Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/652

 ELM

E L O

5M.nr>!;, imperfect, imfa, long, and i-i*m, a column, and exprefles an imperfeft cryftal, with a long column. The perfeft fi«ure of cryftal being a column terminated by a pyra- mid at each end, thofe which want this character are efteemed imperfeft, and accordingly the bodies of this genus are defined to be imperfeS cryftals, with fingle pyramids, one end of their column being affixed to fome folid body; and composed of thin and flender hexangular columns, terminated by hexangular pyramids. Of this genus thereare feveral fpecies : t. The common/prig cryftal, which is found in almoft all parts of the world. 2. The purer pellucid colourlefs kind. This is common both in the Eaft and Weft Indies, and in fome parts of Germany, and has been fometimes found in England. 3. The dull whitifh kind, with very fhort pyramids. This is common in our mines, as alfo in thofe of Germany. 4. The bright brown one, with a long pyramid. This is well known, among our lapidaries, under the name of brawn cryjtal, and is found in the Eaft and Weft Indies, and in Silefia and Bo- hemia, and fometimes in England; of this there has lately been alfo brought over a very large quantity from the Scotifh flmre. 5. The dull brown kind, with a fhort pyramid. This is often confounded with and miftaken for the other, to the no fmall lofs of the purchafer. It is produced in great quan- tities in many parts of Germany. 6. The bright hexangu- lar brown cryftal, with a fhort pyramid. This is a fpecies fubjea to various tinges, and, among the reft, very frequently to yellow, and has been of late cut by many of our lapidaries, imder the name of the Saxon topaz. It is found in Saxony at Goffelaer, and other places, and has lately been difcovered alfo in America. 7. The bright brown kind, with a very long pyramid, called, by many of our jewellers, the bcryll. This is found in Italy, and in fome parts of Germany. 8. The whiufh kind, with a very long pyramid, called the iris 'by authors. Some, have indifcriminately called all the cryftals of this genus by the common name iris ; but thofe who firft .gave it, applied it only to this kind, which is particularly fa- mous for giving the rainbow colours in reflection. It is com- mon in Germany and Italy, and is fometimes feen in Eng- land. 9. The yellow kind, with a fhort pyramid, called the citrine by the jewellers. This is common in the Weft Indies, and in Bohemia, and is of fo beautiful a yellow, that ftones for rings, cut out of it, when they have palled through two or three hands, are ufually miftaken for topazes. And 10. That with a fhort pyramid, and a thick reddilh cruft. This is found in Germany, Italy, France, and England, and is a very beautiful fpecies. See Tab. of Foffils, Clafs 3. ELLIPOPACHYSTYLA, in natural hiftory, the name of a genus of cryftal. The word is derived from the Greek sWi- vis, imperfect, irecxp;, thick, and r»'*«, a column, and ex- prefles a cryftal of the imperfect kind, with a thick column. The bodies of this genus are cryftals, compofed of an hexan- gular column, confidcrably thick and fhort, and affixed irre- gularly, at one end, to fome folid body, and terminated at the other by a hexangular pyramid. Of this genus, there are only two known fpecies. 1. A bright and colourlefs kind, found in great plenty in New Spain, and in fome other parts of America, but no where in Europe, fo far as is yet known. And 2. A dufky brown kind, which is common in Ger- many, and is fometimes found in England and Ireland. Hill's Hift. of FofT. p. 1 82. See Tab. of Foffils, Clafs 3. ELM. Mr. Dodart, in a difcourfe made before the Paris aca- demy, on the great fecundity of vegetables, and their prodi- gious encreafe, chofe this tree as an example of it. He ob- served an elm of about fix inches diameter in the body, and about twenty foot high to the branches, he ordered one of the ■branches to be cut off, and, without reckoning the feeds which had been fhaken off by the blows of the weapon, or loft by the fall, he counted the reft only which remained on. This branch was about eight foot long, and on this there were 16450 feeds. Counting in a very moderate way, there muft be reckoned, at leaft, ten fiich branches as this, on an elm of that growth. The product of tliefe ten branches will be then 164500 feeds.

All the branches, which are fhortcr than eight foot, on the fame tree, taken together, on the moft moderate computa- tion, muft be allowed to make a furface more than double that of thefe ten branches. The product of this furface of the fhort branches, therefore, will be 329000. An Elm may very reafonably be fuppofed to live a hundred years, and as the Elm, here mentioned, was but of twelve years growth, it cannot be fuppofed, in that ftate, to be yet arrived at its middle degree of fertility in feeds ; therefore the fmalleft addition that can be made to the 329000, will bring it to at leaft 330000, for the mean yearly product of feeds of the tree ; and to know what is the whole product of an Elm ir feeds, according to this computation, this fum muft be mukr plied by a hundred, the number of years of the duration of the tree. Thus the fmalleft amount will be thirty-three mil- lions of feeds, produced by an Elm originally railed from one Single feed. Hift. Acad. Par. 1700.

This, however, is no more than the natural produce of the tree, in its wild ftate ; we all know very well, that proper management will make trees yield abundantly more fruit than they naturally would. Thus, if this Elm, at a proper ftage

of its growth, had been lopped off at the head, it would have puttied out infinitely more numerous branches ; and a fet of thefe would have appeared in a circle round the trunk at about half an inch from the place where it was cut off, and 'this would have been the cafe in whatever part, or at whatever height, it had been cut. All the trunk of the tree, from the ground up to the beginning of the natural eruption of the branches, being then full of thefe rudiments of branches, placed in circles, and feparated by circular fpaces of about half an inch deep, compofe fo many circles of branches, or rudiments of branches, as there are half inches in meafure from the ground up to the firft natural rudiments ; all thefe rudiments are formed, therefore, all ready to appear in form of compleat branches, and all contain, in miniature, their proportion of feeds, and any circle of them may be made to flioot out and appear, by only cutting off the trunk juft above them ; thefe are all, therefore, to be allowed really to exift, and all to be brought into the account of the providence of nature, in the fecundity of the tree, as all are formed and provided for it. There are therefore evidently contained, in this Elm, fo many times thirty-three millions of feeds, as there are half inches in twenty foot, which was its meafure from the ground to the firft branches : That is to fay, this tree contains actually in itfelf 15840000000 rudiments of feeds, pr has fo many bo- dies inclofed in itfelf, by each, or any one of which, it is capable of multiplying its fpecies, and is capable of producing fo great and aftonifhing a number of trees. The imagina- tion is ftartled at being conducted to fo amazing a fcene by reafon.

What are we to think then of the immenfity of the works of the great creator of the univerfe, when we confider that every one of thefe feeds contains in itfelf a tree, loaded with an equal number of feeds, and each of thofe another tree, loaded in the fame manner, and fo on beyond the utmoft extent of our capacity ; and that confequently here is a geometrical propor- tion, or progreffion of increafe, the firft term of which is 1, the fecond 15840000000, the third the fquare of that num- ber, the fourth the cube, and fo on to infinity. Reafon and imagination are loft together in the immenfity of fuch a cal- culation. Mem. Acad. Par. 1700.

All this is deduced from principles, every one, by the modefi calculations of the author, reckoned much to low ; but all that could be faid of this tree, muft, in regard to the laft cal- culation, fall infinitely fhort of a calculation made from fern, a plant greatly more prolific in feeds than this tree. Elm, among gardeners, &c— All the fpecies of the Elm may be propagated either by layers, or by fuckers taken from the old roots ; but as thefe are often taken up with very bad roots, and are therefore very fubject to mifcarry, the method by layers is much the beft, and is very eafy to be praflifed, as a fmall fpace of ground would be fufficient to furnifh nourifh- ment for a number offtools, or roots for laying, which would annually yield a great number. The beft foil "for a nurfery of this kind, is a moderately light and dry hazel loam, and the beft feafon for laying the branches is autumn. When they have taken root, they fhould be removed from the old plant, and fet in rows in nurfery beds, where, after four or five years, they will be ftrong enough to be tranfplanted into the places where they are to remain. In the planting them, great care is to be taken not to bury their roots too "deep, which, when the foil is moift and ftiff, often deftroys them. The common Elm feldom produces feeds in great perfection, but the witch Elm produces great quantities of good ones, from which fome people raife nurferies of the trees. Miller's Gardeners Diet. SeeULMus. ELMOROSIA, a name given by the Moors to adifhtheyare very fond of. It is made of pieces of beef, or of camel's flefh, ftewed with butter, honey, and water ; fome add rob of wine to it, and others garlick ; but there is always added onions, faffron, and fait. Philof. Tranf. N°. 253. ELOANX, a name given by fome writers to auripigmintum,

or orpiment. ELODES, in botany, an epithet given to a very foft and

woolly fort of St. John's wort, or hypericum. Elodes is alfo ufed, among the antient writers in medicine,

for a fpecies of fever, attended with profufe fweats. ELOH A, in fcripture, the lingular of Ebhi, one of the names

of God. See Elohi. ELOHI, Eloi, orEioHiM, in fcripture, one of the names of God. But it is to be obferved, that angels, princes, great men, judges, and even falfe gods, are fometimes called by this name. The fequel of the difcourfe, is what aflifts us in judging rightly concerning the true meaning of this word. It is the fame as Eloha. One is the fingular, the other the plu- ral. Neverthelefs Elobim is often conftrued in the fingular number, particularly when the true God is fpoken of; but when falfe Gods are fpoken of, it is conftrued rather in the plural. Calmct. Diction. Bibl. ELOI. See Elohi.

ELOINE, in our laws, fignifies to remove, or fend a great way off. Thus it is faid, if fuch as be within age be chined, fo that they cannot come to fue perfonally, their next friends mall be admitted to fue for them, Stat. 13 Edw. 1. cap. 15.

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ELQME,