Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/172

 ANT

ANT

fnow-whitc one, found in fome of the mines inDerbyfhire, and in many of our northern countries. 4. A hard grey and pellucid one, found in the lead-mines of Yorkfhire, and very common in Germany. And, 5. a pellucid and colourlefs one ; this is found in the lead-mines of Derbyshire and Yorkfhire. All thefe in fome degree have the double refraction of the ifland cryftal. Hilh Hitt. of Fof. p. 337.

ANONA, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, fome fpecies of which are defcribed by Plumier, under the name Guanahanm. The characters are thefe. The perianthium is fmall and confiftsof three leaves, which are hollow, pointed, and ihaped into a heart-like form at the end. The flower con- lifts of fix heart-fhaped petals, the inner three of which are fmaller than the others ; there are fcarce any filaments to ferve by way of ftamina, but the antherse are very numerous and feem to adhere to the fides of the germen. The germen is roundifh and ftands upon the cup ; there are no ftyles, but feveral obtufe ftigmata. The fruit is an extreamly large berry of an oval and rounded figure, containing one cell, and co- vered with a fcaly punctated bark ; the feeds are numerous, hard, of an oblong oval figure and placed circularly. Linnai Gen. PI. p. 255- Plumier, 10.

ANONIS, in botany. See Rest-Harrow.

ANONYMOUS, in anatomy, a name Tom etimes given to parts newly difcovered, or firft taken notice of. §>uinc. Lex. in voc.

Anonymous is alfo an appellation antiently given to the fecond cartilage of the throat, by later writers called cricoides, or annultjormis. Tbeoph. Protofpath. de Hum. Corp. Fabr. I. 3. c. 15. Caji. Lex. Med. in voc.

ANPITS, in fome middle age writers, denotes a bread-work, anfwering to what is otherwife called barbacan, Aau'in. Lex. Milit. T. 1. p. 53.

ANSARIUM, in the civil law, a duty impofed on all provifions carried in veflels with An/a?.

This was otherwife called Anjurium, and the collectors of it Anfurii. P'tjfc Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 113.

ANSATUM Tclum, according to fome, denotes a dart, or javelin with an amentum fattened to it.

Others rather take the anfa of a javelin to be thofe two eminences about the middle of the cufpis, or point, which hindered the weapon from piercing thro' the whole body. PitiJc.Lex. Ant. T. I. p. 113.

ANSER, the Goofe, in ornithology. See Goose.

Anser, in aftronomy, a fmall ftar, of the fifth or fixth magni- tude, in the milky way, between the fvvan and eagle, firft brought into order by Hevelius. Vid. Hevel. Prodrom. Aftron. p. 117.

ANT, Formica, in the hiftory of infects. See Formica.

Ants Eggs is a name popularly given to a kind of little white bails found in the banks or nefts of Ants, ordinarily fuppofed to be the ova of this infect.

Lite naturalifts have obferved, that thefe are not properly the Juts-eggs, but the young brood themfelves in their firft ftate ; they are fo many little vermiculi wrapped up in a film, or fkin compofed of a fort of filk which they (pin out of them- felves, as filk-worms and catterpillars do a . At firft they are hardly obferved to ftir, but after a few days continuance, ex- hibit a feeble motion of flexion and extenfion ; and begin to look yellowifti and hairy, ihaped like fmall maggots, in which fliape they grow up till they are almoft as large as Ants. When they pafs their metamorphofis, and appear in their proper fliape b, they have a fmall black fpeck on them clofe to the anus of the included Ant, which M. Leewenhoeck probably enough imagines to be the faces voided by it c . — [ a Bibl. Univ. T. n. p. 156. b Phil. Tranf. N°. 23. p. 426. e Bibl. Univ. T. 11. p. 156.]

Dr. Ed. King opened feveral of thefe vulgarly reputed eggs, in fome of which he found only a maggot in the circumftances as above defcribed ; while in another the maggot had begun to put on the fliape of an Ant about the head, having two little yellow fpecks, where the eyes were to be. And in others, a further progrefs was obferved, the included maggot being furrtiflied with every thing to compleat the fliape of an .tint, but wholly tranfparent, the eyes only excepted, which were as black as bugles. Laftly, in others, he took out every way perfect and compleat Ants, which immediately crept about among the reft. Phil. Tranf. loc. cit. Thefe fuppofed Ants-eggs are brought up every morning in fummer near the top of the bank, where they are lodged all She warm part of the day, within reach of the fun's in- fluence. At night, or if it be cool, or like to rain, they carry them down to a greater depth ; fo that you may dig a foot deep e'er you come at them. Id. ibid. p. 427. feq. The true Ants-eggs are the white fubftance which upon opening their banks, appears to the eye like the fcattterings of fine white fugar, or fait, but very foft, and tender. Ex- amined by a microfcope it is found to confift of feveral, pure, white appearances in diftinct membranes, all figured like the lefler fort of birds eggs, and as clear as a fifties bladder.

The fame fubftance is found in the bodies of the Ants them- felves. — This fpawn, when emitted, they lye in multitudes on, to brood i till in fome time it is turned into little vermicles, !

as fmall as mites, commonly called Ants-eggs. Phil. Tranf, ibid. p. 426.

The progrefs of the generation and tranformation of Ants is traced exactly by M. Leewenhoeck. V. Bibl. Univ. T. 11.

P- *53- Antkmwj are little hillocks of earth, which the Ants throw up for their habitation and the breeding of their young. They are a very great mifchief to dry paftures, not only by wafting fo much land as they cover, but by hindering the fcythe in mow- ing the grafs, and yielding a poor hungry food pernicious to cattle.

The manner of deftroying them is to cut them into four parts from the top, and then dig into them fo deep as to take out the core below, fo deep that when the turf is laid down again it may lye fomewhat lower than the level of the reft of the land ; by this means it will be wetter than the reft of the land, and this will prevent the Ants from returning to the fame place, which otherwife they would certainly do. The earth that is taken out muft be fcattered to as great a diftance every way as may be, otherwife they will collect it together and make another hill juft by. Mortimer's Hufbandry,

P' 3 2 9- ...

The proper time for doing this is winter, and if the places be left open, the froft and rains of that time of the year will deftroy the reft ; but in this cafe care muft be taken, that they are covered up early enough in the fpring, otherwife they will be lefs fertile in grafs than the other places. In Hertfordftiire they ufe a particular kind of fpade to this pur- pofe. It is very {harp and formed at the top into the fliape of a crefcent, fo that the whole edge makes up more than three fourths of a circle j this cuts in every part, and does the bufinefs very quickly and effectually ; others ufe the time in- ftruments that they do for mole-hills.

Human dung is a better remedy than all thefe, as is proved by experiment, for it will kill great numbers of them, and drive all the reft away ; if only a fmall quantity of it be put into their hills.

Some put honey mixed with powder of ratfbane rnto little boxes pierced full of holes fuch as will juft admit this creature, and this never fails to deftroy them in great numbers ; care is to be taken however that thefe holes are not too large, for if they would admit a bee, thofe creatures would as furejy come in as the Ants, and would not only be deftroyed themfelves but might chance to carry this poifoned honey to the hive, and depofit it in the combs among the reft, before they died by it, which would render the whole frock of honey poifonous. A bottle filled half up with any fweet liquor, and hung upon the trees will deftroy great numbers by their getting in, and being drowned in it ; but if they are troublefome to the walks and allies in the pi eafure- garden, the watering thefe at times will fend them away. Mortimer's Hufbandry, p. 330. ANTA (Gycl.) — There were alfo y/«f^ at doors and gates. Feftus confines their ufe to this laft place.

Vitruvius calls thofe that have but two faces out of the wall angular Antts, to diftinguifh them from others which have three faces difengaged, and which are placed at the ends of the walls of porticos. Perrault of the five orders, P. 2» c. 6. p. 101. Evelyn, Arehit. p. 25.

The Antes were alfo called Pofies ; by the Greeks, Traga^a^. Some will have them to be the fame with the Antepagmenta. Vitrwv. 3. 1. Vojf. Etym. p. 31. Pitifc, Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 114. Wdf.TRam. Arehit. §.75. See Antepagmenta. ANTAQ/EUS, in ichthyology, a name firft given bytheGreek writers /Elian and Strabo to the ichthyocolla pifcis, the ifing- glafs fifti, or hufo ; and afterwards, by Jonfton and others, not only to this fifh, but to the common fturgeon. ANTACHATES is ufed, by fome naturalifts, for a kind of bitumenous ftone, of the nature of amber, though of a diffe- rent colour, which in burning yields a fmell like myrrh. Gorr. Def. Med. p. 39. ANTACIDS, AniacUa, is ufed by fome writers to denote me- dicines proper to qualify and refift acid humours. Dol, En- cycl. Med.l. 1. c. 3. §. 19. Antacids are chiefly of the alcalious kind. Under the clafs of Antacids come, 1. Abforbents, as chalk, coral, fea-fhells, haematites, and fteel filings. 2. Obtundents, as oils, and fats. 3. Immutants, as lixivious falts and foaps; Burggr. Lex. Med. T. 1. p. 861. ANTAGONIST Mufcles, in anatomy, are thofe which have oppofite functions. Heijl. Comp. Anat. N°. 307. Barthol. Anat. 1. 1. c. 5. p. 41. Caji. Lex. Med. p. 54. See the article Muscle.

Thus Flexors and Extenfors, Abdufiors and Adduclors, are Antagonijls to each other. See Flexor, &c, ANTALGIC, an epithet given by fome writers to medicines proper to abate pain. Caji. Lex. Med. p. 54. In this fenfe Antalgics, Antalgica, amount to the fame with Anodynes. See Anodyne, Cycl. and Suppl. ANTALIUM, in natural hiftory, a fmall fea ftiell of a tubu- lar form, whence it is alfo denominated Tubulus Marinus. The Antalium, otherwife written Antale, and Antalus, is about an inch and half long ; the thicknefs of a large quill at one end, and of a fmall one at the other ; fluted from end to end, of a white or greenifh-wbite colour, and is found on rocks,

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