OUT 



For a species of sheep called the dwarf 

 sheep, see Mammalia, Plate XVII. fig- 5. 

 OUNCE, a little weight, the sixteenth 

 part of a pound avoirdupois, and the 

 twelfth part of a pound troy : the ounce 

 avoirdupois is divided into eight drachms, 

 and the ounce troy into twenty penny- 

 weights. The avoirdupois ounce is less 

 than the troy ounce, but the avoirdupois 

 pound is greater than the troy pound. 

 One hundred and seventy-five troy ounces 

 are equal to one hundred and ninety-two 

 avoirdupois ounces ; but one hundred 

 and forty-four pounds avoirdupois are 

 equal to one hundred and seventy-five 

 pounds troy. Therefore one pound avoir- 

 dupois, is equal to one pound, two ounces, 

 eleven pennyweights, sixteen grains troy. 

 See WEIGHT. 



OVOLO, or OVUM, in architecture, a 

 convex conic section, consisting of the 

 elliptical, hyperbolical, or parabolical 

 curves. It is generally used as a crown- 

 ing member in the Grecian Doric, and 

 when carved with the egg and dart, is 

 termed Echinus. 



OUSTED, in law, means put out, or 

 removed, as ouster of possession as to 

 lands. 



OUTLAWRY, is being put out of the 

 law, or out of the king's protection. It is 

 a punishment inflicted for a contempt in 

 refusing to be amenable to the process 

 of the higher courts. By outlawry in 

 civil actions, a person is so put out of the 

 protection of the law, that he is not 

 only incapable of suing for the redress of 

 of injuries, but may be imprisoned, and 

 forfeits all his goods and chatties, and the 

 profits of his land ; his personal chattels 

 immediately upon the outlawry, and his 

 chattels real and the profits of his lands 

 when found by inquisition. Proceeding 

 to outlawry is usually had in civil suits 

 where an action is brought against two 

 partners, and one is abroad ; it is then ne- 

 cessary to outlaw him before the other 

 can be proceeded against. 



OUTWORKS, in fortification, all those 

 works made without side the ditch of a 

 fortified place, to cover and defend it. 

 Outworks, called also advanced and de- 

 tached works, are those which not only 

 serve to cover the body of the place, but 

 also to keep the enemy at a distance, and 

 prevent his taking advantage of the cavi- 

 ties and elevations usually found in the 

 places about the counterscarp, which 

 might serve them either as lodgments, or 

 as rideatix, to faci litute the carrying on their 

 trenches, and planting their batteries 

 against the place : such are ravelines, ten- 

 VOL, V. 



OXA 



allies, horn-works, velopes, crown-works, 

 &c. His a general rule in all outworks, that 

 if there be several of them, one before ano- 

 ther, to cover one and the same tenaille 

 of a place, the nearer ones must, gradu- 

 ally, one after another, command those that 

 are further advanced out into the cam- 

 paign, that is, must have higher ramparts, 

 that so they may overlook and fire upon, 

 the beseigers when they are masters of 

 the more outward works. 

 OWL. See STRIX. 

 OX. See Bos. 



OXALIC acid, in chemistry, is found 

 native in some acid vegetable juices, and 

 rather plentifully in the " oxalis itcetocel- 

 la," or " wood-sorrel, and in other plants 

 of the same genus ; it is naturally united 

 with a quantity of potash, not sufficient 

 for complete saturation, forming what 

 has been long known under the name of 

 " Essential salt of sorrel." The oxalic, 

 acid is prepared artificially by boiling a 

 sufficient quantity of nitric acid with a 

 variety of vegetable and animal sub- 

 stances, such as sugar, mucilage, alco- 

 hol, animal jelly, &c. Take sugar as 

 an example : one ounce in powder is 

 put into a retort, with three ounces of 

 strong nitric acid. During the solution, 

 great quantities of the nitrous acid 

 escapes : heat is to be applied till the 

 nitrous gas is driven off'. Three ounces 

 more of nitric acid are to be added, and 

 the boiling continued till the fumes cease, 

 and the colour of the liquor vanishes. 

 Pour out the liquor into a wide shallow 

 vessel, and, when it cools, crystals will 

 be formed, which may be collected and 

 dried on unsized paper. The crystals 

 thus obtained may again be dissolved in. 

 distilled water, and evaporated, to obtain 

 new crystals. In this way oxalic acid 

 may be obtained from the substances 

 above enumerated, and many others, as 

 alcohol, gum, honey, &c. Prepared in this 

 way, oxalic acid is in a concrete state, 

 crystallized in four-sidc.d prisms, termi- 

 nated in two sided summits. They are 

 white and transparent, and have conside- 

 rable lustre. They have a sharp taste, 

 and change vegetable blues into a red, 

 colour, and produce the same effect on 

 all vegetables, excepting indigo. The 

 acid properties of this substance are so 

 strong, that one part of concrete oxalic 

 acid gives to 3,600 parts of water the pro- 

 perty of reddening paper stained with turn- 

 sole. When exposed to heat it is vola- 

 tilized, partly m a liquid, and also in a 

 crystaline form. It cannot be decompos- 

 ed but by a very great heat. It is deti- 

 M 



