Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/611

 TAR

TARGAR, a name given by fome of the chemical writers to oil of juniper,

TARIEK.A, in ichthyology, the name of a river-fifli caught in many parts of America.

It is an oblong nib, with a ftrait back, and a belly fomewhat hanging down. Its under jaw is longer than its upper, and its teeth are extremely (harp. Among thefe there are two longer than the reft in the middle of the under jaw, and four fuch in the upper. Its fcales are lar^e, and its back brown, and its belly and iides whitifh. It Is a well tailed filh 1, but full of bones. Marggrave's, Hift. Braf.

TARIFILON, in botany, a name by which Avicenna, and fome other authors, have called the trifolium bituminofum, or Sinking trefoil. Ger. Emac. Ind. 2.

TARIN, in ornithology, a name given by the French, and from them by many others to the Citrinella j a bird common in Italy, and kept in cages for its beauty and fine notes. Ray's Ornithol. p. 93. See the article Citrinella. I'ARINGTING, in natural hiftory, a name given by the peo- ple of the Philippine iflands to a fpecies of lapwing which is common on the fea-fhores, and runs remarkably fwtft.

TARI I'H, one of the many names given by the chemifts to mercury. See the article Mercury.

TARRAGON, in botany. See the article Dracunculus.

TARROCK, in zoology, the name of a fea-fowl of the larus or gull-kind, and diitinguilhed by authors by the name of the larus cinereus Bellomi.

It is of the fize of the common pigeon, and is not much un- like it in ihape, except that the head is larger and thicker. Its Liil is not forked ; and its throat, brealt and belly, are ihow-white. Its bead and the outer part of its neck are alfo white ; but there is on each fide of the head a black fpot. The lower part of the neck is black ; and the middle of the back and the ihoulders are grey. Its long wing feathers are black and white. Its great diftincTtion, however, from all the other birds of the gull kind, is, that it has no hinder toe. It is very common on the coafts of Cornwal, and fome other of the Englifh fhores. Ray's Ornithol. p. 264.

TARSI, in the materia mediea, a name by which fome authors have called the root of the cyperus efculentus^ or fweet cyperus of the ihops ; and by which it is in fome places ufually cal- led by the druggifts. Dak's Pharm. p. 257.

TARSO, in the glafs-trade, a fort of white ftone found in many rivers of Italy, and other places ; and ufed inftead of fand for the fineft cryftal glafs, being firft burnt, and calcined with the fait of the polverine into frit. Ntri's Art of Glafs, p. 7.

Neri calls this ftone a kind of white marble; and adds a ge- neral rule, that all ftones that will ftrike fire with Seel, are fit to vitrify ; and thofe that will not ftrike fire with fteel, will never vitrify.

The criteria or determinate characters of foflils were not at all fixed in this author's time, otherwife he had not called this ftone a kind of marble ; fince his own general rule of trying ftones by fteel, is, though liable to a few exceptions, a very good one ; and, according to that, this Tarfo could be of no affinity to marble ; for marble will not ftrike fire with fteel, nor ever be converted into glafs.

The e;reat difference of ftones is this ; fome are compofed of cryftal, varioufly debafed by adventitious matter ; others of fpar, debafed in the fame manner. All cryftal will give fire with fteel ; all fpar will refufe this. Flints, fand, and the harder ftones, are compofed of cryftal ; and will therefore give fire with fteel, and vitrify or make glafs with the addition of falts. Marble, and other foft ftones, are compofed of fpar ; and can neither give fire with fteel, nor make glafs, but rea- dily calcine in the fire.

The Tarfo therefore;, of this and other authors, could be no- thing of the marble kind ; but is truly a cryftalline matter de- bated by an admixture of- white earth, and found in form of fmall pebbles of a whitifti, yellowifh, or pale reddifh colour ; and this is common in all the gravel-pits of England, and in the beds of fome of our rivers ; and might be ufed with great advantage by our glafs-makers, if they knew it was fo eafily to be had.

On comparing thefe ftones of ours, with the cuogolo or Tarfo of the foreign glafs-makers, there is no difference diftinguifh- ablc to the eye, nor wilt the niceft experiments by the fire, acid menftrua^ &c. fhew the leaft diftinclion between them. We are not to wonder however, that the glafs-makers did not hitherto diitinguifh this to be the true cuogolo or Tarfo, fince the characters of foflils have been hitherto fo little afcertained, that the belt" and latett author on thefe fubjecte, Dr. Wood- ward, fo far miftook the rtructure of this ftone, as to call it z fparry pebble. It is certain that fpar could never have any thing to do with glufs-making; but this ftone has no fpar in its compofition^

TARSUS (Cycl.)— Bones of the Tarsus luxated. If any of the fmall bones in the foot, the tar fas or metatmfus happen to be luxated by fome external violence, the ligaments with the adjacent nerves and tendons, are generally fo aftecled as to

■ excite not only the moft acute pains, but alfo violent inflam-

. mations and convutiions,- and even death itfelf has been known to be the confequence of accidents of this kind, un- 1

TAR

lefs the bones be fpeedily replaced. The foot is for this pur- pofe to be extended on an even table, and the furgeon is to replace the diflocated bones with the prefTure of the palms of his hands, adjufting them alfo with his fingers, where need requires. Comprelles dipped in warm fpirit of wine are then to be laid on the part, and both thefe and the reduced bones fecured in their places^ by means of the proper bandages ; the patient is then to be enjoined to remain in bed till the new fet bones have acquired a iufEcient ftrength. Heijlcrs Surg, pag. 174.

TARTAR (Cycl.) — The fweet wines afford always lefs Tartar than the fharp ones, and it is alfo lefs valuable. The Tartar of Rhenifh wine, is better than that of any other ; and in ge- neral, thofe wines which have the moft acid in them, afford the greateft quantity of Tartar, and that in the largeft cry- ftals. It is objected by fome to this fyftem, that vinegar af- fords no Tartar ; but this is eafily anfwered, by obferving, that the wine from which vinegar is made, has before depo- fited its Tartar. This fait of wine may be by chemiftry re- duced to elementary water, in this manner : let it be burnt to a fixed fait, and let this fixed fait of Tartar be diffolved by Handing in a damp place into an oil per deiiauium ; let this oil be diftilled in an alembic, and a phlegm only conies over: by repeating this procefs, the whole will be reduced into perfect fimple and infipid phlegm, excepting a fmall remainder of equally infipid earth. Partzias de Vin. Rhen. Befide the ufual way in which Tartar is produced, there is a very remarkable account in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, of its having been found in a more than ordinary beautiful ft ate on a human fkull ; the difcovery was owing to accident, and was in this manner : Mr. Morand wanting a human fkull cleanled from its foft parts, put into a dunghill of horfe-dung a whole human head ; after it had lain there eight days, the flefhy parts eafily feparated, being as it were boiled to pieces ; after this the fkull was carefully waffled, and then laid to foak for ten days in a large veffel of water; after this it was drenched three or four times in frefh water, and finally, without wiping, was fee out in the air to dry. As it dried it became covered with little cryftals, compofed of feveral planes or traces, but moft ly of a cubic form, very bright and glittering ; and when expofed to


 * the light, of an extremely brilliant water. There were none

of them on the bafis of the cranium, which was full of irre- gularities ; but they all arranged themfelves on the upper part above the orbitary hollows ; to the jaw-bones there were alfo many fattened, as alfo to the teeth ; thefe laft were yellow, but they were not lefs bright and brilliant than the reft. On examining thefe cryftals they were found to be Tartar, but in a purer ftate than Tartar is ever ufed to appear in j

i and as it was foon judged that though thefe cryftals owed their prefent form and extreme beauty to the fkull, yet they could not be wholly produced from it, the whole matter was carefully examined, and it was found that there had been lees of wine in the veffel in which the fkull had been laid ten days in foak. Mem. Acad. Par. Ann. 1737.

The formation of the cryftals of this Tartar on thefkull, while the fides of the veffel had none concreted on them, (hews that the fkull had a difpofition for receiving the cryftals more than any other body ; and their peculiar brightnefs proves, that it had fome {hare in their formation.

The ufual method of refining Tartar is this : Take two pounds of common white Tartar reduced to powder, and put it into five gallons of fair water ; put it over the fire to boil, and in the mean time beat up the whites of two or three eggs, mix thefe among the liquor, and fkim it as it heats; final- ly ftrain it and fet it in a cool place for two days, at the end of which time a quantity of whitifh cryftals will be found flicking to the fides of the veffel.

This is a very troublefome and inconvenient procefs, the Tartar requiring fo very large a quantity of water to diffolve it; and the operation mil alfo be repeated more than once, to make the cryftals fine. Veffels of metal cannot be em- ployed, becaufe the Tartar would corrode them ; and earthen ones of fize to make large quantities, are not eafily procured, arts the crude Tartar does as well as the refined ;

In

many

many other occafions none but the refined can be ufed. It were therefore much ta be wifhed, that we could get into a method of refining it here, as they do in France. Shaw'i Ledfures, p. 158-. , ■_

A »reat affiftance in the diflolving of Tartar is had from ad- ding lime-water, pot-afhes, or fait of Tartar ; and if the al- kali be here too great, it may be taken off by a proper quan- / tity of oil of vitriol. But where a very pure Tartar is re- quired, the beft method of obtaining it is to diffolve the com- mon cryftals or cream of Tartar in water, made highly acid with oil of vitriol. For this folution, after a proper evapo- ration, will afford perfeaiy fine cryftals of Tartar, no way participating of the oil of vitriol. _

The glafs-men are very fond of a preparation, which they call burnt Tartar. This is no more than the larger lumps of red Tartar, burnt or calcined in earthen pans in an open fire till they have done fmoaking, and is of a blackifh purple colour. Neri's Art of Glafs, p. 69.

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