TURNSTONE 



5919 



TURQUOISE 



TURN 'STONE, a small sea bird, about nine 

 inches long, with variegated plumage of black, 

 white and reddish-brown. It frequents the 

 outer beaches of most seacoasts, and is named 

 from its habit of constantly turning over shells 

 and pebbles, its 

 slightly upturned 

 bill being adapted 

 to this method of 

 searching for 

 food. Turnstones 

 nest in th 

 regions and mi- 

 grate in winter to 

 far southern 

 shores. Their 

 neste are holl, THE TURNSTONE 



in the ground near water. The eggs are usually 

 four in number and of a grayish color, spotted 

 and blotched with brown or lilac. 



TURNVEREIN, toorn' fer ine, a name given to 

 the athletic organizations established in Ger- 

 many about the beginning of the nineteenth 

 century by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, and to 

 similar organizations in America. The organi- 

 )ns occupied most of Jahn's attention after 

 tin Napoleonic wars; their membership rapidly 

 increased, and they had an enormous influence 

 in building up a vigorous and hardy generation. 

 The first societies in the United States were 

 formed in Philadelphia and Cincinnati in 1848 

 by German refugees, and such societies are now 

 to be found in most large centers of German 

 population in this country. The membership in 

 rica is about 40,000. See JAHN, FRIEDRICH. 



TUR'PENTINE. Turpentine is obtained 

 from several species of the pine tree, which in 

 tin -prm!.' i> slashed across its trunk with an 

 ax. In the cuts thus made the sap collects in 

 the form of a gum or thick, sticky, clear somi- 

 flui<i. This is collected and placed in copper 

 vats over a fire, the heat distilling the gaseous 

 olatile parts of the gum or sap over into a 

 This worm is cooled by water, and the 

 contained gas or vapor condenses to form .-] 

 of tiirpmtinr. The part left in the first 



resin of commerce and is placed in 



pment. The spirits of turpentine. 



\r. will ooze through ordinary wooden 



barrels, so special containers are prepared by 



coat inu' tin inside of the barrel with several 



coats of glue, which, when it hardens, holds the 



turpentine perfectly. 



oil of turpentine is a yellowish, highly 

 .nimble oil, of strong, peculiar odor and 

 hot, biting ta.- 



Internal and External Action. It is only used 

 internally when specially prepared (rectified), 

 and it then produces a sense of warmth in the 

 stomach, a sense of exhilaration, dizziness and 

 mild intoxication. The pulse beats stronger and 

 more rapidly. It is given forth again by the 

 breath, to which it imparts its odor, and by the 

 urine, to which it imparts the odor of violets. 



The oil alone, or mixed into a liniment and 

 rubbed on the body, produces redness of the 

 skin and a sense of warmth; but sometimes in- 

 flammation is produced. 



Use as Medicine. In the form of a liniment 

 it is used for sprains or strains, while the oil 

 itself is applied externally in pleurisy and bron- 

 chitis. Mixed with injections in the intestines, 

 it materially assists in the expelling of wind or 

 gas. It is an efficient worm-expelling remedy, 

 and is used also for ulceration of the stomach 

 and intestines. In typhoid fever it acts favor- 

 ably, assisting to heal the ulcerations of 

 bowel, which are characteristic of this f 

 and aiding also in the expulsion of gas, which 

 greatly distresses the patient. In certain forms 

 of urinary difficulties depending on relaxed 

 kidneys it exerts a stimulating, contracting in- 

 fluence which is helpful in relieving the diffi- 

 culty. Like all other medicinal agents, turpen- 

 tine should not be taken except on a physician's 

 prescription. CJBJB. 



TURQUOISE, tur'koiz, or tur' kwoiz, a beau- 

 tiful, semiprecious stone of delicate green or 

 blue shades. The color most prized is the rob- 

 in's-egg blue. In chemical composition the tur- 

 quoise is a phosphate of aluminum, and tin 

 color is due to the presence of copper. When 

 the stone is heated, moisture escapes and the 

 color becomes lighter. From this phenomenon 

 arose the superstition that tin- filing of the 

 color was a sign of misfortune. Tin- turquoise 

 is (he national stone of Persia, and it is much 

 admired by Orientals, who believe that it pos- 

 sesses healing power. 



The stone is found in igneous and volcanic 

 rocks in Mexico, in New ' ('olorado, 



Arizona, Nevada and California, and in Persia, 

 Asia Minor, Turkestan and Siberia. The price 

 of tli. -ut stones depends upon the site, color 

 and polish. A very handsome turquoise may 

 be purchased for six or eight dollars. Fossil 

 bone colored blue by phosphate of iron, which 

 is called odonlolitc, or bone turquoise, looks 

 much like turquoise, but the two can be 

 easily distinguished when seen under a micro- 

 scope. The turquoise is the birthstonc for De- 

 cember. See BIBTHSTONES; GEMS. 



