T R U 



T R U 



perl}' tlie piercers of this inftrument, are all entirely hid in 

 the Iheath which makes what we call the trunk ; and is the 

 only part we have naturally offered to our view. The 

 trunk appears to be cyhndric in the greater part of its 

 length, and is covered with fcales refembling fmall leaves. 

 Near its end it has an oblong button, furnifhed with an 

 aperture, out of which is occafionally thruft a fine point, 

 whicli is complex, being made up of a great number of 

 pointed bodies. 



The beft way to get a regular fight of the trunk of this 

 creature, and of its manner of uling it, is to fuffer a gnat 

 to fettle upon the hand, and not difturb him in the oper- 

 ation ; but with a magnifying-glafs in the other hand, to 

 obferve all his motions. In this cafe, we may firft fee a 

 fmall and llender point thrull out at the end of the cafe, 

 and the fly trying feveral different parts of the fivin with 

 this fharp inflrument : when it has done this, it choofes that 

 part which is mofl eafily pierced ; and where lies a vefTel 

 underneath, capable of furnlfhing as much blood as it will 

 have occafion to fuck. As foon as he has made his choice, 

 the wound is given ; and fince the point of the compound 

 piercer cannot be protruded fo far out of the cafe as is ne- 

 celTary for ilriking to a proper depth, the ufe of the flit in 

 this cafe is feen ; for while the button at the end of this 

 remains firmly applied to the orifice of the wound, where 

 the piercer is introduced, and fupports that delicate and 

 feeble inftrument from bending, the cafe opens at the flit, 

 and its two fides bend to give room for the piercer to pene- 

 trate ; and at length, when the piercer is funk to its utmoft 

 depth, the two extremities of each piece touch, and the 

 fides are brought clofe together. 



The feveral fpecies of gnats have great variety in their 

 trunks ; and in the obferving of many kinds, the true ftruc- 

 turc of that organ in all will be moft regularly and eafily 

 found. Some have the cafe of the piercers only one fingle 

 tube fplit lengthwife along its upper part ; others have this 

 flit made by the junftion of two cafes, which cover clofely 

 a great part of its circumference, and others have the two 

 tubes fo well adjufted, and nicely fitted to one another, 

 that a good glafs cannot difcover them from the reft of the 

 trunk, when in a ftate of reft ; but in others this ftrufture 

 is eafily difcoverable, as the extremity of one of them, when 

 beft fixed, is ftill to be difcovered fomewhat feparated from 

 the trunk, and adorned with a pencil of fhort hairs, hke thofe 

 of the antennae. The male gnats, which have their antennae 

 feathered, are thofe which have the plumes at the extremities 

 of thefe additional pieces of the cafe of the trunk ; and 

 thefe have not the beards which are found fituated over the 

 trunks of the other fpecies of gnats. 



In fome gnats four darts are thruft out occafionally from 

 the opening fide, one of which ferves as a fheath to the 

 other three. The fides of them are extremely fharp, and 

 they are barbed or indented towards the point. 



Out of the immenfe number of gnats that one fees in 

 fummer, in wet places, it is eafy to determine that very 

 few have any chance, even once in their lives, to fuck the 

 blood of larger animals. The reft, however, are far from 

 being doomed to perpetual famine ; the herbs of the field 

 afford them a fufRcient nourifliment ; for thefe, like many 

 other of the infeft tribes, are partly carnivorous, partly 

 otherwife, and feed equally on flefti and vegetables. Reau- 

 mur, Hift. Infeft. vol. iv. p. 580, feq. Baker's Micr. 

 1743, p. 205. 

 Trunk, Fire, in a Fire-Jhip. See FlRE-5A;/. 

 TRUN'K-M«nna. See Manna. 



Thunk-^oo/^ of a Plant, are little roots which grow out 

 of the trunks of plants. 

 Vol. XXXVI. 



Thefe are of two kinds : i. Such as vegeutc by a direft 

 dcfcent, the place of their eruption being fometimes all 

 along the trunk, as in mints, &c. and fometimes only in 

 the utmoft point, as in fome otiier plants and trees. 



2. Such as neither afcend nor defcend, but ftioot forth 

 at right angles to the trunk, which, therefore, though, as to 

 their office, they are true roots, yet, as to their nature, are 

 a medium between a trunk and a root. 



TRUNKED, among Heralds, is apphed to trees cut 

 off at each end, which are faid to be trunhed or truncated. 



TRUNNIONS, or Trunions, of a piece of ordnance, 

 thofe knobs or bunches of metal in a gun, mortar, or 

 howitzer, which projeCl from the piece, and bear it upon 

 the cheeks of the carriage. 



TRUNNiON-/?;n^, is a ring about a cannon, next before 

 the trunnions. 



TuuNNiON-P/a/w, are two plates in travelling carriages, 

 mortars, and howitzers, wliich cover the upper parts of the 

 fide-pieces, and go under the trinniions. 



TRUNS, in Geography, a town of the Grifons, where 

 the independence of the Grey League was firll ratified, and 

 an alliance concluded between the chiefs and the com- 

 munities, on the Rhine ; 7 miles W. of llantz. 



TRUNTZ, a town of Pruffia, in Ermeland ; 9 miles 

 N.E. of Elbing. 



TRURO, a large market-town and borough in the 

 weflern divifion of the hundred of Powder, and county of 

 Cornwall, England ; is fituated in a vale at the conflux of 

 the two fmall rivers Kenwyn and St. Allen, 22 miles 

 S.S.W. from Bodmin, 46 miles S.W. by S. from Laun- 

 cefton, and 257 miles W.S.W. from London. It is called in 

 ancient records Trevery, Trieureu, and Truru-burgh. It 

 was one of the decayed market-towns for the repairs of 

 which an aft of parliament was pafled in 1 540 ; but it has 

 now become a place of confiderable trade. Its central 

 fituation with refpeft to the commerce and chief produfts of 

 the county, its improved and flill improving ilate, the re- 

 guKirity and handlome appearance of the buildings, with 

 its increafing population, juftify its title to pro^-minence 

 amongft the towns of Cornwall. Leland fays, " Tlicr is a 

 caftille, a quarter of a mile by weft out of Truro longing to 

 the cries of Cornwalle, now clene down. The lite therof 

 is now ufed for a fhotiug and playing place, out of the 

 town of Truro." This caftle is not mentioned in Donief- 

 day book, and was therefore erected after the Conqueft. 

 William of Worcefter fpeaks of it as being in ruins in the 

 time of Edward IV. It ftood on an eminence on the more 

 wcfterly fide of the two currents : its only remains are a 

 wafte area, and an artificial mount or keep, the earth of 

 which is daily decreafing by its being applied to other pur- 

 pofes. From the increal'e of the buildings fince the time of 

 Leland, the fcite is now included within tlie town, which 

 appears to have derived its origin from the caftle ; but 

 was fo nearly coeval with it, that it is noticed as cxiftjng 

 within a century after the Conqueft, and as liaving a charter 

 in the reign of Henry I. Tlie corporation of Truro, as 

 eftabhlhed by a charter of queen Elizabeth, bearing date 

 1589, confifts of a mayor, four .ildermen, and twenty 

 capital burgefles. In thefe twenty-five perfons, the right 

 of clefting two members to parliament (poffefted by the 

 borough ever fince the reign of Edward I.) is veiled; 

 tliough the number of inhabitants, as afccrtained by the po. 

 pulation return of the year 181 1, is 2482, when the houfcs 

 were enumerated at 400. The burgefles of Truro have 

 fundry privileges by grant of their ancient lords ; and the 

 mayor's jurifdiftion extends even over Falmouth. This 

 laft mentioned privilege, which is faid to have been granted 

 Yy by 



