INF 



INN 



he who proves, infers; but the word 

 • infer ' fixes the mind first on the pre- 

 miss and then on the conclusion; the 

 word ' prove,' on the contrary, leads the 

 mind from the conclusion to the premiss. 

 Hence, the substantives derived from 

 these words respectively, are often used to 

 express that which, on each occasion, is 

 last in the mind ; Inference being often 

 used to signify the conclusion (i. e., pro- 

 position inferred), and Proof, the pre- 

 miss. To infer, is the business of the 

 philosopher ; to prove, of the advocate" — 

 Whately. 



INFERIOR FRUIT. In Botanical 

 language, a fruit or ovary is termed infe- 

 rior, when the calyx adheres to its walls ; 

 when no such adhesion occurs, the fruit 

 or ovarium is said to be superior. So, 

 also, the calyx is called superior in the 

 former case, and inferior in the latter. 

 French botanists employ in the same 

 sense, and with much greater precision, 

 the terms adherent and non-adherent. 



INFERIOR VALVE. That valve of 

 adherent bivalves by which they are 

 united to other substances. 



I'NFERO-BRANCHIA'TA {inferus, 

 beneath, branchice, gills). An order of 

 Aquatic Gasteropods, in which the bran- 

 chiae resemble two long rows of leaflets, 

 placed on the two sides of the body, 

 under a projecting edge formed by the 

 mantle. Cuvier records two genera, viz. 

 phyllidia and diphyllidia. 



IN'FIMA SPECIES. In Logic, the 

 lowest species, or that which is not sub- 

 divided, except into individuals. See 

 Species. 



I'NFINITE {infinitus, boundless). In 

 Geometry, an infinite quantity is that 

 which is greater than any assignable mag- 

 nitude ; in other words, it is an abstrac- 

 tion of the mind, formed by excluding 

 the idea of limitation. On the same 

 principle, an infinitely small quantity is 

 a quantity considered as less than any 

 assignable magnitude. Such a quantity 

 is called an infinitesimal, and the em- 

 ployment of such quantities as aux- 

 iliaries, in investigating the relations of 

 proposed quantities, is called the infinite- 

 simal analysis. 



INFI'NITIVE MOOD (infinitus, un- 

 defined). In Grammar, that condition of 

 the verb which expresses the state of an 

 action, as in progress or completed, but 

 without specification of person, number, 

 or time. 



INFLAMMABLE AIR. Hydrogen 

 gas, named from its highly inflammable 

 180 



nature. It was formerly called phlogis- 

 ton, from its having been considered the 

 matter of heat. 



INFLE'XION {infiecto, to bend in). 

 In Grammar, any change made in a word 

 in order to modify its meaning is called 

 its accident or infiexion. Thus, the words 

 Ccesar's, legions, were, feared, are said to 

 be inflected forms, or, simply, inflexions 

 of the words Caesar, legion, was, and 

 fear. Inflexion must not be confounded 

 with termination ; it denotes any change 

 which takes place in a word between the 

 root and the termination. 



INFLEXION OF WAVES. If a cir- 

 cular wave of a non-elastic fluid impinge 

 on a solid in which there is an aperture, 

 that part of the wave which comes against 

 the aperture will pass freely through, 

 while the other part, which strikes 

 against the solid, will be curved about 

 the edges of the aperture, so that one 

 semicircle will be in front of the aper- 

 ture, and the other beyond it. This is 

 the inflexion of waves. The new circular 

 waves formed about the aperture will in- 

 tersect the original wave and each other, 

 so that interference points and lines will 

 be produced. Similar phenomena occur 

 in waves of sound. 



INFLORE'SCENCE ( infloresco, to 

 flourish). A term expressing, generally, 

 the arrangement of flowers upon a branch 

 or stem. The various forms of centri- 

 petal inflorescence, which have received 

 distinct appellations, are usually referred 

 to modifications of the spike and of the 

 raceme. The centrifugal inflorescence is 

 represented by the cyme. 



INFORMED STARS. Stars which are 

 not included in any of the constellations. 



INFUNDIBU'LIFORM {infundibu- 

 lum, a funnel, forma, likeness). Funnel- 

 shaped ; a term applied to an organ 

 which has an obconical tube and an 

 enlarged limb, as the corolla of tobacco. 



INFUSO'RIA {infundo, to pour in). 

 Water animalcules ; microscopic animals 

 found in infusions of animal and*vege- 

 table matter. They are distinguished 

 into the Polygastrica and the Rotifer a. 



IN'GRESS {ingressus, an entering). 

 The entering of the sun into any of the 

 twelve signs, or other parts of the zodiac. 



INNATE {innatus, grown upon). 

 Growing upon any thing by its end ; as 

 applied, in Botany, to the anther when 

 it is attached by its base to the apex of 

 the filament. 



INNOVATIONS. A term applied, in 

 Botany, to shoots w hich have not com- 



