Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/260

232] TOR TORMENTIL, the Common, or Sept-foil, Tormentilla ere6la V. officinalis, L. is an indigenous perennial, growing in moors, bar- ren pastures, and shady places ; flowering from June to Septem- ber. — It is eaten by cows, goats, sheep and swine j but refused by horses. The Tormentil is propagated by planting the crowns of its bulbous roots, at the depth of one inch, and at the distance of five or six square inches. — ^These roots are of great utility, both in domestic and in medical economy : on account of their strong astringency, they are advantageously substituted for oak-bark in tanning, and dyeing leather of a red colour, with the addition of the water-elder berries, and alum. — Leyser observes, in Iiis Original Botany (Jih. century of his Colleftion of Plants, in Ger- man), that the inspissated red Juice of this root may be employed as an excellent substitute for the foreign drug, called Dragons Hood, in dyeing, staining, &rc.'-r- Castly, the tormentil-root has been found remarkably efficacious in the dysentery often prevailing among cattle ; and, being one of the most astringent vegetables of our cli- mate, it may, with equal advan- tage, be used for similar purposes by mankind. TORTOISE, or Testudo, L. a genus of amphibious animals, com- prehending thirty-three species, of which the following are the princi- pal: 1. The midas. See Common Turtle. 2. The imlricata, v. caretta, or hawlc's-bill tortoise, is a native of South America ; where it attains the length of three feet : its shell is divided into the upper part, TOU which covers the back; and the lower, for the protection of the belly : it is composed of thirteen leaves, or scales, that form the beautiful transparent substance, known under the nan;)e of tortoise- shell. 3. The orbicularis, or common river-turtle, inhabits the milder cli- mates of Europe, particularly the swampy parts of Hungary and Sclavonia ; its size seldom exceed- ing eight or nine inches in diame- ter. It is covered with a smooth dark shell ; lives in morasses j and spends the winter under ground, in a torpid state, — ^The flesh of this species is much esteemed on the Continent, where it is eaten by the consumptive and debilitated, on account of its restorative proper- ties. Turtles live on worms, insefls, small fishes, and marine plants j they are reputed for their longe- vity, subsisting for twelve months on simple water, and evincing musr cular a6ion, after the head has been severed for a fortnigiit. Their progress through life is remarkably- slow. The best tortoise-shell pays, on importation, Is. 4^d, per lb, : it is thick, transparent, of a deep lead- colour, resembling that of anti- mony, and is sprinkled with brown and white spots. Like horn, this shell becomes s»)ft in a moderate heat, and is then manufactured into combs, and other articles j which may be easily stained of dif- ferent colours, by tinctures made of the common dyeing drugs in spi- rit of wine 3 or by the solutions of various metals in the mineral acids. TOUCH, or Feeling, is one of the five external senses, through the medium of which we are enabled to form comparative ideas of