Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/257

TON virtues of this drug correspond with those of the Peruvian Balsam ; but it is much milder than the lat- ter, and therefore more frequently employed in affeAions of the lungs and chest, especially when com- bined with a deco«9:ion of white poppies, and the syrup eitlver of marsh- mallows or pale roses, TOM-TIT, a well-known dimi- nutive bird, abounding in woods and orchards, v/here it constructs its nest with grass, &c. in which tlie femak deposits from three to live very small eggs. Tom-tits have erroneously been supposed to injure the young buds and blossoms of trees, on which account, large numbers arc annual- ly caught. They are, however, believed to be of great service to fruit-trees ; and, though a few buds or blossoms may be occasionally destroyed by them, yet such da- mage is amply compensated) as in- mamerable inseds are devoured by these birds ; and which, insiniaating themselves into the buds, would commit irreparable injury. Hence, the increase of torn- tits ought to be encouragedj as instances have occurred, where numbers of those harmless creatures had been taken in one year, after which the blos- soms of trees were, in the succeed- ing spring, completely destrojed. TON, or Tun, a measure of ca- p^ily, varying in its <iimensions, iiccording to the nature of liquid or solid articles : thus, a ton of wine contains four hogsheads ; a ton of timler tonnprises a square of ^0 solid feet : and a ton of coais amounts to 20 cwt. TONGUE, in the animal eco- nomy, is an organized muscle si- tuated in the cavity of the mouth, moveable in every diredion, and di^sti^^ed for the purposes of speech^ TON [229 mastication, deglutition, and suc- tion. On the upper part, it is furnished with many small ner- vous warts, regulating the sense of taste : the whole is covered by the muciparous membrane lining the inside of the mouth; and which, by a duplicature at the lower part, forms the ligament called the frc^ num. — If this ligament be too short (which may be ascertained by the incapacity of the infant to protrude its tongue to the gums, and between the lips ; or of suck- ing either the breast, or a finger introduced into its mouth) an in- cision should be made, by a per- son properly qualified ; and the in- fant, immediately after, be placed to the breast ; in order to prevent its swallowing the blood. A si- milar operation will be requisite, as the only mean of preservation, where a fleshy tumor occurs under, the tip of the tongue. Another affedion is the Ranula, or swelling beneath, and at the side of, the tongue ; which gene- rally arises from an obstructed sali- vary gland : in SQme instances, it contains a gritty substance, but more frequently a feti-d fluid, in consequence of which, the mouth becomes inflamed. Where it pro- ceeds from tainted milk, the nurse ought to be instantly changed, an(J the mouth be v ashed with a de- coction of sage sweetened wi(i» honey ; but, if the tumor be hard, it will be advisable to extirpate it by the knife : after the operation, the mouth shoulcl be frequently rinsed with milk and water : — to promote the healing of the wound, gentle astringents, such as diluted tinfture of bark or myrrh, will b& useful, when given with due pre- caution. Ulcers of the tongae are some- Q, 3f tiine^