872

WOR

WOO

a solution cf alum, in the proportion of two oz. to a quart of wa-ter, is to be laid on the wood (while it is still wet from the formerstain) with a soft brush, or other instrument. After polishing thearticles thus stained, their colour may be rendered still morebeautiful and permanent, by giving them one or more coats, witha varnish prepared of shell-lac. — Yelloio ; this delicate tint maybe easily imparted to wood, which is naturally white : for thispurpose, take one oz. of pulverized turmeric, and a pint of rec-tified spirit of wine ; shake them in a glass-bottle ; allow the in-fusion to stand for several days, closely covered ; then decant theliquor, and lay it on the wood repeatedly, as may be found ne-cessary. A cheaper method, however, consists in applying weakaqua-fortis to wood previously warmed, and immediately after thestain is given, holding it to the fire, at some distance, till it acquirethe desired cast. But it should be remarked, that the aqua-fortismust be sufficiently diluted with water ; as, otherwise, the wood isapt to acquire a brown or blackish hue. In order to improve thearticles thus stained, the same expedients may be adopted, asthose suggested in the preceding paragraph. To conclude : asit is frequently an object of some importance, to close and securethe chinks, flaws, or other accidental defects in wooden vessels,in the most expeditious manner, we conceive that a tough paste,composed of whiting, a so.ution of gum-arabic or tragacanth, anda proper quantity of oak-bark reduced to a fine powder, may beadvantageously applied to tubs or casks, with a view to preventfarther leaking. But, on such occasions, it will always be moreadvisable to empty the vessels; and after drying them, to use acement, consisting of pitch, bullock’s blood, linseed-oil, turpen-tine, and the finest brick-dust, melted together in an iron-pan ;before, however, this powerful lute be laid on, all the crevicesor chinks ought to be properly caulked, or filled up with tow oroakum.

WOODBRIDGE, a town of Suffolk , seven miles E, N. E. ofIpswich . Lon. 1.25. E. Lat. 52. 11. N.

WOODCOCK. See Scolopax.

Woodlouse. See Oniscus.

Woodnymphs. See Hamadryades, and Nymphs .

Woodsorrel. See Oxalis.

WOODSTOCK, a town of Oxfordshire , eight miles N. ofOxford . Lon. 1. 15. W. Lat. 51. 52. N.

WOODWARD, Dr. John, was born in 1665, educatedat a country school, and sent to London , where he is said to havebeen put in apprentice to a linen-draper. He was not long inthat station, till he became acquainted with Dr. Peter Barwick, aneminent physician, who took him under his tuition, and into hisfamily. Here he prosecuted with great vigour and success thestudy of philosophy, anatomy, and physic. In 1692, Dr. Stil-iingfleet quitting the place of professor of physic in Gresham col-lege , he was chosen to succeed him, and the year following waselected F. R. S. In 1695 he obtained the degree of M. D. bypatent from archbishop Tennison; and the same year he publishedIiisEssay towards a Natural History of the Earth. He afterwardswrote many other pieces, which have been well received by thelearned world. lie founded a lecture in the university of Cam-bridge, to be read there upon his essay, &c. and handsomely en-dowed it. He died in 1728.

WOOF, See Cloth, and Weaving .

WOOL , in general, signifies the hairy substance which formsthe covering of sheep. The growth of wool is always completedin one year, when it spontaneously decays, and is naturally re-newed ; in which respect it resembles the hair of most of thelower animals ; though that of sheep is considerably finer, androws with more uniformity, each filament advancing at an equalistance ; separating from the skin nearly at the same time ; and,if it be not previously shorn, it falls off naturally ; the animalbeing already provided with a short coat of young wool, that un-dergoes similar changes in the subsequent year. Another circum-stance, that distinguishes wool from hair, is its various thicknessin different parts of the same sheep ; being closer at the pointsthan at the roots ; and the part, which grows during the winter,being considerably finer than that produced In the summer. Nextto Spanish wool, the English sheep furnish the most valuable com-modity of the kind in Europe . Wool, when first shorn, is calleda fleece, and every fleece is divided into three kinds, namely ;The prime or mother-wool, which is taken from the neck and

hack; the seconds, or that of the tails and legs; and the thirds,which is obtained from the breast, and beneath the belly. Thefinest and most esteemed sorts of British wool, at present, are thoseobtained from the Ryeland, South-Down, Shetland, Cofswold,Herefordshire , and Cheviot-sheep : and, as this article forms themost extensive staple commodity of British commerce, variousand successful attempts have lately been made to improve its qua-lity. To effect this desirable object, recourse has been had to in-termixing or crossing the different breeds; and, by the patriolitexertions of the British Wool Society, the Board of Agriculture,Lord Somerville, and Dr. Parry, the British wool is now little in-ferior to the best kind imported from Spain .

WOOLSTON, Thomas, an English divine, was born atNorthampton in 1669, and educated at Cambridge. His first ap-pearance in the learned world was in 1705, in a work infilled,“ The old Apology for the Truth of the Christian Religion,against the Jews and Gentiles, revived.” He afterwards wrotemany pieces ; but what made the most noise, were his “ Six Dis-courses on the Miracles of Christ ;” which occasioned a greatnumber of books and pamphlels upon the subject, and raised aprosecution against him. He was sentenced to a year’s imprison-ment, and to pay a fine of lOOf. He purchased the liberty of therules of the King’s-Bench, where he continued after the expira-tion of the year, being unable to pay the fine. The greatest ob-struction to his deliverance from confinement was, the obligationof giving security not to offend by any future writings, he beingresolved to write again as freely as before. He died, January 27,1732-3.

WOOLWICH, a town in Kent, 9 miles E. of London . Lon.0. 10. E. Lat. 51. 30, N. *

WORCESTER, in low Latin JVigomiu, the capital of thecounty, stands on the Severn . Lon. 1. 55. W. Lat. 52. 10. N.

Worcester, or Worcestershire , a county of England,bounded by Warwickshire on the E. by Gloucestershire on the S.by the counties of Hereford and Salop on the W. and by Stafford-shire on the N. It is 30 miles long, 28 broad, and about 130 incircumference. The soil ingeneral is very rich, producing corn,fruit, especially pears, hops, and pasture.

WORCUM, a town of West Friesland, seated on the ZuyderZee, 18 miles S. W. of Leewarden. '

WORD, [Aoyo;, Gr.] in divinity. SeeTtiEOLOGY.

Word, in language, an articulate sound designed to representsome idea or notion. See Grammar, and Logic .

Words of Command. See Exercise, Manual, Navy,and Platoon.

WORK, in the manege. To work a horse, is to exercise himat pace, trot, or gallop, and ride him at the manege. To worka horse upon volts, or head and haunches in or between two heels,is to passage him, or make him go sidewise upon parallel lines.

Work, in sea-language, is to direct the movements of a ship,by adapting the sails to the force and direction of the wind so-asto produce the greatest effect for the required purpose.

Work-Bag, a small bag, generally made of silk, for holding,a lady’s pins, needles, silk, thread, and small work.

Work-House, a place where indigent, vagrant, and idle-people, are set to work, and supplied with food and clothing.Workhouses are of two kinds, or at least are employed for two dif-ferent purposes. Some are used as prisons for vagrants or sturdybeggars, who are there confined and compelled to labour for thebenefit of the society which maintains tjicna ; whilst others, some-times called poor-hOuses, are charitable asylums for such indigentpersons as through age or infirmity are unable to support them-selves by their own labour.

WORKINGTON,a sea-port-town of Cumberland, Seated on,the river Derwent, 307 miles N. of London . Lon. 3. 35. W. Lat.53. 42. N.

WORKSOP, a town of Nottinghamshire , 146 miles N. W. ofLondon . Lon. 1.0. W. Lat. 53. 10. N.

WORLD, the assemblage of the parts which compose this globeof earth. See Astronomy, Earth , Geography, Globe, &c.

WORM, in chemistry, is a long, winding pipe , placed in atub of water, to cool and condense the vapours in the distillationof spirits. .

Worm, in gunnery, is a screw of iron, to he fixed on the endof a rammer, to pull out the wad of a fire-lock, carabine, or

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