Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/613

 TAS

'TARUM, In botany, a name; given by Pliny to the dgalhchum fyheftre^ a fpecies of aromatic plants. Hofm. Lex. in voc. See the article Agallochuiu.

TASIS, Ta.a-U, in rhetoric, is ufed for the continuation of a pe- riod longer than the breath can bear. Vojf. Ret. 1. 4. p. 66.

TASCHENMUL, in zoology, a name given by authors to the anas clypeata, a fpecies of duck, remarkable for the breadth of the end of its beak, and called in Englilh, the jhovekr. Jldrovand, de Avib. T. 3. p. 224. Sec the article Sho-

VEIER.

TASTATUR A^ in the Italian mufic, the whole range of keys of organs, harpfichords, ts'c. See the articles Organ and Harpsichord, Cycl. TASTE (Cycl.) — This is one of the moft obvious characters' of bodies, and much is to be judged from it of the nature of many things. Dr. Abercromby, in a treatife partly written on this fubject, has carried his obfervations fo far, as to lay down a fet of rules for the judging of any plant, or other body, without knowing what it is, merely from its 'Tajle, in regard to its virtues in medicine.

In order to judge of what he exprefsly means by the names of the feveral Tajles, it is proper to add the lilt of them, with fame of the things to which they are applied. Plants, fruits, &c. are either four as the common forrel, harm as the medlar, auftere or rough as the quince, fweet as the frefli juice of ripe grapes, fat and oily as the fefamum, bitter as gentian, or the wild cucumber, felt as common fea- falt, tart as garlick, or hilly, infipid as the gourd, or of fome mixed Tajles, made of two or more of thefe. The harfh or acerb things are cold, repelling and binding, hardly concocted, and they may all be known upon the tongue by their contracting or drying it. The auftere or rough things differ from thefe only in degree, as being fomewhat milder in 'Tajle, and weaker in virtues.

The four or acid things are always cooling ; hut this never to excefs, by reafon of their penetrating parts ; this Tajle is known by a biting on the tongue, but without any heat. Sweet things are all nutritive; and, taking the word in its proper fenfe, it is they only that are fo. Their fweetnefs arifes from their neither being too hot nor too cold upon the tongue.

Fat things are moderately hot, and, on this account they all, In fome degree, moiften and relax ; but they alfo obflxuet : they are known from the fweet things bv filling and, as it were, anointing the tongue, without giving that fenfe of plea- sure that the others do.

Salt things are aftringent and deterfive ; the one quality they have from their earthy part, the other from their watery. Bitter things may be very beneficial to the ftomach ; but, in improper ca'es, they may alfo do hurt. The pungent bitters, fuch as the elaterium, or wild cucumber, are all hurtful, un- lefs rendered fafe by other means.

Tart things are hot, and often bad for the head ; but good in heavy and phlegmatic constitutions ; they are known by their heat in the mouth.

Laftly ; infipid things in general have no peculiar quality, but are cold and watery ; they ate generally hurtful to the fto- mach, unleis mixed with hotter and fpicy things. Abercroinb. rJov. Medic. Clavis.

It is obferved by Sir John Floyer, that the Tajle is fo good a judge for us, that all the chemical principles in plants may be difeovered by it, before their diftillation. All watery plants ihew their phlegm, as well to the Tajle, as by diftilling ; and in all dry woods, the Tajle difcovcrs the earth they contain, as well as a chemical analyfis ; by the mucilaginous and gummy Tajle, and by the inanifelt oilynefs in fome plants, we diftin- guifh their abounding in oil, as well as by the retort. The imell alfo helps us greatly in an extemporary judging of plants, and we arc able to declare upon the fpot, that all the aromatic plants, and all the foetid ones, contain a large quantity of a vo- latile oil and fait. By the acrimony and pungency, we are well allured, that there is a volatile fait in plants ; and, by the burning taite of others, we find that there is a corrofive fait in them. By a crude rough acidity, we diftinguifh the tartar or effential fait of plants to be in large quantity; but if the aci- dity be of a vinous fmell, we obferve that it is of a middle ftate of digeftion, and may be called a vinous tartar, and diltin- gnifhed from the firit j but if the tartar have a pungent fmell, then it is evidently a volatile tartar, or an acid acrid tartar. The fweet Tajles are more numerous in plants, and more va- ried among themfelves than any other kind. Thefe, in ge- neral, fhev/ their oil by thin iliruy fmoothnefs, and their tar- tar is evident in their extracts, as is very plain in the common liquorice juice. - The grafs fweets, as the common dogs grafs, and the like, have much effential fait, and a moderate portion of oil ; and the rufh, reed, horfe-tail, and cats- tail, are all fweet and rough ; fome of thefe have more oil, and others more acid ; and the moft crude among them have more oil than tartar. The corn fweets, as barley, rye, wheat, oats, millet, and rice, have much oil and effential fait, and a little volatile ; fo bread, prepared of any of thefe, yields on analyfis oil, and efiential and volatile fait.

It is to be obferved here, that fermentation and fire feverally Suppl. Vol. II,

T A T

produce a volatile fait, where it was not before, by fubtilizing and volatilizing the efiential fait ; and the flimy mealinefs in corn fupphes the oil. The goats beard and fcorzonera kind* have the fame principles as the grafles, much oil and effential rait. The fub-aend fweets, as rampions, campanulas, tra- cheha, and the like, contain much oil and effential fait • but the acrimony in thefe plants thews that they have alfo a vola- tile fait, and that in no finall quantity ; though Lemery and the ether chemical writers have not obferved this. The ferns, polypodys, and all that clafs of plants, contain 1 much oil and effential fait ; but the chemiits in general have omitted to mention an acrid principle in all thefe, which be- fpeaks a volatile fait ; and fragrancy is obferved in fome of the harts-tongues,- which befpeaks a volatile fait alfo, and volatile oil, though hitherto unobferved.

All the leguminous flimy fweets have more oil than tartar j but all of them have a large quantity of both. Beans, Peas and lentils, have alfo a volatile fait, as has alfo that ftrance fruit, eaten in Ruffia, and fome other places, and called len- ticula aquatica by fome ; but by the botanical writers, tribu- fas aquaticus ; the other name belonging to the common duck- weed. The aromatic legumens, fuch as melilot, have an ex- alted oil, and volatile fait. The honeyfuckle is fald by Lemery, and the other chemifts, only to have an effential fait and oil ; but as there is a highly aromatic flavour, and great acrimony, there muft be alfo a volatile fait. Thefe are fome few inftances, out of a vaft number recited by the author, for the reft of which we refer to the paper it- felfinN. 28ooftheTranfaaions. Philof. Tranf. N° 200 p. 1160. yj

TASt O, in the Italian mufic, the touch or part of any inftru- ment, whereon, or by means of which its notes are made to found, be it on the neck, as lutes, viols, &c. which are cal- led fixed and immoveable ; or the front of organs, fpmnets, or harpfichords, where the keys are difpofed to raife the jacks, called moveable touches ; and is properly no more than the finger-board of each.

Tajlo Solo is often found in thorough baffes, where it fhews that the inftruments accompanying, as the lute, organ, &c. are only to ftrike a fingle found, from that place, till they find cyphers, or the words accordo or accompanimento placed in their part. Thefe intimate^ that the aces^ls are to begin again in this place. * r /

TAT 'A-Touba, in botany, a name ufed by fome for the tree which yields what the dyers call the fuitic, or yellow wood ufed in dying. De Lact. Ind. Occident, p. 603. TATU, in zoology, the Brazilian name for the armadillo, 9 fhell hedge-hog. Greiv's Muf. Reg. Societ. p. 17. See til article Armadillo.

We have feveral fpecies of this creature defcribed to us ; but the moft ufual, is of the figure of a hog, and of the fize of a large pig, and has a bony covering, which extends over the whole body, the head and the tail. This is compofed of a number of very elegant fcales, which have two junctures near the hinder part of the head, by means of which the creature is able to move its neck. On the back there are feven divifions, with a thick membrane between ; and in all other parts of the body the fhell is whole. The legs, fo far as they come in fight, are in the fame manner defended by a bony covering, in form, of a fhell, but thinner than that of the back ; the belly has nothing of this covering, but is befet with a few whitifh hairs, which grow out of very obfervable and eminent pores. The junctures of the head and back have alfo the fame fort of hairs j the head is like that of a hog, the nofe {harp, the eyes fmall, and fet deep ; the ears fhorr, naked, and brown ; the teeth are but fmall, and are in number eighteen in each jaw. The feet are made like hands ; each has five toes, and the nails are round. Its colour is a fort of reddifh tawny. It digs up the ground with its nofe, in the manner of a hog, but much more nimbly ; the tail is thick at the infertion, and tapers to the extremity. The creature feeds on roots and fruits, as po- tatoes, melons, and the like; but will eat meat alio if it comes in its way. It is ufually found in dry places; but fometimes in watery ones. Ray's Syn. Quad. p. 233. TATU-Jpara, in zoology, the name of a creature of the arma- dillo kind ; but differing from the others in many particulars : Its head is oblong, and of a pyramidal figure ; its ears are fmall, fhort, and roundilh; and its feet, as well the foreones as the hinder ones, have each five toes. The fore legs are about three fingers long, the hinder ones five ; the tail of a pyramidal figure, and little more than two fingers breadth long. It is covered with a fhelly coat of a foot long, and eight fingers wide; it is fmaller at both ends than in the mid- dle ; and is convex on the outfide, and concave within. In the middle, or a little toward the fore end, it has four jun- ctures, which are placed tranfverfely, and by means of which it can, at pleafure, either expand its fhell, or contract it toge- ther into a round figure. The whole cruft is compofed of pentangular pieces, very nicely fitted to one another, and the feiies of thefe between the commifliires are parallel lograms. The whole is compofed of yellowifh fcales joined by an ex- tremely tough fkin.

When the creature would fleep, or when it is afraid of being

taken up, it contractsitscruftintoa round figure; and Iriding'its

D d d d whole