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A New and Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; compre⇒ bending all the branches of useful knowlege, with accurate de fcriptions as well of the various machines, inftruments, tonlsy figures, and fchemes neceffary for illuftrating them, as of the claffes, kinds, preparations, whether animals, vegetables, mis nerals, foffils, or fluids. Together with the kingdoms, provinces, cities, towns, and other remarkable places in the known world. Illuftrated by above three hundred copper-plates, en» graved by Mr. Jefferys, Geographer and Engraver to the Prince of Wales. The whole extracted from the beft Authors, in all languages. By a Society of Gentlemen. 8vo. 4 vols. 21. 5 s. or, bound in eight yolumes, 21. 8 s. Owen.

O whom, and in what manner, Dictionaries of Arts and Sciences may be useful, has been explained upon á former occafion*, Harris may not improperly be placed among the earliest Lexicographers, who, in our country, carried a fcheme of this kind into actual execution. His plan. was improved in the Cyclopædia; and feveral modern refinements, in the mechanic and other arts, as well as fome late difcoveries in philofophy, furnished materials for another compilation of the fame kind, printed but a few years ago, by Hinton, under the title of, A New and Univerfal Dictionary of Artsy &c. No Author was mentioned in the title, or advertifements; but it appears, from the dedication, that the Compiler's name was Barrow. To a confcioufnefs of fome imperfections, and deficiencies, may be attributed the fupplemental volumes to Chambers; nor is it quite improbable, but that to fome hints in the Review †, the Public are obliged for an additional volume to Mr. Barrow's performance.

Thefe affiftances, which cannot be deemed very inconfiderable, were all at the command of the Compilers of the work now under our infpection; indeed, they have acionowferred the free ufe of them: Dionaries, Tranfuctions, Memoirs, Systems, Commentarics, Pustices, and even Le fays, Elements, and Granmmára,' Ky they have contribute f their feveral quotas--towards,' on this new claice: in Mag which, however, they are fo treat and not-moduladys in order to fit them for their re ective places, then it would' be both tedious and useless to refer to the guests on evaf

See Review, Vol. X. p. 51. a.

+ Vol. IX. p. 289. feg,

occafion. Yet would fuch references have been no more than honeft, and candid, efpecially where whole articles are literally copied; nor could the occafional infertion of the words, Chambers and Barrow, have greatly fwelled the fize of thefe volumes..

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Though literary property has not the fame legal fecurities that defend our civil poffeffions; though at the Old Bailey it would be looked upon as a higher crime to have ftolen a handkerchief, value Sixpence, than to have robbed an Author of his whole ftock in trade, his thoughts and language; yet, in point of ftrict equity, it is apprehended, no good reason can be given, why the labours of the head fhould not be as inviolable as the work of the hands.

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However laudable the purpose of facilitating the avenues to knowlege, and rendering the purchase of it eafy, this ought not to be attempted by means inconfiftent with juftice: plagiarifm of any fort, we conceive to fall under the predicament of injuftice; and of this crime the Society of Gentlemen who put together this compilation stand indicted, in our court of judicature, The evidence against them we fhall lay before our Readers, and leave it to them to pass sentence.

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But, perhaps, prescription may be pleaded in bar of our indictment: it has been cuftomary, fay they, for all Lexicographers to filch from each other; and they may poffibly farther infift, that the nature of fuch an undertaking, muft, of neceffity, render fuch filching unavoidable. To which we rejoin, that no custom or prescription ought to be admitted in vindication of a practice in itself unjuft; and though it may be allowed, fuppofing the fame originals to have been confulted, that a fimilarity of expreffion will follow; yet a sameness is not neceffarily implied: and when even errors are copied, it argues no lefs want of judgment than want of honefty. Our defendants have, indeed, fometimes endeavoured to disguise their thefts; but, by fo doing, they have fallen into frequent abfurdities.

But, to our evidence: in which we fhall proceed alphabetically, in conformity to the nature of the profecution, though not to the practice of other courts.

978

Whoever will be at the pains of comparing the account given of AMALGAMATION, in this New Dictionary, with that given by Barrow, who himself has confeffedly borrowed from Boerhaave, will readily perceive, that the former is much indebted to the latter; but what chemift, or mineralift, before thefe gentlemen, ever talked. of melted mercury? This we venture to rank among their transformations.

AM

AMPLITUDE, in aftronomy, is defined by the new Lexicographers, an arch of the horizon, intercepted between the eaft and weft, and the center of the fun, or a planet at its rifing and fetting thus far they agree almoft literally with the Cyclopedia: to which they add, and fo is either north ⚫ and fouth, or ortive and occafive.' True, indeed, the amplitudes are sometimes called northern and fouthern, as they happen to fall in the northern or fouthern quarters of the horizon; but as it is here expreffed, would not any perfon unacquainted with aftronomy, be inclined to think north and fouth intended as fynonymous to ortive and occafive?

BORAX, is injudiciously called a mineral*, instead of a native falt the hiftory of it given in this work is extremely defective; its ufes are too vaguely defcribed, and a manifeft error is copied from the Supplement to the Cyclopædia; wherein it is faid to be used for making Glauber's falt; whereas, in reality, all that ought, with any fort of propriety, to have been mentioned on this head, is, that there is a poffibility of producing a falt like Glauber's from it."

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Mariners COMPASS, is a close copy from Barrow: the fame may, in a great meafure, be faid of DROWNING, only that the latter of thefe articles is more than a little deformed, by our Gentlemen's attempting to conceal the plagiarism.

The article DYING, will, we apprehend, appear upon examination, to be the actual property of the Cyclopædia. Abundance of tranfpofition, and a few diverfifications of expreffion, may render the fraud fomewhat lefs obvious; but with what judgment these artifices are employed, the fol lowing will evince. Under, Dying of Silks, the Cyclopœdia fays, Red Crimson is dyed with pure cochineal meftich †,

The method of procuring and preparing this falt is pretty fully defcribed in the Review, Vol. XII. p. 93.

For the information of fuch of our Readers as may be as little acquainted with this dying ingredient as thefe gentlemen-book-ma-" kers, it may not be amifs to obferve, that there are two sorts of cochineel, the finer called meftique, the other termed wild cochineel. The first is gathered from fuch plants of the Opuntia, as are prepared and managed properly, on purpofe for the production of the arinal; the other is found wild on the wild plant, and is ⚫ much inferior to the mefique in value. The mistique has its name from the name of the place where it is propagated in the greatest quantity, Meftique, in the Bay of Honduras. As to the other, it is not yet determined, whether it be another species of the animal, or whether the fame fpecies in a lefs thriving condition. -tele Suppl to Cyclop. from Reaumur's Hift. of Infects.

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adding galls, turmeric, arfenic, and tartar, all put toge ther in a copper of fair water, almoft boiling.' The new Compilers chufe to direct this process otherwise: "Red Crimfon,' fay they, is given with pure cochineel, maftic, adding galls, turmeric, arfenic, and tartar, all mixed in a copper of fair water, almoft boiling. What confidence is to be placed in inftructors fo palpably ignorant of the fubject they pretend to teach?

EPIC Poem, and FRICTION, belong to Barrow; GILDING to the Cyclopedia: whether thefe gentlemen have rendered this art more intelligible, by telling us, that gilding with liquid gold; or, as it is expreffed in other Dictionaries, gilding metals by fire, is performed by gold reduced to a calx, and amalga ⚫ mated with mercury,' we leave to be determined by gilders. However, their deficiency in the technical terms, ufed in this branch of business, makes it fomewhat fufpicious, that they have not been very conversant with the operation.

The furnaces and inftruments for making, the methods of blowing, cafting, grinding, polishing, and painting GLASS, are all verbally taken from Barrow: fo likewife is what is contained under the word HELIOSTATA *. Nor do we think it more than common justice to restore all the merit of the article HERO to the Cyclopædia.

Upon the fubjects ICTHYOCOLLA, and IRON, our Lexicographers have chose to adhere, and that very closely, to Mr. Barrow. Their Readers, we apprehend, will not take it amifs to be advertised of a correction very neceffary to be made in the fourth column, line 5, of the latter article; where, instead of Crystals in Spars,' they will read Crystals and • Spars'. It may, poffibly, be only a typographical mistake, but it is too material to be over-looked.

LANGUAGE, a topic furely capable of variety, and LENS, the former fomewhat abbreviated, and the latter a little tranfpofed, are copied from the Cyclopedia. To LATITUDE, and LONGITUDE, Barrow feems confiderably to have contributed; and to him, alfo, we conceive, ought juftly to be afcribed what is found here under the title MAGNET.

The Supplement to the Cyclopædia appears to have fupplied the article MESENTERIC Fever. To whom we ought, with propriety, to attribute the account here given of the NEWTONIAN Philofophy, may admit of fome doubt; our new

An inftrument invented by S'Gravefande, and defigned to con. fine the rays of the fun, in a horizontal direction, across a dark chamber.

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Compilers have agreed almost literally with Barrow, who has acknowleged, in this refpect, his obligation to Harris.

OLIBANUM is a faithful transcript from Barrow; even his little inaccuracy, of not diftinguishing the particular fpecies of frankincense to which this drug is properly referable, these gentlemen have not thought fit to correct.

PLOTTING among Surveyors, may be juftly claimed by the Cyclopædia; fo allo may the article PUNCH.-It is poffible: there may be among our Readers, fome who may think with us, that this liquor, taken in a moderate dofe, is falubrious, as well as exhilarating: to fuch it may not be difagreeable to know the directions of both writers on this fubject; whereby they will also have the further advantage of being inftructed in the art of literary tranfmutation, in cafe any of them fhould be inclined to commence fecond-hand authors.→Thus it stands in the Cyclopædia.

Punch is alfo a name of a fort of compound drink, frequent in England, and particularly about the maritime parts thereof, though little known elsewhere.

Its bafis is a fpring-water, which being rendered cooler, 'brifker, and more acid, with lemon-juice, and sweetened < again to the palate with fine fugar, makes what, they call "Sherbet; to which a proper quantity of a fpirituous liquor, as brandy, rum, or arrack, being fuperadded, the liquor commences punch.

Several Authors condemn the ufe of punch, as prejudicial to the brain and nervous system. -Dr. Cheyne infifts, that there is but one wholefome ingredient in it, which fome now. begin to leave out, viz. the mere water.

The proportion of the ingredients are various; usually the brandy and water are in equal * quantities. Some, instead of lemon-juice, ufe lime-juice, which makes what they call punch-royal; this is found lefs liable to affect the head,. as well as more grateful to the ftomach.

Some alfo make milk-punch, by adding near as much milk to the fherbet as there is water, which tempers the acrimony of the lemon; others prefer tea-punch, made of green tea, inftead of water, and drank hot.

Laftly, what they call punch for chamber-maids, is made without any water, of lime-juice, sharpened with a little

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* It must have been a long time fince the ingredients of punch were thus proportioned. Our Grandmothers ufed to say,

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