308

their authority, resigned their offices. The senate, without delay, resolved to restore the tribunes and consuls, A. U. 305. A. died in prison, Livy says, by his own hand; according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the tribunes caused him to be strangled. Oppius, also, who was accused of being his companion in crime, killed himself. The remainder of their colleagues escaped accusation by voluntary exile. The abject Claudius, as he had only been the tool of a tyrant, was banished to Tibur, then a desert. Alfieri has written a tragedy on the death of Virginia.

APPLAUSE (from Latin plaudere); to express approbation by any movement of the hands. No nation has systematized applause like the Romans, who, according to Suetonius, had 3 kinds-bombus, the noise of which was like the humming of bees; imbrices, which sounded like rain falling on the tiles; and testæ, a sound like the breaking of pots. The 2 latter were produced by instruments placed in the theatre, and persons were instructed to give applause with skill. The plausores, or applauders, were divided into chori, and disposed in theatres opposite each other, like the choristers in cathedrals. In France, England and America, applause is often given by making a noise with the feet, which, in Germany, always signifies a high degree of dissatisfaction. (For further information, see the article Acclamation.)

APPLE. The apple, in all its innumerable varieties, is said to have been derived entirely from the crab-apple (pyrus malus), which grows wild in every part of England, and, it is believed, in some of the middle regions of the U. States. The uses of the apple are very various; even the bitter crab-apple is not without value; for its fermented juice, known by the name of verjuice, is employed both in cookery and medicine, and also for the purifying of wax. Hogs and deer are fond of them. The wood is hard and durable, and makes good wheel-cogs, &c. All good apples, and many of the common kinds, are produced by the process termed grafting. This is performed by inserting young twigs or shoots from trees bearing fine fruit into stocks of inferior kinds, raised upon every farm, from the pomace of the cider-mill. Crab-stocks are thought to answer best in England, but all kinds are made use of in the U. States. The branches formed by the twig inserted are found to bear fruit corresponding in quality to the tree from which it was cut.

The same process is pursued with all other kinds of fruit-trees; for inoculated or ingrafted fruit is always found to be the best. The kinds of apples most highly prized in all countries are the varieties of pippin. The pippins of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the richest in flavor of any apples known in the U. States; while the greening, the pearmain, and gilliflower, are the best fruit of New England; and the varieties of russet-apple the most lasting, being often found in a good condition at midsummer of the next year. The common family uses of the apple are too familiar to need specification; but its most important application is to the manufacture of cider. The process for making the best cider is simple; perhaps quite as much so as any mode of spoiling it. The apples should be sorted according to their degrees of ripeness, &c., and left a few days in heaps to ripen, if necessary. They should then be ground in a mill, till they are entirely bruised. They are afterwards allowed to stand a day or two in open vessels or troughs, and then pressed between hair-cloths or layers of clean straw; the last is not so good, from absorbing and wasting a portion of the juice. The liquor running from the press is then received into a vat, or large casks, till it has fermented, when it is drawn off, and placed in clean, tight barrels or casks, to stand till it is fine and clear; it is then racked off from the lees, and kept in casks or bottled for use. A portion of brandy and a little flowers of sulphur render it more pure, and less likely to grow hard and sour. Cider is a very wholesome drink during the heat of summer, although more apt to derange the stomach, produce colic, &c., than beer. A liquor is obtained by distillation from cider, termed cider-brandy, of which great quantities are made in the Middle States; while a very strong liquid may be obtained by allowing cider to be frozen, and then drawing off the portion which remains fluid, and thus retains its heat. But a far more wholesome liquor than either is the pomona wine, which is prepared by adding 1 gallon of brandy to 6 of new cider, after it is racked off. This, when 8 or 12 months old, is a very good substitute for wine, for the use of the poor or the sick, and is, beyond all comparison, more wholesome than the wretched mixtures sold so cheap under the name of Lisbon wine, &c. &c.

APPOGGIATO denotes, in music, and particularly in song, a blended and not abrupt utterance of the tones; so that they

insensibly glide and melt into each other, without any perceptible break. It is from appoggiare, to lean on. Hence, also,

APPOGGIATURA; a small additional note of embellishment preceding the note to which it is attached, and taking away from the principal note a portion of its

time. It is expressed thus:

APPRENTICESHIP. The ancients had nothing similar to our apprenticeships, not even a term of corresponding signification. The mechanical arts were carried on, among the Greeks and Romans, by slaves. Apprenticeships in these and the liberal arts and professions grew up in the middle ages, when the members of a particular trade or profession formed a corporation. These corporations belong to those many institutions recorded in history, which were once necessary, and had useful effects, but which a change of circumstances, and revolutions in the social condition, as well as many abuses to which they became subject, have rendered, in most cases, inexpedient. They have generally been abolished. One of these abuses, in relation to trades, was the long period of service required in the apprenticeships, as it was evidently for the interest of the masters, who were already admitted to the practice of a trade, or made free of a corporation, to make the time of service as long, or the consideration for admission into the company as high, as they could. In some countries, another abuse crept in, viz., a very great latitude of discretion and authority allowed to masters in the treatment of their apprentices, many of whom were, accordingly, treated with great harshness and severity. The usual time of service was 7 years, and the custom of apprenticeships was extended to almost every trade and profession. The time of technical apprenticeship, among barristers in England, was 16 years, for which period the candidates were apprenticii ad legem; after which they might take the degree of serjeants, servientes ad legem. Adam Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, b. i, c. 10, maintains that apprenticeships are entirely unnecessary. He says, "Arts which are much superior to common trades, such as those of making clocks and watches, contain no such mystery as to require a long course of instruction. The first invention of those beautiful and useful machines, indeed, must, no doubt, have been the work of deep thought and long time; but, when both have been

fairly invented, and are well understood, to explain to any young man, in the completest manner, how to construct the machines, cannot well require more than the lessons of a few weeks; perhaps those of a few days might be sufficient. In the common mechanical trades, those of a few days might certainly be sufficient. Dexterity of hand, indeed, even in common trades, cannot be acquired without much practice and experience." He thinks, however, that it would be much better for the learner to acquire this dexterity in the character of a journeyman, than in that of an apprentice. But this view of the subject does not seem to be very practical. The change of the name of the novitiate, from that of apprentice to that of journeyman, would effect no material alteration in the relation between the employer and the employed, except in respect to the authority of the former over the latter. Doctor Smith, probably, would not recommend that a boy, going to learn a trade, should, from that time, be free; and, if not, it is much better that his master should stand to him, in some respects, in the relation of a parent. This is what is intended in the ordinary articles of apprenticeship; and the advantage to the parties, mutually, arising from this relation, is so great, and its beneficial influence in the community is so apparent, that there seems to be hardly any ground for questioning the expediency of continuing it. As to the time for which an apprentice ought to serve, without any compensation, or only for his support, it must depend on the particular trade. In the U. States, the conditions, in this respect, are very various. In some kinds of mercantile business, for instance, the apprentice or his parents defray the expense of his board and clothing; in other instances, something is allowed the ap prentice on this account. In England. again, a sum of money is paid to the master, as a consideration for taking an apprentice; even in a common mechanical trade, the sum of 10 pounds, more or less, is paid for this purpose. In the U. States, nothing is paid on this account, but the terms of apprenticeship, in the different trades, and in agriculture, are very various. It is a frequent practice for a farmer to take a child, male or female, into his family, upon an agreement, in the case of a boy, that he shall remain until he is 21 years of age, or, in that of a girl, until she is 18; and, at the time of becoming free, the boy is to receive a certain number of suits of clothes, a certain sum of money

310

or perhaps a certain number of domestic animals, sheep, cows or oxen. The stipulations for the female are for clothes, some articles of furniture, &c. In the mechanical trades, the apprentice is, in many cases, entitled to a certain rate of wages for the latter years of his service, or, at the expiration of his apprenticeship, he is to receive certain tools, or implements of his trade. All these stipulations must evidently depend upon the kind of trade to be learned, the character of the boy who is to learn, and the rate of wages allowed in the community for that particular kind of industry; and the laws of the U. States leave the parent or guardian of the youths, and other persons in the various professions, to make such stipulations upon these subjects as they choose, not restricting them as to the period or the terms of the apprenticeship, and leaving, in general, every person to practise any trade or profession, without regard to the time of his service as an apprentice. The only exceptions to this general rule relates to professions which immediately concern the public safety, or the lives of individuals, as those of the pilot, physician, surgeon, apothecary. In some of these professions and occupations, the laws of the U. States, and some of the individual states, put some restraints upon the practice of them by persons not duly qualified; or give some advantages or facilities to those who produce testimonials of their qualifications, or comply with certain prescribed conditions; such, for example, as taking a medical degree at some college or medical society, in the case of physicians.—In England, France and Prussia, the former laws, which restrained every one from the practice of any mechanical trade, who had not served a certain period as an apprentice, or obtained the license of some corporation, are, for the most part, abolished. In Prussia and France, the laws do not now recognise any corporations of these descriptions, as invested with any powers of this sort. The terms of apprenticeship are, as in the U. States and England, left to be regulated entirely by a contract between the master and the parents or guardian of the apprentice. (For information respecting the correctional and disciplinary authority formerly exercised by these corporations, in relation to apprentices, see Corporation.)

APPROACHES. (See Trenches.) APPROXIMATION; a term used in mathematics to signify a continual approach to a quantity required, when no process is

known for arriving at it exactly. Although, by such an approximation, the exact value of a quantity cannot be discovered, yet, in practice, it may be found sufficiently correct; thus the diagonal of a square, whose sides are represented by unity, is 2, the exact value of which quantity cannot be obtained; but its approximate value may be substituted in the nicest calculations. This process is the basis of many calculations in pure and applied mathematics, and is of frequent use and great importance in all practical operations.

APRICOT (prunus armeniaca) is a fruit of the plum tribe, which grows wild in several parts of Armenia, and was introduced into England about the middle of the 16th century. Some consider the apricot the most delicate of all our hardy fruits. For pastry, certainly none more excellent. It is used for tarts, both green and ripe; it is also preserved with sugar in both these states, and is sometimes dried as a sweet-meat. Care should be taken to gather it before it becomes soft and mealy. The kernels of apricots have a pleasantly bitter flavor, and answer much better, for several purposes in confectionary, than bitter almonds, which are commonly used. They likewise contain a sweet oil, which, like that of almonds, was formerly used in emulsions. The gum that issues from the apricot-tree is similar to that of the cherry. The wood is coarsely-grained and soft, and is consequently seldom used in carpentry. Apricot-trees are chiefly raised against walls, and are propagated by grafting upon plum-tree stocks.

APRIL; the name of a month; either from aperire, to open, because, at this time, the earth seems to be opening and preparing to enrich us with its gifts; or, according to Varro, from Aphrodite, because April is consecrated especially to this goddess. Something similar to April fools' day, about the origin of which there are different opinions, is said, by Mr. Hammer, to exist in the East Indies, at the time of the Huli feast. This strange custom of April fools' day prevails throughout Europe, and in those parts of America which are inhabited by the descendants of Europeans. One of the explanations of the custom is as follows: In the middle ages, scenes from biblical history were often represented by way of diversion, without any feeling of impropriety. The scene in the life of Jesus, where he is sent from Pilate to Herod, and back again from Herod to Pilate,

was represented in April, and may have given occasion to the custom of sending on fruitless errands, and other tricks practised at this season. The phrase of "sending a man from Pilate to Herod" is common in Germany, to signify sending about unnecessarily. The reason of choosing the first of April for the exhibition of this scene was, that the feast of Easter frequently falls in this month, and the events connected with this period of the life of Jesus would naturally afford subjects for the spectacles of the season. The tricks of the first of April may, however, be the remains of some Roman custom derived from the East, and spread over Europe, like so many other customs, by these conquerors. In France, the unlucky party who may be fooled is called un poisson or poison (mischief) d'Avril. In the north of Scotland, he is called a gowk, which signifies, in the Scotch dialect, a cuckoo.-One of the best tricks of this description is that of Rabelais, who, being at Marseilles without money, and desirous of going to Paris, filled some phials with brick-dust or ashes, labelled them as containing poison for the royal family of France, and put them where he knew they would be discovered. The bait took, and he was conveyed as a traitor to the capital, where the discovery of the jest occasioned universal mirth.

A PRIORI; the opposite of a posteriori. To judge or prove any thing a priori, means to do it on grounds or reasons preceding actual knowledge, or independent of it. Mathematical proofs, e. g., are a priori. On the contrary, judgments or proofs a posteriori are founded on knowledge before acquired, like the conclusions of natural history, and all experimental science.

APRON, in ship-building; a piece of curved timber fixed behind the lower part of the stem, iminediately above the foremost end of the keel.

APSIDES. The orbits of the planets and comets are ellipses, in one of the foci of which is the sun. In the same way the satellites move round their planets. The nearest point of the ellipse from that focus, or the lower apsis (Greek, as), is called, in the orbits of the planets and comets, perihelion; the farthest point, or the higher apsis, is called aphelion. In the orbit of our moon, the corresponding terms are perigee and apogee. The straight line which joins the apsides, or the transverse axis of the ellipse, is called the line of the apsides. It moves slowly forward in the direction of the planet's

course. Therefore, if the earth sets out from the apogee, it must make more than a whole revolution in its orbit before it returns to the same point. The time which it employs in so doing is called an anomalistical year. It is, therefore, longer than a tropical one. (See Year.)

APULEIUS, A. Lucius, born at Madaura, in Africa, towards the end of the reign of Adrian, descended from respectable ancestors, and flourished about the middle, and in the latter half, of the 2d century. He studied at Carthage, became acquainted with Greek literature at Athens, particularly with the Platonic philosophy, and thence went to Rome, where, he himself says, he learned the Latin language without a teacher, by great exertions,-a circumstance not to be overlooked, in judging his style. To satisfy his thirst for knowledge, he performed tedious journeys, in which he was initiated into various mysteries; again lived some time at Rome; studied law; returned, finally, to his own country; married a rich widow, and was much respected.-A. was of an ardent and active spirit, with an uncommon share of wit, though much devoted to religious mysticism and magic. His Golden Ass, a romance in 11 books, contains wit, humor, powerful satire, and much poetical merit. He drew the materials from Lucian. The finest part of this work is the episode of Psyche, called, by Herder, the most tender and diversified of all romances. It is sufficient to render him immortal, even if he be, as some have supposed, only the narrator, and not the inventor, of the story. A. was also the author of many works on philosophy and rhetoric, some of which are still extant. His style is not pure. He is fond of numerous epithets and unusual constructions, and sometimes falls into a flowery and bombastic manner. The best edition of the Golden Ass, or the Metamorphosis ("golden" was a subsequent addition, to express the value of the book), is by Oudendorp Ruhnken and Boscha; Leyden, 1786-1823; 3 vols. 4to. Elmenhorst published the Metamorphosis, with a large part of the rest of A.'s philosophical writings, Frankfort, 1621.

APULIA. Iapygia, so called from Iapyx, son of Dædalus, comprehending the south-eastern parts of Italy, from the river Siris to mount Garganus, contains A. within its limits. In the most ancient times, three distinct nations dwelt here— the Messapians, or Sallentines, the Peucetians, and the Dauni, or Apulians. (See

312

Niebuhr's Inquiry concerning the oldest historical Accounts of this Country, in his Roman History, part i, sect. 99, compared with Wachsmuth's older History of Rome, sect. 61.) The Peucetians were in the southern part, as far as the Aufidus; the Dauni in the northern, as far as mount Garganus. The old Latin traditions speak of Ďaunus, a king of the Apulians, who was expelled from Illyria, and retired to this part of Italy. According to the tradition which conducts the wandering heroes of the Trojan war to Italy, Diomed settled in A., was supported by Daunus in a war with the Messapians, whom he subdued, and was afterwards treacherously killed by his ally, who desired to monopolize the fruits of the victory. Roman history informs us of no other Apulian kings, but mentions Arpi, Luceria and Canusium, as important cities. Aufidus, a river of A., has been celebrated by Horace, who was born at Venusia, in this territory. The second Punic war was carried on for years in A. Cannæ, famous for the defeat of the Romans, is in this region. Puglia, the modern name, is only a melancholy relic of the ancient splendor which poets and historians have celebrated. It now supports more sheep than men.

APURÊ; a river of South America, which rises in the Andes, near Pamplona, in Colombia, and, after an easterly course of about 500 miles, runs into the Orinoco, of which it is one of the most important tributaries. Lon. 66° 36′ W.; lat. 7° 36′ N. APURIMAC; a river of Peru, which rises from a lake N. of Arequipa, and afterwards, joining the Ene, with several other rivers, forms the Ucayale. Lon. 73° 40′ W.; lat. 10° 50′ S.

AQUA FORTIS; nitric acid in a diluted state. (See Nitric Acid.)

AQUA MARINA. (See Beryl.)

AQUA REGIA; the name given by the alchemists to what is now called nitromuriatic acid, a mixture of nitric and muriatic acid, yellow, and possessing the power of readily dissolving gold, which neither possessed separately. (See Nitric Acid.)

AQUA TINTA; the art of engraving on copper, after the manner of Indian ink, by which happy imitations are made of figures that have been drawn with the pencil in Indian ink, bistre, sepia, &c., particularly those which are on a large scale. There are several sorts of it. In the first, after the outlines of the figure have been etched, finely powdered mastic 'colophonium) is sifted over the plate,

which is then warmed over coals, that the mastic may be melted. In this way, insensible spaces are formed between the particles of mastic, upon which the nitric acid is afterwards to act. The work then goes on as in the mezzo tinto, only that the scraper is used in this, and the pencil in that; and all the places where there is to be no work or shade, are covered with a thick black varnish, on which the acid does not act. The nitric acid is now poured on, and left to stand as long as is necessary for the lightest shade-about five minutes. The light shades are now stopped out with varnish, and the acid allowed to act a second time, and this stopping out is continued till we come to the deepest shades, which are bit in last. This method is best for historical and architectural subjects; but in landscapes, in which the trees require more freedom of the pencil, the second is used. In this, a good etching ground is spread over the plate, and covered, by means of a hairpencil, with oil of lavender or oil of turpentine, to which lamp-black is sometimes added. The oil softens the ground, which may be wiped off with a fine linen cloth, leaving all the marks made with the pencil apparent on the copper. Then, as in the first process, fine mastic is sifted over the plate, melted in and etched. This operation may be repeated many times, according as there are more or fewer tints in the original. By a happy union of both sorts, this style of engraving is carried to a high degree of perfection, and is particularly adapted to express the coloring of the air, where large surfaces are often represented of one tint. In France and Switzerland, the roulette is used-a little wheel or roller of steel, with a rough surface and several prominences, which, when it is rolled back and forth on the plate, deepen the excavations made by the acid. They have roulettes of all degrees of size and fineness, to make deeper or more shallow impressions on the plate. From time to time, the particles separated by this process are removed with a scraper.-The aqua tinta mode was first introduced a short time since into England and Germany; and the English, particularly since Gilpin brought the art into notice, have adorned their literary works in this manner. (See Engraving.)

AQUA TOFANA; a poisonous liquid, which excited extraordinary attention at Naples, at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, the history of which, however, is obscure. Tofana, a