Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/1032

 LOW

L O X

the goat, the camel, the afs, the African ram, the flag, which has, like many of the birds, two kinds, and on the lion and the tyger. The fame author has obferved, that the fize of thefe creatures is not at all proportioned to that of the animal they are to inhabit, for the ffarlinghas them as large as the fwan. Redi, Gen. Inf. p. 312. It is obfervable, that fome fort of conftitutions are more apt to breed Ike than others j and that in certain places, of dif- ferent degrees of heat, they are very certain to be deftroyed upon people, who in other climates are over-run with them. It is an obfervation of Oviedo, that the Spanifh failors, who are generally much afflicted with lice, always loofe them in a certain degree in their voyage to the Indies, and have them again on their coming to the fame degree at their re- turn ; this is not only true of the Spaniards, but of all other people who make the fame voyage ; for though they fet out ever fo loufy, they have not one of thefe creatures to be found after they come to the tropic. And in the Indies there is no fuch thing as a loufe about the body, though the people be ever fo nafty. The failors continue free from thefe creatures till their return ; but in going back they ufually begin to be loufy, after they come to about the lati- tude of Maderas. The extreme fwcats, which the work- ing people naturally fall into between this latitude and the Indies, drown and deftroy the ltd, and are of the fame effect as the rubbing over the loufy heads of children with butter and oil. The fweat in and about the Indies is not rank as in Europe, and therefore it is not apt to breed lice; but when the people return into latitudes where they fweat rank again, their nailinefs fuhjects them to the fame vifitations of thefe vermin which it ufed to have.

The people in general, in the Indies, are very fubject to lice in their heads, though free from them in their bodies. The reafon of this is, that their heads fweat lefs than their body, and they take no care to comb and clean them, The Spanifh negroes wafh their heads thoroughly once every week with foap, to prevent their being loufy. This makes them efcane much better than the other negroes who are flaves there, for the lice grow fo numerous in their heads, that they often eat large holes in this part. Mr. dela Hire has given a curious account of the creature which he found on the common fly. Having occalion to view a living fly by the microfcope; he obferved on its head back, and moulders, a great number of fmall animals crawl- ing very nimbly about, and often climbing up the hairs, which grow at the origin of the fly's legs. He, with a fine needle, took up one of thele and placed it before themicro- fcope, ufed to view the animalcules in fluids. It had eight l«gs, four on each fide ; they were not placed very diftant from one another, but the four toward the head were fepa- ratcd by a fmall fpace from the four toward the tail. The feet were of a particular ftructure, being compofed of fe- veral fingers, as It were, and fitted tor taking fall: hold of any thing ; the two neareff the head were alfo more remarkable in this particular than thofe near the tail ; the extremities of the legs, for a little way above the feet, were dry and void of flcih, like the legs of birds, but above this part they ap- peared plump and ftefhy. It had two fmall horns upon its head, formed of feveral hairs arranged clofely together ; and there were fome other cluffcrs of hairs by the fide of thefe horns, but they had not the fame figure ; and toward the origin of the hinder legs there were two other fuch clutters of baits, which took their origin at the middle of the back. The whole creature was of a bright yellowifh red ; and the •legs, and all the body, except a large fpot In the center, were perfectly tnmfparent. In fize, the author believes it

■ was about 3 v,-* h P art °f the bignefs of the head of the fly ; he obferves, that it is rarely that flies are found infefted with them. Mem. Acad. Par. 1693.

Wood Louse. See Milxepedes.

LOW" hell, in birding, a name given to a bell, by means

of which they take birds in the night in open champaign - countries, and among Hubble in October. The method is

to go out about nine o'clock at night in a frill evening,

■ when the air is mild and the moon does not fhine.

The law bell is to be of a deep and hollow ibund, and of fuch a fize, that a man may conveniently carry it in one hand. The perfon who carries it is to make it toll all the way he goes, as nearly as may be, in that manner in which the bell on the neck of a fhecp tolls, as it goes on while it feeds. There- muff alfo be a box made like a large lanthorn, about a foot fquare, and lined with tin, but with one fide open. Two or three great lights are to be fet in this, and the box is to be fixed to the perfon's breaff, with the open fide for- wards, fo that the light may be caff forward to a great dif- tancc; it will fpread as it goes out of the box, and will diffinctly fhew the perfon who carries it whatever there is in the large fpace of ground which it extends over, and confe- quently all the birds that rooft upon the ground. Two perfons mult follow him who carries the box and bell, one on each fide, fo as not to be within the reach of the light to fhew themfelvcs. Each of thefe is to have a hand net of about three or four feet fquare, fattened to a long ftick or pole ; and on which ever fide any bird is feen at rooft, the perfon

who is neaFcft is to lay his net over it, and take it with as little noife as poffible. When the net is over the bird, the perfon who laid it, is not to be in a hurry to take the bird, but muff flay till he who carries the light is got beyond it, that the motions may not be difcovered. The blaze of the light, and the noife of the bell, terrify and amaze the birds, in fuch a manner, that they remain ftill to be taken ; but the people who are about the work mull keep the ftrictefl quiet and ftillnefs that may be.

Some people are fond of going on this fcheme alone. The perfon then fixes the light box to his breaff, and carries the bell in one hand and the net in the other; the net, in this cafe, ma^ be fomewbat fmaller, and the handle fhorter. When more than one are out at a time, it is always proper to carry a gun. It is no uncommon thing to fpy a hare when on this expedition ; and, in that cafe, it is better to fhoot her, than to truft to the taking her in the net, for fhe will very eafily efcape from that. Some tye the bell to their gir- dle, and carry the light in their left hand and the net in the right ; the light is not to be fo large in this cafe, and the other way is therefore rather the better. Low, in the manege — To carry low. See Carry. how-water. See Water. Low wines. See low Wines.

LOWERING^/.)— Lowering, in the diffillers bufinefe, a term ufed to exprefs the debafing the ffrength of any fpi- rituous liquor by mixing water with it. The ffandard and marketable price of thefe liquors is fixed, in regard to a certain ffrength in them called proof; this is that ffrength, which makes them, when fhook in a vial, or poured from on high into a glafs, retain a froth or crown of bubbles for fome time. In this ffate fpirits confiff of about half pure, or totally inflammable fpirit and half water ; and if any fo- reign or home fpirit is to be expofed to fale, and is found to have that proof wanting, fcarce any one will buy it, till it has been diftilled again and brought to that ffrength; and if it is above that ffrength, the proprietor ufually adds water to it to bring it down to that ffandard. This addition of water, to debafe the ffrength, is what is called lowering it. People well acquainted with the goods, will indeed buy fpirits at. any ffrength, only lowering a fample to the proof ffrength, and by that judging of the ffrength of the whole ; but the generality of buyers will not enter into this, but - muff have it ail lowered for them. S/WsEflay on Diffillery. There is another kind of lowering in practice among the re- tailers of fpirituous liquors to the vulgar, this is the reducing it under the ffandard of proof. They buy it proof, and after- wards increafe their profit upon it, by lowering it with wa- ter one eighth part. The quantity of fpirit is what they generally allow themfelves for the addition of water ; and whoever has the art of doing this, without deftroying the bubble proof, as this is eafily done by means of fome addi- tion, that gives a greater tenacity to the parts of the fpirit, will deceive all that judge by this proof alone ; that is, very nearly all who are concerned in the fpirit trade. Such an additional quantity of water as one eighth, makes the fpirit taffe fofter and cooler, and will make many prefer it to the ffronger fpirit which is hoter and more fiery ; but unlefs the fpirit, thus lowered, were tolerably clean, or the proof be fome other way preferved, the addition of the water lets loofe fome of the coarfe oil, which makes the liquor milky, and leaves a very nauceous taffe in the mouth. Sbaw's Effty on Diffillery.

The way to judge of fpirits not being thus lowered, or de- baled in its ffrength, is to examine it by the eye and tongue ; and in buying a quantity of proof goods, fuch ffiould always bechofenasarc clean, thin, and light, and have a good crown of froth which goes" off in large hubbies, fuch as taffe foft and uniform, and are not high flavoured, of an alkaline guff, nor acrid and fiery, but foon quit the tongue. LOXIA, in zoology, the name of a bird, called in Englifh the croft bill, and in fome places the focll apple, fuppofed to be the Tragon of the antients.

It is about the fize of the green finch, and much of the fame fhape. Its beak is very hard, thick, ffrong, and black; and contrary to the cuftom of nature, in all other birds, both parts of it are crooked, and that contrary ways : the upper chap be- ing bent into a point downwards, and the lower one hooked and brought upwards to one as fharp, fo that the ends ffand acrofs. They do not always obferve the fame fide of falling over: the Upper one fometimes lying on the right, fometimes on the left fide of the under. One would think this crofs ftructure of the beak, but a bad one for feeding with, yet the bird is very voracious ; it feeds on feeds, which it picks up with great dexterity ; in particular, it is fond of the kernels of the apple, and to get at them, fplits an apple in two with one ftroke of its odly fafhioned beak, by which it does infinite mifchief in orchards. Its back and head are variegated with black and green; the middle of every feather being of the former of thofe colours, and the edges of the latter ; there is alfo a mixture of grey about the head ; the rump is green, the upper part of the throat is grey, the breaff green, and the belly white ; the wings and tail are variegated with black and green. See Tab. of Birds, N° 36.