Y U C 
Y Y E 
YU, a city of China of the second rank, in Honan. Lat. 
34. 16. N. long. 113. 14. E. 
YUBAL, a settlement of Quito, in the province of Cuenqa. 
YUCA, a large settlement of New Granada, in the pro¬ 
vince of Velez, containing 700 housekeepers, and 60 Indians; 
20 miles north of Santa Fe. 
YUCA, a small river of St. Domingo, which rises very 
near the south coast, runs south, and enters the ocean. 
YUCAL, a settlement of New Granada, in the province 
of Carthagena, on the shore of the Magdalena. 
YUCATAN, the most easterly province of New Spain. It 
is in the form of a peninsula, jutting out into the gulf of 
Mexico from the mainland of the isthmus. It is surrounded 
on the north-west by the waters of the Mexican gulf, by the 
bay or gulf of Honduras on the south-east, the province of 
Vera Cruz bounds it on the south-west, and Vera Paz in Gua- 
timala on the south. Here it is connected with the continent 
of North America, by an isthmus of about 120 miles in 
breadth. The English have settlements extending a short 
distance along the east coast of Yucatan, opposite Ambergris 
Key. The soil of this peninsula is very prolific, and, when 
under proper cultivation, produces great crops of corn, 
maize, indigo, and cotton. The climate is hot, their summer 
beginning in April, and finishing in September; but Ja¬ 
nuary and February are very warm months, the rest of the 
winter cooler, and little or no rain falls throughout that 
season. The north side is the pleasantest; for, although 
very hot, it is refreshed by gentle breezes; on the whole, 
the climate of Yucatan is not an unhealthy one. It pro¬ 
duces and sustains vast quantities of cattle, fowls, and 
bees; honey and wax are therefore plenty; and its forests 
afford shelter to various kinds of wild beasts. It has no 
mines, for which reason it is not much settled by the w’hites, 
the chief part of its inhabitants being Indians, who are 
employed in making salt in Campeachy bay, and are 
subject to the Spaniards. On the coasts of Yucatan, 
large pieces of amber are frequently found. A ridge of 
considerable mountains pervades the whole extent of this 
province, which extends from the eastern side at Merida, 
to the western extremity of the peninsula. On this range of 
mountains the climate is very fine, and it is asserted that the 
natives live to a great age. On the north side of this chain 
the land is refreshed with breezes, and contains plenty of 
springs ; but the southern side is in want of good water, ill 
cultivated, and thinly peopled, the settlers being chiefly on 
the north. In Merida the nights and days are nearly of a 
length, owing to its situation. In Yucatan there are very few 
rivers of any consequence, but springs are numerous, espe¬ 
cially on the north sideand in digging for their wells, in 
which they always find water at a little depth, shells are 
usually found, from which, with the shallowness of the sea 
near the coast, it has been supposed that the greater part of 
the peninsula was once submerged. The eastern coast of Yu¬ 
catan is not inhabited by Spanish colonists, the English alone 
appearing there, except in the small fort of Bacalar, which has 
been built to prevent the British from going into the interior. 
The British logwood cutters find that article in greatest per¬ 
fection in Campeachy bay, and in the bay of Honduras; but 
it has been said that the logwood of Campeachy is more 
plentiful, as well as greatly superior to that of Honduras. The 
chief towns are Campeachy, or St. Francisco de Campeche 
Merida de Yucatan, and Valladolid. Here are, besides, some 
Indian villages. The logwood cutting establishments are un¬ 
der the Spanish governor; but by the treaty of peace in 1783, 
the British were allowed the privilege of cutting it without 
being molested. The wood is felled at stated seasons, and in 
stated places, by permission of the intendant, and is dried for 
a year previous to exportation. This wood is not confined to 
Yucatan; it grows in abundance on the coast of South Ame¬ 
rica, near the mouths of the Orinoco. Population, including 
the Indians, 465,800. 
YUCAY, Santiago de, a settlement of Peru, in the 
province of Urubamba. 
YUCCA, in Botany, a genus of the class hexandria, order 
monogynia, natural order of coronarise, lilia (Juss.) —Ge- 
795 
neric character. Calyx none. Corolla: bell-shaped, six- 
parted, cohering by the claws; segments ovate, very large, 
spreading. Stamina: filaments six, very short, thicker above, 
reflexed. Anthers very small. Pistil: germ oblong, bluntly 
three-sided, longer than the stamens. Style none. Stigma 
three-grooved, obtuse, with bifid segments, pervious. Peri¬ 
carp : berry oblong, obscurely six-cornered, fleshy, punched 
with a little hole between the stigmas, six-celled ; partitions 
three thicker, and three thinner, and membranaceous dia¬ 
phragms forming cells for each seed. Seeds: flatfish, in¬ 
cumbent, fastened to the inner angle of each cell.— Essential 
Character. Corolla: bell-shaped, spreading. Style none. 
Capsule three-celled. 
1. Yucca gloriosa, or superb Adam’s needle.—Leaves quite 
entire. This seldom rises with a stem above two feet and a 
half or three feet high, which has leaves almost to the ground. 
These are broad, stiff, and have the appearance of those of 
the Aloe, but are narrower; they are of a dark green colour, 
and end in a sharp black spine. It frequently produces its 
panicles of flowers from the centre of the leaves. They ap¬ 
pear in August and September, but are not succeeded by 
seeds in England.—Native of Virginia and other parts of 
North America. 
2. Yucca aloifolia, or aloe-leaved Adam’s needle.—Leaves 
crenulate, strict. This rises with a thick, tough, fleshy stalk, 
to the height of ten or twelve feet, having a head or tuft of 
the leaves at the top ; these are narrower and stiffer than those 
of the former sort, and are of a lighter green colour; their 
edges are slightly serrate, and their points end in sharp 
thorns. The flower-stalk rises in the centre of the leaves, 
and is from two to three feet long, branching out into a py¬ 
ramidal form.—Native of South America. 
3. Yucca draconis, or drooping-leaved Adam’s needle.— 
Leaves crenate, nodding. Stalks three or four feet high.— 
Native of South Carolina. 
4. Yucca filamentosa, or thready Adam’s needle.—Leaves 
serrate-thready.—Native of Virginia. 
Propagation and Culture. —All these plants are either 
propagated by seed, when obtained from abroad, or else from 
offsets or heads taken from the old plants, after the manner of 
Aloes. 
To YUCIC, v. n. [Jeucken , Dutch.] To itch. Grose 
calls it a Lincolnshire word. 
YU-CHAN, a town of China, of the third rank, in Kiang- 
see. 
YUCUL, a settlement of Peru, in the province of Chan- 
cay. 
YUE, a town of China, of the second rank, in Yunan. Lat. 
25. 22. N. long. 103.22. E. 
YUEN, a river of China, which runs into the lake Tong- 
ting. 
YUEN, a city of China, of the second rank, in Hooquang. 
Lat. 27.23. N. long. 109. E. 
YUEN-CHAN, a town of China, of the third rank, in 
Kiang-see. 
YUEN-CHE, a town of China, of the third rank, in Pe- 
che-lec. 
YUEN-KIANG, a city of China, of the first rank, in Yu¬ 
nan, on the Hoti river, in a mountainous but fertile country, 
abounding with silk and areca. Lat. 23. 37. N. long. 101. 
44. E. 
YUEN-MEOU, a town of China, of the third rank, in 
Yunan. 
YUEN-OU, a town of China, of the third rank, in Honan. 
YUEN-SI, a town of China, of the third rank, in Hoo¬ 
quang. 
YUEN-TCHEOU, a city of China, of the first rank, in 
Kiang-see, on the borders of an agreeable little lake. Its dis¬ 
trict produces alum and vitriol. Lat. 27. 50. N. long. 114. 
E. 
YUEN-YANG, a city of China, of the first rank, in Hoo¬ 
quang, on the river Han, and in a plain encompassed by 
mountains, in which tin is found; 517 miles south-south¬ 
west of Pekin. Lat. 32. 50. N. long. 110. 29. E. 
YVERDUN, a small town of the Swiss canton of Vaud, at 
the 
