TRU 
their victories. To demolish a trophy was 
looked upon as a kind of sacrilege, because 
they were all consecrated to some deity. 
TROPICS, in astronomy and geography, 
are two circles supposed to be drawn on 
each side of the equinoctial, and parallel 
thereto. That on the north-side of the line 
is called the tropic of cancer, and tlie 
southern tropic has the name of capricorn, 
as passing through the beginning of those 
signs. There are distant from the equinoc- 
tial 23° 29'. Two circles drawn at the 
same distance from the equator on the ter- 
restrial globe, have the same names iti geo- 
graphy, and they include that space or part 
of the sphere, which is called the torrid 
zone, because the sun is, at one time or 
other, perpendicular over every part of 
that zone, and extremely terrifies or heats 
it. 
TROVER is the remedy prescribed by 
the law, where any person is in possession of 
the property of another, which he unlaw- 
fidly detains. Previously to commencing 
this action, a demand of the property sp de- 
tained, must be made in writing, by some 
jrerson properly authorised by the owner of 
the prcperty ; and upon refusal to restore 
it, tlie law presumes an unlawful conver- 
sion, and the party is entitled to this action, 
and will recover damages to the value of 
the proiierty detained. In trover, the 
smallest damages will carry costs. A simi- 
lar action may be brought for the unlawful 
detention of any property,, on which the 
specific articles, so detained, may be reco- 
vered, whicli is called detinue j but as the 
articles detained must be precisely stated 
in the declaration, and it is attended with 
some difficulty, this action is very seldom 
'brought. 
TROY weight, in commerce. See 
AVeight. 
Troy weight, formerly called Trone 
weight, is supposed to be taken fiom a 
weight of the same name in Prance, which 
was taken from the name of the town of 
Troyes. The original of all weights used 
in England, wa.s a grain of wheat, taken 
out of the middle of the ear, aiid, when 
well dried, thirty-two of them were to 
make one penny-weight: twenty penny- 
weights, one ounce; and twelve ounces 
one pound. Afterwards it was thought suf- 
ficient to divide the penny-weight into 
twenty-four equal parts, called grains, which 
is the least weight now in common use. 
TRUCE, in the art of war, denotes a 
suspension of arms, or a cessation of hosti- 
TRU 
lities between two armies, in order to settle 
articles of peace, bury the dead, or the like. 
TRUCKS, among gunners, round pieces 
of wood, in form of wheels, fixed on the 
axle-trees of carriages; to move the ord- 
nance at sea, and sometimes also at land. 
TRUFFLES, in natural history, a kind 
of subterraneous vegetable production, net 
unlike mushrooms, being a genus of fungi, 
which grows under the surface of the earth. 
TRUMPET, in music. See Musical 
instruments. 
Trumpet, speaking, is a tube of consi- 
derable length, viz. from 6 feet to 12, and 
even more, used for speaking with to make 
the voice heard to a greater distance. In 
a trumpet of this kind the sound in one di- 
rection is supposed to be increased, not so 
much by its being prevented from spread- 
ing all round, as by the reflection from the 
sides of the trumpet. The figure best 
suited for the speaking trumpet is that 
which is generated by the rotation of a pa- 
rabola, about a line parallel to the axis. 
The trumpet used at sea is represented by 
fig. 10, Plate XVI. Miscel. It is an hollow 
instrument ot copper, or of tinned iron 
plates. It is open at both ends, and the 
narrow end A is shaped so as to go round 
the speaker’s mouth, and to leave the lips 
at liberty within it. The edge of this nar- 
row end A is generally covered with lea- 
ther or cloth, in order that it may more 
effectually prevent the passage of anv air 
between the trumpet and the face of the 
speaker. The words which are spoken 
through a speaking trumpet may be heard 
much further and louder, but not so dis- 
tinctly, as without the trumpet. A speak- 
ing trumpet has been applied to the mouth 
of a gun or pistol, by which means the explo- 
sion has been rendered audible at'a vast dis- 
tance. Such contrivances it has been thought 
might be used as signals in certain eases. 
Trumpet, hearing, is an instrument to 
assist the hearing/of persons who are deaf. 
Instruments of this kind are formed of 
tubes, with a wide mouth, and terminating 
in a small canal, which is applied to the 
ear. The form of these instruments evi-- 
dently shows how they conduce to 'as.sist 
the hearing, for the greater quantity of the 
weak and languid pulses of the air being 
received and collected by the large end of 
the tube, are reflected to the small end, 
where they are collected and condensed ; , 
thence entering the ear in this condensed 
state, they strike the tympanum with a 
greater force tlian they could naturally have 
