WOMAN -WOOD. 



was restored to her natural rights Other causes 

 co-operated with the spirit of Christianity to estab- 

 lish a just and true equality of the sexes. The 

 German or Teutonic nations were the first who led 

 the way in this revolution ; and Tacitus remarked 

 upon the estimation in which the female sex was 

 held among them. The age of chivalry shows the 

 effect of these two influences, mutually contribut- 

 ing to each other's developement ; and the whole 

 of Europe soon experienced the operation of these 

 causes. In fact, the very peculiarities pf the Chris- 

 tian religion, its spirit of love, of tenderness, and of 

 charity, wholly unknown to the ancient nations, 

 led to a submission of physical force and intel- 

 lectual vigour, to feelings of kindness and affection. 

 "In every age and country," says Gibbon, "the 

 wiser, or at least, the stronger, of the two sexes 

 has usurped the powers of the state, and confined 

 the other to the cares and pleasures of domestic 

 life. In hereditary monarchies, however, and es- 

 pecially in those of modern Europe, the gallant 

 spirit of chivalry, and the law of succession, have 

 accustomed us to allow a singular exception ; and a 

 woman is often acknowledged the absolute sove- 

 reign of a great kingdom, in which she would be 

 deemed incapable of exercising the smallest employ- 

 ment, civil or military. But as the Roman empe- 

 rors were still considered as the generals and ma- 

 gistrates of the republic, their wives and mothers, 

 although distinguished by the name of Augusta, 

 were never associated to their personal honours ; 

 and a female reign would have appeared an inex- 

 piable prodigy in the eyes of those primitive Ro- 

 mans who married without love, or loved without 

 delicacy and respect." The exaggerated spirit of 

 adulation which prevailed in the age of chivalry, 

 was yet far from giving the female sex its true posi- 

 tion ; and the age of frivolous gallantry which suc- 

 ceeded it, was a natural result of the former. It is 

 by observing a proper medium between servitude and 

 deification, by treating the sex as women and not as 

 slaves or goddesses, by cultivating their minds and 

 hearts, as well as by adorning them with the graceful 

 accomplishments, that our own times have, in some 

 measure, restored this part of our race to their rights 

 and duties. Consult on this subject, Alexander's 

 History of Women (2 vols., 4to., 1779) ; and Segur, 

 Les Femmes (3 vols., 1802) ; see, also, our articles 

 Husband and Wife, Marriage, Polygamy, and Di- 

 vorce. 



Woman, in physiology. Besides the difference of 

 the sexual organs, the woman exhibits other pecu- 

 liar characters, which distinguish the sexes. In the 

 female, the head is smaller, the chest narrower, the 

 pelvis broader, the limbs more delicately formed and 

 niore rounded, and the gait peculiar, on account of 

 the breadth of the pelvis. The skin is soft, the hair 

 of the head finer and longer, the muscular system 

 little developed, the voice an octave higher than 

 that of the male, and the nervous system predomi- 

 nating: their sensibility is consequently greater 

 than that of the other sex. The rounded form and 

 brilliant whiteness which characterize females, are 

 owing to the peculiarity of their lymphatic and cel- 

 lular systems ; and, their sanguineous system being 

 less vigorous than in man, they are less liable to 

 acute inflammations. Born to feel and to inspire 

 the kind and tender affections, they are exempt 

 from the gloomy and fierce passions which charac- 

 terize the bilious temperament ; and love, jealousy, 

 and maternal affection, are the deepest springs of 

 emotion in the female heart. Their delicate and 



peculiar organization modifies the general course of 

 disease with them, and renders them liable to some 

 from which the other sex is exempt. The period of 

 puberty is more often attended by disease in the fe- 

 male sex. It is characterized by the developement of 

 the breasts, and other physical changes, together 

 with a general revolution in the tastes and feelings 

 of the individual. (See Puberty, and Catamenia.) 

 Ripe for the burden of maternity, the woman be- 

 comes a mother only through sufferings and pangs. 

 The mother is exposed to yet new maladies as a 

 nurse ; and, when nature calls the child to other 

 sources of nourishment (see Weaning), to new cares 

 and precautions for herself and her infant. Having 

 passed these successive periods of life, at the age of 

 forty-five or fifty, another change of the system suc- 

 ceeds, attended with so many dangers, that this 

 epoch has received the name of the " critical age." 

 The physical changes which now take place are 

 often accompanied with an unfavourable moral 

 change, and both combine to render more dan- 

 gerous the maladies to which this period is particu- 

 larly liable. Great care should now be taken to be 

 warmly clothed, to avoid violent excitements, to 

 enjoy pure and wholesome air; and, this period 

 passed, the health becomes confirmed, and life is 

 often prolonged to an advanced age. 



WOMB. See Uterus. 



WONDERS OF THE WORLD, SEVEN. See 

 Seven Wonders. 



WOOD. (For the structure of wood, see the ar- 

 ticle Plants ; for the use of wood as fuel see Fuel.) 

 We shall now give the character of some of the prin- 

 cipal sorts of wood used in the arts. The part 

 preceding the account of the fancy woods is abridged 

 from Bigelow's Technology. 



Oaks are generally distinguished for great 

 strength, but are coarse-grained and prone to warp, 

 and crack, under changes from moisture to dryness. 

 The oak is prized in ship building beyond any na- 

 tive timber. The white oak (quercus alba) is em- 

 ployed for the keels, side-timbers, and planks of ves- 

 sels, also for frames of houses, mills, and machinery 

 requiring strength ; for wagons, parts of carriages, 

 ploughs, and other agricultural instruments. Large 

 quantities are consumed for the staves and hoops of 

 casks, for which they furnish one of the best ma- 

 terials. The bark of the black oak (quercus tincto- 

 ria) furnishes the quercitron used by dyers. Most 

 of the species of oak are employed in tanning, and 

 they all furnish a valuable fuel. 



Hickory, or Walnut. The wood of the different 

 species of walnut or hickory (jvglans, or caryd) is 

 eminently distinguished for weight, tenacity, and 

 strength. It has, however, important defects. It 

 warps and shrinks greatly, decays rapidly when ex- 

 posed to the weather, and is very liable to the at- 

 tacks of worms. On these accounts, it is never 

 used for house or ship building, but is chiefly em- 

 ployed for minor purposes, where strength is the 

 chief requisite, as in the teeth of mill-wheels, screws 

 of presses, handspikes, capstan . bars, bows, hoops 

 and handles of tools. As fuel, the hickory com- 

 mands a higher price than any other wood. 



Ash. The white ash (fraxinus Americana), and 

 some other species, are of great utility in the arts. 

 Ash wood is strong, elastic, tough and light, and 

 splits with a straight grain. It is also durable and 

 permanent in its dimensions. It furnishes the com- 

 mon timber used in light carriages, for the shafts, 

 frames, springs and part of the wheels. Flat hoops, 

 boxes, and the handles of many instruments are 



