AQ.U
APUA, in zoology, the name of a fmall fea nfh, fuppofed by many to be produced of the flime and mud of the ftiores. But fuch opinions are all groundlefs and idle. There are two fpecies of thefe fifh, i. the Apua vera, 2. the Apua phalerica. The firft, or Apua vera is extremely fmall, feldom exceeding two inches in length ; it is ufually white, but fometimes a little reddilh j its eyes are black, it has no fcalcs; and is fo foft and tender as to be fufficiently drelTed almoft as foon as it has come within the reach of the fire. The other, or Apua pbalerka, is larger, hut fo foft that it even melts away between the fingers in handling it, is very fat, and often affords a 1'ort of oil when large quantities of it lie any time together. Ray, Ichthyogr. p. 343.
Apua Mcmbras, in zoology, a name by which fome have called the pilchard. JVillughby, Hift. Pifc. p. 224. See Pil-
CHARDUS.
APUS, (Cycl.) in aftronomy, a conitellation of the fouthem hemifphere placed near the pole, between the triangulum au- flxale, and the chameleon, fuppofed to reprcfent the bird of paradife. Keif, Aftron. Left. 6. p. 50. The Apus is fuppofed one of thofe birds called Apodes, a; having no feet. See Apodes.
There are four liars of the fixth, three of the fifth, and four of the fourth magnitude, in the conitellation Apus. Dr. Hallcy in 1677, obferved the longitude and latitude of the ftars in Apus, which Hevelius in his prodromus reduced with fome alteration to the year 1700.
P. Noel has alfo given the places of thefe ftars, with their right afcenfions and declinations for the year 1687 * : & ut ms ob- fervations differ widely from thofe of Dr. Halley. Hevelius lias reprefented the figure of Apus, and its ftars, in his firma- mentum fobiefcianum, according to Hallcy's account ; Noel has done the like, according to his own account. Wolfius, with what juftice we will not pretend to fay, gives the prefer- ence to this iaft b . — [ a Obferv, Mathem, in ind. and Chin. Fait. c. 4. p. 50. feq. b tVolf. Lex. Math. p. 138.] APUTTASY, in botany, a name given by the people of Gui- nea to a tree, a decodtion of which is in great ufe among them for warning the mouth to cure the fcurvy in the gums, and preferve the teeth ; the leaves of this tree ftand very ir- regularly, fometimes in pairs, fometimes alternately, and fome- times at fmaller, fometimes at greater dLftances from one another. They have fcarce any pedicle : they are broad at the bafe, and narrow at the point ; fmooth and elofly above, and whitifh and fome what hoary underneath ; especially the larger ribs, which being obferved againft the light are clouded ; the Iargcft leaves are two inches and a half long and about one inch broad ; the tree is large and fpreadingj Phil. Tranf. N°. 232. APYCNl, awxvot, in the antient: mufic, was ufed for fuch chords or founds of the fcale, as could never enter the fpif- fmn. They were fixed, or Stabiles. IVallis, Append. Ptolem. Harm. p. 165. SeePvcNi, Stabiles, Genus, Spissum. APYCNUN, Avvia&y nonfpijjum, varum, in the antient mufic, was applied to thofe two conjunct intervals of a tetrachord, which taken together were greater than the third. IVallis, Append, ad Ptolem. Harm. p. 165.
This happened only in the two diatonic genera. Sec the article Spissum. APYRENOS, properly fignifies without kernels. The Greek writers, however, did not always keep up rigidly to the fenfe of this word, but fometimes applied it to fuch fruits as had fewer and fofter kernels than others of the fame kind j thus the mefpilus tricoccus, or three kernclled medlar, was called by Theophraftus and others mefpilus Apyrcnos, becaufe the othe having each five feeds, this was fmgular in not having fo many. APYROI, Attach, in antiquity, a denomination given to altars whereon facrifice was offered without fire. Potter, Archied Graec. i. 2. c. 2.
In which fenfe the word Hands contradiftinguifhed from Em- pyrai. See Altar. APYROMETALLUM, in metallurgy, a name by which fome authors have called gold, from its refitting the force of fire Aldrov. Muf. Met. p. 38. APYRON, Awygcc, fomething that has not undergone the fire. In this fenfe, fulphur vivum, or native fulphur, is particularly denominated Apyron. Cajhl, Lex. Med. in voc. Diofcor. J. 5. c. 124.
Some authors alfo give the denomination Apyros, Aot« e , to a modern procefs for making iEthiops mineral without fire, by trituration alone. AQUA (Cycl.) — Aqua Alexitcria fmiplex, the name now given in the London difpenfatory to the fimplc water com- monly called milk water. It is ordered to be made in the following manner : Take mint a pound and half, tops of fea-worrnwood, and leaves of angelica, all frelh and green, of each a pound ; add as much water as is neceffary to prevent burning, and diftil off three gallons. Pemberton's Lond. Difp. p. 236. Aqua Alexitcria fpirituojh, the name of a compound or cor- dial water, brought into ufe by the late London difpenfatory. It is ordered to be made of half a pound of green mint, and four ounces ol angelica leaves, with the fame quantity of tops of fea-worrnwood, and a gallon of proof fpirit j adding Supjei. Vol. L
A Q^U
water enough to prevent burning, and (Milling off a gallon. Femberton's Lond. Difp. p. 243. ° S"" u »-
This with a double proportion of the angelica, and the addition of a pint of vinegar after the diftillation, makeswhat is called the tile Aqua Almitlrm faatmfa cum aceto, which is intended to ltandm the place of the treacle water, of the former dii- penlatones.
Aqua Alumhofa Bateana, a form of medicine in the new Lon- don pharmacopoeia, compofed in the following manner : take- alum and white vitriol of each half an ounce, water a quart ■ boil the whole together, that the falts may be diflblvcd : and then kttmg ,t fettle, ftltre it thro' paper. Pcmberton's Lond. Wlp. p- 346.
Quincy gives another procefs for making alum-water ; as alfo itsulem medicine: for which fee the article Aluminous.
Aqua tortis {Cycl.) is ufed for Raining wood, and book- binders ule it to throw on their leather to marble it ; it is alfo ufed for Iteming bone and ivory. Boyle's Works, Abr. Vol. I p Ir?
bilvcriiverynicelyaudfinelypurifiedbymcansofthismcnftruum in the following manner ; diilblve filver that has been copelled 111 a clean glafs body, with a fufficient quantity of Aqua fortis - if the lolution is at all turbid, nitre it thro' paper into ano- ther clean glafs ; pour into this folution by little and little Ipuit of fait, or a folution of common fait, or fal armoniac enough to produce a perfect Aqua regia. The limpid folu- tion will now immediately become milky : let it reft for fome hours, and all the fiber will fubfide to the bottom in form of a white powder, which may be the fooner effected, by pouring a large quantity of pure water on the folution. ■t highly charged. Waft the powder with many frelh waters or with the phlegm of fpirit of fait or Aqua-finis, till the calx and water are both perfectly infipid • then feparate the remaining water by a flitting paper, and dry the calx. Put this into a crucible well rubbed over on the infide with foap and cover it with about one half of any fixed alkaline fait very dry and beaten to a fine powder ; fqueeze the whole well down with a finger ; cover the crucible with a tile and let it 111 a wind furnace ; make at firft a middling fire, only to make the veflel grow red hot, and then encreafc it to a higher degree ; when the fufion is compleated take out the crucfble, and let the filvcr cither cool in it, or elfe pour it into an ingot. Cramer's Art of Allaying, p. 256. y%«-/OT-riVdiuolvesiron,copper,lead, filvcr, mercury, regulus of antimony, and tin imperfeaiy, but gold not at ail ; it alio dillolves bifmuth and zink.
Common Aqua-fortis when poured upon filvcr ufually grows troubled in the beginning of the operation of folution ; antTa lit- tle after this is perflated, there is madea precipitation of a whitifh powder. This fhews the imperfeaion of the menftruum, and is wholly owing to the carcleflhefs or ignorance of the perfons em- ployed in making it.
1 Ms powderfometimesmelts in the fire with pot-alhes, and gives a regulus of filver at the bottom of the veflel ; fometimes it melts with difficulty in the fire, and has all the characTieriftics of the calx of filver precipitated from Aqua-firth by oil of vitriol. I he fault of this Aquafortis happens either from the ufe of too violent and long continued a fire, or becaufe the mixture of the vitriol and the nitre have been carelefsly made, or too large a pioportion of the former ufed ; in this cafe, when the the diftillation draws towards an end, there appear white milky fumes in the recipient ; thefe are vitriolic, and this phe- nomenon plainly fhews the fault of the menftruum, and might ferve to prognofticate the before-mentioned precipitation. This calx of filver feldomproves fluid inthe fire, but runs into a kindof tuna cornea, tsndlhcws that thenitre has becnimpure, and has con- tained fome portion of fea-falt. Cramer's Art ol allaying, p. 35. i or this rcafon, no Aqua-fortis ought to be ufed but what has been firft carefully proved by the proper trials with filver and the other metals ; and as the diflblution, efpecially that by winch gold is fcparated from filver with Aqua-fortis, is confldcr- ably hindered and impeded by this defect, and is made uncertain by this fort of precipitation, that portion of oil of vitriol, and of fpirit of fait which thus fpoil the Aqua-fortis mult be fc- parated from it before it is ufed ; this may be done in the following manner. Pour one thirtieth or fortieth part of the men- ftruum to be ufed into a fmall cucurbit, and over a gentle fire, diffolve in it fome filvcr fo as wholly to faturate the Aqua-for- tis. If the liquor looks turbid and milky in the beginning of the folution, it is a proof that itwants to be purified; pafs the warm folution thro' a filtre, and when it is perfeftly clear pour it drop by drop into the reft of the Aqua-fortis, which is to be pu- rified, till the dropping in the I'malleft drop of it will not any longer turn the whole milky as it did at firft j then let it reft fome hours, that the precipitated calx may fubfide, which done drop in again, and lb on till this milkinefs is no longer produced. Finally, the clear Aqua-fortis is to be poured carefully off, or filtred thro' a four doubled paper, and it is then found to be pure, and fit for all the operations it may be required in.
Some ufe filver allayed with copper, or even copper itfelf for the precipitating of the fpirit of fea-falt or vitriol from the Aqua-for- tis; but tins, tho' it may fucceed when thevitriolic fpirit onlyis to be precipitated, fails when that of marine fait is to be fcparated; becaufe this being mixed with Aqua-fortis difiolves copper 3 u per-
