WEE 



WEE 



dered much more abundant and produftive than they ufu- 

 ally are, and thofe of the grafs kind be provided with a 

 better and more ufeful herbage for the fupport of hve-ftock 

 of all kinds, which would greatly contribute to the farmer's 

 profit and advantage. 



WEEDlNG-Ci//f/, in Agriculture, an ufeful tool with a di- 

 vided chifel point for cutting the roots of large weeds within 

 the ground. See WEKD-Hooi. 



Weeding Doch-Spit, the tool ufed in extirpating weeds 

 of the dock, thiftle, and other fuch large kinds which are to 

 be got up by the roots. It is a fort of crow or lever, with 

 a claw at the bottom end of it, a little curved forward, and 

 divided into two fide parts, in fomewhat the manner of the 

 thin end of a common hammer ufed for drawing nails : it 

 has an arm or tread which projefts at about eight or ten 

 inches from the lower end, for the foot to reft firmly upon 

 in forcing it into the ground, and at a little diftance above 

 it, on the back fide, a curve of iron, projefting about three 

 inches ; on the upper or top end, a handle is fixed, and faf- 

 tened as in the common fpade : in ufing it the claw feizes the 

 TOOt of the plant, and, by a gentle preffure of the handle end 

 downwards, in the manner of the lever, eafily and readily 

 draws or forces it out of the ground : by means of this 

 fimple implement or contrivance, many hundreds of fuch 

 weed-plants may be eradicated or drawn out in the courfe 

 of a day. It has fometimes the names of weeding-fpud or 

 fpade, and dock-fpit or fpud given it. See Weeding. 



W-EEViltiC- Forceps, or Tongs, the tool of the nipper kind, 

 which is made ufe of for taking up fome forts of plants in 

 weeding corn and other crops, fuch as fmall thiftles of dif- 

 ferent kinds, fmall docks, and various other fuch weeds. It 

 feizes them by the mouth part, which is fixed upon them by 

 means of the long handles in ufing it, and readily forces them 

 up. See Th 1ST le-Z) rawer. 



WEEDlNG-For;f, a ftrong three-pronged fork of the fork 

 fort employed for working root-weeds in tillage-lands, 

 and forking out the weeds of the fame kind in garden- 

 grounds ; in both which cafes it is a very ufeful and effeftive 

 tool. It is fometimes made with fiat prongs, and termed a 

 fpud in plantation-grounds. See Fork. 



Weeding-WiVi, an implement which is conftrufted dif- 

 ferently to fuit different purpofes, but that which is made 

 ■with a frame fomewhat like that of the common wheel- 

 barrow, is confidered the beft in the county of Kent, where 

 tools of this fort are much ufed in the plantation-grounds 

 for different crops. It is a verv ufeful and convenient tool 

 for the purpofe of tearing up weeds on fummer-fallows, and 

 in many other cafes. Its cheapnefs too is a great recommen- 

 dation of it, as it is capable of being well conftrudled for 

 about two pounds. See Harrow, &c. 



Weeding-5^u(/. See Weeding Dock-Sp'U fiipra. 



WEEDS, in Mining, a term ufed by our Englifh diggers 

 to exprefs anv fort of unprofitable fubftance found among 

 the ores of metals. They feem to have borrowed the 

 phrafe from the gardeners ; and as every thing with them 

 is a weed, except what they have planted, and expeil to 

 gather, fo every thing is a weed with the miners, except 

 the thing they are finking for. See Digging. 



The principal fubflances known in our mines under the 

 name of weeds, are mundic or marcafite ; this is of three 

 forts, white, yellow, and green ; daze, a kind of glittering 

 talcky ftone, of the telaugium kind, which endures the 

 fire, and is of various colours and hardneffes ; iron-moulds, 

 or pyritae ; caul, which is brownilh and fpongy ; and 

 glifter, which is a fort of talc. Phil. Tranf. N° 69. 



Weeds alfo denote a peculiar habit, worn by the relifts 

 of perfons deceafed, by way of mourning. See Mourning. 



WEEK, Septimana, hebdomada, in Chronology, a divifion 

 of time, comprifing feven days. 



The origin of this divifion of weeks, or of computing 

 time by fevenths, is greatly controverted. Some will have 

 it to take its rife from the four quarters or intervals of the 

 moon, between her changes of phafes, which, being about 

 feven days diftant, gave occafion to the divifion. Be this 

 as it will, the divifion is certainly very ancient. The 

 Syrians, Egyptians, and moft of the oriental nations, ap- 

 pear to have ufed it from all antiquity : though it did not 

 get footing in the Weft till Chriftianity brought it in : the 

 Romans reckoned their days not by fevenths, but by ninths ; 

 and the ancient Greeks by decads, or tenths. 



Indeed, the Jews divided their time by weeks, but it was 

 upon a different principle from the other eaftern nations. 

 God himfelf having appointed them to work fix days, and 

 to reft the feventh, in order to keep up the fenfe and re- 

 membrance of the creation ; which, being effefted in fix 

 days, he refted the feventh. 



Some authors will even have the ufe of weeks, among 

 the other eaftern nations, to have proceeded from the Jews ; 

 but with little appearance of probability. It is with better 

 reafon that others fuppofe the ufe of weeks, among the 

 heathens of the Eaft, to be a remain of the tradition of 

 the creation, which they had ftill retained with divers 

 others. 



This is the opinion of Grotius, De Veritat. Relig. Chrift. 

 lib. i., who like wife proves, that not only throughout the 

 Eaft, but even among the Greeks, Itahans, Celtse, Sclavi, 

 and even the Romans themfelves, the days were divided 

 into weeks ; and that the feventh day was in extraordinary 

 veneration. This appears from Jofeph. adv. Apion. II. 

 Philo. de Creatione. Clem. Alexar.d. Strom, lib. v. Though 

 Helmoldus, hb. i. cap. 84. Philoftratus, hb. iii. cap. 13. 

 Dion. lib. xxxviii. TibuUus, Lucian, Homer, CaUima- 

 chus, Suetonius, Herodotus, &c. who mention the fepte- 

 nary divifion of days as very ancient, fuppofe it to have 

 been derived from the Egyptians. 



The days of the week were denominated by the Jews, 

 from the order of their fuccefTion from the fabbath. Thus, 

 the day next after the fabbath, they called the Jirjl of the 

 fabbath ; the next, the fecond of the fabbath ; and fo of 

 the reft ; except the fixth, which they call parafceve, or 

 preparation of the fabbath. 



The like method is ftill kept up by the Chriftian Arabs, 

 Perfiaiis, Ethiopians, &c. The ancient heathens deno- 

 minated the days of the week from the feven planets ; 

 which names are ftill generally retained among the Chrif- 

 tians of the Weft. Thus the firft day was called Sun-day, 

 dies fulis ; the fecond Moon-day^ dies lunx, &c. a praftice 

 the more natural on Dion's principle, who fays, the 

 Egyptians took the divifion of the week itfelf from the 

 feven planets. 



In effeft, the true reafon of thefe denominations feems 

 to be founded in aftrology. For the aftrologers diftri- 

 buting the government and direftion of all the hours in the 

 week among the feven planets, 'jlf(?0?5 D, 

 fo as that the government of the firft hour of the firft 

 day fell to Saturn, that of the fecond day to Jupiter, &c. 

 they gave each day the name of the planet, which, accord- 

 ing to their doftrine, prefided over the firft hour thereof; 

 and that, according to the order fpecified above ; and which 

 is included in the following technical verfe. 



Pojl SIM SUM feguitur, pallida 'Lunafubejl. 



Wherein, the capital letters SIM SUM, and L, are the 

 initial letters of the planets. So that the order of the 



planets 



