WEN 



[ 275 ] 



w o o 



ing the Wenlock limestone and Weulock 

 shale. 



WE'NLOCK SLATE. Called also Wenlock 

 shale. An argillaceous, dark-grey or 

 liver-coloured shale, constituting the lower 

 member of the Wenlock formation, and 

 containing nodules of sandstone. 



WE'RNERITE. A rare mineral of a greenish- 

 grey, olive-green, or, sometimes, white 

 colour, occurring in eight-sided prisms, 

 terminated by four-sided summits, whose 

 faces form with the alternate lateral 

 plates, on which they stand, an angle of 

 about 121. It is found at Arendal in 

 Norway, and in Sweden and Switzerland. 

 It has been named after Werner. It 

 consists of silex 45'5, alumine 33'5, lime 

 13*22, oxide of iron 5'75, oxide of man- 

 ganese 1'47,Cleaveland. 



WHEEL-SHAPED. In botany, a term ap- 

 plied to a corolla of a salver-shaped form, 

 having scarcely any tube. 



WHET SLATE. i The Novaculite of 



WHET-STONE SLATE, f Kirwan ; the 

 Wetz-Schiefer of Werner ; the Schiste 

 coticule of Brongniart ; the Argile schis- 

 teuse novaculaire of Hatiy. For a de- 

 scription, see Hone. 



WHI'NSTONE. A provincial term applied 

 to some of the trap rocks. 



WHITE-STONE. Felspathic granite, called 

 by the French Eurite, and by Werner 

 Weiss-stein. See Eurite. 



WHORL. In conchology, a wreath, volu- 

 tion, or turn of the spire of a univalve ; 

 the axis of revolution is termed the 

 columella, and the turns of the spiral are 

 denominated whorls. 



2. In botany, a species of inflorescence, 

 in which the flowers surround the] stem 

 in the form of a ring ; also applied to 

 leaves, when they arise in a circle round 

 the stem. 



WING. 



1. The limb of a bird or insect by the aid 

 of which it is able to fly. 



2. In botany, a membranous appendage 

 to some seeds, serving to waft them along 

 in the air : applied also to the two side 

 petals of a papilionaceous corolla. 



WINGED. Having wings. In botany, ap- 

 plied to stems, when the angles are ex- 

 tended into leafy borders ; also to petioles 

 having a leafy border on each side. 



WI'THERITE. (A mineral first discovered 

 at Anglesark, in Lancashire, by Dr. 

 Withering, and named in honour of him.) 

 Carbonate of Barytes. The Baryte 

 carbonatee of Haiiy ; the Witherit of 

 Werner ; the Barolite of Kirwan. See 

 Barolite. 



WOLF, (wolf, Germ.) The wolf affords 

 an excellent illustration of the complete 

 extinction of species. Wolves were for- 

 merly exceedingly numerous in Great Bri- 

 tain, and were met with in Ireland even 

 so late as the beginning of the 18th cen- 

 tury. At the present day, unless seen in 

 a menagerie, or read of as still existing in 

 other countries, and formerly in this, the 

 natives of these islands might be per- 

 fectly unaware that the wolf ever had any 

 existence. In our own days, as it were, 

 the Dodo, a large bird, of the size of a 

 turkey, a fews years since only existing 

 in great numbers in the Isle of France, 

 has become extinct ; a foot and a head, in 

 the Museum at Oxford, being the only 

 remains we possess, with the exception of 

 fossil bones. 



WO'LFRAM. The name given by Werner 

 to the ferruginous oxide of tungsten. 

 Wolfram occurs in Germany, Sweden, 

 France, Spain, and Great Britain. It is 

 met with, generally accompanied by ores 

 of tin, in primary and transition rocks. 

 It is of a dark brown, brownish black, or 

 nearly black colour. Specific gravity be- 

 tween 6-8 and 7 -3. Texture foliated. 

 Easily separated into plates by percussion. 

 Hardness 6 to 8. Before the blow-pipe 

 it decrepitates, but it is wholly infusible. 

 It consists of oxide of tungsten 67 '0, oxide 

 of iron 18'0, oxide of manganese 6-25, 

 silex 1-50. 



WO'LLA-STONITE. A mineral, thus named 

 in honour of Dr. Wollaston. Prismatic 

 augite. 



WOOD-COAL. Another name for brown 

 coal. See Brown Coal. 



WOOD-OPAL. Opalized wood. The Holz- 

 opal of Werner ; the Quartz resinite 

 xylo'ide of Haiiy : Ligniform, opal of 

 Kirman. A variety of opal, occurring in 

 various vegetable forms, and being in 

 reality opalized vegetable matter. It is 

 found in Hungary. 



WOOD-STONE. Another name for petrified 

 wood. 



WOOD-TIN. The Etain oxide concretione 

 of Haiiy ; the Kornishches Zinnerz of 

 Werner. A variety of oxide of tin ; fi- 

 brous oxide of tin. This has been hitherto 

 found only in Cornwall and Mexico. It 

 occurs in fragments which are generally 

 rounded. Its colours are light or ches- 

 nut brown, reddish brown, and yellowish 

 grey. It is opaque ; of a fibrous texture ; 

 easily broken. Specific gravity from 6*4 

 to 6'7. It is infusible before the blow- 

 pipe, and irreducible. It consists of 

 oxide of tin 91 '0, oxide of iron 9. 



