Z A F
Z A N
The root u very large and thick, and of a dark colour with- . out, but very white within* It grows wild, common enough in tome places ; but it is generally cultivated for ufe, Jetting , it in large furrows; Its juice is poifonous, though the dry ' powder of the root is perfectly innocent and wholefome ; but there is a kind of it which may be eaten raw, and which is now getting into ufe ; inftead of the other, which is a fpcedy poifon, if eaten with its juice.
The manner of making the bread from thefe roots, is this j they peel them, rafp them, and putting them into bags fqueeze out the juice; they then dry the remaining matter over the fire, and when it is fufficiently drolled, they make it into cakes, which being dried cither in the fun, or by arti- ficial heat, are the Caffada-bread ; which is very nourishing, ■ and will keep without moulding, as well as bifcuit. - The ufe of it is apt to contract "the throat, if eaten dry, and fometimes brings on a danger of choaking ; the beft method is to moiften it in broth, or otherwife. before it is eaten, or elfe to have a bottle of water at hand to wafh down every mouthful.
The juice exprefled in preparing this root for bread, will kill any animal that drinks it crude ; but it may be boiled over the fire till a great part is evaporated, and the remain- der if it be far evaporated will be fweet, and ferve in the place of honey ; if left evaporated, and let by to ferment, it will make a very good and wholefome vinegar. The juice of the rouGOu is laid to be a counter-poifon for the juice of Yucca, Lemery. Diet, des Drog,
The thicker cakes of Yucca-'bread are called cafTavi,or caffada, and are eaten by the poorer fort. The thinner are called feiattf) and are eaten by the rich. Greta's Mufaeum, p. 371. YXIR, a word ufed by fome of the old chemifts, to exprefs any thing good in medicine.
YZCjlMNHTtJ*, in -zoology, the Indian name for z bird dc ■ fcribed by Niercmberg, and called the creited eagle. See the article Aquila Crijtata.
YZQUIEPATL, in zoology, the name of an American ani- mal of the fox-kind, and much refcmbling a common iox when young.
It is a low animal, its body long, and its legs mort. Its nofe is fliarp, its ears Imall, and its body very thick, cover- ed with hair, particularly about the tail, which is Ion?, and covered with the fame fort of hair with the reft of the body which is black and white. Its claws are very fharp ; it lives in the caves and in the hollows of rocks, where it breeds, and brings up its offspring It feeds on worms, beetles, and other infects, and fmall animals : When purfued, it breaks wind backward with an iniiipportable flench. Its whole body is, indeed, of a very ill fmell ; and its urine and dung are fo horribly Sinking, that we have no flench that can compare with them. It is a mild and harmleft animal ; but when provoked, its only power of hurting is by violently discharging its excrements, which it will throw to fix or eight foot diitance, and which flain people's cloaths with indelible yellow fpots, and leave a horrible flink which remains a long time on them.
The creature in many reflects refembles the rackoon, but differs in its offenfive fmell, and in tins remarkable manner of difcharging its excrements.
Hernandez mentions two other fpecics of it ; the one varie- gated with numerous white flreaks, but this is called by no difrincT name among the inhabitants ; the other they name the concpatl, this has only one longitudinal itreak on each fide the back, which run into the tail. Ray's Syn. C^uad. p. 184.
y_y«
ZThis letter formerly flood as a mark for feveral forts of weights. Sometimes it fignificd an ounce and half, and very frequently it flood for half an ® ounce ; fometimes for the eighth part of an ounce, that is a dram Troy-weight ; and it has in earlier times been ufed to exprefs the third part of an ounce, or eight fcruples.
ZZ, thefe letters were ufed by fome of the antient phyficians, to exprefs myrrh. At prefent they are often ufed to fignify zinziber, or ginger.
ZAARA, a word ufed by the Arabian phyficians, to exprefs the vig'riia morbofa, or continual watchings of perfons in many illnefTes.
ZACINTHA, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the
_' characters of which are thefe : The flower is of the femi- flofcular kind, the femiflofcules are placed on the embryo- fruit, and are all contained in a general fcaly cup. This cu,p hnally becomes a flriated head, compofed of feveral cap- fules, each of which contains one feed winged with down. There is only one known fpecies of this plant, which is what has ufually been called by authors chicorium vcrrucofevi, the wartgurn-fuccory. town. lull, p. 476.
KACYNTHUS, an epithet ufed by the antients to a liquid bi- tumen, from the ifland Zant.
ZADURA, in the materia medica of the antients, a name given to a foreign root, which was round and fmooth, and of the colour of ginger.
It was at that time imported from the Indies, and greatly efteemed in peftilential cafes.
ZAFFABEN, a word ufed by fome of the chemical writers, to exprefs putty.
ZAFFER, or Zaffre, in chemiftry, the name of a blue fub- itancc, of the hardnefs and form of a (tone ; and generally fuppofed to be a native foflil.
It is in reality, however, a preparation of cobalt; the calx of that mineral being mixed with powdered flints and wetted with water to bring it into this form. Hill\ Hift. of Foil' p. 625. See the article Cobalt.
To prepare this for ufe in the glaft-trade, put it in grofs pieces into earthen pans, and let it ftand half a day in the furnace ; then put it into an iron ladle to be heated red hot in the furnace ; take it out while thus hot, and fprinkle it with (Irong vinegar; and when cold, grind it on a porphyry to an impalpable powder, then throw this into water in glazed earthen pans ; and when it has been well ftirred about, let it fettle, and pour off the water : Repeat this warn- ing often, and the foulnefs of the Zaffre will be thus wholly feparated : Dry the powder and keep it for ufe.
ZAFFRAMEN, a word ufed by fome medical writers, to exprefs faffron.
ZAFFRAN, a word ufed often in authors to exprefs faffron, but fometimes as the name of other things of a yellow colour ; thus ochre was called by this name. ZAFRANIA, in colours, a term ufed by the Greeks, to ex- prefs the yellow of faffron. The barbarous writers of the after-ages tranflated it into the Latin crocictas, or faffron- colour.
The later Greek writers only ufe it, and they have taken it literally from the Arabians Avifenna and Scrapio. This was a term ufed by them to exprefs the colour of the fine bolc- armenic of Galen, which they tell us flamed paper to a fine and beautiful gold colour. ZAGI. See the article Zegf.
ZAGU, in the materia medica, the name given by fome au- thors to the fago-tree, the iodda pauna, or pah/ia fruciu pru- niforine, jfonj'. Dendr. p. 144. ZAHIA, a word ufed by the Arabian phyficians, ' to exprefs a fort of dyfentery, in which there was a very large difchargc of blood from the rectum, attended with an evident fema- tion of abrafion, or pain in the bowel?;. ZAIBAC, one of the many names by which the antient chc-
mifts have called mercury. ZAIDIR, a name by which fome of the chemical writers have called verdigreafe, or the ruit of copper ; and others, the metal itfelf ; and fome brafs. ZAIN, in the manege. A horfe is called in French Za'rn, that is of a dark colour, neither grey nor white, and with- out any white fpot or mark upon him. ZAMECH, a name given by fome writers to the lapis
lazuli. ZAMPOGNA, in the Italian mufic, is ufed to denote any inftrument that founds like a flute ; and particularly a bag- pipe, being an affemblage of divers pipes of different fizes. It is alio taken for a common flute. ZANNA,thename of a medicinal earth, defcribed byOribafius; he fays, it is found in Armenia, in that part which borders on Cappadocia ; and that it is very drying an'd of a pale co- lour, and eafily difunited by water, falling'mto a fine powder like lime.
It is called by the natives Zarhia^ and the mountain from which it is taken is near the city Baganona. It is of a dry- ing and aftringent nature. ZANNICHELLIA, in botany, a name giyejtt by Micheli, to a genus of plants, called by others algoides, aponogcton, and gramlne folia.
The characters are thefe : It produces diitinct. male and fe- male flowers, which always ftand very near one another. The male flower has neither cups nor petals, but coiififts only of one erect: fjtamen or filament, which is confiderab'ly 3 1 0,, S>
