Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/664

 TOW

nothing of that kind can be larger than the part of the animal it had its origin from, whereas we can never fuppofe any animal fo monftroufly large to have at all exifted, as that thefe columns fhould have been only a part of it. The fubftance of this ftone is alfo an unfurmountable difficulty againft the opinion of its being of the nature of the en- trachi and ajieriee, for they are all compofed of fpar, and are foft and crumbly ; whereas this is too hard even for cutting in the common way of working other ftones. The columns of bafaltes in Mifnia, either are not jointed like thofe in Ireland, or the joints have not been obferved ; but fuppofing that they really are not jointed at all, they may neverthelefs be the fame Hone, fmce the joints may have been obliterated by the ftones coming together while yet foft, and fubject to injury by preffure from above given by the fuc- ceeding addition of new joints: and, even in the Irifli kind, the joints, tho' fo very regularly formed in the way of ball and focket, in fome are much lefs regular than in others, and, in fome of the inland columns, are only two flat and fmooth furfaces laid one upon another. It is not difficult to conceive that if thefe furfaces had met together in this clofe contact, while a little moift, they would have cohered together ; fo as to have left no mark of the joining.

Agricola defcribes a kind of marble found in the diftrict of Hildefheim in Germany ; which alfo agrees very well with our bafanus of the giant's-caufeway, and with the bafaltes of the antients ; and an author, who has wrote on the fame fubjects fince his time, confirms his account: he fays, that the marble is black, and in form of beams and columns ftanding up above the furface of the earth in the hills, and that being ftruck forcibly againft with a bar of iron, it gives a ftrong fmell like that of burnt horn. This agrees very well with the marble of the giant's caufeway, which when put to the fame trial has evidently the fame effect. Philof. Tranf. No. 241. TOURNEFORTIA, in the Linnajan fyftem of botany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe : The cup is a fmall. periantbiwn divided into five fegments, and remains after the flower is fallen ; the fegments are of a pointed figure. The flower confifts of a fingle petal in form of an oval tube, longer than the calyx, divided into five flight fegments, fomewhat broad and pointed and fpread open. The ftamina are five tapering filaments of the lengh of the tube of the flower. The anthers are fimple and ftand in the mouth of the flower. The germen of the piftil is globofe, and fituated under the cup. The ftyle is fimple and of the length of the ftamina, and the ftigma is fimple. The fruit is a globofe berry, containing two cells, the feeds are of an oval figure, two in number, and feparated by the pulp. Liwiesi, Genera plantarum, p. 62. TOURNEQUET, in furgery, an inftrument made of rollers and comprefies with the help of a fmall ftick, and ufed to ftop the effufton of blood from large arteries in amputations by forcibly tying up the limb. The things neceffary for this arc a roller of a thumb's breadth, and of an ell in length, a fmall cylindrical ftick, a conglomerated bandage two fingers thick and four long, fome compreflcs of a good length, and about three or four fingers breadth, to furround the legs and arms, and a fquare piece of ftrong paper or leather about four fingers wide.

The manner of applying this inftrument is this, the rolled bandage is to be applied to the trunk of the wounded artery length-ways, covering it in a contrary direction with com- preffes unrounding the leg, foot, or arm, as it were with a ring ; the roller muft be palled twice round thefe applications, and faftened in a knot, but fo loofely that you may eafily in- troduce your hand between it and the part : the leather or thick paper muft now be nicely placed under it, upon the ex- ternal part of the leg, and the roller tightened by degrees by turning round the ftick, which is to be introduced into the knot ; this to be done till the haemorrhage is entirely flopped : the ftick muft now be kept in this fituation till the wound is properly treated, and the return of the haemorrhage prevented. When this end is acquired, the Toumeqtiet is to be loofened, or entirely taken off, as fhall be judged mod convenient ; but where it is applied to the arm, the rolled bandage is to be placed near the axilla in the internal part of the humerus, and the ftick in this cafe is to be faftened on the oppofite fide, the fituation of the artery there requiring this pofition ; and when it is to be applied to the thighs, the bandage is to be put as the cafe (hall require, either to the upper part of the thigh, or juft over the knee. Heifter's Surgery, p. 47. TOW {Cycl.) — Tow-Chain, in hufbandry, a name given by our farmers to a chain, that makes a part of the ftrudture of the plough, fattening the plough-tail to what they call the plough* head.

This is an iron chain of few links, and very ftrong ; it is fixed at one end to a collar faftened to the middle of the beam of the plough, and at the other end paffes thro' that part of the plough-head called the box, which' is the timber thro' which thefpindlc of the two wheels run. The ftake of the plough, which is an upright piece running parallel with the crow- fhves, pins this in at the bottom, running thro' that link which comes out by the box; this ftake is faftened by wyths or

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cords in two places to the left crow-ftaffs, and the chain is thus kept firm. Tail's Hufbandry.

TOWER, in glafs-making. See the article Leer.

TOXICODENDRON, poifon-wood, in botany, the name of a genus of plants the characters of which are thefe. The flower is of the rofaceous kind, being compofed of feveral leaves difpofed in a circular form. The piftil arifes from the cup, and finally becomes a fruit of a roundifh fhape, dry, not juicy, and ufually of a ftriated ftructure. The fpecies of "Toxicodendron enumerated by Mr. Toiirnefort are thefe: 1. The fmooth trifoliate Toxicodejidron. %. The trifoliate Toxicodendron, with hoary finuated leaves. Tourn, Inft. p. 610.

The molt common American kind of this tree, is the afh- leaved one ; it grows in marfhy places, and is called by the common people marfh-fumach ; its leaves refembling thofe of the common fumach, which are very well known to refem- ble afh-leaves in their pinnated ftructure. It grows to about four inches in diameter, and at the utmoft does not exceed twenty feet in height. It fpreads much at the root, and where one has been at any time cut down, there are al- ways feen a great number of young ones growing from its ftump. It is of very quick growth, but is not durable. The infide of the wood is yellow, and contains a juice which is as glutinous as turpentine; the wood ltfelf has a very ftrong and difagreeable fmell, but the juice ftinks like carrion. This tree poifons two ways ; by handling of it, and by the fmell. The fcent of it when cut down in the woods has poi- foned many people, and many more have fuffered by it while burning in their fires. People with only handling it have been made blind for feveral days, and perfons who fit near a fire when it is burning are often fwelled and choaked up in all parts of the body in a terrible manner. It is very remark- able that the effect of this poifon feems confined to fome few perfons, and that one may handle it ever fo long, and even chew it without hurt, while another is poifoned by only touch- ing it ; and a whole company fitting by a fire where it is burn- ing, fhall often all efcape except one or two, who will be fwelled with it. The poifon of this tree is never mortal, but goes off of itfelf in a few days ; and the people who fuffer by it generally carry its effects off the fooner, by ufing fallad oil and cream to the parts. The firft notice the peifon has of being affected by it, is by feeling a violent itching in the fkin ; this provokes fcratching and rubbing ; and in confequence of this the part inflames and fwells. Sometimes a perfon's whole body is fwelled and poifoned in this manner, and fome- times only a particular part, as the legs; and, in this cafe, they often difcharge a confiderable quantity of water, and* then grow well.

People who have been poifoned by handling it, affirm that it is fo much colder to the touch than other wood, and that it may be diftinguifhed by this in the dark ; when it is burn- ing fome people are fo affected by it as to fwoon away, others yawn and feem uneafy, while the reft feel nothing of it. The fruit of this tree is a white roundifh dry berry, growing in clutters. Philof. Tranf. N°. 367. p. 144.

TOXICUS, in botany, a name by which fome authors have called the arundo farda, of which the walking-canes arc made. Chabr&m, p. 193.

TOXOTiE, lo^lai, among the Athenians, bowmen, a fort of inferior officers, or rather fervants, who attended the lexi- archi.

They were much like the Roman lidtors : there were a thou- fandof them in the city of Athens, that lived in tents, erected firft in the forum and afterwards in the areopagus. Potter, Archaeol. Graec. T. 1. p. 79. See the article Lexiar- chi.

TOZZIA, in botany, a name given by Micheli and continued by Linnaeus to a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe : The perianthium is very fhort ; it confifts of one leaf of a tubular figure, divided into five fegments at the end, and remaining when the flower is fallen. The flower is one- leaved and open ; the tube is cylindric, and longer than the cup. The extremity forms two lips; the upper lip is bifid and the lower trifid, and all the fegments are nearly equal in fize and of a roundifh figure. The ftamina are four filaments hid under the upper lip of the flower. The antheras are roundifh. The germen of the piftil is oval ; the ftile is ca- pillary, of the length of the ftamina ; and the ftigma is capitated. The fruit is a globofe univalve capfule, having only one cell, in which is contained a fingle oval feed. Linntsi Gen. PI. p. 302. Michel, p. 16.

TRACHEA (Cycl.) — Trachea, in vegetables, are certain air-veflels evident in many plants, but in none more beautifully or diftinctly obfervable than in the melon. Mr. Eulfinger obferved that in cutting the root of the common melon tranfverfely, there appeared, befide the bark and other commonly known parts of the root, a multitude of foramina, which were larger or fmaller as the portions of the root were cut from a thicker or a thinner part. Thefe are eafily vifible to the naked eye, for they are arranged into a number of fafci- culi, which furround the axis of the root : there are ufually three circles of thefe diftinguifhablc in the fmaller parts of the root, and four in the larger ; and the matter in which they

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