u. 



ULMUS CAMPESTRIS. 



40t 



U 



Uia at one extremity of the series of vowel sounds, lying next to the 

 rowel o. In the Hebrew alphabet it d not appear, and was 

 probably originally wanting in that of the Greek tongue. For the 

 different forms of the letter see ALPHABET. 



1. The close connection between this vowel and the vowel o might 

 be inferred from their relative position in the vocal gamut, and has 

 bean already the subject of remark under the article 0. 



2. N interchangeable with the diphthongs oe or ot in Latin. Thus 

 cura, fttor, Onus, inanio, mums, often appear in the older dialects of 

 that language as coirs or coera, oitor or oetor, oenus (observe the w 

 sound at the beginning of the English word one), moinio or moenio, 

 moerus. Hence the verb uro ii probably connected with oestrum, and 

 also with aestus, aestas, as well as Vesta, Vesevus. In the same way 

 foetus, foecundus, are formed from the old verb fuo, by the addition 

 of the common suffixes tta and cuntlut, which are so often attached to 

 verbs. Again the variation in the forms of Poeni and Punicus is an 

 example of the same principle. It may be added, that all the words 

 rnunus, munire, communis, immunis, munia, mums, are connected 

 both in form and meaning with the Greek words, such as notpa, 

 denoting dirition. 



8. u with an, as in the Latin forms claudo and cluclo, and the Latin 

 mus compared with the German maus, a mouse. 



4. A short u with a. Thus those who represent the Arabic article 

 in English characters are divided between al and uL 



5. A short u with ?. Thus the Greek tongue, or rather pen, prefers 

 the syllable tl where the Latin writes /, particularly in the penult 

 syllable : as 2i<Aos, Siculus : compare also the cry tAc\<Atv with the 

 Latin ululare. The Germans again prefer tl. Hence the Latin tabula, 

 tabula, appear in German as tafel, fabel. The vowel u is also preferred 

 by the Romans before n, if a d or ( follow. Hence rediens has a genitive 

 rcdeuntis, and faciundua is as common as faciendus. 



6. A short u with i. See I., s. 2. 



7. For the interchange of rf with b and v, see B, D. 



8. For the interchange of I with , see L. 



9. On not unfrequently results from on, particularly in the Greek 

 language, as otovs for oSors ; runrovat for rinrrom ; and the accusative 

 plural of the second declension, oacous, is a corruption of oucovi, being 

 funned from the singular outer by the addition of the affix for 

 plurality. Mr. Payne Knight appears to be wrong in inserting a 

 Hjg*ynn* in this form. 



10. For the loss of an initial c before u, see C. In confirmation of 

 what is there stated, it may be observed that tiler appears in an 

 inscription which is determined by its contents to belong to the 

 Augustan sera, in the form cuter, at least ntutrr is written neculer. 

 The copyists, scandalised at such a form, altered it into nee two, to the 

 utter annihilation of the sense, until Marini again restored the true 

 reading of the stone. 



11. The insertion of a y sound before u is not limited to an initial 

 , as in union, university ; but occurs in the middle of words. Thus, 

 iu Norfolk " true " U sometimes pronounced " tryoo." It is probably 

 in this way that the English have adopted the orthography etc in so 

 many words, as new, few. 



1 2. For the intimate connection of u with V and W, see those letters. 

 UDAL TENURE. The Norwegian term " Udal," or " odel," appears 



to be the same as the German "adel," or "noble." Tenure is an 

 improper name as applied to Udal land, for the land so called in 

 Norway is not held by any tenure, but is free from all services. 

 There is neither superior nor vassal, nor any of the consequences of 

 such feudal relation as exist* in many countries in Europe. (Laing's 

 jVonM*.) 



I ' I .< K R. [ laFLAlf XATION.] 



ULEMA ('Ulemd), the collective name of the body of learned men 

 in Turkey, is the plural of the Arabic " 'Allm," " wise," and signifies 

 originally " the wise men." The learned men in Turkey form a cor- 

 poration which received iU organisation from Mahmud-Pasha, grand- 

 vizir of Mohammed II., the conqueror of Constantinople. In the 

 larger meaning, the ulema consists of three classes, the mollahs 

 mukrcji, the mudaris, and the moultazims. From the first two classes 

 an taken the interpreters of the lawn, the principal mollahs, cadis, 

 null*, mufti*, and sheikhs; from the third, the lower cadis and 

 khatibs. The imams and the inferior ministers of worship are not 

 members of the ulema. The mufti, or Sheikh-ul-Inlam, is the president 

 of the ulema, and formerly had great political influence. No one can 

 become a " muderri " (professor) or " kadi " (judge) except a member 

 of the ulema, nor can any one be appointed chief judge or mufti 

 without having previously occupied a subordinate place as judge or 

 professor. An individual belonging to the ulema is called l.y the 

 general name " mnllah," or " a man of the law." In important cases, 

 the mufti assembles the ulema, or as many of them as he judges con- 

 venient, and Ukes their opinion on the subject. 



ULLAGE, a name given by gangers to the part of a cask which 

 is not filled with liquor : thus, if a cask, capable of holding 90 gallons, 

 have only 80 gallons of spirits in it, there are 10 gallons of ullage. 



ULMIC ACID. Ulmin. Some trees, and more especially the elm 

 when it is old, secrete a liquid which dries as it exudes : the dry residue 

 consists principally of mucilaginous matter, with some carbonate or 

 acetate of potash, and eventually the mucilaginous matter undergoes a 

 change, and, combining with the potash, forms a substance which was 

 first examined by Vauquelin and Klaproth, and to which Dr. Thomson 

 gave the name of ulmin. This name was changed by Berxelius to that 

 of gric acid, because on treating soils with alkalies a considerable 

 quantity of a similar compound U obtained. 



Ulmin, or ulmic acid, may be artificially obtained, according to 

 Braconnot, by the following process : heat in a silver crucible equal 

 weights of potash and sawdust, with a little water ; the mixture is to 

 be continually stirred : the mass softens and swells rapidly, and is 

 then to be removed from the heat and stirred till cold : during the 

 operation oxygen is absorbed from the air, owing to which the ulmic 

 acid is formed. When cold, the product, which contains ulmate of 

 potash, is dissolved in water, filtered, and treated with dilute sul- 

 phuric acid, which combines with the potash, and precipitates the 

 ulmic acid from combination with it : the acid thus obtained is to be 

 washed and dried. The properties of this ulmic acid are, that it is of 

 a deep brown colour, very brittle, and breaks in .angular fragments, 

 and is almost insoluble in water. When precipitated from its solution 

 in an alkali, it is in the state of hydrate, and it then dissolves in 

 1 500 times its weight of boiling water, in 2500 times between 60 and 

 70 Fahr., and in 6000 times at 32. The solution in cold water is 

 brownish-yellow ; that in hot is deep brown. Mou icatrr owes its dark 

 brown colour to the presence of ulmic acid. 



It is insoluble in acidulated water or in saline solutions : sulphuric 

 acid dissolves it without apparent alteration, and becomes blackish : 

 water precipitates it from this solution. Ulmic acid reddens tincture 

 of litmus. It is dissolved by alcohol, from which it separates in 

 crystalline scales by spontaneous evaporation. 



It has been already mentioned that ulmic acid may be obtained 

 from soils : it may also be procured from rotten leaves, bog-earth, 

 wood-soot, or turf, by digesting them in a weak solution of potash : 

 by this a brown-coloured solution of ulrnatc of potash is formed, from 

 which acids throw down ulmic acid. 



According to Boullay, ulmin consists of 



Hydrogen 4-70 



Carbon 57-64 



Oxygen 87-60 



100- 



Malaguti and Boullay, by treating sugar with dilute sulphuric'acid, 

 obtained two substances, which they supposed to lie identical with 

 ulmin and ulmic acid ; but, according to Liebig, they are of a different 

 nature, and he has given them the names of tacchulmin and xtcrhulmie 

 acid. 



ULMIN. [ULMIC Acra] 



ULMUS CAMPESTRIS, Medical Propertia of. The bark of this 

 species is officinal : it should be collected in spring from branches not 

 too old : the outer bark is removed, and the interior, or lilier, retained 

 for use. When recent it is of a whitish-yellow colour, but when dried 

 it is externally of a cinnamon hue, and curled up ; the inner surface 

 smooth ; it is from a quarter to half a line in thickness, tough, fibrous, 

 not easily powdered, devoid of smell, with a mucilaginous, bitterish, 

 astringent taste. 



The cold watery infusion becomes green on the addition of a solu t ion 

 of seequichloride of iron, and a precipitate is thrown down by a 

 ml ut ion of gelatine. It possesses demulcent, tonic, and astringent pro- 

 perties ; and taken in full doses it accelerates the pulse, acting ulti- 

 mately as a diaphoretic and diuretic. Though known from an early 

 period as an astringent, it is little used at the present day, notwith- 

 standing the testimony of Lettsom and others in favour of its utility 

 in cutaneous diseases of a scaly kind. To do good it must be per- 

 severed in for many months, and the greater its action on the kidneys 

 the greater the probability of ultimate benefit Its agreeable taste 

 reconciles many to the prolonged use of it, who would reject less 

 pleasant medicines. It is one of the best substitutes for sarsaporilla. 

 It is commonly administered in the form of decoction, but as the bark 

 contains much starch, this is objectionable. An infusion made with 

 cold water is far preferable. A pint or more of this is to be taken 

 daily. 



The I Imui fulra, tawny-budded or slippery elm bark of America, is 

 a very valuable demulcent, tonic, and astringent, and of great utility 

 in the diarrhoeas and dysenteries of the southern parts of the United 



