GLOSSARY. 303 



Cycht a circle ; a round of time ; an astronomical term for a contin- 

 ual revolution, or rolling about, of certain numbers, which success- 

 ively go on, without any interruption, from the first to the last, and 

 then return again to the first, and so circulate perpetually; as the 

 twelve hours of the day successively go on, from one to twelve, 

 and then begin again with one, and so on, continually. 



Dale, a low place between hills ; a vale ; a valley. 



Deciduous, falling off. Trees, whose leaves fall off in the Autumn, are 

 deciduous ; those, which retain their leaves in the Winter, are called 

 persistent, or evergreen. 



Decomposition, separation of the constituent principles of compound 

 bodies. 



Depasture, to eat up ; to consume ; to feed ; to graze. 



Deteriorate, to render, or become, less valuable. 



Dog''s-iail grass, a species of the genus Cynosurus. 



Drags, the teeth of a harrow, which slant backwards. 



Drill, in husbandry, to sow grain in rows, drills, or channels ; the 

 row of grain so sowed. 



Drill-barrow, a machine to sow small seeds in a garden, in rows. 



Drill-plough, a machine for sowing seeds in drills. 



Drought, dryness of the weather, and the effect produced by it on the 

 soil, in preventing the growth of plants. 



Dry Crops, those which mature their seeds before they are gathered, 

 as wheat, rye, barley, &c. They are considered the most exhaust- 

 ing crops. 



Earth, see p. 35. • 



Earthy, composed, or partaking, of earth ; consisting of earth. 



Effervescence, an intense motion, which takes place in certain bodies, 

 caused by the escape of a gaseous substance. 



Effete, old, barren, worn out with age, deprived of some of its prop- 

 erties. Lime is so called, when it has long been slaked. 



Efflorescence, the pulverulent form of saline bodies, produced by ex- 

 posure to the air, in consequence of losing their water of crystalliza- 

 tion. 



Elaborate, improved by successive endeavors or operations ; produc- 

 ed with labor ; finished with great diligence. 



To Elaborate food, to digest it in the stomach, and prepare it to be 

 converted into blood. 



Elaboration, improvement, by successive operations. 



El Dorado, a fabulous or imaginary country, in which gold, and silver, 

 and precious stones, are said to be as common as rocks and sand, ia 

 other countries. 



Elements are, properly, the simple constituent parts of bodies, inca- 

 pable of decomposition, or further division. 



Embouchure, the mouth or outlet of a river, where it empties into the 

 sea or lake. 



Endemic, peculiar to a country or district. 



Epidermis, the hull, or outer skin ; the scarfskin ; the outer bark. 



Equilibrio, equilibrium or equipoise, equality of weight. 



Essences, the essential oils, obtained by distillation, from odoriferous 

 vegetable substances. 



