JAM
J A R
It is of the fize of the frefh-water perch, and its mouth is very large, but without teeth. It has only one back fin, which has eleven rigid and prickly rays. The tail is forked. Its gills are armed with feveral prickles, with which it wounds thofe who take it. Its fcales are fmall, elegantly arranged, and ferrated at their edges. It is of a filvery brightnefs all over, except on the belly, where it is of a dead white ; the head is red, and covered with a fort of hairy cruft ; the fins alfo are all of a pale red. It is caught among the rocks, and is a very well tailed iifli. Marggrav/s Hill. Brafil.
JAGUARETE, in natural hiitory, the name of a Brafilian beail of prey, accounted by Marggrave a fpecies of tyger, but improperly ; its roundilh fpots arguing it of the lynx or leopard kind. It is of the tize of a young heifer, of a yel- lowiih colour, variegated with black and brown fpots, and is a very fierce and deilruCtive animal. It much refembles the creature called Jaguara, but is larger ; and the fpots which in that are all round, are in this fome round, and fome of other figures. The Portuguefe call both by the fame name onca. Ray's Syn. Quad. p. 169. See the article Ja- guara.
JALAP, Jalapa, in botany, the name of a genus of plants : The characters of which are thefe : The flower conlilts on- ly of one leaf which is of the lhape of a funnel, with a broad opening, and ufually lightly cremated round the edge. The flower has a double calyx, or cup; on one of thefe it Hands, and is inclofed at its bottom in the other. The lower of thefe finally becomes a fruit of a roundilh figure, and containing roundilh feeds.
The fpecies ot "Jalap, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are thefe: 1. The purple-flowered Jalap. 2. The yellow- cowered Jalap. 3. The deep rcd-flowcrcd Jalap. 4. The whitiih-flowered jalap. 5. The variegated Jalap, with flowers of a mixt purple and yellow. 6. The variegated Jalap, with flowers mixed of red, yellow, and white. 7. Ine variegated Jalap, with flowers half white half purple. 8. The variegated Jalap, with a white flower fpotted, and ilreaked with a deep purple. 9. The variegated Jalap, with flowers ftreaked with yellow. 10. The fmall flowered Ja- lap. 11. The rough-fruited Jalap. The root of the lalt is the drug called Jalap, in the fhops. Town. Inlt. p. 129.
After all the preparations the chemifts have invented for this root, the belt way of giving it is in fubltance. Mr. Bolduc in hib analyfis of it found, that when he feparated its faline and its relinous parts, by making extracts of it nrfr. with fpirits of wine, and then with water, that the faline or wa- tery extra£t was much larger in quantity than the other, but that it purged weakly; and that the relinous extract, tho' it operated in a fmall dofe, was yet a very rough medi- cine ; fo that the beil way of ufing them was. together, and that nature gave us the medicine ready prepared. Mem. Acad. Par- 1701.
JALEMUS, "ia^o;, in antiquity, a kind of mournful fong, ufed upon occafion of death, or any other afflicting accident. Hence the Greek proverbs had their original, laXe^a nx^vn^, or 4*"*?o'Kgos, *'. c. more fad or colder than a Jalemus-, ui m<; I«Asfta; £77§«ral6o?, worthy to be ranked among Jaletmtfs. Mem. Acad. Infcrip. T. 13. p. 554.
JAM, or Jamb, in the language of our lead-miners in Men- dip, a thick bed of Hone, which hinders their work when they are purfuing the veins of oar.
JAMACAII, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian bird, of thi lize of a lark ; its head is fmall, its beak a little bent downwards. Its head is black, its throat alfo black ; but the upper part of its neck yellow. Its back, breaft and belly. are alfo yellow. Its wings are black, but have each one white fpot. Its tail alfo is black, and its legs and feet brown. It is an extremely beautiful bird, and has fo long tail that it l'eems to belong to the wagtail or motacilla kind. Marggrave % Hilt. Brafil.
JAMAICA Pepper-tree. See the article Pimif.nta.
Jamaica-0-W. See the article Brazil, Cycl.
JAMBEAUX, in our old writers, armour for the leo-s. The word is French, from Jambs, tibia, the leg. Blount.
JAMBLICI Sal, in medicine, a kind of fait prepared with fal ammoniac, and feveral aromatic ingredients, fuch as pepper, ginger, thyme, origanum, and the like ; it has its name from its reputed author Jamblichus, and is fuppofed by many old writers to be an excellent medicine for concocting the crude humours, and gently producing ftools. It was taken falling in the quantity of half a ipoonful, either alone or in a poach'd egg, or mix'd with any liquor. Gorrai Med. De- fin, in voc.
JAMBON, in natural hiftory, a name given by authors to a kind of fea-fhell, refembling a ham of bacon. It is a fpe- cies of pinna marina. See the article Mytulus.
JAMBU, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian fpecies of par- tridge, of which there are two fpecies. They are of a dulky yellow colour, and are equal to the European partridges in the delicacy of their tafte. Marggrave s Hill. Brafil.
JAMPNUM, in our old writers, furze or gorfe, and gorfy ground. This word is ufed in lines of lands", &c. and feems to come from the French Jaime, i. e. yellow ; becaufe the.
bloffoms of furze or gorfe are of that colour. 1 Croh I7q ft Blount. /y
JANA, among the Romans, a name given to the mooni Hojfm. Lex. in voc. bee the article Lu na.
JANl FOR, an affected name given by fome writers to ths Pylorus.
Janitores, door-keepers, among the Romans, the mean- eft of their Haves, who were commonly chained to their polls. Hojfm. Lex. in voc.
JANITRIX, an affected name given by fome writers to the vena portx.
JANSENISTS, in the church of Rome, the followers of Jau- fenius bilhop of Ipres, in Flanders. See the article Jan- senism, Cycl.
J ANXJA-P lajler, a name given by fome to the emplaftrum de betonia, or betouy plafler, prefcribed in Lemery's pharma- copoeia, and by other authors.
JAPACANI, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian bird of the fmaller fort; its beak is black, long, and pointed, and a little bent downward ; its head is black, and its back, neck, and wings, are of a greenilh brown mixed with black; the tail is black above, and is fpotted with white underneath. Its breaft is of a mixture of white and yellow, as are alfo its belly and thighs; and thefe are variegated with tranfverfe black ftreaks. Marggrave's Hift. Braid;
JAPANNING {Cycl.)— The varniih made and ufed in China and Japan, is compofed of turpentine and a curious fort of oil they have. This they mix and boil up to a proper con- liftence, and this never caufes any fwelling in the hands or face of the people who ufe it. The fweuings in thefe parts which often happen to thofe who work the iacquer'd ware, and fometimes to thofe who only pafs by the fhops of thefe people, is from the lack and not the varnifli. This lack is the fap or juice of a tree, which runs (lowly out on cutting the lower part of the trunk of the tree, and is received in pots fet on purpofe under the incifions. This juice as it flows from the tree is of the colour and confidence of cream, and as it comes in contact with the external air its furface becomes black. As they only ufe it when black, their me- thod of preparing it is to fet it out in the open air, in large flat bowls, in which it looks all furface ; but that the whole may be of the fame uniform colour, they continually ffir it for twenty-four hours together, with a fmooth piece of iron : By this means the whole becomes thicker than it was before, and of a fine deep black. When it is in this ftate they powder fome burnt boughs of trees, and mix them throughly with it, and then fpreading it thin over any board which they intend to japan, it is foon dried in the fun, and is then abfolutely harder than the board it is laid on. When this is throughly dry they polifh it over with a fmooth ftone and water, till it is as fmooth as glafs ; and then wiping it very dry, they lay on the vamifh made of oil and turpentine, and boil'd to a proper confiftence for this kind of work. If the work is to be of any other colour than black, that colour is to be mixed with the varnifh, and then the whole fpread on very thinly and evenly ; for in this laying it on depends the principal art of varnilhing. When there are to be figures in gold or filver, thefe mull be trae'd out with a pencil in the varniih over the reft of the work, and when this varniih is almoft dry the leaf-gold or leaf-filver is to be laid on, and polifh'd afterwards with any fmooth fubltance.
JAPU, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian bird, of the wood- pecker kind, called alfo Jupujuba. It is all over of a fine mining black colour, but that it has a large yellow fpot on
the middle of each wing, and
ye.
ftreak
the rump. This bird hangs its nell very nicely from the extreme boughs of trees; and from the feeing thefe nefts, and not knowing to what bird they belonged, has arifen the error of fuppofing that the parrots hang their nefts in this manner. Ray's Ornitholog. p. 98.
J ARAR A-Ceaypitinga, in zoology, the name of a fpecies of ferpent found in America, not much unlike the common vi- per, and equally venomous. Its tail is of a paler colour than the reft of the body, and thence it has its name; which in the language of the natives exprefTcs this property.
] arar a- Epeba, in zoology, the name of a fpecies of Ame- rican ferpent, of a brown colour, but variegated by a very beautiful undulated red line, running all along the back like a chain. Ray's Syn. An. p. 330.
JARARACA, in zoology, the name of a fpecies of ferpent, common in America. It is a very fhort ferpent, feldom exceeding a foot and a half in length. It has fome promi- nent veins on its head, and is of a dulky brownifh colour, variegated with red and black fpots. It is a very poifonous fpecies. The natives ufe for a remedy the root of a plant called Caatia, and by the Portuguefe Herva de Cobros. Ray, ibid. De Laet has d'efcribed four different fpecies of this ferpent.
JARARACUCU, in zoology, the name of an American fpe- cies of ferpent. It is of the viviparous kind, and produces a great number of young; thirteen having been found per- fectly formed in the body of a female of this kind. It grows to between two and three foot long, and has like the other poifonous ferpents very large and long teeth, which are hid in the gums, and contain a yellow poifonous liquor. Thefe
