VAT 



V A r 



Jjreldvcd by fome of his hearers, collefted by Robert Ste- 

 phens, and added to his publication in 1545, of Leo Judae's 

 L.atiii vcrlion of the Bible. But as they contained fome 

 free paffages, they were condemned by the doftors of the 

 theological faculty in Paris, who, imperfeiElly acquainted 

 with Hebrew, repofed their confidence in the Vulgate. 

 However, the univerfity of Salamanca reprinted the text and 

 notes in Spain, R. Stephens defended them againft the 

 Paris theologians, and they have fince been approved by 

 men of learning. He not only encouraged Clement Marot 

 to tranflate the Pfalms into French verfe, but aflifted him in 

 the undertaking. Vatable, though fufpefted of herefy, was 

 an orthodox Catholic, and oppoied the difcipline and opi- 

 nions of the Calvinills. He died in 1547, pofTefled of 

 the abbacy of Bellozane. Dupin. 



VATAN, in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the Indre ; 1 1 miles N.W. of IfToudun. N. 

 lat. 47' 5'. E. long. 1° 54'. 



VATERIA, in Botany, was fo named by Linnaeus, in 

 honour of Abraham Vater, profeflbr of Medicine at Wit- 

 tenberg, and author of Catalogus Horti Wittenhergenfts, {a 

 mere catalogue,) as well as of fome botanical diflertations, 

 on the Balfam of Mecca, on Hippoinane, &c. This gen- 

 tleman was born in 1684, and died in 1 75 1. He fucceeded 

 his father in the profefTorfhip, who died in 1732, aged 

 eighty-one, and was alfo a naturalift. — Linn. Gen. 269. 

 Schreb. 359. Mart. Mill. Diift. v. 4. Juif. 258. Lamarck 

 Illuftr. t. 475. — Clafs and order, Polyandria Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. akin to Guttifene, JufT. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, in five 

 acute fegments, permanent, at length reflexed. Cor. Petals 

 five, ovate, thick, entire, fpreading. Stam. Filaments nu- 

 merous, very (hort ; anthers vertical, awl-{haped, much 

 longer than the filaments, with two capillary points. P't/}. 

 Germen fuperior, roundilh ; ftyle fimple, fhort ; ftigma 

 capitate. Peric. Capfule turbinate, coriaceous, feated on 

 the reflexed calyx, marked with three furrows, fepaiating 

 into three valves, with one cell. Seed folitary, ovate, with 

 a reddifli ilvin. 



EfT. Ch. Petals five, undivided. Calyx five-cleft, per- 

 manent. Capfule coriaceous, of three valves and one cell. 

 Seed folitary. 



Obf. Retzius and Vahl have removed this plant to EL-liO- 

 CAUPUS, fee that article ; but without giving any fufficient 

 reafon. On the contrary, they defcribe ihe petals as entire ; 

 nor have they thrown any light upon the/r«/V, which, as dc- 

 fcribcd in the Hortus Malabaricus, cannot accord with EUo- 

 carpus. The large figure, on the right hand, in that book, 

 cannot be reconciled with the reft, unlefs it be a feed vege- 

 tating. JufTicu feems ftaggered as to the charafter of this 

 fruit, by finding the rudiments of three y^fif in tiie germen. 

 But this may very well be, and yet only one may ever come 

 to perfeftion. The fame learned author remarks, that Lin- 

 nsus, in his Syflema, attributes three/'i'A to Vater'ia. This 

 is true ; but we believe it a typographical error, originating 

 in the tenth edition of 5^^?. Nat. efpecially as the fynoptical 

 table, ai the head of the clafs, remains with the charafter of 

 a fingle feed. This contradiftion, whichever of the two 

 charafters be correft, is hcedlefsly perpetuated through every 

 following edition. On the whole, there appears more reafon 

 to retain than to abolifli the genus in queftion. 



I. M.indka. Copal Valeria. Linn. Sp. PI. 734- ( Ela;o. 

 carpus copalliferus ; Retz. Obf. fafc. 4. 27. Vahl Symb. 

 v. 3. 67. Willd. n. 5. Psnoe ; Rheede Hort. Malab. 

 V. 4. 33. t. 15.) — Native of Malabar and Ceylon. A tall 

 and handfome tree, generally fixty feet high, with wide ex- 

 tended branches, and a thick bark, which when wounded 



dilcharges a clear, pellucid, fragrant refin, acrid and bitter 

 to the tafte, at length becoming yellow and brittle like glafs. 

 This, according to Koenig, is one kind of Copal ; fee that 

 article. Perfons experienced in the ufe of this gum, fo ufe- 

 ful for varnifhing anatomical preparations, know that there 

 are, as Koenig fays, feveral different things imported under 

 the fame name, which are not all equally foluble, even in oil . 

 of lavender. The leaves of this tree are alternate, ftalked, 

 a fpan long, elliptical, acute, coriaceous, entire, fmooth. 

 Floiuers in large terminal, downy panicles, white with yellow 

 Jlamens ; their fcent fweet, like a lily. Fruit the fize of a 

 walnut in its green coat, fweUing and blunt at the extremity, 

 dark purple ; its kernel white, bitterifh and rather aftringent, 

 inclofed in a reddilh lltin, like that of a filberd. This de- 

 fcription, taken from the Hortus Malabaricus, is precife ; and 

 as nothing is faid of any hard Ihell, we do not fee how the 

 fruit can agree with that of Elaocarpus. The above- 

 mentioned kernel, triturated with hot water, is reckoned 

 llrengthening to the llomach, and is given to ftop vomiting 

 or naufea. 



Having formerly examined at fir Jofeph Banks's a fpeci- 

 men of Valeria, in order to diftinguifh this genus from' 

 Vatica, (fee that article,) we have correfted the generic cha- 

 ra6i;ers from obfervations then made, particularly refpefting 

 the anthers, of which Retzius and Vahl have alfo given a 

 faithful account. Linnaeus had no fpecimen, but defcribed 

 the genus from one in Hermann's herbarium, now at fir 

 Jofeph Banks's. Vahl is furely miftaken in faying the 

 corolla ?ind fruit agree with £litocarpus ! 



VATES, in Mythology, the name of a clafs of Druids. 

 VATHI, in Geography, a town on the north coall of the 

 illand of Samos, in a bay called the Gulf of Vathi. N. 

 lat. 37° 49'. E. long. 26° 54'. 



VATHIA, or Berbathi, anciently Tyrinx, a town of 

 European Turkey, in the Morea ; 16 miles N.E. of Napoli 

 di Romania. 



VATI, a town of the ifland of Siphanto. N. lat. 36° 

 57'. E. long. 24° 46'. 



VATICA, in Botany, an unexplained name of Linnaeus, 

 apparently derived from the fame fource as vaticinatio, a pro- 

 phefying. Hence the writer of the prefent article ventured 

 to fuggcft, as a query, whether the plant might have any fu- 

 perftitious ufe among the Chinefe, from whofe country it is 

 faid to have been brought. This conjefture appears in the 

 form of a general opinion in De Theis, ftrengthened by a 

 reference to Boehmer's Lexicon, p. 208, a book not within 

 our reach. Notwithftanding all this, there is great doubt 

 whether the plant comes from China, the fpecimens being 

 marked India, juft like many others, known to have been re- 

 ceived from Java by Linnseus. In faft, thefe fpecimens are 

 fo hke Vateria (fee that article) in appearance and cha- 

 rafter, that if it were poflible to fuppofe the anthers could 

 vary fo remarkably, we (hould fufpeift thefe plants might be 

 only fexual differences of one fpecies. Having llartud this 

 difficulty without having the means of overcoming it, we 

 proceed to defcribe Vatica. — Linn. Mant. 2. 152. Schreb. 

 Gen. 318. 831. Willd. Sp. PI. V. 2. 847. Mart. Mill. 

 Dift. V. 4. Sm. Plant. Ic. 36. JulT. 2^9. Lamarck 

 Illullr. t. 397. — Clafs and order, Dodecandria Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. akin to Gultifene, JufT. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, in five deep, 

 ereft, ovato-lanceolate, acute fegments. Cor. Petals five, 

 fefhle, obovate, entire, thrice the length of the calyx, folded 

 over each other, in fome flowers to the left, in others to the 

 right ; their inner furface fmooth ; outer, in tlie expofed 

 half, hoary. Stam. Filaments none ; anthers fifteen, feffile, 

 three on the bafe of each petal, fmall, ovate, fmooth, of 



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