VAC 
such is placed before all the vow els ; as in 
vuennf, venal, vibrate, &c. Though the let- 
ters V and u had always two sounds, they 
had only the form v till the beginning of the 
fourth century, when the other form was 
introduced, the inconvenience of express- 
ing two different sounds by the same letter- 
having been observed long before. In nu- 
merals V stands for five, and with a dash 
added at tpp, thus V, it signifies 5,000. 
VACCINATION. See Surgery. 
VACCINIUM, in botany, bilberry, or 
whortleberry, a genus of the Octandria Mo- 
nogynia class and order. Natural order of 
Bicorr.es. Ericae, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
racter : calyx superior ; corolla one-pe- 
talled ; filaments inserted into the recep- 
tacle ; berry four-celled, many seeded. 
Theie are twenty-seven species. 
VACUUM, in philosophy, denotes a space 
empty, or devoid, of all matter or body. 
It has been the opinion of some philoso- 
phers, particularly the Cartesians, that na- 
ture admits not a vacuum, but that the 
universe is intirely full of matter : in conse- 
quence of which opinion they were obliged 
to assert, that if every thing contained in a 
vessel could be taken out or annihilated, 
the sides of that vessel, however strong, 
would come together ; but this is contrary 
to experience, for the greatest part of the 
air may be drawn out of a vessel by means 
of the air-pump, notwithstanding which it 
will remain whole if its sides are strong 
enough to support the weight of the incum- 
bent atmosphere. Sliould it be objected 
here, that it is impossible to extract all the 
air out of a vessel, and that there will not 
be a vacuum on that account ; the answer 
is, that since a very great part of the air 
that was in the vessel may be drawn out, as 
appears by the more quick descent of light 
bodies in a receiver when exhausted of its 
air, there must be some vacuities between 
the parts of the remaining air; which is 
sufficient to constitute a vacuum. Indeed, 
to this it may be objected by a Cartesian, 
that those vacuities are filled with materia 
subtilis, that passes freely through the sides 
of the vessel, and gives no resistance to the 
falling bodies : but as the existence of this 
materia subtilis can never be proved, we 
are not obliged to allow the objection, 
especially since Sir Isaac Newton has 
found that all matter affords a resistance 
nearly in proportion to its density. There 
are many other arguments to prove this 
particularly the motions of the comets 
through the heavenly regions, without any 
VAG 
sensible resistance ; the different weight of 
bodies of the same bulk, &c. All the parts 
of spaces, says Sir Isaac Newton, are not 
equally full; for if they were, the specific 
gravity of the fluid which would fill the 
region of the air, could not, by reason of 
the exceeding great den.sity of its matter, 
give way to the specific gravity of quick- 
silver, gold, or any body, how dense so- 
ever : whence neither gold, nor any other 
body, could descend in the air ; for no body 
can descend in a fluid, unless it be specifi- 
cally heavier than it. But, if a quantity of 
matter may, by rjrefaction, be diminished 
in a given space, why may it not diminish 
in infinitum ? And if all the solid particles 
of bodies are of the same density, and can- 
not be rarified, without leaving pores, there 
must be a vacuum. 
VADE meewn, or Veni mecum, a Latin 
phrase, used in English to express 'a thing 
that is very handy and familiar, and which 
one usually carries about with them ; chiefly 
applied to some favourite book. 
VAGINA, properly signifies a sheath, or 
scabbard : and the term vagina is used in 
ai chilecture, for the part of a terminus, 
because resembling a sheath, out of which 
the statue seems to issue. 
VAGINALIS, the sheath-bill, in natural 
history, a genus of birds of the order 
Grail*. Generic character; bill strong, 
thick, compressed ; upper mandible covered 
above with a moveable horny sheath ; nos- 
trils placed before the sheath ; face naked 
and papillous ; wings with an obtuse excre- 
scence under the flexure ; claws grooved, 
V. alba, or the white sheath-bill, the only 
species known, is a native of New Zealand 
and the South Sea Islands. It is in length 
about sixteen inches. Its food consists of 
shell fish and putrid carcasses. Its legs are 
long, red, and naked a little above the 
knees. 
VAGRANTS are all persons threaten- 
ing to run away and leave their wives and 
children to the parish. All persons unlaw- 
fully returning to the parish or place whence 
they have been legally removed by order 
of two justices, without bringing a certifi- 
cate from the parish or place whereto they 
belong. All persons who have not where- 
with to maintain themselves, live idle, and 
lefuse to work for the usual wages given to 
other labourers in the like work, in the pa- 
rishes or places where they are. All per- 
sons going from door to door, or placin- 
themselves in the streets, highways, or pas- 
sages, to beg or gather alms in the parishes 
