EBU 



EGG 



Adhesiveness, or the toughness of 

 lands, is of moment in working. Mr. 

 Piisey measured the force necessary 

 to draw the same plough through dif- 

 ferent soils, and found it for a 



peat soil .... 280 pounds, 



sandy loam . . . 2.'>0 " 



loamy sand . . . 230 " 



clay loam . . . 400 " 



strong clay . . . 661 " 

 When this is considerable in pomt 

 of expense, it appears that it requires 

 nearly three times as much money to 

 turn a clay as it does a sandy soil. 



The physical qualities, when im- 

 perfect, can he modified. Sand, ve- 

 getable matter, charcoal, and lime, 

 are used to lighten soils ; clay and 

 marls to stiffen those already too po- 

 rous. The character of any field de- 

 pends, in a great measure, upon the 

 subsoil; for upon a very porous sub- 

 soil a stiff clay is good to retain a 

 large quantity of water, whereas very 

 light lands are greatly improved by 

 an impervious subsoil. 



EARTH EATING. Horses and 

 oxen frequently eat a small amount 

 of earth. This, if persevered in, in- 

 dicates disordered digestion. It is 

 supposed by Youatt that the earth 

 may serve as a gentle purse. 



EARTH NUTS. Numerous bulbs 

 are edible, and hence are called earth 

 nuts. The principal is the Pindar, 

 which see. 



EARTH-WORM. Lumbricus tcr- 

 restris. Earth - worms are, on the 

 whole, serviceable to soils, by loosen- 

 ing and perforating them, and are said 

 to injure plants and seeds but little. 

 They indicate rich soil. Salt, applied 

 at the rate often bushels the acre, or 

 a heavy liming, destroys them effect- 

 ually for a season. 



EARTHY MANURES. Marl, 

 lime, clay, and sand are so called. 

 They should rather be termed amend- 

 ments, since they serve to give the 

 soil new mechanical qualities. 



EARWIG. Forficula auricularis. 

 A troublesome insect in Europe, but 

 rare in the United States. 



EBULLITION. Boiling. The 

 boiling point of different fluids is oft- 

 en of great importance. Water boils 



at 212\ alcohol at 176°, sulphuric 

 acid at 600^, Mercury at 662 , Un- 

 seed oil at 640% oil of turpentine at 

 316^, nitric acid at 248", and ether 

 at 100°. 



EDULCORATION. A chemical 

 term, meaning the repeated washing 

 by pure water of precipitates or pow- 

 ders until they are freed from soluble 

 impurities. 



EFFERVESCENCE. The dis- 

 turbance made in a fluid by the es- 

 cape of gas. 



EFFLORESCENCE. Some salts, 

 like carbonate of soda or soda ash, 

 by exposure to air lose their trans- 

 parency, and become white, crum- 

 bhng into powder. This is termed 

 efflorescence. The same e.xpression 

 also designates the appearance of 

 crystals upon earthy, rocky, or other 

 mineral surfaces. 



EGGS. The white is a solution of 

 albumen with soda, and contains 85 

 per cent, of water ; the yellow con- 

 sists of 2875 fat, 17 5 albumen, 55 

 salts, and the rest water. They are 

 eminently nutritive. Eggs are pre- 

 served by being packed, with the 

 small end downward, in salt ; they 

 are also dipped into a cream of lime. 

 The box in which they are packed 

 should be turned upside down every 

 two or three weeks, to hinder the 

 yolks from settling. The duty on 

 eggs in England of two cents a dozen 

 may render their exportation profita- 

 ble ; immense numbers are now sent 

 there from France. Eggs are read- 

 ily hatched by artificial heat, and a 

 machine called the " Eccaleobion" 

 has been exhibited for this purpose, 

 in which steam is used. 



EGG PLANT. Solaymm melonge- 

 na. The purple kind is used for culin- 

 ary purposes, and is much esteem- 

 ed by many persons : the white, bear- 

 ing a fruit very similar to a hen's 

 egg, is ornamental. The seed must 

 be sown in a hot-bed in March, and 

 the plants taken with a ball of earth, 

 and set out in warm weather (April 

 or .May), about two feet apart ; they 

 require a rich, warm soil, and bear, 

 in August and September, fruit oftea 

 as large as a large muskmelon. The 



249 



