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According to the Poets, they were the Daughters of At- las ; and by the Greeks were call'd ^Pleiades : but the Ro- mans named them Vergili<£. See Pleiades.
VERIFICATION, the Aft of proving, of making a thing good.
In the French Law, Verifying is ufed for the recording of the King's Edicts and Decrees by the Parliament. VERISIMILITUDE. See Probability.
VERJUICE, a' Juice or Liquor, drawn from four Grapes, or Apples, unfit for Wine, or Cyder 5 or from fweet ones, while yet acid, and unripe. See Cyder.
Its chief ufe is in Sauces, Ragouts, $$c. tho it is alfo an Ingredient in fome Medicinal Compofitions 5 and is ufed by the Wax- Chandlers to purify their Wax.
It has its Name from a large Grape, call'd Vcrjus, or Sourdelas ; which is faid never to grow perfectly ripe ; or rather, which in its utmoft Maturity is too auftere and four to be us'd in Wine 5 whence it is commonly turn'd into Ver- juice.
There is alfo a tolerable Verjuice made of Crabs, gather'd, laid in a heap to fweat, the Stalks, $$c. feparated, then ftamp'd or ground, and the Crab-mafh put in a hair Bag 5 the Juice fqueez'd out in a Prefs, barrell'd up clofe, and fet in a warm Place to work for ten or twelve Days.
VERMES, in Medicine, a Difeafe popularly call'd Worms 5 arifing from fome of thofe Reptiles being generated, and growing in the Body : whence, frequently, dire Symptoms proceed. See Worms.
The ordinary Place of the Worms is the Inteftines : Tho there is frarce any Part of the Body but is fometimes infec- ted with 'em : For befides the Vermes Inteflinales, there are CDentaJes, Gingwales, c Pulmonarii, Cardiaci, Sanguina- rily Urinarii, Cutaneous, Umbilicales, Worms in the Liver j the Saliva, &c.
They are all ingender'd from the Eggs of fome Infect, de- posited in fomcthi.ng that is taken into the Body by way of Food, or fome other way.
There are three Species of Worms, moft frequent in the human Body : The Teretes, or round and long, moftly found in the c Duodemim ; the Latus, or flat, call'd ¥a:nia$ and the round and iTiorr, found in the Re£lil?ft } and call'd Afcarides. See Ascarides, 0$c.
Sometimes, indeed, there are anomalous Worms expell'd ; as horned, hairy, four-footed, two-headed, $S>c.
The Symptoms of the Difeafe are, Vomiting, Head-ach, Heart-burn, Sighing, Swooning, feeble Pulfe, heavy Sleep, Deliria, Squinancy, Pleurify, canine Hunger, and innumera- ble others ; occafion'd by the Animal's fucking, moving, vel- licating, gnawing, consuming the Chyle 5 irritating the Nerves, wounding the Solids, 'tyc.
As to the Latus, befide the other common Symptoms, thofe affected with this have one peculiar to 'em 5 which is, that with their Stools they difcharge feveral little Bodies, like Gourd-Seeds.
Dr. T"yfon, in the c Philcfophical TranpaBions, N° 146. gives a curious account of the flat Worm ? or Lumbricus la- ws j call'd by t Hippocrates Tama, and in Englijb, ordinarily, the ^Tape-Worm, or jfointed Worm.
This Worm is always Jingle : It lies varioufly convoluted j being fometimes as long as all the Guts, and fometimes vaft- ly exceeds that length.
Olatis Scrrichius affures us, a Patient of his, in a Year's time, voided 800 Foot of this fort of Worm, tho he had not yet met with the Head : in voiding, the Patient always percciv'd it to break off.
Dr. lyfon parallels this Cafe with that of a Patient of his, who voided valt Quantities of this Worm, for feveral Years together : but in various Pieces $ fome two, three, four, fix, or more Yards long : But all put together, he fays, would much exceed the length of that of Sorricbius.
The Joints in this Worm are very numerous : In one of 14. Foot long, Dr. Tyfon number'd 507 Joints. Above the middle of the Edges of each Joint, he obferv'd a protube- rant Orifice. — Thofe Orifices he takes for fo many Mouths 5 the beft Microfcopes difcovering no Mouth in the Head.
The Worm is frequent enough in moft Kinds of Animals 5 as Dogs, Oxen, Crabs, Herrings, Pikes, &c.
Some Authors afferr, that it is not one, but many Worms link'd together, and included in a Spclinni of the Inteftines; and that this Spol'uim is not animated, but receives its Senfe and Motion from Vermiculi, or Cucurbitlni inclofed in it. This, Gc.bucinus, de Lumb. Com. fays, he has plainly difco- ver'd : But Dr. yyfon abundantly evinces the contrary.
VERMICELLI, or Vermicelly, is, properly, a kind of Mefs, prepar'd of Flower, Cheefe, the Yolks of Eggs, Sugar, and Saffron ; and redue'd into little long Pieces, or Threads, like Worms, by forcing it with a Pifton thro' a number of little Holes in the end of, a Pipe made for the purpofe.
It was firft brought from Italy, where it is in great vogue. In effect, 'tis the great regale of the Italians. Other Na- tions ate hardly brought into the Tafte of it.
It is chiefly ufed in Soupes and Pottages, to provoke Ve- nery.
The Word, in the original Italian, iignifies little Worms ; They alfo call it Tagliarini, and Millefanti.
VERMICULAR, an Epithet given to any thing that bears a relation, or refemblance to Worms, Vermiculi.
Anatomifts particularly apply it to the Morion of the Intef- tines, and certain Mufcles of the Body. SeelNTEsTiNE, ££c.
The Vermicular, or Periftaltic Motion of the Inteftines, is perform'd by the Contraction of the Fibres thereof, from above, downwards ; as the Antiperiftaitick Motion is by their Con- traction from below, upwards. See Peristaltic.
The Contraction happening in the 'Perijlaltic, which others call the Vermicular Motion, as refembling the Mo- tion of Worms, does not affect all the Parts of the Inte£ tines at once 5 but one part after another.
Vermicular Work, Opus Vermiculatum, in Sculpture, a fort of Ornaments ufed in Ruftick Work; confifting of Frets, or Knobs, cut with Points, reprefenting, in fome forr, the Tracks made by Worms. See Mosaic.
VERMIFORMIS, in Anatomy, a Term applied to vari- ous Parts in the human Body ; bearing fome refemblance to Worms.
Such are the c ProceJfus, or Apophyses Vermiforjnes ; which are the two Extremities of the Cerebellum, fituate near the fourth Ventricle. See Cerebellum.
Vermiformes Mufculi, are the four Mufcles in each Hand and Foot, which bring the Fingers and Toes towards the Thumbs and great Toes $ call'd alfo Lumbricales. See
LUMBRICALES.
VERMIFUGUS. See WoKM-Touder. VERMILION, a very bright, beautiful, red Colour; in great efteem among the Antients, under rhe Denomination Minium. See Red, and Colour.
There are two Kinds of it $ the one Natural, the other Factitious.
The Natural is found in fome Silver Mines, in form of a ruddy Sand 5 which they prepare, and purity by feveral Lo- tions and Coitions.
The Artificial is made of Mineral Cinnabar, ground up with Aqua vita; and Urine, and afterwards dry'd.
They alfo make it of Lead burnt and wafh'd ; orofCe- ruffe, prepared by Fire : But this is not properly denomina- ted Vermilion, but red Lead. See Lead.
'Tis this laft, however, that feems to be the real Minium_ of the Antients ; and accordingly, the Apothecaries and Painters flill give it the Name, to enhance the Price. See Minium.
The antient Greek and Latin Authors, have given us ftrange fabulous Accounts of this Minium ; and feveral of the Moderns have adopted their Dreams : 'Tbeophraft.us at- tributes the firft Invention of making it to Callias the Athe- nian ; who hit upon it, in endeavouring to draw Gold by Fire out of a red Sand found in the Silver Mines, in the Year of Rome 249 : But Vitruvius fays, it was difcover'd in the Cilbian Fields ; where it was drawn from a red Stone, call'd by the Greeks Anthrax.
We have two Kinds of Vermilion from Holland 5 the one of a deep red, the other pale : But 'tis the fame Stuff at bottom ; the difference of Colour only proceeding from the Cinnabar's being more or lefs ground: when fine ground, the Vermilion is pale ; and this is prerer'd to the cdarler and redder.
It is of confiderable ufe among the Painters in Oil, and Miniature ; and likewife among the Ladies, as a Fucus t or Paint, to heighten the Complexion of fuch as are too pale. See Painting, Miniature, &c.
Among the Antients, the Images of the Gods were pain- ted with Vermilion on the F'eaft-Days ; and their Generals on the Days of Triumph. See Cinnabar.
Vermilioji is fometimes alfo, tho improperly, ufed for what we otherwifecall Kermes, or Scarier Grain. SeeKERMEs,££c. VERMINATION, the Aft of breeding of Worms, and other Vermine 5 parricularly Bots in Cattel.
Vermination, is fometimes alfo ufed among Phyficians, for a fort of Tormina Ventris, or wringing of the Guts ; wherein the Patient is affected, as if Worms were gnawing his Inteftines. See Gripes.
VERMINE, a collective Name, including all Kinds of little Animals, or Infects, which are hurtful or troublefome to Men, Beafts, Fruits, ££<;. as Lice, Fleas, Bugs, Caterpil- lars, Ants, Flies, &c. See Insect, Worm, Blight, &c. VERMIVOROUS Animals ; are fuch as feed upon Worms. See Animal.
VERNACULAR, is applied to any thing that is peculiar to fome one Country.
Whence, Difeafes which reign moft in any particular Na- tion, Province, or Diftrict, are called Vernacular ^Difeafes. See Disease.
Such are the 'Plica Polonica, Scorbutus, Tarantifm, Sec. See Plica, Scorbutus, Tarantism, &c.
VERNAL
