GLOSSARY.

1275
FiK. 1404.
EQt;iL.\TERAL Arch. An firch formed of two sogments of circles whose centres iire at the
tipring of tlie arch on each side, and if united witli t!ie point
of intersection or apex of the arch form an equilateral
triangle, as shown in
fg.
1404.
EQUiLiBKitTM. In mechan'cs, an equality of forces in opposite
directions, so as mutually to balance each other. Por the
arch of equilibrium, see Catexaky Curve.
EiiEMACAUsis. Slow combustion, which bikes place in timber,
and is the cause of its deca}'.
Krgastuh M. In ancient architecture, a name given by the
Romans to a prison or house of correction, where slaves, by
the sole authority of their masti-rs, were confined for their
offences and subjected to bard labour. By the Greeks these
buildings were called sophronistcria.
EsOAPK. That part of the shaft of a column where it springs
out of tile base moulding. It is also called the apiphyyc,
and in French, conge.
Escutcheon. A shield for armorial bearings, a mode of deco-
ration extensively used in Gothic architecture. It is also
a plate for protecting tho
'keyhole of a door
;
or one to which the handle of a door is attached.
Estimate. The computed cost of works before they are commenced.
EsTRADE. An even or level space ; a public road.
Etruscan Buildings. The inhabitants of Etruria, a country of Italy, and now called
Tuscany, are supposed to have been a colony from Greece. Gi'eat solidity of con-
struction is the prominent feature, enormous blocks of stone forming the high walls
of fortified places. Their other works are tombs, in which are found works of art of
high merit, especially the vases of red ware with black figures and ornamentation.
Ettkithmy. (Gr. Evpvdfxia, justness of proportion.) The regular, just, and symmetri&il
measures resulting from harmony in the proportions of a building or order. Vitruvius
makes it one of Jiis six essentials.
EusTYLE. (Gr. Eu, well, and 2tuA.os, column.) See Colonnade.
Evaporation. (Lat.) The conversion of substances into vapour, during which process
a considerable quantity of sensible heat pa.sses into the latent or insensible state.
The circumstances which principally influence the process of evaporation, are extent of
surface, and the state of the air in respect of temperature, dryness, stillness, and density.
EvoLUTE. (Lat. Evolvo.) In tho theory of curve lines, is a curve from which any given
curve may be supposed to be formed by the evolution or iinlapping of a thread from a
surface having the same curvature as the first curve. The curve thus generated is
called the involute curve.
Excavation. (Lat.) The digging out or hollowing the ground for tho foundations of a
wall or of a building, or of a floor below tho level of the ground.
Exchange. A place of meeting and resort for the merchants of a city to transact the
affairs relating to their trading. There is every reason to believe that the ancient
basilica served at the same time for the accommodation of the officers of the law and for
the assembling of the merchants. All modern cities with any pretension to commerce
have some place appropriated to the recep ion of the merchant, to which at a certain
hour he resorts. Sometimes it is a place surrounded with porticoes and planted with
trees. Often it is a building, including several porticoes, surrounded by offices for the
bankers and money-changers, which latter use has given among us the name of exchange
to the building.
The exchange is, perhaps, next in importance to the town hall, and should be com-
mensurate in appearance and accommodation with the wealth and consequence of the
city
;
it should, moreover, if possible, be placed in the most central part.
The Exchange at Amsterdam seems for a long time to h^vo prevaded as the model
for all others. It was commenced in 1608, and finished in 1613, and its architect was
Cornelius Bankers de Ry. It is about 271 feet long, and about 152 feet wide.
The Bourse at Paris has always been considered an admirable model, both in
distribution and des'gn. The edifice was begun in 1808, from the desifzus of
Brongniart, and completed ty Labarre at a much protracted period. The general form
on the plan is a parallelogram of 212 feet by 126 feet. It is surrounded by an
unbroken peristyle of sixty-six Corinthian columns, supporting an entablature and
attic. The perist}le forms a covered gallery, to which the as^-eut is by a flight of
steps extending the whole width of the western front. In the centre of the parallelo-
gram is the Salle, or great hall, 116 feet long and 76 feet broad. It conveniently
cont.iins 2,000 persons. At its eastern end is a circular space railed off for the con-
venience of the ageiis dc change: these only are admitted within it, and to it there