Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/387

GAL jh'v, dyeing cloths of a black co- lour, and also for the dressing of leather. — The mos( esteemed galls are brought from Aleppo in Syria; and by the- Bth Oao. I. c. IS, k. 10, arc allowed to be imported cluty-tree, excepting the paymerit of 4s. id, p a: cwt. for convoy-duty. Galls have an austere styptic taste, without any smell : they are very powerful astringents, and have, therefore, often been employed in medicine. It is as- serted that, by their internal use, in doses of half a dram or more of the powder, intermittent fevers have been cured, even after Peru- vian bark had failed. Gall in Sheep, denotes a dis- order, with hich these animals arc: affected during the winter, and which is probably occasioned by severe frosts. Although we have met with no remedy for the cure of this com- plaint, yet, for its prevention, the following useful fact deserves to be recorded. Mr. Ellman, of Shoreham, Sussex, has observed, that by giving his sheep some hay in mornings of hoar-frosts, it pre- serves them from the gait. GALLING of iiHorse'sBack, an injury occasioned by heat, and the charing or pressure of the sad- dle. — To prevent this painful affec- tion, it is recommended to take the skin of a hind, well furnished with hair, and exactly fitted under the pannel of the saddle, with the hairy side next the skin of the horse. When, on a journey, a horse's back happens to be galled, a little of the stuffing of the pannel, near the swelled part, should be taken out, .and a piece of soft white lea- ther stitched over it, to supply the deficiency. Besides, the sore part G A L f ci of the animal's back should be dressed every evening with an ointment made of the white of an and a little powdered alum, beat up together till it acquire the consistence of honey; but, pre- vious to its application, the. in- jured part must be carefully wash- ed with cold water and soap. — Ignorant farriers, in such cases, generally apply salt-butler, and strew likewise common salt on the horse's back, to remain there, over night. We, however, are con- vinced from experience, that such practice is hurtful, and thdtfresk hog's-lard, or butter, is prefera- ble. — In situations where alum cannot easily be procured, a rag dipped in lime-water, or vinegar, may be substituted with equal advantage. Galling in Medicine. See Excoriation. GALLON, a measure of capa- city, both for dry and liquid arti- cles, containing four quarts? which varies according to the nature of the commodity measured. — Thus, the wine -gallon contains 231 cubic inches, and holds Slbs. avoirdupois of pure water; the beer and ale gallon contains 2S1 solid inches, and lOlbs. 3| oz. avoirdupois of water; and the gallon for corn, meal, &:c. 2~2t cubic inches, and contains f)lbs. 13 oz. of pure water. — Encycl. Brit. GALVANISM, an appellation given to the influence of metals, by mere external contact with the human body, discovered by Prof. Galvani, at Bologna, about tea years since, and which he called Animal Electricity. Certain convulsive motions on the nerves of living and dead ani- mals, may be excited by the appli- cation of metallic or other con- A a 2 ductois