USE 
the honey contained in them. It sleeps 
much; passes the winter, or the ;rreater 
part of it, in its burrowed residence, in a 
state of letliargy and torpor ; and in sum- 
mer produces, generally, three young ones 
at a birth. These animals are inoft'ensive 
in tlieir manners ; reluctant to attack, but 
well prepared by nature for defence, which 
they conduct with an alertness, intrepidity, 
and perseverance, truly admirable. To 
afford a spectacle of these qualities to the 
populace of several countries, the badger is 
frequently baited with dogs, which, from 
the looseness of the badger’s skin and the 
coarseness of its iiair, are prevented some- 
times from penetrating to his flesh with 
their teeth, and almost always, from so 
fastening him by their bite as to preclude 
his turning in various directions for their 
annoyance. The strength of his jaws, and 
the sharpness of his teeth, enable him to 
deal the most painful and destructive 
wounds ; indeed, his bite almost uniformly 
brings with it the flesh, as well as the blood 
of his antagonist. He is at length over- 
powered by numbers, but seldom without 
having inflicted a severe and fatal revenge. 
His agility of movement in the conflict 
gives a most important advantage, as his 
blow is as it were struck, while the enemy 
is only preparing for the attack. The 
badger is particidarly cleanly in his habits ; 
and his flesh, prepared like that of the hog, 
is said to be equally valuable and welbfla- 
voured. 
URTICA, in botany, nettle, a genus of 
the Monoecia Tetrandria class and order. 
Natural order of Scabridae. Urticaa, Jus- 
sieu. Essential character ; male, calyx four- 
leaved ; corolla none ; nectaiy central, cup- 
shaped : female, calyx two-leaved ; corolla 
none ; seed one, superior, shining. There 
are fifty-nine species. 
URTICULARIA, in botany, bladder- 
wort, a genus of the Diandria Monogynia 
class and order. Natural order of Cory- 
dales. Lysimachi®, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
racter : corolla ringent, spurred ; calyx two- 
Jeaved, equal ; capsule one-celled. Thei e 
are thirteen species. 
USANCE, in commerce, is a determinate 
time fixed for the payment of bills of ex- 
change, reckoned either from the day of 
the bills being accepted, or from the day of 
their date ; and thus called because regu- 
lated by the usage, and custom of the places 
whereon they are drawn. See Exchange. 
USE, ill law', is a trust and confidence 
pposed in another, who is tenant of the 
UST 
land, that he shall dispose of the land ay- 
cording to the intention of cestuy que tise, 
or him to whose use it was granted, and 
suffer him to take the profits. 
By statute 27, Henry VIII. c. 10. com- 
monly called the statute of uses, or the sta- 
tute for transferring uses into possession, 
the cestuy que use is considered as the real 
owner of the estate ; whereby it is enacted, 
that when any person is seised of lands to 
the use of another, the person entitled to 
the use in fee-simple, fee-tail, for life or 
years, or otherwise, sliallstand and be seised 
or possessed of the land, in the like estate, 
as he hath of the use, trust, or confidence. 
And thereby the act makes cestuy que use 
complete owner both at law and in equity. 
This is one of the most important statutes 
in the law respecting conveyances, and it 
is as it were the hinge, upon which all the 
system of conveyancing turns. It is ex- 
tremely difficult to explain its effect in this 
dictionary, but it may be important to say, 
that in any conveyance which operates un- 
der the statute of uses, it is nece.ssary to 
declare a use, as to say the estate is given 
to A B, to the use of A B, without which 
the use, that is, all the interest in the estate, 
results to the donor. A trust is now what 
a use was formerly. See Trust. 
USHER, an officer, or servant, who has 
the care and direction of the door of a 
court, hall, chamber, or the like. 
In the king’s houshold there are two gen- 
tlemen ushers of the privy-chamber appoint- 
ed to attend the door, and give entrance to 
persons that have admittance thither ; four 
gentleraen-ushers, waiters; and eight gen- 
tlemen-ushers, quarter-waiters in ordinary. 
Usher also signifies an officer of the 
Court of Exchequer, of which there are 
four who attend the barons and chief offi- 
cers of that court at Westminster, as also 
juries, sheriffs, &c. at the pleasure of the 
court, There is also an usher of the Court 
of Chancery. 
Usher of the Blade Rod, the eldest of 
the gentlemen-ushers daily waiters at court 
whose duty is to bear the rod before the 
King at the feast of St. George, and other 
solemnities : he has also the keeping of the 
chapter-house door, when a chapter of the 
order of the garter is sitting, and in time 
,of parliament attends the house of peers 
and takes delinquents into custody. He 
wears a gold badge, embellished with the 
ensigns of the order of the garter. 
USTERIA, in botany, a genus of the 
