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 ELA

E L A

to the abfurdity of fuch an opinion. Diofcorides, 1. I. c. 37. EL^OSACCHARUM. After the chemifts had juftly fhewn phyficians the fpirit refiding in eflential oils, containing, in a fmall volume, all the particular virtues of the plant, phyfi- cians prudently reflected, that they hence had an excellent inftrument in their art, but that the fpirit, as it remained in the unctuous tenacity of the oil, was not in a condition to be ufed with perfect fafety, becaufe thefe oils were extreamly fharp, and, by their tenacity remaining fixed to one part, they often caufed inflammations. Hence they began to think of a method of rendering thefe oils mifcible with water, and thus uniformly conveying their virtues to the places intendeds and this they found might be effected by means of fugar. Grind an ounce of fine and dry loaf fugar to an impalpable powder, in a glafs mortar, with a glafs peftle, then add to it, by degrees, a dram of any eflential oil, or half a dram, if the oil be very tenacious ; continue rubbing them together till the oil be thoroughly mixed, and drank into the fugar. The oil, in this operation, ufually diffufes a fragrance to a great di- ftance, wherefore, to prevent the lofs of its finer parts, the operation mould be performed as quick as pofiible, and the mortar covered, and the peftle furrounded by a clean linnen cloth ; and if a little quantity of the white of an egg be added in the grinding, and mixed in with the fugar and oil, the oil thus becomes more eafily mifcible, but the mixture will not keep fo long without growing rancid. Thus fugar, which is a pure foap, or a true eflential oily fait, divides the gluti- nous tenacity of the oil, interpofes itfelf between the principles thereof, unites them clofely with itfelf, and makes an extem- poraneous foap, which may be commodioufly diluted with water for medicinal ufes. Boerh. Chem. pt. 2. p. 100. Though this mixture is not fo perfect as an actual foap, or true eflential fait, yet it fuffices for ufe ; nor is there reafon to apprehend any inconvenience from the fugar in this prepara- tion, for fugar is unjuftly faid to be unwholfome, as there are no folid proofs extant of this ; on the contrary, it is a won- derful fait that perfectly mixes with water, and ferments therewith into wine, and yet, what is furprifing, it appears oleaginous and perfectly inflammable in the fire, whence it is known to confift of oil and fait.

If thefe Eleofaccharums be carefully prepared, and put up in clean dry glaffes, exactly clofed with glafs ftoppers, they may bepreferved perfect a long time; and in this manner very ef- fectual medicines may be eafily carried from place to place, and, upon occafion directly ufed upon a journey, by mixing a fmall quantity of them in a glafs of wine. An Elaofac- charum, or mixture of the fame nature, at leaft, might be alfo made, by mixing an eflential oil with a fixed alkaline fait, by grinding, by which means alfo a kind of foap is obtained ; but alkali's, thus mixed, deftroy the grateful properties of the eflential oils, and change their natural taftes and odours. Such mixtures alfo would prefently refolve in the air, and thence be eafily altered ; but, by the method with fugar, the phyfician may always readily prepare a medicine rich in vir- tues. If the El&ofaccharum of mint, for initance, be diflblved in mint water, then ftrengthened with the addition of fpirit of mint, and the mixture fweetened with fyrup of mint, the whole virtues of the plant will be thus obtained. Boerh. Chem. pt. 2. p. 100.

The faponaceous property of fugar is very evident in this pro- cefs, this fits it for breaking, and dividing the body of the oils, as if they were in a manner fermented with it, and, at the fame time, it is fo far from diminifliing the virtues of the oils, that it rather encreafes them; hence the antients, who were Unacquainted with fugar, always ufed honey to this purpofe ; and hence we learn the virtue of fugar in the body, where, being diluted with the natural juices, it affords a faponaceous lixivium, which, by the force of circulation, diffolves vifcous and unctuous fubftances ; whence it does not generate phlegm, but diflblves it, nor does it encreafe the bile, or itfelf turn into bile, as has been vulgarly fuppofed, but, on the con- trary, it opens, attenuates, and divides that juice, tho' by diflblving the oleaginous parts too much, it may occafion leannefs, as by atteneuating too much, it produces a weak- nefs in the parts, and is thence improper in rickets and in the fcurvy.

EL-&OTHES1U1VI, EXaioStcnor, in antiquity, the place, or room, in the gymnaiium, where thofe who were to wreftle, or had bathed, were anointed. It was alfo called AXi(?r]»pic». Pott. Archaeol. Grac 1. i, c. 8. p. 38.

ELANULA, in medicine, the name of a peculiarly hard allum,

ELAPHEBOLIA, EXa^^ta, in antiquity, a feftival kept in honour of Diana e*«9«]3g*©., i. e. the huntrefs, for which reafon a cake made in the form of a deer, and upon that ac- count called EA«ffl#-, was offered to her. For a farther ac- count of it, fee Pott. Archaeol. Grsec. 1. 2. c. 20.

•ELAPHEBOLION, Ea«?^f3tAiwy, in antient chronology, the ninth month of the Athenian year. It confifted of thirty days, and anfwered to the latter part of our February, and beginning of March. SeeMoNTH. It was thus called from the feftival Efophgholia kept in it. See

EtAPHEBOLlA.

ELAPHIS. See the article Elaps.

ELAPHOBOSOUM, in botany, the wild parfnep, See Pars-

NEP.

ELAPHOCAMELOS, in zoology, a name by which feveral authors have called the Peruvian camel, ufualiy called Glama, and employed there as a beait of burthen. See Glama.

ELAPHONESUM Marmor, a name ufed by the antients to exprefs a fpecies of marble, ufed in ftatuary, and called alfo Proconenfium Mar mar ; it was of a bluifh white, variegated with flender veins of black. See Proconensium.

ELAPS, or El aphis, by fome called alfo Elops, the name of a ferpent defcribed by many authors, and met with by Bellonius in the hland of Lcmnos. It grows to about three foot long, and is on the back of a dark grey, with three longitudinal black lines, running from the head to the tail, and on the belly of a bright yellow, according to Aldrovandus. The people of Lemnos call it Laphiati. Ray's Syn. Anim. p. 290.

ELASMIS, in natural hiftory, the name of a genus of fofiile bodies, of the talc clafs, the diftinguifhing characters of which are, that they are compofed of fmall plates, in form of fpangles, each of which is either fingle, and not farther Affile, or, if complex, fiflile only to a certain degree, and that into fomewhat thick laminae. See Tab. of Foifils, Clafs 1. The word is derived from the Greek 'e^c-^, a lamina, or plate. The feveral component parts of thefe mafles being fo many fmall plates.

The bodies of this genus have been ufed to be named mica 9 glimmer, and catfiher, by authors, in the fame manner with the hraEtearia. There are only four known fpecies of this foflil : 1. A bluifh brown one, with fmall fpangles, found in Germany and England. 2. A dull pale red one, with va- rioufly fized fpangles, which feems peculiar to England. 3. An, orange coloured one, with very large and very thick flakes, found in the Eaft Indies, and containing fome lead and a little filver. And 4. A bright purple one, a very beautiful fubftance, found on the fhores of rivers in the Eaft Indies, and in New Spain. The laft fpecies is ufed in the Eaft Indies, as a medicine for the ftone, the reft have not been put to any medicinal or mechanical ufe. Hill's Hift. of Foilils, p. 84, 85, 86, 87.

ELASTICITY (Cycl.)— The Elaftlciiy of compreffed air may be long preferved. Dr. Defaguliers tells us, he has kept feve- ral wind guns ftrongly charged for half a year togetlw, in which the air loft none of its Elajlicity ; others have iound the air as ftrong after a year. Nay, it is credibly foid, that a wind gun having been laid by and forgotten for feven years, did afterwards difcharge its air as ma.ry times, and with as much force, as it ufed to do. Phil. Tranf. N a. 454, §, 6. See Spring.

ELATE, in natural hiftory, a word ufed by the antient Greeks in three different fenfes, the not attending to which has oc- cafioned fome very notorious errors in thofe who have quoted and commented upon their works. The common fenfe of the word is the fir tree, and in this fenfe alfo it is generally under- ftood, and tranflated from the original authors in whatever fenfe they ufed it. We find by Theophraftus, that the word Elate was however alfo ufed for the tender budds of the (heaths, or cafes of the young leaves of the palm tree, when juft budding out, thefe contained a fine vifcous matter, as thofe of many of the trees of warm countries do befide, and for this fragrant refin they were much fought after, and ufed in the fweet unguents of the Eaftern nations. Pliny, finding mention of the word Elate on thefe occafions, has underftood it as meaning the fir tree, in fome places, but, in others, finding it coupled with the palm, he has made it the name of a peculiar genus of palm, and created an ima- ginary plant, not feeing that it was only a name of the leaf buds of the common palm. From this tender bud of the palm being called Elate, there grew a cuftom of calling feveral other young (hoots of plants Elate, and, in fine, a peculiar kind of fallad herb, that always ufed to be eaten while young, was called Elate by the Greeks. Hefychius tells us, that Elate was the common name both of the fir tree, and of a common fallad herb ; fome have thought that the plant, now called Elatine, or Fluellin, was eaten by the Greeks in its young ftate, and, if fo, probably enough this was the very plant which they called Elate. We find Epi- charmus mentioning the word Elate in this fenfe ; fpeaking of the efculent vegetables, he mentions the radifh, Elate, and feveral others together. His commentators have taken great pains to alter the word into fomcthing elfe, but we have fuffi- cient proof in Theophraftus, and many others, that it is pro- perly written as it ftands, and that the author meant iio other than the fallad herb, then commonly known by that name.

Elate is alfo ufed, by fome authors, for a genus of plants, called by Linnaeus Phcenix, and, in the Hortus MalabarieuSj Ratovindel. Muf. Cliftbrt 12. See Phoenix.

ELATINE, Fluellin, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, character'd by Linnseus, and made to comprehend the potamopithys of Buxbaum, and the alfinaftrum of Vail- laat. The characters are thefe : The perianthium confifts of four roundifh leaves of the fize of the petals of the flower. The flower confifts of four oval obtufe petals, expanded into a plane. The ftamina are eight filaments, of the length of I the