shire a series of public meetings of schoolmasters was lately held, for the purpose of enforcing the claims of science for an introduction into schools, and to urge schoolmasters to qualify themselves in accordance with the requirements of the department of Science and Art to give instruction therein. At Leeds thirty-five schoolmasters at once joined the scientific class, and at Sheffield nearly an equal number. In addition to the members of the general council of the Yorkshire board and of the Yorkshire union, the principal resident manufacturers, clergy, and ministers have taken part in the proceedings. Altogether, there are now in Yorkshire at least one hundred schoolmasters preparing themselves, either privately or in connection with the special classes, to undergo the ensuing examinations of the department of Science and Art, and to become qualified science teachers. In addition to the special classes for schoolmasters, upwards of twenty new science schools have, through the agency of the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics' Institutes, been established. Scientific education, aided by suitable elementary works, is thus day by day becoming an object of primary importance, and of indispensable necessity. In our private and public schools, when the scholar has learnt to read, to write, and to calculate, he has only obtained the tools of instruction. "To acquire a knowledge of the works of God and of man, of the miracles of nature and of art" (says that distinguished physicologist, Sir David Brewster), “is the first step in the civilization of the people. Without such information, the highest as well as the humblest of our race is unfit for a place in the social scale. He may have learned to read his Bible, and may have read it; he may have committed to memory every sentence of the Decalogue; and he may have packed into the storehouse of his brain all the wisdom of Solomon, and all the divine precepts of one greater than Solomon, while he is ignorant of everything above him, around him, and within him."-The smattering of science in the school will acquire solidity in the university, and will reappear in the workshop with valuable applications. It was the chemical teaching of Dr. Black that made James Watt the greatest inventor of his age; and it was the rush of electricity through a mile of wire that gave the electric telegraph to the world. But it is to the middle, and even to the upper classes, and through them to the nation (says Sir David Brewster), that scientific teaching will offer its richest benefits. The functionaries who administer our affairs are in number legion. Without science, without that elevation of character which positive knowledge confers, we can readily understand how the greatest interests of the State are mismanaged, how interests equally great are neglected, and how the public wealth is recklessly squandered. Incompetent subordinates assume the importance and discharge the duties of their chiefs; and while the deep problems of practical science receive a wrong solution, the feelings and interests of inventors and discoverers are utterly disregarded. The language of practical science, which it is the object of the compiler of the present Work to elucidate and render familiar to the general student, is comparatively of modern introduction. Though Dr. Johnson reared a monument of imperishable fame in his Dictionary of the English language, he did not venture into the wide field which science, in its many aspects, presented to his view; but he drew from the varied sources of general literature the meaning of all those words of which the English language was composed, and which, for every purpose of general communication, might be considered as complete. When, however, the political and polemical disputes which for ages had agitated the country began to subside, inquiring minds had leisure to turn their attention to the more peaceful occupations of science and art. The discoveries of Galileo had led the way to a deeper inquiry into the laws and movements of the physical universe; and when Newton entered upon the stage of life, there was an expanded field opened for the exercise of his powerful genius. His profound researches into nature diffused the general spirit of inquiry, and revealed new discoveries in the regions of science, until Linnæus in the vegetable kingdom, and Buffon in animated life, laid such facts before the public as required a new nomenclature to render them intelligible to the community; and, as the facts which had to be stated were quite beyond the range of knowledge, and consequently without the means of comprehension, possessed by the Anglo-Saxon projectors, there were no roots in the language out of which to evolve a series of terms fitted to state the circumstances which those authors had to communicate, and the Greek and Latin languages were searched, and searched successfully, to supply the deficiency. The result was, that a set of compound words were formed, well calculated to express precise ideas of the several objects of scientific consideration, and singularly indicative of their several natures. Thus Astronomy, Geography, Botany, and Physiology obtained their distinctive terms; and when, through the celebrated philosophers, Scheele, Priestley, Dalton, Davy, Babington, Watt, Saussure, Lyell, De la Beche, and a host of others, the patent and occult properties and actions of natural bodies had to be designated, the same course was pursued; and compound terms from both the ancient languages, but especially from the Greek, have been incorporated, and now form an integral portion of the English language. In the Supplement to Craig's valuable Dictionary of the English language, compiled by the Editor of the present work, and recently published by Messrs. Routledge, the writer observes that as new ideas, new arts, and new discoveries are constantly springing into existence with the ever-onward progress of civilization, the philological labours of the lexicographer can never cease to be in demand. "Through the inventions of art and the cultivation of science, a language becomes amplified and copious. The discoveries and improvements in machinery and manufactures are constantly adding new terms, which, formed in the first instance from the rude nomenclature of the working artisan, and considered as purely technical, at length become the ordinary language of society. With the words of such a mintage, definition is often difficult, and etymology sometimes impossible." In terms derived from the classical languages, however, there is less difficulty, because they are generally selfexplanatory. Thus, when a new idea or a new discovery connected with science or the arts presents itself to the mind, the Greek or Latin language is the great technological mine into which the lexicographer or the scholar may safely dive. Hence we have PHONOGRAPHY (sound-describing), PHOTOGRAPHY (light-describing), TELEGRAM (describing afar), and numerous terms of Greek origin recently introduced into the nomenclature of science. In the "Report of the Privy Council on Public Health and Diseases of Cattle," numerous terms have been thus adopted to indicate certain diseases, which are fully explained in the pages of the present work; as ANTHRAX (a carbuncular or inflammatory fever in cattle); STOMATHRAX (an inflammatory disease of the stomach); STRONGYLus (a parasitical action of the respiratory organs of pigs and calves), &c. With the view of promoting the objects under consideration, the present Dictionary has been compiled, so as to render the language of science intelligible, not only to the professional student, but to the general reader, who may be desirous of ascertaining the derivation, meaning, and general application of the numerous words which, with the progress of scientific knowledge, are coming into daily use. In this undertaking the Editor has been materially aided by the labours of Webster, Worcester, Goodrich, Craig, Ogilvie, Brand, Paxton, Hoblyn, Faraday, Cuvier, Lyell, and other distinguished authorities. In a work where brevity has been the great object of the writer, occasional omissions or oversights may possibly be discovered, but which, the Editor hopes, when the difficulties attending such a varied compilation are taken into consideration, will receive every indulgence from a generous public. INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASSIFICATION AND STUDY OF THE SCIENCES. "Didicisse fideliter artes Emollit mores, nec sinit esse feros." THE physical and mechanical sciences embrace an ample range in the vast field of human knowledge, and every effort that tends to promote their cultivation among the great masses of the community is deserving of commendation and support. SCIENCE (Lat. scientia), as connected with literature, means any branch of knowledge in which the properties of mind or matter are to be made the subject of reasoning, with a view to discover and apply first principles. Science, in truth, is the knowledge of things reducible to practice, and in popular language is meant simply to apply to physical, mathematical, or natural phenomena, not with reference to principles, but to results. Thus a man of science may be an astronomer, geologist, electrician, zoologist, botanist, ornithologist, engineer, mechanician, chemist, medical practitioner, or other profession connected with the arts and sciences. The art of building is taught by the science of architecture; the art of curing diseases, by the science of medicine, &c. The terms art and science are, however, often used indiscriminately for the same thing, both being intimately connected. Art may be defined to be an ingenious disposal and arrangement of natural objects and materials, so as to supply the various necessities of mankind, or minister to their wants and enjoyments. Thus we have the art of Pyrotechny, of Weaving, of Masonry, &c., of which science is the directing genius. In the study of the sciences, the necessity of classification, and of simplifying the nomenclature of science, is too manifest to admit of dispute. Indeed, a clear understanding of the classification and terms of any science is a necessary preliminary to its practical study. This is the master-key by which the mystic portals of physical and artistic knowledge can be opened. Without this, science appears involved in a labyrinthian maze; but when the first difficulty is surmounted, to which the present work may prove a useful auxiliary, the path becomes smooth and easy, and every obstacle appears to vanish. PHYSICS, or Natural Philosophy, may be looked upon as the most interesting of all the sciences. Chemistry, which, since the establishment of the new nomenclature, has led to many important discoveries, has been of the most extensive utility to the arts. The age in which we live, says the intelligent author of "The Traveller's Remembrancer," is eminently utilitarian, and science is now only regarded in proportion as it presents useful results. The power of steam, the phenomena of galvanism, electricity, and magnetism, the polarization of light, and its chemical action, are now familiar instances of the truth of this observation. The application of steam power, the hydraulic press, the precipitation of metals by galvanic action, the lighting of cities by means of gas, the miner's safety lamp, the disinfection of foul air by chlorine, &c., are so many triumphs of modern science, and attest the utility of physical and chemical studies. In physical science, NATURAL HISTORY embraces an extensive range, and is usually classed under three important divisions-ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, and MINERALOGY. As explained in the body of this Dictionary, Natural History has for its object the study of the various forms of bodies existing upon or under the surface of the earth: it examines the structure of such things as contain any trace of organization necessary for the exercise of the vital functions, investigates the organization of functions of living beings, and classifies those beings as such according to their analogies. ZOOLOGY embraces an account of all animal creation, the principal classes being the MAMMALIA, AVES, REPTILIA, PISCES, INVERTEBRATA, and INSECTA. The first and most important class is subdivided by naturalists into nine orders:-1. The BIMANA, or two-handed animals, as MAN;-2. QUADRUMANA, or four-handed animals, as Apes and Monkeys; -3. CARNIVORA, or beasts of prey, as Lions, Tigers, &c.;-4. MARSUPIALIA, or pouch animals, as Opossums, &c.;-5. RODENTIA, or gnawing animals, as Rats, Mice, &c.;6. EDENTATA, or animals wanting some of the teeth of other animals;-7. PACHYDERMATA, or thick-hided animals, as Elephants, &c. ;-8. RUMINANTIA, or ruminating animals, as Oxen, Sheep, &c.;-9. CETACEA, or the Whale tribe, all of which are explained in the body of the Dictionary under their respective heads. Naturalists class animal life by commencing from the highly-organized animals (such as those which walk, fly, and have nerves) to such as have very little structure, and in many cases cannot be classed with certainty as animals or vegetables; thus classing, first, Man and Mammals, as above enumerated; secondly, Birds; thirdly, Reptiles; fourthly, Fishes; fifthly, Articulates, such as Insects and Crabs; sixthly, Molluscs (Shell-fish); seventhly, Radiata (Starfishes); eighthly, Corallites, or Corals; and lastly, Protozoans, which are principally jelly-like organisms, with little structure. In vegetable life there is an analogous descent from the noble forest tree to the gelatinous lichen, or, lower still, to the green slime sometimes seen upon walls. Mr. Samuelson, a naturalist, took a glass of water, and in a few days found its interior lined with slime, which proved to be a mass of thousands of monads, all trembling with life. In a few days more they became free, and were moving about in all directions. The second class of animals (AVES, or BIRDS) are distinguished, as regards the blood and the structure of the heart, by the same characters as the first class; but they are also covered with feathers, and furnished for the most part with wings. Moreover, they are oviparous. The knowledge of the forms, habits, manners, &c., of birds is called ORNITHOLOGY, which Linnæus, in his "Systema Naturæ," divides into six orders (see Ornithology in the Dictionary); but other naturalists have expanded their number, and have classed them as under :-1. INSESSORES, or Perching Birds;-2. RAPTORES, or Rapacious Birds;-3. RASORES, or Birds which scratch the ground to obtain their food ;4. NATATORES, or Swimming Birds; and 5. GRALLATORES, or Wading Birds. But the universal applicability of this or any other system has not been as yet established. The number of birds now known amounts to about 5,000. The third class (REPTILIA) are vertebrated animals with cold red blood, respiring by lungs, with bodies naked, or covered with scales. Cuvier divides this class into four orders, founded on their organization:-Ist order, CHELONIA, consisting of seven genera, including Land Tortoises, Fresh-water Tortoises, and Sca-water Tortoises, or Turtles;-2nd order, SAURIA, consisting of twentyeight genera, exemplified in the Crocodile, Alligator, Lizard, &c. ;-3rd order, OPHIDIA, consisting of thirty genera, divided by Cuvier into three families. The Snake, Boa, Viper, Rattlesnake, &c., are examples of this order. Many of |