EMBANKMENT. 



The Canadian lyme grass is also a peren- 

 nial, growing to a similar height with the spe- 

 cies just mentioned, found in similar localities, 

 and resembling it in most other respects, ex- 

 cept in having its flowerets and their receptacle 

 clothed with stiffish hairs. The variety glau- 

 cifolius of Torrey is generally a taller plant, 

 with longer spikes, the awns long and some- 

 what curved, and the whole plant covered with 

 a greenish-white or silvery appearance. It is 

 found on the Schuylkill, near Black Rock. 



The villous or hairy lyme grass is a species 

 also found on the banks of the Brandywine. 



The species called Porcupine lyme grass 

 (E. hystrix'), is remarkable for its expanded, 

 bristly spike, somewhat resembling an apothe- 

 cary's bottle-washer. It is a perennial, fre- 

 quently found in the southern parts of Penn- 

 sylvania and other Middle States, in rich, 

 moist, and rocky woodlands, where it flowers 

 in July and ripens its seed in August. (See 

 Flor. Cestrir.} 



EMBANKMENT. A large mound of bank 

 of earth ; thrown up for the purpose of protect- 

 ing or reclaiming lands from being injured or 

 inundated by the water of the sea, rivers, or 

 lakes. Mr. P. Howard narrates in the Com. to 

 the Board of Agr. vol. vi. p. 148, the methods in 

 use for embankments abroad. 



In Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, 

 and other places in England, many hundred 

 thousands of acres have been taken in by em- 

 banking. In Holland, the whole country has 

 in a great measure been gained in this way. 

 Near Chester, the River Dee Company have 

 also reclaimed some thousands of acres from 

 the sea, which are now divided into several 

 beautiful farms. Mr. A. W. Maddocks, of Car- 

 narvon, enclosed 1080 acres from the sea, by 

 an embankment of two miles in extent. ( Ibid. 

 vol. vi. p. 159.) Lord Boringdon also reclaim- 

 ed a large tract of land from the sea by em- 

 banking. (Ibid. p. 252.) Mr. D. Sheriff, of In- 

 verness-shire, likewise describes (Ibid. vol. vii. 

 p. 59), the plan he pursued in taking in from 

 the sea 100 acres of valuable carse land. In 

 the Lib. of Useful Know., "Brit. Husb." vol. i. p. 

 447-449, will be found some excellent observa- 

 tions on the embankment of rivers, and the cost 

 of an operation of the kind. In the Quart. Journ. 

 of Agr. vol. viii. p. 377, will also be found some 

 interesting details on the same subject. 



There are many other parts of the United 

 Kingdom in which capital might be advan- 

 tageously employed for the same purpose. It 

 is a question of even national importance, and, 

 as in the proposed embankment of the Wash,' 

 may be carried in some districts to a much 

 greater extent than is commonly supposed. It 

 is an improvement which must be so much 

 varied, according to the situation in which 

 the farmer is placed, that it would be impos- 

 sible, in this work, to go into engineering 

 details; for, as Mr. Blackie remarks (Trans, 

 of High. Soc. vol. ii. p. 745,) " It would be an 

 Herculean task to attempt to lay down rules, 

 or give directions for raising the requisite 

 structures in every situation. So many local 

 impediments occur, so many unlooked-for ob- 

 stacles must be surmounted, and there are 

 always so many circumstances to be attended 

 444 



ENDIVE. 



to and provided for, that much must ever de- 

 pend on the ingenuity and ability of the direc- 

 tor." See also Rev. G. Hamilton, Mr. Sidney, 

 and Mr. Macleod. (/6id.p.97 103); Johnstone 

 on Draining and Embanking, and Stephens on 

 Irrigation. 



EMBROCATION (Gr. fyi%u). In farriery, 

 it is a liquid application, usually prepared of 

 volatile and spirituous ingredients, chiefly used 

 by friction to relieve pains, numbness, &c. 



EMOLIENTS (Lat. emolliens). In farriery, 

 such remedies as relax and diminish the hard- 

 ness and rigidity of the parts to which they 

 are applied. 



ENCHANTER'S NIGHTSHADE (Circaa). 

 Of this perennial herbaceous genus of plants 

 there are two indigenous species, the common 

 enchanter's nightshade (C. lutetiana), and the 

 mountain enchanter's nightshade (C. alpina). 

 The former grows in moist, shady places, hedge- 

 bottoms, church-yards, orchards, &c.: the root 

 is tenaciously creeping ; the stem 18 or 20 

 inches high ; round and branching: the leaves, 

 of a darkish dull green, waved, with short 

 teeth, one rib, and many veins ; the flowers are 

 in clusters, many, small, and scentless, white 

 or reddish, with a brownish-green calyx ; the 

 fruit is a bur, clothed with hooked bristles. 

 Two species of this plant are known in the 

 United States. The one commonly found in 

 moist, rich wood-lands in Pennsylvania and 

 other Middle States, varies somewhat, Dr. Dar- 

 lington says, from the circaeaof Europe. (Flor. 

 Cent, and Eng. Flor. vol. i. p. 15.) . 



ENDIVE (Cichorium endivia). This plant is 

 too well known to require description. There 

 are three varieties. The green-curled is the 

 only one cultivated for the main crops. When 

 the larger seedlings have been transplanted, 

 the smaller ones which remain may be cleared 

 of weeds, and have a gentle watering; by 

 which treatment, in 12 or 14 days they will 

 have attained a sufficient size to afford a se- 

 cond successional crop; and by a repetition 

 of this management, in general, a third. The 

 plants are generally fit for transplanting when 

 of a month's growth in the seed bed ; but a 

 more certain criterion is, that when 5 or 6 

 inches high, they are of the most favourable 

 size. They must be set in rows 12 or 15 inches 

 apart each way; the Batavian requires the 

 greatest space. Some gardeners recommend 

 them to be set in trenches or drills, 3 or 4 

 inches deep; this mode is not detrimental in 

 summer and dry weather; but in winter, when 

 every precaution is to be adopted for the pre- 

 vention of decay, it is always injurious. About 

 three months elapse between the time of sow- 

 ing and the fitness of the plants for blanching. 

 This operation, if conducted properly, will be 

 completed in from ten to fourteen days in sum- 

 mer or in three or four weeks in winter. In 

 hot weather, the blanching is completed in half 

 the time that is required if the season is cold. 

 To blanch the plants, it is the most common 

 practice to tie the leaves together; to place 

 tiles or pieces of board upon them ; or to cover 

 them with garden pots; whilst some recom- 

 mend the leaves to be tied together, and then 

 to be covered up to their tips with mould, 

 making it rise to an apex, so as to throw off 





