88.4 
GUN 
6 U N 
GUN 
when taken internally, as a most violent ca- 
thartic; its specific gravity is 1.221. It ap- 
pears that it was brought to Europe by ibe 
Dutch about the middle of (he 1 7th century, 
9. Myrrh. The plant from which this 
substance is obtained is unknown; if we be- 
lieve Bruce, it belongs to the genus of mi- 
mosa. It grows in Abyssinia and Arabia: 
it is in the form of tears; colour reddish-yel- 
low ; when pure somewhat transparent, but 
it is often opaque : odour peculiar: taste bit- 
ter and aromatic: does not melt when heat- 
ed, and burns with difficulty. With water 
it forms a yellow opaque solution : the so- 
lution in alcohol becomes opaque when mix- 
ed with water, but no precipitate appears : 
by distillation it yields oil : its specific gra- 
vity is 1.360; it is employed in medicine: 
Mr. Hatchett found it soluble in alkalies. 
10. Euphorhium. This substance is ob- 
tained from the euphorbia officinalis. The 
milky juice which exudes from that plant, 
when dried in the sun, constitutes euphorbi- 
utn: it is brought from Africa in small yel- 
low tears; it has no smell, and is mostly so- 
luble in alcohol : its specific gravity is 1.124. 
it is considered as poisonous, 
11. Little is known concerning the sub- 
stances called bdellium and caranna, reckon- 
ed among the gum-resins. The specific 
gravity of the first is 1.371, of the second 
1.124. Bdellium was celebrated by the an- 
tient physicians : it comes from Arabia. The 
substance extracted from ivy, and known by 
the name of gummi hederae, is considered as 
a gum-resin Its specific gravity is 1.294. 
12. From the experiments made upon 
ipecacuanha, the root of the cephelis ipecacu- 
ana, especially by Dr. Irvine, we learn that 
it also contains a gum-resin. The same re- 
mark applies to several other vegetable sub- 
stances employed in medicine. 
It deserves attention, that the gum-resins, 
when subjected to destructive distillation, 
yield all of them a portion of ammonia; a 
proof that they all contain azote. In this 
respect they agree with gum and extractives. 
GUINEA, a gold coin struck in England. 
The value or rate of the guinea lias varied. 
It was at first equal to 20 shillings ; but by 
the scarcity of gold it was altenvards ad- 
vanced to 21s. 6d. ; though it is now sunk 
to 21s. The pound weight troy of gold is 
cut into 44 parts and a half, and each part 
makes a guinea, which is therefore equal to 
Jyib. or yi.>z. or 5 dwts. 9||- gr. This coin 
took its name, guinea, from the circumstance 
of the gold of which it was at first struck 
being brought from that part of Africa called 
Guinea, for which reason also it bore the 
impression of an elephant. 
GUN, a fire-arm, or weapon of offence, 
'Which forcibly discharges a ball or other 
matter through a cylindrical tube, by means 
of inflamed gunpowder. 
The word gun now includes most of the 
species of fire-arms; mortars and pistols 
being almost the only kind excepted from this 
denomination. They are divided into great 
and small guns ; the former including all that 
are usually called cannon, ordnance, or ar- 
tillery ; and the latter including musquets, 
firelocks, carabines, musquetoons, blunder- 
busses, fowling-pieces, &c. 
The first hint of the invention of guns is 
in the works of Roger Bacon, who flourished 
in the 13th century, fn a treatise written 
by him about the year 1280, he proposes to 
apply the violent explosive force of gun- | balls out of mortars was first certainly put in 
powder for tire destruction of armies. And ' practice at the siege of Stralsund in 1675 by 
though it is certainly known that the compo- 
sition of gunpowder is described by Bacon 
in the same work, yet the invention has usu- 
ally, though improperly, been ascribed to 
Bartholdus Schwartz, a German monk, who 
it is said discovered it only in the year 1320 ; 
and the invention is related in the following 
manner: Schwartz having, for some purpose, 
pounded nitre, sulphur, and charcoal toge- 
ther, in a mortar, which he afterwards co- 
vered imperfectly with a stone, a spark of 
fire accidentally fell into the mortar, which 
setting the mixture on lire, the explosion 
blew the stone to a considerable distance. 
Hence it is probable that Schwartz might 
be taught the simplest method of applying 
it in war ; for if rather seems that Bacon 
conceived the manner of using it to be bv 
the violent effort of the flame unconfined, 
and which is indeed capable of producing 
astonishing effects. And the figure and name 
of mortars given to a species of old artillery, 
and their employment, in throwing large 
stone bullets at an elevation, very -much 
favour this conjecture. 
the elector of Brandenburgh ; though some 
say in 1653, at the siege of Bremen. 
Another species of ordnance has been long 
in use, by the name of howitzer, which is 
a kind of medium as to its length, between 
the cannon and the mortar, and is a very 
useful piece, for discharging either shells or 
large balls, which is done either at point- 
blank, or at a small elevation. 
A new species of ordnance has lately been 
introduced by the Carron company, and 
thence called a carronade, which is only a 
very short howitzer, and which possesses the 
advantage of being very light and easy to 
work. 
The species -of guns' before-mentioned, arc 
now made chiefly- of cast-iron ; except the 
howitzer, which is of brass, as well as some 
cannon and mortars. 
Muskets were first used at the siege of 
Rhege, in the year 1521. The Spaniards 
were the first who armed part of their foot 
with these weapons. At first they were 
very heavy, and could not be used without a 
| rest. They had matchlocks, and did ext eu- 
When, or by whom, guns were first made, is j tionat a great distance. On their march the 
uncertain. It is known, however, that the 
Venetians used cannon at the siege of Claudia 
Jessa, now r called Chioggia, in 1366, which 
were brought thither by two Germans, with 
some powder and leaden balls ; as likew ise 
in their wars with the Genoese in 1379. 
But before that, king Edward the Third 
made use of cannon at the battle of Cressy, 
in 1346, and at the siege of Calais, in 1347. 
Cannon were employed by the Turks at the 
soldiers carried only the rests and ammu- 
nition, having boys to bear their muskets after 
them. They were very slow in loading, not 
only from the unwieldiness of their pieces, 
and. because they carried the ball and pow- 
der separate, but from the time it took to 
prepare and adjust the match ; so that their 
fire was not near so brisk as ours is now. Af- 
terwards a lighter matchlock musket came 
in use; and they carried their ammunition 
commonly burst at the first, second, or third 
firing. Louis the Xllth had one cast at 
Tours, of the same size, which threw a ball 
from the Bastille to Charenton: one of these 
extraordinary cannon was taken at the siege 
ofDieu, in 1546, by don John de Castro, 
and is now in the castle of St. Julian de 
kefs with rests were used as late as the be- 
ginning of the civil wars in the time of Charles 
the First. The lighter kind succeeded them, 
and continued till the beginning of the pre- 
sent century, when they also were disused, 
and the troops throughout Europe armed 
with firelocks. These are usually made of 
Borra, 10 miles from Lisbon ; the length of I hammered iron. 
it is 20 feet 7 inches, its diameter at the mid- | GUNDEL1A, a genus of the class aiul 
die 6 feet 3 inches, and it threw a ball of order syngenesis polygamia segregate. There 
1001b. weight. It has neither dolphins, 
rings, nor button; is of an unusual kind of 
metal; and it lias a large Indostan inscription 
upon it, which says it was cast in 1400. 
Cannon take their names from the weight 
of the proper ball. Thus, a piece that dis- 
charges a cast-iron ball of 24 pounds, is 
called a 24-pounder ; one that carries a ball 
of 12 pounds, is called a 12-pounder; and 
so of the rest, divided into the following sorts, 
viz. 
Ship-guns, consisting of 42, 36, 32, 24, 18, 
12, 9, 6, and 3 pounders. 
Garrison-guns, of 42, 32, 24, 18, 12, 9, 
anti 6 pounders. 
Battering-guns, of 24, 18, andil 2 pounders. 
Field-pieces, of 12, 9, 6, 3, 2, 1|, 1, and 
■§ pounders. 
Mortal's, it is thought, have been at least 
as antient as cannon. They were employed 
in the wars of Italy, to throw balls of red-hot 
iron, stones, &c. long before the invention of 
shells. 
Mr. Malter, an English engineer, first 
taught the French the art of throwing shells, 
which they practised at the siege of Motte 
in 1634. The method of throwing red-hot 
is scarcely any calyx ; what there is, is 5-flow- 
ered ; cor. tubular, male and hermaphrodite; 
recept. chaffy; down none. Ihere is one 
species, a herb of the Levant, having the 
habit of a thistle. 
GUNNERA, a genus of the class and 
order gynandria diandria. The character is, 
ament, with 1-flowered scales ; calyx and 
corolla none ; germen, 2-toothed ; styles 2 ; 
seed one. There is one species, a herb of 
the Cape. 
GUNNERY, the art of charging, di- 
recting, and exploding fire-arms, as cannon, 
mortars, muskets, &c. to the best advantage. 
Gunnery is sometimes considered as a part 
of the military art, and sometimes as a part 
of pyrotechny. To the art of gunnery too 
belongs the knowledge of the force and effect 
of gunpowder, the dimensions of the pieces, 
and the proportions of the powder and ball 
they carry, with the method's of maanging, 
charging, pointing, springing, &c. 
The first application of gunpowder to mili- 
tary affairs, it seems, was made soon after 
the year 1300, for which the proposal of friar 
Bacon, about the year 1280, for applying its 
enormous explosion to the destruction of 
