perfhme. It is auo obtained ftom the
civet or musk ca

Musk-Seed, the seed of a plant which
grows in the W. Indies, and yields an
odor precisely like real musk.

Muslin, a tine, thin sort of cotton
Moth, which bears a downy nap on its
surface. The best comes from India.

Must, the juice of the grape previous
to fermentation.

Myrrh, a gum resin, brought from tne
E. Indies and from Smyrna and Alep-
po.

NANKEEN, or Nanking, a species of
cotton cloth closeiy woven. It takes, its
name from a city in China, where the
reddish thread of which the stuff is
made is spun.

Naptha, an oil, which issues out of
white, yellow, or black clays, in Persia
and Media.

Neap Tides, those tides which hap-
pen when the moon is in the first and
last quarters, being low, when compared
to springtides.

Nephritic Wood, a wood of a very
dense and compact texture, brought
from New Spain. It is a diuretic.

Nicaragua Wood, a dye-wood of a very
bright red color, brought from Nicara-
gua.

Nickel, a semi-metal, found common-
ly in mines of cobalt.

Ninzin, a root of a pale brown color,
and of an acrid, astringent taste. It is
collected on the mountains of Corea.

Nutmeg, the kernel of a large fruit not
unlike the peach. The best nutmegs
are brought from the E. Indies in stone
jars. The round nutmeg is preferred to
that which is oblong.

Nux Vomica, the seed of the officinal
strychnos, a native of the E. Indies. It
is among the most powerful poisons of
the narcotic kind.

OAKUM, oid ropes untwisted, and
pulled out into loose hemp, in order to
be used in caulking the seams of ships,
&c.

Ochres, combination of earths with
the oxide of iron ; they are of various
colors, and are principally employed as
pigments.

Offing, that part of the sea a good dis-
tance from shore, where there is deep
water, and no need of a pilot to conduct
the ship.

Olive, a fruit which yields a large
quantity of oil, the produce of the olea,
olive-tree, it is a native of the south-
ern parts of Europe, and is cultivated in
great quantities in the S. of France, It-
aly and Portugal. Olive's have an acrid,
bitter and disagreeable taste: pickled
they prove more palatable. The Lucca
olives, which are smaller than the
others, have the Weakest taste; the
Spanish, or larger, the strongest; the
Provence, which are of a middling size,
are generally the most esteemed.

Onyx, one of the semi-pellucid gems,
with variously colored zones, but none
red. It is found in the E. Indies and
different parts of America.

Opal, a stone of the quartz family,
found in many parts of Europe, espe-
cially in Hungary. When first dug out
ef the earth it is soft, but it hardens and
diminishes in bulk by exposure to the air.

Opium, is obtained from the white
oppy, a plant which is extensively cul-
tivated in Turkey and India. It is a
powerful narcotic.

Opobalsamum, the juice of a tree called
Oelpasi. It resembles myrrh, and is
poison taken internally.

Opodeldoc, a solution of soap in alco-
hol, with the addition of camphor and
volatile oils.

Opoponax, a resin obtained from a
plant growing in the Levant.

Oranges, the fruit of the orange-tree,
which flourishes in the S. of Europe and
the U. States, and in both the Indies.
Cheat quantities of oranges are imported
from Seville. The island of Malta fur-
Eishes oranges of a fine flavor; and they
a.so come to great perfection in the W
Indies and the Azores.

Orchilla Weed, a whitish moss, yield-
ing a rich purple tincture, used for dy-
ing. It is found in the islands of the
Archipelago, and also in those near the
African coast.

Ordnance, a general name for qll sorts
of great guns used in war.

Origanum, oil obtained from the leaves
of the wild marjoram, p. is a cure for
the chilblains.

Orpiment, a semi-metal, usually found
in copper mines.

Orris, a sweet scented powder, pro-
duced by pulverizing a root of the same
name. The root is white, and is brought
from Florence, in the neighborhood of
which city it grows spontaneously.

Orleon Iron, a particular.sort of bars
of iron, made for the manufacture of
wire.

Ormium, a metal of a dark blue color,
which exists in platina.

Osnaburgh, a coarse linen cloth man-
ufactured in the city of that name.

Ostrich Feathers, the fine feathers of
the ostrich. They are brought from Af-
rica, particularly the coast of Barbary.

Otta, or Ottar of Roses, the essential
oil of roses. It comes to us under this
name from Bengal.

Oxygen, a simple substance, wjiich
can only be obtained in combination
with other bodies or in a state of gas.

PALENDAR, a kind of coasting ves-
sel.

Palladium, a metal of a white color,
which exists in the ores of platina.

Palm Oil, an oil obtained from the
nuts of a tree, which grows In most
parts of Asia, Africa and America, more
especially on the coast of Guinea, in the
Cape de Verd islands, and in Jamaica
and Barbadoes.

Panjonia, a species of crystal.

Paranthine, a stone of a variety of
colors, found in Norway.

Parchment, the skin of sheep or goats
prepared so as to render it proper for
writing upon, &c. The best parchment
is made in France.

Pareira Brava, a root of a dark color,
which comes from Brazil, and is used
in medicine.

Pargasite, a mineral of a green color
and transparent, lately found near Abo.

Parian Marble, the white marble from
the island of Paros, used to this day for
carving statues, &c.

Paut, the Indian flax.

Pearl Ashes, a kind of fixed alkaline
salt, prepared by mixing the ashes of
burnt wood with water, evaporating the
clear ley, and calcining them in an oven
moderately hot. Pearl ashes are chief-
ly prepared in N. America, Russia and
Hungary.

Pearls, hard, white, shining bodies,
usually round, found in various kinds
of testaceous fishes. The fish, in which
the largest and finest pearls are pro-
duced, is the E. India pearl-oyster. The
most remarkable pearl fisheries of Ame-
rica are in the Guif of Mexico and along
the coast of Granada.

Pekoe, a species of Bohea tea.

Penguin, a fruit very common in the
W. Indies, of a sharp, acid flavor.

Pennants, or Pendants, those stream-
ers of a ship, which are split or divided
into two parts, ending in points.

Pepper, an aromatic berry, of a hot,
dry quality, chiefly used in seasoning
articles of food. The pepper plant flour-
ishes in the islands of Java, Sumatra
and Ceylon, and more particularly on
the Malabar coast.

Perry, a beverage made from pears.

Petrol, a mineral oil, or species of bit-
umen, supposed to issue from tbe clefts
of rocks, and found floating on the wa-
ters of certain springs. It is obtained
in hot countries, and is used externally
in paralytie cases, &c.

Pewter, a factitious metal, the basis
of which is tin.

Phosphorus, a simple substance, much
resembling wax in consistence, of a
faint straw color, and highly combusti-
ble. It was discovered by a German
chemist, named Brandt, about 160 years
since, and the preparation was long
kept a secret.

Picul, the Chinese quintal of 100
pounds!

Pilchards, a species of fish, similar to
the herring.

Pimento, the berries of a tree, which
grows spontaneously and in great abun-
dance in the island of Jamaica. It is
usually imported in bags and casks, and
is similar in smell and taste to cloves,
juniper-berries, cinnamon, and pepper,
or rather a peculiar mixture somewhat
akin to them, whence its name of aW-
spice.

Pinchbeck , a name given to one of the
many imitations of gold. It is made by
melting yellow copper in various pro-
portions with red copper.

Pine Apple, the fruit of a plant which
grows spontaneously in S. America, Af-
rica and the Indies.

Pink, a vessel used at sea, masted and
rigged like other ships,, only that it is
built with a round stern.

Pinnace, a small vessel used at sea,
with a square stern, chiefly employed as
a scout for intelligence, and for landing
of men, &c.

Pistachio, the fruit of the pistachia
terebinthus, a kind of turpentine tree.
It grows naturally in Arabia, Persia and
Syria; also in Sicily, whence the nuts
are usually brought.

Pitch, a tenacious oily substance
drawn chiefly from pines and firs ; or it
is more properly tar, inspissated by boil-
ing it over a slow fire.

Plaid, a striped or variegated stuff,
manufactured principally in Scotland.

Planks, thick strong boards, cut from
various kinds of wood, especially pine,
oak and fir.

Flaster of Paris, the sulphate of lime,
after being calcined.

Platina, the heaviest of all metals ; it
is met with in some abundance in S.
America and in Russia, where it has
been coined into money. Its color is that
of the purest silver.

Plumbago, black lead.

Plush, a kind of stuff composed chief-
ly of wool and goats’ or camels’ hair.

Pomegranate, a medicinal fruit, like
an apple or quince, full of seeds, enclos-
ed within a reddish pulp. It grows in
Spain, Italy and France, and S. America.

Poppy, a well known plant of several
species. That which produces opium
is the white officinal poppy.

Porcelain, a fine kind of earthenware,
chiefly manufactured in China, and
thence called China ware.

Porphyry, includes those stones which
contain either feltspar, schoerl, quartz,
mica, or crystals of any kind. It is
found of different colors, and occurs in
nearly every country.

Port, the name of a red wine, so call-
ed from Oporto, whence immense quan-
tities of the article are exported.

Potash, an alkaline salt, chiefly pro-
cured by lixiviation from the ashes of
burnt wood, and other vegetable sub
stances.

Pounce, gum-sanderach, pounded and
sifted very fine.

Proa, in navigation, is a name given
to a vessel used In the South Seas. In
its construction, the head and stern are
alike, but the sides are different; the
side intended to be always the lee side
being flat, a* ^J xe2x80x98Ye windward-side made
rounding.

Prunes, plums dried in the sunshine
or in an oven. The best come from
France

Pumice-Stone, a light, rough and po-
rous stone, which is found in the great-
est abundance in the island ot 1 Ipari

Pyrites, a genus of inflammable sub-
stances, composed of sulphur, which
813