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tapered at the ends fo as to go into the ring of the wrain- 

 bolt, to make the fets necefTary for bringing-to the planks 

 or thick fluff to tlie timbers. 



WRAM, in Geography, a town of Sweden, in the province 

 of Skone ; 13 miles W.S.W. of Chrillianfladt. 



WRANGLER, Senior, a technical term in the uni- 

 verfity of Cambridge, for the {Indent who paffes the beft 

 examination in the Tenate-houfe, and confers lafting reputa- 

 tion. They who follow next in the fame divifion are refpec- 

 tively termed fecond, third, fourth, &c. wranglers. In a 

 fimilar manner, they who compofe the fecond rank of honours 

 are defignated by the titles of Hrft, fecond, third, &c. op- 

 timi. Thofe of the lalt order are diftinguifhed by the deno- 

 minations of iirft, fecond, third, &c. junior optimi. 



WRANGON, in Geography, a fmall illand in the gulf of 

 Finland. N. lat. 59° 34'. E. long. 25°. 



WRANNY, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of Schlan ; 

 7 miles N.N.W. of Schlan. 



WRANOW. See Frain. 



WRAPPER, in Botany. See VoLVA. 



WRASSE, in Ichthyology, the name of a fifh called by 

 authors lurdus vulgaris, and by fome tinca-mar'ina, the fea- 

 llitch, and fometinies old-<wife. 



The wraffe, or labrus tinea of Linnxus, rcfembles the carp 

 in figure, and is covered with large fcales. Its ufual fize is 

 about five or fix inches in length, and it grows to the weight 

 of four or five pounds : its colour is very variable ; red, 

 yellow, and brownifli, being very frequently mixed in the 

 fcales ; and it has five or fix longitudinal lines, alternately of 

 a pale yellow, an olive colour, and a duflcy red. Its nofe is 

 long, and bent upwards, and it has thick and flefhy lips ex- 

 tended over the jaws. Its mouth is fmall, and its teeth, 

 which are difpofed in two rows, the firft conic, the fecond 

 very minute, are not very (liarp ; in the throat, juil before 

 the gullet, are three bones, two above of an oblong form, 

 and one below of a triangular (hape ; with the furface of 

 each rifiiig into roundidi protuberances : thefe are of lin- 

 gular ufe to the fifh for grinding its flielly food before it 

 arrives at the ftomach ; the dorfal fin confifts of fixteen 

 rtiarp and fpiiiy rays, and nine foft ones, longer than the 

 others : the pectoral tins are large and round, and com- 

 pofed of fifteen rays, the ventral of fix ; the firii (harp 

 and flrong ; the anal of three fharp fpines, and nine flexible : 

 its tail is rounded at the end, and is formed of fourteen foft 

 branching rays ; the membranes of the fins and tails are 

 variegated with red and blue fpots, and the anterior rays of 

 the back-fin are prickly. It is caught in plenty on the 

 Englifh (hores, and is fold among the poorer fort of people 

 in Wales and Cornwall ; but is not elteemed a very delicate 

 lilh. It is found in deep water, adjacent to the rocks ; it 

 will take a bait, though its ufual food is fhell-fifh, and fmall 

 cruftacea. Willughby's Hift. Pifc. p. 320. and Pennant. 

 See Labrus. 



Wrasse, Bimaculated, labrus bimaculata of Linnxus, has 

 a body pretty deep, and of a light colour, marked in the 

 middle on each fide v/ith a round brown fpot, and another 

 on the upper part of the bafe of the tail : the lateral line is 

 incurvated ; the branchioftegous rays are fix ; the firft fifteen 

 rays of the dorfal fin are fpiny, the other eleven foft, and 

 lengthened by a Ikinny appendage ; the peftoral fins confifl 

 of fifteen rays ; the ventral of fix, the firft fpiny, the fecond 

 and third ending in a flender brittle ; the anal fin is pointed ; 

 the four firft rays being fhort and fpiny, the reft: long and 

 foft. , This is an inhabitant of the Mediterranean. 



Mr. Pennant has defcnbed fome other fpecies of wraffe, 

 as the trimaculatcd,Jlriped, and gibbous, taken on the coaft of 

 Anglefea, and another called ballatif numbers of which ap- 



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pear during fumnicr near Scarborough, whicii is of the 

 form of the common wrafte, except that between the dcJrfal 

 fin and the tail it has a confiderable finking ; above the nofe 

 a deep fulcus ; and on the fartheft cover of the gills a de- 

 preffion radiated from the centre. Pennant's Brit. Zool. 

 vol. iii. p. 246, &c. See Labrus. 



WRATENI, in Geography. See Prating. 



WRATH, Cape, a cape in the N.W. extremity of 

 Scotland, in the parifh of Durnefs, which affords excellent 

 pafture for fheep. In its vicinity are vaft caverns. 



WRBOWALNOL, a town of Bohemia, in the circle 

 of Konigingratz ; 16 miles S.W. of Biezow. 



WREAK, or Wreke, a river of Leicefterfhire, which 

 paffes by Melton Mowbray, and runs into the Soar, 7 miles 

 N.E. of Leicefter. 



WREATH, m Agriculture, a fmall roll formed of any 

 kind of light fubftance, fuch as ftraw, hay, &c. and ufed 

 for different purpofes. 



Wreath, in Natural Hijlory. See Turbo. 



Wreath, in Heraldry, a roll of fine hnen, or filk, (like 

 that of a Turkifh turban,) confifting of the colours borne 

 in the efcutcheon ; placed in an achievement, between 

 the helmet and the creft, and immediately fupporting the 

 creft. 



Wreath Stick-Band, in Agriculture, a band formed of 

 any kind of twifted ftick, ufed for tying up fagots, and 

 other fuch purpofes. 



WRECK, Wrack, Sea-W r^ck, or Sco-Oak, ihe/ucus 

 •Deficulofus of Linnaeus, in Natural Hijlory, a foft, very flip- 

 pery, marine plant, common among rocks that are left dry 

 at the ebb tide, with leaves fomewhat refembhng thofe of 

 the oak-tree ; the ftalk running along the middle of the 

 leaves, and terminated by watery bladders containing either 

 air or a flippery fluid : the veficles begin in March to fill 

 with a thin juice ; and about the end of July they burft, and 

 difcharge a matter as thick as honey. 



In fome places it is ufed to manure the ground. In Nor- 

 mandy , and other parts, they burn it ; and of the aflies make 

 a kind of foda, or potafh, which they nfe in the making of 

 common green glafs, to promote the fufion or vitrification 

 of the other materials. See Sea-/F«(/. 



Dr. Ruffel relates, that he found this plant an ufeful afTirt- 

 ant to fea-water in the cure of diforders of the glands ; that 

 he gave it in powder to the quantity of a drachm, and that in 

 large dofes it naufeated the ftomach ; that by burning in the 

 open air, it was reduced into the black faline powder ; which 

 feemed, as an internal medicine, greatly to excel the ofHcinal 

 burnt fponge ; which was beneficially ufed as a dentifrice, 

 for correcting laxities of the gums ; and which indicated a 

 remarkable degree of detergent virtue by its effeft in clean- 

 ing the teeth : that the juice of the veficles, after ftanding 

 to putrefy, yielded, on evaporation, an acrid pungent fait, 

 amounting to above a fcruple from two fpoonfuls ; that the 

 putrefied juice, applied to the fliin, finks in immediately, 

 excites a flight fenfe of pungency, and deterges like a folu- 

 tion of foap ; that one of the beft applications for difcufTing 

 hardnefs, particularly in the decline of glandular fwellings, 

 is a mixture of two pounds of the juicy veficles, gathered in 

 July, with a quart of fea-water, kept in a glafs veffel for 

 ten or fifteen days, till the liquor comes near to the con- 

 fiftence of very thin honey : the parts affefted are to be 

 rubbed with the ftrained hquor twice or thrice a day, and 

 afterwards wafhed clean with fea-water. Lewis's Mat. Med. 

 See ^Ethiops Vegetabdis. 



Wreck, in Sea Language, denotes the ruins of a fhip 

 which had been ftranded or dafhed to pieces on a flielf, rock, 

 or lee-fhore, by tempeftuous weather. 



Wreck, 



