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which are in ji-eat vequtft among his countn'mcn. The 

 titles trnndated into Engllfli are, l. A Trtatifeon Wounds. 

 Z. A Dixourfe on the b-.fl method of conilruCling an 

 HofpitaL He read this difcoiii fe at a meeting of the royal 

 academy at Stoekliolm wlien he was cleclcd tlitir pre- 

 iident. 3. A Differtation on llie Metliod of depreflint; 

 the Cataniil, $vo. 1759, 1775, Stockholm. In this dil- 

 fertation lie defends his praclicc againil profelTor Walborn, 

 who had oppofcd him. A Difcourfe on feme alterations 

 and improvements in performing certain operations in Sur- 

 gei-}', and the initruments uled in performing thorn, was read 

 by liim to the royal academy on his being elefted prefident a 

 feconu time. 



ACREME, a term fometimes ufcd in ancient law-books 

 for ten acres. 



ACllEON, in E/itomology, a fpecies of papii.io, with 

 brown wings, the under part black and ocellated ; the hin- 

 der wings having a wliite margin, marked with a red band 

 and ridge of gold-coloured points. It is found in the 

 fouthern part of Ruifia. 



ACRI, in G^ogr.iphy, a town of Naples, in Calabria 

 Citra, five miles eail of Scalea. 



ACRIA, mylnch'iit Gi-ogi\ip!>y, a f;a-port town of Laconia, 

 fituate near the mouth of the Earot.is, oppofite to TrinalTus, 

 and not far from Gythium. 



ACRIBEIA, a Greek term aKfi,?=iv., literally denoting 

 an exquiiite or delicate accuracy ; it is fometimes ufed in 

 our language for want of a word of equal fignificancy. 



ACRID, in Natural H'ljtory, denotes any thing Iharp or 

 pungent to the tafle. Ancient NaturaliiU diftinguifli two 

 kinds of acrid talles ; the full proceeding from hot and diy, 

 as that of pepper ; the fecond from that of hot and moill, 

 as that of garlic. Acrid, according to Dr. Grew, pro- 

 perly belongs to the clafs of compound talles. It is not 

 limply four or pungent, as there are bodies not acrid, which 

 neverthelefs arc pungent, e. g. arum ; nor is it fnnply hot ; 

 for there are many hot bodies which are not acrid, as the 

 roots of zedoary, yarrow, and contrayerva. The characle- 

 riiUc, therefore, ot acritude confills in pungency joined 

 with heat. Acrid bodies applied to the (l<in inflame and 

 exulcerate it ; when chewed, they produce faliva, and when 

 fiiuffed, fneezing. Acrids may be divided into clafTes, ac- 

 cording to the manner in which they yield their acrimony. 

 I. By diftillatibn, as horfe-radilh, muflard, &c. 2. By 



infufion, as the greater Celandine, &c 



Neither by in- 



fuiion nor dillillation, as arum, &c. jlcrid iin-tlicine.t, as to 

 their general effeft, ferve to ftimulate the vefTels, and dif- 

 folve tenacious and vifcid juices. In leucophlegmatic ha- 

 bits they are powerful expectorants, deobilruents, diuretics, 

 and emmenagogues : and if the patient be kept warm, fu- 

 dorifics. In hot bilious temperaments, plethoric habits, in- 

 flammatory diftempers, and in cafes where the juices are too 

 thin and acrimonious, or the vifcera unlound, acrids are in- 

 jurious. See Stimulants. 



Some vegetables, which are either inodorous, or emit a 

 weak fmell, excite a local inflammation when applied frelh 

 to the ikin, but lofe their faculty in drying. When recently 

 gathered, and inwardly taken, they produce poifonous 

 effefts. Of this kind are the frcfh roots of fquills, the 

 leaves of fox-glove, of wild anemone, of virgin's bower, of 

 wolf s-bane, or monk's-hood ; the roots of blue orris, of 

 afphodel, or king's fpenr, of meadow fafFron, of white bry- 

 ony, or wild vine, and of wake-robin ; and the fruits of 

 •wild cucumber. As thefe fubfl;ances lofe their acrimony by 

 being well dried, the acrid matter which produces their 

 irritating eSeSt appears to be volatile ; aud this is farther 



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confirmed, by its Ijclng comnuinicattd to water and fj.ir.'t ^^ 

 wme, abilraited from thcni by didillation. Ilence it may 

 be infened, that this volatile matter is a parlicular, jiroxi- 

 mate, conllituent jiart, belonging to the vegetable kingdom; 

 and in order to dillinguidi it from other principles of a fimi- 

 lar kind, it has been denominated the acrh/ iiuilUr of f<lr,nls. 

 Its adlion is not dellioycd by acids nor by alkalies, and it is 

 not ammoniac in any form. In the antifcoibutic plants, 

 fucli as fcurvy-grais, water-creflls, ga'lic, onions, horfc- 

 radifli, common radifii, and mu Hard-feed, this acrid prin- 

 ciple is combined with oleaginous particles of an ethereal 

 nature, and its effeels feem to be weakened by this unior. 

 Tiieie are other plants which are not deprived by exiiccatiou 

 of the power of producing local inflammation, when out- 

 wardly applied to a living body ; and in thefe plants it feinis 

 to originate from their refmous parts; fwch, arc cuphor- 

 bium, or wart-wort, various parts of feveral fpecies of the 

 daphne, of the capfieum annunm, or Guinea-pepper, of the 

 pellitory of Spain, &c. Tiie acrid matter of Spanidi (lies 

 is cffentiallv dillincl from the acrid matter of vegetabks, as 

 it is not diilipated by drying, and cannot be extracted by 

 water ; though it may be obtained by fpirit of wine and 

 ether. It refembles the latter kind of acrid matter, and 

 fecms to be of a refinons nature. See Gren's Principles of 

 INIodern Chcmillr)-, vol. i. p. 420. vol. ii. p. 4J. 



Acrid fubllances conftitnte one clafs of Conuimf.-nts in' 

 the Materia Medica of Dr. Cullen, vol. i. p. 427. He dif- 

 tributes them into two kinds, v'i%. aromatic, imbued with 

 peculiar and pretty flrong odours, and the more fiMiple 

 acrids poffefling little pecuhar odour. Bcfides the Aroma- 

 tics, the acrid fubllances employed as condiments, are 

 efpecially taken from the clafs of tetradynamia plants ; and 

 they are chiefly the mullard and horfe-ra'dilh. Thefe ftimu- 

 late the ilomach and affift dlgellion ; and as they prom.ote 

 perfpiration and urine, they correft the putrefccnt tendency 

 of the fyilem, and hence vegetables of this clafs have been 

 denominated Antiscorbutic. Becanfe they pofl'efs this 

 quality, they are proper to be ufed witli our animal food, 

 as the aromatics are the fuitable condiments of our vegetable 

 aliments. ^ The plants of the gariic tribe are endued with a 

 fimilar acrimony. Thofe of the milder kind, as the onion 

 and leek, more efpecially when deprived of their acrimony,' 

 afford a confiderable quantity of nutritious matter; and' 

 thefe, together with the efchalot, and others, are very pro- 

 per condiments. Garlic, ufcd for the fame purpofc, ftrong- 

 ly ftimulates the ftomach, and promotes digellion. All the 

 plants of this order, as they ferve to promote perfpiration 

 and urine, are veiy properly joined with our animal food, 

 and may be referred to the clafs of antifcorbutics. Affa- 

 foetida may be alfo recommended as a condiment, that is 

 ufeful in promoting digellion. Of the more fimplc acrids, 

 the CAPSICUM, or pepper, is the moft commonly iifed. The 

 eating of acrid food, with a view to the en"e£ls above enume- 

 rated, was particukriy called by the Greeks dnmyphagia., 

 formed of opif/Df, acri(l, and ifsf) i', to eat. 



ACRIDtE, in Etito7)ir/!ogy, the name by which Lin- 

 nneus has dift;ingui(hed the firfl: family of the Gryllus, the 

 Truxariiks of Fabricius, or the cricket, properly fo 

 called : the chaiafters of which are, that the head is conical 

 and longer than the thorax, and the antenna; cnfifoiTn or 

 fword-fliaped. Of tiiis family there are eight fpecies, none 

 of which are found in Britain. The infedis of this family- 

 feed on other infeils. 



ACRIDOPHAGI, compounded of mi^v, hciijl, and 

 <p«yw, to eat., in Ancient Geography, a nation or people of 

 Ethiopia, inhabiting near the deferts, &c. who are faid to 



have 



