V ES
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VE S
foot-s alks. The term is exemplified in mint, bore-hound, and<he o'her plants of the natural order of Veriicillatx.
VFRTICITY is that property of tiie loadstone whereby itturns or directs ilself to one particular point.
VERTIGO, [Lat.] a giddiness; a sense of turning in the head.See Medicine.
VKRTUMNUS, in mythology, a god who presided over gar-dens and orchards, honoured among the Etruscans , from whomthe worship of this deity was transmitted to the Romans.VERVAIN, in botany. See Verbena.
VERV1NS, a town of France, in the department of Aisne ;110 miles N. of Paris . Lon. 4. 0. E. Lat. 49. 50. N.
VES1CATORIUM, a Blister; an application of an acridnature made to any part of the body', in order to draw a flux ofhumours to that part, and thus 'elevate the scarf-skin into ablMer.
VESOUL, a town of France, in the department of UpperSaone , and province of Franche Comil, 22 miles N. of Besan$on,an<l 200 S. E. of Paris . Lon. 6. 8. E. Lat. 47.30. N.
VESPA, the Wasp ; a genus of insects belonging to the orderLymenoptera. Mouth with two jaws without any proboscis: supe-rior wings plaited ; eyes lunar ; a sharp sting in the tail, Thereare upwards of 200 species.
V. Coarctata, the Small Wasp; lias black antennae, yel-lowish at tire base: the head is black will) a yellow spot betweenthe antennae, and another at the base of the upper lip. Each seg-ment of the abdomen is bordered with yellow. It is about half aninch long. The history, as well as the manners, of this species,are the same as those of the common wasp ; but their buildingsare on a different construction. Their ne»t is fastened to thebranch of a tree with a kind of band ; and is in bigness from thesize of an orange to an egg. Wood reduced to a paper is the ma-terial part of it: which if it were of a ruddy colour, might betaken for a large opening rose. It is covered over with a varnishimpenetrable by water.
V. Crabo, the Hornet, lias tawny antennx; the segmentsof the abdomen are black on the anterior part, and yellow on theposterior, with two black spots on each. Its length is an inch;it builds in hollow trees Its cakes or combs are composed of asubstance like coarse paper, or rusty parchment. It is very vora-cious, devouring other insects, and even bees.
V. Vulgaris, the Common Wasp, is well known.
V. Holsatica is delineated in Plate CXXXVI.
VESPERS, [from vesper, Lat.] without singular, theevening-service ot the Romish church.
VESPER PILIO, the Bat; a genus of mammalia, belongingto the order of primates. Teeth erect, pointed, near each other;the first four equal ; fore-feet with toes connected by a membraneexpanded into a kind of wings'by which the creature is enabled tofly. There are 25 species,
\ . Murinus, Common Bat, has a tail: the lips and nose aresimple; and the ears are smaller than the head. It inhabitsEurope, and is found in Britain . This animal flies only during thenight, living chiefly on moths: when it lights on the ground it isunable lo rise again till it lias crawled to some height: it remainstorpid during winter, revives in the beginning of the spring, andcomes abroad in the dusk of the evening. This species is twoinches and a half long, when full grown, and about nine inchesin extent; the fur is of a mouse-colour, trimmed with reddish;it generally skims near the ground, with ail uneven jerking flight;and often seeking for gnats and oilier aquatic insects, flies closeby the surface oi water. They breed in summer, and are provedon by owls. Bats are very voracious, if proper food is to be had ;and though mollis and other insects be their natural and commonlood, yet if flesh, whether raw or roasted, fresh or corrupted,comes in their way, they devour it with greediness. In thiscountry they appear early in spring, flying about only in the even-ings; but are sometimes roused from their torpidity by a warmday or two during winic-r, and will then venture out in quest offood, but recommence their state of hybernation whenever thecold returns. They retire at the end of summer into caves,ruined houses, or the roofs and eaves of houses, where they re-main suspended by the hind legs, and enveloped in their wings,generally in large numbers.
V. Spectrum, or Spectre, with a long nose; large teeth;
long, broad, and upright ears; at the end of the nose along conic erect membrane, bending at the end, and flexi-ble : hair on the body cinereous, ancT pretty long : wings full oframified fibres; the membrane extends from hind leg to hind leg ;no tail; but from the rum extend three tendons; terminating atthe edge of the membrane. By Seba’s figure the extent of thewings are two feet two inches; from the end of the nose to therump, 7£ inches. They inhabit South America ; live in the palm-trees; grow very fat: called vampyre, by M. de Buffou, whosupposes it to be thespecies that suck human blood.
V.Vamfyrus, the Vampire , or Ternate Bat, with largecanine teeth ; four cutting teeth above, the same below ; sharpblack nose; large naked ears; the tongue is pointed, terminatedby sharp aculeated papillae; talons very crooked, strong, andcompressed sidewise', no tail; the membrane divided behindquite to the rump ; head of a dark ferruginous colour ; on theneck, shoulder, and under side, of a much lighter and brighterred : on the back the hair shorter, dusky, and smooth ; the mem-branes of the wings dusky. They vary in colour; some beingentirely of a reddish brown, others dusky. These monsters in-habit Guinea, Madagascar , and all the islands from thence to theremotest in the Indian Ocean . They fly in flocks, and perfectlyobscure the air with their numbers; they begin thfcir flight fromone neighbouring island to another immediately on sun-set, andreturn in clouds from the time it is light till sun-rise. They liveon fruits; and are so fond of the juice of the palm-tree, that theywill intoxicate themselves with it till they drop on the ground.
VF.SPUT1US, Americus, a native of Florence, who in 1497made a voyage of discovery from Spain , by order of Ferdinandking of Castile. He discovered land about 1000 leagues AV. ofthe Canaries, where he found signs of gold, and brought backsome of the natives. In 1499 he sailed again from Cadiz , anddiscovered what he conjectured to be a continent in five degreesof south latitude. lie made tw r o other voyages in the service ofEmmanuel king of Portugal , and made some discoveries on thecoast of Africa , but his accounts are very imperfect. It is, how-ever, very extraordinary, that so vast a continent as the westernworld should he called after this adventurer’s name instead of that
ot Columbus.
VESSEL, is a general name given to the different sorts of shipswhich are navigated on the ocean, or in canals arid rivers. It is,however, more particularly applied to those of the smallest kind,furnished with one or two masts. See Ship.
VESTA, in Pagan worship, the goddess of fire, was the daugh-ter of Saturn and Cybele , and the sister of Ceres. She was sffmuch in love with chastity, that on Jupiter ’s ascending the throne,and offering to grant whatever she asked, she only desired thepreservation of her virginity, which she obtained. — Vesta was notrepresented in her temple by any image.
Vesta, one of the small planetary bodies discovered lately torevolve between the planets Mars and Jupiter . See AstronomV.
VESTALS, among the ancient Romans, were priestesses of thegoddess Vesta, and had the perpetual fire committed to theircharge: they were at first only four in number, hut afterwards in-creased to six ; and it docs not appear that their number ever ex-ceeded six-, among whom was one superior to the rest, and calledvestalis maxima. The vestals were chosen from six to ten yeai' sof age, and obliged to ilricl continency for 30 years.
VESFALIA, in Roman antiquity, a festival celebrated inhonour of the goddess Vesta, on the 5th of the ides of June;i. c. on the 9th of the month. .
VESTIBLE, [ veslibulum , Lat.] in architecture, a kindenhance into a large building; being an open place before th ehall, or at the bottom of the stair-case. See Architecture.
VESTIGIA, a Latin term frequently used by English writer*;for the traces or loot-steps which any thing has left behind it.
V ESTRY, a place adjoining to a church, where the vestmentsof the minister are kept ; and also a meeting at such place, con'sisting of the minister, church-wardens, and chief men of mo*parishes, who make a parish-vestry or meeting.
Vestrt, a meeting consisting of the minister, church-warden^and chief men of most parishes, who make a parish-vestry.custom there are select vestries, being a certain number of P® rs0 ) Lchosen to have the government of the parish, make rates, and taxthe accounts of church-wardens, &c. ^