TUR
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TUR
be diminifh'd, as we fee Fire bring down the too deep Colour of the Saphir, and quite take away that of a pale Saphir : Theft Turquoifes, on the contrary, are naturally whitifh or yellowifh, of a Colour as common as that of a Free-Hone ; and by oppofing them for fome Time to the Action of the Fire, they affume a blue Colour.
It feems a Paradox, and yet M. Reaumur has made it ex- ceeding probable, that Turquoifes are originally the Bones of Animals. — In the Mines in France, Pieces have feveral times been found in the Figure of Teeth, Bones of the Arms, Legs, $$e. And Turquoifes which are yet imperfeft or ill form'd, are apparently compos'd of Laminae or Leaves like thofe of Bones, between which fome petrifying Juice infinu- ating itfelf, binds them elofe together : And 1 till, the fofter, and more imperfect the Stones are, the more difHnguifhable are the different Directions of the Fibres and Lamince, with their Interferons, and the greater Refemblance they bear to fra&ur'd Bones, and the left to any kind of Stones known.
To give them the blue Colour, they dry them awhile in the Air, then heat them gradually in a Furnace made after a particular Manner. If they be heated too haffily, the Hu- midity between the Lamina, wanting Time to evaporate all, will feparate into Scales or Flaws. Some of the Stones re- quire a greater Degree of Heat to bring them to their Colour than others 5 and even in large Pieces, feveral Parts ordinarily require feveral Degrees of Heat.
On this Account a world of Care is to be taken in the Heating them ; for the Fire, which gives them their Blue by Degrees, if they be expos'd beyond a certain Degree, takes it away again.
M. Reaumur accounts for their taking a blue Colour by Heat, very well : When frefh cut out of the Rock, it feems, their Subflance is found fprinkled and flreak'd all over with Spots, Veins, little Circles, &c. of a black-blue Colour: 1 heft he takes to be Remaiiis.^f a deep blueifh Matter, which the Fire rarefying, fpreads and diffufes throughout the whole Subftance of the Stone. — This Matter, again, he concludes to have been either originally the Juice contain'd in the Bones, iince mix'd and coagulated with the petrifying Juice, or fome other Mineral Matter infinuated into the Pores of the Stone.
The great Defect of all Turquoifes is, that in Time they loft their blue Colour, and become green 5 and then ceafe to be of any Value.
TURF, or Peat, a blackifh, fulphurous Earth, us'd in feveral Parts of England, Holland., and Flanders, as Fuel. See Fuel.
In Flanders, their Turf is dug or pared from off the Sur- face of the Earth, and cut in Form of Bricks.— The Gra- ven, a Species of Grafs growing very thick on the Turf Earth, contributes greatly, Vhen dry, to the Maintenance of the Fire.
The Dutch draw their Turf from the Bottom of the Dikes or Canals which run acrofs moft of their Lands ; by which Means they not only fupply the Defeft of Wood, which is very great in molt of the United Provinces, but alfb keep the'ir Dikes clear and navigable : This Turf Earth is very black. As they take it up from the Bottoms of the Dikes, they fpread it about the Edges, of fuch a Thicknefs, as may be reduc'd to three Inches when moderately dry'd. — In this Condition they cut it into Pieces or Turfs feven or eight Inches long, and three broad 5 and, to compleat the drying, lay them up in Heaps, and at laff in Stacks.
In the North of England-, Scotland, £Sfc. Turf or Peat is dug out of a foft, moift, rorten Earth, call'd Peat-Mofs : For the Formation whereof, fee Moss. ■
They dig horizontally from the Surface, to the Depth of about four Foot, with a Spade, which at once fafhions and takes them out in Parallelopipeds nine or ten Inches long, and three fquare ; which are fpread on the Ground to drain as faff, as dug 5 and then ftt up an end three or four againft each other, for the Wind to blow thro' them ; and at laft flack'd or houfed.
The Pits or Dikes in a few Years fill up again, and afford a frefh Crop.
TURFING Spade, among Husbandmen, is an Inflrument us'd to under-cut the Turf, after it is mark'd out with a Trenching Plough.
TURGESCENCE, a Swelling or growing turged or bloated.— From the Latin, turgere.
TURIONES, the firft young tender Shoots which Plants do annually put forth. See Gem, Cyon, $£c.
TURKY Company. See Company.
TURLUPINADE, a Term us'd chiefly among the French for a low dry Jeff, or Witticifm. — The Occafion of the Name is deriv'd from a famous Comedian at 'Paris, call'd Turlupin 5 whofe Talent, like that of our 'Pinkethman, confiffed chiefly in railing a Laugh by miftrablc Puns and Points.
TURLUPINES, Turlupini, a Se6f of Hereticks, or rather of People who made publick Profeffion of Impudence, going naked, without fb much as covering their Privy Parts,
and having to do with Women, like the Cynicks, in open Market.
They call'd their Se£l the Fraternity of the "Poor, and fpread themfelves over England and France.
They are {aid by fome to have had their Name Turlupins t quod ea tantum habitarent loca qute lupis expofita erant.
They attempted to fettle themfelves at 'Paris in 137 2 ' but were a great Part of them burnt, with their Books 5 as is related by Gaguin and du Tillet in the Life of Charles V.
TURMERIC, a Root us'd by the Dyers to give a yellow Colour, call'd in Latin, Curcuma Officinarum. See Dying.
'Tis yellow both within and without Side, very hard, as if petrify' d, and not unlike, either in Figure or Size, to Ginger. — The Leaves it produces are like thofe of white Hellebore 5 its Flowers rife in Manner of a Spica or Ear 5 and its Fruit rough like our new Chefnuts.
'Tis brought chiefly from the Ea(l-Indies 5 tho' the Ifland Madagafcar does likewife afford it. — You are to chufe that which is big, new, refinous, hard to break, and heavy.
Some People have miffakenly imagin'd there was a Native red Turmeric 5 their Error was owing to this, that the yellow Root, as it grows old, turns brown 5 and when pul- veriz'd reddifh.
'Tis much us'd by the Glovers, $§c. to dye their Gloves ; as alfo by the Founders, &c. to give a Gold Colour to their Metals. — The Indians uft it to dye their Rice, and other Foods, of a yellow Colour ; whence fome call it Indian Saffron.
Our Dyers don't find that it gives fo fteady a Yellow as the Luteola or Greening Weed 5 but 'tis admirable to brighten and heighten the red Colours dyed with Cochineel or Ver- million j as Scarlets, &c.
Turmeric is us'd in Medicine by Way of Decoction, Infu- fion, Powder, &c. with other Ingredients, in the Jaundice, Hypochondriac, Leucophlegmatic, and Cachecrical ConfUtu- tions.
TURN, is uftd for a circular Motion 5 in which Senfe it coincides with Revolution, See Revolution-
Turn, in Clock or Watch Work, particularly denotes the Revolution of a Wheel or Pinion. See Wheel, Pinion,
efc. . ■
In Calculation, the Number of Turns which the Pinion hath in one Turn of the Wheel, is commonly ftt down as a Quotient in common Arithmetic, thus, 5)60(12, where the Pinion 5 playing in a Wheel of 60, moveth round 12 times in one Turn of the Wheel : Now, by knowing the Number of Turns, which any Pinion hath in one Turn of the Wheel it worketh in, you may alfo find how many Turns a Wheel or Pinion hath at a greater Diflance ; as the Contrat-wheel, Crown-wheel, £5>c. by multiplying together the Quotients, and the Number produe'd, is the Number of Turns 5 as in this Example :
5) 55 (11
5) 45 (9
5) 40 (8
The firft of theft three Numbers has 11 Turns, the next 9, and the laft 8. If you multiply n by 9, it produceth 99 j that is, in one Turn of the Wheel 55, there are 99 Turns of the ftcond Pinion 5, or the Wheel 40, which runs concentrical, or on the fame Arbor with the ftcond Pinion 5. — If you multiply 99 by the lafi Quotient 8, it produces 792, which is the Number of Turns the third Pinion 5 hath.
Turn is alfo us'd for the Sheriffs Court, kept twice a Year, viz-, a Month after Eafler, and within a Month after Michaelmas. See Sheriff and Court.
From this Court none are exempted but Archbifhops, Bi- fhops, Earls, Barons, Religious Men and Women, and all fuch as have Hundreds of their own to be kept.
It is a Court of Record in all Things that pertain to it ; and is alfb the King's Leet through all the County, whereof the Sheriff is Judge 5 this Court being incident to his Office.
It is call'd the Sheriff's Turn, becaufe he takes a Turn or Circuit thro' the Shire, holding the fame in feveral Places. See Secta recalis.
TURN-/z"£e*, a Gate fet. up acrofs a Road, watch'd by an Officer for the Purpoft, in order to flop Travellers, Waggons, Coaches, £f?c. to take Toll of them, towards repairing, or keeping the Roads in repair. See Road.
TvRK-pike is alfo us'd in the Military Art, for a Beam {fuck full of Spikes, to be plac'd in a Gap, a Breach, or at the Entrance of a Camp ; to keep off an Enemy.
The Turnpike is a Spar of Timber, twelve or fourteen Feet long, and about fix Inches Diameter ; of a fexangular Form j and bored with Holes, one right under another, about an Inch Diameter ; the Axis of the Holes being fix Inches one from another, and to go in from each Side. — The Spikes or Prickets that are driven into the Holes, are five or fix Feet long, pointed with Iron 5 and with Wedges or Nails faften'd hard into the Holes,
Two
