 
 
 In a serene and dry climate, corn may 
 eadily be thrashed out in the manner de- 
 cribed in the Bible; viz., by levelling a 
 ortiou of the corn-field, laying the corn in 
 he straw in a large circle, and driving oxen 
 r horses over it till the grain is all trodden 
 ut. Such a method as this, however, is not 
 uited for an English climate. 
 
 Modern times have seen the introduction 
 f thrashing machines, which perform the ope- 
 ation with much rapidity. The general 
 .onstruction may be thus briefly described. 
 A rapid motion is given to a hollow cylinder 
 ound a horizontal axis ; on the outer surface 
 here are projecting ribs parallel to the axis, 
 at equal distances from each other. Around 
 lalf the cylinder is a case, the inner surface 
 f which is lined with plates of cast-iron, 
 grooved in the direction of the axis. The 
 ribs or beaters come quite close to these 
 grooves, so that an ear of corn cannot well 
 mss between them without being flattened. 
 The corn is drawn in between two rollers, and 
 the beaters act on the straw so as to beat out 
 most of the corn. The grain falls through 
 the meshes of a sieve, but the straw is retained 
 until removed by rakes. 
 
 Many modifications of are adopted by dif- 
 ferent makers, but the above gives a pretty 
 general idea of the mode of action. Such an 
 apparatus is usually worked by a horse ; but 
 there are also hand-machines, which are pro- 
 fitably worked where hand labour is cheap, 
 but where there are no skilful flailmen. 
 There is a peculiar system adopted in some 
 counties, in which a hand- thrashing machine 
 is taken from farm to farm by the owner, who 
 lends and superintends the machine, while 
 the farmer supplies horses and men, a stipu- 
 lated price being paid to the machine owner, 
 to the mutual advantage of both parties. 
 
 The most complete thrashing machines are 
 those which are worked by steam power. Ill 
 some of the best and largest farms a steam- 
 engine is kept to the thrashing, the chaff- 
 cutter, and other agricultural implements. 
 At the recent agricultural and cattle shows, 
 the thrashing machines made by Garrett, 
 Crosskill, Wedlake, Hensman, &c., have been 
 shewn in great variety ; and many such have 
 been sent to the Great Exhibition. 
 
 THREAD MANUFACTURE. Sewing- 
 thread, and the various kinds of thread used 
 in the manufacture of bobbin-net, lace, and 
 some other kinds of textile fabric, consist of 
 two or more yarns, or simple spun threads, 
 firmly united together by twisting, just as a 
 
1689 
 
 THUNDEE-EOD. 
 
 TI'BET. 
 
 1690 
 
 rope -strand consists of several yarns or distinct 
 cylinders of hemp. 
 
 The operation of combining yarns of cotton 
 or linen into thread is performed by a machine 
 called a doubling and twisting frame, somewhat 
 resembling the throstle of the cotton-spinner. 
 Along the centre of the machine is an elevated 
 creel or frame-work, which supports two 
 parallel rows of cops or bobbins of yarn, one 
 row towards each side of the machine. From 
 the cops the yarns are conducted over 
 horizontal glass rods, which are fixed parallel 
 with the creel, and thence downwards into 
 troughs filled with water or very thin starch- 
 paste, which, by moistening the yarns, facili- 
 tates the subsequent process of twisting. After 
 being wetted, the yarns pass over the rounded 
 edge of the trough, which is covered with 
 flannel for the purpose of absorbing the super- 
 fluous moisture ; and thence under and partly 
 around an iron roller, which is made to revolve 
 with any required velocity by a train of wheel- 
 work. Upon this roller rests another, of box- 
 wood, which revolves solely by contact with 
 the iron roller, its axis playing in vertical 
 slots. In passing under the iron roller, then 
 between it and the wooden roller, and finally 
 over the latter, the yarns required to form the 
 thread are brought together and slightly 
 compressed ; and they are finally twisted by 
 apparatus very like that used in throstle 
 spinning. A few details concerning the export 
 of thread are given under the names of the 
 materials employed. 
 
 THUNDEE-EOD, is a rod of metal at- 
 tached generally to a side of a building, and 
 extending from below the level of the ground 
 to a point several feet above the highest part of 
 the roof of the building, in order to secure the 
 edifice from the effects of thunder or lightning : 
 the upper extremity of the rod or bar terminat- 
 ing in a point. It is to Dr. Franklin that the 
 world is indebted for the idea of raising pointed 
 rods in order to secure buildings from the effects 
 of atmospherical electricity ; and the recom - 
 mendation was immediately adopted both for 
 edifices on land arid ships on the water. 
 
 The thunder-rod should be thick enough to 
 cany the electric fluid to the ground without 
 being melted by it ; in general a cylindrical 
 rod about half an inch in diameter will be 
 sufficient to prevent this effect from taking 
 place ; whether of iron or copper, it should 
 be covered above ground with a coating of 
 paint ; and the part under ground is usually 
 formed with two or more branches in order to 
 facilitate the passage of the electric fluid to 
 the earth. 
 
 A ship at sea, like an edifice on land, may, 
 when there is an accumulation of electric 
 
 matter in the upper part of the atmosphere, 
 be struck aloft; or, when the atmosphere is 
 in a contrary state, the lower part of the ship 
 may be struck, the lightning in the latter case 
 ascending along the mast: and ships un- 
 furnished with metallic conductors have fre- 
 quently suffered serious injury during thunder- 
 storms, while those which have been so pro- 
 vided have generally escaped. The rigid bars 
 of Franklin are considered inapplicable, as 
 conductors, to ships, and instead of them chains 
 of copper have been generally employed ; 
 these are attached to the masts at their upper 
 extremities ; and, following the standing rig- 
 ging, they pass down the ship's sides into the 
 water. In 1822 Mr. (now Sir W.) Snow 
 Harris proposed, and subsequently caused to 
 be executed for ships, conductors consisting 
 of slips of copper, of sufficient thickness to 
 prevent them from being fused ; these slips 
 are inserted, in two layers, in a groove cut 
 longitudinally along the mast, the joints of 
 one layer being opposite to the middle parts 
 of the other, and they are fastened to the 
 mast by copper screws. The whole line of 
 metal passes down from the copper spindle at 
 the top of the mast-head, and at the junc- 
 tions of the upper and lower masts the ship is 
 made to join a cylinder of copper which lines 
 each sheave-hole ; the lower part of the line 
 is connected with a plate of copper which is 
 fixed on the keelson, at the step, and from 
 thence there is a communication with the 
 water by three copper bolts which pass quite 
 through the keel. This improvement by Sir 
 W. Snow Harris, has proved to be a most 
 valuable one ; the safety thereby ensured to 
 the royal shipping, (so far as the effects of 
 lightning are concerned,), represents, in 
 money value, a sum which must be immense, 
 however difficult to estimate. 
 
 TIA'EA, was a kind of hat, in ancient 
 times worn by the inhabitants of Middle and 
 Western Asia, especially by the Persians, 
 Parthians, Armenians, and Phrygians. There 
 were two kinds of tiaras: the upright tiara 
 was used by kings, priests, and other persons 
 of the highest rank, and the upper part had 
 frequently the shape of a crown ; the tiara 
 worn by other people was of a soft and flexi- 
 ble material, so that it hung down on one 
 side, as in the case of the so-called Phrygian 
 bonnet. In modern times the term tiara is 
 applied to the head-dress of the popes, which 
 is worn on solemn occasions, and consists of a 
 triple crown. Hence it is also used in a figu- 
 rative sense to designate the papal dignity. 
 
 TI'BET. Among the minerals of "this 
 elevated, but little known region of Asia, are 
 gold, silver, copper, tin ; salt, which is taken 
 
1691 
 
 TIDE GAUGE. 
 
 TILT-HAMMEE. 
 
 1692 
 
 from the salt-lakes of Jayek and Deng-tsavga 
 corundum stone, lapis lazuli, turquois, anc 
 agate. Besides a great number of grasses 
 which are common in Europe, Tibet produces 
 a kind of barley, grapes, asafoetida, rhubarb 
 madder, safflower, apples, nuts, apricots 
 peaches, pomegranates, and figs, in the valleys 
 The cedar grows in Tibet. Among the ani- 
 mals there are wild oxen with long hair, 
 buffaloes, the buffalo which is called the yak, 
 goats with a very fine fleece, goats with long 
 fine haii', silk-worms, wild cats, tigers, leo- 
 pards, lynxes, argali with horns of 100 Ibs 
 weight, pigs, white eagles, and swans. Of 
 the industry and commerce of Tibet, we have 
 very little trustworthy information. 
 
 TIDE GAUGE. The phenomena of the 
 tides relate too intimately to physicial science 
 to come fittingly under notice in this work ; 
 but tide-gauges, such as that recently erected 
 at Sunderland, are too important to commerce 
 to be passed over here. 
 
 Mr. Meik, the engineer of Sunderland has 
 invented and registered a tide-gauge, for the 
 use of ships entering or leaving a harbour. 
 In a tidal harbour the number of ships which 
 can enter or leave during one tide depends on 
 the time, the depth, and the rapidity of the 
 tidal flow ; and Mr. Meik wished to produce 
 some sort of gauge which should indicate 
 these conditions, in a way intelligible to ordi- 
 nary seamen, at the busy port of Sunderland, 
 by night as well as by day. In conjunction 
 with Mr. Watson, a brass founder at New- 
 castle, Mr. Meik has carried out his project at 
 Sunderland in the following way. 
 
 There is a vertical tube, up which the water 
 rises to a greater or less height according to 
 the state of the tide. A float is borne on the 
 surface of the water ; and a copper wire from 
 this float passes upwards to a train of wheels 
 and rollers, which rotate in one or other 
 direction according as the float rises or sinks. 
 A web of wire gauze passes from one roller to 
 another; on this web are painted in large 
 letters the various depths from high to low- 
 water ; and two fixed pointers also indicate 
 the number of feet and half feet of depth of 
 water, at any hour of the tide, on the bar at 
 the entrance of Sunderland harbour. By day 
 the figures on the web are shown white on a 
 black ground; by night they appear distinctly 
 lighted up, the ground still remaining dark. 
 A white transparent varnish is used for the 
 figures, and an opaque black for the ground. 
 
 There are also tide registering gauges em- 
 ployed at some ports. There is a ver- 
 tical tube, into which the water of a river or 
 harbour can enter from beneath, rising to a 
 greater or leas height according to the tide. 
 
 A float is on the surface of the water, and a 
 copper wire passes upwards from the float to 
 a rack which holds a pencil. There is a cylin 
 der, on the surface of which is fastened a 
 sheet of paper, properly ruled for the purpose, 
 and large enough to receive the entries for 
 fourteen days. A time piece gives an equable 
 motion to the cylinder ; and as the point of 
 the pencil is in contact with the cylinder, a 
 waving line becomes marked on the paper, 
 passing round the cylinder as time progresses, 
 and passing along the cylinder according as 
 the tide rises and falls. There thus results a 
 permanent record of the height of the tide at 
 every hour and even minute of the day. 
 
 TIFLIS, or TEFLIS, the capital of the 
 Russian province of Georgia, is most favour- 
 ably situated to be the medium of an exten- 
 sive transit trade between Europe and Asia ; 
 the rich Armenian bankers and merchants of 
 the town have the chief direction of this 
 trade, which however is now carried on mainly 
 through the Turkish port of Trebizond, and 
 thence by caravans to Persia and Bushire. 
 Recent relaxations in the Russian tariff on 
 goods in transit are likely however to turn 
 the course of this trade again through the 
 Georgian port of Redout-Kale, Tiilis, and the 
 Caspian. The enterprising Armenians of 
 Tiflis trade extensively with Odessa, Trieste, 
 Leipzig, Nishnei -Novgorod, Persia, Bokhara, 
 Thibet, and Cashmere. 
 
 TILE MAKING. In the ancient buildings 
 of Greece and Rome, tiles were made of 
 various materials, among which were baked 
 clay, marble, and bronze. They were made 
 flat, or with a raised border along each edge, 
 or semicircular on their lower edges. 
 
 The process of making tiles is so similar 
 to that of brick-making [BRICK], that it will 
 be sufficient to observe that only the best 
 qualities of brick-earth are fit for the purpose. 
 The roofing tiles used in this country an.; 
 ihiefly of two sorts, plane-tiles, which are flat, 
 af a rectangular form; and pantiles, which 
 also have a rectangular outline, but are bent 
 n such a manner that, when laid on the roof, 
 the greater part of their surface forms a con- 
 cave channel for the descent of water, while 
 one side forms a narrow convex ridge, which 
 >verlaps the edge of the adjoining tile. Tiles 
 of a semi-cylindrical form, laid in mortar 
 with their convex or concave sides uppermost, 
 respectively, are used for covering ridges and 
 gutters. Drain -tiles are most commonly made 
 n the form of an arch, and laid or bedded 
 ipon flat tiles called soles. 
 
 TILT-HAMMER, is a large hammer 
 worked by machinery, impelled either by a 
 water wheel or a steam engine. Such ham- 
 
1693 
 
 TIMBER. 
 
 TIN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1694 
 
 mers are extensively used in the manufacture 
 of iron and steel ; and the name Tilt-Mill is 
 sometimes applied to the mechanism of which 
 they form the principal feature. [STEEL 
 MANUFACTUBE.] 
 
 TIMBER. The name of timber-trees is 
 most usually applied to such trees as oak, ash 
 and elm, of the age of twenty years and 
 upwards ; hut there are many other kinds 
 which may fittingly he designated hy the 
 same name. The characteristics of these 
 various sorts of timber are described under 
 the several names [ELM ; FIB; OAK; &c.] 
 
 The preservation of timber from dry rot and 
 other symptoms of injury is a very important 
 feature in connexion with ship-building and 
 civil engineering. A few details on this 
 subject will be found under the headings 
 ANTISEPTICS and DBY ROT. 
 
 The timber subject to Customs Duties on 
 importation is designated by various names 
 according to sizes and forms into which it is 
 cut. Battens, batten ends, boards, deals, deal 
 ends, planks, and staves, are the principal 
 among these names. The following were 
 the imports in 1 850, classified according to 
 the custom-house arrangements : 
 
 Battens, batten ends, boards, deals, deal 
 ends, and planks, entered by tale or No., 
 34 hundred. 
 
 Deals, battens, boards, and other sawn or 
 split timber, entered at per load, 796,108 
 loads. 
 
 Staves, 82,588 loads. 
 
 All kinds of timber not included in the 
 above enumeration 870,571 loads. 
 
 The gross amount of duty received on these 
 imports was 655,282J. Measures are now 
 (May 1851) under consideration of parlia- 
 ment, for a reduction in the timber duties. 
 
 TIME -KEEPERS ; TIME -PIECES. 
 [CHRONOMETERS ; CLOCKS and WATCHES.] 
 
 TIN. This metal is one of those which 
 were earliest known, though it occurs in com- 
 paratively few countries. It is found in 
 England, Saxony, Bohemia, Hungary, the 
 isle of Banca, the peninsula of Malacca, in 
 Chili, and Mexico. Malacca furnishes the 
 purest tin, and Cornwall the largest quantity. 
 It occurs in two states of combination, the 
 Peroxide of Tin and the Double Sitlphiiret of 
 Tin and Copper: this last is rather a rare 
 substance, and it is from the former that the 
 metal is almost entirely obtained. 
 
 The peroxide is found in Cornwall in com- 
 bination with other metals, in Tin- Stone; 
 and in loose rounded masses called Stream 
 Tin. The former, when reduced to the 
 metallic state, yields Block-Tin; while the 
 latter yields Grain-Tin, which is the purer of. 
 
 the two. The tin-stone, which contains 77 
 per cent, of pure tin, occurs in a crystalline 
 form, as well as in masses ; but stream-tin 
 is uncrystallised, and has evidently been 
 derived from the destruction of tin veins or 
 lodes, the lighter portions of stony matter 
 having been carried away by the water, which 
 has rounded the fragments of the ore. 
 
 This metal is of a silver-white colour, very 
 soft, and so malleable that it may be reduced 
 into leaves l-1000th of an inch thick, called 
 tin-foil: it suffers but little change by expo- 
 sure to the air. Its tenacity is but slight, so 
 that a wire of l-15th of an inch in diameter 
 is capable of supporting only about 31 Ibs. : 
 a bar a quarter of an inch in diameter was 
 broken by 296 Ibs. weight. Tin is inelastic, 
 but very flexible, and when bent it produces 
 a peculiar crackling noise. When rubbed it 
 imparts to the fingers a peculiar smell, which 
 remains for a considerable time. Its specific 
 gravity is about 7-29 : at 442 Fahr. it fuses, 
 and if exposed at the same time to the air, 
 its surface is tarnished by oxidation, and 
 eventually a gray powder is formed. When 
 heated to whiteness it takes fire, and burns 
 with a white flame, and is converted into 
 peroxide of tin. If slowly cooled after fusion, 
 it exhibits a crystalline appearance on solidi- 
 fying. 
 
 The combinations which tin forms with 
 oxygen, chlorine, sulphur, and iodine, and 
 those which the oxide of tin forms with the 
 various acids, are valuable in calico printing 
 and many other of the practical arts. 
 
 Most of the malleable metals are rendered 
 9rittle by alloying with tin. It combines 
 readily with potassium and sodium, forming 
 brilliant white alloys, which are less fusible 
 than tin. With arsenic it forms a metallic 
 mass which is whiter, harder, and more sono- 
 rous, than pure tin. With antimony tin forms 
 a white, hard, and sonorous alloy. Bismuth 
 ibrrns with tin an alloy which is more fusible 
 than either of the metals separately, a mix- 
 ture of equal weights melting at 212 ; this 
 compound is hard and brittle. Copper and 
 tin form alloys which are well known and 
 highly useful Bell Metal and Bronze. With 
 mercury tin readily amalgamates, and the 
 compound is used for silvering mirrors. Tin 
 :orms with iron white compounds, which are 
 more or less fusible according to the propor- 
 tion of iron they contain. Ticplate is of all 
 he alloys of tin the most useful, and the 
 >reparation of this and of pewter are the 
 most extensive applications of this very valu- 
 ible metal. 
 
 TIN MANUFACTURE. The ores of tin 
 aised in Cornwall and Devonshire are mostly 
 
1695 
 
 TIN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 TIN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1696 
 
 reduced or smelted within those countie 
 The smelting- works do not generally belon 
 to the proprietors of the mines, but to oth< 
 parties who purchase the ore from them, the: 
 value being determined by a kind of assaj 
 The smelting is effected by two differen 
 methods, according as tin-stone or stream-ti 
 is to be acted on. 
 
 In the former process the prepared ore 
 which is called schlich, is mixed with from one 
 fifth to one-eighth of its weight of powderec 
 anthracite, or culm, to which a little slakei 
 lime or fluor-spar is sometimes added as 
 flux. The charge (from 12 to 24 cwts.) i 
 spread upon the concave hearth of the furnace 
 and then the apertures by which it is inserte 
 are closed and luted, and the furnace is gra 
 dually heated, and kept hot for six or eigh 
 hours, by which time the reduction of the ore 
 is complete. When the fusion or reduction 
 of the ore is considered to be finished, one o 
 the apertures of the furnace is opened, am 
 the scoriae removed ; after which a channel is 
 opened, by which the melted tin flows from 
 the hearth into a large vessel, where it is 
 allowed to rest for some time, in order tha 
 the impurities yet remaining with the meta 
 may separate, by their different specific gravi 
 ties. When it has settled, the tin is ladlec 
 into moulds, so as to form it into large blocks 
 or ingots. 
 
 The ingots produced by the above process 
 frequently contain portions of other sub 
 stances, to remove which the tin is exposed 
 to the process of refining. The tin is again 
 melted in another furnace; and into the 
 molten metal billets of green wood are plunged 
 This occasions the disengagement of consi- 
 derable volumes of gas from the wood, and 
 thus a kind of ebullition is produced in the 
 tin, which causes the lighter impurities to 
 rise to the surface in a frothy form, and the 
 heavier to fall to the bottom. The scum is 
 removed, and the rest is allowed to settle, 
 whereby all the purest tin rises to the top, 
 and the quality deteriorates thence to the 
 bottom ; by which means the tin, poured into 
 moulds, presents many different qualities. 
 The moulds are made of granite, and yield 
 blocks of tin weighing about 3 cwts. each : 
 granite having been found well fitted for this 
 purpose. An inferior kind of tin is pro- 
 duced by remelting the scoriae. The average 
 quality of the tin ore, as prepared for the 
 smelting-furnaces, is such as to yield 62 to 65 
 per cent, of pure tin ; and the quantity of 
 coal required for producing one ton of tin is 
 about a ton and three-quarters. 
 
 The smelting of tin by the blast-furnace, 
 with wood-charcoal, is practised on a limited 
 
 scale for the production of tin of the greatest 
 possible purity, and from stream-tin instead of 
 tin-stone. No substance is added to the ore 
 and charcoal, unless it be the residuary matter 
 of a previous smelting ; and the proportion 
 of charcoal consumed is about one ton and 
 six-tenths for every ton of tin produced. The 
 melted tin runs from the furnace into an open 
 basin, whence it is run off into a large vessel 
 in which it is allowed to settle. The scoriae 
 which run with the metal are skimmed off, 
 and separated into two portions, one consisting 
 of such as retain tin oxide, and the other of 
 such as have no oxide, but contain tin in a 
 granulated state. In order to convert the 
 slocks of tin produced by the blast-furnace 
 process into the form known as grain-tin, 
 ;hey are heated until they become brittle, and 
 made to fall from a considerable height in a 
 semi-fluid state, thus producing an agglome- 
 rated mass of elongated grains. 
 
 Tin is rarely employed alone in our metal- 
 line manufactures, but when laid in a thin 
 coat upon the surface of sheet iron by the 
 >rocess of Tinning, it produces a material of 
 extensive use in the manufacture of culinary 
 and other articles. Most of the tin used in 
 he manufacture of articles composed exclu- 
 ively of that metal is that which is expanded 
 >y rolling and hammering into leaves of tin- 
 'bil ; this is the substance which is laid upon 
 he back of glass mirrors, and there amalga- 
 mated with mercury, so as to form what is 
 ailed the Silvering. 
 
 The art of tinning, or of coating other 
 netals with a thin layer of tin, so as to pro- 
 ect them from oxidation, was known to the 
 ancients, although it does not appear to have 
 "teen very extensively practised. The tinning 
 f plate iron is more modern than that of 
 opper vessels, and is supposed to have been 
 nvented either in Bohemia or in Germany, 
 whence it spread to France about 1725, and to 
 ngland about 1730. 
 
 The process of tinning depends upon the 
 trong affinity which exists between tin and 
 le metals to which it is applied. The finest 
 ar-iron, called tin-iron, is used for making 
 n-plates. This material is first made into 
 at bars, or slabs, about thirty inches long, 
 x inches wide, and weighing eighty pounds ; 
 nd these bars are rolled until the metal 
 ssumes the proper degree of thinness, after 
 hich the sheets are cut into pieces measuring 
 sually about thirteen inches by ten. 
 
 The removal of every particle of oxide or 
 her impurity from the surface of the plates 
 then effected by the application of muriatic 
 ;id and of heat ; and any warping is removed 
 y a process of cold-rolling between very hard 
 
1697 
 
 TIN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 TIN MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1698 
 
 rollers. The plates are then immersed singly, 
 in a vertical position, in a fermented steep of 
 bran ; whence, after 10 or 12 hours, they are 
 transferred to a leaden vessel containing dilu- 
 ted sulphuric acid. They are then removed 
 into pure water, in which they are scoured 
 with hemp and sand, to remove any remaining 
 oxide. They are next dried by rubbing with 
 bran, greased on both surfaces, and plunged 
 into the metallic bath, which contains a mix- 
 ture of block and grain -tin, covered with a 
 quantity of grease sufficient to form a layer 
 four inches deep, and heated. When the 
 plates have remained in the tin bath an hour 
 or two, they are lifted out with tongs, and 
 placed upon an iron grating, to allow the 
 superfluous tin to drain off ; but as there still 
 remains upon them much more than the proper 
 quantity of tin, they are afterwards subjected 
 to a process called washing, which consists in 
 dipping them into a pot containing a quantity 
 of pure grain-tin in a melted state, then 
 rubbing them with a peculiar kind of brush 
 made of hemp, plunging them again for a 
 moment into the melted tin in the wash-pot, 
 and then into a pot filled with clean melted 
 tallow, or lard free from salt. Owing to the ver- 
 tical position of the plates during the preceding 
 operations, a selvage of tin accumulates along 
 their lower edge, which is partially removed 
 by a re-melting and shaking of the edge. The 
 plates are then cleaned from grease by rubbing 
 them, while yet warm, with dry bran ; after 
 which they are packed in boxes of wood or 
 sheet-iron. 
 
 The tinning of the inner surfaces of cook- 
 ing utensils and other vessels of capacity is 
 formed by scouring the surface until it is 
 perfectly bright and clean ; then heating the 
 vessel, pouring in some melted tin and rolling 
 it about, and rubbing the tin all over the 
 surface with a piece of cloth or a handful of 
 tow : powdered rosin is used to prevent the 
 formation of oxide. Bridle-bits, stirrups, and 
 many other small articles, are tinned by im- 
 mersing them in fluid tin. 
 
 Tin-Plate Working, or the forming sheets 
 of tinned iron into a variety of useful vessels 
 and utensils, is carried on by means of bench 
 and hand-shears, mallets and hammers, steel 
 heads and wooden blocks, soldering-irons and 
 swages. In the formation of a vessel the 
 first operation is to cut the plate to the proper 
 size and form with shears ; and when the 
 dimensions of the article require it, to join 
 them together, which is done either by simply 
 laying the edge of one plate over that of the 
 other, and then soldering them together, or 
 by folding the edges together with laps, and 
 then soldering them. Similar joints are re- 
 
 quired when gores or other pieces are to be 
 inserted, and also at the junction by which a 
 cylinder is closed in. The usual method of 
 forming laps, bends, or folds for this or other 
 purposes is to lay the plate over the edge of 
 the bench, and to bend it by repeated strokes 
 with a hammer ; but a machine is sometimes 
 used for this purpose. 
 
 After a tin vessel has been rounded upon a 
 block or mandril, by striking it with a wooden 
 mallet, and the seams finished, all its exterior 
 edges are strengthened by bending a thick 
 iron wire into the proper form, applying it to 
 what would otherwise be the raw edges of the 
 metal, and dexterously folding them over it 
 with a hammer. A superior kind of tin-ware, 
 commonly known as block-tin ware, is carefully 
 finished by beating or planishing with a 
 polished steel hammer upon a metal stake. 
 The process of swaging is resorted to as a 
 ready means of producing grooved or ridged 
 borders or other embossed ornaments. This 
 process consists in striking the metal between 
 two steel dies, or swages, the faces of which 
 bear the desired pattern, and are made 
 counterparts to each other. Many ornamental 
 articles are produced by embossing or stamp- 
 ing tin-plate, in the same manner as other 
 metallic sheets, with a fly-press or other 
 machinery. Cheap coffin-plates are manufac- 
 tured at Birmingham in this way ; and these 
 and similar articles are sometimes lacquered, 
 painted, or japanned. One particular kind of 
 tin plate is described under MOIH&. 
 
 Tin forms the principal ingredient in 
 various kinds of pewter and other white 
 metallic alloys, which are manufactured into 
 domestic utensils by casting, stamping, and 
 other processes. Britannia Metal is a mixture 
 of tin, antimony, copper, and brass ; which is 
 melted, cast into slabs, and rolled into sheets. 
 The principal use of this metal is for candle- 
 sticks, tea-pots, coffee- biggins, and other 
 vessels for containing liquids. The feet of 
 candlesticks, the bodies of tea-pots, and other 
 articles containing embossed work, are 
 stamped between dies ; while articles of a 
 more globular shape are stamped in two or 
 more pieces, which are afterwards soldered 
 together. The sheet metal has a ductility 
 which enables it to be bent into various curved 
 forms, by pressure on a model or core : this 
 process is called spinning. 
 
 Many small vessels, spoons, and other 
 articles, are cast in an alloy somewhat harder 
 than that which is rolled into sheets. Articles 
 of this metal are cleaned from the oil, resin, 
 and other impurities acquired during their 
 formation, by boiling in water containing 
 sweet soap ; after which they are polished, 
 
1699 
 
 TINCTURES. 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 1700 
 
 either by hand, or more commonly by the 
 buff and brush set in motion by a steam- 
 engine ; then boiled in a solution of pearlash 
 and finally hand-brushed and hand polished 
 by an application of soft soap, a little oil, and 
 powdered rotten-stone. 
 
 TINCTURES are solutions of the active 
 principles, mostly of vegetables, sometimes of 
 saline medicines, and more rarely of animal 
 matters, in certain solvents. From possess- 
 ing more or less of colour, they have obtained 
 this name. They are distinguished according 
 to the kind of solvent employed. When 
 alcohol is used, they are termed alcoholic tinc- 
 tures, or more generally simply tinctures; 
 when sulphuric aether is used, they are deno- 
 minated (Btherial tinctures. When wine is 
 used, though differing little from pure alcohol, 
 the term medicated wines is applied to them ; 
 and when the process of distillation is em- 
 ployed to aid the extraction, particularly of 
 volatile oils, the result is termed a spirit, such 
 as of rosemary. Ammonia is sometimes con- 
 joined, and the proceeds termed an ammoniated 
 tincture. Elixirs differ only from tinctures in 
 being of a greater consistence : they are not 
 unfrequently turbid from the attractive matter 
 suspended in them. The number and variety 
 of tinctures are numerous. 
 
 TITA'NIUM. This metal was first recog- 
 nised by Mr. Gregor, in 1791, as a distinct 
 substance ; he detected it in a black sand 
 found in the bed of a rivulet in Cornwall. The 
 form of the crystals of this metal is the cube 5 
 their colour resembles that of bright copper ; 
 they are sufficiently hard to scratch rock- 
 orystaL Titanium is acted on by very few 
 acids. For fusion an extremely high tem- 
 perature is required. The metal and its 
 compounds have yet been applied to very few 
 purposes in the arts. 
 
 TOBACCO. Tobacco was the name used 
 by the Caribbees for the pipe with which they 
 smoked, but was transferred by the Spaniards 
 to the herb itself. The genus Nicotiana con- 
 tains about 40 species, most of them yielding 
 tobacco for smoking, and many of them cul- 
 tivated in the gardens of Europe. 
 
 The cultivation of tobacco is most exten- 
 sively carried on in the United States of North 
 America. It requires considerable heat to 
 bring it to perfection ; but with care and at- 
 tention, and by treating it as an exotic, it may 
 be very successfully cultivated in much colder 
 climates. In Holland, of which the climate 
 differs little from that of Great Britain, the 
 tobacco -plant is cultivated to a very great ex- 
 tent, even in very poor soils, by great atten- 
 tion to manuring, and by accelerating the 
 growth of the plant. 
 
 The seed is sown in a well prepared seed- 
 bed in March, and protected by mats laid over 
 hoops as long as the nights are cold and frost 
 is dreaded. The ground in which the tobacco 
 is to be transplanted is laid in narrow beds 
 with intervals between them ; the plants are 
 taken up carefully with a trowel; they are 
 placed slanting in a shallow basket, and are 
 thus carried to the prepared beds. They 
 are inserted into holes made by a proper in- 
 strument, so that the fibres of the roots and 
 the adhering earth may bo completely buried 
 up to the bottom of the stem. When the 
 leaves acquire a certain size the lower leaves 
 are pinched off. A few plants are left for 
 seed, and of these the heads are allowed to 
 shoot the full length. Tobacco takes about 
 four months from the time of planting to 
 come to perfection. As soon as the colour of 
 the leaves becomes of a paler green inclined 
 to yellow, they are fit to be gathered. The 
 plants are cut down close to the ground, and 
 are then carefully and gradually dried. When 
 the plants are quite dry, they are removed in 
 moist or foggy weather ; for if the air is very 
 dry the leaves would crumble. They are laid 
 n heaps on hurdles and covered over, that 
 ihey may sweat again, and are examined 
 i-om time to time to see that they do not 
 aeat too much ; and, according to the season 
 and whether the plants are more or less filled 
 with sap, they remain so a week or a fortnight, 
 [f the leaves were not stripped off at first, 
 which is not the most common practice, they 
 are taken off now and sorted; those which 
 grow on the top of the stem, in the middle, 
 and at the bottom, are laid separately, as being 
 of different qualities. They are tied together 
 in bundles of ten or twelve leaves, and again 
 dried carefully, when they are ranged in casks 
 lorizontally, and pressed in by means of a 
 ever or screw. 
 
 Tobacco is packed in hogsheads for ship- 
 ment: it is done with the greatest care; and 
 ,he pressure applied is so great, that a hogs 
 lead 48 inches in length, and 80 or 32 inches 
 n diameter, will contain one thousand pounds 
 weight. Upon the arrival of the tobacco in 
 .his country, it is conveyed to bonding-ware- 
 louses, examined, charged with duty, and 
 sold to the manufacturers. 
 
 The manufacture of the tobacco-leaves into 
 the numerous varieties of tobacco for smoking 
 n pipes is commenced by loosening and 
 opening the bundles, and sprinkling the 
 eaves with water. The stalks are then 
 stripped from the leaves ; this is effected by 
 women or boys, who fold the leaf along the 
 middle, and, by means of a small instrument, 
 separate the stalks from the leaves, and lay 
 
1701 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 TOBACCO-PIPES. 
 
 1703 
 
 them aside in different heaps. To prepare 
 them for being cut into shreds, the leaves 
 are pressed together in large numbers. When 
 removed from the press to the cutting-engine, 
 the cake of leaves is as hard as a board ; yet 
 it retains a slight degree of clamminess or 
 moisture from the leaves having been pre- 
 viously sprinkled. In cutting the tobacco, 
 the cake of leaves is laid upon an iron bed, 
 which is susceptible of a slow progressive 
 motion by means of a screw which passes 
 beneath it, and is connected with a cog-wheel 
 in such a manner that, while the machine is 
 moving, the bed is constantly urged forward. 
 Another part of the mechanism gives motion 
 to the knife, which has a sharp blade, rather 
 longer than the width of the cake, and is 
 pivoted on a hinge or fulcrum at one end, the 
 other rising and falling with the action of the 
 machinery. 
 
 The kind called pig-tail tobacco is produced 
 by a process similar to spinning, and requires 
 the simultaneous aid of a man and two boys. 
 A bench several yards in length is made use 
 of, with a spinning-wheel at one end, turned 
 by one of the boys. The other boy arranges 
 a number of damp leaves, with the stalks re- 
 moved, end to end upon the bench, taking 
 care to lay them smooth and open ; and the 
 man immediately follows him, and rolls up 
 the leaves into the form of a cord by a pecu- 
 liar motion of his hand. As fast as this is 
 done, the finished tail is wound upon the 
 spinning-wheel. It is transferred from the 
 spinning-wheel, by the action of the ma- 
 chinery, to a frame connected with it ; and 
 subsequently it is wound or twisted up into a 
 hard close ball. 
 
 Other forms into which the plant is manu- 
 factured are noticed under CIGAS and SNUFF. 
 
 Trade. For the following years the con- 
 sumption of tobacco, and the duty thereon, 
 were Consumption. Duty per Ib. 
 
 1801 16,514,998 Ibs Is. Id. 
 
 1811.... 14,923,243 2s. 2rf. 
 
 1821 12,983,198 4s. 
 
 1831.... 15,350,018 3s. 
 
 1841 16,000,000 3s. 
 
 Seven-eighths of all the tobacco brought 
 into this country is grown in the United 
 States. The duties payable are 3s. If d. per 
 Ib. on unmanufactured tobacco ; 9s. 5f d. 
 per Ib. on cigars and manufactured tobacco ; 
 and 6s. 3%d. per Ib. on snuff. 
 
 The imports in the last two years have been : 
 
 1849. 1850. 
 
 c " [42,098,126 Ibs.. .33,894,506 Ibs. 
 
 tllTCd I 
 
 Manufa^trd. \ Igl34741b g_ 1,532,829 Ibs. 
 and onun I 
 
 The home consumption is about 28,000,000 
 Ibs. annually, the rest being re-exported. The 
 gross duty realised in the two years was 
 4,425,040Z. and 4,430,134;. respectively. 
 
 TOBACCO-PIPES are made of clay, white 
 and coloured earths, porcelain, ivory, and 
 various other substances. The tobacco-pipes 
 commonly used in this country are formed of 
 a fine plastic white clay, which is called from 
 this application, pipe-clay. It is procured 
 chiefly from Purbeck, in Dorsetshire; and, 
 after being purified and made into a soft 
 state, is cut into small pieces, each enough 
 for one pipe. Each piece is kneaded tho- 
 roughly upon a board, and rolled out to 
 nearly the form and size of a pipe, with a pro- 
 jecting bulb at one end for the formation of 
 the bowl. These pieces are laid aside for 
 some time to dry, and when the clay is suf- 
 ficiently firm, they are subjected to the curious 
 process of boring. The workman takes the 
 roll of clay in his left hand, and with his right 
 inserts the end of an iron needle, previously 
 oiled, in the small end of the roll, and by 
 dexterous management thrusts the needle 
 through the whole length of the roll, without 
 penetrating the surface. The bulb is then 
 bent into the proper position to form the 
 bowl, and the piece of clay, with the needle 
 remaining in it, is pressed into a mould to 
 complete its form. The moulds are made of 
 metal, in two halves. The bowl is partially 
 hollowed by the finger, and completed by the 
 insertion of an oiled stopper or mould. The 
 wires are now withdrawn, and the pipes are 
 taken out of the moulds, slightly smoothed 
 over, and laid aside to dry. After drying for 
 a day or two, any remaining roughness is re- 
 moved by means of an instrument of bone or 
 hard wood, and then the pipes are sometimes 
 moulded a second time, and polished with a 
 piece of flint bored with holes, through which 
 the stem is passed repeatedly. The pipe- 
 stems are thus far straight, but before going 
 to the kiln they are slightly bent. 
 
 The tobacco-pipe kiln consists of a large 
 but very light cylindrical crucible, with a 
 dome-shaped top, and a circular opening in 
 one side for the insertion of the pipes. This 
 crucible is mounted in a brick furnace, lined 
 with fire-brick, in such a manner as to leave 
 a space of about four inches all round for the 
 circulation of flame. The pipes are placed in 
 the kiln, with their bowls against the circum- 
 ference, and their ends supported at a consi- 
 derable elevation upon circular pieces of clay 
 set up in the centre. By this arrangement 
 one furnace may contain fifty gross, or 7,200 
 pipes, which may all be baked within eight or 
 nine hours. 
 
1703 
 
 TOMAHAWK. 
 
 TORTOISE-SHELL. . 
 
 1704 
 
 A different kind of clay or earthen pipe is 
 described under MEERSCHAUM PIPES. 
 
 Mr. Skertchley patented a somewhat com- 
 plicated machine for making tobacco-pipes, in 
 1848; and Messrs. Steel and Britten patented 
 another machine for the same purpose in the 
 same year. 
 
 TOMAHAWK. The tomahawks or hatchets 
 of Indian manufacture are headed with stone, 
 but the ordinary metal blades or heads are of 
 European manufacture, and made expressly 
 for Indian use. The handles are usually 
 made by the Indians themselves, and are 
 often highly ornamented. Some tomahawks 
 are formed with a bowl for burning tobacco 
 in the head, and a hole through the handle to 
 serve for a pipe. 
 
 TOMATO. The tomato which is used as 
 a condiment or sauce, is the fruit of one 
 among many species of Solanum. It is a 
 native of South America ; but it is also well 
 known and much cultivated in the United 
 States, France, Germany, and Italy. The 
 fruit is about the size of a golden pippin ; it 
 has an acid flavour, and is used as an addi- 
 tion to soups and sauces, as a preserve, and 
 as a pickle. It is not much used in England ; 
 but in Italy whole fields are covered with it ; 
 and scarcely a dish is served up into which it 
 does not enter as an ingredient. 
 
 TON or TUN. In modern English spelling 
 the ton is a weight (twenty hundredweight, or 
 2240 Ibs. avoirdupois), and the tun is a 
 measure of wine (two pipes, or 252 gallons). 
 
 TOPAZ. The colour of this gem varies 
 from white to a greenish-blue, and is trans- 
 lucent. Fragments exposed to heat emit a 
 blue, green, or yellowish phosphoric light. 
 Topazes occur generally in primitive rocks, 
 and in many parts of the world, as Cornwall, 
 Scotland, Saxony, Siberia, Brazil, &c. &c. 
 They consist of alumina and silica, with a 
 little fluoric acid. 
 
 TORMENTIL is a small perennial plant, 
 growing in the whole of Europe and the 
 north of Asia, in forests, bogs, and heaths. 
 The root, or rather the rhizoma, is the most 
 powerful of our indigenous astringents, and 
 more easily assimilated than oak-bark or galls. 
 Valuable as this substance is in medicine, it 
 is of still greater utility in the arts and in ag- 
 riculture. It may be most beneficially em- 
 ployed to tan leather, both where the oak 
 grows and where it is absent, since one 
 pound and a half of powdered tormentil is 
 equal in strength to seven pounds of tan. It 
 is used in Lapland and the Orkney Isles both 
 to tan and to dye leather. 
 
 TORSION is that force with which a 
 thread or wire returns to a state of rest when 
 
 it has been twisted by being turned round on 
 its axis. In the torsion-balance or torsion- 
 meter fas it may be termed), the thread or 
 wire, which is suspended vertically, is attached 
 at the upper extremity to some object, and at 
 the lower extremity is a weight with a hori- 
 zontal index, or a stirrup, which is to carry a 
 needle or bar in a horizontal position. So 
 long as the force of torsion is moderate, its 
 intensity is directly proportional to the angle 
 or arc through which the extremity of the 
 index is moved in twisting the wire, and that 
 the time of a complete oscillation is constant, 
 or that the vibrations are isochronous, like 
 those of a pendulum which is acted upon by 
 gravity. The experiments made with this 
 instrument are chiefly in connection with 
 science; but they have a bearing on civil 
 engineering, insofar as they illustrate the 
 strength and other properties of building ma- 
 terials. 
 
 TORTOISE-SHELL is procured from a 
 marine tortoise called the hawk's-bill turtle, 
 or testudo imbricata. Each animal furnishes 
 thirteen principal plates, five along the centre 
 of the back, and four on each side ; and 
 twenty-five smaller scales or plates, which 
 constitute the margin of the shell. The 
 horny plates which constitute true tortoise- 
 shell are separated from |te bony foundation 
 which forms the shell ^^r covering of the 
 animal by the application of heat ; the whole 
 shell being commonly placed over a fire until 
 the plates begin to start from the bone, and 
 the separation being completed by the aid of 
 a slender knife. The yellow-coloured shell 
 bears a higher price than that which is 
 mottled. 
 
 The processes of manufacturing articles of 
 tortoise-shell are very similar to those de- 
 scribed under HORN MANUFACTURE, but on 
 account of the high price of the material 
 (often three guineas per lb.),it is economised 
 as much as possible. In making the frames 
 for eye-glasses, narrow strips of shell are 
 used, in which slits are cut with a saw, the 
 slits being subsequently, while the shell is 
 warm, strained or pulled open, until they 
 form circular or oval apertures, by the inser- 
 tion of tapering triblets of the required shape. 
 The same yielding or flexible property is made 
 use of in the manufacture of boxes, a round 
 flat disc of shell being gradually forced by 
 means of moulds into the form of a circular 
 box witli upright sides. The union of two 
 or more pieces of shell may be effected by 
 carefully scraping the parts that are to overlap, 
 so as to render them perfectly free from 
 grease, even such as might arise from being 
 touched by the finger, softening them in hot 
 
1705 
 
 TOULON. 
 
 TOY MANUFACTURE. 
 
 1706 
 
 water, pressing them together with hot fla 
 tongs, and then plunging the joint into cold 
 water. 
 
 In veneering with tortoise-shell, by which 
 very beautiful work may be produced, it is 
 usual to apply fish-glue, mixed with lamp 
 black, vermilion, green, chrome, white, or 
 other colouring matter, at the back of the 
 shell, both to heighten its effect and to con 
 ceal the glue or cement by which it is secured 
 to the wooden foundation. 
 
 TOULON. In this maritime French town 
 there are two harbours, one for commerce, the 
 other for the navy, which communicate with 
 each other by a deep channel crossed by a 
 swing bridge. The commercial port, the 
 more eastern of the two, was constructed by 
 Henri IV., and is surrounded by handsome 
 quays. The naval port was formed by Louis 
 XIV., and is surrounded by quays, and on the 
 town side by a naval arsenal, stores, forges, 
 cannon foundries, armories, covered slips for 
 building ships, various naval schools, and all 
 the establishments and machinery necessary 
 for the construction, rigging, and fitting out 
 of ships of war of all sizes. The rope- walk, 
 built with cut stone, and covered with a vaulted 
 roof, is 2000 feet in length. On the south- 
 east and eastern moles of the naval port are 
 the bagnio and hospital for convicts ; in front 
 of these are repairing docks. The artillery 
 depot is on the west side of the harbour, and 
 contains an immense number of guns and 
 projectiles. At the south-eastern angle of 
 the town, new basins, wet docks, and yards 
 for the construction of steam and sailing 
 vessels, have been formed. The industrial 
 products and commerce of Toulon, indepen- 
 dent of its connection with the great naval 
 establishment it contains, are not very im- 
 portant. Woollen cloth, hosiery, soap, can- 
 dles, leather, and chocolate, are the chief 
 manufactured articles ; merchant ships are 
 built. The commerce is composed of corn, 
 flour, salt provision, wine, brandy, oil, capers, 
 figs, raisins, and other fruits. 
 
 TOULOUSE. The industrial products of 
 this important French city are of great variety, 
 including coarse woollen cloth, blankets, silk 
 goodsj gauze, starch, straw-hats, vermicelli, 
 wax candles, musical strings, card and room 
 paper, pottery, scythes, steel, and hardware; 
 it has a large porcelain manufactory, cotton 
 yarn mills, dye-houses, several printing offices, 
 brandy distilleries, copper and iron foundries, 
 tan yards, cannon foundry, powder-mill, and a 
 tobacco factory. The city is the entrepot for 
 the iron of Ariege, and has considerable com- 
 merce with Spain, Bordeaux, and Marseille. 
 The business done in wheat and flour is very 
 
 important, causing a circulation of above half 
 a million sterling annually ; the commerce in 
 wine and brandy too is very considerable ; 
 other articles of trade are colonial produce, 
 oil, soap, salt geese, Spanish wool, broadcloth, 
 hardware, and feathers. 
 
 TOY MANUFACTUEE. The manufacture 
 of childrens' toys is a remarkable one, which 
 occupies a larger number of persons than 
 would generally be supposed. In one of the 
 excellent papers which have recently appeared 
 in the Morning Chronicle, it is well ob- 
 served : " The sciences which are laid under 
 contribution in the construction of toys are 
 almost as multifarious as the arts which are 
 employed in the manufacture of them. Optics 
 gives its burning-glass, its microscope, its 
 magic lantern, its stereoscope, its thauma- 
 trope, its phantasmascope, and a variety of 
 others ; electricity, its Leyden jars, galvanic 
 batteries, electrotypes, &c. ; chemistry, its 
 balloons, fireworks and crackers ; mechanics, 
 its clock-work mice its steam and other 
 carriages ; pneumatics contributes its kites 
 and windmills ; acoustics, its Jew-harps, mu- 
 sical-glasses, accordions, and all the long train 
 of musical instruments ; astronomy lends 
 its orreries ; in fine, there is scarcely a branch 
 of knowledge which is not made to pay tribute 
 to the amusement of the young. Nor are 
 the arts and artists that are called into play 
 n the manufacture of toys less numerous. 
 There is the turner, to turn the handles of 
 ;he skipping-ropes, the ninepins, the peg, the 
 lumming, and the whipping tops, the hoop- 
 sticks; the basket -worker, to make dolls' 
 cradles, and babies' rattles, and wicker-work 
 carts and carriages ; the tinman, to manufac- 
 ture tin swords and shields, pea-shooters, carts, 
 money-boxes, and miniature candlesticks ; 
 and the pewterer to cast the metal soldiers, 
 and dolls' cups and saucers, and fire-irons, 
 and knives and forks, plates and dishes, chairs 
 and tables, and all the leading furniture of 
 ,he baby-house ; the modeller, to make the 
 skin and composition animals ; the glass - 
 >lower, to make the dolls' eyes ; the wig- 
 maker, to manufacture the dolls' curls ; the 
 tallow-chandler, to mould miniature candles 
 or the dolls' houses ; the potter, to produce 
 dolls' cups and saucers. Then there are 
 image-men, conjurors, cutlers, card-makers, 
 >pticians, cabinet-makers, firework-makers, 
 and, indeed, almost every description of artisan 
 for there is scarcely a species of manu- 
 acture or handicraft that does not contribute 
 lomething to the amusement of the young." 
 
 Considerable imports of foreign toys are 
 made yearly. These are chiefly from France, 
 Germany, and Switzerland. The clock-work 
 
1707 
 
 TBACEEY. 
 
 and mechanical toys are chiefly from France 
 where they are better made than in any other 
 country. Box-toys, as they are called, that is 
 numerous little turned or carved toys sold in 
 boxes, are chiefly from Germany such as 
 Noah's arks, troops of soldiers, tea-sets, farm 
 yards, boxes of skittles, &c. Nurnberg, Frank- 
 fort, and the Black Forest, are the principal 
 places in Germany where these toys are 
 made. Women and children make them in 
 the country districts, and take them for sale 
 to the exporting merchants. Low as such 
 labour may be considered to be remunerated 
 in England, the earnings are very much lower 
 in Germany; and it is on this account that 
 such articles can pay the expence of transport 
 from country to country. The Swiss toys are 
 mostly in white wood, and comprise such 
 articles as carved figures and Swiss cottages ; 
 they also include the jointed figures used by 
 artists. The conjuring tricks, dissecting puz- 
 zles, skeleton maps, <fec., are mostly English. 
 Among the English toy makers the variety 
 is considerable. There are the toy turner, the 
 green wood toy maker, the white wood toy 
 maker, the fancy toy maker, the numerous 
 ramifications of doll makers, the tin toy 
 maker, the lead toy maker, the pewter toy 
 maker, the basket toy maker, the firework 
 maker, the kite maker, the drum and tam- 
 bourine maker, and others which it would not 
 be easy to range under any particular class. 
 Far more women and children than men are 
 employed in these tradeH. 
 
 A little has been Baid on one of these toy- 
 departments in a former article. [DOLL 
 MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 TRACE KY, is a term used to denote that 
 species of pattern- work which is formed or 
 traced in the head of a gothic window by the 
 mullions being made to diverge into arches, 
 curves, and flowing lines, enriched with foli- 
 ations. The term is also applied to ornamental 
 design of the same character, whether for 
 doors, panelling, or ceilings; the only dif- 
 ference being that in windows the pattern or 
 tracery is perforated, and in other cases 
 closed, that is, is a mere pattern carved on 
 the surface of a solid part. In particular in- 
 stances, where the tracery on parapets, battle- 
 ments, turrets, spires, <fec., is pierced, it is 
 then named Open-work. 
 
 TEACTION, in Mechanics, is the act of 
 drawing a body along a plane, usually by the 
 power of men, animals, or steam ; as when a 
 vessel is towed on the surface of water or & 
 carriage moved upon a road. The power 
 exerted in order to produce the effect is called 
 the force of traction. 
 
 Numerous experiments have been made for 
 
 TEANSIT INSTRUMENT. 1708 
 
 the purpose of ascertaining the value of a 
 force so exerted. When men are employed 
 to draw laden boats on canals, it is found that 
 if the work be continued for several days 
 successively, of eight hours each, the force of 
 traction is equivalent to a weight of 31 Ibs., 
 moved at the rate of two feet per second, or 
 1 mile per hour (it being understood that 
 such weight is imagined to be raised vertically 
 by means of a rope passing over a pulley, and 
 drawn in a horizontal direction). The force 
 of traction exerted when, without moving 
 from hia place, a man pulls horizontally 
 against a weight so suspended, is estimated 
 at 701bs. Mr. Tredgold considers that a horse 
 exerts a force of traction expressed by 125 Ibs. 
 raised at the rate of 3f feet per second, or 
 miles per hour. A man or a horse can 
 however double his power of traction for a 
 few minutes without being injured by the 
 exertion; and when the carriage is in motion, 
 so that the friction on the ground is alone 
 to be overcome, a horse can draw, during a 
 short time, on a level road, a weight exceecl- 
 ng 1500 Ibs. 
 
 Experiments have shown that when the 
 angle of traction, as it is called, that is, the 
 angle which the plane of the traces makes 
 with the road on which a carriage is moving, 
 s 15 or 16 degrees, a horse pulls with good 
 effect ; and the height of the points at which 
 the traces are attached to a horse's collar 
 seing about 4 feet 6 inches from the ground, 
 t follows that, in order to obtain this incli- 
 nation, the lower extremities of the traces or 
 shafts should be 2 feet 3 inches from the 
 ground. In general however, in two-wheeled 
 3arriages, the height of these extremities is 
 about 3 feet. 
 
 As an example of the force of traction 
 ixerted by steam, it may be stated that on a 
 evel line of railway, an engine with an 11 -inch 
 cylinder, and having an effective pressure of 
 >0 Ibs. per square inch in the boiler, drew 
 50 tons at the rate of 30 miles per hour, 
 working 10 hours daily; and that the same 
 engine, with an equal pressure in the boiler, 
 Irew 160 tons at the rate of 154 miles per 
 hour. 
 
 TEANSIT INSTRUMENT, is an astro- 
 nomical telescope, made to move in the plane 
 )f the meridian, so that the moment of any 
 itar passing a vertical wire in the middle of 
 he field of view (and which covers a part of 
 he meridian) may be ascertained. Usually 
 here are several auxiliary wires at equal dis- 
 ,ances on each side of the middle wire, and 
 ,he mean of the times at which the several 
 wires are passed, is more accurately the time 
 f meridian passage than that derived from 
 
1T09 
 
 TRANSYLVANIA. 
 
 TRIESTE. 
 
 1710 
 
 the middle wire itself. The instrument was 
 invented about 1690, by Romer. 
 
 The main uses of the transit instrument 
 are either, by means of a star of known right 
 ascension, to determine the time of observation, 
 or else, by means of the observed time at 
 which a star passes the meridian, to determine 
 the star's right ascension. The transit in- 
 struments in the principal observatories are 
 specimens of the highest mechanical and 
 optical skill. 
 
 TRANSYLVANIA. The products and in- 
 dustry of Transylvania are briefly illustrated 
 under AUSTRIA. 
 
 TRAVERTIN, the Italian term for concre- 
 tionary limestone produced from springs hold- 
 ing carbonate of lime in solution. A large 
 proportion of the most splendid edifices of 
 ancient and modern Rome are built of tra- 
 vertin derived from the quarries of Pontc 
 Leucano. 
 
 TREACLE. [MOLASSES; SUGAR.] 
 
 TREBIZOND. This town, situated at the 
 south-east corner of theBlackSea,and the north- 
 east corner of Asia Minor, is a place of much 
 commercial importance. The trade has greatly 
 increased since the navigation of the Black 
 Sea was opened to all nations, and especially 
 since the establishmentof steamers,bywhich this 
 town has a direct and regular communication 
 with Constantinople, Odessa, and the Danube. 
 The number of sailing vessels engaged in the 
 commerce of the port in 1849 was 87 ; and a 
 large trade is carried on by steamers, of which 
 23 English, 80 Turkish, and 24 Austrian, 
 entered the port in the course of the same 
 year. The entire value of the imports was 
 53,409,21 5 francs ; the exports amounted to 
 14,251,406 francs, being an increase on 1848, 
 when the exports amounted to only 0,239,790 
 francs. The imports shew a decrease on 
 those of 1848, caused by the cheaper and safer 
 means of transit to Persia by the Russian 
 ports of Redut Kale and Tiflis. The in- 
 crease in the exports is chiefly owing to 
 the larger quantity of Turkish copper and 
 other produce, and of Persian silks, gall nuts, 
 <fec., shipped to Europe from this port. The 
 chief imports are cotton manufactures, sugar, 
 coffee, and other colonial produce. The 
 Austrian Steamboat Company plies regularly 
 between Trieste and Trebizond, and has lately 
 extended its line to Batoom and Redut Kale, 
 to which latter place Russia aims at diverting 
 the Persian trade, from the old route through 
 Trebizond, Erzeroum, and Bayazid. 
 
 TREENAILS. In ship-building the outer 
 planks are fastened to the timbers by thick 
 oak pegs called treenails, driven through 
 holes bored in the wood. They are formed of 
 
 the soundest oak, whose grain is straight and 
 regular. They vary in size from a foot and 
 a half to three feet in length, and from one 
 to two inches in diameter. The pieces of oak 
 which may be selected for this purpose are 
 first sawed to the proper length ; the treenail 
 makers then rip each piece into a number of 
 smaller pieces, and finally reduce them to a 
 tolerably cylindrical shape by means of spoke 
 shaves. The treenails are left many months 
 to season before being used. 
 
 Treenails are occasionally cut by machinery. 
 Mr. Wilkinson patented an apparatus in 1849 
 for compressing treenails before use, so as to 
 give them as much solidity and hardness as 
 possible. 
 
 TRIBUNALS OF COMMERCE are courts 
 established in all the large towns of France 
 for the quick and inexpensive decision of com. 
 mercial disputes, and all matters relating to 
 trade and debt. The presidents and judges 
 are chosen from among the most intelligent 
 and respectable merchants of their respective 
 towns, and serve without emolument. A 
 president and two judges form a court, which 
 sits every day except Sunday. The clerks are 
 the only officers who are paid. The expense 
 of these courts for the whole of France does 
 not much exceed 7000/. sterling ; their deci- 
 sions are admitted to be highly satisfactory 
 and equitable. 
 
 There is a movement now being made 
 towards the establishment of something which, 
 whether called a Chamber or a Tribunal of 
 Commerce, shall fill a place in London com- 
 merce somewhat analogous to those of the 
 French Tribunals. 
 
 TRIESTE, at the north-eastern extremity 
 of the Adriatic, has been long a free port, and 
 is the most important and wealthy commercial 
 city in the Austrian dominions. Consuls of 
 almost every nation in Europe reside there. 
 The commerce of Trieste was much increased 
 by the commercial treaty concluded with 
 Greece in 1835, and by the new institution of 
 the Austrian Lloyd's, which is supported by 
 the government. The number of ships 
 engaged in the commerce of Trieste is about 
 2400, of which, in 1849, 403 were employed on 
 long voyages, and 27 were steamers. The 
 steamers ply to Venice, Greece, Constantinople, 
 Trebizond, and Egypt. A terminus for the 
 Vienna- Trieste Railway, which is now opened 
 nearly throughout, has been lately finished. 
 Among the manufactures, oil-soap, leather, 
 rosoglio, and wax, are the principal. Among 
 the exports are the productions of the mines 
 of Idria, those of Hungary, linens, tobacco, 
 and woollens from different parts of the 
 Austrian dominions, and printed calicoes from 
 
1711 
 
 TRIFO'RIUM. 
 
 TEINIDAD. 
 
 1712 
 
 Switzerland. The imports are cotton from 
 Egypt ; hides, raisins, silks, rice, and oil from 
 the Levant ; wheat from Odessa ; and all kinds 
 of tropical and colonial produce from the 
 West and East Indies and Brazil. Ship- 
 building, including the construction of frigates 
 and men-of-war, is carried on to a great extent. 
 
 TRIFO'RIUM is a term applied to the 
 upper galleries formed by small open arches 
 above those dividing the nave from the side- 
 aisles of a church, and beneath the clere- 
 story windows : this intermediate tier being 
 within the sloping roof over the aisles. In 
 general the triforium is very shallow or 
 narrow, and the arches in front of it small 
 and low; but there are great differences in 
 these respects even in buildings of the same 
 period and style. 
 
 TRIGONOMETRICAL SURVEY. The 
 merit of first applying trigonometry to geodetic 
 operations belongs to Willebrord Snell, who 
 in 1617 undertook a survey of Holland, for 
 the double purpose of establishing the geo- 
 graphical positions of the principal cities in 
 that country, and measuring a degree of the 
 terrestrial meridian. The method which he 
 followed was the same in principle as that 
 which would be adopted at the present time. 
 Having formed a series of triangles extending 
 over the country, he observed their angles 
 with a quadrant, and computed their sides 
 from a base which was carefully measured 
 with wooden perches on the ground. He also 
 determined the direction of the meridian at 
 Leyden, and observed its inclination to a side 
 of one of his triangles, and thereby obtained 
 the bearings of the different angular points. 
 Lastly, by observing the altitude of the pole- 
 star with a five-feet quadrant at Alkmaar 
 Leyden, and Bergen-op-zoom, he determined 
 the amplitudes of two celestial arcs ; and thence 
 deduced the quantities of which he was in 
 quest. 
 
 Since that time, trigonometrical or geodetic 
 surveys have been made iu various countries 
 A general survey of the British Islands, under 
 the direction of the master- general of the 
 Ordnance, was begun in 1791, and has been 
 continued to the present time. The first 
 conductors of this national undertaking were 
 Colonel Williams and Captain (afterwards 
 General) Mudge, of the Royal Engineers 
 and Mr. Dalby, who had previously assisted 
 General Roy. Were it not for the admirable 
 maps which are from time to time issued 
 from the Ordnance map-office, it might be 
 inferred that the survey had been discontinued 
 during the last thirty years. The operation 
 has however never been lost sight of. For 
 some years after the last published account, 
 
 he triangulation was carried on in Scotland, 
 Doth along the eastern and western coasts. 
 A.11 the Ordnance maps of Great Britain south 
 of a line from Preston to Hull have been 
 published on a scale of one inch to a mile ; 
 
 t operations have commenced for publishing 
 the northern section on the magnificent scale 
 of 6 inches to a mile. 
 
 In respect to Ireland, the survey of that 
 country was begun about 1818. A base 
 was measured on the banks of Lough Foyle, 
 near Londonderry, with an apparatus differing 
 from any which had previously been used, 
 and with precautions to ensure accuracy which 
 probably have never been surpassed. .Depend- 
 ing on this base, a net-work of triangles was 
 established over the whole of Ireland. The 
 topography of Ireland has been completed ; 
 and the angles of the different chains of primary 
 triangles extending over the whole of Scotland 
 and the adjacent islands have now also been 
 observed. The entire map of Ireland has 
 been published on the six-inch scale. 
 
 As one of the results of the various trigo- 
 nometrical surveys, we give the following table 
 of the lengths of degrees of latitude and 
 longitude in English feet : 
 
 Degree of 
 
 Latitude. Meridian. 
 
 362748.5 
 
 10 362858.0 
 
 20 363173.7 
 
 30 363658.1 
 
 40 364254.0 
 
 45 364575.6 
 
 50 364889.9 
 
 60 365489.1 
 
 70 365978.9 
 
 80 366299.2 
 
 90 366410.5 
 
 ParafteTcircle 
 365185.8 
 359674.0 
 343296.4 
 316524.3 
 280135.0 
 258657.3 
 235197.9 
 183051.6 
 125270.5 
 63620.1 
 0.0 
 
 TRINIDAD. The most remarkable phy- 
 sical feature of Trinidad is the Pitch Lake. 
 It is about a mile and a half in circumference. 
 The pitch at the side of the lake is perfectly 
 hard and cold, but as one walks towards the 
 middle with the shoes off in order to wade 
 through the water, the heat gradually increases, 
 the pitch becomes softer and softer, until at 
 last it is seen boiling up in a liquid state. 
 The air is then strongly impregnated with 
 bitumen and sulphur, and the impression of 
 the feet is left upon the surface of the pitch. 
 During the rainy season it is possible to walk 
 over the whole lake nearly ; but in the hot 
 season a great part is not to be approached. 
 
 Trinidad possesses some excellent harbours ; 
 Chaguaramas, Guaya-guayara, and Puerta 
 d'Espaiia. On the last named stands the 
 town called the Port of Spain, the capital of 
 the island. Before 1783 the commerce of 
 
1713 
 
 TKINITY HOUSE. 
 
 TBIPOUL. 
 
 1714 
 
 Trinidad was very trifling. In 1787 the first 
 sugar-plantation was established. All the 
 usual productions of tropical countries grow 
 luxuriantly. The nutmeg, cinnamon, and 
 clove, have been introduced, and succeed re- 
 markably well. In 1848 the exports amounted 
 to 282,1 3U, the imports to 309,257/., and the 
 revenue to 75,8 74/. Sugar, molasses, coffee, 
 and cocoa, are chief articles of export. 
 
 The value of the British produce and ma- 
 nufactures exported to Trinidad in 1849 was 
 247,779/. 
 
 TKINITY HOUSE. This remarkable cor- 
 poration has the management of some of the 
 most important interests of the seamen and 
 shipping of England. James II. granted the 
 Trinity House the charter which is now in 
 force, in the first year of his reign. It directs 
 the masters and wardens to examine such 
 boys of Christ's Hospital as shall be willing to 
 become seamen, and to apprentice them to 
 commanders of ships. It also enables them 
 to appoint and license all pilots into and out 
 of the Thames, and prohibits, under penalties, 
 all other persons from exercising that office ; 
 it also authorises the corporation to settle 
 rates of pilotage, &c. ; to hold courts, &c. ; to 
 punish seamen deserting, &c. ; and make 
 laws as to other subject matters not incon- 
 sistent with the laws of the kingdom. It also 
 contains many provisions directed to the object 
 of keeping the navigation of the channels 
 secret from foreigners, and renders the officers 
 of the corporation liable to attend when re- 
 quired at the king's bidding. Since that time 
 several acts of parliament have been passed 
 for the purpose of authorising the Trinity 
 House to regulate matters connected with 
 the pilotage, &c., of vessels. 
 
 The various provisions in matters of pilotage 
 under the management of the corporation 
 were repealed in 1826, and new arrangements 
 made. At present, besides those under the 
 jurisdiction of the Trinity House and of the 
 lord warden of the Cinque Ports, many inde- 
 pendent pilotage establishments exist in va- 
 rious parts of the kingdom ; but the expe- 
 diency of subjecting all these to the uniform 
 management of the Trinity House has been 
 felt for. some time past. The inconvenience 
 resulting from the exercise of similar authori- 
 ties vested in the hands of different parties 
 had been felt with regard to the lighthouses on 
 the coast, several of which had been vested in 
 private hands by the crown ; while some had 
 been in times past leased out by the corpora- 
 tion itself, the lights in both instances being 
 found to be conducted probably rather with a 
 view to private interest than public utility. 
 By an Act, therefore, of 1827, provision was 
 
 made for vesting all the lighthouses and lights 
 on the coast of England in the corporation of 
 Trinity House, and placing those of Scotland 
 and Ireland under their supervision. Under 
 this act purchases have been made by the 
 corporation of the whole of the lighthouses 
 not before possessed by that body, the amount 
 expended for which purpose is near 1,000,000/. 
 
 The annual revenue of the corporation is 
 very considerable, and is derived from tolls 
 paid in respect of shipping, which receives 
 benefit from the lights, beacons, and buoys, 
 and from the ballast supplied. The ballast is 
 raised from such parts of the bed of the river 
 as it is expedient to deepen, by machinery 
 attached to vessels, and worked partly by the 
 power of steam and partly by manual labour. 
 [DREDGING MACHINES.] The revenue is em- 
 ployed upon the necessary expenses of the 
 corporation in constructing and maintaining 
 their lighthouses and lights, beacons and 
 buoys, and the buildings and vessels belonging 
 to the corporation; in paying the necessary 
 officers of their several establishments, and in 
 providing relief for decayed seamen and bal- 
 lastmen, their widows, &c. The deputy master 
 and elder brethren are employed on voyages 
 of inspection of their lighthouses and lights, 
 beacons and buoys, not unfrequently in most 
 trying weather and seasons ; and they are also 
 often engaged in making surveys, &c., on the 
 coast, and reports on such matters of maritime 
 character as are referred to them by the 
 government. 
 
 TKIPOD is any article of furniture resting 
 upon three feet, whence the name is given to 
 tables, chairs, moveable altars, and other 
 articles of the same kind. A chair or an altar 
 of this kind must be understood when we read 
 that the Pythia of Delphi gave her oracles from 
 a tripod. We find also mention of tripods 
 containing a certain measure of fluid, and in 
 this case we have to understand a bowl resting 
 upon a pedestal with three feet. The crater, 
 or the vessel in which the wine was mixed 
 with water at the banquets of the ancients, 
 was very frequently a tripod of this description. 
 The tripod was generally of metal and often of 
 exquisite workmanship. Tripods were the 
 most common presents to the temples of 
 Apollo; tripods were given to the victors in 
 the games which were celebrated in honour of 
 Apollo ; and tripods appear on innumerable 
 coins which have any relation to the worship 
 of that god. Some ancient tripods are pre- 
 served in the British Museum. 
 
 TKIPOLL In this region of Northern 
 Africa, those parts of the country which are 
 moderately fertile produce a variety of grain, 
 fruit, and trees. The wild trees and bushes 
 
1715 
 
 TROMBONE. 
 
 TRUCK SYSTEM. 
 
 1718 
 
 are only used to make charcoal. Where char- 
 coal is not to be had, camel's dung is used as 
 fuel. Metals do not appear to be found ; but 
 salt is collected at a few places. 
 
 In Tripoli, the chief town and port, the 
 trade is carried on in small vessels, seldom 
 larger than brigs, none of which are now 
 owned in the country. It has no direct trade 
 with England, but an indirect one through 
 Malta. Marseille, Leghorn, and the com- 
 mercial towns of the Adriatic and the Levant, 
 likewise trade with Tripoli. The trade of 
 Tripoli must greatly depend upon the com- 
 munication with the interior ; and it profits 
 once or twice a year from the passage of the 
 pilgrims from Western Barbary on their way 
 to Mecca. Formerly these caravans, com- 
 posed partly of penitents and partly of traders, 
 started from Fez, and passing through Tlem- 
 sen, Algiers, and Tunis, increasing as they 
 went, on arriving under the walls of Tripoli, 
 amounted sometimes to 3000 persons, and half 
 as many camels and horses, with then* goods 
 and merchandise, returning by the same route. 
 But the pilgrims now take a different route ; 
 and the caravans which stop at Tripoli in the 
 present day seldom amount to more than a 
 few hundred persons and animals. The cafilas 
 or small caravans from Fezzan and Ghadamis 
 are now the principal medium of inland trade. 
 These people exchange their merchandise for 
 that of Europe, and pay the balance in gold- 
 dust. 
 
 TROMBO'NE, the same instrument as the 
 Sacbttt, is a deep-toned trumpet, composed of 
 sliding tubes, by means of which every sound 
 in the diatonic and chromatic scales, being 
 within its compass, is obtained in perfect tune. 
 The trombone is of three kinds the alto, the 
 tnor, and the base, and these, in orchestral 
 music, are generally used together, forming a 
 complete harmony in themselves. 
 
 The scale of the Alto-Trombone is from c, 
 the second space in the base, to G, an octave 
 above the treble clef ; that of the Tenor-Trom- 
 bone is from B, the second line in the base, to 
 A, the second space in the treble ; and that of 
 the Base-Trombone is from c, an octave below 
 the second space in the base, to o, the second 
 line in the treble. 
 
 TROY WEIGHT. The troy pound is the 
 legal standard, though only actually used in 
 weighing precious metals and stones, and apo- 
 thecaries' drugs. There is no doubt that it 
 was originally the pound of silver, the pound 
 sterling, and there is evidence that this pound 
 was sometimes described as divided into twenty 
 parts called sterling shillings. The pound 
 troy is now divided, for gold and silver, into 
 twelve ounces, each ounce into twenty penny- 
 
 weights, and each pennyweight into twenty- 
 four grains. But for medicines, it is divided 
 into twelve ounces, each ounce into eight 
 drams or drachms, each drachm into three 
 scruples, and each scruple into twenty grains. 
 A cubic foot of water weighs 75.7374 pounds 
 troy. [APOTHECAKIES WEIGHT ; AVOIKDTJPOIS 
 WEIGHT.] 
 
 TRUCK SYSTEM. This system has much 
 influence on the relation between employers 
 nml workmen, in the manufacturing districts. 
 The term truck, which means exchange or 
 barter, is now used to signify the payment of 
 wages of labour in goods, and not in money. 
 By the truck-system is meant this mode of 
 paying wages, together with all its tendencies 
 and results. The Truck Act is an act passed 
 in 1831, which, repealing all the previous acts 
 passed for the same purpose, made stricter 
 provisions for the prevention of payment of 
 wages in truck in the departments of industry 
 therein enumerated. The wages of agricul- 
 tural labourers and domestic servants are ex- 
 empted from the operation of the act. The 
 evidence published in the Report of tbe Select 
 Committee of the House of Commons on this 
 subject, in 1842, shows that, notwithstanding 
 the Truck Act, the truck-system is still in 
 extensive operation in mills, factories, iron- 
 works, collieries, and stone-quarries in the 
 kingdom, and abundantly illustrates tho evil 
 tendencies of the system. 
 
 The chief part of the evil of what is called 
 the truck-system is incidental, and not essen- 
 tial to the payment of wages in truck, and 
 arises out of the power of the master over tho 
 workman, which enables the master to use 
 this mode of paying wages to defraud and 
 oppress the workman. A master may pay the 
 wages of his workmen wholly or in part, in 
 truck, in articles of food, clothing, (fee., either 
 by agreement or with only the understood con- 
 sent of his workmen ; and if he supply these 
 articles at frtices no higher than those at which 
 they are to be procured elsewhere, and study 
 to meet the various wants of the workmen and 
 their families, the utmost harm that can result 
 is the loss to the workmen of the moral and 
 economical lessons which the disbursement by 
 themselves of weekly money-wages is fitted to 
 supply, and the interference with the business 
 and profits of neighbouring retail shopkeepers ; 
 and there will always in such cases be some 
 advantage to set against these, so far as they go, 
 evil results. Where the truck-system acts 
 beneficially, it is owing entirely to the justice 
 and benevolence of the individual truck- 
 masters. On the character of the master 
 everything depends. In the hands of masters 
 of opposite character, and under circum- 
 
1717 
 
 TRUMPET. 
 
 TUNING FORK. 
 
 1718 
 
 stances, whether of scarcity of employment, of 
 isolated situation, or of combination among 
 masters in the same business, or through an 
 extensive district, which place the workman 
 more or less at the mercy of his employer, 
 the payment of wages in truck may be, and 
 continually has been, and is still extensively, 
 used for the defrauding and oppressing of 
 workmen. 
 
 TRUMPET, This musical instrument is 
 of the highest antiquity. It is a single tube 
 eight feet long, less in diameter than the horn, 
 doubled up in a parabolic form, sounded by 
 means of a mouthpiece, and subject to the 
 same acoustical laws which govern all instru- 
 ments of this class. [HORN.] The natural 
 scale of the trumpet extends to about twenty 
 notes ; but by the assistance of a small brass 
 tube, called the tuning-pipe, or shank, by 
 which the tube of the trumpet is lengthened, 
 the number of notes may be increased. Music 
 for the trumpet, as in the instance of the 
 horn, is always written in the natural key of c, 
 and the key to which the instrument is to be 
 adapted is pointed out by the composer, 
 
 TRUSSING-. The rods or bars which are 
 added to a girder for the purpose of trussing 
 or supporting it may be applied in two sets, 
 one on each side of the girder, and connected 
 together by short cross-pieces at the necessary 
 points ; or the beam or girder itself may be 
 divided longitudinally into two halves, or 
 flitches, separated just so far as to admit a 
 single truss between them, and held in the 
 right position by the insertion of small blocks. 
 One of the simplest methods of trussing 
 girders is that in which the beam rests upon 
 walls at its extremities, and has two inclined 
 struts, resting on notches in the timber at the 
 lower end, and supported at the centre or 
 junction by a vertical kingpost, screwed by a 
 nut beneath the beam. This form is improved 
 by connecting the lower ends of the inclined 
 bars by an iron rod stretching in a perfectly 
 straight line, and capable of being brought to 
 any required degree of tension by means of 
 screws or keys. 
 
 Cast-iron beams are frequently trussed with 
 wrought-iron rods, in a similar manner to 
 those of wood, and are applied to purposes 
 for which great strength is required. 
 
 TUBES. Under the heading of PIPES is 
 given a short notice of the different modes of 
 making tubes, pipes, cylinders, and barrels, 
 according to the nature of the material em- 
 ployed and the purposes to which the articles 
 are to be applied. Mr. Hick has recently 
 invented a contrivance for making taper tubes ; 
 that is, tubes which taper or diminish in dia- 
 meter from one end to the other. The tubes 
 
 are first made parallel or cylindrical, and are 
 tapered afterwards. The machine employed 
 effects thia by excentrio grooved rollers : a 
 greater or less degree of taper being obtained 
 by varying the proportion between the rate at 
 which the tube is drawn through the machine 
 and that at which the rollers revolve. 
 
 TUBULAR BRIDGE. [MENAI BRIDGES.] 
 
 TUMBREL, or TUMBRIL, was the name 
 of a machine formerly used for the punish- 
 ment of scolding women, consisting of a stool 
 or chair attached to the end of a long pole, 
 mounted in such a manner that the chair, 
 with the offender placed in it, might be swung 
 over a pond, and immersed as often as might 
 be necessary. The tumbrel was also used as a 
 punishment for brewers and bakers who trans- 
 gressed the laws relating to them. The name 
 is also applied to the covered carts used to carry 
 tools, &o., in a train of artillery. 
 
 TUN. [Ton.] 
 
 TUNGSTEN. This metal was first ob- 
 tained in a perfect state by M. d'Elhuyart, in 
 1781. The name is formed of the Swedish 
 words tung sten, ' heavy stone.' It has a grayish- 
 white colour and considerable lustre. It is 
 brittle, and nearly as hard as steel. Its 
 specific gravity is 17.4, and with the exception 
 of platina, gold, and iridium, is the heaviest 
 known metal. It requires a very high tem- 
 perature for fusion. It is not altered by ex- 
 posure to the air. When heated to redness 
 in the open air it takes fire, combines with 
 oxygen, and is converted into tungstic acid* 
 Nitric acid produces the same effect. 
 
 The chief minerals which contain tungsten 
 are Tungstic Add, or Scheelic Acid; Tuny- 
 state of Lime ; Wolfram, or Tungslate of Iron 
 and Magnesia ; and Tungstate of Lead. 
 
 Tungsten combines with several of the 
 simple substances ; but the compounds have 
 not yet been applied to many useful purposes. 
 
 TUNING FORK. In tuning the notes of 
 a musical instrument, such as the pianoforte, 
 the first point is to fix upon some one note, 
 by the pitch of which all others may be de- 
 termined. The only way of retaining a per- 
 manent pitch for use is by having an instru- 
 ment which time will not alter. A standard 
 pitch is usually obtained, or professed to be 
 obtained, by the tuning fork, an instrument 
 consisting of two steel prongs extending from 
 a steel handle. When these prongs are 
 sharply struck they vibrate, and if the instru- 
 ment be then held to the ear, or placed upon 
 the flap of a table, or any other sound board, 
 a low and very pure sound is heard, if the 
 prongs be perfectly equal. These tuning-forks 
 are usually made to sound either c or A, and 
 they would answer their purpose exceedingly 
 
1719 
 
 TUNIS. 
 
 TUNNEL. 
 
 1720 
 
 well if there really were in existence anj 
 rigorous standard from which they were made 
 But there is not; and the consequence is 
 that not only do the tuning-forks of differen 
 makers frequently vary a little from eacl 
 other, but the new forks are sensibly highe 
 than the old ones. 
 
 In the tuning-forks employed by Mr 
 Hullah's Singing Classes, the tone is made tc 
 correspond to a certain definite number o; 
 vibrations in a second, as determined (nearly) 
 by a remarkably delicate little acoustic instru- 
 ment called the siren. 
 
 TUNIS. The foreign commerce of Tunis 
 is the most considerable of all the Barbary 
 states. It is not confined to the capital, but 
 is also curried on briskly from the ports oi 
 the eastern coast. Among the manufactured 
 articles of export are soap, marocco leather, 
 shawls, and red skull caps. Wheat and barley, 
 as well as the inferior grains, olive oil, wool, 
 hides, bees'-wax, dates, and almonds, are the 
 principal articles of produce exported. Those 
 received from the interior of Africa, and after- 
 wards exported, are ivory, gold dust, ostrich- 
 feathers, senna, and madder-roots. The im- 
 ports are woollen cloths, cotton-prints, cali- 
 coes, muslins, coarse linens, damasks, raw 
 and wrought silks, fine wool, gold and silver 
 tissues, coffee, sugar, spices, iron, tin, lead, 
 hardware, cutlery, arms of all sorts, earthen- 
 ware, paper, wine, spirits, and tobacco. As 
 ports of loading, those of Sfax and Susa are 
 preferred to Tunis, in consequence of the dis- 
 tance and delay of transporting merchandise 
 in lighters across the lake to the Goletta, 
 where ships generally lie ; the commerce of 
 the country is consequently best carried on in 
 vessels under 150 tons burden. The trade 
 with central Africa passes through Gadamis. 
 The caravans arrive at Tozer, Cabes, and Sfax 
 about twice in the year, and barter their mer- 
 chandise, which is thence introduced in various 
 directions into Tunis. 
 
 It is H- leedingly interesting to find that 
 this disUXiit, and (comparatively) little known 
 country, has contributed liberally to the dis- 
 play of the world's industry at the Great Ex- 
 hibition. 
 
 TUNNEL, in civil engineering, is an arched 
 passage formed underground to conduct a 
 canal or road on a lower level than the natural 
 surface. Long tunnels are usually made 
 through hills in order to avoid the incon- 
 venience and loss of power occasioned by 
 conducting a canal, road, or railway over 
 elevated ground, and also the enormous ex- 
 pense of such an open excavation as would 
 be necessary in order to preserve the requi- 
 site level. Those of less extent are frequently 
 
 constructed to avoid the opposition of land- 
 owners, or to afford uninterrupted passage 
 under a road, canal, or river. 
 
 Eocky strata, if the stone be of a nature to 
 work freely, are usually the cheapest for 
 tunnelling, owing to the absence of lining, 
 and the power of saving labour by the use of 
 gunpowder. Tunnelling in clay is frequently 
 attended with formidable difficulties which 
 render it very expensive. It is, when tough, 
 a difficult material to remove, blasting being 
 of no use, and spades and pick-axes being 
 almost inapplicable. In such cases hatchets 
 may be used to advantage, but cross-cut saws 
 answer best. Tunnels formed through chalk 
 are often impeded by faults or cavities filled 
 with wet gravel or sand, which pour a flood of 
 semifluid.matter into the excavation as soon as 
 they are cut into. The irruption of such loose 
 materials, as well as of water alone, has in 
 many cases occasioned difficulties almost in- 
 surmountable. Loose sand is perhaps the 
 most difficult stratum that can be met with in 
 tunnelling, but it has been in several instances 
 successfully passed through. 
 
 Short tunnels are occasionally excavated 
 rom the ends only, but those of considerable 
 ength are usually formed by sinking vertical 
 shafts, about nine feet in diameter, down to 
 he level of the tunnel, and excavating in 
 ?ach direction from the bottom of each shaft, 
 until the several parties of workmen meet in 
 he intermediate portions. By this means 
 ,he work can proceed at any required number 
 )f points or faces, so as to bring the execution 
 )f the tunnel, whatever may be its length, 
 within a moderate period of time. The num- 
 >er of working shafts in a given length of 
 unnel is determined by the nature of the 
 ground and the time allowed for excavation, 
 besides the working-shafts there are usually 
 mall air-shafts of three or four feet diameter 
 o prevent the accumulation of foul air in the 
 workings of the tunnel. In very long tunnels 
 ne or more large shafts are desirable for the 
 urpose of ventilation, and also to admit some 
 egree of light. "When a complete brick 
 ining is required, the bottom is the part first 
 uilt, and it is completed by a course of stone 
 aid along each side, at the point where the 
 de walls spring from it. 
 TJie Tkames Tunnel. Many projects have 
 een started for making a tunnel under tbo 
 hames ; but the only one put into successful 
 peration is that for which an act was obtained 
 n 1824, with Mr. (afterwards Sir M. I.) 
 Jrunel as the engineer. Operations wero 
 ommenced early in 1825 by the construction 
 f a shaft 50 feet in diameter, at a distance 
 f ] 50 feet from the south side of the river, 
 
1731 
 
 TURF. 
 
 TURNING. 
 
 1722 
 
 at a point about two miles below Londo 
 Bridge. A similar shaft was sunk on th 
 north side of the river. The excavation fo 
 the tunnel was an oblong square, 38 feet wid 
 and 22 feet 6 inches high, presenting 
 sectional area of 855 square feet. The shiel 
 by which the excavation was effected consiste 
 of twelve massive frames of iron, placed sid 
 by side, and capable of being slid forward fo 
 a short distance independently of each other 
 The whole apparatus may be compared to i 
 massive cofferdam laid on its side, and capabl 
 of being moved forward by the action of screw 
 abutting against the end of the complete< 
 brick-work, which followed it up closely. Eacl 
 frame of the shield consisted of three stories 
 each of which formed a cell large enough fo 
 one man to work in conveniently. The ar 
 rangements for supporting the wet clay of th 
 Thames bed while the brickwork was being 
 prepared, were of a very ingenious description 
 The excavation of the tunnel was com- 
 menced in January, 1826, in a stratum ol 
 clay ; but several irruptions of the river took 
 place ; one, in 1828, was so serious in its 
 consequences that the Company did not re- 
 sume operations till 1835. The tunnel is 
 1200 feet in length between the two shafts on 
 the opposite banks of the river. It was not 
 until 1843 that the Thames Tunnel was 
 opened for foot passengers. 
 
 This grand undertaking has altogether 
 failed to realise the commercial anticipations 
 of its projectors. It has been, and still is, 
 little more than a penny { lion ' of London ; 
 nor is it easy to see any probability that it 
 will acquire trading importance. 
 
 TUEF. A few details respecting turf will 
 be found under FUEL and PEAT. 
 
 TUEIN is the name not only of the capital 
 of the Sardinian dominions, but also that of 
 a division of the continental territory of the 
 kingdom of Sardinia. This division has many 
 provinces, which vary in produce and industry. 
 In Pignerol, corn, excellent fruits, good wine, 
 chestnuts, and silk, are the chief products. 
 The forests are extensive, and there are many 
 factories of silk, woollen, and leather. In the 
 province of Torino, extensive forests and 
 pastures, abundant wheat -crops, wine, and 
 silk, form the elements of the wealth of this 
 country ; iron, vitriol, marble, and lime, are 
 the chief minerals. The industrial and com- 
 mercial activity is considerable. The province 
 of Susa produces corn, wine, flax, hemp, and 
 mulberries ; and there are manufactures of 
 leather, gloves, and thread. In the province 
 of Ivrea the soil produces abundantly corn, 
 excellent wine, and hemp. The pastures are 
 good and cattle very numerous; silk is an 
 
 important product. Iron, copper, marble, 
 slate, and building stone, are the chief mine- 
 rals. In the capital, Turin or Torino, the 
 manufactures comprise woollen cloths, silks, 
 hosiery, hats, gloves, optical instruments, 
 chocolate, liqueurs, tobacco, leather, paper, 
 earthen, and china-ware, carriages, arms, and 
 tapestry 
 
 TUEKEY. The large but ill-organised 
 Turkish Empire is composed of many distinct 
 portions, the produce, industry, and commerce 
 of which have been briefly noticed under 
 various headings relating to those districts 
 and provinces. We may however state that 
 the value of the British produce and manufac- 
 tures exported in 1849, to European Turkey, 
 exclusive of Wallachia and Moldavia, was 
 2,371,669. 
 
 Of Turkish industry, we have had a few oppor- 
 unities of judging at the Great Exhibition. 
 
 TUEKEY-HONE is a slaty, grayish, 
 opaque, soft kind of stone, found in various 
 jarts of Europe and Asia. It is composed of 
 silica, lime, alumina, and carbonic acid. 
 When cut and polished, it is used for sharp- 
 ening small cutting instruments. [GRIND- 
 STONES.] 
 
 TUEMEEIC comprises many species of 
 he Curcuma genus of plants. Of the broad- 
 eaved Turmeric, the tubers are aromatic, and 
 are used by the Hindoos, not only as a stimu- 
 ating condiment and a medicine, but as a 
 >erfume. Its sensible properties are much 
 ike those of ginger, but not so powerful. It 
 s employed in the East in cases of disease, 
 s colic, cramp, torpor, &c., where stimulants 
 re required. It is a native of Bengal, China, 
 nd various other parts of Asia, and of the 
 Asiatic Islands. Some of the other species 
 ield a kind of ginger, and some a kind of 
 rrowroot. The common Turmericis occasion- 
 lly wild, and it is also extensively cultivated 
 n China, Java, Malacca, and in Bengal, 
 rospering in a moist but not swampy soil, 
 he Chinese sort is most esteemed, rather on 
 ccount of its superior richness in colouring 
 natter than from any other cause. Two 
 arieties are found in commerce, the Eound 
 urmeric and Long Turmeric. Turmeric 
 ossesses an acrid volatile oil and a colouring 
 atter. It is used on account of the latter 
 rinciple as a dye. The volatile oil gives it 
 romatic qualities, which render it useful in 
 anguid habits, where digestion is difficult and 
 le circulation slow. It is of some importance 
 
 a dye; but it is as a condiment, both in 
 xe East and in this country, that it merits 
 otice, as it is an ingredient in all curry 
 owdcrs and curry pastes. 
 
 TUENING is the process of giving a cir- 
 
1728 
 
 TUBNTABLE. 
 
 TUSCANY. 
 
 1724 
 
 cular form to wood and other materials, by 
 means of a lathe and cutting tools, as in wood 
 and metal turning ; or by the thrower's whee 
 (which is also a species of lathe) and shaping 
 instruments, as in thb manufacture of earthen- 
 ware. The lathe may be described as a 
 machine for moving the material to be wrought 
 in such a manner that, being fixed opposite 
 to the tool, any point in the circumference 
 will act upon the whole circle in precisely the 
 same way 
 
 Of all the publications which have appeared 
 relating to the mechanical arts, there are few 
 that we can rank with the late Mr. Holtzapfel's 
 work on turning ; for elaborate details, 
 profuse illustrations, and instructive collateral 
 information, it may almost be said to exhaust 
 the subject to which it relates. 
 
 TURNTABLE. The turntables, or circular 
 iron plates seen at most of the principal 
 railway stations, are platforms on which a 
 locomotive or carriage can be placed in order 
 to be turned round in direction ; the platform 
 rotates on a central axis, and the road accom- 
 panies it. Where only a locomotive or an 
 ordinary railway carriage are placed on the 
 turntable, the latter need not be of great 
 diameter ; but in the instances where both a 
 locomotive and its tender, or such long 
 carriages as are now used on the North Kent 
 and the North Woolwich Railways, are to be 
 reversed, the turntable must be of very large 
 diameter. A description has been lately given 
 at a meeting of the Institution of Civil Engi- 
 neers, of a turntable 42 feet in diameter, used 
 on the Bristol and Exeter Railway. This 
 turntable worked on a ball -pivot, and consisted 
 of two central cast iron arms, or brackets, 
 which carried at their extremities hollow 
 wrought iron transverse girders for supporting 
 the longitudinal timber beams, forming a 
 framing on which were placed the rails 'the 
 outer ends being supported by other girders 
 attached to the traversing wheels, which 
 were 3 feet in diameter. It afforded a perfect 
 and equal bearing throughout its entire lengtb, 
 not being depressed more than half an inch 
 when the leading wheels of the engine struck 
 the table ; and an engine and tender, together 
 weighing forty tons, were turned by the driver 
 and stoker in three minutes. Tables on this 
 principle have been erected both at Bristol 
 and Exeter, and the cost, with the foundation, 
 has been about 400/. each. 
 
 TURPENTINE. The common turpentine 
 of commerce is imported from America in 
 barrels and casks. It is a stiff, adhesive, 
 honey-like paste, midway between the solid 
 and the liquid state. It consist-; <;(' t\vo very 
 different component parts : a clear transparent 
 
 liquid, which constitutes oil or essence of 
 turpentine; and a yellowish or brownish solid 
 which forms common resin. The separation 
 of these two substances is effected at the 
 turpentine works, of which there are several 
 in this country. The thick turpentine is put 
 into a still and exposed to heat ; it first melts 
 into a liquid, and then the essential or oily 
 portion rises in vapour, leaving the resinous 
 portion still liquid. The vapour leaves the 
 still, and passes through a refrigerator or 
 cooling vessel, whereby it is brought to a 
 liquid form. When the residue is removed 
 from the still, it forms black resin or yellow 
 resin, according to the kind of turpentine 
 which had been employed. 
 
 The turpentine imported in the last three 
 years amounted to the following quantities: 
 
 1848 401,787 cwts. 
 
 1849 412,042 
 
 1850 434,621 
 
 TURQUOISE. This beautiful mineral 
 occurs in masses ; it has a greenish blue 
 colour, and is usually opaque. It is found in 
 alluvial clay, near Nishapoor in Persia. It 
 consists chiefly of phosphate of alumina. 
 
 TURRET or toweret is used as the diminu- 
 tive of tower, and denotes that what is so 
 described is small in comparison with the 
 main structure, of Avhich it forms a part. 
 Turrets are frequently attached to one or 
 more of the angles of a tower, and contain a 
 winding stair leading to the roof of the tower. 
 Sometimes they are formed on the upper part 
 only of a building. 
 
 TUSCANY. About one-sixth part of this 
 Italian State is planted with vines and olive- 
 trees; another sixth is cultivated as arable 
 and ; nearly two-sixths are either forests or 
 plantations of chestnut-trees, which afford 
 food to the population of the mountains ; 
 and nearly as much again is pasture land. 
 The most common way of letting land is on 
 the 'metayer' system, by which the farmer 
 finds half the seed and implements, and 
 gives the owner half the produce in kind; 
 lie landlord stocks the farm, and a valuation 
 is given to the farmer, who is to make all good 
 on leaving. 
 
 Tuscany, besides the usual agricultural 
 crops, produces wine, oil, and silk. The other 
 articles of native produce exported are fruit 
 of various sorts, lamb and kid skins, potash, 
 imber, cork, juniper - berries, marble and 
 alabaster, iron from Elba, borax, sulphur, 
 alum, and anchovies, which are fished off the 
 coast. Nearly the whole trade of Tuscany 
 with other countries is carried on through 
 the port of Leghorn. The mineral products 
 are iron, from the island of Elba, the ore of 
 
1725 
 
 TUTENAG. 
 
 TYPE-FOUNDING, 
 
 1726 
 
 which is smelted and cast on the mainland 
 at Cecina, Valpiatta, and Follonica ; copper 
 lead, marble, sulphur, rock-salt, alabaster, 
 and alum. Sea-salt is made chiefly in Elba. 
 
 The manufactures! of Tuscany consist of 
 woollen, hempen, and linen cloths ; woollen 
 caps for the Levant ; silk stuffs, paper, glass 
 leather, wax ; coral, which is gathered on the 
 coast of Barbary and worked at Leghorn; 
 iron-ware, alabaster vases, and other orna- 
 ments, wrought atVolterra; china and delft 
 ware. The straw-plat manufacture has de- 
 clined greatly of late years. 
 
 The exports of British produce and manu- 
 factures to Tuscany in 1849, amounted in 
 value to 777,2731 
 
 TUTENAG-, is an alloy used in China in 
 the manufacture of the Gong. It is white, 
 resembling silver in appearance, and is very 
 sonorous when struck. It consists of copper 
 40, zinc 25, nickel 32, iron 3. It is suscepti- 
 ble of a fine polish, and does not readily 
 tarnish. At common temperatures, and even 
 at a red heat, it is malleable, but when heated 
 to whiteness it is rendered brittle. The com 
 position is nearly the same as that of German 
 Silver. 
 
 TYPE-FOUNDING. In the article PBINT- 
 ING- a general view is given of the various 
 steps in the invention of typography, or the 
 art of printing from moveable types, and a 
 brief notice of the individuals whose ingenuity 
 contributed, more or less, to the perfection of 
 the process of type-founding. Most of the 
 early printers, in England as well as on the 
 Continent, were accustomed to cut and cast 
 their own types. It has since become a 
 separate business 
 
 The first and most important operation of 
 a type-foundry is the formation of the punches, 
 which are well-tempered pieces of steel, each 
 of which bears on its surface a single letter, 
 formed with the greatest possible accuracy by 
 filing, cutting, and punching the hollows with 
 smaller punches. The face of the punch 
 exactly resembles that of the finished type, 
 the letter being reversed, and in high relief. 
 The punch-cutter has to exercise great care 
 and judgment for making the letter of pre- 
 cisely the right size, form, and thickness, so 
 that it may range well with other letters of the 
 same Fount, or set. When the punch is com- 
 pleted and hardened, it is struck into a piece 
 of copper, which, when it has received the 
 impression from the end of the punch, is 
 called a Matrix, and forms a mould for the 
 face of the type. 
 
 The Mould for casting the type consists of 
 two halves, each of which is made of steel, 
 and attached, for convenience of holding, to a 
 
 piece of wood. The two halves of the mould 
 are so formed that they may be instantane- 
 ously fitted together, leaving a square funnel- 
 shaped opening at the top, by which the type- 
 metal is poured into the mould to form the 
 body of the type, with the matrix at the 
 bottom to form the letter or face. The two 
 halves of the mould are capable of adjust- 
 ment to the varying widths of the letters. 
 The type-metal is usually melted in a small 
 cast-iron pot, set in brickwork with an en- 
 closed fire under it, and is poured into the 
 mould by a very small ladle. The caster 
 then jerks the mould quickly upwards by a 
 peculiar motion of his arm, and thereby 
 expels the air, and forces the fluid metal to 
 enter the cavities of the matrix. Some foun- 
 ders use a small force-pump to aid this 
 operation. When the metal is set, the caster 
 removes the pressure of a long curved spring 
 which is attached to the bottom of the mould, 
 and thereby separates the matrix from the 
 face of the type. The mould is then opened, 
 and the type is removed by the application 
 of a hook attached to the upper part of the 
 mould. 
 
 When the types leave the caster, each of 
 them has a small block of metal attached to 
 the shank, or body of the type, being that 
 which filled the throat or funnel of the 
 mould. These are removed by a boy. The 
 next operation is that of rubbing the flat 
 sides of the types upon a piece of gritstone. 
 The types are then set up by boys in long 
 rows or lines, and these are firmly secured 
 n long frames, which hold them together 
 while the dresser scrapes or polishes the flat 
 urface which form the top and bottom of the 
 aody, and cuts a groove or channel along 
 their lower ends by means of a small iron 
 plane. While they are in the frame the types 
 are also bearded, an operation which consists 
 n planing away to a bevel the upper angle of 
 the body at the feet of the letters. After 
 dressing, the types are tied up in such lines 
 as may be convenient, and the proportionate 
 numbers of every type of which a fount con- 
 sists are selected. All the types belonging to 
 one fount are distinguished by one or more 
 grooves or nicks across the lower edge or 
 Bottom face of the body, by which simple 
 contrivance the compositor is enabled to pick 
 up the types and place them all upright 
 without looking at the letter. These nicks 
 are formed by the insertion of one or more 
 wires in the mould. Four casters and two 
 joys can cast, break, and rub 2,000 types in 
 an hour. 
 
 The composition of type-metal greatly 
 varies ; the chief component however is lead, 
 
1727 
 
 TYPE-FOUNDING. 
 
 TYROL. 
 
 1728 
 
 alloyed by one or more of the following metals 
 iron, antimony, copper, brass, tin, and bis- 
 muth. 
 
 As the several letters of the alphabet are, 
 in common printing, required in very differenl 
 proportions, the number cast of each letter in 
 a fount needs to be carefully regulated. The 
 proportions vary in different languages, and 
 in different kinds of work ; but for ordinary 
 English book- work they are about as follows : 
 
 a 
 
 8,500 
 
 n 
 
 8,000 
 
 ff 
 
 400 
 
 b 
 
 1,600 
 
 o 
 
 8,000 
 
 fi 
 
 500 
 
 c 
 
 3,000 
 
 P 
 
 1,700 
 
 fl 
 
 200 
 
 d 
 
 4,400 
 
 q 
 
 500 
 
 ffi 
 
 150 
 
 e 
 
 12,000 
 
 r 
 
 6,200 
 
 ffl 
 
 100 
 
 f 
 
 2,500 
 
 s 
 
 8,000 
 
 ce 
 
 100 
 
 g 
 
 1,700 
 
 t 
 
 9,000 
 
 0? 
 
 60 
 
 h 
 
 6,400 
 
 u 
 
 3,400 
 
 > 
 
 4,500 
 
 i 
 
 8,000 
 
 V 
 
 1,200 
 
 ; 
 
 800 
 
 J 
 
 400 
 
 w 
 
 2,000 
 
 : 
 
 600 
 
 k 
 
 800 
 
 X 
 
 400 
 
 . 
 
 2,000 
 
 1 
 
 4,000 
 
 y 
 
 2,000 
 
 ' 
 
 700 
 
 m 
 
 3,000 
 
 z 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 The names of the various founts, beginning 
 with the smallest and ending with one of the 
 largest used in ordinary book -printing, are 
 Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, Nonpareil, Minion, 
 Brevier, Bourgeois, Long Primer, Small Pica, 
 Pica, English, Great Primer. Larger founts 
 than any of these are occasionally used. 
 
 At the Great Exhibition, Messrs. Miller 
 and Richards have displayed type still smaller 
 than Diamond, and said by them to be the 
 smallest ever made in this country. The 
 name of Brilliant is given to it. Gray's Elegy 
 (32 verses), printed in this type, occupies a 
 space rather less than 4 inches by 3. 
 
 The following details have recently been 
 given concerning the types for printing the 
 Great Exhibition Catalogues : "The first step 
 towards the accomplishment of this vast un- 
 dertaking was the creation of the type neces- 
 sary to print four editions and Messrs. Clowes 
 and Son, being type-founders as well as 
 printers, came to the resolution of having the 
 whole of the type cast specially for the pur- 
 pose. Their first effort was directed to pro- 
 duce the type for the small English, French, 
 and German catalogues ; the quantity cast for 
 the purpose was 16,000 Ibs. For the large 
 and illustrated edition they have, in addition 
 
 to their own foundries, employed those of 
 Messrs. Figgins, Messrs. Bezley and Co., and 
 Mr. Caslon, of London, and Messrs. Miller 
 and Richards, of Edinburgh. The joint ex- 
 ertions of these firms have added 25,000 Ibs. 
 more to the general stock set apart for this 
 vast undertaking ; making a total of 41,000 
 Ibs. The casting of this large quantity of 
 type gave employment to 250 persons for ten 
 weeks. The number of separate pieces in 20 
 tons of type amounts to upwards of 26 millions, 
 and each type or piece of metal passes through 
 the hands of five persons in the process of 
 manufacture." 
 
 TYROL. In this very interesting country 
 the most fertile lands are in the valleys of 
 the Inn and of the Adige. Wheat, rye, barley, 
 and oats are cultivated; in some pails buck- 
 wheat is grown ; and millet is also grown, but 
 not extensively. Indian corn is the principal 
 object of agriculture in the southern valleys, 
 and potatoes are nearly as much cultivated as 
 in the northern. Hops grow wild, and tobacco 
 is cultivated to some extent in the southern 
 valleys. Flax and hemp are grown. Fruit- 
 trees abound in the southern valleys, aad 
 large quantities of fruit are exported to Ba- 
 varia. Near Trent are plantations of fig-trees, 
 and at Roveredo chestnuts are very common. 
 In these parts are also plantations of olive- 
 trees and mulberry - trees. A considerable 
 quantity of silk is annually collected. On 
 the banks of the Lago di Guarda are planta- 
 tions of oranges. Wine is made in large 
 quantities, and some sorts are very good, but 
 they do not keep. Gold, silver, and copper 
 are found; lead, iron, calamine, and coal 
 mines are worked. There are productive 
 mines of rock-salt near Hall, below Inns- 
 bruck. In the southern districts there is a 
 valuable kind of white marble which is much 
 worked. 
 
 Though the inhabitants are extremely in- 
 dustrious, Tyrol is not a manufacturing 
 country. The women spin flax, weave linen, 
 cnit caps and stockings, make baskets and 
 straw hats; the only manufactures of any 
 mportance are carried on in the chief towns. 
 The transit trade of Tyrol is considerable, 
 and much facilitated by the admirable roads. 
 Many of the inhabitants annually migrate as 
 iedlars or hawkers. 
 
1729 ULMIC ACID, OH ULMINE. 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 1730 
 
 U 
 
 ULMIC ACID, or ULMINE. Some trees, 
 and more especially the elm, when it is old, 
 secrete a liquid which dries as it exudes ; the 
 residue consists principally of mucilaginous 
 mattes, with some carbonate or acetate of 
 potash, and eventually the mucilaginous matter 
 undergoes a change, and, comhining with the 
 potash, forms a substance which was first 
 examined by Vauquelin and Klaproth, and 
 Dr. Thomson gave it the name of Ulmin. It 
 is of a deep brown colour, very brittle, and 
 breaks in angular fragments, and is almost 
 insoluble in water. It may be procured from 
 soils, rotten leaves, bog-earth, wood-soot, or 
 turf. It is an important element in manures 
 and soils ; and what is called moss-ivater owes 
 its peculiar properties to its presence. It is 
 a powerful manure, especially when combined 
 with lime or with ammonia. 
 
 ULTRAMARINE, is a well-known blue 
 pigment of extraordinary beauty and great 
 permanence. 
 
 Ultramarine was originally prepared from 
 the lapis lazuli or lazulite. This mineral 
 presents itself in small masses of granular 
 structure, in a rock of heterogeneous struc- 
 ture ; this rock, which in commerce is 
 called lapis, sells for a higher or losver price 
 for pigments according to the proportion of 
 lazulite which it is found to contain. The 
 most perfect specimens of lazulite are used 
 as gems ; while the less perfect are used in 
 the preparation of ultramarine. The lazulite 
 is made red hot, quenched, pounded to powder, 
 washed, dried, made into a paste with pure 
 linseed oil and certain resinous substances, 
 kneaded, diffused in hot water, and allowed 
 to settle until the ultramarine (leaving all 
 the other ingredients) falls to the bottom. The 
 whole of these processes require great care. 
 
 This colour is now prepared at a very 
 moderate price, and equal in beauty to that 
 obtained from the lazulite. M. Gmelin of 
 Tubingen considers that sulphuret of sodium 
 is the colouring principle both of the natural 
 mineral and the artificial products. The arti- 
 ficial ultramarine is stated to be prepared by 
 adding freshly-precipitated silica and alumina, 
 mixed with sulphur, to a solution of caustic 
 soda, and the mixture is to be evaporated to 
 dryness: the residue is put into a covered 
 crucible and exposed to a white heat, by 
 which, when the air has partial access to it, a 
 dark pure blue mass is obtained. The pro- 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 duct is then reduced to impalpable powder. 
 The proportions of materials to be used are, 
 about 36 silica, 3d alumina, 24 soda, and 
 3 sulphur. 
 
 UMBER, is an- ore of iron and manganese, 
 employed as a brown pigment The structure 
 is earthy, and the colour varied from red to 
 brown. It occurs in beds with brown jasper 
 in the Isle of Cyprus. 
 
 UNGUENTS. [OINTMENTS.] 
 
 UNITED STATES. The following de- 
 tails will illustrate a few among the many 
 aspects under which the produce, industry, 
 and commerce of the United States of America 
 present themselves to our notice. 
 
 In the year ending June 1850, the United 
 States imported 247,951 tons of bar iron, 14,706 
 tons of hammered iron, 10,104 tons of scrap 
 iron, and 74,874 tons of pig iron. New York 
 exported 4,844,574 dollars' worth of produce 
 and commodities in that year, more than two- 
 fifths of which went to Liverpool alone. 
 The cotton exported in the same year was 
 635,381,604 Ibs., being far below the average 
 of recent years. 
 
 The exports from the United States in the 
 year ending June 1849 amounted in value to 
 145,755,820 dollars of which two thirds were 
 in United States' vessels. The imports (pay- 
 ing duty) in the same period were 147,857,439 
 dollars ; of which five-sixths were in United 
 States' vessels. The domestic exports were 
 thus made up : 
 
 Dollar 
 
 Produce of Fisheries (fish, fish-] 
 
 oil, spermaceti, whalebone, [ 2,547,654 
 
 &c j 
 
 Produce of Forests (timber, \ 
 
 bark, dyes, potash, turpen- 1 5,917,994 
 
 tine, tar, &c.) . . J 
 Produce of Agriculture ( cattle, ^ 
 
 meat, butter, cheese, corn, I 111,059,378 
 
 cotton, &c.) j 
 
 Manufactures and Miscellaneous, 13,141,929 
 
 132,666,955 
 
 The remainder of the exports (about 13,000,000 
 dollars) were re-exported foreign commodities. 
 
 More than half of the entire exports of do- 
 mestic produce were sent to Great Britain. 
 
 In the next following year, that is, the year 
 ending June 1850, the exports of domestic 
 produce from the United States wasl36,946,912 
 dollars, of which Great Britain and its depen- 
 
 8 8 
 
 No. 41. 
 
1731 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 1732 
 
 dencies took the enormous value of 81,687,051 
 dollars; considerably more than half of which 
 was comprised in the single article of cotton. 
 The following tahle shows the progress oi 
 the population and wealth of New York : 
 
 Value of Real and 
 Year. Population. Personal Estate. 
 
 1800.... 60,489.... 24,486,370 dollars. 
 1810 93,373 69,530,753 
 1820 .... 123,706 .... 69,530,573 
 1825 166,086 101,160,046 
 1830 .... 202,589 .... 125,283,518 
 1835 270,089 218,723,703 
 1840 .... 312,852 .... 252,843,163 
 1845 371,223 239,938,317 
 1850 517,849 256,217,093 
 
 To show how the various states of the Ame- 
 rican Union stand related in respect to ship- 
 building, we give the numbers for the year 
 ending June 1850 : 
 
 rican and 9816 foreign. The tonnage of these 
 vessels was 4,361,002 tons. The total of the 
 crews entered as belonging to those vessels 
 was 195,871. From New York alone the 
 number of ships cleared was no less than 
 2818, of 1,106,070 tons. In the first nine 
 months of 1850, there were 19 steam ships 
 and 18 sailing vessels launched at New York; 
 and at the end of that period there were 19 
 other steamers and 12 other sailing vessels 
 building. The numbers of passengers which 
 have arrived at New York during the last ten 
 years are as follow : 
 Year. Passengers. Vessels. 
 1841 57,337 2,118 
 ] 842 74,949 1,960 
 
 1843 46 302 1,832 
 
 1844 61,002 2,208 
 
 1845 .. 82,960 2,014 
 
 1846 115,230 2,289 
 
 1847 . 166,110 3,147 
 
 1848 193 ,909 3,060 
 
 States. 
 
 2 
 
 w 
 
 Total-Ships and 
 Steamers. 
 
 Total 
 Tonnage. 
 
 1849 . 221,799 3,237 
 
 1850 126,287 8,489 
 
 1,143,885 25,384 
 In June 1850 the length of the inland mail 
 routes in the United States fnot including 
 Oregon and California) was 178,672 miles; 
 and the annual transport on those roads 
 amounted to 46,541,423 miles. The number 
 of post offices in the United States in that 
 month was 18,417. 
 On January 1, 1851, the length of Railways 
 in the United States amounted to nearly 9000 
 miles, and the cost to upwards of 60,000,0007. 
 sterling. They were distributed among the 
 states hi the following ratios : 
 Miles. Cost. 
 New York.... 1402 .. 56,202,060 dollars. 
 NewHampshire, 452 .. 15,046,080 , 
 Rhode Island. 50 .. 2,614,484 , 
 Maine 220 .. 5,765,518 , 
 
 Maine 
 
 G 
 
 1 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 32 
 8 
 31 
 1 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 K 
 C 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 34 
 5 
 1 
 10 
 3 
 1 
 
 320 
 10 
 1 
 121 
 14 
 43 
 224 
 57 
 185 
 16 
 150 
 8 
 34 
 33 
 5 
 2 
 3 
 24 
 34 
 5 
 13 
 31 
 14 
 1 
 2 
 
 94,211 73 
 6,914 32 
 77 41 
 35,836 14 
 3,537 15 
 4,819 79 
 53,342 73 
 6,201 68 
 21,409 93 
 1,813 82 
 15 ; 964 80 
 288 17 
 3,534 04 
 2,691 55 
 683 82 
 79 75 
 118 66 
 1,582 38 
 6,460 69 
 1,353 82 
 1,691 21 
 ',214 62 
 ,061 63 
 105 54 
 122 42 
 
 New Hampshire .... 
 
 Massachusetts 
 Rhode Island.. . 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 New York 
 
 New Jersey. . . 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland . . . 
 
 District of ColumV^n 
 Virginia 
 
 N. Carolina 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Florida 
 
 Vennont 348 .. 10,038,897 , 
 Massachusetts 1056 .. 48,235,097 , 
 Connecticut.. 513 .. 15,245,508 , 
 New Jersey.. 259 .. 8,225,000 , 
 Pennsylvania. 917 .. 35,008,033 , 
 Delaware 37 .. 600,000 , 
 Maryland 322 .. 13,044,172 . 
 Virginia 384.. 7,378,349 . 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Louisiana . 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Missouri .... 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Michigan . 
 
 Texas 
 
 NorthCarolina, 249 ,. 4,000,000 , 
 SouthCarolina, 27] .. 6,243,678 . 
 Georgia 716 .. 11,572,280 . 
 Alabama 114 .. 950,000 , 
 Florida 54 .. 280,000 , 
 Mississippi .. 90 .. 795,600 . 
 Louisiana.... 89 .. 003,000 
 Tennessee... 33 .. 600,000 
 
 Oregon .... 
 
 Total 
 
 159 
 
 1,356 
 
 270,117 80 
 
 In the year ending June 1850, the merchant 
 ships which left ports of the United States 
 amounted to 18,195, of which 8379 wereAme- 
 
1733 
 
 URANIUM. 
 
 UTKECHT. 
 
 1734 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Kentucky.... 77 
 
 Indiana 219 
 
 Ohio 450 
 
 Illinois 117 
 
 Michigan 352 
 
 Wisconsin . . 20 
 
 Cost. 
 
 1,480,000 dollars. 
 
 4,600,000 
 
 7,268,793 
 
 2,100,000 
 
 7,704,633 
 
 400,000 
 
 URA'NIUM, is the name given to a metal 
 discovered by Klaproth, in 1789, who named 
 it after the planet Uranus, the discovery of 
 which had previously occurred in the same 
 year. The mineral from which it was first 
 obtained is called Pechblende, or Pitchblende. 
 It is a white lustrous metal. At a moderate 
 degree of heat, in contact with the air, it burns 
 with a white and shining light. The com- 
 bustion occurs at so low a temperature, that 
 it may take place on paper without causing it 
 to burn. If small particles be shaken from 
 the filter on which the metal in powder has 
 been collected, portions so minute as to be 
 scarcely visible burn with brilliant sparks on 
 coming near the flame of a candle. When 
 heated in a capsule, uranium burns brilliantly 
 and is converted into a deep green-coloured 
 oxide, the bulk of which is considerably greater 
 than that of the metal employed. It does not 
 appear to suffer any alteration by exposure to 
 the air, nor does it decompose water at com- 
 mon temperatures. 
 
 The minerals which contain uranium, and 
 from many, of which it may be obtained, are 
 numerous. They comprise Pltchblende(G^Ae\ 
 Uranite (calcareo -phosphate), Chalcolite (cu- 
 preo-phosphate), Uran Bloom (carbonate), 
 Johannite (sulphate). The various compounds 
 of the metal with other substances are of but 
 limited use in the arts ; the protoxide, how- 
 ever, is employed in colouring glass, to which 
 it imparts a fine lemon yellow. 
 
 URUGUAY, or Banda Oriental, an inde- 
 pendent Republic in South America, is of mo- 
 
 derate natural richness. A valuable copper 
 mine is worked near San Carlos. The valleys 
 on the west and south are well adapted to a 
 great diversity of production. Wheat, rye, 
 barley, Indian corn, rice, peas, beans, water- 
 melons, and other kinds of melons, with 
 onions, are cultivated ; also some cotton, man- 
 dioca, and the sugar-cane. Hemp and diffe- 
 rent qualities of flax grow in great abundance 
 Timber is by no means abundant. More than 
 four-fifths of the country being only fit for 
 pasture, cattle of course constitute the chief 
 wealth. Some cattle are consumed in the 
 country, and others sent to the slaughter- 
 houses of Monte Video, whence hides are ex- 
 ported in large numbers. By far the greatest 
 proportion of the flesh is converted into jerked 
 beef, which is salted without the bones, dried 
 in the sun, and exported to different parts of 
 America, especially Brazil. Every great pro 
 prietor breeds also a certain number of horses 
 and mules, and some of them a great number 
 of sheep, which have a fine wool. 
 
 UTRECHT, one of the Dutch provinces, 
 is a productive and busy district. The natural 
 productions are the common domestic ani- 
 mals, poultry, fish, bees, wheat, tobacco, buck- 
 wheat, pulse, garden-fruit, culinary vegetables, 
 flax, and hemp. The manufactures are chiefly 
 in the towns, and consist of woollen, cotton, 
 silken, and linen fabrics : there are also brew- 
 eries and distilleries. The exports are corn, 
 cattle, swine, butter, cheese, some manufac- 
 tured goods, bricks, and tiles. The roads in 
 this province, which are remarkably smooth, 
 are paved with clinker bricks. All the heavy 
 traffic is carried on by the canals or railroads 
 to Amsterdam and Arnhem. Another line of 
 railway now unites the town of Utrecht to 
 Rotterdam. In Utrecht, the capital of the 
 province, the inhabitants manufacture woollen 
 cloths, silk, lace, and needles ; they have also 
 sugar refineries and bleaching grounds. 
 
1735 
 
 VACUUM. 
 
 VALPARAISO. 
 
 1736 
 
 V 
 
 VACUUM, or VOID. In scientific enqui- 
 ries the name vacuum is given to space wholly 
 free of matter, or perfectly empty. In the 
 common phrase, space is called empty when, 
 so far as air can fill space, it is full of air ; anc 
 even in a more scientific form of speech, there 
 is said to be a vacuum when there is only sue! 
 an approach to a vacuum as the operations o: 
 philosophy can procure. Thus in the vacuum 
 of the air-pump, however long the attempt at 
 exhaustion may be continued, there is always 
 air left, though in a highly attenuated state 
 and even in the mercurial vacuum, or in the 
 space which is left over the mercury of the 
 barometer, there is not unfrequently a slight 
 portion of air, and always an atmosphere o] 
 the vapour of mercury. Physically speaking, 
 it is perhaps impossible to procure a vacuum : 
 it is most likely that, even if a real vacuum 
 could be procured for an instant, air or other 
 vapour would at once begin to be disseminated 
 from the sides of the vessel in which the va- 
 cuum was made, and that the vacuum would 
 thus instantly cease to exist. 
 
 In steam machinery, the whole efficacy of 
 the apparatus is dependent on the recurrence, 
 at regular intervals, of a vacuum, or an ap- 
 proximation towards a vacuum, in certain 
 cylinders into which steam passes. [Am- 
 PUMP; HYDRAULICS; STEAM ENGINE.] 
 
 VALENCIA. A large proportion of this 
 beautiful Spanish province is among the most 
 fertile and best cultivated districts in Europe. 
 The plain or vega of Valencia is about 30 
 miles long and 20 wide; the whole of this 
 district is planted with olive, mulberry, ilex, 
 algaroba, orange, and palm-trees, and has 
 the appearance of an immense garden. Such 
 is the fertility of the soil that two and three 
 crops in the year are generally obtained. The 
 rice crops are the most valuable, and are 
 chiefly produced in the tract which is irrigated 
 by the Albufera, a large lake in the neighbour- 
 hood of Valencia. The other chief product is 
 the white mulberry, for the feeding of silk- 
 worms : the produce of silk from the vega of 
 Valencia amounts to above one million of 
 pounds yearly, a great part of which is ex- 
 ported in its raw state to France. The export 
 of fruit from Valencia is also considerable ; of 
 raisins, the quantity exported has in some 
 
 years been close upon 150,000 cwts. to Eng- 
 land alone. The exports of barilla, almonds, 
 figs, oil, saffron, wool, brandy, and wine, from 
 different ports of Valencia is also very great, 
 particularly the wine called Beni Carlo, which 
 comes from a town of that name. 
 
 Mercury, copper, sulphur, arsenic, gold, 
 silver, lead, iron, coal, and antimony, are 
 among the mineral products. Woollen, linen, 
 and silken goods are made in several towns 
 of the province, but chiefly for home consump- 
 tion. Cordage made from the fibre of the 
 esparto, mats, tiles, soap, glass, paper, pottery, 
 and earthenware, are exported to all parts or 
 Spain. Salt is largely exported to Sweden. 
 
 In the city of Valencia, the imports are cod- 
 fish, bricks, iron, coals, tobacco, colonial pro- 
 duce, hides, manufactured goods, linen, hard- 
 ware, trinkets, Norway deals, and Dutch 
 cheese. The exports are composed of barilla, 
 wine, raisins, almonds, lead, brandy, oranges, 
 raw silk, saffron, oil, wool, bass mats and 
 ropes, salt, liquorice, and aniseed. The inha- 
 bitants are chiefly devoted to agriculture, al- 
 though many branches of trade flourish in 
 the city. Velvets, taffetas, flowered damask, 
 and other silk stuffs are manufactured for the 
 home market. Woollens, camlets, hats, table- 
 linen, gauzes, artificial flowers, pottery, and 
 earthenware, glass, and paper, are also made 
 in small quantities. 
 
 VALERIAN is a herb or undershrub pos- 
 sessing many valuable qualities. It is a 
 native of Europe, and by the sides of rivers 
 and in ditches and moist woods is abundant 
 in Great Britain. The root has a very strong 
 smell, which is dependent on a volatile oil. 
 It is very attractive to cats, and also to rats, 
 and is employed by rat-catchers to decoy rats. 
 It is employed also in medicine at the present 
 day. The root, or more properly the rhizoma, 
 with its root-fibres, is used in medicine. The 
 medicinal action is chiefly due to the volatile 
 oil and extractive. 
 
 VALPAEAISO, a large town and important 
 seaport of Chile, is yearly rising into rank as 
 one of the leading commercial depots on the 
 Pacific shore of America. In 1809 only 9 
 vessels entered the harbour, in 1836 the 
 number averaged 40 per month ; in 1840 the 
 total number of foreign vessels that entered 
 
173T 
 
 VALVE. 
 
 was 968. The customs revenue for 1849 wa 
 2,0:22,577 dollars. There are large ship 
 building yards, arid extensive bonding Avare 
 houses. Many vessels engaged in the Pacifi 
 trade come to Valparaiso for provisions, which 
 may be put on board without their dropping an 
 anchor. Valparaiso is the central depot fo] 
 the produce of Chile. Large quantities o 
 corn, and other articles of provisions, an 
 shipped here for Callao, Panama, and San 
 Francisco. Besides wheat, the chief exports 
 are copper fof which 76,515 quintals were 
 shipped in 1849), gold, and silver; tallow an c 
 hides ; timber, indigo, wool, sarsaparilla, fruits 
 &c. The imports are foreign manufactured 
 goods, chocolate, tea, coffee, sugar, tobacco 
 hardware, &c., &c. The British exports to 
 Valparaiso exceed a million sterling annually 
 The French and American commerce with 
 this port is also very important. The trade 
 of Valparaiso has greatly increased since the 
 discovery of gold in California. Steamers ply 
 regularly to Callao and other Pacific ports. 
 
 VALVE is the name given to any apparatus 
 by which, in an hydraulic or pneumatic ma- 
 chine, the bore of a pipe or any orifice may 
 be alternately covered and uncovered, in order 
 in the one case to prevent, and in the other 
 to permit, the passage of the fluid. 
 
 The ordinary pump-valve, frequently called 
 a Clack, consists of a piece of leather rather 
 larger than the bore or orifice. Circular plates 
 of lead or brass are fastened to the upper and 
 lower surfaces of the leather; and the valve 
 thus formed is capable, from the flexibility of 
 the leather, of turning, as on a hinge, at the 
 place of its connection with the rim. After a 
 certain quantity of water has forced its way 
 through the orifice, the valve, by its weight, 
 falls, and closely covers the orifice, so that 
 the water above is in great part prevented 
 from returning. 
 
 Frequently a narrow bar of metal is made 
 fast across a circular orifice in the direction of 
 a diameter, and two semicircular valves of 
 leather, each of which is covered above and 
 below with a brass plate of the same form, 
 turn upon the sides of the bar as upon hinges. 
 This is called the Double- Clack, or the But- 
 terfly -Valve. 
 
 The conical or Spindle Valve is a metal body 
 in the form of a frustum of a cone, the side 
 of which makes an angle of 45 degrees with a 
 diameter of the base, and its convex surface 
 is ground so as to fit exactly the corresponding 
 side of the orifice, It is usually employed as 
 the safety-valve to the boiler of a steam- 
 engine. The frustum is lifted up vertically 
 by the pressure of the steam, and when the 
 steam has passed, it falls back by its weight. 
 
 VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. 1738 
 
 The valve employed for the usual air pumps 
 consists merely of a slip of thin bladder tho- 
 roughly soaked in oil, its breadth being little 
 more than is necessary to cover the orifice. 
 When the pressure of the atmosphere is in 
 part removed from the barrel, some of the air 
 which is in the receiver forces its way, by its 
 elasticity, through the orifice, and escapes at 
 the sides of the valve. The valves of ma- 
 chines for condensing air are like those of a 
 rarefying pump, but they are placed in con- 
 trary positions. 
 
 VANA'DIUM, a metal discovered in 1830, 
 has somewhat of a silvery lustre, is extremely 
 brittle, is a conductor of electricity, and at 
 common temperatures is not acted upon by 
 air or water ; when heated to low redness in 
 the air, it burns and is converted into black 
 oxide. The compounds which this metal 
 forms with other substances have not yet been 
 applied to much practical use. 
 
 VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. The mineral 
 wealth of this British colony is not yet much 
 known. So far as it has been investigated, 
 it includes copper, iron, lead, zinc, manganese, 
 coal, slate, salt, and sandstone. Little has 
 yet been done in mining operations. All 
 rains cultivated in England succeed well. 
 Wheat is of excellent quality, weighing gene- 
 rally from 62 to 64 pounds the bushel : con- 
 siderable quantities are exported. Barley and 
 oats will only thrive in a good soil. The 
 vegetables and fruits of Europe are cultivated 
 by. the colonists in great abundance. The 
 spermaceti whale is very abundant in Bass's 
 Strait, and many of them are annually taken, 
 but more by the inhabitants of Australia than 
 oy those of Van Diemen's Land. Black whales 
 abound in all the seas round the island, and a 
 very lucrative fishery is carried on along the 
 southern coast. Whale-bone and train oil 
 are important articles of export. The most 
 useful tree in the colony is the Stringy Bark 
 Tree, which is used for building and fencing ; 
 and the Blue Gum Tree, of which most of 
 the boats in the colony are built. The smaller 
 ,rees are used for masts for small vessels. 
 The efforts of the local government are 
 rapidly extending improvements over the 
 sland. No fewer than 24 bridges were built 
 
 the government between 1842 and 1847. 
 jn 1847, 5538 emigrants arrived in the colony 
 rom Great Britain, and 4787 departed from 
 t (chiefly to Port Philip and South Australia). 
 Among the greatest works now constructing 
 s a bridge over the Derwent, on the high 
 oad from Hobart Town to Launceston ; it is 
 >f wood, and will have twenty bays or arches 
 if 32 feet span each. The manufacturing 
 stablishments of Van Diemen's Land in 1847 
 
1739 
 
 VANILLA. 
 
 VABNISH. 
 
 174G 
 
 included 46 breweries, 15 candle factories 
 4 dye-works, 17 engineering and foundry 
 works, 80 mills, 3 potteries, 10 printing-offices 
 16 ship-yards, and 44 tan-works. The vessels 
 which entered the colony in 1847 were 617 
 (burthen, 86,940 tons). The vessels built in 
 the colony in that year were 12 (burthen 
 1361 tons). The vessels belonging to Hobart 
 Town were 140 (burthen, 11,521 tons) ; anc 
 those to Launceston 44 (burthen, 3373 tons) 
 The value of the fisheries in that year was 
 estimated at 70,000/. The live stock com- 
 prised 16,212 horses, 82,194 cattle, 1,833,866 
 sheep, and 2964 pigs. The staple article oi 
 produce is wool. A considerable trade is 
 carried on with South Australia and Port 
 Philip, in sheep. Van Diemen's Land pro- 
 duces not only a sufficient supply of grain 
 for domestic consumption, but has contributed 
 for several years to supply the deficiency in 
 New South Wales. 
 
 The total exports for 1847 were valued at 
 600,867/. ; the four chief items were wool, 
 247,240;.; wheat, 85,683/. ; flour, 40,595/.; 
 and oil, 63,165Z. The imports in the same 
 year were valued at 724,593/. ; the five chief 
 items were woollens, 108,175J. ; cottons, 
 35,679/. ; apparel and haberdashery, 48,888/. ; 
 hardware, 41,030/. ; and sugar, 5l,615/. The 
 British produce and manufactures imported 
 in 1849, were valued at 315,02 II. 
 
 VANILLA. As the greater portion and 
 the finest kinds of the Vanilla of commerce 
 are imported from Vera Cruz, the most im- 
 portant species must be natives of Mexico. 
 The fruit is the only part of the plant that is 
 used. It has a balsamic odour, and a warm 
 agreeable flavour. For these properties it 
 is indebted to a peculiar volatile oil, and to a 
 considerable quantity of benzoic acid. The 
 fruit is gathered when it gets yellow, and it is 
 first allowed to ferment for two or three days : 
 it is then laid in the sun to dry, and when 
 about half dried it is rubbed over with the oil 
 of cocoa : it is again exposed to the sun to 
 dry, and oiled again a second time. The 
 fruit is then collected in small bundles, and 
 wrapped up in the leaves of the Indian reed. 
 Neither in Guiana nor in Mexico is the 
 vanilla- plant cultivated, but the fruit is col- 
 lected by the natives, who sell it to the 
 Europeans. 
 
 VAPOUR consists of ponderable matter 
 combined with sufficient heat to enable it to 
 retain its aeriform state. The difference be- 
 tween vapour and gas is one of degree only : 
 for when atmospheric air containing, as it 
 always does, the vapour of water, is suddenly 
 cooled by exposure to a colder substance, the 
 water which it contained in the state of invi- 
 
 sible vapour it deposited in the state of pal- 
 pable water on the colder body; and many 
 gaseous bodies which were once considered as 
 permanently elastic have been shown by the 
 important investigations of Dr. Faraday to be 
 reducible to liquids. [EVAPORATION.] 
 
 VARNISH is a fluid applied to the surfaces 
 of various articles, as wood, &c., and which, 
 by the evaporation or chemical change of a 
 portion, leaves upon them a shining coating 
 impervious to air and to moisture. Varnishes 
 may be divided into three classes, alcoholic or 
 spirit varnishes, volatile oil varnishes, and 
 fixed oil varnishes. 
 
 Spirit varnishes are in general prepared 
 very readily, are easily applied, soon become 
 dry, and emit no disagreeable smell : they 
 are, however, liable to crack or scale off, and 
 are incapable of resisting friction or blows. 
 The following are among the most approved 
 spirit varnishes : Take of mastich 6 ounces, 
 sandarach 3 ounces, reduced to fine powder, 
 and add 4 ounces of coarsely-powdered glass, 
 which prevents the resins from agglomerating 
 into a mass, or sticking to the bottom of tho 
 vessel; digest in a quart of spirit of wine, 
 contained in a loosely-corked vessel for three 
 days in a warm room, shaking the mixture 
 frequently ; then add 3 ounces of melted 
 Venice turpentine to the warm solution, 
 stirring thoroughly till mixed ; let the mixture 
 remain in a warm room for about a week, and 
 then strain it. This is a strong varnish ap- 
 plied to chairs and other articles of furniture. 
 Another varnish is formed of copal which has 
 been liquified and afterwards very finely 
 powdered, 3 ounces, mastich 2 ounces, and 
 elemi 1 ounce ; digest in a warm room in a 
 quart of spirit, and when the solution is com- 
 plete, add 2 ounces of Venice turpentine. 
 This is a good varnish for violins and other 
 musical instruments. For different purposes 
 the ingredients of spirit varnishes are consi- 
 lerably varied : seed-lac, benzoin, anime, or 
 xankincense, entering into the composition, 
 according to the use to be made of them. 
 
 The only essential or volatile oil largely 
 used in varnishes is oil of tm-pentine, or, as 
 tis commonly called, spirit of turpentine; and 
 one of the best varnishes into the composition 
 f which it enters is copal varnish. This is 
 jhiefly used for pictures. Another powerful 
 famish is prepared by adding to highly 
 rectified oil of turpentine about an eighth of 
 ts weight of caoutchouc. 
 
 In these varnishes the volatile solvents 
 evaporate, but in the case of fixed oil var- 
 nishes, the solvent undergoes a chemical 
 shange, and dries with the substance dis- 
 olved these are sometimes termed fat var- 
 
1741 
 
 VASES. 
 
 VASES. 
 
 1742 
 
 nislies. One kind of fixed oil varnish con- 
 sists of a mixture of 4 ounces of copal, which 
 has been liquefied and finely powdered, oil of 
 turpentine, and drying linseed oil, each 10 
 ounces ; digest in a gentle heat till the whole 
 is dissolved; strain it after standing a few 
 days. This forms a solid and nearly colour- 
 less glazing, and dries easily at common tem- 
 peratures. 
 
 The varnish tree of Birma and Japan 
 abounds in every part with a viscid ferrugin- 
 ous juice, which quickly becomes black by 
 the contact of the atmosphere. The varnish 
 is collected by inserting pointed joints of 
 bamboo, which are closed at the other end, 
 into wounds made in the trunk and principal 
 boughs. The joints of bamboo are removed 
 after from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, 
 and their contents, which rarely exceed a 
 quarter of an ounce, emptied into a basket 
 made of bamboo and rattan, previously var- 
 nished over. In Birrna almost every article 
 of household furniture intended to contain 
 either solid or liquid food is lacquered by 
 means of this varnish. It is also much em- 
 ployed in the process of gilding : the surface, 
 being first besmeared with this varnish, has 
 then the gold leaf immediately applied to it. 
 The beautiful Pali writing of the Birmese, on 
 ivory, palm-leaves, or metal, is entirely done 
 with this varnish in its native and pure 
 state. 
 
 VASES. The most numerous class of 
 ancient vases are those painted vases of dried 
 or baked clay which have of late years been 
 discovered by thousands in Etruria, southern 
 Italy, Sicily, Greece, and some of the Grecian 
 islands. Such vases are frequently found in 
 tombs, catacombs, and other depositories of 
 the dead. The period during which the art 
 of vase painting completed its development 
 from the rudest elements to the highest per- 
 fection, is comprised in the three centuries 
 before the Christian sera, from B. c. 500 to 
 about 200. 
 
 The most convenient criterion for classify- 
 ing the ancient vases is their style of painting, 
 which alone affords a very obvious distinction, 
 and also marks the different stages of the art. 
 They may be thus classed as follows : 
 
 1. Vases with paintings in the Egyptian 
 style. The vases are of a pale yellow colour, 
 on which the figures, generally of animals or 
 flowers, are painted in a black or brown colour, 
 sometimes with the addition of purple or 
 white tints. Grace is entirely wanting. These 
 vases occur most frequently in the tombs of 
 Volci in Etruria, and in those of Nola ; and 
 they are supposed to have been made about 
 B. c. 500. 
 
 2. Vases with paintings in the archaic or 
 ancient style. The vases of this class have 
 black figures on a red ground, and the figures 
 are no longer mere animals and ornaments 
 of the vessels, but contain scenes taken from 
 the stories about the gods and heroes of 
 Greece, and from the occurrences of ordinary 
 life. The form of these vases, which is 
 usually that of the amphora, has a freedom 
 and elegance of proportions which are wanting 
 in those of the first class ; and they vary 
 greatly in size. The peculiarities of the de- 
 signs are strong outlines of the main parts of 
 the human body, and the expression of the 
 highest degree of physical strength. In the 
 representation of animals, especially horses, 
 there is sometimes a considerable degree 
 of boldness and beauty. The majority of 
 vases of this class are generally believed 
 to have been made previous to the year 
 B. c. 430. 
 
 3. Vases with painting in the severe style. 
 In the vases of this class the figures are red, 
 the natural colour of the clay, on a beautiful 
 black ground. The most striking features in 
 the design are a certain moderation and har- 
 mony. The drapery forms varied and rich 
 folds, though they show a conventional regu- 
 larity. The heads are worked with great care, 
 and sometimes are truly graceful ; the hands 
 and feet are better drawn than on the vases 
 of the former classes. The subjects repre- 
 sented are the same as those on the vases of 
 the second class, but repose is more frequent 
 than action. The forms of the vases are 
 elegant, and they present great variations 
 both in shape and size. They occur most 
 frequently in Etruria and at Nola. Vases of 
 this class are commonly assigned to the 
 period from B. c. 460 to 420. 
 
 4. Vases with paintings in the beautiful style. 
 In all the vases which are regarded as the 
 true representatives of this pei-iod, all harsh- 
 ness and severity of style have disappeared : 
 liveliness in the composition, perfect freedom 
 in action and movement, as well as in the 
 drapery, are the essential characteristics of 
 this style. The colour of the figures, as in 
 the third class, is the natural red of the cloy, 
 and white is used to represent a variety of 
 things, such as ribbons, garlands, the flames 
 of torches, and the like. The inscriptions 
 too are usually painted in white. Vases of 
 this class are not often found in Etruria: 
 they are most frequent in Nola, Sicily, and 
 Attica. The vases of this class, which show 
 the highest perfection of the art, appear to 
 belong to the period beginning with the year 
 B. c. 400. 
 
 5. Vases with paintings in the rich style. 
 
1743 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 These differ but little from the preceding 
 class, and are often difficult to assign with 
 certainty. The designs are frequently exe- 
 cuted with considerable carelessness, and 
 show the sinking condition of the art. The 
 best specimens of this class of vases are of 
 extraordinary beauty, but the worst of them 
 are so bad that they can scarcely be regarded 
 as the works of Greeks. 
 
 There is a large collection of these vases, 
 including all the classes, in the British 
 Museum. 
 
 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. To treat 
 of botanical classification, or of the pheno- 
 mena of vegetable growth, would be beyond 
 the limits of the present work. In respect to 
 the vegetable substances employed in food, 
 medicine, and the arts, many are described 
 under their proper headings. 
 
 When the Commissioners were forming 
 the skeleton for the arrangements of the 
 Great Exhibition, they devoted one of the 
 four sections of the entire collection to Raw 
 Materials and Produce; and this section they 
 divided into animal, vegetable, and mineral. 
 It may be useful to give here, in an abridged 
 form, the system on which vegetable sub- 
 stances were divided. 
 
 The whole series of vegetable substances, 
 so far as usefully employed, were placed in 
 four groups: 1st. Substances used chiefly in 
 food; 2nd. Materials used chiefly in the chemi- 
 cal or medical arts ; 3rd. Materials for build- 
 ing, clothing, dbc. ; 4th. Miscellaneous substances. 
 The first group comprised agricultural pro- 
 duce, such as corn, pulse, oil seeds, &c. ; 
 dried fruits and seeds ; substances used in 
 the preparation of drinks ; spices and condi- 
 ments ; different varieties of starch ; different 
 varieties of sugar ; fermented liquors and dis- 
 tilled spirits from unusual sources. The 
 second group comprised different varieties of 
 gum ; resins, such as balsams, gum resins, 
 and elastic gums ; oils, such as volatile oils, 
 fat oils, drying oils, solid oils, and wax ; acids 
 and alkalies ; dyes and colours ; tanning sub- 
 stances ; intoxicating drugs ; medicinal sub- 
 stances. The third group comprised fibrous 
 substances, such as cordage and clothing 
 materials ; cellular substances ; timber and 
 fancy woods. The last group, as its name 
 pretty nearly implies, comprised all the sub- 
 stances which could not very well be included 
 under any of the other three, and which were 
 necessarily of a diverse character. 
 
 So far as was practicable, this system of 
 classification has been attended to in the 
 arrangement of the Exhibition ; but it has un- 
 avoidably happened that some of the varieties 
 are less fully represented than others. 
 
 VELVET MANUFACTURE. 1744 
 
 VEGETABLE WAX. Various plants yield 
 a substance like wax, which is obtained, like 
 the vegetable butter, by bruising and boiling 
 them in water, when the wax melting floats 
 to the surface, and there concretes on cooling. 
 Of these the most remarkable instance is the 
 ceroxylon andicola, the wax palm, palma de 
 cera of the American Spaniards. Myrica gale, 
 candleberry myrtle, or sweet gale, a native of 
 this country, yields a substance resembling 
 bees'-wax when its catkins or cones are boiled 
 in water : so myrica cerifera, a native of North 
 America, yields a similar substance when its 
 berries are thus boiled : candles are made of 
 it also, whence the plant is commonly called 
 tallow-shrub or candleberry tree. Myrica 
 quercifolia, a native of the Cape of Good Hope, 
 is another species which yields a vegetable 
 wax. It grows along the coast, on dry sandy 
 plains exposed to the sea-air, where hardly 
 any other plants will vegetate. The wax in 
 vests the berries in the form of a rough crust, 
 which is separated by means of boiling water. 
 It is of a greenish colour, but may be bleached. 
 When made into candles it gives a very fine 
 light. A vegetable wax is also obtained in 
 China from ligustrum luddum, which is fre- 
 quently mentioned as the wax tree in Dr. 
 Abel's and other travels. 
 
 TELOCIMETER. Various machines have 
 been invented and introduced under this name 
 for measuring velocities. Dixon's Velocimeter 
 is intended to measure the speed of railway 
 trains ; it is somewhat complicated in arrange- 
 ment ; but when placed in connexion with one 
 of the wheels of the engine or carriage, there 
 is a kind of clock-work mechanism which 
 shows how often the wheels have revolved, 
 and consequently how much space has been 
 passed over in a given time. In one form it 
 simply indicates to the engine driver the speed 
 of the train ; but by an additional apparatus 
 it may be made to register its results on paper. 
 Mr. Alliot patented a peculiar method, in 
 1849, of determining the velocity of a railway 
 train by the pressure of water in a chamber or 
 vessel. Mr. Berthon's apparatus for measur- 
 ing the velocity of a ship's motion through the 
 water is noticed under LOG AND LOGI.INE. 
 
 VELVET MANUFACTURE. This beau- 
 tiful substance is mostly a silk fabric, re- 
 markable for the softness of its surface. This 
 softness is owing to a loose pile or surface of 
 threads, occasioned by the insertion of short 
 pieces of silk thread doubled under the shoot, 
 weft, or cross threads. These stand upright 
 so thickly as entirely to conceal the inter- 
 lacing of the warp and shoot. The richness 
 of the velvet depends upon the closeness of 
 the pile-tlirends. The insertion of these short 
 
1745 
 
 VENEERING. 
 
 VENICE. 
 
 1746 
 
 threads is effected in the following manner : 
 Instead of having only one row of warp- 
 threads, which will he crossed alternately over 
 and under hy the shoot, there are two sets, 
 one of which is to form the regular warp, 
 while the other is to constitute the pile ; and 
 these two sets are so arranged in the loom as 
 to he kept separate. The quantity of the pile- 
 thread necessary is very much more than that 
 of the warp-thread ; and therefore must be 
 supplied to the loom hy a different agency. 
 
 If the pile-threads were worked in among 
 the shoot, in the same way as the warp- 
 threads, the fabric would he simply a kind of 
 double silk, but without any kind of pile ; the 
 pile-threads are therefore formed into a series 
 of loops, standing up from the surface of the 
 silk ; and by subsequently cutting these loops 
 with a sharp instrument, the pile is produced. 
 Thin brass wires are temporarily woven in 
 among the weft-threads, to assist in forming 
 the loops ; and by a delicate cut or scission 
 made with a sharp instrument, the loops are 
 cut and the wires liberated. Striped velvets 
 are produced by some of the pile-threads being 
 uncut. 
 
 Cotton is now employed, as well as silk, in 
 the manufacture of velvet. The different 
 varieties of fustian are a kind of cotton-velvet. 
 
 VENEERING is the art of laying thin 
 leaves, called Veneers, of a valuable kind of 
 wood upon a ground or foundation of inferior 
 material, so as to produce articles of elegant 
 appearance at smaller cost than if they were 
 composed entirely of the ornamental wood. 
 Small veneers are cut by hand with a thin 
 saw, the block being held firmly in a vice; 
 but large ones are usually cut by machinery. 
 They are carefully brought to the right thick- 
 ness by fine planes ; cut precisely to the re- 
 quired shape ; and then glued down to the 
 ground, which should be of dry wood, with 
 strong glue. Precautions are taken to prevent 
 the veneer from springing or loosening before 
 the glue is dry. The work is afterwards 
 finished with very fine planes and scrapers, 
 and polished with fish-skin, wax, and a brush 
 or polisher of shavegrass. 
 
 Mr. Meadows patented a veneering machine 
 in 1849, by which, by means of clamps and 
 screws of peciiliar kind, he can veneer surfaces 
 much more curved and tortuous than can 
 usually be so treated. 
 
 VENEZUELA. This republic of South 
 America is rich in vegetable produce. The 
 articles of cultivation which are grown for 
 exportation are cotton, indigo, cacao, coffee, 
 sugar, tobacco, and cocoa-nuts. Indigo, 
 which was once the most important object of 
 cultivation, is much neglected, and cotton, 
 
 coffee, and sugar have taken its place ; but 
 indigo is still grown in some places within the 
 coast-range. The cocoa-palm is met with to 
 the height of 700 feet, and yields valuable 
 articles of export. The tobacco is of the best 
 quality, and includes the well-known Varinas. 
 Maize is extensively cultivated all over the 
 country, but wheat only in the more elevated 
 tracts. Rice is grown in a few places in the 
 lower tracts, and barley only on the declivity 
 of the Andes. Millet is also an object of cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 Venezuela is not rich in minerals. Gold is 
 found in several places, and a valuable mine 
 has recently been discovered in the mountains 
 south of the Orinoco. Silver, tin, copper, 
 iron, and lead occur ; but only the copper ore 
 is worked profitably. Coal, natron, salt, and 
 petroleum are found in different places. 
 
 The few manufactures of this country are in 
 the Sierra Nirgua and on the declivities of the 
 Andes, at Tocuyo, Barquicimeto, Trujillo, and 
 Merida, where straw hats, hammocks, coarse 
 cotton cloth, some worsted stuffs, and earthen- 
 ware, are made. The commerce of Venezuela 
 diminished greatly during the war of inde- 
 pendence, but it has since recovered. Cus- 
 tom duties are laid on the importation of hard- 
 ware, cottons, woollens, silks, linens, and about 
 forty miscellaneous articles. The income and 
 the expenditure of the republic for 1846 were 
 each about 2,000,000 dollars. 
 
 The British produce and manufactures ex- 
 ported to Venezuela in 1849 amounted in value 
 to 56,066/. 
 
 VENICE. This far- famed city has fallen 
 greatly from its once high importance ; but it 
 will ever remain a most remarkable place. 
 The islands on which the city stands are about 
 80 in number, divided from each other by 
 narrow canals, which form the highways of 
 communication, as streets in other towns, and 
 are spanned by 450 bridges. Carriages and 
 horses are useless, and therefore not seen in 
 Venice, and their place is supplied by boats 
 called ' gondole,' which are continually plying 
 "n all parts of the town. The city is two miles 
 distant at the nearest point from the main 
 and, and has a circumference of about 8 miles. 
 There is a tide from the Adriatic, which rises 
 a few feet over the lagunes, part of which are 
 eft nearly dry at ebb, excepting the 7 large 
 canals, which intersect the lagunes, and keep 
 up the communication between the city and 
 the ports of Malamocco and Chioggia on the 
 Adriatic, and the landing-places of Mestre, 
 Fusina, and others on the main land. The 
 arsenal or dock-yard is surrounded by a high 
 wall, and occupies an area of about three 
 miles in circumference. When the Abb* 
 
1747 
 
 VERDIGRIS. 
 
 Kichard saw it (1 76 1-2), there were about 
 forty ships of war, of which twelve were three- 
 deckers, in the docks ready for sea ; arms for 
 150,000 men, 2500 pieces of brass ordnance, 
 besides 1500 iron cannon, and vast stores of 
 provisions ; cables, sails, timber for ship-build- 
 ing, brought from the forests of Istria and 
 Dalmatia, and all other appurtenances of such 
 an establishment. The arsenal is now the 
 dockyard for the insignificant Austrian navy. 
 A railroad has been formed between Venice 
 and Verona. The mercantile shipping of the 
 port has assumed a new activity, and trades 
 all over the Mediterranean. The number of 
 vessels which enter the port of Venice yearly 
 is between 1200 and 1300, including small 
 craft; and Venice has seemed within the last 
 ten or twelve years to show symptoms of com- 
 mercial revival ; but the disasters of 1849 gave 
 it a severe check. 
 
 VERDIGRIS. [COPPER.] 
 
 VERDITER. [COPPER.] 
 
 VERMICELLI is a dried paste, manufac- 
 tured chiefly in Italy, in the form of smooth 
 round strings. The name has been given to it 
 on account of its worm-like appearance, ver- 
 micelli in Italian signifying ' little worms.' 
 Maccaroni is manufactured of the same kind 
 of paste as vermicelli, and in a similar man- 
 ner; but is rather larger in diameter, and is 
 hollow like the tube of a tobacco-pipe. Fede- 
 lini is a kind still smaller than vermicelli. 
 
 The paste is made of wheat stripped of the 
 husk, and ground roughly into a sort of grit. 
 The kind of wheat preferred by the Italians is 
 a small hard-grained species which they now 
 cultivate on purpose, but which they formerly 
 imported from the coasts of the Black Sea 
 * Grano di Mar Nero.' The ground wheat is 
 mixed with clear soft water, and made into a 
 paste by kneading it on a large block. The 
 toughness and. elasticity of the paste result 
 from a long and powerful process of kneading. 
 The paste is next forced by strong pressure 
 through round holes in the bottom of a cylin- 
 der ; but, to form maccaroni, a wire extends 
 from a bridge in the upper part of the cylinder 
 through the centre of each of the largest holes, 
 and the paste, being forced through each hole 
 around the wire, is consequently hollow. The 
 strings, several feet in length, whether of 
 maccaroni, vermicelli, or fedelini, having been 
 thoroughly dried, are ready for use. 
 
 The Italians manufacture the paste into 
 many other forms ; into thin flat strips like 
 ribbons, into thin sheets like paper, into round 
 balls, and into beans and peas. The Neapoli- 
 tans, who use great quantities of maccaroni as 
 their favourite food, use nothing but the pure 
 paste of wheat and water, but the Genoese mix 
 
 VINEGAR MANUFACTURE. 1748 
 
 saffron with it, which gives it a yellow tinge. 
 The French, who also manufacture a good deal 
 of it, frequently season the paste with various 
 condiments. 
 
 VERMILLION. [MERCURY. 
 
 VERMONT. A few statistical and indus- 
 trial notices of Vermont will be found under 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 VIENNA. This large and important city, 
 besides being the centre of the Austrian do- 
 minions, is likewise the principal seat of com- 
 merce and manufactures. Its commerce is 
 with Hungary, Turkey, Italy, and other 
 countries. Since the establishment of the 
 Danube Steam Navigation Company, whose 
 vessels go to Constantinople, Trebizond, and 
 Smyrna, the trade with the Levant has greatly 
 increased. Manufactures of every land are 
 carried on in Vienna, and employ above 80,000 
 workmen. The principal are, silk, velvet, 
 shawls, gold and silver lace, cottons, woollens, 
 ribbons, carpets, leather, porcelain, jewellery, 
 mathematical and musical instruments, fire- 
 arms, gold and silver plate, Avatches, fine 
 cutlery, carriages, gloves, lace, straw hats, 
 paper, (fee. 
 
 Tho beautiful specimens of household fur- 
 niture which adorn the Austrian division of 
 the Great Exhibition are mostly from Vienna. 
 
 VINEGAR MANUFACTURE. The re- 
 lation which vinegar bears to the acetic and 
 pyroligneous acids is noticed under ACETIC 
 Acm. In countries which produce wine vine- 
 gar is obtained from the acetous fermentation 
 of wine ; but in this country it is usually pro 
 cured from malt, and the process employed 
 resembles the first stages of the brewer's 
 operations. [BREWING.] The malt is ground 
 and mashed with hot water. The wort, after 
 being cooled, is transferred to the fermenting 
 tun, where by the addition of yeast it under- 
 goes the acetous fermentation ; and when this 
 is over the liquor is transferred to small ves- 
 sels, which are kept warm by means of a 
 stove : in these it remains for a shorter or 
 longer period, according to the temperature of 
 the stove and the strength of the liquor. The 
 process of acetification is assisted by intro 
 ducing into the casks with the wort what is 
 called rape, which is a quantity of the residuary 
 fruit which has served for making domestic 
 wines, or has been preserved by the vinegar- 
 maker from one process to another in his own 
 factory. The use of the rape is to act as an 
 acetous ferment, and thus induce sourness in 
 the wash, it being well impregnated with 
 vinegar and continually kept sour. Acetifica- 
 tion is sometimes carried on by transferring 
 the wort, after it has undergone the vinous 
 fermentation, into casks, the bungholes of 
 
1749 VINES; VINEYAKDS. 
 
 which are left open and loosely covered with 
 tiles ; the casks are then exposed for . a long 
 time to the air ; but the use of stoves has 
 greatly superseded this mode, has abridged 
 the time of the operation, and rendered it 
 less liable to failure. The vinegar, after it 
 has reached its greatest degree of sourness, 
 is rendered clear and fit for use either by 
 subsidence or by the employment of isinglass. 
 
 Vinegar may be prepared in small quantities 
 from the fermentation of a solution of sugar 
 mixed with yeast ; or it may be obtained by 
 the fermentation of various fruits ; thus the 
 juice of good apples contains a sufficiency of 
 sugar to afford tolerably good vinegar without 
 any addition. 
 
 In France vinegar is made from poor wine ; 
 and there are two kinds the white, prepared 
 from white wine ; and the red, by the acetifi- 
 cation of the red wine : these are finer fla- 
 voured and somewhat stronger than the malt 
 vinegar of this country. 
 
 Vinegar acts as an effectual preservative from 
 the putrefactive fermentation of dead 
 tissues, and is hence employed as the means 
 of forming pickles, or meat in a dried state, by 
 simply immersing the substance in it for a 
 few minutes. Wood vinegar, or pyroligneous 
 acid, is most efficacious for this purpose, 
 owing to the creasote present in it. Crude 
 pyroligneous acid is one of the most effectual 
 applications to timber, both to prevent the dry 
 rot and the ravages of insects. Concentrated 
 acetic acid acts on the living tissues as a 
 caustic poison ; applied to the skin it causes 
 heat, redness, and rapid inflammation. 
 
 VINES; VINEYARDS. The cultivation 
 of the vine extends from near 55 N. lat. to the 
 equator; but in south latitudes it only extends 
 as far south as 40. In Middle Germany 
 the vine culture ceases at 1000 to 1500 feet 
 above the level of the sea; on the south 
 slope of the Alps it reaches 2000 feet ; in 
 the Apennines and Sicily 5000 ; and on the 
 Himalaya as much as 10,000 feet. 
 
 The spots where the vine flourishes and 
 where vineyards are kept up are said to depend 
 more on the climates of spring and autumn 
 than on those of summer and winter ; and this 
 explains many seeming anomalies in the lo- 
 cation of vineyards. The vine grows best in a 
 soil where few other shrubs or plants would 
 thrive, such as a deep loose rocky soil. On 
 the steep slopes of hills towards the south, 
 and sheltered from the north-east, the grapes 
 attain the greatest maturity, and the vintage i 
 most certain. The culture of the vine is 
 perhaps one of the most anxious and fatiguing 
 which field labour presents, so numerous are 
 the demands on the time and attention of the 
 
 VIRGINAL. 
 
 1750 
 
 organic^ but thicker in the 
 
 grower. The vine will hear any degree of heat, 
 but not heat combined with moisture ; hence 
 a wet European season is usually a bad wine 
 season. 
 
 Grapes, as is well known, are a favourite 
 fresh fruit. They are also made into British 
 or home-made wine in this country. In hotter 
 countries they are dried and prepared into 
 raisins and currants. But the most abundant 
 employment of grapes is in making wine. We 
 may refer for further details to BORDEAUX : 
 CHAMPAGNE ; CLARET ; CURRANTS ; GRAPES ; 
 RAISINS ; WINE MANUFACTURE ; WINE TRADE. 
 
 VIOL, was an ancient musical instrument, 
 which may be considered as the parent of all 
 modern instruments of the violin family. It 
 was a fretted instrument, of three sorts 
 treble, tenor, and base, each furnished with 
 six strings, and played on by a bow. The 
 Treble Viol was rather larger than our violin, 
 and the music for it was written in the treble 
 clef. The Tenor Viol was in length and 
 breadth about the size of the modern viola, 
 body, and its notation was in 
 the soprano or o clef. The Base Viol scarcely 
 differed in dimensions from our violoncello : 
 the music for it was written in the base clef. 
 Other instruments of the viol kind are nu- 
 merous. The Flol da Oamba was the last 
 survivor of the family of viols. It derived its 
 name from being held between the legs. It 
 has been superseded by the violoncello. The 
 Viola,) or Tenor Violin, is a larger kind of 
 violin, to which the part between the second 
 violin and base is assigned. It has four gut 
 strings, the two lowest covered with silver 
 wire, which are tuned A, D, G, and c, an octave 
 above the violoncello. The Violin has been 
 known, in some shape, in most countries, and 
 from very early times. The modern violin has 
 four gut strings, the last, or lowest, covered 
 with silver wire. These are tuned in 5ths, 
 E, A, D, G. The wood of which the instru- 
 ment is made is generally of three sorts : the 
 back, neck, sides, and circles are of sycamore ; 
 the belly, bass-bar, sound-post, and six blocks, 
 of deal ; the finger-board and tail-piece of 
 ebony. The finest violins are those which were 
 made at Cremona, by the family of the Amati, 
 and by Straduarius and Guarnerius. The 
 Violoncello is an instrument of four gut strings, 
 the two lowest covered with silver wire, and 
 tuned in 5ths, A, D, o, and c. 
 
 VIRGINAL. This musical instrument is 
 now entirely disused. It was a keyed instru- 
 ment of one string, jack, and quill, to each note, 
 like a spinet, but in shape resembling the pre- 
 sent small pianoforte. The compass was from 
 the 2nd added line below the base to the 2nd 
 added line above the treble, or four octaves. 
 
1751 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 WAFER, 
 
 1755 
 
 VIRGINIA. [UNITED STATES.J 
 VITRIOL. [COPPER; IRON; ZINC.] 
 VITRIFICATION. Illustrations of the 
 process of vitrification will be met with under 
 ENAMEL; GLASS-MANUFACTURE; GLASS -PAINT- 
 ING ; POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. 
 
 VOLTAISM; VOLTAIC ELECTRICITY. 
 In so far as this interesting science has a 
 bearing on practical results, the reader will find 
 various details under ELECTRIC LIGHT, ELEC- 
 TRO METALLURGY, ELECTRO MOTIVE FORCE, 
 ELECTROTYPE, and TELEGRAPH. 
 
 VOTING MACHINE. A singular con- 
 trivance has been lately invented in France 
 for registering the votes of deliberative assem- 
 blies. It is primarily intended for taking the 
 votes at the National Assembly; and the As- 
 sembly granted 30,000 francs for its construc- 
 tion ; but if the principle and the action are 
 found to be correct, many useful applications 
 of the machine will present themselves. The 
 mechanism and arrangement are as follow. 
 
 Before the commencement of a sitting of 
 the Assembly, the ushers deposit on the desk 
 of each representative a small case, very 
 closely resembling a domino-box, containing 
 ten small oblong plates of polished steel. Six 
 of these, upon which, with the name of the 
 particular member, the word pour, or aye, is 
 engraved, are white in colour : four, which 
 also bear a member's name, are inscribed 
 with contre^ or no, and are blue. When a 
 division has been demanded and accorded, 
 twelve ushers remove twelve balloting-boxes 
 or urns from the secretaries' desk, and con- 
 vey them to the different parts of the Cham- 
 ber. On the upper surface of each urn are 
 two separate apertures, designed to receive 
 the ballots, signifying aye and no respec- 
 tively. 
 
 The edges of the steel balloting plates are 
 milled or grooved, so as to correspond ex- 
 actly with the apertures ; and accordingly, 
 neither an affirmative nor a negative ballot 
 can find its way into the receptacle in- 
 tended for votes in the contrary sense. As 
 soon as the ushers have made the round 
 of the whole Assembly, the urns are taken to 
 the president. Up to this time they have not 
 exhibited anything which distinguishes them 
 materially from common balloting boxes ; but 
 the moment a small door is opened in front 
 of them, the full ingenuity of the invention 
 is disclosed. By a delicate mechanical con- 
 trivance, each piece of steel, as it slipped into 
 the compartment proper to it, has been made 
 to fall evenly and horizontally on the top of 
 the ballot inserted immediately before it, so 
 that the whole of the ballots are found to have 
 arranged themselves in two completely regular 
 piles, consisting of white and blue plates 
 respectively. By each pile is a scale of de- 
 grees graduated with nearly as many divisions 
 as there are members in the Assembly, and 
 from this scale the president proceeds to read 
 off the height of the piles precisely as we read 
 off the height of the mercurial column from 
 the register of a thermometer. Since the 
 thickness of all the steel ballots is exactly the 
 same, the height of each pile, as determined 
 by the scale, denotes accurately the number 
 of votes which have been given for or against 
 a proposition ; and when the results from the 
 several urns have been combined, the general 
 result of a division is known of course imme- 
 diately. 
 
 Another voting machine, having many 
 distinctive features, has been patented in 
 England, and a specimen deposited in the 
 Great Exhibition. 
 
 W 
 
 WAFER is a small round piece of dried 
 paste, which is used to fasten letters. The 
 piece of consecrated cake which is given by 
 the Roman Catholic priest in extreme unction 
 is also called a wafer ; and thin cake formed 
 into a roll, and called wafers, is still sold by 
 pastrycooks. In fact the word was used in 
 England to signify a thin cake long before 
 wafers for sealing letter's were invented. 
 Waffd is the name given by the Germans to 
 a thin cake made with flour, eggs, sugar, &c. ; 
 the Dutch call such a cake wafel, and the 
 
 Danes vaffd. The Anglo-Saxons also had 
 the name wafftl. 
 
 In malting common wafers for securing 
 letters, wheat flour is mixed with isinglass 
 and white of egg into a paste ; the paste is 
 spread evenly over tin plates, several of which 
 are piled one on another and put into an oven. 
 The layer becomes thus botli baked and 
 polished. When baked, the layers are taken 
 from the tins, piled into a heap an inch or 
 more in depth, and cut into wafers by means 
 of hollow punches. They arc coloured with 
 
1753 
 
 WALES. 
 
 WALES, NEW SOUTH. 
 
 1754 
 
 the usual mineral colouring materials. Me 
 dallion wafers are made of very pure glue 
 coloured to any desired tint. A seal or 
 medallion is moistened with a weak solution 
 of either white or coloured gum, which gum 
 is wiped off all except the sunken parts. The 
 glue is then poured over the medallion in a 
 very thin layer ; and the result produced is a 
 medallion wafer, either white or coloured, but 
 standing out in relief from a ground of another 
 colour. Isinglass or gelatine wafers are made 
 of a coloured solution of isinglass, which is 
 poured in a very thin layer on a glass plate 
 and afterwards cut into any desired form. 
 
 WALES. The principal manufacture in 
 Wales is that of iron, and this is chiefly con- 
 fined to Glamorganshire. Large quantities 
 of ore are raised in that county, where the 
 most extensive smelting furnaces in the em- 
 pire are to be met with. In 1840 South 
 Wales had 132 furnaces in operation, which 
 consumed during the year about 1,436,000 
 tons of coal, and produced 505,000 tons of 
 iron. North Wales had 12 furnaces, which 
 consumed about 110,000 tons of coal, and 
 produced 26,500 tons of iron. In .1847 the 
 total quantity produced in Wales was 884,000 
 tons. The principal iron-works are at and 
 around Merthyr-Tydvil, Tredegar, Aberdare, 
 and Ruabon. 
 
 Copper- ore, brought from Cornwall and 
 other parts of England, from Ireland, and 
 foreign countries, is smelted in large quan 
 tities at Swansea. The average quantity of 
 ore smelted there in 16 years (1833 to 1848), 
 was 194,142 tons; the average quantity of 
 copper produced was 18,567 tons. 
 
 The great coal-field of South Wales affords 
 employment to a number of hands. The 
 quantity of coal exported at the different 
 ports of South Wales and Monmouthshire 
 in 1848 was nearly two million tons. North 
 Wales also yields some coal and iron, from 
 the vicinities of Wrexham and Kuabon in 
 Denbighshire. Lead (with some silver ore) 
 and copper are raised in Anglesey, Cardigan- 
 shire, and other parts of Wales, as well as 
 large quantities of slate, limestone, and mar- 
 ble. Various manufactures in lead, iron, 
 copper, and brass are carried on at Holywell 
 in Flintshire. Flannel in considerable quan- 
 tities, coarse cloth, and stockings are manu- 
 factured in Montgomeryshire and other parts 
 of North Wales. 
 
 Further illustrations of the industry of 
 Wales will be found under COPPER; GLA- 
 MORGAN; IRON; MERTHYR TYDVIL; SWAN- 
 SEA. 
 
 WALES, NEW SOUTH. The produce of 
 this colony is briefly adverted to under AUS- 
 
 TRALIA. The following details relate to its 
 commerce and produce in recent years. 
 
 In 1848 the shipping inwards amounted to 
 199,304 tons ; outwards, to 187,322 tons. The 
 wool exported was 22,969,711 Ibs., valued at 
 1,240,1447. On Jan. 1, 1849, the total num- 
 ber of sheep in the colony was 11,660,819 ; of 
 cattle, ], 752,852; of horses, 113,895; of pigs, 
 70,875. The produce of wheat in 1848 was 
 1,528,874 bushels ; of maize, 262,340 bushels ; 
 of barley, 145,219 bushels ; of oats, 116,634 
 bushels ; of potatoes, 14,954 tons ; of tobacco, 
 3059 cwts. ; of hay, 37,795 tons ; of wine, 
 103,106 gallons ; of brandy, 1263 gallons. 
 
 The value of the imports and exports in 
 recent years is shown as follows : 
 
 Imports. Exports. 
 
 1844 .... 931,3007 1 ,128,1007. 
 
 1845 1,233,900 1,556,000 
 
 1846 1,600,500 1,481,500 
 
 1847. . . . 1,982,000 .... 1,870,000 
 
 1848 1,556,500 1,830,400 
 
 1849.... 1,793,400 .....1,891,300 
 
 In the years 1846 and 1847, the imports 
 exceeded the exports ; in the other four the 
 exports exceeded the imports. 
 
 The relative value of imports and exports 
 per head of population was as under : 
 
 Imports Exports 
 per head, per head. 
 
 1844-46) (61. 18s. .. 77. 11s. 
 
 1847.49 }P erannmn l7/. 19s. .. 87. 6s. 
 
 The following results relate to the countries 
 of which the imports and exports are re- 
 spectively the produce or manufacture : 
 
 IMPORTS. 
 
 Articles the produce or manufacture 
 
 of the United Kingdom 1 ,207,800?. 
 
 Less re-exported 108,900 
 
 Retained for home consumption . . 
 Articles the produce or manufacture 
 
 1,098,900*. 
 
 373,800 
 
 of other British dominions 149,100 
 
 Less re-exported 18,600 
 
 Retained for home consumption . . . 130,50!) 
 
 Articles the produce or manufacture 
 
 of Foreign States 436,500 
 
 Less re-exported 62,700 
 
 Retained for home consumption . . 
 Total imports retained for home 
 
 consumption 1 ,603,200J. 
 
 EXPORTS. 
 Articles the produce or manufacture 
 
 of New South Wales , 1,701,100 
 
 Net excess of exports over imports. S7 .9001. 
 
 The trade to and from Great Britain was as 
 follows : 
 
 Imports from. Exports to. 
 
 1844 643,4007 854,9007. 
 
 1845 777,100 1,254,900 
 
 1846 1,119,300 1,130,200 
 
 1847 .... 1,347,200 .... 1,503,100 
 
 1848 1,084,100 1,483,200 
 
 1849 .... 1,371,200 . . . .1,572,600 
 
1755 
 
 WALNUT TREE. 
 
 The annual averages of the trade with this 
 country per head of the population were about 
 
 as follows : 
 
 Imports Exports 
 per head, per head. 
 
 1844-40) /4J. 12s. .. 51. 17s. 
 
 1847-49 } per annum | 5/> 13s _ 6/< 16s> 
 
 The value of articles the produce or manu- 
 facture of New South Wales exported in the 
 three years 1844-46, was 3,335,200/.; the 
 value of those articles exported in the last 
 three years was 4,971,600/., being an increase 
 of 1,636,400/., or more than 39 per cent. 
 
 WALNUT -TEEE. The uses of the 
 walnut-tree are various. Before the introduc- 
 tion of mohogany and other foreign woods, 
 the wood of the walnut-tree was held in higher 
 estimation than that of any other European 
 tree ; and many specimens of furniture and 
 carving still exist, to testify the beauty (some- 
 what sombre) of the wood. In almost every 
 stage of its growth the fruit of the walnut- 
 tree is used. When young, green, and tender, 
 walnuts are pickled and preserved with the 
 husks on. About the end of June they may 
 be preserved with or without the husks. 
 When the nuts are fully ripe, which is gene- 
 rally at the end of September or the beginning 
 of October, the kernel, deprived of its investing 
 skin, is eaten in great quantities. As long 
 as the skin can be easily removed, they are a 
 nutritious and healthy article of diet; but 
 when they get dry, so that their skins stick to 
 them, they become indigestible. A great num- 
 ber of the walnuts consumed in England are 
 of foreign growth. 
 
 The albumen which constitutes the bulk of 
 the seed of the walnut contains an oil, which 
 is used in large quantities, especially on the 
 Continent. It is obtained by reducing the 
 seeds to a pulp by means of a stone wheel 
 and basin, and then expressing the oil, first 
 without heat, and then by the application of 
 heat. The oil obtained by heat is used by 
 artists, and also for lamps. 
 
 All parts of the walnut-tree, excepting 
 the albumen of the seed, possess a bitter 
 principle, which acts as a tonic and anthel- 
 mintic, and was formerly much esteemed as a 
 medicine. 
 
 WARMING AND VENTILATION. 
 Under the headings ARNOTT'S STOVE, COOKING 
 APPARATUS, and STOVE, descriptions are given 
 of various grates, stoves, and Jire -places ; other 
 modes of wanning buildings call for a little 
 notice here. 
 
 The employment of steam-boilers in large 
 establishments where steam-engines are 
 worked, is one of the circumstances which 
 have led to the very extensive adoption of the 
 
 WARMING; VENTILATION. 1756 
 
 .nethod of warming by steam. A marked 
 difference is observable in the principle of 
 >his method, as compared with that of hot- 
 air warming. The steam is not permitted to 
 mingle with the air of the room which is to 
 ae warmed, but acts through the medium of 
 lie metallic tube which confines it, and which 
 t raises to a temperature sufficient to warm 
 :he room. The efficacy of this mode of 
 leating depends on the great capacity for heat 
 which steam possesses, a capacity equal to 
 1000 ; that is, a pound of water at 212 will 
 absorb a thousand degrees of heat in becoming 
 a pound of steam. Mr. Scott Russell calcu- 
 ates that a room containing 500 cubic feet of 
 air, and exposing 400 feet of surface, may be 
 maintained at a temperature of 20 above 
 that of the air without that is to say, at 00 
 in the inside of the room when the atmos- 
 phere is at 40 without for a space of twelve 
 hours, by the evaporation of two gallons of 
 water, and at the expense of about three 
 pounds of coal. This mode of heating 
 buildings is adopted to a very large extent in 
 the steam-power factories. 
 
 The method of heating by hot water, 
 though not so much adopted in factories as 
 the steam method, is perhaps of more ex- 
 tensive application in other buildings. Where 
 all the apartments to be warmed are on one 
 level, an open boiler may be used ; but where 
 it is necessary to carry the pipes to different 
 floors of a building, some of them much 
 above the level of the boiler, the boiler must 
 in that case be closed. When an open boiler 
 is employed, a pipe branches out from the 
 upper part of the side, extends horizontally 
 through the rooms to be warmed (without in 
 any case rising above the level of the water 
 in the boiler), and returns again to the boiler, 
 which it enters at a lower level than the other. 
 Under this arrangement a current of heated 
 water will flow from the boiler at the upper 
 orifice, and, after traversing the tube, return 
 to the lower orifice. The closed boiler is 
 however more extensively useful, since it 
 enables all the stories of a building to be 
 warmed by one apparatus. The whole system, 
 including both tubes and boiler, is filled with 
 water at a valve at the highest puint; and 
 when heat is applied to the boiler, a circu- 
 lation ensues which speedily causes the whole 
 length of tubing to become hot. Various 
 modifications of this hot-water system nre 
 adopted in the new Houses of Parliament, 
 in the British Museum, and other public 
 buildings. 
 
 Ventilation. There is an important but 
 often neglected circumstance attending the 
 artificial warming of buildings, viz. that the 
 
1757 WARMING; VENTILATION. 
 
 amount of fresh air, requisite under any 
 condition for animal respiration, must be more 
 and more increased in proportion to the fuel 
 burned in the room ; or, more correctly, there 
 must be one portion of air to feed combustion, 
 and another portion to aid respiration. 
 Tredgold, Arnott, Reid, and others, have cal- 
 culated the quantity of air required for these 
 purposes. Tredgold states that when a room 
 containing several persons is heated to the 
 average and customary degree, it will be 
 necessary to supply four times as many cubic 
 feet of fresh air per minute, as there are 
 persons in the room ; that is, four feet for 
 each person. But there must be an outlet 
 for the vitiated air equal to the inlet for pure 
 air ; and as it is found that respired air ascends 
 to the upper part of the room, it follows that 
 the ceiling or some neighbouring part is the 
 proper place for an outlet. 
 
 In ordinary English houses no steps what- 
 ever are taken to regulate either the supply 
 of pure air or the exit of vitiated air ; but it 
 is probable that our large fire-places regulate 
 this matter tolerably well. In crowded rooms 
 however, where the amount of vitiated breath 
 bears a much larger ratio to the cubical con- 
 tents, and where the doors are generally small 
 compared with the height of the room, the 
 impure air cannot escape by these means, and 
 some arrangements must be made near the 
 ceiling for the removal of the air. These 
 methods are chiefly of two different kinds; 
 the one by the use of a revolving wheel or 
 fan -ventilator, and the other by the action of 
 a chimney or tube. At the Keform Club- 
 House, London, a steam-engine works a 
 revolving fan, capable of throwing eleven 
 thousand cubic feet of air per minute into a 
 subterranean tunnel under the basement story ; 
 and the steam from the small steam-engine 
 which works the fan supplies three cast-iron 
 chests with the requisite heat for warming the 
 whole building. 
 
 The second mode of effecting ventilation, 
 viz. by the use of a tube or chimney opening 
 into the air from the upper part of an apart- 
 ment, depends for its action on the ascensive 
 power possessed by a lofty aerial column. As 
 the heated air of n furnace-chimney carries 
 up the smoke, &c., more rapidly if the chimney 
 be very lofty, so does a lofty chimney exceed 
 a low one in cam ;rig off vitiated air ; and for 
 the same reason, e pen if no chimney, properly 
 so called, be provided, a lofty room, furnished 
 with appropiiate openings in its ceiling, will 
 furnish a draught to carry off impure air more 
 rapidly than a low room; and in many of 
 our public buildings this arrangement is 
 deemed sufficient. 
 
 WATER. 
 
 ]758 
 
 Dr. Arnott has made use of the ascending 
 force of the column of heated air in an ordi- 
 nary chimney as a means of ventilating 
 ordinary sitting rooms, by placing a balanced 
 valve in an opening from the room into the 
 chimney. He has also introduced very re- 
 cently a mode of ventilating large buildings 
 by applying the pressure of a column of 
 water to work a forcing air-pump. These 
 admirable contrivances, so worthy of the 
 accomplished physician to whom they are due, 
 are noticed under AENOTT'S VENTILATOR. 
 Many forms of ship-ventilation depend on the 
 use of an air-pump. 
 
 WARWICKSHIRE. The minerals of 
 this county consist chiefly of one small coal 
 field, and some quarries of gritstone. There 
 are no less than 170 miles of canal in this 
 county ; and it is also Avell supplied with rail- 
 ways. Warwickshire stands on the verge of a 
 manufacturing district and contains within 
 itself many busy towns. The two most 
 notable of these, in an industrial point ol 
 view, are noticed elsewhere. [BIRMINGHAM ; 
 COVENTRY.] 
 
 WATCH. [CLOCK AND WATCH MAKING.] 
 
 WATER, in its liquid, aeriform, or solid 
 state, is universally diffused through na- 
 ture. It was once considered as one of the 
 four elements, and is in common language 
 still frequently so termed. Water however is 
 now known to be a compound substance con- 
 sisting of hydrogen and oxygen. It is colour- 
 less, transparent, inodorous, and insipid; it 
 is an imperfect conductor of heat and electri- 
 city ; it is very slightly compressible, yielding 
 only .ibout 46-65 millionths of its bulk to the 
 pressure of the atmosphere. Its specific 
 gravity is 1, being the unit to which the den- 
 sity of all liquids and solids is referred, as a 
 convenient standard, on account of the faci- 
 lity with which it is obtained in a pure state. 
 Like all other fluids and substances it expands 
 by exposure to an increase of temperature ; 
 and with a curious exception, the dilatation 
 within certain limits is proportionate to the 
 degree of heat to which it is subjected. When 
 water is heated to a certain point, which is 
 arbitrarily fixed on the scale of Fahrenheit's 
 thermometer at 2] 2, it acquires the greatest 
 volume it is capable of assuming ; it then 
 boils, and is converted into vapour. Steam at 
 212 occupies about 1700 times as much space 
 as the water does from which it is generated. 
 It is upon the elastic force of steam commu- 
 nicated by heat, and the instantaneous annihi- 
 lation of it by cold, that the working of the 
 steam-engine depends. 
 
 Water is seldom found in a state of perfect 
 purity, but, from its great solvent and ab- 
 
1759 
 
 WATER. 
 
 WATEB. 
 
 1760 
 
 sorbent power, it is impregnated with a variety 
 of saline substances, gases, and animal and 
 vegetable substances, either living or under- 
 going a process of decomposition. The 
 effect of these is to communicate different 
 properties, and generally give it a peculiar 
 taste, and not unfrequently an odour, which, 
 if not cognisable by the blunted senses of 
 man, is so by animals, especially the camel, 
 which can scent water at a great distance in 
 the desert. The specific gravity is often 
 much increased, especially that of sea-water 
 and of mineral waters, from the saline ingre- 
 dients, and of some of the great rivers, from 
 the quantity of mud and other matters which 
 they contain. 
 
 Sain- Water is commonly reckoned the 
 purest : but it is by no means so free from 
 accidental impregnations as is generally sup- 
 posed. Whatever foreign ingredients exist 
 in the atmosphere of any place are brought 
 to the ground by the first rain that falls. Rain- 
 water, from, its great purity, has high solvent 
 powers, which fit it well for the part it has to 
 perform in the economy of nature, and also 
 for many operations in the laboratory. In 
 this respect it is nearly equal to distilled 
 water. The surface water of sandy districts 
 is the purest that can be obtained naturally. 
 
 Dew differs little from rain, save in con- 
 taining more atmospheric air. Ice-water 
 differs when first obtained, from rain, in being 
 destitute of atmospheric air, and hence it 
 cannot sustain respiration in fishes ; it is for 
 the same reason mawkish and insipid ; but 
 by exposure to the air it speedily absorbs 
 a due proportion. Snow-water is nearly 
 similar. 
 
 Spring-water is of various degrees of purity, 
 according to its source and the strata through 
 which it passes. Its most common source is 
 rain, which percolates through some of the 
 superficial strata, and, meeting with some 
 obstacle, is forced up to the surface. Eiver- 
 watcr mostly originates in springs, augmented 
 by rain-water. If it flows over sand or granite, 
 it is found very pure, depositing in its course 
 many earthy salts, especially the calcareous 
 ones, from the escape of carbonic acid. This 
 circumstance renders the water vapid, and 
 less pleasant to drink than spring-water. It 
 possesses however the property of absorbing 
 much oxygen ; hence the surface-water both 
 of rivers and the ocean holds more oxygen 
 than the atmospheric air, to the amount even 
 of 29-1 per cent. This contributes both to 
 the maintenance of the respiration of fishes, 
 and these, in their turn, to the growth of 
 aquatic plants. Well-water is generally 
 obtained from a greater depth than spring- 
 
 water. It is also generally hard, or is apt to 
 become so if kept in a reservoir lined with 
 bricks, unless they be coated with an insolu- 
 ble cement. The water from old wells is 
 more pure than from recent ones, the soluble 
 particles being all gradually washed away. 
 The pump and well waters in and about 
 London, and chalky districts in general, are 
 mostly hard. 
 
 Lake-water varies much in its composition. 
 The main difference depends on the lake pos- 
 sessing an outlet or being destitute of one. 
 The water of the former generally corresponds 
 with that of the rivers which flow into it ; but 
 the flow becoming slower, there is more scope 
 for the development of animal and vegetable 
 matters, and for the decomposition of organic 
 remains. 
 
 Marsh-water is stagnant, and abounds in 
 animal and vegetable remains, either in a 
 state of decomposition or passing into new 
 combinations, generally of a low grade, as the 
 lowest members of the vegetable kingdom 
 and those of each section of the animal are 
 mostly aquatic. These waters are for the 
 most part unwholesome, both from the gases 
 they emit, and also when used as drink. 
 Impure or putrid water may be rendered pure 
 by adding alum or recently prepared charcoal, 
 or by simply pouring it from one vessel into 
 another in the sun. 
 
 Sea-water abounds in saline matters so 
 much, that it is unfit for use internally, except 
 in small quantity as a medicine. Sea-water 
 may be rendered fit for drinking by pressure, 
 filtration, and freezing, or simply by boiling 
 it, and condensing the steam as it arises. 
 For many chemical, pharmaceutical, and even 
 dietetical purposes, water must be of greater 
 purity than it is generally found. For this 
 end it is directed to be distilled, in which 
 process never more than two-thirds of the 
 water put into the still should be allowed to 
 pass over. 
 
 Mineral Waters are generally characterised 
 by possessing some principle different from 
 what is found in common water, or some of 
 the ordinary principles in unusual proportion ; 
 yet among these are reckoned certain springs 
 which have no claim to repute beyond what 
 is due to their extreme purity, such as Malvern 
 and Holywell, or to having a higher tempera- 
 ture throughout the year than the mean of the 
 latitude where they we situated. These last 
 are classed among the thermal springs, which 
 are properly divided into two sections, the 
 mineralised hot springs and the unmineralised^ 
 among which are some only tepid, such as 
 Matlock, where some springs, are 66 the 
 lowest of the class in Britain, and others cold, 
 
1761 
 
 WATER SUPPLY. 
 
 presenting this peculiarity, that the tepid 
 springs arise from fifteen to thirty yards above 
 the level of the river Derwent, whilst those 
 which arise either above or below this range 
 are cold. 
 
 For practical purposes mineral-waters may 
 be classed under four heads, each susceptible 
 of secondary heads, according as they are hot 
 or cold, or have other peculiarities, viz. : 
 saline, alkaline, chalybeate, and sulphureous. 
 
 It has never ceased to be an object of 
 interest to determine whether sea- water can 
 be so distilled on board a ship as to yield 
 drinkable fresh-water. Many processes have 
 been devised for this purpose ; but all have 
 been wanting in some one or more desired 
 qualities. Some of the government ships 
 have lately been provided with Grant's Dis- 
 tilling and Cooking Galley ; during the period 
 it is required to keep the fires alight in these 
 galleys for purposes of cooking, the distilla- 
 tion of salt water is going on so as to yield 
 one gallon of distilled water per man per day. 
 Like all distilled water, it is vapid at first from 
 the loss of oxygen during the process ; but the 
 motion of the ship is said to aerate the dis- 
 tilled water in the tanks, by agitation. Expe- 
 riments have been made in one of the govern- 
 ment ships, to see whether the oxygen might 
 be restored to distilled water by an electrical 
 current passed through it; but this seems too 
 complicated an arrangement for the rough 
 usages of a ship. 
 
 WATER SUPPLY; WATER WORKS. 
 Before the building of New London Bridge, 
 a considerable part of the metropolis was 
 supplied with water by machinery, placed close 
 to the old bridge ; but that machinery being 
 removed, other arrangements for supply have 
 had to be made. 
 
 The following are the modes in which 
 London is now supplied with water. The 
 New River Company obtains its supply from 
 the rivers Lea and Armwell ; the East London 
 Company from the river Lea ; the Hampstead 
 Company from springs near Hampstead ; the 
 Grand Junction Company from the Thames 
 near Kew; the West Middlesex Company from 
 the Thames near Barnes; the Chelsea Com- 
 vany from the Thames near Chelsea; the 
 Soulhwarh and Vauxhall Company from the 
 Thames near Battersea and the Lambeth 
 Company from the Thames near Thames 
 Ditton. When certain new arrangements of 
 the various companies are complete, no sup- 
 ply will be obtained from the Thames at a 
 lower point than Chelsea. Most of the com- 
 panies have filtering or settling reservoirs, 
 for purifying the water a little before it reaches 
 the service mains. 
 
 WATERPROOF COMPOSITIONS. 1762 
 
 The agitation for improved and increased 
 water supply is well known to all newspaper 
 readers ; some projectors suggest that water 
 should be obtained from a yet higher point in 
 the Thames; some select the Verulam; some 
 the Wandle ; some the Colne. Many think 
 that Artesian Wells might supply the whole 
 of London ; while a recently proposed plan, 
 which has been received with much favour, is 
 for catching the rain-water over a large sandy 
 surface. The subject is now before the legis- 
 lature. 
 
 See other details under AQUEDUCTS ; AR- 
 TESIAN WELLS. 
 
 WATERFORD. The Waterford mountains 
 contain two varieties of slate: the old tran- 
 sition slate, coloured gray, which is extensively 
 used for roofing, and the newer slate, which 
 rests on the older ; the lower portions of its 
 strata consist of alternating beds of brownish- 
 red quartzose conglomerate and coarse red 
 slate. The valleys are occupied by limestone, 
 and there is a clay-slate district, which con- 
 tains several copper and lead mines, some of 
 which are worked. Iron-ore is also found. 
 Of the entire area of the county (461,553 
 acres) 325,345 acres are arable, 105,496 un- 
 cultivated, 23,408 in plantations, and the rest 
 covered by water or occupied by towns. The 
 common course of tillage is potatoes, wheat, 
 oats, and again potatoes; but some of the 
 better farmers grow only one corn crop in the 
 course. The common Irish cow is the general 
 dairy stock. 
 
 In Waterford town the exports are chiefly 
 to England, and almost wholly agricultural 
 bacon, pork, butter, grain, flour and meal, 
 cattle, sheep, and pigs. The gross produce of 
 the customs' duties in 1848 was 134,897/. 
 The sailing vessels registered as belonging to 
 the port in 1848 were 78 under 50 tons, and 
 123 of 50 tons and upwards; the aggregate 
 burden was 23,244 tons; steamers, 14 (3187 
 tons). 
 
 WATERPROOF COMPOSITIONS. 
 Many patents have been taken out for 
 methods of rendering cloth and leather water- 
 proof. In 1835 Mr. Hellewell, of Salford, 
 took out a patient for a solution, which, by 
 immersion, should render cotton and other 
 fabrics waterproof ; it is a composition of rock 
 alum and whiting in water, and its action is 
 aided by a subsequent application of soap and 
 water. Mr. Hall, of Doncaster, patented in 
 1839 a method of watei-proofing cloth by im- 
 mersion ; one solution described consists of 
 alum, white lead, and water ; and another of 
 alum, white lead, acetic acid, and water; and 
 the cloth, after steeping in one of these solu- 
 ions, is passed through a solution of quick 
 
3703 WATERPROOF COMPOSITIONS. WATERPROOF COMPOSITIONS. 17C4 
 
 lime, and a third time through a solution of 
 boiled Irish moss, which acts as a mucilage. 
 There are other patents of a somewhat similar 
 character to the above, and there have also 
 been numerous methods published hut not 
 patented. 
 
 The s urfacn- application of a species of Tar- 
 nish has been the subject of many patents. 
 A composition was introduced for this pur- 
 pose some years ago, formed of linseed oil, 
 pipe-clay, burnt umber, white lead, pounded 
 pumice stone, and one or two other sub- 
 stances. This was not intended as a water- 
 proof composition for ordinary clothing, but 
 rather for tarpauling, awnings, coach-top 
 covers, boat-cloaks, and other coarse ma- 
 terials. Mr. Newberry's patent, taken out in 
 1140, is for a mode of applying waterproof 
 composition in such away as to leave one 
 side of the woven fabric free from its in- 
 fluence, thereby presenting to the eye a tex- 
 ture nearly resembling that of ordinary cloth. 
 The application of a layer of cement, gum, or 
 varnish between two other substances, with a 
 view to render the inner one impervious to 
 water, has been practised under many dif- 
 ferent modifications, including that which is 
 known by the name of the inventor, Mackin- 
 tosh. In the year 1824 Mr. Weise, of Ber- 
 mondsoy, devised a peculiar kind of fabric, 
 which consists of fibrous materials spun into 
 yarn ; the yarn is dipped in caoutchouc solu- 
 tion before weaving ; and in order to render 
 the meshes impervious to water, the cloth is 
 drawn over a heated cylinder, whereby the 
 composition is so far melted as to flow into 
 them. The waterproof or Macintosh cloth is 
 made by applying a layer of dissolved caout- 
 chouc to cotton or other cloth. The cloth 
 is stretched upon frames and brushed over 
 with it ; and the surfaces of two such pieces, 
 while in a partially damp state, are laid one 
 upon another, and pressed between rollers 
 till they firmly and inseparably unite. The 
 double fabric thus produced is wholly imper- 
 vious to water, and is at the same time free 
 from any adhesive substance on the surface. 
 
 The useful application of air for beds, 
 cushions, seats, and similar articles, is de- 
 pendent on the formation of air-tight cases ; 
 and this air-proof quality is brought about by 
 nearly the same means as waterproofing. 
 When a bag has been made of caoutchouc or 
 similar cloth, and rendered also air-tight by 
 somewhat similar means at the seams, air 
 may be passed into it as a substitute for more 
 solid materials. In practice there are some 
 very neat arrangements adopted in effecting 
 this. Temporary air-seats or cushions are 
 made by forming a bag of air-tight cloth, 
 
 perfectly enclosed at every part except one 
 corner, where is inserted a small tube and 
 stop-cock, capable of admitting or preventing 
 communication from the interior to the ex- 
 terior. The cock being opened, and the tube 
 applied to the mouth, air is blown into the 
 cushion, until it expands to the desired degree 
 of fulness ; the cock is then closed, and the air 
 remains imprisoned. In this state the cushion 
 is of a more equable kind than any one stuffed 
 with solid materials ; and if the envelope be 
 well made, it will retain its efficacy for a long 
 time. When not in use, such a cushion can 
 have the air expressed from it, and may then 
 be folded up into a small space. 
 
 It is obvious that seats, cushions, pillows, 
 and beds of various kinds, having a similar 
 object in view in respect to softness, fulness, 
 and elasticity, may be made by similar means. 
 When the quantity of air included in an 
 envelope is greatly increased, it may be made 
 the means of producing actual pressure in a 
 more equable way than by any solid bodies. 
 Thus, an air-tight bandage, so formed, is often 
 used in surgical operations. 
 
 The patents for caoutchouc waterproof 
 materials taken out by Mr. Hancock, Mr. 
 Sievier, and other inventors, within the last 
 few years, are so exceedingly numerous that 
 we can only speak of them generally. One 
 patent is for cutting cotton and other fibres 
 into very small fragments, mixing them with 
 dissolved caoutchouc, and forming sheets of 
 material from this mixture. Another patent 
 relates to a method, in which very thin sheets 
 of caoutchouc are cemented by a solution of 
 caoutchouc to gauze, bobbin net, or other 
 open material ; and on this, as a ground, and 
 with a similar cement of quick-drying caout- 
 chouc, is laid a stratum of fibres. The fibres 
 are pressed and dressed; and the open and 
 extensible meshes of the gauze or bobbin-net 
 give to the whole an elasticity which closely- 
 woven textures cannot impart. 
 
 The attempts to render leather waterproof 
 depend in general on the filling up of the 
 small pores which have previously admitted 
 the tannin, the substance imbibed being such 
 as will repel or resist water. Many such 
 compositions have been proposed at different 
 times, of which the mention of a few will 
 here suffice. Melt over a slow fire a quart of 
 boiled linseed oil, a pound of mutton suet, 
 three-quarters of a pound of yellow bees'- 
 wax, and a half a pound of common resin, or 
 smaller quantities in the like relative pro- 
 portions ; and with this mixture saturate the 
 Leather of new boots or shoes, while the latter 
 is slightly warm. Another method is to melt 
 two ounces of yellow bees'-wax, two ounces of 
 
1765 
 
 WATT, JAMES. 
 
 WATT, JAMES. 
 
 17C6 
 
 Burgundy pitch, and two ounces of turpentine, 
 in a pint of linseed oil, and with this mixture 
 to saturate the warm leather. Another mix- 
 ture for this purpose consists of six ounces of 
 caoutchouc boiled for two hours in two quarts 
 of linseed or neat's-foot oil. Lastly, a mode 
 has been much recommended of applying a 
 hot mixture of two parts tallow and one part 
 resin, with which the leather may be com- 
 pletely saturated, the resin imparting an 
 antiseptic quality to the tallow. 
 
 WATT, JAMES. Of all the great men 
 whose names are indissolubly connected with 
 the history of the steam-engine, James Watt 
 undoubtedly takes the lead. Watt was born 
 at Greenoek in 1736; and in his 16th year he 
 was apprenticed to an instrument maker in 
 Glasgow. At the end of three years he re- 
 moved to London, in 1755, and placed himself 
 with a mathematical instrument maker ; but 
 in little more than twelve months the state 
 of his health compelled him to return to 
 Scotland. 
 
 Shortly after his return from London, Watt 
 established himself as an instrument maker 
 within the precincts of Glasgow University. 
 In 17G3 Professor John Anderson, who then 
 occupied the chair of natural philosophy in 
 the university, having requested him to 
 examine and repair a small model of New- 
 comen's steam-engine, which could never be 
 made to work satisfactorily, his sagacity led 
 him to discover and remove the defects of 
 this model; and he also discovered the im- 
 perfections of the machine itself, and was led 
 to investigate those properties of steam upon 
 which its action depended. The character of 
 Watt's improvements is briefly noticed in the 
 article STEAM-ENGINE. He next opened a 
 shop in the Salt Market, Glasgow, where he 
 continued to make improvements in the 
 steam-engine; and where, in addition to his 
 employment as a mathematical instrument 
 maker, he devoted much time to the practice 
 of land-surveying. He afterwards adopted 
 the profession of a civil engineer. In 1768 
 he found in Dr. John Roebuck an individual 
 capable of appreciating the value of his im- 
 provements in the steam-engine, and suffi- 
 ciently enterprising to support him in further 
 experiments. The assistance of this gentle- 
 man enabled him to set up an engine, for 
 which he obtained a patent, Jan. 5, 1769. 
 Matthew Boulton, of Soho near Birmingham, 
 purchased Roebuck's share ; and in 1774 
 Boulton and Watt entered into partnership. 
 
 At the latter end of 1774 Watt completed 
 at Soho his fourth model engine, which was 
 exhibited to a deputation from the Cornish 
 miners, and to other persons competent to 
 
 judge of its performances, which were deemed 
 highly satisfactory. Perfect however as was 
 the action of the improved machine, the 
 patentees knew that much remained to be , 
 done to bring it into extensive operation; 
 and they succeeded in obtaining an extension 
 of the patent till the year 1800. Of the 
 spirited manner in which Boulton conducted 
 the mercantile department of the great ad- 
 venture some idea may be formed from the 
 fact, that upwards of 47,000/. was spent before 
 the patentees began to receive any return; 
 but at length their remuneration began to 
 pour in, and in no scanty stream. They 
 were, however, put to great expense by legal 
 proceedings against infringements of their 
 patent, and in defence of the patent itself. 
 
 At a social meeting of scientific men, a 
 suggestion was thrown out which led Watt to 
 the invention of the useful little machine 
 known as the Copying Press, for which he 
 obtained a patent. Towards the latter end of 
 1786, on a visit to Paris, undertaken at the 
 instance of the French government for the 
 purpose of suggesting improvements on the 
 Machine de Marly, Watt became acquainted 
 with Berthollet, whose method of bleaching 
 with chlorine he brought to this coimtry, and 
 introduced, with certain improvements of his 
 own, in the bleach-works of Mr. Macgrigor, 
 near Glasgow, whose daughter he had married 
 in 1775. 
 
 Concerning Watt's share in the discovery 
 of the composition of water, an investigation 
 in which he, Cavendish, and Lavoisier, \vere 
 engaged about the same time, we must refer 
 those -who are curious to Arago's Life or 
 'Eloge' of Watt, and to the 'Historical Ac- 
 count of the Discovery of the Composition of 
 Water,' by Lord Brougham. 
 
 One of the last of the projects to which 
 Watt devoted his attention after his retire- 
 ment from business was a machine for copy- 
 ing sculpture, with which he proceeded so far 
 as to execute several specimens. 
 
 In acknowledgment of his invaluable ser- 
 vices it was intimated to Watt a few years 
 before his death, that 'the highest honour 
 usually conferred in England on men of 
 literature and science (knighthood) was open 
 to him, if he expressed a wish to that effect;' 
 but while he felt flattered by the intimation, 
 he determined to decline it. He became a 
 member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 
 in 1784, of that of London in the following 
 year, of the Batavian Society in 1787, and in 
 1808 a correspondent of the French Institute ; 
 and in 1814 the 'Academic des Sciences ' of 
 the Institute elected him one of its eight 
 foreign associates. IB 1 806, by a spontaneous 
 
1767 
 
 WAX. 
 
 WEAVING. 
 
 17C3 
 
 vote, the university of Glasgow conferred 
 upon him the honorary degree of LL.D. In 
 1824 a subscription was entered into for a 
 statue, which was sculptured by Chantrey, 
 and is now in Westminster Abbey. Another 
 statue by Chantrey adorns an elegant chapel 
 erectediy Watt's only surviving son, at the 
 parish church of Handsworth, near Birming- 
 ham, in the chancel of which he was interred. 
 Other statues have been erected in St. George's 
 Square, Glasgow, and in the university of 
 Glasgow. 
 
 Every Exhibition of manufactures owes a 
 debt to James Watt, of which it would be in 
 vain to attempt to determine the value. 
 
 WAX. There are several varieties of this 
 substance. Bees' Wax is a secretion from the 
 ventral scales of the bee. With this sub- 
 stance the comb is constructed. From the 
 comb the wax is extracted chiefly by pressure 
 and by melting it in hot water, in which the 
 impurities subside, after which the wax is 
 poured into moulds. The wax has a yellowish 
 or orange colour, and a peculiar odour. Even 
 in winter it is soft enough to be indented by 
 the nail, and in summer it is much softer. It 
 melts at about 143 to 150 Fahr. 
 
 White Wax is obtained by melting yellow 
 wax by means of steam, running it off into a 
 perforated trough called a Cradle, from which 
 it falls into water. By this means the wax is 
 solidified and converted into a kind of ribbon ; 
 it is afterwards bleached, re-melted, re 
 bleached, and refined. Pure wax thus ob- 
 tained is nearly devoid of smell, and is white 
 with a yellowish tint ; it is brittle and insipid ; 
 its melting point is 158 Fahr., and it solidifies 
 at 149. 
 
 Sealing Wax is not properly a wax. It is 
 composed of shel-lac f4 parts), Venice Turpen- 
 tine (1 part), and cinnabar (3 parts). The 
 round sticks of sealing-wax are made by hand 
 on a smooth slab of marble, which is kept at 
 a moderate temperature by a brazier or chafing- 
 dish placed beneath it. A quantity sufficient 
 to make about six sticks is rolled out on the 
 slab into one long stick, which, when of 
 proper diameter, is cut into lengths. The 
 sticks are then rolled on a cold slab beneath 
 a smooth piece of wood or metal, and are 
 afterwards polished by gently fusing the sur- 
 face, and devices are stamped upon them. 
 Sticks of a more complicated shape are cast 
 in moulds. For the best black sealing-wax, 
 the finest ivory-black is substituted for the 
 cinnabar. Inferior materials are used for 
 cheap wax. Soft sealing-wax contains bees'- 
 wax in the place of the shell-lac. 
 
 A peculiar kind of wax is yielded by the 
 Ctroxylon Andicola, or Wax-Palm of South 
 
 America. Near the Andes this tree grows in 
 all its grandeur, elevating its majestic trunk, 
 coated with a thick incrustation of wax, to the 
 height of 180 feet among the most rugged 
 precipices of the wild region which it inhabits. 
 It does not extend over more than 15 or 20 
 leagues of country altogether. The trunk is 
 distinctly marked by rings caused by the fall 
 of the leaves, which are from 18 to 20 feet 
 long. The spaces between the rings are pale 
 yellow, and smooth like the stems of a reed, 
 and covered with a thick coating of wax and 
 resin. This substance, melted with a third 
 of fat, makes excellent candles. Vauquelin 
 ascertained that this vegetable matter consists 
 of two-thirds resin, and one-third-wax, which 
 is only a little more brittle than bees'-wax. 
 
 WEATHEK GLASS. [BAROMETER.] 
 
 WEAVING. We shall glance rapidly over 
 this subject in the following order : Plain 
 Weaving; Pattern Weaving ; Double Weaving ; 
 Cross Weaving; Chain Weaving; Pile Weav- 
 ing; Power Weaving. 
 
 Plain Weaving. Calico, Irish linen, and 
 plain silk, are good representatives of this 
 kind of weaving. In the language of weavers, 
 the long threads are called, according to cir- 
 cumstances, warp, twist, caine, or orgaitzine ; 
 while the cross threads are called weft, woof, 
 shoot, or tram. We shall here use the simple 
 terms warp and weft. The warp is always 
 affixed to the loom or weaving machine ; while 
 the weft is contained in the shuttle, a small 
 boat-like instrument. 
 
 The first operation consists in laying the 
 requisite number of threads together to form 
 the width of the cloth : this is called tcarpin g. 
 Supposing there to be 1000 threads in the 
 width of a piece of cloth; then the yarn, 
 wound on the bobbins as it leaves the hand 
 of the spinner, must be so unwound and laid 
 out as to form 1000 lengths, constituting, 
 when laid parallel, the warp of the intended 
 cloth. The ancient method was to draw out 
 the warp from the bobbins at full length in 
 an open field ; and this is still practised in 
 India and China; but the warping -frame is 
 now employed, in which the threads are 
 arranged by means of a frame revolving on a 
 vertical axis. When the warp is arranged 
 around this machine, the warper takes it off 
 and winds it on a stick into a ball, preparatory 
 to the process of beaming, or winding it on the 
 beam of the loom. The threads, in this latter 
 process, are wound as evenly as possible on the 
 beam; a separator, ravel, or comb being used 
 to lay them parallel, and to spread them out 
 to about the intended width of the cloth. 
 Arrangements are then made for drawing, or 
 attaching the warp-threads individually to cer- 
 
1769 
 
 WEAVING. 
 
 WEAVING. 
 
 1770 
 
 tain mechanism of the loom. In this process 
 all the threads are attached to stays fixed to 
 two frames called heddles, in such a manner 
 that all the alternate threads (1st, 3rd, 5th, 
 &c.) can he drawn up or down hy one heddle, 
 and all the rest (2nd, 4th, 6th, &c.) by the other. 
 
 There are three movements attending every 
 thread of weft which the weaver throws across 
 the warp. In the first place he presses down 
 one of the two treadles, by which one of the 
 two heddles is depressed, thereby forming a 
 kind of opening called the sited. Into this 
 shed, at the second movement, he throws the 
 shuttle containing the weft-thread, with suffi- 
 cient force to drive it across the whole web. 
 Then, at the third movement, he grasps the 
 batten, which is a kind of frame carrying at its 
 lower edge a comb-like piece having as many 
 teeth as there are threads in the warp, and 
 with this he drives up the thread of weft close 
 to those previously thrown. One thread of 
 weft is thus completed, and the weaver pro- 
 ceeds to throw another in a similar way, but 
 in a reverse order, that is, by depressing the 
 left treadle instead of the right, and by throw- 
 ing the shuttle from left to right, instead of 
 from right to left. In the commonest mode 
 of weaving the shuttle is thrown by hoth hands 
 alternately ; but about a century ago John Kay 
 invented the fly -shuttle, in which a string and 
 handle Bre so placed that the weaver can work 
 the shuttle both ways with one hand. 
 
 In weaving plain silks, calicoes, and other 
 webs of moderate width, there are two leaves 
 of heddles and two treadles, for dividing the 
 warp into two parcels. In weaving broader 
 webs, such as floor-cloth canvas, the heddles 
 and treadles are more powerful. In weaving 
 ribbons, galloons, &c., the engine-loom is em- 
 ployed, noticed under KIBAND. 
 
 Pattern Weaving. Pattern-weaving has 
 many varieties, in which different colours are 
 combined by weaving. If all the threads of 
 the warp are of one colour, and all those of 
 the weft another colour, it produces the pecu- 
 liar effect called shot patterns. A stripe is a 
 pattern in which parallel lines run either along 
 or across the warp ; while a check is an alter- 
 nation of rectangles like a chess-board, or 
 more properly like the varieties of Scotch 
 plaid. The production of a stripe depends 
 either upon the warper or the weaver; the 
 production of a check depends upon both. 
 [CHECK.] In the twill, which includes satin, 
 bombazeen, kerzeymere, &c., the weft-threads 
 pass over one warp-thread and under two, 
 over one and under three, or over one and 
 under eight or ten, according to the kind of 
 twill ; the effect of this is, to produce a kind 
 of diagonal ribbed appearance, either on the 
 
 * right ' or the wrong ' side of the cloth, and 
 a smooth and glossy appearance on the other, 
 according as the one thread is crossed above 
 or below by the weft. [BOMBAZEEN ; CHECK.] 
 To produce such results, more than two leaves 
 of heddles are required, and more than two 
 treadles to work them ; and the weaver's loom 
 is a much more complicated machine than 
 that for plain weaving. 
 
 When, instead of, or in addition to a twill, 
 the weaver has to produce sprigs, flowers, 
 spots, or any kind of figure, a great increase 
 of complexity occurs. The weft may pass 
 over four and under one at one part of the 
 width of the cloth ; over two and under two at 
 another ; over one and under four at another; 
 according to the part of the figure which may 
 happen to occur at any particular part of the 
 width of the cloth. The complex movements 
 thus rendered necessary gave rise to the inven- 
 tion of tLe draw-loom, in which strings are so 
 arranged that a boy can draw down the requi- 
 site warp-threads preparatory to the movement 
 of the shuttle. Early in the present century 
 two inventions were made with the view of 
 rendering the draw-loom more automatic. 
 One of these, called the draw-boy, not onlj 
 superseded the necessity of employing a bo} 
 to pull the handles, but removed, by the uner- 
 ring certainty of its operation, all possible 
 chance of mistake in pulling the wrong handle. 
 The other was the automatic carpet-loom of 
 Mr. Duncan, in which the threads were moved 
 by pins inserted in a rotating barrel, somewhat 
 on the principle of the musical box. 
 
 But the draw-loom, the draw-boy, and the 
 barrel-loom, have been alike eclipsed by 
 the exquisite apparatus of M. Jacquard. 
 [JACQUARD.] 
 
 Double Weaving. In all the fabrics hitherto 
 noticed, there is but one layer of threads, 
 formed by the intersection of the weft among 
 the warp, both weft and warp being individually 
 single. But there has long been practised 
 the weaving of a kind of double cloth, com- 
 posed of two webs, each consisting of separate 
 warp and weft, but both sets interwoven at 
 intervals. The junction of the two webs is 
 formed by passing each of them occasionally 
 through the other, so that each particular part 
 of both is sometimes above and sometimes 
 below. [CARPET MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 Cross Weaving. Gauze and Bobbin-Net may 
 be taken as the chief representatives of this 
 kind of fabric. Net is the generic name for 
 these goods ; and according as slight deviations 
 were made in the mode of crossing the threads, 
 so were distinctive names given to the material 
 produced ; such as whip-net, mail-net, patent- 
 net, drop-net, spider-net, Paris -net, balloon-net, 
 
1771 
 
 WEAVING. 
 
 <fec. All these varieties are produced at the 
 loom, with warp-threads stretched horizontally, 
 and weft-threads thrown across hy means of a 
 shuttle ; and the difference between them 
 depends on the manner in which the warp- 
 threads were made to cross one another, and 
 in which the weft-thread was thrown. [GAUZE ; 
 LACE MANUFACTURE.] 
 
 Cliain-Wcaving. We may apply this term 
 to a mode of using threads in which a series 
 of loops is formed by a continuous thread, 
 each loop or link being so connected with 
 others as to form a kind of chain ; and this 
 chain -work may either be worked upon a 
 ground woven at the loom, or may constitute 
 the woven material itself. Sampler work, lace 
 running ', tambouring, pillow /ace, rug work, 
 Berlin work, tapestry, all may be regarded 
 as varieties of chain-work. The manufacture 
 of stockings, whether by the humble process 
 of knitting, or by the use of the stocking- 
 frame, is in strictness to be called chain- 
 weaving; for the fabric itself is produced by a 
 series of links or loops in a thread of worsted, 
 cotton, or silk. In the process of knitting, 
 still carried on to a small extent in secluded 
 country districts, polished steel needles or 
 wires are used to link threads together into a 
 series of loops, closely resembling in their 
 character the loops produced in tambouring. 
 But this method has been almost entirely 
 superseded by the ingenious stocking-frame. 
 Various kinds of chain-weaving are noticed 
 under BERLIN WORK ; EMBROIDERY ; HOSIERY 
 MANUFACTURE ; LACE MANUFACTURE ; TA- 
 
 JPESTRY. 
 
 Pile-Weaving. If we examine velvet, fustian, 
 velveteen, moleskin, doeskin, or a Turkey or 
 Wilton carpet, we shall find that in all of these 
 fabrics the warp and weft threads are almost 
 concealed by a kind of down, nap, or pile, 
 which imparts a peculiarly soft and smooth 
 texture to them. Fustians are in fact a kind 
 of cotton velvet, as Turkey carpeting is a 
 woollen velvet. A few details respecting this 
 kind of weaving will be found under CARPET 
 FUSTIAN; VELVET. 
 
 Power-weaving. In 1678 M. de Gennes 
 invented a rude kind of weaving machine 
 intended to increase the power of the common 
 loom; and other looms were invented whicl 
 were to be worked by a winch, by Wi.ter-power 
 or by some contrivance more expeditious than 
 the common hand-weaving ; but a greatei 
 step in advance was made by the invention o 
 Dr. Cartwright's power-loom in 1785. [CART 
 WBIOHT.] One cause which delayed the 
 adoption of power-looms was the necessity fo: 
 stopping the machine frequently, in order t( 
 dress the warp with paste or size, as it unrolle 
 
 WEDGWOOD, JOSEPH. 1772 
 
 rom the beam, which operation required a 
 nan to be employed for each loom, so that 
 here was no saving of expense. But the 
 uccessive inventions ol Kadcliffe, Horrocks, 
 ilarslancl, lloberte, and others, have since 
 rought the dressing-machine and the power- 
 oom to a high state of efficiency. 
 
 Taking a piece of calico as the representative 
 f plain fabrics generally, the mode of proceed- 
 ng in power-loom factories may be shortly 
 ketched as follows ; The warping -frame is so 
 rranged as to be worked by steam -po\ver, and 
 o bring the yarns into a parallel layer, which 
 s transferred to the dressing-machine. This 
 atter is a large piece of mechanism, in which 
 he threads dip into paste on their way to the 
 varp-beam ; undergoing a process of brushing 
 after the dipping. After this dressing the 
 Irawing and mounting for the loom are 
 attended to. When the warp is properly 
 rranged in the loom, steam-power does all 
 he rest: it forms the shed or division of the 
 warp into two parts ; it throws the shuttle ; 
 t drives up the weft with the batten ; it unwinds 
 he warp from the warp-roller; and winds the 
 woven material on the cloth-roller. 
 WEDGE-PRESS. [OiL-Miix.] 
 WEDGWOOD, JOSIAH will ever be asso- 
 ciated with the history of the porcelain and 
 tottery manufacture in this country. He was 
 )orn in 1730 at Burslem, in Staffordshire, 
 where his father, Thomas Wedgwood, and 
 some other members of his family, were en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of pottery, a branch 
 of industry then in a very imperfect state. 
 His education was very limited; and at the 
 age of eleven years Josiah worked in his elder 
 brother's pottery. The small-pox, whicli left 
 an incurable lameness in his right leg, so as 
 afterwards to require amputation, compelled 
 him to relinquish the potter's wheel. After a 
 time he left Burslem, and entered into part- 
 nership with a person named Harrison, at 
 Stoke ; and during this partnership his talent 
 for the production of ornamental pottery is 
 said to have first developed itself. He re- 
 turned to Burslem in 1759, and set up for 
 himself. His business being prosperous, he 
 took a second manufactory, where he made 
 white stone-ware, and a third, at which was 
 produced the improved cream-coloured ware 
 by which he gained so much celebrity. Wedg- 
 wood presented some articles to Queen 
 Charlotte, who ordered a complete table 
 service, and appointed him her potter. He 
 soon afterwards opened a warehouse in tho 
 metropolis for the sale of his productions 
 One of his principal works was liis imitation 
 of the Portland Vase, of which he marlc fifty 
 copies. But though these were sold for fifty 
 
1773 WEIGHING-MACHINE. 
 
 guineas each, that sum did not, it is said, 
 repay him for his expenditure. He succeeded 
 in producing the most delicate cameos, me- 
 dallions, and miniature pieces of sculpture, 
 in a substance so extremely hard, that they 
 appear likely to exceed even the bronzes of 
 antiquity in durability. Another important 
 discovery made by him was that of painting 
 on vases and similar articles, without the 
 glossy appearance of ordinary painting on 
 porcelain or earthenware ; an art which appears 
 to have been lost since the time of Pliny. 
 The fame of his operations was such that his 
 works at Burslem, and subsequently at Etruria, 
 a village erected by him near Newcastle-under- 
 Lyne, and to which he entirely removed in 
 1771, became a point of attraction to numerous 
 visitors from all parts of Europe. The result 
 of Wedgwood's talent and energy not only 
 obtained for him extensive patronage and an 
 ample fortune, but were of the highest import- 
 ance to the commercial interests of his country. 
 
 In addition to the attention bestowed by 
 Wedgwood upon this manufacture, he deserves 
 remembrance for the public spirit displayed 
 by him in the encouragement of various useful 
 schemes. Among these the Trent and Mersey 
 Canal is conspicuous. Wedgwood's pyrometer 
 is noticed elsewhere. [PYROMETER.] He 
 died at Etruria in 1795. 
 
 WEIGHING-MACHINE, is any contriv- 
 ance by which the weight of an object may be 
 ascertained. Under the words BALANCE, 
 GOLD WEIGHING-MACHINE, SPRING-BALANCE, 
 and STEELYARD, the machines by which mate- 
 rials of comparatively small magnitude are 
 weighed are explained. The Weighing -Ma- 
 chine, which is usually employed at the toll- 
 gates on roads for the purpose of determining 
 the weights of laden carriages, may be described 
 as a platform sunk on a level with the road, 
 and made to rest at four points on a double 
 lever of the second kind. [LEVEB.] The 
 extremities of the arms of these levers rest 
 upon a third lever, which may be of the first 
 or second kind ; and this last lever may either 
 serve as a steelyard, or may be connected with 
 one arm of an ordinary balance, or with the 
 extremity of a steelyard. 
 
 Mr. Elliott has sent to the Great Exhibition 
 a new form of weighing-machine, somewhat 
 on the principle of a steelyard, but with certain 
 new features of construction. With one ball 
 or weight of 4 Ibs., the instrument will deter- 
 mine all weights from a quarter of a pound 
 to 56 Ibs. It is also graduated with kilogrammes, 
 to measure French weights. 
 
 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Under 
 APOTHECARIES' WEIGHT, AVERDUPOIS WEIGHT, 
 STANDARD, and TROY WEIGHT, many details 
 
 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 1774 
 
 are given on this subject. We will here give 
 a few brief notices concerning Foreign weights 
 and measures, as they are often useful while 
 reading industrial statistics of foreign countries. 
 
 France. The new French system is called 
 metrical, as derived from the measurement of 
 the earth. Its first measure, the metre, is 
 presumed to be the ten-millionth part of a line 
 drawn from the pole to the equator, and is 
 39.37079 English inches. All the multiples 
 and subdivisions of every measure are decimal, 
 and are formed by the same prefixes. For 
 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000, the syllables Deca, 
 Hecto, Kilo, and Myria are prefixed ; and for 
 tenths, hundredths, thousandths, the syllables 
 Deci, Centi, Milli. Latin prefixes indicate 
 division, Greek prefixes multiplication. Thus 
 the hectometre is 100 metres, and the centi- 
 metre the hundredth part of a metre. The 
 metre being thus settled, the other funda- 
 mental measures are formed as follows : For 
 surface or area, the Arc, which is a deca- 
 metre square, or 100 square metres, or 
 .02471143 of an English acre, or 3.9538 
 English perches. For solidity, the stere, or 
 cubic metre, 35.32 cubic feet English, or 
 220.09687 imperial gallons English. For 
 liquid measures the litre, or cubic decimetre, 
 .22009687 of an imperial gallon, or a very 
 little more than a pint and three quarters 
 English. For weight, the gramme, a cubic 
 centimetre of distilled water at the freezing 
 point, .00220606 of an English pound aver- 
 dupois, or 15.442 grains English. The kilo- 
 gramme is therefore 2.2 pounds averdupois, 
 or, roughly, 50 kilogrammes make a hundred- 
 weight. The franc, the unit of money, is 
 divided into 10 declines, and each decime into 
 10 centimes. The sous is 5 centimes. 
 
 Austria. The metrical system is introduced 
 in the Italian dominions. In Austria proper 
 gold and silver are weighed by the Vienna 
 marc of 4333 grains. The pfund is 1.235 Ib. 
 averdupois. The mctzen is 1 .691 of the English 
 bushel. The rimer is 12.444 gallons. The 
 foot is 12.45 inches; the ell, 30.66 inches. 
 The joch is 1 acre, 1 rood, 28 perches. 
 
 Bavaria. The Augsburg marc is 3643 grains ; 
 24 Ib. commercial weight is 25 Ib. averdupois, 
 and 24 Ib. carriers' weight is 20 Ib. averdupois, 
 nearly. The metzen is 1.515 of the English 
 bushel; fhefuderis 31.24 bushels. The foot 
 (half the short ell) is 11.667 inches. The 
 long ell is 24 inches. The German geographical 
 mile is 4.6 miles English. 
 
 Belgium. The French metrical system. 
 
 Constantinople. The chcquee is 4957 grains. 
 The oke is 2.832 pounds averdupois. The 
 fa7ZoM>(dry) is 7.296 gallons. The almudis 1.150 
 of the English gallon. The pike is 27 inches. 
 
1775 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
 
 Denmark. The pound for gold and silver 
 is 7266 grains. The commercial pound is 
 1.1028 Ib. averdupois. The barrel is 3.8264 
 bushels. The viertel is 1.701 of the English 
 gallon. The foot, or half ell, is the Rhineland 
 foot of 12.356 English inches. The toende of 
 corn is 5J acres. 
 
 Florence and Leghorn. The cantaro is 150 
 pounds of .74864 Ib. averdupois each. The 
 stajo is .6702 of the English bushel. The 
 barile is 10.033 gallons. The braccio is 22.98 
 English inches. The saccata is 1 acre 36 
 perches. 
 
 Frankfort. For gold and silver the Cologne 
 marc. The common pound is 1.03 Ib. averdu- 
 pois. The centner is 112.25 Ib. averdupois. 
 The mailer is 2.9705 bushels. The ohm is 
 32.454 gallons. The foot is 11.27 inches, the 
 ell 21.24 inches. 
 
 Genoa. The pound sottile for gold and silver 
 is 4891.5 grains. The pound grosso is .76875 
 Ib. averdupois. The mina is 3.321 bushels. 
 The mezzarola is 32.57gallons. The palma is 
 9.725 inches. 
 
 Hamburg. The Cologne marc is 3608 
 grains ; the pound troy is two marcs. The 
 Commercial pound is 1.068 Ib. averdupois. The 
 last of wheat (30 scheffels) is 10.9 quarters ; 
 the ahm is 31.85 gallons. The foot is 11.289 
 inches. The schejfe.l of land is 1 acre 6 
 perches. 
 
 Holland. The marc is 3798 grains; the 
 pound is 2 marcs ; but the commercial pound 
 is 1.0893 Ib. averdupois. The last is 10.231 
 quarters. The aam is 34.16 gallons. The 
 JRhinelandfoot is 12.36 inches. The Rhineland 
 perch is 12 Rhineland feet ; and the Rhineland 
 morgen or acre is 2 acres 16 perches. 
 
 Lubeck. For gold and silver, as at Hamburg. 
 The commercial pound is 1.0685 Ib. averdupois. 
 The scheffel is .92 of the English bushel. 
 The ahm is 31.85 gallons. The foot or half- 
 ell is 11.346 inches. 
 
 Malta. The pound for gold and silver is 4886 
 grains. The commercial pound is 1.745 Ib. 
 averdupois. The salma is 7.968 bushels. The 
 foot is 11.167 inches. The canna (8 palmi) 
 is 81.9 inches. 
 
 Milan. The mark is 3627 grains. The 
 pound sottile is .7206 Ib. averdupois ; the pound 
 grosso is 1.682 Ib. averdupois. The moggio 
 (32 quartari) is 4.0234 bushels. The brenta 
 (12 quartari) is 15.71 gallons. The braccio is 
 23.42 inches. The metrical system is also 
 introduced. 
 
 Naples. The pound for gold and silver is 
 4950 grains. The cantaro grosso is 196.5 
 pounds averdupois, the cantaro piccolo 106 
 pounds averdupois. The tomolo is 1.407 of 
 the English bushel. The barile is 9.172 
 
 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 1770 
 
 gallons. The palmo is 10.38 inches. The 
 moggia is 3 roods 12 perches. 
 
 Netherlands. The French metrical system. 
 
 Portugal. The marc is 3541.5 grains. The 
 commercial pound is 1.0119 Ib. averdupois. The 
 moyo is 22.39 bushels. The almude is 3.6407 
 gallons. The/oo/ is 12.944 inches. 
 
 Prussia. The Cologne marc is 3609 grains 
 2 marcs area commercial pound, or 1.0311 Ib. 
 averdupois. The scheffel is 1.5116 of the 
 English bushel. The cimer is 15.11 gallons. 
 The/oo* is 12.356 inches; the ell two thirds of 
 a metre. The morgen or acre is 2 roods 21 
 perches. 
 
 Rome. The pound is 5234 grains, or .7477 
 Ib. averdupois. The rublio (4 quarte) is 
 8.1012 bushels. The barile (32 boccali) is 
 12.841 gallons. The foot is 11.72 inches ; 
 The builders' canna, of 10 palms, is 87.96 
 inches. 
 
 Russia. There is but one pound, .9026 Ib. 
 averdupois. The pood is 36 Ib. averdupois. 
 The chertwert is 5.7698 bushels. The vedro 
 is 2.7048 gallons. The inch is the English 
 one; the arshine is 28 inches; the foot is 13 J 
 inches ; but the English foot is in common 
 use. The Russian verst, or worst, is 0.664 
 (or about two-thirds) of an English mile. 
 The dessctina is 2 acres, 2 roods, 32 perches. 
 
 Sardinia has lately adopted the French me- 
 trical system. 
 
 Saxony. For gold and silver the Cologne 
 marc. The commercial pound is 1.0294 Ib. 
 averdupois. The Dresden wispel (24 schencl>) 
 is 69.85 bushels ; the Leipzic wispel, 91.747 
 bushels. The Dresden eimer is 14.89 gallons ; 
 the Leipzic eimer 16.75 gallons. The Dresden 
 foot is 11.14 inches ; the Leipzig foot is 11.13 
 inches. The acre is 1 acre, 1 rood, 1 8 perches. 
 
 Sicily. The pound is 7 pounds averdupois. 
 The cantaro grosso is 192.5 pounds averdupois ; 
 the cantaro sottile is 175 Ib. averdupois. The 
 salma grossa is 9.46 bushels ; the salma gene-rale 
 7.59 bushels. The salma of wine is 19.23 
 litres. The palmo is 9.5 inches. 
 
 Smyrna. The chequee is 4958 grains. The 
 rottolo is 1.2748 Ib. averdupois. The killow is 
 11.3 gallons. The pike is 27 inches. 
 
 Spain. The Castillan marc for gold and 
 silver is 4800 grains. The commercial pound 
 is 1.0144 Ib. averdupois. The fanega is 1.55 
 of the English bushel. The arroba of wine is 
 3.538 gallons. The foot is 11.128 inches; the 
 vara is 33.384 inches. The fancgoda (for 
 corn -land) is 1 acre, 21 perches. 
 
 Sweden. The Mint marc is 3252 grabs. 
 The commercial pound is .9376 Ib. averdupois. 
 The dry twin a is 4.028 bushels; the liquid 
 tunna is 48 kanns of .5756 of the English 
 gallon each. The foot, or half-ell, is 11.684 
 
1777 
 
 WEIE. 
 
 WESTMORELAND. 
 
 1778 
 
 inches. The tunneland is 1 acre 35 
 perches. 
 
 Switzerland adopted the French metrical 
 system by a law passed in 1849. 
 
 United States. The weights and measures 
 are those of England before the introduction 
 of the imperial standard. 
 
 WEIR, or WEAR, is a dam erected across 
 a river, either for the purpose of taking fish, 
 of conveying a stream to a mill, or of main- 
 taining the water at the level required for the 
 navigation of it. By the laws of England, no 
 weirs can be maintained on any rivers to the 
 prejudice of the public, or even of individuals, 
 except such as have existed time out of mind, 
 or such as have been erected under local acts 
 of parliament for the navigation of particular 
 rivers. 
 
 WELLS. [ARTESIAN WELLS; BORING.] 
 WEST INDIES. With the exception of 
 Hispaniola or Hayti, which is an independent 
 republic, the islands composing the West 
 Indies are subject to six different European 
 nations the Spaniards, English, French, 
 Danes, Dutch, and Swedes. 
 
 The Spanish possessions are the largest, 
 and comprehend more than half the area of 
 the archipelago ; they consist of Cuba, Puerto 
 Rico, Culebra, and Bique. The English pos- 
 sessions are next in extent. They consist of 
 Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, 
 (Tortola, &c.) } Anguilla, Barbuda, Antigua, 
 St. Christopher, Nevis, Montserrat, Dominica, 
 Santa Lucia, Barbadoes, St. Vincent, Grena- 
 dines, Grenada, Tobago, and Trinidad. The 
 French possess only a few of the Lesser An- 
 tilles, namely Guadaloupe, with several smaller 
 islands in its vicinity, and Martinique. The 
 Danes possess three of the Virgin Islands, 
 viz. St. John, St. Thomas, and Santa Cruz. 
 The Dutch possessions consist of three Lesser 
 Antilles, viz. St. Eustatius, Saba, and St. 
 Martin. 
 
 Since the abolition of negro slavery in the 
 British West Indies in 1834, immigrants and 
 liberated Africans have arrived there to assist 
 in cultivating the sugar estates. Their num- 
 ber from 1834 to 1849, was, in 
 
 Jamaica .... 14,519 
 Trinidad .... 13,356 
 Grenada .... 1,476 
 St. Vincent . . . 1,197 
 Antigua , . . . 1,075 
 Dominica .... 732 
 Nevis . . . . 427 
 St, Kitt's .... 95 
 
 32,877 
 The British produce and manufactures ex- 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ported to the British West Indies in 1849 
 were valued at 1,521,954*. 
 
 The imports from the British West Indies 
 and Honduras in 1849 included 
 
 Cocoa . . . 3,159,086 Ibs. 
 
 Coffee . . . 3,596,839 Ibs. 
 
 Molasses . . 605,628 cwts. 
 
 Rum . . . 4,329,640 galls. 
 
 Sugar . . . 2,897,837 cwts. 
 The imports from the foreign West Indies 
 and Hayti in 1848 included 
 
 Coffee . . . 3,639,108 Ibs. 
 
 Molasses . . . 95,893 cwts. 
 
 Rum . . . 156,185 galls. 
 
 Sugar . . . 957,015 cwts. 
 
 Tobacco . . . 573,316 Ibs. 
 A few further industrial and commercial 
 statistics will be found under the names of the 
 principal islands. 
 
 WESTERN AUSTRALIA dates its his- 
 tory as a British colony from the year 1829. 
 Its progress has hitherto been comparatively 
 slow. The imports in 1848 were valued at 
 45,411;. ; the exports at29,598/. The shipping 
 inwards was estimated at 15,494 tons; out- 
 wards at 13,957 tons. The wool exported 
 amounted to 301,965 Ibs., valued at 9666J. 
 The gross revenue was 18,188Z., but this in- 
 cluded a sum of 7695J. voted by the British 
 parliament for the service of the colony. 
 Western Australia is, as yet, one of the poor- 
 est of the British Colonies; and little can be 
 said concerning its produce, industry, or com- 
 merce. 
 
 WESTMORELAND. Geologically, this 
 county may be regarded as consisting of three 
 parts. The slate rocks of the Cumbrian 
 mountain group form the first part or division ; 
 the formations of the great carboniferous and 
 mountain limestone series of the north of 
 England, of which formations the Pennine 
 Chain forms the western outcrop, constitute 
 the second division ; and the new red sand- 
 stone of the valley of the Eden forms the 
 third division. Westmoreland contains some 
 very fertile valleys, in which there are many 
 well-cultivated farms. The soil in the valley 
 is mostly a dry gravelly mould, composed 
 different earths washed down from the hil 
 and forming a soil well fitted for the eulti 
 tion of turnips, of which great crops are rais 
 on some well-managed farms. Near Kend 
 a great breadth of potatoes is planted for the 
 supply not only of the immediate neighbour- 
 hood, but also of the adjacent counties, many 
 thousand loads being annually sent into Lan- 
 cashire and Yorkshire. Grass land being 
 abundant and the climate favourable to pas- 
 thres, a great portion of the soil is devoted to 
 the maintenance of cattle ; good meadows let 
 
 No. 42. 
 
1779 
 
 WESTPHALIA 
 
 WHALE FISHERY. 
 
 1780 
 
 at a high rent, and are carefully manured with 
 composts ; and great crops of hay ate made 
 in favourable years. 
 
 Westmoreland is riot a manufacturing 
 county ; btifc considerable manufactures are 
 carried on at Kendal of cotton checks, kerseys 
 and other woollens, linsey, blanketing,- fancy 
 waistcoatmg, carpets, girths, hosiery/ sacking 
 and worsted. 
 
 WESTPHALIA, is one of the richest and 
 busiest of the Prussian provinces. The -freg 
 table products are corn of all kinds, pea 
 beans, garden vegetables, fruit, hemp and ilax 
 (which are staple articles), hops, and timber. 
 The minerals are iron, copper, lead, cala- 
 mine, marble, slate, freestone, salt } and coal : 
 there are extensive turf-moors. The manu- 
 factures hi elude linen, cotton, woollen cloth, 
 silk, leather, hosiery, and paper. There are 
 numerous iron, copper, and steel -works, and 
 manufactories of all kinds of cutlery and cop- 
 per, brass and iron goods. There are also 
 many sugar refineries, brandy distilleries, and 
 tanneries' in the province. The commerce in 
 the products indicated and in hams is impor- 
 tant, The Cologne - Minden railway, with 
 branches to' Minister and Paderborn, traverses 
 the province, and connects it with Berlin, 
 Hanover, Hamburg, and Bremen. 
 
 WEXFORD. The agriculture of Wexford 
 is generally hi a creditable state, considering 
 tire rMural disadvantages of the soil. The 
 crops' consist of the various kinds of grain, of 
 which barley is the principal, beans, tares, 
 rape, turnips, and potatoes, the last being the 
 staple crop, and that upon which most manu- 
 ring is bestowed. Dairies are numerous, and 
 nTrich butter is exported. The great extent 
 of sea-coast and the numerous banks in the 
 vicinity render the fisheries of Wexford very 
 important to its population, many of whom 
 are engaged in them ; the coast presents very 
 numerous creeks capable of accommodating 
 open boats, and at most of these some fisher- 
 men are resident, but there are no harbours 
 suitable for large vessels. The manufactures 
 of the county are of little importance ; woollen 
 cloths, checks, and coarse linens are made, 
 but on a small sealer 
 
 WHALE FISHERY. Whales are sought 
 after for many useful purposes which they 
 render to man. The flesh of the Manatee 
 whale is excellent eating. The Nanrhal, a 
 kind of whale, is valued for its blubber and its 
 ivory tusk. The Sperm Whole yields eight or 
 ten barrels of spermaceti, besides oil and 
 whalebone. To the Esquimaux and the 
 Greenlander the Greenland Whale is all in all. 
 They eat the flesh and fat with indescribable 
 relish. The membranes of the abdomen 
 
 servo them for clothing, and the thin trans- 
 parent peritoneum admits light through the 
 windows of their huts, whilst it keeps out the 
 weather. The bones are made into props for 
 their tents, or aid in the formation of their 
 boats, and supply them with harpoons and 
 spears for the capture of the narwhal, the seal, 
 and greater sea birds. The sinews divided 
 into filaments are used as thread for sewing 
 their dress,- &e. To civilised nations, the oil 
 made from its fat or blubber, and the whale- 
 bone, have long ma"de it a great commercial 
 object. 
 
 The Arctic regions, between the northern 
 parts of America^ and Europe, have for some 
 centuries been the chief seat of the Whale 
 he^. The whales were so abundant that 
 the fishing was easy and the profits great ; 
 but in later years the whales have evidently 
 lessened in number, and the fishery has be- 
 come gradually more precarious. At first 
 there were settlements on the shores of Green- 
 land and other lands in the north, where the 
 whale blubber was boiled down into oil, and 
 n that state sent to England; but in later 
 years it has been the practice to bring the 
 blubber itself to England, and there boil it 
 down. Between 1815 and 1834 the number 
 of English ships engaged in the northern 
 whale fishery varied from 76 to 159 ; the an- 
 rual capture of whales varied from 161 to 2018 
 so very uncertain is the success of this em- 
 ployment) ; the annual yield of oil, 21&9 to 
 18,745 tuns ; and of whalebone, 119 to 940 
 tons. So hazardous are these enterprises, 
 ,hat there were not less than 99 whale ships 
 ostin the above-named twenty years, of which 
 19 were lost in the disastrous year 1830. Hull 
 and Peterhead are the chief British ports to 
 vhich the whalers belong ; but the northern 
 whale fishery has materially declined hi the 
 seventeen years since 1834. 
 
 The Whale Fishery of the Southern Ocean 
 ias sprung into importance as that of tho 
 Northern has declined. The relation which 
 .he newly-settled Auckland Isles beaf to the 
 Southern Whale Fishery is noticed in an 
 earlier article [AUCKLAND ISLANDS]. The 
 outhern fishery is prosecuted energetically 
 iy the' United States, as well as by Britain and 
 ither countries. 
 
 The following are the numbers of Vessels 
 engaged in the American whale fisheries, and 
 he quantities' of sperm oil and whale oil pro- 
 ;ured, in the last 10 years : 
 
 Barrels Barrels 
 Ships. Sperm. Whale. 
 
 1850 .. 177 .. 86,157 .. 191,752 
 1840 .. 188 .. 99,433 .. 250,1*3 
 1848 ., 190 .. 108,531 ., 243,676 
 
1781 
 
 WHARF; 
 
 WHEEL AND AXLE. 
 
 1782 
 
 1847 -..253 it 121,410 .. 320,545 
 
 1846 -.: 199 .. 92j877 .. 219,763 
 
 1845 .. 242 .. 158,484 .. 274,843 
 
 1844 .. (?) -.. 138,585 .. 207,082 
 1843 .. 145 .. 167,134 .. 205,861 
 
 1842 .. 207 .: 163,697 .. 163,818 
 
 1841 .. 222 .. 157,643 .. 205,164 
 
 1840 .; 213 .. 156,445 .. 203>441 
 Whalebone also forms an important item 
 
 in the products of the fisheries. The quanti- 
 ties imported into the United States during 
 the last ten years have been as follow : 
 
 1850 2,242,012 Ibs. 
 
 1849 1,990,640 
 
 1848 1,755,892 ,, 
 
 1847 3,450,124 
 
 1846 2,723,939 
 
 1845 .-. 3,116,100 
 
 1844 3,015,145 
 
 1843 1,933,321 ,j 
 
 1842 1,329,234 
 
 1841 .-. 1,942,885 
 
 The year 1850 was a very profitable one in 
 
 the southern fishery, and more than usually 
 unprofitable in the northern. 
 
 WHARF, is a place constructed or set apart 
 for the loading and unloading of goods. In 
 this sense the word includes the quays of all 
 sea-ports at which goods are required to be 
 shipped or landed. The sea-beach or natural 
 ground on the banks of a river or canal, is not 
 a wharf. Wharfs in docks and similar situa- 
 tions are made legal by special acts of parlia- 
 ment, as the London Docks, &c., and there 
 are some places which are deemed wharfs 
 from immemorial usage. For the use of a 
 wharf certain rates are usually charged, which 
 are called wharfage. The wharfs of the port 
 of London were established in 1558, in the 
 first year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 
 Several sufferance wharfs have been since 
 added to these, under the authority of the 
 commissioners of customs, and other suffer- 
 ance wharfs are occasionally authorised for 
 the landing and keeping of goods by the cus- 
 tom-house till the duties are paid or the goods 
 bonded. 
 
 No goods except diamonds and bullion, fresh 
 fish of British taking, and turbots and lobsters 
 fresh, however taken or imported, are allowed 
 to be unshipped from any ship arriving from 
 foreign parts beyond seas, or landed or put 
 on shore, except at legal quays appointed by 
 her majesty for landing of goods, or at some 
 wharf appointed by the commissioners of cus- 
 toms. Goods entitled to drawback or bounty 
 are only to be shipped in Great Britain by 
 wharfingers appointed by the commissioners 
 of customs. 
 
 WHEAT. The species and varieties of 
 
 wheat are numerous ; but there are three 
 principal kinds, so different ill appearance 
 that they claim peculiar attention. These 
 are the hard wheats, the soft wheats, and the 
 Polish wheats. The hard wheats are the pro- 
 duce of warm climates, such as Italyj Sicily, 
 and Barbary. The soft wheats grow in the 
 northern parts of Europe as in Belgium, Eng- 
 land, Denfaiark, and Sweden. The Polish 
 wheats grow in the country from which they 
 derive their name, and are also hard wheats. 
 It is from their external form that they are 
 distinguished from other wheats. The hard 
 wheats have a compact seed nearly transpa- 
 rent, which, when bitten through, breaks 
 short, and shows a very white flour within. 
 The soft wheats are those usually cultivated 
 in Britain ; they have an opaque coat or skin ; 
 which, when first reaped, gives way readily to 
 the pressure of the thumb and finger. These 
 wheats require to be well dried and hardened 
 before they can be conveniently ground into 
 flour. The Polish wheat has a long chaff 
 which is much longer than the seed, a large 
 oblong seed, and ah ear cylindrical in ap- 
 pearance. It is a delicate spring wheat, and 
 not very productive in the climate of England. 
 
 The hard wheats contain much more glu- 
 ten than the soft wheats. It is this quantity 
 of gluten which causes the Italian wheats to 
 be used exclusively for the pastes which form 
 so large a portion of the food of that natidii. 
 [VERMICELLI.] The soft wheats contain the 
 greatest quantity of starch, which fits them 
 for the vinous fermentation, by its conversion 
 into 1 sugar and alcohol : for brewing or distil- 
 ling, therefore, the soft wheats are the best; 
 
 The distinction between the winter and 
 summer wheats is 'one which arises entirely 
 from the season in which they have been 
 usually sown ; for they can readily be converted 
 into each otherj by sowing earlier or later, 
 and gradually accelerating or retarding their 
 growths. The difference in colour between 
 red and ivhite wheats is owing chiefly to the 
 soil ; white wheats gradually become darker 
 and ultimately red in some stiff wet soils, and 
 the red wheats lose their colour and become 
 first yellow and then white 011 rich, light, and 
 mellow soils. 
 
 The quantity of wheat imported in 1849 was 
 3,872,134 quarters ; the quantity entered for 
 home consumption was 4,509,626 quarters. 
 The gross amount of duty received was 
 226,7857. 
 
 WHEEL AND AXLE is a machine con- 
 sisting usually of a cylinder to which a wheel 
 is firmly united, so that the axes of both are 
 coincident. The capstan^ the windlass, and 
 the helm-wheel of a ship are only so many 
 
1783 
 
 WHEELS. 
 
 different forms of the same class of machines 
 Frequently also the axle is made to carry a 
 wheel with teeth on its circumference, in order 
 that, by revolving, motion may be communi- 
 cated to machinery : such are the wind-mills 
 and water-mills which are employed for grind- 
 ing corn. 
 
 Considered as a mechanical aid in locomo- 
 tion, lifting, transference of power, &c., the 
 wheel and axle act like a lever of the first 
 kind. 
 
 WHEELS. In machinery, wheels are 
 generally used for transmitting motion, regu- 
 lating velocity, converting one species of mo- 
 tion into another, reducing friction, or equaliz- 
 ing the effect of forces applied in an intermit- 
 tent or irregular manner. 
 
 The simplest mode of transmitting motion 
 from one wheel to another is by causing their 
 peripheries to revolve in contact and pressing 
 them together, in order to prevent slipping. 
 Another mode of transmitting rotatory motion 
 more effectually than by simple contact is by 
 the use of endless bands or straps passing 
 over the peripheries of the wheels which are 
 intended to revolve together. Straps or belts 
 are much used in cotton-factories, and other 
 works in which moving-power has to be com- 
 municated to a great number of machines in 
 different parts of a building, and they are pre- 
 ferred to cog-wheels in cases where sudden 
 strains are liable to occur, because of the 
 yielding character of the connection effected 
 by them. Such straps were formerly made 
 of leather ; but caoutchouc and gutta percha 
 are now largely used. Sometimes a chain of 
 links is used instead of a band. 
 
 To convert rotatory motion into rectilinear, 
 or rectilinear into rotatory, various forms of 
 the rack and pinion are used. In its simplest 
 form this contrivance is applied in raising 
 sluice-gates, in lifting-jacks, and various other 
 machines m which a fixed pinion or small 
 toothed wheel is made to give motion to a 
 straight toothed bar capable of moving in the 
 direction of its length. A crank is also ap- 
 plied in various ways for converting rotatory 
 motion into rectilinear, or rectilinear motion 
 into rotatory. Of the Excentric and other 
 wheels for producing rectilinear or irregular 
 motion from a revolving axis, or for producing 
 uniform rotation from an intermittent force, 
 the varieties are numerous. 
 
 The escapement -wheels of clocks and 
 wheels furnish types of another important 
 class of wheels for modifying motion ; and 
 snail-wheels, pin-wheels, ratchet-wheels, and 
 fusee wheels, are among the ingenious contri- 
 vances by which the rotatory motion of a wheel 
 and axle may be made to set in motion a train 
 
 WHITE-LEAD MANUFACTURE. 1784 
 
 of complicated machinery, or to regulate and 
 vary motion at pleasure. Another class of 
 wheels, called Friction- Wheels are intended to 
 lessen the evils of friction in machinery. 
 
 Wheels introduced into machinery for the 
 purpose of overcoming inertia, or ol rendering 
 uniform and steady a motion derived from an 
 intermittent or variable source, are called Fly- 
 Wheels. Since they owe their effect to their 
 weight, fly-wheels are usually heavy, and as 
 much as possible of their weight is disposed 
 in the rim, where, owing to the effect of cen- 
 trifugal force, it is of far more value than when 
 near the centre. The steam-engine, the 
 stamping-press, the common lathe, the coffee- 
 mill, and a variety of other machines exhibit 
 the useful application of a fly-wheel. In 
 roasting-jacks, musical -boxes, the striking- 
 apparatus of clocks, and various other contri- 
 vances in which a retarding force is required 
 to prevent the moving power of a spring or 
 weight from running down too rapidly, wheels 
 with projecting vanes, which encounter suffi- 
 cient resistance from the air to moderate their 
 velocity, are used under the name of Flys or 
 Flyers. 
 
 A small wheel having cylindrical staves or 
 spindles fixed between two circular boards or 
 plates of metal, in positions parallel to the 
 axis of rotation, is called a lantern wheel : and 
 when a wheel acts with one which is smaller 
 n diameter, whatever be the form of the teeth, 
 he latter is usually called a pinion. Wheels 
 laving the teeth formed on their circumfe- 
 rences so as to project from thence in the 
 direction of the radii are called spur-wheels : 
 but when the teeth are perpendicular to the 
 plane of the wheel, the latter is called a crown 
 or contrate wheel. If the teeth are cut on tho 
 circumference of a wheel in a direction ob- 
 lique to its plane, the wheel is said to be 
 bevilled; and two wheels may have their teeth 
 so bevilled as to revolve in planes making any 
 angles with one another. 
 
 WHETSTONE, is a smooth flat stone used 
 for whetting or sharpening edged instruments 
 by friction. Whetstones, of which a peculiar 
 kind for sharpening razors are called Hones, 
 are made of various kinds of hard close- 
 grained stone, and are moistened, when in 
 use, with either oil or water. [GRINDSTONES ; 
 TURKEY HONE.] 
 
 WHISKEY. [DISTILLATION ; RECTIFYING ; 
 SPIRIT TRADE.] 
 
 WHITE-LEAD MAFUFACTURE. This 
 branch of industry exhibits many interesting 
 features, both on account of the chemical 
 relations which govern it, and the mechanical 
 arrangements adopted. 
 White lead is made from common metallic 
 
1785 
 
 WICKLOW. 
 
 WILLOW. 
 
 1786 
 
 sheet lead ; it is a carbonate, and is producer 
 in the following way. The lead is first cas 
 into the form of flat pieces, about 20 inches 
 long, hy 5 broad, th of an inch thick, anc 
 weighing 5 Ibs. In a large lofty room a pile 
 is built up, formed in the following singular 
 way ; a layer of fine ashes is strewed over the 
 floor: then conies a layer of tanner's spen 
 bark, two or three feet thick ; then a layer o: 
 earthen pots, about five inches in diameter 
 each containing a pint of strong vinegar 
 then a layer of the leaden plates, five or six in 
 depth, over the open mouths of the pots 
 then a layer of boards ; then a second layer 
 of tan, vinegar pots, lead plates, and boards 
 then a third layer of tan, vinegar pots, leac 
 plates, and boards, and so on, until the room is 
 filled to the ceiling, a height of perhaps 20 feet, 
 The whole is called a stack, which consists oJ 
 as many beds as there are recurrences of the 
 above series, perhaps seven or eight. A stack 
 usually comprises about 30 tons of lead plates 
 besides the weight of the pots, vinegar, &c. 
 The room is then closed up, and left un- 
 touched for many weeks. 
 
 During this period a somewhat complicated 
 chemical process goes on. The spent bark, 
 by fermenting, gives oif heat, which raises 
 the general temperature to 180 Fahr. The 
 vinegar, at this temperature, evaporates slowly, 
 and gives off an acid vapour which acts upon 
 the lead ; the lead first becomes an oxide, 
 then it becomes an acetate by combining with 
 the acetic acid vapour, and this is transformed 
 to a carbonate by carbonic acid arising from 
 the tan. This action takes place in about 
 one half of the thickness of the lead, at the 
 two surfaces ; the central part remaining un- 
 acted upon. The door is then opened, the stack 
 taken down, and all the lead plates removed. 
 Each piece is passed between two brass rollers, 
 which crush and remove the earthy carbonate 
 from the surface ; the remaining metallic 
 lead is remelted, to be used again ; and the 
 carbonate goes through further processes. 
 The carbonate is mixed with water, brought 
 to the state of a fine cream, evaporated, and 
 dried ' it then constitutes white lead, which is 
 brought to market either in the earthy state, 
 or ground up with oil as a paint. 
 
 There are other and more expeditious 
 methods which have been patented within the 
 last few years , but the above is the general 
 method, as practised at Newcastle. 
 
 See further on this point under ZINC 
 PAINT. 
 
 WICKLOW, This Irish county is rich in 
 minerals. Galena green and white lead ore, 
 and copper pyrites are found in the granitic 
 districts, The ore is smelted in small blast- 
 
 furnaces, with the aid of turf, lime, and a 
 small portion of the purest blind-coal. In 
 the clay slate tract are found gold, silver, 
 copper, iron, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten, manga- 
 nese, arsenic, and antimony. The discovery 
 of native gold near Croaghan Kinshela 
 Mountain took place about 1796, and many 
 hundred people assembled daily to search for 
 it in the bed and on the banks of the Ballin- 
 valley, or Goldmine River, a stream which 
 rises in the mountain, and joins the Daragh 
 just above its junction with the Ovoca. 
 Government took up the matter, and regular 
 stream-works were established, but they were 
 destroyed in the insurrection of 1798. They 
 were resumed in 1801, with the addition of 
 works for the discovery of auriferous veins ; 
 but the search was unsuccessful, and the 
 whole of the works were abandoned. 
 
 The soil of Wicklow is very fertile in the 
 lower tracts and along the river-courses. The 
 crops are oats, potatoes, and some wheat. 
 Pasturage is also much attended to. The 
 occupations of the people are generally agri-- 
 cultural : manufactures being at a very low 
 ebb. 
 
 WILLOW. The timber willow, the weeping 
 willow, the osier willow, and many other kinds, 
 render a singular variety of uses to man. The 
 leaves, flowers, and young shoots are eaten as 
 food by various domestic animals. The 
 dried inner bark is mixed with oatmeal in 
 Norway. The twigs are extensively used in 
 Russia and Sweden as thongs and cords. The 
 bark is used in the same countries for shoes, 
 buckets, boxes, roof coverings, and other 
 articles ; it is also used as a tanning ingredi- 
 ent and when separated into fibres it is woven 
 into cloth. 
 
 The willow timber is soft, smooth and light; 
 it is employed in making cutting boards for 
 tailors and shoemakers ; for cork-cutters 
 harpening boards ; for turnery ; for flooring 
 and rafters ; for lining waggons and carts ; 
 for paddle-boards, water-wheels, and small 
 vessels and boats. The smaller timber and 
 shoots are used for ladder-poles, hop -poles, 
 vine-props, clothes-props, rake-handles, hur- 
 dles, crates, hampers, hay-racks, hoop-barrels. 
 In France, hats are made from strips or 
 shavings of the white willow. Sheets of 
 woven material called Willoiv, consist of a 
 fabric woven with fine strips of willow wood, 
 subsequently stiffened ; they are in common 
 use for the framework of bonnets, and of 
 ight or ' gossamer' hats. A downy substance 
 which envelopes the willow seed is used in 
 ermany as a wadding for ladies' dresses. 
 The willow makes very excellent charcoal. 
 The best known use of the willow, however, 
 
1787 
 
 WILNA. 
 
 WINDLASS. 
 
 1786 
 
 is in making baskets. For this purpose the 
 kind called osiers is chiefly selected. The 
 principal plantations of basket-osiers in this 
 country, and indeed in every other, are made 
 along the banks of rivers and streams. In 
 England the Thame and the Cam are the 
 most celebrated in this respect; in both 
 these rivers small islands are frequently 
 planted entirely with osiers, and are called 
 osier-holts. There are many such islands in 
 the Thames, between Reading and London. 
 The largest plantation of these willows is 
 near Reading. The most extensive willow 
 plantations in fields (instead of river banks 
 and islands) are in the fenny districts of 
 Cambridge and Huntingdon counties. 
 
 The application of these willows or osiers is 
 described under BASKET MAKING. 
 
 WILNA, a government of West Russia, is 
 somewhat rich in agricultural produce. Rye 
 is the principal grain crop ; barley, wheat, 
 oats, buck-wheat, peas, beans, hops, flax, and 
 hemp are likewise grown, and a considerable 
 quantity exported. Bees are kept in great 
 numbers, and the quality of the honey is very 
 superior. The forests not only furnish large 
 quantities of timber and fuel, but supply 
 material for building every year about 3000 
 craft for the navigation of the Buna, Wilia, 
 and Niemen, which never come back. Charcoal 
 pitch, tar, potashes, and lamp-black are made. 
 The minerals are bog-iron, saltpetre, marble, 
 granite, sandstone, jasper, agates, and chalce- 
 dony. The manufactures are unimportant, 
 being entirely of a domestic kind. The ex- 
 ports, consisting of the produce already named, 
 are sent partly to Riga on the Diina, still 
 more by land-carriage to Libau, and a consi- 
 derable quantity by the Niemen to Prussia. 
 The inland trade is almost exclusively in the 
 hands of the Jews. 
 
 WILTSHIRE. There are very few mine- 
 ral deposits worked in this county. In respect 
 to commerce, the navigation of the Thames, 
 the Kennet, and the Bristol Avon, does not 
 commence until after those rivers have quitted 
 the county ; but the want of river-navigation 
 is partially supplied by canals, of which three 
 lines are connected with this county. These 
 are the Thames and Severn canal, the Kennet 
 and Avon Canal, and the Wilts and Berks 
 Canal. Many of the principal towns are now 
 accommodated with railway facilities. 
 
 In an agricultural point of view Wiltshire 
 may be divided into two districts ; a southern 
 district comprehending all the Wiltshire 
 Downs, with their intersecting valleys ; and a 
 northern district. The soil on the downs pro- 
 duces excellent short herbage, very well 
 suited for sheep pasture. The proportion 
 
 which has been converted into arable land is 
 comparatively small, and chiefly on the bor- 
 ders of the valleys. In the northern district, 
 where the top soil is thin, it is chiefly cultiva- 
 ted as arable land ; but where it is deep and 
 rich, there are some of the finest pastures iii 
 England, such as those about Chippenham, 
 and thence southward to Melksham and 
 Trowbridge, where the largest oxen may be 
 fatted. This district is essentially a dairy 
 country. The grass land forms the greater 
 portion of the north-west part of Wiltshire, 
 and the cheese made there is justly celebrated ; 
 it is mostly bought up by factors for the supply 
 of London and other large towns. 
 
 Wiltshire is one of the most manufacturing 
 counties in the West of England ; the carpets 
 of Wilton, and the woollen-cloths of Bradford, 
 Trowbridge, &c. have been long celebrated, 
 though they have been eclipsed in late years 
 (in quantity but not in quality) by the pro- 
 ductions of the West Riding. 
 
 WINCH AND AXLE is a machine con- 
 stituting a small windlass, and consisting of a 
 cylinder of wood which is capable of turning 
 on its axis between two upright posts of the 
 same material, or between the ends of a cast- 
 iron frame. A lever atone or at each extremity 
 of the cylinder is attached to an iron axle 
 which passes through the cylinder, and is 
 turned at right angles to its direction, and 
 again turned, so as to furnish a handle parallel 
 to the cylinder. When of a simple form it is 
 employed to raise water from a well, earth 
 from the shaft of a small mine, &c. ; but when 
 the cylinder or barrel is turned by the inter- 
 vention of toothed wheels and pinions, in 
 which case the machine is called a Crab, it is 
 frequently employed to raise casks or heavy 
 packages from the ground to the upper part 
 of a building. [WHEEL AND AXLE ; WIND- 
 LASS.] 
 
 WIND MEASURER. [ANEMOMETER.] 
 
 WINDLASS. The Winch and Axle, the 
 Windlass by which on board of small ships 
 the anchors are weighed, and even the Capstan, 
 are so many different forms of the same 
 machine. In the last two of these machines 
 the power of men is applied at the extremi- 
 ties of handspokes or levers inserted at their 
 opposite extremities in holes made in the axle 
 or barrel to receive them. In the capstan, the 
 axis of the barrel being vertical, the hand- 
 spokes are in horizontal positions, and the 
 men exert a continuous pressure against 
 them while walking round. 
 
 In the machine to which the name of wind- 
 ass is more particularly applied, the barrel is 
 a horizontal cylinder. In order to turn the 
 sylinder on its axis the men mounting on it 
 
1789 
 
 WINDMILL. 
 
 plant their handspokes vertically ifl a series 
 of holes formed at intervals for the purpose ; 
 then grasping them as high as they can 
 reach, they pull towards themselves : when 
 the cylinder is turned nearly a quarter round, 
 the handspokes heing almost in horizontal 
 positions, the men throw upon them the whole 
 weight of their hodies, and by the weight the 
 cylinder is still further turned. After this 
 the handspokes are drawn out and planted in 
 other holes, which now are in vertical posi- 
 tios, and the like exertions of muscular force 
 and pressure are repeated till the anchor is 
 weighed or the weight raised. The machine 
 permits the power of men to he applied, in 
 one position of the handspokes, in the most 
 advantageous manner; and in this respect 
 it may he considered superior to the cap- 
 stan. 
 
 The vertical windlass, or capstan, was 
 originally a short cylindrical column turning 
 on its axis by means of levers or bars of con- 
 siderable length which passed quite through 
 the perforations made to receive them at the 
 top of the column ; the pivot or axle upon 
 which it turned, entered, as at present, into 
 the floor or deck upon which the machine was 
 placed. It appears to have been introduced 
 into the British navy in the time of Queen 
 Elizabeth. It is now generally made in the 
 form of a frustum of a cone, or rather the 
 body is cylindrical, and about it, at equal 
 intervals, are ribs or buttresses which, pro- 
 jecting from the cylinder less at top than at 
 bottom, give to the part about which the 
 rope turns a pyramidal figure. Both the 
 windlass and the capstan are furnished with 
 catches, or Paulls, each consisting of an arm 
 of metal turning on a pivot, and as the barrel 
 revolves falling into notches formed in a ring 
 of wood or metal placed round one end of the 
 barrel. 
 
 WINDMILL. Windmills are of two kinds : 
 in one the wind is made to act upon vanes or 
 sails, generally four, which are disposed so as 
 to revolve by that action in a plane which is 
 nearly vertical ; and in the other, the axis of 
 revolution being precisely vertical, any point 
 on the surface of a vane revolves in a hori- 
 zontal plane. The former is called a Vertical 
 Windmill and the latter a Horizontal "Wind- 
 mill. 
 
 The building for a Vertical Windmill is 
 generally a wall of timber or brickwork in the 
 form of a frustum of a cone, and terminated 
 above by a wooden dome which is capable of 
 revolving horizontally upon it. A ring of 
 wood, forming the lower part of the dome, 
 rests upon a ring of the same material at the 
 top of the wall, and the surfaces in contact 
 
 WINE MANUFACTURE. 1790 
 
 being made very smooth, the dome may 
 easily be turned round upon the wall ; and is 
 prevented from sliding off by a rim which 
 projects from it, and descends over the inte- 
 rior circumference of the lower ring. The 
 dome in turning carries with it the wind- 
 sails and their axle ; and thus the windsails 
 may be made to coincide with the direction of 
 the wind, or the plane in which the radii of 
 the sails turn may be made perpendicular to 
 that direction. The revolution is sometimes 
 accomplished by the force of a man applied 
 to a winch near the ground ; but in general 
 the wind itself is made to turn the dome or 
 the mill by means of a set of small vanes 
 which are situated at the extremity of a long 
 horizontal arm projecting from the dome in 
 a plane passing through the vertical shaft of 
 the mill, and on the side opposite to the great 
 sails. 
 
 A Horizontal Windmill is a great cylindri- 
 cal frame of timber, which is made to revolve 
 about a vertical axis, and its convex surface 
 is formed of boards attached in vertical posi- 
 tions to the upper and lower parts of the 
 frame. The whole is inclosed in a fixed 
 cylinder having the same vertical axis as the 
 other : this consists qf a screen formed by a 
 number of boards which are disposed so that, 
 in whatever direction the wind may blow, it 
 may enter between them on one side only of 
 a vertical plane passing through the axis, and 
 thus give motion to the interior cylinder. 
 The effective powpr of the Vertical Windmill 
 is however so much greater than that of the 
 Horizontal Windmill that the latter is now 
 seldom constructed. 
 
 WINE MANUFACTUEE. Wine is the 
 result of the fermentation of saccharine fluids, 
 either existing naturally in the juices of plants 
 or artificially blended together. The roots of 
 plants, such as the parsnip and beet; the 
 stems of plants, such as the birch and the 
 cocoa palm ; the leaves of plants, such as the 
 vine ; the fruit of plants, such as the grape 
 and other well-known kinds all yield juices 
 which may be fermented into wine. Though 
 alcohol or spirit is present in all wines, yet 
 many other principles exist in them also ; the 
 number of which, and the manner in which 
 they are combined, as well as their relative 
 proportion, give to different wines their dis- 
 tinctive properties. 
 
 The grape is in most countries the source 
 whence wine is chiefly prepared, and the 
 vintage or wine manufacture is always re- 
 garded as an important part of the national 
 industry in the countries of central and 
 southern Europe. It has been found that, in 
 respect to Claret, Port, and Rhenish wines, a 
 
1791 
 
 WINE TRADE. 
 
 WIRE DRAWING. 
 
 1792 
 
 season which is good for one is not necessarih 
 so for others; thus the year 1825 was ver 
 good for Claret, bad for Port, and about an 
 average for Rhenish wines ; while 1840 was 
 middling for Claret, very fine for Port, anc 
 bad for Rhenish wines. Locality, aspect, soil 
 and climate all have to do with this question 
 of quality and quantity. In respect to the 
 modes of manufacture, a few details will be 
 found under the names of the chief wines, and 
 of the provinces and French departments 
 where the most celebrated vintages are situated. 
 
 When wine contains much alcohol, it is 
 called strong ; when otherwise, light or weak. 
 When it contains much sugar undecomposed, 
 it is sweet or luscious ; when little, dry. When 
 it contains much free acid, it is acescent; 
 when much carbonic acid, sparkling or mous- 
 SL'iix. In strong wines of cheap price, spirit is 
 added ; but never in good wines, as it destroys 
 the finer qualities. 
 
 British or home-made wines consist of the 
 fermented juices of fruits, sweetened and 
 otherwise flavoured. They are in principle 
 analogous to real wine from grapes, but re- 
 quiring much less care and attention, as no 
 attempt is made to obtain those delicate va- 
 rieties of flavour which distinguish choice 
 wines. 
 
 WINE TRADE. The duty at present on 
 all foreign wines is 5s. 6d. per gallon ; on 
 Cape wines, 2s 9d. The following statement 
 shows the number of gallons imported into 
 the United Kingdom during the year ending 
 Jan. 5, 1850, together with the number re- 
 tained for home consumption, after deducting 
 the quantity exported subsequently to the 
 payment of duty : 
 
 Wines. Imported. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 Cape.. 264,106 
 
 Trench 466,169 
 
 Portugal 3,004,043 
 
 Spanish 3,310,206 
 
 Madeira 165,463 
 
 Rhenish... 63,380 
 
 Canary 151,239 
 
 Fayal 12,163 
 
 Sicilian & other sorts 533,298 
 
 Retained. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 241,845 
 
 331,690 
 
 2,648.242 
 
 2,448,107 
 
 71,097 
 
 46,405 
 
 19,868 
 
 67 
 
 444,541 
 
 Total 7,970,067 6,251,862 
 
 The stock of foreign wine in bond in Lon- 
 don, on March 1, 1851, was as follows : 
 
 Pipes. 
 
 London Docks 18,346 
 
 St. Katherine's ditto 3,853 
 
 22,199 
 
 WIRE DRAWING. Wire is a metal 
 elongated into the form of a slender rod, 
 
 generally cylindrical, but not necessarily so. 
 In cai-ly times, metals were probably beaten 
 out with a hammer into thin plates or leaves, 
 which were then divided into small blips by 
 means of scissors or some other cutting in- 
 strument, these slips being subsequently 
 rounded by a hammer and file, so as to form 
 threads or wires. So long as wire was formed 
 by the hammer, the artists of Niirnberg, by 
 whom it was fabricated, were styled ' wire 
 smiths,' but subsequent to tha introduction ot 
 the drawing process their designation was 
 changed to ' wire drawers.' Beckmann con- 
 ceives that the invention of wire drawing 
 must be assigned to the 14th century. Pre- 
 vious to 1565 all English iron wire appears to 
 have been drawn by manual strength. The 
 first wire-mill in England was set up at Sheen, 
 near Richmond, by a Dutchman, in 1662. 
 
 For the manufacture of iron whe the very 
 best and toughest iron is selected. Before the 
 process of rolling with grooved rollers had be- 
 come common, the iron was prepared for use 
 by a slow and tedious process. At the pre- 
 sent day the preparing of iron for the wire- 
 drawers is performed by means of rollers, 
 which are generally 7 or 8 inches in diameter, 
 and are sometimes made to perform 350 re- 
 volutions in a minute. A bar of steel 30 inches 
 .ong and an inch square, heated to redness, is 
 passed between the rollers, through grooves 
 successively diminishing in size, eight times 
 n less than a minute, and is thereby elongated 
 to from 20 to 30 feet. For ordinary wire the 
 rods are commonly reduced to a thickness of 
 about one-eighth of an inch by this process ; 
 and these rods themselves are used as wire for 
 some purposes. The kind of cast-steel wire 
 of which the best needles and some other 
 articles are made, is not usually submitted to 
 ;he rolling process, but, after being tilted to 
 ibout a quarter of an inch square, it is rounded 
 )n an anvil previous to elongation by the 
 Iraw- plate. 
 
 The drawing of wire is thus managed. The 
 draw-plate is usually formed of a stout piece of 
 shear-steel, about six inches long and an inch 
 and a half in diameter, but being somewhat 
 reduced in thickness towards each end, like a 
 jucumber, and flattened on one side. It is 
 )ierced transverely with several conical holes, 
 he larger orifices of which open upon the 
 flattened surface of the plate, while their 
 mailer orifices are carefully finished to the 
 ize to which it is intended to reduce the wire 
 drawn through them. In drawing wire by 
 land the draw-plate is laid against two upright 
 )illars fixed on a bench or table, and, the 
 sxtreme end of the wire to be drawn being so 
 educed as to enable it readily to pass through 
 
1793 
 
 WOAD. 
 
 WOOD ENGRAVING, 
 
 1794 
 
 the hole, a small portion is drawn through by 
 a lever apparatus, and attached to a cylindrical 
 drum, mounted on a vertical axis. The work- 
 man then takes in one hand the coil of thick 
 wire to he reduced, and in the other a lever 
 handle attached to the drum ; and while he 
 turns the drum so as to wind the wire upon its 
 circumference, and consequently to draw it 
 through the plate, he imparts a kind of twist 
 to the wire which enters the plate, by a pecu- 
 liar motion of the hand in which the coil is 
 supported. 
 
 The size of wire is commonly measured by 
 means of a gauge, which consists of a plate of 
 steel with a series of deep notches or slits at 
 each edge, varying slightly from each other in 
 width, and numbered according to the number 
 given to wire of corresponding size. 
 
 The use of wire in manufactures has largely 
 extended within the last few years, principally 
 owing to the success with which a weaving 
 process has been applied to it. The following 
 are only some among the many applications 
 of wire now generally adopted : Wire netting 
 for enclosing young plantations ; strong wire 
 netting for sheep folds, or for enclosures gene- 
 rally in farms; ornamental wire fences for 
 pleasure grounds ; pheasantries and hen- 
 coops ; garden bordering ; plant guards ; hur- 
 dles for horse and cattle pastures ; fences and 
 gates ; plant trainers ; arbours and arches ; 
 plant umbrellas and canopies ; flower stands 
 and stages ; garden chairs ; bedsteads ; wire 
 gauze blinds ; sieves and riddles ; Venetian 
 blinds ; bird cages ; fire guards ; safety lamps 
 and lanterns ; meat covers and safes. Lastly, 
 we may mention wire ropes, of the use of 
 which a few illustrations have been given 
 under ROPE MAKING and SUSPENSION BRIDGES. 
 
 WOAD. This is a plant cultivated for the 
 sake of the leaves, which, after being properly 
 prepared, are used as an ingredient in dyeing 
 blue, and as a basis for black. Three or four 
 crops are obtained in a year. When the leaves 
 have been gathered, they are ground in a mill 
 to a sort of paste, which is then pressed into 
 heaps. A blackish crust forms on the outside. 
 After thus lying for about a fortnight the 
 heaps are opened, the crust rubbed and mixed 
 with the interior portions, and the whole 
 formed into oval balls, which are pressed close 
 and solid in wooden moulds. The balls are 
 dried for the market. When about to be used 
 in dyeing, the balls are broken in fragments, 
 and allowed to ferment, by which a thick 
 foetid fume is given off. By steeping the leaves 
 in water, an infusion is obtained which will 
 impart a green dye, and this green changes to 
 blue by exposure to the air. 
 
 WOOD. The uses of wood in the arts are 
 
 illustrated in the articles CARVING ; DRY ROT ; 
 SHIP BUILDING ; TIMBER ; &c., and under the 
 names of the principal timber trees. 
 
 WOOD ENGRAVING is the art of pro- 
 ducing raised surfaces, by excision, on blocks 
 of wood, from which impressions can be trans- 
 ferred by means of a coloured pigment to 
 paper, or other suitable medium, and gene- 
 rally applied to pictorial representations of 
 objects. 
 
 The art of cutting both upon metal and 
 wood for other purposes than those which are 
 now understood as printing, ascends to a very 
 remote antiquity. The Egyptians indeed seem 
 to have made a very close approximation to 
 printing, in their wooden stamps used for im- 
 pressing characters on clay or other ductile 
 material ; and printing from engraved wood 
 blocks has been practised by the Chinese pro- 
 bably from the 10th century. 
 
 In Europe the first application of the art of 
 wood-engraving took place in Germany about 
 the beginning of the 15th century. It was 
 probably first used for the production 01 
 playing-cards, the outlines of which were 
 formed by impressions from wood-cuts, and 
 the colouring filled up by hand. The first 
 wood-cut with a date known to be in existence 
 is of 1423 ; it represents St. Christopher car- 
 rying our Saviour on his shoulders across a 
 river. The next great step was the production 
 of block books and the adoption of moveable 
 letters ; and without entering into the disputed 
 question of the dates of the Biblia Pau- 
 perum,' the ' Speculum Salvationist and others, 
 they sufficiently prove the extension of its use, 
 and many of the early books with moveable 
 types were illustrated with pictorial wood cuts. 
 Maps also were engraved on wood. In an 
 edition of Ptolemseus, printed in 1482 at Ulm, 
 there are twenty-seven ; and in a later edition, 
 printed at Venice in 1511, the outline, with 
 the mountains and rivers, is in wood, while 
 the names are printed with type, and in two 
 colours, no doubt by separate workings. In 
 1486 the improvement known as ' cross-hatch- 
 ing,' by which the bold and free effect of a 
 pen-drawing was endeavoured to be attained, 
 was shown in Breidenberg's ' Travels,' printed 
 at Mentz. This invention has been usually 
 attributed to Michael Wohlgemuth, the master 
 of Albert Diirer. The art had now attained 
 an excellence which induced artists of cele- 
 brity and talent to select it as the means of 
 conveying their designs to the world. Among 
 the most distinguished in this line was Albert 
 Diirer, whose productions as a painter, and an 
 engraver on copper and wood, are so nu- 
 merous as to excite a doubt whether he was 
 actually an engraver on wood himself, or 
 
1795 WOOL; WOOL TRADE. 
 
 whether he only put the designs on the blocks, 
 leaving them for other hands to execute. 
 
 In the early part of the 16th century several 
 artists of celebrity were either designers on 
 wood or engravers. Books were also at this 
 period profusely illustrated. The art was 
 chiefly practised in -Germany, where it was 
 patronised by the Emperor Maximilian, for 
 whom Burgmair produced the great work 
 called ' The Triumphs of Maximilian.' The 
 next great name in the annals of wood-en- 
 graving is Hans Holbein, whose ' Dance of 
 Death' was printed at Lyon, in 1538, though 
 Bartsch and Jackson deny that he engraved 
 on wood, and Mr. Douse even questions his 
 being the designer. From about 1545 to 1580 
 wood-engraving continued to be much used for 
 the illustrating of books. From this period 
 there is little to be recorded of essential im- 
 portance, till the appearance of Bewick, to 
 whom the revival of wood-engraving is chiefly 
 to be attributed. 
 
 WOOL; WOOL TRADE. The term 'wool' 
 is now applied almost exclusively to the fleece 
 of the sheep. The distinction between wool 
 and hair is more easily understood than. de- 
 scribed. Wool compared with hair is generally 
 softer, more flexible, and more disposed to 
 undergo the felting process, which imparts to 
 it so much value in manufactures. Many of 
 the wilder animals, such as the beaver, the 
 racoon, the wild-cat, and the otter, produce 
 both hair and wool, the hair forming the long 
 and conspicuous outer fibres, and the shorter 
 fibres of wool lying hidden beneath. The 
 goats of Angora, or Ancyra, of Tibet, and of 
 Cashmere, yield woolly fibres of great beauty, 
 which are peculiarly suited for the weaving of 
 shawls. For the manufacture of all kinds of 
 woollen fabrics, except these shawls, the wool 
 of the sheep is used. [SHEEP.] 
 
 In the time of Edward I. a duty was im- 
 posed on the exportation of British wool, and 
 in 1387 an act was passed for prohibiting the 
 exportation. From that time down to the 
 reign of Charles I. the exportation of British 
 wool was sometimes prohibited and sometimes 
 allowed under certain restrictions and duties. 
 From 1660 down to 1824 the exportation was 
 strictly prohibited. In the meantime duties, 
 sometimes more, sometimes less, were laid on 
 the importation of foreign wool. At length, 
 in 1824, an act was passed making the duty 
 on importation and exportation the same, viz., 
 Id. per Ib. The duty on exportation was soon 
 afterwards removed, and in 1844 the duty on 
 the importation of foreign wool ceased al- 
 together. 
 
 All the finer wools used to be brought from 
 Spain ; but in 1765 the Elector of Saxony im- 
 
 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. 1796 
 
 ported into his dominions a few Merino 
 sheep, which have had a most surprising in- 
 fluence on the trade of wool. The Saxony 
 Merinos, instead of degenerating, improved 
 upon their Spanish progenitors, and the wool 
 afforded by them has almost driven the Spanish 
 wool out of the English market. But the 
 most remarkable circumstance in the recent 
 history of the wool -trade is the rapid increase 
 in the quantity of wool imported from Aus- 
 tralia. This is shown by comparing the quan- 
 tities imported in the three following years : 
 
 1829.. 1,838,642 Ibs. 
 
 1839 10,128,774 
 
 1849 35,879,171 
 
 The quantity imported from various countries 
 in 1849 was as follows : 
 
 Australia 35,879,171 Ibs. 
 
 Spain 127,559 
 
 Germany.... 12,750.011 
 
 Other European Countries 11,432,354 
 
 South America 6,014,;V25 
 
 Cape of Good Hope . 5,377,495 
 
 East Indies 4,182,853 
 
 All other parts 1,004,679 
 
 Total 76,768,647 
 
 In 1848 the quantity of wool exported was 
 4,000,000 Ibs. 
 
 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANU- 
 FACTURE S. Wools are divided into two great 
 classes Clothing- Wools and Combing- Wools, 
 or Short-Wools and Long-Wools; and the 
 fabrics woven from them are termed Woollens 
 or Worsteds, according as the one or the other 
 is employed. Clothing wools possess in high 
 perfection that peculiar property which enables 
 the fibres to ' felt' or interlace one among 
 another, and to form thereby the dense com- 
 pact material of which men's garments are so 
 largely made in this country ; whereas comb- 
 ing-wools, though long in fibre, are deficient 
 in the felting property, and are therefore em- 
 ployed for stuffs, merinos, hosiery, and a largo 
 number of fabrics which do not undergo the 
 felting process. 
 
 Woollen Manufacture. The sorting of the 
 wool is the first operation. Each pack of 
 wool contains many different qualities, ac- 
 cording to the part of the fleece whence it was 
 taken, and other circumstances ; and much 
 tact and discrimination are called for in the 
 separation. The sorter has to make his se- 
 lection in relation to the fineness, ttye softness, 
 the strength, the colour, the cleanness and the 
 weight of the wool ; and in reference to these 
 qualities he separates the wool into many 
 parcels. When the proper kinds are selected, 
 they are next tvashed or scoured witla s,oap and 
 
1797 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES 
 
 alkali, to free them from the grease which in- 
 variably attaches to them. 
 
 If the cloth is dyed in the wool, that opera- 
 tion succeeds the scouring ; but if dyed in the 
 piece, many other processes intervene ; and 
 it depends a good deal on the kind of colour 
 as to which plan is followed. Supposing the 
 dyeing to be completed, however, the wool 
 undergoes the process of willying. or willowing, 
 which is somewhat analogous to the batting 
 or scutching in the cotton-manufacture ; the 
 object being to open and disentangle the locks 
 of wool, and cleanse them from sandy and 
 other loose impurities. The willowing ma- 
 chine contains a number of revolving spikes 
 which tear asunder the fibres of the wool, and 
 a fan which blows away the dust from them. 
 There are frequently impurities which cannot 
 be removed by the willy, and such are after- 
 wards picked' out by boys or women, called 
 Wool-Moaters, or Wool-Pickers. A further 
 opening of fibres results from the process of 
 scribbling ; but before this is effected, the 
 wool, undergoes that of oiling ; it being spread 
 out on a floor, sprinkled with olive -oil, and 
 well beaten with staves. The scribbling -machine 
 is very similar in its principle of action to the 
 carding-engine. [ COTTON SPINNING.] 
 
 The cardings into which the wool is brought 
 by this operation, and which are short pieces 
 in the form of rolls or sticks, are then spun 
 into yarn for the use of the woollen-weaver ; 
 the process of spinning being generally ef : 
 fected by means of the slubbing -billy or slab- 
 Mag-machine, and afterwards by the common 
 jenny or mule-spinning machine ; the slub- 
 bing : billy bringing the wool to the state of a 
 soft weak thread, and the spinning-machine 
 giving it the proper firmness and hardness 
 for yarn. 
 
 The process next following that of spinning 
 is weaving, by which the yarn is worked up 
 into a textile fabric. [WEAVING.] Formerly 
 woollen cloths were principally woye.n by 
 hand-weavers ; but the power-loom is every 
 year superseding more and more the com- 
 mon loom. 
 
 As the wool has been dressed with oil 
 before spinning, and with size before weaving, 
 it becomes necessary to cleanse it from these 
 impurities immediately after the weaving. 
 This is the object of a second scouring pro- 
 cess, in which the cloth is beaten with wooden 
 mallets in a kind of trough or mill ; soap and 
 water being let in upon it first, and then clear 
 water. Being then carried to the drying -room, 
 or the tenter-ground, it is stretched out by 
 means of hooks on rails, and allowed to dry in 
 a smooth and extended state. It is then 
 taken into a room and examined by JBurlers, 
 
 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. 1738 
 
 who pick out all irregular threads, hairs, or 
 dirt. After this it is ready for the important 
 process of fulling or felting, which imparts to 
 woollen goods that peculiarity of surface 
 whereby they are distinguished from all others. 
 A large mass of cloth folded into many plies is 
 put into the fulling-mill, where it is exposed 
 to the long-continued action of two heavy 
 wooden mallets or stocks. Superfine cloth 
 has four fullings of three hours each, a thick 
 solution of soap being spread between each 
 layer of cloth every time. This process, be- 
 sides felting or interlacing the fibres together, 
 thickens the cloth remarkably, but diminishes 
 it both in length and breadth nearly one-half. 
 
 In the fulled state the cloth presents a 
 woolly and rough appearance, to improve 
 which it goes through the process of teazling 
 or raising, and shearing or cutting, the object 
 of the first being to raise the ends of 'the 
 fibres above the surface, and of the second to 
 cut them off to a uniform level. The raising 
 of the fibres is effected by thistle-heads, 
 teazling-cards, or wire-brushes. Teazles are 
 the seed-pods of the Djpsacus FiiUonum,, and 
 are used by hand [TEAZLE]; but sometimes 
 wire-cards are used, fixed to a machine called 
 a (fig-mill. 
 
 ' 'When the ends of the fibres have been 
 thus raised to the surface, they are next; 
 sheared or cropped, a process of great beauty 
 and singularity. Originally this process was 
 performed by means of large hand-shears, the 
 cloth being stretched over a stuffed t$ble, and 
 the workman proceeding to clip the ends of 
 the fibres in a regular and equable manner ; 
 but the process is now more frequently con- 
 ducted by a machine, which causes a revolving 
 circular furnished with cutters to travel hori- 
 zontally over the cloth, and shear it. 
 
 When the cloth has been raised and sheared 
 (which operations are repeated two or three 
 times for superfine cloth), it is brushed by a 
 machine consisting of a "system of brushes 
 affixed to cylinders j the cloth being exposed 
 at the same time to the action of the brushes 
 and of steam. A few subsequent operations 
 are carried on, having for their object the 
 imparting of smoothness, gloss, &c., to the 
 cloth, preparatory to its being placed in the 
 hands of the dealers. 
 
 ^orsted Manufacture. All combing-wools 
 are longer in fibre than the clothing-wools, 
 but they are subject to the division into 
 long ' and ' short ' combing wools ; the long, 
 varying from 6 to 12 inches in length, being 
 used principally for coarse worsted goods, and 
 the short, from 4 to 7 inches, being used for 
 hosiery and some other purposes. 
 
 After the wool has been sorted, washed, 
 
1799 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. 
 
 and scoured from the adherent grease, and 
 dried in a heated room, it is carried to a 
 machine called a plitcker, containing a pair o] 
 spiked rollers, by the action of which the 
 wool is cleansed, separated, and the fibre* 
 straightened, preparatory to the process of 
 combing. This combing is sometimes per- 
 formed by hand, by means of two instruments 
 filled with spikes, between which the wool is 
 drawn till the fibres assume a regular arrange- 
 ment ; but a very efficient machine, somewhat 
 on the principle of the carding machine, is 
 now frequently used for this purpose. 
 
 When the wool has been combed either by 
 hand or machine, it is transferred to the 
 "breaking-frame^ the object of which is to open 
 out any fibres which may have escaped the 
 action of the combs, and to bring the wool 
 into the form of a roll or narrow belt. This 
 roll is then lapped round a large bobbin or 
 cylinder ; then passed a second time through 
 a breaking-frame ; and then subjected to the 
 action of a machine analogous in principle to 
 the drawing-frame of the cotton manufacture ; 
 the object being to extend the length, diminish 
 the thickness, and equalise the number of 
 fibres of the roll or sliver. Hitherto the 
 woolly fibres are merely slightly coherent, 
 without having any twist ; but they are now 
 passed through a roving -machine, preparatory 
 to the process of spinning. The roving and 
 spinning are conducted much in the manner 
 described in the article COTTON SPINNING. 
 When spun, the worsted yarn is wound on a 
 reel, and is then made up into hanks. 
 
 Here terminate the operations of a worsted 
 mill. The dyeing of the yarn, and the weav- 
 ing into the various kinds of textile fabrics, 
 lead us to other departments of industry. 
 [DYEING ; WEAVING.] 
 
 Woollen Trade. Plain broad cloth is a spe- 
 cimen of plain weaving, followed by the ful- 
 ling process ; whereas kerseymere is a twilled 
 fabric, similarly fulled. Serges are twills 
 having worsted warp and coarse woollen weft. 
 Blankets are made of very soft yarn, afterwards 
 worked up into a kind of pile by milling ; 
 and many varieties of coarse cloth are of ana- 
 logous structure. Bombazeen is a twilled mix- 
 ture of worsted and silk ; Poplin is an un- 
 twilled mixture, showing more silk than 
 worsted at the surface. Goods called Saxo- 
 nies and Orleans are made of woollen, some- 
 *Vmes mixed with cotton, and afterwards 
 printed. Stuff is made wholly of worsted ; 
 while Merino is a fine woollen twill, some- 
 times printed. The material called Cashmere, 
 tf properly so named, is made of the shawl- 
 goat wool, much in the same way as merino ; 
 nut most of the fabrics so called are made of 
 
 WORCESTERSHIRE. 
 
 1800 
 
 sheep's wool. Cfiallis is a mixture of woollen 
 weft with silk warp, and is generally printed. 
 Mousseline-de-Lainc was originally all wool, 
 but is now frequently mixed with cotton, and 
 generally printed. Norwich Crape, unlike 
 common crape, is composed of wool and silk, 
 something like challis, but without being 
 printed. Crepe de Lyon is formed of worsted 
 and silk; and Italian Net of worsted only. 
 These examples are only intended to indicate 
 the sources of the varieties in woollen and 
 worsted goods, for to enumerate all the varie- 
 ties themselves would be nearly impossible. 
 This is particularly the case in respect to 
 Waistcoatings, where fancy weaving adds to 
 the sources of diversity. 
 
 Mr. McCulloch made a rough estimate, a 
 few years ago, that the value of woollen and 
 worsted goods made in the United Kingdom 
 averages about 23,000,000/. yearly ; that about 
 two- fifths of this sum are paid in wages ; and 
 that about 350,000 persons are directly em- 
 ployed in it. But it is admitted that the data 
 for forming such estimates are very insuffi- 
 cient. 
 
 The value of all kinds of woollens, worsteds, 
 worsted hosiery, and woollen and worsted 
 yarn, exported from Great Britain in 1&30 
 was estimated at 4,728,666J. ; in 1840, at 
 5,327,853/. ; and' in 1849, at 8,420,342/. 
 
 WOOLWICH DOCKYARD. The Royal 
 Dockyard at Woolwich much resembles those 
 already described as existing elsewhere. 
 "CHATHAM; PLYMOUTH; PORTSMOUTH.] The 
 same groupings of manufacturing arrange- 
 ments are to be met with in all of them, sub- 
 ect to certain minor differences. Woolwich 
 is also rich in other government establish- 
 ments ; but they belong rather to military 
 than to manufacturing operations, and scarcely 
 come within the scope of this volume. 
 
 WORCESTERSHIRE. There are coal 
 deposits of various degrees of richness in this 
 county. The town of Dudley stands on the 
 thicker coal-measures. In the neighbourhood 
 of Droitwich and Stoke Prior are saliferous 
 jeds, from which a large quantity of salt is 
 manufactured. The northern part of the 
 county is well supplied with railways and 
 canals. In respect to agriculture, the average 
 produce of wheat in Worcestershire is higher 
 ;han in many other counties. Potatoes are 
 raised in great abundance for the supply of 
 Birmingham and other large towns. Wolverley 
 Sands have long been famous for the growth 
 of carrots, and for raising carrot seed. Or- 
 chards are numerous, but many of the trees 
 are old. 
 
 The northern part of the county contains 
 many manufacturing towns. The industry 
 
1801 
 
 WORMWOOD. 
 
 of BEOHSGEOVE, DEOITWICH, DUDLEY, and 
 KIDDKEMINSTEE, is briefly noticed in separate 
 articles. Redditch is the great seat of the 
 needle manufacture ; and Stourbridge has ex- 
 tensive manufactures in iron, glass, and fire- 
 bricks. 
 
 WORMWOOD (Artemisia absinthium), is 
 an indigenous perennial plant met with on 
 waste places, but that which is required for 
 medical use is mostly cultivated. The upper 
 part of the stem, with the leaves and un- 
 expanded flowers, should be collected, for 
 these parts possess the peculiar aroma, with 
 a strong bitter taste; while the lower part of 
 the stem is merely aromatic, and devoid of 
 bitterness. Wormwood possesses the pro- 
 perties common to aromatic bitters, but it 
 seems to possess also some peculiar ones 
 rendering it worthy of more attention than it 
 receives. The bitter principle is readily ab- 
 sorbed, so that he flesh of animals fed upon 
 it becomes manifestly bitter. Ale in which 
 wormwood has been steeped (purl) is more 
 heady than other ale. 
 
 WORSTED. [WOOLLEN AND WOESTED MA- 
 
 NUF AC TUBES.] 
 
 WURTEMBERG is one of the most fruit- 
 ful countries of Germany, and agriculture is 
 on the whole carried on upon a good system. 
 A manifest improvement in the breed of 
 cattle and horses is remarked at every new 
 cattle-show at Cannstadt, where a fete is held 
 Sept. 26, in each year. The chief agricultural 
 products are spelt, maize, oats, barley, rye, 
 
 XANTHIAN MARBLES. -1802 
 
 wheat, peas, beans, vetches, potatoes, flax, 
 hemp, rape-seed, poppies, hops, and tobacco. 
 Of the vineyards more than three-fifths are 
 in the circle of the Neckar, the rest are 
 chiefly on the Tauber and the lake of Con- 
 stanz; the wines of these last districts are 
 very different from the Neckar wines, rathei 
 resembling Rhenish. The metals and mine- 
 rals are copper, lead, zinc, iron, marble, mill- 
 stone-grit, freestone, quartz, precious stones, 
 porcelain earth, potters'-clay, fullers' earth, 
 chalk, salt, and a little coal. The salt works 
 are the property of government, which has 
 | the monopoly of the salt trade ; the annual 
 produce is about 24,000 tons. 
 
 The manufactures include linen and woollen 
 cloths, calicoes, silks, lace, hosiery, muslin, 
 carpets, leather, paper, porcelain, earthenware, 
 iron and steel ware, gold and silver plate, 
 tobacco, tobacco pipes, and gunpowder ; there 
 are likewise numerous distilleries and brew- 
 eries, and chemical factories. Wiirtemberg 
 has a very considerable trade in its natural 
 productions and manufactures, its horned 
 cattle, horses, sheep, timber, wool, and printed 
 books. The imports consist of raw cotton 
 and cotton manufactures, silks, glass wares, 
 Avine, fruit, cheese, china, earthenware, and all 
 kinds of colonial produce. There is likewise 
 a very great transit trade. The inland navi- 
 gation is important, especially on the Neckar, 
 which becomes navigable at Cannstadt; above 
 2000 vessels are employed in it. 
 
 X 
 
 XANTHTAN MARBLES. These interest- 
 ing marbles form one of the most attractive 
 portions of the collection of antiquities in 
 the British Museum. They consists of a large 
 collection of sepulchral marbles of various 
 
 ages, which were first made known to the 
 European public by Mr. Fellows (now Sir 
 Charles), who discovered them in 1838. They 
 were all found in or near Xanthus, the ancient 
 capital of Lycia. 
 
1803 
 
 YARN. 
 
 YTTRIUM. 
 
 1301 
 
 YARN is the general name given to the 
 threads which are woven into the various 
 kinds of textile fabrics, whether, cotton, silk, 
 flax, hemp, wool, or worsted ; the terms twist, 
 mule-weft, organzine, tram, abb, line, &c., being 
 particular names applied to particular sorts. 
 [COTTON SPINNING; FLAX MANUFACTURE ; 
 SILK MANUFACTURE; SPINNING; WOOLLEN 
 AND WORSTED MANUFACTURES.] 
 
 The exportation of yarn has now become 
 very large, the perfection of English spinning- 
 machines enabling foreign weavers to buy 
 ready-spun yarn cheaper, in many cases, than 
 they can spin it themselves. The quantities 
 exported and the estimated values, in 1848, 
 were as follows: 
 
 Cotton Yarn ..] 35,831,162 Ibs. 6,927,83U. 
 
 Linen Yarn .. 11,722,182 493,449 
 
 Woollen Yarn . 8,429,152 776,975 
 
 155,982,496 Ibs. 7,198,255*. 
 
 YEAST, BARM, or FERMENT, is a sub- 
 stance which is deposited in an insoluble 
 state during the fermentation of wine, beer, 
 and vegetable juices. This substance, as is 
 well known, is employed to produce fermen- 
 tation in saccharine solutions. [BREAD ; 
 BREWING ; FERMENTATION.] 
 
 YEW. The timber of the yew tree is 
 applied to many useful purposes. In the days 
 of archery, yew was almost exclusively em 
 ployed for making bows; but various orna- 
 mental woods from South America are now 
 substituted for it in this respect. Yew-tree 
 wood is extensively used in cabinet making, 
 as being hard, compact, and of a very fine 
 close grain. It is also much used by 
 turners for making snuff-boxes, musical 
 instruments, &c. 
 
 YORKSHIRE. This county is rich in 
 minerals. The lower red sandstone, or Ponte- 
 fract Rock, near Pontefract, is usually a mass 
 of yellowish sands, ot the greatest excellence 
 for the use of the metal-founder in the con- 
 struction of his moulds. From beneath the 
 magnesian deposits rise the sandstones, 
 shales, ironstones, and coal of the West 
 Riding of Yorkshire, and fill an enormous 
 
 area in the valleys of the Aire, Calder, Went, 
 Dearn, Dove, and Don. The whole of this 
 large area (not less than 600 square miles) 
 yields coal. The whole series of strata is 
 about 4000 feet thick ; and of the coal which 
 lies in this seiies there are about 20 workable 
 beds, yielding about 40 feet of coal, generally 
 of good quality. Ironstones of excellent quality 
 accompany the lower parts of this coal de- 
 posit. The seam of coal are worked in the 
 west of Yorkshire as thin as 18 inches (near 
 Hah' fax and Penistone), and one as thick as 
 8, 9, or 10 feet (Bamsley), but the average is 
 from 3 to 6 feet. The most characteristic 
 rock in the millstone grit of the West Riding 
 is the quartzose conglomerate, used in making 
 millstones. 
 
 Yorkshire is excellently supplied with canals 
 and railways, in aid of its manufactures and 
 j commerce. The manufactures of the county 
 are of great importance. The manufacture 
 of woollen cloths, at Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, 
 Wakefield, and Huddersfield, has been brought 
 to such a degree of perfection as to compete 
 with the woollens of the West of England, 
 while it far exceeds them in quantity. The 
 iron-works are very extensive. Sheffield is 
 the great seat of the manufacture of cutlery 
 of all kinds, as well as of tools and plated 
 goods. Linens are extensively manufactured 
 at Barnsley, blanketing at Dewsbury, and 
 glass and iron at Rotherham. Hull, Whitby, 
 and Goole, are the chief ports. Under the 
 names of the principal towns of the West 
 Riding, a few details will be found illustrative 
 of the manufacturing industry of the county. 
 
 YTTRIUM, a peculiar metal discovered by 
 Gadolin in 1794, in the state of oxide, which 
 is named Yttria. It presents the aspect of 
 small brilliant scales, having a perfect metallic 
 Ins! re. After being washed and dried, it is a 
 brilliant blackish gray powder, composed of 
 small metallic scales. It does not oxidise 
 either by the action of air or water, at common 
 temperatures ; but when heated to redness in 
 the air, it takes fire, burns with much splen- 
 dour, and is converted into yttria. Yttrium has 
 not yet been applied to many useful purposes. 
 
1805 
 
 ZEALAND, NEW. 
 
 ZIBCO'NIUM. 
 
 1800 
 
 ZEALAND, NEW. In these islands cop- 
 per, manganese, and coal, have been found. 
 The soil on the table-lands, in the valleys, 
 and near the coasts, is generally fertile, and 
 the surface is well wooded. The sides of the 
 mountains are generally bare of wood, but 
 overgrown with ferns and grasses. The New 
 Zealand flax -plant (Phormium tenax), an 
 edible fern (Pteris esculenta),t}ie sweet potato, 
 and a variety of timber-trees, are the chief 
 vegetable productions. Wheatj maize, and 
 other grains and vegetables have^ been intro- 
 duced by the colonists, and the grazing 
 grounds afford pasture all the year round. 
 
 ZINC. This metal, in commerce frequently 
 called Spelter, does not occur in the native 
 state, but is obtained from its ores, which are 
 chiefly the 1 sulphuret ' and carbonate of zinc. 
 Zinc has a brilliant metallic lustre and a 
 bluish white colour. It is so hard as to be 
 filed with some difficulty, and its toughness is 
 such as to require very considerable force 'to 
 break it when the mass is considerable. The 
 specific gravity of zinc varies from 6-86 to 
 7-21. It undergoes little alteration, even by 
 the combined operation of air and moisture, 
 at common temperatures. When heated to 
 between the temperature of boiling water and 
 300 Fahr., it becomes both malleable and 
 ductile, so that it may be rolled into sheets 
 and drawn into wire. It fuses at 773 Fahr;, 
 and when cautiously cooled crystallises j as- 
 suming the prismatic form. Exposed to a 
 white heat, out of the contact of air, it sub- 
 limes and is condensed unchanged. 
 
 The ores of zinc comprise the Sulphuret, 
 or Blende ; the Oxisulphuret, or Voltzite ; the 
 Carbonate, or Calamine ; the Hydrous Car- 
 bonate; the Sulphate; the Phosphate; the 
 Silicate ; the Hydrous Silicate ; the Alumi- 
 nate the Oxide of Zinc and Manganese ; the 
 Sulphuret of Zinc and Iron. Some of these 
 ores 'are crystalline, some massive. The 
 largest specimen ever procured, perhaps, is 
 that which has been sent from America to 
 
 Z 
 
 the Great Exhibition, and which weighs 
 16,000 Ibs. 
 
 The combinations of zinc with other sub- 
 stances are numerous, and many of them 
 valuable. The Sulphate of Zinc constitutes 
 White Vitriol. Zinc combined with copper 
 forms Brass; and with iron it forms a very 
 hard alloy. If plates of hot iron be dipped 
 into melted zinc, they acquire the appearance 
 of tin-plate, and the iron is prevented from 
 rusting; the coating of zinc is sometimes 
 applied by galvanic agency. 
 
 ZINC PAINT. An attempt is now being- 
 made to find a substitute for white lead in 
 house-painting. White lead forms the basis 
 of nearly all the pigments used by the house- 
 painter ; and though it is known to produce 
 very injurious effects upon the health of those 
 who use it, yet white lead possesses so many 
 valuable properties, that it has outlived all 
 the objections urged against it, and all the 
 attempts made to supersede it. It remains 
 to be seen whether the ' Patent White Zinc 
 Paint' will be more successful. According to 
 the patentees, it is free from all poisonous 
 qualities ; is unchangeable in tint by noxious 
 gases ; is so lustrous as to need no varnish ; 
 s more economical than white lead ; and is 
 easier to Use. Time must test the validity of 
 these claims. The French government is said 
 ;o have adopted the White Zinc Paint in all 
 :he public works. 
 
 ZIECO'NIUM,is a peculiar metal obtained 
 from the earth or metallic oxide Zirconia. 
 Under the burnisher it assumes the lustre of 
 iron; and is compressed into scales resembling 
 graphite. "When heated in the air, even 
 below redness, it takes fire ; and by combining 
 with oxygen is converted into oxide of zirco- 
 nium, or Zirconia. Zircon, the mineral from 
 which the earth and the metal have been 
 named, occurs in prysmatib crystals j and con- 
 sists of zirconia and silica; Zircon, like most 
 of these new metals, has yet scarcely been 
 brought into useful application. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 THE Wood Engravings which appear in this Work have reference chiefly to 
 large departments, and occasionally localities, of British Industry ; but they also 
 illustrate distinct branches of those departments. For this latter reason it has been 
 thought less desirable to attempt to place them in connection with any particular 
 articles, than to group them together at the end of the volume. It is optional on 
 the part of each purchaser, however, to have the engravings re-arranged by the 
 binder in any other order. 
 
 The following table will elucidate the several pages of engravings. In the first 
 column is given the number of the cut, as printed on the left-hand bottom corner ; 
 in the next is a brief description of the subjects ; while in the third is a reference 
 to such articles in the body of the work as receive illustration from the engravings 
 in question. 
 
 No.ofCur. SUBJECTS. 
 
 1. EMBLEMATICAL OP THE INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS. 
 
 2. Agricultural : View in Ipswich, which has become a centre 
 
 of agricultural machine making ploughs, harrows, rollers, 
 scarifiers, drills, clod crushers, turnip cutters, &c. 
 
 3. Import of Materials of Manufactures : The centre quay of 
 
 Bristol, with its commercial shipping timber, tobacco, 
 &c. 
 
 4. Button Manufacture : Birmingham, as the centre of this 
 
 branch of industry the large sketch shews the principal 
 room in a Birmingham establishment where buttons are 
 made to an immense extent the small sketches shew a 
 button-stamper and a button-burnisher. 
 
 5. Brewery and Brewing : Entrance to Barclay and Perkins' 
 
 vast establishment hop plant malting-barley plant one 
 of Barclay and Perkins' large vats, holding more than a 
 hundred thousand gallons. 
 
 6. Copper and Lead Manufactures : Swansea, as the centre of 
 
 copper smelting and trade making copper cylinders, sugar- 
 pans, boilers, and coolers casting lead into slabs rolling 
 lead slabs into sheet lead. 
 
 7. Manufacturing Chemistry : Newcastle, as one of the great 
 
 centres of this department of industry range of furnaces 
 at the Felling Chemical Works, for making soda and carbo- 
 nate of soda leaden chambers for containing sulphurous 
 acid gas, during its change into sulphuric acid platinum 
 still for concentrating sulphuric acid. 
 
 8. Coach Making : Southampton, as one of the seats of this 
 
 manufacture the general operations in a coach-maker's 
 loft or principal workshop making a coach spring mak- 
 ing a coach wheel. 
 
 3. Candle and Soap Making : Stirring and lading the molten 
 tallow and alkali, in the soap-boiling coppers filling the 
 soap frames cutting the solidified soap into bars making 
 dip candles making wickg making mould candles. 
 
 References to ARTICLES. 
 
 DRILL ; HARROW ; 
 PLOUGH; EOLLER; SCA- 
 RIFIER, &c. 
 
 BRISTOL ; IMPORTS 
 AND EXPORTS ; and the 
 names of varied pro- 
 ducts. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM ; BUT- 
 TON MANUFACTURE 
 ELECTRO METALLURGY 
 GILDING. 
 
 BARLEY ; BREWING 
 FERMENTATION; HOPS 
 
 MALT. 
 
 COPPER ; CORNWALL 
 DERBYSHIRE ; LEAD 
 SWANSEA ; WALES. 
 
 ALUM ; GLASGOW 
 MURIATIC ACID ; NEW- 
 CASTLE ; SALT ; SODA , 
 SULPHURIC ACID. 
 
 AXLE ; COACH MAK- 
 ING; SPRINGS ; WHEELS. 
 
 BARILLA ; CANDLE ; 
 KELP ; PALM On, ; SOAP; 
 SODA; STEARINE; TAL- 
 LOW. 
 
1808 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No.ofCuT. SUBJECTS. 
 
 10. Cutlery Manufacture : Saw grinding making ivory handles 
 
 for knives, &c. a ' wheel,' or cutlery grinding mill, near 
 Sheffield. 
 
 11. Coal Mining : Miners and their apparatus, at the bottom of 
 
 a shaft in a coal mine upper ground works at the Percy 
 Main Colliery upper ground works at the Hartley Col- 
 liery coal drops and staiths, and coal ships at Sunder- 
 land. 
 
 12. Cotton Manufacture : Part of the apparatus for roving cot- 
 
 ton, preparatory to spinning part of a mule spinning 
 machine ranges of power looms, as now employed in the 
 largest establishments a Manchester cotton mill at 
 night. 
 
 13. Carpet Making : A paper pattern, as used by rug-weavers 
 
 combing the wool for carpet weavers Scotch carpet loom 
 Brussels carpet loom Persian rug loom carpet shear- 
 ing machine. 
 
 14. Distilling : Interior of Smith's distillery at Thames Bank 
 
 barley and malt receiving the ground meal from the mill 
 mash tun for preparing the wort, before distilling cop- 
 per still for distilling the wort into wash or spirit floor or 
 shallow tank for cooling the wort after mashing. 
 
 15. Dyeing and Bleaching : Keir or boiler containing bleach- 
 
 liquid heated by steam, through which an endless web of 
 calico is repeatedly passed washing the bleached calico 
 in revolving wheels singeing or removing the loose fibres 
 from the surface of bleached calico, by passing it over a 
 heated roller wringing out yarn after dyeing printing 
 Bandana handkerchiefs a bleach-ground near Glasgow. 
 
 10. Flax Manufacture : Interior of Marshall's flax mill at Leeds 
 heckling or disentangling flax drawing the flax, prepa- 
 ratory to spinning doubling the drawings, as a further 
 stage carding tow for inferior purposes. 
 
 17. Gas Works: A retort house at the Westminster Works; 
 
 showing the retorts in groups of five, and the vertical 
 pipes which convey the gas from the retorts to the hori- 
 zontal main the end of a retort about being opened 
 vessels in which the gas is purified and condensed gaso- 
 meters, as they appear when nearly full meters and tell- 
 tales, to register the quantity and pressure of the gas at 
 the works. 
 
 18. Glass Making : A plate glass casting table, at the moment 
 
 when the molten glass is being poured upon it men mix- 
 ing the half-melted glass in a trough, in a preparative stage 
 the tube and pontil employed in blowing window glass 
 the flashing or expansion of the blown window glass into 
 a circular slab blowing bottle glass blowing sheet glass 
 interior of a glass blowing furnace section of the fur- 
 nace form of the glass pots or crucibles. 
 
 19. Floor-cloth Manufacture : The drying-room of a factory, 
 
 (the large floor-cloth depicted represents one at the Great 
 Exhibition) applying the first layer of paint with a trowel 
 preparing and spreading the colours for the printer a 
 printer, impressing a device by a blow on the carved block 
 
 References to ARTICLES. 
 
 CUTLERY ; HOBN ; 
 RAZOR ; SHEFFIELD ; 
 STEEL. 
 
 COAL ; DURHAM ; 
 LAMP, SAFETY ; NEW- 
 CASTLE. 
 
 ARKWRIGHT; COTTON; 
 FACTORIES ; GLASGOW ; 
 LANARKSHIRE ; LANCA- 
 SHIRE ; MANCHESTER ; 
 SPINNING ; WEAVING ; 
 YARN. 
 
 BRUSSELS ; CARPET 
 MANUFACTURE ; KID- 
 DERMINSTER; WOOL. 
 
 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS , 
 BRANDY ; CORDIALS ; 
 DISTILLATION ; GIN ; 
 MALT ; RECTIFYING , 
 RUM; SPIRITS. 
 
 BANDANA ; BLEACH- 
 ING ; CALICO PRINTING ; 
 DYEING; DRYING MA- 
 CHINES ; GLASGOW ; 
 LANCASHIRE. 
 
 ABERDEEN; BELFAST; 
 FLANDERS ; FLAX ; 
 LEEDS; LINEN; YARN. 
 
 BUDE LIGHT ; COKE ; 
 ELECTRIC LIGHT; GAS; 
 LAMPS ; METERS. 
 
 ALKALI ; BARILLA ; 
 BOTTLE ; FLINT; GLASS; 
 KELP ; IMPORTS AND 
 EXPORTS; SODA. 
 
 CANVAS ; DUNDEE ; 
 FLOOR-CLOTH ; HEMP. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 1809 
 
 No. of COT. 
 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 device to show how a pattern of five colours is produced 
 by five carved blocks. 
 
 20. Hat Manufacture : Machine for cutting beaver or other fur 
 
 from the pelt or skin battery or kettle containing hot 
 acid liquid, with the processes of making the felt for a hat 
 mode of bowing or disentangling the fur and wool em- 
 ployed first stage, or shaping a hat frame containing 
 hats for dyeing. 
 
 21. Iron Manufacture .-Filling a blast furnace with coal, iron 
 
 brej and limestone tapping" the furnace ; the molten metal 
 flowing into channels in a sanded floor casting iron pipes 
 ovens for making coke for some bf the furnaces 
 puddling furnaces rolling iron into bars cutting iron 
 plates or sheets. 
 
 22. Needle Making: Eiibbing the wires to make needles- 
 
 stamping the channels piercing the eyes double needles 
 threaded on a spring or wire, for the pointer grinding the 
 points straightening after pointing several stages in 
 the progress of a needle ; 1 to 6 shew six stages in the 
 progress of a wire for making two needles ; iv. v. and vi. 
 shew the middle portion on a larger scale ; A to D shew 
 the eye in four stages. 
 
 23. Lace and Net Manufacture : Bobbins of a winding engine, 
 
 to prepare cotton for the net machine a few meshes to 
 shew the twist of bobbin net a few details of the bobbin 
 net machine the cards of a Jacquard apparatus, as em- 
 ployed in weaving figured net-^-tlie tables on which net is 
 stretched preparatory to starching or dressing lace run- 
 ners or net embroiderers, as employed at Nottingham 
 comparative appearance of machine lace arid run or em- 
 broidered lace. 
 
 2A. Leather Manufacture : Interior of a tannery at Bermdndsey 
 =turning and drawing goat-skins ill the tan-pit tanning 
 with sumach liquor unhairing a goat-skin before tanning 
 ; staking or currying kid leather splitting sheep-skin 
 into two thicknesses stocks for fulling or beating shamoy 
 leather. 
 
 25. Earthenware Manufacture: Crushing flints with stampers' 
 grinding flints mixing materials for the ' slip ' turn- 
 ing the ware after throwing making plates printing the 
 papers for blue ware interior of a ' bank ' or Staffordshire 
 pottery -work. 
 
 26; Porcelain Manufacture .-Another mode of flint-grinding 
 forming balls of porcelain clay, and making vessels- fixing 
 handles putting ware into seggars placing the seggars 
 in the biscuit kiln moulds, patterns, press, &c., for making 
 encaustic tiles. 
 
 27. Mope and Sail Making .-Analysis, shewing component parts 
 
 of a rope rope-spinning laying or tightening a rope 
 machine for making strands of ropes machine for making 
 flat ropes dressing and beaming yarn for making sail 
 cloth. 
 
 28, Ship Building : Interior of a ship-yard tank for steaming 
 
 the timbers before bending making treenails boring 
 holes for treenails spinning oakum for caulking caulk- 
 
 Reference to ARTICLES. 
 
 BEAVER ; FELT ; FUR 
 HAIR; HAT; HUDSON'S 
 BAY; NUTRIA. 
 
 FOUNDING ; FURNACE ; 
 IRON ; METALLURGY ; 
 STEAM HAMMER. 
 
 NEEDLE j STEEL ; 
 WIRE. 
 
 EMBROIDERING; JAC- 
 QUARD ; LACE ; NOT- 
 TINGHAM. 
 
 BARK; IMPORTS AND 
 EXPORTS ; LEATHER ; 
 SHAGREEN ; SUMACH ; 
 TAN. 
 
 CLAY ; POTTERIES ; 
 POTTERY AND PORCE- 
 T.ATN ; STAFFORDSHIRE- 
 TESSELATED FLOORS , 
 WEDGWOOD. 
 
 HEMP ; RIGGING ; 
 ROPE; SAIL. 
 
 OAKUM ; RIGGING ; 
 SAILS ; SHIP BUILDING ; 
 TREENAILS. 
 
1810 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No. of CUT. 
 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 Reference to ARTICLES. 
 
 ing the seams serving or covering a rope stretching 
 sails driving a red-hot hoop on a mast section of a ship 
 while building. 
 
 29. Silk Manufacture: Specimens of Bengal, Broussa, and AIGLETS ; FACTORIES, 
 
 Italian silk throwing, winding, doubling, and spinning LYONS ; RIBBON ; SILK , 
 
 silk making tags for silk laces. SPITALFIELDS. 
 
 SO. Steel and File Manufactures .-Casting steel tilt hammer CUTLERY ; FILE , 
 
 for hardening shear steel treading clay for steel-casting SHEFFIELD ; STEEL ; 
 
 pots file forging file tempering file cutting. TILT HAMMER. 
 
 81. Sugar Refining: Warehousing and opening the casks of 
 brown sugar boiling sugar in the vacuum pan heating 
 the liquid sugar before moulding pouring melted sugar 
 into moulds brushing or cleaning the bases of the sugar 
 loaves cutting off the discoloured portions at a lathe 
 papering the loaves. 
 
 32. Steam Machinery and Engineering: Engine for cutting and 
 
 punching boiler plates planing machine and boring ma- 
 chine, for preparing iron plates paddle wheels in dif- 
 ferent positions various working details of marine 
 engines. 
 
 33. Locomotive and Railway Engineering: Stephenson's loco- 
 
 motive factory at Newcastle exterior of locomotive, 
 longitudinal section of ditto cross section of fire-box and 
 boiler Britannia Bridge over the Menai working details 
 of the Britannia Bridge. 
 
 34. Printing and Paper Making: Making paper by hand a 
 
 compositor, with his case of types composing stick, used 
 in adjusting the type into lines mould for making types 
 stereotype mould and frame printing press printing 
 machine hydraulic press, rolling machine, and cloth- 
 embossing machine, used in bookbinding. 
 
 35. Tobacco Manufacture: Tobacco warehouse: opening, cut- 
 
 ting, and pressing tobacco kiln for burning damaged 
 tobacco shredding leaves for common tobacco making 
 pigtail tobacco, cigars, and snuff. 
 
 36. Woollen Manufacture : Fulling-stocks for fulling or milling 
 
 broad cloth preparing teazles for dressing cloth dressing 
 or raising cloth interior of Leeds Cloth Hall. 
 
 37. Worsted Manufacture : Drawing wool into slivers for spin- 
 
 ning scouring yarn after spinning drawing- in the 
 worsted warp for the loom preparing Jacquard cards for 
 weaving weaving shed, with Jacquard power looms. 
 
 MOLASSES ; SUGAR 
 TREACLE. 
 
 CLYDE ; GLASGOW 
 IRON MANUFACTURE 
 PLANING MACHINE 
 STEAM ENGINE ; STEAM 
 VESSEL. 
 
 BOILER ; MENAI 
 BRIDGES ; NEWCASTLE ; 
 RAILWAY. 
 
 BOOKBINDING; COM- 
 POSING MACHINE; PA- 
 PER MAKING ; PRINT- 
 ING ; STEREOTYPE ; TYPE 
 FOUNDING. 
 
 CIGARS ; DOCKS ; 
 SNUFF; TOBACCO. 
 
 BRADFORD ; FACTO- 
 RIES; HALIFAX; IM- 
 PORTS AND EXPORTS ; 
 JACQUARD ; LEEDS 
 SPINNING ; TEXTILE 
 MANUFACTURES ; WEAV- 
 ING ; WOOL ; WOOLLEN 
 AND WORSTED MANU- 
 FACTURES; YARN. 
 

 
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