Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/628

 EAR

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EAR

Earls are now created by Charter, without any Authority over, or particular Relation to, their Counties ; and without. any Profit arifing thence, except forne annual Stipend out of the Exchequer for Honours Sake. The Number of Earls being of late much increafed, and no more Counties being left for them ; feveral of them have made Choice of fome eminent Part of a County, as Lindfey, Holland, Craven, &c. Others, of fome Towns ; as Mar borough, Exeter, Sfriftol, &c. And others of fome Village, or their own Seat, Park, &c. zsGodolphin, 'Bolton, 2Janby, Wharton, &c.

Two Earls we have which are not local, i. e. not dignified from any Places, but from Noble Families ; viz. Earl Rivers, and Earl Toulet. A third is denominated from his Office, viz. the Earl-Marfial. See Marshal.

Earls are created by Cincture of Sword, Mantle, a Cap and a Coronet on his Head, and a Charter in his Hand. They are ftyled by the King, Confangttinei nofiri, our Couiins. Their Title is, Mofi potent and Noble Lord. Their Coronet has the Pearls rais'd on Points, with Leaves between. See Coronet.

Earl was a mighty Title among the Saxons : It Is ob- served to be the melt ancient of any of the Peerage ; and that there is no other Title of Honour in Ufe among the prefent Nobility, which was likewife ufed among the Saxons, bcfide it.

The Original Titles of Honour among the Saxons, were jtoehng, 6al6ejiman, and Dejeri or Dane. The firft was appropriated to thofe of the Royal Family. The other two to the reft of the Nobility. Only the Thani were af- terwards diftinguifhed into Afajores and Minores. See Thane.

Hh-R-L-Afarfljal, is a great Officer, who had antiently fe- veral Courts under his Jurifdiction, as the Court of Chivalry, now almofi forgotten ; and the Court of Honour, now quite laid alide : But he hath itill fome Preheminence in the Court of Marjhalfea ; where he may fit in Judgment againft Criminals offending within the Verge of the Court ; whence the chief Officer under him is called Knight-Marpal. See Marshal, and Marsh alsea.

Under him is alfo the Herald's Office, or College of Arms. See Herald, and College of Arms.

The Office of Earl-Marpal is Hereditary in the moft Noble Family of Howard ; and enjoy 'd by the Duke of Nor- folk, the principal Branch thereof; tho' now, for Reafons of State, it is difcharged by Deputation : But yet it is to be obferved, it is not given out of the Name and Family of Howard.

EARNEST, called alfo Arrhes, Money advanced to compleat, or afTure, a verbal Bargain, and bind the Parties to the Performance thereof.

By the Civil Law, he who recedes from his Bargain, lofes his Eamefi : Or, if die Perfon, who receiv'd the Earueft, oive back, he is to return the Eamefi double. But, with us, the Effect of Eamefi is more. The Perfon who gave it, is in Striclnefs obliged thereby to abide by his Bargain ; and in Cafe he decline it, is not difcharged upon forfeiting his Eamefi ; but may be fued for the whole Money fii- pulated.

EARTH, Terra, in Natural Philofouhy, one of the four Vulgar, or Peripatetical Elements; defined, a fimple, dry and cold Subftance ; and as fuch, an Ingredient in the Compofition of all Natural Bodies. See Element.

It fhould be well obferved, that the Element Earth is a very different Matter from the Earth whereon we tread : Arifiotle having laid down cold and dry as -bis firfl Ele- ment ; to give it a fuitable Name, look'd among the divers Bodies, for that which fhould come the nearelt thereto ; which being Earth, he gave his firft Element that Denomi- nation : Tho*, thus borrowing a Word, that had been ufed for a different Thing, occasioned a great Part of his Fol- lowers to run into an extravagant Error, and to fuppofe, that this habitable foffil Earth, was an Element. See Principle.

Earth, in Chymiftry, is the fourth of the Chymical Elements, or Principles, into which all Bodies are refblvible by Fire. See Principle.

After drawing off the Spirit, Sulphur and Phlegm, e.gr. of Wine, what remains in the Retort, is a taileleis, fmell- lefs, dufiy Matter, not capable either of being rais'd by Di- stillation, or diffolved by Solution, and called Earth, or Terra damnata, or Caput Mortuv.m. See Caput Mor- tuum and Terra damnata.

This Earth is fuppofed to be the Bafis, or Subftratum of all Bodies ; and that, wherein the other Principles refide. 'Tis all that is folid, e. gr. in an Animal or Vegetable Body, i. e. all the Vafcular Part ; the reft being Juices. See Solid, Vessel, Vegetable, &c.

Earth, in Natural Hiftory, is a foffil, or terreftrial Matter, whereof our Globe principally comrlts; whofe Cha- racter is to be neither diffoluble by Fire, Water, nor Air;

not tranfparent, more fufible than Stone, and generally con" taining fome Degree of Fatnefs. See Fossil.

Of fuch Earth, fome is Simple, and Immutable- other Compound and Fatty. Of the firfl Kind is Chalk, 'Pumice and Rotten-fione ; of the Second, or Compound Earths* are Soles of all Kinds, red, white and brown ; Fullers Earth, the divers Kinds of Medicinal Earth, as" the Cretica, Hungarica, Turcica, Suecica, Lemnian Earth Malta Earth, Terra Sigillata, &c. To this Clafs are like- wife referred Argill<e, or Clay Earth, form'd into Potters Ware.

Thefe Earths are all refolvible into an Oil, a little acid Salt, t5c. and a Calx, which is the Bafis, or the Earth properly fo call'd. See the divers Kinds of Earths defcribed under their proper Articles: Chalk, Pumice, Bole, Sigili.a.t &-Terra, &c.

Naturalifts generally rank Sand as a Species of Earth' tho' with no great Propriety. Sands being, in Stricfcnefs, a Sort of Cryftals, or little tranfparent Pebbles, calcinabie, and by the Addition of a fix'd alcalinc Salt, fufible, and convertible into Glafs .- And therefore properly reducible to the Clafs of Stones. See Stone.

By Means of Sand it is, that the fatty Earth is render'd fertile, and fit to feed Vegetables, &c. For pure Earth is liable to coalefce into a hard coherent Mafs, as in Clay j and Earth thus imbodicd, and as it were glued together, would be very unfit to nourifh Plants. But if witn fuch Earth, Sand, i. e. hard Cryftals which are indiifoluble in Water, and ftill retain their Figure, be intermix'd, they will keep the Pores of the Earth open, and the Earth it felf loofe and incompact, and by that Means give room for the Juices to move, afcend, &c. and for Plants to be nouri/hed thereby. Thus a Vegetable, planted either in the Sand alone, or in the fat Glebe and Earth alone, receives no Growthi or Increafe ; but is either fiarved or fuffocated ; But mix the two, and the Mafs becomes fertile. In Effect, by Means of Sand, the Earth is render'd in fome Meafure Organical - by preferving a Sort of Pores, and Interfaces therein, fome- what analagous to Velfels is effected ; by which the Juices of the Earth may be convey'd, prepared, digefled, circu- lated, and at length excreted and thrown off into the Roots of Plants. See Water and Vegetation.

Earth, in Geography, this terraquerous Globe, or Ball, whereon we inhabit, conflfting of Land and Sea. See Terraqueous Globe ; See alfo Ocean.

The Earth, confid<:r'din different Relations-, or Habitudes, makes the Subject of Geography and Geometry. See Geography, t£c.

The Figure of the Earth is demonftrated to be nearly Spherical. Thus : the Moon is frequently feen eclipfed by the Shadow of the Earth ; and in all Eclipfes, that Shadow appears circular, wbat Way foever it be projected, whether towards Eafl, Weft, North or South, howlbever its Diameter vary, according to the greater or lefs Diftance from the Earth.

Hence it follows, that the Shadow of the Earth, in all Situations, is really Conical ; and confcquently the Body that projects it, 1. e. the Earth, is nearly Spherical. See Sh a dow.

The Natural Caufe of this Sphericity of the Globe is, according to Sir Ifaac Newton, the great Principle of At- traction, which the Creator has ftamp'd on all the Matter of the Univerfe ; whereby all Bodies, and all the Parts of Bodies, mutually attract one another. See Attraction.

The fame is the Caufe of the Sphericity of the Drops of Rain, Quickfiiver, &c. See Drop, Sphericity, &d

We fay 'tis nearly Spherical ; for the Inequalities on its Surface prevent its being perfectly fo. Befides that, Huygens and Sir Ifaac Newton have fhewn, that the Earth is higher and bigger under the Equator, than at the Poles ; So that its Figure, nearly, is that of an oblate Spheroid, fwelling out towards the Equatorial Parts, and flatted or contracted to- wards the Poles. The Ratio of the greater Diameter to the lefs, Huygens determines to be as 578 to 577. See Mountain, Spheroid, Pendulum, &c.

TheReafon of this Inequality is deduced from the Diurnal Rotation of the Earth on its Axis ; as is already fhewn in that of the Sun. See Sun.

This RoundneCs of the Earth is further confirm'd by its having been frequently fatf'd round : The firfl Time was in the Year 1 5 19, when Ferd. Magellan made the Tour of the whole Globe in 11 24 Days. In the lear 1557, our Countryman 2)rake performed the fame in 1056 Days : In the Year 158(5, Sir Thomas Cavendifh made the fame Voyage in 777 f^ays '■> Simon Cordei, of Rotterdam, in the Year 1590$ and in the Year 1598, Oliver Noort, a Hollander, in 1077 Days - Will- Corn. Van Schouten, in the Year 1*15, in 749 Days ; Jam. Herermt and Joh. Huygens, in the Year 1623, in "802 Days: All of whom failing continually from Eaft to Weft, at length arrived in Europe, whence they, fet forth ; and in the Courfe of their Voyage obferved all

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