GLOSSARY 



OF THE AGRICULTURAL, BOTANICAL, CHEMICAL, GEOLOGI- 

 CAL, AND OTHER NOT-EASILY-UNDERSTOOD WX)RDS AND 

 PHRASES. 



For many other words, which are fully explained in the body of the 

 Work, see Index. 



Abeel, or Abele, an old name for the white poplar ; the silverleaf. 



Absorption, the conversion of a gaseous fluid into a liquid or solid. 



Acetate, a salt, formed by the combination of any base with acetic acid. 



Acetate of lead, sugar of lead. 



Acetic acid, concentrated vinegar. 



Acids, a class of chemical substances, which are so called from their 

 taste. They change vegetable blue colors to red. When they 

 combine with alkalies, or the metallic oxides and earths, they form 

 the compounds called salts. Mineral acids are those which are 

 produced from a union of oxygen gas with mineral substances, as 

 sulphur. 



Acreable, to the acre ; having reference to an acre. 



AeriforMt having the form and nature of an elastic invisible fluid, like 

 air. 



^ther, a volatile liquid, formed of alcohol and an acid. 



Affinity, relationship ; a force by which substances of different kinds 

 unite. 



Aftermath, Lattermath, or Rowen, terms which express the second 

 crop of grass. 



Agriculture, the cultivation and management of the soil, on the scale 

 of a farm, by animal and manual labor and steam-power, for the 

 production of materials useful for the food and service of man, and 

 for various purposes in arts, manufactures, and civilized life. 



Aggregation, accumulation, as of water in a spongy soil. 



Agrostis, the name of the genus, of which bent grass, red top, white 

 top, and some other grasses, are species. The name is from ^^yowrt- 

 rtg, Agrostis, herbage, grass, pasture ; it being an herbage grass, 

 and principally confined to fields and pastures. 



Albumen, a fluid found in living bodies, which coagulates by heat. 

 White of egg is an example. 



Alcohol, rectified spirits of wine. 



Aliment, that which nourishes animals or vegetables ; the nutritive sub- 

 stance of food, dissolved and blended with the juices of the stom- 

 ach, or the moisture of the soil, and converted into chyle or sap, by 



