tenth year of his reign. But to entitle them to this rank they must be created by the King in person in the field, under the royal banners, in time of open war; otherwise they rank after baronets.

KNIGHT service, a tennre, where several lands were held of the King, which draws after it homage and service in war, escuage, ward, marriage, &c. but is taken away by statute 12 Charles II. c. 24.

KNOT, means the divisions of the logline used at sea. These are usually seven fathoms, or forty-two feet; they ought to be fifty feet, and then as many knots as the log-line runs out in half a minute, so many miles does the ship sail in an hour, supposing her to keep going at an equal rate.

KNOTS of a rope, among seamen, are distinguished into three kinds, viz. wholeknot, that made so with the lays of a rope that it cannot slip, serving for sheets, tacks, and stoppers: bow-link knot, that so firmly made, and fastened to the cringles of the sails, that they must break or the sail split before it slips and sheep-shank-knot, that made by shortening a rope without cutting it, which may be presently loosened, and the rope not the worse for it.

KNOWLEDGE, is defined by Mr. Locke, to be the perception of the connection and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of our ideas.

KNOXIA, in botany, so called from Robert Knox, a genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Stellatæ. Rubiacea, Jussieu. Essential character: corolla one-petalled, funnelform ; seeds two, grooved; calyx one, leaflet larger. There is only one species, riz. K. zeylanica, a native of Ceylon.

KOELREUTERIA, in botany, so named in honour of Joseph Gottlieb Koelreuter, a genus of the Polygamia Monoecia class and order. Natural order of Trililatæ. Sapindi, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five-leaved; petals four; nectary double, four scalelets, and three glands; stamens eight, fixed to a column; germ three-sided, fixed to the same column; capsule threecelled, with two cells in each cell. There is but one species, viz. K. paullinoides; this is a tree, with an arboreous, upright, trunk, about six feet in height; branches scattered, spreading, when young having dotted glands scattered over them; buds from the axils of the leaves, resinous, cone-shaped with imbricate scales; peduncles, terminating, scattered, spreading, branched into

many pedicles; flowers panicled, three or more on each pedicle. According to L'Heritier it is a polygamous tree, and a native of China.

KOENIGIA, in botany, so named in honour of John Gerard Koenig, M. D. of Courland, who first found this plant in Iceland. It is a genus of the Triandria Trigynia class and order. Natural order of Holoraceæ. Polygoneæ, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx three-leaved; corolla none; seed one, ovate, naked. There is but one species, viz. K. islandica.

KOS, in Jewish antiquity, a measure of capacity, containing about four cubic inches: this was the cup of blessing, out of which they drank when they gave thanks after solemn meals, like that of the pass

KUHNIA, in botany, so called from Adam Kuhnius, a genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Equalis class and order. Natural order of Compositæ Discoideæ. Corymbiferæ, Jussieu. Essential character: flowers floscular; calyx imbricate, oblong, cylindrical; down plumose; receptacle naked; style deeply bifid; stigmas clubshaped; anthers distinct. There is but one species, viz. K. eupatorioides, a native of Pensylvania.

KURTUS, in natural history, a genus of fishes of the order Jugulares. Generic character: body carinated above and below, and broad; back highly elevated; gill membrane, with two rays. This consists, as far as it is known, of only a single species. It inhabits the seas of India, and is supposed to live on insects, shell fish, and particularly young crabs. Its length is about ten inches, and its breadth four. Its colour, on the whole body, is that of silver foil, and its back is tinged with gold, and marked on its ridge with several black spots. For a representation of the kurtus, see Pisces, Plate V. fig. 1.

KYANITE, or CYANITE, in mineralogy, a species of the talc genus: its principal

colour blue, though it occurs also white and grey; some specimens are entirely blue, others are only spotted, striped, or flamed with it. Externally and internally its lustre is shining aud splendent, and completely pearly. It occurs in wedge-shaped concretions, which are often very promis cuous, and then pass into large and coarse grained distinct concretions. It feels greasy; is easily frangible, and the specific gra⚫ vity is from 3.5 to 3.6. It is infusible before the blow-pipe, and is found to consist of

It is peculiar to the primitive mountains, where it occurs imbedded in talc slate, and mica slate, accompanied with grenatite. It is found in many parts of Europe. It is reckoned the link which connects talc with actynolite and trenolite.

KYLLINGIA, in botany, a genus of the Triandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Gramina. Cyperoideæ, Jussieu. Essential character: ament ovate or oblong, imbricate; flowers with a bivalve calyx and corolla. There are seven species, natives of the East and West Indies.

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consonant of our alphabet. It is a semi-vowel, formed in the voice by intercepting the breath between the tip of the tongue and the fore-part of the palate, with the mouth open.

There is something of aspiration in its sound, and therefore the Welsh usually double it, or add an h to it; as in llan, or lhan, a temple.

In English words of one syllable, it is usually doubled at the end; as in all, wall, mill, &c. but in words of more syllables than one, it is only single at the end; as in fortel, proportional, &c. It may be placed after most of the consonants, as in blue, clear, flume, &c. but before none of them. As a numeral letter, L denotes 50; and with a dash over it, thus, L, 50,000.

LA, in music, the syllable by which Guido denotes the last sound of each hexachord: if it begins in C, it answers to our A; if in G, to E; and if in F, to D.

LABDANUM, or LADANUM, is a resin obtained from the surface of the crystus creticus, a shrub which grows in Syria and the Grecian islands. It is collected while

with thongs fixed to it, from which it is afterwards scraped. When it is very good it is black, soft, and has a fragrant odour and a bitterish taste. Water dissolves about a twelfth part of it, and the matter taken up possesses gummy properties. When distilled with water, a small quantity of vola. tile oil arises. Alcohol may also be impreg nated with a taste and odour of labdanum.

LABATIA, in botany, a genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Guajacanæ, Jussien. Essential character: calyx four-leaved, inferior; corolla subcampanulate, four-cleft, with two minute segments in the division of the corolla; capsule four-celled; seeds solitary. There are two species, viz. L. sessiliflora, which is a native of Hispaniola; and L. guianensis is a tree exceeding forty feet in height, and three in diameter; the bark is of a russet colour; the wood is hard and white; the largest leaves are eight inches in length, and three in width; flowers axillary, or on the branches in pairs or threes, each on its pedicel; corolla greenish. It is called by the natives of Guiana, pourama pouteri.

LABEL, in heraldry, a fillet usually placed in the middle along the chief of the coat, without touching its extremities. Its breadth ought to be a ninth part of the chief. It is adorned with pendants; and when there are above three of these, the number must be specified in blazoning. This is a kind of addition to the arms of a second brother, to distinguish him from the first, and is esteemed the most honourable of all differences.

LABEL, in law, a narrow slip of parchment hanging from a deed, writ, or other ⚫ writing, in order to hold the appending

seal.

LABEL of a circumferentor, a long thin brass ruler, with a sight at one end, and a centre hole at the other; chiefly used with a tangent line, to take altitudes.

LABIAL letters, those pronounced chiefly by means of the lips. See LETTER.

LABIATED flowers, monopetalous flowers, consisting of a narrow tube, with a wide mouth, divided into two or more lips. See BOTANY.

LABORATORY.

But on

A laboratory properly fitted up with apparatus, is essentially necessary to a chemist whose objects lead him to make researches, experiments, and processes, upon all the different scales of operation. That great interest which the important science of chemistry has excited in all ranks of men, within the last thirty years, has rendered it easy to procure very complete sets of apparatus; which at least in the metropolis may be collected in a short time, by those who like Boyle, Cavendish, Lavoisier, and other great men, are in possession of ample means. the other hand, it is proper to remark, that many of our greatest discoverers, such as Scheele, Priestley, Berthollet, Wollaston, Dalton, Crawford, and a numerous set of eminent men, have from choice, or from motives of prudence, made use of very simple, cheap, and small sized apparatus. It is undoubtedly true that many operations can only be performed upon a scale of considerable magnitude, and that many facts of great value display themselves upon the extensive theatre of nature or in large manufactories, which are either not seen, or require uncommon discernment to perceive them in the contracted space, and during the short time employed in the performance of a philosophical experiment. But it is no less true that experiments upon a small scale do likewise possess their exclusive advantages. During the fusion and

combination of substances, in the whole no larger than a pepper-corn before the blowpipe, the effects take place with rapidity, and many of them, such as the escape of gas by effervescence, the changes of colour, and transparency by differences in the heat applied, the manner of acquiring the solid state, &c. which cannot be seen in the furnace, are in the course of a few seconds remarked and ascertained. The saving of time is also an object of leading importance. The same considerations are likewise applicable to processes of fusion, or other applications of heat in a small vessel, such as a tobacco-pipe, placed in a common fire, urged by the bellows if necessary. Humid operations may also be very advantageously conducted by single drops of liquid, and small particles of solid bodies laid upon a glass plate, or in the metallic spoon, and the lamp for distillations, and other works even upon a scale of some magnitude, has long been a favourite instrument with chemists. These will come under our notice as we proceed.

Under our article CHEMISTRY we have given a concise sketch or enumeration of the practical treatment of bodies, which leads us to point out the instruments in this place.

For the mechanical division of bodies it is requisite the chemist should have the usual instruments for cutting, breaking, rasping, filing, or shaving. One or more mortars for pounding; the best are made of hard pottery. A stone and muller for a levigating. A pair of rollers for laminating metals. A forge for many, or most of the purposes in which the blast heat of a small fire is required; and various other tools and . implements, not peculiar to chemistry.

Messrs. Aikin, in their Chemical Dictionary, give the following list of implements and materials; which, upon deliberate examination, we highly approve :

A gazometer, with the connecting tubes, blow pipe, &c.

A bladder, or silk bag, with stop cock, fitting the above.

A pneumatic water trough.

A copper still with worm tub, the still fitting into the top of the Black's furnace. A blow-pipe, with spoon, &c.

Lamps--an Argand, and others of common construction, for oil and alcohol.

An apparatus for drying precipitates by steam.

Scales and weights.

Large and small iron stands for retorts, &c.