Complete Works of Harriet Beecher Stowe

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Complete Works of Harriet Beecher Stowe Page 885

by Harriet Beecher Stowe


  Bergamot: A fruit which was originally produced by ingrafting a branch of a citron or lemon-tree upon the stock of a peculiar kind of pear, called the bergamot pear.

  Biased: Cut diagonally from one corner to another of a square or rectangular piece of cloth.

  Bias pieces: Triangular pieces cut as above mentioned.

  Bituminous: Containing bitumen, which is an inflammable mineral substance, resembling tar or pitch in its properties and uses. Among different bituminous substances, the names naphtha and petrolium have been given to those which are fluid, maltha, to that which has the consistence of pitch, and asphaltum to that which is solid.

  Blight: A disease in plants by which they are blasted, or prevented from producing fruit.

  Blonde lace: Lace made of silk.

  Blood heat: The temperature which the blood is always found to maintain, or ninety-eight degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer.

  Blue vitriol: Sulphate of copper.

  Blunts: Needles of a short and thick shape, distinguished from Sharps, which are long and slender.

  Booking: A kind of thin carpeting or coarse baize.

  Botany: (From a Greek word signifying an herb,) a knowledge of plants; the science which treats of plants.

  Brazil wood: The central part or heart of a large tree which grows in Brazil, called the Caesalpinia echinata. It produces very lively and beautiful red tints, but they are not permanent.

  Bronze: A metallic composition, consisting of copper and tin.

  Brulure: A French term, denoting a burning or scalding; a blasting of plants.

  Brussels, (carpet:) A kind of carpeting, so called from the city of Brussels, in Europe. Its basis is composed of a warp and woof of strong linen threads, with the warp of which are intermixed about five times the quantity of woolen threads of different colors.

  Bulb: A root with a round body, like the onion, turnip, or hyacinth.

  Bulbous: Having a bulb.

  Byron, (George Gordon,) Lord: A celebrated poet, who was born in London, January 23d, 1788, and died in Missolonghi, in Greece, April 18th, 1824.

  Calisthenics: From two Greek words — kalos, beauty, and sthenos, strength, being the union of both.

  Camwood: A dyewood, procured from a leguminous (or pod-bearing) tree, growing on the western coast of Africa, and called Baphianitida.

  Canker-worm: A worm which is very destructive to trees and plants. It springs from an egg deposited by a miller that issues from the ground, and in some years destroys the leaves and fruit of apple and other trees.

  Capillary: A minute, hair-like tube.

  Carbon: A simple, inflammable body, forming the principal part of wood and coal, and the whole of the diamond.

  Carbonic acid: A compound gas, consisting of one part of carbon and two parts of oxygen; fatal to animal life. It has lately been obtained in a solid form.

  Carbonic Oxide: A compound, consisting of one part of carbon and one part of oxygen; it is fatal to animal life. Burns with a pale, blue flame, forming carbonic acid.

  Carmine: A crimson color, the most beautiful of all the reds. It is prepared from a decoction of the powdered cochineal insect, to which alum and other substances are added.

  Caseine: One of the great forms of blood-making matter; the cheesy or curd-part of milk; found in both animal and vegetable kingdoms.

  Caster: A small vial or vessel for the table, in which to put vinegar, mustard, pepper, etc. Also, a small wheel on a swivel-joint, on which furniture may be turned in any direction.

  Chancellor of the Exchequer: In England, the highest judge of the law; the principal financial minister of a government, and the one who manages its revenue.

  Chateau: A castle, a mansion.

  Chemistry: The science which treats of the elementary constituents of bodies.

  Chinese belle, deformities of: In China, it is the fashion to compress the feet of female infants, to prevent their growth; in consequence of which, the feet of all the females of China are distorted, and so small that the individuals can not walk with ease.

  Chloride: A compound of chlorine and some other substance.

  Chlorine is a simple substance, formerly called oxymuriatic acid. In its pure state, it is a gas of green color, (hence its name, from a Greek word signifying green.) Like oxygen, it supports the combustion of some inflammable substances. Chloride of lime in a compound of chlorine and lime.

  Cholera infantum: A bowel-complaint to which infants are subject.

  Chyle: A white juice formed from the chyme, and consisting of the finer and more nutritious parts of the food. It is afterward converted into blood.

  Chyme: The result of the first process which food undergoes in the stomach previously to its being converted into chyle.

  Cicuta: The common American hemlock, an annual plant of four or five feet in height, and found commonly along walls and fences and about old ruins and buildings. It is a virulent poison as well as one of the most important and valuable medicinal vegetables. It is a very different plant from the hemlock-tree or Pinus Canadiensis.

  Clarke, (Sir Charles Mansfield,) Dr.: A distinguished English physician and surgeon, who was born, in London, May 28th, 1783. Ha was appointed physician to Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV., in 1830, and in 1831 he was created a baronet. He was the author of several valuable medical works.

  Cobalt: A brittle metal, of a reddish-gray color and weak metallic lustre, used in coloring glass. It is not easily melted nor oxidized in the air.

  Cochineal: A color procured from the cochineal insect, (or Coccus cacti,) which feeds upon the leaves of several species of the plant called cactus, and which is supposed to derive its coloring matter from its food. Its natural color is crimson; but, by the addition of a preparation of potash, it yields a rich scarlet dye.

  Cologne-water: A fragrant perfume, which derives its name from having been originally made in the city of Cologne, which is situated on the river Rhine, in Germany. The best kind is still procured from that city.

  Comparative anatomy: The science which has for its object a comparison of the anatomy, structure, and functions of the various organs of animals, plants, etc., with those of the human body.

  Confection: A sweetmeat; a preparation of fruit with sugar; also a preparation of medicine with honey, syrup, or similar saccharine substance, for the purpose of disguising the unpleasant taste of the medicine.

  Cooper, Sir Astley Paston: A celebrated English surgeon, who was born at Brooke, in Norfolk county, England, August 23d, 1768, and commenced the practice of surgery in London, in 1792. He was appointed surgeon to King George IV. in 1827, was created a baronet in 1831, and died February 12th, 1841. He was the author of many valuable works.

  Copal: A hard, shining, transparent resin, of a light citron color, brought originally from Spanish-America, and now almost wholly from the East-Indies. It is principally employed in the preparation of copal varnish.

  Copper, Sulphate of: See Sulphate of copper.

  Copperas: (Sulphate of iron or green vitriol,) a bright green mineral substance, formed by the decomposition of a peculiar ore of iron called pyrites, which is a sulphuret of iron. It is first in the form of a greenish-white powder or crust, which is dissolved in water, and beautiful green crystals of copperas are obtained by evaporation. It is principally used in dyeing and in making black ink. Its solution, mixed with a decoction of oak bark, produces a black color.

  Coronary: Relating to a crown or garland. In anatomy, it is applied to arteries which encompass the heart, in the manner, as it is fancied, of a garland.

  Corrosive sublimate: A poisonous substance composed of chlorine and quicksilver.

  Cosmetics: Preparations which, some people foolishly think will preserve and beautify the skin.

  Cream of tartar: See Tartar.

  Curculio: A weevil or worm, which affects the fruit of the plum-tree and sometimes that of the apple-tree, causing the unripe fruit to fall to the ground.

  Cuvier, Baron: The moat em
inent naturalist of the present age; was born A. D. 1769, and died A.D. 1832. He was Professor of Natural History in the College of France, and held various important posts under the French government at different times. His works on Natural History are of the greatest value.

  Cynosure: The constellation of the Lesser Bear, containing the star near the North Pole, by which sailors steer. It is used, in a figurative sense, as synonymous with pole-star or guide, or anything to which the eyes of many are directed.

  De Tocqueville: See Tocqueville.

  Diamond cement: A cement sold in the shops, and used for mending broken glass and similar articles.

  Drab: A thick woolen cloth, of a light brown or dun color. The name is sometimes used for the color itself.

  Dredging-box: A box with holes in the top, used to sift or scatter flour on meat when roasting.

  Drill: (In husbandry,) to sow grain in rows, drills, or channels; the row of grain so sowed.

  Duchess of Orleans: See Orleans.

  The East, and the Eastern States: Those of the United States situated in the north-east part of the country, including Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont.

  Elevation, (of a house:) A plan representing the upright view of a house, as a ground-plan shows its appearance on the ground.

  Euclid: A celebrated mathematician, who was born in Alexandria, in Egypt, about two hundred and eighty years before Christ. He distinguished himself by his writings on music and geometry. The most celebrated of his works is his Elements of Geometry, which is in use at the present day. He established a school at Alexandria, which became so famous that, from his time to the conquest of Alexandria by the Saracens, (A.D. 646,) no mathematician was found who had not studied at Alexandria. Ptolemy, King of Egypt, was one of his pupils; and it was to a question of this king, whether there was not a shorter way of coming at geometry than by the study of his Elements, that Euclid made the celebrated answer, “There is no royal path to geometry.”

  Equator or equinoctial line: An imaginary line passing round the earth, from east to west and directly under the sun, which always shines nearly perpendicularly down upon all countries situated near the equator.

  Evolve: To throw off, to discharge.

  Exchequer: A court in England in which the Chancellor presides, and where the revenues of and the debts due to the king, are recovered. This court was originally established by King William, (called “the Conqueror,”) who died A.D. 1087; and its name is derived from a checkered cloth (French echiquier, a chess-hoard, checker-work) on the table.

  Excretion: Something discharged from the body, a separation of animal matters. Excrementitious: Consisting of matter excreted from the body; containing excrements.

  Fahrenheit, (Gabriel Daniel:) A celebrated natural philosopher, who was born at Dantzig, A.D. 1686. He made great improvements in the thermometer, and his name is sometimes used for that instrument.

  Farinaceous: Mealy, tasting like meal.

  Fell: To turn down on the wrong side the raw edges of a seam after it has been stitched, run, or sewed, and then to hem or sew it to the cloth.

  Festivals of the Jews, the three great annual: These were, the Feast of the Passover, that of Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles; on occasion of which, all the males of the nation were required to visit the temple at Jerusalem, in whatever part of the country they might reside. See Exodus 28:14, 17; 34:23; Leviticus 33: 4; Deuteronomy 16:16. The Passover was kept in commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and was so named because the night before their departure the destroying angel, who slew all the first-born of the Egyptians, passed over the houses of the Israelites without entering them. See Exodus 12. The Feast of Pentecost was so called from a word meaning the fiftieth, because it was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Passover, and was instituted in commemoration of the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day from the departure out of Egypt. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, because it was kept seven weeks after the Passover. See Exodus 34:32; Leviticus 23: 15-21; Deuteronomy 16: 9, 10. The Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Tents, was so called because it was celebrated under tents or tabernacles of green boughs, and was designed to commemorate their dwelling in tents during their passage through the wilderness. At this feast they also returned thanks, to God for the fruits of the earth after they had been gathered. See Exodus 23: 16; Leviticus 33: 34-44; Deuteronomy 16:13; and also St. John 7: 2.

  Fire-blight: A disease in the pear and some other fruit-trees, in which they appear burnt as if by fire. It is supposed, by some to be caused by an insect, others suppose it to be caused by-an over-abundance of sap.

  Fluting-iron: An instrument for making flutes, channels, furrows, or hollows in ruffles, etc.

  Foundation muslin: A nice kind of buckram, stiff and white, used for the foundation or basis of bonnets, etc.

  Free States: A phrase formerly used to distinguish those States in which slavery was not allowed, as distinguished from Slave States, in which slavery did exist.

  French chalk: A variety of the mineral called talc, unctuous to the touch, of greenish color, glossy, soft, and easily scratched, and leaving a silvery line when drawn on paper. It is used for marking on cloth, and extracting grease-spots.

  Fuller’s earth: A species of clay remarkable for its property of absorbing oil, for which reason it is valuable for extracting grease from cloth, etc. It is used by fullers in scouring and cleansing cloth, whence its name.

  Fustic: The wood of a tree which grows in the West-Indies called Morus tinctoria. It affords a durable but not very brilliant yellow dye, and is also used in producing some greens and drab colors.

  Gastric: (From the Greek [Transliterated: gasths], gaster, the belly,) belonging or relating to the belly, or stomach. Gastric juice: The fluid which dissolves the food in the stomach. It is limpid, like water, of a saltish taste, and without odor. Geology: The science which treats of the formation of the earth.

  Gluten: The glue-like, sticky, tenacious substance which gives adhesiveness to dough. The principle of gelly, (now generally written jelly.)

  Gore: A triangular piece of cloth.

  Goring: Cut in a triangular shape.

  Gothic: A peculiar and strongly-marked style of architecture, sometimes called the ecclesiastical style, because it is most frequently used in cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and other religious edifices. Its principle seems to have originated in the imitation of groves and bowers, under which the ancients performed their sacred rites; its clustered pillars and pointed arches very well representing the trunks of trees and their in-locking branches.

  Gourmand or Gormand: A glutton, a greedy eater. In agriculture, it is applied to twigs which take up the sap but bear only leaves.

  Green vitriol: See Copperas.

  Griddle: An iron pan, of a peculiarly broad and shallow construction, used for baking cakes.

  Ground-plan: The map or plan of the floor of any building, in which the various apartments, windows, doors, fire-places, and other things are represented, like the rivers, towns, mountains, roads, etc., on a map.

  Gum Arabic: A vegetable juice which exudes through the bark of the Acacia, Mimosa nilotica, and some other similar trees growing in Arabia, Egypt, Senegal, and Central Africa. It is the purest of all gums.

  Hardpan: The hard, unbroken layer of earth below the mould or cultivated soil.

  Hartshorn, (spirits of:) A volatile alkali, originally prepared from the horns of the stag or hart, but now procured from various other substances. It is known by the name of ammonia or spirits of ammonia.

  Hemlock: see Cicuta.

  Horticulturist: One skilled in horticulture, or the art of cultivating gardens: horticulture being to the garden what agriculture is to the farm, the application of labor and science to a limited spot, for convenience, for profit, or for ornament — though implying a higher state of cultivation than is common in agriculture. It includes the cultivation of culinary vegetables and of fru
its, and forcing or exotic gardening as far as respects useful products.

  Hydrogen: A very light, inflammable gas, of which water is in part composed. It is used to inflate balloons.

  Hypochondriasis: Melancholy, dejection, a disorder of the imagination, in which the person supposes he is afflicted with various diseases.

  Hysteria or hysterics: A spasmodic, convulsive affection of the nerves, to which women are subject. It is somewhat similar to hypochondriasis in men.

  Ingrain: A kind of carpeting, in which the threads are dyed in the grain or raw material before manufacture.

  Ipecac: (An abbreviation of ipecacuanha) an Indian medicinal plant, acting as an emetic.

  Isinglass: A fine kind of gelatin or glue, prepared from the swimming-bladders of fishes, used as a cement, and also as an ingredient in food and medicine. The name is sometimes applied to a transparent mineral substance called mica.

  Jams: A side-piece or post.

  Kamtschadales: Inhabitants of Kamtschatka, a large peninsula situated on the north-eastern coast of Asia, having the North Pacific Ocean on the east. It is remarkable for its extreme cold, which is heightened by a range of very lofty mountains extending the whole length of the peninsula, several of which are volcanic. It is very deficient in vegetable productions, but produces a great variety of animals, from which the richest and most valuable furs are procured. The inhabitants are in general below the common height, but have broad shoulders and large heads. It is under the dominion of Russia.

  Kerosene: Refined Petroleum, which see.

  Kink: A knotty twist in a thread or rope.

  Lambrequin: Originally a kind of pendent scarf or covering attached to a helmet to protect and adorn it. Hence, a pendent ornamental curtain over a window.

  Lapland: A country at the extreme north part of Europe, where it is very cold. It contains lofty mountains, some of which are covered with perpetual snow and ice.

  Latin: The language of the Latins or inhabitants of Latium, the principal country of ancient Italy. After the building of Rome, that city became the capital of the whole country.

 

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