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mens: male, stamens twenty to fifty; female, style scarcely any; stigma trifid; berry dry, subbilocular; seeds two, threesided. There are two species, viz. X. suaveolens and X orbiculatum.

XYRIS, in botany, a genus of the Tri

andria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Ensatæ. Junci, Jussieu. Essential character: corolla three-petalled, equal, crenate; glumes, two-valved in a head; capsule superior. There are four species.

Or y, the twenty-third letter of our

Y, alphabet: its sound is formed by ex

Y.

pressing the breath with a sudden expansion of the lips from that configuration by which we express the vowel u. It is a consonant in the beginning of words, and placed before all vowels, as in yard, yield, young, &c. but before no consonant. At the end of words it is a vowel, and is substituted for the sound of i, as in try, descry, &c. In the middle of words it is not used so frequently as i is, unless in words derived from the Greek, as in chyle, empyreal, &c. though it is admitted into the middle of some pure English words, as in dying, flying, &c. Y is also a numeral, signifying 150, or according to Baronius, 159; and with a dash a-top, as Y, it signi

fied 150,000.

YACHT, or YATCH, a vessel with one deck, carrying from four to twelve guns. YARD, a measure of length used in England and Spain, chiefly to measure cloth, stuffs, &c. See MEASURE.

YARD land, is taken to signify a certain quantity of land, in some counties being fifteen acres, and in others twenty, in some twenty-four, and in others thirty and forty acres.

YARDS of a ship, are those long pieces of timber which are made a little tapering at each end, and are fitted each athwart its proper mast, with the sails made fast to them, so as to be hoisted up, or lowered down, as occasion serves. They have their names from the masts to which they belong.

There are several sea terms relating to the management of the yards; as, square the yards; that is, see that they hang right across the ship, and no yard-arm traversed more than another: top the yards; that is, make them stand even. To top the main and fore yards, the clewlines are the most proper; but when the

top-sails are stowed, then the top-sailsheets will top them.

YARD arm, is that half of the yard that is on either side of the mast, when it lies athwart the ship.

YARDS also denote places belonging to the navy, where the ships of war, &c. are laid up in harbour. There are, belonging to his Majesty's navy, six great yards, viz. Chatham, Deptford, Woolwich, Portsmouth, Sheerness, and Plymouth; these yards are fitted with several docks, wharfs, launches, and graving places, for the building, repairing, and cleaning of his Majesty's ships; and therein are lodged great quantities of timber, masts, planks, anchors, and other materials: there are also convenient store-houses in each yard, in which are laid up vast quantities of cables, rigging, sails, blocks, and all other sorts of stores, needful for the royal navy.

YARE, among sailors, implies ready or quick; as, be yare at the helm; that is, be quick, ready, and expeditious at the helm. It is sometimes also used for bright by seamen: as, to keep his arms are; that is, to keep them clean and bright.

YARN, wool or flax spun into thread, of which they weave cloth.

YFAR, the time that the sun takes to go through the twelve signs of the zodi ac. See CHRONOLOGY.

YEAR and DAY, is a time that determines a right in many cases; and in some works an usurpation, and in others a prescription; as in case of an estray, if the owner, proclamation being made, challenge it not within the time, it is forfeited.

So is the year and day given in case of appeal; in case of descent after entry or claim; if no claim upon a fine or writ or right at the common law; so of a villain remaining in ancient demesne; of a man

sore bruised or wounded; of protections; essoigns in respect to the King's service; of a wreck, and divers other cases.

YEARS, estate for. Tenant for a term of years is, where a man letteth lands or te nements to another for a certain term of years, agreed upon between the lessor and lessee; and when the lessee entereth by force of the lease, then he is tenant for term of years.

If tenements be let to a man for term of half a year, or for a quarter of a year, or any less time, this lessee is respected as tenant for years, and is styled so in some legal proceedings, a year being the shortest term which the law in this case takes notice of.

Generally, every estate which mustpire at a period certain and prefixed, by what ever words created, is an estate for years, and therefore this estate is frequently called a term, because its duration or continuance is bounded, limited, and determined. For every such estate must have a certain beginning and certain end. If no day of commencement be named in the creation of this estate, it begins from the making or delivery of the lease. A lease for so many years as such an one shall live is void from the beginning, for it is neither certain, nor can it ever be reduced to a certainty, during the continuance of the lease. And the same doctrine holds, if a parson make a lease of his glebe for so many years as he shall continue parson of such a church, for this is still more uncertain. But a lease for twenty or more years, if the parson shall so long live, or if he shall so long continue parson, is good; for there is a certain period fixed, beyond which it cannot last, though it may determine sooner, on the parson's death, or his ceasing to be parson there.

An estate for years, though never so many, is inferior to an estate for life. For an estate for life, though it be not only for the life of another person, is a freehold; but an estate, though it be for a thousand years, is only a chattel, and reckoned part of the personal estate. For no estate of freehold can commence in futuro, because it cannot be created at common law without livery of seisin, or corporal possession of the land; and corporal possession cannot be given of an estate now which is not to commence now, but hereafter. And because no livery of seisin is necessary for a lease for years, such a les see is not said to be seised, or to have true legal seisin of the lands. Nor, indeed, doth the bare lease vest any estate

in the lessee, but only gives him a right of entry on the tenement, which right is called his interest in the term; but when he has actually so entered, and thereby accepted the grant, the estate is then, and not before, vested in him; and he is possessed not properly of the land, but of the term of years, the possession or seisin of the land remaining still in him who has the freehold.

YELLOW earth, named by Werner, gelberde, is of a yellow ochre colour, of various degrees of intensity. It is massive, soft, and friable: it adheres strongly to the tongue, and feels greasy. It occurs in beds with iron-stone in Upper Saxony, and is employed as a yellow pig.

ment

YELLOW, Naples, a fine pigment, so called from the city in which it was long prepared. It has the appearance of an earth, is very friable, heavy, porous, and not altered by exposure to the air. The preparation is kept a secret, but by analysis it is found to be a metallic oxide. A similar pigment may be produced by mixing twelve parts of ceruss, three of diaphoretic antimony, and of alum and sal ammoniac one part each; heat them, for some time to a temperature below redness, and afterwards in a red heat for three hours longer, after which the mass will have acquired a beautiful yellow colour.

YEOMAN, is defined to be one that hath fee land of 40s. a year; who was thereby, heretofore, qualified to serve on juries, and can yet vote for knights of the shire and do any other act, where the law requires one that is probus et legalis homo. Below yeomen are ranked tradesmen, artificers, and labourers.

YEST, YEAST, or BARM, a head, or scum rising upon beer or ale, while working or fermenting in the vat. See BREWING, FERMENTATION, &C.

It is used for a leaven or ferment in the baking of bread, as serving to swell or puff it up very considerably in a little time, and to make it much lighter, softer, and more delicate. When there is too much of it, it renders the bread bitter. See BAKING and BREAD.

Yeast consists of gluten, sugar, and mucilage, with some alcohol, and a portion of malic, acetic, and carbonic acids; but the essential parts of yeast are gluten mixed with a vegetable acid; and therefore dried yeast, which must have lost some of its component parts, is fit for fermentation equally with that which is fresh and new.

YEW. See TAXUS.
YTTRIA. See ITTRIA.

YUCCA, in botany, Adam's needle, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Coronariæ. Lilia, Jussieu. Essential character: corolla bell-shaped, spreading; style none; capsule three-celled. There are four species.

YUNX, the wry-neck, in natural history, a genus of birds of the order Picæ. Generic character; bill somewhat round, slightly incurvated and weak; nostrils bare and rather concave; tongue long, slender, and armed at the point; tail of ten flexible feathers; feet formed for climbing; toes two before and two behind. There is only one species.

Y. torquilla, or the wry-neck, is allied in some respects to the woodpecker, and in others to the cuckow. It is about the size of a lark, and its colours, though not glaring, are mingled with extreme neat

ness, and even elegance. It makes no nest, but lays eight or ten eggs on the bare wood in hollow trees. In England it is a bird of passage, generally appearing about ten days before the cuckow. Its food consists chiefly of ants, which, during incubation, the male may be observed carrying to the female. The young, on experiencing any annoyance, utter a hissing noise which excites the idea of some venomous reptile, and has frequently proved their security from destruction. At the end of summer the wry-neck is extremely plump and fat, and is considered by some as little inferior to the ortolan for the table. It is never seen in flocks, and in pairs only during the spring and summer, after which each individual has its solitary haunt in that country, and withdraws unaccompanied in its flight in its winter migration.

Z.

7, Or z, the twenty-fourth and last let

ter, and the nineteenth consonant of our alphabet; the sound of which is formed by a motion of the tongue from the palate downwards, and upwards to it again, with a shutting and opening of the teeth at the same time. This letter has been reputed a double consonant, having the sounds ds; but some think with very little reason; and, as if we thought otherwise, we often double it, as in puzzle, muzzle, &c. Among the ancients, Z was a numeral letter signifying two thousand, and with a dash added a-top, Z signified two thousand times two thousand or four millions. In abbreviations, this letter formerly stood as a mark for several sorts of weights: sometimes it signified an ounce and a half, and, very frequently, it stood for half an ounce; sometimes for the eighth part of an ounce, or a drachm troy weight; and it has, in earlier times, been used to express the third part of one ounce, or eight scruples. ZZ were used by some of the ancient physicians to express myrrh, and at present they are often used to signify zinziber, or ginger.

ZAFFER. See COBALT.

ZAMIA, in botany, a genus of the Ap pendix Palmæ class and order. Natural order of Palmæ. Filices, Jussieu. Essential character; male, ament strobile-shaped; scales covered with pollen underneath; female, ament strobile-shaped, with scales at each margin; berry solitary. There are five species.

ZANNICHELLIA, in botany, so named in honour of Giov. Jeronymo Zannichelli, a genus of the Monacia Monandria class and order. Natural order of Inundatæ. Naiades, Jussieu. Essential character: male, calix none; corolla none: female, calyx one-leafed; corolla none; germs four or more; seeds as many, pedicelled; stigmas peltate. There is only one species, viz. Z. palustris, horned pondweed, a native of Europe.

ZANONIA, in botany, so named in memory of Giacomo Zanoni, prefect of the botanic garden at Bologna, a genus of the Dioecia Pentandria class and order. Natural order of Cucurbitaceæ, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx three-leaved; corolla five-parted: female, styles three; berry three-celled, inferior; seeds two in

each cell. There is but one species, viz. Z. indica, a native of Malabar.

ZEA, in botany, a genus of the Monoecia Triandria class and order. Natural order of Gramina or Grasses. Essential character: males in distinct spikes; calyx glume two-flowered, awnless; corolla glume two-flowered, awnless: female, calyx glume one-flowered, two-valved; corolla glume four-valved; style one, filiform, pendulous; seeds solitary, immersed in an oblong receptacle. There is but one species, viz. Z. mays, Indian corn, or maize, and several varieties. The Indians in New England, and many other parts of America, had no other vegetable but maize, or Indian corn, for making their bread. They call it weachin, and in the United States of America there is much of the bread of the country made of this grain, not of the European corn. In Italy, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, maize constitutes a great part of the food of the poor inhabitants. The ear of the maize yields a much greater quantity of grain than any of our corn-ears. There are commonly about eight rows of grain in the ear, often more, if the ground is good. Each of these rows contains at least thirty grains, and each of these gives much more flour than a grain of any of our corn. The grains are usually either white or yellowish; but sometimes they are red, bluish, greenish, or olive-coloured, and sometimes striped and variegated. This sort of grain, though so essentially necessary to the natives of the place, is yet liable to many accidents. It does not ripen till the end of September; so that the rains often fall heavy upon it while on the stalk, and birds in general peck it when it is soft and unripe. Nature has, to defend it from these accidents, covered it with a thick husk, which keeps off slight rains very well; but the birds, if not frightened away, often eat through it, and devour a great quantity of the grain.

ZEBRA. See Equus.

ZENITH, in astronomy, the vertical point; or a point in the heavens directly over our heads. The zenith is called the pole of the horizon, because it is ninety degrees distant from every point of that circle. See POLE and HORIZON.

ZENITH-distance, is the complement of the meridian altitude of any heavenly object; or it is the remainder, when the meridian altitude is subtracted from ninety degrees.

ZENO, in biography, a Greek philosopher of considerable eminence, was born VOL. XII.

in the isle of Cyprus. He was founder of the Stoics, a sect which had its name from that of a portico at Athens, where Zeno was accustomed to deliver his dis

courses.

The father of our philosopher

was a merchant, but readily seconded his son's inclinations, and devoted him to the pursuits of literature. In the way of business he had frequent occasion to visit Athens, where he purchased for his son several of the most renowned works of the celebrated Socratic philosophers. These Zeno read with avidity, and deter mined to visit the city where so much wisdom was found. Upon his first arrival in Athens, accidently going into the shop of a bookseller, he took up the commentaries of Xenophon, with the perusal of which he was so much delighted, that he asked the bookseller where he might meet with such men. Crates, the cynic philosopher, was at that moment passing by; the bookseller pointed to him, and said, follow that man. He immediately became his disciple, but was soon dissatisfied with his doctrine, and joined himself to other philosophers, whose instructions were more accordant to his way of thinking. Zeno staid long with no master; he studied under all the most celebrated teachers, with a view of collecting materials from various quarters for a new system of his own. To this Polemo alluded, when he saw Zeno coming into his school; "I am no stranger," said he, "to your Phenician arts. I perceive that your design is to creep slily into my garden, and steal away the fruit." From this period Zeno avowed his intention of becoming the founder of a new sect. The place which he chose for his school was the painted porch, the most famous in Athens. Zeno excelled in that kind of subtle reasoning which was in his time very popular. Hence, his followers were very numerous, and from the highest ranks in society. Among these was Antigonus Gonates, king of Macedon, who earnestly solicited him to go to his court. He possessed so large a share of esteem among the Athenians, that, on account of his integrity, they deposited the keys of their citadel in his hands: they also honoured him with a golden crown and a statue of brass. lived to the age of 98, and at last, in consequence of an accident, voluntarily put an end to his life. As he was walking in his school, he fell down and broke his finger, by which, it is said, he was so much affected, that, striking the earth, he exclaimed, "Why am I thus impor

He

tuned? I obey thy summons," and immediately went and strangled himself. In morals, the principal difference between the Cynics and the Stoics was, that the former disdained the cultivation of nature, the latter affected to rise above it. In physics, Zeno received his doctrine from Pythagoras and Heraclitus, through the channel of the Platonic school. See ACADEMICS, CYNICS, &c.

ZEOLITE, in mineralogy, a species of the flint genus, divided into five sub-species, viz, the mealy, fibrous, radiated, foliated, and cubic zeolite, distinguished from each other by fracture, hardness, and lustre. The mealy is yellow, or reddish-white, is found in Iceland, Ferro islands, and Sweden, and in some parts of Scotland, particularly in the isle of Skye; it consists of

[blocks in formation]

The other sub-species vary in their proportions of the same substances. The cubic intumesces like borax before the blow-pipe, and melts readily into cellular glass, and during fusion emits a phosphoric light. With acid it forms a jelly. It occurs in rocks of the newest floetz trap, (see Rock,) as amygdaloid, basalt, wacce, porphyry, slate and greenstone. All the different sub-species of zeolite are found in Scotland, and in the neighbouring islands. They are also met with in great perfection and beauty in Iceland, the Ferro islands, and in several parts of Sweden; and in many parts of Germany, and in the East Indies.

ZEUS, the dory, in natural history, a genus of fishes of the order Thoracici. Generic character: head compressed, sloping down; upper lip arched by a transverse membrane; tongue in most species subulate; body compressed, broad, somewhat rhomboid, thin, and of a bright colour, gill-membrane with seven perpendicular rays, the lowest transverse; rays of the first dorsal fin filamentous. There are eight species, of which the following are the principal.

Z. faber, or the common dory of Europe, has a large oval dusky spot on each side of the body, and is generally about thirteen inches long, though often far longer, and even weighing ten or twelve

pounds. It is found in the Northern, Mediterranean, and Atlantic Seas, is extremely voracious, and subsists on insects, smaller fishes, and ova. It is in the highest estimation for the table in England, but was little used before the middle of the last century. See Pisces, Plate VI. fig. 6.

Z. insidiator, or the insidious dory, inhabits the fresh waters of India, and is distinguished by its mouth being more lengthened than that of any other species. The lower lip is said to be at pleasure contracted into a tube, through which this fish darts the fluid it takes in at the gills at various insects near the surface, thus embarrassing their wings, and suspending their flight, under which circumstances they easily become its prey.

ZIERIA, in botany, so named in memory of John Zier, a genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Rutacex, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx four-parted; petals four; stamina smooth, placed on glands; styles simple; stigma four-lobed; capsules four, united; seeds arilled. This is one of the twenty new genera from the South Seas, the characters of which are given by Dr. J. E. Smith. It is distinguished by having each of the stamens inserted into a large gland, and consists of shrubs with opposite, ternate leaves, and white flowers.

ZINC, in chemistry, and mineralogy, a metal unknown to the ancients, though they were acquainted with calamine, one of its ores, and the effect which this had in converting copper into brass. Zinc has usually been ranked among those metals, which, from their imperfect ductility and malleability, were long donominated semimetals. It was known, that by uniform pressure zinc might be extended into thin plates; and more lately it has been discovered, that, at a certain temperature, it has so much melleability and ductility, that it can be lamellated, and drawn into wire. For this invention a patent has been obtained by Messrs. Hobson and Sylvester, to the latter of whom this work has been indebted for certain articles. See PREFACE.

The temperature at which zinc possesses these properties is between 210° and 300° of Fahrenheit, and by keeping it in an oven at this heat, it may readily be extended. By annealing, it retains this tenacity so as to be easily bent. At a higher temperature it is brittle, so as to fall to pieces under the hammer. Zinc is of a white colour, with a shade of blue; in a fresh fracture it is possessed of consider

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