WHI 



WIL 



WHIPPING OUT GRAIN. Stri- 

 king the ears against a stone or the 

 edge of a board till the corn is sep- 

 arated from the straw. 



WHIPPLE-TREE. A swinging 

 tree. The bar to which the traces of 

 the horse are fastened. 



WHIRLBONE. The knee pan. 

 In the horse, the articulation of the 

 thigh bone in the pelvis ; the ace- 

 tabulum. 



WHIRLWIND. A revolving wind, 

 blowing to a centre. The tornado is 

 a violent whirlwind. I 



WHISKEY. A strong spirit dis- i 



uated near the joints. It is very dif- 

 ficult to manage. 



WHITE VITRIOL. Sulphate of 

 zinc. It is a powerful emetic, and is 

 also used in lotions. 



WHITE\AASH. Awash of milk 

 of lime with size, to enable it to ad- 

 here. AMiitewashing not only im- 

 proves the appearance of wood-work, 

 but protects it from the weather and 

 insects. It is a good means of puri- 

 fying rooms in which substances of a 

 bad odour have been stored. 



WHITE WEED. The larger per- 

 ennial May weed (Chnjsantltcmum), 



tilled from the fermented mash of occurring in wheat fields and mead- 

 corn, barley, wlieat, or other grains, ows 



WHITE ARSENIC. Common 

 arsenic, arsenious acid. It has been 

 recommended for dustmg grain after 

 brining, but should never be used ; 

 for other substances, as blue vitriol, 

 answer muchbetter, and are not so 

 dangerous. 



WHITE CEDAR. See Cedar. 



WHITE CROPS. Grain crops; 

 the Cerealia. They are exhausting, 

 from the quantity of seed they form, 

 and are foul crops, from allowing 

 weeds to grow among them. White 

 crops require to be followed by clean 

 crops, and should be preceded by root 

 crops, as far as practicable. 



WHITE-LEAD. Carbonate of 

 lead, a valuable pigment, but liable to 

 adulteration with sulphate of barytes. 

 This is detected by mixing a sample 

 with dilute nitric acid, which will dis- , 

 solve all the true white -lead and 

 leave the barytes. It is the basis of' 

 all colours used in common painting. ! 



WHITE PRECIPITATE. A vio- i 

 lent mercurial poison, used in oint- 

 ments for destroying vermin. 



WHITE ROOT. Asclcpias tnbe- 

 rosa. Colic or pleurisy root ; but- 

 terfly weed. It is used in domestic 

 practice as a cathartic, diaphoretic, 

 and expectorant. 



WHITE SCOUR. Diarrhoea, 



WHITE THORN. The haw- 

 thorn. 



^\HITE TOP. Agrostis alba. A 

 grass very similar to red top. 



WHLl E SWELLING. An indo- 

 lent, scrofulous tumour, usually sit- 



WHITE WOOD. The tulip-tre«. 

 WHITING. Prepared chalk, for 

 cleaning brasses and silver. 



WHITLOW. A painful inflamma- 

 tion near the bone, tending to suppu- 

 ration. 



WHITLOW GRASS. The genus 

 Draba : cruciferous plants, some of 

 which are ornamental. 



WHORL. In botany, an arrange- 

 ment of leaves orother organs around 

 the stem, and apparently on the same 

 level, as the leaves of madder. 



WHORTLEBERRY. The genus 

 Vaccinium, yielding the berries called 

 bilberries, huckleberries, and whor- 

 tleberries. The plants are small 

 shrubs, often evergreen, and growing 

 in rocky v.'astes or boggy places. The 

 leaves contain much tannin, and turn 

 red when dead. They are readily 

 propagated by root suckers, by root 

 or stem cuttings, or seed. 



WICKET GATE. A small, light 

 gate for the passage of men and hor- 

 ses onlv. and not for wagons. 



WILD INDIGO. Baptisia tincto- 

 ria. A perennial leguminous plant, 

 with wedge-ovate leaves, and yellow 

 terminal racemes, flowering in July. 

 It grows three feet high, is common 

 in the woods throughout the States, 

 and affords a good amount of indigo 

 dye. 



AVILDING. Young trees produ- 

 ced from seeds naturally distributed. 

 WILD PEAR. The June beriy- 

 WILD RICE. Zizania aqualica. 

 Water oats. See Rice, wild. 



863 



