528 NAP 
compofed of many thick flefliy fibres, ftriking deep into 
the ground, and connected at the top into a large head, 
from which come out many rough hairy leaves, near a 
foot diameter each way, deeply cut into fix or feven 
lobes, irregularly indented on their edges, each lobe hav¬ 
ing a ftrong midrib, all meeting at the footftalk, which 
is large and long, arifing immediately from the root. 
Flower-ftalks feven or eight feet high, dividing into 
fmaller branches, having one leaf at each joint, of the 
fame form as thole below, but diminilhing in iize towards 
the top, where they feldom have more than three lobes, 
which are divided to the footftalk. Towards the upper 
part of the ftalk comes out from the fide at each joint a 
long peduncle, branching out towards the top, and fuf- 
taining feveral white flow’ers, which are tubulous at bot¬ 
tom where the fegments of the petal are connected, but 
fpread open above, and are divided into five obtufe feg¬ 
ments. The male plants are barren ; but in the female 
plants the flowers are fucceeded by ten capfules, placed 
in a ring, femicircular, finilliing at top in a recurved 
dagger-point, compreffed wedge-fhaped, convex on the 
back, with a raifed line along the middle, fiat at the fides 
and fubcrenulate towards the dorfal margin, one-celled, 
valvelefs, or fometimes but feldom opening by two valves. 
Common receptacle central, pyramidal, grooved, and 
finilliing in a dagger-point: proper none or very Ihort. 
Seedsfolitary, kidney-form, triangular-compreffed,brown, 
■very obfcurely ftriated. Integument triple; the outer- 
moll very thin, the middle cartilaginous; the inmoft mem¬ 
branaceous. The female flowers have ftamens, but the 
anthers are very fmall, effete, and barren. The leaves 
are fubpeltate, but open to the very petiole, and wrinkled ; 
they have from two to feven lobes. Flow’ers in heads. 
Fruit orbicular, deprefl’ed, confuting of eight or ten joints. 
Both thefe plants grow' naturally in Virginia and other 
parts of North America. From their bark a fort of hemp 
might be procured, fuch as many of the malvaceous tribe 
afford. They flower from July to September, the feeds 
ripen in autumn, and then the ftalks decay. Mr. Miller 
cultivated them in 1759. They are eafily propagated by 
feeds, fown on a bed of common earth in the fpring. 
Keep them clear from weeds till autumn, and then tranf- 
plant them where they are to remain. They delight in a 
rich moift foil, in which they will grow very luxuriantly, 
and mull be allowed room. The firft fort may alfo be 
increafed by parting the roots in autumn. They are not 
plants of any great beauty. 
NAPAiTE, [from vetm, Gr. a grove.] Certain female 
divinities among the ancients who prefided over the hills 
and W’oods of the country. Yet fome fuppofe-that they 
were tutelary nymphs of the fountains, and the naiades 
of the fea. 
NAP'ASHISH, a lake of North-America. Lat. 6a. 10. N. 
Ion. 99. 50. W. 
NAPATA', a town of Nubia, near the eall coaft of the 
Nile : a 10 miles eall-fouth-eaft of Dongala, and 160 weft- 
north-weft of Suakem. 
NAPAU'L. See Nepaul. 
NAPAYOL', or Nafayed'la, a town of Moravia, in 
the circle of Hradifch : eight miles north of Hradifcli. 
NAPE, J\ [Of uncertain etymology. Skinner imagines 
it to come from nap, the hair that grows on it; Junius, 
with his ufual Greek fagacity, from vcerro, a hill; perhaps 
from cnaep, Sax. any protuberance ; or hnappr, leek] The 
joint of the neck behind.—Turn your eyes towards the 
napes of your necks, and make but an interior furvey of 
your good felves. Shahefpearc. 
NAPE'CA,/. in botany. See Riiamnus. 
NAPEL'LUS, J'. in botany. See Aconitum. 
NAP'ENFELS, a town of Bavaria, in the principality 
of Aichftatt: five miles fouth of Aichftatt. 
NA'PERY, f. [ naperia , Ital. nappa, a table-cloth, a 
napkin; nappe, Fr. naparia, low Lat. from nappa, Lat. 
The Scotch ufe naiprie, which Dr. Jamiefon has noticed 
y.ith this remark: “ Dr. Johnfon mentions napery, but 
a 
N A ‘P 
without any authority; the word being fcarcely known 
in Englifh.” It happens, however, (though Dr. Johnfon 
indeed could find no example,) that this word is common 
in Englifh, and fupported by indifputable authority. 
Todd.'] Linen for the table; linen in general.—What 
ufe was there of a towel, where was no water ? She that 
made a fountain of her eyes, made precious napary of her 
hair: that better flax fhamed the linen in the Pharifee’s 
cheft. Bp. Hall's Contempt. —He did eat no meat on 
table-cloths; out of mere neceffiry ; becaufe they had nor 
meat nor napery. Gayton on D. Quixote. 
Some her hufband’s gowne. 
Some a pillowe of downe. 
Some of the napery; 
And all this fhifte they make 
For the good ale fake. Shelton's Poems. 
NA'PHEW, or Navew, f. [napus, Lat.] An herb. 
See Brassica. 
NA'PIIISH, [Heb. the foul.] A man’s name. 
NAPH'TALI, [Heb. fimilitude.] The anceftor of one 
of the tribes of Ifrael, was the fixth foil of Jacob, by 
Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, and born about the year 1745 B. C. 
I11 the prophetic bleffmg pronounced by Jacob upon his 
foils, according to our verfion, with which moft ancient 
and modern expofitors concur, he is deferibed under the 
allufion of “ a hind let loofe, that giveth goodly words ;” 
or, one who fhould excel his brethren in fwiftnefs, and be 
remarkable for the fweetnefs of his eloquence. But other 
learned men, underftanding the words in another fenfe, 
which is agreeable to the Septuagint, Chaldee, and Arabic* 
verfions, render them, “ Naphtali is a well-fpread tree, 
which flioots out beautiful branches.” The prediflioA 
contained in the words according to the latter tranflation, 
was exaftly verified by the event: for no tribe multiplied 
fo wonderfully as that of Naphtali, who had but four 
fons when he came into Egypt; and yet at the time of 
the Exodus, it could mufter fifty-three thouland men, 
able to bear arms. The portion of the land of Canaan 
which was allotted to this tribe lay to the eaft of the in¬ 
heritance of the tribe of Aflier, between it and the river 
Jordan, over againft the half-tribe of Manalfeh. It was a 
very fertile diftridt, and bounded by Syria on the north, 
and fouthward by the tribe of Zebulun. Gen. xxx. 7, 8. 
xlix. 21. Jo/h. xix. 32. 
NAPH'THA, [Latin, from the Perfian neft, or 
nap/it.] See the article Mineralogy, vol. xv. p. 475.— 
Naphtha is a very pure, clear, and thin, mineral fluid, of 
a very pale yellow, with a call of brown in it. It is foft 
and oily to the touch, of a fharp and unpleafing tafle, and 
of a brillc and penetrating fmell; of the bituminous kind. 
It is extremely ready to take fire. Hill. —Strabo reprefents 
it as a liquation of bitumen. It fwims on the top of the 
water of wells and fprings. That found about Babylon 
is in fome fprings whitilh, though it be generally black, 
and differs little from petroleum. Woodward. — This 
nephtha is an oily or fat liquid fubitance ; in colour not 
unlike foft white clay. Sir T. Herbert's Travels. 
From'the arched roof 
Pendant by fubtle magick, many a row 
Of Harry lamps, and burning creffets, fed 
With naphtha and afphaltus, yielded light 
As from a Iky. Milton's Paradife Loft . 
NAPI'ER, or Ne'per (John), Baron of Merchifton in 
Scotland, and inventor of logarithms, was the eldeft Ion 
of fir Archibald Napier of Merchifton, and born in the 
year 1350. Having given early indications of excellent 
natural abilities, and of a propenfity to reading and ftudy, 
his father was careful to give him the advantages of a li¬ 
beral education. After being well grounded in the re- 
quifite preparatory learning, he was fent to the univerfity 
of St. Andrew’s, where he went through the courles of 
philofophy, and the other branches of academic lludy. 
Afterwards he made the tour of France, Italy, and Ger¬ 
many. Upon his return to his native country, his litera¬ 
ture 
