Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/358

324] WHIN-CHAT, or Motacilla rubetra, L. a bird found on British heaths and commons, during the summer months: it is about five inches in length; the upper parts of its body being blackish, edged with rufous spots, and the lower extremities are reddish-white; but the legs are black.

Whin-chats build their nests early in the spring, near some low bush or stone; where the female deposits five dusky-white eggs, marked with black spots.—These birds subsist principally on insects; and, when fat, the flavour of their flesh is esteemed equal to that of the.  WHISKEY, a spirituous liquor, chiefly prepared in Scotland and Ireland, by.

With respect to its relative salubrity, whiskey is doubtless preferable to any home-made drawn from malt; as the former, though strong, is not very pungent, and, if properly distilled, it is free of any empyreumatic taste or smell.—A moderate, and occasional use of it, by way of cordial, after great bodily fatigue, may, to some hard-labouring persons, not be injurious; but, when such practice is carried to excess, as in Scotland and Ireland, it deserves severe animadversion; and, though the legislature has wisely imposed heavy duties on the distilleries, we fear that the immense consumption of this liquid fire, can be prevented only by the most rigorous measures.—If, however, the lower classes of people cannot be legally restrained in their vicious propensities, the only remedy left to the power of government, would be the prohibition of employing  for such vile and destructive purposes.—See the article, p. 118.  . See ; vol. ii. p. 36.  . See.  . See.  . See.  . See.  . See. <section end="White-rot" /> <section begin="White-Swelling" />WHITE-SWELLING is a tumor of the joints, but chiefly of the knee: at first, it is not perceptibly enlarged; being of the same colour as the skin; very painful, and diminishing the power of motion.—There are two species of this disorder; namely, the ', and '. As it is of the first consequence to distinguish these maladies, the origin of which is essentially different, we shall state the symptoms peculiar to each.

The rheumatic white-swelling is attended with acute pain over the whole joint; and which is increased by heat: the patient finds the greatest relief in a relaxed position; the tendons become rigid; and the joint appears as if the bones were enlarged. The tumor increases to three or four times the size of the knee, and feels elastic to the touch; while the limb decreases, or sometimes becomes dropsical: at length, abscesses are formed; discharging matter which soon degenerates into a fetid ichor. Unless, therefore, a cure be timely effected, the patient is attacked with a hectic fever, which generally closes the scene of misery.

In the scrophulous kind, the pain is more acute, and confined to one spot: as the disorder gains ground, the swelling, and stillness increase, while the ends of the bones become<section end="White-Swelling" /> visibly