Lexicon physico-medicum: or, a new physical medicinal dictionary, explaining the difficult terms used in the several branches of the profession, and in such parts of philosophy as are introductory thereunto / By John Quincy, M.D.

  • Quincy, John, -1722
Date:
1787
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lexicon physico-medicum: or, a new physical medicinal dictionary, explaining the difficult terms used in the several branches of the profession, and in such parts of philosophy as are introductory thereunto / By John Quincy, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ^oinnd to do in the AtlaHtic and but lets it fall in fo frequent rains, Ethiopia oceans. But feeing that But as the cool and dcnfe air,-by fo great continents do interpole and reafon of its greater'gravity, pitfTes bieak the continuity ot the oceans, upon the hot and rarefied, it is der regard mull; be had to the nature monfirative, that this latter muft af- pf the foil, and the pofition of the tend in a continual llreain, as fall; as high mountains, which are the two it rarefies; and that being afcended, principal caufes of the fevc-ral va- it mull difperfe itfclf to preferve the riations of the wind from the for- equilibrium; that is, by a contrary xne'r general rule ; for if a country current the upper air mufl; move dying near the fun, proye to be flat, from thofe parts, where the greateft fandy, and low land, fuch as ^ the heat is; fo by a kind of circula- defarts of Libya are ufually reported tion,. the north-call trade • to be, the heat occafioned by the below, will be attended with a relledtion'of the fun’s beams, and fouth - wefterly above, and the the retention thereof in the fand, foimh-ballerly with a north - weft is incredible to thofethathave.net «lu/W above. • That this is more than felt it; whereby the air bting ex- a bare conjeflure, the almoft inftan- ceedingly rarefied, it is necelfary taneous change of the awW to the that this cooler and more denfe air cppofitc point, which is frequently fhould run thitherwards to reftoie found in palling the limits of the the equilibrium : this is fuppofed trade-w/W.r, fecins to affure us : to be the caufe, why near the coaft but that which above all confirms of.Guinea, the -xwW always lets In this hypothelis is, the phaenoinenon upon the land, blowing wefterly of the monfoons, bv this means moft inftead of eailtrly, there being fut- eafily folvcd, and without it hard- ficient reafon to believe, that the ]y explicable. Suppoling therefore inland parts of Africa are prodigi- fuch a circulation as above, it is to OLiily hot, fince the northern boir be ennfideted, that to the north- ders thereof were fo inteniperate, ward of the Indian ocean, there is as to give the ancients caufe to con- everywhere land .within the ufual dude, that all beyond the tropics limits of the latitude of 30, viz. was made uninhabitab'e by ex- Arabia, Perfia, India, &c. which cefs of hear. From the fame caufe for the fame reafon, as the Medi- it happens, that there are fo con- terranean parts of Afiica, are fub- ftant calms In that part of the Or jed to infufferable heats, when the cean, called the Rahis ; for this fun is to the north, pafling nearly trf|d being placed in the middle, vertical; but yet are temperate between the .v'dlerly ‘iwWf blow- enough when the fun is removed to- ing on the coaft ot Guinea, and wards the other tropic, becaufeofa the eafierly trade-xwWj blowing ridge of mountains at foine di- to the weftward thereof, the ten- fiance within the land, faid to be deucy of the air here is indifferent frequently in winter 'covered with to either, and to ftands in equillbrio fnow, over which the air, as it between both; and the weight of pafies, mull needs be much chilled, the incumbent atmoiphere, being Hence it comes to pafs, that the diminifiicd by the continual contra- air coming according to the gene- ry Hvinds blowing from hence, is ral rule, out' of the north-eaft in the reafon that the air here holds the Indian fca, is fometimes hotter, not the copious vapour it rqccites. fomctiincs colder, than that by yv'hicb