WIN ( 995 ) W I N

faced to the rear by means of a doublecaracol, describing a half-circle, the ex-tent ot whose front was equal to half ofits diameter; on which account, the ge-neral order ot battle in those days hadconsiderable intervals.

WIDOW’.? pension. See Pension.

WIG , a Saxon termination of thenames of men, signifying war.

Big- Wigs, an expression of contemptwhich is sometimes used with respect tothe great men of an University , or thestiff and unbending leaders of an army,who would sacrifice every thing ratherthan surrender established rules, how-ever absurd and useless. Previous to thebattle of Friedtand, &c. Bonaparte, onreceiving some intelligence about thePrussians , exclaimed, Oh! Its grossesPcrruques !

WIGWAM, a hut used in America .

WILBE, Ind. guardian, protector.

WILDFIRE, a composition of fire-work, so called from its ready ignitionand rapid combustion.

WINCH , the handle, or lever, bywhich a jack, windlass, &c* is turned.

WIND. A horse that carries in thewind is one that tosses his nose as highas his ears, and does not carry hand-somely.

The difference between carrying in thewind, and beating upon the hand, is,that a horse which heats upon the hand,shakes his head, and resists the bridle;but that which carries in the wind, putsup his head without shaking, and some-times bears upon the hand.

The opposite to carrying in the wind,is arming and carrying low; and evenbetween these two there is a differencein wind.

\Wi$D~bcam f also called collar-beam;a beam framed cross betwix-t two prin-cipal rafters.

WiND-broken. This is a malady thathappens to a horse when he is sufferedto stand too long in the stable withoutexercise, by which means gross and thickhumours are drawn into his body in suchabundance, that, adhering to the hollowparts of his lungs, they stop up his wind-pipe, so that the wind cannot play back- "wards and forwards: but sometimes ithappens to a horse that is run off his\vind, when he is fat and foul.

This is to be known by his heaving,and drawing up his flanks together, andblowing wide with his nostrils.

WjND-ga//, in a horse, is a soft swell-

ing, occasioned by over-working, justby the horse’s fetlock, and about as bigas half a pigeon’s egg, and at first fullof water.

A wind-gall upon the sinew, that growshard, makes a horse halt, and in the eudmakes him lame.

Lung-jointed horses are apt to bewind-galled, though they work ever solittle.

The wind-galls, called sinewy, com-monly happen in the hinder legs, andnothing but fire can cure them; andeven that sometimes fails.

WiND-gwn. See Air-gun.

Wjnd-wh//, (moulin a vent , Fr.) amachine which receives its motion fromtiie impulse of the wind.

Windmill -M/s are frequently strongpoints of defence, especially if they over-look rivers, or defiles.

WINDAGE of a gun, mortar , orhowitzer , the difference between thediameter of the bore, and the diameterof the shot or shell. In England thediameter of the shot is supposed to bedivided into 20 equal parts, and thediameter of the bore into 21 of thoseparts. The French divide the shot into26, and the bore into 27- The Prus­ sians divide the shot into 24, and thebore into 25. The Dutch nearly thesame as the English . The general wind-age of shells in England is \ of aninch, let them be large or small, whichis contrary to all reason. It is evident,that the less windage a shot or shell has,the farther and truer it will go; andhaving less room to bounce from side toside, the gun will not be spoiled so soon.

It is true, that some artillery officerssay, that the windage of a gun shouldbe equal to the thickness of the ladle;because, when it has been loaded for awhile, the shot will not come out, with-out being loosened thereby, in order tounload it; and when this cannot bedone, it must be fired away, and so lost:but in our humble opinion, the most ad-vantageous windage should be in dividingthe shot into 24 equal parts, and thebore into 25, on account of the conve-nient scale it affords, not only to con-struct guns thereby, but also their car-riages. Hence, agreeably to this plan,the windage of a 9-pounder will he. 1C6of an inch, consequently a sufficientthickness for a ladle; and those of ahigher calibre become still thicker inproportion : but suppose this thickness6L2