MS 



QUIT RENT 



QURAN 



from earthquake* (especially in 1797 anil 1854) anil 

 from revolutions (recently in 1877 and 1883). Pop. 

 about 50,000, mainly Indians and mestizoes. See 

 Monnier, De-iAndet au Para (1890); also Vincent, 

 Around and About South America ( 1890). 



Quit Rent, a term used to denote various 

 nominal rente ; properly speaking, a quit rent is 

 a rent reserved in Hen of all service*, because on 

 paying it the holder of the land goes quit and free. 

 In old records it is called white rent, because it 

 was paid in silver money, as distinguished from 

 corn rents. The Conveyancing Act, 1881, empowers 

 an owner of land to redeem any quit rent to which 

 it may lie subject. 



Quoad Sacra. See PARISH. 



4)lloitl (Fr. coigne, from Lat. rnneiis) is gener- 

 ally a wedge or an angle. In artillery the quoin 

 in a wedge inserted beneath the breach of a gun, 

 for raising or depressing the muzzle. Quoin, in 

 Architecture, i- one of the Atones forming the solid 

 comer of a building. Where the work is of brick 

 or small materials the quoins are usually of ashlar. 



<f II oils, a game much practised in many 

 districts of Great Britain, seems to have lieen 

 derived from the ancient game of ' throwing 

 the discus,' which was such a favourite amuse- 

 ment of the Greeks and Romans. The discus 

 was a circular plate of Btone or metal, 10 to 12 

 inches in diameter, and was held )>y its farther 

 fdj;i' with the right hand, so as to lean ujxm the 

 forearm, and was cast with a swing of the arm, 

 aided by a twist of the whole body. It was gener- 

 ally thrown edge foremost, and upwards at an 

 angle of 45, so as to give it as great a range as 

 possible, and the player who threw it farthest was 

 the winner. Sometimes a kind of quoit was used. 

 The modern game of quoits differs very considerably 

 from this. A quoit is a Hattish ring of iron, genrf- 

 aily about 8 inches in external diameter, and be- 

 tween 1 and 2 inches in breadth ; the weight accord- 

 ingly varies a good deal, but may in any match 

 be faxed beforehand. The quoit is convex on the 

 upper side, and slightly concave on the under, so 

 that the outer edge curves downwards, and is sharp 

 enough to stick into the ground. The mode of 

 playing is as follows : Two pins, called ' hobs,' are 

 driven into the ground from 18 to 21 yards apart ; 



and the players, who are divided into two parties, 

 stand at one hob, anil in regular Micc-rsMon throw 

 their qnoite (of which each player has two) as near 

 to the other hob as they can. The points are 

 counted as in bowls or in curling. To facilitate the 

 sticking of the quoiU at the point where they strike 

 the ground, a flat circle of clay about 1 or -2 im-ln-s 

 in thickness, and 1} feet in radius te placed round 

 each hob; this requires to be kept moist. The 

 quoit, when to be thrown, is grasped with the right 

 hand by one side, and pitched with an upward and 

 forward jerk of the hand and arm, which give it a 

 whirling motion, and cause it to strike the ground 

 with its edge. Players acquire such dexterity in 

 this game that they can very frequently r'inu ' 



their quoit that is, land it so that the quoit MU- 

 rounds the hob. 



Quorn, or QUORNDON, a village of Leicester- 

 shire, 24 miles SE. of LoughWough, gives name 

 to a celebrated kennel (and hunt) of foxhounds. 

 Pop. 1816. See FOXHUNTING. 



Qnorra. See NIGER. 



Quorum is a legal term denoting a certain 

 specified number out of a larger number as entitled 

 or bound to act for certain purposes. Thus, in 

 statutes appointing commissioners or trustees of a 

 public work it is usual to name a certain number 

 of the whole body as sufficient to discharge the 

 business when it may be inconvenient for all to 

 attend. For the origin of the expression, see 

 JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, Vol. VI. p. 378. 



Quotidian Fever. See AGUE. 



Quo Warranto, the title of a writ by which 

 a person or corporate body is summoned to show 

 by what warrant a particular franchise or office is 

 claimed. In the reigns of Charles II. and James 

 II. the writ was usea oppressively, for the purpose 

 of depriving cities and tjoroughs of their liberties. 

 At the present day an information in the nature 

 of a quo warranto may be filed, with the leave of 

 the court ; disputed questions in regard to muni- 

 cipal offices, &c. are sometimes brought to trial in 

 this way. The information is now regarded as a 

 form of civil process. 



Quran. See KORAN. 



