TAMASCAL, the name given in California to a kind of sand bath employed by the natives in the cure of the venereal disease. It is prepared by scooping a trench in the sand, two feet wide, one foot deep, and of a length proportioned to the size of the patient; a fire is then made through the whole extent of it, as well as upon the sand which was dug out of the hollow. When the whole is thoroughly heated, the fire is removed, and the sand stirred about, that the warmth may be equally diffused. The sick person is then stripped, laid down in the trench, and covered up to his chin with heated sand. In this position a very profuse sweat soon breaks out, which gradually diminishes according as the sand cools. The patient then rises and bathes in the sea, or the nearest river. This process is repeated till a complete cure is obtained. While the patient is undergoing the operation of the tamascal, he drinks a considerable quantity of a warm sudorific, prepared by the decoction of certain herbs, chiefly of the shrub called by the Spaniards GOVERNANTE, which see in this Supplement. TAN is a substance found in most vegetables, which, not having hitherto been resolved into component parts, is therefore considered as simple. See Vegetable and Animal SUBSTANCES in this Suppl.