TOU 
we had not the sense of touch, the other 
senses would have produced no such im- 
pression; sensations wonld have appeared 
to arise in the mind without any connection 
with external causes ot them. 
Some philosophers have supposed, that it 
is the exquisite delicacy of feeling which 
exists in the hand : and the admirable me- 
chanism by which it is applied, which is the 
cause of the superiority of knowledge which 
man possesses over the lower classes of ani- 
mals. It cannot be just to attribute to this 
cause alone this superiority, but indisputa- 
bly, as man is constituted, it is essential to 
the degree of superiority now possessed ; 
and we observe, tliat that tribe of animals 
possesses the greatest degree of what may 
be called human wisdom, which has this 
sense most perfect ; the beaded muscle at 
the end of the elephant’s trunk answer- 
ing some of the purposes of the human 
fingers. 
Touch needle, among assayers, refiners, 
&c. little bars of gold, silver, and copper, 
combined together in ail the diiferent pro- 
portions and degrees of mixture ; the use of 
which is to discover the degree of purity of 
any piece of gold or silver, by comparing 
the mark it leaves on the touch-stone with 
those of the bars. 
The metals usually tried by the touch- 
stone are gold, silver, and copper, either 
pure, or mixed with one another in different 
degrees and proportions, by fusion. In or- 
der to find out the purity or quantity of 
baser metal in these various admixtures, 
when they are to be examined, they are 
compared with these needles, which are 
mixed in a known proportion, and prepared 
for this use. The metals of these needles, 
both pure and mixed, are all made into 
• laminae or plates, one twelfth of an inch 
broad, and of a fourth part of their breadth 
in thickness, and an inch and a half long ; 
these being thus prepared, you are to en- 
- grave on each a mark indicating its purity, 
or tlie nature and quantity of the admix- 
ture in it. 
TOURMALINE. See Schorl. 
TOURN, the sheriff’s tourn, is the king’s 
court of record, holden before the sheriff, 
for redressing of common grievances within 
the county. This is not now held. 
TOURNEFORTIA, in botany, so named 
in memory of Joseph Pitton Tournefort, a 
genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
and order. Natural order of Asperifoli®. 
Borragine®, Jussieu. Essential character : 
beriT two-celled, tw’O-seeded, superior, 
TRA 
perforated at top by tyvo pores. There 
are eleven species ; these shrubs are mostly 
natives of South America ; several of them 
were first discovered by Father Plumier, 
who gave them the name of Pittonia, which 
Linnmus changed to Tourpefortia. 
TOURNEQUET, in surgery, an instru- 
ment made of rollers, compresses, screws, 
&c. for compressing any wounded part, so 
as to stop h®morrhages. 
TOURRE'fTIA, an botany, so named 
from Mons. de la Tourrette, a genus of the 
Didynamia Angiospermia class and order. 
Natural order of Personat®. Bignoni®, Jus- 
sieu. Essential character: calyx two-lip- 
ped ; corolla, "lower lip none, hut two 
toothlets instead of it ; capsule echinate, 
four-celled, two-valved. There is only one 
species, viz. T. lappacea, a native of Peru. 
TOW to, in naval affairs, is to draw a 
ship, or boat, forward in the water, by 
means of a rope attached to another ves- 
sel or boat, which advances by the effort 
of rowing or sailing. Towing is either prac- 
tised when a ship is disabled, aiid rendered 
incapable of carrying sail at sea; or when 
her sails are not fixed upon the masts, as in 
a harbour, or when they are deprived of 
their force of action by a cessation of the 
wind. 
TOWER, a tall building, consisting of 
several stories, usually of a round form, 
though sometimes square or polygonal. 
Towers are built for fortresses, prisons, 8fC. 
as the Tower of London, the Tower of the 
Bastile, &c. The Tower of London is not 
only a citadel to defend and command the 
city, river, &c. but also a royal palace, 
where our kings, with their courts, have 
sometimes lodged ; a royal arsenal, wherein 
are arms and ammunition for sixty thousand 
soldiers ; a treasury for the jewels and or- 
naments of the crown ; a mint for coining 
of money ; the great archive, wherein are 
preserved all the ancient records of the 
courts of Westminster, &c. and the chief 
prison for state criminals. 
TOZZIA, in botany, so named in honour 
of Bruno Tozzia, abbot of Vallumfrosa, 
F. R. S. a genus of the Didynamia Angios- 
permia class and order. Natural order of 
Personal®. Lysimachi®, Jussieu. Essen- 
tial character : calyx five- toothed ; capsule 
one-celled, globular, one-seeded. There is 
only one species, viz. T. alpina, a native of 
the mountains of Switzerland, Austria, South 
of France, Italy, and the Pyrenees. 
TRACHELIUM, in botany, throat-wort, 
a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
