Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/653

 ELY

E M B

ELOME, a name given by fome authors to orpiment. See

AURIPIGMENTUM.

ELONGATA, in law, is a return of the fheriff, that cattle are not to be found, or removed, fo that he cannot make de- liverance in replevin.

ELOPHINUM, a name given by fome of the old chemlfts to vitriol.

ELOPS, "E?»w4-, in zoology, the name of a ferpent, otherwife called Elaps. SeeELAPS.

Elops was alfo the name of a fife much efteemed among the Greeks, and thought to be the fame with the Accipenfer. Hofm. Lex. invoc. See Accipenser.

ELOSSITES, in natural hiftory, the name of a ftone, men- tioned with great refpecr. by the writers of the middle ages ; they have left us, however, fo fhorta defcription of it, that it is impoffible to determine what it was ; they only fay, that it was no very beautiful ftone, but that, if worn in the pocket, it had a wonderful virtue in curing pains, and all other difeafes in the head.

ELPIS, a name given, by fome of the chemical writers, to the fcoriae of filver,

ELPISTICf, Eamrum, among the Greeks, a feet of philofo- phers who made hope the ruling pafiion of mankind. Hofm, Lex. in voc.

ELTHYMUM, in the materia medica of the antients, a name given to the epithymum, or dodder, growing upon thyme. A-vifenna.

EL VELA, in botany, a name given by Linnseus to a genus of fungus's called, by Micheli, fungoidafter, and fungoides. Thefe differ from all the other kinds of fungus's, in that they are finooth both on the upper and under fide, having no marks of lamellae, pores, or fibres, in any part.

ELVERS, an Englifh name for a fmall fort of eels, Caught in fome parts of the kingdom, particularly about Gloucefter and Tewkfbury. Thefe are, in reality, young congers, or fea eels. They get up into rivers while very fmall. They are taken in prodigious numbers in the rivers, in dark nights, and are efteemed a very delicate food. IVillughby's Hilt. Pif. p. 112.

ELUL, one of the Hebrew months, anfwering pretty near to our Auguft. There are but nine and twenty days in it. It is the twelfth month of the civil year, and the iixth of the ecclefiaftical. Upon the feventh or ninth day of this month the Jews fall, in memory of what happened after the return of thofe who went to view the promifed land. Numbers xiii, xiv.

Upon the twenty fecond of this month the feftival of the xylophori was obferved, when wood was carried to the tem- ple. Selden fays, that it was celebrated on the eighteenth day of the month ab. On the twenty-fixth of the fame month, the dedication of the walls of Jerufalem by Nehemiah was commemorated. Jofeph. 1. 2- c. 17. p. 811. Nehem. xii. 27, &c. Calmet, Diction. Bibl. ELUTRIATION, in metallurgy, is the feparating the lighter matters from the mixt ores of metals, by means of great quantities of fair water. Solid bodies, not diftbluble in water, are by this operation feparated from each other by water very well ftirred, fo that the lighter and the finer parts are carried away with the water, and the heavier and more folic! remain at the bottom of the vcflels.

Some of the ftones, earths, and other bodies naturally mixed with the ores of metals, arc much lighter than the metalline parts of thofe ores, and are therefore very eafily thus feparated from the reft by this operation, either by barely pounding and warning them, or by firft calcining them, and then ex- tinguishing them in water, and afterwards waffling them. The kinds of ores proper to be made the fubjects of this ope- ration, are known from the great fpecific gravity of the ore, which fhews us that the metallic manes, adhering to their matrix, are firm and folid, and combined in large molecules, not fmall, and fcattered and difperfed fparingly through it ; they are known alfo by the comparative lightnefs and brittle- nefs of their ftony matrix. Whether this laft property be na- turally inherent in the ftony matter, or whether it be eafdy brought on by fire in calcination, for in each cafe it renders the comminution of the compound mafs eafy. In this cafe, however, it is proper that the ore itfelf be of a nature fuf- ficiently fixed afterwards in the fire, and do not fly away in the mailing.

When ftones, containing ore in them, are light, and brittle, but hold a great quantity of fulphur, and are interfperfed only with very minute mafles of the metalline particles, or when thefe are inclofed in a very ponderous and hard matrix, not eafily affected by fire, this method of reparation has no place. Cramer. Art. AfT. 195. ELYCRYSUM, in botany, the name of a large genus of plants, the cbara&ers of which are thefe : The flower is of the flofcu- lous kind, being compofed of feveral fmall flofcules, divided into fegments, arranged in a ftcllated form at the ends ; thefe ftand on the embryo fruit, and are contained in a common fealy bulk or cup, which is of a very glofly and fplendid ap- pearance, and of a gold or filver colour, or of fomcothergaudy tinge. The embryos finally ripen into feeds, winged With down.

Suppl. Vol. I.

The fpecies of Elytryfunt, enumerated by Mr. Tournefortj are thefe: 1. The Elycryfum, called narrow-leaved citrine ftaschaSi 2. The Elycryfum, or citrine ftachas, with ex- treamly narrow leaves. 3. The Elycryfum, with a few ob- long leaves, narrower than thofe of the common citrine ftre- chas. 4. The Spanifti fea umbellated Elycryfum. 5. The Sicilian Elycryfum, with rough trifid leaves. 6. The Sicilian Elycryfum, with fingle flowers, and leaves green on each fide* 7. The broad-leav'd wild Elycryfum, with fingle flowers. 8- The broad-leav'd wild Elycryfum^ with larger fingle flowers. 9. The broad-leav'd wild Elycryfum, with con- globated heads. 10. The fmall branched water Elycryfum, with foliated heads. 11. The fpiked Elycryfmn, called the long-leav'd, or Englifh upright cudweed. 12. The moun- tain Elycryfum, with round purplifh flowers, called the mountain cudweed, or cat's-foot. 13. The mountain Ely- cryfum, with a round white flower. 14. The mountain Elycryfum., with a round bright red flower. 15. Themcun- tain Elycryfum, with a round variegated flower. 16. The mountain Elycryfum, with long leaves, and* purple flowers. 17. The mountain Elycryfum, with long leaves, and white flowers. 18. The oriental Elycryfum. 19. The broad- leav'd Elycryfum, called the broad-leav'd citrine ftfechas, 20. The German Elycrvfum, with a reddifh yellow cup. SI. The German Elycryfum, with blood-red cups. 22. The wild narrow-leav'd Elycryfum, with conglobated heads. 23. The broad-leav'd American Elycryfum. 24. The long- leav'd erect Elycryfum, with conglobated heads. 25. The American Elycryfum, with a woolly and undulated leaf, like the rofe campion. 26. The American tree Elycryfum, with the ilex leaf. 27. The broad-leav'd woolly African Elycry- fum, with a very large filvery cup to the flower. 28* The coris-lcav'd fhrubby African Elycryfum. 29. The roundifh- leav'd hoary and woolly African Elycryfum. 30 The yel- low-flowered fweet-fcented umbellated' African Elycryfum, 31. The poley-leav'd yellow African Elyoyjum. 32. The red-flowered narrow-leav'd hoary and woolly African Elycry- fum. 33. The rofemary-leav'd African tree Elycryfum. 34, The plantain-leav'd African Elycryfum. 35. The very large-leav'd ftinking African Elycryfum, 36. The dwarf Elycryfum. 37. The dwarf alpine Elycryfum, with capil- laceous leaves. Tourn. Inft. p. 452, 453.

ELYTRON, properly a covering of any fort, and for any fub- ftance. Hippocrates has appropriated the word to fignify the membranes which involve the fpinal marrow.

ELZIMAR, a name given, by fome of the chemical writers, to the flowers of brafs.

EMARGINATEDiw/, among botanifts. See Leaf.

EMBALMING (Cycl.)— The way of Embalming dead bodies among the Egyptians was a follows : When a man died, his body was carried to the artificers, whofe trade it was to make coffins ; they took the meafure of the body, and made a cof- fin for it, proportioned to its ftature, the dead perfons qua- lity, and the price that people were willing to give, for there was a great diverfity in the prices. The upper part of the coffin reprefented the perfon who was to be fhut up in it, whether man or woman. If it was a man of condition, this was diftinguifhed by the figure which was reprefented on the cover of the coffin ; there were generally added paintings and embellishments, fuitable to the quality of the perfon. Vid. Cafftan. Collat. 15. c. 3. & Cicero, Tufc. Qua;ft. L 1. Herodot. 1. 2. c. 86. D'todor. 1. 2. c. 5. When the body was brought home again, they agreed with the embalmers, at what rate particularly they would have it embalmed, for the prices were different ; the higheft was a talent, twenty minae was a moderate one, and the lowefl price was a very fmall matter. The Egyptian talent is fup- pofed to be worth three hundred pounds fterling. They im- mediately fent for a defigner, who marked the body, as it lay extended, at the place where it mould be opened, on the left fide, and the length of the incifion. A diffedtor, with a very fliarp Ethiopian ftone, made the incifion, and hurried away as faff, as he could, becaufe the relations of the perfon deceafed, who were prefent, took up ftones, and purfued him as a wicked wretch, with an intention to ftone him. This operation being finifhed, the Embalmers, who were looked upon as facred perfons, entred to perform their office. They drew all the brains of the dead perfon through his no^ ftrils, with a hooked piece of iron, provided particularly for this purpofe, and filled the fkull with aftringent drugs; they likewife drew all the bowels, except the heart and kidneys, through the aperture which they had made in the fide. The inteftines were wafhed in wine from the palm tree, and in other ftrong and binding drugs. The whole body was an- ointed with oil of cedar, with myrrh, cinnamon, and other fpices, for about thirty days, fo that it was preferved entire, not only without putrefaction, but had a good fcent with it. AiywnW h t« t>lef<x. tgttotiks TO f -i«w» ««la?- And the Perfiam, as the fame author Sextus Empiricvs obferves, were ufed rflpa rttpMvm. Sext. Empir. Pyrrhon. Hypoth. 1.2. c. 24. Bodies thus preferved arc called Mummies, from the Arabic word Mam, which Ggnifies wax, this being an ingredient in the preparation.

After this ihc body was put into fait for about forty days : XOF

Where-