Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/633

 EAR

EAR

E.

EAGLE, Aquila, in zoology. SeeAQOiLA. Eagle Owl, in zoology, a name given by fome to the great horn owl, or bubo, which is of the fize of an Eagle, and as voracious and destructive. Ray's Ornithology. Eagles, a name found very frequently in the anficnt hiftorics of Ireland > and ufed to exprefs a fort of bafe money that Was current in that kingdom in the firft years of the reign of Ed- ward the firft, that is, about the year 1272. There were, befides the Eagles, lionines, rofades, and many other coins of the fame fort, named according to the figures they were imprefled with. Simon's, Hilt. Coins. The current coin of the kingdom was at that time a compofi- tion of copper and filver in a determined proportion, but thefe were fo much worfe than the ftandard proportion of that time, that they were not intrinfically worth quite half fo much as the others. They were imported out of Fiance, and other foreign countries. When this prince had been a few years eftablifhed on the throne, he fet up mints in Ireland for the coining fufficient quantities of good money, and then decry'd the ufe of thefe Eagles, and other the like kinds of bafe coins, and made it death, with confifcation of effects, to import any more of them into the kingdom.

EAR (C;v/.)— By a flratute of Henry the VIII th, malicioufly cutting off the ear of a pcrfon is made a trefpafs, for whicb treble damages mall be recovered ; and the offender is to pay a fine of 10 pound to the king. 37 Hen. VIII. c. 6. §. 4. In the index to the ftatutes at large, it is faid, that this of- fence may be punifhed as felony, by 22 and 23 Car. II. c. 1. feet. 7. commonly called Coventry's act; but Bar is not mentioned in that ftatute.

Ear of Eijhes — All the cetaceous fifties have external meatus auditorii, or paflages for hearing ; but other fifh have nothing of thefe external appearances, and feem neither to be intended by nature to make any founds, of to hear any. Though found being a tremulation in the air, it may be felt by them as motion, though not diftinguifhed as found. It may eafily be proved, that they do not hear our voices in fpeaking, by walking near the fide of a pond or river well ftorcd with fifh about the edges, if the body and its fbadow be kept out of their fight, they will never ftart at the voice. Yet how far fifties are deaf and dumb, fcems a qucftion not yet perfectly decided. See Fish.

Ear, in gardening, a name given to the feminal leaves of plants, or thofe two green and fucculent leaves which firft appear from the feed, and are very different in all refpects from thofe which follow. Thus in the melon plants, the two firft leaves arc called Ears, and the leaves, with their {talks, which fhoot out afterwards, are called knots, and de- nominated the firft, fecond, and third knot, according to their place, and time of growing. The cutting off every third knot in this plant, is the great means of procuring tlic fineft and largeft fruit. Phil. Tranf. N°. 45.

Wounds of the Ear. Wounds of the external Ear are cafdy united by fticking-plaifters, unlefs the cartilage is entirely divided, and then it will require the help of the needle, and the ap- plication of vulnerary balfams, with the proper comprefles and bandages. When the Ear is wounded in the neighbour- hood of the meatus auditorius, great care muft be taken to prevent the difcharge of blood and matter into that paffage, which would do great mifchief to the tympanum ; but this may be done only by filling the internal Ear with lint or cotton. Heijler. Surg. p. 81.

Ear, in anatomy^Mr. le Cat, in his trcatife of the organ of found, has new figures of feveral parts of the Ear. Med. Eff. Edinb. abr. 1.2. p. 481. feq.

We have alfo fome treatifes on the Ear by Dr. Caftehom, containing very minute defcriptions of the parts. Ibid.

Running of the Ears, in infants. SccInfant.

Ear Picks — The Chinefe are particularly fond of entertaining themfelves with picking and tickling their Ears ; this they do either for themfelves, or interchangeably for one another, and have a great number of inftruments of peculiar fhapes and ftructure, invented for this purpofe. Some years ago there was an India cabinet brought over from China, filled with the utenfils and inftruments of the place, among which there were feveral of this kind, ufed to pick and cleanfe, as well as to tickle the Ear. One of thefe was made of a fmall pearl, fattened to the end of a horfe-hair, or hog's briftlc, the other end let into an ivory handle, and fitted to be ufed by the perfon's felf, as are moft of the others on occafion. Another was made of fine filver wire twiftcd into a wreathe, and formed into a round loop at the top ; this was alfo fet into a han- dle for ufe. Another was made of a large piece of filver wire, flatted at the end, and fet in the fame fort of handle ; another was made of the fame filver wire, but not flatted, but had its end made into a hook ; another was very much of the nature Suppl. Vol I.

of our Ear-pickers, but longer, and made of filver fet ifljof- toifefhell ; another was made of feveral hog's briftles, fet at the end of a fort of handle, made like one of our pencils ; another was of the fame kind with this, but made of downy foft feathers inftead of hog's briftles.

Thefe, and many other inftruments, are at this day ufed to the fame purpofe by the Chinefe; but Sir Hans Sloane very judicioufly obferves, that the ufe of them fcems very preju- dicial, for that, among many people in England who had applied to him on account of deafnefs, the far greater part were thrown into their complaints by too often picking their Ears, and thereby bringing humours, or ulcerous difpofitions, on them. Phil. Tranf. N°. 246. p. 406. Ear Shell, auris marina, m natural hiftory, the name of a genus of fhell-fifh, the characters of which are thefe : It con- fifts only of one ftiell, or valve, and is of a flatted fhape, in fome meafure rcfembling that of the human Ear, and has an extremely wide mouth, or aperture, at its bafe, the wideft of that of all fhells, except only the patella or limpet, which is all mouth below. See Tab. of Shells, N°. 3. Aldrovand and Rondeletius have given this genus the name of patella fera, the wild limpet ; but in this they have .been followed by no author, as it confounds the auris marina and fatella, which are two abfolutely diftinct genera. Thefe authors have alfo ranked both this and the limpet among the bivalve fhells, but nothing can be more abfurd than this. The French call it generally orcille tie mer, and, in fome places, ormeau. Uellonius calls it the great bbufdin ; and fome of the Hollanders have given it the ftrange name of the ftock-fifh. Hiff. Nat. Edairc. pt. 2. p. 243. This genus of fhells fometimes yields fmall pearls, the rudiments of which are Very frequently fcen in thofe fhells which have not perfect ones; and the whole infidc of the {hell is of the colour of the fineft mother of pearl. This alfo ap- pears on the outfidc, when the rough coat is fo far eaten away by acids, as to leave this pearly furface bare, in this cafe it makes a very elegant appearance, being of the fplendor of the moft perfect mother of pearl both within and without, and it is frequently preferved m cabinets in that ftate. The infide and outfidc of this fhell arc both ridged with very high ribs, which run from one fide to the other, and there is in all thefe fhells a row of holes near one edge, of which fix are ufually open, and there are beyond thefe the marks of three or four others, which do not go through the fhell. Thefe are form'd in the growth of the fifh, which, as it en- larges, enlarges alfo the fhell, and when a new rim is form'd, in which there is an open hole, one of the hinder ones is al- ways clofed up by the growth of frcih ihelly matter over it, Aldrovand. de Aquat. Rondelet. de Aquat. Lifter places the auris marina among the turbinated fhells, and fays, that this is its proper place, becaufe it is twifted and claviculated, and therefore, as he thinks, very badly ranked with the patelke. But it is to be obferved, that, according to this rule, almoft all fhells would be found of the turbinated kind, up to the porcelain fhells, or conchas veneris, which have all a twifted pyramid, or clavicule, which is flatted, and enters into the fhell near the fummit. Lijlcr. Hift. Conch. There is one very fingular fpeciesof the auris marina, which differs from all the others in its length ; this is a large kind, and is brought from the Eaft Indies, but is not found in the European feas. We have, however, one of a fome- what longer form than the common kinds; this is fmall, and very thin, and is fingular in not having that fine pearly ap- pearance on the infide that the others have. The general fpecics we fee, are of four kinds. 1. Some have fix holes. 2. Some have feven holes, and are more pearly than the reft. 3. Some are of an oblong form : And 4. There is one fpecies which has no mark of apertures at all. The known fpecies under thefe divifions, or genera, are thefe : Of the fix-holed kind we have only one fpecies, which is the common one, called auris veneris. Of the fecond kind, which have feven holes, we have, 1. The rugofe and ftriated Auris, which, when polifh'd, appears fmooth, and is kept in many cabinets as another fpecics. 2. The green Auris. 3. The red Auris ; And 4. The green and brown fpotted Auris.

Of the third, or oblong kind, we have, 1. The oblong Auris, with an irregular bafe. 2. The oval Auris .- And 3. The green Juris. Of the laft kind, the only known fpecies is the dull Auris, not pearly within, and without any apertures. This laft is a very rare fhell Hift Nat. Eclairc. pt- 2. p. 244.

Ear of Corn, in ftone. See Tab. of Foffils, Clafs 6.

EARIN/E Vtjles, among the antient Greeks, a habit worn in the fpring, which was made of wool, and dyed green. The cuftom of wearing green veftments in this feafon, has not been unknown in modern times.

10 A Dempftej