W A S 



fait plains of Texas in fterility ; but it improves in quality 

 below the nucleus of the mountains. Indications of metal 

 become more rare, and timber, particularly pine, upland 

 black oak, a(h, linden, and logwood, is abundant. The 

 foil is adapted to the culture of fmall grain, legumes, the 

 potatoe, and almoft every plant and herb fuitable to the 

 climate. Cotton fucceeds on all the arable lands of Oua- 

 chitta. Here are alfo fome fait fprings of good quality. 

 About N. lat. 35° lo', Ouachitta is joined by the Sahne, 

 and alfo the Derbeiie, which rife in N. lat. 32° 50', and 

 W. long. 92'^ 10'. About three miles below the Derbenc 

 the river Barthelemy falls into it. The lall and largeft 

 branch of Ouachitta is the Riviere aux Boeufs, or Ox river, 

 which rifes in the angle formed between the Mill'ouri and 

 the Arkanfaw. Below the mouth of the Boeuf river, all 

 the waters which form the Ouachitta being united, the 

 river, though apparently not longer than 200 miles above, 

 becomes much deeper, and may be navigated at all leafons. 

 In this fituation, on the fame fide with Bceuf, Sicily ifland 

 rifes from the bank of Ouachitta. The hiU of Sicily is 

 very fruitful, its furface being a black loana. On this 

 illand are feveral fettlements. Fourteen miles below the 

 Bocuf, the Ouachitta lofes its name by its union with the 

 rivers Tenfaw and Ocatahoolu. The united llream is 

 hence called Black river, which, after a (hort and very 

 veinding courfe of thirty miles, unites with Red river. Its 

 banks are very fertile, its width about 2CO yards, the cur- 

 rent gentle, and the water throughout the year deep enough 

 for large boats. Thirty miles below the mouth of 

 Black river, the Red river joins the MifPiffippi. Red river 

 rifes about thirty or forty miles eaft of Santa Fe, about N. 

 lit. 37°, and W. long. 105° ; and having purfued a courie 

 S.E. by E. 450 miles, receives the Falfe Ouachitta from 

 the N- This latter river rifes in the Caous mountains, N. 

 of Red river, and is a beautiful llream nearly as large. 

 Thefe two rivers form a jundlicn at a fmall diftance below 

 the Panis, or Towiache towns, and about 70 miles lower 

 down receives the Blue river from the N. This latter 

 iffues from the Caous mountains, and runs in a courfe nearly 

 parallel to the Falfe Ouachitta. The united waters of 

 thefe rivers form Red river, now a large ftream, turbid and 

 brackifh from the waters of Red river, properly fo called, 

 and Blue river. The immenfe column of water brought 

 down by the various ftreams that form Red river, caufes it 

 to overflow its banks during the fpring floods. ^ About N. 

 lat. 33", a chain of lakes commences on each fide, near to 

 or farther from the river ; and thefe lakes are the natural 

 depofit of the water, which would otherwife overflow the 

 ■whole country. The beds of thefe lakes are much lower 

 than that of the channel of the river. When the waters 

 have been drained by the deprcflion of the river in the fall 

 months, the beds of mod of thefe lakes become dry, and 

 exhibit a meadow of fucculent herbage, with channels for 

 the water that continues meandering through them. The 

 Red river enters the Miiliflippi in N. lat. 31° i', and W. 

 long. 91° 45' ; and if the Atchafalaya be confidered as 

 the continuation of the Red river, it leaves the Miffiffippi 

 three miles below. See Darby's Defcription of Louifiana ; 

 Philadelphia, 1 816. 



WASHMINSKER Islands, a clufter of iflands near 

 the fouth coaft of Labrador. N. lat. 50°. W. long. 60°. 

 WASIGNY, a town of France, m the department of 

 the Ardennes ; 9 miles N. of Rethel. 



WASILAX, a town of Sweden, in North Finland ; 

 55 miles S.E. of Biorneborg. 



WASILISKI, a town of Lithuania; 16 miles S.W. 

 of Lida. 



WAS 



WASILKOW, a town of Lithuania ; 30 miles S.W, 

 of Grodno. 



WASKEMASHIN, an ifland in the gulf of St. Lau- 

 rence, near the coaft of Labrador. N. lat. 50° 3'. W» 

 long. 59= 56'. 



WASKLOT, a fmall ifland on the eaft; fide of the gulf 

 of Bothnia. N. lat. 63" 6'. E. long. 21° 20'. 



WASKUACHAOUIPIOU, a river of Canada, which 

 runs into the Saguenay, N. lat. 48° 20'. W. long. 70° 18'. 

 WASMA, a town of Sweden, in the province of Sma- 

 land ; 7 miles S.S.W. of Calmar. 



WASMUT, a town of Pruffia, in the province of Ober- 

 land ; 14 miles S. of Maricnwerder. 



WASP, in Natural Hijlory. See Vespa. 

 Wafps are not unfrequently dangerous and hurtful to 

 many forts of animals by their lling, in confequence 

 of the pain and irritation that are thereby produced. 

 The bell remedies in thefe cafes are probably the full ufe 

 of ammoniated vinegar, or faturnine waflies, aS cold as 

 poflible to the parts, keeping them couftantly wet with 

 them by means of cloths wrung out of them. Such infetls 

 are, however, capable of being deilroyed in many difi^erent 

 ways, as bv finding their works and retreats, and fmoking 

 them well with any combuftible material, but efpecially 

 fulphur : by putting cyder, verjuice, wine, or any other four 

 or fweet liquid, into fhort-necked phials, many of them may 

 be readily taken and deilroyed ; and by laying treacle, fweet 

 apples, or any fuch fubllances, in earthen dilhcs, mixed with 

 a little water, or of any liquid of which they are fond, 

 great numbers of them may be exterminated without difficulty. 

 When pieces of lighted brimlloned rags are thruft into the 

 iiells and holes formed by wafps, they Ihould be immediately 

 covered by the foot, or with earth, when they will be 

 fpeedily deilroyed without any efcapiug. 



In the garden-culture of various kinds of fruit, as well as 

 ill the hot-houfe, vinery, and other fuch houfes, wafps are 

 often particularly troublefome, dellruftive, and rapacious ; 

 it is of courfe neceflary to deftroy them, and to prevent 

 the means of their depredations in many cafes. The bell 

 and moll effeftual means of getting quit of them is that of 

 dellroying their nells, which is effected fimply by noticing the 

 courfe of their flight from the garden or place in a quiet 

 funny day, and purfuing them as far as they can be feen 

 flying, then waiting until others pafs, and doing the fame 

 until they reach their habitations. The place being thus 

 found and marked, in the evening when they are all in, a 

 lantern and candle, with a match of damped gunpowder, 

 made into a roll on the end of a fmall piece of wood, is to 

 be provided ; it is hghted when at the nell, and burns like 

 a fquib, when it is introduced into the hole leading to the 

 nell, the foot being put on it for a few minutes. The 

 ground is then dug until the works are feen, when the 

 whole is wrought together like mortar by means of water. 

 In cafe the nell happens to be on a bufli or tree, the match 

 is put below it, when the wafps foon fall llupified to the 

 ground, and are deilroyed without difficulty. 



In this way, wafps' nells, in one feafon, have, it is faid, 

 been deilroyed to the amount of more than fifty, within the 

 difl;ance of three hundred yards of a garden, and without 

 getting a fingle lling, or pafling a fingle wafp. They thus 

 diminilh every year in number, and if the fame method were 

 generally ufed, there is not the fmallefl; doubt, that much 

 fine fruit would be preferved, and at the fame time many 

 honey bees faved, which are now much deilroyed by wafps. 

 By the common mode of hanging up phials ag.iinll trees 

 and other objedls, many wafps may be taken and d.'llroyed 

 too, but the hive is itill breeding more : large wliite glafs 

 12 vefTels 



