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393 



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turps were formerly duplicates laid toge 

 ther and indented, so that the two papers 

 or parchments corresponded to each other 

 But the indenting is now rarely done 

 though the writings or counterparts re- 

 tain the name of indentures. 



INDEPENDENTS, a sect of Protestant dis 

 senters, who maintain that every con 

 gregation of Christians is a complete 

 Church, subject to no superior authority, 

 and competent to perform every act of 

 government in ecclesiastical affairs. 



INDETER'MINATE, not determined. An 

 indeterminate quantity is one whose value 

 is not determined. An indeterminate pro- 

 blem is one which admits of many solu- 

 tions, and that branch of algebra which 

 investigates the nature and properties of 

 such problems, constitutes indeterminate 

 analysis. In botany, when a stem is never 

 terminated by a flower, or any other or- 

 ganic cause of stopping its growth. 

 IN'DEX, a pointer. 1. In anatomy, the 



forefinger. 2. In algebra, the same as 



exponent (q. v.). 3. In literature, an 



alphabetical table of the contents of a 



book. 1. In music, a direct. 5. The 



index of a globe is the little style or gnomon 

 fitted on the north pole, which, by turn- 

 ing with the globe, serves to point to 

 certain divisions of the hour circle. 



INDEX EXI-CROATC'RIVS, a catalogue, 

 published annually at Rome, of works 

 which the Church of Borne condemns as 

 heretical. 



INDEX or REFRAC'TION. In optics, is the 

 constant ratio which exists between the 

 sines of the angl-'s of incidence and re- 

 fraction. 



INDIAN INK, a substance composed of 

 lampblack and glue, and used for water 

 colour. 



INDIAN OAK, the Teak-wood (Tectona 

 grandis), an Eist Indian tree. 



INDIAN REP, a variety of ochre. It is 

 a tine purple earth of compact texture 

 and great spec: tic gravity. 



INDIAN RUBBER, a name for caoutchouc 

 (q. v.), because used for rubbing out pencil 

 marks, &c. The Indian rubber tree is the 

 Jicus elastica, a tree common in the East 

 Indies. 



INDIAN WHEAT, theZeamayz.or Indian 

 corn. See MJ.IZE. 



INDICA'TOR, from index. An extensor 

 muscle of the forefinger In ornithology, 

 a genus of birds of the cuckoo tribe. 



INDICATIVE, from indico. The name in 

 grammar for the first mood of a verb by 

 which we simply affirm, deny, or indi- 

 cate something. 



INDICA'VIT (Lat.), he has sAoicn. In law, 

 a species of the writ of prohibition. 



INDIC'TION , from indico. A term in chro- 

 nology for a cycle of fifteen years, insti- 

 tuted by Constantino the Great, originally 

 a period of taxation. The origin i thus 



stated : Constantine having reduced the 

 time which the Romans were obliged to 

 serve in the army to fifteen years, im- 

 posed a tax or tribute at the end of that 

 term to pay the troops discharged. The 

 practice introduced the keeping of ac- 

 counts by this period ; and ultimately the 

 Council of Nice ordained that accounts of 

 years should no longer be kept by olym- 

 piads but by indictions, and fixed A.D. 313 

 as the commencement. At the reforma- 

 tion of the calendar, the year 1582 was 

 reckoned the 10th year of the indiction, 

 and as 1582 divided by 15, gives a remain- 

 der 7, which is 3 less than the indiction, 

 the same must hold in all subsequent 

 years. Hence to find the indiction for 

 any year, divide the date by 15, and 

 the remainder increased by 3 is the in- 

 diction. Thus for the year 1842 we have 

 - fP = 122f|; therefore 12 + 3 = 15 is 

 the indiction. 



INDICT'MENT, from indico. A written 

 accusation or formal charge of a crime or 

 misdemeanor, preferred by a grand jury, 

 under oath to a court ; also the paper or 

 parchment containing the charge. 



IN'DIGO, the drug which yields the beau- 

 tiful blue dye known also by the name of 

 indigo. It is obtained by maceration in 

 water of certain tropical plants ; but the 

 indigo of commerce is almost entirely ob- 

 tained from leguminous plants of the 

 genus Indigofera : that cultivated in In- 

 dia being the /. tinctorial, and that in 

 America, the I. anil. Some species of the 

 Isatis,Xeriwn, and Pol 'ygonum, also afford 

 indigo in small quantity. 



INDIGOF'ERA, indigo-bearing plants. An 

 extensive genus. Diadelphia Decandria. 

 Many of the species are cultivated for the 

 manufacture of indigo. 



IN'DIGOGEN, reduced or deoxidised in- 

 digo. It is a white substance soluble in 

 alcohol and alkalis, but not in water or 

 acids. 



INDIGOM'ETRY, the method of finding 

 the colouring power of indigo. This is 

 effected by finding the amount of chlo- 

 rine necessary to discolour a given quan- 

 tity of the indigo. 



INDIVID'UAL. In fine arts, what is pro- 

 per or peculiar to a single object. 



INDIVISIBLES. In geometry, those small 

 elements or principles into which any 

 body or figure may be resolved. Accord- 

 g to the method of indivisibles, a line 

 is said to consist of contiguous points, a 

 surface of contiguous lines, and a solid of 

 contiguous surfaces, all of which are re- 

 garded as indivisible elements. 



INDORSE' from in and dorsuw.theback. 

 To write on the back of a deed or other 

 written instrument ; hence also to assign 

 by writing an order on the back of a note 

 or bill. He who writes the indorsement 



