VER 



VER 



not differing in their opinion of the matter 

 in hand, then that Question may he pro- 

 nounced Verbal ; as depending on the 

 different senses in which they respec- 

 tively employ the terms. If, on the con- 

 trary, it appears that they employ the 

 terms in the same sense, but still differ 

 as to the application of one of them to 

 the other, tben it maybe pronounced that 

 the Question is Real;— that they dif- 

 fer as to the opinions they hold of the 

 things in Question." — What ely. 



VERBENA'CE^. The Verbena or 

 Vervain tribe of dicotyledonous plants. 

 Trees or shrubs, sometimes herbs, with 

 leaves opposite ; calyx tubular ; corolla 

 irregular ; stamens didynamous, occa- 

 sionally 2 ; fruit consisting of 2 or 4 nu- 

 cules in a state of adhesion; seeds ex- 

 albuminous. 



VERB ANTIQUE. A beautiful mot- 

 tled green marble, an aggregate of marble 

 and serpentine. 



VERDIC ACID. An acid obtained 

 from the root of the scabiosa succisa and 

 other plants, and named from its pro- 

 perty of becoming green on exposure to 

 the air, owing to the absorption of 

 oxygen. 



VE'RDIGRIS (verde-gris). A sub- 

 acetate of copper, formed by placing 

 plates of the metal in contact with the 

 fermenting marc of the grape, or with 

 cloth dipped ia vinegar. The green salt is 

 found in commerce under the improper 

 name of distilled verdigris. A spurious 

 kind is sold under the name of English 

 verdigris, consisting of sulphate of copper 

 and acetate of lead. 



VE'RDITER. A blue pigment, pro- 

 cured by adding chalk or whiting to a 

 solution of copper in aquafortis. 



VERJUICE (verjus, Fr.). A kind of 

 harsh vinegar, made of the expressed 

 juice of the wild apple or crab, which 

 has undergone the vinous fermentation. 

 The French give this name to unripe 

 grapes, and to the sour liquor obtained 

 from them. 



VERMI'CULITE. A silicate of mag- 

 nesia and iron, described as composed of 

 micaceous looking plates cemented toge- 

 ther by a whitish matter. 



VERMILION. A red pigment, con- 

 sisting of powdered cinnabar, or the 

 red sulphuret of mercury. This sub- 

 stance, if heated till sulphur begins to 

 sublime from it, and then suddenly 

 thrown into cold water, becomes black ; 

 although, if allowed to cool slowly, it 

 remains red. Yet it is of the same com- 

 364 



position exactly in the black and red 

 states. 



VERNAL EQUINOX. The time 

 when the sun enters the first point of 

 Aries, or the ascending point of the 

 ecliptic, is the vernal equinox to those 

 who live in the northern hemisphere, 

 while the first point of Libra is the same 

 to those in the southern. 



VERNA'TION {vertius, belonging to 

 the Spring). Gemmation. A botanical 

 term denoting the manner in which the 

 leaves of plants are arranged in the un- 

 expanded or bud state. The ideas ex- 

 pressing these modifications are essen- 

 tially the same as those applied to the 

 parts of the flower in the same state, to 

 which the term ^Estivation on Prceflora- 

 tion is devoted. The Vernation or iEsti- 

 vation of plants is said to be, — 



1. Involute, when the edges of the 

 leaves are rolled inwards spirally on each 

 side, as the leaf of the apple. 



2. Revolute, when the edges are rolled 

 backwards spirally on each side, as the 

 leaf of rosemary ; or, in other words, 

 when two conduplicate leaves clasp each 

 other. 



3. Obvolute, when the margins of one 

 leaf alternately overlap those of the leaf 

 which is opposite to it. 



4. Convolute, when one leaf is wholly 

 rolled up in another, as the petals of 

 wallflower. 



5. Supervolute, when one edge is rolled 

 inwards, and is enveloped by the oppo- 

 site edge rolled in an opposite direction, 

 as the leaves of apricot. 



6. Induplicate, when the margins are 

 bent abruptly inwards, and the external 

 face of these edges are applied to each 

 other without any twisting, as in the 

 flowers of some species of clematis. 



7. Conduplicate, when the sides are 

 applied parallelly to the faces of each 

 other, as in the leaves of the cherry. 



8. Plaited, when the leaves are folded 

 lengthwise, like the plaits of a closed fan, 

 as in the vine and many palms. 



9. Replicate, when the upper part of 

 the leaf is curved back and applied to 

 the lower, as in aconite. 



10. Curvative, when the margins are 

 slightly curved, either backwards or for- 

 wards, without any sensible twisting. 



1 1 . Wrinkled, when the parts are folded 

 up irregularly in every direction, as the 

 petals of the poppy. 



12. Imbricated, when the parts overlap 

 one another parallelly at the margins, 

 without any involution. 



