W I z 



W O A 



WIT WALL, ill Ornithology, a common Englilh name 

 for the great fpotted wood-pecker, the picus varius major 

 of authors. 



WITZELRODE, in Geography, a town of Germany, 

 in the county of Henneberg ; 3 miles E.N.E. of Sal- 

 zungen. 



WITZELSTORFF, a town of Auftria ; 4 miles S.E. 

 of Hoffmarckt. 



WITZENBURG, a town of Weftphaha, in the 

 bifhopric of Hilde(heim ; 6 miles S.E. of Alfeld. 



WITZENHAUSEN, a town of Germany, in the 

 principahty of Hefle Rhinfels', 13 miles E. of Calfel. N. 

 lat. 51^ 10'. E. long. 9° 48'. 



WIVELISCOMBE, a large market-town in the hun- 

 dred of Weft Kingfbury, and county of Somerfet, England, 

 b iituated in a valley, at the diftance of 1 1 miles W. from 

 Taunton, 25 miles W. from Somerton, and 156 miles W. 

 by S. from London. It appears to have been of fome note 

 under the Romans, though not diftinguifhed in their annals as 

 a ftation or mihtary poft. In the earlier part of their tranf- 

 afiions in this ifland, they had a large caftrum, or encamp- 

 ment, on a hill about a mile eaftward from the town, which 

 ftill is called the caftle. Its fummit contains about twelve 

 acres ; and though moftly covered with coppice-wood and 

 bufhes, the veftiges of fortifications, and the foundations of 

 buildings, are yet difcernible on its furface. Part of the 

 foffe, which is very deep, and extended round the hill, has 

 been deftroyed by the working of a quarry. Near the 

 centre of the area, a great number of Roman coii:s of various 

 emperors were difcovered in the beginning of the laft cen- 

 tury. The Danes, during their incurfions into this county, 

 availed themfelves of this caftle, and after their departure, 

 the Saxons, recovering their tranquillity, tranfplanted them- 

 felves to the adjacent vale, and gave their new habitations 

 the name of Wivelifcombe. From this time it progreffively 

 became of importance, conftituted the head of a large lord- 

 fliip, and was always held by the Saxon kings, till Edward 

 the ConfefTor granted all the lands to the church of Wells. 

 The biftiops of that fee had a ftately palace here for nearly 

 three centuries : it is now in ruins ; a workhoufe, erefted in 

 '735' occupies a part of the ancient fcite. The town now 

 confifts of feven irregular ftreets : it is governed by a bailiff 

 and portreeve, who are annually chofen in May. Here were 

 formerly two markets, one on Tuefdays, the other on 

 Saturdays ; the latter only is now retained, with three annual 

 fairs. A confiderable woollen manufaAure has been carried 

 on for more than two hundred years, and ftill flourifhes ; 

 the chief articles made are, blanketings, knap- coatings, 

 kerfies and other coarfe cloths, ftirouds, ermine, and baize. 

 Many of thefe are fent to London, Brittol, and Exeter, for 

 home confumption, and for exportation to Spain and 

 Guernfey. The church is a plain ftrufture, and confifts of 

 a nave and two aifles, with a tower and fpire at the weft 

 end. The parifh befides the town includes four fmall hamlets, 

 and according to the population return of the year 181 1 



contains 567 houfes, and 2550 inhabitants Collinfon's 



Hiftory, &c. of Somerfetfhire, vol. ii. 1791. 



WIVENHOE, a village of England, in the county of 

 Eflex, fituated on the river Coin ; it is the harbour of Col- 

 chefter, and here is a cuftom-houfe. The oyfters, called 

 Colchefter oyfters, are barrelled in this place. In 181 1, 

 the population was 1046. 



WIZE, a river of England, in the county of Cumber- 

 land, which runs into the Wever. 



WIZNA, a town of the duchy of Warfaw ; 88 miles 

 N.E. of Warfaw. 



WIZUNY, a town of Lithuania ; 20 miles N.N.E. of 

 Wilkomiers. 



WIZZARD, in ylgricuUure, a term applied in Norfolk 

 to any particular fort of cart for farm-work. 



WIZZENED, a term provincially applied to fignify 

 withered or ftirivelled, as hay. 



WLADISLAW, in Geography, a town of Moravia, in 

 the circle of Iglau ; 12 miles S. of Meferitfch. 



Wladislaw, or Inowrojlanu, a town of the duchy of 

 Warfaw, and capital of a palatinate of the fame name, on 

 the Viftula : the fee of the biftiop of Cujavia, removed from 

 Krufwica in 11 73; 108 miles N.W. of Warfaw. N. lat. 

 52° 35'. E. long. 18° 35'. 



WLODOWA, a town of Auftrian Poland ; 18 miles 

 N.E. of Chelm. 



WLODZIMIERZ, atown of Poland, in Volhynia, on 

 the Bog ; the fee of a Greek biftiop, united to the church 

 of Rome ; 48 miles W. of Luckow. 



WOAD, in Agriculture, a plant cultivated in the field for 

 the ufe of the dyers. It is a plant which has a ftrong 

 thickifh fibrous root, which penetrates deep into the foil, 

 and which is principally raifed for the ufe of the leaves, 

 which, after being properly manufaftured, are made ufe of 

 in the art of dyeing to produce a blue colour, as vpell as the 

 bafis of black, and fome others. 



Soil. — It is evident from the nature of its root that it re- 

 quires a foil which has much depth or ftaple, and which is 

 perfeftly frefh, fuch as thofe of the rich, mellow, loamy, 

 and deep vegetable kind. Where this fort of culture is car- 

 ried to a confiderable degree of perfeftion, as in Lincoln- 

 fhire, the deep, rich, putrid, alluvial foils on the flat trafts 

 extending upon the borders of the different large rivers are 

 chiefly employed for the growth of this fort of crop ; and 

 it has been fhewn by repeated trials that it anfwers moft per- 

 feftly when they are broken up from a Itate of fward im- 

 mediately for it. In fome places, it is the praftice to take 

 lands of this defcription at high prices, for the purpofe of 

 breaking them up and growing it upon them for two or three 

 years ; on the more low rich foils, for four years, but on 

 thofe of lefs fertility only for three ; and in fome, which 

 are more elevated and expofed, two are confidered fufScient. 

 For this fort of culture, people are employed, who move 

 from place to place, and form a fort of colony. Mr. Cart- 

 wright, in the above county, has however found, that it is ca- 

 pable of being confined to one fpot with equal or greater 

 fuccefs, by having a fufScient extent of ground for chang- ■ 

 ing the place of its growth as may be neceffary, and for 

 appropriating an adequate proportion annually to the raifing 

 of the plant, by which the houfes and expenfive machinery 

 that are neceffary for its preparation may be kept conftantly 

 and regularly employed in the bufinefs. 



Preparation In order to prepare the land for this crop, 



it is advifed by fome to plough it up with a good deep fur- 

 row, immediately before the winter commences, laying it in 

 high narrow ridges, to have the full effeft of the frofts ; 

 and early in the fpring to give another ploughing in the con- 

 trary direftion, leaving the ground in the fame kind of 

 ridge as before. When it has remained in this ftate fome 

 length of time, and weeds appear, it fhould be well har- 

 rowed down with a heavy harrow, repeating the operation 

 fo as to render it perfeftly fine and clean. About the be- 

 ginning of June a third ploughing (hould be given to the 

 full depth with a narrow furrow, and the land be afterwards 

 well harrowed down as before ; the fourth or final plough- 

 ing being given towards the beginning of July, in a hght 

 manner, leaving the furface as even as poffible for the feed. 

 But fome take much lefs trouble in the bufinefs of prepara- 

 tion. 



