TUR 
situation, and with the same materials, as 
the throstle, and may be easily reared, 
tamed, and taught to imitate a variety of 
tunes, and to articulate words and phrases. 
But its natural song is far superior to all its 
efforts of imitation, and when listened to 
from a moderate distance, for its sound is 
very strong, has a most cheering and trans- 
porting effect. 
T. cinclus, or the water ouzel, is rather 
less than the former, is solitary, and met 
with in various parts of this island, subsist- 
ing not only upon insects biit fish, which it 
procures by diving, and walking or running 
after them at the bottom of the water. It 
is said to have been taken by a line and 
hook, having snatched at the bait intended 
for fish. It is able to sustain extreme cold, 
and does not quit its watery haunts till the 
streams are frozen. It builds in tlie banks 
of rivers. 
The musician thrush is four inches long, 
and a native of Cayenne, where it subsists 
principally on ants. It never quits trees 
but to procure its sustenance. It is called 
in Cayenne the musician, by way of emi- 
nence. It is said to deliver first seven notes 
of the octave, and then to whistle various 
airs in different tones, sometimes resem- 
bling the flute, at others the human whis- 
tle ; and when it displays its most skilful 
efforts, it is preferred by some even to the 
nightingale. Its habits are solitary. 
TURKEY. .See Meleagris. 
TURMERIC, a root, which is cultivated 
largely in the East Indies ; consists of a 
large oval bulb, from which spring two or 
tliree tortuous processes, three or four inches 
long. It has a fragrant smell, and an aro- 
matic taste. The yellow colour which it 
exhibits is easily extracted, both by water 
and alcohol, and is sometimes used as a 
dye, which is very fugitive ; therefore when 
employed in dyeing, it is chiefly to give a 
finishing gloss to the more solid colours, 
which soon fades away. The yellow of 
turmeric is rendered paler by the acids, 
but is changed to a brick-red by the alka- 
lies ; hence its great sensibility to alkaline 
tests. To apply it to this purpose, either a 
spirituous tincture or a watery infusion may 
be used ; or, still more simply, a fresh cut 
surface of the entire root may be wetted 
with distilled water, and by being rubbed 
on white paper a visible yellow mark will 
be made, on which a drop of the liquor to 
be examined may be dropped. If the quan- 
tity of alkali be very small, it requires a few 
minutes to produce the full change. 
TURNERA, in botany, so named in me- 
TUR 
mory of William Turner, M. D. a genus of 
the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
Natural order of Columnifer®. Portulace®, 
Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
cleft, funnel-form, exterior, two-leaved ; 
petals five, inserted into the calyx ; stigmas 
multifid; capsule one-celled, three-valved. 
There are nine species. 
TURNING, in mechanics, a very inge- 
nious and useful art, by which a great vari- 
ety of articles are manufactured, by cutting 
or fashioning them while they revolve upon 
an axis or line, which in most cases remains 
immoveable. Every solid substance in na- 
ture may be submitted to this process, and 
accordingly we have articles turned in the 
metals, in wood, in pottery, in stone, in 
ivory, &c. so numerous, and so universally 
in use, that it would be superfluous to enu- 
merate or point them out. In the present 
article we shall describe the art in a gene- 
ral way, sufficient to show its principles, 
and may he of utility in practice. 
The simplest process of turning is that of 
the potter, who, in the first stage of forming 
his ware, sticks a piece of humid clay upon 
a wheel, or flat table, while it revolves hori- 
zontally, and in this state of rotation of the 
clay, he'fashions it with the greatest faci- 
lity into vessels of every description. But 
in most operations of the art the revolving 
body is cut or shaved by applying a chissel, 
or other suitable tool, to its surface, while 
in motion ; a condition that requires firm- 
ness in the axis of rotation, and also, that 
the tool itself should be steadily supported. 
The instrument, or apparatus for these pur- 
poses, is called a Lathe. See the article. 
Among the great varieties of lathes, it is 
indispensably required, for circular turning, 
that the work should be supported by two 
steady centres, or by parts equivalent to 
two centres, at a distance from each other 
in the axis of rotation, and that the tool 
should be supported by a steady bar, or 
piece called the rest. The mechanism for 
causing the rotation has been described in 
the article just referred to. 
A great number of turned articles either 
have, or will admit of a peiforation through 
their axis. All wheel-work, and most of 
the articles turned in wood, are of this 
description. Clock and watchmakers ac- 
cordingly use a very cheap, simple, and 
portable lathe, called a turn-bench, con- 
sisting of a straight bar of iron, about five 
inches long, with two cross bars or heads, 
about two inches long, one fixed at the 
end of the long bar, and the other capable 
of being shifted by means of a socket and 
