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church. They only wanted to reduce the form of ecclesiasticalgovernment, and the manners both of the clergy and people tothat amiable simplicity and primitive sanctity that characterisedthe apostolic ages They denied the supremacy of the Romanpontiff, and maintained, that the rulers and ministers of the church"'em obliged, bv their vocation, to imitate the poverty of the3 postles.
VAULT, in architecture, an arched roof, so contrived that thestones which form it sustain each other. Vaults are in many casesto b e preferred to soffits or flat ceilings, as they give a greaterheight and elevation, and are besides more firm and durable. SeeArchitecture.
UBEDA, a town of Soain, in Andalusia , 185 miles S. E. ofMadrid . Lon. 3. 13. W. 'Lat. 37. 48. N.
UBES, St. or SETUVAL, a sea-port-town of Portugal , inthe province of Estvemadura. Lon. 8. 54. E. Lat. 38. 22. N.
. UBIQUITARIANS, formed from vbiqvte, “ every where,”
ecclesiastical history, a sect of Lutherans which rose and spreadttself in Germany ; and whose distinguishing doctrine was, thatthe body of Jesus Christ is every where, or in every place.
UBY, or PULO UBY, an island in the Indian ocean , at theEntrance of the bay of Siam. Lon. 105. 56. E. Lat. 8. 25. N.
UDDER, ill zootomy', that part in brutes wherein the milk isPrepared, answering to the mamma; or breasts in women. SeeZootomy.
UDENSKOI, a town of Siberia, in Irkutsk , 1000 miles N.V r . of Pekin, and 1200 E. of Tobolsk . Lon. 96. 30. E. Lat.S3. 0. N.
VEDAS, the sacred books of the Hindoos, believed to be re-pealed by God , and called immortal. They are considered asthe fountain of all knowledge human and divine, and are four innumber. The Rigveda consists of live sections; the Yajurveda°f 86; the Samavcda of 1000; and the At’harvaveda of nine;with tioo sac’ha’s, or branches, in various divisions and sub-divisions.
VEDETTE, in war, a centinel on horseback, with his horse’shead towards the place whence any danger is to be feared, andIns carabine advanced, with tire butt-efld against his right thigh.When the enemy has encam,m|, there are vedettes posted at allthe avenues, and on all the using grounds, to watch for its se-curity.
VEER AND HULL, To, to pull a rope tight, by driwimr itin and slackening it alternately, till the body to which it j s ‘ jacquires an additional motion, like the increased vibrations of apendulum, so that the rope is straitened to a greater tension withmore facility and dispatch. '1 his method is particularly used i nhauling the bowlines. The wind is said to veer and imll when italters its direction, anil becomes more or less fair. Thus it is saidto veer aft, and to hull forward.
Veering, or Wearing, the operation by which a ship, inchanging her course from one board to the other, turns her sternto windward. Hence it is used in opposition to tacking’ whereinthe head is turned to the wind and the stern to leeward. SeeSeamanship .
VEGETABLE KINGDOM, a term including all plants androots, which grow above and under ground; being nourished bythe air, water, &c. See Botany , and Brants.
VEGETATION, is the natural process by which plants re-ceive their nourishment. Naturalists have formed various con-jectures, to account for the mysterious phenomena occurring inv egetable nature ; and though unable to discover the primarysource from which plants are enlivened, yet it is now agreed, andproved, that all vegetables originate frona seeds, each of whichComprehends three parts, namely, 1. The cotyledons, or twoPorous lateral bodies or lobes, that imbibe moisture ; 2. The ra-dicle, or eye, which appears between the lobes; and 3. ThePhimula, a small round body attached to the radicle, thoughwholly concealed within the cotyledons. If a seed be depositedln the earth , in a favourable situation, it imbibes moisture, andpelves carbonic acid gas; but,, if any oxygen gas be present, it18 gradually absorbed by the seed, and the farinaceous matter,contained in the cotyledons acquires a saccharine taste. Nu-merous vessels then appear in the lobes which convey the nutri-jccnt to the radicle, that progressively increases in size, and atcn tdh assumes the form of a root; strikes downwards into the
Vol., v ._ no . 213.
earth ; and thence derives the nourishment necessary for the sup-port of the future plant. Now the cotyledons shoot above theground, become leaves, and form what botanists' have termed theseminal leaves. Thus, the pl.umula is gradually enlarged, andrises out of the earth, spreading itself into brandies, ike. afterwhich the seminal leaves wither and decay, while the differentprocesses of vegetation are carried on in the plant, without theirj assistance. See Plants.
VEGETATIVE SOUL, among philosophers, denotes thatprinciple in plants by virtue of which they vegetate or receivenourishment and grow.
VEHICLE, in pharmacy, is any liquid serving to dilute somemedicine, in order that it may be administered more commo-dionsly to the patient.
VEIL, in the Romish churches, in time of Lent , they haveveils or curtains over the altar, crucifix, images of saints, &c.
VELEZIA, in botany, a genus of the pentandria digyniaclass and order. Natural order, Caryophyllei. Calyx filiform,five-toothed ; corolla five-petaled, small; capsule one-celted ;seeds numerous, in a single row. There is but one species, viz.V. rigida, a native of the South of Europe .
VEIN, [vena, Lat.] in anatomy, is a vessel which carries theblood from the several parts of the body to the heart. See Ana-
TOMY.
VEIN , among miners, is that space which is bounded withwoughs, and contains ore, spar, canck, clay, chirt, croil, brown-hen, pitcher-chirt, cur, which the philosophers call the mother ofmetals, and sometimes soil of all colours. When it bears ore, itis called a quick vein ; when no ore, a dead vein.
VELARIUS, in antiquity, an officer in the court of the Ro-man emperors, being a kind of usher, whose post was behind thecurtain in the prince’s apartment.
VELDENTZ, a town of France in the department ofthe Sarre and Moselle, 15 miles N. E. of Friers. Lon. 7. 3. E.Lat. 49. 52. N.
VELEZ DE GOMARA, a town of Africa , in the kingdom,of Fez, and in the province of Eriff. Lon. 4. 0. W. Lat.35. 10. N.
Velez Malaga a town of Granada .
VELICALA, a town on the head of the peninsula of Califor-nia, near the coast of the N. Pacific Ocean . Lon. 115. 50. W.
Lat. 20. 35. N. ,. . . . ,,.
VELITES, in the Roman army, a kind of ancient soldiery,who were armed lightly with a javelin, a cask, cuirass, and
shield. i i . ,
VELLA, Spanish Cress ; m botany, a genus of plants of theclass tetradynamia, and order siliculosa; natural order, SiliquoScP,Silicic with a partition twice as large as the valves, ovate on theoutside. There are two species, viz. V. annua, annual vella, orcress-rocket; and V. pseudo, evtisus, shrubby vella.
VELLUM, a kind of parchment, that is finer, evener, andmore white, than the common kind. See Parchment .
VELOCITY, in mechanics, swiftness; that affection.of mo-tion whereby a moveable is disposed to run over a certain space ina certain time. It is also called celerity, and is always propor-tional to the space moved. See Mechanics, and Fluxions.
VELVET, a rich kind of stuff, all silk , covered on the out-side with a close, short, fine, soft slug, the other side being a very-strong close tissue.
VENAL, or VENOUS, in anatomy, that bears a relation tothe veins.
VENDEE, a department of France , bounded on the N. bythose of Lower Loire, and Maine and Loire ; on the E. by tliatof the two Sevres ; on the S. by mat of the Lower Charente; onthe S. W. and W. by the sea. It is Co miles long ; on the W. 15from N. to S. elsewhere 50. It contains a part of the pruvince ofPoitou. Fontenav is the capital.
VENDOME, a town of France , in the department of Loireand Cher, 30 miles N. E, of Tours, and 95 S. \V. of Paris, Lon..1 . 8 . S. Lat 47. 50. N.
VENEERING, is a species of inlaying or marquetry, inwhich several thin leaves, or slips of fine wood, are applied to aaround-work of common wood : it is performed in the followingmanner: the wood, intended for veneering, is first fixed in a-vice, or sawing-press, where it is divided into leaves, not exceed-9 Y in S’