IRE 



the hind legs compared with the fore- 

 ones. There is but one species known 

 si/e of a small rabbit and of a mouse grey 

 HT'RAX, a genus of Pachydermous 

 mammalia ; the damans, long placed 

 among the Rodentia on account of their 

 small size. They are rhinoceroses in mi 

 niature, the horn excepted. 



H\'SON, a species of green tea, of which 

 there are three varieties, hyson, young 

 hyson, and hyson skin. These, with impe- 

 rial, constitute the second and tliird spring 

 crops of the tea plant. 

 HYSTER'IA, (from utr-n^at, the womb. 

 HYSTER'ICS, j A disease of women, cha- 

 racterised by spasmodic affections of the 

 nervous system, and which was formerly 

 supposed to proceed from the womb. 



HYS'TERON PBOT'ERON, -Ja-Ttfov, last, 

 Tgars^oti, first. A rhetorical figure, in 

 which that word which should follow is 

 put first: vulgarly, the cart before the 

 horse. 



HYSTEROT'OMY, from ufneee,, the womb, 

 and n u-tco. to cut. The Caesarian operation. 

 HYSTRICI'ASIS, from vp-rfi'yZ, a porcu- 

 pine. A singular disease o'f the hairs, in 

 which they stand erect like porcupines' 

 quills. 



HYS'TRIX, itrry/Z,, a porcupine. A ge- 

 nus of mammiferous animals. Order Ko- 

 dentia. The porcupines are readily known 

 by the stiff and sharp spines or quills with 

 which they are armed, like the hedge- 

 hog. They live in burrows, and have 

 many of the habits of the rabbit. To 

 their grunting voice, and thick truncated 

 muzzle, they are indebted for being com 

 pared to the pig, and for their correspond- 

 ing French appellation, pore-epic (whence 

 porcupine}. The true or common porcu- 

 pine (If. cristata, Lin.) inhabits the south 

 of Europe, and is also found in Barbary. 

 From this are separated the Athenmis, 

 Cuv., the F.retison, F. Cuv., and the Syne- 

 there*, F. Cur. 



I. 



I, the ninth letter and the third vowel 

 of the English alphabet. As a numeral it 

 stands for one, whether alone or com- 

 bined with other numeral letters. Placed 

 before V or X it subtracts itself, and the 

 numerals denote one less than the V or 

 the X, but when it is placed after V or 

 X, it denotes the addition of a unit. 



IAM'BIC (Eng.), for Fr. iambique, \ A po- 



IAM'BCS (Lat.), for Or. ictf*os- i etioal 

 foot consisting of two syllables, the first 

 short and the last long, as adore. Hence 

 verses composed of short and long sylla- 

 bles &fternately are termed iambict. 



I'EEX, a species of goat which inhabits 

 th*> most elevated situations of the east- 

 rn eminent. The Capra ibex Lin 



17 ICE 



I'BIS, a genus of grallaceous birds of tl>p 

 longirostrine family, 'found only in warm 

 climates. The sacred ibis (/. religiosa, 

 Cuv.) was reared in the temples of ancient 

 Egypt, with a degree of respect bordering 

 on adoration, for some reason not well 

 known. It is found throughout Africa. 

 The red ibis inhabits the hot parts ot 

 America, and is remarkable for its bright 

 red colour. 



Ic. In chemistry, a particle used as a 

 termination of the names of those acids 

 which contain, in combination, the high- 

 est known quantity of the acidifying 

 principle. It is used also when there is 

 only one known acid combination of the 

 elements, as carbonic acid. See ACID. 



ICE, a solid, transparent, brittle body 

 formed by the congelation of a fluid by 

 abstraction of its heat of fluidity. The 

 term is applied only to water and analo- 

 gous fluids when frozen, and which are 

 liquid at all temperatures above 32 F. 



ICE'BERG, from ice, and Ger. berg, a hill. 

 A large mass or hill of ice floating upon 

 the sea. Icebergs are common in the po- 

 lar seas, and are often of enormous size, 

 sometimes 300 or 400 feet above water, 

 and consequently 2400 or 3200 feet below 

 water (the relative specific gravities of 

 the ice and water being such that every 

 foot of ice above the surface of the water 



rresponds to eight feet below.) When 

 floating ice is extended beyond the reach 

 of sight it is called^JeW-ic ; when smaller, 

 but still of very large dimensions, it is 

 called a floe; when a floe is broken up. 

 its fragments form a pack when they keep 

 closely together ; but drift-ice if they are 

 scattered. A portion of ice above the 

 common level forms a hwnmock; a de- 

 tached and lofty mass is an iceberg. 



ICE'BLINK, a name given by seamen to 

 a bright appearance in the horizon, occa- 

 sioned by the lightbeing reflected by fields 

 of ice obliquely into the atmosphere, and 

 seen before the ice itself is visible. 



ICE'BOAT, a boat employed on canals, 

 &c., to break the ice in frosty weather ; 

 "t is usually heavy laden and protected by 

 ron bows and keel. The improved ice- 

 boat breaks the ice upwards instead of 

 downwards, as in those of the common 

 :onstruction. The ice-boat is called a 

 boar or bore in Scotland, perhaps in allu- 

 lion to its mode of action. 



ICE'HOCSB, a subterranean apartment 

 'or the preservation of ice during sum- 

 mer. The ice should be closely packed, 

 nd surrounded with substances of low 

 onducting power, as straw, M-ool, &c. 



ICE'LAND-MOSS, a species of liver-wort, 

 the Cetaria Icelandica. 



ICE'LAND SPAR, calcareous spar in its 

 mrest form. It is used to exhibit the ep- 

 ical phenomenon of double refraction. 

 Sie CALCAREOUS SPAR. 



2 c 2 



