TUR
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TUR
fine, thin. Linnen or Cotton, in feveral Wreaths varioufly difpos'd.
There is a good, deal of Art in the giving a Turban the fine Air ; and the making them up makes a particular Trade, as the making of Hats does among us.
The Emirs, who pretend to be defccnded of the Race of Mahomet, wear their Turbans quite green : Thofe of the other Turks are ordinarily red, with a "white Shafh. — Tour genteel People are to have frequent Changes of Turbans. -— M. de Toumeftrt obferves, that the Turban, all Things con- fider'd, is a very commodious Drefs 5 and that he even found it more eafy to him than his French Habit.
The Grand Signior'sT/rr^ZB is as big as a Bufhcl, and fo exceedingly refpefted by the Turks, that they dare fcarce touch it. — It is adorn' d with three Plumes of Feathers, en- rich' d with Diamonds and precious Stones : He has a Mini- fler on Purpofe to look to it, call'd Tulbentcglan.
That of the Grand Vizier has two Plumes 3 fo have thofe of divers other Officers, only fmaller, one than another ; others have only one ; and others none at all. — The Turban of the Officers of the Divan is of a peculiar Form, and call'd Mvge- nezek.
The Shafh of the Turks Turban, we have obferv'd, is white Linnen 5 that of the 'Ferfmns is red Woollen. Thefe are the diftinguifhing Marks of their different Religions : Sqphi, King of ( Perfia, who was of the Sect of Ali, being the firft who affum'd that Colour, to diftinguifh them from the Turks, who are of the Seel: of Omar, and whom the ^Perfians efteem Hereticks. See Mahometan, &c.
The Word is form'd from the Arabic ysCi, dar, or -in, dur, or b^y dad, or bn, dul, which fignines to encompafs ; and -»::, band attend, which fignifies Shafh, or Scarf, or Band j fo that "Durbent, or Turbent, or Tulbent only fignifies a Scarf, or Shafh, ty'd round ; it being the Shafh. that gives the Denomination to the whole Turban.
TURBARY, Turbaria, a Right to dig Turf in ano- ther Man's Ground ; from Turbo- an old Latin Word for a Turf. See Turf,
Common of Turbary, is a Liberty which fome Tenants have by Prefcription to dig on the Lord's Wafle, See Com- mon.
Turbaria is fometimes alfb taken for the Ground where Turfs are digged. See Turf.
Turearia Bniaria, particularly denotes a Flaw Turf, or Heath Turf ^ mention'd in a Charter of Hamon de Maffy.
TURBITH, or Turpeth, Turpethum, a Medicinal Root, brought from the iEa.fi- Indies, particularly Cambaya, Surar, and Goa ; tho' others will have it, that the true Tur- heth comes chiefly from Ceylon.
The Turbeth of the Moderns bears fo little Refemblance to that of the Ancients, that 'tis difficult to fuppofe them the fame. — That fold by our Druggifts is longifh, about the Thicknefs of the Finger, refinous, heavy, and of a brownifh hue without, and whitifh within. — 'Tis brought to us cloven in the Middle, length-wife, and the Heart or woody Matter taken out.
When in the Ground it fhoots out Vines, fome whereof creep along the Ground, and the reft wind about the neigh- bouring Trees and Shrubs.
Turbeth is a violent Purgative, and is ufed In the Dropfy, Palfy, and Apoplexy. See Purgative.
It yields a deal of refinous Matter in a fpirimous Menftru- tim, which Dr. Ghiincy obferves, does not affect the larger PafTages much ; but is very active in the fmaller Veflels, and glandulous Contorfions, which it wonderfully clears of all vifcid Adhefions. See Purgative.
Some Apothecaries, either thro' Ignorance or Parfimony, fubftitute white Thapfia, which they call grey Turbeth, for the true Turbeth 5 tho' both as to Tafte, Colour, and Quali- ties, they are very different.
It is commonly fuppos'd to take its Name Tnrbith from the Violence of its Operation, as disturbing the whole Oeco- nomy.
Mineral Tureith, or Turpethum Mineral?, is a Name which the Chymifts give to a yellow Precipitate of Mercury, which purges violently. See Mercury and Precipi- tate.
The Method of preparing it is tnus : - - On the dry Pow- der gain'd by diffolving Mercury in Oil of Vitriol, pour a proper Quantity of warm Rain Water, and the Powder will immediately turn of a yellow Colour. Continue to wafh this Powder by repeated Affufions of Water, till the Liquor comes away as iniipid and colourlefs as it was pour'd on, leav- ing a beautiful yellow Calx at the Bottom of the Veffel, w&ch being gently dry'd at the Fire, is call'd by the Name of Turbith mineral. .
This Powder is call'd Mineral Turbith from the Refem- blance it bears to the vegetable Turbith of the Arabians, in ftrongly purging the moft internal Receffes of the Body 5 for tho' it be infipid upon the Tongue, yet it is poffefTed of very confiderable Virtues. — Being boil'd with Water, it lofes more of its Salts, and thereby grows milder, and more
fafe ; fo it does by being deflagrated twice or thrice, or di- flill'd with Spirit of Wine.
A very few Grains of this Turbith will prove emetic and purgative, — It is alfo accounted an excellent Medicine in the Cure of the Venereal Difeafe : But as it operates with confiderable Violence, it ought not to be given, unlefs the Vifcera are known to be found. See Purgative.
This appears to have been the grand Secret of c Paracelfns, which, in his fcarce German Boot of Hofpital Medicines, he praifes fo extravagantly for the Venereal and alt Chronical Difeafes. — Sydenham alfb commends it in Venereal Cafes, given in the Quantity of fix or eight Grains, in ftrong Ha- bits of Body, fb as to prove emetic ; but when imprudently ufed, it is apt to give the Dyfentery. See Venereal T)ij- eafe.
TURBINATED, Is a Term frequently apply'd by Natu- ralifls to Shells, and other Bodies 3 to denote them of a Conical Figure, reprefenting a Peer or a Top. See Shell.
TURBO, in Meteorology, a Whirlwind. See Whirl- wind.
TURCOISE, or Turquois, in Natural Hiftory, a pre- cious Stone, of a blue Colour; ordinarily opake, but fome- times a little tranfparent. See Precious Stone.
There are Turcoifes both Oriental and Occidental, of the new Rock and the old.
The Oriental partakes more of the blue Tincture than the green ; and the Occidental more of the green than the blue.
— Thofe of the old Rock are a deep blue, and thofe of the new Rock more whitifh, and don't keep their Colour.
The Oriental ones come from Terfia, the Indies, and fome Parts of Titrky ; and fome even fuppofe that 'tis hence they derive their modern Name Turqitoife. — The Occidental are found in various Parts of Europe, particularly Germany, Bohemia, Silefia-, Spain, and France.
Turcoifes all grow of a round or oval Figure : They cut eafily ; and befidcs Seals, which are frequently engrav'd on them, fome are form'd into Crucifix's, or other Figures near two Inches high ; tho' Soethts miftakenly affirms, that none have been known to exceed the BigneTs of a Wal- nut.
The Ancients attribute a Kind of Sympathetic Virtue to the Turquois. — 'Tis commonly fuppos'd, that it changes Colour, or breaks, at the Death, Sicknefs, or even Misfor- tune of the Perfon who bears it ; that it difagrees with mar- ry'd People, and even breaks on their Fingers ; that it marks all the Changes and Accidents that happen in the Body of the Wearer, by correfpondent Changes in its Colour ; and that it is for this Reafon the Ladies have forbore the Ufe of it. — Tie 'Boot endeavours to account for all thefe Effects from natural, and even probable Caufes.
The Turquois is eafily counterfeited ; and that fb perfect- ly, that 'tis impoffible to difcover the Deceit, without taking it out of the Collet.
The Greeks and Latins call it Calais, and x.vav& ; and it appears to have had a Place in the Rationale of the High Prieft of the Jews.
In the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, we have a very curious A,ccount of the Formation of the Turquois, the Manner of giving it the blue Colour, &c. by M. Reaumur.
— The T'urquois, he obferves, is one of the fofteft of preci- ous Stones, its Hardnefs fcarce exceeding that of a Cryftal, or a tranfparent Pebble ; tho' fome are much harder than others 5 and ftill the harder, ceteris paribus, the more valua- ble, by Reafon of the Vivacity of the Polifh, which is al- ways proportionable to the Hardnefs.
Rofnel, a Jeweller, and the Author of a fcarce Treatife call'd Mercure hidden, eftimating the feveral precious Stones, iets a hard Turquois, whofe Blue is neither bright nor deep, on the Foot of the moft perfect Emeralds, that is, on a Level with a Diamond. — Thofe with any Defect he only values at a French Crown the Caract.
T'avenzier allures us, there are but two Mines afTurquoifes known in all the Earth, and thofe are both in ^Perfia ; the one call'd the Old Rock, near a Town call'd Neabourg, three Days Journey to the North Eaft of Meched: The other call'd the New Reck, is five Days Journey. — The latter, he adds, are but little valued ; and the King of Terfta has for many Years prohibited the digging in the former for any but himfelf — M. Reaumur takes the old Rock to be now ex- hausted ; in effea the common Divifion of TurquoifeS into the old Rock, or Oriental, and new R^ck, or Occidental, is very arbitrary and precarious. — All the beft, and moft per- feet, grow they where they will, in India or Europe, are reckon'd among the former, and'the reft among the latter.
Near Simore, in the lower Lang'tedoc, are feveral confidcr. able Mines of Turquoifes ; but that fine blue Colour ad- mir'd in the Turquois, is not natural to thefe Rocks ; the prevailing Colour being fometimes _ white, and fometimes' much like that of Tripoli and Venice- The other precious Stones are dug out of the Mine with all their Colour, to the Force whereof nothing can be added, tho' it. may frequently
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