SET 



SET 



knowledges the juftice of the plaintiff's demand on the one 

 hand ; but, on the other, fets up a demand of his own, to 

 counterbalance that of the plaintiff, either in the whole, or 

 in part : as, if the plaintiff fues for ten pounds due on a 

 note of hand, the defendant may fet-off nine pounds due 

 to himfelf for merchandize fold to the plaintiff ; and, in 

 cafe he pleads fuch let-off, mutt pay the remaining balance 

 into court. This anfwers very nearly to the compenfatlo, or 

 ftoppage, of the civil law, and depends upon the itatutes 

 2 Geo. II. cap. 22. and 8 Geo. II. cap. 24. 



Set-o^, in Inland Navigation, is a recefs, as I K [Plate I. 

 Canals, Jigs. 3 and 6. ), on the bank of a canal> and has the 

 fame meaning with bench or berm. 



St.T-Bolts,'\n zShip. See Bolts. 



To Set fail. See Sail, and Setting. 



SETACEUS Vermis, in Natural Hiftory, a name 

 given by Dr. Lifter to that long and flender water-worm, 

 which fo much refembles a horfe-hair, that it has been fup- 

 pofed by the vulgar to be an animated hair of that crea- 

 ture. Thefe creatures, fuppofed to be living hairs, are a 

 peculiar fort of infefts, which are bred and nourifhed within 

 the bodies of other infefts, as the worms of the ichneumon- 

 flies are in the bodies of the caterpillars. See Amphisb^na 

 ^quatica. 



SETAH, in Botany, a name ufed by the oldeft writers 

 for the acacia. It is an original Hebrew word, and is ex- 

 plained by the lexicographers, by a thorn growing in the 

 defert. It is rendered by Theodotion acantha, one of the 

 names of the acacia. 



SETAPOUR, in Geography, a town of Hindooftan, in 

 Golconda ; 30 miles N.N.W. of Rachore. 



SETARIA, in Botany, from feta, a briftle, a name 

 given by Acharius, in his Prodromus Lichenographise 

 Suecicx, to the 27th tribe of the great genus Lichen. 

 It comprehends feven fpecies, of what have ufually been 

 termed filamentous lichens, as jubatus, chalybeifortnis, &c. 



See LiCHENES. 



SE-TCHEOU, in Geography, a city of China, of the 

 firft rank, in Koei-tcheou, in a mountainous country, yield- 

 ing cinnabar and quickfilver ; 982 miles S.S.W. of Peking. 

 N. lat. 27" 10'. E. long. 108^. 



SE-TCHIN, a town of China, of the fecond rank, in 

 Quang.fi ; 1 167 miles S.S.W. of Peking. S. lat. 22° 48'. 

 E. long. 136^ 31'. 



SE-TCHING, or Se-tchim, a city of China, of the 

 firft rank, in Quang-fi ; i ioo,miles S.S.W. of Peking. N. 

 lat. 24° 17'. E. long. 105° 54'. 



SE-TCHUEN, a province of China, bounded on the 

 N. by Chen-fi, on the E. by Hou-quang, on the S. by 

 Koei-tcheou, and on the W. by the kingdom of Thibet and 

 fome other neighbouring countries. This province compre- 

 hends, befides a great number of forts and Itrong places, 

 10 cities of the firil clafs, and 88 of tlie fecond and third. 

 The great river Yang-tfe-kiang traverfes Sc-tchuen, wliich 

 is opulent, not only on account of the abundance of filk it 

 produces, but alfo for its mines of iron, tin, and lead ; its 

 amber, fugar-canes, loadftone, lapis lazuli, mufl<, and horfes, 

 which are in great requeft ; alfo for its rhubarb, and the 

 root fou-Un, which the Cliincfe phyfician<; introduce into all 

 their prefcriptions ; and for a thoufand other ufeful produc- 

 tions, which it would be tedious to mention. Thir. province, 

 which is at a great diftance from the fea, obtains the fait 

 which it confumes from its mountains, where the inhabitants 

 dig pits, that furnifh them with it in great abundance. Its 

 capital is Tching-tou ; which fee. The population of this 

 province, according to fir John Staunton, is eltimated .nt 



27>000)000 



SETEEF, a towm of Africa, anciently called Sitiphat 

 and capital of a part of Mauritania, which made a llout 

 refiftance againft the Saracens. There is fcarcely one frag- 

 ment left, either of the ancient walls, pillars, or cillerns of 

 the Romans ; the few remaining ftruftures being obvioufly 

 the work of the later inhabitants. The fountains, which 

 continue to flow very plentifully near the centre of the city, 

 are equally delightful and convenient ; and without doubt 

 gave occafion formerly for many ingenious and ufeful con- 

 trivances in the diftribution of the water ; 50 miles S.W. of 

 Conftantina. N. lat. 35° 58'. E. long. 5° 36*. 



SETERRA, or Setres, a town of Africa, on the 

 Grain Coaft. 



SETHIANS, Sethedians, Sethiani, or Sethinianl, in 

 Ecclcfiajlical Hiftory, a branch of the ancient Gnollics ; 

 thus called, becaule of their pretending to deduce their 

 origin from Seth, fon of Adam, whom they called Jefus 

 and Chriit ; from an opinion, that Seth and Jefus were the 

 fame perfon, who came down from heaven at two feveral 

 times. 



As the Sethians had the fame philofophy with the other 

 Gnoftics, they had numerous other fables in their fyllena. 

 They pretended to have feveral books of the ancient patri- 

 archs ; particularly, feven of their great mafter Seth ; be- 

 fides one of Abraham, which was full of manifeft falfities, 

 which yet they called /Ipocalypfe, or Revelation. The book 

 called the " Little Genefis," anciently very common in the 

 churches of the Eait, was borrowed from them. From 

 this book they learned the name of Seth's wife, who, they 

 fay, was called Horaa. Some imagine, they borrowed a 

 great many of their fiftions from the Hellenift .Tews. 



SETH RON, in Geography, a town of E^ypt, on the 

 S. coaft of the lake Menzalch ; 16 miles W. of Tineh. 



SETICAUDiE, in Natural Hiftory, a term ufed to 

 exprefs fuch flies as have one or more hairs growing out at 

 their tails. There are many fpecies of thefe diftinguifhed 

 by their having one, two, or three hairs. 



SETIER. See Septier. 



SETINES, in Geography. See Athens. 



SETIO, a mountain in the E. part of the Tyrolefe. 



SETLANA, a town of Hindooftan, in the circar of 

 Sirowy ; 35 miles N. W. of Sirowy. 



SETLE', a town of Turkifh Armenia ; 30 miles S.W. 

 of Akalzike. 



SETLEDGE, a river of Hindooftan, which rifes in the 

 mountains of Thibet, and runs into the Indus, near Veh, 

 anciently called Hefudrus. 



SETON, a river of Spain, which runs into the Gallego, 

 in the province of Aragon. 



vSirroN, Setaceum, denotes, in Surgery, a fltein of filk 

 or thread, introduced through a part of the flefh by means 

 of a needle, and left there fo as to keep up a continual dif- 

 charge of matter, and a degree of counter-irritation, with a 

 view of relieving or curing a variety of difeafes. In a few 

 cafes, fetonsare employed on another principle. When fiuufe* 

 and fiftulae have loft all difpofition to heal, ia confcquencc 

 of a want of aftion in the parts affeCled, a feton, palTed 

 through the track of the difeafe, will fometimes excite 

 a falutary kind of inflammation, which brings on the 

 healing procefs. Great judgment, however, is ncceffary 

 in the application of a feton to this purpofe ; for, unlefs 

 the (inus be prevented from healing merely by the caufc 

 above fpecificd, namely, a want of ai^ion in the parth, no 

 fuccefs can be expedled to attend the praftice, and the 

 patient will be put to much unneceffary pain and incon- 

 venience. 



A fetOR is «lfo fometimes employed as a means of dif- 

 Xx 2 charging 



