T A i» 



vided with the nfccflary materials, and fngagiiifr proper 

 workmen, and rifking a very confidcrablc cxpeiice, fuc- 

 ceeded in eftablifhing this important and idcful manufafture, 

 infomuch that, in 1757, he obtained a premium from the 

 Society of Arts, &c. for the bed carpet in imitation of the 

 Turkey carpets ; and by his ingenuity and porfeverance in 

 bringing this manufafture to perfedion, it is nou- arrived at 

 a very high degree of reputation. 



Mr. Whitby and Mr. Paflfavant were alfo lionoured with 

 premiums for carpets of their manufafture by the Society 

 of Arts in 1757 and 1758. We have alfo manufaftorics 

 for carpets that are much efteemed at Axminller and Wil- 

 ton ; not to mention thofe of Kidderminiler and other 

 places. 



TAPETI, in Zoology, the name of an animal common 

 in the Weft Indies, and called by fome cumruliis Americanus, 

 the American rabbit. In the Linnsean fyftem, this animal 

 is a fpecies of hare, or lepus Brafillenjis. (See Lepus.) It 

 lias large ears like the common hare ; a white ring round the 

 neck, though fome have not this ring ; the face of a rcddilh 

 colour ; the chin white, the eyes black ; colour of the body 

 like that of the common hare, but darker ; the body whitilh, 

 without a tail. Thefe animals inhabit Brafil, live in woods, 

 do not burrow, are very prolific, and afford good meat. 

 The tapeti is found alfo in Mexico, where it is called citli. 

 Pennant. 



TAPHICESIUS Lapis, a name given by Pliny and 

 the ancients to a fpecies of jEtites, or eagle-ftone, found in a 

 place of that name near Leucadia. 



TAPHNEUS, a word ufed by fome writers to exprefs 

 r.ny thing when depurated or purified to the greateft degree, 

 as the falts, by repeated folutions and cryftallizations, and 

 the like. Paracelfus ufes it for a fpecies of earth, the things 

 produced from which, he fays, never alter their nature by 

 calcination or reverberation, or the hke operations. 



TAPHNIS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Egypt, 

 mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah, to which he and the 

 Ifraelites that were with him retired. 



TAPHRA, a town fituated in the ifthmus of the Tau- 

 ric Cherfonefus, mentioned by Pliny and Strabo. 



TAPHROS, a name which was given to the ftrait that 

 fepar;ites the idand of Sardinia from that of Corfica. 



TAPHRURA, orTAPHRA, a town of Africa Propria, 

 upon the gulf of Numidia. 



TAPHUA, a town of Palefline, in the tribe of Juda. 

 — Alfo, a town of Paleftine, which belonged to the tribe 

 of Ephraim, and was fituated upon the frontier of that of 

 ManafTeh. 



TAPIA, in Botany, an American name, adopted by 

 Plumier from Pifo. See Crateva. 



Tapia, in Geography, a town of South America, in the 

 kingdom of New Granada, and province of St. Martha. 



TAPIAN Point, a cape on the W. coaft of Mindanao. 

 N. lat. 7°. E. long. 124° 30'. 



TAPIAU, a town of Pruflia, in Samland, on the Pregel ; 

 20 miles E.S.E. of Konigfberg. N. lat. 54° 36'. E. long. 

 21° 13'. 



TAPICURU, a river of Brafil, which runs into the 

 fea, S, lat. 12° 20'. 



TA-PI-HOTUN, a town of Corea ; 690 miles E. of 

 Peking. N. lat. 40° 20'. E. long. 125° 22'. 



TAPINOSIS, TxTiiv^^t.-, in Rhetoric, the fame with di- 

 minution ; which fee. 



TAPION, Le, in Geography, a town on the W. coaft 

 of Hifpaniola 5 10 miles E. of St. Marc. 



TAPIR, or Tapijerete of Marcgrave, in Zoology, the 

 name of an animal found in fome parts of America, and 



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called by tlic Portuguefe anln, by others lianta, by Dainpier 

 yache montagnarile, and by otiiers <'/rtn, m<\ fiu nrjualicui, and 

 in the tenth edition of the Linna;an Syftem, hippopottimut ter- 

 rejlris. Gmelin makes it a dillind genus ; and his generic 

 charafters, amended by Dr. Shaw, are as follow ; front 

 teeth in both jaws ten ; canine teeth in botii jaws lingle, incur- 

 vated ; grinders in both jaws five on eacli fide, very broad ; 

 feet witii three hoofs, and a falfe hoof on the fore-feet. 

 This animal {Tapir Americanus) is of the fizc of a young 

 calf, or iieifer, and in fhape fomewhat approaching to the 

 figure of the liog, and the back arched ; its head is tiiicker 

 than a hog's, and ends in a iharp ridge at top ; and the male 

 has a fnout, or fort of probofcis, lianging over the opening 

 of the moutli, in wliich he has a vi ry itrong mufcle, (erving 

 to retraft it at pleafure ; the nofe of the female is deftitutc 

 of the probofcis, (this circumftance is doubted by Sonnini,) 

 and the jaws are of equal length; its eyes are fmall, and 

 very hke thofe of the hog; its ears roundifh, bordered with 

 white ; and thefe he can draw forward at pleafure ; its legs 

 arc thick, and not longer than thofe of our hogs ; its fore- 

 hoofs are divided into three portions ; and a lort of falfe 

 hoof behind ; but its hind-hoofs into three ; its tail i* ver* 

 fmall ; the (kin is hard and folid ; and the hair (liort, and of 

 a pale brown, and when yoimg, variegated with white fpots ; 

 and along the neck is a brillly mane, an inch and a half high. 

 It lives in thick woods, on the eaftern fide of South Amenca, 

 from the iithmusof Darien to the river of the Amazons ; and 

 fleeps all day, but at night, or early in the morning, goes out 

 for its prey : it feeds on vegetables, and is particularly fond 

 of the ftalks of the fugar-cane ; it often takes the water, 

 and fwims excellently : the natives, in places where it it 

 common, eat its flefti, which is faid to be good : the In- 

 dians (hoot it with poifoned arrows, and cut the /kin into 

 bucklers. This animal is falacious, flow-footed, and (luggifti, 

 and makes a kind of hilfing noife ; but perfectly harmkfs : 

 the young are eafily tamed, and may be rendered domellic, 

 which is laid to be the cafe in fome piu-ts of Guiana. When 

 attacked by dogs, it makes a vigorous refiftance. The tapif 

 produces but one young at a birth, of which it is very care- 

 ful, leading it at an early age to the fea, and inftrufting it 

 to fwim. Ray and Pennant. 



TAPIRIA, in Botany, .luft. 372, (lightly altered from 

 the ftill more barbarous Tapirira, Aubl. Guian. 470. t. 188, 

 which is itfelf an alteration of the Caribbean name Tupiriri, 

 by which this tree is known in Guiana. See Jonquetia. 



TAPIR-TALA, in Geography, a town of Chinefc 

 Tartary. N. lat. 43° 15'. E. long. 120° 39'. 

 TAPIS. See Tunica. 

 TAPE, in Geography. See Topel. 

 TAPLAKEN, a town of Pruffia, in Samland, on the 

 Pregel ; 24 miles E. of Konigfberg. 



TAPLEYS, a town of North Carolina ; 12 miles N.E. 

 of Hillfborough. 



TAPLINGS, in the Engli/h Salt-Worts, Uie name giten 

 to certain bars of iron which fupport the bottom of the 

 pan in which the brine is boiled. 



Thefe pans are very large, and cover a wide furnace ; 

 but as their width would make them apt to bend in the mid- 

 dle, which would fpoil the working of the fait, there is a 

 fort of wall of brick carried along the middle of the fur' 

 nace, and on the top of this are placed thefe t^phngs : they 

 are about eight inches high, and from four to fix in ihicknefs, 

 being fmalleit at the top. Thefe are placed at about thre* 

 feet diftance one from another, and the wall wiiich fupports 

 them, and which is called the mid father, is broad at the 

 bafe, and fo narrow at the top, as bwely W give room for 

 ttte bafes of the tapUugt. 



TAPOA- 



