

HUSKY. 









Amylle alcohol . 

 UexyUc alcohol 



i 



Crtrlic alcohol 



i . . 

 



C,H,.O, 

 C,.!!,,", 

 C 1( II,,(>, 

 <,.",. <>, 



C M H..O, 

 C..H..O, 



Such a family of organic bodies ii termed a hnmutnyoat tcriet, and the 

 membeni or term* composing it are said to be homologua, or homo- 

 logous with each other. Whenever the formula) of two neighbouring 

 bodies in a homologous aerie* djffer from each other by a multiple of 

 C,H,, a number of intermediate bodies, sufficient to fill up the miming 

 top or steps in the graduation, must exist, and their nubeequent discovery 

 may be confidently predicted. Thus for many yean the vinic and 

 amylic alcohol* in the above table stood next to each other, but the 

 existence of the intermediate propylic and butylic alcohols was never 

 doubted, although their actual discovery only took place very recently. 

 The following are tin- principal homologous series, or groups of 

 aeries, which will be found described under their respective heads : , 



Alcohol*. 

 Anhydride*. 

 Kthcra. 

 Haloid ether*. 

 Ethereal aalu. 

 Organic radical*. 



Hydride* of organic radicals. 



Ketone*. 



Fatty acid*. 



Organic haws. 



Organomctallic bodied. 



Anita, 



HON'EY U a fluid or semi-fluid substance, the materials of which 

 are collected by different kinds of bees, in Europe chiefly by the apit 

 mtllijita, or hive-bee, and solely by the neuter or working bees, from 

 the nectariferous glands in the cup or chalice of flowers. It cannot be 

 said to be a purely vegetable production, for after being collected by 

 the proboscis of the insect it is transmitted to that distension of the 

 oesophagus termed the crop, sucking-stomach, or honey-bag, where it 

 is elaborated, and again disgorged, to be deposited in the cell of the 

 honey-comb. It undergoes less change when the bees are vejy young, 

 remaining nearly white, and is then denominated tin/in honey. At 

 all times it retains qualities derived from the kind of plant whence it 

 has been procured, as is manifest not only by the peculiar odour of the 

 honey, but by the effects which follow the use of honey obtained from 

 certain plants, such as the Azalea, rhododendron, knluiin, &c., which 

 yield a honey frequently poisonous, while that from the genus Erica 

 (termed heather-honey), and most labiate plants, is wholesome. The 

 soldiers of Xenophon, during the retreat of the Ten Thousand, suffered 

 severely from partaking of honey collected by bees from the Azalea 

 pontica near Trebizond. 



The honey of the common bee is at first generally white, inclining 

 to yellow, but by age it becomes of a deeper colour and greater con- 

 sistence, and of a more acrid taste. The honey of Surinam and 

 Cayenne, collected by the apit amallhta, is red. The apit unicolor of 

 Madagascar produces a greenish honey collected from the Mimosa 

 heterophylla and Weinmannia glabra, of the most exquisite flavour. 

 Honey is of different degrees of consistence : that of Mahon, of Hy- 

 mettus, and of the Bermudas, is liquid ; that of England is more or 

 less disposed to become nearly solid. 



Honey is sweet, faintly aromatic, granular, soluble in water, and 

 capable of undergoing the vinous fermentation, and so yielding an 

 intoxicating drink called hydromel, metheglin, or mead. Honey con- 

 sists of an uncrystalUsable portion, and a portion which crystallises in 

 very white grains. The former is soluble in alcohol, the latter not, 

 and is regarded as a sort of Mannitt, or manna sugar, which, by the 

 action of nitric acid, can be converted into oxalic acid, like the sugar 

 of the sugar-cane. When old it probably contains some free acid. 

 Honey is sometimes adulterated with flour, from which and other 

 impurities it may be freed by diffusing it through cold water, or 

 by striking the blue colour, indicative of starch, on adding iodine. 

 Honey is certainly nutritive, but it cannot be employed to any great 

 extent, since, if taken in considerable quantity, it excites the action of 

 the bowels, and is gently laxative. Its effects in this way will be 

 greater in proportion to its age and acridity, and lew or scarcely appre- 

 ciable if largely diluted with water. In this last state it is rather 

 demulcent, emollient, and refrigerant, and hence forms a good drink 

 in fever and other inflammatory complaints, but it should not be taken 

 if there be much gastric or intestinal irritation. It is used likewise in 

 catarrhs, and when drunk warm is considered to be expectorant. Along 

 with vinegar it forms a good gargle in slight cases of sore throat, and 

 combined with borax a most efficacious application in aphtha) of the 

 mouth and throat. Owing to idiosyncraoy in some individuals, honey 

 cause* great uneasiness, or even severe suffering, but it is most likely 

 that such cases originate in the kind of plant from which the honey is 

 collected, or in the measures used to destroy the bees. Smoking them 

 with sulphur must be hurtful, from forming sulphurous acid gas, 

 which may be absorbed by the honey. Humanity as well as economy 

 demands that other means should be employed to procure the honey 

 without sacrificing the life of the industrious insects which collect it 

 The fungus known a* puff-ball, or Lycoperden Bouesta, when smoked 

 under the hive, stupefies the bees, as chloroform does men, so that the 

 honey can be removed while they are insensible. 



HONKY-TEA is nowise related to the foregoing. At the Cape of 



Good Hope this name is given to the infusion of the leave* and flower* 

 of plants, growing abundantly on the sides of hills formed of variegated 

 sandstone. These leaves and flowers are collected in great quantity 

 by the poorer clause* as a substitute for green tea. They are bene- 

 ficial in disease* of the chest, which are, however, rare at the Cape. 

 The plants are C'ltiopia galioldu (D. C. the Atpalotkut callow, Burn's 

 1 Flora Cap.') ; C. youtlmda, Goitlpholobittm morc/odun (Andrew's 

 I 1 ...:. !! |. 



HOOKE'S JOINT. Hooke's universal joint is a method of con- 

 necting two axes, the directions of which meet in a point, so as to 

 transfer rotation from one axis to the other. The first figure represents 

 the tinylt tmirrrtal joint in which A and 11 arc the shaft* between which 

 the rotation in transmitted : c D, E r, is a cross the ends of which turn 

 freely in bushes formed in the extremities of two diameters of 



circles in which the shafts terminate. If the shaft A be made to revolve 

 B will evidently revolve also. If however the angle under the directions 

 of the shafts be less than 1 40, the motion will not be transmitted. 

 In such case the doulJe tinirertal joint represented in the second figure 

 must be used : this has two crosses, the extremities of which move on 

 pivots like the former. These joints may be formed with a hoop or a 

 solid ball instead of a cross, in which case four pins project at four 

 equidistant points, so as to divide the circle in four equal arches, and 

 the pins play in the bushes of the semicircles as in those of the cross. 



The universal joint is much used in adjusting the position of a large 

 telescope, where the observer has to turn endless screws or wheels, in 

 a position inaccessible while the eye is being directed through the 

 tube. This joint is also used in cotton and other mills where shafts 

 ore carried to a great distance from the prime mover, and it is an 

 advantage to divide the shaft into convenient lengths, with a joint of 

 this kind connecting .them. The principle of Hooke's joint may be 

 studied in the limbs of crustaceous animals and insects. 



HOOPING-COUGH, or WHOOPING-COUGH. This disease, to 

 which, on account of the violence of the cough that attends it, the 

 Latin term " Pertussis " has been applied, and which from the recur- 

 rence of this cough in paroxysms has also obtained the pupiil-ir 

 designation" chin or kink-cough," appears to have been unknown t<i 

 the ancients. No mention is made of it in the medical writings of the 

 Greeks, Romans, or Arabians; but during several centuries it has 

 prevailed in the various countries of Europe, and, from the frequency 

 of its occurrence and the serious consequences of which it is sometimes 

 productive, has much occupied the attention of physicians. 



It commences with the symptoms of simple catarrh, and is indicated 

 by cough and the expectoration of a clear limpid fluid, by redness of 

 the conjunctiva;, a watery discharge from the eyes and nostrils, hoarse- 

 ness, and occasional sneezing. These symptoms are attended by some 

 degree of fever, which in general however is very slight ; the patient 

 is languid and out of spirits, but U free from pain, or complains only 

 of soreness in the anterior port of the chest. During this stage the 

 disease may be readily confounded with a common cold, but there is 

 already some peculiarity in the cough, which occurs more in fits, and 

 is more sonorous than in the latter malady. At the end of a period 

 varying from one to two weeks the affection assumes a somewli.it 

 different character; the fits of coughing become longer and in. in- 

 frequent; each fit is commonly announced by a sensation of tirklinj,' 

 in the larynx and trachea, during which the inspirations are irregular 

 and incomplete, especially in children, whose countenances are at il.i- 

 tinie expressive of fear and anxiety. At the moment the fit comes on 

 they cling with firmness to the persons or objects around them ; if 

 asleep at the time of its accession, they suddenly start up and placo 

 themselves in a Hitting posture. The efforts of coughing are now re- 

 peated in such quick succession as to suspend almost completely the 

 act of breathing : during their brief intervals we can with difficulty 

 perceive any inspiratory movements, excepting at times when the cough 

 is momentarily interrupted by a prolonged inspiration attended by a 

 peculiar whooping noise, which ha* supplied a name for the affection, 

 and which constitutes its characteristic symptom. In consequence of 

 the obstruction to the circulation occasioned by these long continued 

 efforts of coughing, the face and neck become swelled, and of a deep 



